Kentucky Sporting Events

This year with the kids being members of the Junior Wildcat Club, it got them free entrance into all sporting events (except football and men's basketball). This gave me reason to take the kids so that they could experience all different types of sports. Some of them the kids found entertaining and others we left not long after our arrival. I don't ever want to push anything onto the kids so this was my way of opening up their eyes to the different things that they could try and get involved with something new.

SWIM AND DIVE

Took the kids to a swim and dive meet. I had never experienced this before so I had no idea what we were getting into myself. The swimming and diving all occurred at the same time so it was a little bit chaotic. Thankfully there was a guy right next to me that didn't mind me asking some questions. Turns out that his daughter was one of the divers for the opposing team, Cincinnati.

Turns out they had free pizza for all the guests. Not sure if this is an every meet type of thing or not, but the kids really enjoyed it. They seem to think that every time they attend a UK event then they need to eat.

They also gave out these pretty awesome decorated sugar cookies.

Since Jennifer and I are both employees of the University of Kentucky we also get free admission into all sporting events other than football and men's basketball. So, this time we brought grandma and grandpa along to enjoy the experience too!

The kids favorite part of the swim meet other that the pizza and cookies were the emoji cat masks. They thought it was the funniest thing ever.

Brinley was crying from laughing so much.

VOLLEYBALL

The volleyball games in the fall were really exciting. The volleyball team did really well this year and Brinley really enjoyed the games. We went to a few of the games and the Wildcats won every match.

Landon enjoyed the popcorn.

The kids got to meet Mr. Wildcat.

BASEBALL

We all made our first visit to the Cliff, the baseball stadium, to cheer on the Bat Cats. It was actually the home opener against Xavier.

I snuck in a few PB&J's for the kids so we had a little make-shift picnic at the park.

And yet I still ended up getting nachos and Sprite for these two! We had to leave before the end of the game because the kids had school the next day, but the Wildcats ended up losing. This was the first UK team that my kids had ever seen lose. They had been going to events for over 4 years now. Not too bad of a winning streak for the kiddos. I was really sorry to see it end!

The next baseball game we went to was against WKU. The kids wanted to wear these tattoos that I had got. Landon put his on his arm and Brinley asked for her forehead, so I obliged.

Landon with his snow cone.

Since the Cats were playing WKU, which was Grandpa's alma mater,  we brought them out to the game. The whole time we were there the Big Red Hilltoppers were leading. Grandpa even taught Landon to say go Big Red. At first I acted like I got upset so the little man kept doing it. Then I decided I better just act like it didn't bother me so that he wouldn't do it anymore. The little man said it for 2 weeks! The kids got a little stir crazy around the 7th inning so we went home. I thought it just wasn't meant for us to see the baseball team win. However, while we were eating dinner I checked the score and Kentucky had made a comeback in the bottom of the 9th and won the game.

Another night we headed out to the Cliff to watch the Cats play the Louisville Cardinals. The Bat Cats pulled out the win so the kids posed with their L's down. Raising them right!

The kids and I at the UK vs. Louisville game.

Another night we headed out to the Cliff for another baseball game. This one was more for the after show. It was a Friday night game so they had fireworks at the end. 

Thankfully I brought the blanket because it got a little chilly. The kids were ready to head home, but I was determined to see the fireworks. They both were ready to fall asleep during the game. Landon actually fell asleep about 10 minutes before the fireworks started.

The kids got some baseball gloves from MiMi so Landon decided to bring his to the next home game we attended just in case a foul ball came his way.

Brinley opted for a little coloring sheet instead of watching the game.

This was the last home regular season series at the Cliff and the next to last home game. They are going to be moving across campus to the new stadium for the next season. We had really been missing out over the past few years when we could have been watching the Bat Cats play ball.

They had a special night for kids and allowed them to run the bases after the game. Brinley and Landon thought it was awesome and wanted to do it again. They were sad when I told them it was only allowed once.

Just resting on the UK logo.

Me and the kids with a picture right behind home plate.

That's a wrap on the home UK baseball season for us. I think they had fun going to the games with me. I know that I had fun even between the many trips to the concession stand and the multiple bathroom breaks. I can't wait to see the new stadium next year.

SOFTBALL

Another new UK sport for all of us was softball. They have a relatively new stadium and it is really nice. Brinley wanted to of course try out the concession stand!

Our first game was against Louisville and the Cats won!

L's down!

We made it to another home game when the Cats played Georgia. Unfortunately the Cats lost.

The kids were happy about getting to see Scratch!

Both kids ended up retrieving a foul ball. Brinley was so happy because Landon got one first. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal, but you got to return in to the workers and you could win a prize. 

The kid's prizes for finding the foul balls. Landon got a slap bracelet and Brinley got some crazy shades. They didn't pick these prizes, it was actually a wheel they spun to see what they got.

I am not sure who had more fun at all of these UK sporting events, me or the kids, but I know that I had a lot of fun. I am sad that we didn't get out to see all the other sporting events that UK has. Maybe next year we can get to the rest - soccer, track, and tennis. Go CATS! Thanks for reading and God bless!

Hiking with McKinley

On the rare day McKinley will have off from work we try to get together and do something fun. Sometimes we play board games, other times we play pool and even most recently we have even done his yard work. I know growing up sucks sometimes! My favorite thing that we do if we can get it to work out is going to explore out in the woods. We have been to the Pinnacles a couple times as well as Raven Run. However, we have recently been out to the Red River Gorge a couple of times and it was a fun little adventure. We did a little research before going and decided to head out to a trail that headed up to an overlook called Cloud Splitter.

To get to the top of Cloud Splitter we had to climb up this rock face and fortunately someone left this rope. The only thing that was a little frigtening was that it looked to be only attached to the small little tree at the top. 

McKinley went first to make sure the rope would hold. He made it to the top and then I hauled myself up too. I had never done anything like that before, but it was pretty interesting. McKinley said next time I need to lean forward as I am climbing up the hill so that just in case I fall I don't fall down the hill but instead fall forward and can hopefully slide down to safety.

Beautiful view from the top. It would have only looked better if it was autumn and all the leaves were changing colors.  Maybe we should return sometime in the fall.

The Heflin brothers at the top of Cloud Splitter.

Another view from the top. You can see the river running through the middle of the picture.

Just acting goofy like normal for us. I leaned my phone up on something and used the timer function on my watch to take a few pictures. 

For some reason I just loved this little tree that is right behind me. It is just hard to believe that against all the elements in the world this little seed somehow was able to survive in the harsh environment on the top of a small mountain and grow. Pretty impressive.

View from the top of that hill that we climbed up with the rope. We decided to try and find an alternate way down. Not sure I really trust that tree to hold my big self up twice!

This little area was like a fat man squeeze. Apparently we missed a little part of the trail back here that had an overlook that was supposed to be pretty awesome. Looks like another reason to go back.

Hiking back on the road to our car. I was more conservative and hiked on the side of the road and McKinley thought a hike right down the middle was the better option.

We found this suspension bridge on the drive back and decided to head down and check it out. McKinley preceeded to jump up and down on the bridge and shake it as much as possible, just like a little kid.

The tunnel that we had to drive threw to get to the place we were going hiking. Not the place to be driving if you are scared of small spaces.

Another time we were able to get together for a trip to the woods recently meant another trip to the gorge. This time the place that we decided on was Indian Staircase. We started our hike out by making a wrong turn and the directions weren't making much sense at all so we decided to turn back around and start over. Thankfully we got back on track and after passing over a couple of little creek bridges we were well on our way to the staircase.

Little creek bridge. 

Cliff overhang that was the end destination that we had been hiking to. We just needed to climb the Indian Staircase to get to it.

McKinley is again the test subject for all of our adventures. Here he is climbing Indian Staircase. It is hard to see them here, but there are small little footholds that stair step up to the top. I thought it was really cool and it did have a dangerous element to it, but I don't think that it was that bad. I wasn't exactly sure about returning back down them but thought that it was do able.

The cliff overhang from the earlier picture. The darker rock on the edge of the cliff is called Frog Head because it looks so much like a frog. 

This time I was actually trying to take a nice panoramic picture and McKinley decided to mess it up with a banana. I actually didn't even realize it until I looked at the picture. I was too busy trying to keep the camera still and focused. Ended up being better like this. I could have sit up here for a lot time and just enjoyed the quiet and calm.

Just sitting on the edge of a cliff with my brother.

We decided to head back a different way to see what else this trail had to offer. We found the largest cliff overhang in the gorge, which was about the length of a football field.

Another picture of the overhang with McKinley walking in the background.

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Standing under the cliff overhang. This would be a pretty awesome place to camp out so that you would be protected from all the elements. However, I don't think it is allowed.

View from the hike back. That is all the area that we had just hiked, with the Indian Staircase being the part on the far right.

McKinley always trying to mess up a picture. I think my kids might be trained better to take a photo than this guy. It always makes for an interesting time when I look back at the photos.

We walked all along a path that had about a 4 story drop off beside it.

Found this arch on the trail back to the car.

Of course McKinley decided that he needed to climb on top of the arch.

Then it was time to lay down for a rest and just ponder his future.

I even found a nice spot to curl up and hide.

View of the arch from the other side. 

Walking back to the car along the path. The stone wall on the left hand side is the same 4 story drop that we were walking along the top of in an earlier picture.

I have really started to enjoy our hikes together. We didn't get to hang out that much growing up and really talk about life. Most of our childhood we spent playing with toys and video games. Then I left for college just about the time he was needing older brother advice. Now we get to have some more serious conversations and bounce ideas off of each other. I am so glad that he picked to do his residency in Lexington at UK so that we could spend times like this together. Thanks for reading and God bless!

Missing Teeth

About 2 months ago our little lady let us know that she had her first loose tooth. This was very exciting for her, yet terrifying. Brinley loved wiggling it almost non-stop. However, she really did not like it when I would attempt to grab it and pull it out. About a week worth of wiggling it and I decided that it was time to get that thing out. She was scared but said that I could try to pull it out. We were sitting on the couch and I reached in and a quick tug later it was out. She didn't even realize that I had got it out so I didn't say anything immediately. I asked her if she was ok and she asked if I got it. I opened up my hand and showed her the tooth. Then she was ecstatic. She couldn't wait to put the tooth under her pillow for the tooth fairy. 

Look at that new smile! Happy to have lost her first tooth.

This girl has some tiny teeth. I really had trouble even getting my fingers around the little thing.

Brinley holding her tiny little tooth.

Thankfully mommy was able to whip up a little something for Brinley to put her tooth in. She put it in this glittery box and then inside the little bag that mommy made with some scrap materials she had around the house.

Tooth fairy bag mommy made.

We debated quite a while about how much to give for the first tooth. We thought $10 would be enough that she would be excited about it. We even threw some glitter to make it a little more special. She was definitely happy the next morning when she woke up and found the money. She ran into our room and said that she got $10!  

Not long after losing that first tooth she informed us that she had another loose one. After about a week of wiggling it we decided that it was time for this one to come out. When she finally got up the courage for me to try to pull it I reached in and pulled it out without her even knowing. She sure was happy afterwards though! You can even see the new front bottom tooth coming in beside it.

Look at that smile! She was so happy.

The tooth.

Aunt Andrea and Uncle Chris came to visit a little before Brinley's birthday and this Tooth Fairy bag was one of her gifts from them. It has a little pouch on the back to put her tooth in. It is also personalized with her name on the back of it. Pretty cute little tooth. This time she got what looks to be the going rate for a tooth, which was $5. She was still super happy with that!

I am so glad that I got to help her get both of her teeth out. I hopefully turned what could have been a very scary event into a very calm and positive experience. She can't wait until she has another loose one and her brother is excited about the possibility of losing some too! Thanks for reading and God bless!