December 2019

December is such a fun and exciting month. The kids are so excited about seeing Santa and trying to figure out what they are going to ask the big guy for. Outside of the kids I try to focus more on the birth of our Savior and trying to get ready for the beginning of the next year and how I plan to make it better than the one before. Since Thanksgiving fell late in the month of November I actually put the trees up in the house before everyone came to visit.

The most important ornaments that we have every year are our family ornaments. Every year we try to get something memorable or something to remind us of things that happened during the year. Here were all of our ornaments from the previous years along with the hand and footprint ornaments that we have made for the kids. This was actually the first year that we opted out of doing the kid print ornaments.

The kids decorating the Christmas tree. 

Our silly elf Nick Kringle came back to keep an eye on the children. They were both so excited to see where he was every morning. 

Our newest ornaments for this year. Jennifer made us all Shutterfly ornaments that contained things that we did this past year. Mine was Dance Blue themed since I started working in the clinic this year. Jennifer went back to working full time this year in the NACU. This is a unit that primarily takes care of little babies who are withdrawing from drugs that their mother has taken during pregnancy. Brinley got one with pictures from her first triathlon and Landon got one from his first 5K.

One day after volunteering at the kids school I decided to take a hike out at Raven Run. It was a beautiful day and I spent a long time just looking at the beauty all around me. I spent some time looking at the rings from a tree that had been cut down. You can find out so much about a tree from these rings. Which years were good and rain and sunshine were aplenty. Tiny rings show of struggle and hard times. No matter what this world throws at us we have to adapt. This hike in the woods and in nature was awesome. I definitely need to take more time to be out in nature, all of God's creation can do so much for your well being. 

With it being such nice weather outside I was able to talk the kids into going out to Jacobson Park to get some pictures made. Unfortunately we went right around dusk and most of the pictures turned out a little dark. These were a couple of the good ones that we got. 

We were only able to get a couple of family ones before it really got too dark. I even tried to take a couple at the house, but didn't really find any that I liked. I decided to not tell the kids, but we were going to have to make a return trip to try and get some better ones with some better lighting. 

They have a program at the kid's school every couple of months where dads come have breakfast with their kids. On this day they had donuts which the kids were excited about. They even had a little magic show too. The only downfall was that they have a raffle before the kids are able to go to class. For the past 3 years Brinley has been lucky enough to get picked for a prize. Guess who has never been picked.....Landon. Taking him to class after his sister wins something has always been a hard one for the little man. Thankfully I took a couple of pictures of him before the drawing or else I wouldn't have gotten one. Brinley won the water bottle that she is holding up in the top right picture. Also as a side note, this was the first time that we have gone to this event that one of the kids abandoned me. Brinley didn't want to sit with me because she wanted to sit with her friend. 

We made a trip downtown for the Christmas parade. It also happened to be the opening day at Frank's Donuts here in Lexington so we stopped and got some before we found a spot to sit and wait for the parade. The kids even complained it was cold so I headed over to Cup of Commonwealth for a couple of hot chocolates. 

I worked the basketball game against Fairleigh Dickenson and then Jennifer and the kids met me downtown for dinner at Pies and Pints. After dinner we headed across the street to the Opera House to watch the Lexington Children's play of The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever. It was a really great show.

We made a second attempt at Christmas pictures. The kids were in a much better mood this day and even wanted to help take the pictures.

I had gotten some passes to the Cincinnati Zoo at a silent auction that were going to expire at the end of the year so we took a little trip up to see the animals and the Christmas nights.

It had been a while since we had been to this zoo so the kids were really excited to see everything. My favorite part of the lights is this colorful arch walkway. 

We decorated gingerbread houses. We usually just do one, but everyone really wants to decorate more so this year we decided to do two. The girls decorated one and the boys did the other. 

Last year for Christmas Grandma and Grandpa gave the kids a big wooden ticket for the polar express train ride. (Apparently the tickets sell out early in the year and they were unable to get tickets the year before.)  Anyways we picked the kids up from school and headed to French Lick, Indiana to ride aboard the Polar Express. Before we got on board we had dinner at a local German Cafe.

They had a little activity area before you boarded where you could cut out paper snowflakes, color, or play with train sets. The train ride itself is really neat. You board the train and they read the story of the Polar Express. Along the ride you get hot chocolate and cookies. Then you reach the North Pole and Santa hops on board. The train ride back is filled with singing and dancing to Christmas songs. It was a really fun experience and I think if you have younger children it is something that you should definitely look into doing. 

The top left picture was our singing and dancing elves from our train car. Also pictured was our elf on the shelf, Nick. Every year he has stuffed himself in a jar and gone on an adventure with the kids. Everyone also got a golden ticket on the ride just like in the book. It was a great night with Grandma and Grandpa. We just had one upset kid as we were getting back to the train station. Brinley was tired and was acting irrational. She fell asleep soon after we got in the car to head back home. 

We were unable to find a time to all get together with Jennifer's family for Thanksgiving and were having trouble finding time for Christmas. We split the difference and celebrated both around the middle of the month. 

The game against Georgia Tech was a really great atmosphere. I always enjoy when this music professor comes and sings the national anthem. For the last few years he starts singing and then steps back and directs the crowd in the singing. Hearing 20,000 + people sing the Star Spangled Banner gives me chills every time.

Every year the women's basketball team plays a game at Rupp Arena and they usually ask the blue coats to work the event. This year they took on Louisville and I brought Jennifer and the kids. We had stopped at one of our favorite downtown restaurants, Doodle's beforehand and the kids enjoyed some beignets. Brinley and I were out getting some snacks when we ran into the wildcat and one of our other friends named Brinley. Louisville won in overtime by just one point. Kentucky even had a chance at the last second to hit a shot to win the game. It was a really fun atmosphere!

After the game I took off my blue coat and we got a picture in front of the Christmas tree in triangle park. 

Jennifer and I were both off on the kid's last day of school for the 2019 year. We were able to split duties between the two kids Christmas parties. 

The Kentucky Football team qualified for a bowl game and got selected for the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, NC. They told us to stop by the facility for some gear. While I was there I asked if it was ok if we came to watch practice and they said yes. So, Landon and I went down and watched the team practice before heading down to Charlotte. I also showed Landon around some of the facility. Landon really enjoyed creating his own uniform combination. As an extra perk they gave us tickets to the bowl game and even mention that when the Wildcats won we would be getting bowl rings too! Now I had to make the trip to Charlotte and cheer on the CATS!

On the way to church the Sunday before Christmas I noticed five trees at the entrance to our subdivision with a sign that said they were free. I told the kids that if there were any left when we got back home then we would get one. On our way home from church the kids were saying that they hoped one was still there. Not a single one had been taken. I guess most people had a tree just days before Christmas. The kids thought it was so awesome that I threw it in the trunk of the car and drove the rest of the way home.  

The kids decided to help me with some Christmas candy. They quickly grew tired of stirring the spoon waiting for things to get to the right temperature. They sure were excited to lick the beaters. 

We finally got our favorite picture the second time out in the Jacobson Park pine tree forest. 

Andrea and Chris wanted to take Olivia to see the Southern Lights for the first time. All the kids enjoyed seeing the lights and even riding on the miniature train. Everyone also enjoyed eating some kettle corn too!. 

Some more of the stuff that Nick Kringle got into this season. He left some cookie supplies, ingredients for reindeer food, and once he even hid 12 candy canes around the house for the kids to find. 

We had some family cookie decorating time. I think that they turned out pretty great. Even better than the decorating was how they tasted. The kids picked out their favorites to sit out for Santa.

Christmas morning the kids got up super early. Brinley woke up at 5 am and came into our room. We asked her to stay with us for a little bit so that Landon could get some more sleep. At 7 am she had finally had enough and she went to wake up her brother. The kids both got chrome books from Santa and some other gifts from mommy and daddy. 

The rest of the morning was just spent lounging around at the house. We played with Olivia and even took her on her first dune racer ride. A couple of people decided to head to the movies for some afternoon entertainment. The weather was so nice outside that I took a little run through the neighborhood. On my way home I told Jennifer and the kids to get ready so we could go on a family bike ride. It was so weird saying Merry Christmas to people out in the neighborhood while riding a bike, in Kentucky, in December! 

Since Uncle McKinley had to work we weren't able to get together with the whole Heflin crew until he got off at 6 pm. We had dinner and then spent some time together and opened gifts from each other. 

This little tin filled with peanut brittle is something that has been with me every year since I was little. One year as a child I asked Santa for peanut brittle. That year I got this tin filled with peanut brittle from Santa. I apparently thought that Santa's peanut brittle was better than my Mamaw's. Every year at Christmas I look for this little tin that is always filled with the delicious treat inside. I was really surprised to see this tin filled up the year after my Mamaw passed away. It still keeps making an appearance and even though I love the treat I enjoy more the memories of my Mamaw.

While Grandma and Grandpa were in town visiting we worked on some puzzles. Puzzles are one of my favorite hobbies. It is peaceful, challenging and then so rewarding when you get the whole thing put together. The bottom two pictures are of a gift that we got this year. It has both big and small pieces so that all family members can help with the puzzle. It is a Christmas Mickey and Minnie puzzle. We are going to make it a new tradition to put it together every year. I even timed us this year and it took us 55 minutes. Not too bad for a 400 piece puzzle.

With this just being my 2nd year as a blue coat I have never gotten to work the Louisville game. The crowd was electric and the game did not disappoint at all. It was a back and forth battle that even required an overtime to decide a winner. A couple of things that I took away from this game. To start the game we had a former player, Issac Humphries sing the national anthem. It was only weird because he is an Australian. Secondly I had my worst fan interaction ever as a blue coat. After the game I had a Louisville fan approach me and with lots of curse words tell me that I was unprofessional for cheering for the wildcats while working. I informed him that I wasn't working because I am an unpaid volunteer. After a few more choice words from this guy I wished him a happy new year and headed home. It is always a great day when you beat the cardinals.

We also had some passes for the aquarium that were going to expire at the end of the year so we made a trip up to Newport after church to see the animals. I had actually thought about leaving Jennifer and the kids and heading across the river to watch the Bengals/Browns football game. It was cold and raining outside so I opted to stay indoors with Jennifer and the kids. We got to see scuba Santa, sharks, sting rays, albino crocodiles, and penguins. Brinley was terrified to touch the sting rays, but had no problem touching a shark. Sometimes these little kids make no sense.

I was able to get some time off from work so that we could head down to the Belk Bowl in Charlotte. Jennifer had to work so I took the kids and my parents. The kids enjoyed playing on their Nintendo DS that Uncle McKinley gave to them on the 6 hour drive. After getting there and checking in to the hotel we headed downtown. They had a joint pep rally with both teams bands and cheerleaders. It was a pretty interesting event that was about 90% Kentucky fans. We ended the night by eating at a little diner in that shopping center. Landon was determined to write his name and the tip on the receipt. He asked if he could write his name, but I told him it would have to be mine. After dinner the kids got to take a little swim in the pool.

The next morning we headed down to the stadium. We ran into my college friend Ginny and her family who had came down to the game. Since they moved down to South Carolina we haven't gotten to see them much except for on social media. It was great to see them and catch up with her.

The kids all played together like they were best friends. Hopefully it won't be as long in between times when we get to see them. 

Since I was the one in charge of all the planning and I am a procrastinator I didn't book a single thing before we got to Charlotte. I called a hotel and got a room about an hour before arriving, booked a parking spot the night before the game, and lastly I waited until the very last second to buy a ticket. The team gave me two tickets and I got too more from a friend. That left us with only 4 tickets and we needed one more. I had been keeping an eye on the tickets online and thought the prices would drop right before the game. Well, I was wrong! I decided to just grab one at the stadium ticket office. On my way up to the ticket office a gentleman asked me what I was doing. I told him I needed to get a ticket. He asked how many I needed and I told him just one. Next thing you know he had opened up an envelope and gave me a ticket for FREE! He told me Merry Christmas and I thanked him very much.  The team gave me some awesome seats for the game. We were behind the Kentucky bench at the 40 yard line and only 9 rows from the field! 

What an awesome game! The Wildcats and Hokies battled back and forth the entire game. I found out that Virginia Tech was only a 2 hour drive from the stadium and boy did they show up for the game! They were loud and kept their side of the stadium rocking. We scored the go ahead touchdown with just 15 seconds remaining in the game. What an awesome ending to the football season. They ended up being 8-5 on the season and had to use a wide receiver at quarterback for most of the season due to injuries. I met up with two of the other guys that I worked with on game days (picture on the middle left). Mom and Dad could be seen on the ESPN broadcast (middle right picture). Then when we were heading home I got a text from Jennifer that the kids and I were featured on the local news.

After a six hour drive back home we made it back to Lexington at 11:30 pm on New Years Eve. Just in time to watch the ball drop and we even face timed with mommy at work. I even took the kids out back to do a couple of sparklers. 

The year 2019 proved to be a very interesting year for us. Jennifer and I both got new jobs, a new car, we completed some more half marathons (5 for me, 6 for Jennifer), the kids went to summer camp, we took the kids to Legoland and Daytona Beach, Jennifer and I hiked out west, the kids started playing baseball, Landon ran a 5k, Brinley completed a triathlon, and there were many more adventures throughout the year including tons of UK sporting events. I pray that 2020 be a year filled with love, laughter, happiness, and time with family. Thanks for reading and God bless!