End of Summer Fun

One quick look out the door and it is obvious that summer has passed. Tonight the thermometer is going to dip into the low 40s. Leaves are on the ground and fall is officially here. But before we jump into the fall festivities we thought we should update you all on how we wrapped up the summer in the Bluegrass.

This first picture is for Grammy Gayle and the late Great Grandma Nice. As you can see Callie is sporting her San Francisco Giants t-shirt with pride. And if you look closely you can see how the true California girl wears her sunglasses.




For those of you who care, as I know I (John) do, she also has a New York Mets t-shirt. I'm just saying that both coasts are represented and she has a few years before she has to make a final commitment. In any case, this summer wear is seeing its last few days.


We are fortunate to live right near the University of Kentucky Arboretum. It is maintained year round and produces some beautiful flowers and other plant life. Callie and Sarah met up with a friend and her two daughters to take a walk and enjoy all that the Arboretum had to offer. Here Callie is posing for a quick picture while we were checking out all of the handcrafted birdhouses.


Here is a peek at Catie, Ada, and Ara, our fun companions on the tour of the Arboretum. Callie is the perfect middle child of these two and it was fun to watch how she truly enjoyed interacting with both of them. She took great pleasure in running around with the 4 year old and taking care of the 9 month old. It's neat to see how adaptable she is when interacting with other kids.


We had so much fun with them that weekend that the next weekend we met up with them again at Boyd's Orchards. Boyd's had a huge playground and the girls ran all over it the entire time we were there. Callie especially liked the tubes she could climb through and slide down. We were so impressed with the variety of fall activities which included apple and pumpkin picking, hay, horse, and train rides, and that huge playground. So be ready to see more pictures of Boyd's when we get to our October updates.

That very same weekend marked our neighborhood's Oktoberfest. And yes, it is in September and it is spelled with a K. Not sure what that is all about but it is a good time nevertheless. The last couple of years we have gone, eaten a slightly German meal, and had a few beers. But this year was different because Callie was ready to fest like it was Oktober. Check out the video below.



We do want to mention that this is Callie's very first moonbounce experience. Well I guess we should say this is her second. It took us a couple of times for Callie to understand the whole concept of the moonbounce. Honestly, the first time was pretty funny because she waited in line, pretty patiently we must say, only to sit in the middle of the moonbounce and watch all of the kids bounce around her. But her observations paid off the second time around.

Okay, prepare yourselves, although you can already see the picture most likely. In the ongoing battle to rid the house of diapers, this pictures seems to point to success. And although Callie has had some success over the last three months she is still not willing to make it a permanent part of her daily routine. And recently she has talked about her diapers more than one would think possible.





But she's cute, so I guess we'll be patient and keep working on it. We did just get word that she will be moving into the two year old classroom at daycare which does have a bathroom which should make the whole potty-training effort more consistent. Keep your fingers crossed on that one.


Next stop, Bloomington, Indiana, or apparently B-Town to the locals. In any case, they have themselves a Lotus Festival up there that brings in musicians from all over the world. We drove up on a Friday night so we could enjoy the festival on Saturday. Our fine hosts are pictured to the left. Neil is a biology professor and one of John's colleagues at EKU and his wife Karen is a grad student at Indiana University. We love to hang out with them and jumped at the chance to spend the entire weekend with them. The weekend included the best farmer's market we've seen yet, two awesome breakfast joints, a sumptuous Indian dinner, a Hungarian gypsy band, and a whole lotta rain.


Although we did get wet, we managed to walk around downtown and found a good photo opportunity or two. Callie likes dogs, but is a bit timid when it comes to actually petting them. So this dalmation was a perfect compromise for all involved. Callie got to touch a dog and we got a good picture.




And of course we had to spend some quality time with the Hallorans and their son Iain. It is fun to see the two kids hanging out together.

Iain started at Callie's daycare about two months ago and Callie has been very supportive and helpful during his transition. It is so neat to see her recognize him and view him as her friend. The two of them play together extremely well and we're sure this friendship will only grow as they get older.


That being said, I (John again) was not present and accounted for when the decision was made to have both children in this bath. Nor was Charles, Iain's father, consulted. As many of you know, John's feeling is that Callie will not date until she is 30. So you can only imagine where taking a bath with a boy fits into this equation. It doesn't matter how sweet Iain is and how few tatoos he has.

So that is it. The Summer of 2009 is officially brought to a close. Hard to believe that this Saturday we will celebrate Callie's second birthday. Time sure does fly. And only 28 years until she can date...

Callie's Parents Do Have A Life

Those of you who read this blog may have wondered if we ever do anything without Callie. Well, we certainly have not been as good as we have wanted to be about going out just the two of us. But we are happy to report that in the past month we have made significant progress.


This was the second year we had the opportunity to go to Picnic with the Pops. (Yes, last year we brought Callie) This year, however, Callie was not in attendance as we joined three other couples in an evening of the Lexington Philharmonic and the group, Abbamania. Yes, an Abba tribute band.

The concert is held at the Kentucky Horse Park, and you pay for a table. Gates open at 5:30, so that you can have several hours to enjoy your picnic dinner and walk around seeing all the different table decorations. There is even a contest for the most creatively decorated table. Although we didn't win any contests (John's suggestion of having everyone dress as their favorite Swede in honor of Abba was shot down), we did have a very elegant display and our food was fabulous. This picture shows the initial preparations for our fun evening.




And the picture above gives you a look at the finished version. We had a wonderful time eating, dancing, and of course drinking wine. This is one of many events we have grown to love during our three years in Lexington. Can you believe it's been three years?


A mere two weeks later we hopped on a plane and headed to New England. We did bring Callie with us, but promptly dropped her off at Grandpa Jay and Nana Taffy's house. For the record, Callie now refers to them as Sport and Nana Banana. It's a long story, but we must admit that Callie didn't exactly come to this decision on her own. In any case, this year marked the fourth annual Labor Day weekend gathering of John's high school group of friends and spouses. So once we got Callie situated in Madison we headed off to the town of Wellfleet on Cape Cod.


Although this weekend is dedicated to catching up and hanging out, it has become a tradition to have some manner of competition between the girls and the boys. This year the competition was held on the links of Poit's miniature golf course. There was some concern that John would have a distinct advantage since he has played this course with his family for over 35 years. Competition was fierce, but the boys held on to their trophy for one more year. However it is important to mention that Sarah not only was the top girl, but beat John by a stroke.


We spent the weekend at a house on Lt. Island in Wellfleet, and the scenery was fantastic. The bench pictured here was set up on a bluff overlooking the bay. It was located on the "sunset" side of the house and we spent a lot of time here in the evening. But we also took advantage of the "sunrise" side of the house for breakfast. You can also see the beach in the background, which was a short walk from the house. The place was quite amazing.


Here is John with his buddies Tyler(middle) and Jason(left). They go back a long way to say the least, and the weekend never provides enough time to truly catch up. Ted and Bill didn't make it into this picture for some reason. These five guys have known each other for over thirty years and now are all married and are all fathers. Eight children total - but more on that in a few pictures.


There might be every reason to expect that a weekend like this could lead to the guys just spending time with each other and talking about the good old days when they couldn't get girlfriends and hung out in Jason's basement. But fortunately they have matured somewhat.



The weekend included discussions of health care reform, nature walks at low tide, and good old relaxation. It wasn't difficult to have a good time with those folks in that setting. Because this weekend doesn't include kids, we were all anxiously awaiting our return to the little ones back in Connecticut. It was the second year we decided to meet up on Labor Day at the Surf Club in Madison to see the kids and hang out a little more.


Callie was happy to see us, but even happier to get some time at the playground. She once again proved herself to be fearless on the jungle gym. Of course, what you don't see in this picture is all of the other kids running, swinging, climbing, and sliding as their parents and grandparents chased them around. It was quite a scene.



Callie also wanted to make sure she got some time in the pounding surf of the Long Island Sound. We just don't have anything quite like this back in Kentucky and she wanted to make sure she got to experience every little part of it.







Before we all headed our separate ways we managed to corral the kids and get everyone into a single picture. Although Ted and Shannon were still enjoying a kid-free vacation, their son Wheeler is in the mix. It was so fun to watch all of the kids hang out together. We can only imagine what future years will be like.





Well, Callie still made it into this post. She's pretty persistent that way. And she's pretty darn cute, so how can you leave her out. One last note - this was a bittersweet trip back from New England, because it marked Callie's last flight as a free lap kid. We are proud that we were able to get thirteen round trips in before we had to start paying. As we told her on the ride home, the airlines paid for the first two years, we will pay for the next two years, and everything after that is on her. Another quick note - John does not only wear his red fleece. Yes, he likes it, but he does have other items of clothing. Not that you would know that from the above pictures.

In the weeks and months to come, we have trips to Bloomington, Indiana, Denver, Colorado, and the holiday journeys east and west. The fun never ends.