Vera

On Monday night, Vera unexpectedly became very ill and passed away. We are heartbroken. She was the best cat and we miss her terribly. She was incredibly sweet and she liked to follow me around the house. She would often flop over on her side or back, so that I could rub her belly. She loved being wherever we were. She was often found cuddling up next to to us on the couch or sitting on top of the couch, so she could see what we were doing. Her favorite spot was on my lap, where she would knead bread and often fall asleep. She had the sweetest and softest meow, but when she was happy, she had an amazingly loud purr. She was also incredibly beautiful. She had a beautiful multi-colored coat and striking blue eyes.

It is hard to imagine that we almost didn't get to have Vera as part of the family. She came to us when she needed a break from the shelter. She was incredibly shy and hid from us. I usually didn't even see her at feeding time. After a few weeks, she decided she liked us and started to be very happy here. She stopped hiding and enjoyed it when we would pet her. We fell in love with her and loved watching her blossom here. We decided that she had to become part of the family and she never went back to the shelter. I am so grateful that we had these past few years with our sweet girl. 

Vera loved to be with us. This was taken in the bathroom, as I helped the boys get ready for school.

Vera loved to get her belly rubbed.

Sometimes I can squeeze in an afternoon nap. Vera loved to sleep next to me.

Vera loved to sit on my lap and purr.

Both Evan and Preston loved Vera very much. The first picture is of Preston holding Vera. This is was the day we found out that he was allergic to Vera if he held her. Thankfully, he could pet her or she could sit near him with no problems. 

40th Birthday Trip

I celebrated my 40th birthday earlier this year and Carl will celebrate his 40th birthday in July. As part of our celebration, we took a short trip to Key West. Grammy and Granddaddy helped by watching the kids, so Carl and I could go by ourselves. It was a really great trip. We were able to eat at our favorite restaurants, as well as try a new restaurant that we loved. We went sailing at sunset, explored the harbor, went to both Higgs Beach and the beach at Fort Zachary Taylor, as well as walked on White Street Pier where we saw two sharks and a ray. We also got to sleep in, which was wonderful.

Of course, we were so excited to get back in town and see the boys. They had a great time with Grammy and Granddaddy and even went to a U of L baseball game. I know they missed us, but they sure had fun with Grammy and Granddaddy. We are grateful that they were able to take care of the boys for us.

 

Mother's Day -2019

We had a very busy Mother's Day weekend, but it was fun and filled with lots of family time. We hosted brunch for Bonnie Mom on Saturday. It was a beautiful day and the kids enjoyed playing together outside. Andy was in a great mood and was all smiles. Evan really enjoyed playing with him.

On Sunday, we went to Claudia Sander's Dinner House, which is one of my mom's favorite restaurants. She really enjoyed her meal, as well as her gifts. The boys enjoyed time with Grammy and Granddaddy.

Mother's Day Brunch with Bonnie Mom

Carl and the boys got me beautiful flowers. They smelled SO good!

I am so grateful for Evan and Preston. I am truly blessed to get to be their mom.

Mother's Day with Grammy

Kentucky Derby Festival Fun

We started off the Kentucky Derby Festival as we always do, with Thunder Over Louisville. We had nice weather during the day and the boys had fun riding the rides at Fest-a-ville. We also had a great time at the Chow Wagon, where the boys enjoyed some sweet treats as we watched some of the air show.

Uncle Teddy, Aunt Rachel, Caroline, Alex, and Andy joined us for dinner at Los Aztecas and then for the fireworks. We were fortunate to be able to watch the fireworks from inside the Humana building and the show was great! I will say that we were disappointed that we couldn't watch the show from the balcony like we did last year, especially since it was open. Since it rained during the show, I guess we were better off inside anyway.

I had a great time completing the Kentucky Derby Festival mini marathon with Bonnie Mom. It was a really beautiful day and it was a really fun race. Like last year, I ran in support of Hope Scarves. I am happy to help fund metastatic breast cancer research and support my friend, Lara.

We had a great time at The Great Steamboat Race. As a bonus, The Belle of Louisville won this year! The boys also enjoyed the rides and we had lots of yummy treats. Preston loved seeing the Clydesdale horses.

Preston had a great time at Chancey's annual Derby Festival parade. He was SO proud of his float! I loved seeing him in the parade. He was adorable!

Oaks Day started off rainy, but Carl and I decided to go anyway. I am glad we did! It turned our to be a great day and we had a lot of fun! It was great to get to see Teddy, Rachel, Julie and Justin.

We had a great time at our Derby party. We invited some new friends and everyone had fun. I wasn't happy with the way they called the winner of the race, but the party was great! The kids had fun with their friends and it was a really nice day.