Was the 4th of July, Watch Out Summer's Flying By

Burnett Street (Louisville)

Crystal & Dave at Napa River Grill

At the Jazz Bar. We made it un-official "white shirt night"

We spent the 4th of July weekend with David's mom Crystal, who surprised us by visiting Louisville for a few days. We had a lot of fun just relaxing and spending time together. Crystal had been to Louisville during the first summer we lived here, but we still lived in our small apartment. So we had fun showing off our house and yard to a new guest.
We took Crystal to the Trolley Hop - where a trolley will take you to the galleries, restaurants, and music hot spots in downtown Louisville. We spent some time at River Bend Winery in downtown Louisville. Our friend from college (Carson) is the CEO of the winery and is trying to revamp the place. We said we would be taste testers anytime they needed. We also went to a Jazz bar – Jazzyblu – it was a new experience but we would definitely do it again.
On the 4th we had a BBQ at our house. We had some friends over to celebrate Independence Day and David's acceptance into PhD candidacy. We had fun spending time with everyone – sharing stories, food, and good drinks.
Since the 4th has already come and gone, we are sure the rest of the summer is going to fly by just as quickly. Enjoy the warm weather, Fall will be here before we know it.

On the Road Again...

We spent last week in Greenville, South Carolina. Cori was working at one of the Michelin plants for the week and David was busy trying to finish his presentation for his dissertation proposal. It was a busy week for us, but a nice getaway too.

On, June 2nd we celebrated David's 27th birthday at a place called Quaker Steak and Lube for All You Can Eat Wing Night - David's favorite. They specialize in buffalo wings of every flavor you can imagine. They are also famous for their Atomic Wings which boast a Scoville Heat Unit of 150,000. The Scoville unit was developed in 1912 by Wilbur Scoville to measurement for the heat level of chile peppers. A number was assigned to each chile pepper based on how much liquid was needed before you would no longer taste (feel) the heat!

According to the menu:
0-999 = Mild
1,000-2,999 = Medium
3,000-30,000 = Hot
30,001+ = Insane

So in essence David = Extremely Insane for eating 4 Atomic Wings + the addition of countless other wing flavors throughout the night. Needless to say we had to find an ice cream shop later that night for birthday dessert and to stop him from sweating.

On Friday we experienced a Scottish Festival going on in downtown Greenville. It was complete with a parade of kilt wearing, bag-pipe playing, proud Scots. It was fun to see them all dressed up. We took Saturday and drove a different way back to Louisville. We drove through Atlanta, Ga and saw the Coca-Cola Headquarters and the Olympic Park. We would love to go back another time when we can really experience the city. We also stopped at a few National Parks - Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Tenn and Stone River National Battlefield, Tenn - which were battlefields during the Civil War. We enjoyed learning about the history of this area. It is amazing to be somewhere that was so important to the history of our great nation. We enjoyed seeing the new territory. As usual Murphy and Oakley wasted no time getting their rest.

Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Tenn

Sooooo Sleepy...

On Sunday, we went to the mall to support Metro Animal Services who was holding a shelter supply drive in return for a photo of you and your pets. With some treat coaxing we were able to get a great shot of the Burnett family and also help out our four-legged friends at the animal shelter.

Memorial Day Weekend at Red River Gorge

It has been over a month since we updated our blog about Derby. It seems like the summers always fly by and this one seems to be no different. We spent Memorial Day weekend camping at Red River Gorge in Eastern Kentucky with some friends from Cori's work. This is the first time we have been to the Gorge during the Spring. We have been there a few times in the Fall. It is really well known for its beautiful Autumn colors (this is where we took our Christmas picture last year). We hiked a little ways off the trail and set up our campsite at a very nice, secluded spot. It was a perfect spot - very flat, had a spot for a campfire, nice tree coverage, and a nice view of the stars at night. We did a bunch of hiking including an 8.5 mile hike that really wore us all out. Murphy and Oakley were troopers - they even carried their own water and food in their doggie backpacks. They were rewarded for the long hike with a cool down swim in the river. Murphy was so tired that once he got to the car he just laid down on the gravel and refused to get up!! The dogs were tired out for a few days after. We enjoyed spending time with our friends. One of the couples provided all the meals for the trip. We were spoiled by the awesome campfire cooking - campfire pizzas, apple pie, chicken and cous-cous, turkey salsa burgers just to name a few of the menu items. We provided s'mores, but they seemed pretty weak given the quality of the rest of the meals. Before heading home on Monday (Memorial Day) we stopped at a little diner called Bruen's. It was highly recommended and for good reason. We ate so much home cookin' (biscuits and gravy, country ham - you get the picture) and it was so cheap. We will definitely remember this place on our next trip to Eastern Ky. We decided to take a detour on our way back to Louisville. We drove another hour into "Wild, Wonderful, West Virginia" so we could mark another state off our list. It was very beautiful and we hope to make another detour into a trip there soon.

Murphy relaxing with his backpack before we even started hiking.

The Burnett Fam - mid-way of 8.5 mile hike.

Note: Murphy was still walking at this point, but he started slowing down soon after.

He went from pulling to being pulled.

"If the path be beautiful, let us not ask where it leads" - Anatole France

Red River Gorge at its greenest.

DERBY 2009: Mint Juleps, Horses, Banana Cigars, & 150,000 of our Closest Friends

Well another Derby has come and gone. It is a week to the day since our first guests arrived. It took us a few days to recouperate from the busy, fun-filled weekend - here are some of the highlights:

• We had another great crew from many states. Our college friends Moulton & Micah (3-time Derby attendee) were in attendance. Moulton brought two friends from work - Joe & Lesley. We were also lucky to meet Joe's brother Matt, who decided he would make the trip from Evansville, Ind at 3:00 am on Saturday morning. Cara and Matt also came to join the fun.


• We had an Oaks Day BBQ (Oaks Day is the day before Derby) with our out-of-town guests and our Louisvillian friends. We had a great time eating burgers and sharing stories.


• Derby 135 was another great experience. The rain held off and we had a beautiful 70 degree day. We all placed bets throughout the day - there were a few winners, but definately more losers. We sure aren't experts at picking horses to bet on, but we have used our erngineers degrees to the fullest - coming up with unique and successful ways of sneaking "hootch" (aka: bourbon) into the track. We continued the tradition of wearing our booze filled belts. But our best effort was the false binoculars that held 16 oz of adult beverage.


• Mine that Bird - the Derby winner - was the 2nd longest longshot to win the Derby ever. He had 51-1 odds, so a $2 bet returned $103 dollars. Wish I would have bet him as my longshot but better luck next year. I feel like we say that every year - so one of these times I have to win, right!?!


• Just a reminder - it is never to early to start making your plans for Derby 136 on May 1, 2010. We promise to show you good time.

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!