The Season of Derby is officially here!

Derby Season got off to a great start with another year of awesome fireworks at Thunder of Louisville. It is one of (if not the) biggest firework displays in the United States. The next few weeks will be full of activities for Derby Festival.

We will run in the Derby Mini Marathon (13.1 miles) this Saturday. Then we will be ready for our guests to come into town for the Kentucky Derby on May 2nd. We will be sitting on the infield on the first turn cheering our horses on! We will enjoy a Mint Julep (Official Drink of the Derby) for all of you who can't come to enjoy one yourself!

(Photos courtesy of the Courier Journal)

10 mile run + 10 hours of landscaping = 1 fun weekend

We had a very busy, but productive Easter weekend. Here's the rundown:

• We finished the third leg of the "Triple Crown of Running" - which means we ran a 5K (3.1 miles), a 10K (6.2 miles), and a 10 miler in the last month and a half. This is all in preparation for the Derby Festival Mini Marathon (April 25 th). There were about 6,000-7,000 runners/walkers. They are expecting 12,000-15,000 for the Mini Marathon and Marathon in two weeks.
• We spent the rest of the day Saturday working on a landscaping project in the backyard (see the Extreme Burnett Lawn Make-Over Photos Below). We added over 20 bushes and trees, 35 bags of mulch, 32 mini lawn lights, and 1 bird feeder to the yard. Needless to say, we were all very tired (dogs included). We went to bed (collapsed was more like it) and awoke to a beautiful Easter morning.
• We attended Easter Sunday service with some friends and then shared a nice BBQ meal that afternoon. HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN, INDEED!

Before

After

Before

After

After

Terre Haute Here We Go!

Covered Bridge at Bridgeton. It started pouring right after this picture...we were running like crazy for cover.

We were so happy to see Cara the last 3 weekends! Wish we could do it again next weekend! Hey you never know...we travel well.

The Cathedral at St. Mary of the Woods College.

We surprised Cara by showing up at her softball games in Terre Haute (pronounced Tara Ho), Indiana at St. Mary of the Woods College. Cara played hard - but came out on the losing end of both games. It was a beautiful day to watch a game - the dogs enjoyed laying in the grass under the warm sun. The college is the oldest Women's Catholic College in the US. The buildings on the campus were very interesting and had a lot of history. We were able to spend the rest of the day with Cara and did some sight seeing and eating in Terre Haute.

We had to say good bye to Cara as we were headed home to the Ville and her softball team continued on to Arkansas for another day of games. We decided to take some time in Parke County (Indiana) the "Covered Bridge Capital of the World." It rained the entire day - sometimes just a light drizzle and other times a complete downpour. During a walk we all got caught in a downpour and we had to race to the safety of the covered bridge. For those of you who have never seen a covered bridge - they are a very beautiful, yet functional piece of architecture. See info below from wikipedia:

"Early bridges were often made of wood, especially where it was a plentiful resource. Wooden bridges tended to deteriorate rapidly from exposure to the elements, having a useful lifespan of only nine years. Covering them protected their structural members, thus extending their life to 80 years or more. Covered bridges were also constructed to be used by travelers during storms and inclement weather (see story above)."

We were able to see 7 of the 31 bridges in that county. It was an enjoyable Sunday drive and a memorable weekend!

Spring Break with Cara

Hiking at Bernheim Forest.

Goofin' around at Lynn's Paradise Cafe.

Giddy Up.

What else would you do in Kentucky? Meet Dukota - the next Derby Winner??

This little guy actually is the offspring of a previous Derby winner. Keep an eye out for him at Churchill Downs in the next few years.



We enjoyed a great week with Cara (Cori's sister). She was on her Spring Break and so she spent the week with us in Louisville. We were able to try some great local food, enjoyed time at some museums, rode horses at the stables, went hiking, and watched some U of L basketball. It was fun to hang out and share time with each other!

I know Cara was thankful she decided to come to Kentucky to experience a real "spring" break (it was in the 60's most of the week) instead of going to South Dakota (they got hammered by their 2nd blizzard in a week) to experience "winter" break.

Cards earn #1 Seed in NCAA Tourney

We are very excited that the Louisville Cards got a #1 Seed in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tourney. They recently won the Big East Conference Tournament and regualar season.

It has been a very exciting year to be a Cards fan.

GO CARDS!

135 Derby - May 2, 2009

It is the time of year when Spring is in the air (at least in Kentucky) and there is only 50 days until the Kentucky Derby. We have had a nice collection of visitors over the last 3 years - and now is your chance to join in on the fun. We would love to have you - date to remember Saturday, May 2nd. We have a big house with lots of extra rooms/beds/couches/floors. Heck, if we get too full, you can sleep in our bed (although Murphy and Oakley may object as they feel like they should be the only ones to toss and turn and steal the covers at night)! If you are thinking about it let us know and we can get you all the details.

See links below for more information:

http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2009/

http://sports.espn.go.com/travel/news/story?id=2415737

Hope to see you in Kentucky in May ya'll!

There's No Place like Home!

We had the chance to go home to South Dakota and visit friends and family. Michelin was sponsoring an event put on by the School of Mines - so Cori was able to go and represent the company. We drove home so we could stop and see Cori's sister Cara in Columbia, Mo and catch one of her softball games. Go Stars! Then we were off to Philip, SD to visit David's family before going on to Rapid City.

In Philip - we shared dinner with all of David's family - grandparents, parents, and brothers. The dogs sure enjoyed the wide open spaces - they could run around and chase the wild animals. It was definitely a lot colder than the Kentucky winters we are getting more and more used to.

We were able to catch up with some friends while we were in Rapid City. We were able to see Cori's grandmother Cam and Keo - who inspire us to live life to the fullest! During the conference banquet we spent time catching up with some of our professors - Dr. Kellogg, Dr. Kerk, and Dr. Matejcik (Frank). There just never seems to be enough time to see everyone and do everything.

We had a nice weekend with Cori's parents and grandma. David got to experience his first ice fishing trip. The weather was great, 50 degrees, which rarely happens when you are ice fishing. The men caught 4 keepers - trout. The nice weather allowed us to all go for a nice hike with the dogs.

This trip sure made us realize how much we miss the beautiful Black Hills and all our friends and family. However, we are very grateful for the opportunities we have been given here in Louisville. We are very thankful and blessed to have each other (and Murphy and Oakley too), our job and school, and the opportunity to experience new and exciting things every day. With everything that is going on in our world today it is often difficult to "look on the bright side" - but we find comfort in knowing that we have so many loving and supportive people in our lives and God-willing we can get through anything that is thrown our way.

The icefishermen and Oakely.

Cara pitching for Stephens College.

Enjoying Sylvan Lake.

Sylvan Lake iced over.

Dave and Ethan (the wrestler).

Here's trouble...