Loo-ville

Friday morning we got up nice and early to fly to Louisville. Normally a 5am wake-up call the day after a 4am wake-up call would rankle, but I guess one of the benefits of being jet-lagged is that getting up early is not really a problem. We hopped the hotel shuttle and found ourselves to be the only non-airline personnel on-board. It felt kind of like we were the new kids at school.

The flight was entirely uneventful because the weather was grand - clear skies without a cloud to be seen and temperatures in the nineties. Fiona's Dad had driven down from Toronto to join us on our visit and met us at the airport and a van-full of nephews and nieces were waiting in the cell-phone lot, so we received a very warm reception. It was amazing to see how much Edmund, Karol, Therese, Faustina and Gianna had grown and developed. They're all fantastic little people. We also got to meet our two new nieces - Jacinta and Zelie - both of which suffered the indignities of the poor newborn handling skills of Uncle Rik. They did their best to compensate for my clumsy nervousness and eventually agreed not to mock my baby-holding skills if I wouldn't comment on their diaper-filling abilities.

After spending the rest of the afternoon at their house, Doug came home and we all went out for dinner. Fiona and I shared a table with Edmund, Karol and Faustina who kept us entertained. We talked about a myriad of different topics and discovered some universal truths - hot peppers are no good, olives are yucky, bread (of all types) is fantastic, especially when dipped in oil, balsamic vinegar is somehow a lemon extract and goat's cheese does not belong on pizza.

The next day was as hot as the first. It was kind of humorous to see the Doppler Radar image on the weather forecast - completely blank. Our mission that day was to go out and enjoy the Kentucky State Fair. The kids were great. The exhibition is a different experience when accompanied by the commentary of little people.

It was our first state fair experience, and it was thoroughly enjoyable. The highlights for us?

1. The animals. A small petting zoo was a hit with the kids. They had a very cute setup for ducklings, where they placed a dish of food at the very edge of a ramp. The ducklings would grab a couple of kernels before losing their balance and sliding down the ramp. Come to think of it, is that cute ... or cruel?

2. Moldy pies. We went to the fair on day 10 of 11 and I guess the pie judging was done on day 1. The prize winning pies were placed in display cases and promptly went moldy. A prize winning peach pie with fuzz on the outside just doesn't have the same cache as one that is warm and fresh.

3. Agricultural displays. I learned that the head of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture is a guy called Richie Farmer. I learned that I can drown in grain in less than 8 seconds. I learned that roll bars on a tractor can help you avoid grisly and terrible mangling.

4. Health care tips. The kids really enjoyed walking through a giant colon. They had lots of strangely insightful questions about colon health. I was hoping for more giant inflatable internal organs, but there were no more to be seen.

5. They are doing amazing things with balloons these days. When I was a kid balloon animals were a big thing. Nowadays they generate entire balloon landscapes. I think the adults were just as impressed as the kids.

6. Food. Funnel cake, lemonade shake-ups, elephant ears, fried chicken, sausages, pulled pork, and that's only the food served in the exhibition hall. Fiona, Roger and I hit the midway later in the afternoon and saw the wonderful variety of stick-based foods. But our personal favourite was the donut burger - a perfectly cooked bacon cheeseburger with donuts instead of buns. I had to take two pictures - one of the sign to get all the details and another, of the stand, showing that there were actually people in line to buy this monstrosity.

7. I've still got it. I confidently stepped up on the midway and won my little lady a fancy stuffed penguin by throwing darts at balloons. Of course, I purposely missed on the last dart so as not to fill our suitcase with an overly large stuffed animal.

After an afternoon on the midway we retreated back to the house. Doug and Adele managed to get away for a little bit as Roger, Fiona and I played babysitter. The kids were really well behaved and it was quite an easy gig.

On Sunday we had brunch at a riverside restaurant. We managed to squeeze all the big kids into a booth and I got to play gatekeeper, keeping an eye on the cheerful little crowd. They started to get a little concerned towards the end of the meal that Fiona and I would be leaving later that day. They kept asking when we would be back. It's great to know we'll be missed.

We had a few more hours at the house before taking off again. It was good quality time with both the kids and Doug and Adele. Karol taught me about stick-bugs, butterflies and methods for keeping deer out of your vegetable garden. Therese was dealing out hugs as usual. Faustina thought she could count all my freckles before I left. Edmund explained the literary complexities found within the gripping book "Mr. Sneeze". Gianna smiled, laughed and giggled as she got me to chase her around the house. Jacinta and Zelie managed to survive another few minutes in Uncle Rik's arms.

The trip back to Houston provided one more highlight: fantastic cloud formations. We were expecting a bit of a rough ride due to bands of thunderstorms, but it never really materialized and we spent most of the flight gaping out the window and the clouds. Fantastic.