Week 34 - First Day of School

On Monday Grace started back to school. To say she was excited to begin first grade is an understatement. But now that the homework has started, I do believe she wishes that it was still summer vacation. Overall though, everything is going along smoothly and she appears quite content with the new routine.



So here's to another wonderful year of learning!

Week 33 - Kentucky

We're just returning from a wonderful week-long vacation to Kentucky. In my efforts to share as many photos as possible (I believe we took over 200) I created my first ever photo mosaic. Despite a few oddly cropped photos, I'm happy with the results.


Descriptions of photos from left to right......

1. A barn located at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, where we stayed for two nights 2. Grace weaving potholders in the car to pass the time 3. On a tour of the Woodford Reserve Bourbon Distillery 4. The paddocks of Three Chimneys Farm, where champion racehorses are bred 5. Feeding a carrot to one of the retired racehorses at Old Friends Farm 6. On a riverboat ride along the Kentucky River 7. With the chickens at Country Girl at Heart Bed and Breakfast - Grace even got to collect their eggs 8. Crawling through Mammoth Cave 9. Dipping bottles of Maker's Mark Bourbon in the signature red wax as souvenirs 10. My favorite dessert while there - bread budding with bourbon sauce 11. At the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory 12. Watching an early morning training session at Churchill Downs 13. Sketching a group of goats on the hillside 14. A family photo in front of one of the many limestone walls we came across 15. A horse animal cracker 16. One of the local restaurants we ate at, this one was in Hart county.

Ah yes, it was a fun filled week indeed!

Week 31 - Hat Making

Grace had been waiting all summer long for the release of the new Smurf movie (which she saw yesterday with Meme and Pop). I'm not quite sure where her interest in those little blue creatures came from, but she was excited none the less. In fact, she was so excited that she had her outfit selected weeks in advance. There was an issue however, a vital piece of the ensemble was missing - the hat!

After much discussion related to the lack of a proper Smurf hat, I suggested we attempt to make one. And believe it or not, she was quite smitten with the idea.

So with an old white t-shirt and a bit of creativity, Grace made herself (with just a little help from me) a hat that she couldn't have been prouder of.

Here she is working away......



And the result of all her hard work......


Ah yes, the proper attire makes all the difference, right?