Shane Life

There are lots of people in this world who have crappy parents. I am not one of those people. I am so blessed to have two people who have loved and supported me throughout my life in ways that I could never imagine nor ever repay. All I can say is thanks. Mom and Dad, you’ve been such a positive influence in my life and I’m so blessed to have been raised by you guys. I know that I wasn’t always the best or most-behaved, but hey, at least I wasn’t Jake.

While today is Mother’s Day, I just want to say thanks to both of you. Dad, thanks for always being so supportive and loving, even from across the globe at times. Mom, you’ve shown strength that I never could.

Happy Mother’s (and early Father’s) Day!

One huge benefit of attending Big Omaha was that Alli and I could stay with her folks and spend the weekend up here with them. Today, while Alli’s dad and I golfed this morning (and I played some of my best golf ever), she and her mom shopped. We came home, showered and then headed out to see Star Trek.

On Star Trek: WOW. What a movie! JJ Abrams put together an interesting cast of characters to reimagine and reboot one of the most iconic franchises of all-time. It was entertaining and action-packed – everything that a summer blockbuster should be. I had heard good things about the movie, but I reserved my judgment until I saw it. My judgment: Awesome. Go see it.

After the movie, we headed to Stella’s Hamburgers for a great diner-style burger (see above).

So, let’s recap:

• Golf
• Star Trek
• Bacon Cheeseburger

Yeah. Today pretty much rocked.

Today, my sister-in-law is getting married.

Ashley and Tyson will be married today at 5:00 p.m. We had a lot of fun doing their pre-marital counseling and getting to know them as a couple really well. We’re looking forward to welcoming Tyson to the family.

We are so excited to be a part of this day and so thrilled that the two of them are stepping into this next phase of their life.

Also, I took their engagement pictures (some of them are linked from the picture above).

We’ve seen a couple of sad dog movies lately. First it was Marley & Me. I was prepared for that movie to be sad, but I still bawled. Today, we saw Hotel for Dogs, a kids movie that made me want to go out and rescue every dog that I could. While Hotel for Dogs isn’t quite sad in nature (it is, after all, a Nickelodeon movie), it still had parts that got me choked up.

I’m a sucker for dogs. We’ve almost always had them as I was growing up and Alli and I have decided that instead of being “kid people”, we’re gonna be “dog people.” Now that may mean that our house will smell a little or that our clothes and furniture will be covered in tiny fur, but I can’t put a kid in a kennel and leave it for the night. You can do that with a dog. Sure, that’s selfish and all, but I’m OK with that. I think I’m at a point in my life where I’m OK with being a little selfish.

We got Dreyfuss less than 6 months after we got married. He’s now 8 years old, which means that at 80 pounds, he’s a little slower than he once was, and he sleeps all the time. I’ve started to think about what it will be like when he isn’t with us anymore and even typing it makes me sick to my stomach. He’s a loving, protective dog who is a part of our family. Not only that, but he is utterly and completely ours. Everything about him reflects us. He loves to sleep (guilty), has a distinctive smell (guilty again), is completely happy just sitting on the couch watching TV. He’s also utterly brilliant. I have an example, but I am going to use a scene from Marley & Me to explain and if you haven’t seen it, SPOILER ALERT! (Resume reading after the second set of stars.)

*****

There is a scene in Marley & Me where Jennifer Aniston returns from the hospital after losing a baby. Now, up to this point, Marley has been exactly what the book title says, “The World’s Worst Dog.” Instead of jumping on her unknowingly, this brilliant animal shows what true empathy is by sitting quietly, resting his head on her lap, and comforting her.

My dog has done and continues to do this on many occasions. A few years back, Alli had an ovarian cyst that ruptured and she had to have an emergency surgery to remove it, as well as her appendix which had become inflamed. During the long recovery process, she recounted the hours and days that she spent with Dreyfuss laying his head on her stomach calmly. He was her protector when I was off at work and he continues to protect our house always. (Believe me…he might be cute, but you do not want to be a burglar in our home. He’s a pretty imposing dog with a big bark.)

*****

Dreyfuss is an awesome dog. We are so lucky to have him as a part of our family. I hope that we have him for many many more years.

One fun thing that we got to do as a part of the planning process for Ashley and Tyson’s wedding was to taste the cake, made by the awesomely local Dragonfly Bakery of Olathe.

We found this bakery through a dance team parent who had brought Alli and Ashley cupcakes prior to their competitions the past two weekends (which they really did amazingly at, BTW).

Dragonfly Boba Tea and Bakery is a locally-owned and operated little shop right next to Pei Wei at 119th and I-35 in Olathe. One of the reasons that they came to our attention was that they have the ability to make gluten-free cakes and desserts. Since Ashley and Tyson both have a gluten intolerance that borders on celiac disease, they didn’t think they were going to be able to have a wedding cake when they get married in April.

With Dragonfly, they will.

We got to taste both the gluten-free and the regular cakes from Dragonfly and I could barely tell the difference between the two. The cakes are amazing. Ashley and Tyson decided to go with Dragonfly’s signature white chocolate cake for both their own personal gluten-free cake as well as for the main cake for those of us whose intestines can tolerate gluten.

Not only are the cakes terrific, but the owners are a terrific group of ladies that use recipes from their grandmother Opal, who passed away in 2006. Now, three generations of Opal’s children and grandchildren run the business in honor of her, a great tribute to a lady that made a heck of a cake.

If you’re looking for a cake for any occasion, I suggest you go check out Dragonfly.

I was not paid for this endorsement, although I would certainly take free cake for it.

I’ve got a lot to be thankful for and I try to remember that daily and not just because the pilgrims told me to.

On this day of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for:

• My beautiful, loving, talented wife. She’s my best friend and the first person I want to talk to in the morning and the last one I want to talk to at night.
• My awesome family. All of them, immediate and extended. My family is fantastic.
• My great friends. I’m blessed with a large group of great friends who are a lot of fun to be around. I’m looking forward to our Gardner-Olathe football game this Saturday.
• And so much more…

I hope that this day finds you healthy, thankful, and blessed. Thanks especially to those who serve our country overseas and cannot be with their families on this day.

Over the weekend, Alli and I headed up to her folks’ place to take our future nieces to the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo. We’ve been before (obviously, Alli, having been from the area has been several times…this was my 3rd trip), but each time we go, they seemingly have some new attraction for zoo-goers to peep.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day on Saturday and plenty of folks took advantage of the great weather to visit the zoo. We even ran into our friends Mike and Danielle on their way out of the zoo, which was funny because I hadn’t seen them here in KC for a long time.

It’s no surprise to run into folks from Kansas City 3 hours North at the Zoo. Omaha’s zoo puts Kansas City’s poor excuse for a zoo to absolute shame. The zoo in Omaha is accessible, clean and all the animals look comfortable (mostly) whereas the KC Zoo is a blight as far as zoos go.

I think that the KC Zoo would be better suited to close up shop, ship all its animals 3 hours North and put all its money into a high-speed train that runs to the Omaha Zoo. Because as far as zoos go, Omaha’s is one of the best.

One of the coolest things that Omaha has is a newer attraction called the Kingdoms of the Night, which has a slew of nocturnal animals and one specific section called The Swamp, which feels – predictably – like a swamp. It is the world’s largest indoor swamp and inside, the zoo has constructed a wooden bridge that takes you through sunken rowboats and trees in low light while alligators and beavers and other nocturnal animals mill about as if they were in the bayou of Louisiana. Along the way, you’ll get a glimpse of the crown jewel of the Omaha Zoo – the very rare White Alligator, one of only 13 in the world.

This display is just one example of how much better the Omaha Zoo is compared to ours. And to be honest, with the way that Kansas City, Missouri is run, it’s no surprise.

So for those of you who have never been, I would highly recommend you take the 3-hour trip North to Omaha, if only for the day. It’s completely worth it.

So I’m back from Jamaica.

Alli and I and the rest of the family have been at Beaches Negril since last Saturday. While we were there, my brother and his lovely significant other Kelly got hitched on the beach on Tuesday afternoon. Both families were there as were a bunch of Jake’s friends and we had a great time. After an all-day journey yesterday, we’re back in Kansas City, away from the island humidity.

It looks as though the internet didn’t break while I was gone, although I  did win a contest and my biography was posted on Brad’s site. It looks like everything else is as it was. 

I read two books while I was gone, finally finishing Wild at Heart by John Eldridge and quickly consuming Playing for Pizza by John Grisham. I’ll post reviews soon.

As far as the rest of the week…I’m taking the rest of the week off from work. I may tackle a redesign of my own site if I can do it quickly. We’ll see.

How are you?

Tomorrow is MAN DAY…also known as the bachelor party celebration for my brother. We’re going to kick off the day with a 16-person scramble at Royal Meadows Golf Course in Independence, followed by a 20-person poker tournament and grilling some burgers and hot dogs (and one piece of chicken for me). After that, the plan is to head out to the Power & Light district or some other place. Watch out for us…we’re pretty awesome.

There will be more testosterone at this party than you can deal with.

It’s gonna be awesome.