November 2021

Brinley's softball team had their final Halloween themed tournament cancelled due to weather. They never got to wear their Halloween costumes. So, instead they had a party to celebrate their season. 

We even played a kids verses parent game. Coach Trey even came up with the idea of having all the girls take batting practice with fruits and vegetables. Every girl got to take their pick of produce. I filmed all the girls hitting their food in slow motion. Briley hit a lime. You can see in the picture on the left what it looked like upon impact.

Olivia came down for a visit and was excited to pick up the kids from school and play out on the trampoline.

 The girls got their first win ever in the tournament and came up just short of winning the whole thing in the championship game.

Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Andrea and Olivia all came to see Brinley play in her final fall softball tournament. 

Landon's core group of soccer buddies got together for another season of indoor soccer. The scorpions were a force once again. Landon loves playing defense, but not necessarily goalie. He has gotten better every season and has really developed into a good player. Excited to see him develop his skills and game even more. 

With Brinley's softball season over a couple of the girls decided to get together and run once a week for fun and to get some team building exercise in. Landon ran with the girls too and a couple of them had a goal to try and beat him. Unfortunately for them, Landon never plans on losing anything. I was so proud of Brinley for pushing herself to get better in the off season.

Although not the reason we wanted to be making a trip back home but it was so nice to see all of my cousins and their kids. My Aunt Mary Ruth had been such a blessing in my life and always a joy to be around. She will be extremely missed, but I am glad she is no longer in pain here and instead rejoicing in heaven.

Not the circumstances we wanted to get everyone back together, but I really enjoyed getting to see all of my cousins. This group of people were a huge part of my childhood. I am so grateful to have lived close to them and be a part of their lives.

Landon had another great game at indoor soccer (futsol). The team was finally given their medals for last season since the final game got cancelled due to weather. I am very proud of the team player he is becoming. He is a heck of a defender.

The kids school cross country team had a celebration at Urban Ninja. They had a blast running around and playing with their friends. I am so glad that we signed the kids up for this group. It was a lot of fun running with them and hope to get the team back together again next season. 

The kids finally got their first COVID vaccine! To celebrate the kids wanted a treat from Dairy Queen. They were so excited to being one step closer to getting rid of the mask. 

I was very thankful to be able to get my third COVID vaccine dose. I again had no side effects. Glad that I could do my part to help us get through this horrible pandemic.

Jennifer and I had a day off together so we headed to one of our favorite spots, the Red River Gorge. We had other things to do for the day so we just hiked up to Natural Bridge. I always seem to be a week behind on trying to see the all the leaves with all the different colors. I will try again next year. 

I am so happy to call this beautiful lady my wife. 

We for sure had to get some pizza at Miguel's before heading back home to Lexington. I have persuaded this beautiful lady into liking my own pizza concoction of BBQ sauce, bacon, chorizo, and sweet potato pizza. It is delicious!

I was also very happy to be able to donate blood. This donation was a part of Big Blue Crush where we have a competition against Tennessee as to who can have more blood donations. I am always happy to try and beat the Vols at anything. More importantly I want to try and help people any way I can. 

Brinley said she was interested in playing the violin at school. So, we headed downtown to pick one out. We just rented one because apparently violins can get pretty costly. We will see if this is something that she likes to do. 

Brinley and I had a nice father daughter date night to watch the Wildcats play. Brinley doesn't enjoy the game as much as I do, but she enjoys some time with her old man so I will continue to take her with me. 

We began our date night with some Goodfellas and ended it with ice cream on the way home from RUPP.

Jennifer and the kids came to see the Wildcats play football in their final home game of the season. It was a complete beat down of New Mexico State. The kids got so many treats to eat throughout the game. I have no idea how they ate that much food!

While we were at the game I saw that I also had some friends in Kroger Field. We went to find them because we hadn't seen them since the pandemic started. It was so good to catch up and see their entire family. They sure have grown up.

I took the kids through the training facility and showed them the trophy that they helped cheer the CATS to victory at the Belk Bowl almost 2 years ago. 

The whole golf cart crew together for the last home game. These are some awesome guys and it has been fun working with them the past two years. We also ran into Lynn Bowden as he was leaving and I had to tell him thanks for winning me this bowl ring from 2 years ago. I also got to see Luke Fortner, an offensive lineman, who is just an awesome guy. Before COVID he came to the hospital every Tuesday to see patients. I just wanted to tell him thanks too for all that he did for my patients. 

The kids were given off the entire week of Thanksgiving so we decided to head down to Nashville to visit with Uncle McKinley and Taylor. McKinley took us out to a local hiking spot and the kids had a lot of fun hiking off the trails around the little pond. 

Jennifer decided to walk to the car while McKinley and I took the kids on the long way around the pond. She spotted some friends on the way back. She got a pretty awesome picture of the deer.

Landon thinks of Uncle McKinley's house as a big playground. Just look at that wall of board games. Landon is always excited to play some new games when we get together. 

Uncle McKinley also took us out to a milkshake bar. The girls got a s'mores, Landon and I shared a strawberry candy, and McKinley got a salted caramel chocolate one. They were good, but they were overpriced for the actual shake. You were paying for the flair and decoration.

We stopped by to show the kids the Parthenon replica that is in downtown Nashville. We had some time to just play so we threw football out on the lawn. They we headed back to Uncle McKinley's house. I decided to help clean up the front yard leaves. Then I realized that the kids had never in their life jumped in a pile of leaves. We have small trees in our neighborhood and only one in our yard. So not a lot of leaves to make a pile with at home. The kids loved it!

More pictures of us playing at the Parthenon. Jennifer said it was too cold and she sat in the car and watched us. We also saw this painted wall that said "It's gonna be O.K.".

Brinley spent a majority of the time at Uncle McKinley's trying to get Lexi to play with her. Lexi is McKinley and Taylor's cat and she might be terrified of Brinley. 

Taylor had already put out all of there Christmas decorations including there elf. Taylor didn't apparently remember the rules of the elves and had touched Elfie. Elfie had to leave a note to make sure that nobody did it again.

McKinley and Taylor weren't going to be able to come to Lexington so we celebrated Thanksgiving a little early. Grandma and Grandpa came down for the party too. We played games and then went totally off the wall with the food. Everyone got to pick something they loved and that's what we had. Panda Express, Giordano's pizza, and an Outback bloomin' onion all made the Thanksgiving menu. 

Whenever we get together it is a given that we are going to play some games. This time was no different. McKinley introduced us to a few new ones and we also played some of our favorites too. 

On the way home from Nashville we stopped by Aunt Sarah and Uncle Nick's house to see the kid's newest cousins, Millie and Myles. Brinley was super excited to see the babies. Landon was just happy to play video games with Elam. 

We started out Thanksgiving with our Grassroots friends. We played in the Turkey Bowl. I might be getting too old because I came away with a couple new injuries. Then we had to get home to start cooking our Thanksgiving meal. Brinley decided to help out in the kitchen this year. 

Maitland-Heflin Thanksgiving. We were glad to have everyone at our house for the holiday. Only people missing were McKinley and Taylor. 

What a difference in Thanksgiving plates. The left is our meal in Nashville with all of our favorites. The right was a huge milestone for me. After 36 Thanksgivings I finally tried ham for the first time. It was actually pretty good. I can't believe that I have missed out on 36 years of it. 

McKinley's roommate JK gave us this Superman puzzle so we went ahead and put it together. It was only 500 pieces so it wasn't too bad. It is actually double sided and the opposite side is just a huge Superman logo.

Landon has become my new sports watching buddy. He knows all the players on the team and he has become a huge fan of Oscar Tshiebwe. He even brought some of his leftover Halloween candy to munch on during the game. He also always wants some Goodfellas if he is going downtown.

Jennifer's older sister Julie and her son Micah came to a UK game too! It was good to catch up and see them for a while. Micah even got to get Coach Cal to sign his basketball. 

After the final home football game the guys I work for in recruiting asked if I wanted tickets to the Louisville game. Of course I did. Jennifer had to work so I only asked for 3 tickets for myself and the kids. It was honestly one of my most favorite sporting events that I have ever been too. Both kids were into the game, until it became a blow out in the second quarter. 

Everything about the night went as well as it could go. From the parking to the security guards it was all great. We couldn't find parking and I had never been to the stadium before. I followed some other cars and they pulled into a lot so I just parked. Turns out it was a lot for staff. I just told the kids to keep walking. I thought there was a slight chance we might be towed, but it was a risk I was willing to take. Next the kids brought in more Halloween candy and small Gatorade. The security guard who looked through our bag asked and I told him the truth. He looked at me and the kids and said have a great night. 

L's down all day everyday! I was literally on cloud 9 with my two kids being into the game. It made me so happy seeing them have fun and cheer on the CATS!

The Heflin kids taking some naps. Brinley fell asleep on the way to the game and Landon fell asleep on the way home. 

Jennifer and I got to go out on a date night to see the CATS play. Still not Jennifer's idea of a great night out, but she enjoys spending time with me. 

November was filled with lots of memories and a lot of sporting events, which really benefits someone like me who loves all athletic games. We also got to spend time with lots of family and friends, which is something that I am very thankful for. Thanks for reading and God bless!

October 2021

The month started out with an award. I was nominated by one of my patients. My co-workers all came back and clapped for me because they had to cancel the award ceremony due to COVID precautions. The certificate came with a paper that told who nominated me and what they said about me. It was very nice to read what they had said.

The kids with an early morning soccer game. They were happy to have Grandma and Grandpa there to watch them play.

Immediately after their soccer games were over we drove about a mile down the road to get to their cross country meet. This was the first meet that both kids were able to attend. I wasn't able to stay for it because I needed to get to the UK game for my recruiting gig. Jennifer and my parents stayed to cheer them on. Not the most ideal situation coming straight from a soccer match, but they both worked hard.

What a great night for UK Football! Kentucky finally beat Florida at home. After the win the crowd rushed the field and the whole place was going crazy. All of us golf cart drivers had to get a picture to commemorate the moment. I also ran into a co-worker from Dance Blue Clinic, Mrs. Kara. 

The next weekend the kids both participated in the city championship. Both kids did really well, but Landon had an issue in the opening seconds of the race. As he darted out with the pack at the opening gun he slipped and fell. He was playing catch up the rest of the race. I am proud of him and his effort. We will continue to work on it and see what can happen with some more training. He loves to run so we are going to keep going until he doesn't like it anymore. We were so glad to be able to run with the school. Their school is full of a bunch of great kids, especially this bunch of kids. 

Next sport up was rec league softball. The Hornets was a group made up of half the travel softball girls and some new friends. This was Brinley's first time playing softball so there were a lot of new rules that we had to learn together. She sometimes doesn't want to listen to me, but I love helping out. So when her coach asked me to help out of course I said yes. 

Brinley got invited to a birthday party for her teammate on both softball teams, Aubrey. They played for a couple hours together at D-Bats. While they were playing we took Landon out to lunch and let him pick. Of course he chose Goodfellas! The little guy loves their breadsticks and marinara sauce.

Landon had played with the same group of kids for the past 4 seasons of soccer. They all decided to get together one night and go watch the UK Men's Soccer team play a match. The kids mostly played on the hill while the parents watched the match. Brinley and Landon had a blast.

I had a friend at work that offered me tickets to Big Blue Madness. After I took the tickets I found out that my wife had to work. So I passed them on to another co-worker. The next day my friend came back and said she had some more tickets for me. I took this as a sign that I just needed to go. Surprisingly the kids were excited about going. We made it and had a lot of fun. The kids enjoyed all the extra stuff going on. 

Landon has been working on his baseball skills as well. He has put in a lot of work and he has gotten so much better. 

Olivia turned 3 and her birthday party was at the Columbus Zoo. We weren't going to be able to make it because both the kids had soccer games and Brinley had a softball tournament. However, we had a ton of rain and all the games got cancelled. The kids were excited to be able to make it to her birthday party. Olivia had a lot of friends that came to play at the zoo with her. They were also having Boo at the Zoo so the kids decided to wear their costumes so they could get some candy. 

Olivia loves the giraffes, so everyone that came to the party got to feed the giraffes. These three are becoming pros because they have done it almost every time they have been at the zoo. I am honestly just surprised the giraffes aren't tired of plain lettuce leaves.

If you have ever met Olivia then you know that this little lady loves to celebrate birthdays and a must have for a celebration is cake! The kids even helped us put together her play kitchen that she got for her birthday.

On Olivia's actual birthday we all went out to COSI - the Center of Science and Industry. The kids hadn't been there since the pandemic started. When that had happened we were actually members. Since they had been closed for a lot of the pandemic they still let us use our membership which was really nice. Everyone had a lot of fun exploring and seeing some of their favorite things from before. Brinley got picked out of the crowd to be the official scorekeeper for a game of rat basketball, yes actual rats played a game of hoops. Rather weird, but neat all at the same time.

The whole crew at COSI. This was the first time that the Maitland's got to visit the museum.

Fall ball came to a close and Landon racked up another game ball. We took a picture with his buddy Eli. They were so happy to see each other at summer camp on their first day. It was a pleasant surprise and made Landon love going to summer camp. We are excited to that Eli will be on our team again when spring ball starts up again.

I had to take a picture of Brinley one day as we were leaving Costco. The person who checks your cart and receipt when you leave usually draws a smiley face for the kids. The lady today drew Brinley and put a mask on her face. I just hope that someday soon we can get rid of these masks, but until then we will protect ourselves and family.

With the surge of COVID cases we made the difficult decision to cancel our Pediatric Cancer Survivor Picnic. This is the second year in a row that we have had to do this. That is two years that we haven't been able to celebrate with these awesome kids and their families. We put together care packages for all the kids that signed up and tried to make the best of a difficult situation. Our group is so hopeful that we will be able to be back together next year. We will never stop loving our patients and praying for them all. 

Brinley had her first travel softball tournament. The girls were very excited to finally be playing a game together. The only problem was that their lack of experience and pitching depth really showed. At the end of the day they had a lot of fun together and hopefully gained some valuable experience. It was really frustrating at times because there was no run limits so a couple of times the other team just kept on scoring and we barely even got a chance to bat. Brinley had two at bats over the three games. First at bat she struck out looking and the coach mentioned in the post game talk that we do not strike out looking. Brinley thought coach was singling her out and she completely shut down and wouldn't talk and was getting teary. I had a big talk with her and told her that it was ok. It was her first time in live action and being pitched to by another kid. She rebounded and in her next at bat she grounded out to the pitcher. I am proud of her for battling and getting her first hit.

We are extremely proud of our girl. She has really stepped out of her comfort zone and has been pushing herself. We still have a lot of work to do, but she is willing to put in the work so I will keep getting out there and helping her get better.

PumpkinMania at Transylvania was back again this year. We all wanted to go so we packed up and headed downtown. Brinley did a wolf howling at the moon, Landon did a skull, Jennifer did an owl, and I did an FTK. FTK stands for For The Kids. It is a saying that the students of DanceBlue (where I work) say to explain why they dance and raise money for the patients.

People have started sharing puzzles with me because they know how much I love them. My soon to be sister-in-laws parents (thanks Karla and Don) found this Monopoly puzzle for me to try. Doing the puzzle made me want to play a game of Monopoly, but then I decided it would take way too long. 

We were out of town for the DanceBlue 5K so we decided to run it the next day that Jennifer and I were both off. I actually ran mine the day of the race in the neighborhood at 11:00 pm with my headlamp. I ran it again with Jennifer and the kids. Landon and I ran together...well I tried to keep up with him. He destroyed me and kept getting so far in front of me and then turning around to come check to me. Brinley and Jennifer completed their race together.

At the kids routine check up with their doctor we mentioned that Landon occasionally has some episodes of wheezing in the spring or when he is sick. Just to make sure that every thing was ok she wanted us to follow up with pulmonology. I met Jennifer and Landon at the appointment and Landon did his PFT's (Pulmonary Function Test). The doctor was blown away with all the activities that Landon was able to do and couldn't believe that just days prior he was running a 5K. He said that he never gets patients coming in to see him that run, let alone 5K's. He said that every thing was great with his testing and that he wouldn't need any additional follow up. 

The UK Men's Basketball team had their first exhibition and Landon said he really wanted to go. They were playing Kentucky Wesleyan College, which is where my mother went to college. I had seen them play ball growing up just about 30 minutes from the college. We started out in my seats up top, but my friend Barb who was in the lower arena told me that some seats were open in front of her. We moved down to get a closer view of the game and Landon had to get an ice cream cone. We had a great time at the game and of course Kentucky won!

Brinley's soccer team had their final game cancelled so they decided to get together for a little celebration. These girls worked really hard this season and got a lot better both individually and as a team. It was a lot of fun to see them grow. 

Working in a children's hospital means that everyone is always looking to be as kid friendly as possible. The clinic also likes to have a theme when it comes to our Halloween costumes. This year we decided on Toy Story. We had a lot of great costumes from all the staff. We had characters across all four of the movies. The kids loved it and were happy to see everyone all dressed up.

The hospital does a reverse trick or treat with all the kids in the hospital. Usually all the staff in the clinic get to attend, but again because of the pandemic we had to limit our staff to just a couple of people. I of course volunteer to go give candy out to the patients. I took Rex with me because who doesn't love Rex!

We finally cut our pumpkins at the house. Jennifer did a Frankenstein, I did the Harry Potter logo, Landon did a Pikachu, and Brinley did a Hogwarts castle. We also went to a couple of trunk or treats so that we could get our use out of our costumes. If you can't tell we are all characters from Harry Potter. 

We had a lot of fun trick or treating in the neighborhood. Mimi came and watched the kids run all over the place getting all kinds of candy. It was such a beautiful night with great weather. They couldn't wait to get home and start eating all that candy. 

I think Jennifer did a really great job coming up with all of our costumes. Only true fans of Harry Potter knew who we all were. Everyone could figure out Landon as Harry Potter, which then led them to figure out Hagrid. Jennifer was harder for people to figure out as Professor McGonagall. Only the true fans could figure out that Brinley was Luna Lovegood. 

Look at all that candy that the kids got. They were so pumped that 10 houses in the neighborhood gave out full sized candy bars. You would have thought that they were handing out gold the way that the kids were acting. I helped the kids sort out all the candy to see exactly what they got.

October was a lot of fun. It was jammed packed with sports of all kinds. If the kids weren't practicing or playing in a game, then we were out watching someone play. We got to do all the normal Halloween traditions that we have always done in the past. We were so happy to celebrate Olivia's birthday with little weekend trip up to Columbus. Thanks for reading and God Bless!