Kentucky

We FINALLY made it to Kentucky to visit Andrew, Mary Robert, Claire, and Paige!  I've been wanting to go for a long time, and I'm so glad we went! 

The cousins are united in a stroller parade!  Micah, Levi, Paige, and Claire.

My dad flew with me and the boys on Wednesday the 13th.  We flew to Chicago where we had a two-hour layover--enough time for lunch, diaper changes, and a chance to stretch our legs.  Then we got on a small plane to Cincinnati.  The boys were AMAZING on the flights!  Micah cried for a total of about two minutes in the air; he slept most of the time.  Levi was great, too.  He was happy and stayed occupied, and he even took a short nap on the second leg. 

Levi enjoyed watching the planes take off and land at SeaTac.

Levi's first plane flight!  His lips are blue because I let him suck
on a lollipop in order to help his ears during the pressure changes.

Micah's first plane flight, too!

Once we got to Cincinnati, we were surprised to find that it was snowing!  My dad had rented a big SUV and car seats for the boys; however, since the rental car company wouldn't take on the liability of installing the car seats, we had to do that ourselves.  So we got to wrestle with car seats in the snow with two cranky kids.  Not fun.  But once we were on the road, things settled down a bit.  After stopping for dinner, we arrived at Andrew and Mary Robert's just after 10:00 P.M.

On Thursday, we hung out at Andrew and Mary Robert's.  Nathan had taken a red-eye on Wednesday night, so Andrew and my dad picked him up at the Lexington airport.  Mary Robert took me out on a great running tour of the Berea campus.  The kids got along really well!  Claire seemed to be really pleased that she was having a "sleepover" for four nights in a row.  Levi sure enjoyed playing with all the different toys!  Paige, who I'm convinced is happy all the time, liked having extra people to be her audience for talking, dancing, and funny sounds.  Micah wasn't as happy as he was on the flight over; I think he's just moody.  :)  Andrew astounded me by fixing us a turkey dinner on Thursday night--mashed potatoes and all!  Very impressive . . . and delicious!

You can't really see them, but all the kids are in this photo.  Paige is behind Levi,
and Micah is in the "lamb chair" under the dog.  I love Claire's princess dress!

Looks like I need to buy Levi his own Minnie Mouse tea set!

The kids LOVED playing on grandpa's bed: an air mattress on the living room floor.

On Friday morning, we went to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.  It was pretty cold, but we had a good time together.  We ate our picnic lunch out of the backs of our cars, Claire went for a pony ride, we saw some work horses, and on our way out, we saw horse breeds from around the world.  It was a good morning!

 

Claire on her pony

Paige on her pony

 

 

On Friday evening, we walked to Papaleno's pizza restaurant in Berea.  Yum!

Claire wanted to push somebody's stroller.
First she tried pushing Paige, then she chose a heavier load.

Levi doesn't seem so sure. . . .

Levi loved Molly so much!  Thankfully, she is an amazingly good dog!

Paige is stylin'!

On Saturday morning, we did a little shopping in Berea.  Since Berea is known for its arts and crafts, the shops are super cute.  One shop I requested to visit was this woodworker's.  He makes Kentucky Mountain Dulcimers, and he was crafting one when we walked in.  He invited me to play one and showed me how to use it.  It was fun!  He also sang and played about eight songs for us.  What a great impromtu concert!

Warren May, Woodworker, on the left

On Saturday afternoon, after nap times, Andrew gave us a tour of his brand new science building at Eastern Kentucky University.  What a cool facility!   After that we had dinner at Applebee's in Richmond and took the scenic route home.

Walking the chemistry halls with Grandpa

 

 

On Sunday morning, we had a cozy breakfast that included spoonbread, a local specialty.  Then we tried to get one last group shot of all the cousins.  Unfortunately, every time we tried the group photos, it turned into a disaster.  Nobody was happy, so it was almost comical!  Kids.  You gotta love em'!

Father and son eating breakfast

This paper doll is Flat Stanley.  We were supposed to take a picture of Flat Stanley's travels for my mother's kindergarten class.  We hoped to include him in a cousins photo on Grandpa's bed, but that photo shoot was doomed to failure.  Micah, who I thought would dbe screaming throughout the process, actually found posing for pictures to be very relaxing.

 

We had such a wonderful time in Kentucky!  It might not have felt relaxing for Andrew and Mary Robert to have five noisy guests in their house, but this was an amazing break for me!  It's been almost a week since we got back, and Levi is still talking about things we did or people we saw in Kentucky.  Thank you Andrew, Mary Robert, Claire, and Paige!!!