The river city

We begin with a lesson on the pronunciation of Louisville. People will look at you funny, even in the state of Texas, if you pronounce it Louis.ville as in Lewey.ville or St. Louis. Said person will then explain they are from Kentucky and correct you immediately.

Here is what we've learned. It is pronounced Lou.ah.vul.

I am helping you avoid some embarassement.

You can practice now. It's kind of fun right.

We have several books we're reading to make sure we see all the fun sights. The first day we drove in, there was an Iron Man Triathalon going on downtown. All the streets surrounding our apartment building were closed. Nice. Real nice. So, we got to do even more sight seeing than we planned the first day until the race died down a bit.

We live in a studio apartment in a historic building. It's right across the street from the opera house, so you can't beat that for convenience. Gabe's first day of rehearsals I decided to walk around downtown. We are close to restaurants and a place called 4th street live (below)

It's full of restaurants and bars and shops and it's closed off to traffic. I walked for over an hour and only went down 4th street. Downtown is pretty huge!. I made it all the way down to the river and saw the Belle of Louisville.

You can take lunch and dinner cruises along the river. Hopefully we'll catch a ride soon. It looks so fun.

Then I stumbled upon a Kentucky souvenir shop and found this...

The caption under the horse picture says "100% Recycled and odorless products made from horse poo."

Um.....Happy Birthday Dad!

Just kidding.

Gabe all of a sudden has a new goal to ride a huge horse and win a race, while learning several parts for the opera. Too bad the derby was in May. Maybe we'll figure something out.

100 posts!

Almost three years later and spending too much down time in Iowa we've made it to 100 posts!

To celebrate the occasion Gabe and I have been pondering our favortites and we've come up with a few that we like to revisit from time to time.

1. Four Years

2. Snow

3. Wii Boxing

4. Balloon

5. Healthy Marriage

1. The Opera Singer

2. Hey There

3. Singing for your dinner

There is kind of a back story to his first favorite. Look at the comments of that post. The composer found  the blog and commented on Gabe's performance. Crazy!

Thanks for reading! It's been so fun!

Muggle Paradise

 “Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry,

but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

                    ----- excerpt from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, By J.K Rowling

Fun times at Islands of Adventure!

Definitely worth the wait!

Dan and Lauren's Wedding

Dan and Lauren

August 21, 2010

Almost the whole gang!

Kris, Sarah, Linda, Mom, Beth, Dad, Me, Gabe

We had a great time at Dan and Lauren's wedding. It was beautiful and very romantic. Gabe tore it up once again on the dance floor. It's truly a sight to behold. He's got major guts!

Gabe and I are headed to Atlanta tomorrow, then we will finish the drive to Kentucky on Sunday. Gabe starts his first rehersal on Monday with Kentucky Opera. Our time in Orlando went by too fast! I still have so much to blog about! Stay tuned.

Thanks for reading!

White Sands, Blue Waters

When was the last time you went to a Florida Beach?

I didn't even realize how much I had missed this.

It was so much fun. The water was beautiful and so refreshing!

Me and Dad, sporting the ole' Bobby hat

I'm not sure if Gabe's eyes are closed or if he's squinting.

He was having too much fun to pose for a picture.

We met up with Gabe's Dad and his wife, Michele for lunch on Saturday. It was so nice that they could join us.

My Dad, drinking his first "Oktoberfest" of the season. Doesn't he look so happy. He waits for this seasonal beer all year.

At dinner, Saturday night at the Riverside Inn

Gabe decided that the Dessert Platter looked good...

Then we met up with Dad and Michele again for breakfast at The Golden Biscuit

After a fun day in the sun we had dinner at The Garlic before heading back home

It was an awesome weekend.

Even if we got a little sunburned and added a few more freckles.

The Beetle Wedding

Madison, Wisconsin was the place

Love was the game

Here's a glimpse of the long awaited wedding of our dear friends, Jack and Amanda.

They are both singers as well and just finished grad school with Gabe. They were our first friends in Houston and they both mean so much to us. Happy Day! We love you and miss you already!

The morning of the wedding, Ashly and I stumbled upon an amazing Farmers Market right next to the capitol.

Then we got dolled up and helped make sure everything was perfect

Here comes the stunning bride

Groomsmen

Jack and Amanda

August 7, 2010

Reception at Monona Terrace

We ate well, and then danced like fools

Of course.

Gabe acts like it's his job...

...and I love him for it.

We love the Beetle's too.

Hey There

Hi friends and family! It's time for a little catch up. We've been busy and haven't had regular internet.  We've left Houston, stayed in Tally for a couple days, stayed in Orlando shortly then headed to Wisconsin for a wedding. Now, things are calming down a bit. We leave for Louisville, KY the last weekend of August and will be there until the end of November. Gabe was hired to sing with Kentucky Opera for the duration of their season, which lasts for a few months each year. We'll be home for the holidays then we will head to Pensacola, FL where Gabe will be singing for Pensacola Opera from January to April. We'll be everywhere. We may even come to a town near you. Wouldn't that be fun. We're leaving our stuff in storage in Orlando until things settle down a bit more. So, thats the basic rundown for anyone that's curious.

Here are some of the last pics we took in Houston

Moving Hazard

Last view of Houston skyline

I'll try and post more pics soon from Wisconsin and happenings in Orlando. Fun times with the fam, even if I do feel like I've been living out of a suitcase since late May.