Day at the Durham

I took Benjamin and my friend Chantalle's grandson Steven to the place formerly known as the Durham Western Heritage Museum. I knew that I could not keep track of two 2-year-olds without harnesses. I was told "Steven won't wear a harness". As you can see, Steven is indeed wearing a harness.
We had a fun time even though Benjamin was really afraid of the 15 foot long plastic snake in the Amazon exhibit and didn't want to get on any of the old restored trains. He's still sad that Thomas "went back to the Island of Sodor" (i.e. is no longer sitting in model train exhibit).
We had a picnic lunch outside. They don't have any tables or benches so we just sat in the middle of the sidewalk. I took the harnesses off too soon and there was much chaos.

Benjamin's First Fishing Trip!

Today we went to Louisville State Park with Glen and Matt who Ryan works with and their families. Glen is the one in the 4th of July photo who's daughter Lexi, Benjamin was flirting with. Benjamin was at it again today... they were hugging a lot. We'll have to watch that boy!

Benjamin wouldn't hold the fish or look at the camera for the photo. He says he touched fish today though... He did kind of poke at them.

I was having more luck than Ryan fishing even with me using Benjamin's little pole. The three times I cast it, I reeled in a fish within 30 seconds. I stopped casting it after that because I felt there wasn't much sport to it and I was sad for the little blue gills who had sharp hooks stuck in their mouths.
Ryan also caught 3 blue gills, but fished a lot longer than I did. He also had a bunch get away.

Glen sent us home with 3 fish. His wife Angie won't eat them. I told Ryan I didn't really want them either, so he has to cook them when I'm out of the house! Something about my senses being heightened during pregnancy and the smell of cooking fish don't go well together. The fish are fairly small and were on the edge of being keepers, but they had swallowed the hooks and would have died anyway.

Ryan bought the yearly fishing pass, so we'll have to go 3 more times to make it worth it. We're planning a Labor Day camping trip.

Benjamin was more interested in pushing the stroller than fishing most of time. The other big hit of the day was the nearby train tracks. We walked across the street and sat on a picnic table watching ~6 trains go by. The weather was beautiful especially in the shade. We had a great morning!

Kelly Lewis

I wanted to introduce you to someone I am finally getting to meet. This is my biological grandfather, Kelly Lewis. Kelly died in 1997 so I never met him in this life, but last month I made contact with his widow, Catherine, and his younger sister, Ethel. Both have been very generous with their time in fielding my questions. These pictures were supplied by Catherine. Picture number one is a picture of Catherine and Kelly before he died.Picture 3 is a picture of a younger Kelly Lewis. Kelly served in World War II as a Paratrooper in the Pacific Theater. Catherine told me later in his career Kelly jumped from an aircraft and his chutes didn't open. He blew out both knees when he landed. He was told he would never walk again, but he did. Kelly was an avid bowler. I have a score card supplied to me which apparently was one of his best ever, I'm guessing that since it is lamented. He scored 624 in three games on FEB 1, 1972.
I am so grateful I was able to write a letter to Catherine and make contact with her. We are the lost family they had no idea existed. Kelly and my grandmother were divorced when my father was two years old. They have not heard from our family since as my grandmother was very hurt by what happened. I am in the process of writing a family history for them to catch them up on what this lost branch has been up to.