Horses and Superheros

One of the best things about getting married, or being married (besides finding your true love if you are Disney fans) is the joint possession of each others "things."  For example, when Jordan and I got married, he gained a Wii and I gained several bonsai plants.  Jordan gained seasons of FRIENDS on dvd and I gained seasons of Desperate Housewives on dvd. Jordan gained a taste for coffee and I gained a new found interested in Sunday news shows.  The list could go on but one of my favorite "things" that I got when I married Jordan was his sister's family.  She has two boys and a girl and they are the youngest, hippest, funniest fraternity you will find.  Once you throw Shadow into the mix you have a real force of nature.


We had the pleasure of their company during Labor weekend and Jordan and I took it upon ourselves to show them a good time.  The kids wanted to see horses so we thought the Kentucky Horse Park would be the perfect place for that.  The day was grey and overcast, but the smiles were bright as we walked around the park, looked at the horses and learned more about the importance of the horse in the course of history. 

Grant, Grace, and their uncle Jordy enjoyed a trail ride around the park.

Greyson got to go on a pony ride and they let Shadow sit on the pony for a little bit.  Maybe he can ride next time ;)

You can truly spend the whole day at the park.Their are several barns and museums you can walk through, trolley rides, restaurants, and show events to watch.  We enjoyed petting some of the horses and marveling at their size and beauty.   The museums on the grounds have some great displays about horses around the world and also artifacts from the Kentucky Derby, World Equestrian Games, and several trophies and awards that have been collected from various horses over the years.

Being the history nerd that I am, I was impressed with the museum.  It was so interesting to see how important the horse was to early Americans, Europeans, Asians, Arabians; and also how they are valued and used as a vital resource by each culture.

One of the museums has the trophies won by Secretariat on display.  The one on the left is from the Derby, the right is from the Preakness and the middle is the triple crown trophy that was awarded after winning the Belmont stakes.


The rest of their visit was spent at the Newport Aquarium in Cincinnati, searching for the perfect cupcake, eating Five Guys, realizing that teenagers that work at the GAP have no idea what they are doing, ordering take out Chinese food, and very insightful and intellectual discussions about whether Christian Bale or Micheal Keaton plays the better Batman. 

So I go back to my favorite reasons for being married.  You get twice the family, twice the memories, and also you maybe figure out that your family is just a bit nerdy like yourself.  I do enjoy my Wilkins much, much more than those bonsai plants.