Run Roundy Run

Last Saturday was the Derby Marathon. After watching my friends run the marathon last year, Kade decided that if a girl can do it, he can do it. Those were his words.

Ok, ok. He WAS just kidding.

But he did say it.

Being the sensible man that he is, [did I just hear someone snicker??] Kade signed up for the Mini-Marathon, (13.1 miles) and he did it! He was a little disappointed that it wasn't his best time, but everyone felt that way last Saturday. They all trained in 40-60 degree weather. Come race day, the morning started in the 70's, and the race ended in the 80's. Ouch. Kade did, however, rank very well among his fellow runners: 543rd out of 9,415 finishers!

The cheering section: Maryn with her cousins Ella and Amaya. Unfortunately as Kade ran by, Ella and Amaya were in pursuit of a bathroom, and Maryn was searching through my bag for a granola bar. I was there with Ailee, but I was trying to get the camera to turn back on. We were terrible supporters.

Kade after the race. This was a very smelly place to be. A bunch of sweaty runners in the scorching heat. pee-yoo!

Great job, Kade! We are very proud of you. Now I'm off to frame that fancy medal they gave him.

Ailee's Debut

I've given up on "professional" photographers. I'm never happy with my pictures and I always feel obligated to buy something from them. Plus, they don't listen when I tell them I don't really want to be in the picture. My friend, Erin, is an excellent photographer. In fact, I've thought about hiring her for the next 18 years to follow my kids around, just so they will be guaranteed some decent childhood pictures. However, I don't think she will go for it. About a week and a half ago, she let me come over so she could take some pictures of Ailee. I thought I would share with you my favorites:

I made the tutu for her pictures. I love how it turned out, and it was SO easy! Thanks, Erin, for the pictures, and even more for not making me be in them.

Can You Hear The THUNDER?? Kachiga-chiga-chiga

Ah, it's that wonderful time of the year, here in Louisville Kentucky. Derby Festival time. I love it. They always work really hard to clean up Louisville, plant flowers, keep the freeways cleaned, etc., to make it presentable for the Kentucky Derby. The rest of the year we are just a bunch of white trash hillbillies.

As the usual kickoff to the festivities, they held the yearly event:

THUNDER OVER LOUISVILLE

This being our final year here, [frowny face] we had to go. Fortunately, unlike last year, we had rockin' awesome weather! We had a bunch of chores to get done at home before we could head down to the Water Front (that's a big park along the Ohio River for you non-Loouhvulle-ites), but we made it there at about 3 pm. It was a big bonus that some of our friends had gone down earlier that day and saved a big area, in a sweet spot. The Air Show started just as we got there. We didn't get a lot of pictures...those jets fly pretty fast, but Kade got a short video.

It doesn't do the jets much justice. They are much faster, and much nosier that they appear on the video clip. The kids didn't really care for the noise, especially when they would fly by and you didn't even know it until they were long gone, and all you were left with was a loud roar. I think they are very cool.

While we waited for dark, we just hung out with our friends, (the Browns, the Weavers, and the Romriells)

and tried our best to keep all 10 kids entertained while we loaded them up on more sugar.

Maryn and Caiden playing cards with Amber

Kaebrii spent most of the day rifling through our things, probably looking for more candy.

Ailee was pretty angry at life, but after a little nap (still don't know how she stayed asleep through all those jets...and it was some dinky airplane that woke her up) things got a little better.

Posing for some family pictures.Ailee was really hoping for that pretzel in Kade's hand. Me, Janelle, and Amber

The paper today, said there were about 600,000 people there.

The fireworks are fantastic. I have yet to see a better show. I've been to other firework displays where people talk about how theirs are "the best" and all I can do is scoff at them. They shoot fireworks of the 2nd Street bridge, and two barges on either side of the bridge. 30 minutes of musically coordinated fun! A quick overview of the day:

-Next time, I will bring WAY more snacks and my own glow sticks from the dollar store

-Everyone feels patriotic when they fly an American flag through the air

-Things that were smelly and gross: The porta potties. The guy sitting next to us who smoked about 50 cigarettes. Me, after sitting under a very hot and shiny sun.

-The fireworks get an A+. Ailee loved them. Maryn hid under the blankets because she thought they were falling on her.

-We parked a really long ways away, and I got my exercise for the month.

An Easterly Wind

As our time winds down here in Louisville, it seems like everything is happening so fast. I feel like my weeks are busy with work, errands, watching kids, and spending a few more precious moments with friends before we all leave, and during the in-between-times I'm driving myself nuts making a bazillion headbands. (I've lost count of how many Ailee has, and I've made several for Maryn)
This last week was, of course, Easter, which came and went so fast. On Wednesday, a bunch of friends met at a park and we had an Easter Egg hunt for the kids. It ended up being a beautiful morning, and we had a good turn out. I think the kids loved it.

Posing for a group picture.

I mostly just got pictures of Ailee. Maryn was too busy eating candy to take any pictures where she wasn't giving me a scowl or the stink eye.

Kind of a weird look, but cute. She may have been in the process of eating some grass, wood chips, and/or dirt.

This picture is proof that this is, in fact, Kade's child. 100% a Kade look.

My sweet little bug.

Easter morn rolled around. A silly bunny left us all some presents and too much candy. Maryn got a Mack (the semi truck that totes Lightening McQueen around in the movie "Cars.") tent, that now adorns our back porch. At least now I don't have to make tents out of blankets in my family room. Ailee got a toy monkey that is coveted by Maryn, and some Easter eggs filled with cheerios and little puffs. She loved it.

After church, Kade bribed Maryn with a quarter to let me take some pictures of the girls in their Easter dresses. Yes, I gave in, and they are matching. I've really got to stop this.

Florally Roundy sisters:

This kid loves to take pictures. I sure hope it continues.

There is very little photographic proof that Maryn knew how to smile between the ages of 3 and 4. Finally, a good one. Isn't her hair so pretty down?

Happy Easter, Ya'll!

A Big Splashy Adventure

Last Friday, Kade had the day off of school, so instead of being slouches all day, we made some plans with friends. A new indoor splash park, called Big Splash Adventure, opened up in February in French Lick, Indiana. Really that's the name of the town. The drive was about 1 and 1/2 hours, but we had a really good time. There was a good mix of kid and adult fun, and even a little wading pool for the babies. Here are some of the few pictures I captured that day.

Maryn loved going down the kiddy slides.

Ailee was pretty timid at first. Even though she loves the bath tub, it took her a while to detach herself from mom. Thanks to my friend, Becca, she even has a swim suit to match Maryn's. (I swore I would never do this, but since it was a gift....)

Kade and Maryn floating down the lazy river.

Grant, Kaebrii, Maryn, and Caiden playing in the fountains. I think Sydney had just walked out of the picture.

Poor Ailee was pooped. She fell asleep (in Janelle's arms) mid-snack.

We all had a great time at the park, and even the way home was fun. We stopped off for some shakes at a mom 'n pop shop, then Kade was good enough to let me browse around a cute little antique/country decor shop we spotted in Paoli. I did not come home empty handed.

Pretty Egg-Citing!

Last week was super busy, but we managed to squeeze in a little fun time. I have always enjoyed egg decorating, and I make it a point to do it every year.Mine are the pretty ones, Kade's are the ones with crayon (we're working on how to use big boy pencils with him) and Maryn's are the ones with the stickers. There is a definite tier of creativity in our house. Happy Easter!

Reminiscing

Today, is a very beautiful day. It is well deserved--it's been rainy and gloomy for several days in a row, and I needed some sunshine. I was at the zoo with some friends, and we were noticing the daffodils, and talking about how much we love spring flowers. They give us the feeling of hope, that the cold weather is on it's way out. It made me wish I could go back to Europe. In 2006, my sister, her husband, and her Mother- and Father-in-law, came to Germany to visit us. One of the trips we took was to Holland. I thought I'd share some pictures of one of my favorite trips.

We stayed at a hotel on the coast of the North Sea, but I can't remember the name of the town. It was pretty chilly, but we managed a walk along the beach.

Amsterdam was an interesting place. Pretty much anything goes, there. We tried our best to avoid the red light district. The architecture is great, and I loved all the bikes lining the streets. While we were there, we went to the Anne Frank House, the Rijks Museum, and the Van Gogh Museum. All, very worth while excursions.

Our next trip was to Lisse, Holland, where the Kukenhof Gardens are. WOW! I loved it. I think this is where I fell in love with tulips.

My favorite are the red tipped with yellow tulips.

I got some great pictures of Maryn. She was hamming it up while we took pictures. She was about 10 months old at the time...and still toothleess.

Silly girl!

Driving along the roads, we would see fields of flowers.

We stopped at little shop out in the middle of nowhere. Thankfully the Dutch are very friendly people, and a man jogging down the road helped us find our way. At this shop, they demonstrated how to make clogs, and the history behind clogs. Then we had a demo on cheese making. Mmmmm. Cheese.

Me, in a ginormous pair of clogs.

Our final trip in Holland was to a place called Kinderdijk, where several old windmills line a canal. They were nonfunctioning, but still very cool to see.

On Sylivia's (my sister's Mother-in-law) list of things to visit in Europe, was a WWII American Cemetary at the border of Germany and Holland.

This is where her father was buried, after he died in WWII. It was very touching to be able to go with her to "meet" her father, and to take in the reality of the sacrifice those men made.

Thanks, Jill, for a fun time!