Jamie and John's Blog

Parker Reece Davis arrived at 7pm Tuesday, December 29, 2009. Dana had a very quick delivery (only about 5 minutes of actual pushing!) and Parker is just perfect and beautiful!! We are very excited to officially call ourselves Aunt Jamie and Uncle John! Congratulations Chuck and Dana- your baby girl is amazing and we love her!! To see more pictures and for further updates on baby Parker, follow Dana and Chuck on their blog: http://davisburg.blogspot.com

Baker Family Christmas photo 2009! We thought we'd have a little baby girl front and center, but she's not ready to come out just yet-- we're all waiting impatiently on Parker. Merry Christmas Everyone!

Thanksgiving break has been eventful for the Gillispie family this year! Barb made a fabulous dinner, Steve showed us his carving skills, and Janus made some homemade pies that were delicious! We are very thankful to have such good cooks in the family! On Saturday, we went to Commonwealth Stadium to hear Jenny play in the Little Blue Band that travels around playing for tailgaters. We are so proud of our little WMB trumpet! *and she looks good in blue. Finally- we were about to head over to the "Rally in the Alley" (where the band plays a few pep songs, the cheerleaders cheer and the crowd gets rowdy for gametime ) when a very unfortunate event took place. A couple of police horses (HUGE) were startled from the drumline and began trotting and stomping backward into a crowd!! One man, trapped between the horses, was knocked down and stepped on before he could escape. Luckily he seemed to have gotten away with minor damage and no one else was injured. Unbelievable. We were too ...

Dana and Parker pose for a quick picture by the cake at her baby shower on Sunday! This justifies the baby bib she later opened that reads " My mom is HOTTER than your mom!" Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate with us!! Dana- we hope you had fun and we hope you have everything you need for Parker!

Cyclocross is a form of bicycle racing. Races take place typically in the autumn and winter, and consists of many laps of a short course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills and obstacles ...John, Johnny and Cat all raced in Veterans Park in the Lexington Cross race today! It was a beautiful day and lots of fun- for me, hard work for everyone else! Toots enjoyed it - see picture. *Photography credit to Steve Gillispie.

On Halloween I competed in the bikini division of the NPC Monster Mash in Middletown, OH. I've lost about 15lbs of fat and toned my body into the best shape of my life! Over the past three and a half months I have literally worked my buns off :) The competition was fun and I achieved my goals personally- even if I didn't win, so I am very happy with the outcome of this challenge. I really appreciate all the support from my family and friends - getting on stage was so much fun knowing that you were there to cheer me on!

John and Casey climbed 22 miles up to Clingmans Dome last weekend at Gatlinburg! This picture was taken at New Found Gap on the way up. We have some video of their ride down- through the fog and all! Lindsay and I followed them in the car--along with everyone else on the planet who was vacationing in Gatlinburg over the long weekend! We also celebrated Casey's 28th Birthday! Hope you had a great time hauling it up the mountain as a birthday gift!! Lindsay and I are very impressed with our cyclists! Good job guys~

We just spend our Labor Day weekend in St. Louis with our friends Johnny and Cat. We took the Anheuser-Busch tour first. We saw the great Clydesdale, learned how to make different kinds of beer, and learned some interesting facts like CARCHO is a carbonated chocolate beverage that was produced when prohibition laws stopped the production. On Sunday we picked the busiest time and went up into the Arch. It was packed, but we had a great time. We also saw the Indian mounds of Cahokia, and of course watched the Tour of Missouri cycling races. Saw some big names like Floyd Landis, Mark Cavendish, and George Hincapie. Check it out: http://www.tourofmissouri.com/2009-participating-teams.html

Barb and Steve were really shocked when they walked into their surprise party last Saturday! (They thought they were going to a pot luck church dinner) Anyway, friends and family from all over came out to celebrate Barb and Steve and their 30 years! Congratulations! What a milestone! We want to thank everyone who made the supreme effort of traveling to Lexington and Thanks to EVERYONE for keeping our surprise a secret! Barb and Steve- we really hope you enjoyed the party, we love you!

CONGRATS to Johnny and Cat- our amazing friends- who are now ENGAGED!! Love you guys! Can't wait for the wedding in Canada eh!?

Follow Dana and Chuck's blog at Http://Davisburg.blogspot.com

Congratulations to Dana and Chuck! They are due to have a baby girl on December 23, 2009! We are thrilled to become Aunt Jamie and Uncle John! :) We took this picture on the beach and when miss baby Davis gets just a little bigger, we'll take another picture to show the baby bump!

We just returned from the first annual Gillispie family reunion. We stayed in cabins at Lake Cumberland for two nights and enjoyed the mountains! We fished, hiked, rode horses, roasted marshmallows at the camp fire and kept our eyes open for wildlife. Gillispie Name Games: Grandfather: John Robert Gillispie Son: Robert Steven Gillispie Grandsons: John Andrew Gillispie and Robert Scott Gillispie Grandpa's Nickname: Bobby Jenny's nickname: Bobby John's Jamie: Jamie Lynn Gillispie Cousin Jamie: Jamie Paige Gillispie

6/26--John Busts his toenail, it bleeds a little 7/6--Abby cuts the pad of her foot playing frisbee in the back yard 7/6--Jamie wraps it with guaze, tape, and an ace bandage 7/8--Abby eats the tape and gauze 7/8--Jamie wraps it tighter, and protects if from the wet grass with a grocery bag

The Baker family vacation was awesome this year! (Or maybe it was a Baker, Davis, Gillispie, Hampton, Ragland family vacation?) The weather was nice, the house was packed with family and friends and we couldn't have had a better time! We'll post more beach pictures soon.

Jenny received the Commonwealth Diploma from Henry Clay High School on Friday, June 5th. In the fall, she will attend the University of Kentucky to pursue a career in teaching. We are so proud of Jenny and all her accomplishments! She received the University of Kentucky Presidential Scholarship and an additional scholarship from the department of education. She also won the Lexington Philharmonic Guild Outstanding Band Award and she plans to participate in the UK marching band in fall 09 (Go CATS!). Congratulations on completing this significant milestone!

The Dance Centre's annual spring recital was Friday, May 29th - Sunday, May 31st. Lindsay and Gary performed as partners in a tap dance! We knew Lindsay and Gary were dancers, but I bet no one realized Gary looks great in a top hat!! Very impressive dancing, and it was a great turn out for the Dance Centre. We are very happy for your success! John tried his photography skills and snapped this shot of the 'tappy' couple.

Congratulations to Robbie (Rob?), Joey, and Crystal for graduating last weekend. Here is a link to a folder of pics, and here are a few good shots from the weekend.

This is a video I put together to introduce my students to Microsoft Movie Maker. Hope you enjoy it!

HAPPY EASTER! Big things happening this weekend on 20th St! I finally bit the bullet and got the lawn mower out this morning, which got bogged down about a dozen times while I bushwhacked through the forest that had become our backyard. I also found several "treats" hidden and waiting for me under that tall grass. We also got the grill out today and made some burgers and chicken to welcome in the spring-time.

I've heard that when a small child falls down and cries, a bandaid can help. Even if the child isn't bleeding- stick a bandaid on and all is well. Funny thing: I get asked about 10 times a day for a bandaid by high school freshman. It is usually the same kids sticking a finger in my face to show me that they are not bleeding and have no visible hangnails or papercuts. I, of course, am not a nurse and I don't keep bandaids, nor could I keep them if anyone found out I had a box. Also, in case you were wondering, the new cool way to hurt your friends is to flick them in the neck. Right on the Adam's apple if you can- if you have a rubber band, it's the best. Yes, I'm ready for Spring Break.

We've been enjoying the Spring weather! Happy Spring everyone!

Just thought I'd fill you in on the details of contest day. 5:30am: Wake up and make pancakes!! 6:00am: Apply more Tanning products 7:00am: John packs while Jamie gets herself ready. 8:30am: Leave for the show (luckily only 10 minutes away) 10:00am: John is out of his pre-contest meeting and we watch prejudging together. 1:30pm: John is on stage being judged: (Big thanks to Dana and Chuck who had t-shirts made for us that say TEAM JAGILL to support John or J.ohn A.ndrew GILLispie) 3:00pm: Eat Subway for lunch with our friends Johnny and Cat and sisters Dana and Jenny! 6:00pm: Back to the convention center for the night show! 11:00pm: John was performing his 1-minute routine !! ( I may have been more nervous than he was) 12:30am: On our way home 1:00am: Post contest pig out: Mexican food, cake, brownies, icecream and way too much more. 3:30am: Finally in bed. The next morning we were up by 8:30am making an enormous breakfast. John was able to wash off about a third of his tan. I a...

What a fun night. I finished third in the weight class, which I'm pleased with for my first time out. It's late and been a long week, but I wanted to post a few more pictures to give a better idea of how the night went. A fully detailed post coming soon...

For all those on the edge of their seats, here's a quick update. Johnny and Cat, and Dana and Jenny came into town for the show, and just finished a beautiful breakfast spread, so I have other proirities for the next hour ;) A more extensive update coming soon...

Jamie and I were talking the other day about how thus far, I've been preparing for this show for our entire marraige. It has taken considerable time and work, and the changes I have had to make have cast vast ripples to the lengths of our family and friends. To everyone who has been understanding and supportive, thank you. The big week is finally here, and for all of your trouble, have a laugh, on me. Here's a little glimpse what's been going on on 20th St. this week...

What a week it's been!!! Snow and ice had Jamie home from school all week, and Abby got her first taste of a good ole-fashioned Kentucky ice storm. The backyard nature sanctuary was rather lively until we let the dogs outside. Here are a few of the better shots. Thanks to Bob and Betty Ockerman for the hardware featured in the 4th photo. We also celebrated our 6 month anniversary a few weeks ago on January 5th. A little touch of spring-time in the dead of winter... As you can tell, I am very happy with my new camera. Thanks so much to everyone!!!