UK 24 - Vanderbilt 31

We spent this past weekend in Lexington for the last home game of the 2008 football season. The weather was completely uncooperative: blustery cold rain and falling temperatures. By kickoff time, although the rain had stopped, the temperature was about 35 degrees with a wind chill of 25 degrees. Brrrr!

Despite the frigid weather, we managed to enjoy ourselves by bundling up, staying near the tent in proximity to the heater (note the circular orange glow in the bottom left of this picture), and eating hot chili.

Caroline was unaffected by the harsh weather, and was disinterested in eating anything except the Kentucky blue-frosted cookies!

I like this picture because it shows how bundled up we are. Thank goodness for hand warmers, long johns & snow pants!

Jordi loves using the camera, especially to take self-portraits. She's getting pretty good at it, too; here's one she took while we were tailgating!

I don't have any pictures from inside the stadium to commemorate the last game because the girls & I headed back to the Lexington house once the game started. We did well enough to hang in there for the few hours of tailgating! Anyway, another season is over... We'll miss all the good fun & great food with our football friends - but we'll be back next year!

A Visit to Boyd Orchards

For the second year in a row, I had the wonderful treat of a trip to Boyd Orchards for my birthday. It was a beautiful, breezy day, full of sunshine. These pictures are a few weeks old by now, but I hope you enjoy them all the same!

What a perfect spot for a picture! In case you can't read it, it says "How Tall This Fall 2008."

The girls did lots of fun things, including taking a pony ride...

...and going down the super-long, 40 foot slide!

All in all, it was quite enjoyable. I'm already looking forward to next year's trip!

Pumpkin House 2008

We missed it last fall, but today we made the trip to nearby West Virginia to view the phenomenon that is "The Great Pumpkin House":

I love this place! Each year, the owner of this lovely old house in Kenova carves & displays over 3,000 pumpkins for the enjoyment of anyone who wants to drive over and see it.

This place is truly a marvel! Chris & the girls are standing in front of a huge "orchestra" of carved pumpkin instruments which light up in time to the music.

It's such a big display that even this picture doesn't show all of it! It was so enjoyable to just stand, listen, and watch this terrific sight. (An added bonus for me that one of the songs was The 1812 Overture, which, being a Boston Pops fan, will always have a special place in my heart!)

The jack-o-lanterns just go on and on! Here we are posing in front of a pumpkin with the state of NH carved into it. I guess when you carve thousands, you eventually get around to the tiny Granite State!

Anyway, it was definitely worth the trip over there. What a local treasure!