October in Kentucky...plus a little more

Hall's School of Dance was still going strong in October. The girls knew exactly what to do and although they still didn't really talk to the boys, they understood that they at least had to sit next to them. It's all about baby steps. The main conversation that swirled around Hall's was panty hose and ice cream, a duo of torture and reward that the girls will know for a lifetime.

Meanwhile Reese and her soccer team were getting to know each there better as the season wore on. Because half of the team attend the same elementary school they had a good foundation of friendship, but the time they were spending together just made it even stronger. They are a great bunch of girls, and pretty darn good soccer players too.

One great thing about living in a college town is you get the opportunity every now and then to be ball girls at the college games. On a beautiful night in October Reese's team served as the ball girls for a UK women's game and they had a blast. And they were also very dedicated, leading the UK person in charge to say they were the best ball girls they had had so far. We always seek to exceed expectations.

Callie's crew hit another away game, their friendship as strong as ever. It was already turning out to be a great season. They appreciated their coaches, the dedication and positivity of their teammates, and over course the wins that were coming with relative frequency. In fact, their team won the league! As parents we were so proud of how they had handled all of the adversity the previous year, and it made this season so much sweeter.

One fall must have for the Bowes family is the Cassidy Variety Show. This always brings a great deal of entertainment, along with numerous rehearsals of some dance number or other. With Callie off in middle school we only had to deal with one act overall, but that one act was a handful of personality. Reese and her friends were and are a hoot. They danced up a storm and had a lot of fun doing it.

One Saturday we also had the opportunity to use the Chrisman and Leatherman football tickets. Reese was the most excited overall, because she had not been to a game before and had heard so much about the fancy, all you can eat club house room that accompanied these season tickets. The food did not disappoint, and Reese could have stayed in there eating all night long. Fortunately, she also wanted to see the game from the great seats we had.

No one would have blamed her for staying inside that night, however, because it was raining pretty heavily for just about the entire game. We had come prepared though, with rainproof blankets to cover our legs and raincoats to deal with everything else. The lifesaver was the fact that it was in the 60s, so we weren't too cold. We were just wet. But the game was exciting and the girls didn't want to leave, so we stayed to root on the Cats to a big victory over Missouri. It was a great time.

Speaking of weather issues, for the second time since the girls have been of trick or treating age, the city of Lexington rescheduled Halloween because of severe thunderstorms. This year was a little strange since the rescheduled time was for Saturday from 3-5pm. But daylight did not hold these Chippettes back from going door to door for treats. Callie's friend Molly, who she has become close to in 6th grade, and Callie had the great idea of being Chippettes with another friend Molly. And when the second Molly couldn't do it Reese got to step in.

The smile alone shows you how happy Reese was to be a part of the trio. And we were so proud of Callie for being just as happy to have Reese join the crew. They really do have a special relationship. We also want you to take a moment and appreciate the face make-up done by our very own Sarah. Apparently she is better with the heavy handed costume approach then the light handed daily make up approach.

We didn't venture out alone, however, and joined up with Callie's friend Lydia and a host of other families to take on the neighborhood. One of our favorite parts of Halloween as parents has been blunting the crisp fall evening air with a portable glass of wine or other beverage. We were happy to see that other parents didn't let the change of time disrupt this tradition. In other words, a good time was had by all.

The carpooling group for Hall's expanded over the course of the fall, and by Thanksgiving we needed two cars. And if you think we have shared a lot of pictures from this experience, just know that you are only getting a selected few. It may have been the most photographed dance class experience ever.

The Disney Dozen

Sarah always knew it was going to happen at some point and just had to get John on board. Nothing is more convincing than celebrating your daughter's 12th birthday with a special trip. What made this trip a bit more special was the fact that it was a birthday surprise. Callie wanted it this way. She knew we were going on a trip for her birthday, but didn't know where. So when we walked into the Cincinnati airport very early on the morning of her big day, she still didn't know. The excitement certainly was growing.

It wasn't until our layover in Chicago that we confirmed our final destination to Orlando. Sarah pulled out four personalized bracelets that would end up being the most magical accessories ever. These were our fast passes, our credit cards, and our hotel keys all in one. Sarah had packed an incredible amount of research into a short period of time in preparation for this three-day whirlwind of activity, and now she could finally share it with the birthday girl herself.

We also quickly found out just how well the Disney machine coordinates all aspects of your trip. We landed in Orlando and got on the Magical Express that dropped us right off at our hotel. The hotel was ready for us and showed us to our room. And before we knew it we were off exploring and preparing for a special birthday dinner at the Whoop-De-Doo Revue. And yes, I typed that correctly.

A combination of research and recommendation brought us to this dinner show, and it did not disappoint. The food was good and plentiful, and the show was certainly entertaining. Although there were several opportunities us to recognize our birthday girl, that was definitely not her birthday wish. After some fast and heated negotiations, the final terms were that we wouldn't announce it was her birthday and she could not refuse pictures for the remainder of the trip. Not a bad deal actually.

After a relatively brief sleep we were up bright and early on Friday morning to spend our first full day at Animal Kingdom. Sarah had coordinated a couple of fast passes, but our early arrival meant that some of the rides had very short lines so we could get in a few experiences before our reserved ones. First up, Expedition Everest, a roller coaster that had Callie excited and Reese nervous. Fortunately, Reese can be bribed relatively easily, and before we knew it we were on the coaster. It was a fun one, but it got the blood racing. Amazingly enough, we went on it two times back to back because everyone enjoyed it so much. (Well, maybe not Reese, but she'll come around)

The reserved fast pass was for the Safari experience. Sarah wanted an early morning time when the animals would be most active. She was right on the money and we saw just about every animal there was to see. Although it was a far cry from an actual safari, Disney does a good job providing a quality jeep journey that educated us on many of the animals. We went on this ride twice too.

One of the incredible aspects of Disney is the built environments that set the tone of each park. The attention to detail is something to see. This was the center point of Animal Kingdom, and it was known as the Tree of Life. We also saw a couple of Disney musical productions, one based on the Lion King and one based on Nemo. We had a blast and it was a full day of adventure. Much to Sarah's chagrin, John persuaded her to leave the park before the river light parade so that we could get some sleep that night. And we were in bed by 9:00pm. Sounds relatively early for a vacation night, but we had to prepare for an even bigger day ahead.

This picture was taken around 6:50am at the gates of Magic Kingdom. Since we were staying in the resort we were able to take advantage of the magic hour. From 7:00am to 8:00am, it would just be us and countless others getting to enjoy the park before it opened for the general public. Building on our first day's experience, we made a beeline for the Seven Dwarves' Mining Coaster. This was highly recommended and Sarah was unable to get it on the fast pass. But just a short wait later we were on the coaster, and it turns out Reese was a big fan. And yes, we went on this one twice as well before we headed for our next ride.

In between the rides we made sure to see the parades and get iconic photos like this one. The girls were drinking in the whole experience and there was not a whine to be heard. Indeed, taking your kids to Disney when they are 8 and 12 is the sweet spot. No melt downs, not even by John, and all smiles.

Sarah planned for everything, including purchasing Minnie Mouse ears on Amazon for her, Callie, and Reese. She also brought a backpack full of snacks to enjoy in the lines and to prevent any hangry episodes. The snacks definitely kept us going all day long. Don't worry, we didn't neglect the opportunity to get any of the more sinful treats the park offered. But when you are in the park for 15 hours you have to balance these things out.

We may have gone on a lot of roller coasters, but we couldn't say no to some of the classics. Who doesn't like Dumbo?

We even took the time to get a picture or two with some of your favorite characters. Due to the age of our children this was certainly not a must do, but when you happen to encounter a short line to get a picture with Goofy and Donald Duck, you don't pass it up.

That night we had reservations for dinner at the Beast's castle. The timing could not have been better. After a day full of walking around, sitting for an hour with a nice cold beverage with some really good food was just what the doctor ordered. And yes, we are Disney, but the food options on the kid's menu were fantastic. The desserts were even better, including the delicious grey stuff served in edible cups with edible paint you could use to decorate your cups. Just a great dinner all around.

There is a great fireworks show every night, and we missed the main one because the girls wanted to ride Thunder Mountain, you guessed it, back to back. Even with that, however, we still caught the end of the evening showcase, that included great visual effects, music, and more fireworks. And just like that, we went from the drop of the ropes at the beginning of the day to the close of the park. Certainly a day to remember. And because our flight didn't leave until the afternoon, on our last day we still had time to walk around Disney Springs. The girls each had a $25 gift card to spend, and to the surprise of nobody they managed to spend every penny in a candy store. When our plane left Orlando we felt like we had done Disney right.

September Heat

What better way to spend a weekend than with the Johnsons and some beautiful Kentucky scenery. On Labor Day weekend we found a great little spot not too far from home that gave us just what we needed on a hot day.

Fortunately, the Johnsons are always game. Unfortunately, the only person who brought a bathing suit was Emerson. We all wanted to jump in the water with another hot Kentucky day. But at least we got to walk through the Kentucky River and make our way to a local restaurant that we had always wanted to try for some cold beverages and fried food.

September also had our church's annual picnic. This year Sarah organized an inter-generational scavenger hunt as the main activity. Pictured here is the winning team - every team member came from a different family and was in a different decade of their life, all of which scored them extra points. However they performed well on the trivia portion too.

While Sarah and Reese were enjoying themselves at the picnic, John and Callie were at Callie's soccer game against Falls City FC. Callie certainly has hit a confident stride on the field, and this game not only scored a goal but earned the game ball from the coaches. They give it out every game and the player who earns it gets to sign it and bring it to the next game. We were pretty darn proud of her, but more importantly she was proud of herself.

The very next weekend John and Reese drove down to Franklin, Tennessee for her team's games in the Battleground Tournament. It was another extremely hot weekend, and these girls worked extremely hard all weekend long. They played well but had some tough matches, ending the weekend with 1 win and 2 losses. Reese didn't mind, though, because the hotel had a pool, biscuits and gravy for breakfast, and the hotel room she and John stayed was really big. The true marks of a good weekend from an 8 year old's perspective.

On the older side of things, 6th grade brought Callie into a Lexington tradition that took us by surprise. "Is Callie doing Hall's," we were asked. "What is Hall's?" we replied. Oh my, did we learn. To bring you up to speed, Hall's School of Dance is a 9-week rite of passage for many 6th grade boys and girls in Lexington. They learn how to dance, yes, but they are also instructed in a variety of elements of etiquette. Callie was along for the ride because all of her friends were doing it.

So every Thursday night from September through early December Callie and her friends put on their dresses, their panty hose, and white gloves. They took a picture each week to mark the occasion and off they went.

Now before you start imagining some fancy ballroom and debutantes galore, here is a picture of opening night in a local church's gym. The boys are sitting on one side and the girls on the other. Definitely nothing fancy, but they did seem to learn some good dancing basics.

Everyone who we talked to about their Hall's experience growing up mentioned ice cream, and it is likely that is what Callie would bring up first about it as well. The dancing ended at 8:30, and then dozens of boys and girls tossed aside their etiquette and descended on either Baskin Robbins or Graeters, depending on the night.

These will certainly be memories that Callie will cherish as she gets older. It is important to note that the grand finale of the class was a Winter Dance in early December. However, a couple of parents took the evening a step further and hosted a three-course meal at the Lexington Country Club prior to the dance and then of course after the dance everyone still went out for ice cream. Pretty fancy event for 12 year olds.

Callie wasn't the only one getting dressed up, of course. Sarah and Reese made sure to show off their Sunday best before church one day and looked fantastic in their fall colors. September was coming to a close, but the fun of fall was far from over.

We Are the Champions

The first week of school also coincides with one of our great annual traditions, Picnic with the Pops. This year was special because some of the original poppers back in town. Chad and Rebecca have been a part of quite a few memorable evenings, and this year they came all the way from South Carolina to enjoy the music of Queen with us a few thousand of our closest friends.

Our theme was We Are the Champions, so everyone put on jerseys or sports paraphernalia. We gathered all of Callie and Reese's medals and trophies they have accumulated over the years and used them for table decorations. All in all, we were set for a great night.

Our signature drink, Her Majesty, was a hit. It got people in the mood pretty quickly, and fortunately it was also a cold beverage because it was a very hot evening. Folks were heading to whatever shade they could in the hours before the sun went down.

Here's the whole group clustered around one of the decorations that Chris Chrisman made. As you can see we are still two tables strong. When you have such a great group of folks to hang out with, one table just isn't enough.

And as the sun set and faux Freddie Mercury began to belt out the hits, the fun really began. So many great songs and so much dancing. Who knows how we'll top it next year.

Let the Fall Craziness Begin

One of the great things that Morton Middle School does to get 6th graders comfortable with their new home is they hold a half-day walk through for both the new 6th graders and their parents. Oh, that's right, we suddenly have a middle-schooler in the house. Yikes! Fortunately, as this picture shows. Callie is heading in with a solid foundation of friends. This is fantastic, because as the parents of a new middle-schooler, we learned all about social media, dress code restrictions, and the dangers facing young teenagers these days. Eye opening for sure.

But Callie wasn't heading into Morton with only her Cassidy friends to count on. Now she was finally able to be in the same school as her Glendover friends, especially Janie, pictured here. These girls first met on the soccer field before they were even in kindergarten. They are a little bit taller now, and still playing soccer, which we love.

Callie was already friends with Addie heading into the year, but 6th grade was going to take it up a notch. They were already playing soccer together, but the timing of middle school gave them even more time with each other. Callie went to Addie's house every morning and from what we hear made herself at home. In the 30 minutes they had before walking to school Callie would often make Addie's lunch, take care of Maggie the dog, and make sure the door was locked behind them. And after school the two girls would walk back to Addie's house until our babysitter Malaney would pick Callie up.

We have to admit that we were so focused on getting Callie prepared for Morton and figuring out her morning and afternoon schedule that Reese's situation was a little bit of an afterthought. This was her fourth year at Cassidy so she knew the school well. She was over the moon excited about her 3rd grade teacher, Miss Schenning. However, the morning of the first day she was weepy and very anxious. We were flummoxed. And then when we asked her what was wrong, she sweetly said, "I've never been at Cassidy by myself," meaning that her older sister wasn't going to be there with her and for her. And neither will her sister's friends. Pretty sweet, isn't it?

Callie seemed ready to go. However, she still indulged us with a smile and a first day of school sign. She was paying attention to the school dress code but wasn't overly happy about wearing jeans. Honestly, this girl would live in gym shorts and leggings if she could.

So there they were, these two incredible girls ready for the first day of 3rd and 6th grade, respectively. They were all smiles and ready to get the year started. John was happy because his classes still didn't start for a couple of days yet.

Despite her early display of tears, Reese recovered pretty quickly once she started seeing her friends and got to be in Miss Schenning's classroom. We were happy that she was so excited about her new teacher, but we had no idea how amazing she was going to be.

After we got Reese settled, we took Callie over to Addie's house where the crew was meeting up to walk to school together. Callie certainly let it be known that we did not need to take the walk with her. However, one thing that we love about this group of girls is that all of the parents are incredibly engaged. In the end, Matt Stone couldn't let the memory go by without snapping a photo and sending it to all of the families. It takes a village and we definitely have a good one.

Rockstar Summer

Just because the soccer season wouldn't officially start until the end of July didn't mean the girls lacked opportunities to play. Reese got to play with a couple of different teams in 3v3 tournaments. The fields are smaller and the pace is fast. She loved it.

Callie's 5th grade promotion celebration seemed to continue well into the summer. Her friend Addie convinced her mom to do a girls' trip up to Columbus, Ohio to visit her grandparents and cousin. It seems odd that 11-year-olds are already doing girls' trips, but this is an especially tight group.

From what we understand, Addie's grandparents took them on a tour of Columbus and The Ohio State University. And they sealed the deal with a visit to the best ice cream place in town. The girls had such a great time that on the whole ride home they talked about where each family could take these girls for a visit when it was their turn. Callie tried to start selling California or Connecticut - that's a commitment that we are not quite prepared to make at this point.

Summer soccer continued in earnest with another 3v3 tournament for Reese in Winchester on a very hot day. In fact, Reese and her teammates made good use of the cool-down sports towels that were stored in a cooler full of ice.

All of their efforts paid off when they swept through the tournament and won first place. Their coach Tyler bought them all Gatorade from the gas station up the road as a reward. Reese and her friend Mary were quite proud of their medals as well.

And here's the whole crew. All but one of these girls was going to be on Reese's team for the year, so this tournament was a great opportunity for them to bond and play together.

As crazy as our schedule may seem we do have down time every now and then, which provides the opportunity for a bit of randomness. Sarah had a fun photo shoot with Reese and captured this picture that seems to highlight Reese's personality - a little attitude, a little confidence, and a little free spiritedness.

While Sarah continued to hold down the fort in Lexington, Kentucky, John was able to make a quick visit to Lexington, Massachusetts while he was at a conference in Boston. He was able to spend a night with his great friend Amit who has known since the very first days of college. They don't see each other often enough, so every visit like this one is special.

2019 marked Reese's first summer sleep away camp, and she was all excited to go. It made it especially fun that she was going with her friend Ella and they were going to be in the same cabin. And since this was Ella's second year she could show Reese the ropes.

Among the ropes was showing up about two hours early to make sure they could get checked in and score a top bunk. Reese got her bed set up pretty quickly and saw no reason for John to hang around once everything was tucked in and hung up.

For sleep away camp you always wonder what you are going to find when you pick up your kid at the end of the week. As impossible as it may seem, Ella and Reese both had bigger smiles than when we left. Although we got a lot of great pictures from the camp website throughout the week it was great to give Reese a big hug and confirm that the smiles we had seen were the result of an incredible time.

The summer fun continued with a variety of play dates and other get togethers. This picture is from a play date Reese had with her friend Zoey where they got to test out Zoey's new pool. It's always good when you are known as a trusted pool tester.

Callie's friends Harper and Kennedy had another great birthday party over the summer. This year's activity was at a place called Color Chaos here in town. It's a spin off of the breakout room - the girls had to complete a challenge in a room in order to get to the next room. And in the very last room they played a video game that sprayed colors all over the place. Clearly they all had a great time.

Then it was time for Callie's second sleep away camp of the summer. She was going with her friend Emma Jane and as you can see here they were pretty excited to get the week started. It was Emma Jane's fifth time at this particular camp, so she couldn't wait to show Callie what it was all about.

And as it turned out, Callie had the same counselor at this camp that Reese did when she went a couple of weeks earlier. They both loved their counselor Julie and Julie adored both of them. It was a great fit all around.

For the last camp of the summer the girls went to a tennis camp with their friends the Stones. Callie and Reese had already been to this camp before, but having Mary Kate, Miller, and Maddie there made it so much better. The parents also enjoyed the set up because it lent itself nicely to a shared carpool between the families. And just like that, summer was over. Too bad we didn't do too much.