My Brother's Getting Married and I Got To Party With His Future Bride :-)

As you probably already know, my brother is getting married in December.  Upcoming weddings mean bachelorette parties and I'm so happy I got to be a part of this one.  First off, I owe a HUGE thank you to my husband for manning the home-front while I was gone.  I owe him BIG TIME!!  

Last weekend, I got to spend some time in Lexington celebrating my future sister-in-law.  Here's a glimpse into our fun...

Friday kicked off with some fun at the Buffalo Trace distillery... 

I had hoped this trip could help me to love bourbon a bit more, but like my sister, the bourbon chocolates and bourbon creme were the only bourbon variations that really struck my fancy...

Some of that bourbon creme in my coffee over the holidays would be fantastic though...

It was absolutely gorgeous there...

...doesn't this just scream fall??... 

The rest of our day was spent with dinner and dancing... 

..smiles all around with these ladies.  

Saturday morning kicked off with some tailgating at Keeneland... 

...cue the gorgeousness again...

...even the clock was a Rolex...

The crowds were entuhisastic and it was fun to be a part of it on such a gorgeous day... 

I bet on a Da Big Hoss in honor of my brother who has the nickname Hos... 

...no luck in the winnings department but it definitely added to the fun.  $2 well spent, I'd say!  It was smiles all around once again for Jenny's gang of girls...

After a day at the track, we spent our evening out for dinner and drinks again...along with some entertainment from the band and their new bandmate...

Before we knew it, it was Sunday and time to wrap up the festivities.  We hit up a local breakfast joint before most people headed home.  

Lucky for me and my sisters, we had one more day to explore Lexington and took full advantage of it.  First up, a walk through the University of Kentucky's arboretum...

...it was so wonderful to be able to be there in the fall to get my colorful leaf fix...

 

We got in about 4 miles before heading back to regroup before heading out for dinner.  Dinner at The Village Idiot was the most scrumptious meal of the weekend.

I started things off wtih the Jack-O-Tini... 

...stoli vanilla, caramel pumpkin pie syrup and pumpkin liquor....YES, please!  It was incredible!

We decided to order a bunch of dishes to share and the brussels sprouts with blue cheese and pecans were the definite highlight of our choices for me... 

...they were insanely good.  I will be trying to recreate that dish at home for sure.   We followed up dinner with a couple more drinks at a fun wine bar before calling it a night...

...it was the perfect ending to a very fun weekend.  I'm so glad I got to be a part of it and can't wait til Jenny and Aaron's big day.    

Evansville Adventures

We spent the last two and a half weeks in Evansville and Chicago, spending time with family, and ultimately, celebrating my sister Abigail's wedding to her husband Scott.  We had a great time and I thought you'd enjoy some scenes (aka a photo dump) from the trip...hang in there, it was a good one :-)

We headed out from the Fort Luaderdale airport bright and early and the boys were THRILLED to be headed off on vacation... 

...Mason was a little grumpy when he figured out he wouldn't be able to board the plane immediately... 

...silly boy!  Once we were on the plane, they were in HEAVEN...

...next stop, Lexington :-)  The horse statues at the airport stole the show for the boys... 

Then we buckled up for 3 hour drive to Evansville.  Check out the castle we saw along the way...

Once we arrived, the boys got right to work riding the big wheels... 

 

...and I got right to work prepping for Abigail's shower...

 

The boys and I couldn't get enough of the gloriously cool mornings there... 

...needless to say, we spent lots of time outside.  

Just because we were out of town didn't mean we didn't make sure to hit up our monthly building projects.  This time, Grandpa and Mimsy got to get in on the action... 

Mimsy did what she does best at Home Depot, shopped for flowers, so we entertained ourselves while we waited... 

The shopping didn't end there...

...at least Sam's Club has samples :-)  

We had lots of fun with the dogs.  Amos is our favorite...

...and lots of fun with our Aunts too... 

  

The shower was a success.  There was yummy food...

...the games and decorations came together beautifully... 

...and we all had a great time celebrating Abigail... 

While in Evansville, we also enjoyed some yummy happy hours on the deck...

...several deer sightings in my parents' yard...

 

...and tons of geese just down the road from them...

...they cracked me up on my runs.  They'd hiss at me and take their sweet time getting out of my way.  Funny stuff!

I finished T25 using this lovely driveway set-up...

....like my truck bumper dvd-player stand??  Where there's a will, there's a way, right??  I had a bridesmaid dress to wear :-)

Colton even got in on the action ...

The boys also planted a tree with Mimsy... 

...now they can visit it and watch it grow as they grow.  Pretty cool, huh??

You know what else is cool, having your kids play with your childhood friend's kids... 

...it was one of the highlights of our trip.  I'm so glad both of our trips to Evansville coincided.  

No trip to Evansville is complete without a trip to see the Evansville Otters play...

...we even got to enjoy a picnic right next to the bullpen...

...talk about boy heaven... 

...maybe one day they'll like Eva the Otter.  This was not that day...

The boys got lucky and were chosen to play a game on the field...

 

...they didn't win the game of trying to reel their fish in the fastest but they still had fun.  I'm pretty sure their newly discovered love of soft-serve ice cream cones made up for it...

....they "just LOOOOOVED it!"  So cute... 

You know us, we had to check out the local parks too...

They've got some good ones!

We made sure to find a barge and a tug boat too...

We made sure to find everything we possibly could to entertain ourselves, including eating with goggles on...

(I guess that's what you do when your grandma is a science teacher :-)  )

...and having a silly face contest with Daddy....

 

 

(I'm pretty sure Mason won!)

As you probably noticed, Mickey didn't get to join us for the Evansville portion of our trip, but he kept us updated with scenes from his adventures as well... 

...ahhhhhh, army life :-)   

Before we knew it, it was time to hit the road for the wedding festivities in Chicago.  I felt like a kid again riding in the back seat of my parents van as we drove the six hours to Chicago... 

...the boys caught up on sleep...

...and "healthy" snacks, haha...

We had a great time in Evansville and couldn't wait for the adventures that awaited us in Chicago, including picking up Mickey to join in on the fun.  Stay tuned for part two...it's a good one.