Weekend in Louisville

Kileigh and I met my mom last weekend in Louisville.  She drove down with Paige, so we stayed in a pet friendly hotel by the airport.  We went to the hotel after we arrived on Friday, then went downtown for some lunch.  We ate at an Irish Pub in the 4th Street Live area.  We went to the zoo in the afternoon to see the baby polar bear, Qannik, that was rescued in the wild in Alaska.  She arrived 2 months ago and they will be getting a male baby polar bear next month as well.  Friday evening we spent in the St. Matthews neighborhood.  We went to 60 West Bistro & Martini Bar for some pre-dinner drinks and then walked a few blocks to Cafe Lou Lou.  We sat at the bar and had a couple drinks waiting for our table.  The pizza was awesome.  Totally worth the walk and wait for a table.  After we walked back to the car, we decided to get some dessert at Homemade Ice Cream & Pie Kitchen.  Kileigh and I got ice cream, mom got Key Lime Pie, and we got a cookie to take with. 

Saturday we grabbed some coffee at Panera on the way to the zoo.  We didn't get to see the polar bears today, but we did see 3 grizzly bears frolicking around and playing in their pool.  Kileigh had a blast in the Splash Zone.  After the zoo, we went back to the hotel and spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool.  We went downtown for dinner and ended up eating on the water at Tumbleweed Bar & Grill.  I called ahead, so we didn't have to wait as long for a seat.  It's a tex-mex grill and they had an option for an appetizer, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts for $20.  We ended up getting a steak, sweet potato, and tacos with rice & beans to share.  The chips, salsa, and queso dip were yummy as well as our meal.  We didn't have room for dessert, but we still saved $ ordering that way.  After dinner, we walked along the riverfront.  We drove through downtown on the way back to the hotel and saw a horse carriage.  We decided to take a ride through the city.  Kileigh loved it.  We walked down to the waterfront when we were done and saw the Belle of Louisville dock at the end of it's dinner cruise. 

Because of a 3 hour time difference, Kileigh and I slept in till after 9:30am both days.  My mom had to grab breakfast in the hotel lobby and bring it back to the room for us.  Kileigh and my mom went to the pool, while I took a couple loads to the car and took Paige for a walk and got a paper.  I changed into my suit and joined them by the pool.  We went back to the room and packed everything up and checked out.  We had lunch at the airport and then separated ways so my mom could drive home.

Carousel Ride

Enjoying ice cream

Carriage Ride

Frolicking grizzly

Lincoln Memorial Statue

Louisville Slugger Museum

Sea lio

Qannik

Sitting on the elephant

Smiley girl

Splash Park Fun

Enjoying the water slide

Sunset over the Ohio

Walking on the curb

Florida Trip

Kileigh and I went to Florida at the beginning of August.  My parents, brother, and sister-in-law drove down from Illinois and my mom picked us up at the airport.  We stayed at their friend's house.  We spent a lot of time relaxing at the beach and swimming in Uncle Vernon's pool.  We also ate a lot of fresh seafood. 

Panama City Beach

Looking at the alligator at Alvin's Island

 Uncle Vernon's Yard

Playing on the beach

Paige

Making a seahorse in the sand

Sitting in her princess chair

No husband, no kid

Anyone ever dream of having a weekend to yourself without your husband and kids? 

Kevin had been invited to Chicago for a paintball tournament.  He had been planning to go for weeks, packing his gear earlier than he would even pack for vacation.  Kileigh and I had planned to go as well.  The flights started looking busy and then I got asked to babysit, so I figured that she and I would stay home.  Earlier last week, Kevin's mom asked him if they could watch Kileigh for the weekend.  He was going to fly in Friday evening, stay at their house, and then be gone till Sunday afternoon anyway.  They wanted some Kileigh time and figured I wouldn't mind a break. 

I knew that I didn't want to be cleaning house or doing laundry all weekend, so I made sure to get everything done before Sadie left on Friday afternoon.  I ended up taking Kileigh to the airport Friday morning and they were able to get the last seats on a flight.  I still had Sadie the rest of the day, but then I was free for over 48 hours.  I didn't really have any plans other than babysitting, but I knew that I wanted to take advantage of the free time to work out, lay out at the pool, and read.   

Saturday afternoon before I had to babysit, I decided to go see a movie.  I had gift cards for AMC, so I was able to go to a theater on the way to the family's house.  I saw Bridesmaids.  It was hilarious!  I can't wait for it to come out on blu ray.

After the movie was over, I called my friend Kari and chatted with her while I was killing time.  I don't get to talk to her very often, but always enjoy the chance to catch up.  I have some time off in July, so I am planning to go visit her. 

Babysitting was easy.  After the parents left, the girl woke up, so I rocked her back to sleep and then got to watch tv/sleep the rest of the time.  I got home and in bed around 1am and up with the sun around 7am.  So much for sleeping in! 

Sunday morning I went to church.  I love the music and worship experience at my church.  Everyone gets into it and I feel so alive.  As part of the sermon, they did a skit.  It was really good!

After church, I layed out at the pool.  There were lots of families with kids and younger adults there drinking.  I love having a pool in the complex, but it will be nice when we get our own space and don't have to deal with other people being obnoxious. 

All in all, it was a relaxing weekend.  It reminded me that I need to meet some people, so when I have free time, I have someone I can call to get together with. 

Have a great week!
Beth

Trip to Charleston & Chicago

The parents of the baby I watch were going out of town this past weekend and I was going to have 5 days off, so I made plans to go to Illinois.  Since it's spring break, I was going to have a difficult time getting there.  After talking to Sadie's parents, I was able to get on a flight first Wednesday morning.  Kevin watched Sadie for me that day.  We got to St. Louis and collected our bags around 11am and then headed to Guido's for lunch.  We always go there when I come into town and get the same thing everytime.  My mom gets spaghetti & meatballs and I order white pizza with shrimp and garlic.  It was delicious as usual.  After lunch, we grabbed coffee at Starbuck's and hit the road.  Kileigh fell asleep, so we ended up going straight to Mattoon.  We stopped by Sears so she could see my dad, Pops, at work and then headed to Walmart for some groceries.  Then we finally went to my parent's house.  It was nice to get out of the car.  I had taken 2 large suitcases, mostly books and toys to leave at my parent's house, so I unloaded them before I took them upstairs.  I ended up with a completely empty suitcases after I unloaded everything.  Catherine came over for dinner that night and we hung out.

Thursday morning, Mark came home from Champaign and came over for breakfast.  Then we went over to their house.  Catherine made beef and noodles and corn casserole for dinner and we played some board games.  After we took Kileigh home and put her to bed, my mom and I went to JeLinz for some martini's.  We stayed till closing, but luckily by the time we got home and went to bed it was only around 11pm my time, so it wasn't so bad. 

Friday morning we went by Catherine's office, my mom's office, and to see Doris to pick up a shirt that she had made for Kileigh.  Then we had a late breakfast at What's Cookin' and then got some groceries at Walmart.  We went over to Mark's that afternoon and Kileigh took a nap.  My mom and I went back to her house and I colored my hair, while she started making dinner.  After I took a bath, we watched a couple episodes of Young & the Restless.  We had homemade mac and cheese, shrimp, green bean casserole, and sweet potatoes for dinner.  After dinner, we watched Love & Other Drugs.

Saturday we went over to Mark & Catherine's for breakfast.  They had made bisquits and gravy, bacon, and fried potatoes.  We watched Eat Pray Love, Kileigh colored Easter eggs, and then we went for a walk to the park.  I texted my mother-in-law to see what she was doing this weekend and she told me they were getting together for brunch on Sunday to celebrate Kevin's grandmother's 82nd birthday.  I had Kevin check the flights, to make sure I could get home from Chicago as we had a flight scheduled for Sunday afternoon from St. Louis.  The last 2 flights on Sunday night were wide open, so I decided to go up to Chicago and surprise Kevin's grandma.  I went to Hallmark athe mall to get some presents and cards.  I found a great grandma picture frame and got a Willow Tree grandma angel.  When I got back to my parent's house, I wrapped the presents and started packing.  We had an Easter Egg Hunt for Kileigh.  My mom made homemade pizza for dinner and we watched the Final Four games. 

Yesterday morning, I got up at 7am so I could get myself and Kileigh ready and get the car packed.  We were on the road by 8:15 and made it to the Drury Lane theatre in Oakbrook shortly after my in-laws got there.  Kevin's grandma and aunts and uncles were surprised and happy to see us.  The brunch was excellent!  They had a donut maker and I helped myself to a dozen or so donuts with icing.  They were delicious.  After the brunch, we went back to Kevin's parents house.  Kevin's mom bought us new luggage, so I transferred my stuff as the 2 suitcases I had brought out to Illinois were theirs.  Kevin's mom's sister and cousin's came over in the afternoon and they caught up on pictures and telling stories.  We took Kileigh to the park and had spaghetti for dinner, even though I wasn't that hungry after the brunch.  They all left at 6:45 and we got to the airport around 7:15 for an 8pm flight.  We were able to check our bags outside with the skycap, said bye to Kevin's parents, and trekked it all the way down to B21.  I went to the ticket counter and they didn't have me on the standby list, but went ahead and cleared us and gave us our boarding passes.  Then they called the other standby's for the flight.  We made it before boarding started, so we got to board during family boarding and got a row to ourselves.  It was a long flight with turbulence and unfortunately Kileigh had an accident waiting to go to the bathroom.  Atleast she slept for part of it.  We got home and after I unpacked, we went to bed. 

Busy March

March was so busy with visitors.  My mom came into town on the 2nd and left on the 10th.  We were on the go nonstop the first few days...going to the zoo, lunch, rummage sales, shopping, etc.  After a few days of running around, I needed a break, so we hung around the house, made cookies, watched episodes of Army Wives from Seasons 3 & 4 to get ready for the new season.  Kileigh enjoyed having her G here. 

Once my mom left, I spent the day cleaning and getting ready for friend to come for a visit during her spring break.  I got lucky and ended up having Friday off work, so I watched some movies and relaxed.  Beth Ann flew in on the 12th and stayed till the 18th.  It was her first time in Arizona, but unfortunately with work, we weren't able to go explore any of the sights.  We hung around the house, went to the zoo, went swimming a couple times, went to Tempe Marketplace, made cookies for St. Patrick's Day.  Beth Ann cooked for us several times and she also helped me a lot with baby Sadie.  She might not have got a lot of studying done, but I think that she had a relaxing week.  Kevin even watched Kileigh for me one night, so Beth Ann and I went to the Melting Pot for girl's night out.  We had a wonderful dinner, great conversation, and excellent martini's.  It was a fun night!

After Beth Ann left, we had a week off from visitors and then Jen and Jon came into town on the 24th.  I was off on Friday, so we went to Tempe Marketplace for lunch and shopping.  That night, we went to see a White Sox spring training game.  That was fun as a kid gave Kileigh a baseball and she got an autograph from Jake Peavy.  Kevin's brother Andy came out and joined us.  The Sox won and there were fireworks after the game.  Saturday we went up to Sedona.  We had lunch and went shopping in town.  Then we drove up to Oak Creek Canyon and up to Flagstaff before coming back to Phoenix.  We picked up Panda Express for dinner and came back to our house for a late dinner and went to bed early.  Sunday we hung out by the pool and then off our garage in the afternoon.  The boys played bags, while Kileigh rode her bike and we read books.  We went to Macayo's for dinner.  Monday I had to watch Sadie, so we just hung around the house watching tv, reading, and I did a bunch of laundry and cleaning.  Kevin came home from work and took them to the airport to catch their flight.  Kileigh enjoyed spending time with her godparents and we enjoyed hanging out with our friends.

News Reports

I usually avoid watching the news and reading the newspaper because of negative things that happen in our town, state, country, and world.  I was going to send an email, when I came across the news of the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan.  How sad!  Please pray for the country of Japan and for the families of those affected by the destruction of this act of mother nature.

Dinner with Friends

Last night we had our friends Laurie & Josh & their boys Logan & Lincoln over dinner.  We met Laurie & Josh when we lived in Arizona the first time and played on the same sand volleyball team.  Kevin reconnected with Laurie through facebook when we moved back out here.  We had dinner at their house and swim in their pool last summer.  It 's always hard to balance work and life, but it's always nice to spend time with friends.  The kids had a blast playing and running around the house, while we enjoyed adult conversation.  Kevin made his famous mongolian beef.  Watch PF Changs!  He also made potstickers and egg rolls.  It was so delicious!  I am so thankful for my wonderful husband who makes such delicious meals.

On-Call

I learned how it is for people who work jobs where they are on-call, waiting for the phone to ring.  Sadie's (the baby I watch) mom is a detective and was on-call from 8am today-till 8am tomorrow.  I arranged a playdate with Kileigh's friend Alaina, who lives across the street.  Kileigh came down to our room around 6:30 this morning and then ended up going back up to bed.  I fell back asleep and woke up when I heard a text coming in.  I looked at my phone and it was 8:45am.  Thank goodness for the extra sleep!  I needed it badly as I was started to feel a little under the weather with a sore throat and runny nose.  I quickly got dressed and told Krista that they could come over.  We had a present for Alaina, who had just turned 2.  The girls had fun playing and Krista and I had a chance to talk and catch up.  She's pregnant and expecting another girl in July.  We talked about the baby and potty training the girls.  We were having a good time, when my phone rang.  I just knew it was Gina.  I picked up and she said that she just got called in and needed me there in 45 minutes.  Luckily I had a few things put together and they only live 15 minutes away.  We picked up the toys, said bye to Krista and Alaina, and went over to Sadie's house. 

Sadie's brother's daycare was closed today, so I watched Seth as well.  After Gina left, we went outside and played baseball, they rode the scooter and bikes and swang on the swingset.  I made them lunch and then put them down for a nap.  Sadie was the only one who went to sleep.  Kileigh didn't want to lay in Gina's bed by herself, so I layed in there with her and did some vacation searching.  Seth kept getting out of bed and going to the bathroom.  He didn't want to listen, so I had to put him in time-out and then finally he went and laid down in his bed.  He finally fell asleep and didn't wake up until I woke him up at 5pm when I was leaving.  I just wish Kileigh would still nap like that because it would be nice to get a break everyday. 

I am really starting to contemplate putting Kileigh in pre-school this fall.  I think it would be good for her to be around other kids and to get out of the house and to learn some new things and prepare her for kindergarten.

Fondue Feast

Kevin got off work early yesterday and picked up stuff to make fondue for dinner.  He made fiesta cheese (cheddar cheese w/salsa & jalapenos) and cut up bread, apples, carrots, and tortilla chips for dipping.  It was delicious.  For the main course, he made coq au vin.  He cut up shrimp, scallops, salmon, brats, and New York Strip Steak, and potatoes for our entree.  My favorite was the brats.  I really enjoyed it as I always do and love that I have a wonderful husband who enjoys cooking and spoils me with his delicious creations in the kitchen.

Rainy Saturday

Saturday was a rainy day in Phoenix.  Those are pretty rare, so Kileigh actually got to use her umbrella and wear her rainboats.  We dropped off a garbage bag of stuff at Goodwill.  Then we went to Target and found a few things in the Valentine's Day clearance.  I also got a few books from the $1 bins to put in Kileigh's Easter basket.  Our last stop was the library.  We had some books to return and checked out some new books.  Kileigh found some Maisy books.  I also got some books for St. Patrick's Day and some books
by Karen Kingsbury, which is a new author that I have found and have enjoyed the books of hers that I have read so far.

As we were leaving the library, it started to rain.  We quickly got in the car and headed to Aunt Jeanine & Uncle Jim's house.  They had their grandkids (Kileigh's cousins) over for the weekend, so we went Peter Piper Pizza for pizza and to play arcade games.  It was a fun afternoon.  We went back to their house.  Kileigh and Ciara colored and ran around the house.  Kevin came over for dinner.  Kileigh also loves going to their house and enjoys spending time with her aunt, uncle, and cousins.

January Birthday Party

Kevin's family does combined birthday parties.  With the bad weather recently, my in-laws weren't able to come out until last weekend.  We celebrated the January birthdays (Kevin;s mom and his cousin Mike) at Uncle Oos's house.  The day was beautiful on Sunday.  We went to church and then came back to the house.  Kileigh, Kevin's mom, and I made cookies for Valentine's Day.  Kevin and his dad went to Lowe's to pick up some wood so they could finish making boards for Cornhole.  He didn't really like the way they turned, so he ended up giving them to his uncle so he could take them up to his cabin.  When he was done with the boards, we headed over to his uncle's house and Kevin pulled the meat apart for pulled pork sandwiches.  We hung out in the backyard, played bags, ate dinner, had cake & ice cream, and opened presents.  It was a fun day!

St. Louis

Kileigh and I flew into St. Louis on Saturday the 11th.  My mom, brother, and sister-in-law drove down to meet up with us.  We had lunch at Guido's on The Hill, which is where we try to go everytime we are in  town.  My mom always gets spaghetti and meatballs and I always get shrimp and garlic pizza with alfredo sauce.  Mark and Catherine got pasta dishes too.  As usual, it was yummy!  After lunch, we headed over to the hotel to check in and ended up going swimming in the afternoon.  We went over to The Loop to have dinner at Fritz's.  It was a burger and shake kind of joint.  We got pickle chips and quesadillas for appetizers.  Everyone got burgers and fries/onion rings.  They made their own soda, so I got a refillable mug and was able to try root beer, grape soda, and orange soda.  After dinner, we went back to the hotel and relaxed.  Kileigh has never slept in a big bed, so it was a rougher night for her and she didn't sleep the best.  Saturday morning we had breakfast at the hotel and then dropped Mark and Catherine off at the Temple.  We took Kileigh to Forest Park for some sledding.  She really enjoyed that.  We went to The Loop again and picked up coffee and some mac & cheese at St. Louis Bread Co.  We went by the hotel to pick up our stuff, picked up M & C, and they dropped us off at the airport.  They went back to the hotel to pack and drove home. 

Michael W. Smith & Amy Grant Concert

Instead of flowers that would die or chocolate I won't eat, I wanted to go see a concert for Valentine's Day. I heard that Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant were coming to town and I told Kevin I wanted to see them in person. Kevin's aunt came over with her grandsons (Kileigh's cousins) to watch Kileigh for us. They ended up spending the night and had a lot of fun playing together. We went to King's Fish House at Tempe Marketplace for dinner. We had never been there before, but we both really enjoyed our dinner and will definitely go back. The concert was at the Celebrity Theatre. There was a bit of traffic getting into the parking lot, but once we got parked, we had plenty of time to get in there and go to the bathroom prior to the concert starting. The stage rotated so there really weren't any bad seats. We had a group of college-ad girls in front of us that were taking pictures throughout the concert and were annoying, but what are you going to do. The concert was a lot of fun! The music was great. We both really enjoyed the evening.

Illinois in January

Kevin, Kileigh, and I made the trek to Illinois the week prior to Martin Luther King's birthday to celebrate Christmas with my family.  Kevin worked Monday and Tuesday, so we ended up flying to Chicago on Tuesday night and driving down to Charleston Wednesday morning.  We had dinner at my brother and sister-in-law's house.  Catherine made cheese fondue as an appetizer, beef & noodles, and chocolate fondue for dessert.  Kileigh really enjoyed opening presents.  Kevin had to work Friday, so he drove back to Chicago Thursday afternoon to catch a flight home.  I didn't have to work till Tuesday, so Kileigh and I ended up staying till Sunday.  We were able to go to my mom's office and see her coworkers and to visit Catherine at her office as well.  We also went to the mall and saw my dad at work.  We went down to Greenup to the winery.  Catherine and I went to a movie.  Kileigh went sledding.  Kileigh got to spend a lot of time with her Uncle Mark, Aunt C, G, & Pops.  Despite the cold weather, it was a fun trip.

21 Day Fast

Kevin and I are participating in a 21 day fast with our church starting tomorrow.  After careful consideration, we have decided not to do a full fast (liquid only) for 21 days.  Kevin has to eat when he takes medication for his back.  One of his goals this year is to participate in a triathalon, God-willing that he is healthy and that his body can handle the training needed to prepare for this.  My goal is to get back in shape and to do a 5k sometime in 2011.  As part of our training, in addition to exercise, we need to ensure that we getting enough calories and vitamins, so we will drinking protein shakes (which is acceptable for the full fast since it is a liquid).  We will probably eat dinner, maybe it will only be fruits & veggies (Daniel Fast).   

We are also doing a fast of sacrifice and giving up caffeine, sweets, and alcohol.  In addition, I am giving up TV/Internet during the day and Facebook completely for 21 days.  Due to the nature of Kevin's job, he is required to have a phone with email, so he can't give that up. 

The goal of the fast is to give up something that would be a personal sacrifice, whether it be food or something that draws you away from God (TV, Social Media, Movies, Video Games, etc.) and replace that time with prayer, reflection, and reading God's word. 

We ask for your prayers as we take this journey of faith and spiritual awakening over the next 21 days.

Goldfield Ghost Town

While we my in-laws were still here and Kevin was off, we decided to take a drive on the Apache Trail.  Unfortunately, a section was damaged with the heavy rains last year, so we turned around and stopped at Goldfield Ghost Town.  There was a gunfight, some shops, food, ice cream shop, tours, and a train that you can ride on.

Mommy, Daddy, & Kileigh

Above Canyon Lake

My in-laws with Canyon Lake in the background

Goldfield Ghost Town

Bears Game/Cousin Night

Sunday the 26th, we went to see the Bears play at a bar near Andy's house. 

Bears Cheerleader-in-Training

Touchdown Bears

After the Bears won, we left and headed over to Judy's cousin's house for a family gathering with the cousin's and extended family. 

Siblings with Aunt Laverne

5 Siblings...just missing Joy

Siblings & Spouses

3 Generations

Christmas 2010

We stayed in Arizona for Christmas as Kevin's parents were coming into town on the 23rd and staying with us through the 30th.  We had planned to go to Illinois a couple days prior to Christmas to celebrate with my parents, brother and sister-in-law.  However, I ended up having to work. 

Kevin's brothers came over to dinner on the 23rd and they played Rock Band.

Kileigh & Daddy

Kileigh playing Rock Band with Daddy & her uncles

Kevin had to work on Christmas Day morning, so we decided to do our Christmas with his family on Christmas Eve.  Kevin's brothers came over to our house in the afternoon and we had snacks, opened presents, played Wii games, and then Kevin made homemade pizza for dinner.  There were so many presents that we had to alternate with Kileigh opening one every other person because she had a lot of presents.  We even pulled a few back, so she could open a few on Christmas Day at Aunt Jeanine's house. 

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Kileigh opening her 1st present.  She was so excited!  She got a lot of great stuff...tag books, a tent, clothes, baby dolls, flashcards, and a sit-and-spin.  Her big presents from Santa this year were a kitchen and a wagon. 

Brendan & Andy playing with Andy's new racetrack

Andy, Pat, Brendan, & Kevin

Playing in her Elmo tent with Nana

Christmas Morning

My Mother-in-law & I

My in-laws

Kevin, Kileigh, & I

Kileigh & Nana

McCarthy Clan