Meeting the UK Wildcats

I started a new tradition last year when I got season tickets for the first time and the team had such a memorable year. I started taking the kids to meet the players when they leave for the NBA. It is our way to say thanks for all the memories that we have gotten to enjoy since they put on the blue and white of the Kentucky Wildcats! I figured this year should not be any different even though they didn't have as good of a season as last year. I missed the first scheduled player visit when they came to the mall so I was able to catch Alex Poythress when he came to Nicholasville.

Brinley was really excited to meet Alex. She is not shy at all either. She handed Alex the ball he asked her what color she wanted him to sign the ball with. I had to ask for black because I didn't know if all the other players would have been able to have the additional colors.

Posing with her new buddy Alex. He was being really nice and taking his time and interacting with everybody that came in to meet him.

Landon finally decided that he wanted to get a picture with Alex. I couldn't get Landon to look at the camera though.

I had to get a picture with him too. I wished him all the best of luck and said how thankful we were for the previous 4 years that he played for UK. Brinley even showed him her 3 goggles before we left and he gave her a big smile.

Brinley with the ball that her new buddy Alex had just signed for her. When we got out to the car she told me that she thought Alex was nice.

 Next on the autograph tour was to meet Skal Labissiere at the mall. We arrived at the mall 15 minutes prior to the start of his signing time and there was about 30 or 40 people in front of me in line. The kids did pretty good waiting in line because they played with their little Ipods. The line moved fairly quick and in no time it was our turn to meet Skal.

Again Brinley was our ball girl. In the line Brinley kept asking me what the guy's name was and I repeatedly told her Skal. She would then say "I don't know him". Well now she won't be able to say that.

Brinley got a big smile from Skal when she showed him her 3 goggles. Landon was in the middle of a meltdown because I took his Ipod away from him so that we could take a picture with Skal.

Skal is a very nice young man and I wished him all the best in the NBA. I know this season didn't turn out the way we had wanted, but at times Skal showed why he is going to be a high draft pick. 

 The next stop on the autograph tour was one of the BBN favorites, Tyler Ulis. I knew the line was going to be much longer than the previous two players that we had met. I just didn't realize how many people were going to get there that early. Some people apparently started lining up at 11am and the line just kept getting longer throughout the day. When I got to the mall an hour before the signing time there were about 100 people in front of me. Jennifer stayed at home with the kids for a little while longer and then showed up when we were close to the front.

When it was our time to meet Tyler we were greeted by a lady taking pictures. She picked Landon up and put him on the table and took some pictures of the kids. 

Then I asked if I could get a family picture too. He was a nice young man and I thanked him for the past 2 years and said that it was fun to watch him play. I also wished him all the best in the NBA.

We just had one thing left to do before saying bye to Tyler and that was to throw up our 3 goggles. Brinley has gotten so good at doing it on demand and Tyler was a good sport too. I just love this picture and I think it is one that will be something she will really appreciate later in life. Before we left the store I spotted Tyler's dad and told him too that I was glad he let us borrow his son for a couple of years. He said that Tyler and himself had loved it here at Kentucky!

The last (at least I hope) of this seasons wildcats to leave for the NBA was by far my favorite Wildcat, Jamal Murray. He is an exceptional athlete and an amazing shooter. He is the record holder at UK for the most points scored by a freshman and he actually hit a 3-pointer in every game that he played which was another record. I believe that he is going to be a superstar in the league for many years to come.

The kids and I with Jamal. He was a very nice young man and I wished him all the best in the NBA. I can't wait to see which team is lucky enough to get to draft him.



Brinley and Jamal exchanging 3 goggles. I am so glad that we got this whole exchange between the kids and Jamal on film because it was awesome to see them interact. Both kids were so good and Jamal loved their 3 goggles and bow and arrows.

Brinley got a smile out of Jamal when she showed him her shooting the arrow. He was distracted by Brinley so I had to let him know that Landon was throwing up the 3 goggles too!

I know that the kids really don't know or care at all about meeting these guys at this point in their lives. However, I think someday they are going to love knowing that they got to meet some of the Wildcat greats. They have met all the departing players the last 2 years and they have also been to see all of these guys play at RUPP too. I hope that they grow up to have as much pride in our CATS as I do. Thanks for reading and God bless!

Fun Day

A few weeks ago I got up and just decided that I wanted to go exploring some new things with the kids and Jennifer. Our journey began in Winchester where we got donuts at a place that was highly recommended by some friends, Franks Donuts. 

Landon and Brinley both choose sprinkle donuts and Jennifer went for the chocolate dipped. I tried the cream filled and apple fritter. I thought they were all good, but I am not sure I will be driving 15 miles very often to pick any up when their are much closer options to us.

The most famous thing to come out of Winchester is Ale8One and it is the only pop that I drink and that is only on occasion. We signed up for a free tour of the plant to see just how every thing is actually produced.

Landon got a birds eye tour up on my shoulders because for some reason he didn't want to walk around in the factory.

Labels upon labels for bottles of Ale8. This brought back a memory from my sophomore year of college when my roommate drank this all the time and then pulled the labels off and hung them on the wall. By the end of the year he had quite the collection.

Checking out the production line. I was really surprised at how many bottles they actually produce a day at this small plant. I am actually glad to see they are doing so well and that they recently signed a deal with Cracker Barrel and now can be bought all over the US.

Our favorite part of the tour was the free cold Ale8 that they gave us after the tour was over. The kids really enjoyed getting their own bottle.

Family picture with our Ale8Ones.

We also made a quick stop by the park in Winchester to run off a little energy before heading out to our next adventure. 

Next we headed back to Lexington for a class that I signed the kids up for at the public library. It was called Little Leonardos and it was an art class for preschool aged kids. The program started off with a little lesson about the artist Vincent Van Gogh. He painted many pictures of sunflowers as well as self-portraits. Those are what we were going to do during the craft time.

The kids here are painting some coffee filters for their sunflowers.

Landon focused on his painting.

Working on their self portraits. They gave the kids mirrors to look at themselves so they could draw themselves.

The kids with their sunflowers.

Their self portraits. Brinley even drew a little picture of her brother too!

We grabbed a bite to eat and then I decided that I wanted to go for a little hike. We didn't have much time before the park closed, but we headed out to Raven Run for a little outdoor adventure. We had about an hour and half before the park was to close and I called to see how long of a hike it was to get down to the overlook. I was told it was just over a mile hike so we decided to give it a go.

 Jennifer didn't really want to go on the hike so I told her that I would wear the ergo and carry both kids for the journey. I am a man of my word, so this is how our journey began.

Passing over a little wooden bridge on the way down to the overlook.

View from the overlook.

Sitting on the edge of the cliff with my favorite people in this world. There was a rock ledge that was right below us in case you are worried about our safety. Jennifer was paranoid the whole time that one of the kids were going to fall.

I still can't believe some times how lucky I am that this beautiful lady is my wife. She makes me so happy!

I even asked the kids to take a quick picture of Jennifer and myself. If I do say so myself I think the kids are pretty good photographers.

On the walk back to the car Landon decided to take a nap in the ergo baby carrier, so Brinley got to take a few pictures with just Jennifer and I.

Brinley really wanted to take a picture with this rock wall. I really do have two beautiful ladies.

My girls on the hike back up. Brinley decided to be a big girl and walk for a little bit on the way back.

Somebody was really tired on the hike back. 

It was a jam packed day for all of us, but we also got to experience a lot of fun things. I love being able to get out and do all kinds of new and fun things with the kids. I can't wait to see what other things we get to experience together. Thanks for reading and God bless!

Tour of RUPP

Earlier this year I won a contest in which I got lower level tickets to see the Wildcats play basketball at RUPP. Included in the contest was a tour of RUPP Arena and the Men's Basketball locker room. I was able to take a guest so I took Jennifer along for the experience and she ended up being my photographer. It ended up being an amazing time and the only thing that would have made it better is if the players and coaches had actually been around for the tour.

Center court of RUPP. I can't imagine playing on this court in front of 24,000 screaming fans.

The front entrance to the locker room. Most of the flooring in the locker room is the actual floor from the 2012 National Championship that was played in New Orleans.

The last thing the players see before leaving the locker room is this wall of Kentucky players in the NBA. What is amazing about this wall is that it changes multiple times a year. This is because when a player gets traded to a new team they update the wall to reflect the change.

The wall opposite the players in the NBA is a wall commemorating all 8 of the Kentucky Championships.

Also in the front entrance is a replica trophy of the 2012 National Championship Trophy.

Sitting in Coach Calipari's chair in the locker room. I loved all the painted commemorative balls that he had up on the wall.The room also had tons of awesome photos of past players and they were all signed too. I would have loved to have added a few of these pictures to my memorabilia collection at home.

Here is the film room and where Coach Calipari talks with the players about game plan and where they also rest and make adjustments at halftime.

The actual locker room. The floor is the center court logo from the 2012 Championship game. The tour guide said that coach rarely talks to the players in this room. It is supposed to be an area where the players relax and get prepared mentally for the game.

I just had to take a picture with a few of my favorite's lockers from this years team. Tyler Ulis was an amazing player to watch and I am so glad that he came back for his sophomore season. He has an amazing heart and it more than makes up for his 5'9" size.

I couldn't help but shoot my bow and arrow in front of my favorite Wildcat. He is my favorite wildcat and I wish that he had been able to propel the team further in the tournament. He is such a natural talent and I can't wait to see what his future holds because I think it won't be long until he is a superstar.  

Another picture of the locker room so that you could see the championship banner that hangs from the ceiling.

There were a couple of large prints that I would love to have of the Final Fours that I was able to attend. This is from the 2014 Final Four in Dallas that I attended with my dad. The part that makes it awesome is that the entire team signed the print. Apparently Coach Calipari also uses this as part of his recruiting. He asks all the recruits what is wrong with this picture. If they can tell him then he knows that they are actually fans of Kentucky and that they care about the program. Do you know what is wrong with it? (Answer at the bottom.)

Here is one of the magical 38-1 season that is signed by the entire team. I still can't believe that this season ended the way it did. McKinley and I were present to see the only loss that this team had.

One last selfie with the 2012 Championship Trophy before leaving to finish the tour.

This is the visitors locker room. The entire locker room is just slightly larger than the front entrance to the Wildcats locker room. The lockers are the original lockers that were used by the Wildcats before the remodel in 2013. I also thank the blue and white checkerboard floor is a nice touch.

After the tour we decided to grab a bite to eat before going to pick up the kids. We stopped into Jennifer's favorite place downtown, Pies and Pints for some pizza.

It was an amazing experience to be able to see behind the scenes where all the players and coaches spend their time on game days. I wish that every Wildcat fan could see it in person. I also think it is awesome to think how many famous people have been in all of those same areas where we just walked. Thanks for reading and God bless!

Answer to what is wrong with the poster: Nerlens Noel did not play on the Final Four team in 2014. He was on the team the previous year when the team lost in the first round of the NIT.