Gender Reveal Party

For the first time in my life, which is an experience I quite enjoy, I attended a gender reveal party.  Jokes aside and after releasing any preconceived notions... it was rather pleasant and a great moment shared with family and friends.  This party was also very well done!  For those of you who don't know, and trust me, I didn't either until a few weeks ago, a gender reveal party is an opportunity for the parents or parent to reveal the gender of her/his/their child.  

Now, there are several ways to do this:

1)  Popping a ballon with confetti inside.  This was the one I attended.

2)  Cutting into a cake to reveal either blue or pink.  This was also at the one I attended.

3)  Opening a gift box to reveal either a feminine or masculine item.

4)  Use your imagination, some surprise, and some object to indicate the child's gender and 1 person who knows the gender and is willing to keep a secret.  

Upon first arriving we were asked to grab either a blue tie or pink tutu pin.  These were our predictions as to whether we thought it would be a boy or girl.  The great grandmother even went as far as to dye her hair pink in the hopes of having a girl!  There was a list of Old Wives Tales to help influence decisions.  There were a lot of hopes and guessing as to whether or not it would be a boy or girl.  After hanging out with family and friends the moment of truth finally came.  One of my cousin's friends had been in touch with the doctor and went and had a balloon filled with confetti.  To find out whether it was a boy or girl, watch the video below (be sure to pay attention to the father's reaction...)...  

(A few photos of the baby and pins to guess the gender)

(My cousin helped out a bit by circling her 'symptoms')

(My choice)

(Super Pop Pop's choice)

(The dogs were dressed for the occasion)

(What is it going to be???  Have to be ready for both...)

(The moment of truth getting closer - the contents of the black balloon hold the answer...)

(It's a...)

Day 4 - Big Four Bridge to Nowhere but Adventure

Our 4th day in Louisville turned out to be a bit of an adventure.  We heard about a waterfront park and bridge where you could 'walk to Indiana.'  So, off we went, first stopping at Barbara Lee's for some classic breakfast.  A spunky diner run by a family of Kentucky Wildcat fans.  After breakfast we made our way to the Big Four Bridge, a walking bridge that connects Louisville, Kentucky with Jeffersonville, Indiana.  It was chilly, to say the least and as we made our way to the bridge's opening we were asked if we wanted to be interviewed about a different bridge project.  We told the reporters we were not from the area and so politely declined, took a few jump photos, and made our way cross the bridge.  

Well, the other side, apparently is having some construction work done and so was not open quite yet.  There were thoughts and even discussions of hopping but we decided it against and instead planned on driving to Jeffersonville.  We took a few minutes to play on a playground, kind of figured that's why they were built.

We were in search of the Levee - a dive bar.  

Well, we didn't find the Levee at first, but we did find the South Indiana Visitor Center.  By this point it started to rain and so our helpful visitor center informationist gave us a few ideas - one of which was Schimpff's Candy store.  Seeing as how I'm from Hershey this decided like a good idea.  Sweet older couple gave us a mini-tour and we chatted with them for about half an hour.  There was a ton of great memorabilia and a lot of history, including a 5 cent candy machine.  

I forgot to mention, on the way to Schimpff's we passed the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile.  So, we turned around, got out, and took photos.  Another guy there told us he saw it from the highway and turned around so he could take photos with this iconic piece of American history.  Then we were off on an adventure, in search of coffee.  Passed Becca's Wash House.  Found a Dunkin' Doughnuts and played some crib.

Eventually we made it to the Levee and met Regina, our bartender for the evening.  We shot some pool and shot the shit with her.  Rebecca even did a shot with her.  She was quite the lady and commented on my appearance as soon as we approached the bar.  There was also a chalk wall so you could write anything you wanted and leave your mark.  Rebecca did.  It was our kind of place and had we had more time we probably would have stayed longer.  However, we were off to meet our next set of hosts and ran into Ernest at the Dizzy Whizz.  This is a story best saved for the next post, but here are some photos to enjoy!

 (Big Four Bridge to Nowhere)

 (A shot of downtown Louisville)

(Finally starting to get the jump shots down)

(And here's Rebecca with her big ups!)

 (A little spin the Merry-Go-Round)

(Fun couples shot)

(And then she snuck in a kiss and took a photo...)

 (Pole sliding)

(Who could that be coming down the slide?  Well it ain't me...)

 (This was an interesting wall on historic Frankfort Ave and just stood there, by itself, without any other walls)

 (Fun time photos)

 (I wonder what she was looking at because it sure wasn't me...)

 (South Indiana Visitor Center + Bridal Show sign)

 (Oscar Mayer)

(She was super pumped to see the Weinermobile)

(I, of course, had to do a jump shot with it.  There is a faint recollection I've seen it around Hershey a time or two.)

 (Pig outside Schimpff's)

 (Those are the rollers used to press the candy to make certain shapes - largest collection either in the world or North America and they aren't made anymore because everything is now on a much larger scale.)

 (Dipping some candy into chocolate)

(More rollers and the work space)

 (Antique table used to cool the candy before it goes to the press)

 (Shot of the press, as you can see it is not a very large scale operation)

(Each press has a corresponding piece)

(Lots of old time boxes)

 (5 cent candy machine)

 (You drop your nickle in the slot, pull the tab, and the drawer slides down)

(Here you can see the drawer sliding down which reveals the candy)

 (There was a ton, I mean a ton of candy goodies, a lot of it very old...)

(Old Hershey's vending machine)

(Chief Watta Pop I believe was this guy's name)

 (Becca's Wash House - Dial 28B-ECCA)

(Just kinda funny we stumbled across this place)

 (Rebecca leaving her mark)

 (Time for some pool and a few drinks)

(My turn to shoot, and I do believe I did much better this game...)

('TJ is a Weird' and 'Beer Will Change the World')