St. Thomas Wedding Bells

Toward the end of September we had the pleasure of leaving Lexington for a Caribbean weekend getaway to celebrate the nuptials of Sarah's brother Zac and his bride Brandi.  The flights went well and within an hour of reaching our hotel the girls were already checking out one of the three pools on site.  As you can see, the view was pretty amazing.

Here is the happy couple poolside on our first day.  It just so happened that they flew with us on the same plane from Atlanta to St. Thomas, so right from the beginning we got to hang out together.  We have to say that they seemed remarkably relaxed for two people who were about to have a wedding planned sight unseen.  But Brandi had a vision and thought of every detail.  Our goal was just to enjoy the whole experience and pitch in where we could.

Grammy Gayle arrived about five hours after us and was just as quick to hit the pools as we were.  Not only did this pool have a fantastic view, but it also had a swim up bar which made it that much more enjoyable for all of the adults.  Another fun pool activity that everyone seemed to enjoy was watching the rather large iguanas that hung out poolside.  They were everywhere we went and you just had to get used to their presence.

A short walk from our part of the resort was a beautiful beach where the resort had rafts, snorkels, and other water toys to enhance your time in the wonderfully warm water.  Of course, who needs those toys when you can just hold hands and jump around.

Saturday night we all got into a couple of taxis and headed into the town of Red Hook for the rehearsal dinner.  The food was tasty, but the company was even better.  As usual, Reese and Callie could not get enough of their cousin Keith.  And as usual, Keith was incredibly sweet with the girls.  All in all it was a great night.

And then came the day that brought us all to the wonderful island of St. Thomas.  As we got out of our taxis and walked onto a small beach we saw the catamaran that would be our home for the day.  The photographer took some shots of the happy couple and then we boarded a small zodiac in groups of five to make our way to the Daydreamer.

The wedding was going to be the first order of business, so everyone was dressed properly for the occasion.  Keith had his island finest on, and Mary Margaret knew how to stand out among all of the tropical flowers.  It was a pretty amazing experience just to spend the day cruising around the islands and taking in all of the sights.  At two different points we even saw sea turtles swimming along side the boat.

For better or worse, Callie and Reese appeared to slide quite comfortably into the catamaran lifestyle.  Especially one that served cocktails and appetizers from the moment we stepped on board.  And of course when Keith's wife Catelyn and Grammy Gayle are a part of the package the day can't get much better.

Rather than getting married on the boat, Zac and Brandi spotted a private island that we were able to access because the currents were in our favor.  An interesting fact about St. Thomas - all beaches are public property.  So into the zodiac we went, and before we knew it, we had Mr. and Mrs. Lucas!  Keith and Brandi's son EJ stood up for their parents in a very touching ceremony.

Callie and Reese, as well as Brandi's niece, Caroline, were flower girls for the wedding and got their own special photograph.  The girls enjoyed having Caroline as a playmate for the weekend, and Caroline was very excited to have two other girls to play with.  All three of them got along extremely well.  We anticipate this being a threesome that will get together for many holidays in the future.

One of the great aspects of Zac and Brandi's relationship is how quickly their sons have become friends.  It is also clear to us how much EJ appreciates having Zac in his life.  This picture captures it all and certainly could not have been left out.

As soon as the official business was completed, it was time to ditch the formal wear for the bathing suits so we could hit the water.  This was the first snorkeling experience for the girls and although they were a little reluctant at first they quickly got the hang of it.  John is not pictured here, not because he didn't snorkel, but because the experience was lost on the guy who couldn't wear his glasses under the mask and therefore could not see a damn thing other than little flashes of color every now and then.  So sad.

After a little snorkeling it was time to have lunch and then cut the wedding cake.  The whole experience went smoothly and the three-person crew of the Daydreamer took care of our every need.  They even were quick to show Brandi and Zac the hose on deck when the cutting of the cake ended with smeared icing and cake all over the bride and groom.

This picture here demonstrates the day in a nutshell.  The sky was blue, the water was gorgeous, the drinks were tasty, and we were soaking it all in wondering if we should ever leave.  So we have to thank Zac and Brandi for coordinating such a fun adventure.  And if we are lucky they'll invite us back when they rent the Daydreamer for their 10th anniversary.

Just in case you were wondering what the view was like from the other side of the hotel, we offer this picture.  We captured this right before we headed back to Red Hook for some pizza and beer to cap off the day at sea.  Hopefully pictures like these will remind the girls in the future how lucky they have been to see places like this.

On our last full day in St. Thomas we went in opposite directions.  John joined Zac, Brian, Keith, EJ,  and Mike on a chartered deep sea fishing adventure.  The trip was successful in that everyone caught at least one fish.  We had particular success catching barracudas like the one Zac is holding up after reeling it in.  Pretty impressive to say the least.

Sarah and the girls visited the town of Charlotte Amalie, which was a short ferry ride from the resort.  The ferry ride was made more exciting when both Reese and Callie got an opportunity to drive the boat.  They spent several hours walking around the downtown area, eating island treats and checking out some of the town's history.  Eventually they were able to meet up with the rest of the girls for lunch as well.

But of course, every day always ended up back at the pool.  Keith and Reese worked for a while to perfect their form as the sun set in the distance.  We absolutely love this picture for so many reasons, not the least of which is that it shows Reese's fearlessness and joy while also demonstrating how good Keith is with his much younger cousins.  The view behind them isn't that bad either.

And just in case we got left out we managed to take a selfie or two in the pool as well.  On a side note, one of the biggest successes of the whole trip was that all four of us avoided getting sunburned during out entire time there, and as you can see we spent a lot of time in the sun.  It's one small sign that we are getting a handle on this parenting thing.

Our last night on the island we took advantage of one more adventure, which was night kayaking in the small bay near the resort.  The kayaks had LED lights on their see through bottoms that allowed us to see the fish and other sea life that we passed over.  This included Shelly, the sea turtle who has made her home in the bay.  We also saw several sting rays and barracudas.  It was a very fun family outing.

Fortunately we were smart enough to book a departing flight that did not leave until the early afternoon, which meant we could spend the morning at the beach.  So we packed in another ocean experience with Zac, Keith, and Catelyn before we had to head back to reality.

Reality hit us pretty quickly in Atlanta when we realized we had not been very diligent about making the girls (especially Callie) finish the homework she had been assigned to make up for work missed while we were gone.  So this is how our trip to paradise came to and end, with math equations and sight words in the airport.  Maybe we still have some work to do on this parenting thing.

Labor Day on the Lake

For all that we have been good about living the Kentucky life in our over ten years in this fine state, we still have a few items left to check off.  On Labor Day weekend we took care of a big item by hanging out on Lake Cumberland as part of a three day weekend with the Johnsons.  They are veterans of the lake life, so they were happy to guide us through the experience, from renting the pontoon boat to bringing all of the necessary supplies.

It didn't take long for the kids to jump right in to the experience.  They had their life jackets on and Vivie Ann and Mason led the way for our girls.  Callie and Reese did not hesitate, and quickly took the plunge by leaping off the boat into the water.

One of the fun parts of the whole experience was riding the raft pulled behind the boat.  We must tell you that this is not a speed boat, but still the pontoon boat went fast enough to make the ride an adventure.  There was only one major mishap when both Callie and Reese fell off and Reese went under the raft for a few seconds.  She was a little shaken up, but eventually got back up and took a few more rides.

We got out on the boat around 9:30am and were out on the lake until probably 4:00pm.  It was just fun to cruise around, check out the various nooks and crannies of the lake, jump in when we were hot, and enjoy the great company.  It did not take us long to understand whey so many people spend time on the lake, that's for sure.

And of course the whole trip was made better by the fact that we were with the Johnsons.  At this point Vivie and Callie have known each other for seven years and they are both getting so big.  And their friendship is so sweet and comfortable.  Vivie is the exact kind of friend we want Callie to have during her teenage years - that is also because we are on the same page as her parents.

As you can imagine, all of the parents were required to take a spin on the raft.  John was quickly dubbed the funny one and Sarah, not surprisingly, was dubbed the crazy one.  She insisted on pushing the envelope and doing acrobatics while rafting.  She is the one standing up here, but we have numerous pictures of all the kids standing up under her watch as well.

Even Jessica got in on the fun.  This was a big task because she was the only one on the boat that little Emerson would truly listen to and  Seth was the primary driver.  This meant that we had to keep Emerson occupied, though at times Seth was willing to hand the wheel over to John so that he could help out with Emerson.

These five kids get along so well, and continue to add memories like this to their scrapbooks.  Callie and Reese had an absolute blast, though they often wondered why they had to keep their life vests on the whole time.  That's lake life, kids, that's lake life.

Picnic with the Pops - Wizard of Oz Style

After nine years of enjoying Picnic with the Pops we have certainly figured out the recipe for a fun evening.  The first step is making sure you have the right people.  And once again we hit it out of the park with a couple of new additions to the crowd - Susan Buhrow and Caitlin Foehse.  The weather was wonderful and we were prepared for a great night.

Tommy always knows how to strike the right tone for the evening, and this time around he had a last minute idea that was a big hit at our table and pretty much every where he walked.  He has never shied away from attention, so he reveled in posing for pictures like this every chance he got.

We always try and capture at least one moment where it just the two of us.  This time we were enjoying the signature drink that Sarah came up with this year.  It included homemade ginger simple syrup, a splash of soda water, vodka, and fresh berries.  We called it, "You're Not in Kansas Any More."  One word - tasty!

We also know that this wouldn't be the great tradition it is if it wasn't for our wonderful neighbors, Sharon and Chris.  They are the perfect companions for a night like this, especially after a couple of the signature drinks mentioned above.

Kirk has always been a great sport since this night often falls right around or even on his birthday.  Sarah always finds great things at Party City to dress him up.  But this picture also shows the really cool table decorations put together by Caitlin for the evening.  They were the perfect shade of green.

And this was the view of the stage from our table.  We managed to secure a table in the front row this year, and we may not be able to leave.  The only problem is that because of a different schedule we actually went on Friday night instead of our usual Saturday night.  We'll have to see if we will do Friday night again next year just to get the front row.

Reese Starts Kindergarten

Twas the night before kindergarten, and nothing was quiet because Reese was really excited.  She couldn't wait to start going to the same school as Callie.  And we were very excited for her and found the perfect book for us to read in preparation for the big day.

What has become a back to school tradition for us is making signs and taking pictures before we head down to Cassidy.  Auntie Lo will be extremely happy because this is the first year that Reese got a sign.  We don't do pre-K signage around here and once we make a decision we stick to it.

It doesn't get cuter than this, which is why we staged the picture.  On this day we drove the girls to school, but we needed to make sure we captured a moment like this for posterity.  They had their new backpacks and were ready to make it happen.

Although Reese met Ms. Willis, her kindergarten teacher, the week before, she was super excited to see her again.  We weren't sure how nervous Reese would be on this first day, but she took to it like a champ, and although she was a little anxious she still had a great first day.

And this is what happens when your daughter has no interest in taking a picture with her teacher on the first day.  We were just able to capture Callie entering her classroom with all her gear.  It was obvious that there would be no long goodbye, and off she went to tackle third grade.

The first week went so well and we got several fun updates from the girls.  However, on that Thursday things took a turn.  Reese explained to us how Ms. Willis had asked them to practice writing their letters.  When they were done they were supposed to turn the paper over and draw pictures of objects beginning with the letter they had just practiced.  To the right is what Reese drew after practicing the letter B.  As she told us, she drew a bumblebee, a ball, and, in her proudest moment, a beer.  Needless to say we were a little horrified and just hoped that Ms. Willis wouldn't judge us too harshly so early in the semester.

Ballet Under the Stars

One of the best things about Callie's pursuit of dancing is Ballet Under the Stars.  This summer marked her second year participating  in the event, which is held in Woodland Park over four nights in early August.  We had a great time last year and were really looking forward to it.  Callie was in the first act and was a Pixie Dust Fairy.

This is no small production.  This year the title of the show was Tinkerbell and the Pirates, and there were a whole lot of fairies dancing on stage throughout the night. The weather was perfect and there wasn't even a hint of rain. In fact, the only drama was the battle of tarp/blanket placement that occurred in the hours before every show.  Luckily, John was up to the challenge.

Callie was super excited because her group got to go on stage not once, but twice, during the performance.  In the second trip to the stage she and her fellow pixie dust fairies were captured, a moment we were able to capture ourselves in this photo.  As you can see here, the fairies are not just good dancers, but good actors as well.

Callie's biggest fan was her sister Reese.  She loved every performance and thought that Callie was great every night.  Reese was the first to clap after Callie's performance and especially loved watching the professional dancers with her sister after the Saturday night show.  We are hoping that Callie wants to do it again next year.

Summer Sass

This picture could be captioned, "John's Angels", or perhaps "John's Sassy Monkeys".  Either way, this is the house John's lives in and the picture truly  captures the personalities of his housemates. They are a powerful trio and do their best to combat the strength of Old Man Bowes.  Sometimes Callie lends her father some help in his grouchy ways, and then it is a true battle royale.

We have always said that we hope Reese uses her powers for good, and most of the time she does.  She has an infectious smile and a lovable personality that you get to see only when you get to know her.  She may seem shy at first, but once she is warmed up, look out.

And when Reese has friends over they can take advantage of all of the dance costumes we have hanging around from Callie's recitals.  In this case, Reese and her friend Mary had a wonderful time getting fancy and showing off their ballerina skills.  Mary, who has two brothers, was especially happy to have some quality girlie time.

This picture says a lot about friendship as well.  Maddie and Callie have known each other since they were three months old and went to the same daycare.  They ended up going to different elementary schools but stayed in touch over the last four years.  Unfortunately, Maddie moved to Louisville this past summer.  But she had a great going away party and the two got to have one last fling before she left Lexington.

And our final picture highlights where the girls get all their sass and spunk from.  Sarah was excited to hear that Fabio from the show Top Chef was a part of the launch of the new cafeteria in UK Healthcare, so she had to stop by and get a picture.  Her first attempt was a selfie that didn't quite capture the moment.  But then the chief administrative officer walked by and she insisted on taking the photo for Sarah.  Pretty good results.  Thanks, Ann!