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.

Christmas and New Years on the East Coast

Having celebrated Christmas in Lexington it was time to head to the beach for the next round of festivities in Madison.  Whenever we visit our respective families we always try to fit in some ocean time regardless of the season.  So we headed down to Hammonasset State Park and walked out on the jetty.  Callie and Sarah were having a great time until Callie lost her footing and her whole entire leg went into the water.  Surprisingly enough, there were no tears and she quickly recovered.

One of the big events of this year's holiday visit was a road trip to Bethel, NY to spend the night at John's Uncle Tommy and Aunt Terry's house in the country.  The whole Bowes, Balestracci, and Hannen clans descended on their place for what turned out to be an absolutely fantastic time.  Needless to say, Uncle Tommy and Aunt Terry were extremely generous hosts.

It's always fun to take your kids into the homes of people who don't often have visitors under the age of 20.  For much of the night we had our eyes on Callie, Reese, and Zoey as they ventured near and looked at all of the incredible glass figurines that Terry has throughout the house.  We had to remind Callie on several occasions that you can't just do a cartwheel as you are going down the hallway in this particular residence.  We are happy to report that all glass figurines were still intact when we left.

The evening flew into high gear because Tommy was the bartender. As we said, he is a very generous man, and not only with his time and love.  Katie and Suzy were not the only ones who had to be strategic about their night based on the drink they were poured.  Fortunately these drinks were also accompanied by a vast amount of appetizers spread out along the bar.

It was great to see Tommy in such good health after he had a challenging year to say the least.  He looked great, and that is in no small part due to the efforts and love of his incredible wife.  The two of them have been together for over forty-two years and they are still the same lovebirds they have always been.

As should be the case with any good meal, we didn't rush through the evening and spent quite a bit of time just hanging around the bar, eating, drinking, and enjoying each other's company.  It was certainly a fun night with the idea that we had unlimited time and no one had to leave so they could drive home.  That made Tommy's generous pours even nicer.

Once we finally turned to dinner we got the girls set up at the kitchen counter.  The three of them had a great time and couldn't get enough of each other.  It is so much fun to see both Callie and Reese laughing and playing with Zoey.

Of course this home in Bethel is not simply a vacation home.  Tommy and Terry spend most of their time there which means Tommy is also connected to work.  The morning after our great night he showed his set up to all who were interested.  Mike Balestracci, who is now a college freshman studying business, was particularly interested.  And of course Chris, now twenty plus years removed from his days as a broker, enjoyed taking a peek as well.

We were able to get a picture of the whole gang, but unfortunately this is not it.  In our photo collection we have a picture that includes everyone except Sarah and Brian, who were trying to manage a self-timing camera and the smiling faces of their respective children.  So while this photo is good, it's not perfect.

Because we had so much time to get comfortable at Tommy and Terry's, the good-bye process was a little more painful for the younger kids.  Reese and Zoey needed to make sure that they showed their great-uncle some love before they headed out the door.  It was a wonderful visit overall and hopefully we will be able to do it again soon.

For our New Year's celebration we spent the night with Mike, Kristen, Ella, Ethan, and Eli Skonieczny.  It worked out well because the kids got to hang out for a bit and the adults had some quality time to catch up.  Callie and Reese are always excited to spend time with Ella once they warm up, and Ella is absolutely amazing with both of them.  She is beyond sweet and we wish we could bring her home with us.

But enough about the kids, because we all know this is really about John and Mike getting to relive the glory days and take ridiculous pictures.  Here they ponder how much life has not changed for them while using the Chewbacca hand koozies.  Jason McBean also joined in for some of the shenanigans, but he missed this particular photo op.  A great time was had by all.

In between all of the hijinks we managed to get a pretty decent family picture in the last hour of 2015.  It was another great and crazy year for the Bowes family and this photo highlights the willingness of the girls to take everything on, even if it means staying up way past their bedtime.  Hey, we have taken pictures in far worse places this late at night.

As 2016 entered we tried to capture the moment in grand style by acting out the year.  Reese wanted no part of it, however, so the 6 in 2016 ended up being disproportionately larger than the rest of the human scribble.  Eli's 0 is also a little abstract, but if you squint you can see what he was aiming for.

On this trip we stayed at the Balestracci's house, which also meant we got to venture into the woods around their neighborhood.  For the most part we didn't see any wildlife, though there are stories of big red bears that used to roam the lands.

As usual, Reese managed to convince an adult that her legs were too weak to carry her any farther.  And Katie, being the wonderful aunt she is, was more than happy to play along with her niece.  The walk was quite fun and a new experience because we had not realized just how extensive the trails were around their place.  We'll remember that for the next time we are in town.

Another memorable aspect of the entire trip was Callie's last minute assignment from her teacher that entailed taking a Flat Gingerbread Man on the trip and documenting his adventures.  We got pictures of him all over the place, and on the last day he got to get in on this photo with Nana Banana and Sport down by the Guilford docks.  It was another amazingly quick visit, but we packed in quite a bit of fun.

We must admit that the Flat Gingerbread Man assignment was more intensive than we had imagined.  Or perhaps we were just the only parents who had their child write up a two page narrative describing the stories behind each of the ten photos we took.  In any case, this was the last one, as the Big Blue Horse, a.k.a. Big Lex, welcomed us back to the Bluegrass.  2016 was off to a great start!

Christmas Traditions both New and Old

Our church always does a good job of kicking off the season of Advent with a craft fair and pancake breakfast for kids and their parents.  This year the main focus was ginger bread houses and pancakes with all of the fixings.  And by all of the fixings we mean whipped cream and chocolate chips.  There may have been some strawberries and bananas as well, but we all know what went first.  This Sunday is one the girls look forward to every year.

Another event that marks the holiday season for us is the Nutcracker.  It has become an important girls tradition in the Bowes household.  This year was extra fun because we got tickets to the Nutcracker that included Katherine Bracken, the daughter of one of Sarah's colleagues.  She is a beautiful ballerina who has previously appeared on this blog in the Ballet Under the Stars post from this past summer.

Although this tradition is only in its second year, we think it is a keeper.  The Abrahams were heading out of town over Christmas but we had them over for pizza and tape ball before they headed out.  As usual the game was competitive and the younger ones in particular got pretty heated up, forgetting in those moments that the gifts they were fighting for could be anything from a jar of pickles to a pack of gum.

In the end, of course, everyone won because we had a great time together.  And once all the ripped newspaper had settled to the floor the Abrahams could smile and pose for the camera.  We have probably said it a bunch of times, but we are very fortunate to have them in our lives.

We were pretty proud of our family's competitive spirit as well.  Callie certainly took more initiative this year to rip through the tape ball for numbers and glory.  Reese is still tentative but we know it is only a matter of time with that one.

For the first time since we have lived in Lexington we through a little Christmas caroling into the mix.  The Prestons invited over a bunch of folks and we had the kids practice some of their favorite songs before we hit the streets.  And then we simply sent the kids to each door to belt out a carol or two to an often unsuspecting and a bit frightened homeowner.  All in all the kids had a blast and the homeowners didn't call the police.

Reese is very aware of Christmas and all that it entails.  She could not get enough of the tree, the stockings, and the presents that slowly began to appear as the days went by.  This picture came to be when John just happened upon her one morning sitting and admiring the tree in silence.  Sweetness personified.

Since we have made a point to be in Lexington for Christmas we always attend the Christmas Eve service at our church.  It is beautiful and we particularly love the way it ends with Silent Night as everyone in the church is holding a lit candle in the darkness.  This year the weather spiced things up because it was so hot that we had to have doors opened to get some air in.  And then we took advantage of the wonderful temperatures to walk down and take a selfie in front of the bourbon barrel Christmas tree near the farmer's market pavilion downtown.

Christmas morning never gets old, and we love snapping a picture of the girls before we let them downstairs.  They have been good and don't wake up very early.  This year they didn't wake up until around 7:30.  And although they are excited they are very much under control and enjoy the whole morning without being crazy.

There were a variety of special gifts this year, but Santa did well by giving the girls a joint gift.  It is a soccer goal that they can practice with in the backyard and they were both pretty happy about it.  I guess this is the "surprise me" gift that Callie asked for when she sat on Santa's lap earlier in the month.  And don't worry, Reese got Shopkins and a Beanie Boo, just like she asked for.  Once again, Santa's gifts were a hit.

A new and great twist to this year's Christmas festivities was a visit from Sarah's Arkansas cousins.  Gary, Debbie, and their son Cody joined us for Christmas brunch, along with Sharon and Chris.  The Matteri's were in Kentucky visiting their other son Jackson and made time to fit us in.  It was a wonderful visit and we hope we get to see them again soon.  Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!