Exploring Lexington Parks

We have tried to explore some different parks around Lexington lately. A few of our friends have even joined us at these new parks.

A four man see-saw with our buddy Colton.

Climbing up the ladder wall with our buddy Gabe.

Me being a big kid myself I enjoy playing on all the playground equipment too.

Landon swinging with his buddy Maggie.

Our crew that came to explore and play at Masterson Station Park.

 Another day the kids and I loaded up the bike and carrier and decided to go for a little bike ride. We stumbled upon Mapleleaf Park and ended up having the whole place to ourselves. The kids enjoyed all the new playground equipment, especially the bridge.

These guys are best buddies. I just hope they always stay like this.

Landon is such a happy little guy. Here he is going down the spiral slide.

Landon climbing up the petals.

 The last park that we went and discovered was Woodland Park. Our friend Sydney was there to play with us while her daddy played in a softball game.

All the kids swinging on the big kid swings.

Brinley climbed up this big ladder multiple times. The little lady has no fear at all.

Sydney and Landon just relaxing on some playground equipment.

Landon climbing up a little rope bridge. People are amazed all the time at how good of a climber he is when I tell them that he is only 2 years old.

There are so many parks in Lexington that have yet to be discovered and maybe in the next few years we can make it to all of them. I enjoy seeing the kids find a new piece of playground equipment and then seeing them figure out how it works. They are constantly learning new things and it amazes me how quickly they pick up on things. Thanks for reading and God bless!

Chicago Half Marathon

Back in 2010 Andrea talked McKinley and I into running a half marathon with her. This was going to be the 1st marathon for all of us and I am not quite sure all of us knew what we were getting into. It was pretty cool that the race was going to be taking place in a pretty cool city, Chicago. Everyone arrived a few days before the race and we got in a little sightseeing. The race packet pick-up was down on Navy Pier and it was there that we found out just how big this event really was going to be. We found out that there was about 20,000 people who were going to be embarking on this journey with us. We even went to Giordano's for our last meal the night before the race.

Picking up our race gear down at Navy Pier.  

We made a little trip down to see the big bean mirror. 

Jennifer and I with the big bean. 

All smiles before starting the race. I had actually pulled a muscle in my leg a few weeks prior and was unsure if I was going to actually run in the race. However, when race day came I felt alright and I decided to give it a go.

We all found a spot near the middle of the pack to begin the race. Andrea wanted us to all stay together and complete the race together, but as soon as the gun was fired McKinley darted ahead of us. I stayed with Andrea for a little while, but I decided to run ahead while my leg was feeling good in case I had to slow back down later on in the race.

Jennifer and my parents kept moving around to different stations in order to catch different shots of us. This was about a mile into the race and it was about the same time I realized that my iPhone was not going to be working properly for me. I had saved a lot of music to listen to during the race, but somehow during a update I did before leaving for Chicago I lost all of my music. So, I ended up listening to a few John Mayer songs that didn't happen to get deleted.

Around mile 4 I started to settle down and get into a groove.

On mile 13 right before the finish line. I had stopped once for about a hundred yards after mile 10, but otherwise everything went great. My leg felt fine throughout the whole race.

Still smiling after finishing our 1st half marathon. McKinley and I gave up running that far of distances, while Andrea has actually gone on to finish lots of half marathons and even the NYC Marathon.

We had a lot of fun at the game and we were actually at a game in which a controversial call was made that directly effected the final outcome of the game. The play was when Calvin Johnson caught what looked like the go ahead touchdown. Minutes later after video reviews that ruled that it was actually an incomplete pass and of course the crowd was excited because it wasn't long before the Bears were awarded the win.

The weekend proved to be quite an experience and I actually thought about running more half marathons on the drive back to Kentucky. I have run in many races since this, but never longer that a 5K. Maybe someday I will get back into running longer distances, but it will probably be after I no longer have to push both kids in a jogging stroller. Thanks for reading and God bless!

Ringling Bros Circus

A couple months ago I saw that the circus was coming to town. We had taken the kids two years ago and it was pretty neat, but Landon was just an infant and Brinley was just over a year old. It was almost more fun for us then than it was for the two of them. So, now I thought that they would both really enjoy all the theatrics and animals that the circus could provide. We got there early because they had a pre-show where you could go down on the floor and meet some of the performers.

The kids meeting one of the clowns at the pre-show.

Up close and personal with an elephant. This elephant can paint and here he was making a picture. 

Both kids were mesmerized with the show, that was until about an hour into the show. Then both kids got really restless and were tired of sitting in their seats. We took turns taking one of the kids out to walk around. We also got some popcorn to try and distract them. 

I was amazed with the lion and tiger trainer. I can't believe that someone would get in a cage with so many wild animals. No matter how much training the animals have they are still wild! 

I have always been a huge fan of elephants. They are such intelligent animals and they can do some amazing things. I thought it was pretty cool how easily these animals were able to lay down and then get back up. 

Some more pictures of the amazing elephants. They were really one of the other reasons that I wanted to go to the circus. Apparently, elephants are going to be phased out of the show in the next few years. I am not for animal cruelty, but I do think it is pretty neat to see what animals can be taught to do. They are truly smart animals.

The kids were so crazy during the second half of the show that at times we thought about just packing up and calling it a night. However, every time we were about to leave the kids settled down for the next act. I am not sure that we will make this a yearly activity, but we did get to see some pretty amazing acts, both human and animals. Thanks for reading and God bless!

Kentucky Horse Park Run Club

A few weeks ago we finally took the advice of some friends and made the trip out to the Horse Park to see what this run club thing was all about. We took the double jogging stroller and made our way to the entrance, where we signed in and then began our journey.

Brinley getting to meet one of the horses.

This is the first horse that decided to come and meet us. I just whistled for it to come over since it had the blinders over it's eyes. 

His buddy came on over for a visit too.

After another little run we found a buddy who wanted to play. The kids wanted to get out and meet this one. Brinley really loved it.

Landon didn't really like the horse that much. He didn't even want to touch it.

He was my friend. We decided that he would be our last stop before finishing up our run.

 At the finish line was a nice little playground for the kids. We stayed about 30-40 minutes playing before deciding to head home for the night. However, when we turned the corner to head home we discovered a couple of miniature horses. The kids really wanted to meet them so we did.

Landon with his new buddy.

Brinley pulled up some grass to feed her new friend. This little lady loves animals.

We decided that since the kids had such a good time we would return the next week. I even decided to invite some of our friends so that they could enjoy seeing all the horses too.

We met our friends Maggie and Mac for an adventure through the horse park. All the kids loved meeting the horses.

This is the same horse that the kids and I met the week before. Apparently he was hungry and thought my arm looked good. Thankfully it didn't hurt.

Although there is four years difference between these two you would never have known it. This was the first time they had ever met and they acted like old pals.

Meeting one of the little horses.

Jennifer even stopped to get a picture with us this week.

Some pictures of our friends enjoying the horses and playground.

I love this bottom left picture of Landon feeding this enormous horse and he has no fear at all. It is so amazing that they can live a life without fear. They are only taught fear by the things that we teach them through their experiences.

There was only one week left of the horse park run club so we definitely wanted to try and make it because both kids really enjoy it. We were afraid that it might rain on us, but it held out long enough for us to complete 2 loops through the trail. We made sure to stop and enjoy the horses because it will be a while before we are back out to the horse park.

I don't know what Brinley will do in life, but if it is decided in the first few years of life then I am almost certain that she will work with animals. However, time will tell just what she grows up to be. I know that Jennifer and I will enjoy seeing whatever it is that both kiddos will do and just trying to enjoy the ride. Thanks for reading and God bless!

Kentucky Children's Garden

We had only been to the Kentucky Children's garden once since having kids and it was before Landon was born. We figured it was about time to try it out again. I invited some friends and we decided to meet up one day to explore it together.

Landon's first trip to the Kentucky Children's Garden.

The first stop of the day was the train. It was a huge hit and all the kids enjoyed chasing them all around the track. It was Thomas the Train and his friend Percy. 

Everybody decided that this log was the perfect place to play. Here is Landon in the log.

Colton taking his turn in the log.

Brinley enjoyed the log too. 

By far the thing the kids liked the most was the pond and boat. They had some bamboo poles with string and some bobbers on the ends of them. All the kids thought for sure they were going to catch themselves a fish.

Here is the whole crew on the boat trying to catch a fish. 

We were technically breaking the rules on the boat because there was a limit of only 2 children on the boat at a time. So when some other parents were not letting their children on the boat we decided it was time for the kids to share. We asked them to fish from the banks for a while. They were just as happy fishing from there too.

We even made it through wild flower maze. Landon refused to put down the nets from the fishing area as we ventured through the maze.

The sand pit was next for the kids to explore. What kid doesn't love some sand!

Exploring inside a little cave. The kids asked us to walk by and they were going to be bears and scare us.

They had a little garden and everybody decided that they wanted to water all the plants. This was a pretty neat water hose and buckets. You sat the bucket or water can on top of the blue base and it filled up with water from the bottom. 

Here was the crew for the day. They all really play well together and had a pretty good time today exploring everything. This was the start of a little creek and they enjoyed hiking along side it on all the big rocks. It ended up being a great day, just a little on the hot side, but the kids all had a good time. It probably won't be 2 years again before we go back again. Thanks for reading and God bless!