Because of popular demand...

Okay so maybe just my sister is keeping up with me but I figure I would write a little post about some of the things I have learned here in Overland Park, Kansas.  This one is for you Mindy! :)

1. There is this ANNOYING little insect called a Cicada, you though crickets were bad? These things are SO noisy, but you never see them.  One second it's all you can hear and the next thing you know, silence (but don't hold your breath too long... it won't last for long).  I posted a video so you can kind of get the sound of them, all you will need is the first few seconds. We also have to have pest control come every month and spray, and as long as you haven't seen any cockroaches lately you don't have to deep clean all your cupboards when they come, bonus! Yeah I'll just leave it at that, if I tell you what else we have here you might never come visit!

2.There are churches EVERYWHERE, don't get too excited it's nothing like Utah with LDS churches on every corner.  I'm talking about churches of religions I didn't even know existed, and they are everywhere you look.  Growing up it was faster for me to walk to church then to drive, here it's about a 15 minute drive just to get to our church building. While we are on the subject of our building... if you ever come to visit on a Sunday then don't mock the building.  Chances are the person you are saying it too was one of the members who helped build it or painted a wall in it or something.  Our first week the whole meeting was about the history of the building, one of the speakers even pointed out all the places he had helped paint in the Chapel.  They are VERY proud of their building.  I would join in in if it was actually up to date and had working AC and more than 2 stalls for the women to use, (especially for us pregnant ladies who are going far more often than we used to... just sayin!) Okay sorry off topic.  My favorite things about all the churches are they almost all have playgrounds attached to it, seriously genius "For nursery today we will be out in the playground! Come one come all!" I can just see it now... okay maybe not but still it's pretty cool.  

Side Note, I forgot to mention my favorite church building so far... There is this building that at night the steeple lights up but instead of just normal lights it changes colors every few seconds (red, green, blue...etc), sooo cool! 

3. Your neighbors are most likely not mormon.  I know what you're thinking... du. right? But growing up in Utah, going to school in Rexburg, everyone is mostly mormon.  When I would see someone walking down the street in clothing that made it obvious they weren't mormon I felt like they stood out more to me, (not in a judging way). But here I find myself doing the exact opposite.  Whenever I see someone in "garment" approved clothing I think to myself, "They might be mormon!" Even though chances are they aren't it still makes me happy to think about.  In Rexburg all our neighbors would go to our ward and you would NEVER heard them yelling or slamming doors at each other.  It breaks my heart sometimes to hear our upstairs neighbors, sometimes we can't even hear our own TV they are so loud.  Not to mention their kid runs laps all day around the house, no joke.  And jumps off the bed or does something else to shake all the walls.  I am sure they are really nice people I am just kind of afraid to go meet them. ;) 

4. I think there is some type of code that if you are going to build a building here it has to be built with bricks.  Almost every grocery store, restaurant, or other store has brick (sonic, mcdonalds, car washes, etc...).  A lot of the building don't look "normal" to me, but they sure look less ghetto then most of the building in Layton. 

5. I was so afraid to come to Kansas and live in the prairie lands.  While driving through Kansas (yes we drove all the way across the state from one end to the other... We live like 9 miles from Missouri.) all I saw was miles and miles of corn fields and grass, I may have even cried a few times because all I wanted to see was some mountains but there wasn't any.  I didn't know what I was getting myself into but when we started to get closer to Overland Park (aka OP) the scenery started to change.  There was rolling hills (which they like to call mountains... haha), everything was green, and there was trees everywhere! It is seriously so pretty here.  As much as I miss the mountains I have also grown to love going over the overpass to come home and seeing trees for miles, it's like we are living in the jungle.  I seriously can't wait for all the leaves to start changing colors! 

6. OP has everything we would ever need and more.  They have every restaurant (minus Granny Annies) I love, or have ever been to and more!  Every store I have ever shopped at, and you guessed it more!  There are so many shopping centers and outlet malls, lots of places for some good old fashion BBQ, and store that I have no idea what they even are.  Seriously name it we most likely have it! 

7. Southern hospitality is a real thing.  People here are so nice!  Sometimes it freaks me out because I am not used to talking to while running my errands. It is breaking me out of my comfort zone, that's for sure!   

8. Nights don't get cool.  I miss going out on my parents porch, having dinner, or just hanging out around the yard.  Even though it is getting better here and the humidity is slowly going away (thank goodness for fall!) some days it's just too hot to even leave your own house.  The other morning while Babe and I were going to our friends house we had our windows down in the car, it was amazing! I hear this summer wasn't even bad compared to what it is normally like, but at least I won't be pregnant next summer! I just hope the weather keeps getting cooler, I much rather go outside and have a light jacket on then go outside and wish I could have nothing on. ;) 

9. So have you ever heard the saying "Dress for the body you have, not the body you wish you had"? I know this is a problem everywhere but with the many different types of race and body sizes here I swear everyday I see a few people that I just wish I could go up to and give a little lesson one Dressing your body type 101.  Not only do I not want to see it but I really don't appreciate that Babe has to see it, or someday our boys to see it.  Like seriously ladies, cover up! No one wants to see the 4 B's as my teacher would call them (Back, Bum, Belly, and Boobs) especially if the only reason we are seeing them is because you thought you could fit into a shirt that is 3 times too small for you.  Even though it has become sort of a game between Babe and I... who can find the worst one? Walmart is a good place to start for that... ;) So a piece of advice, since when you look in the mirror and think you look great how about you try asking someone you trust (or at least will tell you the truth) about how you look.  If you can see your own boobs, so can everyone else.  Strange how that works right? So for the sake of my sanity, and my eyes please look in a mirror before you leave the house, but maybe just to be safe wear pants and a hoodie, yeah that would be safer!   :) 

10. I have learned that people will look at you really funny when they know that you have never had caffeine before.  You know, when your watching a show and the main characters have like 6 cups of coffee a day and are still exhausted. Yeah that like people here.  When we got a tour of Babes school there were little coffee stands for people to "wake up".  We had our first doctors appointment and she made sure to tell me it was okay if I just had 1 cup of caffeine a day, either pop or coffee.  When I told her I have never had caffeine before in my life it kind of took her by surprise, and took her a second to even say anything until she finally just said "I wish I could have done that..."  It's the same look you get when you have to fill out a medical sheet for something and you have to mark off if you drink, smoke, or have ever done drugs (and how much, and how often... ) yeah those just get easier and easier to fill out when all you have to mark is "no" to all of the above.  It's kind of fun being the odd ball out though, people may look at you funny but right after they are all on board with you and tell you how awesome that is! Now if only I can get used to the smell of coffee...

There you have it 10 things you may or may not have known about OP, but really my best advice is just come see it!  You will be so glad you did, and you always have a place to stay with us!