Sandlot & Secretariat

I started the summer with a post from Memorial Day so I guess I will end the summer with a post from our family vacation.

This year our family vacation was inspired by our 2 favorite movies: The Sandlot and Secretariat.  My kids have watched both movies over and over and over again.  Their favorite line from The Sandlot, "YOU PLAY BALL LIKE A GIRL."  It is so funny when they watch Secretariat, they yell and cheer for him in every race and they can repeat several line from that movie as well.  Since they are so into horses and base ball what better place to go than Louisville, Kentucky; home of the Kentucky Derby and Louisville Slugger bat factory.  Hope you enjoy the photos.

We stopped in St. Louis to visit a cousin and see a few sites.
Here I am with Anna & Garrett near the Gateway Arch.
Sam was the photographer.

Not the best picture of my kids, but made me giggle.


Anna & Sam looking out of the windows at the top of the Arch.


Gateway Arch

Family photo at the Arch


We spent part of a day at City Museum.  My kids thought they were going to die when we told them we were going to City Museum.  Much to their surprise, City Museum was a really cool place for kids to play and have a grand time.





Garrett in skateless park


Sam in skateless park


This 10 story building was full of slides, ladders and tunnels for kids to climb in and around.  It was all made out of recycled and found items.  Amazing!!!!  I quit following them when I thought I was going to get stuck in a hole I was crawling through.


Joey with our kids plus one extra.  That sweet little girl is Leah and she belongs to Joey's cousin, Jody and husband Tim.  They live in Columbia, Illinois, just outside St. Louis.

We spent part of a day touring horse farms around Lexington.  We started at this racetrack where we got to see some race horses working out.  Maybe the next Derby winner???  Several scenes from Secretariat were filmed at this racetrack.

This is one of Secretariat's grandsons, Perfect Soul.  He had a pretty successful racing career and is now making lots of babies.  His stud fee is $15,000 and expected to rise. 

Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby Museum.

This is the tunnel that the horses walk through on their way to the racetrack.

The kids got to dress up like jockey's at the Kentucky Derby Museum.  Here they are standing on the jockey scale.  Each Jockey and his saddle has to weigh exactly 126 pounds. 

Here I am with the kids outside Churchill Downs.

We could not leave without having some Derby Pie.

Louisville Slugger Bat Factory and Museum

Memorial Day 2011

Memorial Day is my favorite holiday. It was not until I met my husband that I realized what Memorial Day was truly about. The small town in central Kansas where he was born and raised and we now live has an amazing tradition for Memorial Day. Here are a few pictures I took.

The Thielen cousins: Brooklyn, Garrett, Avery (standing on the ground), Hallie, Anna & Sam.



Sam

Anna



Garrett

Our featured speaker Major Russ Allen, US Air National Guard, US Air Force



American Legion Rifle Squad
My dad is the one on the far right, Joe is the third one from the right.



Major Russ Allen addressing those gathered at the cemetery.



Colleen Allen (Russ's Mom) and her grand kids Maggie and Austin. You can't see Emma, she is sitting on Colleen's lap.



Garrett, Anna and Hallie (my niece) listening during the ceremony.



Anna taking a break to read the program.



After the festivities at the cemetery and Legion we usually gather at the farm for a BBQ. The kids were hiding under Grandma's desk. Hallie and Anna are in the back. Brooklyn and Sam are in the front.

Faith Filled Fun

On the eve of Easter my parents joined the Catholic church. I am thrilled. I joined the Catholic church 12 years ago after I married Joe so it was great news when my parents made the decision to join the catholic church. They spent 18 months learning about the catholic faith before they joined the church during a fantastic Easter Vigil service. Below is a picture my Mom and Dad with their priest, Father Bill. I knew Father Bill when he was our priest in Frankfort.


The weekend after Easter we celebrated Garrett's 1st Communion. I am so proud of how he as grown in his own faith. He certainly makes his parents proud. It was another great service. Our priest, Father Hoover and nun, Sister Marilyn do a really nice service that is ALL ABOUT the kids. He really makes it special and memorable for the kids.
Garrett with his teacher, Mrs. Berger, Sister Marilyn, and Father Hoover.


Garrett doing some of his reading during Mass.



My parents have had a special guest staying with them for a few weeks. This is a picture of Garrett with Father McGovern from Ireland. My parents traveled to Ireland last fall and met Father while attending a Mass in Ireland. He later wrote to them and came for a visit. It just so happened he was here for both celebrations.



Easter at my parents. Sam (3), Garrett (8), McKenzie (8), Anna (5)




So, this is the best family picture we got for Easter.



A picture of Sam playing in Mimma & Papa's yard.


I had to throw this picture in b/c it is the 3rd time Garrett wore his tie in 9 days. We had to have a tie for 1st communion and we got some miles out of that tie. He wore it for 2 Sundays in a row (Easter & 1st Communion). He wanted to wear the tie to his Spring music program at school. I was a bit apprehensive, thinking he would be the only kid in a tie. But as you can see there are 3 of them wearing ties. Guess what? They all had first communion the day before and the boys had decided at school that day that they were all going to wear their ties to the program. Don't they look sharp?

Spring Break 2011

As you probably know, my husband is a farmer/rancher which when you are a teacher Spring Break is not exactly a great time for a vacation. He is busy with new baby calves being born so it is a bit hard to get away from the farm. This year, I did manage to drag him away for 25 hours the the luxurious destination of......drum roll please........Hutchinson, KS. In that 25 hours we went to the Cosmosphere, swam/slept at a hotel, and went to the farm show in Salina. I know you all are anxious for me to start a new career as a travel agent/trip planner....so maybe it was not every ones dream vacation but it was fun to go somewhere as a family. The rest of the week got a little more exciting.....for some of us. Read below to find out.....the rest of the story.

Future Astronauts????

If you have more than 1 kids you will appreciate the picture above. It was the only picture I didn't have to continue to say, "look this way, close your mouth, smile," while I took 15 pictures and hoped at least one of them had all 3 kids with a decent looking face.

....the rest of the story
Joe's mom and her sister took 3 girls (ages 4, 4 & 5) on a train to St. Louis to visit her niece and family. Jody & Tim are the parents of Leah (5 months) and live in St. Louis. The girls had a great time riding the train from KC to St. Louis. While in St. Louis they went to the Magic House, Build-a-Bear and Chuck-e-Cheese (every kids dream). I snagged a few pictures from Jody's blog.
Thanks Grandma and Aunt Debbie for taking the girls on the great adventure.
Thanks Jody, Tim & Leah for hosting and entertaining the travelers.

Hallie, Natalie, Anna


Hallie, Anna, Leah, Natalie


Anna


Hallie, Natalie, Anna.

While the girls were in St. Louis doing their thing, I took the boys on another adventure. Garrett, Sam & I went to Topeka and met up with my sister and her family and my Dad (mom was off with her friends on another Spring Break adventure). Two weeks before Spring Break our plan seemed like a great idea (it was beginning to feel like spring). So, we planned a trip to Nebraska City, NE to see where Arbor Day was "hatched." This would have been really neat had there not been snow on the ground and it was a little warmer. You can see by the pictures that we really had to bundle up. There is this really cool Tree Adventure place within walking distance of this hotel/lodge/spa/conference center. We ended up zipping through the tree adventure and stopping to play a few times and then jumping in the car and driving back to the hotel where we spent a few hours swimming in the warm pool. I do think I might go back someday when the weather is a little better. Neat place....just not when it is cold and snowy.
Should I add this to my resume for when I become a travel agent?
Garrett playing the xylophone.



Sam in the neat tree.


McKenzie (my niece), Sam & Garrett. Notice that there is no snow...this was the inside exhibit.

I forgot to mention my Dad joined us on the trip to Nebraska City. Even if the weather was not ideal the company was GREAT!!!

SNOW CREEK 2011

Calving season is just around the corner which means Joe will be tied to the farm. So, we were looking for a weekend get away for the family. My idea was going to KC, take the kids to Union Station, Science City, and Crown Center for Kaleidoscope and maybe ice skating. When I suggested this to Joe he shuddered, gagged and choked and said all he could think of was kids and GERMS. He suggested we take Garrett and Anna skiing at Snow Creek, so we did. Don't tell him, but it was a great idea. We had so much fun and the kids LOVED it and can't wait to go skiing again.

The kids took lessons in the morning. Garrett is wearing the red coat and blue pants, his little sister is right next to him in the pink.



In the afternoon the kids skied with us. We spent some time on the tow rope lifts and eventually braved the chair lifts. The kids did great.



Garrett and his dad.


Anna working hard on her new skills.


The kids took a few spills but always got back up and were ready to keep going.


Anna and her daddy.



Joe has been itching to take the kids skiing for the last few years so he was quite the proud dad. Here he is at the end of the day with 2 very tired kids.


What I learned about our kids while skiing: Garrett has a "need for speed." He liked to just point his skis down and GO. Anna on the other had was a bit more cautious and worked hard on mastering turning and stopping.