On the Tour Bus

This evening, while we were taking a walk on our block, we met another one of our neighbors: Mrs. Collins. She was doing some cleaning aboard the "Good Time Tours" bus (owned by her husband & son-in-law), but decided to take a break from her duties to come out and introduce herself when she heard the girls' voices nearby. Then, as if she was reading their minds, she asked the girls if they wanted to climb aboard and see the inside of her bus! Boy, did they!!

I don't know if it was the gigantic steering wheel or what, but Caroline loved being the driver! Each had a turn to drive, and we took trips to different places, like "Yew Nork" and "Nashville City."

When Caroline was driving, Jordi enjoyed being the enthusiastic tour guide: "Come aboard! Take your seat!"

I sure am glad the Mrs. Collins took the time to introduce herself to us tonight. Next time we see that vehicle parked on our block, we're going to see if our new friend will let us have another visit on her wonderful bus!

Poage Landing Days

Last weekend was Ashland's annual festival: Poage Landing Days. Even though we had to head to Lexington for the game, we didn't want to miss all the local fun, so Friday night we headed downtown to check things out!

Our first stop was to listen to our friend, Danny Craig (middle), rehearse with his group, Kentucky Blue featuring Julie Reeve (right; click here to read an article about Julie published in yesterday's Ashland Daily Independent!) They sounded wonderful; I'm sorry we had to miss their big Saturday night performance!

Next, we were off to the inflatables! This is a big deal for the kids: an entire block of jump houses - all for free! Caroline's still too little for most of them, so Dad is holding her up so at least she can watch her big sis!

Adding to the festive atmosphere were all these strategically placed fall-decor hay bales. Perfect for picture taking! (It would have been more perfect if Caroline would have been willing to pose, too, but c'est la vie!)

Just as a sneak peek, there were even some holiday light displays from the Winter Wonderland of Lights lit up for all to enjoy! Another great photo opportunity for Mom! (but, again, Caroline was unwilling to pose for me... arrgh!)

And what's a festival without festival snacks? Here's a picture of the girls enjoying the treats they picked out: popcorn for Caroline & a candy apple for Jordi!

P.S. I'd like to thank my good friend, Christine, for the very cute matching t-shirts that the girls are wearing in these pictures. She & her family traveled to London this summer and she was nice enough to send the girls some souvenirs from their trip. Thanks again, Jules! You're awesome!

Pictures from last Sunday

I've been posting pictures from the many ball games we've attended this month, but what about the day after? Well, here are a couple pictures from last Sunday:

The "Lexington House" is on a cul-de-sac street in a nice, quiet neighborhood. It's a great place for the girls to get outside & enjoy themselves! As an added bonus, Jordi has become friends with the two girls in this picture: Robin (in the middle) and Haley. Both of these girls are about 10 years old. They are always glad to see Jordi arrive in their neighborhood for a visit and one or the other always quickly comes over to ring the doorbell & ask if Jordi can come out to play. It makes Jordi feel special to have friends of her own!

I took this picture while we were gassing up for our trip back to Ashland. The keyboard was a birthday gift to Jordi from Susie, and it has become the girls favorite way to pass the time together on all these trips back & forth from Lexington! They take turns playing & singing, and, as long as it's not too loud, it makes for (sort of) pleasant in-car listening. (Maybe not for the whole 2 hours, but it's better than the alternative!) Thank you again, Susie, for such a wonderful & useful gift!

Pullem Family Football Photo

Each seaon, I like to get a family picture of us all decked out in our Kentucky attire at gametime. Here's the 2007 edition:

Thank you to Eli's mom for taking such a nice picture!

Cats 40 - Cards 34

What a day! Perfect football weather, delicious food, lots of friends plus exciting last minute come-from-behind win for the Wildcats. We may have reached a new high in Kentucky football history!

Here's Caroline getting warmed up in the car on the way to the tailgate. She knows how to shake that pom-pom and holler "Go Big Blue!"


This season, Mary Jo has started the charming (& delicious!) tradition of welcoming folks to the tailgate with a "baby" Bellini cocktail. And since she's far too hospitable to leave anyone out, here's Caroline enjoying her very own virgin Bellini! Cheers!

Here's Hokie & Tim helping to fry up some of the 750 pieces of crappie provided by the Layman family. It was the second year in a row that they've made the trip to Commonwealth Stadium to provide our tailgate group with the best freshwater fish I've ever tasted! It's not just the main course, either. They made & brought all the fixings, too: tartar & cocktail sauce, hush puppies, coleslaw and baked beans. It was truly a special treat!

The game didn't start until 7:30 p.m., so I brought a few things that I thought would help the girls pass the time. However, I did not anticipate happening what you see in this picture; I just never thought that Jordi would see the back of the nearby port-a-potty as a suitable place to display her drawings!

Playing cornhole is popular way to pass the time while tailgating, and Jordi has become a big fan of this game. Of course, she don't always have to play cornhole.. sometimes it seems just nice to sit of the cornhole board and have a chat with a good friend, like Susie! (Isn't that what tailgating's all about anyway?)

Jordi's Yearly Check-up

Since Jordi turned four this month, she was due for her annual wellness check-up. So, Tuesday morning, off we went and walked to the doctor's office - luckily, it's only 2 blocks away!

She's not saluting; Jordi's showing you the band-aid on her middle finger! She got this from the finger-stick the nurse gave her in order to test her blood for iron. Once it was over, she was proud to show off her purple badge of courage! (Little did she know how much more courage she was going to need a little bit later when it was time to receive her 3 booster shots!)

Our experience definitely earned us a trip to the Jolly Pirate counter! The exam was uneventful, but it ended up taking two of us to hold Jordi during her shots. Even so, the nurse still ended up sticking Jordi's right arm FIVE TIMES in order to get that last shot delivered properly! It was bloody & just awful! (Poor Caroline just about tied a dreadlock in her hair by the time it was all over!) Anyways, all was forgotten when the girls spied the latest edition of their favorite sprinkle-covered donut: Halloween colors! Yummy!

By the way, 4-year-old Jordi now measures 40 3/4 inches and weighs 34 pounds!

Kentucky 56 - Kent State 20

Two down, two to go; Kentucky plays four home football games this month, and this past Saturday was the second one. However, this was the first game that we all attended together. Chris has quite a streak going of getting Jordi on the scoreboard screen, but this time he was determined to get both girls up there...

...and look! There they are on the big screen! Way to go, Dad! (Not a bad picture from all the way in the opposite end zone, huh??)

Jordi was glad to see her new friend, Eli, made it to the game, too. They sat next to each other, shared snacks, and generally seemed to enjoy each others company. Very sweet!

I took this picture of Caroline, playing her own version of corn-hole. First she used it as a slide, but then someone showed her that it was even more fun to actually play the game (2-year-old rules, anyway!): run the beanbags back & forth and throw them in the hole! It's never to early to learn tailgate games!

If you've been checking my blog links, then you'll recognize this little Wildcat fan as 6 month old Brady. He's growing up so fast; here is showing off his latest motor skills milestone - sitting up! Jordi was very happy to sit with Brady and love on him a little bit (well, a lot!) Brady, however, looks not too sure!

Anyway, it was a long, fun day for everyone. We're looking forward to doing it all over again next weekend!

This Week with Grandma

Hard to believe, but Grandma's visit is almost over. It's been too short! But, as always, everyone has had a very nice time. (I think the girls especially enjoy their alone time with Grandma while I'm at work!) Here are a few pictures of what we've been up to this week:

As most of you know, Mum is a very good seamstress. Here she is, initiating her oldest granddaughter to the art of sewing! She was moving the buttons on Jordi's Kentucky dress, and Jordi was adamant that she was capable of sewing! Grandma was equally adamant that she wasn't, so they met in the middle: Jordi got to use the scissors to cut Grandma's thread!

This picture is the end result after using one of Jordi's birthday presents: Crayola Sidewalk Chalk Paint. It's messy & colorful, and they both loved getting it all over the front walk! It goes on like paint, but dries (and washes!) like chalk. If you're wondering what Caroline is doing, she's waving goodbye to Nana & Grandad with one of the big plastic paintbrushes that came with it!

Here's a picture of the girls using another fun & messy present: stamps from Aunt Donna! Stamping is something they both already enjoy doing, so they were eager to get into the box of new stuff. Caroline even discovered that the stamp pads were big enough to use to make stamps of her fingers & hands! (Yikes!)

There were lots of leftover goodies from Jordi's party, and we looked forward to enjoying a little bit every day this week. Here's a picture I took one evening of the girls as they got ready to dig into a bedtime snack: leftover chocolate cupcakes with pink icing! Yummy!

In the spirit of a tradition started in my childhood, Grandma took Jordi to the toy store and let her pick out whatever item she wanted for her birthday. Her choice: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse! It was her first pick, and she stuck with it, even after browsing through the entire store! This tradition was a big deal to me as a child, and, as I got older, I put more & more thought into this annual event. I hope it becomes a special part of Jordi's birthday memories, just like it is for me!

Well, after we bring Grandma to the airport tomorrow, we're all heading to Lexington for the UK football game. Look for more Big Blue pictures coming soon!

Go Big Blue!

As I mentioned yesterday, Chris & Jordi headed to Lexingon on Saturday to attend the UK football home opener. Jordi was very excited to be able to wear her new handmade-by-Grandma Kentucky dress:


Isn't she cute? We're lucky that Grandma enjoys sewing pretty dresses for her granddaughters!

Jordi even made a friend at the game: 5-year-old Eli, whose Aunt is a season ticket holder in the row in front of us! (It's funny to think about how, 15 years from now, these 2 kids may be sitting in the student section at Commonwealth Stadium, similiarly dressed and still cheering for the Wildcats!)

Although Caroline stayed behind in Ashland with Grandma & Mommy, and we tried to make the day a little special, just for her. One way we did that was to let her wear her treasured ballerina costume all day, even while shopping at the mall! She was thrilled!

Happy Birthday, Jordi!

Yesterday, September 2nd, our little Jordi turned four years old! She's been eagerly anticipating this day for months, and I think she was very pleased with how everything unfolded. We all had wonderful day, and here are a few pictures from it:

Jordi accompanied Chris to Lexington on Saturday for the UK football home opener (pictures later!), so that's where things got started. Nana & Grandad treated her to her choice of breakfast; here's a picture of her enjoying her birthday waffle at the Waffle House!

Once they were back in Ashland, it was time to get ready for the party. The family came over in the afternoon for snacks and, of course, cake! This year was the first time that Jordi blew out all the candle completely on her own. It took a few puffs, but she did it!

Lest you think Caroline was left out - don't worry, she wasn't! She even got a few gifts, too; here she is posing in her new leotard from Nana. It's a dance of happiness!

Does this girl look like she's had a great day, or what? We all love Jordi very much, and it was truly our pleasure to provide her with a day full of family, fun & affection!

p.s. Perhaps you're wondering about Jordi's "4" tank top? Well, she had requested something special to wear at her birthday party that included ribbons, sparkles, etc. and the number 4. Despite the short notice, I think it came out just right: sparkly tank top from Steve & Barry's (her choice) and the number 4 from Hobby Lobby (also her choice), and assembly from Grandma. Voila! Fancy birthday shirt!