Lego Star Wars Birthday Party!

I was up at my sister’s house recently for my oldest nephew’s 7th birthday.  She, as usual, made the cake for the occasion and it was pretty incredible (again, as usual)!  My nephew is in 1st grade so he had lots of little friends around.  It was a pretty chaotic there but a good time!

 

The Lego Star Wars Cake

 

That was a lot of children

 

He was a little overwhelmed by the chaos

 

Pinata

Excited spectators

 

Birthday boy!

 

A few more pictures of the cake

 

Blowing out the candles

Opening presents

 

A few other cute party attendees

Ironman Louisville

2.4 mile swim
112 mile bike
26.2 mile run

…..in one day

Crazy, you may say.  I agree.  However, my husband, his sister, and his father all completed this feat nearly a month ago.  Jeff did the race in just under 12 hours.  In 96 degree weather with a heat index in the low 100s.  Even I got dehydrated.  Nuts, I tell you -- they are NUTS!  Photo highlights below:

 

That’s a lot of bikes.  And note that I am up before the sunrise to catch the athletes before they begin the race.  Dedication.

 

Team Kissel!

 

Jeff about to jump into the Ohio River

Pretty scenes during the swim portion of the race

Steve finishing the swim and Jeff finishing the bike

 

Kelley on her way in from the 112 mile bike

 

Steve just starting his marathon

 

Jeff in the finishing chute

Me and my Ironman!

Farmer’s Market, Louisville

While in Louisville for the Ironman, the family all went to a Farmer’s Market for breakfast the day before the race.  It was a relatively small market at a local church.  The six of us had a good time for our leisurely breakfast before the craziness of the Ironman the next day.

Some veggies for sale

This kid did not look like he wanted to be playing the banjo..

 

Pretty flowers

I got a peach crepe for my breakfast

…and it was delicious!

 

Wow, these cupcakes were amazing!

More pretty flowers

San Diego Highlights

Back about a month ago, Jeff and I went to San Diego to present my dissertation results at the American Psychological Association’s annual conference and to celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary.  We spent almost a week in San Diego, and I took almost 2,000 pictures.  Here’s 8 of my favorites.

Mission Bay

A photo I took from the inside of a moving car while on the bridge to Coronado Island

  Pretty flower near our hotel

 

Gorilla at the Wild Animal Park

 

Elephant momma and baby at the Wild Animal Park – baby was still nursing

 

Zebra at the San Diego Zoo

 

Some flamingos napping in an interesting position

Sunset at La Jolla on our last night in San Diego

360 at the Radisson

My husband Jeff and I recently celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary.  Our actual anniversary was taken up by work and school, so we weren’t able to make it out to dinner until 3 days after our anniversary.  We decided to try the 360 at the Radisson restaurant just across the river.  It’s on the top floor of the Radisson Hotel and it rotates 360 degrees continuously.  The food was just so-so but the experience was very unique.  We were there at sunset and got some great shots of the Cincinnati skyline and Northern Kentucky.

Cincinnati Skyline!

 

The restaurant had little plaques with some history of the landmark out the window – this one was the Brent Spence Bridge (with bridge in background)

 

Me and my hubby!

 

Dusk at the Ohio River

 

Skyline at night

The setup of the restaurant with the skyline in the background

Caesar Creek Park

A little while ago, Jeff, Derby, and I went for a short camping trip at Caesar Creek State Park.  We went for a short hike while we were there and survived a severe thunderstorm warning.  It was a good time and I was able to catch a few good pics!

I was so excited to catch a butterfly on our hike!

 

Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal

I love these kind of flowers

 

Leaves on the ground

 

Worn-out puppy dog

 

Reflections on a lake

An unwanted visitor