June 2021

With things getting back to normal we signed back up for our membership to the YMCA. The kids were excited to go to the outdoor pool to try out the diving board. 

For our 14th anniversary we started out with a drive to Georgetown to try out a local bakery that I have been following on social media for years but have never tried (except a couple of birthday cakes). We got a variety of different treats, but by far the cream horn was one of the best things I have ever eaten. The kids tried macaroons for the first time ever. 

Next we continued the drive up north to play Top Golf. Landon loved it and at one point he even hit 80 straight balls. It takes Brinley a little longer to get into the feeling of swinging the clubs.

We were able to get some pictures made by a friend at the arboretum. I think that they turned out great. It had been quite a while since we had gotten actual family pictures made. 

The kids did such a good job with their pictures too! 

I started this puzzle on Memorial Day and finished it after working on it for a few weeks. I really enjoyed this picture of the soldier returning home. I love living in America and all the freedoms that we have because of all those brave men and women who risked their lives in wars for us. 

I was asked to help make some cookies for a gender reveal for my sister-in-law. They are due with twins later this year. I made these up for a little treat for all the people that could come to the reveal. Jennifer and MiMi went to the reveal where they found out that they are expecting a boy and a girl. 

While Jennifer was at the gender reveal I was with all my co-workers trying to raise money for the Survivor Picnic at our fundraiser at Talon Winery. Last year we were not able to have the fundraiser or Survivor Picnic for all of our patients. We were all so excited to be together again for the Luau for Life fundraiser where we raised over $14,000! We are so excited to be having the picnic again this year.

More baseball games for the kids. The season is starting to wind down and the tournament is beginning to be played. The kids have developed so much this season. I am extremely happy with all the hard work that they have been putting in at home and practice to get better.

In the next to last game of the season we had some people unable to make it to the game because of traffic problems so we had to start the game with only the Heflin kids in the outfield. Usually we play with four outfielders, so this was a considerable disadvantage. We were playing a really good Cubs team that has some good hitters. Not a single player got more than a double with only Brinley and Landon in the outfield and they actually had quite a few hit out to them. I was so proud of the way they played and it actually kept us alive in the tournament because of all their hard work. Coach saw how hard they had worked and gave both of them a game ball. 

The garden started to have some cucumbers come in so that means it is time to start canning some veggies! Thankfully my mother was able to find some lids for me because I hadn't been able to find them for months. 

The kids started summer camp so Jennifer and I dropped them off one day and decided to go play a round of golf. We played the little par 3 course in town and I carried Jennifer's clubs the whole time. I felt like I was her caddie.

More pool time for these two kids. They were both so excited about playing at the outdoor pool. I just wish that the YMCA on our side of town had an outdoor pool instead of a splash pad.

We also spent more time out at SkyZone. Landon rediscovered how to climb the rope bridge and the kids have fallen in love with the game dodgeball. They both are really good at dodging the ball, but both really struggle with throwing it. 

Brinley's first week of summer camp and she was sent home with a yard sign that said she was the camper of the week. Landon earned his the very next week. The kids both really loved going to summer camp. That was a huge relief because we didn't have any other options for the kids to do over the summer with us both having to work. It also helped that they are both quick to make friends.

We actually traveled up to Ohio for my cousin's wedding. I started off the trip by waking up really early and running a 9K in honor of my ninth year being a father. It was a struggle, but I got the steps in before Jennifer and the kids even woke up.

Then we headed to Northwest Ohio for my little cousin's wedding. The kids were supposed to be in her wedding last year, but they had to cancel because of the pandemic. They actually got married last year in a private ceremony and then celebrated their first anniversary with their reception. Landon was ring security and Brinley was the leader of the flower girls. She was in charge of three little girls. They all did a really great job in the ceremony.

At the reception and I got put at the kids table where I belong. Just kidding. We just had the majority of the kids.

The kids all acted great for the wedding. Grandma and Grandpa were excited to have all the grandkids together for the event. 

The ceremony and reception were at a golf course, so of course I brought Landon's golf clubs. Preston quickly became attached to Landon at the hip. He is such a good little boy. We just played around on the putting green and it was a big hit with all the kids. Thankfully no kids got hurt either with all the clubs being swung and balls all over the place.

My forever wedding date.  

We stayed in Columbus for another couple of days before returning home. We very rarely come to Columbus without visiting the zoo. We went all over the zoo and I think we saw almost every animal in the place. The giraffes are always a big hit with the kids because they get to feed them. 

I think Olivia enjoys playing with her cousins more than she enjoys the animals. She is distracted with playing with them instead of watching the animals.

More zoo pictures. We even headed into the aquarium to see the mommy and baby manatee.

More zoo pictures and we even went on the dinosaur boat ride. If you have never been to the Jack Hanna Columbus Zoo then you definitely need to go. It is a really nice zoo.

More of the dinosaur land at the zoo and the carousel which is one of Olivia's favorite things at the zoo. 

I even got a late Father's Day gift of my favorite meal in the world, Giordano's deep dish pizza!

We set up a pool in the backyard for the kids to play in. We also took a look at the vegetables that Olivia planted in her garden. 

They also had a giraffe sprinkler that they put up too. The kids didn't like it as much because they said that it was too cold.  

The kids and I played catch in the backyard and had to meet some of the neighbors because both kids threw some balls over the fences. We also went out for some ice cream at a local spot. The kids all had some blue cookie monster ice cream. We also spotted some cicadas before they disappeared again. We also found out that Landon is absolutely terrified of cicadas for some reason. 

Grandma and Grandpa watched the kids so that we could all get away to spend some adult time. We ended up going to a little mini golf course. We played 36 holes of golf. Jennifer had two hole in ones, Andrea had one and I had two as well. 

After taking Jennifer to Indian Staircase the month before I talked her into taking the kids to give it a try. Landon loved it. Brinley said she was scared and didn't like it. Both kids did really well though.

After we got to the top we stopped and had a snack. Jennifer dropped one of her Cheeto's and these two ambitious ants decided that they were going to carry it back home. We watched them carry this Cheeto around for a couple minutes and then it abruptly ended when they got too close to the edge and it fell off the side of the cliff. We even headed down to the overhang and saw a small waterfall.  

We got lost on the way down and we ran into a family from Ohio. They told us that they had just gone this other way the day before so we followed them. We ended up climbing down the roots of a tree, but sure enough the path led right back to the parking lot. We even spotted these beautiful flowers on the path. 

The kids most favorite part of hiking in the gorge was that we stopped by Miguel's Pizza. It was the first time that we had taken them to eat there. Everyone got there own choice of toppings and we all enjoyed it. I thought mine was the best with a bbq sauce base, pepperoni, bacon, and sweet potatoes. Miguel's is also best when served with an ice cold Ale8!

Last year in the middle of the pandemic we couldn't find a pool for the backyard anywhere. The kids would have loved this last year, but now that we are going back to the YMCA this is kind of underwhelming to the kids. Now they just keep asking for a large pool to be put in the backyard. 

Every 56 days I make my way back to the blood center to donate a pint of blood. It is the least that I can do to help others in need. It is so easy and it can save a life. I will always be thankful for donors and I always make it a point to thank people when I see them with a donation shirt on. 

We made a trip to the movies to see Cruella. It was really good and I would highly recommend it. The theater's air conditioning was broke and they offered us refunds if we wanted to leave but we stuck it out. For a treat we were going to stop at Steel City Pops, but it was closed so instead we headed over to Rally's for a quick treat to cool off. The table would have fit right into Cruella's color palate. 

We had a lot of fun during the month of June. The kids spent a majority of the month at summer camp, but thankfully they really enjoyed every day that they were there. They were excited each morning to get up and go back. They made a lot of friends. We had a lot of fun on a long weekend in Ohio to celebrate with family. Baseball season came to a close which opened up our nights. Now to enjoy the rest of summer break! Thanks for reading and God bless!

May 2021

We started out the month of May with some visitors to come celebrate Brinley's birthday a little early. Everyone got to see Landon score another goal too. The kids both had soccer games so everyone got to come see them play. After their games we headed out to lunch at KSBar and then got some ice cream at Dairy Queen.

After church the next day we went to play at Jacobson Park with Olivia. The kids showed her how to fly a kite. At one point Landon even let out the entire length of string.

The kids even showed Olivia how to roast marshmallows for her first ever s'mores. The kids love getting a fire going in the backyard because it always means that they get to roast, I mean burn some marshmallows.

To most people May 4th is known as Star Wars Day, but to us it is the day that Jennifer and I became parents to this beautiful little girl. It is so hard to believe that we have had the pleasure of being her parents for 9 years. It is hard to believe. She is such an amazing young lady who loves animals, friends, reading, legos, and TV. She is a daydreamer at heart, occasionally mischievous, and she also has a sweet tooth like me.

For her birthday she requested french toast for breakfast before heading to school. She took a picture with her Birthday Queen sash and bunny headband, but she didn't want to wear them to school. 

After school we got an early dinner at Texas Roadhouse (her choice) and then we headed out to the Movie Tavern. For her birthday this year we rented out a movie theatre and invited a couple of friends to come watch the new movie Raya with us. I am not sure if these girls were able to watch the movie for all the talking and giggling that they were doing. It was so great to hear them laughing and just being kids. So much had been taken from them this past year, but we have found that children can be so resilent. 

The rest of the Movie Tavern birthday party crew. Brinley had a lot of fun having all of us at the movies together. It was actually Olivia's first trip to the movies.

Someone donated some headbands to the clinic and of course I was just being silly and opened one up to try it out. One of our doctors mentioned that he was glad I was wearing it so that I could keep my hair out of my face. So, I got him one too. I really do enjoy working at the children's hospital with a lot of other people who try to bring joy to the children of central and Eastern Kentucky.

The first week of May is usually Nurses week. Our clinic spoils us all year long with goodies and praise, but they had all kinds of treats for us this week. One of our patients even brought us the bucket on the left. It said "Thank you for being my lifesaver" and it was full of lifesaver candies. 

A couple of places in town do discounts or special deals for nurses on nurses week. One of those places is Insomnia Cookies so we are sure to always stop in for some free cookies. The kids have also rediscovered the giant logs at the Arboretum so we stopped there before we headed home to eat those cookies. 

Brinley and Landon have spent a lot of time playing with their bunnies. I am glad that they have a friend to play with now. Salt and Pepper sure have brought a lot of joy to my little girl. We had a big surprise when we finally put the bunnies into the same cage. Turns out that the vet was wrong about Pepper and in fact he was a boy. The kids kept asking us why Pepper was giving Salt so many hugs. We decided to separate them again and started calling to see if we could get Pepper fixed. 

One day while the kids were in school Jennifer and I drove down to the Red River Gorge to hike one of my favorite trails, Indian Staircase. I wanted to bring the kids to do it sometime, but Jennifer seemed really unsure from how I explained it to her. So, this was a trial run to see if we could bring the kids back another time. Also at the top of the staircase you have to be sure and find frog head. 

It was a gorgeous day to be out with my beautiful lady. She was a little nervous on the actual staircase and told me that she didn't believe the kids would like it. I still think that we should try it. So, maybe someday I will get them out to the staircase. We also passed through the large rock overhang and one of the arches. 

Many days this month were spent at the ballpark and soccer fields. The kids both really started to find their groove in baseball. Brinley found that she was a really strong hitter and Landon discovered that he was an outstanding outfielder. The kid has so much hustle that some times I can't believe it. Landon got himself a game ball for all hustle and hard work. He even tried out catcher, but the gear was too large and he only lasted one inning. 

Happy Mother's Day to Jennifer. We cooked her a dinner at home and the kids gave her their gifts that they got her.

I even put some lettuce out in the garden for the rabbits. It came in pretty handy and was a lot cheaper than buying them lettuce at the store. Rabbits can't eat iceberg lettuce so you have to feed them darker greens like romaine. They for sure can't get anything more fresh than this lettuce. 

Since church has reopened after the pandemic I have been volunteering with the greeters, aka the blue shirts, or the people with the Need Help on their shirts. Well the kids have enjoyed holding the doors open with their old man. So, we made it official and they became blue shirts too! Lots of people try to talk with them, but they are more shy like their mother when it comes to strangers, which is a good thing. 

Another day, another trip to the ball field. Someone brought the team cookies that were decorated baseballs with Mets written on them. The kids had also wanted to go to Malone's for dinner so we did. 

We also take a lot of walks around the neighborhood. Sometimes we have even shoved the bunnies into their stroller to take them with us. One night we even happened across a bent over dead tree. The kids decided that they wanted to rip it out of the ground. They were successful and Brinley even walked with it for a while. 

Happy last day of school. It seems like we had just finally got them back in school and used to the routine when it was time for summer break. Finishing up the school year on May 18th was the earliest I can ever remember school getting out. The only benefit of virtual school was that we didn't have snow days that lengthened the school year. 

One of the first days of summer and we headed up north to Cincinnati to play Top Golf. Last year the kids really enjoyed playing so I thought it would be something fun. We all had a lot of fun. We even stopped at the Holtzman Donut shop across the street for a little treat. I had bought the summer pass again and had planned on staying for quite a while, but I failed to read the fine print that it didn't start until after Memorial Day. So we only played for about an hour. 

Next we headed to downtown Cincinnati to explore the area before taking the kids to their first Reds game. We discovered a pretty neat park downtown that the kids had a lot of fun playing on. They actually didn't want to leave to go to the baseball game. 

First Reds game for the kids and mine and Jennifer's first time at Great American Ballpark. It was a really awesome stadium. The kids were most excited about playing on the playgrounds inside the ball park as well as the whiffle ball field. They also weren't content until they had some ice cream in a helmet. 

We only made it halfway through the game up in our seats before the kids kept begging that they wanted to go back and play on the playground. I thought Great American Ballpark was really nice and was very family friendly. Hopefully next time we go back the kids are more interested in the actual game. 

Well, the kids watched a movie with their grandparents called Yes Day where the kids get to decide everything that happens for a day. The kids begged us to have their own Yes Day. Jennifer and I decided to watch it with them first before we signed up for anything ridiculous. I knew we weren't going to do anything like the movie, but I liked the concept. We made the kids come up with five things that they for sure wanted to do and the only rule was that you could only spend $50 at the store (or else we would have gone bankrupt). The kids list was as follows:
1. Time with family
2. Store
3. Jump place
4. Play with friends or water balloon fight
5. Movie night
So we started the day off around the house and Landon wanted to play me in a pokemon battle. I beat him, but he said he had a lot of fun. Then we got ready and headed out to Goodfellas for lunch - which is a favorite place in our household. Next on the list was SkyZone the trampoline park where the kids jumped for 2 hours. Then we stopped by Walmart and the kids picked out their toys. Landon picked a video game - Luigi Mansion 3 and Brinley picked out a lego friends set. We weren't able to get friends over on short notice so we headed to the back yard and threw some water balloons at each other. Our night ended with a movie and some ice cream. The kids had the best time and thought it was an awesome day. I would agree, but just because I got to spend it with my favorite people.

A friend had an old bike rack that they didn't want anymore so I said I would take it. The kids and I strapped it onto the Camry and we took the bikes over to the trails to try it out. It worked out pretty good. Now we can take our bikes all over town. 

We had a new cookie spot, Crumble, that opened in Hamburg. They were giving away free cookies so that people could find out more about their business. I love some cookies especially when they are free so sign us up. 

We had dropped our membership with the YMCA when the pandemic started because we didn't feel comfortable working out indoors, especially with the children. Now that things are starting to get better we decided to get the kids back in the water. Both kids struggled in the water after a year of absence. A couple of days in the pool and Brinley was getting back her form and got her green band so that she can go anywhere in the pool. Landon was still really struggling and was actually kind of scared of the water.

When we were in the line getting our free cookies there was a lady who asked the kids if they wanted to break a board in half. Both kids thought it was fun and we signed up for a introductory martial arts lesson. The kids went a couple of times and both really enjoyed it. Then they told us how much it costs and the time commitment and we decided that it was not for us. 

I have always wanted to make a funnel cake at home and I finally made it happen and the kids definitely approved. 

When we had our Yes Day I actually got a summer jump pass for the kids at SkyZone. With no vacations in sight for us I figured this would be a fun place for the kids to go and play. 

Brinley had been frustrated that her little brother can climb the warped wall. She wanted to do it so that she can slide down the fireman's pole. She needed a little boost to make it up. I was more than happy to help her but I also want to encourage her that she can do it on her own. 

I had seen a couple of places in neighboring counties where you could pick your own strawberries. I picked one and the kids and I headed out to the patch. I think it is very important for these city kids to find out where produce actually comes from. I don't think the kids were very big fans of it, but I believe that they will now appreciate it when they see those strawberries out in the grocery.

Both kids got almost a bucket of berries and decided that was enough. I had a friend recommend a little bakery right down from the strawberry patch called the Side Porch. The kids both picked out cupcakes and I got a cream horn. They were delicious! If we ever happen to be back down in there we will be sure to stop in. 

The kids had also been asking us to camp out in the backyard again. We haven't been off together for a while, but we were finally able to make it happen. I think the kids were mostly excited about the s'mores. We had a better night sleeping because I brought the air mattress out to the tent. 

Another summer day, another trip out to SkyZone. I feel like they almost know us by name now when we enter the door. 

The soccer seasons for both kids came to an end. Landon's team ended the season undefeated and Landon really found his passion for the game. He was able to score 3 goals on the year. Brinley's team ended with one win, 2 draws, and a few losses. It also ended my first year as a head coach. I was so proud of all these girls. They worked so hard all season long. Brinley found her joy on the soccer field too, just not where I had thought. She developed a love for being the goalie. After a couple games back in the net she started to get more aggressive and confident in her abilities. 

Mimi was able to come out and watch the kids play in their season finales. The kids are always happy to see her at the games.

One of our neighbors plays for an old time baseball league here in Lexington called the Bluegrass Barons. We decided to go check out one of their games. It was awesome. The teams didn't use gloves and there were a couple other unique rules. I thought it was so cool that I inquired about how to play on the team. They asked me to come out to one of their practices and try out. I did and it was really cool. They asked me to join the team, but I haven't found a time to get out and play with them.

Uncle McKinley and soon to be Aunt Taylor were in town and came to see the kids play baseball. Uncle McKinley also played pitch and catch with the kids. He also treated the kids to some shaved ice too. It has almost been a year since we helped move him down to Tennessee. We have missed being able to drive across town to see him.

May was a really great month and we were able to do a lot of fun stuff as a family. School ended for the summer and we hit the ground running. Our big girl turned 9 and we even had our first ever Yes Day! The kids said they want to make it a yearly tradition. The jury is still out on that. Thanks for reading and God bless!