Learning from the Experts!

Today I took the kids to Whitaker Ballpark to take part in a baseball clinic put on by Chevy and the Lexington Legends baseball team.  They are the farm team of the Kansas City Royals.  It was sooooo fun!  It included a t-shirt, 3 hours of instruction, autographs galore and ended with lunch.  It was all F.R.E.E.!!

The 3 boys participated with 3 friends.   Brinley, other Moms and I watched from the seats.  It was a great day!

Ryan with Ethan Chapman (his favorite player)

Jackson, Christopher and Ashton

Boy Scout Day at the Kentucky Capital

Today my neighbor Gwen and I decided to take our kids out of school (minus her daughter) for Boy Scout Day at the Capital.  We also took our friend CJ with us who is our friend from church.  His mom had to work, otherwise she would have also joined us.  It was an approved "Educational Enhancement" opportunity so the kids would be "excused" from school.  We arrived there bright and early (9:30ish) and our first stop was the Governor's Mansion. 

Our next stop was hopping on the trolley and making our way to the Kentucky History Museum.  The trolley was running all day just for the scouts.  It was a very handy way to travel around Frankfort.

 

Ethan pointing to our county (SCOTT) in Kentucky

Coal! 

Wall of Governors!

 

 

After we finished our time at the Kentucky History Museum we got back on the trolley and it dropped us off right in front of the State Capital.  We went to the Governor's office, the House and Senate Chambers, the Supreme Court area and more.  It was a GREAT time!!  I am so glad we decided to spend this day together in Frankfort.

 

 Right outside the Governor's office.  He was actually in there while we were taking this picture.  His secretary was like, "quick, take a picture!"

Dolls of all the Governor's 1st ladies.  Quite a fun collection.  Brinley liked this part of the exhibit.

The kids in the Supreme Court

In the House of Representatives

This is a former Kentucky Governor who is now a Senator.

 

"Friend"ly Lunch!

Today we were lucky enough to have lunch with some of our favorite people!  Our friends from Georgia made a surprise visit and so we decided lunch together was in order!  Hooray for us!!  

 Ryan and Annalise



Monday Funny!

Many of you know our friend Cindy Popp Smyly. If so, you know she is HILARIOUS!!! Apparently the funny gene has been passed down to her kiddos. Her facebook status yesterday was this:

Cam's (preschool age) blessing on the food last night: Dear Heavenly Father -- please bless that our cars and houses won't explode. Bless that nobody will die or get their eyes poked out. Please bless that the vegetables Mom made will turn into bubblegum. Bless that we don't get diarrhea from Mom's food -- Amen

Friends Forever

I received this note from a friend and wanted to pass it along. Apparently it is National Friendship Week.

One day, while trying to make a living for his family, a poor Scottish farmer heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog.There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.'I want to repay you,' said the nobleman. 'You saved my son's life.''No, I can't accept payment for what I did,' the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel.'Is that your son?' the nobleman asked.'Yes,' the farmer replied proudly.'I'll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of.'

And that he did.Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time, graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.

Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia.What saved his life this time? Penicillin.The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill ... His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill.

Someone once said:What goes around comes around.Work like you don't need the money.Live like it's Heaven on Earth.Make new friends, keep the old. The first is silver, the second is gold.

Lunch with Friends

Today we made our normal trek to Troy, MO to meet up with Matt's former co-workers for lunch. Lucky for me they always accomodate our request to eat at Krumbly Burger. My family has been going to Krumbly Burger for the past 20 years. I have so many memories associated with this fast food restaurant. The first time we ate there was when we moved from Minneapolis to St. Louis back in 1989. This is the fast food joint we picked while traveling thru. Other memories include eating there on the way to Nauvoo, IL with my family as well as my church single adult group. But the best memories were when my friend JoLynn and I would eat there on our way to clogging!! Good times!!

Ryan with Greg

Bertha, Ryan and Leanna

Ethan with the gang


Ashton with Leanna



Thanks friends for the great time!

Father's Day Surprise!

Today my wonderful neighbor brought over something she made for my kids to give Matt for Father's Day. She is the best!!! Thank you Kristin!!! Check it out. You can get the instructions here.

A Long, Long Time Ago . . .

As I sat and watched a few moments of the Stanley Cup Finals tonight it made me think about a former NHL player I used to know.

While living in Minnesota during most of the 1980's we were lucky enough to live on the same street as Gilles Meloche, the starting goaltender for the Minnesota North Stars. We had a pretty close neighborhood that included many "block" parties. The Meloche family was always there. Gilles and his wife (I can't remember her name, darn it!) had 2 kids. A boy named Eric and a girl named Annie. Eric was 5 years younger than me and quite annoying. There were no kids in the neighborhood his age, so he tried to hang out with us (unsuccessfully).

As I got older, I became the babysitter for Eric and Annie. I absolutely loved it because all they wanted to do was watch the North Star games on TV. I was a huge hockey fan at the time, so I was thrilled with this set up.

I vividly remember Gilles picking me up in their yellow corvette. He had a very thick french canadian accent which was difficult for me to understand. His wife was even harder to understand. They were very down to earth people. It wasn't until I was much older that I realized how rare it was to be friends with a sports celebrity.

Every once in a while I have wondered what happened to this family. I know that his wife passed away of cancer many years ago. After Gilles retired he became the goalie coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Eric played a little bit in the NHL. How cool is that? I have babysat a NHL player? Woozers!

Anyway, the Pittsburgh Penguins just won the Stanley Cup and Gilles Meloche is their current Goalie Coach. Congratulations!

Here is some information about Gilles Meloche that I snagged from someone's blog. Enjoy!




Gilles Meloche
Gilles MelocheRetired player. Currently the Goaltending Coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins.Fan letter sent: April 18, 2007. Autographs received: September 24, 2007.I once wrote to Gilles Meloche back in the 1990s, and he signed my cards back then. Well, some things don't change. He signed my cards this time too, and just like before, he signed them in ballpoint pen. Oh well.Meloche is a player I always admired. He was a good player that spent his career on dog teams--the California Seals, who in turn became the Cleveland Barons. And when the Barons merged with the North Stars in 1978, he became Minnesota's top goalie. Despite playing for three different teams in that 14 year span, he was never traded...which I think says a lot about his value to those teams. He would eventually wind down his career in Pittsburgh, but he still played a lot of games--104 contests in his final three seasons. And while his Goals-Against Average always floated around 3.33-4.10, remember that he played a lot of games with lousy teams. It makes you wonder what his career would have been like if he played with Montreal or Philadelphia or any other contending team. If he was on a better team, he may very well have won a Stanley Cup, or at least some personal awards....maybe even a spot in the Hall of Fame. Who knows? But 17 years in the NHL is an amazing feat itself.

Nothing like 1982!

My long lost friend, Paula, "tagged" me in a photo on facebook and I just had to share it with my blogging buddies. Was I stylish, or what?



Amy (me), Julie C., Amy M., Gretchen F., Paula U., Pam A. and Stacy A. in the back
Field Day, June 1982
William Byrne Elementary
Burnsville, MN

Look what I got today!

At church today my little friend Annalise, who is 3.5 years old, brought me a beautiful flower corsage. I was so tickled to receive this. Each year her Mom lets her and her brother pick an "honorary mom" to give a corsage to. I was lucky enough to be the recipient this year. Thank you Annalise (and her super Mom!) It made me feel so special!

Caterpillar, anyone?

Today the kids had a jolly ol' time hunting caterpillars with their neighborhood friends. The hunt wasn't too challenging since they were EVERYWHERE!





I stole these cute pictures from my bloggin buddy, Kristin. Thanks for always having the camera ready!

It's Raining, It's Pouring . . . . NOT!

Today Brinley and her friend Sarah Kate were having a good time with their umbrellas. No rain, but plenty of sun to block.


Brinley


Sarah Kate


Brinley & Sarah Kate

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

As an incentive for children to read, there was a special promotion at school. If you read "x" number of days, you would receive 2 box seat tickets to the Lexington Legends baseball game. (The Legends are the single "A" team of the Houston Astros.) Luckily Ethan and Ashton both received the tickets so we (along with our friends) decided to go to the game. Matt was home sick so he and Brinley chilled out at home. The kids had such a great time. Our seats were perfect and the Legends actually won in extra innings. The boys were so excited that our next door neighbors came along for the fun.


The Gang

Ryan


The view from our seats

Ethan, Evan and Ashton

Ashton and Ethan

Cailey

Ethan, Evan and Ashton