Sunday, August 26, 2007

Skyler starts preschool!

Here she is, ready to head off to her first day of school. She was excited to meet new friends and meet her teacher. She had her backpack, her bottle of water, a folder, and a new outfit and shoes. The whole first week I was bombarded with phrases like, "Mommy, I LOVE my new school." and "I love school sooooooo much."
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Welcome to Kentucky!

We got on the road Saturday morning and headed out to a KOA campground just North of Atlanta. Skyler was excited to sleep on the top bunk in the cabin, and as a nice downpour and breeze came around after dinner, it put the kids right to sleep. The next morning we were off to Kentucky! I could not wait to see my family, especially my cousin Melinda, whom I have been emailing for years and become very close to. Our kids are very close in age and they had never met, which we were determined to remedy. I was excited for another reason, we were going to the U.S. 127 "World's longest yard sale"! We had discussed it several times, and made one previous attempt to attend together, but this time, it was really happening! I kept waiting for some glitch in our plans that would not allow us to make it. I just couldn't believe we were finally on our way to reunite with Melinda and her family and spend a day shopping yard sales as well! I had as much , if not more, anticipation as the kids.


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Mid-Century Modern

Susannah's house was a rare sight for us. A completely unchanged 50's modern home. Complete with built ins everywhere, and original wool carpet! I admire people that can appreciate a home and its history, and place value in how things were made in the past. Susannah was a wealth of knowledge about the house, the builders and its owners, and I was all ears to hear about it. The kids really enjoyed staying with her, and enjoyed Susannah's attentive ear when telling her all about their day. They loved her Raisin Bran muffins. It was a treat to have her accomodate us.


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Saturday, August 25, 2007

Monday, a busy day!

Today was the first full day of us being together. The girls had some troubles but eventually figured out each other and became friends. Bryce and Sawyer found their common interest, Sawyer's vast toy Cars and Thomas the train collection! So they were set. Skyler had told me 3 things (goals, if you will) that she wanted to do up in Kentucky. Play with Laurel and see her new room, See the cows, and catch lightning bugs.


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In the afternoon, we went to see Melinda and Cory's new house, an 1845 house listed in the national historic registry. They were doing lots to update it, but took careful note to restore and decorate it to keep the integrity of the house. I found an old bird bath in the clippings of a bush, and 2 little birds that sat on it a little further away. It was easy to picture ladies standing on the front porch in their Civil War gowns. Then when we got back, my Uncle Hughes said he would take the kids to see his cows. Then after dinner, and a quick bath, we were off to catch a lightning bug. Skyler had accomplished all 3 goals in one day!

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Taste of Country Life

My uncle Hughes gave the kids tractor rides Tuesday morning. Skyler got on like a pro, and my uncle let her steer, the entire way around their property! She loved it, and took it very seriously. Then he thought Bryce would be more comfortable with daddy driving the tractor, so he gave careful instructions to Ryun and they set off on a long ride around as well. Bryce LOVED the tractor, and even the next day we found him perched up in the seat, pleased with himself that he had figured out how to get up there without help.

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Wednesday, Cousins Day!

Today my cousin LeeAnn brought over her 4 kids to spend the day. We went to Old Fort Harrod to let the kids play and brought a picnic. Skyler and Bryce met Isaac, Ben, Levi, and little Ava Claire and became instant playmates.

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This is the Osage Orange tree at Old Fort Harrod. Its the disputed "largest tree in America", due to the split trunk. We had a great picnic, all the cousins got along great. We finished the afternoon with a cool dunk in the kiddie pool. The kids took turns going down its little slide.

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127 Sale Day!

Thursday and Friday were a blur of sweat, bargains, and bliss! Melinda and I went out for the entire day as we went from sale to sale hunting for special things. Melinda found some old dolls to complete a collection, and I honed into some vintage tins and kitchen tools. We had been dreaming of this day for years, and for several months we new it would soon be a reality, and here we were, in "junque" heaven! We also took time with our husbands one evening to go to the Old Kentucky Fudge Shop on Main St. which used to be the old drug store my dad went to for sodas and ice cream. We then strolled down the street of this quaint old town, taking in the history this place had for my dad, and his youth. I envisioned him driving down the street with friends, and pictured my Grandma as a young mom going into the department store for a fashionable new dress and hat. Even now it evoked a much simpler and slower paced life. It made me wonder if we had been jipped by moving to a city with malls and beaches just around the corner.

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Our last day in Kentucky, we visited my Aunt Barbara at her house in Lexington. The kids had fun in her backyard. The next afternoon we were on the road, heading as far as we could get and we would get a hotel for the night. But my husband got grand ambitions and decided to try for an all nighter. We got home around 2:45am and determined we would NEVER do that again.
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