Just call me the cat lady

On Saturday night we have 2 cats wonder into our yard... this is very strange for us because we live in the back woods and not many things "wonder" into our yard. Needless to say they were very sweet and as soon as Travis started talking to them they came running. They were both purring and meowing like crazy. So what do I do... feed them tuna.

Within about 10 minutes I knew my allergies were against the kitties. I had a cat growing up but I guess my allergies have evolved since then. I opened the front door and they came right in..umm no. It was raining Saturday night so I put a box with a towel in it on the front porch. They stayed all night, and were very happy to see us the next morning.

and they haven't left yet...

they have went and told their friends about us and are bringing them back with them. Last night Kelsey got out of the car and said "I think the cat changed colors" no Kelsey that is a different cat... AHHHHH!

The worst of it is the smallest one was climbing our back door and hanging on the window looking at me, kinda freaked me out a little. I am worried the coyotes are going to get them, and I really don't want the kids to see that. I don't want them to go to the animal shelter and get put down either... we will see what happens....

I put a picture of them in my photo challenge post.

Catching up :)

I am updating the pictures I have from the last couple of days. I have missed a few, but something is better than nothing, right?  I hope everyone is having a great week!



Feb 1st

I forgot to post this yesterday... I am hoping to have Feb 2nd done tonight :)


1. Your View...

View from my desk at work

Happy February!

It's the first day of February! January flew by.

Puppy update: His name is now Tonka. Magnum just wasn't cutting it. He looks more like a Tonka...think Tonka truck!

Hayden and Tonka

I am supposed to start my photo challenge today... February is your view today. I will work on this tonight and have something for yall tomorrow.

Introducing....Magnum!

Our new puppy!!

I went and picked him up on Saturday morning. He is so sweet and little. The kids love him so much already :) Naming him was a different story, the poor pup has had about 30 names since this weekend. We just couldn't decide on one and nothing seemed to fit him. I am still not 100% convinced that Magnum is going to be it, but so far we like it.

Some of the runner ups were: Tracker, Ace, Grizzly, Bear, Nitro, Winston, Levi, Jake...that's all I can think of right now. I catch myself just saying come here puppy. He is doing really well so far. We are crate training him and this morning was the first time he had to go in his crate and the door was shut. Poor guy was so sad! I am letting him sleep with us for now, until he starts jumping off the bed at least. He was used to being with his brothers and sisters so he likes to get really close to us. He wakes us up when he needs to go out by biting or licking you. I will take it for now, at least he is waking us up and not just peeing on the bed!

Happy Monday :)

Let the waiting begin...

Kelsey is going into Kindergarten next year, and for the past 5 years I have planned dreamed of her going to private school. My parents both work at a private Catholic school, I attended a Catholic high school and the difference in public vs private is amazing. I do want to be a teacher, so please don't flame me about going to a private school. These days, at least in GA, public schools teach kids to pass standardized testing. In private school she will have the ability to be challenged and learn, as a plus she will be able to grow in her faith.  Anyway...

Applications were due today. We turned ours in and now we wait. Lots of people ask tell me but you parents work there, she will get in? Not exactly. She is has to go through all the same channels as everyone else. We have "testing" in a few weeks, then we will wait for a response.

We are in no financial way to support her going and the only way for her to go is with something called the Grace Scholarship. It is an amazing program...that might be taken away because legislators are like that. It is a scholarship based on need that could give her the opportunity to attend private school through 12th grade. We are pretty excited and hopeful that it will all work out. My motto for 2012 is Everything happens for a reason, so if it is meant to be it will happen.

For the application we had to write a parent perspective of Kelsey this is what we came up with:

Kelsey loves to learn and explore new things. She has a remarkable memory and will randomly talk about people, events and happenings from 2 or 3 years ago clearly recalling many details even we have forgotten. Kelsey has a very vivid imagination and spends many hours making up her own games and stories.  She enjoys coloring, drawing and crafts. This year Kelsey started taking ballet, she likes to dance around the house pretending to be a princess.  Kelsey is a great big sister; she is very patient when she plays with her little brother.  She is a very kind and caring little girl, a friend to all.

It pretty much sums my girl up in a few sentences!

So keep us in your thoughts and prayers, I will let everyone know the outcome as soon as I know!

Have a great weekend! We are picking up the Levi (puppy) tomorrow, so I will have pictures on Monday :)




I think I am going to this in February! I don't know if I will get every photo loaded everyday, but I will try my hardest!

Hilton Head 2011

Warning: Picture Overload at the bottom!

The week after Christmas my parents took us to Hilton Head for the week. They headed out Christmas Eve and we planned on leaving Monday morning, but left on Christmas night around 9 and arrived at 2am. My oldest brother, Brad and his son Koltyn rode with us and my other brother, Brett came up after work Tuesday evening.

We were so excited because this is the first vacation in about 3 years that we had been on. We stayed at the Marriott Surf Watch resort, it was such a nice place! They have an indoor pool and 2 outdoor pools that are heated. Along with hot tubs. We saw all the pools at least once and visited a few times a day. The kids loved them, and Hayden thought the hot tub was the coolest thing. He would act almost drunk like when he was in it, it was so funny. (I didn't let him stay in for more than about 5-10 mins each time)

We spent a lot of time down at the beach, it was really windy most of the week, which was good because my parents got Travis and my brother kites for Christmas, so they had time to fly them.

I had been told that a lot of people rode bikes around Hilton Head, so one day we rented bikes from the resort to take a ride. WOW! Our legs were burning! What a great way to work out though. Travis' bike had a trailer on it so he could pull Kelsey and my nephew, Koltyn. My bike had a child seat on the back for Hayden. We had a great time!

One day we headed to the Sea Pines area of Hilton Head to see the light house and sight see. It is a pretty neat place, we really enjoyed looking at the boats and seeing the light house. There was also a barn in the area and of course we had to stop by! The kids( and the adults) really enjoyed the petting zoo. My dad asked me why the horses looked so sad though...they were waiting to go on a trail ride and they did look miserable. He isn't used to seeing horses like that because he always saw the ones I rode, which def weren't that calm! Since I have been around lesson horses and trail horses, I wasn't surprised but I still felt bad for them. After the petting zoo/barn my parents headed back to the resort with Kelsey, Koltyn and my brother Brad, while myself, Travis, Hayden and my other brother Brett went to the south beach to look around. We stopped at Salty dog to get some shirts and some pictures!

Hilton Head is an interesting place, everything is set off the road and my dad told us that they try to take down the least amount of trees when building something. So unlike around here where you can see strip malls/ shopping centers from the road, you have to look really hard to see what it behind the trees there. It would take some getting used to if I lived there.

There were so many memories made on this trip! We were all ready to go back home at the end of the week, but I am so glad we got to go! I took over 300 pictures, so I won't post all of them, but as a warning there are going to be a lot!

View on the walk to the beach



My dad holding the kites



Hayden- deciding if he likes the sand

Kelsey and Koltyn

Me, Travis and Hayden at Sea Pines

The kid's ride

Hayden's ride

The whole family :)

Hayden petting a deer, wearing a dog collar!



Petting the pretty horse



My parents w/kelsey and koltyn

If you made it this far, thanks!