Lexington - Boyd's Orchard

Mary Grace had preschool on Monday morning. We all picked her up from school at 11:30 and headed over to Boyd's Orchard. They have pumpkin patches, an apple orchard, hayrides, etc.

Mary Grace and Carter in the giant chair ...


I tried to get some pictures of the boys in the pumpkins, but this is how most of it went ...


I got ONE cute picture of Rylan ...


As soon as I took him out of the pumpkins, he was so happy!


We had a picnic lunch in the shade of this little barn ...


We walked through this pumpkin patch. A lot of the pumpkins had already been cut from the vines, but some were still attached and growing.



Then we went for a hayride around the orchard ...




"Apple trees!!!"



We got back to the house early enough for the boys to all take an afternoon nap. We got them up to have a quick dinner of pizza and then we headed downtown for the Fire Prevention Parade.

There were some fun activities going on before the parade began. Carter was scared to death of this giant fireman. There was a guy in the inflatable suit and he bounced around visiting the kids. Carter was crouched down behind me hiding the whole time we were near him.


Then Carter got scared at the top of this inflatable slide and I had to go up there and get him ...


Too cute ...


Before we found a spot for the parade, we checked out these cool fountains. Luckily no one got wet!




The parade was really cool. It was mostly firetrucks!


These firemen were pulling a truck!


Carter and Mary Grace were so cute waving at everyone ...


Mary Grace is taking cheerleading right now and did some of her moves for the people in the parade ...


What an awesome parade!

Catching Up

This morning we had our pre-drywall meeting with our builder at the house. We were surprised to find out that our builder will no longer be working on our house and we now have a new builder. He wouldn't really say why he wouldn't be working with us anymore, just that he was staying with our company but moving on. We like the new builder and he has twice as much experience as the old guy so we're okay with the situation.

We walked through each room and went over where all the outlets, lights, etc were located. There were just a few things we asked to be changed, such as the location of the light that'll be over the kitchen table.

Over the last week, inspections have been completed, the builders have gone through and done things like reinforce bowed studs, and most of our utilities have been hooked up. There are some huge, deep holes on our lot right now.

The sewer ...


Water ...


Electricity ...


We asked about a completion date and the builders both agreed that around the first of the year was a safe estimate. However, we are supposed to get drywall installed either Tuesday or Wednesday and they said it usually takes 60 days once that is complete. So there is still potential to be in the house before Christmas.

Carter has been doing lots and lots of art projects at school still. Since we haven't bothered to hang up any of the pictures we brought to the apartment, I've been hanging all over Carter's art in the dining area's walls.


For this one, the kids got to pick out foods and glue them to a plate. One of Carter's teachers pointed out that Carter put the cauliflower on the fork and thought that it was funny. I mentioned that it appeared he liked the bread. She said that if she'd let him, that was all he'd of used.


Last week the kids worked on the letter D so they made dalmatians. The kids each had unique ways of applying the dots. Carter put his in a couple of lines.


Yesterday the kids did my favorite project - they painted pumpkins. Isn't this cute?


Today was gorgeous! It was a little cool, breezy, and sunny. After Rylan's afternoon nap (Carter refused to take one today) we went over to Crockett Park. It was surprisingly not crowded and we had a lot of fun.



There are train tracks bordering the edge of the park. Several trains went by while we were there and you can just see them through the trees ...


My mom is flying in tomorrow for a visit. We're planning on keeping her busy with all the fun fall things that there are to do in the area.

Lexington - Keeneland

Carter had off from school on Tuesday so I decided to take the boys up to Lexington for a few days. We hadn't seen Mary Grace, Sarah, and Brent in several months and wanted to squeeze in a visit before baby Miller arrives (Sarah is about 6 months pregnant).

We left Sunday morning around 7 am and it took us less than 3 1/2 hours to get to Sarah's house. Both boys did awesome on the drive (the DVD players have been an awesome investment for trips).

We ate lunch and let the kids play for awhile at the house. Then we headed over to Keeneland to watch some horse racing. The track only runs races in April and October so this was a must-do for visiting at this time of year.

It was pretty crowded at the track but we found a spot up front where some people didn't mind our kids standing in front of them.


Mary Grace and Carter cheered for the horses during the races.




We stayed for 3 races because it was hard to keep the kids entertained for the 30 minutes between each race.

Carter had some amazing beginners luck. I only got around to betting on the last of the 3 races, but we would have won money on every race if we'd bet. The first race had a horse named Cars and Trucks so that was the obvious choice for us. That horse placed. I asked Carter which horse he thought would win the next race and he said the red one. That horse won. And for the last race we were there for, I read him all the names and he repeated one back to me. That horse also won. That's the one we bet on and we made a whole $1.20.

Keeneland was a lot of fun. It's been several years since I've been to a race track. I don't think Brian has ever been so I hope we get the chance to all go soon.

After Keeneland we went back to the house. The kids played in the backyard while Sarah and Brent made dinner. Mary Grace has this cool Gator. Carter liked driving it but Rylan LOVED riding in it. He was all smiles when it was moving.


Mary Grace got a sandbox for her birthday which was also a big hit with my boys.


After dinner we gave the kids baths, let them play a little more in the playroom, and then they were off to bed. The adults weren't that far behind.

Lexington Trip

The boys and I got back this afternoon from a four day trip to Lexington to visit Mary Grace, Sarah, and Brent. We kept really busy and had a ton of fun. I'll try to post all about the trip over the next few days!

Touch a Truck

This morning we took the boys to their pediatrician to get their flu vaccines. The office has a flu vaccine clinic on Saturdays. We had an appointment for 9:45 and were in and out in less than 5 minutes.

Rylan got a shot. I got to hold him while they did it instead of having him lay on the exam table. He cried for a few seconds afterwards but got over pretty quickly. Carter got the flu mist and I think he would have preferred to have had a shot! I think the nurse caught him off guard because she told him to pick out a sticker and then stuck the syringe up his nostril. It was hard to convince him that the nurse had to then do the other nostril. He got through it but there was a lot of whining for the next 5 minutes.

After the pediatrician's office, we headed to Lowe's to build Monster Machines. We made Rylan a helicopter at Home Depot last weekend, but he actually helped today make the project at Lowe's.

Rylan did a good job of hammering with me helping him with his placement ...





After Lowe's, we headed south to Thompson Station for a Touch a Truck event. Both boys had a lot of fun exploring all the different trucks.

Carter climbing through a fire truck ...


We waited 15 minutes to climb into this dump truck ...



Carter found out that you get a lollipop after you get out of the cab so he was in there for all of 15 seconds before he wanted back out.

Carter liked trying to put this truck in gear and honk the horn ...


Carter in the back of a police car (and hopefully never again) ...


Both boys in the "paddy wagon" ...


Rylan was not a fan and screamed the whole time!

Carter driving a FedEx truck ...


And pretending to be a package ...


The backhoe was a big hit ...




Carter always points out school buses when we see them so he was really excited about going into one ...




The boys got to ride up this lift with Brian into the back of a truck ...

We went to lunch after Touch a Truck and then headed over to the house to check on the progress.

The bricking is completely done. There were some guys there today finishing up the last few shingles and putting the metal roofing on the accents.


All the electrical wiring has also been completed.


We will most likely be doing our pre-drywall review with the builder next week to make sure we think everything looks right before the drywall goes up.

Pirate Pumpkin

After we got home with our pumpkin from Lucky Ladd Farms on Sunday, Carter wanted to decorate it immediately. We have 4 Mr. Potato Head decorating kits and he didn't waiver at all with wanting to use the pirate one.

I used a screwdriver to put holes in the pumpkin and then Carter put the pieces in.



While we were decorating, Rylan grabbed the screwdriver and before I could stop him, he threw it off the porch and onto my car parked below. Somehow it didn't do any damage.

Fort

Carter and Brian built forts in the family room a couple of weekends ago. Every few days, Carter wants to make one again. The other day he wanted me to build one but it was nap time. So we compromised and I put a blanket over his crib. It has stayed up for the last few days and nights.



It appears that Carter isn't claustrophobic!