Our Colonel Graduates! + One

Our kids make us proud. They are dedicated, kind, and have accomplished so much in a short amount of time.

I am especially proud of Isaac.  I’ve said it before, but he has truly done the college thing on his own—and now he’s finishing a year early.  And while that is something to celebrate, he's also missing out on another year of fun.  I'll never regret encouraging him to challenge himself in high school - it opens doors, gets you scholarships and saves a LOT of money, but it also cuts your college years short.  But here’s the thing I’ve always known - Isaac is meant for something bigger.  Both he and Karson are pursuing paths that require more education, which means their time in school isn't shorter, just different.  

Because each of our children attend different schools and are on different paths, graduation looks different too. Karson was a nursing graduate at UofL, which meant she had a pinning ceremony in addition to the university’s formal graduation.  Plus, since it was in winter term, I think it was structured different than the spring.  Tickets weren't required. Our extended family attended the pinning but did not attend the main ceremony.  

At EKU, all graduations take place on the same day but are split into different ceremonies based on college. Isaac's graduation consisted of the College of Business and College of Criminal Justice, and his ceremony was the last one of the day. It's also a ticketed event which is (initially) limited for graduates. I didn’t realize you needed to reserve them as soon as the portal opened. I did manage to get the six promised tickets, but I knew I would need a couple more. Additional tickets were released later in April, and I was ready, like someone waiting for concert tickets to go on sale, to grab extra seats. I’m really glad I did, because they went fast. Who knew so many people wanted to come to graduation?

Having a daughter graduate from college feels different, at least from what I’ve seen looking through Instagram. It’s filled with young women in caps and gowns, posing all over campus. You don’t see that as much with guys.  I like to send out graduation announcements to close family and friends. For Karson, it was easy, she already had great photos thanks to her cousin Elizabeth. For Isaac, I wasn't about to ask him to arrange a photo shoot for a card. I opted for the Josten's formal cards, not really my style but something to commemorate the day.

  

Our group of 10 headed to Richmond today!  I ordered him a cookie cake which always feels appropriate when celebrating.  The plan was to gather at Jackson's Restaurant which is close to his place.  I wanted to get there a little earlier and make sure his gown and stoles were steamed and ready to go.  Plus I had some cards, pants, and other things to deliver to him.  Even though we left early, it still feels like it takes forever to get to Richmond.  We rolled up to his place about 30 minutes before we were supposed to meet everyone at the restaurant.

A Wild Turkey toast was made - we enjoyed hanging out with Isaac's friends Luke and Reed.

 

Jackon's is a local resturant with your basic hometown cooking.  We all enjoyed the food!  Isaac's friend Luke (above in the Wake Forest sweatshirt) has his photo on the wall for finishing the Big Hoss Burger Challenge which means you eat two half-pound patties with bacon, city ham, pepperoni, American, Swiss, and beer cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles, and all the condiments which include BBQ sauce, mayo, mustard, ketchup, and an onion ring. It’s served with a pile of fries and a drink. If you finish the entire meal in 20 minutes - it’s free plus you’ll get a Jacksons' t-shirt and your picture on the wall.  Yep, that pretty much sums up Isaac's best friend!  They share a love for movies, wild stories, and good times!  Isaac plans to go to Wake Forest next weekend to see him graduate from his Master's program.

No surprise that Matt bonded with him too!

The crew takes over Jackson's!  I'd told Isaac that I wanted to eat somewhere local similar to what we did for Karson in Louisville.  He told me about this place and that is was close to his house.  It was fantastic, and the people who work here could not have been sweeter or more accommodating.

  I wanted to snag some photos before dropping him off at the ceremony.  Thankful he was cooperative.  I know this isn't a "guy" thing but this mama wanted some pictures.

We started out in front of Telford Hall where it all began.  

 

 

The day was windy, and this guy can be so silly!

 

I had been stalking some photo ideas on facebook from EKU to grab some shots I liked.

Isaac spent a lot of time in Case Dining Hall - so much so that he became best friends with the Chick Fil A manager, Rhonda.  He was hopeful she would be on campus Friday and popped in to see her.

This is one reason why my son is so special - he makes a big impact on people. Rhonda was overcome with emotion, tearing up a little and told me what a wonderful job we did raising him and that he was the sweetest young man she had ever met.  She told him how much she would miss him!

 

Trying to recreate the Beatles Abbey Road Picture - he's a character!

Our final stop before the big ceremony was the business campus. I knew we’d be cutting it close to the time we needed to drop him off, but I’m so thankful we were able to capture so many pictures along the way!

 

Got him to the coliseum, went and collected the rest of the family and made our way to Baptist Health Arena!

 

 

Isaac graduated Magma Cum Laude and did it in THREE YEARS earning his Bachelors of Arts in Business Administration in Risk Management and Insurance.  His program is one of the strongest ones in this industry and the only one of its kind in Kentucky.  Because of his internship with Charles M. Moore, he has already received two licenses in Property and Casualty.

One thing that Dr. McFaddin, President of EKU, said in his commencement speech was that Isaac and his class would join the 38% of students who receive their bachelors degree.  I think this is what makes Isaac's degree even more meaninful.  While many students start this journey, only a fraction of them finish.  He stayed committed and crossed the stage!

We grabbed a few more family pictures after the ceremony before the grandparents headed home!  We took Isaac to Zaxby's for dinner before dropping him back off at his place!

 

Isaac and his professor bestie Dr. Easterling!

Isaac and his buddy Jacob who was honestly the reason Isaac chose EKU in the first place.  Jacob graduated from South early and started in EKU's Aviation program.  Isaac stayed with him some during his first year and fell in love with the campus!

While I wish he'd chosen to move back home this weekend, he has decided to stay in Richmond through the end of his lease which is mid-June.  

I can’t forget to mention that not only did Isaac graduate this spring, but Matt technically did too (not officially). He finished his last class at WKU in April getting his superintendent certification which he began last summer. I honestly don’t know how he manages to juggle it all.  I am proud of my ambitious family. They work hard and stay committed to their goals, always pushing themselves to do more and be better. It’s inspiring.

Red River Gorge Sequel

Year two at Red River Gorge lived up to the hype. We made our March getaway happen again this spring, and Isaac was able to join us from Richmond. Karson, however, was off on her own adventure out west with a friend, so she couldn’t make it this time.  I missed her the most as college basketball was this years theme.  I definitely could have used another girl in the mix, hah!  

Since we visited last year, I had a better idea of what I wanted to do this time around. At the top of that list was The Gorge Underground, which requires booking in advance—especially if you have a specific day and time in mind. Your group size also matters as they only accommodate eight per time slot.  

My plan was to stop in Somerset to grab groceries and make things simple—big breakfasts and sandwiches for lunch, and we'd eat out for dinner.  I brought two small coolers and grabbed a bag of ice to keep things cool.

Thankfully the place hasn't gone too commercial but it can also make it tough to find the right place to stay.  There are lots of options but hard to know exactly which area is ideal  Our cabin last year was nice, but it was a haul to the trails and made me want something different this time.  Plus it's fun staying somewhere new.  We ended up in Campton at a place called Cliffview Resort.  The pictures of the place made it look very isolated.  We'd joked about the movie Deliverance and Miles learned how to play "Dueling Banjos."  The directions to the place were fairly complicated and even included a video walk through of how to get there.  Plus, there is poor service in the area.  Fortunately, we found it.  I like to think I have a pretty good sense of direction, but even after a few trips in and out, I’m not sure I could navigate us back.

Natures Sanctuary

While I was unpacking everything, Matt took off to help Isaac find our cabin. He had also taken a wrong turn.  The area was definitely rugged, but there were lots of other cabins around us so not entirely isolated.  We had everything we needed - a nice cabin, huge smart TV, a hot tub, foosball, air hockey, three awesome porches, and the beauty of nature all around us.

The first night we ate at La Cabana Mexican Restaurant.  It did not disappoint.  Matt and I split the biggest burrito ever.  There was live music, and the weather was perfect.  Back at the cabin, we relaxed in the hot tub, played some rounds of foosball and watched some college basketball.  

I'm at a point in my life where I'd like to be able to sleep in, but it doesn't happen much.  Matt and I were up bright and early on Friday enjoying the sunrise on our back porch.  We took a walk around the area and headed back to fix a nice breakfast.  It was a fairly lazy morning of reading, relaxing and again, watching basketball.  After Kentucky’s big win, we celebrated with ice cream at the Brick, the same spot we loved last year.

One of my must-sees, along with The Gorge Underground, was the Nada Tunnel. Luckily, it wasn’t very far from the Brick.  It’s super narrow, and even though it’s technically a two-way road, there’s no way to tell if another car is coming until you’re almost inside. We pulled up just as several cars were coming through from the other direction. At first, we were just going to get out and take a picture, but eventually it cleared—and we got our chance to drive through. 

Y’all… this tunnel is wild.  We would’ve preferred not to go back through it, but it was going to be a long drive to get to the trail we wanted to hike.  

If you’ve never visited the gorge, I recommend downloading the AllTrails app. The area is huge, and there’s so many trails to explore. Make a plan ahead of time, or you’ll end up doing a lot more driving than you expect.

I learned my lesson about trail distances last year.  I am not a “long hike” person. Two-ish miles or less is where it's at for me.  Gray's Arch was on the day’s agenda. The trail is 2.5 miles out and back. What I didn’t realize was that you have to descend about 90 stairs just to get to the area…which, of course, means you have to climb back up them later. 

Once we got to the bottom, plenty of hikers continued upwards toward the arch. No thank you—I’ll pass. The boys decided to press on, but Matt and I stayed back. With my bad foot and Achilles, I didn’t want to risk it. Plus, I already knew those stairs were waiting for us.

I know I'm out of shape, but good grief the trek up was hard.  My racing heart was coming out of my chest.  I've seen a bunch of Tiktoks where hikers say "the greatest view on the hike" and pan their camera to the parking lot.  That is exactly how I felt when we reached the car.  I was ready to collapse.

On to Miguel's Pizza!  I don't know what the boys were more excited about - the pizza or playing basketball.  There is always a game or something going.  After we ordered our food, off they went to play knock out with the group which eventually turned into a pick up game.  They had a blast, and we enjoyed some tasty pizza.

Saturday was the BIG day of The Gorge Underground.  You have to arrive about 30 minutes before your timeslot which meant 9:30AM for us.  We fixed our big breakfast and headed out.  It was chilly that morning so we dressed warm.  Plus, it's 50 degrees in GU.  What I didn't realize is that you cannot wear footwear in the clear kayaks.  You can wear socks, but the guides let you know they will get wet.  I guess you could bring a pair to wear in kayak which will get wet and bring a dry pair for when you get out.  We didn't have a spare pair with us so barefoot we went which made it extra chilly.

 

Matt and Isaac were instant pros, but Miles and I struggled a bit.  I don’t know if it was the extra seat in the front of the kayak or just no coordination, but I could not get the hang of it. While everyone else was cruising along, Miles and I moved at a turtle’s pace.

 

In the 1900's this was a limestone mine and when the workers were carving out the tunnel, they opened up water channels.  It didn't flood all at once because as they mined, they were able to keep the water pumped out.  As they dug deeper, more and more channels of water opened up and continued to flood.  Over time, and after I-75 was complete,  the mine filled completely and became an underground lake.  It's a super cool experience!

We headed back to the cabin for lunch and more basketball.  Our plan was to eat at Redpoint Barbecue which came highly recommended by our guides.  After a lazy afternoon, we made our way out for our last dinner, which ended up being super close to the cabin.  The place was packed, but we only had a 30-minute wait.  There were areas under construction, like they were planning to expand. While we waited, Isaac jumped into a hacky sack game with a group of people outside. They were nice to let him join in, and you could tell they were rock climbers. One of them mentioned how they enjoy playing hacky sack in their community—which I took to mean climbing?  

I ate WAY too much but am looking forward to going back in the future.  Because it was still early, we decided to head over to Thrillsville to play mini golf.  When we got there, though, the worker told us they closed at 8:00 PM, which would’ve been fine except it was 20 till 8. I thought it was dumb and was wondering if they planned to kick people off the course mid-game or what. Technically, shouldn’t you be able to start playing up until closing time? I guess not.  Plus they lost quite a bit of money too.  Weird.

We checked out early the next morning and went our separate ways - Isaac back to Richmond and us back to BG.  It's always a treat being able to spend time together and making memories.