Derby Time Fun

The days leading up to Derby are always full of fun! This year, Evan and Daddy began the Derby fun by visiting Pony Tales Farm, where Evan got to ride a horse, play in the bounce houses, ride on the tractor, etc. Evan enjoyed this special time with his friends AND with Daddy.

The kids were so excited to get to ride the horses!

Evan loved riding the "yellow" horse! 

Preston and I started off our Derby week fun by attending Evan's Derby party at school. There was a great Derby parade, followed by food and LOTS of games. Evan had a great time and Preston and I did too!

Evan was the cutest little jockey in the Derby parade!

 

Ice cream!

 Ready to race!

 Evan and his good buddy, Isaac, got matching "tattoos!"

 "Go Baby Go!"

Later that day, all three of us joined Daddy downtown at Fest-a-ville to see The Great Steamboat Race. The Belle of Louisville did not pull off the win this year, but we still had fun cheering her on. We also enjoyed eating yummy carnival food, seeing the hot air balloons, playing games, and riding the rides.

The hot air balloons were super cool!

 Preston enjoyed the boat race too!

We tried to take a family picture, but Preston was much more interested in the boats!

Evan LOVED the cotton candy! It was delicious!

Evan wanted to to climb the rock wall and he did well, until he looked down and got scared. Poor thing! Thankfully, he was able to jump right down as soon as he got frightened!

Our Belle of Louisville did not win this year, but we still enjoyed the race! (We will be the winner next year!)

Carl and I went to the infield for Oaks this year, which to my surprise, was a ton of fun. Although we did not win much money on the races, we enjoyed eating drinking, people watching, etc. We even ran into a few friends!

Evan and Preston stayed with Grammy and Granddaddy while we went to Oaks. As soon as we got to their house, Evan ran to go help Granddaddy in the yard. It was so sweet!

Although we went by ourselves, Carl and I enjoyed our day at the track. Instead of date night, it was date day! 

 

Derby Day was quite busy. In addition to going to a Derby Party/Engagement Party for Greg and Allison, we also shopped for a new microwave and had Carl's family over to watch the race. The weather was awful on Derby, so we were stuck inside at both gatherings, but we still managed to have a good time. (Evan learned a lot about The Kentucky Derby at school, so he was VERY excited to watch the race this year.)

Evan LOVED his balloon because it was yellow, like the "yellow" horse he rode!

Preston and Caroline had fun playing together, but were not too interested in the race!

As always, we were sad when the race was over and all of the fun Derby festivities were over. Derby is such a fun time of year in Louisville and it is disappointing when it is all over. Thankfully, there is always more fun to look forward to next year!

Happy First Birthday, Preston!

Preston celebrated his first birthday on April 22nd. (I can't believe he is a year old already! How did the last year pass so quickly?) Preston is now a big, one year old! He is super sweet, loves to "cruise" and crawl, and almost ALWAYS in a good mood. He loves to give kisses and he loves to play with his big bother. We can't imagine life without him! He is such as blessing!

We celebrated Preston's birthday at home on his actual birthday. We were all excited about his birthday, but I must say that Evan was the most excited by far! He insisted that Preston open his card before we all left in the morning and as soon as we got home, he ran to get all of Preston's presents for him! Evan helped Preston open all of his gifts and then he showed him how to use each one. It was really sweet! Preston's favorite toys were the basketballs that went with the mini basketball goal and the boats for the bathtub/pool. We ate Mexican food that night for dinner, which we all enjoyed. Preston then went to bed a little early, since he was teething and started to not feel so well. All in all, it was a great night.

Our families and the Congleton family celebrated Preston's birthday with us the following Saturday. (Poor Grandpa was on call and not able to make it to the party.) I had hoped that the weather would be good and that we could all be outside, but it was chilly and damp, so we had to stay inside. The big kids had a lot of fun playing Star Wars, while Preston and Caroline had fun playing with the baby toys. We had pizza for dinner, which is one of Preston's favorite foods and we also enjoyed birthday cupcakes that Aunt Heather made. My favorite part of the party was watching Preston eat his cupcake. He LOVED it and he was SO happy while he ate it! Of course, I also really enjoyed having  our friends and family here to celebrate with Preston!

Happy birthday, Preston!

Preston enjoyed opening his birthday gifts. (Evan was a BIG help!)

Preston has ALWAYS done a great job when I take his monthly picture. I was CERTAIN that this 12 month birthday picture was going to be easy and look SO cute! Boy, was I wrong! Preston was in NO mood for pictures! He wanted to MOVE! He took off his sticker and tried to eat it, hr rolled, he stood, up, etc. I only got one picture of his face and it was as he was trying to wiggle out of the chair! What a funny boy!

Preston enjoyed dinner and then a special birthday cupcake! Yummy!

"I am ready to party!"

The cupcakes were delicious! 

Preston really enjoyed his cupcake! He was such a ham!

Evan made a special sign to decorate for Preston's party. What a sweet boy!

A party isn't complete without balloons! 

Tunder Over Louisville 2013

We had a great time at Thunder Over Louisville yesterday. Both boys were in a great mood and we were able to enjoy many events.

We started by riding the bus downtown, since Carl had left his car in a good spot for leaving quickly after the show. This worked out REALLY well and both boys enjoyed riding the bus. (Evan REALLY liked riding the bus!) Once we were downtown, we dropped a few things off at Humana and then left to explore.

We went to Fest-a-ville first, for snacks and drinks. We got to see a lot of the air show while we were there. (It was civilian air show this year, but those pilots put on a great show!) Evan really liked it when the planes went upside down, but Carl and I though the flying formations were really impressive! We then headed over to the rides, where Evan was able to ride several different rides, including The Scrambler, Charlie Chopper, and The Fun Slide. He must have really liked The Fun Slide, because each time he finished, he asked to ride again! Evan also played a carnival game, where he won a stuffed dog! He was SO proud of himself! (He has been telling EVERYONE about his big win today!)

After the rides, we went to Impellizzeri's Pizza for dinner. The food was delicious and Evan entertained many patrons with his crazy dance skills! Preston was adorable during dinner and had fun sharing his food with Daddy and Evan.

Once dinner was over, we went back to Humana to watch the show. Evan found some children to play with and he had a great time running around the office playing games. (We were once again told that he is a born leader!) Once the fireworks started, we all settled down for the show. Preston stayed awake for the show and seemed to enjoy the fireworks while he had his bottle.

We got home from the show pretty quickly and both boys fell asleep in the car. It was a successful day for sure, but not nearly as exciting for us as last when, when we had to leave the show early because I went into labor with Preston!

Here are couple of pictures that I took with my camera phone, since I accidentally left my camera at home. There are also a few that I found online, which worked out well, since they are way better that I could have taken with my phone anyway!

Who knew riding the bus was so much fun?

The air show was amazing! 

Preston enjoyed going to Thunder for the first time!

Evan had a great time on this ride. He was so cute because he actually thought he was driving!

The fireworks were great, as always!

Evan was asleep within minutes of getting in the car! (Preston took a little longer, but he was very content. I wish I could have gotten a picture of him too, but his seat is still rear facing. Oh well!)

Tennessee Trip Spring 2013

We went to Tennessee last weekend to visit Grandma, Aunt Karol and the rest of our family in Tennessee. We stayed in a hotel this time, which Evan LOVED. (He thought the giant breakfast bar and the indoor pool were super cool!) We had lots of time to visit and Evan got to play with his buddy, Marlee. In addition to playing outside, Evan and Marlee went bowling! Evan had never bowled before, but he had fun and he had a great time! We also did Evan's most favorite things to do when we visit, which is to go to garage sales with Aunt Karol! Grandma was feeling pretty good while we were there and she REALLY enjoyed seeing the boys. Preston was very interested in playing with Grandma's hands, as well as giving her his signature smiles!

Evan really liked bowling! 

Grandma loves her boys!

Note: I was rushing to pack for our trip and although I set the camera out to remind me to take it, I forgot it! I had to use my broken phone to take pictures! Oh well!

We Love Our U of L Cardinals!

WOW! What a year! Our U of L men's basketball team won the NCAA National Championship game and our U of L women's team made it to the NCAA Championship game! (The Lady Cards lost to Connecticut, but we are VERY proud of them!) Evan and Carl were able to attend one of the women's tournament games and Carl and I attended one of the men's tournament games. (Carl also attended an extra men's tournament game as well, but I stayed home with the boys.) We watched all of the other games on t.v. and they were all SO exciting! Evan was really into the games this year and he has said many times that he wants to be a U of L basketball player one day!

We all got to go to the U of L Cardinal Celebration at the YUM! Center. It was so much fun to go and congratulate both teams on a VERY successful year!

GO CARDS!

The boys enjoyed cheering for their Cardinals!

Carl and I were THRILLED that the Cards won!

 
The U of L Cardinal Celebration was so cool!

Spring Break

We stayed in town for spring break this year, but we had lots of fun! I planned very few things for the early morning, so we almost always had nice, calm, relaxing mornings. It was so nice to be able to take it easy in the morning and not have to rush out to work, preschool, etc. I also took it easy on the picture taking, which means I have no pictures! That it o.k. though! It was nice to live in the moment and not worry about capturing every moment on the camera! 

We started off our break by doing a family race downtown. Daddy completed the race, Evan ran over a mile, and I took turns racing and taking care of the children! It was lots of fun and I was so proud of Evan for running so far! We also had breakfast at Toast and went to Jackson and Caleb's birthday party at the Louisville Science Center.

The boys and I went to Grammy and Granddaddy's house late one morning and Evan and Granddaddy had lots of fun playing outside and digging for worms! Preston had fun inside with me and Grammy, as he played with his new Easter toys and cruised around a bit.

We had lunch with Daddy one afternoon at Rocky's. Evan was so excited to get extra time with Daddy! Of course, I was too!

We went to the zoo with Caroline and Bonnie Mom one afternoon. The weather was nice and all of the kids enjoyed being outside. Evan loved seeing all of the animals. Preston was not too impressed with the animals, but he was happy to ride in stroller on a nice day and eat a snack! Later that day, Grandpa and Bonnie Mom joined us for dinner at our house.

Daddy took off a day of work and we all had fun doing things outside. Evan and Daddy played lots of football and also worked in the yard. Preston enjoyed being outside and swinging, as well as trying to pet the dogs. We also went to Henry's Ark and fed the animals. (Preston was still not too impressed with the animals. It is like he just thinks everything is another dog!)

One of the best parts of our spring break was a visit from the Congleton family! We got to meet Adam, have lunch and catch up. The big boys all had fun playing outside on the playhouse, as well as playing with the new rockets. Later that day, we also enjoyed going to Caroline's first birthday party!

Of course, we also had LOTS of fun watching both the U of L men and women's basketball teams win LOTS of games in the NCAA tournament! GO CARDS!

Easter 2013

As with most holidays, we celebrated Easter on several different days. We started off by going to Bonnie Mom and Grandpa's house to make an Easter Bunny house. Evan LOVED making the house, which is similar to a gingerbread house, except that it is made of chocolate cookies, instead of gingerbread. Preston could not help make the house this year, but he LOVED the chocolate rabbit cookie that Evan shared with him! YUMMY!

Evan also had a Easter program and party at school. I was so excited that I go to go to this party and celebrate with Evan and his friends. Evan did great during the program and was an excellent singer! He enjoyed the party too, which ended with an Easter egg hunt and seeing the Easter Bunny!

Next up on our list of fun Easter activities was dying Easter eggs! Evan has always enjoyed dying the eggs, but this year he was old enough to help and he had a ball! (The only part that was a bit sad was when some vinegar splashed into Evan's eye when he was dropping an egg into the dye cup. Thankfully, it only burned for a few seconds and once he felt better, Evan eagerly went back to dying the eggs!)

Easter Day was very different for us this year. We usually spend the day with my family, but Grammy, Granddaddy, and Daddy all went to the U of L game in Indianapolis. Since they were gone and we would not be eating together as a family, Aunt Heather and her family went to celebrate with Josh's family. That left me all alone with the boys for most of the day, which was sort of a bummer. Thankfully, the Easter service at church was great and really lifted my spirits. The boys and I did get to do a few things with Daddy including Easter morning fun at our house and an Easter egg hunt at church. We also had breakfast together, which was nice.