St. Louis weekend getaway and meet the family

Well hello there bloggers and readers and anyone who happens to stumble upon this blog Mike and I call ours.

This past weekend we did not cook or even remotely try. I can't say I have really baked either. I did bake Gooey Butter Cupcakes (sorry, no recipe for you, I think only one other person has my recipe and she's not telling).

I made the cupcakes so that when visiting St. Louis I could give some to Mike's parents as well as leave two for Roomie while the rest went to work with me to be devoured and made to vanish. Those things are dangerously addictive and I blame Mike for introducing me to this evil thing called gooey butter cake. But then again I'm not complaining and neither is he, provided I don't bake it for a month straight. Sorry honey, was experimenting and thank you for being my Guinea pig ;)

So we were off to St. Louis on Friday afternoon. I drove to the halfway point where we swapped and picked up McDonald's for lunch. A mid twenties couple walking into McDonald's and ordering two chicken McNugget kids meals. That's not strange at all. Well, it's not in our book. It was easy, fast, and relatively low in calories considering the other options at said establishment. So we were off, with food in our bellies and 2 more hours to drive.

We arrived in St. Louis to stop at the local sporting goods store in Pevely, MO to pick up a new Benelli shotgun that Mike has wanted. Was a fun detour as we walked around and waited for paperwork to be processed.

Once we were finished it was off to the hotel to check in before meeting up with the parents to have dinner.

Can I just say, the hotel bathroom was fan-freaking-tastic!! We have stayed in other hotels where you have to slide into the bathroom to even shut the door, basically stand on the toilet to do so. We have also stayed in hotels where you feel as if the walls are closing in around you as you shower. This was none of those. Sure it was just a standard king room but the room was big enough for both of us, plus exercise room (this is important when doing Insanity). Then the bathroom had the marvelous shower with the giant shower head, a little seat and just a great amount of room to be able to move comfortably. We I actually said goodbye to the shower when we left Sunday morning.

We ate at a local Chinese place for dinner that night and conversation was a bit on the quiet side, was a little strange, but really meeting people for the first time is always a bit strange. The food was tasty, I confused the poor waiter by asking for my chicken and vegetables to be steamed with the sauce on the side. I know, so difficult. Mike ended up explaining that for me while you could see the light bulb finally turn on for the waiter. I always enjoy trying to explain to the oriental waiters and servers. It's challenging and fun all at the same time.

So then after dinner we went out with some friends and then crashed so we could be up at 7 AM to go shooting with his dad. So off we went to the range to shoot pistols and a bit more.

Putting the new toy together

Shooting down those pesky metal plates

Father and Son investigating a small problem

No I didn't just stand around and take pictures of the men-folk shooting guns. AK, Revolver and .45. I got in on that action too and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Mike said he was impressed with how I did and told me I did very well for never having shot a pistol before. My cluster was pretty consistent and I did hit center a few times :) That made me happy. I have a great teacher and I definitely will be wanting to shoot again.

After shooting we went to see what the cowboys were up to, not the football team, actual people dressed up like John Wayne. Shooting competition. It was comical to see the costumes and get ups but also fun to watch them do their thing. There were even old men scampering to get to their next station to get a better time. It was interesting to watch for sure. It was even set up in this little ghost town feel section of the gun range. So fun.

So after shooting it was back to the hotel where we were to workout and do insanity, after only doing 1/2 my insanity Friday and still feeling sore in the knee and foot Mike and I decided to hit the hotel fitness room and run and do weights - sadly we came to find there were no weights so we were limited to just treadmills and bikes. I ran my 2 miles, Mike ran 1.5 I believe and then he got on the bike until I finished my run. After that we did a little bit of calisthenics and called it a workout.

Soon we were off again after freshening up and headed back to the parents house so we could go to Gramma's and check on some things. We ended up taking some things home, cupcake pans and a spring form pan with an insert for me (you will be seeing recipes hehe) and then he took home some silver, a tray, electric pitcher, candle holders, and fondue type pot. Then he also had pot holders, you know the homemade kind from yarn? yeah, those. Well evidently he had burnt one of Roomie's homemade ones and wanted to replace it. It's not THE potholder but it's the gesture and thought. She laughed when seeing it and said "But mine was from my grandmother, who is dead." So then Mike just said "this is from my dead grandmother." Even Stevens right? hehe, Roomie is a good sport and just laughs and says thank you for the thought and kindness. He also found an electric carving knife - which will be well used on roasts and birds - then a carving knife set with the knives and fork. So we came home with some fun little extras.

We did eat well at mom and dad's for dinner Saturday. Enjoyed pork steaks, quail, mac and cheese, corn on the cob and some salad. Was a good Missouri dinner, with the Missouri Tigers football game on in the background. MIZ-ZOU! (and EMAW for my team). We had a great time with the family, lots of laughs and I just get a kick out of them. They are good people and funny to be around.

Mizzou did win as did KSU so both sides are happy for NCAAFB.

Sunday morning we awoke early, 6 AM, to go skeet shooting. Well, I went in thinking I wasn't going to hit a damn thing. I figured I would get laughed at by the old men and just shrug and say, "Oh well." Come to find I'm not as bad as I thought. I hit 7 out of 25 clay birds on my first real skeet shoot!! WOW!! :) Super stoked that I was able to accomplish that.

Dad, Mike, and Dave

We had a great time shooting and I shot Mike's new shotgun, too long and a righty to boot. :) I'm just awesome like that. I guess I even impressed the old guys there by hitting what I did and as many as I did with the little experience I have. Of course being a lefty they all noticed right off too. I found that being a lefty had it's benefit. Loading a righty shotgun as a lefty is a WHOLE lot easier than it is for a righty. I'm not reaching around the gun to load. Hehe, points for me.

Dad shooting Mike's new gun

I also enjoyed just chilling out with the boys - not unusual as men are more fun typically to hang out with than women, less drama, easy going, and laid back. I also just had fun shooting.

Mike setting up and looking awesome

So while I was shooting I was just waiting for someone to bring up that I was a girl. Well, I was the only woman there that morning. It took a bit but at one point I was all set up ready to go, much like Mike is in the picture directly above, and Don, one of his dad's friends, was behind me and said "That's the best view we've had here in a long time." I just turned and smiled and laughed. I then said "I'll play along," and proceeded to shake my booty. We all just laughed and had a good time. Don apologized and said it would be the only time but it doesn't bother me with old guys. It's comical and it's really hard to offend this Kansas girl.

All in all the weekend was a total blast, had sooo much fun and wish it had been longer.

We made the 3 hour drive home that night and proceeded to not cook, again. Stopped at Taco Bell for lunch and had a local restaurant for dinner upon arriving back at Mike's. We then vegged.

And Mike played with my phone. It was nice to chill and not move at that point after being in the car for 3 hours. 

The next day it was back to work. Boo Monday's. But we both made dinner for ourselves too. Mike had bought two great steaks and cooked those with some mashed potatoes and asparagus while I went with rotisserie chicken, sweet potato, and peppers and onions.

Dinner a la Sarah

Dinner a la Mike

So go out and cook folks, even though we didn't until Monday. ;)