Farmers Market in Downtown KC

It might have been unseasonably warm with highs 15° above normal for this time of year but fall was in the area in the River Market district of Kansas City. With Grandma Shirlene in town to visit for the weekend, we headed to downtown Kansas City to sample some of the finest fall harvests that Kansas and Missouri farmers have to offer this time of year at the local farmers market. Strawberries, melons, flowers, mimes and other fall harvests were on display. Although there was a fine selection of restaurants in the area, we settled on a local barbecue joint away from the Kansas Speedway - where NASCAR nation has descended for the weekend. (see photo album here)

Camping at Perry Lake

We have a family tradition: If we do anything twice, it becomes a tradition. Therefore, the Edwards and Beyelers now have an annual tradition to head to the lake for a fall camping trip. This year we had the Shady Point Campground at Perry Lake all to ourselves as the cooler temperatures and good friends made for an ideal camping excursion. The cooking was exquisite, the fishing was sub par, the late-night visits were entertaining, the scenery spectacular and the memories will last forever. As for family firsts, Tyson slept through the night in his own tent away from mom and dad. See 19 camping pictures here.

An UnSleep Over

It had all the elements of a real sleep over ... minus of course the actual sleeping over part. Tyson's friend Cody came over and joined us for pizza, shot some hoops with the bigger Cody and of course, worked to conquer the mystery of Zelda with Tyson on the Super Nintendo. We dropped him back off at his house later that night ... and then he called at 7:30 am the next morning to make sure he hadn't missed Paige's pancake breakfast.