First Thanksgiving at the Pullans!

This year was the first year that I volunteered to have all of Dan's family to our house for Thanksgiving dinner. I don't know how many of you know this or not, but Dan and I really don't sit down and eat meals together. He usually doesn't eat supper until like 10 and I just can't wait that long and it is not good for me to eat that late. What I am getting at here is that I really don't cook all that often. I do bake cookies and make a few things here and there, but not on a regular basis. So I was a little nervous about making a Thanksgiving dinner. I decided to do a ham, potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, and pumpkin bars. It all ended up being really good, I was quite impressed that I could do all of that cooking. I always am in the kitchen with my mom at her house and help a lot in the kitchen, she has taught me so much about cooking. Thank goodness she was just a phone call away on Thanksgiving!!! Thanks mom! Libby, Dan's mom brought a turkey breast, dressing, and gravy. Sarah, Dan's sister brought cranberry sauce and pies. It was all wonderful! The only downer was that Bob. Dan's dad, was not home. We all missed him dearly. He was out on the rig working.

The day was so nice out that we played some whiffle ball and football. It was a beautiful day. The biggest hit of the day was playing the Wii. We all had so much fun. The kids really got into it as well as the adults! There is one game on the Wii fit that I had a horrible time with that night. It is a ski jump you have to squat down and then extend up and stay there until the skier lands. Well, I figured out tonight why I kept falling off the board......I was springing up to my toes and stupid me, you don't have to do that. I just could not figure that out on Thanksgiving. After tonight I hold the record for the longest jump...ha ha Dan! We aren't competitive at all! Ha! Ha! Anyone that knows either of us, knows that is not true.

Over all, Thanksgiving was great. I always miss my immediate family when I am not with them on the holidays, but I am so lucky to have the in-laws that I do. I know that Dan feels the same way about my family and I know it makes it easier on both of us during the holiday seasons. We are very thankful to have the families we do.

Our new Wii.....is it a good thing or bad???

So last weekend, Dan and I were at my parents. My niece, Morgan has a Wii, so they brought it out so we could all play. Dan and I really enjoyed it, so we thought lets get one. We got online and were looking, but not a lot of luck. We had to stop by Wal-Mart on the way home so we just thought we would look. They actually had one, so we bought it. We played a couple times throughout the week. On Friday, Sam and Sarah came up for the night and we busted out the Wii. It was a lot of fun! The only thing about the Wii is that Dan and I are both super competitive! There were a couple times that night that I was like, I don't know if buying this was a good idea. You know when the competitive side comes out things can get crazy. We are trying to not let it ruin the game! Now I will tell you that I get pretty into playing. Especially tennis! So three times when swinging the "racket", I hit Dan in the arm!! It wasn't just a tap either, poor thing!

I have been looking online for a Wii Fit. I had heard they were hard to find. I don't know what is going on, but we went to Wal-Mart today and guess what........they had a Wii Fit! I was so excited! I got it out for a few minutes tonight.....figured my BMI.....yuck! I am really thinking that it will be a great workout. I can't wait to play some more!!!!

I'm sure there will be more Wii stories to come!!!

Did I really need to know that???

So today I had a student, who I absolutley love, ask if he could go to the bathroom right before class. I always tell them to go before class and try not to during class. So he was walking to my room and asked to go. I said yes. Even after I had told him yes, no problem, he felt that he just needed to tell me he had a major wedgie he needed to fix. Now tell me, why did I need to know that? I did crack up and just said really not something you had to share. But it made my day!!!

Good friends and good times!

Today, I finally got to go hang-out with some good friends! It has been forever since we could all get together and I am so glad that it worked that we could all meet at Old Chicago for lunch. There were many topics of conversation and I enjoyed each of them. I always enjoy a good laugh and I had a lot of those today. The food was good and I tried a new beer that was pretty tasty. I went later to get it at Brown Derby so that Dan could try it. We are enjoying a 6 pack while watching the Gators.
I just wanted to give a shout out to the girls and say thanks for a fun lunch. It was so wonderful to hang-out with all of you. I miss seeing you all everyday!! Maybe with the reconfiguration I can see some of you!!!

Oh and this one time I saw a tarantula and.......

Go Gators!

We had a great time at Arkansas this weekend watching the Gators win! All was good except for Alisha being scared of heights and us being on the 2nd to highest row. I felt horrible. When Dan and I looked at the seats online it looked like we were down a level. I am so sorry Trish!!! The game started out really chilly outside and I had major goosebumps for the first half. After that the sun finally came out and started to warm us up.

Check out the stud!!

After showing my mother-in-law this picture and her comment about it being put in a magazine, I decided that it needed to be posted!!! I have always liked a man with nice arms.....good thing I found Dan!!!

Florida trip

All was good until Florida, the weather was great, the company fun, and the Gators were playing.....until the end of the game! The game ended with a 31-30 score, Gators lost :( It was a sad day after that. Dan has been a Gator fan for years and really enjoys watching them win. On the occasion of a loss, it is not a fun time to be around Dan. I will say that he actually handled this loss pretty well. Which was a good thing considering I had to spend 13 hours in the car with him the next day. We had a great time even though the Gators lost. The drive home was on my birthday, I know a great way to spend it! I actually enjoyed it. Dan and I have been go, go, go for the last couple months. It was really nice to actually spend some time together. There was one glitch that got us a little nervous. We were driving through Atlanta and noticed we needed gas. We stopped at one gas station and there was a really long line. So we tried another one. NO GAS! We drove on and stopped at the next exit.....guess what.....NO GAS. We had to go a couple more exits and then we finally found one and had to wait in line for about 30 minutes. If you know anything about Dan, he is big on making good time, so this really bugged him. I was just glad not to run out of gas! They even had cops there controlling traffic because of the fights that have broken out because people were cutting in line. Crazy!

All in all it was a great trip! I got a couple of great pictures. We had really close seats. We are heading to Arkansas for a game this weekend! Go Gators! Hopefully they can pull this one off!!!

sitting in Mississippi!

I am sitting here in a hotel room in Mississippi while Dan is still asleep. We are heading to Florida to go to a Gator game. We headed out last night and made it to Mississippi. The drive wasn't bad. Yesterday I was dreading it all day. If you know me, you know that I hate driving for long distances. I get really bored and my back/butt starts to hurt. I have plenty of padding, but my butt hurts! I have a book, Danavee and Ashley gave me some magazines, and I have the computer. So I actually didn't mind it too much last night. I didn't get to read for very long because I forgot my book light which I was really upset about. I even have two of them and I forgot them. We stopped for gas and were going to get something to eat. We saw a Wendy's but that didn't sound so great so we drove on thinking we would see something else. Guess what we didn't, so no supper for us. Luckily I had packed a lot of snacks and we just ate those. Healthier than fast food anyway!

I woke up at 5 this morning and really couldn't go back to sleep. I got my book and tried to read for a while, thinking that it might put me to sleep. I tried and had no luck. So I finally was like just get up and go workout. So I did. I am kind of mad at myself. On the one day of the weekend that I can sleep in, I can't. Arrgghhh....so frustrating. So I went and exercised for a bit. I feel good that I did now, but sleep would have been nice too. Now I wait until Dan feels as though it is time to get up. He said he wanted to leave by 9, it is now 8:35 and he is still in bed. I don't see the 9 o'clock thing happening!

I'm gonna take some pics at the game and try and get them posted next week.

Visualize it......

.....walking into the gym tonight and looking through the window and seeing a yoga class going on. Yes Danavee and Whitney it brought back many great memories!!! We need to do another class, that was so much fun. For all of you that don't know, I took a yoga class with a couple friends last year. I have to tell you about my favorite part. At the end of class we would shut out the lights, lay back, and visualize! The teacher would talk in a gentle voice and talk about different things to picture. You are in a field of tall grass, there is a fence. Now picture a bush by the fence. Do you see the bird on the bush? After the visualization session was over she would ask questions. Like what kind of fence did you visualize? What kind of bird did you see? Now I really tried to get into this, but to be honest it was so very hard for me not to laugh. I don't know why but I just couldn't do this part of the class. So needless to say that really wasn't my favorite part, but the conversations that came after class with my friends made it so great!

Who let the dog go?

Just thought that I would ease everyones minds and let you all know that the black rottweiler is no where to be found! One day Dan and I saw him off his chain running around with another dog and now we don't see him tied up anymore. My guess he either ran away or had to taken away because he attacked someone!! I hate to say it, but I do feel a little different when running now. I know that all of you worry your little hearts out about it so I thought I would let all of you relax now!!!

If you were stranded on a desert island.....

...and could only take two foods what would it be? So this is always a very simple question for me. I answer without too much thinking. Cheese and chocolate chip cookies (homemade). You need to know this in order to appreciate my quick story. Dan and I went to Kansas City this past weekend to go to a birthday party and we stayed with my sister. It was a great time. On the way home from my sisters a couple weeks ago, we stopped at Osceola Cheese and got some smoked cheddar cheese. It was fantastic! I loved smoked cheddar. We bought some at Wal-Mart after that and it just was not near as good. So after a little begging, Dan finally said that we could stop again. Ok, really not that much begging but just had to say that. I ran in to get some smoked cheddar cheese while Dan waited in the car. Well, I don't know if you have been there, but it is so full of cheese you don't even know where to begin looking. I knew exactly what I was looking for and since Dan was waiting I went straight to the smoked cheddar. I was looking at the prices and the sizes and thinking that I won't be back here for a while, so I bought a big ol' chunk. I get out to the car smiling from ear to ear and Dan was like what. I said don't get mad. Now he is really like oh great what is she going to say. So I pull out this log of smoked cheddar cheese. "What the hell, you won't shit for a month!" I start laughing because I knew he would have a reaction like this. I proceeded to tell him that I don't plan to eat it all tonight. Dan says well I sure hope not. Now he acts as though he doesn't enjoy the cheese, but he does. So if you are in the mood for some smoked cheddar cheese come on over I have plenty!!! Although, since it is my favorite I might limit you!!!!!

Oh what fun!!!

The three day weekend was a great time! It started out with a call Friday night from my brother asking if we wanted to go have dinner. We thought that they were going to have one of the boys so I was thinking we would be out too late. Wrong! All of the boys were at friends houses so we closed down The Fox and Hound. It was a great time. Lots of good stories from good ol' Brandon! He definitely can keep you entertained.

We slept in a bit on Saturday which was really nice. Dan watched the Gator game while I worked on school work, with the tv on but muted so that I could keep up with the game as well! After the game we headed down to the lake. We got there around 4 and found all the Deatons there waiting and ready to go swim. So we all went down to the lake. The adults decided that it was a little cold to get in but boy did the kids enjoy it. It is so funny how much those 4 kids love the lake. They could spend all day there. We went back to the house had a good supper and played cards. We took some gifts to a couple of the kids for their birthday. Nate is the youngest Deaton and so full of life. He and I were buddies this weekend. We gave him a dinosaur that was such a big hit. You know how that is when you give a gift and you never know. Nate and I played with the dinosaur all night and the next day. If I do say so myself, I have a great dinosaur voice!!! A good night.

On Sunday we got to sleep in again and then head back out on the lake. It was a great day. The water was great and the sun was shining. What more could you ask for?! We went out on the boat for a bit. I have to brag for a minute because........I GOT UP ON THE WAKE BOARD!!! I mean I only rode for like 30 feet, but I did it. I was so excited! I wish Bob could have been there to see me, I know he would have been so proud! Dan was really proud of me! There were a couple other people in the boat cheering me on as well. One of them went out to try and ski. She hadn't been since she was in high school. She tried so hard and was super close. It was so great to watch her facial expressions as she got close. She was quite the trooper. Next time she will be up and running!

Today was also a good day. We slept in again....how great has that been! Then we got up and went to get sushi. It was wonderful, except for this one thing and I didn't really care for it. Dan ate it though and really enjoyed it. Then we came back and had some nappy time!! Always something I enjoy. I think I need to take a nap everyday, I feel so good after one! I also talked to Alisha today about coming up to see her next weekend. She is so funny. I won't tell her response on here, but she can make a girl laugh that is for sure! It is now getting to the time in the night that I have to start thinking about going to bed. All in all a great weekend, but they always go so fast. Back to the grind tomorrow!

Oh those boys!

I went to my nephews, Reed and Brock's first football game tonight. I tell you what those boys make me laugh. They are so funny! For one thing, it is just funny to watch them play football. They are all so small, but totally play hard. Brandon is helping coach this year and that is funny too. After the game I of course had my camera and wanted to take pictures. I took a few when they were playing, but they aren't that good. So I took a couple and Reed told me that I needed to take a few in black and white. So of course, I always do what I am told......so I did! They were trying to act tough in their uniforms, but it is funny because they have a hard time not smiling in a couple. Then Brock did a little commercial for Gatorade, but for some reason I can't get it to work...........help Whitney!!!!!! Brock was just being a little ham tonight. After his commercial, he was on the truck and I had to get a few pics of him being the little turd that he is!

Riley is going through the middle school stage where he doesn't talk a whole lot. He has been going to football practice for the 7th grade team. It has been a lot different this year because he is really working hard for a position on the A team. It sounds like he is doing a great job. I am so excited to see him play this year!!

Still running scared!

Well ladies and gentlemen, it happened again. Last night I was on my daily jog. I was doing really good and was about on my 3rd mile, when what do I see...........four dogs running my way. If you have read my blog before, you know that this has happened once already. This time it was even worse, there was four of them. I was so mad. I was thinking to myself shouldn't I be able to run around my neighborhood and not be scared of a dog attack???!!! I have purchased pepper spray and I take it with me every time I run. Here is my question though, when do I use it? I am not a dog lover by any means, except for Bronson, but I am not a dog hater. So I was so tempted to use it last night as two of them are at my heals, but didn't. I just know that I would feel horrible and I am kind of scared that the owners would get pissed at me. Should I care though? They are the ones letting their dogs run lose and chase innocent runners like myself.

So let me know your thoughts. Should I spray them or should I just keep running scared?

Three days down!!

As many of you know I started school this week. It was a typical first week, introductions, rules, procedures, etc. I will say I am so glad that I made the move back to 6th grade. For one thing you don't have to plan for a full day which is such a stressful task. For another I don't have the same kids all day long! I really found that I need the change of children every few hours. Last year I had the same kids all day and I just did not enjoy that too much. A lot of people think that I am crazy for liking 6th grade. Maybe it is because that is what I started teaching and have kept with it throughout my teaching with the exception of last year. I love the age though and am so glad there was an opening in 6th grade. You can be serious with them and they can sit and work and you can still do goofy stuff and the like it. I am hoping that the rest of the year will go as great as the first three days. I do miss the people at E II, but I know that I can still see them every once in a while. Thank goodness for e-mail. To me it is like moving to a new district like I have done before and I had to leave some very dear friends behind that I miss tremendously. The difference this year is those dear friends from E II are still within walking distance, so that is a major bonus! I don't have funny first day stories like Danavee and Whitney, but I will share when one does come up!

One other thing......I am starting my masters this week!!! I have been debating since I started teaching what I wanted to get my masters in. I have thrown around the idea of library, counseling, and technology. I finally decided on Instructional Mathematics. I am pretty stoked about starting. Not so stoked about the CHA-CHING that is going to be making a big whole in the bank, but it will pay off soon I hope! It is a 2 year program and pretty much all online! So excited about that. Kind of nervous at the same time though. I haven't taken classes in forever! Wish me luck!!!

A great first impression!

Well, as many of you know I am going to be teaching 6th grade again this year. In order to do this, I had to move buildings. I think I have talked about this before. So the move was going ok. I really like everyone that I am working with and they are all very helpful. I am starting to feel somewhat comfortable, but honestly it will take me a while to feel like I am part of the building. Well I was trying to finish up decorating my room. I thought I had a really cool idea of what to do on one wall. In order to do this I need to copy some things on overhead transparencies. So I grabbed a couple and headed down to the office. I put it in the copier and started the machine. And then.........ERROR!!! I had flippin' used the wrong kind of transparency and it had MELTED and was stuck in the machine! Well, isn't this my lucky day. I felt like such an idiot. Why the heck do I have transparencies you can't copy on??? I had to get the secretary to help me. I felt so horrible. I think she was a little bit irritated at me, but was very patient. I cannot believe that I did that. After about 20 minutes we finally got it fixed. Although we did take a chunk out of one of the rollers, it still seemed to work. So I went back to my room hanging my head low and thinking I feel like a complete idiot. What a great impression to make on the secretary. I am sure you are thinking oh poor thing didn't get to finish her cool idea. Oh not to worry, I found the right kind of transparency. I will say that my heart was a poundin' when I put that first one in and I was giving a good shout out for someone to make this work. Luckily it did not melt!!!! I will take pics and post next time so you can see how important the copies were :~)

Two funny things....or so I think!!

So Sunday Dan and I went over to move all my school things from one building to another. Now let me just tell you that I have been teaching for 8 years and you just accumulate a lot of things in that time. I know that my teacher friends understand this. I know I should throw some of it away and I actually did throw quite a bit away, but my big thing is you never know when you are going to need something. I mean I am not for sure why I possibly need 8 staple removers but I do have thousands of staples to go with it....not even joking here you should see all the staples that were left in my new classroom.......crazy! Or why might I need Crisco? Anyway, I have a lot of stuff. So we decide to get started moving things, we had already drove 4 hours that day from my parents, needless to say we were dreading this job. The school I was at last year has an upstairs and that is where all my things were. There is a elevator, unfortunately I never got a key. I will say that I used it during summer school and got kind of freaked out because I got in the door closed and it didn't move and I couldn't get the door open, so I was thinking that the stairs were just fine. So we start loading. Dan had got a two wheeler from work so that helped. We had to take two car loads over, which was really good because I thought it would be more than that. There was one load that Dan had to shut me in because I was loaded down with a big box of posters. We get the last load over and I start to look around the room for a minute. Dan was like look Babe you have a really nice chair. He sits down and starts spinning around and having fun in the chair. He does things like this quite often so I didn't think much of it. I was looking around and then I started saying something and there was no answer. I look around and Dan wasn't in there. All of a sudden I hear him rolling down the hallway with great speed and grinning from ear to ear. He was like, "Hey go get you a chair and we can have races." I said oh I don't think so there are cameras not a good impression. He was quite surprised there were cameras, but it was a great way for him to end the day of hard work!

Second Story

Yesterday my friend Myranda called and asked if I wanted to go do a class with her at the gym. I was like sure. So she said it was a step class. I have never done a step class before and thought why not. So I meet her at the gym in time for the class. We get our steps and our weights and wait for the class to begin. It starts and they ask who hasn't done this class before. Myranda and I both raise our hands. It starts of with just a basic step up and down....easy. Then it goes into a step and kick. No problem. Wait what is this the cowboy kick. Charleston, around the world......what is going on I don't know any of these. Ugghhhhhh I am not getting this at all. I am seriously like getting about four of the eight steps we are suppose to do. I keep trying though and am thinking to myself come on Andrea you are more coordinated than this. So I have finally picked up a few, but still not getting a lot of it when what happens......Oh yes, I step and my whole little step contraption comes apart. I am thinking oh shit what an idiot I am. So I, as quickly as I can, try and put it together without laughing too hard and turning bright red. I was thinking to myself this just might not be the best class for you. I finally get back into somewhat of a groove and back with the group. Then Myranda looks at me and is like I have to quit I hurt my foot. So I stopped to check on her and she took her shoe off and her foot was all swollen. Poor thing. She heard it pop when we first started but she kept going......she's a tough cookie! She got some ice and rested for a bit. She told me to go on and finish the class. I said are you sure, like please don't make me go back in there. I did though and by the end of the class I was feeling a little better about the whole step class. It was quite a workout and would really be good if I could do the triple time that some of them do. Maybe next time!!!

A great trip to NY!

We had a pretty good trip to NY. We did lots of sight seeing and enjoying times with friends. We were in Rochester for a wedding for four days. It was a really good time, lots of time with friends and a ton of laughs---thanks Nick!! The wedding was outside and it was on a lake. It was so pretty. Dan was looking really good in his suit!! The reception was a lot of fun. It was a really laid back wedding. The guys started getting kind of silly by the end of the night and even started to break out a few dance moves!!

We went up to Niagra Falls on Sunday. It was so amazing. You wouldn't believe how fast the water is going. We rode the Maid of the Mist which takes you to the bottom of the falls. It gets you really close and you get really wet, but it is such a great experience. Then we went on a tour where you get to walk up into the falls. It was crazy! There was one point that it was like we were in a hurricane like conditions.

After our weekend at Rochester, we flew out Monday to head to the city. It was a good time. Lots of sight seeing and walking! I needed the walking though, I had been eating way too much. You know how it goes when you are on vacation. The first day we took a bus tour around the city. You could get on and off the bus and explore places you were interested in. So we stopped a few times. One stop was China Town so that I could find me a new purse.....which was a success, pretty happy with it. We went lots of places throughout the week. I won't bore you with the details from each one but I'll share some pictures of a few of my favorites. We went to the Statue of Liberty, a Yankees game, walked across the Brooklyn bridge, Central Park(which is totally awesome), walked through Times Square, went to Coney Island and rode the Cyclone....so much fun and much more.













There are a lot more pics, but just shared a few. Dan and I had a great trip. We were ready to get home and back to our own bed! Stu had to put up with Dan and I throughout the vacation. I am sure there were times when he was ready to be away from us!!!! Thanks for being such a great trooper though Stu!!!

Oh yeah, I had to buy a new camera while on the trip. Dan wasn't very happy about that, but I bought a great camera one of my favorite features are pictured below with my good lookin' hubby!!

I'm heading to NY!!!!

So I am sitting here waiting to leave to go to Kansas City for the night and then to head to New York tomorrow. So excited!! Dan is going to be the best man in a wedding and then we get to hit the city. I am pretty stoked! Dan not so much. He has been to NY before and doesn't really care to go back, but he is being the good husband and taking me. We have a few things planned, but not for sure what all we are going to do. I know that before we actually head to the city we will be going to Niagra Falls, pretty excited about that. Once we get into the city, we are going to a Yankees game, Central Park, China town and much much more. I am sitting here smiling just thinking about it! So I won't have another blog for a little over a week and I know that you all will be very disappointed, but just not possible when I am not taking the computer. I promise to fill you in on all the details of our trip once we return. I'll probably have some great pictures to share as well!!!

Ta ta!!!

The infamous walk.

So I am suppose to write a blog about a walk that I took with two friends Ashley and Danavee. But if you are wanting to hear about it, you can click onto either one of their blogs. I don't know if I could put on here what all was going through my head!!!!!!

Gotcha girls!!!!!

Oh......what happened to taking the pictures. Were we so light headed that we forgot????

Tried to slalom!

So yesterday Dan and his buddy Chris wanted to go down to the lake and slalom on the course. I was ok, I'll go down with you. So we head down, it was a great night. It was really nice out and there was like no one on the lake. The course was great, no one there and the water was perfect. Chris headed out first and did a good job. Then Dan gets out there and let me just tell you, he looks so good in the water. It is amazing how great he is at skiing He is just a natural. I am always just really amazed how good he is and how it just looks like it is so easy for him. He is really good at the course and goes around the corners one handed. I told him it was funny to see his facial expressions because they really reminded me of his dad last night! It is just so much fun to watch him. I was kind of upset because I took my camera, but then forgot to bring it on the boat. So I have one from Dan on the wake board from last year that I will share!

Well I was talked into trying to get out there on the slalom. Now like I said before, this is something I wanted to try. I was a little nervous that the water would be cold, but it was absolutely perfect. Great night for skiing!! I learned how to ski on two skis a couple years ago, but I am not super good at it. It is tough. I haven't skied at all this year. So I was like ok, but just a couple times. So I get out there and try. I didn't succeed but Dan said that I was pretty close and that next time he thinks I might be able to get up. Which is super exciting to me!!

I also got to drive the boat for the first time. I told Dan a couple of weeks ago that he needed to teach me how to drive the boat so that I can take him out on the course if he wants. So last night, I learned out to drive the boat. I didn't drive it through the course, but I did drive it back to the dock. Pretty good times. I think the only reason he really let me was because there were like no other boats out and that made him less nervous! It was a really great night!

Lake time!

Dan and I went down to the lake for the weekend. Now we enjoy going to the lake quite often, but this year has not allowed for much lake time. The weather has played a major role in whether we can go to the lake or not. Dan grew up on the lake and is a wonderful skier. He just looks so happy anytime he is out on the water. Unfortunately this year has not allowed for much skiing. He has only got to go once and that was for about five minutes. The water was very cold and rough. I have not even tried to ski yet this year. Now not that I am that good at skiing, but I still enjoy getting out there and trying. I was really hoping to learn to slalom ski this year. I don't know if that will be happening. I will say that I am ok at two skis, can do pretty good on the knee board, and actually made it out of the water on the wake board.....that was really exciting!! I was hoping for a few more lessons from Bob and Dan and to be out there tearin' it up. Maybe next year!

This last weekend was a good time on the lake. Although the weather wasn't that wonderful. It was kind of rainy on Friday morning and then it kind of warmed up. I am a big wimp in cold water. I get goose bumps like nobodies business, but still try it out. We were out on the lake for a while. Let me tell you what the nieces and nephews don't care at all what the water feels like. They absolutely love it and just jump in and jump in and jump in. It is crazy!! Saturday wasn't much better, again the rain in the morning and then in warmed up a little. So we went out again, but still the goose bumps!!! Of course, it was a gorgeous day on Sunday. We weren't planning on going to the lake at all. Dan and I had started down the road and were heading home and we decided it was too nice of a day not to go swim for just a bit. So we turned around and went back to swim for about an hour. Libby thought we were crazy, but she went for a dip as well. It was a really nice weekend.

The one thing that was upsetting about the weekend was not being with my immediate family. That has been the hardest thing for us since we have been together. We are both so close to our families and it makes it so hard on the holidays. We are not lucky enough to have families that live close together. Our families live 5 hours apart, so when holidays come it is really hard on me. I just wish we could all be together, but I know that we can't. So all you couples that do have families that are close to one another really appreciate it, because it is so so hard not to be able to see everyone around the holidays. Luckily we both have wonderful families that understand.......or at least they say they do!!!! Love you all!!!

A year of marriage!

Yesterday, Dan and I celebrated our one year anniversary. It was so great to think that we have been married a year. It doesn't really seem possible because it seems like just yesterday we were going through all the wedding stuff. I feel like we have been very blessed. We had heard that the first year is so hard. In all honesty we ask each other if we thought it was hard and we don't really think it was. Yes there were those moments when we had to figure things out about each other, but I don't think that this will just be happening in the first year. Thank goodness we can take each others jokes.....most of the time...and know when the other one just needs a few minutes alone. So my question is, why do people say it is so hard? Were Dan and I just lucky? We feel like we had a great first year and I hope that all of them are this easy. I am sure they won't be as easy, especially when we start adding other factors....kids....to the picture. Which if you are wondering, it will be a bit longer. We had such a great first year, we want another one to have fun and learn about each other. Not to say that if by chance a pregnancy happened we would be upset, we just aren't planning that right now. But we all know that is in God's hands! Dan probably won't think I needed to share that, but he is not the one that gets the so when are you going to start having kids question like I do!! Right now I feel very lucky to have such a wonderful husband. We have so much fun together. Some of the best times we have are when it is just him and I sitting in the backyard just talking. We don't have to be doing something or going somewhere. We just enjoy each others company and to me that is exactly the kind of marriage I always wanted to have.

I didn't really say much in this blog. I just wanted to say that we had a great first year. Thanks to all the great family and friends that were there to make it wonderful. We are both very blessed with having wonderful families. The really cool thing about that is we actually truly love each others families too!!!!!

Running Scared

So as I have said before I am not a major dog person. Well after my encounter with a ferocious rottweiler I am even less of one. Here is the story of me running scared!


Let me start by giving a little info ahead of time that is slightly important. Dan and I jog around our neighborhood quite often when we don't have time to go to the gym. I have been getting up and jogging in the mornings before school because I don't want to drive to the gym, so I just jog around our neighborhood. We have often seen a rottweiler at a house close by and it is usually chained, but still comes running at you and barking. On this lovely day, there was no chain to be found. As I was running up the street, listening to my good tunes, what do I see out of the corner of my eye but a big black rottweiler running straight towards me. Now I am not one to scream, but this definitely called for a loud scream. It was so girly, but truly a scream of terror. This dog was off its chain and ready to pounce. I just started yelling, "Get back, get back." All the while thinking, please don't let this dog bite me. I was just standing there screaming and moving back. The owner was no where to be seen. Luckily some wonderful people stopped to try and helped. I kind of put myself between the cars to protect myself from the dog. Finally the owner comes walking around the corner of their house like no big deal. They didn't come running after their dog, they didn't even act like it was a big deal that a lady was standing there scared out of her mind and two cars were stopped trying to help. I swear do people even have a brain???? So finally they get the dog over to them. I start heading back home and what happens, the dam thing comes after me again. I was so quite perturbed. I am thinking in the back of my mind, why the heck would you not hold on to your dog until I am out of sight, I mean seriously common courtesy, do you have any??? So after that I put the wheels in gear and sprint home. I had so much adrenaline going I think I could have ran for miles. I ran straight in and told Dan. He suggested that I call pet control. I thought about it, but I am thinking I live not too far away and run quite often around home. I would hate for them to see me out and do something to me or my dog. So I didn't. It is not as though the dog hurt me and I am sure that some people think that I am over reacting, but seriously I was really scared. So the bad part about this is that I have to change my route that I had started to really like. I knew exactly how far it was and when I was halfway done. How frustrating is that??

The joys of a dog!

Today was the day to get out and mow the yard. A task that honestly I don't mind taking on. There is only one part of this wonderful job that I detest. Picking up dog poo. Yes I said that correctly, dog poo! We have a system to this process that is really not that bad, but it is still picking up poo. Who likes that??? You would be amazed by how much our wonderful chocolate lab takes a crap. I mean seriously how can he possibly go to the bathroom that many times in a week. He was even gone for three days, but yet still we had a whole Wal-Mart sack full of poo. So let me tell you how this works. Dan taught me the system since I do most of the mowing and he does the weed-eating, the mower gets to do the the poo pick-up.....lucky me. I wish I could figure out how to start the stinking weed-eater! Anyway, I take two Wal-Mart bags one to put the poo in and one to cover my hand as a glove, then you walk the yard and pick up the poo. Fun times let me tell you. Today was the first day that Bronson didn't bless me with a new package while cleaning up his crap. Thank you Bronson.

For all of you that have known me for a while, you know that I am not a big animal person. I like them, but I am ok with not having one around. When I met Dan and he said he had a dog, I was like that is nice. Then I met Bronson and to tell the truth I do have a little soft spot for the big boy now. He and I have become quite good buddies. We enjoy our walks together and he likes a good neck rub once in a while, and he always go to bed the same time I do. So in all, I really do like our dog and I take pretty good care of him. We are going to the vet Friday to have his ear checked out....poor guy always itching it.

Today however he was just a bit annoying. While I was picking up his crap he had to be right beside me the whole time. Not just close, he was right beside me. Now usually when I mow, he finds a shaded spot, if there is one in our yard, and just lays there and watches me. Today was not the same story. For some reason he followed me around almost the whole time I was mowing. Many of you know that you makes turns and things when mowing, well try doing this with about a hundred pound dog right at your heals the whole time. Oh the joy of mowing today.

One more story about Bron then I will stop boring you. So after we both got done mowing, because he was quite the helper, I wanted to give him a bath. He really needed one, kind of a stinky dog. So I started the water and let him play for a bit then I was like ok time to get down to business. So I grab his collar and start spraying him down. He doesn't necessarily like this, but he did ok. Then on goes the shampoo and he gets good rubbins and really likes this. Now is the part he hates again, spraying him off. So I was not nearly done getting all the suds out and he decides that I need a bath too and gives a great big ol' shake. Gotta love it! I yell some not so kind words, but keep spraying. He feels that I did not get a good enough bath and does it again. Let me tell you it was a fun time! Finally we finished our baths and he is now laying right under my feet taking a little nap

Don't know what I would do without good old Bronson!

First Blog

So after all the pulling and tugging of the arm, I had a few friends talk me into trying this blogging thing. I will do my best, but have never been the best at writing so this will be interesting. My goal is to share some fun stories about Dan and I. I am sure that the stories will include family and friends because they do most of the entertaining things!!! I might have to let Dan edit my blogs because sometimes the stories I think are funny aren't that funny!! So instead of looking like an idiot, I will probably rope him in a few times.