Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure

Jennifer had wanted to go to see Harry Potter World ever since it had opened. We had been in talks of going about three and a half years ago, but found out that Jennifer was pregnant with Brinley. We didn't think that a trip to an amusement park would be very much fun if Jennifer wasn't able to ride all the attractions. So, last year I got the crazy idea to go to Disney World with the kids and I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to take Jennifer to Universal Studios, to see Harry Potter World. We packed up the kids and headed to Florida right after the Superbowl ended. Driving through the night is hard, but it is so much better to travel when the kids are sleeping. We stopped at a McDonald's for breakfast and because of a promotion that was going on, we were able to pay for our meal with some lovin'. So, Jennifer and I just had to give the kids some kisses in order to pay for our breakfast. What a great way to start off our vacation! We arrived to our condo before the check-in time so we did a little exploring around the area. The kids tried to run off some of their energy on the playground while waiting for our room to be cleaned. After hauling in the entire car full of luggage the kids and I decided to try out the pool.

Grandma and Grandpa arrived later that night and after helping them unpack their luggage we decided to head out to dinner. We were driving around looking at all the options when we spotted the best restaurant ever, Giordano's! This a Chicago based deep dish pizza and Italian restaurant that is amazing. While we were waiting for our dinner they had a guy that came around and made balloon animals and characters for children. We asked for some Minnie ears for Brinley and an Olaf for Landon. He was very entertaining and told some jokes while making his creations. The kids loved it and Grandpa even told him that he needed to try out for America's Got Talent!

The kids with their balloons!

Well worth the 45 + minute wait!

We got back to our condo and tried to get as much sleep as possible before starting our nine day amusement park adventure. The next 3 days were going to be spent in Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. Our real reason for going to these parks were because of the Harry Potter World they added about 4 or 5 years ago.

February 3rd
This morning we got up really early and ate breakfast in the condo before heading out to Universal Studios. We left extremely early because we were unsure of how bad morning traffic would be and we didn't want to be late getting to the park. We made it to the park with plenty of time to spare so we took our time getting everything packed up into the stroller. We stopped out front for a photo or two before heading in!

Glad I could finally take my lovely wife to Harry Potter World!

Upon entering the park we immediately made our way to the back to begin our adventure in Harry Potter World. We entered through the bricks and immediately stepped into Diagon Alley. It was amazing to see the books come to life. The movies did an amazing job, but it was just really cool to see it all first hand. Before we could take in all the sights, we dashed into Gringott's bank to try and beat the line before it got too long. We made it to the front of the line and then were directed to the child swap room because the kids weren't big enough to ride. Grandma and Grandpa decided to watch the kids first while we rode. Of course the ride was having some malfunctions to start with and we ended up waiting about 20 minutes for it to get fixed. The kids were getting a little stir crazy and were running all over the place, but they calmed down when we pulled out the magic treat - Cheetos! The kids calmed down about the time it was for us to ride. We escaped Gringott's and then it was time for Grandma and Grandpa to ride. Thankfully we figured out early on the advantages of child swap and I told Jennifer to go ahead and ride it again because we didn't know what the line situation would be later.

Outside Gringott's Bank with the fire breathing dragon on top.

Our second stop was to get a famous Butterbeer. Jennifer tried the hot while the kids and I got an original Butterbeer. We even caught a performance of the Tales of Beatle the Bard while sipping on our Butterbeer. Now to head over and catch the train at Platform 9 3/4!

Jennifer with the purple double decker bus and shrunken head bus driver and ticket man.

Grandma and Brinley on the Hogwarts Express and ready to head to Hogsmead.

Jennifer and I were able to sneak away every once and a while to get in an adult roller coaster. This was after our ride on the Dragon Challenge.

Landon was exhausted and decided that it was nap time. Grandpa's shoulder proved to be the best spot for an early nap.

While Landon was sleeping we decided that Brinley was ready to ride her first roller coaster! I am so excited that she liked it so much! She will be my new riding buddy as soon as she meets all the height requirements - which might be a while.

We decided to grab lunch in Hogsmead at the Three Broomsticks. Grandpa got to experience the meal with only one arm because the other was holding onto Landon.  Landon actually slept through the entire meal.

Next on the agenda was to find something fun for the kids to do. The majority of the park was geared towards bigger kids and adults. The main kids section was Dr. Suess land. The kids actually weren't even tall enough to ride all the rides here either, but that wasn't going to keep them from having fun! 

Brinley's favorite ride was the Cat in the Hat. Landon wasn't tall enough so he had to stay in the child swap area while Brinley enjoyed back to back trips.

Landon's first ride was on One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue fish. This actually ended up being his favorite ride from both parks. 

A ride on the Caro-Suess-al was next. I am not sure who enjoyed the ride more -  the kids or the grandparents.

We left the grandparents in charge again and headed off to ride the Incredible Hulk. We actually rode it twice in a row and even rode the Spiderman ride. We were pretty lucky that the lines were so short. We did all of that in about 20 minutes. The majority of that time was spent walking in the turnstiles up to the actual ride.

When we met back up after a few roller coasters we happened to run into a few of the Dr. Suess characters. The kids were not at all interested in the characters. We were not very optimistic about what the upcoming days had in store if the kids were not going to like costumed characters.

We also found a playground, but I am not sure if the kids or Grandpa enjoyed it more.

Mom and Dad wanted to go on the Spiderman ride, so I went again with them. They both said that it was their favorite ride of the day.

Grandma, Grandpa, and Landon with Popeye and Olive Oyl

My thoughts on the 1st day of 9 at theme parks.

Grandma and Grandpa rode Jurrasic Park River Adventure while Brinley and I rode the Pteranodon Flyers. Landon and Jennifer played at another playground. This was the most terrified that I was during the entire trip. The Pteranodon Flyer was a two person ride in which each person was in their own chair. They only had seat belts across your waist which made me absolutely terrified. I have seen this Houdini (Brinley) get out of much more secure devices and this just didn't seem safe enough. Against my better judgement I went ahead and got on. Brinley absolutely loved it! Below is a picture of the ride (it is not us) to show exactly what the ride looked like.

Pteranodon Flyers

We made our way back around to Hogsmead and eventually back up to Hogwarts. Since the line was so short we decided to go ahead and ride now instead of rushing to the back of the park the next day to beat the rush. The inside of the castle was really cool. It housed a lot of memorabilia from the movies, like the sorting hat. Jennifer and I rode first while Grandma and Grandpa watched the kids. Then Grandpa and I decided to go for a ride. It was a pretty neat experience and was about the closest I will ever get to flying a broomstick.

Jennifer and I with Hogwarts Castle in the background.

The Heflin's with a conductor of the Hogwarts Express. I actually didn't want him in the picture, but I asked him if he could take our picture and he told me that he wasn't trained in muggle devices and couldn't help me. I found a muggle to snap one for me. Too bad the muggle I stopped didn't get the train in the picture.

My riding buddy! I am so blessed to have this little girl. She has no fear at all in this world. Especially when she is with her daddy. Everytime we got in our seats she would say "Daddy hold my hand!" I just hope that she always loves me as much as she does now! 

We even got Grandma and Grandpa on Flight of the Hippogriff with us!

The park closed at 7 so we stayed until it closed. We grabbed dinner at Texas Roadhouse before heading back to the condo. We picked the roadhouse because it was one of the few places that I knew had TVs and I could maybe catch the end of the UK basketball game, which we did. It was a great first day and we all slept well because we were worn out.

February 4th

We left a little later today because we knew the traffic wasn't that bad. We again arrived before the park opened and stopped for another picture.

Landon didn't really seem interested in a family photo.

 As soon as we entered the park, we went straight into the Despicable Me line. This was a motion 4-D ride and video with the minions from Despicable Me. The kids were not tall enough to ride in one of the motorized seats, but they could sit up front in the handicap sections and enjoy the 3-D show. Grandma and Grandpa rode and we sat up front with the kids. The kids loved it, so we switched positions and rode again. After we got out of the ride I noticed some characters that were out taking pictures with people.

I was most excited to meet Bart and Lisa Simpson. The kids were more excited about Curious George. A brief sign of hope was that Brinley actually gave a few of the characters high fives. Maybe she was going to like them after all. She just needed a day or two to get accustomed.

Grandma and Grandpa with Woody Woodpecker.

 After meeting the characters, we headed into see another 4-D show, Shrek. The kids also really enjoyed this show too. I didn't really care too much about having a donkey sneeze on us, but otherwise it was pretty cool.

We just happened to be walking out the doors of Shrek when we spotted Optimus Prime. The kids really didn't know who he was, but I was pretty impressed. He actually talked to us. He was just a little smaller than the real one. All the adults got to ride the new Transformers ride before heading over to E.T.

 Brinley has never seen the movie E.T., but since she met the height requirement we decided to let her ride. Landon wasn't tall enough so I hung back with him. They were taking forever and I didn't know if they knew where Landon and I were waiting so I went out to find them. I searched and didn't find them at the stroller, so I went in the exit. I met them as they got off the ride and they said that it had broken down prior to them getting on the ride. They said Brinley didn't really like it, but she was in the back row and couldn't really see well. I decided that I would take her and see if we could sit up front. We did and she loved it! She mostly loved that at the end of the ride it thanks all the people who helped E.T. get home. E.T. called out her name and she thought it was the greatest thing ever!

Her new buddy E.T.

We found a little playground that was modeled after Fievel Goes West. This was a huge ball pit and the kids both got in it. The problem was that Landon wasn't tall enough to get out. So that is Jennifer stretched out pulling him back out. I am pretty sure that he could have stayed and played in there all day.

They even had a water slide. Jennifer and Brinley went first and I waited at the top with Landon. When we were cleared for takeoff and right before she pushed the button to let us go Landon had a full out temper tantrum and wouldn't hold onto the side straps. The attendant wouldn't let us go even if I held him tight. So, we had to take a walk of shame back down the stairs. Come to find out they had a video at the bottom so that parents could see their kids so the whole family got to see the tantrum.

We found Brinley's second roller coaster - Woody Woodpecker. Again she loved it! We rode it 4 times in a row!

After riding Woody we decided to try and catch a show. It was an animal extravaganza. It was a show that had a bunch of famous animal actors in it. I was actually selected out of the crowd to be a participant. The bird from Ace Ventura flew to me and landed on my arm and picked up a dollar bill out of my hand and then flew back to the trainer. She said thanks for the money and then went on with the show. A few minutes later she had the bird return with my money and put it back in my hand. It was pretty cool. We also got to see the dog from Beethoven, the dog from Men in Black, and the dog from Marley and Me as well as many other animals.

 After the show we grabbed lunch at Moe's Bar - from the Simpson's. Next we took a ride on the Hurl-n-Twirl. Grandma and Brinley rode together and Grandpa and Landon rode together. 

Next we headed over to the Men In Black Attack ride. This is a shooting game where you compete against the five other people that are in your cart with you. Jennifer and I rode together and I beat her. Due to where the child swap location was we actually just took a few turns each going back and riding in the single rider line. My high score was 412,675. About 5 years ago when we went to Universal Studios this was our favorite ride. We rode it about 10 times in a row one night. The kids started to get a little fussy so we left and headed for Diagon Alley. Brinley and Landon were both upset, so I got them an icee which made both of them pretty happy, as least for the moment.

Back to London and Diagon Alley. I have such a beautiful wife and she did such an amazing job with all the planning of our week and a half long vacation. On top of that she also made about half of our outfits so that we could match during our trip. She definitely deserved her daily allotment of Butterbeer.

We let the ladies ride the Escape from Gringotts ride again which meant that we were in charge of the kids. This was easier said than done. They both ran wild all throughout Diagon Alley. Grandpa and Brinley did stop for a quick picture in Hagrid's motorcycle.

While waiting for the women to get out of Gringott's Bank Brinley started throwing a huge temper tantrum. There was nothing that could be done to calm her down and I knew that a nap was what she truly needed. She was screaming in my ear for about 20 minutes. I know that she gets her hard headedness from me, but when it comes to things like this I just have to win myself. As hard as she fought I knew that I was going to win. Pictured above is my success. She slept while Grandma and Grandpa rode Disaster.

We once again hopped on the Hogwarts Express and rode to Hogsmead since the park Islands of Adventure stayed open later. I just love it when the kids ride on my shoulders. It's something that I will continue to do as long as they will get up there.

Hogwarts at night. We stopped on the way out at a magic show. Here mom was asked to be a participant. The guy correctly picked her card out of a deck of cards. The kids were pretty entertained my the magician.

After dinner we stopped for dessert at a place shaped like an ice cream cone. Both kids were so excited because they got their own cone. We did Facetime with Aunt Andrea while we were eating our ice cream.

February 5th

Today started out really early for Jennifer and I. Part of getting to stay in the condo for next to nothing was because we had to attend a presentation on becoming a time share owner. This proved to be quite the experience. Jennifer had told me early on that under no circumstances were we to buy a time share. Carlos was the man giving us the presentation and he did not go about things the right way with me. He at one point called me a bad father and another time called me a horrible husband for making my wife come to this presentation against her will. Needless to say he did not sell us anything and I will never sign us up to do that again. After our harassment we loaded up the car and drove in the pouring down rain to the park. This time we decided to head to Islands of Adventure first so that we could ride the Hogwarts express the other way to see if anything was different. This morning proved to be an interesting one. As we were making the last few turns to get into the parking structure Landon started puking all over himself and the car seat. The only good thing about this was he was still in his pajamas so we had an outfit for him to wear. We prayed that it was just a one time incident and got everything together to head in.  

Right after this picture was taken we discovered that in all the chaos of Landon puking and the clean up that we forgot to pick up his shoes. So I high tailed it back to the car to get him some shoes.

We started off at the front of the park and decided to work our way back to Harry Potter World. We decided to ride the One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish ride a few more times. The only problem was that apparently it was too cold the previous days so we hadn't been getting the full experience. There was supposed to be water that sprayed you during the ride. None of us were fans of this feature.

My little mini me. We tried to stay dry but that was hard to do.

Next was a couple rounds on the Caro-Suess-al. I don't know why all kiddie rides have to go in continuous circles. It gets old!

While looking for a souvenir for Landon we ran into our friends the Cat in the Hat and Thing 1 and Thing 2. They were really friendly and kinda helped warm Brinley up for the next few days. She ended up giving them all high fives and even a little hug or two.

Landon didn't seem as thrilled about the encounters.

After lunch we headed over to Posieden's Fury. While waiting in line Landon got sleepy and I decided it was best to maybe skip the ride. They pointed me in the direction of an exit door and said to follow the arrows. I pretty much had a backstage self guided tour on my walk out to the front.

We headed back to Hogwarts Castle and took the regular line instead of the child swap line so that we could see more movie memorabilia. Here is the infamous sorting hat.

A trip to Harry Potter World wouldn't have been complete without about 5 more rides on the Flight of the Hippogriff. Brinley and I even held out a couple times for the front seat.

Picture of Hogwarts Castle from the top point of Flight of the Hippogriff. Good view of the castle.

My two favorite girls! Brinley had so much fun on this roller coaster.

We saw some of the people that were trying to compete in the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

If you want a picture done right you just have to ask somebody you know. Mom was finally able to take a picture that included the entire train so that you could see it said Hogwarts Express.

We even caught the group of singing toads. Brinley enjoyed them. They were an acapella group similar to Pentatonix.

We headed back to Diagon Alley for one last Butterbeer. I am not sure that she could have been any happier.

Landon and Grandma enjoying the sights, sounds and magic of  Diagon Alley.

Brinley and Landon enjoyed the musical entertainment that would come out at different times and sing a few songs. 

No trip to Universal would be complete without a picture with Jaws. I was sad that they no longer have the Jaws ride.

Our night ended with one last roller coaster. We rode the Rip Ride Rockit twice in a row before the park closed for the night. This was by far my favorite ride. It was a longer roller coaster and you actually got to choose a song that you wanted to listen to during the ride. The first time I listened to Insane in the Membrane by Cypress Hill and the second time I listened to Happy by Pharrell. I just wish that we had rode during the day because they actually record you during the ride. I can only imagine what I looked like because I was rocking out during both rides!

 Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure proved to be a lot of fun and even though they didn't have a whole lot for Brinley and Landon I think that they both had a lot of fun. Maybe it will be somewhere that we have to return to once they get a little older and taller. We did so much in our first three days of parks that it was hard to imagine that we would be spending the next six days at Disney parks. How were we ever going to make it? Thanks for reading and God Bless!

Final results of my 30 by 30 goals

Turning 29 made me realize that there are so many things that I want to accomplish and do in my lifetime. I have often used the excuse that I am too busy to get things done. Well this past year I decided that I was going to write down my goals for the year and strive to complete them. This has been difficult at times, but I have pushed through and I am extremely happy with all that I have accomplished this year.

1. Read the entire Bible - Done. Some of the old testament was difficult to get through, but I am so glad that I kept going. I have wanted to complete this ever since I was a teenager and now I can check it off the list. This is not the last time I will pick up this amazing book. Now I can look forward to digging in and making some more discoveries that I may have overlooked.

2. Lose 50+ pounds - As most of you know from my picture that I put on Facebook earlier this year I was able to accomplish this task. I still have a ways to go before I get to my end goal weight but 50 pounds was a huge start.

50 pounds lighter and it feels great!

3. Stop biting my nails - I stopped biting during the year, but every once and a while I would find myself out of habit biting them. I had recently stopped biting for about a month and then I was tired while driving home from our vacation to Florida and that habit came right back. This is still on my list of things that I want to accomplish, but I am currently one week nail biting free!

4. Finish a 5K with both children under 30 minutes - This was a task that I thought was going to be one of my hardest, but it turns out that when you run almost everyday that your body gets accustomed to it. Running the Wild Hearts 5K Fun Run with both kids in the stroller was a lot of fun and it was made even better that I actually placed 3rd in my age division 21-29 year olds.

Crossing the finish line with my running buddies.

5. Pay for a strangers meal - For some reason I really struggled with this. I was always looking for the right opportunity to do this. I didn't want to just pay for the person in the drive thru behind me and I was maybe just always distracted with the kids while out at sit down meals. Either way I did not pay for a strangers meal.

6. Write at least 2 blog posts a month - Done. Hope you have enjoyed reading about the things that go on at the Heflin household as much as I have enjoyed writing about them.

7. Bike 1,500 miles - Done. I wasn't able to get any miles outside, but thankfully I grew to enjoy my stationary bike.

8. Run 500 miles - Done. I regret not finishing up all these miles outside because running on the treadmill can get pretty boring. Kind of funny story with the completion of this task. I only had 3 miles left to go to finish my 500 miles. I decided to finish them while Jennifer and the kids were sleeping. With only a half mile left I was getting pretty tired and decided to slow down my pace. A couple seconds after I did this I lost my concentration and got too far back on the treadmill and couldn't recover. I fell down on my right knee and tried to catch myself on the sides. I was unable to and ended up hitting my hands down on the moving belt. I then reacted quickly and rolled off the side, but the damage to my confidence was done. I was so glad that nobody was filming this event, but I would have probably loved to see it myself.

9. Potty train a child - This was a difficult task because Brinley is pretty stubborn. However, we did have to regress some because of our trip to Disney World. We went back to diapers because we didn't want to be standing in line and Brinley have to be rushed out of the line for a potty break. Also we would have had to taken so many clothes changes and the logistics just didn't add up. Since returning home Brinley has done great with peeing in the toilet. We have even gone multiple days with out any accidents. However, she refuses to poop in the toilet. Hopefully we can kick that habit soon.

10. Go an entire month not eating out at restaurants - The month of August was difficult, but we made it through without eating out at any restaurants. We were able to try some new meals and revisit some old classics that we had not prepared in a while. The hardest part was when we met my parents and siblings in Louisville. They went to dinner at a restaurant and I just sat and watched while they ate. Then they all went out for dessert too and again I watched.

11. Get rid of DirectTV (cable in general) - We have only occasionally missed having cable (mostly due to sports related programming). We did get Hulu which has been a lifesaver. It is pretty much like a DVR for all your local channels so that we can watch our shows at our convenience.

12. Register as a bone marrow donor - This is one of the things that I am most proud about. I first had the thought about becoming a member of the donor list because of some amazing patients that I have personally taken care of. I just pray that everyone else registers too because you might be the one that saves someone's life some day.

Everyone should sign up to be a bone marrow donor. It is easy and you could save a life.

13. Give up fried side items for a year or longer - This ended up being a lot easier than I originally expected. I plan to keep this a part of my regular eating habit, but it will no longer be something that I avoid at all costs. I hope that I can retrain my thought process to always choose the healthier option.

14. Go an entire month or longer with no sweets (except immediate family members birthdays) - This was a hard one to accomplish and I might actually try it again. During this period of time it really made me think about all the times that we had dessert for just about any reason. I would love to try and limit sweets to just birthdays and holidays, but I am still pretty far away from being able to do that.

15. Go on 2 date nights a month with no kids - It has been nice to go out and do some things around town with no children to watch after and make sure that they aren't getting into everything. Some of the dates we have been on are dinner dates, movies, go-karts and my new favorite date is playing golf. These last few months have primarily consisted of date nights to see the Kentucky Wildcats Men's Basketball team play at RUPP! I have really enjoyed these date nights, but Jennifer hasn't always been as excited. We have tried to explore some of the restaurants downtown before the games whenever possible too. We started a little late, but we have tried to document our date nights on Instagram by using the #Heflindatenight.

16. Take the kids to Disney World - This could be considered one of the most difficult, yet rewarding vacations that I have ever been on. I don't want to ruin anything, but I will be recapping our Disney trip on the blog very soon.

The Heflin Clan visiting Hollywood Studios and meeting Mike and Sully from Monsters, Inc.

17. Take wife to Harry Potter World - I am not sure my wife could have been any happier than with a warm Butterbeer in her hand walking around Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. I will also be recapping our adventures on the blog very soon.

The Heflin's enjoying Butterbeer in Diagon Alley at Universal Studios.

18. Work 26 extra shifts - I failed at this task, but I did pick up more extra shifts than ever before. I worked 14 extra shifts and got called off for another 2 shifts. I had plenty of opportunities to complete these extra shifts but for some reason or another I turned down the chance to work. I did get some extra hours in by participating in discharge phone calls. This is where a nurse would call and check on a patient after they have returned home to make sure that things are going well. I didn't keep exact count over the last year, but I worked at least 20 days making these phone calls. So, if I wanted to get technical then I did complete this task because I didn't specifically say that I had to work 12 hour shifts on my unit. I am going to call it uncompleted.

19. Try 5-10 new foods - I have really become more adventurous in my eating habits. I have more than exceeded the number of foods that I needed to try. You may be surprised that I have never tried any of these foods before now, but to the best of my knowledge this was my first experience with the following foods: fajitas, beef jerky, chili cheese burger, stuffed bell peppers, sauteed spinach, strawberry and rhubarb pie, trout, lima beans, baked beans, cole slaw, potato salad, chicken pot pie, green tea, coffee, vegetable soup. Although I wasn't a fan of all of them I can at least say that I tried them.

20. Pay off at least 1 of the 2 student loans we have left - Very relieving to know that between Jennifer and I we have paid off all but one of our student loans. Hopefully we can start to knock out the last one too.

21. Attend church on a more regular basis (weekly) - I am not sure that I can mark this one off because we were unable to attend weekly as I had hoped. This was mostly due to my work schedule. I am weekend nurse and am required to work every Saturday and Sunday. Most of the time we are able to attend the 5:30 Saturday service before I head into work. We did make a better attempt at going to church and both kids have actually started liking the nursery. Brinley gets excited when we tell her that we are going to church and that truly makes me happy. I want our kids to love God and hopefully we can help them to grow in their faith.

22. Watch all the best pictures award winners since I was born in 1985 - This was a mostly enjoyable task to complete. I enjoyed all but 1 of the award winners since I was born. I even ranked them in order of how I liked them. Here is my top 5 list: Braveheart, Gladiator, Forrest Gump, Silence of the Lambs, and Million Dollar Baby. I would recommend all the movies except for The Last Emperor - it was tough to even finish. I need to see the newest edition to the Best Picture Winners - Birdman.

23. Plant and grow my own vegetable garden - This is one of the tasks that Jennifer was pretty skeptical about me accomplishing. However, I had huge hopes for a garden. I was also pretty ambitious and planted a wide variety of plants. I planted tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, green beans, corn, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, bell peppers, okra, eggplant, carrots, spinach and strawberries. I can't wait to start my garden this year!

Here is some of all the different types of produce from my garden this year!

24. Spend less time playing on my phone - Besides reading my Bible app on my phone I was able to control my bad habit. This is mostly because I deleted the majority of the game apps on my phone. They were just taking up so much of my time and there is nothing that I truly gained from playing these games.

25. See 2 new NFL football teams - Jennifer and I were able to plan a little weekend getaway to Charlotte. While we were there we attended a game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Carolina Panthers. Jennifer didn't really enjoy the game very much, but she did ask some good questions. Maybe one day I will turn her into a sports fan.

26. Take both kids to see a men's UK basketball game - I was so happy to take the kids to RUPP to watch the Wildcats play. Brinley got to go to opening day with me and she loved it. Then Landon got to go with a whole herd of Heflin family members. For each kids first time attending a game we were able to get a basketball signed by Coach Calipari for them as a keepsake. It might be a few years before they truly enjoy the games, but I am so glad to start teaching them early how to be a Wildcat!

27. Give up pizza for 1 month - Surprisingly this was one of the first tasks that I completed. I had pizza on my birthday and then didn't have it again for 3 months. I thought about pizza quite a bit, but after completing the 1st month I just decided to see how long I could last.

28. Go hunting or fishing - I had a lot of people offer to take me fishing and I have taken advantage of a few of these opportunities. I first went fishing with my sister-in-law's boyfriend Nick (now my brother-in-law) and then just a few weeks later I went fishing with my cousin Rossy. I still have plans to try and go hunting too. I was also able to go hunting too. My cousin Rossy invited me down for a week and we spent the majority of it out in the woods. We went squirrel and deer hunting. I got my 1st squirrel, but was unsuccessful at deer hunting. I really enjoyed being out in the woods and I can see myself going back at least once a year if not more often. It all depends on how much the wife allows me to get involved in a new hobby since I already have so many!

Little bass that I caught in Hancock County.

My first ever hunting kill. I got my self a squirrel in Ohio County.

29. Go on a day trip with no children - We actually went above and beyond this requirement. For our 7th wedding anniversary we went to Gatlinburg without the kids for a couple nights and then my parents brought them down so we could all enjoy some time in the Smokies! We actually were able to take a second kid free weekend to Charolotte, NC.

Hiking in the Smokies!

30. Volunteer - Again this should have been an easy task to complete, but I thought to hard about what to volunteer for and then actually never went through with doing anything. I have currently submitted an application to volunteer at our church working in the children's ministry, I think that teaching children at a young age about the love of God is important and I want to help in any way that I can.

Final results - tasks completed 26/30

I have enjoyed pushing myself in the past year and I plan to continue to set lofty goals so that I can work hard to complete them. Jennifer has said that I can't set as many each year, so there will not be any 31 goals by the time I turn 31. I definitely think that this 29th year has probably been one of my best yet. I could not have even come close to completing these goals if it hadn't been for the support of my family and friends. You all have been so instrumental in helping me complete a task either directly or by giving me encouragement. Jennifer has been a great supporter of all the crazy things that I can think up and I am truly blessed to have her as my wife. Saying goodbye to my twenties was a blast and I can't wait to see what my 30's have in store. Thanks for reading and God Bless!