Fall Break Recap

For the last 7 days (Thursday and Friday the week before the kids were off too), Amelia was on fall break. While we only had the weekend trip to Kentucky planned, we enjoyed the other days at home or little outings to the park and playground. Derrick was off for Columbus Day and we explored a new park that morning. The rest of the day, we spent hanging out in the yard and playing games. Honestly, I didn't take any pictures for a few days and I don't even feel bad about it. Most mornings, the kids and I enjoyed staying in our pj's and just had a relaxing start to the day. For the first few days of fall break, the kids played really well with each other until they got on each other nerves and the daily fighting began again. 

A couple of afternoons, we spent at a big playground where my kids love to play tag with the other children. It only takes them a few minutes to find some willing participants and they are off and running for the next hour, which gives me some time to read a book. Win-win for everyone! Amelia and Elliot also were my training partners when I went for a run at the park on Thursday morning. Together, we can easily go 30 minutes. I'm in pretty good shape right now so I'm thinking of doing a 5K run in the end of October. Just for fun and to challenge myself, no hopes of winning whatsoever. 

We stopped only to chase some geese across the lawn. 

We also spend some time at the arts and craft store and picked up some paint and new supplies. While it is still warmer than normal here (low 80s but it's supposed to cool off by Thursday) during this time of year, we are still spending lots of time outside. The sandbox is always a favorite (followed up with an early bath afterwards):

On Thursday, my little artists painted their hearts out for an hour:

 

We also decorated for Halloween this week and while we are keeping it low-key this year, it still turned out pretty nice. 

On Saturday, Amelia and I decided to go to a kids' crafting event at our local Michaels store (a chain arts and craft retailer) to make some Sugar Skull Masks. While we were the only ones there, they still did the crafting activity for us. We really enjoyed making those masks and for the $2 we paid per participant, we not only took home two masks but also all the remaining supplies. As you can imagine, my girl has been busy making masks for everyone since then. 

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing at home, doing yard work and enjoying a good BBQ on Sunday night with our property owner. Overall, we enjoyed this break but I'm glad that now we are back to our normal routine. Before I forgot, here is a picture of my new hair-do. Unfortunately, the curly waves only lasted a couple of hours but I sure enjoyed showing them off. 

Happy Tuesday, you all!

Boo at the Zoo

Yesterday evening, all four of us went to the Nashville Zoo for Boo at the Zoo. Since it was opening weekend, fall break and it drizzled a bit, there were almost no crowds. The whole atmosphere was easy going and fun and the rain stopped around 6pm. This year, Amelia is dressing up as a giraffe (her favorite animal) and Elliot is a little dragon for Halloween.  

Love this view:

My little giraffe with another giraffe and of course a picture with Snow White and Belle as requested by Amelia:

There were only a handful of characters at this event and Elliot didn't want to get close to them even though he loves Batman. 

But Gourdon, the talking pumpkin, made him laugh out loud:

We only saw a few animals last night but this zoo (we bought the annual membership so you will see more Zoo trips coming up) has a few petting stations and yesterday, the kids were allowed to pet a tortoise and a hedgehog. 

We saw zebras, ostriches, and flamingos. This little guy in his dinosaur costumes followed us around:

They also collected lots of candy on the Story Tail Treat Trail and encountered "dangerous" creatures:

I'm over the moon about these two!

The girls vs. the boys:

There was also a Fall Festival Field that featured carnival games, a bounce house, a dance party, carousels and a corn pit. Testing there strength at the High Striker game:

Our little dragon is quite the baller:

The corn pit was a favorite too:

But both kids loved "shaking their booties" on the kids only dance floor. I had to put together their first dance movie for you all to see their moves. She definitely got the moves from her Daddy and Elliot is her dedicated sidekick.  

There was also the Frightful Farm, which was way too scary for our little ones and so we skipped that. Maybe in a few years they are ready for that. 

Entrance to the farm

Until then, we happily ride the merry-go-around instead. 

And unfortunately, we had to miss out on the Howl-O-Ween Hayride (which went along backroads to uncover magical scenes and thru a bubble tunnel) because our little dragon melted down at 8pm as it was past his bedtime. But nonetheless, it was a fun family evening and we definitely will be back next year. BOO!!!!

Girls Weekend in Louisville - Part II

After a fun day of walking around Louisville and visiting the zoo, Amelia and I were ready to head to the hotel at 9pm. We picked up some more food and then settled in comfortably while watching Magnificient. My little girl was so precious and sheer delighted to be hanging out late with her mommy and watching a movie way past her normal bedtime. 

Makeshift dinner at the hotel

We slept really well and since we had no specific plans, we relaxed in bed, ate some breakfast, played and watched tv. We just did nothing for 2.5 hours and it felt great.

Mommy and Daughter

I looked up some attractions nearby and discovered that there is a huge old mine, called Mega Cavern, only a few minutes from the hotel where they offer daily tram tours thru the cave. So before heading back home we girls did just that: an underground tram tour. 

In the tram before departure

It's a balmy 58F year-round in the cave, hence the blanket. The tour took 75 minutes and was very interesting. It was amazing how huge the cave is and that we only explored a tiny part of the 17 miles of underground passageways. It also is home to the world's only underground aerial rope course and zip line course as well as a huge BMX and bike track. And for the holidays, they are getting ready to convert the cave in to an underground Christmas display spectacle where you can drive your car thru (trying to convince my husband to go back for that one). Pretty amazing!

Entering the mine from above ground:

The mine, which is privately owned, consists of lime stones and is approximately 100 acres in size. The cavern was mined from the early 1930's to the early 1980's. Nowadays, it is not just used for the aforementioned attractions but is also the largest recycling center in KY by tonnage. 

Exhibits showing some former mining activities:

The mine also serves as a storage facilities for buses, boats, trailers, etc. and 18 businesses renting storage spaces currently (i.e: medical records, salt for the city, construction equipment).

There is also a worm recycling center in the cave and our guide even ate one. Yuck!

At the exit, there was a little preview for the upcoming Christmas Lights Display:

The tram tour was very informative and despite it being dark in the cave, Amelia was not scared at all. We truly enjoyed our girls weekend and had so much fun together. But we also missed the boys, who had enjoyed hanging out at home, eating pizza, having sword fights and watching some football. Now, since the kids are old enough, we will be having more of these one-on-one days. Can't wait for our next girls weekend. 

Girls Weekend in Louisville - Part I

Early morning on Saturday, Amelia and I drove up North (2.5 hours) to Louisville, KY, to meet with my dear friend Betsy Jo and her daughter Eva. We had planned a day just for us girls. I don't have to tell you that we were both excited to spend some time with these two girls as we haven't seen each other since February.  We met up for a late breakfast/early lunch at the famous eatery Wild Eggs. Despite an hour long wait, it didn't disappoint. 

After all that food, we decided to walk it off at the Waterfront Park. There were those chicken sculptures the girls enjoyed climbing on. 

They also loved playing on the playground for an hour while Betsy Jo and I just talked. It felt so good, just sitting in the sun with a dear friend and talking about everything but the weather. We then went on to walk over the Big Four Pedestrian Bridge that links Louisville to Jeffersonville, Indiana over the Ohio River. 

Beautiful view over Louisville, KY

 

The girls rode in style over the bridge, which is approximately a mile long. 

Nearby the bridge in Jeffersonville is the famous Schimpff's Confectionery, which is the oldest, continuously operated, family-owned candy business in the U.S. And we just arrived in time to watch a live candy-making demonstration on their turn-of-the-century equipment. They were making Cinnamon Red Hots and it was interesting to watch the process. Of course, they handed out some samples too, which were delicious. We bought a few more to take home with us. 

Tasting the candies

The only thing planned that day was taking the kids to the Louisville Zoo for Boo at the Zoo. All day long, Amelia was so excited about putting her costume on and visiting the zoo.

We only saw a few animals that night (a tiger, polar bear, birds and zebras) but there were Disney Characters lined up all thru the zoo to take pictures with. From princesses to Superheroes to Darth Vader, they had everything.

Amelia was all about giraffes and had one painted on her cheek too:

The zoo was decked out in Halloween stuff and lots of opportunities to take your picture. 

Our two beautiful girls playing in the maze:

Wizard of Oz:

After it got dark, we went on a short walking tour to learn about the Headless Horseman. It ended with this (and no, the girls weren't scared one bit): 

There was lots of candy being handed out and before we left, the girls went on one last carousel ride. My little giraffe chose to ride a giraffe, of course!

What a fun day it was. This girl's day was so needed and we all enjoyed it a lot. Thank you so much for meeting with us and we hope to do it again soon.