Callie's Parents Do Have A Life

Those of you who read this blog may have wondered if we ever do anything without Callie. Well, we certainly have not been as good as we have wanted to be about going out just the two of us. But we are happy to report that in the past month we have made significant progress.


This was the second year we had the opportunity to go to Picnic with the Pops. (Yes, last year we brought Callie) This year, however, Callie was not in attendance as we joined three other couples in an evening of the Lexington Philharmonic and the group, Abbamania. Yes, an Abba tribute band.

The concert is held at the Kentucky Horse Park, and you pay for a table. Gates open at 5:30, so that you can have several hours to enjoy your picnic dinner and walk around seeing all the different table decorations. There is even a contest for the most creatively decorated table. Although we didn't win any contests (John's suggestion of having everyone dress as their favorite Swede in honor of Abba was shot down), we did have a very elegant display and our food was fabulous. This picture shows the initial preparations for our fun evening.




And the picture above gives you a look at the finished version. We had a wonderful time eating, dancing, and of course drinking wine. This is one of many events we have grown to love during our three years in Lexington. Can you believe it's been three years?


A mere two weeks later we hopped on a plane and headed to New England. We did bring Callie with us, but promptly dropped her off at Grandpa Jay and Nana Taffy's house. For the record, Callie now refers to them as Sport and Nana Banana. It's a long story, but we must admit that Callie didn't exactly come to this decision on her own. In any case, this year marked the fourth annual Labor Day weekend gathering of John's high school group of friends and spouses. So once we got Callie situated in Madison we headed off to the town of Wellfleet on Cape Cod.


Although this weekend is dedicated to catching up and hanging out, it has become a tradition to have some manner of competition between the girls and the boys. This year the competition was held on the links of Poit's miniature golf course. There was some concern that John would have a distinct advantage since he has played this course with his family for over 35 years. Competition was fierce, but the boys held on to their trophy for one more year. However it is important to mention that Sarah not only was the top girl, but beat John by a stroke.


We spent the weekend at a house on Lt. Island in Wellfleet, and the scenery was fantastic. The bench pictured here was set up on a bluff overlooking the bay. It was located on the "sunset" side of the house and we spent a lot of time here in the evening. But we also took advantage of the "sunrise" side of the house for breakfast. You can also see the beach in the background, which was a short walk from the house. The place was quite amazing.


Here is John with his buddies Tyler(middle) and Jason(left). They go back a long way to say the least, and the weekend never provides enough time to truly catch up. Ted and Bill didn't make it into this picture for some reason. These five guys have known each other for over thirty years and now are all married and are all fathers. Eight children total - but more on that in a few pictures.


There might be every reason to expect that a weekend like this could lead to the guys just spending time with each other and talking about the good old days when they couldn't get girlfriends and hung out in Jason's basement. But fortunately they have matured somewhat.



The weekend included discussions of health care reform, nature walks at low tide, and good old relaxation. It wasn't difficult to have a good time with those folks in that setting. Because this weekend doesn't include kids, we were all anxiously awaiting our return to the little ones back in Connecticut. It was the second year we decided to meet up on Labor Day at the Surf Club in Madison to see the kids and hang out a little more.


Callie was happy to see us, but even happier to get some time at the playground. She once again proved herself to be fearless on the jungle gym. Of course, what you don't see in this picture is all of the other kids running, swinging, climbing, and sliding as their parents and grandparents chased them around. It was quite a scene.



Callie also wanted to make sure she got some time in the pounding surf of the Long Island Sound. We just don't have anything quite like this back in Kentucky and she wanted to make sure she got to experience every little part of it.







Before we all headed our separate ways we managed to corral the kids and get everyone into a single picture. Although Ted and Shannon were still enjoying a kid-free vacation, their son Wheeler is in the mix. It was so fun to watch all of the kids hang out together. We can only imagine what future years will be like.





Well, Callie still made it into this post. She's pretty persistent that way. And she's pretty darn cute, so how can you leave her out. One last note - this was a bittersweet trip back from New England, because it marked Callie's last flight as a free lap kid. We are proud that we were able to get thirteen round trips in before we had to start paying. As we told her on the ride home, the airlines paid for the first two years, we will pay for the next two years, and everything after that is on her. Another quick note - John does not only wear his red fleece. Yes, he likes it, but he does have other items of clothing. Not that you would know that from the above pictures.

In the weeks and months to come, we have trips to Bloomington, Indiana, Denver, Colorado, and the holiday journeys east and west. The fun never ends.

Chicago with Grammy Gayle

This post focuses on one special weekend in August. We met Grammy Gayle in Chicago for a weekend of fun and frivolity in the Windy City. The post is chock full of pictures. However, we should note that there are two events that were not captured on film but are worth mentioning. Number one, we got a flat tire toward the end of the six hour drive up. After great debate about how to use the jack we agreed that this was one of the reasons why we pay for AAA service. To make us feel even better about this, the man who arrived to help got out of his truck and said something along the lines of, "beside the flat tire, what's the problem?" Translation - "You don't know how to work a jack? Seriously?" Oh well. Fortunately he overlooked our mechanical disability when Callie grinned at him from inside the car. Better yet, the fact that our spare was flat validated our decision to call AAA and not just do it ourselves.

The second event not captured on film was Lollapalooza, the three day rock festival extravaganza that just happened to be going on in the park right across the street from our hotel that weekend. Luckily, everything shut down at 10pm. However, Callie was soothed to sleep on Friday night by Depeche Mode and on Saturday night by Tool. A bit different than normal. But enough about that - on with the blog!


As you can imagine, a Lucas/Bowes weekend is filled to the rim with activities. This particular weekend was no exception. We started bright and early on Saturday morning with a trip to the Shedd Aquarium. Gayle made a great choice with the hotel and we only had to walk ten minutes to get there. In fact, we ended up walking everywhere during our short stay. Oh yeah, and this is a cute picture of Callie next to an emperor penguin statue.


Callie also got up close and personal with a sea turtle. She enjoyed it so much that when her turn on the turtle was over she was incredibly upset. We are obviously still working on the concept of sharing, but it is tough when you have to share the sea turtle.



Believe it or not this is Callie's third aquarium, so she is not going to be won over by a sub par display of sea life. We are happy to report that Callie gives the Shedd Aquarium two thumbs up. The highlights were the dolphin training show, the touch pools, and the interactive penguin exhibit.


However, the showstoppers for Callie as well as the rest of us were the Beluga whales. It was amazing and we could have watched them all day. If you look closely in this picture you can see part of one of the whales as it swam by.


We left the aquarium, got a bite to eat, and headed back to the hotel. It was in the low 90s in Chicago, so we needed a brief break from the outdoors. We showed our bracelets to the doorman to let him know we weren't random Lollapalooza folks looking to party in the hotel, and headed up to our room.


We would love to share that we took a nice little nap at this point, but napping was not on Callie's agenda. Instead it was pool time. Apparently Callie wanted to try out some of the swimming moves she had seen on display at the aquarium. Here she pulls off the looking cute move quite well. It was fun to show off Callie's love for the water to Grammy.


After pool time we headed downtown to catch our ferry for a Chicago River/Lake Michigan tour. We were too busy looking at the amazing architecture and experiencing the Chicago River lock to take any blogworthy photos.


After the tour we headed to Geno's East for dinner where we saw the guy who plays "Matt Parkman" in Heroes. It was pretty cool - and even cooler the next day when he threw out the first pitch at the White Sox game. After dinner we walked back to the hotel. Callie was determined to walk the entire way without spending any time in her stroller. It's amazing how determined she is when she puts her mind to something. No joke, she walked at least twelve city blocks before we convinced her to get in the stroller.

She was willing to take a break or two if the paparazzi requested a photo, however. Below we have a fine picture of Callie and Grammy Gayle resting for a bit near Grant Park.



Callie really enjoyed the time she got to spend with Grammy Gayle. And Grammy Gayle loves the fact that Callie is always up for an adventure.


We also managed another stop for a family photo on the bridge over the Chicago River. If we really wanted to, John could now launch into an educational discussion of how this is near the site of Fort Dearborn and its relationship to early American relations with Indians in the region. But we won't. You'll have to buy the book. (Actually, John has not written a book that covers that event. But when he does, then you'll have to buy it.)


At first glance, this is another cute picture of Callie sitting in a plant. However, it really is a picture of Callie near the site of one of the best breakfasts John has had in a while. It is no secret that John loves breakfast, and the one downfall of Lexington is that we have not found a solid place that does breakfast right. On Sunday morning we found a reason to move to Chicago. The place is called Yolk, and it is located on South Michigan Avenue. The food portions are hefty, the omelettes have clever names, and there are options for all. We recommend it.

After our late breakfast we took yet another stroll. This time we enjoyed the wonderful flower gardens on display in Grant Park. It's amazing how lavish and plentiful the gardens were throughout the city. But the ones right near our hotel were some of the best we saw. Which of course meant it was time for some pictures. The only thing that could match the flowers was a photo of three generations of Lucas women. Wouldn't you agree?




But before we could begin our drive back to Lexington, there was one more stop. Just a short drive to South Chicago brought us to the home of the Chicago White Sox. It was another hot day, but our seats were in the shade before the end of the first inning. And in 97 degree weather the shade made a big difference.


Of course the weather made the ice cold water and the snow cones even more appealing. Callie enjoyed her reduced syrup snow cone custom made at the request of her mother. She also enjoyed a stadium hot dog as well as her Grammy's frozen lemonade. And as is evident in this picture, like any good fan she enjoyed the seventh inning stretch.

It goes without saying that this was a fun and eventful weekend. We all hope that it will be the first of many stops on our cities of America tour. Next year it could be Atlanta, Nashville, St. Louis, or Cincinnati. You just never know.

We are taking a break from travel for a week or two, but we head to Cape Cod on Labor Day weekend, so the fun never truly ends. What will be ending, however, is Callie's free ride. She turns two in October and thus has to pay for a plane ticket. So don't be surprised if she shows up at your door looking for odd jobs to help raise money to travel with her parents. And you think we're kidding...

More Outdoor Summer Fun

It's hard to believe that summer is over halfway done. In fact, three weeks from tomorrow John starts teaching at EKU for the fall semester. Crazy. We are happy to report that we are taking full advantage of all that Lexington has to offer. In fact, although we don't have pictures for you, yesterday we spent the afternoon at the Kentucky Horse Park Indoor Arena watching male and female competitors in the Kentucky Cup Horse Vaulting competition. This is one of many events that will be part of the World Equestrian Games that Lexington will be hosting next year. Go to youtube and check out some video of horse vaulting. It is something to watch, that's for sure.

But let's get to the pictures we do have. We'll start with one of our favorite activities, hanging out at the local park. Here we have an artistic rendering of John and Callie on the jungle gym.




Every time we go to the park it seems that Callie gets more daring and wants to climb more of the obstacles/equipment they have there. It's a lot of fun for us to watch.


We thought Callie was pretty cool because she loved the slides. Well now she just wants to climb up everything and hang on the monkeybars. It is difficult to keep up with her and at times we have to be careful about our driving route so we don't tease her by driving by the playground and not stopping.



Over the past two weeks we also have been going to one of the local pools for Callie's swim lessons. To be honest, it really is just about hanging out in the water. In other words, she hasn't mastered the butterfly stroke quite yet, but is getting a bit more comfortable dunking her head under the water.

Her instructor, Miss Becca, actually helped us feel comfortable dunking Callie's head under the water. This video is Callie's first of hopefully many underwater experiences.




Fortunately she never got upset after her underwater dunkings. But she did tend to spend more time on the stairs of the pool than playing around in the deep end. It's good to see that she enjoys the water. Surfing can't be far away.


We don't spend all of our time outside, of course. And when we are indoors the fun only continues. Callie is getting better at dressing herself, but she doesn't always want to wear her clothes. She clunks around the house in our flip-flops, and sometimes aims a bit higher. Here she is with a pair of John's shorts looking even cuter than normal.




Another outdoor activity that we found was the park of all parks. Evan's Orchard is our go to orchard for pumpkins in the fall. They have a massive playground that includes huge slides, a buried tire obstacle course, swings, and so much more.


It's definitely a family friendly place and they have cater to people with kids. Callie loves it, and we spent about an hour and a half checking out every corner of the play area. They not only had real sunflowers there, but they also had a place to turn your child into one. Not too shabby.

So, you can see this blog post has a little bit of an artistic flair to it. We are trying to get fancy with our monthly updates. What you don't see in the below picture are all of the make-up artists and lighting people involved in getting a perfect shot. It's well worth the result.



We must admit that we never realized how much fun we would have hanging out at parks and just taking in the summer. Summer certainly has become more active now that Callie is a part of our lives. And we still feel like we never get to half the places or do half the things want to.


Our last picture shows Callie next to the wonderful stretch of wildflowers maintained by the folks at Evan's Orchard. One of the best things about taking in the summer with Callie is that we tend to appreciate the smallest things that we would not have noticed before. This is a perfect example of that.

Well, summer may be hitting the homestretch but there's lot's more to come in the months ahead. We head to Chicago this weekend and return to New England in about a month. Our camera is ready and so is Callie.

Summer in the Bluegrass

This post will begin with the July 4th festivities in Lexington. And before anything else happened that day, Callie had an early morning visit with some friends while we donned our running shoes and ran the Bluegrass 10K. We were quite proud of ourselves for not only finishing but looking good while doing it. Plus, the race justified our recent purchase of new running shoes.

Once we had finished the race and showered we were ready to take Callie to downtown Lexington where the streets were close for the big day. There were quite a variety of booths set up and there was a specific area for kids. As you can see in the video below, Callie especially liked the kids area.





The slide was such a hit that we had to go down it twice. We really could have done it several more times but her father was getting sick of the crowds by that point. This is something we need to work on, because that story won't fly as Callie gets older.


Any good fair has fried food, but only the best have funnel cakes. Sarah had only one requirement that day, and it was to have funnel cake. Although this almost didn't happen since Callie started to have a minor meltdown, she was able to pull herself together and enjoy her first funnel cake in one of the downtown parks.

The very next day John flew to Scotland for a week. But the camera stayed in Lexington, so there are no pictures from his trip. He doesn't do well with taking pictures on his own anyway, so there wouldn't have been much to look at. However, he did have a good time and thoroughly enjoyed himself. While he was gone, Sarah and Callie stayed extra busy. Among other activities, they attended a backyard pool party at the Gipes.





Callie is certainly enjoying water activities more and more. And she was happy as a clam in the little pool that Sarah and Alex had set up for the occasion. Not pictured is the trip Callie and Sarah took to the horse show at the Kentucky Horse Park. They are trying to learn all they need to know before the World Equestrian Games hit town next fall.


As soon as John got back from Scotland the planning for the rest of the summer went into full swing. First stop, the Cincinnati Zoo. Here Callie and John board the train that circles part of the zoo. Note to any potential visitors - this train ride is not worth paying the additional fee for "all you can ride". However, we did see a wolf. So that was pretty cool.


One cool thing about the Cincinnati Zoo was that we were able to interact with several animals. As you can see in this picture, Callie had the opportunity to meet Alan the baby alligator up close. We also met a bearcat and fed a giraffe. Both were awesome. Unfortunately the pictures of the giraffe feeding are not exactly blog worthy. Sarah just got too excited and got in the way. It's understandable - those giraffes are amazing!


Callie's favorite animal seemed to be the elephants. We definitely needed to stay at that exhibit much longer than others. She couldn't get enough of them. And right outside of that exhibit was this statue of a baby elephant. Just the right size for a picture with Callie.





Overall the trip to the zoo was fun. Another one of our favorite sights was a mother Bonobo and her baby. The baby was holding on tight and it was extremely cute. Here's a little fun fact for you. The bonobo is the primate with the closest genetic link to humans. It shares 95% of its DNA with humans. Unreal.


As we left the zoo we had one final photo op with the rhino statues. There is an adult rhino and a baby. Here Callie is riding the baby rhinoceros. So a good time was had by all and now we just may have to check out the Louisville Zoo for comparison.

So what's next for the summer? Swim lessons, a Lexington Legends baseball game, trip to Chicago, and of course, lots of time at the park. We hope your summer is just as busy and fun. See you all soon.

Block Island

Our trip to New England started with Alison and Brian's wedding, but it did not end there. Fortunately for us, the day after the wedding marked the beginning of the Balestracci annual vacation on Block Island. We simply invited ourselves along and luckily Katie, Chris, Michael, and Brendan decided to let us stay. For four glorious days we got to know the island and spent time with the Balestraccis and Grandpa Jay and Nana Taffy.


The adventure definitely started on the ferry ride from Point Judith. Callie really seemed to enjoy the boat ride, but the boat and the ocean were no comparison to her cousin Brendan. Thankfully, Brendan did not mind accepting all of the responsibilities and burdens that come with such worship. It was very cute to see.


The weather was great while we were there and we got two great days in at the beach. Callie loved jumping in the waves and playing in the sand. She couldn't get enough of either activity. Below is just one of many pictures we have of Callie frolicking in the Atlantic Ocean, an experience she just doesn't get in the Bluegrass.



But our vacation was not just a day at the beach. We also had a great time biking around, playing board games, and enjoying the fine products of the local bagel shop. Let's be honest, food can sometimes make or break a travel experience. So it's good that Block Island has a number of options.

Here is the whole crew before we enjoyed dinner at the Naragansett Inn. We got to sit outside on the porch and ate good food while enjoying the view. It was fun, but we all missed the presence of Suzy, who was either riding an elephant or a bike through Thailand at the time. It's tough being a world traveler.


On the last day Katie and Chris took us to see Mohegan Bluffs, which is a really cool part of the island. Here is a picture of our gracious hosts and tour guides at the top of the long staircase that descends to the ocean below. It was a great way to end a wonderful time. We can't wait to get out there again.


To get home that day from Block Island to Lexington we had to go by boat, car, plane, train, and finally car. And we even had a detour due to a torrential downpour in New England to add to the mix. Through it all, though, Callie was a trooper as usual. It helps when you have fun travel companions like Nana Taffy. This is a really cool picture, isn't it?

So that ended our New England adventure for this part of the summer. But it certainly was not the end of the fun. Stay tuned for another update soon.

Alison and Brian's Wedding

As you may or may not know, one of John's closest friends from childhood is Mike Skonieczny. And by that we mean there was a period of time from about 6th grade to junior year of high school that John spent every other weekend at the Skonieczny household. And the Bowes and Skonieczny clans as a whole were extremely close and remain so to this day. And on June 27, the youngest Skonieczny, Alison, married Brian Zanardi in a beautiful ceremony on the banks of the Connecticut River.


It was pretty cool. In fact it started with the groom and his son arriving via boat on the dock near the Griswold Opera House. And as the crowd assembled we had the chance to talk to and reconnect with a number of folks we had not seen for a while. But the day was about Alison and Brian. And the picture here only gives you a hint of how great the day was and how bright the sun shined during the course of their wedding.


As mentioned above, Alison is the youngest. There are a total of five Skonieczny siblings and they have been making sure that the Skonieczny name carries on into the next generation. Pictured below is the whole clan, a total of nineteen and counting. Seriously, one is expected to arrive in the fall. Needless to say they are a good looking bunch.





Alison and Brian wanted to make sure not only that their reception was a rockin' party, but also that it was kid friendly. It is obvious that Alison is the director of a preschool program, because all of the kids in attendance had a blast. Who wouldn't with a table of candy with a sign saying "Help yourself" and a basket full of bubble mix.

Okay, who are we kidding. It's not just the kids who like the bubbles and candy. Chris Balestracci was into both the bubbles and the twizzlers, and Mike Skonieczny was more than happy to spray bubbles across the dance floor for all of the assembled kids. It was fun to watch.


And of course there was dancing. Our last picture illustrates both two hip dancers and also the manner in which the well known Bowes dancing style is passed from generation to generation. Callie loves to dance and was happy to shake a tailfeather with Grandpa Jay.





All in all, it was a wonderful day. We had such a great time and were excited to have the opportunity to spend time with all of the Skoniecznys young and old. Hopefully it won't be too long before we are able to do it again.

Return to Reed Valley

Summer brought another love back into our lives...blueberries, baby, blueberries. Reed Valley Orchard in Paris, Kentucky, just gets better and better every year. And all of the rain we endured over the past couple of months has yielded a fantastic crop of blueberries, red raspberries, and black raspberries. Let the picking begin!


We know that all parents think their children are very bright bright or excel at one particular activity. Well we are pretty darned impressed with Callie's fine motor skills, and on this day she did not disappoint. She picked gently and precisely, showing an instinctive knack for only the bluest of blueberries. Not all of those precisely picked berries made it to the bucket, however, for Callie was always ready to taste the fruits of her labor.


Despite her ravenous blueberry consumption, we still managed to bring in a full gallon over a short period of time. It was hot, though, so we needed to sit down and perhaps eat a few before we moved on to the next crop.





The red raspberries were a bit more challenging, we're not going to lie. The bushes have thorns, the berries are a bit more delicate, and you have to adapt to a new color for ripeness. And this means that the final picking of the day, the black raspberries, were really tough. Now if the berries were red you didn't want to pick them. Not the easiest thing to explain to someone 20 months old, no matter how fine their motor skills.


Nevertheless, Callie would not be stopped. She loved to walk through the rows of bushes, pointing and sniffing. We can't wait for our next visit to Reed Valley. They are good people, and we learned on this past trip that they converted their livelihood from tobacco to orchard fruits nearly two decades ago because of the onset of throat cancer within the family. They felt they couldn't be involved in the tobacco industry anymore. Somehow stories like this just makes the fruit taste even better.


Visits to Reed Valley have a way of producing sweetness throughout the week that follows. It always includes one if not two days of fresh blueberry pancakes, which we all seem to love. In this particular picture, Callie and Sarah decided to make blueberry pancakes for Father's Day. It doesn't get much better than that.

Okay, so we are caught up for now. Unfortunately, through the camera debacle, we were unable to capture a true milestone moment for Callie. But it may be for the best since there is some difference of opinion in the Bowes household over what might be fit for blog publication. The fact is, Callie pooped in the pottie!!! That's right, our little girl tugged at her diaper and pulled us to the bathroom. Although we were slow to understand all of the signs, we finally figured it out, placed her on the pottie, gave her a book and a few minutes, and the rest is history. Even though we are not completely prepared to embrace this new activity, Callie continues to have the desire to use the potty about once a day. So we are certainly not out of diapers yet, but we can see that day approaching...we hope. Either way it is pretty exciting to us.

Hope you all are doing well. Tomorrow we are off to Connecticut for Alison Skonieczny's wedding and a few days on Block Island. Who knows what fun and adventure lies ahead.