A Beautiful Birthday Weekend

 with my family and in the heart of a national forest, yes please!  Karson and I were chatting a few weeks ago, and she was telling me about some vacation time she'd accrued for March.  Ironically, Matt had those days off as well.  Miles and I submitted some vacation time, and viola a trip was born!  We'd considered going to a cabin in the mountains and love Pigeon Forge.  We wanted to include Isaac and quickly realized Red River Gorge is super close to Richmond.  None of us had ever been, so plans were put in motion!

 

As I talked with friends and co-workers, I discovered more and more about this Kentucky gem!  We got lots of tips and suggestions.  After doing some google searches, I found a cabin for us in Lee County called The Lazy Maple.  What I liked most about this cabin was that it wasn't tricky to get to.  Most of what I'd seen cabin-wise mentioned needing a 4-wheel drive vehicle to get there.   I knew Isaac would be joining us and didn't want him to off-road in his Honda.  

The cabin we chose was a new build and perfect in every way but one - no closets or functional furniture to store clothes in.  That is my only complaint.  Other than that, it was ideal - complete with hot tub, fire pit and GALAGA/Pac Man arcade game.  Matt was determined to be the high score on the machine and topped out at 280,000.

I packed lots of groceries because I wasn't sure how close we'd be to a store.  In fact, we stopped an hour away in London, KY and grabbed a few more things before arriving that evening.  I wanted to have some breakfast and lunch/snack options for hikes.  I'd taken two small coolers too.  Thursday night, we got the firepit going and roasted hotdogs, ate chips, and mac-n-cheese.  Afterwards, we made s'mores for dessert.

 

Isaac and his girlfriend McKayla joined us Friday morning.  I made pancakes, scrambled eggs served with fruit.  Afterwards, I packed up sandwiches, chips, and drinks for our trip to Natural Bridge State Park.  My friend suggested riding the Skylift either UP or DOWN or BOTH.  She said it's a pretty tricky climb either way so doing one or the other is best.  Boy, am I glad she told us that.  Hiking two miles is nothing like walking two miles.  We decided to Skylift up to the top and hike down.  The last part of the lift was feet tingling, but we survived.

Awesome views from the top but still a bit scary.  There was another trail called Balanced Rock that looked amazing, but the trail was closed.  The lady in the gift shop told us to get back to the parking lot, we needed to look for Rock Garden Trail.  This hike was considered moderate, and I am glad we started at the top and worked our way back down vs. the other way around.

 

The nice part about hiking down is that you know exactly how long it's going to take and where you are headed.  I'm not sure I would've felt that way had we hiked up.

 

 When we got back to the parking lot, we drove over to a shelter and ate lunch.  The kids thought a mini golf course was at the shelter because it advertised a snack bar and mini golf.  Once we got there, all of it was closed, not sure if it's seasonal or closed all together. 

The kids did, however, remember that we passed a mini golf course on the way to Natural Bridge. 

 GAME ON at Thrillsville!

 

This course wasn't easy, and I made it extra difficult coming in last.  Isaac got the big WIN of the day and was pumped.

We went back to the cabin to relax for a little.  Early on we'd decided we were going to Miguel's Pizza for dinner.  It was highly recommended.  I brought charcuterie stuff to snack on and tie us over for a little while.  March madness brings loads of basketball games, and UK was playing that night.  We wanted to make sure we had enough time to get our pizza and head back to the cabin for the game.  

Miguel's is the type of place that you walk up, place your order, then they bring it to your table.

It's neat and the entire field behind the restaurant is covered in tents.  Many of the folks staying there and patronizing the pizza place are rock climbers in the area.  

 

The pizza was pizza, nothing spectacular in my opinion but good.  I liked the atmosphere more, and we got a lot of different selections.

There were plenty of activities while you wait like basketball, foosball, pull up bars, balance beams....

 

Karson and Miles building up their rock climbing muscles!

 A few weeks ago, I went to a 50th birthday party for a friend and was introduced to Riley's Bakery's Caramel Sundae Cake.  I'm shocked I've never had it.  I grew up on Riley's cakes and even had one at my wedding.  The sundae cake is FANTASTIC, and you can get a small one which was the right size for the trip.

  

I couldn't have asked for a more perfect way to spend my birthday than with all three kids and Matt.  Moments like these are very rare.  Super thankful!  Plus, the weather was superb!

We ate sweets, watched basketball, the kids hot-tubbed it, played some Skip BO and Yahtzee, and crashed after a long day!

Let's get something straight...hikers we are not.  I like to think I am in relatively decent shape, but after the long trek down Rock Garden Trail the day before, I wanted to do cool, short hikes (like .25-.50) Saturday.  After Isaac and McKayla took off to Richmond, and the other two sleepy heads got out of bed, we packed up more sandwiches and headed towards Whittleton Campground.  I wanted to check out Henson's Arch Trail.

 

I have to admit, while easy, I think the pictures made it look a lot bigger than it was but still worth it and SHORT.  

 

Because we were at Whittleton, Matt convinced us three to try out Whittleton Arch Trailhead.  Nope, not simple at all - a 2.5 mile haul!  We committed but regretted it multiple times, especially since we didn't have hiking boots, sloshed through some muddy, slippery gunk every so often, and it felt like it would NEVER end.  

 

FINALLY MADE IT to the end  Geez!  

 

We were hungry once we got back to the car.  My feet were sore and shoes muddy.  Karson had mentioned wanting to stop by a gift shop and look at souvenirs.  We'd done some of that at Natural Bridge, but there was another shop not far from Whittleton.  

There were some specific trails I wanted to do before calling it a day along with an ice cream shop called The Brick that I wanted to check out.  This would hopefully give us the BOOST we needed to do a few more quick hikes.  Karson and Matt got coffee ice cream and Miles opted for churro ice cream.  I went for straight up iced coffee!  

We finished up our hiking at Princess Arch and Chimney Top trails which are in the same area.  Both were short and totally worth it with spectacular views!  

We knew the ride back to the cabin would take some time, and since we had no dinner plans, our vote was to carry out from Red River Rockhouse which was a recommended burger joint.  Food options are pretty limited in the area.  I wish I had great things to say about RRR, but I don't.  Our family collectively did not like it - food was tasteless and bland and fries were awful.  They didn't include condiments for the burgers but fortunately, we had mustard and mayo at the cabin.  Ketchup would've been nice. 

Worn out again, we played some cards and went to bed.  I still have a few trails I'd like to try out in the future and have heard awesome things about Gorge Underground.  I hope to get back to RRG again soon!

Sunday was my actual birthday, and we had to be out of the cabin by 10AM.  After getting the car loaded, we took off, stopping once at Cracker Barrell for some breakfast before getting home around 2PM.  

After doing some laundry, I took a little nap before heading over to my parents to celebrate.

 

Dad and I are a double March birthday combo! It was truly a perfect weekend!

Karson got to take a ride in Pop's new ride - a 1934 Plymouth Business Coupe with LT-1 405HP corvette engine.

CHEERS TO 48!

Around Two Months

 

My co-worker asked me the other day....who did you piss off to cause all this?  Of course, she was joking but you definitely start wondering.  I kid you not, almost two months to the day, another act of God happened!  We got our house put back together from the giant indoor waterfall on MLK Day the Saturday before last.  The workers finished up with the carpet which looks lovely!  Last Thursday, when those bad spring storms hit, BAM, a huge tree fell on our backyard fence.  Matt slept through the entire thing, but truly, it shook the house!  It was late and dark, and all I could think of is...crap we'll have ANOTHER insurance claim to process on our metal fence.  Thankfully, the damage was mild and my dear ol' dad saved the day with his chainsaw.  After a an hour or so, we got everything cleaned up.  I do worry about the other older trees in our yard, but dad plans to come back at some point and help us clean up some of the overhanging older limbs.  Hopefully, that will help.

There was a conference in Louisville earlier this month, and the hotel that I stayed out was about the nicest one I'd ever been in.  I got to hang out with Karson since she wasn't too far from me.  We ate at Agave and Rye on taco Tuesday, and it was awesome.  Check out our taco flight.

The conference was at the Kentucky Derby Museum and to open it up, a horn blower started with My Old Kentucky Home.  It super cool to hear!  It was also a treat getting to know all of my co-workers a little bit better.

 

I wish I had more to post these days, but it's not too interesting as semi-empty nesters. We work, eat, sleep, and repeat.  Nothing too exciting.  Isaac was able to come home for a few days during Spring Break last week.  It's the first time he's been home in two months.  AND, to a completely renovated house.  This weekend, we plan to take a small family vacation to Red River Gorge.  It's a few hours from home and fairly close to Richmond so Isaac can come visit us.  It's my birthday weekend too!  Cheers to 48!

And the Walls Came Tumbling Down

 and NO marching seven times 'round was done!  Instead it was a pipe burst in Karson's bathroom.  The weekend of Martin Luther King Jr. day was an eventful one.  Both of our college/post college kids had been home for the holiday break.  It was a treat having them for a few weeks, but I know they were anxious to get back to their lives away from home too.  Isaac was set to begin classes at EKU on 1/21, and Karson was to begin her full-time job on 1/20.

We decided to celebrate Isaac's birthday on Saturday morning because he had plans to return to school later that afternoon.  His actual birthday is on the 25th, but since he was leaving, we wanted to have a quick celebration.  It was a small, family gathering but a fun one celebrating our 20 year old.  We're so proud of him and cannot wait to see where he lands after college!  He is set to graduate next spring, an entire year early.  Last week he received a letter in the mail and made the Dean's list for the College of Business.

 

We're so proud of him and cannot wait to see where he lands after college!  He is set to graduate next spring, an entire year early.  

  

I've heard him mention a handful of times wanting a large check.  Anyone who knows Isaac, knows he's a character.  I decided to get one off Amazon and surprise him with it on his birthday.  He got a kick out of it - especially since it was stamped by Dr. Evil himself.

The Indoor Waterfall

With everyone gone, Matt and I were getting settled back in our routine.  Miles, of course, is still at home but since his life is in Bowling Green, he's not home much.  He works at Meijer a lot, works out a lot, and stays busy.  We semi-empty nesters decided to celebrate our day off of work by heading to town and making a few pit stops prior to eating an early dinner.  We left around 3PM, and Miles left to work out not long after.  His workout facility is right up the road, and he hadn't planned to be gone more than hour because he was meeting some friends for dinner.  Matt and I ran our errands and had sat down for our early dinner around 4:30.  Right after our order was placed, I got a phone call from Miles who was panicked telling us there was water gushing through our ceiling and he didn't know how to stop it.  The source of the leak was in Karson's bathroom which happens to be right above our kitchen.  He'd gone up in her room and said a valve behind her toilet was spraying, and he couldn't get the valve to shut off.  We later noticed that the water pressure came out of the wall so hard that it had bent that valve.

 

B-E-A-UTIFUL!  I quickly found our waiter so he could pack up our food to go and settle our bill.  Our main water valve is outside and requires pliers to turn off.  Plus, it had snowed, and the ground was covered.  Miles had no idea how to cut off the water, and Matt started calling our neighbors to see if someone could get to the house to shut it off.  No one was home sadly, so we rushed to get there.  Matt had also called ServPro because we knew there would be a lot of damage.  With it being a holiday, they had to assemble a team and promised to get there as soon as possible.

 

Once we got home, Matt got outside and got the water shut off.  Miles and I worked on moving as many things as we could off of soaking wet floors.  I think we used every towel in our house to soak up water, but it was enough.  Our neighbor came over with a shop vac.  Our insurance agent showed up with even more towels.  It was pure chaos!  ServPro finally got to our house and started working on drying things, and Shane Elmore plumbing arrived to fix the plumbing problem in the bathroom.

 

ServPro had vacuums and humidifiers running in our home for at least seven days.  They checked on progress daily and made notes.  By day seven, they weren't really happy with the levels and wanted to start taking out some ceiling and floor portions to see if drying was happening.

Good times.

Matt had already arranged to meet with a contractor for the work needed in our house, and we also needed to get our insurance claim processed.

Now all the decisions are happening - floors, paint, carpet, fixtures, etc.  I loved our hardwood floors and hated that we weren't able to save them.  You can tell the people that originally built this home (which was a "Parade Home") put so much effort and energy into the details of everything.

 

Had to take one last photo of our amazing hardwood floors.  I am thankful for new floors, but these sure were lovely.

We are currently sitting on week three (3) since the incident.  This whole experience has been a process. Working with insurance has been a process.  Picking out lots of new things for our home has been a process.  I guess there's that part of you that thinks...it would be nice to change __X__ in my house, but I would never spend the money on it.  THEN, something like this happens, and all of sudden what seemed unlikely, is now possible because of a crazy circumstance.  

Other fun highlights:

Won some cash at Indian Hills Bingo night!

Matt and I did some karaoke/DJ-ing at South Warren's winter formal!

 

Spent some time with my bestie at Price Is Right LIVE at Skypac!  

 

 I was shocked by how amazing the Price is Right LIVE was!  The host was incredible and tons of prizes were given away to the audience and participants.  It was a much-needed night away from home despite the fact my nametag got majorly stuck to my puffy jacked.  Took over an hour to soak and scrub the sticky off.  

Our daughter is fully immersed in her full-time nursing gig!  With her permission, here is a picture of her adorable nursing feet.  That's all you get!

Today I am celebrating 28 years with my forever Valentine!  I love him so!