A Couple of Pickleball Tourneys to End the Year
Posted on January 6, 2026 by Ching under Community, Pickleball.
I closed out the year by playing in a couple of fun pickleball tournaments at Chicken N Pickle and also helping my friends Zach Nguyen and Susie Ternes with their first Miracles and Mentors Pickleball Tournament benefiting Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and Youth Horizons.
Matt Rochat and I played in the Friendsgiving Tournament as Smash Ching Pumpkins.
Bo Tolbert and I played in the Ugly Sweater Pickleball Tournament as Tolbert and Erne.
Teamed up with Zach Nguyen and Susie Ternes to host the first ever Miracles and Mentors Pickleball Tournament, which Susie ended up winning (LOL) along with her partner Jordan Sparks.
Jamie Lynch and Krysta Crawford took second. Sarah Berry and Fernando Martinez took third.
-
The winners of the recreational group were as follows:
- 1st – Janelle Lindeman and Devin Hansen
- 2nd – Scott Knox and Karen Fox
- 3rd – Evelina Le and Justin Kongmanychanh
It was a great turnout for a first fundraising tournament and I think everyone had a great time. We may have to do this again next year.
Comment on This
Illuminations VIP Preview Night
Posted on January 2, 2026 by Ching under Things to Do.
We went to check out Illuminations at Botanica before it opened to the public. It was a rainy night but we went anyway. We wanted to return when the weather is better but got super busy and now the season is over. 🙁
I guess we’ll just have to try again next holiday season.
Comment on This
Pentatonix with the Dills
Posted on December 31, 2025 by Ching under Things to Do.
We don’t go to very many concerts so going to Pentatonix with the Dills (and Shorts) last month was probably one of the highlights of November, if not the whole year. What an amazing treat to be able to watch them perform live.
Comment on This
Kusina Ni Cheska
Posted on December 31, 2025 by Ching under Reviews.
Probably one of the highlights of 2025 is that we finally have a Filipino restaurant in Wichita (again). We used to have one a long time ago when Tita Rose had her restaurant on the West side of town but it closed many years ago and we’ve been without one since except for the Kamayan truck when it operated (it’s no longer in business also) and then more recently with the Kusina Ni Cheska food truck which now has a brick and mortar location down the street from my office.
I’ve eaten at KNC every week (sometimes multiple times in the same week) since it opened. I’ve pretty much tried everything on the menu so I always try to get the daily special instead. I don’t always get pictures of my lunch, specially when it’s a repeat. Since there isn’t anywhere else for me to get Filipino food, I try to eat there all the time.
Brian isn’t a fan, though. He prefers mom’s and Manny’s cooking. We actually had this conversation on Christmas Eve while we were enjoying some amazing Filipino food. They were all in agreement that it was okay but not great. I was definitely in the minority. I mean, free food is always better for sure. But also, free food is usually made with love so there is that. Mom says I only like it because I don’t know how to make anything. She’s probably right. I’ll still eat there all the time, though. I mean how else am I going to get Filipino food without driving to Derby?
Comment on This
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.
Comment on This
