In deference to those who have complained about the recent lack of posts, we respectfully submit this update

Cindy came to visit, and we celebrated with a fatted calf at Oklahoma Joe's.

She brought this awesome photo of two of the Roberg dogs, Millie and Whitney.
(Speaking of dogs, a few weeks ago there was a "Growl-o-ween" event at the Plaza [site of the J Crew where Alison works]. Dogs came in their Halloween costumes and all the stores gave out doggie treats. For some reason, one of the most popular costumes was a lobster...maybe it was on sale at Walmart? This article has a slideshow of some of the participants, if dogs in Halloween costumes is your kind of thing.)

While Cindy was here, we also checked out the Visitors' Center in Independence. In an amazing coincidence, they had a display that allowed us to exactly reenact our journey to Kansas City this summer.

We also found some time to hang out with former President Truman.

This week's big news: Alison started a new job at the UMKC School of Medicine. Here she is getting ready to leave for her first day (at the unearthly hour of 7:45 a.m.!).

eleven four

On this day in history:
1869 - First issue of the journal Nature is published
1922 - Howard Carter discovers King Tutankhamun's tomb
1966 - The River Arno floods and causes major damage to the city of Florence (especially noteworthy because the same river flooded Florence on the same day in 1333)
1970 - Genie, a feral child, is discovered in Los Angeles
1984 - Dell Computer is founded (as PC's Limited)

These people were born:
1916 - Walter Cronkite
1946 - Laura Bush
1960 - Kathy Griffin
1962 - Jeff Probst
1969 - P. Diddy AND Matthew McConaughey
1981 - This guy:

We had a little birthday celebration with a few gifts...
But THIS was the centerpiece of it all:
All right, maybe it was a little ambitious, but A for effort, right? If you don't recognize it, here is the inspiration (we're obsessed):

Earlier this week, Brandon's computer monitor died a tragic death, necessitating a replacement. We named it Megalodon.

Happy birthday, Brandon!

In The Red

Kansas City in the Fall

Late summer in Kansas City was very moderate, weather-wise, but we're definitely well into fall now. Leaves are changing and we've had a couple of very cold days. The radiators in our apartment are starting to turn on---it's very cozy!

We're still enjoying the abundance of barbecue in town. Most recently, we tried Oklahoma Joe's, a restaurant in a gas station that is one of Anthony Bourdain's "13 Place to Eat Before You Die."

Brandon is keeping busy with coursework and a couple of research studies. He's learning how to administer various psychological assessments, including the WAIS-IV. It must be hard work--here he is taking a break.

Here's our street. If you look closely at Alison's car, you can see the damage to the trunk and rear bumper from a fender-bender a couple of weeks ago (hit by an uninsured driver...awesome).
Alison is still looking for a full-time job (had an interview last week--fingers crossed), but in the meantime she is working here:
Folding t-shirts can be a very "zen" activity.

Happy fall!

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming...

...for an announcement about how much I like this ad:

Thank you, passiveaggressivenotes.com, for reminding me of its existence.