Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Saturday morning we awoke to the beautiful sight of fresh snow! It snowed until about 3:00 in the afternoon--just long enough to cover all of Hutchinson with a white blanket of snow and make everything Christmasy! Here are some pictures of us in the snow. Boy was it cold and windy!





In the afternoon we went to the Cosmosphere which is the science museum in Hutchinson. It was very interesting and it was nice to find something to do indoors:)





That evening Kyle and I went to his friend from high school Nic's house where we had dinner and played games with his wife Tiffany. They have two very cute little boys--Carson and Coen. We had a great time just hanging out with them!

Sunday morning we were able to attend the church that Kyle went to when he would come home from college in the summer. The people were so kind and the sermons were rich and convicting. We both had a great time fellowshipping with the body of Christ and hope that we end up in a church as biblical as Grace Bible of Hutchinson. Kyle was able to see many old friends which was a blessing.

This afternoon we went to the Kansas Underground Salt Mine. We had an interesting tour 650 feet below the ground! Here are some pictures of that as well.






Tonight we are going to a Christmas concert at the Sanderson's friend's church. We are having a great time and are looking forward to our first Christmas together here in Kansas.

Stick and stones....well actually, just sticks

4:30am was the time that we had to wake up to make our flight to Kansas on Thursday morning. The airport was the busiest we had ever seen with travelers flying to all different parts of the world to see family and friends for Christmas. Our destination was Wichita, Kansas to join the rest of the Sandersons for the holidays. Apparently not too many other people wanted to go to Kansas this year because once we made it past the incredibly long line to security, we found ourselves at a very sparse gate where the plane is so small they board everyone at one time. We made it onto our flight in time and it was smooth sailing all the way to Wichita. Kyle and I had to pack three suitcases to fit all our clothing and the many Christmas gifts we brought for everyone. Once we collected our bags we found Debra, Kyle's sister, faithfully waiting for us right outside the baggage claim. As we were driving home we enjoyed the beautiful scenery thanks to the huge ice storm they had just a few days before. Here are some pictures of the Sanderson's house.




That night we enjoyed just hanging out with the other half of our family that we dont' get to see as often. The next day we slept in and went to Roy's for lunch. I wish I got a picture of Roy's because my description surely won't do it justice. They told me it was a BBQ place and so being a Southern California girl all my life, I was picturing a place like Rattler's or Wood Ranch. Well, Roy's was more of a backwoods southern BBQ. It was the tiniest place you'd ever seen with only a few sit down tables very close together. You wait in line to order your food with a very simple menu...BBQ, BBQ, and more BBQ. Oh yeah, they had BBQ beans as well. The lady who took our order knew the Sanderson family well and was as sweet as pie with her dainty southern accent. She took our order and added up our total with a hand held caculator. I can't remember the last time I saw someone do that! I ordered a half a BBQ brisket sandwich and boy was it delicious! With it's small town charm and delicious food, I can surely see why this place is a favorite for the Sandersons. Thanks again to the ice storm, we spent a good part of the afternoon picking up huge branches that had been splattered all across the Sanderson's yard. You would not believe how much the trees were demolished from the storm. It took Dad, Kyle, Debra, and me a good few hours just to haul the large branches to the front of the house where the city will pick them up later in the week. We didn't even attempt to pick up all the sticks that now cover the lawn and driveway. Here are some pictures of it.