Sunday, April 22, 2012

Babysitting

Craig and I were entrusted to Grayson's care on Saturday night as Sarah and Eric had an evening out for a family wedding.  Grayson really entertained us with his piano skills!  We had a blast!

It's ok, his mommy and daddy let him do it!

One of Grayson's cutest faces as he is talking/whistling/smiling.


Two cuties!

Looking out the back window
More piano entertainment

When it was time to change into PJ's I got a little surprise with the shirt Grayson was wearing underneath!  I may be the best Aunt (possibly ever) but I absolutely have the smartest, cutest nephew!  It was so much fun!

Grayson was pretty happy with himself, sitting under the table this morning after breakfast!

B Line Trail and Clear Creek Trail

Today turned into a beautiful day!  I really didn't put the time or miles into yesterday's run, so I decided to see exactly how far the trail would take me today.  As soon as I got onto the trail, nature's beauty really struck me.  So I decided to turn the run into a photo session as well.  Taking pictures and running are my two favorite hobbies!  I would much rather take pictures of my favorite nephew and most of the time I would rather be lazy than run, but once I finally get out there, a good long run really helps clear out my brain.

The honeysuckle is beautiful!  I LOVE the smell of it!

The rails to trails section of the trail is really beautiful (and easy on the knees!)
Bloomington's natural stone
I'm sure it was a weed, but this purple flower and there was a similar white flower that were everywhere!
A little odd to see horses so close to houses, but they were pretty to look at!
The newest completed part of the trail with street lights.
Some art work in effort to cover the graffiti on the old warehouse building that lines the trail.
A bridge was recently built to go over a busy road to keep people safe on the trail.  It is very steep!
Another bridge as well that crosses 3rd Street.
Crazy Horse and the Irish Lion restaurants are right next to the trail.  They are fun places to enjoy a beverage in the outdoor seating.
Fun art to keep things interesting near Janko's Little Zagreb.
B Line Trail

This is where the Farmer's Market is held each Saturday!

I had to look up the actual story behind this art.  Information courtesy of the city of Bloomington website:
"The city of Bloomington is known for its wealth of arts that feed the soul. This sculpture references the basic human need of nourishment, both physical and cultural. Made primarily from Indiana limestone, the sculpture pays tribute to the site's history as the Showers Brothers Furniture Factory, along with its current status as home of the Farmers' Market and the annual Taste of Bloomington Festival. Upon close examination, the bowl in this sculpture can be recognized as an inverted replica of Bloomington's courthouse dome complete with Austin Seward's fish floating atop the steam. Carvings on the sculpture weave together images of walkers, bicyclists and animals who regularly visit the B-Line trail. One chair of the sculpture is pulled back, an invitation to the viewer to take a place at Bloomington's banquet and join in the exchange of culture and experience."

The sign under the train tracks bridge warns,
"CAUTION  FALLING DEBRIS Do not pass under bridge while train is overhead!"




I had never been this far on the trail before.  We often run parts of the trail with the Y running group because it keeps us out of traffic and it happens to be the only flat spot in Bloomington to run!

The end of the trail - this is where I turned around!  All the lamp posts, all 166 of them are numbered!
On the way back... mural of art to mask the lumbar yard behind it.
I peeked my head inside the Wonder Lab's garden.  Beautiful.
This is one of the few water fountains on the trail.  Complete with accommodations for your dog!  The trail was very busy with runners, bikers, and dogs today.  I even ran into an Earth Day Celebration.  I'm not sure what they were doing to celebrate, but they had a good saxophone player.
Art outside of the Wonder Lab.
I never found number 1!!!  I counted them down as I passed, but never found the last one!
One horse was a little closer the second time I passed by.


This tree house made me think of the book I just finished, "The Lucky One" by Nicholas Sparks.  A tree house plays an integral role in the story.  I've read the book, now I just need to figure out how to convince my husband to go see the movie that just came out Friday!



I love the blue sky and clouds.


For the record, I have never seen any cow that might possibly ever be crossing!
A nearby stone quarry.
A beautiful day with great scenery to explore the entire trail out and back!

Yay!

(I thought I had already posted this, but apparently never got around to it!)  What I was going to say was...YAY!  Our taxes are done!  lol.  Oh well. 

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Easter 10 year Anniversary Extravaganza!

We had an amazing room at Union Station, only a few blocks from down town!
The hotel was beautiful!  We were on the top floor (the 7th.)
We had a great dinner Friday night at Merchant's.  I asked what the restaurant was known for so we had their fish tacos and macaroni - both very good!
 

Lots of shopping and things to see.



News to us, Nashville is known as the "Athens of the South."  So we visited the Parthenon!
Notice the tiny people - this place was huge!
We took a tour inside and got to see Athena - all 42 feet of her!



The weather was absolutely wonderful over the weekend and we spent almost all of our time outside!  Nashville was fun!