This entry is being posted late. . . it's been over a week since we went to the zoo, but going back to school this week has worn me out! By the time I get home in the afternoons, it's dinner, bath/pj time, and once Lucy is down for the evening, I haven't felt like doing anything else! But we had such a good time that I didn't want to forget to write it all down!
The reason we went to Lousiville for the week was so that Michael could attend the Lifeserve Conference. This was a national conference that teaches ministers and lay leaders of churches around the nation about "Equipping the Saints" - being able to identify the passions/gifts of the members of a congregation and finding ways to best use them to further the ministry of the church. It is a concept that has been embraced by the Asheville UMC district so we were excited to get to see lots of of friends from MRUMC while we were there. I think that it was a positive experience for Michael and I know he is excited to put these new ideas to use here at Salem UMC.
It was my last week for break and since I didn't have school, Lucy and I tagged along. There were plenty of things at the hotel/downtown to keep us busy while Michael was in the sessions and then we got to spend the evenings together as well as spend some time with Paul B, Steve, Kevin, Paige Ann, Shannon, and the Kirkpatricks. We got up EARLY on Monday morning to make the drive. Lucy and I got settled in that afternoon at the hotel while Michael went to his first session and then we went to dinner with everyone that evening at the Spaghetti Factory. Lucy was excited to have spaghetti for dinner and even more excited when they served Spumoni ice cream at the end of the meal. (Almost as excited as Steve Carson! :) )
The next day, Lucy and I drove to Lexington to have lunch with my roommate from freshman year, Maria. I haven't seen Maria since Michael and I got married, so it was about time to catch up! :) Her husband, William, came for the first part so it was nice to talk to him as well. He is a UM Minister in KY, so it was fun to swap stories. After lunch, Lucy and I headed back to Lousiville for the evening.
Lucy getting ready to leave the hotel
The next day, Lucy and I got out and explored around downtown. It was a nice place to just walk around. We ate lunch outside in a park, and saw a lot of their different horses around town. (Much like the bears in downtown Hendersonville or the pigs in downtown Lexington!)
Lucy and one of the horses
Michael had a break during the afternoon so he joined us for a trip to the Kids Science Museum. It had three stories full of fun, hands on activities for kids. The first floor contained a children's museum. Lucy enjoyed running around on the plane and sliding off the slide (much like she did at the Children's museum in Greensboro). There was a toy dinosaur that she liked to play with too. We sat in a spaceship, got on a bus, and all sorts of other things. Then we discovered the water table!
They provided all these jackets like the one you see on Lucy. The only problem was that they were all a little big for her, so her sleeves kept filling up with water! It didn't stop her from having fun though! :)
We went up to the other two floors where they had lots of different hands on science activities. If Lucy had been school age, I'm sure it would have been really informative. But we had a good time all the same - who doesn't love pushing buttons and watching things light up? Or stacking things and knocking them down? (Whether you learn about the human body or about how earthquakes work is something we'll have time for later!) In the section of the museum that talked about the human body, they had a section devoted to exercise. What did they have in their aerobic exercise exhibit - why yes, that is Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) that you see! :)
As we were leaving the museum, there was a park bench with a statue of a former mayor of Lousiville. . . so Lucy sat and talked to him for a while. . .
Lucy was WORN OUT after all her fun at the museum! We got back to the hotel and she went straight to her bed. It took her all of two minutes to fall asleep for a two hour nap!
After her nap, we went out to dinner with the crowd from Mills River again. It was a lot of fun and after dinner we walked across the bridge over the Ohio river into Indiana. Lucy enjoyed walking across the bridge. She saw a barge go under the bridge and got so excited, saying "Grammy, Poppa, big boat!" (Mom and Dad were on a cruise or a "Big boat" that week) I had to explain to her that while that was a big boat, Grammy and Poppa were on a slightly nicer boat. ;)
On our last day in Lousiville, Michael's sessions finished at noon. Lucy and I slept late, had a leisurely breakfast and then packed up the room and loaded the car. We waited for Michael in the conservatory at the hotel. Lucy enjoyed sitting out there because it was bright and sunny. You could see the Ohio river as well lots of traffic. So we sat there with her toys and read books and played until Michael was done.
This next picture needs explanation. . . . about 10 minutes before Michael was finished, Lucy was getting really restless, and she threw one of her toys across the room. We went and picked it up and I explained to her that was not acceptable behavior and should she choose to throw toys again, she would be sitting in time out. About a minute later, I see her pick up her Dora doll and say, "Dora, time out!" And then she sat her in the window. She proceeded to do this with all her stuffed animals and lined them up in the window, saying "You're in time out!"
Finally, we headed to the zoo. Lucy took a little cat nap on the way and was ready to go when we arrived. This was a great zoo for a toddler to visit because it was a smaller size - there were plenty of animals to see, but we didn't have to walk miles to get there.
Lucy, Daddy, and the zebras
Lucy and Mommy with the "Monkeys"
Hugging a "monkey"
The museum was setting up for a special Halloween at the zoo program that they have, so we saw all kinds of cut outs of our favorite people from storybooks or tv shows. . . Elmo of course, had to have a hug!
The post before this one shows the video of the Carousel. . . Lucy loved this!! When we asked her as we were leaving what her favorite animal was, she said, "Horses!"
Another favorite of Lucy's was seeing all the fish/turtles/alligators/snakes/spiders. Whose child is she???
Sitting on the Komodo Dragon statue
She really likes climbing onto things these days. . .
Standing in front of the sign before we leave
As you can see, she had a really fun time! :)
We had a really great time - I'm glad we tagged along. Next year, the conference is in Orlando . . . and again, it falls during our fall break from school. Hmmm. . . . we may need to go again next year! :)
Haven't posted a lot since going back to work - it's that time of year, I guess, when things start to get busy! We've had some beautiful fall weather here lately so we're trying to get out and enjoy it when we can. The picture above and below are from one of our afternoons in the yard. Lucy loves to hug the flying pig when we get ready to come in the house. (See picture above) And the one below is of my cutie pie, giving the camera a (quick!) smile before running off to play some more.
