Kentucky: Day Three continued - Keeneland

We were able to pick up my nephew Kyle who goes to college in Lexington for the day.  What a blast. We took him to eat and then to Keeneland which is across the street from the college.  It is a racetrack where the Breeder's Cup will be run in October this year and where American Pharoah, the triple crown winner, will run his last race.  It's very beautiful here!  They even have a library which was very fascinating.  

Kentucky: Day Three - Claiborne Farms

Claiborne Farm is a breeding farm for previous Derby runners and also where Secretariat stayed and was eventually buried.  Very fascinating and we got to see a Derby winner!  This is the 2013 winner Orb.  

This is War Front, an 80 million dollar horse.  The breeding is where the true money is.  It costs $150,000 to breed to him, and he could breed up to 100 times a year.  

Ava and Matt petting Orb

Ava feeding War Front a peppermint.  They love those.  

This is Blame.  They taught him how to stick his tongue out.  

Lots of famous horses have stayed here and been buried here.  

Kentucky: Day Two - Churchill Downs

Kentucky = horses!  I love horses.  What a blast to see the spot where the Kentucky Derby is run!  From the time I was a little girl, I loved horses.  I read tons of books about horses as a child, and our family has always loved to watch the races on TV.  So it was exciting to see all of the spots in person that we had seen on TV.  This year was special as well since there was a triple crown winner since Secretariat, the greatest horse ever!  Ok I will try to settle down, but it was very exciting.  We stayed with my Aunt Jenny, my dad's sister, while we were there and had a great time with her.  I think she was as excited as we were!

The triple crown winner with Ava!

The entrance to the museum looks like a starting gate.  

The original building was just the part with the twin spires.  

The paddock area where the riders mount their horses.  

Where the bugler bugles.  

Millionaires Row - best view!

The starting gate

A horse getting shoes

The track - a fine mixture of materials to make it perfect for the horses. 

A Derby runner - Twinspired

Playing games in the museum 

Secretariat's bridle and other stuff

The kids are ready to be jockeys

Jack jockeying

Ava 

Kentucky: Day One - Creation Museum

Well I guess I don't have a ton of pictures myself from this day, but this was the first stop on our vacation.  It was beautiful and very well done.  My favorite part was seeing the life sized ark they are building which should be done next year.  So I guess we will have to go back.  Otherwise there's a museum and dinosaurs and a planetarium and lectures and food and a gift shop/bookstore and all kinds of things inside.  Outside there's a trail through botanical gardens that had a sluice where we could buy dirt and the kids could look for geodes or pretty rocks.  They loved that.  Also there's a petting zoo, and this is where we came on this peacock who really wanted our popcorn!  It was a fun stop!

Catch up

So so much to say I don't even know where to start.  So I will just plunge in.  We were happy to have some friends in town during the county fair weekend so they came with us.   Here are Ava and Nora riding the carousel.  

Family reunion on my mom's side at my cousin's house.  It was awesome with a bouncy house, a dunk tank and pigs!  

Ava after getting yicked in the foot by Maddie.  

We watched the movie "Singin' in the Rain not too long ago.  So at the first appropriate rain, the kids went outside and acted it out.  

Corn!  So thankful for the Sennes and the corn they share with us.  Also for the fun time spent with them cooking, cutting it, storing it.  

Ava knows most of these books by heart and carries them around with her and "reads" to herself.  She loves Mother Goose!

My sister Nancy has a new CD!  We were able to go hear her sing the night she released it.  We are proud of her!