Louisville 2016 part 1

We just got back from an AMAZING trip to Lousiville, KY. We LOVE to travel and Kentucky is beautiful. We started our trip on Wednesday driving up to stay with family in Hoover! We always enjoy any time we are able to spend with them! We got in about 8 that evening and went to dinner and then back to the house to just sit around and talk. We were up by 8 the next morning to start getting ready for the remainder of our trip. We left about 9:30 after a breakfast of the cutest donuts from Krispy Kreme

Are these not the cutest things!!!!

It takes about 9-10 hours of driving from our house to KY. So we still had a good 6 1/2-7 hours of driving after leaving Hoover. We had a pretty uneventful drive. We seemed to make really good time traveling. We arrived at our hotel about 5:45

Galt House

We love to stay at the Galt House in Louisville. The hotel is huge and the staff are extremely friendly. The rooms are very spacious and we do not feel cramped with our family of 5. We always stay in an executive suite. 

We quickly unpacked the car/suitcases and decided to meet friends for dinner at a restaurant we had been wanting to try but had never been to. We absolutely loved the Old Spaghetti Factory. The restaurant is in an old building and has a train caboose inside. 

We will definitely plan to go back when we are in Louisville! 

Peanut Festival Calf Scramble

Trevor decided a couple of months ago that he wanted to participate in the Peanut Festival (a large Fair that last 10 days in Southeast Alabama) Calf Scramble. When he first told us, I really didn't think he was serious. As the time got closer he decided that he needed to "practice" and got a friend of the family to help him. I still had my doubts! We had never even been to watch the greasy pig or the calf scramble before so I had no idea exactly what to expect (I did watch videos of it online). We all went to watch and cheer Trevor on. There are 20 teenagers and 10 calves (they weight about 350 lbs). He started out doing exactly what he was told to do and then.......it got CRAZY!!!!! He was one of the first ones to get a calf and start the process of "taking" it down. And then ALL of the calves decided to run in his direction. Thankfully someone let him know to watch out and he was able to roll onto him stomach (all while this calf is still in his grasp/arms) about 4 calves and several people ran over him. Then his calf proceeds to head butt him and start stepping on him. He lost his grip and the calf took off running. He then had to get up and see if anyone was in trouble or about to loose their calf so he could be ready in get it when they let go. It seemed like a lifetime but was only about a minute and he sees one starting to get away. Several people are running toward it but thankfully he is very quick. And was able to get to it first and bulldog it. Once he had the halter on it and it was standing the calf would not move. Even the officials had to help out! Then.......the calf takes off running to the other end of the arena basically dragging Trevor with it. But, it decides to stop about 2 feet from the finish line. Trevor basically pulls the cow until its head is across and he was the proud owner (on lease for 1, and if he meets ALL requirements she will be his) of a young heifer! He named her Star (he said that was what he saw when he was run over!  LOL)

 Getting ready to watch Trevor in the Calf Scramble

 Everyone is lined up and waiting on GO!

 Star in her new home. Trevor goes and feeds her daily. 

 Of course Daddy Clyde wanted to go and see Trevor's new calf. I'm not sure who was prouder at this moment, Trevor or Daddy Clyde!

 And Trent was and is Trevor's biggest fan. He cheered the loudest and likes to be right there with him when they go fed her.

That is Trevor underneath the cow. This was right before he was run over.

Orange Beach

Our favorite time to go to the beach is in the Fall. This year we stayed at the Phoenix West II. The condo was beautiful and we loved the pools and the lazy river!

There are so many things to do still in October and the weather was amazing! 

 Sydney always love to dance, flip, and leap and the beach is no exception :)

 The water was a little cold the first day but seemed to warm up as the week went on.

 I love this precious child so much. I can't believe he is 16!

 We enjoyed walking around on the harbor and looking at all of the beautiful boats/yachts

 Several times we had dinner at our favorite restaurant Shipps Harbor. The food is absolutely amazing and the staff was pretty great also. We had dinner reservations with friends and their children.

 This year we tried a new restaurant Colbalt's! It was AMAZING!!!! The atmosphere was fun. And the food was delicious. They have a huge aquarium in the lobby. The boys loved watching them. And the picture does not show how large these fish really are. This one was close to 2 feet.

 Trevor got Duck Meatballs. I have never had duck before but they were pretty good.

I loved being about to spend time together as a family. It's always nice to just put away the electronic devices and just be in the moment. We enjoyed walking around the Wharf and just enjoyed the beach/pools and time together.