Cerner Impact day

The company I work for is a big advocate of giving back to the community and twice a year they hold an event called "Cerner Impact Day". This is a day where all associates are encouraged to volunteer for one of the many events that have been coordinated in the Kansas City area.

Traci and I have participated in this event for past year and a half and were a part of the Cerner Impact Day this past weekend.

We volunteered to assist an organization named KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) in Kansas City Missouri. Our task was to stencil and paint the KIPP logo and motivational quotes and organize a storage closet.

Traci and I along with 14 other volunteers met in one of the classrooms for a quick overview of what KIPP was. Traci and I volunteered to help organize the closet and 2 others joined us. I figured how hard could it be to put a few things in boxes, straighten out a few shelves and sweep a dusty floor. As the doors to the storage closet opened, I knew we had our work cut out for us. :-)

Before picture

Traci, Lisa and Joann cleaning up

We spent the next 2 1/2 hours moving everything around until it looked just right.

... and the after

The other volunteers were putting the finishing touches on their artwork as we linked back up with them. The staff from KIPP were very appreciative of our work and a few of us celebrated by heading the to the art festival in Westport.

Michael cracking the whip

A motivational quote
A quote by Robert Frost

We hope your weekend was as rewarding as our was!!



Bill and Traci

7 days in Paradise- Day 6 & 7

Day 6 & 7 (Friday and Saturday Aug. 7th and 8th)

The fun was quickly winding down and it was hard to believe that our vacation was coming to an end. If we just had another few days... :-)

We slept in and slowly meandered down to the beach for walk and hunt for shells that had washed up on the beach. There is nothing quite like the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore or the screeching of a seagull hovering overhead.

Relaxing by the beach

We had the beach to ourselves

I knew my tripod would come in handy :-)

As it started to heat up, we made our way to the shaded pool area where relaxed for the remainder of the afternoon. Later that evening, we had dinner at the resort buffet. This was the first time, since we had landed in Mexico, that I saw lettuce or a salad for that matter. It is the little things you miss when you are in a foreign country... drinkable water, salad, ice, etc..

The buffet hut

Catherine and Traci

Bill, Traci, Catherine and Michael at dinner

One more of the group

After dinner, we did some night swimming and then made our way back to the chocolate.

The next day was more of the same. Relaxing by the pool and one more trip into the Play Del Carmen for an authentic meal and more shopping (YEAH!!). Rather than take a chance and eat somewhere where the food might not be so good, we ate at the same terrific place that we did the other night. As 4pm rolled around, it was hard not to think about having to wake up in 12 hours to head back to the reality of Kansas. :-) We milled in and out of the local shops looking for more fantastic deals and then caught a taxi back to the resort.

"El Fogon" My favorite Mexican restaurant in Mexico

We spent the remainder of the night in the pool and packing for the trip home. We finally ate our kisses and closed our eyes about 1am.

The shuttle picked us up before the crack of dawn and we spent 2+ hours getting to the airport gate. The flight back was uneventful and customs was very little hassle in Texas.

Somewhere over the Gulf of Mexico

We hope your future trips provide you with as many memories that ours did!

Bill and Traci