Happy 90th!

I'd like to say that the hiatus in posting has been due to me being incredibly busy, but that isn't really the case. In reality, I haven't been doing really anything for the past month and been enjoying the physical and mental break immensely. Going back to the beginning of the month, my family drove down to Kansas City on Thursday, August 9th. We got in super late - 3 AM - and I immediately fell asleep. The plan was to celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday the entire weekend, but that was not to be. Unfortunately, she fell and broke her arm, so we had to change our plans. The next day, we spent the afternoon visiting her at the hospital. In the interest of her privacy, I won't say much more, but one funny story to come out of this was that when my brother visited her, my grandmother kept insisting that every nurse that passed by was his girlfriend. Also, she said everyone looked good - even the priest that came and visited her. So it wasn't completely a sad visit.
On Saturday, I spent some time with my mom and sister on the Plaza shopping, which was a nice interlude. I got this awesome dress from Anthropologie and a mustache t-shirt from Gap (one of the nicest and largest I've been to). Side note -  I don't know what it is about mustaches, but they are awesome. I am seriously addicted. So, even though the shirt was a men's size medium and slightly big on me, I had to have it. We then met up with my dad, and we all drove out to Independence, Missouri, which is near where my grandparents live and where Hi-boy's - the best and only fast food restaurant I'll eat at - is located. I got a Jr. hamburger and Reces peanut butter cup cyclone (like a blizzard), and my family shared fries, tater-tots, and the always delicious onion rings. Though not a very healthy meal, it was definitely one of my favorite while in the area. The entire family was together, so we decided to go through with the planned fancy birthday dinner at the Capital Grill on the Plaza. Even though we weren't paying, I thought some of the prices were a bit exorbitant. So, I munched on the shared appetizers - all delicious - and got what I thought would be a salad (and was the cheapest thing on the menu). It was actually two big tomato slices with hunks of mozzarella cheese and a few scattered basil leaves and other tomatoes. Yet, since I had filled up on the starters, it was actually perfect. I did try my dad's steak, and, as expected, it was very good - tender and flavorful. For dessert, I munched on my mom's gigantic slice of cake, which was also good, but I was so full by this time that I couldn't eat much. My thoughts on the restaurant was that though very good, it was a bit too expensive for my tastes and the menu a bit limited.
At the end, we watched a slide show/video that Uncle "Frank" and my cousin put together of pictures of my grandma and family. It was nice to see all those vintage pictures of my mom's family and myself (occasionally), and I found it well thought out and executed. Too bad the birthday girl couldn't be there to see it. We had to drive back home that Sunday after church because my dad was leaving for Germany the next day for work. All in all, it was nice to see everyone, especially those who I haven't seen in years.