We left Memphis Friday morning and got to Jeffersonville at about 5pm. We picked up Madison from her house, and she was all ready and was happy to see us. We went to the mall section of New Albany and went window shopping at one of the malls until it was time to go to the nearby theater to see the new Harry Potter movie. The movie was great, and it was fun to do such a typical Team Saunders activity together. After the movie, we headed over the bridge to Louisville, to the Brown Hotel (which Andrew had managed to get on Priceline for some ridiculous deal) and checked into our "Club" floor room on the 13th floor.
The lobby of the Brown is amazing, and Madison was suitably impressed (no small feat when you're dealing with teenagers). The room was lovely also, with a great view down Broadway to the west. Being on the "Club" floor had some nice perks (in quotations because I have no idea what club they were referring to nor was it ever explained - I think we were just supposed to be "in the know"), with a room where fruit, water, and sodas were available throughout the day, a cocktail interval from 4 - 7pm which we unfortunately missed, and a lovely continental breakfast spread (as in European continental, not Days Inn continental - ooo, I am in the know on that one).
On Saturday morning, we had breakfast and got ready to meet up with Carter, Rachel, and Noah. We went to their apartment in Germantown, which was cute and had a great second story porch. Noah was just too fun! He played and showed off and is saying some words now (At the party, he said, "I want Momma!"). He iniated hide-and-seek with his blanket and brought out a bunch of his toys, one at a time, to show to us. Andrew had him in giggling hysterics throwing and bouncing him in the air. He's a sweet little guy.
From there, we headed down to Hodgenville to the church. The Wesley Meadows Methodist church basement has been the location of many kinds of family celebrations, from baby showers to anniversaries and everything in between. The Methodist Women do the catering and can't be beat with comfort food favorites. It was very festive with decorated tables, balloons, and picture shows on a digital picture frame and a laptop.
The whole family was there! Grandma, Aunt Bonnie, Aunt Debbie, Uncle Sean, Aunt Kathy, Uncle Mitch, Shannon, Robin, Kaleb, Olivia, Trent, Seth, Jessica, Landon, Amy, Carter, Rachel, Noah, me, Andrew, Madison, and so on... And, of course, the church family of folks I've known my whole life were there too. The last time I saw most of these people was at Mom's funeral almost 2 years ago.
I have to say it was a little overwhelming, and I was really feeling Mom's absence. Aunt Debbie and I started springing tears as soon as we saw each other. Aunt Kathy gave me a silver and turquoise ring Mom had made when she worked at the jewelry shop in Daytona, which was amazing and moved me to the bathroom to regain my composure. A couple of Mom's best friends stopped in, and, while it was great to see them, it was also really tough too. The whole event was kind of like that for me: alternating bouts of happiness from seeing everyone to saddness from missing Mom.
Otherwise, the party was a great success. The weather was lovely; the food, punch, and cake were tasty. It was repeatedly noted how nice it was for everyone to get together for a happy occasion. Grandma seemed very happy, and it was touching to see how many people came out to celebrate her. As a poor move on my part, I forgot my camera for the event and will have to borrow some other pictures from folks' Facebook pages (thanks Shannon and Aunt Bonnie!).
Afterwards, we took Madison over to Elizabeth's house. They hadn't seen each other since I don't know when. They were supposed to get together when Maddie moved to Indiana, but that never came through, so they were SO happy to see each other. Andrew and I went over to Grandma's house to visit with the family for a while longer. This trip was replacing Thanksgiving for family togetherness in Kentucky, and I wanted soak up as much as I could.
Before long, it was time to head back to Louisville. On our way to pick up Maddie from Lizz's, I had a great idea: invite Elizabeth to spend the night with us in Louisville! Christy agreed, and the girls were ecstatic. We picked them up and headed to the hotel. We just hung out in the room, nothing exciting, but the girls had a blast. Madison and Elizabeth have been BFFs since birth, and it's always so much fun to get them together.
Andrew and I went across the street to the BBC for some dinner since the girls had eaten at Elizabeth's. We had a nice dinner and enjoyed trying the excellent original brews on offer. I loved the Thick Jimmy's Malt Liquor, and Andrew liked the Raspberry Meade so much that he got a growler (1/2 gallon jug) to go. We walked back across the street and got ready to turn in.
Sunday morning, we all had breakfast and packed up. We checked out of the hotel and then went to the Falls of the Ohio to check out the fossils. It was a beautiful day, and we enjoyed walking out on the exposed fossil beds and looking at the ancient creatures beneath our feet. Afterwards, we ate lunch at Subway and then headed over to Maddie's house. Jerry and Meghan weren't home from church yet, so the girls played at the playground for a while. All too soon, we were discussing Christmas visitation with Jerry and Meghan while Madison showed Elizabeth her room. Then it was hugs goodbye and I-65 South. We dropped off Elizabeth to Christy who met us by the interstate, and then finally it was just Andrew and me and the road back to Memphis.
All in all, it was a good visit, always too short and always a little too bittersweet.
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| Great is great! |
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| Left to right: Aunt Bonnie, Grandma, Aunt Kathy, Aunt Debbie |
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| Caroyln's clan: Rachel, Andrew, Noah, me, Carter, Madison |
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| Partying down |
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Maddie and Liz, BFFs since birth |
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| They loved the Brown! |
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| Near the Falls of the Ohio State Park, Indiana |
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Falls of the Ohio with Louisville skyline |
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| Fossil beds |
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| Interesting erosion of the rocky banks along the Falls |
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| Fossil |
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| Fossils |
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| Fossils |
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| Fossil imprint |
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| Madison and Elizabeth kick it old skool before dropping off Maddie on Sunday |
Love the story line here thought a lot about Carolyn at moms birthday party.... I to thought it was a bittersweet occasion.... I miss Carolyn terribly and can't imagine the hole it left in your heart when she died. I am so very proud of you Lyndsay how you put your life on hold when Carolyn was sick and afterward. You are a special person, you have a heart as big as Texas and I love you so much. I thank God that you have Andrew in your life to share the good times and bad. I know tomorrow is going to be another tough day for you.... I can't believe it will be 2 yrs tomorrow. I Love You Lyndsay!
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