Scarlett's Birthday and Snow

So, I started writing this post way back in the beginning of February. But, life happens. The last two months have absolutely flown by! 

At the end of January, we celebrated sweet Scarlett's first birthday! On her first birthday it snowed. She had a great time playing in it.

Scarlett's one year photo

First snow of the year, on Scarlett's birthday

A couple of weeks later, it snowed again! One snow is unusual down here in Georgia, so we were definitely surprised to be getting more. Even more snow came down this time and it stuck around longer too. Of course both of these snows occurred on my work week. I am fortunate to have Jason who not only has four wheel drive, but also has experience driving in snow and ice! He was able to take me to work each night and bring me home each morning. I didn't have to stay at the hospital like many of my coworkers.

Second snow- You can see there is a lot more on the ground!

It certainly seemed like a long, cold winter this year. We are looking forward to warmer weather!

Savannah: A Quick Trip

Jason had to go down to Savannah and St. Simon's Island this week for business. Since it was my off week, I went with him. We left on Tuesday afternoon and made it to Savannah in time for a late dinner. We ate at a burger joint near our hotel before crashing from the long drive.

Wednesday morning, Jason made a quick stop for work near our hotel, and then we headed to the historic district. Jason had never been there before, so there were lots of things I wanted to show him! Unfortunately, we only had a few hours. We didn't get to see it all, but that just means we will have to go back!

The first place we went was River Street. It was freezing that morning, so we had to drive it. Next we headed to Ellis Square. Last time I was in Savannah it was under construction. It is an open area with a big fountain for kids to play in when it's warm. Obviously the fountain wasn't on that day! From Ellis Square, we walked to St. John's Cathedral. It's so gorgeous. All the details amaze me!

Jason inside the Cathedral

St. John's Cathedral

The Colonial Park Cemetery was just down the street from St. John's, so we headed there next.

We also stopped by Independent Presbyterian Church. This is the steeple where they drop the feather from at the beginning of Forrest Gump.

We also checked out the Paula Deen Store and a pet store called The Grateful Hound. We had to pick up some souvenirs for our girls! 

Our last stop in Savannah was lunch at the Pirates' House. The restaurant holds the oldest house in Georgia, and our table was in that portion of the restaurant. 

Fireplace in the oldest house in Georgia.

After our lunch, it was back on the road to St. Simon's Island. We didn't get to do anything fun there. Jason checked out the work to be done, and we were back on the road toward home. A very quick trip, but we still had a good time. I love Savannah and am looking forward to going back sometime when we can stay a little bit longer!

New Truck

Jason's truck had been in and out of the shop for the last year. We knew the motor wasn't going to last, so Jason started shopping around for a new truck. Fortunately, he was able to find a really great one! And just in the nick of time too. When he traded in his old one, they said the head gaskets were seeping which is very bad news. The motor was definitely on its last leg. 

So far we love the new truck!

January Birthdays

My last week off we celebrated some birthdays in our family.

First was dinner at Outback with my parents to celebrate my mom's birthday.

On Saturday night we celebrated our nephew's birthday. He turned the big 3-0!

Sunday afternoon we celebrated our niece's birthday with cookie cake.

Jason and his sister.

Happy Birthday Everyone!!

Goals for 2014

I'm not a big fan of New Year's resolutions. It just seems like they only last a couple of weeks. But because there are several things I want to accomplish this year, I thought I would make some goals for 2014. Maybe sharing them publicly will help keep me accountable!

1. Grow Spiritually.

This year I want to know and love Jesus more. 

2. Be more healthy.

This goal has nothing to do with losing weight. I just want to exercise more and make better choices when it comes to eating.

3. Pay off debt.

Our ultimate goal is to be debt free. Realistically, I don't think we can do that in one year, but I would like to make some significant progress!

4. Cook more and eat out less.

We eat out way more than we should. Cooking more at home would help us save money and eat better!

5. Create a weekly cleaning schedule and stick with it.

I want to be able to do a small task each day instead of feeling overwhelmed by trying to clean the whole house in one day.

6. Take more pictures.

I have not done a good job of making pictures when we get together with family. I want to be able to have pictures to go with all our memories!

7. Be a better wife. 

I want to be the most loving and supportive wife to Jason that I can be.

Christmas 2013

This year I had Christmas week off.

We started the week off with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate MC's birthday.

Jason and Baby C, MC opening gifts, delicious cheesecake

On Christmas Eve I baked cookies and wrapped gifts while Jason worked on his truck. That evening we went to Jason's aunt's house for Christmas Eve dinner with family. 

Christmas morning Jason and I opened our gifts to each other before eating breakfast at my parent's house. After breakfast we got ready and went to Jason's parent's house for Christmas dinner.  We had a delicious dinner, played bingo, opened gifts, and exchanged white elephant gifts.

the tree

It's a tradition to take photos in front of the fireplace every year.

Jason's mom and dad, Sparky, and Bella

Us with our pups!

We had Christmas dinner with my family the day after Christmas. 

the tree

Stockings on the mantle

Baby C's first Christmas; He slept through opening the gifts

Hanging out with baby C

A little smile

Family photo- only missing Scarlett!

We had a chill weekend and I got a lot done around the house. Now we have a clean house and all of the Christmas decorations are put away until next year.  

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Atlanta Botanical Gardens and Brasstown Bald

It's the start of another work week. Last week was a great week off though. It was definitely a busy one, but there was a lot of fun involved too!

Monday night our small group wrapped up for the semester. We really enjoyed hosting and making some new friends!

Tuesday, I spent the day with my mom. We finished up some Christmas shopping, had lunch, and went through some of Nana and Papa's Christmas ornaments. 

Wednesday was a beautiful day, so the pups and I enjoyed the sunshine with a nice, long walk through our neighborhood. Wednesday night Jason and I had date night in Atlanta. We had a delicious dinner at Mary Mac's Tea Room. Then we went the Atlanta Botanical Gardens to see the Christmas lights. We had never been before, and it was really cool!

Outside Mary Mac's, shrubbery sculpture of a woman with lights for hair, poinsettia tree, butterfly lights.

Thursday was a chill day. I did take the pups on another walk since the sun was out again. Jason had Christmas dinner with some friends. Our local Chili's was doing free dessert for father-daughter date night, so I had dinner with my parents and got a free chocolate molten cake. Yum!

Jason was able to take Friday off, so we went for a hike at Brasstown Bald where we got engaged four years ago. We saw some beautiful views of God's amazing creation.

Beautiful views, a picture in the same spot Jason asked me to marry him, and the Brasstown Bald sign.

Saturday night we went to a Christmas party at a friend's house. It's hard to believe Christmas is less than two weeks away!

Sunday, we went to church and had lunch with friends. We relaxed at the house this afternoon before taking the pups to Petsmart for new treats and a trip to get groceries for the week. 

That sums up our week. Here's to the start of a new week!

A Wonderful Weekend

My last weekend off Jason and I took a quick trip up to the Great Smoky Mountains.

We left around lunch time on Friday and took the scenic route through North Carolina. We stopped in Cherokee for some ice cream and fudge at a little shop Jason had been to before. It was delicious! We stopped one more time before arriving in Gatlinburg at the Tennessee/North Carolina line. The leaves were changing, and it was absolutely gorgeous!

After arriving in Gatlinburg, we walked around downtown for a little bit before having a delicious dinner at Calhoun's and dessert at Gigi's Cupcakes. We walked through a few more shops after dinner before going to our hotel.

Saturday morning our first stop was the Applewood Farmhouse for breakfast. We also picked up some more apple butter while we were there! After breakfast we went to a new area of Pigeon Forge called the Island. It's still developing, but they have some shops and restaurants and a huge ferris wheel. I had never ridden on a ferris wheel before, but we had a good time!

The view from the top:

We saw a lot of fall decorations! I really liked these turkeys.

Next, we did a little bit of shopping at the outlet mall. We didn't stay long because it was so crowded! After grabbing a quick bite for lunch, we rode the Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster. I was nervous about it, but you get to control your own speed and it turned out to be a lot of fun! 

Since Jason went to the outlet mall for me, we stopped at one of the tool outlets for him. He didn't find any tools, but we did find a really cool Ford tractor sign with his tractor on it! A great addition to his collection of Ford signs.

Our next stop of the day was Jayell Ranch for some horseback riding. We took a four mile ride through their beautiful property and got to see even more great views of the Smoky Mountains. Our horses were Troy and Handsome. The ride was so peaceful, and we had a great time!

After dinner, we just relaxed in our room. I had Jason take a picture of me with a BIG smile on my face. Here's why:

1. We got the great news that our nephew Baby C was born!

2. Tennessee got the win over South Carolina! Go Vols!

3. I had a wonderful day spending quality time with Jason.

On Sunday morning, we had a pancake breakfast and headed back home to meet our nephew!

It was a great trip. Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg is definitely one of our favorite places to visit.

An Update

Well, it's been awhile. Unfortunately, being busy and having construction workers on our street knock out our cable/internet three times over the last couple of weeks have kept me from blogging.

My last off week we had a lot happening! 

It started off with a great small group on Monday night.

Tuesday, Jason and I took the pups on a long walk. We found a really nice trail near our house that follows a river.

Taking a break by the water

Tuesday night the family went out to dinner to celebrate Charles's birthday. We had a delicious dinner at Olive Garden and even got free dessert!

Singing "Happy Birthday"!

Wednesday was an around the house day. The bug man and the cable man both came by, so I had to be  at the house. I did get out for dinner with Jason and some of our friends at Outback.

Thursday was a really fun day. I got to have lunch with my dad and do a little shopping. I bought a few new fall things at the Loft and got some decorations for the house at Hobby Lobby. That evening after dinner, Jason and I went to a nearby fair. It was free admission night! We didn't ride any of the rides, but we did check out the horse show, petting zoo, tractor display, and have a funnel cake!

Friday was a chill day which was good. Saturday, we headed up to Chattanooga to meet some of my aunts and uncles and cousins for a surprise baby shower for MC. She was definitely surprised, and we all had a good time. 

Diaper Cake

Opening gifts- My aunt made this blanket for Baby C

My aunt also made this cake! It was delicious! All the baby shapes are pieces of chocolate.

Since we were already so close, Jason and I went with Mom and Dad up to their new property. We wanted to check it out! It was pretty grown up so we came prepared with boots, machetes, and a chainsaw attachment for Jason's weed eater. I'm glad we got to see where Mom and Dad will be building their house. It's definitely a nice piece of property in a nice area.

Daddy and I with our tools!

Sunday, we went to church and did our grocery shopping. Then we had some of our friends over for dinner. It was good to catch up with them! 

After dinner we headed over to do a physical assessment with our new personal trainer. She is a very close friend of ours who trains out of her basement. We're going to try to have sessions with her twice a week. I love working out, and I'm excited to be able to make it something Jason and I can do together. Our first official session was Monday afternoon, and it went really well. 

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

I'm looking forward to the start of another off week, and hopefully finding some time to post about our Disney trip and the wedding we went to this weekend.

Blogtember: Life Lately

Monday, September 23: A "life lately" post. What you're up to, how you're feeling, how you're doing on your goals, etc.
Life lately has been very busy. Last week we were out of town- at Disney World! It was a great family vacation. We had a wonderful and exhausting time! I'm going to share the photo collages I made for each day, then next week I plan to share more pictures and more details.

Magic Kingdom: Cinderella's castle, afternoon parade, Electrical Parade

Hollywood Studios: Lightening McQueen and Tow-mater, main drag, Tower of Terror, main entrance

Downtown Disney: us at Rainforest Cafe, dragon made of Legos, sunset over the water, TRex Restaurant

Animal Kingdom: main entrance, giraffes, Tree of Life, elephant

Epcot: us at a show, France, the giant ball, main entrance

Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure: Transformers ride, pharmacy, main entrance

Tonight begins small group at our house. We decided to be a host home this time around, so Sunday we spent most of the day getting the house cleaned up and ready.

As far as goals go, in the spring I decided to start working out again. I have stuck with it, except for our vacations. Last week we walked a lot, but we didn't eat very well. This week I am looking forward to getting back on track with my workouts and eating better. Jason and I went grocery shopping and tried to stock up on lots of healthy items!

This week it's back to work. Hope everyone has a great week!

Blogtember: Memory Lane

Tuesday, September 17: A memory you would love to relive.

If I could relive any memory, I would go back to elementary school. It would be a Sunday afternoon. We would get home from church, get changed, and head over to Nana and Papa's house. Nana would have a huge spread cooked for us and my cousins, Stuart and Sandra, would be there too. Nana was the best cook, so everything would be delicious. Mom and Dad would have to keep telling Charles and I to eat exactly ten green beans.  After talking and eating it would be time for dessert! We would have two desserts. Papa always got his own because his had to be sugar free. It was always good too though. If Nana made carrot cake, Charles and I wouldn't eat it even though everyone told us how good it was. When you're a kid carrot cake just sounds gross! More important than the food, we would be having fun spending time together as a family.
I miss those family lunches on Sunday afternoons and Nana and Papa. What memory would you relive?

Week Off Recap

 Another week off is coming to an end. Here's what we have been up to this week:

Monday:

Jason was a very helpful husband and cleaned house while I got my nap in! Then we had some new friends over for dinner that night.

Tuesday:

I finally got my haircut and had lunch at one of my favorite restaurants in Athens. We also got to have dinner with my parents.

Two pups stole my seat!

Wednesday:

Jason and I had a date night to celebrate the fact that our first date was seven years ago. It's hard to believe we have been going on dates that long!

Thursday:

It was a busy day! I couldn't sleep on Wednesday night, so I ended up sleeping half the day away on Thursday. This only left me a couple of hours to get my chores done and get ready to go to Atlanta. We attended our good friend, C's going away party. He is moving from one work opportunity to the next. C has given Jason's company a lot of work over the past few years and really helped it grow! The party was fun- Jason knew a lot more people than I did because he has worked with a lot of them. We spent the night at the hotel- the Crowne Plaza. It was fun to have a night away!

Friday:

On our way back home, we stopped for breakfast at Jason's parent's house. In the afternoon my mom and I had plans for lunch. We went to my friend's house first to see her baby girl's nursery then to lunch with her and her mom. We had a great time talking and catching up. Friday night, I had dinner with old friends and Jason went to the movies with one of his friends.

Saturday:

We went to one of my favorite places, Jaemor Farms! They have the best peaches in the summer and the best apples in the fall. We were able to get a big basket of peaches and some other produce, plus a few of their delicious fried pies! That evening we had some friends over for dinner and to watch the Georgia game. It was a good college football game day for us, both Tennessee and Georgia won!

Jaemor

Sunday:

Jason and I took a road trip to North Carolina with Daisy and Scarlett. We checked on our property and got to visit with and have lunch with our friends and their little ones! It was a short trip, but we had a good time and both pups did really well traveling. After we got back we had a delicious dinner with C and his wife at their house. 

North Carolina

It was a great week off, but now we are getting ready to go back to work. It is a short week for me though, only four nights to go!

Weekend Recap

Our busy weekend has come to an end.

Friday morning I made pancakes for breakfast before Ramsey headed back to North Carolina.

After Ramsey left, Jason and I took Daisy and Scarlett to the vet to get their nails clipped. Jason took our picture before we left. Daisy was in my lap, and Scarlett decided she wanted to be in my lap too!

Jason and I ran some more errands in the afternoon, then we got ready for dinner. I made corn casserole and another blackberry cobbler (my fourth of the summer!). We had dinner at my parents' house with Charles, MC, Aunt Pat, and Uncle Wayne. 

Saturday morning we had MC's baby shower. I didn't get many pictures, but fortunately one of MC's friends is a photographer and she took lots of photos for us!

MC and baby C got all kinds of goodies!

I had to get a picture of these petit fours also. They were so cute with the blue booties on top!

Aunt Pat and Uncle Wayne headed back home Saturday afternoon, but we were able to spend some time with them after the shower. After a little break we headed to baby shower number 2 of the day. My friend, April (who I have known since preschool!), is having a baby girl. She and her baby also got lots of goodies! I have to say, baby girl things are just so cute! I was definitely exhausted by the time a got home.

Sunday morning, Jason and I went to church then had lunch together. It was a gorgeous day, not super hot and with a nice breeze, so we decided to go out on the lake. We also took the pups with us. Daisy loves going out on the boat, but this was Scarlett's first trip. She did really well riding in the boat, but she did not want to go swimming. When we tried to put her in the water she would immediately try to climb back out. She was terrified! Daisy did a little swimming though. She will swim to Jason and then swim back to the boat.

Scarlett hanging out on the boat.

There were lots of sail boats out today!

Sunday evening, Jason's cousin and his fiancé came over for dinner. Jason is marrying them in October, so we worked on their ceremony order and also did a little budgeting exercise.

Monday is here, so it's back to work for both of us. It was really nice having Jason off last week while I was off! Hope y'all have a great week!