A Smashing Spring Break

We've been on Spring Break for the past two weeks, and it has been wonderful! School has been so busy lately with James and I finishing up finals and midterms, so we really enjoyed the chance to relax.

The break started with a visit from Tom, Beth, and Ainsley Reese. Tom had served his mission in North Carolina, so we had the benefit of seeing them during a stop on their tour of NC. We spent two great days with them enjoying North Carolina BBQ, touring Duke, and just catching up.
Then we joined some of the other LDS MBA families at the Stucki's ranch near Louisville, Kentucky. It was such a beautiful place on over 100 acres, with a pond for fishing and tons of trails for 4-wheeling and paintball games. We had a blast hanging out with our friends, enjoying the ranch, and sightseeing in Louisville.Our first stop in Louisville was Churchill Downs. There weren't any races going on yet, but the tour was really interesting and the site was amazing.It wasn't until we got to the car that we realized the treasure Hannah had clasped in her hand was not a cracker as I had thought...it was a cigarette!!Then off to the Louisville Slugger Bat Museum. We toured the factory and saw bats being made for stores, the minor leagues, and the pros. James, Derek, and Brian tried out the batting cages, while the kids enjoyed the T-ball and their souvenir bats. James also held bats used by Mickey Mantle and David Ortiz.Back at the ranch...fishing in the pond. The kids had a blast...the mommies had a blast...and the guys had a blast (all dressed up for their paintball war).James, Hannah, and I made it home about 12:45 in the middle of Monday night. As we pulled in, we noticed the Honda's back window had been smashed and the stereo was gone. James saw an unfamiliar guy in baggy clothes walking toward the other section of our apartment complex, so he ran Hannah and I inside and then drove over to where the guy was walking. He actually saw the guy taking the stereo out of another Honda Accord!! So James called the cops as the guy was taking off. The cops talked to James for a while, and we thought the guy was a goner. However, about 20 minutes later, the cops knocked on our door and said they had caught him! They needed us to come I.D. our stereo. James wasn't sure if he would be able to since it came from the car I always drive, so he stayed home with Hannah while I crawled into the back of a cop car! A quick ride to the next street over brought us to a line-up of five cop cars! The police formed a barricade around me while we walked past the guy (he was cuffed in the back of a cop car), and I identified our stereo. They had found quite the stash in his car: 2 stereos, woofers, a couple iPods, and 3 bags of crack cocaine. By the time the cops dropped me off at home, it was almost 3:00 am. It was a crazy night, but James was quite the local hero!

Unfortunately, we will have to pay for the window to be replaced, but at least it's better than needing a new stereo too! Note: this is the THIRD time this has happened (the car was actually stolen the first time!). We will never buy another Honda Accord!