Hot Child in the City

Well ok, she's a toddler not a child, but the zoo is kind of in the city. I mean, you have to take I65 to get there so that counts as the city right? At least it was hot...no mistaking that!

Avery and Tania invited Lilly and I for a day at the zoo before their pass expires. We had a great time in the sweltering heat, and shockingly enough, most of the animals were more active than I have ever seen them at a zoo. Especially the bears, they were swimming when we got to their enclosure and when they got out of the water they chased each other and wrestled throughout their entire exhibit. Very exciting.

Lilly can only say and identify a few animals so most of the animals at the zoo get classified into these small groups. The lions and the tiger obviously are 'kitties', pronounced 'keys'. The bears are 'ber', and almost everything else is a 'gie' (doggie) or a 'caaaaw' (cow). But the best was when she looked into the rhino exhibit and saw a rhino right in front of us, almost close enough to touch and said 'peeg?'. Which is Lilly speak for, "excuse me mother, is that animal a pig?".

But, back to the point. It was very hot at he zoo...almost 100 degrees, so we spent most of our time at the water playground. And here are the pictures to prove it.

At the penguin exhibit we let the girls out of their strollers. While I was repacking Lilly's snack she started to take off. Tania casually said to Avery, "hold Lilly's hand"...and she did. So cute.

Avery running through the sprinklers. Running was not allowed, but that Avery, she's a rebel!

Lilly trying to catch the water. She was unsuccessful.

We desperately hoped that the sprinkler would turn on at this exact moment, but no luck. Both girls got up and moved on just in time. Tania and I were deeply disappointed, does that make us bad mothers?

Playing in the sprayer.

This red panda really captured the mood for our entire group. Hot and exhausted.

Super Hole IV

This past weekend we were lucky enough to be invited to participate in Super Hole IV. Some friends of friends, who have now become our friends, host a cornhole tournament. It is an annual event that boasts 20 teams and as many spectators. The rules are simple: each team mush be coed and consist of two adults over 21. It is double elimination and the winners receive the highest honor of having their names engraved on the trophy to immortalize their win forever.
Last year we were merely rookies and weren't sure what to expect, this year we came prepared. You could say we brought our 'game face'. Because we were awarded the Game Face Award for our uniforms, team name and the fact that Lilly also showed her support for us by donning her own uniform and proudly displaying herself as Traylor Trash.
Thanks Scott and Nicole, we had a great time and we'll be practicing for next year!
You can't tell in this picture, but we took our team pride to the next level by also wearing cut off jean shorts that reaffirmed our commitment to our team name.

So cute in her little bandanna. Everyone was shocked that she left it on all day.

In a rare event, I was captured on camera with Lilly during the rain delay.

The Colts Game

Bryan and Lilly were invited to go to the Colts pre-season opener on Friday night with Nathan and Avery. I know exactly what you're thinking...because Tania (Avery's mother) and I were thinking the same thing; that its ridiculous to take two toddlers to a football game. But, we were also thinking that maybe, just maybe, the girls would act how you would expect toddlers to act and that both dads would come home with a refreshed respect and appreciation for our day to day strife. Not to mention, the thought of an evening alone in my home was almost too much to bear. Its what left me smiling in the driveway and waving as they pulled away.

All of that aside, all four Colts fans (big and small) had a great time at the game. The girls made it till almost half time, the dads were satisfied with a successful outing, and Tania and I are excited about the possibility of more Daddy daughter outings that include 'Mom's night in'.

Lilly in her Peyton Manning Jersey.

Nathan explaining the complexities of a no huddle offense to the girls.

Lilly just relaxing and enjoying her first game.

I love this picture. Lilly and Avery both look like such big girls sitting in their seats and they even appear to be watching the game.

This Box's Life

Long ago, but not so far away someone built a storage box. And many many years ago it came to live in my Grandpa's barn. He painted a hideous color blue and used it to store seemingly important crap. Later, after coming into my Dad's possession it was painted an equally hideous color green and again was used to store a whole lot of crap. In the more recent past I took a shine to it and it ended up in my possession. I stripped the paint, and did a poor job of it evidently (see below) and painted it a lovely white and put it in my bedroom where I proceeded to load it with crap that I just couldn't bear to part with. Then I drug it to Kentucky to stay with me in my very first apartment where I was able to get even more useless crap into the poor box. My Dad loaded it up and brought it home for me after graduation, storing it (with all of my crap in it) until he remembered that it was there and then insisted I 'do whatever I want with it, but get it out of his garage'. By the time I got around to emptying the box of its contents I was pregnant. So I suggested that it be a toy box for the baby. This was a solution that worked in two ways. First, I would have a nice place to store toys for the new baby, and second, it was no longer my problem to deal with the box because it needed some work before it would be a 'toy box grade' chest.

My dad took over from there.

He stripped the white paint, finding layers of blue and green when he did it. Again, I must have done a great job the first time with the paint stripping. He made a few repairs for structural stability and then added some safety hinges specifically used for toy boxes, to keep little fingers from getting smashed. He then painted it a cream color to match a bookshelf that he had made. This just didn't seem to satisfy him. So he asked a friend who is an artist if she would want to paint 'a little something' on the newly refurbished toy box. She agreed.

Dad delivered it on Monday and I couldn't believe what I saw. 'A little something' turned out to be four separate paintings, one on each of the sides of the box, the front and the top. The animals look like, at any moment, they might step off of the side of the box and casually saunter across the living room floor. I can't believe I know someone who is capable of this. Thanks Lynn!!

Lilly putting her toys away. She is now the fourth generation to fill this poor box with crap.

The top.

The front.

Side.

Other side.

No one remembers where it came from, or how much my grandpa paid for it, but we have certainly gotten his money's worth out of this little wooden box.

Wisconsin

What can I say about our Wisconsin trip? To say that everyone had a great time is an understatement. Lilly loved, absolutely loved, staying in the little cabin with open access to everyone and everyone's room. We caught 404 crappie. Kristy caught her first walleye...and her first northern. Lilly served tea every day. Shuffleboard is our new favorite sport. Lilly is getting a sandbox. Wes and Bryan grew mustaches that any 14 year old boy would be proud of. It rained almost everyday. And we ate. And ate. And ate.

Daily tea service. We all drank so much 'tea'. Lilly loves her new teapot and dances whenever she hits the button to play the little song. She also pours 'tea' into any container and stands there, expecting you to drink it so she can pour you more.

Boat ride. The life vest wasn't her favorite thing, but we all thought it was cute.

Pretty baby. I have nothing to say about this. I just really like this picture.

Just chillin with Uncle Wes in her new bag chair.

The sandbox was a huge hit. Whenever she got near it she would point and say 'uh uh' (which is Lilly speak for 'take me to the sandbox'. She would also cry when removed from the sandbox...no matter how many hours she had spent there. Construction is still in the planning stages for her own sandbox, but we will probably see one by the end of the month.

Trolling for walleye on the nightly cruise.

Success!! Kristy's first walleye...and it was a nice one. 4.7 lbs and about 24 inches.

Kristy with her fishing guides. The guy on the left is actually Wes (you may not recognize him because of his mustache).

Minnow Girl in training. My grandpa would be so proud. I was always the 'minnow girl', handing out bait to everyone on the boat. Lilly shows real promise for taking over, boldly reaching her hand into the minnow bucket and pulling them out. She could quite catch the live ones, but when we gave her one and it was flipping in her hand she was all smiles and excitement.

On her way to the sandbox. There were plenty of toys already there to play with, but Lilly preferred to take her own, pulling them in her wagon.

We discovered how fun shuffleboard is...on the last day. I've already started making brackets for next year's shuffleboard tournament.

We spent a good portion of our playground time on the teeter totter. She loved it, the more violent the teeter and more dangerous the totter the better.

Sliding with the Daddy Guy.

We cleaned 404 crappie last week. There is really nothing else to say about that.

We eventually developed a fish cleaning system, everyone had a specific job. Fileters, boners, skinners, washing and bagging...and mom watched the baby. We argued all week about who had the most important job and who was being promoted too fast and who had been demoted...but it all worked out.

We took advantage of the fish scale to weigh Lilly. She was by far the biggest catch.

Lilly and Papaw waving bye bye as we 'kids' pull away on the boat for a cruise around the lake.

On said cruise...Kristy had another first. This time she caught a northern. She is responsible for catching the biggest and second biggest fish of the trip.

Nonnie and Lilly welcoming us back. Mom said the whole time we were gone they sat on this blanket waving at boats that were coming and going. Eventually Lilly learned to make a 'boat noise'....which she practiced on the way home in the car...for several hours.

Evidently laying on the blanket is an open invitation for attack.