weekend recap

I can't believe it happened, but baby bro graduated college this weekend! He made it through two 20 hour semesters his Senior year while bartending and remaining involved with his fraternity. This was clearly cause for celebration in the Ahrens household, so my parents and I left for Manhattan early Saturday morning to watch his commencement. I'm so proud of him, and excited that he's moving back to Kansas City to start his career.

the relieved grad

The early morning road trip meant I needed to lay low Friday night, which I didn't mind doing at all since it was Big Trash Day in Prairie Village. If you don't have one of these (I just learned about them two years ago), it's a day when the city makes a deal with the trash companies to pick up any large items they normally wouldn't accept. Mattresses, furniture, carpet rolls, you name it. The night before the garbage trucks come by, scavengers drive through the streets to see if there are any pieces that can be salvaged. One man's trash is another man's treasure, right? We sat 10 feet from the street in Blue Eyes' drive way with a cooler between us and, naturally, created a BTD drinking game. One drink for Missouri license plates, two for a truck with Big Trash in it, three drinks for a towed trailer with Big Trash in it, and an additional drink if the vehicle stopped in front of a neighbor's house to search through their loot. I was hoping to see Trish Moore, the genius behind Good Ju Ju rummaging through the neighbor's stuff, but no such luck.

After the excitement of graduation day, Sunday was spent outside, sipping red wine with my wonderful mom while my dad grilled rib eye steaks. All in all, a wonderful May weekend!