Sweet Valentines and Copper Mountain

Last week went by in a blur!  After being out sick the week before, I felt like every day at work I was gulping water from a fire hydrant.  The timing for being out the week before wasn't so good, because we had a trip to Copper Mountain planned for winter break, which was due to start on Thursday.  I was trying to cram two weeks of work into three days...thank goodness I have such an understanding boss and wonderful team mates!

On Tuesday we celebrated Valentines Day with a special dinner at home.  When I came downstairs that morning, Lawrence had left us roses and sweets to start the day.

What a nice way to start the morning!

John headed off to school with his valentines, which were an idea I stole off of Pinterest.  Each of his classmates got a mustache to wear for the day (pink for the girls, of course!).

That evening we had dinner in the dining room, complete with sparkling cider for extra fanciness.

I gave all my Valentines a special little something...

New cologne for my man...

New headphones for my little guy...

Yoga pants for my girl

We finished off dinner with one of our favorite desserts...warm brownies with vanilla ice cream.  Perfect ending to a great night.

On Thursday we headed to Colorado for our much anticipated ski trip with the Bunting family.  We haven't been out west with them for several years, and when they called us back in the fall and asked if we were up for a winter break ski trip, we of course said yes!  We had so many photos from our trip that Lawrence put them all into a video (with Sarah's help - she's a whiz with iMovie).  We had a such a great trip.  When I look at these pictures in the video, I'm blown away by the views of the Rockies...magnificent!  Good times with good friends, what a blessing.  Enjoy!

KCD Hall of Fame and a Day at the Lake

So I'm going to try to post about two events I wasn't actually present for...they sounded very fun, but alas, I was finishing up my fight with the chicken pox, so I missed them both!  So sad, but sometimes that's the way the cookie crumbles.  Lucky for me, I have a wonderful husband who understands my pathological need to document everything, and he was sweet enough to take my camera with him everywhere he went this weekend.  Let's take a look at what I missed...

On Friday night my brother-in-law, Joe, and his brother, Bill, were inducted into the Kentucky Country Day Athletic Hall of Fame.  Joe and Bill actually went to Louisville Country Day (which used to be located where the Rock Creek campus of CAL is today), before LCD merged with the Kentucky Home School for Girls in 1972 to form KCD.  They were both superior athletes, and Joe even holds a LCD high scoring record (which can technically never be broken since LCD no longer exists!).  Anyway, they, along with a few other KCD alumni, were inducted into the Hall of Fame on Friday night during halftime of the KCD versus Collegiate varsity boy's game (HUGE rivalry!).  The gym was packed, the competition was fierce, and it sounds like it was a perfect night to bask in your high school glory!

Sarah visits with Joe's mom and dad and
his sister Susan
(who went to Collegiate by the way!)

Bill and Eugenia made the trip from Arizona 

OK, I can't believe there were fatheads!  I WANT ONE!
Here are Shan, Joe and the girls, doing their best
peace sign/duck face looks - the pose of every
teenage girl today!

It's halftime!  Bill high fives the KCD Bearcat

Introducing...JOE HAMILTON!

Brothers...very cool they both were inducted together 

All the indcutees

Mmmm...maybe we have a future KCD
Hall of Famer here...you never know!

On Saturday morning Lawrence and John picked up John's buddy Daniel and they headed to the lake house for the day.  Mike and Jim were already down there, so it turned out to be quite the boys weekend.  There was fishing (I think the fishing trip was a bit brief...it was in the 20s on Saturday!), golf cart riding, fire building, and all around woodsy fun.  Mike had an old piece of cardboard in the back of his truck, and John drew an outline of Daniel so they could use it as a target for shooting and knife throwing (yeah, it was definitely a boys weekend...I would never have permitted the knife throwing).  They wrote points on the various parts of the body...so many for the heart, so many for the head, etc.  For the crotch area, they just wrote "Owww", which Lawrence found hilarious.  The boys had SO much fun...I feel certain they didn't brush their teeth before bed, and I doubt a fruit or vegetable was consumed the entire time they were there, but I guess that's the fun part of being away from mom!

Not much biting when it's 27 degrees outside! 

The fun bunch

The lake's not just for little boys

That's a good looking fire boys! 

John and Daniel prepare their target 

Ready, aim, fire!

John learned to use an ax this weekend.
 Is that a good thing?

The finished target

Time for smores

Today finally felt like a normal day.  Other than some remaining scabs, I'm all better, and I'm so ready to get back to the routine tomorrow.  Boot camp, school, work, chores - it's all the everyday things you long for when you are sick!  We have a short week this week, because on Thursday we leave for Copper Mountain to go skiing over our winter break.  Oh, and Valentine's Day is Tuesday!  Lots to look forward to!

Happy Birthday Lawrence and Poor, Pitiful Me

Friday was Lawrence's 46th birthday, and we started off the weekend with a nice dinner up at Hurstbourne.  He had plans to play golf in this unseasonably mild weather, and John, Mary Lawrence and I met him afterward.  What a difference 46 years makes...on the day he was born his dad had to borrow a jeep to drive his mom to the hospital in 16 inches of snow, and this year he's playing golf in 60 degree weather!  Mmmmm, maybe there is something to all this talk about global warming....

I brought his baby books with me (I had borrowed them from his mom a while back), and we had fun looking through his baby pictures and telling stories.  Dinner was great, and we of course had some delicious cake.

Make a wish!

We had such a nice night, and I was telling Mary Lawrence I was glad to be feeling better.  I mentioned in my last post that I had been battling some cough and congestion for a few weeks...and then a few days earlier I had started running a low grade temperature and was a little achy.  No worries, as long as I took some Advil every four hours I felt fine.

Feeling good and enjoying some yummy cake 

Happy birthday to the birthday boy and the
birthday mama (I firmly believe the mama should
get credit for the day she gave birth!)

And you can't forget John - he makes the party a party!

By the way, Sarah was at a good friend's birthday party...it was on the same night, and of course Lawrence didn't want her to miss it.  And of course, being a teenager, she agreed with him. 

We came home and watched "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (still hilarious, 25 years later) and I was so looking forward to Saturday because Lawrence and I had plans to go to Bardstown with the Yates for his birthday.  We've wanted to do a distillery tour for some time now, because Lawrence loves bourbon, and me, well, I don't like bourbon, but I love to tour things like that, so I was all in.  Through Stacy's work with the Visitor's and Convention Bureau, she's very involved with the Urban Bourbon Trail, and she had put together a great afternoon and evening for us of tours and tastings, and we were spending the night at a Bed & Breakfast in Bardstown.  So fun!  Except...

remember how I hadn't been feeling well?  I forgot to mention I had a few spots on my neck and chest, just a little rash really, from whatever virus I was getting over (or so I thought).  I woke up on Saturday, and looked in the mirror...hey, what's all over my neck?  Why does my back itch?  I lifted up my nightgown...what the heck is all this on my stomach???  Could I possibly have the CHICKEN POX? I never had them as a kid, and I thought I must be one of those people who is immune to them.  The kids are of course vaccinated, and you never hear of anyone getting them anymore.  I showed Lawrence, and we decided I better get to the immediate care center pronto.  We were supposed to leave for Bardstown at around 11:00...I'm thinking maybe I can get to the doctor, get some ointment or something (after all, it can't be chicken pox, it must be a rash), and get home and showered in time to leave.  Except the spot were like rabbits and multiplying rapidly!  And now I really did feel ill...shaky, chilled, weak.  The doctor looked at me, asked me if I'd had chicken pox before, and when I said no, he said, "Well, you do now."  

Oh my goodness, what a difference 12 hours makes!  Friday night I was enjoying a nice glass of wine, having a lovely time at dinner, and by Saturday night I was a complete and total mess.  I have never itched so bad in my life...I couldn't sleep the entire night because my head and body itched so bad, and nothing would make it stop.  I had to laugh at all the types of creams, pills, baths, showers, etc., I've been taking over the last two days, because it's comical!

Thank God for pharmaceuticals!

Sometime after midnight last night the itching stopped, and I was able to go to sleep.  Today I went to my regular doctor and he sent a culture to the lab to confirm that it's chicken pox, although he said he believes that's what it is (he just can't imagine where I got it!).  He put me on an antibiotic too, just in case it's not the chicken pox virus (yikes, then WHAT is it?)

I love my family, they are so good to me.  Lawrence has been to Walgreens a million times, checked on me, listen to me whine, done the shopping, put clothes away, walked the dog.  My mom brought me soup today, my sister made me go to the doctor, and Mary Lawrence, MT and Lori checked on me and offered anything I need...I am blessed.  Even if I do look horrendous.  And no, there's no way I'm posting a picture.