Senior Year Second Semester Begins
Portillo’s for Lunch
We went to Springfield, Illinois, today for lunch at Portillo’s.
Yes, it was six hours total in the car, but the opportunity for Italian Beefs and Chicago-style hot dogs was just too much to pass up.
It marked the end of our winter break. John goes back to school tomorrow, and Laura returns to SEMO next weekend. The last few weeks just went too fast.
Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium
We went to the Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium today and got to do lots of things.
We went to the Penguin March, which is the cutest 15 minutes of organized chaos!
We went to a penguin birthday party for Bumblebee, who is 39! That is really old for a Gentoo penguin.
We chatted with the Kookaburras…
…and, we watched the sharks swim in the aquarium.
We met the tiger while on patrol.
We rounded out our visit by saying hello to the polar bear.
All in all, we walked over 15,000 steps and saw lots of animals despite it being a chilly day. It was a great, family day trip.
New Year, New Look
I changed the look of my blog after several years. It will take some getting used to as I figure out all the settings, and Andy works to fix a few things for me. I do like it so far!
New Year’s Day
We spent the day hanging out and not doing too much. Our niece, Addyson, is visiting for a few days, so it was great to get some time with her. It was pretty much the perfect New Year’s Day. The real world calls tomorrow.
New Year’s Eve!
Like last year, John spent New Year’s Eve at our house with Ari…
…while Andy, Laura, and I went to Broadway Brewery.
It was a fantastic evening spent chatting up lots of friends who happened to be there too, eating great food, enjoying great drinks, and listening to some of the best jazz around.
Happy New Year, my friends! Cheers to 2026!
Soap Experiment
I tried something new today just to see if I could do it. I made small, heart-shaped jojoba oil soaps in a silicone mold.
After these were set, I piled two on top of each other and then poured white goat’s milk soap with silver glitter over the hearts.
I think they turned out great! I can see making more of these for Valentine’s Day, and then changing the white for Grinch green for Christmas.