Derby Hat

As you can tell from the previous post, we have a tradition of making Rachael a hat to celebrate the Derby every year. We make her hat during the week, we take a few pictures, then on Derby day everyone picks a horse and we cheer for our favorite. (We don't place any bets - we would be waaaay to far in the red if we did!)

A few weeks ago Rachael and I were out shopping and we found lots of displays of ladies hats.  (I'll bet other stores across the country don't stock near the volume of hats as we get here in April. I digress.)  Rachael came across this beauty, so we used it as inspiration for her hat this year.

I love the Star Wars shirt too.  We are nothing but high fashion.

Drumroll please...

The 2010 Derby hat! Blue with pink and covered in sparkles.  She stuck on most of the sparkles herself.  Fancy Nancy would approve.

Rachael has picked her horse for this year:

Make Music for Me

(I would like to note that this is the first year she has chosen her horse based on the name, instead of on the color of the silks the jockey will wear.)

I haven't decided for sure yet, but my three favorites are Sidney's Candy, Paddy O'Prado and Devil May Care.

Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday - Derby Style!

2006 (first derby hat)

2007

2008

2009

We are working on this year's hat today.  Stay tuned for pictures!

Week 2

Since Rachael's dance recital is coming up, we practiced how to do a bun in her hair. I figured if it could withstand an entire dance class, we would be on to something. It worked! Turns out you can do almost anything with enough gel and hairspray.
(It's not the best picture, but I love the way she's twirling!)


We finally grilled a steak - Grandma and Grandpa came to visit for the weekend in part to bring us some beef.  Rachael helped hand feed this cow last year.  His name was Delicious.  He lived up to his name.


We made necklaces for each other.  It took a day and half.  I'll have to remember that for next time.  Rachael has one that matches this aqua colored dress.  I have one that matches Rachael's personality.



We helped with the ward service project last Saturday, too, which was to clean up part of an old cemetery.  Mostly that involves clearing brush and weeds, and chopping down a few trees.  We stayed out of the trees and mostly worked on clearing out between some headstones our ward uncovered last year.   There was quite a turnout for the event; it was fun to be part of all that activity.

Five more days till Daddy comes home.  We're on the home stretch now!

Flashback Friday

A couple of months ago Rachael and I went to Pennsylvania to visit Lesley and her family.  Ryan managed to cover the kitchen table with fly tying materials:

We haven't managed quite the mess that Daddy did, but we are making a valiant effort:

Hopefully Daddy will come home soon and we can go back to having dinner at the table.

Week 1

Last Tuesday we said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa, who went home to Idaho, and to Daddy, who took a business trip Taiwan.  He was suppose to be home this Saturday but instead he gets to go to China for a week on Friday.  He has been very very busy in Taiwan, but they did get to do a field trip to Taipei 101, which was the tallest building in the world until just a few months ago when it was surpassed by a skyscraper in Dubai. (This is not his picture, by the way.)

Rachael and I have been keeping busy, too.  In answer to the question, "How are you doing with just the two of you," here are some answers:


Eating well.

Finishing the leftovers. (They were really good! We had pulled pork, potato salad, parmesan chicken, and all kinds of great stuff.  It was almost a week before I had to really cook something!)

We updated our Disney DVD collection.

We keep ourselves busy on Saturdays - last Saturday, a fun new movie.  (Note to self: 3D glasses are not made for small children.)

A girls day out is hardly complete for Rachael and I if we don't stop at our favorite, Qdoba.  We were going to eat on the patio but then the wind picked up. Still, it was a lovely day!

In the evenings, I have been catching up on my chick flicks.

We also have worked in the yard, cleaned the house, and hosted a girls night with my friends.  No shortage of fun distractions.

Since Ryan's trip has been extended, it looks Like Rach and I will be planning at least one more Saturday together. 

Road trip anyone?

Flashback Friday

April 11, 2009

Easter egg hunting (with the boys)

April 16, 2010

Hanging out with the boys

We had all these boys over today for a playgroup.  We played with toys, watched a little TV, and had a really fun game of hide-and-seek.  I don't know why most of Rachael's friends are boys (and I'm sure in 10 years if that's still true it will make me crazy!) but we sure love these adorable friends.

Kentucky Horse Park

For our last day with Grandma & Grandpa, we decided to visit the Kentucky Horse Park.  Every time we have been there before it has been closed for one reason or another - except for Southern Lights. This time we got in, hooray!, and kids under six are free.

Rachael's favorite part was probably the little horses that we found in a couple of different fenced areas.  They are obviously used to being fed by hand; they walked right up to the fence and stuck their heads out to be petted.   She has decided she wants one for a pet.  She told me she would take really good care of it and feed it every day and Mom, what do ponies eat anyway?  Sorry, no ponies for pets at our house.  Even if it would fit in the garage.

We went to the Hall of Champions, which was kind of neat.  We got to see five different winning horses, including two Derby winners.  Here is Funny Cide, winner of the 2003 Derby and Preakness, showing us his funny side:

1995 Breeder's Cup winner and one-time richest horse in history Cigar shows us how to do a headshot:

We also saw a show called the Show of Breeds, where I expected to see several breeds (there are 40 different breeds at the Horse Park) but we saw just six. 

The bright side? After the show is over they bring the horses to the side of the area so you can pet them.  (Left to right, an Arabian, Morgan, Shire, Palomino, and American Paso Fino.  I love the Paso Fino - such a funny gait they have.)  This is Rachael petting the Paso Fino.

At the end, Grandpa and Rachael found a chair for a rest:

We really enjoyed having them and can't wait for them to visit again!

More Weekend Fun

Saturday we took a drive into Lexington - the long way, down Tates Creek Road and over the Valley View Ferry.  (Random Kentucky factoid: the ferry has been operating for 210 years.  Really!)

Grandpa had never been on the ferry and was decidedly against it.  He does not like the sensation of sitting in the truck, floating down the river.

We stopped for lunch at Five Guys, then we went to the Arboretum at the University of Kentucky.

They always have such beautiful trees and flowers.  I lined up Grandma, Rachael and Grandpa for a picture, and Grandpa thought he would be silly.  Good thing I'm quick with the camera (occasionally!) or I would have never captured this gem.  I do have one where he is standing up, but this one is so much better. He spent most of the weekend doing anything to make her giggle, including dancing around the house.  (Wish I had a picture of that one!)

Happy Birthday Daddy

We are excited to have Ryan's parents here visiting for a few days.  After an exciting trip here involving a three hour delay, a thunderstorm, and a night's stay in a hotel, they finally arrived this morning.  Rachael was so excited to see them she ran around in circles for awhile. 

Rachael put herself in charge of entertainment, so she played about six different games with Grandma in the afternoon.  Then she explained to Grandpa how to play games on her Leapster.  She also "helped" Grandma and I make Daddy's birthday cake.   After a LOT of prodding, she aslo donned her recital costume and performed her ballet routine.  (She doesn't mind the dancing but she thinks the costume is itchy.)

 
We moved Friday Night Pizza Night to Thursday so we can go out to dinner tomorrow.  Everyone made their own pizza.

Grandpa was too intent on what he was doing to "cheese" for the camera.

And the cake!  Ryan would have preferred either apple or banana cream pie, but Rachael voted for a Death Star cake.  Knowing there are not many more years before she doesn't care what kind of cake Dad wants, he wisely agreed that he really needed a Death Star cake. 

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Easter fun and a bun

Easter fun started almost two weeks ago for Rachael. Building Blocks preschool had their Easter party a week early because they were on spring break this past week. Rachael had to take 10 candy filled eggs; the kids all went on a hunt for all the eggs. Apparently there is no equal distribution of the wealth there - she came home with 25 eggs!

We colored eggs for Family Night on Monday, then decorated them with markers and stickers on Tuesday.

Little Hands had their Easter party this past Thursday. They also did an egg hunt, but the kids were limited to finding 10 eggs each. For party days they always have pizza and cupcakes for lunch. Love that pink frosting!

This is Rachael's class getting ready to play the next game.  (Jackson, Rachael, Charlie, Clark & Jessica).

Saturday morning I did a picture scavenger hunt for Rachael to find her Easter basket.  It took her the first two clues to figure out how it worked, but after that she was off! I took pictures of each location with my camera, then printed them out (on the laser printer).  In each location I put the picture of the next location; there were eight all together.
(Yes, she is wearing her Christmas nightgown.)

Found it!

Instead of hunting for eggs around the house, we went to the Easter Eggstravaganza hosted by the city.  It was a lot of fun!  Rachael's favorite thing is probably the inflatable slide.  She will stand in line forever to go on it.

She also got a flower painted on her face.  (I love the expression of the Kappa Delta Tau girl - she looks like she has seen one too many kids already today.)

Rachael waited so patiently for her flower.  It turned out pretty cute!

The egg hunt isn't so much of a hunt as a free-for-all.  They scatter eggs and candy all over the softball field. And don't you just love the duck hat??

 

The four and five-year-olds cleared the field in about 90 seconds.  No joke.  Our friends Burke and Louan  were there watching, and they counted.  Rachael got plenty of candy, though, and thought it was a lot of fun.  Ryan's favorite part was watching a lady on the field with a big bag, scooping everything in sight into it.  She didn't even have any kids around her.

We rounded out the party by driving the fire truck.  Well, pretending anyway.

After the Easter festivities in the morning, Rachael and I went over to her dance school to learn how to put her hair in a bun.  Not just any bun - one that will survive a three hour dance recital.  Rachael was so thrilled to get chosen as a hair model.  I learned a lot of things: you can't have too much gel or hairspray, how to use a sock top to make a bun (very clever!) and that Rachael will sit still and not complain for someone else to fix her hair.

When we got home we practiced show makeup, too.  I need more practice.  But this face earned a solid disapproval look from Daddy, so I must have done something right.

Happy Easter!

Flashback Friday

2008

Her feet don't even reach the bottom when she pedals all the way around.

(Also, from this hairstyle you can tell why she wears pigtails.  A lot.)

Now look at her go! She's going to need a bigger bike pretty soon.