Sunday, May 8, 2011

Happy Easter, Happy Derby, Happy Mother's Day and Arbonne!!!!

This is a fabulous time to live in Louisville, KY or Derby City! It is an exciting time of year when the city is alive and visitors come from far and near.  The Oaks and Derby just puts us all in a good mood around here and we wanted to share a little bit with you!  But first... Lets celebrate Easter!  

After Church we came home to find our Easter baskets.  The Easter bunny (David) was good to them.  They were happy kiddos!  Easter morning I woke up for our 5:30am mass with Mom and Dad.  David and the kids stayed in bed!  After 5:30am mass I stayed to talk with all the new Catholics that joined the Church just as I did.  I talked too long (who's surprised???) and I walked over to get seats for David, the kids, and me 20 minutes before mass was to start.  There were NO SEATS left!  Imagine how I felt... our family attends Church on a regular basis and then these families who attend church on Easter and Christmas took all the good seats.  My family had to sit outside (under the pavilion) in the rain!  I was no a happy camper.  But... we did survive mass on Easter Sunday and we had a nice celebration with family later that evening. 



 And on to Derby week!  The Pegasus Parade!!! 

The University of Louisville marching band!  We cheered, "C-A-R-D-S!" the whole time!  Thanks to Ashley Roberts for the tickets and Gramma for helping with Taylor! 

Speaking of Taylor... please note the Long John Silvers across the street.  Of course- as the parade finally gets started Taylor says, "Mommy, I have to go potty."  OK- lets try to find a potty in the middle of downtown when all the businesses are closed. We go up two blocks- nothing.  We go back down two blocks and there on the corner (right next to our seats) is a port-a-potty.  We stand in line for 10 minutes while 3 out of 4 people in line are children and are all doing the potty dance!  As I'm trying to psych Taylor for the port-a-potty- it is finally our turn.  I open the door and Taylor stops immediately and yells, "NO MOMMY- this is dwirty... I don't need to go potty anymore, I don't need to go!"  No Taylor, it's fine, I say, everyone uses this potty and I'll hold you so you don't even touch the seat.  "NO MOMMY!" As she's crying so loudly everyone can hear us I'm sure.  I try to bend her body and hold her so all she has to do is relieve herself but she is stiff as a board and she's not budging.  "FINE!" I yell, and we leave the port-a-potty since there were other children doing the potty dance in line after us... 

Long story short- after we got back in our seats she said she had to go to the bathroom 3 more times until she finally gave in and used the Long John Silvers restroom.  Which may I note, was dirtier than the port-a-potty! 

And here is sassy pants with an empty bladder...

 "Kate plus 8"... where are your children? 
If you are in Louisville for Derby this week- will you make it home to see your kids for Mother's Day?

Mary Thomas and Taylor watching closely as the floats go by! 

Now... this is Bellarmine's men's basketball head coach.  They are the NCAA Division II Champions this year.  While I was at Kentucky Wesleyan College, Bellarmine was a rival of ours... but we always beat them!  This year KWC gave them a run for their money in the regular season, but good ol' Bellarmine came out on top.  Congratulations to them... they only need 7 more titles to catch up!

And here are the happy Knights in the parade! 

And here we are at the Kentucky OAKS!  Mark and Virginia take us to the OAKS each year.  As always, we had a superb time!  This Jon and Emie got to go too! 

 This is the first year I actually wore an accessory on my head.  The fascinator looked great... but you can't wear sunglasses with the headband so I was a little squinty in pictures but I guess that is the price you pay to look "fascinating" as David said all day! 
Our good friends, Ashley, Lauren, and Logan were they too! 

Here is the paddock, where the horses are shown before they race.  As you can see, it is a popular place to mingle!  If you're wondering why you see a lot of pink- Churchill Downs donates a dollar to Susan G. Komen for everyone who wears pink to the OAKS. 
 We ran into Lauren's Dad too... Mr. Bill Hitron himself! 
And here is my friend, and Bellarmine graduate, Erin Burke.  We have a healthy rivalry going and this was a good year for her Knights!

Every Tuesday Taylor's PDO class makes a craft.  This past week they made racing horses and her teacher, Ms. Julie, named each child's horse... She named Taylor's horse, "Talking Taylor"! 
Before the OAKS race began!  We didn't win too much at OAKS, but our own Taylor bet on Animal Kingdom in our neighborhood pool and at Mark and Virginia's Derby party.  She is now $60 richer- which helped David and I almost break even for the weekend! 

A family owned bakery in town, Homemade Pie Kitchen, has a great deal for an activity.  Our playgroup met and decorated 3 cookies for $6.  You get three sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles for decorating... it's a great deal! 

And Ben enjoyed! 



But they both LOVE to ride while David does all the pedaling.  The hills in our neighborhood are a killer!

But Daddy... where's your helmet??? 

Ahh... It feels good to blog and catch you up with our life this month.  David has fed the kids and they are getting ready for baths and bed.  Then he will sneak to North End Cafe and bring home my favorite dish, Chicken Enchiladas.  Seriously- these are the most delicious things I've ever had!  Then- I get to put my feet up and catch up on my shows on the good old DVR.  I've been pretty busy this past month.  I've started my own business selling Arbonne www.arbonne.com  Please take a look at the website if you haven't heard of Arbonne products.  All products are naturally plant based, safe, pure, and beneficial.  The more I learn about the products the more I know I've made a great decision.  I'm very excited about my new challenge in life.  I've been ready to take on something just my own and earn a little money on the side and Arbonne is a way I can do these things.  Please call or email if you are interested in trying any of the products.  I promise you will love them and I'd love to help! 

Well- that is it for now!  We are very blessed.  Today, I'm thanking God for my mother, and that I am a mother!  I also want to give a special shout out to my mother in law, Virginia, to my best friend Katy, who will be a mother of two very soon, and to all the mothers who continue to influence our lives.  Thank you! 
I'm not sure what year this is but here Mom and I are in the church nursery... 

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