Week 26 June 24 - 30, 2012

We finally decided it was time to have the radon levels in our house mitigated.   We found out they were high when we moved 2 years ago, but we had lots of other things to spend our money on.   We still have lots of other things to spend our money on, but Ben is now sleeping in the basement.   I guess it was a $1,300 peace of mind.

Just a photo of my daisy that's blooming

The weather has been relentlessly hot.    So the kids and I headed to our "beach"   Peterson Pits.  Sometimes, it's just more fun to build a sand castle.  

This is what I mean by Hot.   The temperature reading in my car on Thursday. 

On Thursday, we went down to Altoona to spend the day with my sisters.    Grandma treated us all to ice cream after the afternoon of swimming.

Saturday we left Iowa and headed to Kansas City for a few days.    The Van is packed and ready to go.

A quick stop along the Iowa border to buy a new basket from the Amish in Southern Iowa.

My Uncle John lives in KC.   He joined us for dinner at a truly authentic KC BBQ.   It was delicious.

Here's great description from a website review:

Restaurant Details

Many purists consider L.C.’s the best place to eat authentic Kansas City-style barbecue: succulent slow-smoked ribs, meaty rib tips and hefty beef sandwiches on soft white bread. The L.C.’s pit crew also pulls homemade sausage, chicken wings, turkey and shrimp out of this tiny restaurant’s aromatic pit. The side dishes are almost as famous as the meats — the hearty, molasses-rich baked beans, mixed with so many pieces of tender beef, could make a satisfying meal on its own. Onion rings are fat and crunchy, and L.C.’s fabled French fries live up to their reputation — nearly as thick as a small tree branch, one crispy L.C.’s fry is equal to a small sack of the greasy fast-food variety. L.C.’s is tiny, with fewer than a dozen tables, and everything made here is served in disposable containers with paper towels and plastic flatware. But what the interior lacks in glamour, it more than makes up in the quality and consistency of its signature dishes.

LC, himself, has his office right in the small restaurant.   He has his table piled with papers that he is slowing filing in the cabinet behind him.  The KC Royals were playing on the TV with people commenting about the game.  A stray dog was wondering around the building.   The atmosphere was part of the experience.    It was worth the trip.