A Day at the Pool

Last week, we spent a whole day at Susie & Jack's pool. It was a one of those perfect summer days that restores the soul: bright sunshine, a deep blue sky with just a few big, puffy clouds, and a wonderful, refreshing breeze. We swam all day, and were joined by Nana and Megan. We had such a great time that we can't wait to do it again!!

Here we all are, floating around & having fun. Susie thought the girls would enjoy having a giant lobster to float on, and she was right!!

In the pool or out, Caroline in goggles is just plain funny!

But the big news of the day was when Jordi achieved a significant milestone in kid-hood: standing on her own in the water, no floatie required! Once she realized she could do this, she spent the rest of the day slowly gliding around the shallow end on her tippy-toes, chin just above the water. She was so proud of herself, and so were we!

Thank you so much, Susie & Jack, for letting us have such a wonderful day in your beautiful pool!

Cool Fun

Sometimes one picture says it all:

Some days, getting wet is the only way to beat the heat! (and don't you just love that Caroline has discovered the joy of drinking water from the sprinkler?!)

Gone Fishin'

Our friends Dave & Gelske have a beautiful home out in the county, and last week we ventured there in search of blackberries. Sadly, we discovered that berry picking season has passed. But we decided to not let that ruin our good time:

We brought packed lunches with us, so we enjoyed them alfresco on their charming gazebo. You can't tell from the picture, but it sets off just to the side of the house, right by the pond, and is covered with wisteria. It was a lovely, shady, breezy spot to eat!

Here we are, posing on the dock in the small pond behind their house. It was pure summertime out there: hot & heavy air on your skin, pretty dragonflies skimming the surface of the water, bullfrogs croaking to each other along the shore, and lots of fish meandering around slowly just below the surface.

Speaking of fish, the girls were thrilled to finally have the chance to go fishing! I use the term "fishing" lightly, however, as you'll notice that there's no line or reel on Jordi's pole, and Caroline is just dipping a regular stick in the water! That didn't matter a bit to them; they just wanted to get those fish!

Even before we came across that old fishing pole, Jordi was determined to get some fishing done. Here's Grandad, giving her some pointers on how not to fall in while waiting for a nibble on your fishing stick!

Thank you, Dave & Gelske, for making such a beautiful and welcoming place to live and inviting us to enjoy it in your absence. Hopefully, next time you'll be there too!

Thank You, Aunt Renee!

Since May, Chris has been regularly riding his bike. He's been enjoying his new hobby so much, in fact, that last weekend, he even participated in the 1st annual "Tour de Kentucky" bike tour, and rode from Paris to Versailles, KY! Being on a bike for that long requires wearing a proper cycling shirt, and, thanks to Aunt Renee, now he's got a second one!

Here are the girls, modeling Daddy's new cycling jerseys (Caroline's wearing the one from Aunt Renee). Thanks again, Sis!

"Queen Caroline"

I couldn't let a week go by without a posting, so even though I haven't downloaded the pictures from our most recent trip to Lexington, here is a cute picture of Caroline from last month:

Grandma Henri made a play skirt out of this fancy, sparkly material for each girl, and Caroline happens to be wearing them both in this picture! Once she got the second one on her head like a hat, she decided that she was "Queen Caroline." Wouldn't we all like to feel so regal!

Sunday in Lexington

Of course, a weekend in Lexington isn't really complete unless it involves spending some time with one of our favorite families: the Halls!

Whenever we can, we try to join them at their church, Centenary United Methodist, on Sunday morning. It's a big, beautiful church with a large congregation, and each service starts with a wonderful session of music & song. As we were leaving this last time, the girls spied the fountains in this courtyard. It's a lovely area, full of greenery, flowers, & water (not to mention this "bridge"!).

Here's a picture Chris took of Jordi & me after lunch, relaxing & waiting for Caroline to get up from her nap so we could go visit the Halls. She studied those funny papers for a long time!

Finally, it was time for some outdoor fun in the Halls' backyard. Here's Jordi & Tyler, age 2 & a half, posing on the slide!

Woo hoo! No better way to beat the heat!

We'll be back in Lexington this weekend, so keep an eye out pictures from that trip to be posted soon!

Happy (Belated) Birthday, Uncle Al!

Since Uncle Al was camping on his actual birthday of July 1st, we had to wait until last Saturday to have our Pullem family birthday celebration. We all met at our favorite getaway, (the "Lexington house," as the girls call it) and had a wonderful time, visiting & hanging out together.

The party started with steaks on the grill & dinner alfresco. The girls seemed to enjoy having their own table!

I'm not sure I know anyone who enjoys "cob on the corn" as much as Caroline; she ate one and a half ears by herself!

Dinner was followed, of course, by another outstanding cake from Magee's Bakery of Lexington. (I took this picture while we were singing the birthday song; notice that Caroline has the same look on her face as she when we were singing to her on at her party!!)

All in all, it was a great time. We haven't visited with Aaron in awhile, so it was nice for all of us to spend time with him. The girls really love their one & only uncle!

Happy Independence Day

We had a wonderful Independence Day holiday that included a morning swim at the YMCA, hot dogs on the grill for supper, a wet walk home in a thunderstorm, and a great view of the fireworks from our front porch. It was such a relaxed day that the only picture I have is this one of Jordi:

She thoroughly enjoyed her first fireworks show, saying, "I've really never seen anything like this before!" She was tickled by all the colors & light, and not bothered in the least by the noise. Caroline will have to wait until next year; she was too tired to stay up so late!

This picture isn't from the Fourth, but it was taken at Summer Motion a couple days ago, so it fits the theme of today's posting. Although girls weren't in the mood for posing (especially Caroline!), I really like the backdrop of the blue Ashland bridge & the Ohio river. We'll remember this spot for future pictures!

Central Park Festivities, Part 2

As promised, here are pictures of the other fun stuff we did at the Central Park Festival this weekend.

Batter up! This batting cage was part of the inflatables. There's a stream of air coming out of that blue cone, and the ball just hovers there, bobbing up & down. Jordi got a few real good hits off it; in fact, she did as well as some of the little boys we watched!

Riding the "train" was a definite highlight for both Jordi & Caroline. They loved traveling through the park, and were thrilled every time the conductor blew the horn (which was often!).

As I mentioned in the last post, I'm a big fan of certain carnival food. Here's another one of my favorites: funnel cake! (Although I knew it as "fried dough" when I was a kid, this is close to being the same thing.) As you can see, it didn't take Jordi long to discover that she likes it, too! She liked it so much, in fact, that she renamed it "fun-cake!" How true!

I'll wrap up our pictures from this weekend with this one of two lovely cousins. Having Emily around always makes whatever we're doing so much more fun!

Central Park Festivities, Part 1

There was plenty to do at the park this weekend at the Summer Motion Central Park Festival, including rides and games, pony rides and a petting zoo, and great food. It was so much fun that we went a total of 3 times: twice on Saturday and once on Sunday. (In fact, it's going to take two postings to show you all we did!)

A special moment: their first pony ride! The anticipation had been building for a few days, ever since I told them about the festival & what was going on. Neither girl was afraid, and, in fact, seemed to quite enjoy it! (Jordi's only request was the she get to ride on the small one!)

Here's Caroline, feeding one of the goats at the petting zoo. This area was definitely their favorite, as we ended up visiting here a total of three times! After the first try, Jordi was content to simply sprinkle her cracked corn into the chicken/geese/rabbit pen. Caroline, however, preferred to continue letting the goats (there were about 8 in a wide variety of sizes) nibble out of her hand. As she repeatedly put it (always with a laugh), "That goat tickle me!"

For the kids, there was a wide selection of inflatables to jump on, slide down, & do other fun stuff with. Nana & Grandad were nice enough to get wristbands for the girls so they could jump all day to their hearts content. I took this picture on our return trip to the park Saturday evening, and, as you can see, cousin Emily has joined us. She really helped keep an eye on Caroline; bounce houses can get a bit rough on the little ones!

Aaahh, carnival food! Who still doesn't enjoy a syrup-y, blue sno-cone on a warm summer day? It's one of my childhood favorites, so I'm glad to tell you that both girls seemed to like it, too. (Even Jordi, who as you know, only likes "warm" ice cream!)

More pictures soon!