Archive for "Events"
Champion Social at the Hutchinson YMCA
Posted on July 14, 2026 by Ching under Community, Events.
Just a few pictures from the Greater Wichita YMCA Champion Social last month that was held at the brand new Hutchinson YMCA. We got to tour the facility that Friday before it officially opened to the public the following Monday.
No Comments
Closing Out May with Some Fun Events
Posted on June 11, 2026 by Ching under Events, Health.
May was a super miserable month for me. I was experiencing some really terrible abdominal cramps all month, starting with Parker’s wedding weekend. I didn’t let it cramp my style, though. Pun intended.
I played in the final Friday Night Fiesta of the month with Zach Young. Well, kinda sorta. I played in a couple of games until my back could no longer handle it. Thankfully, Heide Bartel was there fill for the rest of the games.
I ran the weekly InPickle Nation mini tournament at Tap on Saturday afternoon. Thankfully, we had enough players signed up so I did not have to play in it.
Afterwards, I Brian and Chris at Nails and Beyond for some much needed self-care.
Then Brian and I went to Fong and Josh’s annual crawfish boil shindig. It was Brian’s first time attending.
I was supposed to go to O’Brien’s for Monica McGehee’s (on the right in the pic below) birthday celebration but I wasn’t feeling well (as I hadn’t been all month) and that was pretty much all the activity I could muster.
I spent all day Sunday vegging out. I was super “crampy” and maybe spent all of two hours upright. I think this was the weekend that we were supposed to have brunch at HomeGrown but I woke up just not feeling great and went back to bed. Brian was really looking forward to HomeGrown (it’s his favorite breakfast spot) and I felt bad for disappointing him.
Anyway, Brian got up me for breakfast later that morning, and I spent the rest of the day in our recliner with my heating pad. I don’t think I even showered at all that day. I wondered (besides calling it quits in the middle of FNF on Friday) if people could tell how very miserable I felt inside. I didn’t feel 100 percent all and was barely keeping it together.
Monday was Memorial Day and we met some friends (Susie and Grant Ternes and their three kids, and Keith Lietzke) at Hikari for dinner. It’s a sushi and ramen place in Haysville that our friend Keith constantly raves about. I’ll write a separate post on it later because I took a bunch of food pics.
I’ll also fill you all in about my ER trip last week which helped me figure out what has been making me miserable all month. I was down a significant amount of blood and was practically “walking dead” (I had 6.5 hemoglobin according to my ER labs). ER doc was amazed I even went to work that morning. He said if I were a man, I would have been bed-ridden. Nope. I was still walking around, doing stuff, and even “trying” to play pickleball. How I didn’t pass out at any of these places was beyond me. More on that next time though. Until then, I hope you all have a fantastic weekend.
No Comments
Hummel-Ward Wedding
Posted on May 20, 2026 by Ching under Events.
We got to witness the union of two beautiful souls earlier this month. Our friend Parker Ward married is perfect match, Madison Hummel.
The ceremony was at the Church of the Nativity in Leawood, Kansas.
Their reception was the Abbott in Kansas City. It was probably the most creative celebration we’ve ever attended. Throughout their relationship, Parker would leave Madison post-it notes so, when he proposed, he also did it in a similar fashion – via a giant post-it note.
They continued this theme at the reception by putting everyone’s table assignments on post-it notes. Our placeholders at dinner were also post-it notes.
It was absolutely brilliant!
Initially, I was worried that we wouldn’t know anyone there. Thankfully, they put us at a table with other pickleball players.
The Abbott, located in the Crossroads arts district of Kansas City, was the perfect reception venue. We hung out on the rooftop patio before dinner for some pre-dinner drinks and rays of sunshine.
Brian enjoyed some old fashioneds, Parker’s favorite drink.
Dinner was fantastic. The tables were beautifully decorated and consistent with the couple’s fun vibe. They also chose a great band. I think everyone had a blast.
Here are some pictures of the food. They went with a plated salad and multiple food stations. I don’t think anyone went hungry.
Honestly, I was surprised we made Parker’s invite list as we hadn’t seen him in a while. He is always so busy with his various business endeavors. I am grateful for the invite though, because I just love weddings. It reminds me of our own wedding and brings back all the good feels. Every time we are witness to another couple’s union, it’s like Brian and I are renewing our vows to each other at the same time. It gives me the warm fuzzies.
Anyway, congratulations to Parker and Madison. We with you both the best and may you both live happily ever after!
No Comments
Christmas 2025 Festivities
Posted on January 12, 2026 by Ching under Events.
My friend Laurie Adams came to visit.
Checked out several holiday pop-ups.
Attended several fun Christmas parties.
Cindy’s annual Christmas gathering
Ladies’ annual pickleball gift exchange
Attend Chad and Laura’s annual beer and wine gift exchange
We also attended Brian’s work Christmas dinner at Kobe, and met a bunch of pickleball friends at Chicken N Pickle’s Holiday Hideaway. December was a really fun month. Looking forward to what this month and the rest of 2026 has in store. Happy New Year!
No Comments
Birthday Festivities
Posted on December 30, 2025 by Ching under Events, Pickleball.
I thought by leaving town the weekend before my birthday I would get out of birthday festivities. I just don’t like when people make a fuss. It makes me feel bad. However, Dawn texted with me while we were in St. Louis and she insisted on hosting a birthday get together at TapNPaddles. I was a reluctant participant but it was very thoughtful of her and I appreciated it.
Here are some fun pics from that day.
Pic with Cindy and Joe Witte. My US Open travel pals.
Picture with my good friend Ryan Kellenbarger. This isn’t his first appearance on the blog. I think he made his debut as early as 2021. We’ve done quite a few things together over the years.
Picture with James Pham who I met for the first time a couple of months ago in open play. He just happened to be at Tap at the same time as my birthday pickle so he got to celebrate with us.
With Cindy Witte and Fong Witte — no relation. Actually, Cindy pronounces her last name as “Witty” and Fong pronounces her last name as “Wit” so same spelling but totally different.
With Keith Lietzke and Chris Wilson.
With Jeanette Santo, Janelle Lindeman, and Tiffany and Donnie Lesperance.
With Chandi Bongers.
With Jeanette, Monica McGehee, and Chandi.
Two of our favorite girls — Huyen Nguyen and Hannah Wesolowski. They’re so fun!
With Uyen Dang, Hannah, Senda Vu, Fong, and Tiffany.
Jeanette, Dawn Hazlewood (she’s the one who orchestrated the whole thing), and Karen Fox.
Brian with Dawn.
Me with Sandi Dobbs.
Jeanette, Sandi, and Chandi.
With Dawn and Trung Ho-Nguyen.
As much as I don’t like to make a thing of my birthday, it was nice being able to see and play with everyone.
Dawn is the best birthday pickle organizer!
She even got me a fun cake!
But I also brought cake for everyone to try. I’m weirdo who brings cake to her own birthday celebration. Anyway, the funny story about this cake is that it has been showing up on my social media feed for over a year and I’ve been dying to try it but there’s no way I could eat the entire cake by myself — not even with Brian’s help. So, when Dawn decided she was hosting a birthday pickleball party for me, I rush ordered the cake so that it would arrive in time. This was the perfect excuse for me to try and it wouldn’t go to waste because several people would be helping me eat it.
Before the birthday pickleball party on Sunday afternoon, Susie and Grant Ternes had invited us to dinner at Bella Vita. This was our first time back since they moved to their new location. It was lovely dinner but I started to get a headache.
After dinner with the amazing Terneses, Brian and I went to Barleycorn’s to watch Grandma the Band perform. I had promised our friend Kyle Starkel that we would go. Although, we contemplated not going because my headache was getting worse. I didn’t want to go back on my word though because I had bailed on coming to his band perform a few times before.
It was fun seeing Kyle in his element.
The next day, my headache was still in full force but I couldn’t bail on the pickleball party because they were having it for me. I just had to suck it up. I’m glad I did though, because it was wonderful celebrating with everyone.
That’s my post-birthday weekend in a nutshell. I feel like I got to do everything I wanted to do during my birthday and then some.
No Comments
