July 2024

Jennifer's sister and family were camping near the gorge. We headed down on the 4th of July to spend some time with them. Jennifer and Sarah decided that we should go on a hike. We went on the 0.75-mile hike to the top of Natural Bridge. The kids ended up doing so much better than the adults on the hike. Brinley was in charge of keeping track of Rupp. Brinley has the privilege of being the oldest cousin on both sides of our family. She does so well with all of her cousins. It is also not a trip to the gorge without going to Miguel's.

Some more pictures from our hike.

Afterwards we went back to the campground to swim in the pool. Little Rupp is a little daredevil. He kept asking me to throw him up in the air. I kept trying to get him as high up in the air as I could. After each time he would swim back over to me and ask to do it again. 

Landon and his Slam teammates played in the State tournament in Prestonsburg. We traveled to Eastern Kentucky and struggled in pool play and didn't even make it to the actual tournament. We lost in a walk off to a tough Campbellsville team. Before heading home we stopped at the Dairy Cheer for some ice cream. 

For the second year in a row we signed Landon up for UK Baseball camp. We picked the same week as his friend and teammate Easton. On my day off I was in charge of taking them to camp. It was really fun seeing him out on the college field. Afterwards I took them for lunch at Landon's favorite spot, Goodfellas. These boys were cracking us up because they somehow wore the exact same uniform the first three days of camp. I asked them if they were planning it, and they told me no. 

Landon needed a sports physical in order for him to participate in middle school football workouts. We were in a pinch trying to get him one so that he could attend the practices. His yearly checkup was the next week and they wouldn't feel out the paperwork until he came to the appointment. Dr. Sorge, who I work with, overheard my conversation and said to bring him in and she would do it for us. Landon didn't know what to do because he felt so awkward. He asked me on the way home why didn't I just do it. I told him that only a doctor could fill it out. He didn't realize that she was a doctor. 

Landon was invited over to a pool party for a couple of the boys that he plays pick up baseball with. All the boys were excited to have the water balloon fight. A couple hundred balloons were gone in about 5 minutes, but the kids had fun. 

Taylor and McKinley picked up the kids to spend the day with them. They went to Chick-fil-a and got boba tea. They even got to help put Nora to bed. It won't be long before Nora is the same size as Landon. 

I had to capture a picture of this young lady. I hardly ever see this girl wear anything except Rampage gear or a hoodie. I almost didn't recognize her. Brinley recently discovered the clothing area at Sam's Club and apparently really likes it. 

Brinley and her Rampage team had their final tournament of the summer season. They had to wrap it up early because their coaches were due to have a baby. They even thought the coaches might have to miss this tournament because of complications and needing to be induced. Thankfully that didn't happen and they were able to compete in one last tournament together. They unfortunately lost in the semi-finals. I am extremely proud of how far Brinley has come with her sports career. She is a really good athlete and I can't wait to see how far she continues to play. 

Landon's birthday was an extremely full day. From the moment he woke up we were busy running and doing all kinds of stuff. It started with pancakes for breakfast per his request. Church and then Goodfellas for lunch. We tried to get him a phone before his game, but after waiting an hour at the AT&T store we were unsuccessful. Next was Landon's baseball game where his team unfortunately lost. The only good part about losing was that it allowed us to get back to a different AT&T store to get Landon his first phone. He was so excited. Then all the Lexington Heflin's went to Countdown Games to break out of the castle. His last request for the day was Malone's for dinner. A jam-packed day for our little 11-year-old.  

Some pictures from our Countdown Games. Apparently, they told us afterwards that pictures are not allowed. We promised to not post any of them onto social media. Nora helped us break out of the castle and save the princess. 

This kid was so happy about this cookie dessert. We let him have it all to himself, but he couldn't even finish half of it. 

The kids were due up for their yearly check up. Both kids were healthy, but both weren't happy to get the shots for the day. 

There was an accident at home where Jennifer needed to get some stitches. I was at work so Taylor ran by to pick up the kids so they weren't having to sit in urgent treatment. They decided to walk Rupp and meet me on my walk home from work. 

We had some visitors during the week after Landon's birthday. The cousin crew had a good time playing and spending some time together. 

Aunt Andrea, Olivia, and Eliana came down to visit and celebrate Landon's birthday. They had a lot of fun at the park, playing games and even went to see Despicable Me 4. We did sparklers one night and Olivia loved it! Olivia made a special painting that she gave Landon for his birthday of Pikachu. The girls are getting big and able to do more things. We enjoy getting to see them. 

These four colored a picture to get some free Graeter's ice cream. 

We found the new Ale-8-1 flavor in Winchester the week it came out. I was not a big fan of the flavor, but Landon said that he really liked it. 

Landon had another weekend tournament. This one had a family member of a player that took some photos of all the kids. I thought she got some great shots of Landon while he was playing. We lost in the first round on the tournament. After the game we headed north for vacation to New York City and Washington D.C. We ended up driving about 6.5 hours before we stopped which made us about two hours from Washington. 

This play right here made me go absolutely nuts. I couldn't believe that they called Landon out on this play. Jennifer said she was embarrassed at how I acted. I just get so caught up in the moment and have a hard time letting something go. It is a downfall of mine and something that I need to work on.

We woke up the next morning and pivoted to head to NYC first because I found out that we could get $8 tickets to watch the Yankees play baseball. Later in the week the tickets were around $50 a piece. We got to Yankee Stadium about the start of the game, and it was an absolute nightmare trying to find somewhere to park. I ended up finding somewhere on the street about three blocks from the stadium. Jennifer had to work so she stayed in the car and kept working while the kids and I were at the game. We enjoyed watching the Yankees destroy the Rays. We got a bucket of chicken and fries. The kids thought it was awesome. They ate almost all of the chicken. I guess they were hungry.  

The kids were so excited about this Pepsi. The lady at the concession stand was awesome. I am sad that I can't remember her name. We ordered the bucket of chicken and fries and I was going to get a drink for the kids. The lady asked if I was going to pay with a Mastercard. I asked if they didn't take Mastercard. She said they do and if I used it then we could get a free drink. This lady! She was speaking my language. She even gave us cups so the kids could share. What a great deal. I am thankful that she told us about the deal. The kids might have been more excited about the food and drink than the actual game. 

After the game we checked into our hotel and then headed off to the city. First stop was Central Park. We walked to Bethesda Fountain, the Shakespeare Garden, and the Belvedere Castle. It was a beautiful, but very hot day to be walking out in the park. 

One of the things that Landon wanted to do in NYC was have pizza. Probably because it is one of his favorite foods. He even folded his like a true New Yorker. This pizza was in the middle of Times Square. I felt like it was a little overpriced and it got a little burnt when they put them in the oven to warm up. We were all hungry so it at least was good enough to fill our bellies. 

After wondering around Times Square a bit we decided it to call it a night. We tried to show the kids where Aunt Andrea used to live, but the old Chinese restaurant that I always looked for was closed so I couldn't be for sure that it was the right place. They couldn't believe that is where she lived. If you look really close to the top of the photo you can see the ball from NYE 2024 at the top of the picture. 

The next morning we got up and headed out to explore more in the city. We took the kids by the largest department store in the world, Macy's. We explored all 9 floors and spent quite a bit of time in the toy department. Brinley was terrified about the wooden escalators. 

We have taken the kids to the top of the Empire State Building before. I thought about doing it on this trip but when I discovered that it was almost $50 a person I decided it wasn't worth it. The kids didn't say they cared about it. So, we settled for a picture of the kids on the street with the Empire State Building. 

The girls and Landon were excited about Harry Potter The Exhibition. It was an interactive experience where you could see some behind the scenes information about the movies and even some of the props from the movies. Here all of our names were on the Marauder's Map.  

More pictures from the Harry Potter Exhibit. 

Landon got in and laid down in Harry's bed under the stairs. 

Last of the photos from the Harry Potter Experience. It was neat and Jennifer and the kids really liked it. 

Next we headed down and rode the Staten Island Ferry across to see the Statue of Liberty. Again we had taken the kids over to see the statue up close on previous trips to NYC so this was a much cheaper and quick option to see Lady Liberty. 

We had good spots along the railing for both the trip over to Staten Island and then again on the trip back to Manhattan. The kids enjoyed taking a few pictures with their own phones of the Statue of Liberty. 

After the ferry ride we went and saw the Wall Street Bull, saw the grave of Alexander Hamilton, the 9/11 Memorial pool, and finally we headed over and walked half of the Brooklyn Bridge. Landon's feet were hurting him so I carried him on the bridge. 

After all that walking we stopped in for dinner and dessert at Junior's. This cheesecake is delicious. The girls got Devil's Food Cheesecake and Landon and I shared the Red Velvet Cheesecake. 

The kids first Broadway show that they got to see in NYC was the Cursed Child. This is a play about the child of Harry Potter, who is now old enough to attend Hogwarts. 

This was an abbreviated version of the play. Jennifer and I saw the original in England and it was two parts with a long intermission for over five hours of the play. This play was just around three hours. I'm not sure Landon could have made it through much more that this. I had forgotten what happened it the play so it all seemed new to me again. I thought this was a really well done production. 

Walking back to the Subway we had to go through Times Square again. I could spend hours just people watching in this area. It is so crazy all the different characters you can see in such a small little area. 

I picked a hotel in a place that I was familiar with, Long Island City. Andrea and Chris lived there for a while and I was kind of familiar with the area. The kids got used to having a tea every morning before we left the hotel. 

Landon looking like a local. Drinking his tea and playing on his phone while riding the subway.

First stop of the morning was Rockefeller Center. We showed the kids where the big tree and ice rink are located during the holidays. The kids both picked out a toy from FAO Schwarz after we looked around the entire store. They were getting geared up for all the Olympics coverage so I had to get a picture with UK standout Sydney McLaughlin's poster. We also checked out the American Girl store and we were all in shock that people spend that much money on dolls. They even had a hair salon where you could get the doll and child's hair done to match one another. Thankful that Brinley never wanted all of that stuff.

We did find this little American Girl doll dressed up as a softball player. I am so thankful that Brinley has developed a love of sports. 

They had a pretty cool LEGO store too. So many amazing pieces that they had built for decoration. I really enjoyed the Ghostbuster's Slimer and Stay Puft Marshmallow.

We stopped for breakfast/sweet treat at Magnolia Bakery. Brinley got a red velvet cupcake, I got hummingbird cake, and Landon and Jennifer shared a cup of banana pudding. It was delicious. 

I had remembered on a previous trip to NYC a place that sold dollar slices of pizza. I looked it up and found that it is still in business but they have increased the price to $1.50 as of this summer. We all got a slice before taking the girls over to their next play. 

The girls were extremely excited to go see the play Wicked. This was Jennifer's third time seeing this play and Brinley's first time. We decided to not get tickets for Landon because we didn't think it would be his type of fun. The girls loved it!

While the girls were at the play I found out about a place called MoMath. It is a museum of math and I had discovered that it was actually a day that they were giving free admission. It wasn't an amazing place, but it was good for being free. 

On our way back home we stopped by Washington D.C. to visit the Museum of Natural History. Brinley had wanted to go since we had watched Night at the Museum recently. It was a huge museum will all kinds of things. We checked out the animals, ocean, and the place where Brinley enjoyed the most - the rocks and minerals. 

It wouldn't be right as Kentuckians to not stop and get a picture with ole Abe Lincoln. Also got a cool picture of the Washington Monument with a nice reflection in the pool. 

We stopped in one last museum before heading home. We went to the American Museum of History. This was a pretty cool hands on area where we built a Rube Goldberg for a marble. It took us a while but we finally were successful. I thought we worked well together as a team.

Coming out of the museum the road was lined with food trucks. Landon asked for ice cream and we stopped at one to get him a cone. I made the mistake of ordering the cone before asking how much it was going to cost. I was floored when he told me that this was an $8 ice cream. 

On the drive home we decided to stop by the National Park in Virginia, Shenandoah National Park. The kids were exhausted and slept most of the scenic drive, but we did wake them up to see some of the deer that we saw. The deer were everywhere and we saw a number of fawns too. 

As soon as we got back home it was time to get back to the ball field. Landon's team was set to play a one day tournament in Danville. The boys came to play and were just a few plays away from being undefeated on the day. We went 3-1 and lost the championship by just two runs. It was a great day to play some baseball. 

I got a phone call from a friend asking if Landon wanted to play baseball on Sunday with a different team. Their daughter plays softball with Brinley so she was excited about seeing her friend. Landon didn't really want to play, but eventually decided that he would. Brinley, Kennedy, and Gabi (another sibling of a player) set up a bracelet shop near the concession stand. Gabi made about $100 over two days and Kennedy made $64 in just a few hours. This got Brinley interested in trying to do something like this at Landon's future games.