The Leaves They Are A Changin'

It has been a beautiful fall in Kentucky. All the rain over the summer and some rain over the past months has led to a bright array of colors all over Lexington. But as you well know, we are not the types to just sit around and look at the pretty colors. We tend to be on the go. And it all starts with our enjoyment of orchards.


We begin at Evans Orchard, where Callie had a play date with one of her favorite friends Iain. It is really cool to think that they have literally grown up side by side. And it gets better every day. Callie looks forward to seeing him, she says his name as we get close to their house, and always has to give him a hug/squeeze. It's still unclear if Iain appreciates the squeezing part, but he'll learn soon enough.


The play date entailed quite a few activities. First we picked some apples and then we took a rest while enjoying apple slushies and apple fritters.(It was probably more sugar in one sitting than Callie has had in the past three months combined) Then we moved on to picking pumpkins.




Callie and Iain loved the wagon ride to the field full of pumpkins. But the ride was even better once they had a few pumpkins in the wagon with them.


Because you can never have too many pumpkins, the search continued. Callie generously tried to give this small pumpkin to Iain. Unfortunately she dropped it at his feet before he even had a chance to grab it. They just have to work on their timing and their passing game. It will come with practice, and because we live down the street from Coach Calipari we figure he can give Callie some pointers once the basketball season is over and he has some time on his hands.


So did we mention that Callie likes pumpkins? She really enjoyed just climbing all over the piles of pumpkins the folks at Evans Orchard had on display.



This was also a lot of fun because it marked the first time Callie was willing to turn around and say cheese for her paparazzi mama. You would think that she would have learned this lesson a long time ago. But better late than never.


Iain also had a good time climbing on the pumpkins. His mother also happens to have a love affair with the camera, so he is used to the constant flashes and the snapping sounds of the camera in action. But it was also starting to get a bit late, and we all realized the time may have come to wrap things up at the Orchard.





But there was time for one last photo of the group involved in the excursion. All in all it was a fabulous day. It's a bit sad to think that the season for orchards is now behind us. And it will be another seven months or so before we get to go to Reed Valley Orchard to pick some fresh blueberries.





Of course October ends with a very special day. It's a day where parents of young children get to dress up their little tykes in the cutest outfits they can find. Then they use those cute kids to collect tons of Halloween candy that they will not be allowed to eat. This should be the perfect formula for the parents to obtain a variety of tasty treats for the next month. Therefore, we present to you this year's cute little tyke - Callie doggie. That, in fact, is how she referred to herself while wearing this outfit.




Unfortunately, the formula for candy collection was not bulletproof. Although we enjoyed a couple of festivities where Callie got to dress up, the night of our big score (Halloween), Callie got a slight fever and we felt guilty using her as a pawn. So we stayed in and now will never know if Coach Calipari and his family were giving away good stuff or just apples. Hopefully next year the plan will come together. The only problem is she might be old enough to catch on to our scheme.


We have often talked about how much we love our neighbors the Chrismans. One of the many reasons for this is the opportunity for impromptu activities right across the driveway. In this picture we see Callie learning how to make creme brulee with Sharon. This is obviously something she would not have learned from her mother or father, so it's good that she has other people to turn to for such domestic guidance. However we must point out that Sharon's creme brulee contains Amaretto, which explains the bottle in the foreground of the picture.



Another great thing about Sharon is that she not only teaches Callie how to make fancy desserts, but also believes it is equally important to teach Callie to clean up the mess that has been made in the process. And of course, Callie is far more willing to take such instructions from Sharon than from her parents.





But Callie doesn't only like to help Sharon. She also has a soft spot for Chris and was very excited to help rake leaves in their backyard. This is only fitting since Chris and Sharon gave her a small rake and broom for her birthday. Based on the amount of raking that needs to be done in our yard this time of year, we can't wait until both Callie and her rake are bigger so that she can pull her weight around here.



It's hard to believe it is November and we have already dealt with one major fall holiday. Next up is Thanksgiving in California, and you can be sure there will be plenty of pictures to share from that trip. Then before you know it Christmas will be here and we will all be in Connecticut. But we won't just be celebrating Christmas with the Bowes family. We will also be raising our glasses to toast the recent engagement of Suzy and Brian! So many things to look forward to...

Callie's Second Year Evaluation

Well, we did the fun part. We celebrated Callie's second birthday. But as with any big event in today's modern world, there comes a time for paperwork. Yep, you guessed it. It's Callie's annual review. And there is quite a bit to cover, so we don't want to waste any time.

We'll start with the picture Callie submitted along with her materials. Once again it appears that our young friend is confident in her ability to perform well in this evaluation. Or she just doesn't take it as seriously as we do.



Let's start off this evaluation with the basics. As of October 20, 2009, Callie measured 34 1/2 inches, which places her in the 75th percentile. Last year she was also in the 75th percentile. She weighed 24 lbs, which was the 20th percentile. Last year she was also in the 20th percentile. Clearly, young Callie believes that last year's numbers are good enough for this year. There may be some concerns relative to her ambition. Unfortunately they stopped measuring the circumference of her head so we can't give any numbers here. But we think her noggin' is looking pretty good these days.

Her pediatrician, Dr. Warner, thought Callie was developing well. He is such a good doctor for Callie and for us. He always wants to know if we have any concerns or questions. But even he wasn't quite sure what to say when Sarah mentioned our concern that Callie wasn't reading yet. John thought it was quite funny, however.

All joking aside, we also should provide the latest on Callie's kidney reflux. Unfortunately, Callie's annual check-up with the pediatric urologist did not provide good news. Although her kidney issues have not worsened, they have not improved either. And based on the fact that she has a duplicated right kidney and had a breakthrough UTI this past year, our doctor has recommended surgery. It took us a while to come to terms with it, but we have decided that it is in Callie's best interests to have the surgery. At the moment it looks like the surgery will occur in early January. The good thing is that it has a 98% success rate and our pediatric urologist has a great reputation. Obviously we will keep folks updated as the process unfolds.

But now back to the really important stuff. Last year we focused on three main categories - daycare, development, and social skills. Those three categories still apply, so let's start with daycare.

Overall, Callie has been doing quite well in daycare and loves Miss Donna. Unfortunately Miss Donna has not officially been her teacher for the past several months. But this can't keep them apart. Miss Donna still takes Callie every now and then for art projects and other fun activities. Speaking of art, Callie certainly has done her share this year. We never knew how many projects could involve a painted hand or foot. For example, this past week we received some of Callie's feet that were in fact ghosts. In other words, our house is filled with pieces of paper covered in Callie's hand and foot prints. While the year began with concerns over Callie's improper use of her teeth (a.k.a. biting her friends), it has ended with Callie being more in control of her emotions. She has even learned to squeeze inanimate objects when she is frustrated or mad as opposed to squeezing her friends. Callie's musical knowledge has also expanded during the past year in daycare, and she will start singing while her parents struggle to name that tune. But when we are all on the same page she really gets into it. Her napping is going quite well and unlike last year, there have been no reports of her bodyslamming anyone. Overall, therefore, she is meeting expectations when it comes to daycare.

The next category is development. It is tough to know where to begin. However, within the last month it is as if a switch has flipped in her brain. She starts talking when she wakes up and hardly stops until she goes to bed. It is quite amazing to say the least. The following are some of her favorite phrases: Wait just one second, Where did it go?, What's that?, Baby stinky (this one comes with proper hand movement over the nose), Bagel?, Callie do it (yes, she refers to herself in the third person), No night night, My daddy (we'll deal more with this later), Oh no, and the list goes on. Language skills are clearly coming along. Her motor skills are constantly developed by her insistence on picking the vegetables out of her meals, puzzles, and consistently using her spoon and fork. We have also been impressed with Callie's ability to count to ten. She has been able to do this for a couple of months now, though as of late she tends to forget the number 5. She can say her name when you ask (Callie Bowes), knows how old she is (2), and can identify the location of her femur. Unfortunately she has taken a bit longer to identify the humerous, but we are still working on it. One bone at a time. Callie enjoys walking, running, and jumping. The jumping has taken some work, but she is catching on. And not only does she like running, but she enjoys getting into a three-point stance, saying on your mark, get set, go, and then running. Indeed, at any given point this past year you may have seen the three of us traveling from one gate to another in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport in fits and starts as we all had to get down in the stance before we could start running along.

Last, but certainly not least, is the category of social skills. We are pleased to report that Callie consistently uses words like please, thank you, I'm sorry, and excuse me. Now she often says excuse me while in the process of pushing you out of the way, but it's the thought that counts. When exposed to a new social setting she tends to be shy and clingy. It does take her a little while to warm up to folks. But that is not exactly a bad thing, and we are happy to see that she has a healthy respect for strangers. For better or worse, Callie is currently in a phase where she is undoubtedly a "Daddy's girl". Or more accurately, John is "My Daddy." It's pretty funny, because Sarah is not even allowed to sit next to John when the phase is in full gear. While cute in small doses, this is clearly something that Callie needs to work on. We'll be keeping an eye on this in the year ahead.

When all is said and done, it is been a strong performance by Callie over the past year. She is growing up to be such a wonderful little girl and her parents often look at each other and smile about something she has done or is doing. If she continues to stay on course she has a bright future with this family. At this time , therefore, we can say without reservation that we recommend Callie Alexis Bowes be admitted to the two-year-old community.

It's official, she costs more

Only four days after Callie turned two we jumped on a plane and headed to Denver. However, this trip was a little bit different. Something felt lighter. Was it our bags? Nope, we had to pack for 30 degree weather in Denver. Was it the air? Well, sort of, because Denver is the Mile High City. Was it our wallet? Definitely, because now we get the pleasure of buying three tickets instead of two. She is no longer a "lap child."


So we had to have the talk with Callie. We laid it out for her. The airlines paid for her first thirteen trips, her parents will pay for the next thirteen trips, and after that she is on her own. And yet there she sits in her roomy seat without a care in the world, ready to take on Denver and see Aunt Suzy.





Oh, but this trip was not just about seeing Suzy. We also got to meet Suzy's boyfriend Brian. We were the only ones in the immediate family who hadn't met him yet, so we were eager to get our chance. And no lie, this is how he was dressed for that initial meeting. As many of you know, you seldom get a second chance to make a first impression. Fortunately Brian got that chance with Callie, who cried at the sight of the crazy red hair. She will soon learn, as we did quickly, that Brian is a guy who commits to everything he does, including spirit week at the high school where he teaches.


All the humans were quickly forgotten by Callie, however. She was in love with the kittycat named Disney. As you can see in this picture, Callie had not problem getting right in Disney's grill. And to her credit, Disney was an absolute saint. At no time did she come close to taking a swipe at Callie, who at times may have deserved it. Overall Callie did great with Disney. She gave her lots of attention and learned to be very gentle while petting.


Callie and Suzy decided that the cold weather and the SNOW required a change in plans. Instead of going to the Denver Zoo we would remain indoors and go to the Denver Children's Museum.



This is one cool museum and we barely got to get our bearings in the two hours we were there. It really seemed like they had thought of everything and anything a kid might enjoy.


There was one whole floor of the museum dedicated to activities for kids under the age of 4. It was really cute - everything was miniature and the place was definitely designed for independent play. For example, here is Callie playing in the fishing boat. Both the rod and the fish had magnets attached which allowed Callie to be a much better fisherwoman than her parents have ever been. She truly enjoyed it and squealed with excitement every time she caught one.


Next up was a play area focused on trains and automobiles. Callie has long been a fan of trains, and was excited to have Aunt Suzy as a playmate. Seriously, this museum had everything. Not pictured - a mini basketball court, a mini grocery store, an invention room, and so much more. We will be going back. Oh yeah, and Callie cost more as a two-year-old here as well.

The next day we headed to Boulder to take a stroll down Pearl Street. Unfortunately the weather conditions remained chilly with a touch of snow. One thing to mention here. The snow was so dry that when it fell and stuck to your jacket you could actually see the complex shape of each individual snowflake. It was very cool. In any case, the cold weather necessitated a stop for coffee and hot chocolate.



Callie didn't mind a quick stop, but was restless to move along to see all that Boulder had to offer. There were some cool shops and come spring, Callie and the rest of us will be happy to play with the design your own kite kits we bought that day.

Another bonus of the trip was breakfast with the Andrews family. John and Thomas went to undergrad together, lived together for a year in LA, and now both are history professors. A lot of things have changed since those southern California days. Thomas and his wife Amy are now the proud parents of two beautiful children, Santiago and Fiona.



We met at a cool little breakfast place called Snooze. Good ambience, and of course, good omelettes and sizeable pancakes. Good stuff.


Santiago and Callie really enjoyed their time together. They shared a pancake, colored together, and read a book together. But what they really enjoyed were they leaves outside. We probably spent twenty to thirty minutes hanging out in an abandoned parking lot near Snooze watching the two of them play.


It's amazing how kids can entertain themselves just about anywhere. And it allowed the adults to continue the conversations begun over breakfast. It was so great their growing family and hopefully we can get together again soon. And the date ended with both parents bribing their respective children with fruit snacks to get in their car seats.

Our post comes to an end with picture of our wonderful hosts, who on the final night gave us a well deserved adult evening, which included a scrumptious dinner and the musical "Wicked". We had so much fun and look forward to many more of these evenings in the future.



And since Suzy and Brian just booked their tickets to Madison for Christmas, we will be seeing them in just a couple of months. But before we can get to Christmas we have Halloween and Thanksgiving. The fun never ends...

Callie Turns Two

Believe it or not, this past weekend marked Callie's second birthday. The celebration started at Callie's daycare on Friday where all the kids enjoyed eating a delicious apple spice cake that Sarah made. And with a lot of coaching from Miss Donna Callie can tell you how old she is if you ask her. It's quite fun to hear her say that she is two.


But the real festivities took place on Saturday, beginning with a trip to one of our favorite places, Reed Valley Orchard. Again this year they had a fall festival that included a petting zoo, arts and crafts, live music, apple picking, and a variety of foods. Here we see Sarah and Callie petting a rooster.


Callie really seemed to like the rooster and the other chickens, although she wasn't quite ready to have them eat out of her hand. She was more than willing to throw the food in their general direction. Not pictured here are the other animals - sheep, pigs, and goats - that were also a part of the feeding/petting zoo.

Of course we also had to spend some time picking apples. Callie took a little while to warm up to it, but once she got going she wanted to pick more apples than our small bag could hold.



Although we tried to pick unique varieties, we ended up with Golden Delicious, Fuji, and Gala apples. But we got some fresh air in the process, so it wasn't a total loss.


As she gets older, Callie enjoys doing things on her own and in her own way. Something like placing apples in a big fits right into this category. Although some of the apples may have been injured in the process, they eventually got into the bag and made it home. Hopefully they will make their way into another great spice cake.


But our favorite part of the day was when we got to sit down, have some food, and listen to the music. Callie even got up to dance a few times when the music got lively. We have yet to have a bad time on a visit to Reed Valley and already can't wait for blueberry season next spring.


Clearly a birthday isn't a birthday without some singing, candles, and a cake. We are still in a low-key birthday mode at the Bowes house, but a good cake is absolutely necessary. We are also happy to report that the cake was an ice cream cake from Graeter's Creamery, our favorite local ice cream joint. So tasty.



The video above shows that Callie is still not completely comfortable with the singing and burning candle birthday tradition. Which made us happy that we chose to bypass the Mexican restaurant-big sombrero-mariachi singers celebration we had considered at one point. So you don't get a picture of Callie in a sombrero, but we also avoided a traumatized child. Maybe next year.

Once the candles were blown out we had the opportunity to capture the happy family on this big day. It truly is amazing that our little baby is now a little girl.



Although she didn't completely enjoy the birthday traditions, she definitely caught on to the importance of enjoying your cake. She had two pieces and would have had more if her parents had allowed it.

Callie also quickly adapted to the tradition of licking the cake off of the candles. And as is case with her bad habit of double-dipping chips in salsa, she kept licking the candles and sticking them back in the cake to get more frosting. She certainly has a sweet tooth, which is a trait inherited from multiple relatives on both sides of her family tree.


The Chrismans were able to celebrate Callie's big day with us by coming over for dinner and sharing some cake. It is really cool to see the relationship that they have developed with Callie. We like to joke about Callie becoming like Dennis the Menace and always bugging the neighbors. But at the moment they all seem to enjoy each other too much for her to be a complete menace. But there is time.

So the birthday weekend was a success. But there is more to come. In just a couple of days we head out to Denver to spend some time with Aunt Suzy. And course, with this second birthday it is time for Callie's second annual review. The assessment is currently under and details will soon be reported.

End of Summer Fun

One quick look out the door and it is obvious that summer has passed. Tonight the thermometer is going to dip into the low 40s. Leaves are on the ground and fall is officially here. But before we jump into the fall festivities we thought we should update you all on how we wrapped up the summer in the Bluegrass.

This first picture is for Grammy Gayle and the late Great Grandma Nice. As you can see Callie is sporting her San Francisco Giants t-shirt with pride. And if you look closely you can see how the true California girl wears her sunglasses.




For those of you who care, as I know I (John) do, she also has a New York Mets t-shirt. I'm just saying that both coasts are represented and she has a few years before she has to make a final commitment. In any case, this summer wear is seeing its last few days.


We are fortunate to live right near the University of Kentucky Arboretum. It is maintained year round and produces some beautiful flowers and other plant life. Callie and Sarah met up with a friend and her two daughters to take a walk and enjoy all that the Arboretum had to offer. Here Callie is posing for a quick picture while we were checking out all of the handcrafted birdhouses.


Here is a peek at Catie, Ada, and Ara, our fun companions on the tour of the Arboretum. Callie is the perfect middle child of these two and it was fun to watch how she truly enjoyed interacting with both of them. She took great pleasure in running around with the 4 year old and taking care of the 9 month old. It's neat to see how adaptable she is when interacting with other kids.


We had so much fun with them that weekend that the next weekend we met up with them again at Boyd's Orchards. Boyd's had a huge playground and the girls ran all over it the entire time we were there. Callie especially liked the tubes she could climb through and slide down. We were so impressed with the variety of fall activities which included apple and pumpkin picking, hay, horse, and train rides, and that huge playground. So be ready to see more pictures of Boyd's when we get to our October updates.

That very same weekend marked our neighborhood's Oktoberfest. And yes, it is in September and it is spelled with a K. Not sure what that is all about but it is a good time nevertheless. The last couple of years we have gone, eaten a slightly German meal, and had a few beers. But this year was different because Callie was ready to fest like it was Oktober. Check out the video below.



We do want to mention that this is Callie's very first moonbounce experience. Well I guess we should say this is her second. It took us a couple of times for Callie to understand the whole concept of the moonbounce. Honestly, the first time was pretty funny because she waited in line, pretty patiently we must say, only to sit in the middle of the moonbounce and watch all of the kids bounce around her. But her observations paid off the second time around.

Okay, prepare yourselves, although you can already see the picture most likely. In the ongoing battle to rid the house of diapers, this pictures seems to point to success. And although Callie has had some success over the last three months she is still not willing to make it a permanent part of her daily routine. And recently she has talked about her diapers more than one would think possible.





But she's cute, so I guess we'll be patient and keep working on it. We did just get word that she will be moving into the two year old classroom at daycare which does have a bathroom which should make the whole potty-training effort more consistent. Keep your fingers crossed on that one.


Next stop, Bloomington, Indiana, or apparently B-Town to the locals. In any case, they have themselves a Lotus Festival up there that brings in musicians from all over the world. We drove up on a Friday night so we could enjoy the festival on Saturday. Our fine hosts are pictured to the left. Neil is a biology professor and one of John's colleagues at EKU and his wife Karen is a grad student at Indiana University. We love to hang out with them and jumped at the chance to spend the entire weekend with them. The weekend included the best farmer's market we've seen yet, two awesome breakfast joints, a sumptuous Indian dinner, a Hungarian gypsy band, and a whole lotta rain.


Although we did get wet, we managed to walk around downtown and found a good photo opportunity or two. Callie likes dogs, but is a bit timid when it comes to actually petting them. So this dalmation was a perfect compromise for all involved. Callie got to touch a dog and we got a good picture.




And of course we had to spend some quality time with the Hallorans and their son Iain. It is fun to see the two kids hanging out together.

Iain started at Callie's daycare about two months ago and Callie has been very supportive and helpful during his transition. It is so neat to see her recognize him and view him as her friend. The two of them play together extremely well and we're sure this friendship will only grow as they get older.


That being said, I (John again) was not present and accounted for when the decision was made to have both children in this bath. Nor was Charles, Iain's father, consulted. As many of you know, John's feeling is that Callie will not date until she is 30. So you can only imagine where taking a bath with a boy fits into this equation. It doesn't matter how sweet Iain is and how few tatoos he has.

So that is it. The Summer of 2009 is officially brought to a close. Hard to believe that this Saturday we will celebrate Callie's second birthday. Time sure does fly. And only 28 years until she can date...

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...