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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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