Taste of Louisville

On Saturday I ran in another 5K for the Taste of Louisville.  I know I always say this, but this was my favorite so far.  Maybe because Louisville is my home town and very dear to my heart, or because my best and oldest friends ran with me, maybe because it was a nice, summer day or maybe because it was the best 5K I have ran yet!  But whatever it was, I enjoyed every minute of it...

 Shannon and Maura, whom I have been friends with since Kindergarten ran with me!  It was kind of like a hometown reunion and we saw many more familiar faces. Our sweet babies and husbands cheered us on...

 The course was absolutely beautiful!  After finishing this race I think I am now ready for a 10K - it gave me that confidence I was lacking to take the next challenge since I bowed out of the Bolder Boulder! Only time will tell though...

 Afterwards, Ashtyn and Payton did some gymnastics - they were pretty cute and definitely entertained for awhile.  Afterwards we grabbed our free pizza and beer and headed to Touch a Truck...

 Touch-A-Truck was CRAZY busy - I don't think I need to go back for a couple years - HaHa!  Ashtyn and Adam playing in the police car...

After Touch-A-Truck we headed back down to Main Street to get some food and refreshments.  After meeting up with friends, grabbing some drinks and walking up and down Main Street we stopped at Bob's for some lunch.  We got so lucky with a table on the patio for all of us and our kids - it was so enjoyable!  I haven't been to Downtown Louisville for awhile now.  Ever since Senior T's and Market Place Bakery closed I guess I never had a reason, but after spending a day and seeing all the renovating going on - visiting Downtown Louisville for breakfast, happy hour or dinner is a must from now on.  It would be a dream to live there some day - a DREAM!  I very much enjoyed my day in the town I love and with a bunch of friends I could not live without!

Day at the Zoo

 We spent this wonderful, warm summer day touring the zoo with Nana.  It was absolutely the best day to visit the zoo - not too hot, no wind and the kids were on their best behavior.  The zoo was VERY busy today though - we had to park at the museum and walk over - but thankfully you don't have to wait in line to see the animals.  Ashtyn was a pro this year - I have taken her every year since being born - and she knew just where each animal was and would guide us to our next exhibit...

 This was Eli's second trip to the Zoo - last year we took him when he was only three weeks old, which meant he basically slept through the whole visit.  Not this year!  He loves being in the stroller, people watching, so he definitely was content and seeing animals made it even more fun.  I was impressed how he actually could "see" the animals - I thought he may not get it!  I was wrong - he would get so excited when he saw an animal and would point with a scream as to get its attention!

 Eli would get so excited when I would let him out of the stroller.  He would just cruise up and down...

 ...and point every time he saw something.  He LOVED the monkeys and started making monkey noises - so cute!  Monkey Island is always our favorite...

 Unfortunately the train was out of commission today, so we opted to ride on the carousel!  Ashtyn choose the Giraffe to ride on...

 While waiting for the Sea Lion show we all enjoyed some Dip-N-Dots - our favorite.  This was the first thing Ashtyn wanted to do when we got to the Zoo, but patiently waited till after eating our picnic lunch...

 This picture is so precious to me - my two babies!  How fast they are growing up...

 Oh the Penguins!  Our other Zoo favorite which we always save till last.  They are so cute and I think Ashtyn could watch them all day long.  We were sad though not to see Maddie, the baby Penguin we have grown to love over the past couple years...

We had a wonderful day at the Zoo - loving summer so far!

Go Yankees!

This was my first attempt at trying to take my own "professional" style pictures for Eli's one year.  I am bound and determine to photograph and edit my own children's photographs instead of paying hundreds of dollars...Well, after an hour this was the only picture that was cute and successfully had him looking at the camera, so I will admit it's much harder then it would seem.  The lone picture, which still needs to be edited - just happened to be the one with his Yankee hat from Uncle Kev - how fitting! 

A true Yankee fan...

Splish Splash

 Yeah, the pool is OPEN!  On Saturday when I heard the temperature was going to be close to 90 on Wednesday (My day off), I was so excited I told Ashtyn we could go swimming!  Well, much to my dismay the weatherman was wrong again and the temperature was only in the mid 70's today - a bit chilly for swimming - but once you tell my sweet daughter something, especially something as important as swimming - there was no turning back!  It actually turned out to be a great day at the pool - thankfully there was no wind and the pool was not crowded at all!  Ashtyn wasted no time and jumped right in!

 This was Eli's first time swimming and he loved every minute of it!  He splashed, went under the water, went down the slide, floated in the big pool - everything!  The boy loves water and was fully entertained the couple of hours we were there...

 You can totally tell this is our first day bearing our swim suits and our pasty white legs...

 Ashtyn was practicing her "jumpings" into the baby pool...

 Who's ever idea it was to put a sandbox at the swimming pool was well - plain stupid - but my kids naturally gravitate toward sand, so they in turn loved it.  But the baby pool - after today - has a ton of sand in it due to my kids...

I think Eli enjoyed the sand box even more then the water.  He did get sand in every crease of his body...There is something so sweet and precious about seeing a baby in his swim diaper playing in sand!  I will say becoming a parent has curbed my need to always be clean - after this experience I too had sand in places it should not be!

We had a wonderful day at the pool and I feel like summer has officially started!  I can't wait for many more days like this and perhaps with warmer weather, but regardless we will be there - swimming and playing in the sand!

Quiet Time

Lately Ashtyn has been grabbing one of her library books and before heading out the door says

"I just need to have some quiet time..."

I was curious to see where she was headed with her books in tow and this is where I found her.

Enjoying her "Quiet Time"

Summer Nights

I know it's not officially summer, but the one thing I am enjoying more then anything lately are the laid back warm "summer" evenings we've been experiencing living in our new home.  I love, LOVE living so close to everything - so different then Erie - old town, Waneka Lake, Starbucks, everything is literally two minutes away!  Last Thursday was one of those beloved summer nights - perfect for a walk to the Lafayette farmers market and an ice cream treat! 

 Even Eli enjoyed some ice cream, which was all over him by the end - nothing new though...

The best Auntie EVER - who bought Ashtyn tons of little treats...

 Emma, Scotty and their dog Mocha joined us for our walk - we made new friends in our new neighborhood and we love them!  Even Mocha enjoyed some ice cream...

 Ashtyn loves dogs and is constantly asking us if she can have one - which of course because I am allergic to dogs - unfortunately - it is out of the question - so we tend to use our friends dogs to get her "doggy" fix.  She loved getting to walk and/or run Mocha home...

I look forward to a summer filled with these evenings!