August 25

First day of August was a day a sea on the boat. The kids discovered a little game that people play on the boat by hiding little ducks all over the boat. Brinley was the best at finding them. I was so excited when I found my first tiny duck. Landon didn't care at first until Brinley started getting quite the collection. 

Landon talked Jennifer into getting into the hot tub. He wanted to swim, but it was extremely cold water - so this was a much better option. 

Our housekeeper made us a towel elephant the same night we saw a large towel elephant walking around the ship taking pictures. 

First stop was Juneau, Alaska. We got off the boat and got on a bus that took us to the Mendenhall Glacier National Park. We hopped off the bus and headed straight for the Nugget Falls Trail. It ended with this amazing powerful waterfall. The water was runoff from the mountain and some glacier water. Everyone had to feel how cold the water was. The kids tried to skip rocks on the water, but were unsuccessful. Then we decided to head back to see if we could hike another trail. 

We took some pictures at the beginning of the trails. You can see the Mendenhall Glacier to the left of the picture and the waterfall that we had just hiked to on the right. 

We decided to keep exploring and discovered a little creek where salmon were trying to find their way up stream to lay their eggs. We wanted to take a hike further back to see if we could find a bear on the stream, but they had closed the trail to help prevent human bear interactions. 

We stopped in the city of Juneau to explore a little. The kids were not impressed by the city which didn't have a lot of things to do. Lots of tourist souvenir shops, jewelry, and some food. We saw some totem poles and a bald eagle sitting on a light pole. Alaska was officially the kids 49th state with this stop in Juneau. 

This is the kid's version of sightseeing. Hiding behind the chair so that they don't get all the wind in their faces. 

Landon is a very picky eater, just like myself. I told him that there were going to be many opportunities for trying new foods. Maybe the best advice he got was that Taylor told him that he could only eat an ice cream cone for each new food that he ate. Well, he tried 17 new foods so that he could eat 17 ice cream cones. Some of the new foods for him were beef wellington, swordfish, escargot, clam chowder, lobster, crawfish linguine, frog legs, and baked Alaska. 

Next stop was Skagway. We got off the boat and walked around the little town. We stopped by the visitor's center and asked what there was to do in town. They told us that right outside town they had a gold rush cemetery. Behind the cemetery was a waterfall. We had about 5 hours before our excursion so I decided that we would go check out the waterfall. The walk proved to be quite the disaster. It was a lot longer than I had expected. Then halfway to the cemetery it started raining. Then Brinley said her knee hurt. Jennifer's feet hurt - thankfully she is the same shoe size as Landon so they switched shoes. Jennifer said the waterfall was probably going to be so tiny and not worth the walk. We made it to the waterfall and it was a great one. Landon and I even hiked right up to the base of it. I made a deal with everyone and said that we would call for a cab on the way back. 

View from beside the gold rush cemetery waterfall. 

This was the second town that we had stopped in that had tons of jewelry stores. They almost all had signs that said you could get a free charm. The kids thought this was a great deal so they wanted to try it out. I volunteered to go in with them since I made them walk to the cemetery. We went in one and they both got a whale tail charm. They decided to go in another. In this one we met Peter, a jeweler who immediately started trying to get me to buy a gold nugget. I asked him how much the nugget in the case was and he said 40. I thought in my head that wasn't much at all. Then he spoke again and said 40K. I was shocked. He asked if we wanted to hold it and the kids were both pumped to hold $40,000 in their hands. 

Next up was our big adventure and one that I was both pumped and terrified all at the same time. We had booked a helicopter ride to a glacier. I was excited about the adventure because I had never rode in one before. That also made it more terrifying because I had never done this before and I really am not a fan of flying and this was in an even tighter enclosed space. Turns out that it was awesome! Highly recommend if you ever have a chance. You get such a great view of everything below.

The walk on the glacier was awesome! Our tour guide showed us around and taught us all about glaciers. It really was amazing. We saw some waterfalls, caverns, and crevices. Thankfully they gave us shoe coverings that had grips on the bottom so that we wouldn't slip on the ice. 

More pictures from the helicopter ride. Amazing views of Alaska.

This was actually a stranger that we met on the streets of Ketchikan. She called out to us walking by her that she worked at UK (because of my shirt). I came back with - so do I! After talking about where we each worked we discovered that she was actually training my friend Rachel who I had worked with for 13 years. It is such a small word sometimes. April and her husband were very nice and we enjoyed meeting them. 

Last stop in Alaska was Ketchikan. Here we got off the boat and walked around town to see what all was in the city. Very similar vibes to the previous two cities. We walked on the dock where we saw a bald eagle - in the tree. We also spotted some jellyfish and starfish. 

Some more pictures from around Ketchikan. Landon was really into pictures for some reason on this trip. He wanted to take pictures with lots of things, but Brinley we had to practically beg her to take some pictures. 

When Jennifer and I went on our first Alaskan cruise we stopped here in Ketchikan and went to the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show. It is a very entertaining show with a competition between the Americans and the Canadian lumberjacks. We were seated in the Canadian cheering section, but I was secretly cheering for the Americans - who ended up winning the competition. The kids wanted to take a picture with lumberjack Jake - one of the American lumberjacks. 

Jennifer and I decided to play trivia one afternoon. The topic was food and drinks. We actually won the competition with 14 out of 20 correct. We decided to double down and play again. In the second round we got 18 out of 20 but someone beat us that got one more correct. We did walk away with this lovely Carnival Luminosa trophy. 

Duck mania was in full effect on this cruise. They even talked me into letting them play in the arcade to try and win some more ducks. Brinley ended up with 54 ducks total. She even hid a few for other people to find around the ship. 

I was actually proud of myself. I believe that I worked out six out of the seven days on the ship. I would run on the treadmill and then sit in the sauna for about 20 minutes. Running on the treadmill proved to be very difficult at times - especially if we were in rough seas.

The last elegant night on the cruise we got dressed up. For me dressing up involves a button down shirt and long pants. Anything more than that and I am losing my mind. If I had to bring a suit then I would just eat the buffet on elegant night. I thought everyone looked nice for our dinner. 

This time Landon talked me into getting in the pool. It was freezing. I don't know how any kids got in it at all during the week. We quickly retreated to the hot tub to warm up. 

Some of the characters that we met along the way on our cruise. The top picture is Leigh from Canada. She was a crossing guard in the port area. She saw my Kentucky shirt and commented that she always watches the Derby every year. We stopped again before getting on the ship to talk with her again. Brinley gave her one of her ducks and she gave both the kids a Canadian maple leaf pin. She was a very nice lady and we enjoyed chatting with her. The bottom left is comedian, Omar Tarango, who we went to hear one night in the comedy club. Seats were limited so we all had to split up. Landon ended up in the front row and Omar talked and interacted with him during the show. They talked baseball. The bottom right picture was our favorite servers - Pande and Juan Carlo. We got them on a really slow night and were able to ask all kinds of questions about what it is like to live on the ship. Juan Carlo even cut up the beef wellington and fed Landon his first bite. Landon didn't even have time to react he just opened up and ate it. We really enjoyed getting to meet these guys. 

We woke up one morning to hundreds of towel animals all over the lido deck sitting in all the lounge chairs. 

The last night of the cruise we docked in Victoria, Canada. We took a brief stroll around before heading back to the boat. They had a beautiful city full of all kinds of flowers and pretty landscape. I just don't know why they only allotted three hours to explore and it was from 8-11 at night.  

On our walk back to the boat in Victoria we saw this decorated light pole with artwork. It had this little board that said Creatively Yours: Touch the magic within and pass it on. Notice stuff. Life is a voyage of discovery. Be curious about everything. Find what you love to do, keep doing it. And doing it. And doing it. I loved this little local artwork and inspiration. 

Some of Landon's 17 ice cream cones from the week. He actually got pretty good at making a cone. 

Most people go straight from the cruise ship to their flight home, but I booked the late flight because I didn't know how long it takes to get off the boat and didn't want to risk missing a flight. We tried to book an uber to take us downtown but nobody would pick us up. We tried 3 different times to get one to no avail. We finally walked to a nearby Starbucks where Jennifer and the kids enjoyed a drink. After about an hour we finally were able to catch a uber to the Space Needle. I had remembered there was a cool playground at the base of it. We spent about two hours playing there and having a McDonald's picnic before heading towards the airport. Now just a red eye flight to Atlanta, a three hour layover, and then a hour flight home was the only thing between us and home!

Brinley was exhausted from all the travel, but she was extremely happy to go pick up Fawkes from MiMi once we got back home. These two fell asleep next to one another. 

When we got home I tried to continue getting in my exercise by walking in the park. Something just makes my heart happy seeing the sun rise and set. I also did another 500 piece puzzle. This was fitting because it was about adventures and travel. 

We got home the day before Brinley's friend Isla had her 13th birthday party. Brinley was so excited to go see her friends. They apparently played pickleball - I thought that was for old people. 

Ale-8-1 came out with a new summer flavor - Paw Paw "Kentucky Banana". I had never heard of this fruit from eastern Kentucky, but after talking with some people it is really popular. It had a unique taste that I was not really fond of. I would much rather drink an original. 

Sitting out in the backyard a lot with Fawkes made us realize how bad of shape the stairs and deck were in. I got started one night and couldn't stop. I tore the whole thing down and then borrowed a saw to help me cut up the rest of the wood. 

A lot of my co-workers try to take the first day of school off, but I would rather take off the last day of summer! I asked the kids what they wanted to do but nobody would really give me an answer. Brinley said she wanted breakfast so we went out for a father daughter brunch to Cracker Barrel. I taught Brinley how to beat the peg game. It was a wonderful time for us and we were able to talk about a lot of things. She is growing up so quickly and doesn't like to spend a lot of time with her dad.

Landon had two requests for last day of summer. He wanted to try and run a mile (cross country tryouts are the first day of school) and go to Skyzone. Well I went out and tried to keep up with Landon but was unable. This was the first time he had run since his injury over 2 months ago. It amazes me that he was able to run around an 8 minute mile. I hope to get my time back down to the eights soon. 

Landon was able to get up the warped wall at Skyzone. He really enjoyed being back out on the trampolines again. All in one day he did all the things he missed out on since his injury. 

Taylor picked the kids up and they all went to get snow cones as an end to summer celebration. After this we went to Malone's for dinner per Landon's request.  

Our eight grader! How do we have an eight grader. Time does not slow down. Brinley was selected as a web leader and had to get up early and get to school over an hour before it started. Web leaders are chosen to be helpers to incoming 6th graders by showing them around the school and being a friendly face around school. Surprisingly she was up and ready to go on time. We hope she has a wonderful last year at Hayes.

Landon's first day of 7th grade. I hope he continues to grow and learn this year at Hayes. It had been a difficult summer for him with his injury, but he is ready for tryouts after school.

Another early morning walk in the park means that I get to witness another beautiful sunrise.

Landon enjoyed getting to learn how to use a saw. He helped me cut up all the wood so that it will fit in our dumpster. He got pretty good at it but also remained extremely safe with the power tool.

My wild co-worker Meiko is turning 50 and they decided to have an 80's themed party. It was good to catch up with everyone outside of work.

Landon picked up this totem pole lego type kit as his Alaskan souvenir. It came with hard to understand and small instructions as well as 839 pieces. It took him a while, but he finally finished it. 

Brinley was selected to be one of the WEB leaders at school. These students were chosen to be helpers for all the 6th grade students who were just starting middle school. See if you can spot Brinley in here.

Landon's baseball time was finally able to find a time to get together to celebrate the season. They had a party at Main Event where they played arcade games, bowled, and hung out with one another. 

I surprised Jennifer with a date night to the new Long John Silvers that just opened right outside of Lexington. Look how happy this lady is!

I have just been in awe lately on my morning walk/runs at how beautiful it is outside. God sure made a beautiful place for us. If I don't hit the snooze button then I usually get outside before the sun comes up. The stars are so beautiful and there are so many. 

I can't thank God enough for the sun that comes up every morning.

I had a patient that recently gave me a couple of gifts at work. She gave me a badge holder that says fight like a kid. She also gave me sweet tarts and told me I am very sweet, but also gave me some sour patch kids because I can be a little sour too. 

The area behind our house has always been an overgrown mess. Last year we cleared it out but never did anything with it. I cleaned it out again this year and made a point to actually do something with it. 

I took all the old pavers and rocks that were in the backyard and turned them into a community rock garden. Now we just need to get some more painted rocks out there.

Krispy Kreme had a specialty pack of donuts that were released themed around Harry Potter. Jennifer had sent me the information so I knew that we should get them. The entire household is in a diferent house so it worked out perfectly. Landon is Slytherin, Jennifer is Ravenclaw, Brinley is Huflepuff, and I told the sorting hat that I wanted to be in Gryiffindor (my test said Ravenclaw). The donuts were subpar, but the kids and Jennifer enjoyed seeing them. This was also no easy feat to get because they were quickly taken off the shelves. I had to drive to the store three times before I got them. 

Grandma and Grandpa came up to visit. McKinley and I both happened to be off from work so we hung out with the parents and they taught us a new game, Majong. They have been taking classes so they taught us what they knew so far. It was interesting. We played our hands or rounds - Dad won once, McKinley twice, and myself once. Poor Mom didn't win at all. 

Landon had his first cross country meet of the season. He did great for not having ran in two months. He finished a 3K in 13:48. Very proud of him. 

The kids volunteered with me at the Sickle Cell Strong event that my co-workers put together. They were in charge of handing out the ice cream tickets. You can see Landon kept one for himself. On the way to the event I explained to them what sickle cell is and how it affects my patients. They were very helpful at the event and I am so glad that they are learning at a young age to live with a servants heart.

Mrs. Anne has been a staple in the DanceBlue Clinic since its inception. She worked in pediatrics for 52 years and finally retired officially - this time for good. The university was getting rid of the position she held but she was okay with it. Very bittersweet. Mrs. Anne always drinks a Diet Sunkist at 2 pm everyday she works. In her honor we all took a shot of Diet Sunkist with her to celebrate. She will be missed on Wednesday's in the clinic, but I am so thankful for the love and care she showed both the patients, family, and staff over the last 52 years. I am so glad that I got to work the last 5 years with her. 

This is my journal where I have been writing about my daily Bible readings. I took this picture because I have never used all the ink in a pen before, but now I can say that I have. I guess I usually loose the pen before this happens.

This is a poem that I was given in high school by one of my coaches. I kept in on my wall at the house and haven't thought about it in years. Well, it popped in my head the other day with my men's Bible study and I shared it with them. There are always little eyes that are watching and I have forgotten this sometimes with the two sets of eyes that see me everyday. I need to be a better leader for them and show them how to love God and people.

It was time to donate blood again. This marked another milestone or me...9 gallons. That's right 72 times I have donated blood to help other people. I hope that you will donate too. Maybe one day I might need a pint to help me through. 

One day I was just minding my business when I got a Facetime call from my dad. It was to all three kids. Best part was that he didn't even know that he had called us, let alone Facetimed all three of us. This was a feat all in itself because the phone was actually in his pocket and he was working out in the garden. We all chatted for a bit before saying goodbye. 

Another morning out watching the sunrise. It has actually became one of my highlights of the day.

My legs are both finally feeling better so I have started running more. This morning I wanted to test how quickly I could run a mile. I was happy to have run sub 10 minute mile, but I have so much more that I want to improve. I am hopeful if I can stay healthy that I can start to cut some time off this. 

With the start of fall that means that it is football time in the Bluegrass! I am back with the crew driving recruits around. They hooked us up with some gear and sideline passes. I watched most of the UK vs. Toledo game from the sidelines. Kentucky tried to give it away at the end, but came out victorious.