The Cul-de-sac of Fire

I grew up in a pretty great place. A cul-de-sac of 12 houses and a million kids, not quite a million more like 50, give or take a few. In the summer the moms would sit out on their porches talking while the kids ran around shoeless and having the time of their lives. There were crazy wars between boys and girls and some of the best baseball and hockey games ever played. It truly was the best place to grow up.

Well, since we were little we have been having the Cul-de-sac of Fire. All the neighbors come together for a BBQ, a flag ceremony, and of course, fire works. Thanks Shaw family for making sure this tradition still happens!

This year was fun, all the "kids" my age came with their kids. It was great seeing all the families growing.

When our kids weren't terrorizing the other children they wrestled with Grandpa. I'm not kidding about the terrorizing. Mac, G and Lucy took over the slide and wouldn't let anyone down. There was pushing and Mac jumped on a couple of kids. Embarrassing, but the funny part is that everyone understood, "Oh look it's a McAllister. " I guess we were a rough bunch when we were little too:)
Lining up for the flag ceremony...
The kids loved the fireworks that were in sync with the Anthem.
Watching the fireworks

We are back

Last Wednesday we got back from a glorious 2 week trip to Utah and Jackson hole, Wyoming. It couldn't have gone better. We got to see friends and family and more family. I had forgotten how great Utah is in the summer. No bugs, no humidity, fresh peas and it cools down in the shade! Bad thing, I have a million pictures and some still coming and I have no idea where to start. So I wont, until I get all the pictures from our lovely family and friends (hint, hint).

Annie flew back to KY with me and is flying home tonight:( It's been great having her here again. We really missed her. This week we've laid around recouping from our vacation. Saturday we went to Mammoth cave, the longest cave in the world. 367 miles have been explored and they still haven't found an end. Crazy!!!
We went on 2 tours cause we didn't realize that the cave was in central time and not Eatsern like Lexington, so we had some time to deal with.

Tour #1 (took 1/2 hour)Boys ran around screaming "HI HO!" Thanks cousin Lucy!
This is what happens when you come out of a freezing cave into hot temps.
Tour #2 (took 2 hours)

going down the long, steap, sink hole.

Both boys were troopers. Mac walked the whole time and G was a little tired.

walking down to the drappery room
Bus ride to our car.

Change

One thing that I've learned a lot about while living in Kentucky is change. We have started our family out here and watched it grow. We have moved 4 times. We have been students and now professionals. But what changes the most is our friends. We have been blessed to meet so many great people and become good friends with many but there is a time when we have to say goodbye to them. Lexington for most, is a pit stop, a place of education but not professionalism and that's ok. I just hope all our kids meet up at BYU and reunite these friendships. Wouldn't that be great?!

Last night we said goodbye to our good friends the Rosenhans. Luckily they are moving to Utah to finish up Branden's medical residency at the U so we will be able to see them when we visit.

The night was filled with laughter and awkward moments created by Mac and Savannah or how Mac pronounces her name, Fanana. This was their idea of a train...

Tiff, thanks for the fun night! We'll miss you guys!

Not Fun

The good news is, I finally found out what was causing me so much pain. Last week I went to the doctor to figure out what was going on. Me and the doctor were pretty sure it was a UTI but the test said otherwise. They came up clear every time. Frustrated, she put me on medication for a UTI and said that this should help and we'll send the urine sample for more tests. Well, Wednesday I got the letter saying, no bacteria was found but keep taking your medicine. Frustrated I called Drew, "What if it's all mental, and I'm making up all the pain." After Drew assured me that everything would be ok, I hung up the phone and went on with my day. Well, an hour later, while painfully going to the bathroom the stone emerged!!! I was shocked to see how big it was and just plain happy that the pain was gone and that the mystery was over!

Gray is 2!!!

CRAZY my baby turned 2 on the 15th! Crazy he once was this little...
We love our little G, he has definitely spiced up our lives. Always laughing, can throw some of the best tantrums but is still the sweetest boy! I love that he's talking more. He repeats everything we say and because of his amazing tantrums, has been in time out a lot lately, so he now can count to 20 with little to no help. I think my favorite thing Gray does is instead of saying "Yes" he says "What" it's confusing at times but super funny. I took Gray in for his 2 year check up. He's 37.5 inches tall (above 95%) and weighs 30 lbs (75%).

Onto to the festivities...

We all weren't feeling great Tuesday, G was GRUMPY. We went into his room singing "Happy Birthday" and he just sat there, yelling "No! Stop it!"
But cheered up when he saw all the balloons and presents...

He got a tool bench and all the tools to go with it. Both boys loved it!

Showing us the card Grandma Davis sent him!

We ended the morning party by eating bacon and toast for breakfast, G's favorite.


Later we had a little birthday party with one other family. Gray opened Grandpa and Grandma Mom's present (a new trike, pictures to come) and had cake and Ice cream.
G loves cars so I attempted to make a race car cake. Same as last year, not the best looking cake but pretty tasty.

Nat sent Gray a present on Saturday, he slept with the present every night until I finally let him open it the day before his birthday. Thanks for the shirt!
Scotty sent G a present too. The package was filled with sweet little Italian chocolate eggs with toys inside of them, little Nutella jars and Shrek chocolates. They were a huge hit!
Thanks to all the family and friends who sent presents, called and sent texts to wish Gray a happy birthday! It turned out to be a great day!

Our Summer

The summers in Lexington are hot and humid and for some reason we love it. It does limit the activities we can do during the day...swimming.
We signed Mac up for swim lessons. He was super nervous the first day so he talked to the instructor before the lesson. "Excuse me teacher, excuse me, don't put my head under the water!" After the teacher promised he wouldn't Mac was ready for the lesson.

He held on tight.

After every one of his turns he looked back at me and gave me the thumbs up. I wish I got a picture of that, I was too busy cheering for him.

Summer nights...

This is Drew's first year playing softball with his firm. The miracle drugs are working and Drew is moving better than ever! Last night they had an early game so we went to cheer for Dinsmore!

Gray flirted with all the ladies.

Wondering what the band aid's for? Friday night he tripped while in the movie store and hit one of the shelves just right. He came out with an one inch cut right below his eyebrow. And after the game, G tripped walking to the car and cut open his lip. Good thing he heals nicely and he's so stinkin cute!
G cheered loud the whole game "Go Dadda, Go Dadda!" While Mac informed everyone about cats and dogs! Love my boys.

We ended up losing by 2 but they all played great!

Some nights we are lucky enough to be invited over to our friends houses for dinner. The Powells were nice to have all of us over for a Memorial day BBQ. We truly have been blessed to have such great friends.

thanks Nancy for the pics!

Chickens

Have you ever had a dream/want, that didn't always make sense? For me it was chickens. Forever I wanted chickens in my backyard. I thought it would be perfect to wake up to freshly laid eggs. Now, I didn't grow up with farm animals. In fact I don't like animals. I will never own a dog or cat. I'm sensitive to smells and there's nothing worse then stepping in dog poo. So for me, wanting chickens really didn't make sense. Right? But it was a dream of mine and when I started looking into it, I thought," Why not, lets do it." So now we are the proud owners of three hens!

After much research Drew designed and built the coop.

Saturday we got the Hens from a local farm. They are 2 years old and have a lot of personality. We quickly learned that they hate cats. They freaked out when they saw one. Squawking, flying, feathers everywhere. Not good.

Frances (Rhode Island Red), Rosie (Araucana) and Sophia (Silver Laced Wyandotte). I still feel weird calling them by name. I promise I'm not a crazy hen lady.

Mac loves the chickens, Frances is his favorite .

Sophia laying her egg.

Since Saturday afternoon they've laid 5 eggs. Not too bad.

This has been quite the weekend. I'm not sure how I feel about them yet. One day Drew will love the chickens and I'll want them gone and the next it's the opposite. It's been a fun learning experience for us all!

Did I mentioned I love my husband for supporting me in everything I do and come up with? No matter how crazy or stinky it is!