Some things about Wichita...

Wichita is one of those interesting, quirky little places, but quirky in a way you can't quite put your finger on.

Politicians have politician-y names.
And the collectibles are, erm, creepy. And there are museums. Lots of them. On just about any subject. This museum is a random assortment of world treasures, as its name implies. It is set up with partitions, like you'd find in an office. The crown jewels of its collection are a tyrannosaurus rex and a mummy. Indeed, treasures of the world. Oh, and there's a shrunken head and the pitchfork from the set of Wizard of Oz.

One thing that I've fallen in love with here is the architecture. I don't know that I've ever seen such beautiful and varied structures. Notice the boy and girl talking out their windows...

I enjoyed the Wichita Art Museum over the weekend, this piece was eye-catching:

It is appropriately titled 'Boys Night Out', in the medium of cotton and embroidery floss.

I love being here with Luis. The humidity is finally settling in to my hairstyle, and I'm thoroughly enjoying our complimentary YMCA membership. My sister now has FaceTime on her Mac so that has helped to ease the missing.

More posts coming soon! In the meantime, I'll be exploring this neck of Kansas with my helpful Visitors' Guide.

Getting my bearings...

So, I'm on my second full day here in Kansas. I managed to get myself terribly lost in the other side of town last night in an attempt to locate my husband last night. Without the mountains I have no idea which direction I'm ever going in. Turns out I was going in the opposite direction of where he was but it wasn't until I started hitting fields and farms (insert here, fields and farms miles apart) that it occured to me. But joy of joy (and thanks to a few iPhone apps), I found him.

We're working into something of a routine, it's partly vacation and partly not. The vacation part is having housekeeping come every morning to clean the bathroom, kitchen, and vacuum. I promise not to abuse this. Mostly promise. The other parts include waking up to Lui every morning (he doesn't start his work day until a meeting at noon, then lunch together before he heads out), complimentary breakfast and a daily 'hospitality hour' where the suites provide a light dinner and beers (I also promise not to abuse this), and a free YMCA pass while we're here. I went to Kansas-style aerobics (this means regular aerobics but you have to wear a Kansas Chiefs t-shirt) this morning with about 20 senior citizens. It was great. Lui and I have a goal to lose our last 20 pounds this summer.

Little Leo is settling in wonderfully and has found a few favorite things about our suite. He has told me his Top Ten list: 10. The buttons on the television are totally accessible. 9. He's become addicted to soaps and daytime television. 8. The handle to the dishwasher is also totally accessible. 7. It is fun to pull things out of the dishwasher. 6. The swimming pool is close by for dipping his adorable feet. 5. Belgium waffles for breakfast, need I say more? 4. The couch is just low enough to practice his mad climbing skills. 3. All the corners on the furniture are round. 2. The humidity has done wonders for his curly hair. And 1. A private man-cave (see image above). He likes to take his toys in this cupboard and hang out awhile. It's pretty cute.

I've successfully located Target, Green Acres Natural Foods Market (hooray!!!), an ATM, and a post office. Today is the first time we've seen the sun since we arrived, so Leo and I are packing up for an exploratory stroll about East Wichita. I'll blog soon with updates on Lui and what it is we're doing out here.

Love to all!!!

The longest drive of my life...

...started yesterday at 3:00pm and ended today at 5:45 in the evening, amidst a tornado warning, in the central time zone. I'm blogging live to you tonight from our new (temporary) home, a studio suite in the industrial area of Wichita. As we were checking in to our new digs the television in the lobby aired live footage of a tornado touching down in Oklahoma City, storm warnings have filled the tv screen in our little room all night long. We stepped outside at one point to watch the torrential rain and listen to the tornado sirens in the distance. I've been thinking how terribly far away from home I feel, but how at home one husband and one baby have made one me feel tonight... I love you, Lui. I love you, Leo. I love you, Nonny. I love you, Mom and Steve. I love you, Dad, I love you, Collene. We drove 9 hours yesterday to Parker, Colorado, and spent the shortest night ever with my aunt (thanks, Debbie!) before resuming our drive at 8:00am this morning. We arrived 8 1/2 hours later to Wichita, literally in the middle of an incredible storm. Not even while on my mission in Illinois have I seen rain like this. We are in the heart of Tornado Alley, and I admit it's a little unnerving. The weatherman was instructing us viewers tonight on how to best protect ourselves if the high winds were to shatter our windows. We are to wrap ourselves in blankets and get into the bathtub. At this point, we are getting ready to wrap ourselves in blankets and get into the bed, hoping for a peaceful night of sleep. Luis is back on the job tomorrow, but more on that later. For now, just know that we've arrived safely and that I love, love, love you all back home. We are most certainly not in Utah anymore.