Spring Fever

The arrival of St. Patrick's Day is always a good sign, especially because we were looking forward to spring after a long winter.  And this year John, Callie, and Reese had the additional fun of marching in the parade in Lexington.  Our friend Seth is the campaign manager  for one of the city council candidates so we marched with his group and the girls helped pass out candy with Vivie Ann and Mason.  A good time was had by all.

Some folks go for the traditional corn beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day.  We just headed next door and joined the Chrisman's for their sushi and edamame meal.  Callie loved using chopsticks and Reese was a little bit adventurous and tried some of the sushi.  They did not go for the green wasabi, however, which was probably a good call on their part.

Another sure sign that spring has arrived is the opening of Keeneland.  This year we welcomed some visitors from out of town and showed them our fine local track.  Scott Casey and his wife Jill flew in to visit a horse named Dramarama that Scott is half owner of with a friend.  Needless to say they are a little more knowledgeable about the ponies than we are, but we have the good fortune of living so near the ponies.  Scott and John are friends from back in Los Angeles, and it is fun to know that Dramarama may bring them back to Lexington for the fall meet.

We have been to Kitefest in Jacobsen Park in years past, so we were very much looking forward to going again this year.  What made it even better this time around, however, was that we brought some kites of our own to fly.  The girls were finally old enough to take on this challenge, and boy did we have fun.

It took us a a little while to figure out what kite-flying technique was going to work for us, but the girls led the way by teaching us to just throw the kite up in the air and give it some string.  Fortunately for all of us, it was a perfect day for flying kites.  The sun was shining and the wind was blowing.

Reese absolutely loved throwing the kite in the air, holding the string, chasing the tail when it was low enough, and just about everything involved with flying a kite.  It was fun having an activity that allowed us to be outside together and that was simple enough we could all enjoy its challenges and rewards.  You can't necessarily tell from these pictures, but there were also dozens of other kites up in the air all around us.  It was really cool to see and be a part of it.

Callie loved being able to take control of her kite all by herself and not having to rely on her parents.  She did a great job of getting her kite up in the air and keeping it there.  The whole day was a pleasant surprise and we were glad that we had packed a lunch so that we could spend more time at the park.  At this point we were pretty sure we had put the winter behind us.