Bluegrass State

Last week we visited my sister Natalie, who just moved to Kentucky!

It was my first time seeing this lovely state, so I was excited to go.  Added bonus was that my sister Tracy ended up coming for the same weekend!  And also exciting was the prospect of seeing their new home!  Natalie's husband, Cameron, just finished his residency at the Penn State Hospital in Hershey.  So now he has a brand-spanking-new job and with that, they got to finally buy a house with a yard for their boys to play in!  It's been a long time coming for them, and I couldn't be happier for them!  Their new home is just lovely-- I told Natalie I wanted one just like it.  And I really do!

We didn't do a whole lot while we were there-- mostly we hung around talking, eating, and watching the kids all play together.  The usual Bentley activities.  We'd talked about visiting some caves (Bentley is still a fan of bats, so we figured he would enjoy them), but then we learned that the main cave with oodles of bats-- appropriately called the Bat Cave-- is closed because too much tourism is bad for the bats.  And then it was an hour away, which seemed less appealing after the six-plus-hour-drive to get to Kentucky and back again.  And the final nail in the coffin was when we saw that you had to wear tennis shoes inside the caves, and I had only brought flipflops (well, and a pair of heels for church).  So we took the kids to a nearby splash pad and let them run around there instead, which was probably just as much fun! 

Extra bonus, the splash pad was in Ohio, which led to Ryder repeatedly yelling, "Hai-yo!!!" in the car, and ever since.  It's almost as much fun as when he yells, "Boogawaaaaay!"  That kid can find fun in anything!

Here are some random pictures from it all:

Besides the beautiful hospital, the main industry in Ashland is the steel mill.  The 20-foot high blue flame was pretty impressive at night!

Bentley and Kendra enjoy getting wet

And Ryder enjoys running around making mommy nervous that he'll slip and fall

What a nut!

Time to sit on Daddy!

Colton is one cool stud

Caleb generously shares his train tracks with his cousins

Bentley and Samuel find a great reading nook

Ryder "naps" in a big chair

Happy Colton (who looks vaguely like he's sporting a comb-over!)

Napping during Sunday School

Story time with Aunt Tracy, right before church

My kids are already asking when they can go back!  And, if they can live at Samuel's house!  Ooh, ooh, me, too!