I'm Alive! A recap of "Christmas" in Kentucky

So, we arrived in Louisville a day early!  Bunkey hadn't been sick all day!  And boy was he glad to be out of the car and in a place where he could wander around and look at things, play with toys, and more!

It was lovely being able to relax for a few days.  On our second day in town (the 19th, which was supposed to be our first day) my in-laws managed to get Hubs and I tickets to the University of Louisville basketball game.  And these weren't just any tickets; these were tickets to the BB&T (ya know?  the bank?!) private box!  My father-in-law had a work associate with regular tickets in the box, so he was happy to gift us with the tickets, while my in-laws enjoyed an evening babysitting Bunkey for us.  We were able to enjoy dinner before the game, a decisive win, and coming home to a sleeping little boy!  It was great to have a date night, and they're few and far between, so we were especially grateful for Grammy and Grampy's babysitting services!

On the 20th, Hubs and my FIL busied themselves taking apart a tanning bed that my in-laws no longer wanted and were giving to us.  Don't judge me.  I like being tan in the summers, and I'm careful to never overdo my time in the "fake and bake".  Anyway, while the guys worked and Bunkey napped, my MIL and I went on a quick shopping trip to get a few last-minute Christmas gifts for Hubs.  We had a relaxing afternoon back at the house, and Hubs went out for drinks with one of his best friends from high school.

Friday the 21st was a morning full of errands (including a trip to Urgent Care for me since I woke up with a throat on fire and feared strep, which came back negative, thank goodness!), paperwork, and phone calls as we dealt with last-minute drama surrounding the closing of our new home in Virginia.  Yes, we closed on a house on the East Coast from the Midwest.  It was the best we could do through all the negotiations.  The sellers' agent was a pain in the ass, my agent was on a Christmas vacation so we were set up with her colleague (who was awesome, but for whom I still feel bed!) and we were out of state.  Oh yeah, and our mortgage lender was three hours away from the titling company, so there were problems there as well.  But, by 5:00, we had a new house...and a glass of wine!  That evening, my mother-in-law surprised us again!  She gave us a gift card to Bonefish Grille (I'd never been, but had really been dying to try it) and instructions to go get dinner and see a movie while she and my father-in-law babysat yet again!  We had a fabulous meal, went to see Lincoln, and once again came home to a sleeping toddler.  My mother-in-law also got rid of us for the evening so she could prep for our "Christmas" dinner the next day!

On Saturday morning, we ran a few more errands, and arranged to meet another of Hubs' best friends, along with his wife and their little guy (two months younger than Bunkey), for lunch.  We had a fabulous meal at a quaint cafe in town, then drove through the super neat neighborhood J and K are thinking about building a new home in (K is also pregnant with their second son, who will also be about two months younger than our second...so obviously we're all on the same schedule of kiddos!) and made a stop at a bakery for cupcakes and to let the boys run around outside for a few minutes.  We made it home mid-afternoon, before my sister-in-law, her husband, and their three kiddos arrived from Indianapolis to celebrate Christmas with us...and to meet Bunkey for the first time!  We had a great family evening at home, laughing late into the night!

On Sunday morning, Hubs and I woke bright and early, loaded the car, and we hit the road for our last long leg of the epic journey!!!

The First Saturday in May

Five years ago, I was stationed in Norfolk, VA and Hubs was stationed in Columbus, OH.  A few months before he transferred to the mid-west, we were hanging out in my apartment and I jokingly told my Louisville native boyfriend (well, actually, we hadn't had that talk yet, so I don't know if he was my boyfriend) that he should take me to the Kentucky Derby.  When he nonchalantly replied, "Yeah!  That's a great idea!  Think you can get a plane ticket for the first weekend in May?" I was flabbergasted.  Like I said, we hadn't had that talk yet, and while I was glad, since we hadn't seriously discussed it, I was still a little uncertain of our future together once he moved so far away.  The fact that he wanted me to come visit him was a good sign.

And the first Saturday in May bit?  Well, in my Virginian naiveté, I had no idea that that was Derby Day, nor that it was always the first Saturday in May!  So, I put it off some more...but I kept getting hounded about the whole deal.  Plane tickets, leave chits, the whole nine yards.  In fact, I was going to be missing a very short one-day underway period that I'd have to come up with a really good excuse to miss so that my leave would, in fact, be approved.  And because we'd met on our ship, we'd been sneaky as we first started dating since our Captain had a very strict "No courtship on the warship" rule that could get us both in trouble!

So I got my leave approved.  And I bought my plane ticket.  My mom took me to the airport and I discovered that I'd left my phone at home.  I flew into Columbus and met Hubs (well, you know he wasn't Hubs then!) and after being greeted with a kiss, he asked me if I had a hat!  A hat?!?!  I had no idea I was supposed to have a hat!  Why didn't anyone tell me before?  My mom went to college in Kentucky; surely she knew!  Oh well.  I didn't have one and I'd just have to make do without it!

We drove to Louisville the next afternoon and I met Hubs' parents for the first time.  We celebrated Cinco de Mayo with them and I was offered the use of one of Hubs' mom's hats if I wanted.  Except that I wasn't just going to wander into her closet, so that never happened.

On Saturday morning, Hubs' mom arranged for us to have a champagne breakfast at Hurstbourne Country Club before leaving for the race track.  We had a fabulous meal and the staff prepared a box lunch for us complete with bid sheets for our day at Churchill Downs!  We wanted to take some pictures at the club, so Hubs asked one of the waiters if he'd be so kind to "take a picture of my girlfriend and me"!  Yes, folks, it was the first time Hubs called me his girlfriend!!

Between breakfast and arriving at Churchill, we stopped at a liquor store to find a way to sneak a little extra booze, at a reasonable price, into the race.  We ended up with a plastic flask that we filled with bourbon and duct taped to my inner thigh.  Classy trashy - that was the theme of the day.  And yes, at one point, while we were waiting for the shuttle to take us from the parking lot to the paddock entry, the flask started leaking and I had to excuse myself while a lady assumed I'd already had a little too much to drink!  We made it inside, found a covert corner to remove the flask from my leg, and Hubs taught me that at Derby it's perfectly acceptable for ladies to use the men's room and not wait in the line at the bathroom.  When a policeman actually pulled me out of line and ushered me to the men's room, I knew it really was safe, I wasted no time in adapting that trick!

We drank mint juleps all day, saving the commemorative glasses that each was served in, yet discovering that by the end of the day, all but one were broken!  We bet on several of the races, Hubs telling me the ins and outs of how to place my wager.  We sang My Old Kentucky Home just before the Run for the Roses, and we walked around the paddock and even ran into Hubs' best friend, who would later be his best man at our wedding, and who's future wife and I would be pregnant at the same time!

At the end of the day, we wandered around a bit, waiting to avoid some of the crowds before catching the shuttle back to our car.  We were terribly thirsty after a day of drinking and searching for a water fountain.  When I found one, Hubs exclaimed, "Awesome!  That's why I love you!"  After which he quickly changed the subject and I pretended I hadn't heard anything because I wasn't sure if he really meant the proclamation he was making or if it was the bourbon talking...

...all I know is that that was the day, the first Saturday in May 2006, when I knew Hubs was The One!

Years later, when we were visiting Hubs parents, I learned that Hubs called his mom only two or three weeks before the Derby and told her he was bringing me home and needed Derby tickets!  Again, thanks to my naiveté, I had no clue how difficult it is to get not only tickets to the Derby, but also seats in the grandstand.  Nor did I comprehend exactly how expensive said tickets are!  As my MIL recounted to me all the favors she called in in order to plan a fabulous day for us, she smiled and told me that she also knew, that first Saturday in May, that Hubs and I would be together forever!

Roadtrip to The 'Ville

As many of you know, Hubs and I planned to visit his family in Louisville, KY over Christmas.  Because of my dad's death, however, we stayed in Virginia with my mom and brothers, and my in-laws graciously offered to come here for the holiday instead.  We had a lovely visit, but we weren't able to see Hubs' sister (whose family we haven't seen in almost two and a half years!) or any of his hometown friends.  So, we planned to visit The 'Ville at some point this spring...

Of course, I was finishing nursing school and taking boards, completing Reserves duties, and attending doctor's appointments and baby showers.  And of course Hubs has been busy at work, with several business trips tacked onto his long list of projects!  Needless to say, travel dates were hard to nail down!

We finally decided that an extra-long weekend this past week wouldn't conflict with any other events, and would also give Hubs two three-day weeks at work, which is always a bonus!  I used the early part of last week to get the house totally cleaned, do some roadtrip shopping, and plan meals that would whittle down the contents of the refrigerator before leaving town.  We had everything packed and ready to load into the car shortly after Hubs got home from work Wednesday evening.

Thursday, we woke bright and early and made pretty good time of the 10-hour drive!  We were in town and lugging our suitcase into my in-laws house by 5:15!  After freshening up, my in-laws took us to dinner at Pat's Steakhouse, a locally owned and nationally renowned restaurant downtown.  I just couldn't resist ordering the Lady Filet Mignon and savored every juicy bite!

Friday morning, I took my time getting up and dressed while Hubs went with his dad to take our car across town for leather installation.  This was supposed to be a Christmas present from our in-laws, but since our Christmas plans changed, they got us some other things.  Regardless, Hubs and I really wanted to change out the upholstered interior of my car for leather and heated seats, so we bit the bullet and paid for it ourselves, questioning the entire time why we didn't do this when we bought the car two years ago!  No matter, because we got a great deal since the shop that did the work also takes care of all the company cars owned by my father-in-law's company!  After they dropped the car off, Hubs took me downtown to see the University of Louisville and to visit the bookstore.  He finally made good on a promise to buy me a Cardinals sweatshirt, and of course I picked the most expensive one (but honestly, it was the nicest, and one we could share; I promise I didn't pick it because of the price tag!) and then to another local establishment, Bearno's Pizza for a fabulous lunch in a quaint downtown location right next to the brand-spankin' new U of L YUM Center (Basketball arena).  Since it was pretty chilly, we opted not to walk several blocks down Main Street, and instead drove to the Louisville Slugger Museum.  The original plan was to tour the museum and factory, but instead we decided that this would be a good activity once Baby H (and any other kiddos) are older.  After all, what kid doesn't get a little bored when they're visiting Grammy and Grampy's house?!?!  Hubs was so cute talking about buying them miniature Sluggers and tee-shirts!!  Once we got home, it was time to go pick my car back up from the shop and then get changed for dinner with Hubs's best friend and his wife (who are also expecting their first munchkin just two months after us!).  We went to Varanese for dinner and had a fabulous meal that even catered to the Catholic Lenten "no meat on Fridays" rule ($45 for two dinner salads, two main courses, and a dessert to share...can't beat that!).  We hadn't seen this couple since our wedding almost three years ago, so after dinner we returned to their house to watch the UK-Ohio State basketball game!  I was amazed that I was able to stay out so late (we didn't get home until after midnight)!!

Saturday, we had a quick breakfast before hitting the road again!  This time, we headed two and a half hours west, to a sleepy little town called Carmi, IL, where my mom's parents live.  The day before we drove to Kentucky, I learned that my Mamaw had fallen in the garden and chipped her knee cap.  She was in the hospital for a few days before being discharged to a rehab facility to rest and keep the weight off her leg while she healed.  I hadn't seen my grandparents in over two years, and with pregnancy, a cross-country move, and their deteriorating health (80+ years will do that to you!), I didn't know when, or if, I'd get to see them again.  I was so happy that Hubs was unselfish enough to share one day of the trip to see his family so that I could see mine too!  We arrived in town late morning and visited with my grandparents until Mamaw was ready for physical therapy.  While she was exercising we went to lunch and came back with McDonald's for my Papaw (Mamaw insisted on eating the yukky hospital food!). Shortly after we got back to her room, my uncle popped in for a visit, so I was able to see him as well!  Since the weather was getting bad and we had 150 miles to go, we left fairly early to get back to Louisville before dark.  Of course, no trip is complete without some drama, and after we'd been on the road about 40 miles, my uncle called to say that my wallet must have fallen out of my purse, because it was sitting on the edge of Mamaw's hospital bed!  We were too far out of town to turn back, and even though my uncle offered to meet us half-way, I just asked him to mail me the wallet...  Of course, it being Saturday afternoon, the postoffice wouldn't be open until Monday, so he had to mail it to me at home in Virginia and I'd have to live without credit cards, IDs, cash, and all that for a few days...and be careful as I helped Hubs with the driving since getting pulled over with no license is generally not a good idea!  A couple of hours after we arrived back in Louisville, Hubs's sister, her husband, and their three kids arrived!  Like so many family members, we hadn't seen them in over two years, so it was wonderful to catch up!  My father-in-law grilled hamburgers and we had a great family dinner, capped off with an early birthday celebration for my two nephews and brother-in-law, who all have birthdays next week!  After getting the kids to bed, my brother- and sister-in-law, Hubs, and I all went bowling.  We played three games, trading partners each time, and discovered that if you can't drink (me!), you also can't bowl...or maybe I just suck that badly!  Either way, we had a blast and got home at midnight once again!  I really enjoyed the time with Hubs's sister and her husband, because we really haven't been around them much since getting married, and I'd never had the opportunity to sit and chat and get to know her!

Sunday, after SIL, BIL, and their kids left, we relaxed a bit, and Hubs changed the windshield wipers on my car, which we'd noticed were making a scraping noise and just not doing a great job.  Once we was done, he took me to a favorite burger joint in town, WW Cousins (they don't have a website, but if you're ever in town, it's a great little spot!), and then we took a drive down memory lane, with Hubs showing me the house he grew up in, the lawns he used to mow for neighbors, his old high school, and the park where he used to go running!  We returned home to watch another basketball game and eat a yummy lasagna my mother-in-law baked before packing our bags and getting to bed early before a long drive home yesterday...

Monday morning, we woke up early to see my father-in-law before he left for work, had a quick breakfast and packed a cooler with drinks and sandwiches for the trip, and hit the road well before the sun came up (and rush-hour traffic got bad!).  Once again, we made great time (I was a champ, and at 30 weeks preggo, only needed two bathroom breaks that coincided with our one gas stop and regularly scheduled pit stop at a rest station before hitting the West Virginia turnpike!).  We even made such great time that we missed Richmond rush-hour and could drive right through the city rather than skirt around it!  I won the mileage award, averaging 35.4 miles per gallon for the 250+ miles I drove, and we made it home in time for a light dinner, laundry, and unpacking, before crawling into bed early...  It was so nice to snuggle into our nice comfy queen-sized bed, which felt ginormous after four nights in the double bed that is still in Hubs's room at his parents' house!

Hubs factored in an extra day of leave so that he could relax today before heading back to work tomorrow.  So we spent the morning at the gym and grocery before he spent the afternoon washing the cars and rotating his tires (and getting a plug for the nail we found in one)...  Then we each called two real estate agencies, getting the details on rental services they offer as we prepare for our upcoming move!  Tomorrow's to-do list includes choosing the realtor we like the best, finding a pediatrician for Baby H, and accepting delivery of our crib!!  It's another busy week in Hagan House, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Hope you enjoyed that long diatribe of our visit in Kentucky!  If you ever find yourself in the area, check out the links I included above as well as this post from our visit two years ago and consider a visit during Derby week, which was my very first Louisville experience and the first big event Hubs and I attended after we started dating!!

Christmas in Kentucky

Hey Y'all!

We just arrived home from our FIRST Christmas celebration with Patrick's family! Patrick had a dental appointment early Wednesday morning, and I had to go into work for a couple of hours, so we left right from Norfolk and drove straight through to Louisville, arriving for late cocktails and catching up with Patrick's mom and dad. We hadn't seen them since our wedding due to deployments, so it was a great reunion!

Thursday morning, Patrick's dad, John, took us on a tour of the Louisville area so I could see the Hagan family roots. We went to a really cute place for a hot lunch, and then onward to the Bourbon Trail. I have a book called 1000 Things to See & Do Before You Die, and one of the items is Kentucky's famed Bourbon Trail which is not far from the Hagans' home. When I found out I was going to be coming home from deployment in time for Christmas and the trip to Kentucky, I asked Patrick if he would take me to see the distilleries so I could get to know his home state. John took us to the Makers Mark distillery, where we toured and learned how the bourbon is made, what makes it different from other whiskey types, and of course we got to sample. At the end of the tour, I even got to dip a bottle in the famous red wax and bring the bottle home as a souvenir (the picture is the "before" shot)!

On Friday, Patrick treated me to Jimmy John's sandwiches for lunch (a favorite of mine not available in the Norfolk area) before we toured the Woodford Reserve Distillery, which used to be owned by a company that John worked for; the distillery property was just breathtaking! I wish I'd taken more pictures, but we are really bad about that and trying to get better at documenting our adventures! Anyway, after tasting, we drove to Lexington so Patrick could show me the University of Kentucky campus (his alma mater). We walked all around the main parts, and I got to see Patrick's old dorm and apartment complex, the stadium, his old fraternity house, and of course the bar scene! We hung out at one place that reminded me a lot of the Linebacker in South Bend, but since we were drinking bourbon, we didn't quite fit in with the college students who were still on campus finishing finals! After a few drinks, we went to a great pizza place and had my very first white pizza (olive oil, no tomato sauce!) and it was DELICIOUS! Patrick laughed because I wrote down the ingredients so I could recreate it once we got home!

Saturday was Christmas at the Hagans'! Patrick's sister (Kelley), her husband (Dave), and their three kids (Lauren, Hagan, and Tyler) arrived from Indianapolis and it was really great to see them again. Although Kelley and Dave were at our wedding in April, I hadn't seen the kids in almost three years, when Patrick and I first started dating and I met his whole family for the first time! They had really grown...especially Tyler who I don't even think could walk the last time I saw him! On Sunday, we all had a really relaxing day, watching the kids play with their new toys and eating leftover "Christmas" dinner...boy was the house full and lively! So much fun...unfortunately Kel's brood left that afternoon and it was almost too quiet in the house!

Yesterday, Patrick and I woke up bright and early to hit the road back to Virginia! Let me tell you, after flying half-way around the world from Bahrain on the 9th, then driving to Kentucky just a few days later, and then going back a few days after that, I am just pooped...and we have Christmas #2 with my Lindsey grandmother and Uncle Bruce Lindsey's family tonight!