Justin's Best Week Ever

I had to go to Kansas City, MO for a work-related conference in July. (This year I got to present a session about email marketing strategies, which was a lot more interesting than it sounds.) :) Justin had his vacation scheduled for that week, so I forced him to tag along so we could make it our quasi-summer vacation. He was reluctant about the trip until he realized that KC is home to some of the greatest BBQ in the world! We were only able to hit two renowned BBQ establishments, but they were both amazing. We had to document our experience at Oklahoma Joe's, which is famous for not only having great BBQ but also for its location inside a gas station. We opted to dine at the restaurant's second non-gas station location and it did not disappoint.

This was the line to order food on a random Wednesday night.


The amazingness up close


Best day of Justin's life


After dinner I made Justin stop at the Cracker Barrel because I've heard so much about them and wanted to experience one for myself. The highlight for Justin was buying Luke a John Deere onesie from the gift shop. And he gives me a bad time for being from "the country!" Here I am contemplating my next move on the Cracker Barrel front porch.


On our way home from Kansas City we stopped to visit our friends Todd and Shawna in Phoenix. We had a great time hanging out with them and learning all the tricks on parenting little boys (they have a 2.5 year old son). No photos from this leg of the trip because Phoenix is like the seventh circle of hell in July and we were pretty much confined to the house for 3 days. We did, however, get to experience the joys of the Wii, a couple of meals out "on the town," a short early morning visit to the driving range for Todd and Justin, and a trip to 24 hour fitness for Shawna and I. Lesson learned: Subsequent trips to AZ will be made during the winter months only.