Kentucky!!!!! Day 1. - Act 2

After we got Dad's stuff out of the way, we checked into our hotel.. Did I mention it has a pool? And, airplanes flying over head? How cool is that?



Then, we went downtown Louisville to a rather dubious, run-down looking part of town. So, it turns out that staying by the airport wasn't so bad after all. Anyways, right in the middle of this area was the mecca of all things prim, proper and snooty.. The Churchill Downs.



Ok.. It wasn't that bad.. They had horses. And we even got to see a race. Mine didn't win. Nor did dad's, Nor mom's or even Sarah's.. What kind of luck is that?



But since it was so late in the day, we pretty much had the run of the place, and even got to meet one of the jockeys...



After that, it was getting quite late, so we once again braved getting lost in the wrong neighborhood.. We made it to the downtown core for a little walkabout before Sarah decided she had had enough fun for one day.. Some nice lady offered to take out picture beside a giant bat.



End of Day one. Final Count 12 state troopers on the road from Ohio, 10 downtown Louisville.

Kentucky!!!!! Day 1.

Hey-Oh.. Mom planned a vacation for us in Kentucky this time... Boy did she have an agenda set for us..

On the first day we drove for about 4 hours from our home, and Dad started to get a little excited when he saw some sign on the side of the road..



All I know is that when we finally got out of the car (after only one pee-break) we were in some hills and the air had a rather sweet smell to it. So, we took an obligatory picture with Dad.



Then we watched a movie on the finer points of making something called bourbon with charred oak barrels, special spring water, and excess corn. An interesting fact from the movie.. There are 1.8 million barrels of bourbon being aged in the 51 different warehouses built around the property.



We then amused ourselves while mom bought Uncle Steve a shot glass... Get well soon Steve... Sorry bout the arm. Dad bought a lot more than mom though.. He said he made out well... Whatever that means..

Polar Bears

Living so close to the zoo we spend a lot of time there. The girls have been anxiously awaiting the opening of the Polar Bear exhibit. We avoided the first week crowds and finally decided to go this morning in the rain, hoping we would have the place to ourselves.

We saw reindeer grazing and then headed to the polar bears. The exhibit is pretty cool. You can go in the tunnel and see the bears when they are swimming above you.

Pretending to be polar bears on the ice.

Braving the rain. Sarah being 3 had to dress herself and refuse to wear a raincoat.

Polar Bears! They are very big!

We loved our first glimpse of the polar bears.

In the learning building Claire loved experimenting with the microscope. Checking out her nail polish.

Sarah pretending to be a polar bear - she looks more like a bear snack.

Petting a blood python.

The zoo also just got four new manatees. The babies are really cute!

Finally a stop to see Fluffy.

We love our zoo. How great is it that we live within a 10 minute drive
from the best zoo in the country!

Spring Fun

Well we are still working away on the kitchen.

Last Friday it was warm enough (for kids) to turn on the sprinkler for the first time.

We have been playing games. Guess who I am?

Sarah the astronaut.

We have been painting and doing crafts.

And of course we have been going to parks and playing outside a lot!
We love to put on a show on the park stage.

Go for walks in the woods.

Ah, sisterly love. Capture it while it lasts.

Climbing trees in the park.

Spring is wonderful. Great time to play outside, not so hot that we complain and lots of flowers to plant and pick.

May Days

On the way back from skating Dad stopped at a garage sale and scored us this awesome keyboard and a whole load of vintage Barbie furniture. Yeah Dad!

On Saturday Claire went on her very first sleepover. It was Kara's birthday so they went to the House of Bounce and watched a movie. She had a great time!

Meanwhile, with Claire gone to a sleepover Sarah decided to play dress-up with Ratchet. He is such a willing subject.

Sarah also got a little scratch on her finger. LOL

By Monday Mom was fed up with arguments over brushing hair so we decided it was haircut day. Claire got a shoulder length bob. It looks really cute and she can brush it herself.
Don't worry Grandma, there are still some curls in there.

Sarah helped Mom bake some bread. Amazing the difference between using Canadian and American flour - yum-o for Canada.

Claire also started T-Ball this week. The first class focused on learning the bases, tagging our friends gently and throwing.

Claire running the bases. Despite having horrible allergies this week and having to hold a tissue all class she had a great time.

Finally we met up with our friend Lily for a play date at the zoo. We are loving the spring weather. I will try to get some good pictures of Sarah's gymnastics for an update next week.