Parks, Church, Horses, and Kentucky Bourbon

On Saturday night, after a long day of work :), John and I decided to take the pups to a new park.  We chose Cherokee park which is located on the outskirts of downtown Louisville.  The park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (the same guy who designed Central Park!).  It had a 2.5 mile loop that was shared  by cars on one side and runners/walkers/bikers on the other.  It also has pathways that meandered in between the center of the park - beautiful!.  It was hilly (which we found out when we tried to run with the girls), and full of big old trees.  We have been trying to run a couple of times a week, which is we used to do more regularly, however, walking 4 dogs can eat into any other types of exercise sometimes.  As a result, we decided to include the girls on the run (Ralphie stayed back in the truck).  The girls did well unless they saw another dog and then you could potentially have your arm removed from your socket...but on the bright side they were all pooped when we got back to the Caista that evening.      

I have been reading this really great book called Gods of War. It is written by Kyle Idleman a teaching pastor at Southeastern Christian Church which so happens to be in Louisville, Kentucky. We chose this church for our Sunday worship service. Let me just say. Wow! Southeastern Christian Church is the 3rd or 4th largest church in the country with 19,000 worshipers on Sunday (granted they have 4 campuses). However, it was the largest church we have ever been to. When we arrived I spent the first 10 minutes ogling at the size of the church inside (with a full coffee/bakery shop, bookstore, classrooms etc.) and the next 10 minutes ogling at the size of the sanctuary with its 3 levels, movie seats, and 4 jumbo screens in the center (imagine a basketball auditorium -- that is what is was like). When I got over the enormity of the place I was able to enjoy the service. They had a guest worship leader and he played the piano amazingly. I was also super excited because Kyle Idleman was the teaching pastor that day. He preached on a neat message about challenging others with the truth of the gospel. It was convicting and thoughtful message and he is a very good speaker and I encourage anyone to read his books and see him speak. Very cool.

I  have a picture below of the church ( I did not take this-- I tried to take one of the outside of the church as John was driving -- did not work out --- and I felt weird taking a picture in the sanctuary--)

Southeastern Christian Church sanctuary 

Sunday afternoon was our tourist day.  We chose the Kentucky Derby Museum as our outing it is located at the Churchill Downs race track the home of the famous Derby Day in May.  My Dad, Mom and brother would have all loved it.  My mom loves horses and my Dad and brother enjoyed watching horse races.  It was a fun way to remember my Dad as he enjoyed going to the horse races later in life and even visited the Keenleand race track a couple of times with Debbie.

The museum was neat with all sorts of interactive displays, you could watch filmed Kentucky Derby races, call a race and record it (cool!), race horses on a video game (I won!), try on fun hats and such for pics, and meet a Kentucky Derby winner.  We met the 2009 Kentucky Derby Winner, 7 year old Mine that Bird.  Mine that Bird was the second largest long shot to win the derby (his odds were 50-1).  He seemed pretty content to hang out with his old friend Winston (a 20 year old pony - who reminded us of Ralph) and his super large soccer ball. Oh, and another thing he has earned $2.2 million in winnings for his owners.  We are still trying to figure out how we can get money out of our dogs.  Wouldn't that be helpful...The coolest thing about the museum was the tour.  We got to go in Churchill Downs, see the horses, jockeys, and watch a real race! John and I have decided that Derby Day in May is on our bucket list!  This means that one day I will get to purchase a super fun hat like you will see in pics below!

Ready for the race -- bourbon and all (really a candle!)

Horse racing = fun hats! 

more fun hats and John wanted me to add a flask ;) 

John's "infield look"

inside Churchill downs 

Jockeys and horses 

Churchill Downs!

Out the gates! 

Finish Line

 

Mine that Bird

The largest soccer ball -- Ever!

Monday John had is interview at the Habitat in Humanity offices in Louisville.  Everyone was very excited and encouraging about John's research.  John was also excited to get started on housing observations on Tuesday.  Monday evening we made it back to downtown to try a cool restaurant called Doc Crow's.  This restaurant had some famous Kentucky Bourbon...so we both got a "taste" which is really what I would think of as a "shot" but in a super fancy glass. I am not a liquor girl but it seemed like the thing to do when visiting Kentucky (though it was somewhat aweful - I think I'll stick to the occasional margarita :) . As always, the food was good and the company was awesome!

Doc Crows

C & J + 4 at home pups :) 

Wildlife Seen

1.  a woodpecker

2. many squirrels (Phoebe's favorite)

3. many rabbits (Fiona's favorite)

4.  1 dead baby water snake (sadly no one's favorite :(

Lessons Learned

1.  Make sure the dogs are a little more tired before running with them...which kind of defeats the purpose a little :) 

2.  Mega churches really are huge 

3.  Accessories always help make a picture more fun!