Forever Young: May 2011

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Cousin Kisser

John and Bruce played each other in baseball tonight for the second time this season, and the game ended as a cousin kisser. The Cubs and Red Sox each scored nine runs, and in regular season play they let them end with a tie. I told Shannon there is no other team I would want to tie but theirs!

Bruce covers third

John comes out to give Jett a pep talk. He loves to talk to his pitcher!

Curb Appeal - Before and After

For years I've been wanting to replace the flower pots on my front porch. I have two heavy iron pots that are very nice, but are a bit short, and I can never see them from the street because of the two bushes on either side of the porch. Over Memorial Day weekend I resolved to finally replace them with something taller, but you know how it is when you are looking for a particular item, and even though you feel like you've seen what you're looking for a thousand times, now that you're ready to buy it, it's nowhere to be found? Well, that's how it was when I was looking for pots. I finally found two that were the height I was looking for, but the wrong color. They were such a weird color that they were 50% off, so I decided to get crafty and go ahead and buy them and spray paint them. I'm so happy with the results! They are an even better color than what I was looking for (I would have settled for black), and I'm thrilled with the way they turned out. I love it when I have an HGTV/DIY moment that actually works (it makes up for the all the ones I try that don't!).

Before - yucky color

After - hammered bronze

Ta-da!

Tall enough to see over the bush!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

A Quiet Few Weeks and a Busy Few Days

Following Mother's Day and Derby we enjoyed a long respite of nothingness. Nowhere to really be, nothing to really do. As the resident homebody of this family of four, I thought it was glorious. Then on Thursday of this week things started heating up again and we resumed our regular busy pace.

On Thursday night Sarah performed in her last band concert. She started band in the fifth grade, and I remember she was so excited to start playing an instrument. Her music teacher at the time assigned the kids their instruments, and she was appointed with the clarinet. While not her first choice (don't all girls dream of playing the flute?), she became quite proficient and has now played in the school band for three years. Last year her interest started waning, but I convinced her to give it one more year. By October of this school year she warned me that this would be her last year playing, so I knew this May her concert days would come to an end. I've never mastered how to get a good photo of her playing on stage, but I do want to remember her last night. Hope she doesn't regret stopping, since most adults wish they hadn't quit playing an instrument as a child.

Band chick

Friday was Field Day at Rock Creek, which is the best of days and the worst of days for John. He looks so forward to this day all year, but he struggles with his competitive nature, which tends to get the best of him at times. I volunteered all day, and I would watch him go back and forth between the joy of victory and the agony of defeat. Hopefully he stored up more joys than agonies.

Cheering on his buddy Zach

After school we took the kiddos out to Churchill Downs to enjoy an afternoon at the track. The weather was gorgeous and we hit three exactas in a row! The best part was while we were hanging out in the paddock, Jill Bryne from Churchill Downs came over and asked if we wanted to present the trophy in the winner's circle after the next race. Ummmm, yes! We got to go out to the track and watch the race on the rail and then give the trophy to the jockey. The owner is in Brazil so we got to the keep the trophy (bonus!).

Hanging in the paddock

Getting ready to present the trophy

Today it was up and at 'em, with some of us heading to Homestead Day at Nana's (Lawrence and Sarah), and some of us heading to the ball field (me and John). It was a beautiful day for baseball and Homestead Day. The Red Sox continued their winning streak (12-0!), and everyone got lots done at Nana's.

Dad splits some hostas to take home

Nana directs Rich and Lori in some vine removal

Hauling tools, limbs, and kids

John got in an hour of work before heading to a birthday party. Rough life!

Now we're home, and Lawrence and I had planned to go out tonight. But the couch feels good, and now it's raining. So we downloaded "The King's Speech" and Lawrence went to pick up PF Chang's. Mmmmm....did I mention how much I love to stay home?

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Celebrating Mother's Day

Mother's Day sneaked up on me this year...with it falling the day after Derby it went by in a bit of blur, but Lawrence and I both felt blessed to be able to celebrate another year with our moms. At our age, having your mom still around is no guarantee, and every year is a gift. We had brunch together at Hurstbourne, and it was nice to just linger and visit.

Lawrence and his pretty mama

Me and mine

Mom and Dad

The rest of the afternoon was spent at the ball park. I had moments of wishing I was napping on the couch for Mother's Day, but then I remembered that being a mom means sometimes spending your free day watching your kids play, because without them, I wouldn't even be a mom, right?

Speaking of my kiddos, they gave me a pink dogwood tree for Mother's Day, which I have been shamelessly begging for for years. I love it, and can't wait to get it in the ground.

John did a great job "wrapping" my present

I love all the women in my life, and hope to share many more Mother's Days with them!

Monday, May 9, 2011

And They're Off!

What a Derby weekend! Lawrence and I just ended a fun filled three days of Derby fun. On Thursday we went out to the track with the Weis, Russell and Varga crew and had a ball in the Turf Club. I've never been out on Thursday before, and I see why it's called the "new" Oaks. There were no crowds and the day had a real "local" feel. After weeks of rain, the day was bright and sunny...I didn't bet a single race, but it was fun to be with that group and then head to dinner at Z's afterward.

Next up was the Oaks. This is the first year we bought a box for both Oaks and Derby, and I'm so glad we did. We went with the Sampsons, and the boys got us a box right on the rail. If the weather is good, this is our favorite place to be (if it's bad, well, not so much). We were blessed with a gorgeous day on Friday, and Lawrence and I even cashed a few big tickets (horse handicapping isn't exactly our thing). The best part of the day was gettting to tell John had hit the exacta in the Oaks. He had given me three horses to bet...#7 because that's his lucky number, #12, because that's his baseball jersey number, and the #13, because it was named St. John's River (this last one was a long shot). I bet a three horse exacta box for him and #12 and #13 came in! This meant quite a bit of winnings for him, and he hasn't let go of it since. Lots of day dreaming going on about what he's going to buy!

The sun is shining on Oaks Day!

Amber, Susan and me with our pink cups for the Oaks Day Pink Out

Leaving the Downs after a great Oaks Day

John celebrates his Oaks exacta win

Derby Day dawned a bit chilly and damp. This concerned me some because we were again going to be out in the open without any cover, and rain was in the forecast. When we first arrived we were greeted with a brief shower, but then the sun came out and shined for the rest of the afternoon. We loved our box so much...it was a risk with the weather, but so worth it when the Derby horses walked their parade at the end of "My Old Kentucky Home." They paraded and turned right in front of our box - beautiful! We saw so many gorgeous hats (and horses!), and Lawrence and I left the Downs after the very last race at 8:00 pm. We were exhausted by the time we got home, but we agreed this was a fabulous Derby weekend and can't wait to do it again next year!

The crew is back and ready for Day 2!

The ladies...

The gents...

...and the winner! Animal Kingdom (my nephew Bruce's pick!)

Sunday, May 1, 2011

A Royally Fabulous Weekend

This weekend was pretty much near perfect. Friday started off with the much anticipated royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, and I must say, it did not disappoint. The kids and I got up at 5:45 (am!) to watch the 6:00 am ceremony (11:00 in London), and watching it brought back so many memories of how much I adored Princess Diana when I was a girl. The pageantry of the ceremony was so beautiful...I know it seems silly and trite to some people, but the history and the beauty of it all just about did me in.

So pretty!

We of course made chocolate chip scones for breakfast!

On Friday night we began a baseball filled weekend, with games scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The rain had finally stopped, so it was time to play ball! John and Bruce's team played each other on Saturday.

John loves playing catcher

Bruce waits on first base for the next batter

On Saturday afternoon we headed to Holly's and Lee's farm (Amende Place) for dinner with the WKU crew. I just cannot say how beautiful of a night this was. Holly is a fantastic entertainer, and she and Lee pulled out all the stops for us Saturday night. It's foaling season, so we were treated to the sight of newborn foals, dinner outside in the "grove", live entertainment (nothing is better than music around a bonfire), delicious food, and of course, time with dear, old friends. I don't know who had more fun, the grown ups or the kids. All I know is I wanted to cry when I looked at my watch and saw it was almost midnight. I didn't want to leave! We took a ton of pictures, but there are just so many parts of the night I want to remember.