Other Fun in Lexington

Besides hanging out in the Halls' backyard, we also did some other fun stuff during our time in Lexington last weekend. Here are pictures of some of it:

Time for a visit to our favorite kids' haircut place! And now, for the first time in seven months, Jordi finally got to have a turn in the chair (or airplane, in this case!) at Cookie Cutters. She behaved very well while getting her hair done, even the stylist commented on it!

We also took advantage of the warm weather and beautiful local college campus to enjoy an evening walk around UK. I don't know where exactly this is located on campus, but it's an outdoor amphitheatre/stage area, which immediately caught the girls' attention. A stage requires a show, right? Of course!!

This is another picture from our walk around UK. These blue cats paws were on most of the paths we walked on, and this thrilled the girls because, to them, they looked like clues from the TV show "Blue's Clues." For kids, fun can be found everywhere!

How adorable is this? For the first time, the girls slept in the same bed together while were in Lexington. They woke up like this each morning... too sweet! (Donna & Renee, does this bring back memories??!)

Memorial Day Weekend

We just got back from a long weekend/mini-vacation in Lexington. We love to visit with our friends, the Halls & the Osborns, which is just what we did on Saturday. The Halls backyard has become even more kid-friendly since the last time we visited with the recent addition of a wading pool. So, their house was the natural spot for our backyard barbecue on Saturday. Look how much fun we had:

Of course, Jordi & Caroline wanted to go swimming as soon as we arrived. This 8-foot wide pool seems custom made for our crowd of kids, all of whom are 7 years old and under. Here's Nathan (who'll be 5 years old next month), showing us his belly flop!

But there's lots more that swimming in the Hall's backyard. Don't forget about the swing set, which is an excellent way to warm up after splashing around in the chilly pool!

Since the Hall house is full of boys, Jordi also got to try something new: hitting a ball off of a tee! She picked it up on her own, and didn't have any trouble making contact with the ball, despite receiving no instruction whatsoever from anyone! She was very proud of herself, and made sure that her Daddy saw how well she was doing.

And what's a b-b-q without food? Here's everyone, dining alfresco on delicious hamburgers, hot dogs, & watermelon (L to R, from bottom): Chloe (4), Miranda (7), Caroline (1), Nathan (4), Jordi (3), Tyler (2, hidden behind Austin), and Austin (7).

Later, after dinner & more swimming, it was time for popsicles. Believe me, by this time, these kids were well on their way to being worn out. All in all, a great day!

Recital Pictures

As you probably already know, Jordi participated in her first ballet production last Friday. They performed the ballet of "Cinderella," and all the students, young & old, did a terrific job. It was a wonderful experience!

My only regret is that I didn't take even one picture! Luckily, I've got relatives & friends to help me out with that; these pictures are from Muffin & Judy.. Thanks, ladies!

Here's Jordi & Emily in costume on recital night, waiting their turn to be called backstage. Jordi's class played the role of "blush," and Emily is dressed in her mouse costume (she had other roles, too, but this one happened to come up first).

Muffin took this picture of Jordi after the show. It's a June Conn tradition to give flowers to the dancers at the end of their performance, and Jordi was very pleased to receive hers!

Here's a great post-show picture of all the cousins: Emily, Jordi, Courtney, & Caroline. They're posing by the Ballerina Cat, part of "Paws Along the River," a public arts project on display here in Ashland through the summer.

Lastly, here's a picture of Jordi hugging the Ballerina Cat. We re-took her ballet pictures on Monday, and took the opportunity of her being dressed up one last time to take some more pictures of her looking so cute!

I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I do, because I'll be contacting other friends & family who had cameras there, and hopefully I'll have more pictures to post soon!

Time Outdoors This Weekend

We had some beautiful weather this weekend, just right for being outdoors!

First things first... yard work! Here's Jordi, helping Daddy dig some dirt in the side yard by the garage. Chris had just pulled out an old bush and needed some help leveling out the rest of the small garden there.

Next, we had to do some spring cleaning on the girls' play house. It was full of dirt, spiderwebs, & who knows what from being outside all winter...yuk! But Jordi was a big help scrubbing it clean!!

Caroline loves to play outside, no matter what. Here she is enjoying herself with her toys at their "new" desk, courtesy of cousins Emily & Richard!

Check out this blog...

This week has been a very busy week for us, mostly due Jordi's recital on Friday. Since I've not had a chance to post any pictures myself, just click here (and scroll down a bit) to see a picture of Jordi that our friend (& full-time professional photographer!) Julie Thacker put on her blog. Thanks, Julie!

Happy Mother's Day!

Check out what an awesome Mother's Day present I got today from Chris!

Pretty cool, huh? It's a vintage 1982 10-speed, painstakingly brought back to life by Chris. I am so excited! He even added a few updates: a new, modern, comfy (& wide!) seat, and one other must-have feature:

A bell! with a message! Look out, streets of Ashland, here I come!

A New Favorite Dining Spot

We've discovered a new favorite spot for BBQ: Rick's! Chris has had lunch there several times, and we finally went there as a family this week for dinner. Rick smokes everything (even the baked beans) out back and, boy, is it delicious! I took this picture of Caroline after dinner:

Can you tell by this picture how wonderful those beans were? Caroline normally likes baked beans, but I think this picture says it all. If you live in or around Ashland, you need to get to Rick's!!

Summer's Almost Here

Yesterday was a warm day here in Ashland, at least in the upper 80's and lots of sunshine. So, once Caroline got up from here nap, we went outside on the front porch to enjoy it!

Here's a game that Grandma started that Caroline calls "playing wa-doe" (her pronounciation). Since the end result is getting soaked from the waist down, it's a perfect activity little girls on a warm afternoon!

It was also a perfect afternoon for a cold treat. While she was here, Grandma bought us a year's supply of these popsicles (a box of 100!), so Thank You, Grandma, for our afternoon refreshment!

"Playing Bunk Bed"

I took this picture a few days ago. As Jordi told me, they were "playing bunk bed." You'll notice Caroline is neatly tucked (blanket, pillow, teddy bear, water bottle & all!) into the toy chest. Then, only after she got Caroline into "the bottom," Jordi got herself comfy on "the top." The kid-sized red chair on the side is playing the role of "the step."

I don't know what the appeal is, but these girls are fascinated with bunk beds!

Goodbye, Grandma!

Well, Grandma was here for a good long while, and we all miss her now that she's gone. In fact, this morning at 6:50 a.m., when Caroline came in our room & woke me up, she said she wanted to "go downstairs & see Gwamma." It was so great that they had 3 weeks to enjoy Grandma Henri's company and have her become part of their daily lives!

This was one of the sweet moments I captured with my camera. Almost every night, Grandma would sit in this kid's-sized recliner in their room and read to one or both girls. (I took this picture on Grandma's last night with us.)

On the day of departure, just as we were getting ready to head out to the airport, Grandma gave the girls her traditional parting gifts: a book for Caroline & a t-shirt for Jordi. BTW, notice the butterfly wings on both girls? Also gifts from Grandma... she's a real softie when it comes to impulse buys at the Dollar General!

A Couple New Tricks...

I'm a little down this evening because Henri left today, so I don't have a lot to say. I'll just post a couple pictures I took earlier this week:

Here's Caroline, taking a bow. She picks up almost everything that Jordi shows her from ballet class, and performs it all with lots of enthusiasm. Notice the flair with the arms!

This may not seem like a big deal, but it takes a lot of practicing before you can get enough wind going to get those dandelion seeds off!