Adults Only

2013 has certainly been a benchmark year, and we have spent quite a bit of time celebrating the arrival of the big 4-0 in people's lives.  In May, about fifteen women descended on Las Vegas to bring in Denise's new decade.

Sarah and the rest of the crew did their best to take on the town like they did in their 20s.  They drank in swanky bars, crowded pools, and danced like nobody's business.  However, the reality that they were not in their 20s came when they popped up at 6:30, had the urge to feed small children, and didn't understand why their bodies were sore from head to toe.  It was a good thing this was only a short weekend's worth of festivities.

Sarah did have to recover quickly, because she was back on a plane to the West Coast to celebrate Lauren's 40th in August.  It's pretty amazing that well over twenty years ago Sarah and Lauren became friends, and since then have maintained that strong friendship through so many significant chapters of their lives - marriages, kids, cross-country moves, etc.  They are definitely lucky to have each other.

One of the best things about going out west is the opportunity to see the whole gang and catch up with all of their lives and goings on.  And of course it doesn't hurt to try out all the new restaurants and other hot spots that have popped up in the ten years we have been out of LA.

But one of the best aspects of it is getting to see some of the cutest kids outside of Lexington.

Although it was sad not to have Callie and Reese there, it really allowed Sarah to spoil Kate, Ashlyn, and little Bradley.  The best morning was when we met up with Auntie Pi and strolled to a local bagel place for breakfast.  It's pretty amazing how much you can enjoy a breakfast with kids when you aren't the one responsible for making sure they behave and eat well.  The weekend went by too fast but it was nice to be able to celebrate another milestone birthday with the West Coast folks.

Of course the end of summer always marks our most consistent adults only date of the year - Picnic with the Pops.  This year was our sixth at this illustrious event, and we had a great time once again.  We knew it was going to be one for the history books when we saw that our table was sandwiched by tables holding Governor Steve Beshear and Lexington Mayor Jim Gray.  And it only got better when the Mayor felt the need to taste this year's pre-dinner cocktail Sarah had cooked up.

In honor of this year's performance of music from Looney Tunes, the drink included not only bourbon, but some carrot juice and other secret ingredients.  The mayor liked it so much he agreed to have his picture taken with us. (He's the only one not dressed as an ACME employee)  For those of you keeping score, this is the second time Mayor Gray has made our blog.  Who knows where he'll show up next?

The best part of Picnic with the Pops is the table decorations and other assorted props that folks bring to the party.  One table had even made an ACME rocket that they allowed anyone to take a picture wearing.  Needless to say, Chad and Sarah had to take them up on the offer.  Chad, whose first and only exposure to classical music was through Looney Tunes, was in seventh heaven.

We of course had to get our yearly couple photo that night.  But that ACME wine was so good it was tough to focus on the task at hand.  Seriously though, it was another great dinner, great company, great weather, and great time overall.  Picnic with the Pops is an event that we won't be able to miss as long as we are here.

And for those of you wondering about the whole Looney Tunes theme and struggling to understand how it all worked, here is a picture of the incredible orchestra that played the music while the cartoons showed on two big video screens on either side of the stage.  It was an impressive performance to say the least.  But it was also eye-opening to watch the cartoons and be reminded just how violent they were…poor Wile E. Coyote.  We can't wait until next year!