May 2021

We started out the month of May with some visitors to come celebrate Brinley's birthday a little early. Everyone got to see Landon score another goal too. The kids both had soccer games so everyone got to come see them play. After their games we headed out to lunch at KSBar and then got some ice cream at Dairy Queen.

After church the next day we went to play at Jacobson Park with Olivia. The kids showed her how to fly a kite. At one point Landon even let out the entire length of string.

The kids even showed Olivia how to roast marshmallows for her first ever s'mores. The kids love getting a fire going in the backyard because it always means that they get to roast, I mean burn some marshmallows.

To most people May 4th is known as Star Wars Day, but to us it is the day that Jennifer and I became parents to this beautiful little girl. It is so hard to believe that we have had the pleasure of being her parents for 9 years. It is hard to believe. She is such an amazing young lady who loves animals, friends, reading, legos, and TV. She is a daydreamer at heart, occasionally mischievous, and she also has a sweet tooth like me.

For her birthday she requested french toast for breakfast before heading to school. She took a picture with her Birthday Queen sash and bunny headband, but she didn't want to wear them to school. 

After school we got an early dinner at Texas Roadhouse (her choice) and then we headed out to the Movie Tavern. For her birthday this year we rented out a movie theatre and invited a couple of friends to come watch the new movie Raya with us. I am not sure if these girls were able to watch the movie for all the talking and giggling that they were doing. It was so great to hear them laughing and just being kids. So much had been taken from them this past year, but we have found that children can be so resilent. 

The rest of the Movie Tavern birthday party crew. Brinley had a lot of fun having all of us at the movies together. It was actually Olivia's first trip to the movies.

Someone donated some headbands to the clinic and of course I was just being silly and opened one up to try it out. One of our doctors mentioned that he was glad I was wearing it so that I could keep my hair out of my face. So, I got him one too. I really do enjoy working at the children's hospital with a lot of other people who try to bring joy to the children of central and Eastern Kentucky.

The first week of May is usually Nurses week. Our clinic spoils us all year long with goodies and praise, but they had all kinds of treats for us this week. One of our patients even brought us the bucket on the left. It said "Thank you for being my lifesaver" and it was full of lifesaver candies. 

A couple of places in town do discounts or special deals for nurses on nurses week. One of those places is Insomnia Cookies so we are sure to always stop in for some free cookies. The kids have also rediscovered the giant logs at the Arboretum so we stopped there before we headed home to eat those cookies. 

Brinley and Landon have spent a lot of time playing with their bunnies. I am glad that they have a friend to play with now. Salt and Pepper sure have brought a lot of joy to my little girl. We had a big surprise when we finally put the bunnies into the same cage. Turns out that the vet was wrong about Pepper and in fact he was a boy. The kids kept asking us why Pepper was giving Salt so many hugs. We decided to separate them again and started calling to see if we could get Pepper fixed. 

One day while the kids were in school Jennifer and I drove down to the Red River Gorge to hike one of my favorite trails, Indian Staircase. I wanted to bring the kids to do it sometime, but Jennifer seemed really unsure from how I explained it to her. So, this was a trial run to see if we could bring the kids back another time. Also at the top of the staircase you have to be sure and find frog head. 

It was a gorgeous day to be out with my beautiful lady. She was a little nervous on the actual staircase and told me that she didn't believe the kids would like it. I still think that we should try it. So, maybe someday I will get them out to the staircase. We also passed through the large rock overhang and one of the arches. 

Many days this month were spent at the ballpark and soccer fields. The kids both really started to find their groove in baseball. Brinley found that she was a really strong hitter and Landon discovered that he was an outstanding outfielder. The kid has so much hustle that some times I can't believe it. Landon got himself a game ball for all hustle and hard work. He even tried out catcher, but the gear was too large and he only lasted one inning. 

Happy Mother's Day to Jennifer. We cooked her a dinner at home and the kids gave her their gifts that they got her.

I even put some lettuce out in the garden for the rabbits. It came in pretty handy and was a lot cheaper than buying them lettuce at the store. Rabbits can't eat iceberg lettuce so you have to feed them darker greens like romaine. They for sure can't get anything more fresh than this lettuce. 

Since church has reopened after the pandemic I have been volunteering with the greeters, aka the blue shirts, or the people with the Need Help on their shirts. Well the kids have enjoyed holding the doors open with their old man. So, we made it official and they became blue shirts too! Lots of people try to talk with them, but they are more shy like their mother when it comes to strangers, which is a good thing. 

Another day, another trip to the ball field. Someone brought the team cookies that were decorated baseballs with Mets written on them. The kids had also wanted to go to Malone's for dinner so we did. 

We also take a lot of walks around the neighborhood. Sometimes we have even shoved the bunnies into their stroller to take them with us. One night we even happened across a bent over dead tree. The kids decided that they wanted to rip it out of the ground. They were successful and Brinley even walked with it for a while. 

Happy last day of school. It seems like we had just finally got them back in school and used to the routine when it was time for summer break. Finishing up the school year on May 18th was the earliest I can ever remember school getting out. The only benefit of virtual school was that we didn't have snow days that lengthened the school year. 

One of the first days of summer and we headed up north to Cincinnati to play Top Golf. Last year the kids really enjoyed playing so I thought it would be something fun. We all had a lot of fun. We even stopped at the Holtzman Donut shop across the street for a little treat. I had bought the summer pass again and had planned on staying for quite a while, but I failed to read the fine print that it didn't start until after Memorial Day. So we only played for about an hour. 

Next we headed to downtown Cincinnati to explore the area before taking the kids to their first Reds game. We discovered a pretty neat park downtown that the kids had a lot of fun playing on. They actually didn't want to leave to go to the baseball game. 

First Reds game for the kids and mine and Jennifer's first time at Great American Ballpark. It was a really awesome stadium. The kids were most excited about playing on the playgrounds inside the ball park as well as the whiffle ball field. They also weren't content until they had some ice cream in a helmet. 

We only made it halfway through the game up in our seats before the kids kept begging that they wanted to go back and play on the playground. I thought Great American Ballpark was really nice and was very family friendly. Hopefully next time we go back the kids are more interested in the actual game. 

Well, the kids watched a movie with their grandparents called Yes Day where the kids get to decide everything that happens for a day. The kids begged us to have their own Yes Day. Jennifer and I decided to watch it with them first before we signed up for anything ridiculous. I knew we weren't going to do anything like the movie, but I liked the concept. We made the kids come up with five things that they for sure wanted to do and the only rule was that you could only spend $50 at the store (or else we would have gone bankrupt). The kids list was as follows:
1. Time with family
2. Store
3. Jump place
4. Play with friends or water balloon fight
5. Movie night
So we started the day off around the house and Landon wanted to play me in a pokemon battle. I beat him, but he said he had a lot of fun. Then we got ready and headed out to Goodfellas for lunch - which is a favorite place in our household. Next on the list was SkyZone the trampoline park where the kids jumped for 2 hours. Then we stopped by Walmart and the kids picked out their toys. Landon picked a video game - Luigi Mansion 3 and Brinley picked out a lego friends set. We weren't able to get friends over on short notice so we headed to the back yard and threw some water balloons at each other. Our night ended with a movie and some ice cream. The kids had the best time and thought it was an awesome day. I would agree, but just because I got to spend it with my favorite people.

A friend had an old bike rack that they didn't want anymore so I said I would take it. The kids and I strapped it onto the Camry and we took the bikes over to the trails to try it out. It worked out pretty good. Now we can take our bikes all over town. 

We had a new cookie spot, Crumble, that opened in Hamburg. They were giving away free cookies so that people could find out more about their business. I love some cookies especially when they are free so sign us up. 

We had dropped our membership with the YMCA when the pandemic started because we didn't feel comfortable working out indoors, especially with the children. Now that things are starting to get better we decided to get the kids back in the water. Both kids struggled in the water after a year of absence. A couple of days in the pool and Brinley was getting back her form and got her green band so that she can go anywhere in the pool. Landon was still really struggling and was actually kind of scared of the water.

When we were in the line getting our free cookies there was a lady who asked the kids if they wanted to break a board in half. Both kids thought it was fun and we signed up for a introductory martial arts lesson. The kids went a couple of times and both really enjoyed it. Then they told us how much it costs and the time commitment and we decided that it was not for us. 

I have always wanted to make a funnel cake at home and I finally made it happen and the kids definitely approved. 

When we had our Yes Day I actually got a summer jump pass for the kids at SkyZone. With no vacations in sight for us I figured this would be a fun place for the kids to go and play. 

Brinley had been frustrated that her little brother can climb the warped wall. She wanted to do it so that she can slide down the fireman's pole. She needed a little boost to make it up. I was more than happy to help her but I also want to encourage her that she can do it on her own. 

I had seen a couple of places in neighboring counties where you could pick your own strawberries. I picked one and the kids and I headed out to the patch. I think it is very important for these city kids to find out where produce actually comes from. I don't think the kids were very big fans of it, but I believe that they will now appreciate it when they see those strawberries out in the grocery.

Both kids got almost a bucket of berries and decided that was enough. I had a friend recommend a little bakery right down from the strawberry patch called the Side Porch. The kids both picked out cupcakes and I got a cream horn. They were delicious! If we ever happen to be back down in there we will be sure to stop in. 

The kids had also been asking us to camp out in the backyard again. We haven't been off together for a while, but we were finally able to make it happen. I think the kids were mostly excited about the s'mores. We had a better night sleeping because I brought the air mattress out to the tent. 

Another summer day, another trip out to SkyZone. I feel like they almost know us by name now when we enter the door. 

The soccer seasons for both kids came to an end. Landon's team ended the season undefeated and Landon really found his passion for the game. He was able to score 3 goals on the year. Brinley's team ended with one win, 2 draws, and a few losses. It also ended my first year as a head coach. I was so proud of all these girls. They worked so hard all season long. Brinley found her joy on the soccer field too, just not where I had thought. She developed a love for being the goalie. After a couple games back in the net she started to get more aggressive and confident in her abilities. 

Mimi was able to come out and watch the kids play in their season finales. The kids are always happy to see her at the games.

One of our neighbors plays for an old time baseball league here in Lexington called the Bluegrass Barons. We decided to go check out one of their games. It was awesome. The teams didn't use gloves and there were a couple other unique rules. I thought it was so cool that I inquired about how to play on the team. They asked me to come out to one of their practices and try out. I did and it was really cool. They asked me to join the team, but I haven't found a time to get out and play with them.

Uncle McKinley and soon to be Aunt Taylor were in town and came to see the kids play baseball. Uncle McKinley also played pitch and catch with the kids. He also treated the kids to some shaved ice too. It has almost been a year since we helped move him down to Tennessee. We have missed being able to drive across town to see him.

May was a really great month and we were able to do a lot of fun stuff as a family. School ended for the summer and we hit the ground running. Our big girl turned 9 and we even had our first ever Yes Day! The kids said they want to make it a yearly tradition. The jury is still out on that. Thanks for reading and God bless!

April 2021

This April actually felt "normal" again. Whatever that means any more. Jennifer and I are now working full time during daylight hours and the kids are in school. The only downfall was that Jennifer and I were working completely opposite schedules. Everyday one of us was working the other was off. We had to do this whenever Jennifer went to dayshift because there was not any after school care options. So, we only had family time every night after we got off work. It was much better that having us on opposite schedules so I will take it! 

Jennifer took the kids to the arboretum. They had a blast playing on some huge cut up tree logs. The kids didn't remember it, but they played on these same logs when they were younger. It is nice to have some good weather to be playing outside. 

With Easter being the first weekend in April it was time to start doing some traditional things. We started off with dying some eggs with Grandma and Grandpa.

Brinley's mostly revolved around bunnies if you can imagine that. Her funny writing on the egg was "you crake me up", but she meant to say crack.

Jennifer did the bunny face. I wrote that I heart Pepper. Then on the back of the egg I wrote April Fools! We also went to get the kid's picture made with the Easter bunny and of course Brinley wanted to take her real bunny, Pepper. 

Landon came up with some pretty random things to write on his eggs before dying them. Jennifer has rubbed off on both kids with her hatred of spiders. The top left one doesn't actually say Shamrocks, but instead Samrocks. 

We also decorated some cookies. Landon's were the top left, Jennifer's were in the middle, mine top right, the Grandparents were on the bottom left, and Brinley's were the bottom right. I wrote Samrocks on my rabbit and I even made a blue carrot for Pepper. 

Easter morning the kids woke up and I fixed them their bunny pancakes. Pepper even enjoyed the treat that the Easter bunny left for her. The kids even hunted some eggs with their bunny ears on. Not sure how many more years I will be able to talk them both into wearing the bunny ears. Brinley would happily wear them for the rest of her life.

Jennifer had to work because it was a weekend, but the kids and I went to church at Southland. It has been so nice to finally be back in person and bringing the kids with me. They have really enjoyed being back in children's church. 

I was so excited to have baseball season finally arrive. This would be the last time that the kids would both be able to be on the same team. Brinley would be too old and we had decided that we would move her over to softball too! The kids both picked out their own numbers. Brinley with 23 and Landon with 25. 

With both kids in school we were finally able to get out and hike after dropping the kids off. We headed out to Raven's Run to enjoy a cold April hike.

On our hike we even spotted a little turkey walking around on the trails.

The kids and I discovered frisbee golf while out hiking around Veterans park. I picked up some frisbees and we decided to try our hands at it. As you can tell from the bottom pictures we had some end up in the creek that I had to go in and retrieve. 

The UK students were able to still do their DanceBlue Marathon with some modifications and of course it had to be virtual. I know that it wasn't what the kids had wanted to do, but they made the best of it. I am constantly amazed at what they do. During a pandemic they still raised over a million dollars for the patients of the DanceBlue Clinic. They had a virtual dance party and since I don't have any dance moves I dressed up like Woody from Toy Story and just acted silly. Sort of like a normal day at work if you ask my co-workers. I was also a part of the final countdown and I was number 3 so I had to throw up some 3 goggles.

The kids even participated in the DanceBlue bingo competition. It just made me happy seeing them all play such a simple game online and having so much fun. 

I have been having a blast watching these two kids play. They have been trying so hard to get better. After a couple of loses to start the season the Mets got their first win of the season. 

This soccer season took a very interesting turn this year when I decided that I was going to help out with Brinley's soccer team. I signed up to be an assistant. Well, the only problem was that nobody signed up to be the head coach. They just turned me into the head coach. Problem is that I have zero soccer experience. I decided that I would try my best and see what happened. I had twelve girls who didn't have much experience, but they were ready to give it their all. I just asked three things of them: have a good attitude, give me all your effort, and have fun. Landon played with the same team that he has been with for the last 3 soccer seasons. It was awesome to see how much they have grown since they started. playing together.

Landon had an "accident" and he threw the remote from where he was sitting on the couch. He said that he was just scooting it off the couch and it just happened to fly across the room about 10 feet. He cracked and broke the TV. It just so happens that it is the second TV that he has broken. The first one was hit with a stray nerf bullet. In order to pay for the TV Landon was going to have to do jobs around the house to earn money to pay for the cost of the TV.

One of my patients at work had a fundraisers and I was happy to come out and run. I asked the kids if they wanted to do it with me. I sold Brinley on it because it was a unicorn themed race and they gave cupcakes after you finished. I told both the kids that we were all going to run separately so that we could all run at our own pace. I had to get a picture with the star of the day, Miss Molly (bottom right picture).

Turns out that all three of us were running our best on the day. All three of us came in 1st place in our age groups. They handed out these unicorn shoes as prizes for age group top three places. This was Brinley's first race ever and Landon's second overall. 

To get a little extra help on our soccer skills we went out and played a round of foot golf. It is a really neat experience. It was something that we all weren't very good at it, but we got a little better by the end of the 18 holes.

Brinley and Landon made a trip to Lowes with me to help me pick up some new soil and some plants for the garden. We decided to plant some lettuce in the garden for Brinley's rabbit.

The kids were so excited after one of their baseball games when we stopped and got some Rally's ice cream. They love themselves some ice cream.

Landon scored his first goal. It was so awesome to finally see him score. He has been so close so many times. All of his hard work finally paid off. 

Another 56 days had passed which meant that it was time to donate blood again. I take blood donation very seriously because I see everyday at work how beneficial the blood is for my patients.

This little girl was so cold at soccer practice one night that she asked for my little toboggan. She is such a beautiful little lady and she is growing up too quick!

I have been trying to do a puzzle every month this year. I have been doing puzzles with all of my spare time and especially while I have been watching sports. On this night I was watching history being made while the UK Women's Volleyball team won the National Championship.

We spent around 3-4 nights a week out at the ballpark. Between games and practice it felt like we should maybe just get an apartment over by the park because we were there more than we were at home. The kids started to get more confident in their abilities. Landon has become the best outfielder on the team and for sure has the best hustle of anybody. He chases every ball even when it is hit to the other side of the outfield. Brinley was really struggling batting in the first couple of games. It looked like she wasn't even trying to hit the ball. Even in the batting cages before the game she had two buckets of balls thrown to her and she didn't make contact with a single ball. I took her out the next day to work with her and threw her six buckets of balls. It wasn't until the sixth bucket that something clicked with her. Ever since that day Brinley turned into a force at the plate. She began to crush the ball. She even got the game ball one night because of her production at the plate. The downfall of baseball for Landon is his own head. He gets so upset with himself over any time he thinks he makes a mistake. That is currently our biggest area we need to improve.

After school one day I picked up the kids and we went for a scooter ride on the trail close to our house. The kids absolutely love the electric scooters that they got for Christmas last year. 

I also make the kids get some actual exercise in with some bike rides in the neighborhood. As you can see not everyone is as happy with me.

Grandma and Grandpa came up to visit us and we decided to celebrate Grandma's birthday. The kids played some board games with them and we celebrated with some angel food cake and strawberries.

Also for Grandma's celebration I got the smoker out that I got for Christmas and fixed a couple racks of ribs. The smoker is still a work in progress because I haven't completely figured it out. 

After visiting with us Grandma made her way up to Columbus to visit with Andrea and Olivia. All of us kids were able to Facetime with Grandma. She was really happy to see all of us. 

Brinley working in the goal of her soccer game. She hasn't been to excited about playing goalie, but she also says she doesn't like running all over the field. I also don't have any girls on the team that really want to play goalie either. 

I was so happy even though we had just sat through both kids soccer games in the rain because Brinley won her first soccer game! Her team didn't win at all last season and we didn't win the first couple of games this season either. I told the girls on the team that I wanted it to rain every game day because that must have been our good luck charm. The girls did not agree!

The kids and I spent as much time outside as possible during this month. They have mostly enjoyed spending time outside with me. We even found some hiking trails very close to our house. We also tried out the frisbee golf course at Jacobson park. 

Brinley had been begging for a friend for Pepper. Well, Jennifer did some research and found out that the humane society had a little boy rabbit and we thought that would be a good possibility. Jennifer and the kids went to check out the little guy, who was named Boom Boom Bunny. Unfortunately only 2 people were allowed in to the see the bunny at a time. Jennifer couldn't leave one of them outside by themselves so she called me at work and I came to sit with Landon while the girls went inside. Brinley loved him instantly and he seemed to be very friendly. It was going to work out perfect because Boom Boom Bunny was already fixed so we wouldn't have little baby bunnies running around the house. I headed on to soccer practice with Landon and the girls were going to leave soon after to get to her practice in time.

The girls rolled up to soccer practice with a box with a bunny inside. She was so excited to have another little bunny to call her own.

One of the things that the kids really looked forward to in baseball games was trying to earn cupcakes. Every time the team got a double play the team would get cupcakes the next practice. Well, the team finally got their first double play and you would have thought the kids had won the world series by how excited they became. Looks like cupcakes are a pretty good reward!

Rabbits have to be introduced slowly so that you can find out if they are aggressive towards one another. Well, Brinley was super excited to let these two meet. Brinley also decided on a new name for Boom Boom. She named him Salt, which is the perfect counterpart to Pepper.

April was a really good month. We stayed really busy with both soccer and baseball. It seemed like every day we either had a practice or game. Then we ended the month with adding to our family with our new bunny Salt. This was also the first month in over a year that the kids were in school for the whole month. Like I said earlier it felt normal. Thanks for reading and God bless!