Fun with Aunt Donna

Aunt Donna has been visiting us for a couple weeks now, and we all have been thoroughly enjoying her company. She's an excellent cook and has prepared many delicious meals and desserts for us since she's been here. The girls have especially liked having someone new to play with; here are a few pictures I took during the first week of her visit:

Aunt Donna is known for her love of reading, and she has spent a lot of time reading out loud to Jordi & Caroline. She's even taken them to the library a couple times!

If you look closely, you can see that Aunt Donna is helping Caroline to catch some of the bubbles floating in the air. These bubbles were a bit unusual in that they were "unbreakable." After they had been in the air for a few seconds, they would "harden," and then not burst upon impact with anything! It was weird, really. However, the girls thought it was great, and Aunt Donna obliged them by blowing lots of the strange bubbles for as long as they wanted. (Aunts are awesome!)

Aunt Donna even let them set up their whole tea set on the porch for an afternoon tea party one day while I was at work. Pretty fun, huh? Well, it is when you're 2 and 4!

Anyway, we're glad she's here, and we hope she stays awhile longer. Today's planned activity is pumpkin carving - stay tuned for spooky jack-o-lantern pictures!

More Pictures from Dad's Visit

I did take some good pictures at this weekend's football game, but since I'm still getting over both the loss and the disappointing weather, I'm going to post some pictures from last weekend - a happier (& warmer!) time!

I was so glad that both Dad & his wife, Donna, made the trip to Lexington to attend the UK-Florida game! Here's a nice picture of the three of us to commemorate this rare occasion.

The next day, Sunday, the whole family was finally together. That meant it was time for birthday cake! Since we were in Lexington, of course, it was from Magee's Bakery: yellow cake with buttercream icing. Yum!!

This picture is also from Sunday evening. Jordi is showing her personal photo album (comprised of pictures of her from birth to about age 2) to Papa Jerry and Grandma Dee-Dee. She enjoys telling her stories, and these two were an excellent audience!

Sadly, the next day, it was time to say good-bye. But, we decided that we had such a nice time, we should do it again very soon (and that means you, too, Aunt Renee!). Thanks again for everything, Donna & Dad!

Boyd Orchards

On my birthday last week, I got to something very special: visit Boyd Orchards in Versailles, Ky! Going to an apple orchard is a sentimental trip for me, and I had been wanting to go for weeks. Although the wind was rather blustery, the weather was still warm enough to not need a jacket (well, for some of us anyway - right, Dad?). Here are just a few of the many pictures I took:

Here are the girls amongst the pumpkins out front. Something about the orange pumpkins & red barn is just so photogenic!

Check out this giant slide! They have 2 "hay slides," as they're called, and this is a picture of the girls on the 40-foot one. (Believe it or not, they have a bigger one - 80 feet! - but neither Caroline nor Jordi met the height requirement!) You can tell by Jordi's stance as she slides how much fun this was for them; I lost track of how many times they each went down!

I could not resist this picture! Caroline was so thrilled to get a ride in the wagon, and I think Jordi was equally as thrilled to be able to pull her!

Yet another irresistible photo opportunity!

I could go on & on, but the blog only lets you post so much date at one time. It was so much fun, and I can't wait to go back again sometime. Not just for the enjoyment of letting the kids run around, but also for the delicious food! I didn't take any pictures of it, but we enjoyed some delectable cider, warm apple cider donuts and several varieties of crunchy, fresh apples. All in all, it was a wonderful... and I'm glad we got to go on my birthday!

Portrait Innovations

While we were visiting with Dad in Lexington last week, we made an appointment at Portrait Innovations for a family picture. It was a wonderful experience, and I highly recommend it to all of you! Our photographer was very friendly & energetic, and he got lots of great poses for us to choose from. Not only that, but we got to take our pictures and a photo CD home with us on the spot! Here are just a few:

Papa Jerry, Grandma Dee-Dee & the girls.

Two cutie-pies! (Caroline isn't known for picture posing, so we were especially pleased with how our photographer managed to build such a good rapport with her during our session!)

Here's the whole gang! (Aunt Renee, where are you??!)

Anyway, I still haven't downloaded any pictures off my camera yet from last week, so I hope this will tide you all over for the time-being. I better hop to it, however, since there's yet another UK home football game this weekend! Yikes! Stay tuned...

C-A-T-S Cheer

Boy, do I have some catching up to do! Not only is Aunt Donna visiting, but we also spent 5 days in Lexington visiting with Papa Jerry & Grandma Dee Dee! We did lots of fun stuff together, like visit an apple orchard, take our picture as a family, tailgate & attend the UK-Florida football game, and spend the day at Keeneland! I've got loads of still pictures to go through, so in the meantime I'm posting this brief video (no editing required!):



I took this as the girls and I headed back to the tailgate during the fourth quarter. When I saw this big Gator trailor, I couldn't pass up the photo opportunity! It was during the photo-taking that the girls started cheering, so I thought I'd try to capture it on video. Pretty good, I think!

Busy Times in Ashland

We've had lots keeping us busy lately. Not only have we had to do some heavy duty celebrating about the Wildcats win over #1-ranked LSU this past weekend, but Caroline has started potty training!

This is a big deal, folks She's been making measurable progress every day, and we're all very proud of her! Teaching a little one to pee in the potty takes a lot of attention & supervision, which is why I have not had a spare moment, not even to blog, since we started doing this on Friday. (I only have time to blog today because I'm at work while Aunt Donna stays home with the girls!) I hope to post more good news from the potty-training front soon; in the meantime, enjoy this cute picture I took of Caroline one morning before breakfast! (Note the hat & slippers - her idea!)

Singing Sisters

Here is a brief clip of the girls singing their current favorite tune. As we were all getting ready this morning, they were playing one of their Backyardigans' CD's. Luckily, my camera was nearby when they broke into song:

I just caught the end of it, but you get the idea! They've been singing this song as a duet almost every day now, especially in the car. I hope you enjoyed seeing & hearing it as much as we do!

Park Time in Lexington

These pictures are from last weekend. Chris had a brief meeting last Friday morning, so we girls amused ourselves in one of Lexington's lovely city parks that happened to be nearby. The weather was perfect, and there were lots of things for the girls to explore. All in all, it was a fun way to pass the time!

You can't tell from the picture, but this is a "wobbly" bridge. Caroline enjoys feeling the wobbles, hence the big smile!

To Jordi, this part of the play-fort resembled a castle. Perfect for pretending to be a princess!

I've never seen a swing like this before, but it must've been comfortable because Caroline rode in this swing for a long time. I have to admit, it does look like it would be relaxing!

Dinner on the Ohio River

For the second year in a row, Chris & I have had the pleasure of dining aboard the Belle of Cincinnati as part of the Ashland Alliance's Annual Meeting.

Our friend, Danny Craig, took this picture of us just as our 3-hour trip was getting underway. (I like this perspective because you can see the brightly colored Ashland bridges in the background!) The weather was just as warm & lovely as it looks, and we even got to watch a rosy sunset. All in all, it was a very pleasant evening, full of beautiful scenery, enjoyable conversation, and good food. I'm so glad we had the chance to attend such a nice event!

UK 45 - Florida Atlantic 17

These are high times for Kentucky football fans; the Cats are 5-0 for the first time since 1984! All this excitement (and wonderful fall weather) is making for some extra fun times at Commonwealth Stadium. Here are some pictures from this past weekend:

We noticed some kiddie activities going on nearby our tailgate spot, so we had to check it out! It was a gathering set up on behalf of Ag School alums, but they didn't mind letting a couple little Cat fans in to share in the fun. Both girls enjoyed some freshly-spun cotton candy...

.. and then some face painting! Isn't Caroline being patient while this nice lady puts the little paw print on her cheek? (Jordi went first, and I think she liked the way her's looked, especially the glitter they added at the end!)

Of course, being five-and-oh puts everyone in the mood for some serious post-game celebrating; here's a picture of Uncle Al and Jordi cutting a rug at the Patchen Pub.

Being in a pub was a new experience for Jordi & Caroline, and they thought it was great. The music from the jukebox and the pool table both held a lot of appeal for them. Jordi enjoyed Daddy showing her the ropes on how to play, but I think she preferred the game that she & Caroline came up with on their own...

Once you get rid of all the colored balls, then you can drop the white ball into any hole, and it always comes right back! I don't know why, but this activity entertained them both for almost the entire time we were there. Go figure!

Next time, look for some non-game pictures from our weekend in Lexington!