Pumpkins, Orchards, and Leaves

For the first time since it started in 2011 we managed to take an up close look at Pumpkin Mania on the campus of Transylvania University in downtown Lexington. On the steps of one of the oldest buildings on campus sit hundreds of pumpkins carved by students. It looks cool here, but amazing at night when the candles are lit.

Sarah is always on a mission to find the perfect picture and kept trying to convince the girls to get up on the steps in the middle of all of the pumpkins. John and Callie had to keep reminding her of the signs that specifically said, "Don't climb on the stairs!" So we had to settle for a family selfie in front of the sea of orange.

After we visited Transylvania we headed towards Evans Orchard for our annual pumpkin picking and apple fritter eating.  The girls are also well aware that this also means more pictures and more demands that they look natural and smile.  They do their best to comply but their learning that they can make demands for more treats at the country store.

There is always something new at the orchard, and this year one of those things was a photo opportunity that fit this threesome quite well.  Sarah had no trouble getting everyone to participate in making appropriate faces for their particular role.

Of course there are some things that don't change at Evans Orchard, and they also never get old.  The girls love racing down the slides.  And because the weather was a bit dodgy on the day we visited they didn't have any problems with lines.  They could just slide down, run back up, and do it all over again.

This meant that they also had one of the two bouncy trampolines all to themselves.  They certainly enjoyed jumping and being silly.  Reese was having so much fun she didn't even fake any arm injuries this year.  She's really growing up, isn't she.

If not for the fact that we had other things to do, the girls probably would have stayed and jumped for hours on end.  And we didn't mind watching them go crazy in the midst of such a beautiful fall setting.  But as is the case with every fall weekend, there are too many things to do, places to go, and people to see.  The bouncing finally had to come to an end.

We did manage to get one last great picture in before we left the orchard, however.  The genuine smiles must have come from the joy from all the bouncing.  We figured this particular picture might have a good chance of serving as the photo for our Christmas card, but we shall see.

Falling leaves are the quintessential symbol of fall.  And while they are less enthusiastic about making the piles, Callie and Reese love to be part of spreading the leaves back over the yard by running and jumping into the piles their father has so lovingly crafted.  There are few things cuter than seeing the smiles and pure joy that comes out of a pile of leaves.

The Louisville Zoo with the Johnsons

The Louisville Zoo does a great job of celebrating Halloween during the month of October.  The whole zoo is covered with decorations and although we did not take part in it, at night they apparently have the biggest trick or treating venue in the region.  Yet while we didn't collect any candy we had fun poking our heads through the various character cut outs they had set up throughout the place.

We made this trip with the Johnsons, and it was especially fun to see Emerson react to the animals. Reese, Callie, Vivie, and Mason ran around from exhibit to exhibit pointing out new animals to Emerson.  This little guy certainly does not suffer from lack of attention.

All the kids jumped at the chance to ride on the carousel.  In fact, because we went in the middle of the week there was no line and instead of having to get off at the end of the ride we all got to pick another animal and take another spin.

These four certainly seen their share of adventures over the last five years and they get along really well together. They all seem to keep each other in check while insuring no one is left out. It's the perfect balance of siblings and friends.

With that being said, Emerson only adds to the fun. It will be interesting to see how he pushes his way into the mix as he gets older. And all signs indicate that he will have no problem pushing his way in. So we mark another fall celebration together and look forward to more fun times with the Johnsons in the seasons to come.

Bourbon Chase

For the fifth time in the past six years, October has also sent John running along Kentucky's back roads as part of the Bourbon Chase, a 200-mile relay race that takes runners on a tour of the beauty of Kentucky and its bourbon distilleries. John runs with a group of professors and former students from EKU and Transylvania University. Their team name - Intellectual Pursuits. This year John was in Van 2, which means his chase started in the afternoon at the Maker's Mark distillery. The whole set-up creates a wonderful environment, with runners from all around the country excited to run a lot and get little sleep.

The way it works is pretty simple. There are 36 legs of the race and 12 runners on the team. You run 3 different times, and those times depend on which leg you are and how fast your teammates run. For Van 2, when you finish running at 5:00am or so, you find a Waffle House in Danville and sit down for a good meal. Here is one of John's teammates, Kelly Abraham, in perfect Bourbon Chase apparel. It's whatever is warm, dry and doesn't smell.

Obviously when you are running at night the scenery is not so incredible. But when the sun is shining you often have to pinch yourself. You are tired, sure, but you are running through the heart of horse country, and the farms are beautiful. The back roads of Kentucky, especially on a crisp fall day, are something to behold. And when you are lucky you get to run by horse farms where the horses out in the fields will run with you for a little bit. It's cool and very humbling all at the same time. Here we see Kirk Abraham, Kelly's husband, finishing strong on one of the more picturesque transitions.

This is John at the end of his final leg, a 6.7 miler that ended near the Kentucky Horse Park. This wrapped up just over 19 miles of running over the course of the previous 24 hours on about 2.5 hours of sleep. And John can't wait to do it again. There are 12 legs on the Chase and John has now run 5 out of those 12. He has to do it at least 7 more years.

And this is how we finish. For the last 100 yards we don our academic robes and bring it home. It's a great feeling and just a great deal of fun. For nearly 30 hours you share an experience with a group of folks who are as crazy as you are. This picture, it should be noted, was taken by Sarah, who should also receive credit for her accomplishments. Every year during the chase she takes the Abraham girls while John, Kirk, and Kelly run and then brings everyone to the finish line. Can't wait until next year!

Callie Turns 8!

We tried to talk Callie into a birthday celebration rotation. One year she has a party with friends and the next year she has an adventure with her family. So far it has worked out pretty well.  So this year we packed our bags and headed north to Great Wolf Lodge near Cincinnati.  We had heard some good things about it but still were a little wary.  The big selling point is the indoor water park, pictured here.  The girls were drawn to it from the moment we checked in right up to the last minute before we left.  It was a big hit.

Because Callie's birthday fell during the fall break for Fayette County, it was not surprising to run into someone we knew. However, it was very cool for Callie to have that person be Lydia, one of her good friends from school. It was like she had the benefit of a birthday party with friends and an adventure. The girls had a great time together and even rode one of the biggest water slides together with John and then with Lydia's dad.

Great Wolf Lodge certainly has a very good read on their target audience. When we checked in both of the girls got wolf head bands and the birthday girl received a special one. She also received a distinctive wristband that gave her access to a free scoop of ice cream whenever she wanted one. This is one of the things that definitely helped make the weekend extra special for Callie.

Grammy Gayle got in on the action by paying for Callie to take part in the Quest Adventure that is another part of the Great Wolf Lodge experience. Any time you need a break from the water you can roam the halls with your magic wand searching for clues and coins that help you complete the quest and become a more powerful wizard. Callie was intrigued with the game and enjoyed leading the charge up and down and all around the lodge.  It was fun and occupied us all for a couple of hours before it was time to head back to the water park.

The folks at Great Wolf Lodge also make sure that Halloween is not just for October 31. All month long you can trick or treat, which worked out quite well for us. Luckily, Sarah had researched ahead of time and knew that we should bring costumes for the girls and because it was inside we didn't have to worry about the weather. The girls took advantage of this and requested their princess/ballerina costumes. We had a lot of fun walking around the halls getting candy and seeing all of the other kids who were dressed up.

The girls could not get enough of the different parts of the park. However, their favorite parts didn't always converge. Reese loved the wave pool and had to jump in every time the waves started up. This was balanced with her love of the lukewarm hot tub that she liked to visit every 20 minutes or so. Callie loved the lazy river and the water slides. She tried out just about every water slide they had and clearly had a blast doing it.

It was fun to watch Callie take it all in. We were there for less than 48 hours, but we had a great time as a family and enjoyed the whole experience. All the fun allowed us to forget that we were celebrating the fact that Callie turned 8, which just seems ridiculous.  How is she getting so old so quickly?  We love her to pieces and are very proud of the girl she is becoming.

Of course Callie is not the only one in our family who is growing. Reese continues to make her presence known in our lives.  She is full of personality and loves her sister more than anything.  It was fun to watch them both run around and make the most of their time at Great Wolf Lodge.  And Reese was especially willing to help Callie eat her free ice cream all weekend long.

Even when we go on an adventure we do make sure to have our home birthday celebration with Sharon and Chris. This year it involved Gigi's cupcakes, which allowed all of us to have a sample of three or four different cupcakes. It was a great way to top off our celebration of a wonderful young girl!

Hanging with the Prestons

We guess it is true that your first school friend will be a friend for life.  Or at least that is what we are seeing so far with Callie and Kennedy, who shared a locker in kindergarten.  Kennedy just happens to have a twin sister Harper who Callie quickly befriended as well.  And of course, any friend of Callie's is a friend of Reese's.  The four girls play very well together and it is fun to see.

This fall we had the opportunity to redeem ourselves by having Kennedy and Harper spend the night.  Why were we in need of redemption, you might ask?  Well, last winter we hosted the Preston girls for their very first sleepover.  And within the first two hours we had to contact their parents because Kennedy had fallen down the stairs after trying to negotiate them on crutches.  Thankfully she was okay, but not interested in staying the night.  And it didn't help that poor Matt Preston slipped and fell on our front steps as he was carrying Kennedy to the car.  A difficult night was had by all.  The only saving grace was that Harper was completely unfazed by the whole event.  And this time around it was summer so no risk of ice.

The girls ate dinner, watched a movie, and then took some time to read before lights out.  We won't lie, Kennedy still wasn't sold on the whole idea of spending a night away from her parents.  But she eventually fell asleep and the night was much more of a success than the first go round.  We will definitely have to do it again.

It's nice to have another family that we can lean on for help and know that they can lean on us as well.  This picture was taken one morning when Matt dropped the girls off early at our house so that John could take them to school.  It was a beautiful morning and a perfect opportunity for everyone to walk together.  This will be happening a lot more when Reese starts going to the same school as Callie.  But that's still a ways away and hard to think about.

Speaking of leaning on each other, the happy faces of Harper and Kennedy don't show the trauma that they had experienced a brief while earlier right before we happened to stop by their house. The short version is that their newly adopted dog had suddenly attacked Terra, the dog they have had for years. We showed up at their door by chance minutes after this had happened and were able to whisk the girls away to a pizza dinner while their parents dealt with the situation. Unfortunately, resolving this issue means that Terra remains the only dog in the Preston household. Fortunately, Terra recovered from her wounds and is back to her old self.