Kentucky Horse Park

A couple months ago Crystal and Kyli Jo, our cousins from Ohio, came down to visit us for a few days. They had always wanted to go to the Kentucky Horse Park because Kyli Jo loves horses.

When ever some out of town visitors come to Lexington we always take them to Ramsey's Diner so that they can try some of the local restaurants. Brinley really enjoyed spending time with her cousins! I think they had some fun playing with her too!

Landon and Brinley with their cousin Kyli Jo.

I had apparently gone sometime with my parents when I was little, but I didn't remember any of it so we decided to tag along for a visit.

Exploring the kids barn at the Kentucky Horse Park. Here they are riding a couple of wooden horses.

My little mini me and myself riding a mechanical horse. He looks like such a big boy!

Landon and I on the mechanical horse. It showed different walking methods of the horse.

Brinley riding the horse all by herself.

We watched a show with different horses and they came out and ran around the stadium while the announcer told us about the breed's history. It was pretty interesting.

Brinley meeting some of the horses from the show. This miniature horse was her favorite one.

Another one of the horses from the show that Brinley and Landon decided to meet.

Brinley suckered Crystal into helping her on the playground.

Kyli Jo and Landon playing on the slides.

Brinley riding a pony and Kyli was walking with her to make sure she didn't fall off.

Crystal and her buddy Landon.

They apparently have some huge chairs at the horse park. I am not sure who really fits in these chairs, but the kids look awful small in them.

They also have this rather large wood carving of a duck too!

Another trip to the kids barn and they kids took a carriage ride and helped drive the cart.

We had a lot of fun with our cousins during their stay with us in Lexington. It was fun to catch up with them since we only see them a few times a year. Brinley and Landon really enjoyed playing with them. Hopefully we can make a trip up to see them in Ohio and the kids can meet Kyli's horse Zip! Thanks for reading and God bless!

Northeast Tour Part 3 - Washington D.C.

We got up early Wednesday morning and started packing up our car for the trip home. We left a little later that I had wanted, but we got out on the road heading toward Washington, D.C. First of all we started running low on cash from all the tow roads that we had been driving on. Well when we got to Maryland we took an even bigger hit to our cash supply. We got to a toll and I paid the $4 just like I was supposed to do. A few miles down the road our GPS told us to exit the interstate to get onto another road. I listened to it just like I always do and as soon as I got off it told me to get back on the same interstate I was just on except going the opposite direction (North bound). At this point I knew that something was wrong so I pulled off to the side of the road. We looked at the map and in fact we should have been going our original direction of South bound. I saw a place for an illegal u-turn but I had done that once on a family vacation and it ended up costing over $200. So after consideration we decided to go back through the toll and ask how the best way to get back on track would be and just see if they would let us pass through. They gave us directions on the best way to turn back around and collected another $4 toll. We turned around and got back headed in the right direction South bound to Washington, D.C. Then we got back to the toll booth and I made sure to go back through the exact same booth that I had gone through less than 10 minutes ago. I explained the situation and even showed a receipt that I had gotten from the other side. She said sorry and asked for our $4. Welcome to Maryland! So, we turned a $4 toll into a $12 journey. We had no more issues and made it to our nation's capital around four o'clock in the afternoon. We quickly got to work and started walking around to all the monuments.

We started at the Washington Monument and then headed to the World War II Memorial. Then we stopped at the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial and then finished our night with a trip to the White House.

My wife and kiddos with the Washington Monument.

At the World War II Memorial. Thankful for all those men and women who lost their lives.

The kids found some ducks in the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

A picture full of Kentuckians. While we were visiting the Lincoln Memorial I told Brinley about how Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky, was our 16th president and the one she would probably relate to was that he was the man on a penny.

Jennifer and Brinley with FDR. Brinley really liked his doggie!

Brinley in training to become a 1st lady. At least she has the stance down.

We got to meet up with a childhood friend of ours Andy and his wife Laura Leigh. They both work for the IRS and we met up and had dinner with them after they got off work. It was good to see them and catch up. We had dinner at a restaurant called Matchbox in the Chinatown district. 

After dinner we headed over to the White House. They had a new barricade that was surrounding the fence and had police stationed all over the place. I asked one of the policemen and he said the main fence was getting some adjustments and that the guardrails would be removed again when the renovations were complete. He also told me that the President was in house, but I didn't know if I should believe him or not.

If you have an elaborate camera it is often hard to decide who to let take your picture. I typically find someone who has one that is similar to our DSLR. Well we hit the jackpot when we asked this lady to take our picture at the White House. She was visiting from China with her parents and they worked as a complete team. The lady took our picture while the mother went around and asked everyone to get out of the way. I wish they could have been on the whole trip with us!

One last picture of the White House before it got too dark. We also wanted one that didn't have all the fencing in it.

We made it to the hotel and got to bed because we were all exhausted. I told the kids to get some sleep so that we could get up in the morning to swim. After breakfast as we were going back up to the room I noticed that the pool didn't open until 5 pm. I asked at the front desk to make sure that it wasn't a mistake and they said that in that county it was a requirement to have an on duty lifeguard and that they wouldn't be there until 5. Needless to say Brinley was devastated and didn't really understand because she asked for the next hour if we were going swimming. We contemplated heading home because we had been so busy for the past week and a half, but we ultimately decided to head back into the city to explore the Museum of Natural History.

The kids and I with the huge elephant that is located in the entrance area of the Museum of Natural History.

The kids loved the animal exhibit area. They kept running up and pointing to all the different animals. Giraffes are one of the kids favorite animals.

Next we headed up to the rocks and mineral area. Brinley loves rocks so I thought she would love this area. She really liked all the exhibits that allowed her to touch things.

Some of the things that we did at the Museum of Natural History. We got to see a trantula eat a cricket, saw the bones of a turtle, a bunch of gold, Brinley with the Hope Diamond and the Heflin's with T-Rex.

Here Brinley is touching a rock that was brought back from Mars.

Last time we came to Washington we visited this museum and we really loved the butterfly gallery. We decided that it was well worth the money for the kids to get to see all these beautiful creatures.

Landon pointing out a butterfly.

Brinley is pretty happy in a room full of butterflies.

I was really surprised at how well the kids did. The rules said to not touch any of the butterflies. Both kids only pointed at them.

Landon pointing out a butterfly on top of my head.

Leaving the museum we got one last little treat before heading home.

Finishing up our treats at the base of the Washington Monument.

One last picture to finish off our trip.

All we had left was an 8 hour trip back home to Lexington. This vacation was difficult at times with the kids not being on their own schedule and in their familiar setting. We made a lot of memories and I am so glad that we were able to take the kids on this journey. I plan to take the kids back to Washington D.C. sometime because I would still like to tour the White House and go to the top of the Washington Monument. Thanks for reading and God bless!

Northeast Tour Part 2 - New York City

We started out on our next leg of our journey to New York City to visit my sister Andrea and her husband Chris. This would be our first visit to see them since they got married last year. In fact as it turns out we were actually their first overnight guests in their new apartment. Our stay in Long Island City was going to be for six days and we had lots of activities planned for the week. After our little three hour drive down we ran into some rush hour traffic that delayed our arrival at the Maitland's home. We unpacked our car and headed up to the 26th floor to begin our stay. The first night we decided to stay in and just order some pizza and just catch up and try to figure out a plan for the upcoming days.

Our first big adventure in NYC was to head out to see the Statue of Liberty. We had been there before with the kids, but unfortunately the family picture that someone took of us had Landon cut out of it. We had to make things right and return to see Lady Liberty. This time I made sure to find someone with a similar camera to ours to take the picture. I also checked before we left the island to make sure it was ok.

Brinley pretending to hold up her torch like the statue. We couldn't get Landon to participate.

Another favorite place that the kids liked visiting was the Mickey store, or the Disney Store. They had all kinds of interactive stuff as well as a little Mickey Mouse Clubhouse play area that the kids loved. Landon just went around picking up every Mickey Mouse and showing it to me. While we were there we caught a little program about the movie that was about to be released called Inside Out. This is were Brinley picked up a new word - disgusting. She has used it often, just not always in the right context!

I finally made it to see the Yankees play. This had been on my to do list for a while! It just so happens that we got to be there on a night when history was made. In fact we almost didn't even make it in time to see the hit. We had arrived at the stadium before the game started (Chris came from work and met us at our seats), but there were so many people waiting in line to go through security. Landon actually had fallen asleep in my arms on the subway ride to the stadium too! As we were walking to our seats, I heard them say that Alex Rodriguez was coming up to bat. I knew that he was just one hit away from 3,000 hits so I told the girls to stop walking and come over and look at this. That is when A-Rod crushed a home run to right field. We finally made it to our seats, but we spent the next 8 innings just trying to pacify the kids. They didn't really have any interest in baseball, so we resorted to cotton candy and ice cream! In the end the Yankees won and we witnessed history!

Of all the times that I have been to NYC I have never been brave enough to try food from street vendors. However, on this visit we got some highly recommended advice from the Maitland's on which spot to try. We all grabbed lunch from the Halal Guys. Their chicken and rice was delicious, I just wouldn't recommend the hot sauce, because it set my mouth on fire!

One of the kids favorite things that we did in the city would have to be the Children's Museum of Manhattan. They had so many interactive and hands on stuff to play with that the kids at times couldn't decide what to play with. One spot that they both really enjoyed with driving the big fire truck! 

We made a trip to Hoboken to visit some of Andrea's friends that were having a house warming party. When we arrived there were quite a few people and  we didn't want to intrude, so we opted to go play at a nearby park so that Andrea and Chris could visit with their friends. The park had a lot of cool things to play with including lots of stuff that spun and would make you dizzy. Before taking the train we stopped by the water front to take pictures of the NYC skyline.

After playing at the park in Hoboken, we stopped by the most famous place in the city, Carlos Bakery from the show Cake Boss. We didn't see any of the family members, but we did get the kids a cookie and Jennifer and I split a cannoli and a lobster tail.

We have tried to visit with the Maitland's on previous trips to NYC, but something has always come up and prevented us from getting together. We made sure this time we could make it out to Long Island for a visit. We were given a tour of Chris' childhood home and then the kids enjoyed some snacks that Mrs. Maitland had prepared for us. Laurie also sang us a song while she played on the piano. Afterwards we made a trip to Carvel for a little ice cream treat!

We decided to visit the Empire State Building after returning from Long Island and visiting with the Maitland's. This proved to be a very challenging adventure. When we arrived we were told that it was about a 30 minute wait to get to the top. That didn't seem too bad, so we hopped in line and then is when the "fun" began. Landon at one point bolted underneath the ropes that were keeping people in line. I started after him, but thought that he would eventually turn and come back to me. I was wrong! He dashed around a corner and I lost track of him for a second. When I turned the corner I saw him down on his knees. Apparently he got scared of the security guard and decided that he had gone far enough. Next we made it to the top and that is when the kids went in to full meltdown mode. Landon was crying and I couldn't get him to calm down so I put him up on my shoulders which calmed him down, but then security informed me that I had to put him back down. The only thing we could find to calm him down was a bag of Doritos. So that is why they are in the majority of our family photos! 

To make things even worse, it was so packed on the observation deck that you could barely move without running into someone. I asked a worker why it was so packed and she said that it was because it had rained the day before so everybody was trying to get there while it was nice. So, never go the day after it rains! This is probably the best family picture we were able to get pre-meltdown and no Doritos.

Here is the best post-meltdown shot that we were able to get. Apparently I couldn't keep my eyes open. I do think we picked the right time of day to go because we got both daytime shots and then pictures after the sun set.

After our venture to the Empire State Building we came back and I got to enjoy my Father's Day cupcake from the kids. They are two of the best things that ever happened to me and I am so lucky that I am their father!

The Shake Shack is one of our newer NYC favorite places to eat. It is only burgers, fries and milkshakes, but it is so good! Something about eating outside in a park is pretty cool too!

After the Shake Shack we decided to take the kids to the park so that they could run off some energy. The park close to Shake Shack had some water features and the kids kept trying to play in it, but we didn't bring any extra clothes for them, so we decided to head to Central Park. I had brought some bread that had gone bad, so we stopped at the lake and fed the ducks and fish. 

Our trip to Central Park also included a few rides on the carousel. We let Aunt Andrea ride with both kids and we opted to just take pictures. This also marked the first time that the kids rode without anyone standing beside them. They both did really well and Landon only took his hands off to wave at us each time he came around!

One of my favorite spots to visit is FAO Schwarz! This is essentially a toy store on steroids! I am really sad to hear that this store is closing, so we had to make one final visit. The kids both really love the giant stuffed animals, but Jennifer is always nervous when I get them off the shelf and put the kids on them because they are around $500 dollars or more for each one! I always enjoy the giant piano like the one from the movie Big.

Some more pictures from FAO Schwarz. I love the picture of Brinley holding up her arm like the Statue of Liberty! Also the picture with the huge stuffed bears was snapped right before Landon pulled the bear over on himself. Luckily I ran up and caught it before it completely knocked him over.

On our next to last night visiting with the Maitland's we all had a pretty rough night. Landon decided that he was going to get sick and be up all night long. He had a little cold, but was so congested that he was having trouble breathing while laying down. We finally got him to sleep, but he woke up in a screaming fit around 2 am. I didn't want everyone to wake up, so I quickly picked him up and headed down to the front lobby. The only problem was that I didn't grab my glasses or any keys to get back into the apartment. After about 10 minutes down in the lobby Landon calmed back down and we headed back upstairs. The rest of the night I slept in a chair and held the little guy. I decided to sleep in a little the next morning because I didn't get much shut eye the night before.

If you haven't ever been to Dylan's candy shop then you need to go at least once! The place is 3 stories full of all types of candy. The kids spent most of their time opening up the candy bins trying to get free samples, but we were pretty quick to stop them because there is no sampling! I really enjoy seeing all the older candies that you can't find in regular stores anymore. It is also pretty neat that they have a wall full of candy boxes that celebrities have filled up with their favorite treats. It is fun to see if you have similar taste with any famous people. 

One of my favorite places in the city is just down the street from Dylan's Candy Bar. Serendipity 3 is a restaurant that has some of the best desserts in the city. Due to a rule that they have printed in their menu about meeting a certain amount of money that has to be spent per guest we ended up getting three of the famous frozen hot chocolates. Also, while we were here Landon had another meltdown and I think it was because he hadn't slept much the night before. He eventually calmed down and took a nap in my arms. If you are really looking to spend some money you can purchase a $1,000 ice cream sundae. We decided to save that for another trip!

We always try to stop by the NFL office to visit Andrea at work. Through the years I have become friends with many of her co-workers by working at the 7-on-7 camp so it is always good to catch up with them. Brinley enjoyed checking out Aunt Andrea's work space. You also can't visit the office without getting a picture with the Superbowl trophy!

Times Square is probably one of the most recognizable areas in the whole city. It is crowded with all kinds of people from all over the world. The streets are also lined with all kinds of people who are trying to make some money by either begging or selling something. The picture on the right shows the ball that drops at midnight on New Years Eve which signifies the start of a new year. Jennifer and I actually did that with my family one year and it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience.

Sightseeing can be hard! Sometimes you just need a little nap.

When in the city you have to take advantage of any open space where the kids could run around freely. Thankfully Andrea and Chris apartment had this awesome top deck patio with a grassy area that the kids both really enjoyed! I thought it was a pretty cool picture with the NYC skyline in the backdrop.

I am such a lucky man to call this lady my wife. She has been by my side for the past 15 years and their is nobody else that I want to experience life with. This picture was taken on the rooftop of the Maitland's apartment.

Our last night in the city was set aside for Jennifer and I to have a date night. We saved this until the end of our stay so that the kids would be more comfortable with Aunt Andrea and Chris while we were gone. It ended up being a great night. We started with seeing a Broadway show Aladdin. It stayed pretty much to the Disney movie, but added some funny, more recent humor to the show. Afterwards we stopped in Times Square because they had an interactive billboard that we decided to try and be a part of. It was sponsored by Revlon and it was supposed to catch couples kissing each other. I talked Jennifer into it and we ended up with a pretty good picture. Before heading back for the night we picked up a couple of slices of Junior's cheesecake. I am not sure we have ever been to NYC without going to Junior's.

We might be crazy for taking two young children on all these trips that they will probably never remember, but they sure do make things interesting! The six days in NYC was a lot of fun filled with playing in parks, eating, visiting different tourist attractions, and meltdowns. A lot of people have asked me how our trip went and I tell them that it was pretty rough! They usually say well the pictures looked like it was a good time and I respond that I don't like to talk about all the negative aspects of our trip. The problem was that the kids didn't have as much room as usual to run around because NYC apartments are built for efficiency and in the least amount of space possible. Then when we did go out we had them in a stroller or strapped to us in a carrier. They just had meltdowns because they were being contained when they normally get to run free. However, even with all the meltdowns that occurred we still had a great time in the city and are I am so thankful that we made this journey. The good parts of the adventure far outweighed all the meltdowns that occurred. Maybe in a few years we take the kids back for another NYC adventure! Thanks for reading and God bless!