For those of you who have been waiting on the edge of your seat,,,the wait is over. After going to sleep atop a note, unaccompanied by her actual tooth...Shiloh awoke to 4 shiny quarters under her pillow. Looks like the tooth fairy is very understanding and gracious. And Shiloh was ecstatic.
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| Shiloh |
The whole day turned out to be exciting for her. We happened upon this park baring her name...
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| Shiloh |
AND... it was her turn to ride shotgun. :-)
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| Shiloh and Juliann |
She wasn't the only one who had fun spotting her name. Tate saw a word he recognized very well on a bag of cookies at dinner...
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Tate
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| Choice, Shiloh, Ryder, and Tate |
When we got to the hotel, the kids got right to work preparing their personalized thank you cards for tomorrow's visit.
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| Shiloh |
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| Tate |
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| Ryder |
Well, everyone besides Choice who found himself too preoccupied entertaining his imagination...
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| Choice |
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Choice
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The morning came too soon but brought a very exciting visit along with it. We were off to the Texas Roadhouse Corporate office in Louisville. From the moment we pulled into the parking lot, we were amused and inspired by the values of this charismatic company.
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| Tate, Shiloh, Ryder, and Choice |
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| Tate, Shiloh, Choice, and Ryder |
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Ryder, Tate, Choice, and Shiloh
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They show appreciation for their employees...
Respect for those who serve our country...
And support for those who focus on family values...
The kids have always loved Texas Roadhouse. It was a favorite restaurant of mine and Andrew's to take them to because they weren't concerned with the kids making a mess. In fact, they encourage you to break open the peanuts and throw the shells directly onto the floor. The kids felt like they were getting away with something and we were able to let our guard down for an evening and not be so on edge.
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Tate, Shiloh, Ryder, and Choice
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I would be remiss if I didn't point out that when fundraising efforts are made by Texas Roadhouse, they are almost always done at a local level. More than likely, the donation that was made to the Granite Mountain families, on behalf of Texas Roadhouse, was a result of the efforts from the staff at the Prescott restaurant. So, THANK YOU to everyone who participated in that project. It helped us so very much at a time when we had so little left.
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| Choice, Tate, Ryder, and Shiloh |
It was wonderful to talk to members of the corporate team about the impact their great company is making across the country. To share with them how their business is making a difference in real people's lives. Rosie, Kelly, and Amanda were so warm and delightful. They welcomed us into their Roadhouse family and made us feel comfortable there. The kids would've stayed forever if they'd have been allowed to. This certainly didn't look much like "work". A fun and friendly atmosphere such as this must help the work day fly by. We wish we had more time to spend with them but they were sweet to take this time out of their work day.
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| Tate, Rosie, Choice, Kelly, Shiloh, Juliann, Amanda, and Ryder |
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| Tate, Rosie, Choice, Kelly, Shiloh, Juliann, Amanda, and Ryder |
They sent us on our way with two giant goody bags FULL of Texas Roadhouse treats. Everything from games for the kiddos to stuffed animals, sunglasses, bookmarks, water bottles, and of course...PEANUTS. :-) We will not soon forget the hospitality shown to us today by the good people at Texas Roadhouse. If you are looking for a good place to eat, and wish to support companies who are committed to strong values and compassionate service...go to your local Texas Roadhouse. You won't be disappointed.
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| Juliann, Choice, Rosie, Tate, Kelly, Ryder, Shiloh, and Amanda |
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| Juliann, Choice, Rosie, Tate, Kelly, Ryder, Shiloh, and Amanda |
While in Louisville, it was a MUST that we stop by and visit a site I've always wanted to see...
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| Tate, Shiloh, Ryder, and Choice |
NO, not this.
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| Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice |
Or this.
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| Tate, Choice, Ryder, and Shiloh |
Not this either.
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| Ryder, Choice, Tate, and Shiloh |
Not quite.Getting warmer...
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Ryder, Tate, Shiloh, and Choice
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TA-DAH! You may have guessed it. The Louisville Slugger factory and museum.
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| Ryder, Juliann, Tate, and Choice |
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| Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice |
As you are approaching the museum/factory, you are immediately mesmerized by the giant replica of a Louisville Slugger baseball bat outside of the building.
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| Choice, Shiloh, Tate, Ryder, and Juliann |
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| Choice, Shiloh, Tate, Ryder, and Shiloh |
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| Choice, Tate, Shiloh, and Ryder |
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| Choice, Tate, Shiloh, and Ryder |
Along the exterior walls of the building are tributes to many of the "greats" who have played this All American sport and utilized this wooden handcrafted and fundamental piece of equipment.
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| Shiloh, Ryder, Choice, and Tate |
Upon entering the building, you are immersed in history. You learn of John A. Hillerich, the man who made the first Louisville Slugger bat.
You walk down a great corridor where the names of all MLB teams are on display. Of course, we stopped underneath the best team to take a photo. :-) GO DODGERS!
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| Shiloh, Ryder, Choice, and Tate |
You have an opportunity to check out the BAT VAULT where bats made for many famous and beloved baseball legends are on display.
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| Bat Vault |
I spent the majority of my time checking out bats and tributes dedicated to two of my favorite players of all time.
First...JACKIE ROBINSON...
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| Jackie Robinson display |
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| Juliann with Jackie Robinson |
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| Jackie Robinson tribute |
It was incredible to be able to handle his bat and appreciate the individuality that went into crafting each bat for that particular players needs.
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| Jackie Robinson bat |
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| Juliann |
The second was the one and only...BABE RUTH...
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| Babe Ruth display |
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| Babe Ruth baseball card |
While admiring all of the Babe Ruth memorabilia, I had Sandlot quotes running wild in my mind.
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Shiloh, Ryder, Choice, and Tate
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The Caliph of Clout, the Sultan of Swat, The Great Bambino.
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| Babe Ruth bat |
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Juliann
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| Juliann |
It was funny to talk about baseball legends with the kids. While I was listing the greats like Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, and Cal Ripken, they threw out the names Kershaw and Puig from the Dodgers and Arrieta from the Cubs. Totally understandable as these are the players they have been blessed to meet during our travels.
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| Choice and Tate |
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| Choice and Tate |
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| Ryder, Choice, and Shiloh |
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| Ryder and Shiloh |
We checked out their Hall of Fame and talked about the dedication that goes into becoming a professional athlete. They each thought of how much they would like to do something incredible in their lifetime.
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| Ryder, Tate, Choice, and Shiloh |
This was a sneak peek to how baseball would look on them as a professional career...
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| Tate Andrew Ashcraft's baseball card |
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| Tate Andrew Ashcraft's baseball card |
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| Choice Crockett Ashcraft's baseball card |
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| Ryder Sterling Ashcraft's baseball card |
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| Shiloh Ashcraft's baseball card |
I suppose they still have some growing yet to do as they barely even fit into the screen. Perhaps someday they will fit perfectly into history just as these guys do.
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| Ryder with Mickey Mantle tribute |
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In the back of the museum was a giant mitt that the kids were able to play around on for awhile. They had a great time and wore themselves out in the process. :-)
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| Ryder, Shiloh, Choice, and Tate |
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| Tate |
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| Tate |
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| Choice, Ryder, Shiloh, and Tate |
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Shiloh, Tate and Ryder
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It was time to leave baseball row and head on to a couple of other famous Louisville locations. Back to the road.
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| Ryder, Choice, Tate, Shiloh, and Juliann |
Our next stop was the Louisville Mega Cavern. It is described as:
An underground adventure rich in history, geology, mining, recycling, green building
technology, and just simply HUGE in scale.
I was fascinated to learn that there are 18 businesses actually operating from within this cavern. It is understandable with regard to space, over 1 million acres. And climate, it stays approximately 58 degrees in there all year round. However, it never dawned on me that people were operating businesses out of, for lack of better words, a CAVE.
We visited 2 of the 18 businesses in our time in the cavern today. The main attraction for us was the Mega Quest. It is:
The ONLY fully underground aerial ropes challenge course in the world! Mega Quest is one of only twenty courses of its kind in the USA. Aerial ropes challenge courses are the hottest new extreme sport in Europe where thousands of courses are located.
Unfortunately, there is also a minimum height and weight requirement to ensure the safety of all guests who participate. This eliminated Tate and Choice from the possibility of trying it out themselves. The little boys and I watched Ryder and Shiloh get strapped into their harnesses and measured for the rest of their gear.
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| Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice |
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| Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice |
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| Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice |
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| Shiloh and Ryder |
They were both SO excited and kept proclaiming, "This is the coolest thing we have ever done!" It was awesome to see their faces light up with excitement and enthusiasm.
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| Shiloh and Ryder |
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| Shiloh |
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| Shiloh |
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| Shiloh |
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| Ryder |
When they were set and their time on the course was underway, I took Tate and Choice to another area of the cavern to participate in a different adventure. One with no restrictions on size or age.
The Mega Tram Tour:
The Historic Tram Tour will take you on an underground adventure rich in history, geology, mining, recycling, green building technology, and just simply HUGE in scale!
The man-made cavern spans under a number of roadways above and is part of 17 miles of corridors located beneath the city of Louisville, Kentucky. It's a great tour for all ages—whether you want to learn about science and history or simply want to see what a giant man-made cavern of this magnitude looks like!
You'll hop on an SUV-pulled tram and be joined by a MEGA Cavern expert who will guide you on your underground adventure. It's a 60-70 minute tour, strategically lit to enjoy highlights such as:
- Some Early Cavern Formations
- A Historic Replica of the Cuban Missile Fallout Bunker
- A Worm Recycling/Tasting Room
- Sights and Facts of the Early Mining Operation
- Hear About our Storm Dog and Pigeon Eating Hawk
- And More Surprises Wait Around Every Corner!
Louisville MEGA Cavern is an all-weather attraction. The temperature inside the cavern hovers at a comfortable 58 to 60 degrees year round.
As luck would have it, the little boys and I were the only ones on that particular tour. It is equipped for 75 passengers approximately, and we had a private tour. This made for an even more special experience. Because we were the only three on board, our tour guide Sarah allowed us to get out of the tram on several occasions and walk inside the cave. Generally, this is not allowed on the tram ride as it is such a massive area and extremely dark.
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| Choice and Tate |
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| Juliann, Choice, and Tate |
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| Choice and Tate |
The boys favorite part of the tour was when Sarah explained to us the process of how these 18 businesses operating inside the cavern participate in worm recycling. By using worms to break down their paper into rich potting soil, they remain totally organic AND produce another rich substance from within the cavern. The potting soil produced by these worms sells for $50/ gallon bag.
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| Tate and Choice with tour guide Sarah |
Although it is fascinating, this is not why it captivated Tate and Choice's attention. It is the way in which they choose to demonstrate that these worms are healthy and the process is totally organic.
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| Choice and Tate |
This is the part of the tour called "Worm Tasting"
Sarah picked up a worm out of the barrel and allowed the boys to handle it. I believe her motivation was to let them see for themselves that it was in fact a living worm.
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tour guide Sarah
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| Tate holding a worm |
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| Tate |
Without any hesitation, Sarah tilted her head back and dropped the worm directly down her throat. With no greater reaction than a small sip of water to assist the worm's passage through her esophagus, she swallowed that freaking worm!! I couldn't quite tell if the boys thought she was certifiably insane or if they viewed her as the toughest and most amazing person on the planet. Either way, their mouths were completely agape and they were captivated.
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Choice and Tate
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We continued on with the rest of our tour where we learned a lot about the history of the cavern. It started out after the great depression as a limestone mine. It created job opportunities for many at that time, but it was no cake walk. They used pick axes and sometimes dynamite, to work their way through these 1 million acres of limestone.
For the purpose of these historic tours, they still have several scenes set up to demonstrate the work that was being done during the time this cavern was being mined.
I was more interested in this part of the tour than they were, but they were good sports nonetheless. Even with it being so dark and chilly, they remained positive throughout our hour ride,
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Tate and Choice
Each and every ounce of material that was pulled out of this cavern was sold for various uses. There was enough limestone pulled out of the cave to build the empire state building over 480 TIMES!
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You could still see the lines in the limestone walls that mark the levels of ocean floors from centuries past. They left pillars in the cave and have them numbered, starting with 1 as the earliest pillar made during their course of mining the cave.
We made our way out of the cave and to the end of our tour. We picked up Shiloh and Ryder from their epic zip-lining experience and called it a day. With so many amazing memories made, it would be difficult to ever get them excited about another site. This was the prize as far as they were concerned...the place to beat. :-) I was just glad they had a good time and that it helped them to sleep very well.
Today was a new day, and I wanted it to be another great one! After all, if you are ever in Kentucky, it is a given that you will see, hear, or do something relating to horses. Today was our day to delve right into the equestrian world. We had two stops to make. The first was to the infamous,
CHURCHILL DOWNS
(Home of the Kentucky Derby)
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| Tate, Shiloh, Ryder, and Choice |
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| Tate, Choice, Shiloh, Ryder, and Juliann |
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| Tate, Choice, Shiloh, Ryder, and Juliann |
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Tate, Shiloh, Ryder, and Choice
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| Tate, Shiloh, Ryder, and Choice |
We were able to tour the entire arena with a great tour guide who had a wealth of knowledge. The kids were hanging on her every word for the duration of the tour. It sure made for a nice 30 minutes for me.
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| Shiloh, Tate, Choice, and Ryder |
The tour started at the barn/stables where two of their retired horses are roaming so tourists can see them. This seemed to make the experience more real for them and they were better able to grasp what the Churchill Downs and Kentucky Derby were all about.
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| Ryder, Choice, Shiloh, and Tate |
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| Tate, Ryder, Shiloh, and Choice |
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| Ryder, Choice, Shiloh, and Tate |
The next stop was the Grandstand Pavilion, home of the jockey. Every year the jockey gets a fresh coat of paint to match the jockey of the horse who won the most recent Kentucky Derby. This year the winner of the Kentucky Derby was American Pharaoh.
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| Ryder, Shiloh Tate, Choice, and Juliann |
Jockey Victor Espinoza, jockey for American Pharaoh, wears these yellow and blue silks. It was interesting to learn today that the jockey is not the one who picks out the colors for his silks. It is actually the owner of the horse who makes that selection.
So, if you visit Churchill Downs sometime after May of next year, you will more than likely see this jockey statue painted differently than he is today. That is, unless American Pharaoh comes back and reclaims his title.
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| Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, Choice, and Juliann |
These pictures below were taken in the garden at Churchill Downs. The horse statue is in remembrance of the very first horse to ever win the Kentucky Derby, Aristides, which was in the year 1875. Ever sense that first year the Kentucky Derby has never missed a running. This makes it the longest consecutive sporting event to date.
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| Juliann, Choice, Tate, Shiloh, and Ryder |
The other statue (just over Tate's head) is of the jockey with the most wins in the history of the sport, Jockey Pat Day. Although he is known for having the most wins in races across the board, he only had one Kentucky Derby victory, a top a horse named Lil E. Tee. They dedicated this statue to Mr. Day and the legacy he is in the sport of hose racing: 8,804 wins. One bit of information that I found fascinating is that the statue you see is nearly life sized. Pat Day is only 4 feet 11 inches tall. He always wished to be at least 5 feet tall, so to honor his wishes, they made this statue one inch taller than he really is to make him his desired 5 feet. What he lacked in height, he made up for in hard work...that's for sure.
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| Juliann, Choice, Tate, Shiloh, and Ryder |
The tour made it's way into the actually arena. This is where it all happens on race day. The twin spires that you can see in the pictures below are the famous mark of Churchill Downs.
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| Juliann, Tate, Ryder, Shiloh, and Choice |
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| Juliann, Tate, Ryder, Shiloh, and Choice |
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| Tate, Ryder, Shiloh, and Choice |
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| Tate, Ryder, Shiloh, and Choice |
And of course, that track. The grass area that you see in the picture below will hold an average of 110,000 people on the day of the Kentucky Derby. The tour guide explained that at that day and time, that patch of grass become the second most populated city in Kentucky. She also mentioned that no where on that lawn do you actually have sight of the race. From there, you would watch the race take place on the large screen behind you. That should indeed be visible as it is the size of 3 football fields. This is so everyone in attendance will have a view of the fastest two minutes in sports.
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| Shiloh, Ryder, Tate, and Choice |
The walk through the arena concluded our tour and we were on our own to meander throughout the gallery and the gift shop. There were many more interesting things to do and see in there. Below you will see the World's Largest Horseshoe. (Which Choice almost managed to push off of it's stand). He nearly gave everyone watching a heart attack.
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| Tate, Shiloh, Ryder, and Choice |
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| Tate, Shiloh, Ryder, and Choice |
This large screen shows a slow motion, 20 second clip of the Kentucky Derby. It was quite the sight to see that many powerful thoroughbreds appear to be running toward you.
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| Choice, Ryder, Tate, and Shiloh |
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| Ryder, Choice, Shiloh, and Tate |
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| Ryder, Choice, Shiloh, and Tate |
This is another dedication piece to American Pharaoh and his Jockey, Espinoza. Every year, they trade out this tribute to the most recent Kentucky Derby champion.
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| Shiloh, Ryder, Choice, and Tate |
Then it was time for the kids to try out being a jockey themselves. Much like a race car game in an arcade, they saddled up these plastic horses and raced one another. They were obsessed with this game and I literally had to yank them off of it when it was time to leave.
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| Shiloh, Choice, and Tate |
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| Shiloh, Choice, and Tate |
On our way out the door, I wrangled Shiloh and had her put on a few accessories that are similar to those worn by the females the day of the big race. She could not believe that women actually wear these things on their heads. Even with me explaining they do it because they are celebrating that particular day and believe it gives them an appearance of power and prestige, she couldn't care less. She would rather a hoodie. I love this about her!
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| Shiloh and Juliann |
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| Shiloh and Juliann |
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| Shiloh and Juliann |
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| Shiloh and Juliann |
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| Shiloh and Juliann |
Last, but not least, on our list of Kentucky horse sites, was the Kentucky Horse Park.
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| Tate, Ryder, Shiloh, and Choice |
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| Tate, Ryder, Shiloh, and Choice |
Here at the Kentucky Horse Park, they have everything, and know everything, HORSE. It is a working horse farm and an educational theme park. The equestrian facility is a 1,224-acre park dedicated to "man's relationship with the horse." The park contains the International Museum of the Horse, which has a collection of horse history and memorabilia.
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| Choice, Ryder, Shiloh, and Tate |
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| Choice, Ryder, Shiloh, and Tate |
The kids had a blast riding these horses in the museum. They actually moved when you pulled on their reins.
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| Ryder and Shiloh |
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| Juliann |
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| Tate, Ryder, Choice, and Shiloh |
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| Tate, Ryder, Choice, and Shiloh |
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| Tate, Ryder, Choice, and Shiloh |
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| Choice and Shiloh |
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| Tate and Ryder |
These pictures below aren't the best quality, but they were too ridiculous not to share. We were sitting on top of a lone saddle in front of a blank screen. The t.v. monitor next to you places you on top of a variety of horses. Because the pictures are taken off a t.v. screen, the quality is poor. Hopefully you still enjoy us making fools of ourselves.
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| Ryder |
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| Ryder |
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| Choice |
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| Choice |
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| Choice |
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| Choice |
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| Shiloh |
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| Shiloh |
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| Tate |
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| Tate |
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| Tate |
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| Juliann |
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| Juliann |
The museum was amazing and worth the drive and the time commitment to see it. The kids have horses on their brains now and have been planning on asking Santa for one. HO HO HO, there isn't even a jolly fat chance.
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| Choice, Tate, Shiloh, and Ryder |
Before wrapping up our time in Kentucky, we had one last visit in Lexington. This was another corporate office. Prior to walking into the building today, I only had the information as Thomas & King, Inc. I wasn't quite sure what their business was and wasn't able to reach anyone by letter or phone prior to our visit.
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| Choice, Tate, Ryder, and Shiloh |
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| Choice, Tate, Ryder, and Shiloh |
The logo on the top belonged to the company we were visiting...clearly we were in the right place.
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| Shiloh, Ryder, Tate, and Choice |
We found it. Thomas & King...
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| Tate, Shiloh, Choice, and Ryder |
As it turns out, Thomas & King owns restaurant chains. Currently, they own multiple Johnny Carino's.
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| Choice, Tate, Ryder, and Shiloh |
At the time of the Yarnell Hill Fire tragedy, they owned over 100 Applebee's stores. Similar to the Texas Roadhouse stop earlier, I believe the bulk of these fundraising efforts took place at the local Prescott Applebee's, so thank you all so very much for your participation and assistance to our family.
The CEO of the company was out for a week but we were blessed to visit with Jordan. She was such a gem! From the moment we walked in the door she gave us her undivided attention and hung on the kids' every word as they explained to her the Be Better message. She shared with us the CEO's commitment to community involvement and blessing the lives of those in need. What an amazing company with everyday heroes who are actively working to Spread The Better. Even their new motto express this desire to better the world around them...IGNITE CHANGE!
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| Juliann and Jordan |
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| Tate, Ryder, Choice, Shiloh, and Jordan |
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| Tate, Ryder, Choice, Shiloh, and Jordan |
After our lovely visit with Jordan. we were on our way back "home". It has been a long couple weeks living out of a rental car. Time to get back to the grind.
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| Be Better Bus |
As soon as we settled back into the bus, I had a chance to check my emails. I was so thrilled to see a message from Jordan's boss at Thomas & King at the top of my unread messages. His name is Robert, and he wrote...
"If your journey brings you thru the middle of Indiana, please know we have a hot meal waiting for you. Thomas & King has three restaurants in the heartland. Columbus, Greenwood and here in Muncie. Please contact me if you need anything if you are in the area. May God bless you and your children and keep you safe on your journey. I will keep you all in my prayers."
Perhaps while we are in Indiana, our paths will cross again and I can share my gratitude with him.
For the time being, the kids and I need to regroup. It is difficult at times being in such close quarters and spending literally every second of each and every day within 5 feet of each other. Often times I feel like this...
They have been such troopers to see this adventure through with me but it has not been easy at times. I have moments where I lose sight of the really important things, like the four little pieces of Andrew who are still surrounding me. There are times when I have heard, "Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom Mom..." too many times that I choose to shut off my listening ears. I am afraid that by doing so I risk losing those sweet little moments where they open up their creative minds to me.
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Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice...THANK YOU GUYS! Thank you for loving me in my weakness. Thank you for understanding the moments where I lack patience. Thank you for reminding me that the little things actually ARE the big things! I love you guys. |
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| Choice, Tate, Juliann, Ryder, and Shiloh |
AWWWW I needed to read this thank you for sharing! You are an inspiration to us mothers you truly are and I can totally relate. I know just on little trips how difficult it can be at times. I can only imagine at times how it may be on a extended road trip to many many different places. However you're amazing and so are your children and your examples speak volumes to us who get to be apart of this journey you are living. You are so correct about listening to the small things. I couldn't have said it better myself we hear mom, mom, mom, so much that sometimes it just sounds like background noise and we do need to take extra caution and be sure to listen to those little voices calling for us. This time is precious and you my dear are a great reminder of how precious our time with the little's are :) Thank you as always for sharing!
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