October 2024

I had seen some decorated cookies, and I told Brinley that we would try to make some. We made sugar cookies and cut them into pumpkins and triangles to make candy corn. Brinley and I sat down and decorated them for a couple of hours. We both had a lot of fun. 

I think they turned out amazing. Brinley made cute little designs on hers like the one up in the top right picture. She gave him a top hat and mustache. It was super cute. She did a wonderful job. 

Landon trying to let Nora ride on his shoulders. Nora didn't seem scared, but maybe she should have been. Landon doesn't look like he has a great hold on her. 

We were in the cookie making mood and I saw these s'mores chocolate chip cookies. It was delicious! There is a graham cracker, chocolate, and marshmallow underneath cookie dough. 

We had a weekend off from sports, so we met up with the Maitland's at King's Island. The little snoopy area was packed with kids for the trick-or-treating. Brinley and Landon showed the girls the ropes on all the rides. 

The kids also went with the girls on their very first roller coaster, The Great Pumpkin Coaster. I think they both liked it, but Olivia looked a little scared. The middle picture is Olivia's first big kid roller coaster, and she looks terrified in the photo. After it ended, she asked her mom, why did you let me ride that? I tried to hype her up and tell her she did awesome. Hope that she rides many more coasters over the years. Well, Olivia was in for one more frightening experience because she had told her parents that she wanted to go in a haunted house. I told Andrea that she wasn't ready for it and that we should just tell her that the scare zones around the park were a haunted house. Well, one ax wielding zombie later and she was terrified. That might be the last haunted house she ever does in her life. We were excited to spend the day with them and show them the ropes at King's Island. 

The kids only slightly enjoyed the haunted houses this year. We only went to two of the houses this year. Landon said the second one almost made him cry. Both kids wanted a squishmallow. I won a total of five stuffed animals for all the kids. We gave three of them to Olivia and Eliana. 

Brinley and the Henry Clay softball team have been playing in a league at UK Softball Complex. Brinley has gotten to play a little in the field and bat each week. Apparently this girl that she is facing is maybe the best pitcher in the city. She has gotten multiple D-1 offers. Brinley stood her ground and got walked. 

Another alphabet date. This one was hard because not many things start with the letter X. We improvised and decided on things that contained the letter instead. During the afternoon we made homemade waX candles. Brinley came home and wanted to make one of her own. They were sugar cookie scented and ours was the greenish colored one and Brinley's was the blue one. Later that night we went to dinner at TeXas Roadhouse. 

Brinley's team played in their first fall softball tournament. They wore their breast cancer awareness shirts in honor of Mrs. Mandy (Ellie's mom). This fall looked a little different because three of the girls that played over the summer decided that they didn't want to play anymore. So, we were left with only nine girls. Brinley moved over from second base to shortstop. One of the moms took some awesome pictures of the girls during their one-day tournament. 

A few more pictures from Brinley's tournament. They ended up finishing the tournament as runner up. Some pretty bling for all the girls' hard work. 

UK vs. Vandy was an awesome night, well except for Kentucky losing the game. I was close to meeting the old basketball coach, Rick Pitino but instead he got taken away to an area so that he wouldn't be disturbed. Instead, I got to meet Coach Pope for the very first time. I also ran into Coach Skinner (volleyball coach) and Ray Davis, a former UK running back. I walked all up and down the sidelines looking to get the best views of the game. It has been pretty cool wandering around the sidelines all season. 

Landon ran in the middle school state championships. He was actually sick with a little cold and didn't feel very good. It was one of his worst races of the season, but he didn't complain or stop running the entire race, which is what he said his goal was with his sickness. Proud of him this season sticking with running and trying to get better each and every practice. 

Landon was the only family member that said they wanted to run in my work's fundraiser 5K. I still wasn't able to run post knee surgery, and the girls weren't interested. Landon had just run in the state championships the day before and he was battling a cold. He did amazing and finished 67th out of over 1,000 runners - mostly college students. He finished with a time of 24:37. I was so impressed with this little guy. 

Brinley enjoyed seeing Miss Nora at the Dance Blue race. Nora seemed intrigued by Brinley's headphones.

Another date night this time we had a K date. We went for lunch to K Pot - a Korean BBQ. It was the first time we had something like this. It was delicious and a really neat experience. Later that night while the kids were at youth group, Jennifer and I went to watch the first Kentucky basketball exhibition game of the Coach Pope Era. They absolutely killed Kentucky Wesleyan by 71 points!

Brinley's team had another fall tournament, and this one was Halloween themed. The girls all dressed up as Gatorade bottles. Brinley was the red Gatorade. I got to go watch her first game before heading back to Lexington for the football game. She is really starting to love the game which I think is awesome! She is batting leadoff for the Rampage and starting at shortstop. Her defense is great and if she could just stop stepping out while at bat, she would be a dominate hitter too! She is working on correcting that mistake. 

I enjoyed getting to see my girl having some fun out on the softball field with her teammates. 

Nora and I at her first UK game. I gave her parents my tickets and they were just going to wing it to get Nora in. Turns out the workers in the will call area just gave her a free ticket to get in. How could you tell this face no?

Nora's first football game was UK vs. Auburn. I spent most of the first half sitting up in the family section of the stands playing with Nora. She made it onto the big screen twice in her first game. I have been going for years and never made it up there. She had a good time and never got fussy even though the game started after her bedtime. I drove them back home a little before halftime in my golf cart. 

The DanceBlue students had a Halloween party for all the patients at my work. They always invite staff and families but not many really ever come to the events. I have brought the kids the last few years and they really enjoy it. I couldn't get Brinley to be Moana characters with Landon and I. She wanted to wear her Belle costume. 

We were extremely busy the weekend of Olivia's birthday so we didn't get to go up and celebrate with her. We Face-timed her on the 17th to wish her a happy 6th birthday!

Landon and I went to the second UK basketball exhibition game. There were not many people there so we sat down in the lower arena. Kentucky easily won the game. We are slowly learning the names of all the players. 

This girl woke up and grabbed a hoodie out of the dryer that she thought was hers, but actually it was mine. Jennifer informed her, but she said she was going to wear it anyway. 

We had a free Sunday, so we packed up into the car and headed to the gorge. We hiked Sky Bridge which was new to all of us. It was a pretty easy little 0.75-mile hike to a pretty awesome arch. You also got to walk up on top of it too. This was an easy hike to be my first since my knee surgery. 

More pictures from our hike at the Red River Gorge. Brinley built a little rock tower.

We felt good so we decided to go on another hike. We picked Rock Bridge Trail. It was a 1.5 mile hike that ended up being next to a little creek. The kids enjoyed playing in the water and then climbing on Rock Bridge once we got to it. It was a really great hike. We all had fun. 

More pictures from our hike at the gorge. Landon even peed in the creek. They climbed on trees, on rocks, and even played in the creek. Any people passing by us might have even mistook them for country kids and not city kids. 

We stopped at a little roadside restaurant, The Brick, for some ice cream. It was delicious after hiking, but the sun was going down and it was also getting really cool. The kids wanted to go sit in the car and finish with the heat on. 

The kids Wednesday night youth group at church had a dress up night. Brinley's group came up with an idea to be all kinds of Barbie's. Brinley of course was softball barbie. Landon said his group was all talking about being inflatable dinosaurs, but Landon was the only one that went through with it. 

We finally broke out the backstraps from my deer that I killed a year ago. I cut them up to make some filet and wrapped them in bacon. Everyone thought they were delicious. 

They had spirit week at school and I am so proud of Brinley for getting into the spirit. Picture on the left was dress like a teacher day and the right picture is tacky tourist day. She came up with these outfits on her own and she even made the camera herself out of cardboard. I am so glad that she got her creativity from her mother. 

During the kids youth group on a Wednesday night Jennifer and I got in an alphabet date night. This night was U - we had Udon Noodles from Koi Express and Upside down pineapple cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. 

Working in a children's hospital can be very difficult, but also comes with a lot of fun perks. One of those perks is celebrating Halloween with the kids. They had over 500 people come to do a reverse trick or treat. Our clinic decided through voting that we were going to be marketing mascots. We had over 30 people participate. I was Mr. Clean and I wore all white past Labor Day. I carried around the box of Magic Erasers so that people who didn't recognize me could see what I was going for. 

The kids picked out what they wanted to wear. Brinley came up with the design for Belle from Beauty and the Beast, from the beginning of the movie before she becomes a princess. Landon chose to be a blow up dinosaur. Both of these outfits proved to be frustrating for the kids. Brinley was routinely misidentified, mainly as Dorthy, Alice and Wonderland, Mary Poppins, and even a Cinderella. Landon's outfit proved to be difficult because of the rain. It protected him from the rain, but the build up on the outside of the outfit made the head droop and prevent Landon from seeing well. The tail also was so soaked that it dragged the ground and caused a little soapy trail to make a path behind him. I was bored after the kids went to bed so I organized their candy. I just am always interested to see what all they got.

Halloween night we walked over to meet up with some friends. Landon and Easton both when with the inflatable costume this year. Not the best weather for being an inflatable. 

We went over to McKinley's house after trick or treating. Unfortunately Nora had already gone to bed so we didn't get to see her in the flamingo costume. We celebrated McKinley's birthday a day early with some cobbler and ice cream. 

September 2024

I was finally able to take my outer bandage off on day four post op. Still hobbling around with my crutches. The yard needed to be mowed, which is usually my job to do. I had to teach Jennifer how to start up the lawn mower. She did a good job, but I was sad I couldn't be out there doing it. 

On Taylor's birthday we volunteered to watch Nora so they could go out to dinner by themselves. Nora and I read some books up in Aunt Jennifer's office while she worked. Then when her parents got back they let Nora try steak. Well, by try I mean that she licked all the seasoning off of it. She seemed to enjoy it.

McKinley and I got together to play some board games while he was off from work. Taylor was working so we had to take turns holding her while the other made their moves. We were able to finish the game during her nap time. Then they tried out their new baby carrier that they were going to use on their upcoming vacation. 

My work had their annual Pediatric Cancer Survivor Picnic. We had over 60 patients and their families show up to celebrate with us. Since I was still out of commission and still using one crutch I couldn't help with all the set up. Thankfully my wife and kids picked up my slack. I did hobble around and take pictures for the Facebook page. 

After the Survivor Picnic I headed down to Kroger Field to see the second half of the UK football game versus South Carolina. The Wildcats didn't come to play for this game and got destroyed. I did find out that my pass this year allowed me to stand on the sidelines which gave us awesome up close views. I didn't stay long on the sidelines because my leg started hurting. I spent most of the second half driving recruits back to their cars. 

We had found out from a family we saw at D-bats about Henry Clay softball practices. Brinley had started working with them and she also got invited to come play in a game with them. They had her start out at second base. I could tell she was nervous, but it was really good to see her out there in black and blue! She had one at bat and I believe she grounded out to the first baseman, but she made contact. 

Landon had a cross country race in Danville. I drove him there because Jennifer had to go pick up Brinley from a sleepover birthday party. Landon got to run in spikes for the first time. My friend Kimberly gave us her son's old ones that he outgrew. Landon had a good race and ran hard on an extremely hilly course. He got a blizzard on the way home to try and cool himself off. 

Later that night I was standing on the sidelines for the UK versus Georgia game. It was an awesome game and the Cats fought hard, but ended up losing 13-12 to the number one team in the nation. I got to meet Tim Couch who was one of the first people I followed when I started watching football. He is actually responsible for me becoming a Cleveland Browns fan. Some days I wish he had been picked by a different team. I also got to meet gold medal hurdler Masai Russell. Both of them were really nice and I'm glad I got to meet them both. 

Landon had a mid week race in Jessamine County. I took him to it and he did great. I think he cut almost a minute off his time from when he ran this course a few weeks ago. We stopped by Sam's Club on the way home and Landon wanted more cheese balls. Some days I think it is the only thing that he eats. 

I listen to Kentucky Sports Radio almost everyday. Most of the time I hear it on the podcast, but since I have been off from work I have been able to catch it live. This day they were at Bi-water Farm in Georgetown and I decided to go catch it in person. It was hot! I enjoyed part of the pre-show and then the entire two hours of KSR. It is fun to see what they say in between the breaks and then everything that happens in real time makes more sense when you have the whole picture, not just the commentary. I got to meet Billy, who is a producer and is host of the pre-show. He is a really nice guy and they always give him a hard time, but I believe that is just for entertainment purposes. 

As I was leaving the KSR show I decided to have a lunch date with Jennifer and make it a alphabet date. For some reason we hadn't used the letter T yet so I picked up her favorite take-out place Taco Bell. I even stopped in Georgetown at a bakery to pick up some tasty treats.

With some extra time on my hands I decided that I would do a puzzle. I was quickly able to get this one done. Landon came and helped me with the last few pieces. Putting together a puzzle is just so peaceful and calming to me, but yet makes my brain work in order to complete it. 

Landon and Jennifer came to the UK versus Ohio University game. It was so hot and an absolute blowout. I sat up in the stands for the first half. Then I took Jennifer and Landon back to their car right after halftime. I was so hot that i didn't even stay out and watch the game. I watched the second half from inside on the TV. 

I did run down on the sidelines to meet Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Jodi Meeks. They were both being inducted into the UK Hall of Fame. Again they were both very nice and happy to take a picture. It couldn't have been a better interaction. 

The kids school had a color run to raise money for the school. Both kids had a lot of fun. Brinley took a selfie with her bestie Naaba. Landon's class was pictured on the school's Facebook page. Landon said he ran non-stop the entire time. I really do wish that I had his energy. 

Another week on medical leave for my leg meant that I could go play some more board games with McKinley and Nora. We again took turns playing with Nora between turns. Rupp didn't want to feel left out so he would come say hello from under the table. This was an absolute blood bath of a game. I haven't lost this bad at anything I can ever remember. McKinley beat me by almost 100 points. Well, at least I got to hang out with them for a few hours. 

Grandpa had a birthday and he decided that he wanted to come to Lexington to celebrate. We went out for lunch at Jason's Deli and then spent some time together and played a few games at McKinley's.  

Grandpa with all the Heflin grandkids.

Jennifer and I were trying to clean up the yard after some bad storms. Finally I realized that we should have two little helpers out there with us. Brinley helped clean the garage while I taught Landon how to mow. Then I taught Brinley to mow and Landon tried blowing all the leaves in the back yard. I don't think they enjoyed it, but someday they will be able to do it.

JK took the kids to the movies and spoiled them. We usually get a popcorn to share but they both got their own and drink too. They enjoyed getting to see Beetlejuice 2 with him. They even stopped for ice cream on the way home. I realized later that this was the first non related person to ever watch both of the kids, but at this point JK has become an adopted member of our family.

While JK and the kids were at the movies Jennifer and I decided to get an alphabet date in. She picked the letter H. We had Hawaiian BBQ and then got hot chocolate at the Chocolate Holler downtown. It was a nice night out with Jennifer. She had wanted to do Hawaiian shaved ice, but they unfortunately close after Labor Day.

Fall break started on September 30th. Landon was challenged by his coach to run during his break so he ran Jacobson Park on the new trail they have completed. He also said the only thing he wanted to do was Skyzone. Well, since I am a sucker I signed him up for a fall jump pass. He just has to go more that three times in the next 90 days and he will get his money's worth. Brinley of course is happy mostly when she has her headphones on and Starbucks in hand. This day she bought it herself because she had a deal for a free cake pop.

I was at the grocery store getting a few treats for fall break since we weren't going anywhere. I found these Coca Cola flavored Oreos. The kids liked them, but Jennifer and I did not. I'm not sure why they keep trying new flavors. They should have stopped right after golden Oreos. I guess they do it because silly people like me buy them to try it out!

We got some of the residual rain and wind from hurricane Helene here in Lexington. It was pretty windy and ripped a lot leaves out of the trees. The wind sounded so terrible and it frighted Brinley at school. She asked to come home, but I told her that she was safer at school because they don't have a lot of large trees surrounding the school like we do at our house. 

The only "damage" that we had was a branch came down and struck the air conditioner. I saw all the damage from stuff here in Lexington. I can't imagine what it looked like in Florida where the actual hurricane took place.