Keeneland and the Derby

There are few better places to be in the spring than at Keeneland on a sunny day. Our friends the Prestons held down a great spot on the fence right near the finish line. The girls enjoyed getting a close up view of the horses, and some of the employees brought the guide horses right by for a quick nuzzle. They also had little hard candies the girls could feed to the horse.  So cool.

Not only the horses got treats, of course. Sarah, Patty, and Laurie all took in a frozen mint julep that was perfect on a hot and sunny day. Unfortunately, a sad truth is that this is the first mint julep that Sarah has been able to truly enjoy during her time in Kentucky. It's amazing what a little ice can do.

Our seats at the finish line meant we also had the perfect view for every race. The girls loved seeing the horses barrel down the homestretch and fly by as they completed the race. They were definitely into the competitive spirit and were quick to make requests for bets.

And for the very last race of the day each of the five girls had the same horse in mind. So John went to the window and made a $1 bet to show for each one of them. Captain Caution strikes again, because if he had followed their orders and bet the horse to win they would have won a bit more. But hey, they still walked away with $2 each and what they don't know won't hurt them.

In the weeks leading up to the Kentucky Derby we received word that Grandma Lucas was not doing very well. We made an extra effort to put on our Derby hats and send a special picture her way so that she knew she was in our thoughts. Unfortunately she passed away that afternoon, but we do know she saw the picture we sent.

Easter

This year Nana Banana and Sport visited us again around Callie's spring break and Easter.  It also just happened that the first weekend they were in town Rupp Arena was hosting the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight rounds of the NCAA Women's Basketball tournament.  So we got tickets and all of us watched some great games.  Unfortunately, the UK women lost to Washington, but much to the visiting UConn fans delight, Notre Dame fell to Stanford in the nightcap.

While John helped facilitate the National History Day competition at EKU the next day, Sarah took the rest of the crew down the road to Shaker Village in Harrodsburg. They had an Easter egg hunt, which was organized by age and really just a race to see how many eggs you could put in your basket over a one-hundred-yard course. You can see the girls quite well, and the great thing was you exchanged the eggs for candy treats, which made everyone happy.

After the egg hunt was done we headed right over to the farm where we saw pigs, chickens, goats, and cows.  We hoped to see them shear the sheep, but by the time we got to that station all the sheep had been sheared for the day, so they had to tell us there was nothing left to see.  That's life on a farm.

It is safe to say the girls, Nana Banana, and Sport had fun exploring Shaker Village. And they also were able to learn more about the history of that particular site and the Shaker community that once made it their home. Shaker Village is one more cool thing about the Bluegrass that folks don't often know about.

On Easter morning the girls woke up to swimming pool themed baskets. They were filled with swimsuits, coverups, sunscreen, and everything they will need to show off their swimming skills at the pool this summer. The Easter bunny always seems to encourage the right activities. We were pleased.

Later that morning we were able to pull it all together in a timely fashion to make it to church on time. Since we were unable to have our traditional church egg hunt the girls got the opportunity to make the twelve eggs of Lent which told the full story of Easter, and not just the bunny version. We were also able to get a great picture of the girls with their grandparents outside on what was a beautiful day.

We were also able to snap a great family pic, and although John and Sarah look cool, calm, and collected, this year they were going to have to contribute more to the Easter brunch than ever before since Sharon and Chris had just returned from an extended stay in Sanibel Island, Florida. It was a new responsibility, but we felt we could meet the high standards set by the Chrismans.

The meal received great reviews.  Everyone enjoyed the salmon and the grilled asparagus.  But an even bigger hit was the dessert, which was berries and whipped cream over angel food cake.  And we have spent enough Easters with Chris and Sharon to know that if we want to hit a home run we have to ensure that Chris gets his annual peep intake.

Although Sport had to leave that Tuesday to get back for some work related events, Nana Banana spent the rest of the week taking care of both Callie and Reese since it was Callie's spring break. They had a great time and so did we.

A Big Bloomin' Spring

Reese decided to ride a bike and then did it.  It sounds like it should be more complicated than that, but it wasn't.  One day she asked John to take the training wheels off of her bike because she wanted to ride it for real.  And so he did, and then she did.  We started off in the driveway but quickly took the show to the track at Cassidy.

Reese was very proud of herself, and she had every right to be proud. When she makes up her mind to do something she tends to do it. Now her parents need to get bikes so that we can finally go for some family bike rides, especially since Lexington has started to build more bike paths all around the city.

This spring Callie was involved in something called Academic Challenge with her school once a week.  For the most part these knowledge competitions were just among the kids in her school.  But toward the end of the school year there is a district-wide competition.  So here is Callie with her team getting ready for the questioning to begin.  It was to fun to watch them think through and agree on the answers to questions that they were not confident in.  Hopefully she will want to do it again next year.

On a more social note, Callie decided for the second year in a row to try out with Kennedy and Harper for Cassidy's talent show. Another girl named Holland joined the group and with that the Cassidy Cuties were formed. They lip-synched to a number of pop hits while dressed as babies. It may be difficult to see here, but they were standing behind a black curtain and their head and arms were in front. The legs moved only by fishing lines attached to their arms.

The Cassidy Cuties were a big hit to say the least. Thanks go to Miss Laurie who found the inspiration for the routine and put together all the props.  Callie certainly enjoyed herself and we got quite a big giggle out of the performance.  Who knows what they will come up with next year.

But perhaps the biggest event of the spring came when we finally purchased individual beds for Callie and Reese. Callie had been looking forward to this day for a very long time - indeed she had been putting on a full court press for a while, including writing about her need for sleep in a number of essays written at school. Yet Callie was not the only one who was excited for the new bed, as you can see here. And for the most part, the two of them have actually stayed in their own space.

Date Night X2

We had the good fortune of getting tickets to see Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in Louisville in March. It was the first time for both of us and we can honestly say that we would pay good money to see him again. It was an incredible show. Unfortunately, this picture was not taken from where we sat that night. We were much farther away. So we took this picture from Sarah's friend Chuck, who was really that close to the Boss.

Just one week later we had another great opportunity when Chuck and Sarah each got a complimentary room for the night at the brand new Hotel 21c in downtown Lexington the weekend before it officially opened to the public. As is the case with each one of the 21c hotels, there are migrating penguins as part of the art exhibit. And Lexington's penguins, of course, are UK blue. We made a point of kicking the night off with a picture of us with just a couple of them.

Although we tried to get dinner reservations for 21c's restaurant, Lockbox, we were unsuccessful. However, we decided we could still sit at the bar and have some cocktails and appetizers. It was a good decision on our part. Overall, it was a great night with Chuck and Mike, who, among other aspects of Lexington's nightlife we had yet to experience, showed us unseasoned partiers how to get a second wind with a shot of Jaegermeister. Trust us, it works, but you have to stick to just one.

And the night ended with another penguin picture. Yet in the spirit of 21c, which is both a hotel and an art museum, we decided to go for something with a little more artistic expression. We were quite pleased with the results. Since we have now visited two of these hotels, in Louisville and Lexington, we now have to try and go to the ones in Cincinnati and Bentonville.

One Crazy Family

Not everything happens outside on snowy days.  Sometimes the fun and tomfoolery occurs indoors.  In this particular case, John was downstairs when all of a sudden he heard a loud crash from the bathroom. The next thing he knew Callie was opening the door, crying, and saying, "I made a poor choice."  And this is how she found out that the shower curtain rod was not meant for gymnastics.

Not all of winter was snowy, however, and there were some rather nice days in February where the girls got to wear shorts and test out one of their Christmas gifts.  It's always fun to have your own soccer goal in the backyard. Clearly, Reese was enjoying the opportunity to be out and about.

The kids aren't the only ones who want to be goofy, of course.  Among the many things we love about the Chrismans is the fact that they are never afraid to be silly as well, with or without a glass of wine.  If we remember correctly, Callie took this picture and enjoyed capturing John and Chris letting their true personalities shine.

Reese loves ice cream and nothing will get in the way of her finishing a delicious treat.  When we went to ask if we could hold it for her she would have none of it.  And now we have a picture that we can file away for the years ahead whenever we need to pull out a trump card.

One Snowy Day

Although it was a mild winter compared to last year we will still had at least one big snowfall that kept everyone at home to take advantage of some winter fun. We had to make sure the girls were properly outfitted in the winter gear they received for Christmas.  The only remaining question is still, whose blood flows stronger in their veins - New England or California?

This winter we tried out a new hill nearby.  It's not our usual Shriner's spot, but apparently it is a hill that locals have sledded on for decades.  Callie and Reese chose to spend more of their time on a smaller hill with Harper and Kennedy, but John and Sarah took more than a few runs on the bigger hill that had the added element of danger - a creek at the foot of it that could prove problematic if you couldn't slow down.

All told we got 17 inches in two different major snowfalls this year.  And we always feel it is necessary to take official measurements to prove to friends and family who don't think of Kentucky as a place that would get much snow.  This snowfall of course caused us again to realize again just how long our driveway is, and that it truly would be good for us to get a second shovel.

The one major perk of a long driveway and a lot of snow is you can make a very big pile in your backyard and create your own sledding hill.  We have begun to perfect our approach at this point, so that we have a ladder built into the hill so the girls can get to the top, a jump, and an embankment at the bottom to prevent sledders from crashing into the brick landscaped garden.  Callie and Reese had a blast.  We'll have to see what we can do next winter to top it.

Swim Lessons and Fish

Since the fall, we have been religiously going to the YMCA pool every Saturday morning for swim lessons.  After last summer we decided that we were done with having to watch the girls every second we were around water.  It is an important life skill, that's for sure.  Unfortunately we can't say that Saturday mornings were made easy with this additional activity, and it also didn't help that more often than not the girls were less than cooperative.

So we did what every good parent would do and we bribed them.  For our family, the bribe took the form of our first family pet - fish.  The girls had to each have three straight drama free Saturday mornings in order to qualify for their prize.  Amazingly enough, it happened by early December.  Of course, we seldom take action too quickly, and certainly couldn't get anything before we left town for the holidays, so we jumped into 2016 in January.

However, our lack of fish expertise quickly revealed itself when we discovered we would have to set up the tank and have the water ready for a few weeks before we actually got the fish.  Still, the girls were excited every step of the way and even found the simple task of pouring water into the tank worth a close look.

We commemorated the occasion with a fish photo, since there were no actual fish present to make their own faces.  We are happy to report that a week or two later we returned to the pet store and picked up two fine fish, named Bob and Alena.  The names were selected before the fish were chosen, which is why Bob is a female Dalmation Molly and Alena is a male Mickey Mouse Platy.  Both are in the tropical community fish family, which means we could have up to five of them in a 10-gallon tank if we so chose.  Up to this point, that choice has not been made.