Sarah Bowes is 40!

It is not every day that we have the opportunity to celebrate a milestone birthday. Therefore, it was only fitting that we were able to stage a three-ringed fiesta for Sarah's 40th. (And what made it all even better was that Sarah only really knew about one of the three rings in advance)

In fact, Sarah and her friend Kelly Abraham decided to pull together a last minute party train because their respective 40th birthdays were only days apart. You only enter a new decade every ten years, and they decided it was only proper to make the most of it. And so on a Friday night a group of about 20-25 Lexingtonians hopped aboard the free local trolley and attempted to hit three of the city's finest beer distribution establishments. The night began at West 6th Brewery, transferred to Lexington Beerworks, and ended at the Beer Trappe. The picture here was taken toward the end of stop number two. It was a whole lot of fun and a great way to kick off the celebration of Sarah.

They say you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you get to the prince, but no one ever said anything about penguins.  John certainly hit a home run by surprising Sarah with an overnight trip to Louisville while the girls stayed with our good friend the Abrahams.  Sarah knew only that it was going to be an overnight trip, and was excited when the car stopped in front of Hotel 21c in Louisville.  

It's a boutique hotel known for many things, but especially for the three-foot tall red penguins that migrate throughout the hotel on a daily basis.  As a special guest, (and because John sprung for the birthday package) Sarah was lucky enough to have one waiting with balloons in the room.  We had a phenomenal dinner at the in-house restaurant, Proof.  And perhaps best of all, we slept in, watched a little of the Today Show, and went for a run together.  Those three things probably haven't happened on the same day since we left California.

But just when Sarah thought it couldn't get any better, it did.  The very next Friday, Sarah pulled into the driveway and came into the house, expecting only to get John so they could go grab some dinner.  Then she walked in the door, and much to her shock, saw her friend Denise standing in the living room with a glass of wine in hand.  As Sarah's brain attempted to process the fact that Denise had somehow gotten to Kentucky, three other figures came into view.  Denise had traveled east with Gretchen, Lauren, and Lauren's daughter Kate.  A surprise that had been in the works for months had finally come to fruition.  And it was glorious to behold.

Of course, the months of planning could not take into account that the California girls would arrive on one of our usual jam-packed weekends. So after a fun first night it was time to hit the ground running.  The first stop on Saturday morning was Starbucks, quickly followed by the PB&J concert put on by the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra.  John once again came through and had pre-purchased four additional tickets for the out of towners.  The concert was fun as four members of the orchestra introduced all the kids to their instruments.  Reese especially enjoyed the post-concert instrument "petting zoo" with Auntie Gret.


Lauren not only got down front and center to enjoy the performance with Kate and Callie, but afterwards she also showed off her musical talents by playing the trombone for the girls.  It was so nice for Sarah to be able to watch some of her closest friends play and interact with Reese and Callie.  And it was just as, if not even more, special to watch Callie and Kate play together.  But we digress, because this was only the morning activity, and the afternoon brought us to Callie's very first soccer game.  No pictures are included in this post, but fear not, we shall devote an entire post to Callie's soccer season.  In any case, her first game was attended by numerous California based paparazzi who took photos of every skip, jump, and kick they could capture on their cameras.



Of course Sarah had to take her girlfriends out for a night on the town so that they could see all the best that Lexington has to offer.  And another side note here, this night out was made possible by John's willingness to try and make two four-year-old girls fall asleep together in the same bed.  It's unclear which came first, last call or the two little ones finally falling asleep.

In any case, the fearsome foursome had a great night at Table 310 and Parlay Social, just two of the newest hotspots in downtown Lexington.  If Gretchen had it her way, they would have gone to a third mysterious place called Truth, but she was outvoted.  Oh well, the night was still a success.

Auntie Gret has a special touch when it comes to the little ones, and she definitely came prepared to entertain and spoil them all. She had a bag full of arts and crafts and head full of great ideas. But perhaps more than anything, the girls loved her willingness to sit down with them and act silly. Oh, and they loved her willingness to play with her iPhone. They had a great time together.

On the third day of the visit we did our best to impress our guests with some of the things that make the Bluegrass very special.  It was a Sunday, so we decided not to go with the bourbon.  Basketball season hadn't started yet, and we aren't at a point yet where we can just drop by Coach Cal's house.  However, we were able to secure a private tour of Three Chimneys Farm, one of the premier horse farms in the region.  Among other things, they are known for stud breeding.  

One case in point is shown above with the statue commemorating the one and only Seattle Slew, who spent a few years at the farm.  Not pictured, because we couldn't take a picture, is Big Brown, who you might remember won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness a few years back before having to withdraw from the Belmont.  

It was another beautiful day, and we enjoyed both the horse farm and the lunch that followed at Wallace Station on Old Frankfort Pike. If you are in the area this lunch place is definitely worth the trip. It was nice to show the girls the rolling hills of horse country. Just as a warning, however, it might be best to experience those rolling hills before a night out on the town as opposed to the day after. Just a suggestion.

Unfortunately, Gretchen had to leave late Sunday afternoon.  But since Lauren, Kate, and Denise didn't leave until the next day, that left open one more night for the girls to go out and for John to see if he could improve on his babysitting skills.  The smiles below make it clear that the evening out at West 6th was yet another success.

Throughout most of her actual birthday weekend, Sarah kept hoping that her girlfriends would suddenly pop out from behind a door and shout surprise.  Unfortunately, it didn't happen, and it didn't seem real or right to celebrate her 40th without them.  Then came the following Friday and the surprise that Sarah will never forget.  With moments like this, Sarah would happily turn 40 every year.