This weekend has been full of fun! As a matter of fact the next couple of months will be much the same! Friday night, Matt and I had a date night to see Miranda Lambert in concert. It was really good! Thanks Nana for keeping our sweet little one while we went out for a few hours!

Then Saturday morning I woke up early to head out for the Ray Tanner Run. This race even was huge! It took place over both bridges in downtown Columbia and ended in the Gamecock baseball stadium at home plate. Anna enjoyed seeing the crowds and meeting Cocky.

Thanks so much to Meagan and Linda for braving the race too! It was a pleasure getting to see everyone out there! Collins....you are a true groupie! :)

Anna meeting Cocky

Posing with Mommy after the race

Check out that hair!

We took Anna to the State Fair and the Merry go round was her first ride!

Her Daddy riding the bees with her. :0)

This coming weekend we are heading to Gatlinburg for our annual trip. We can't wait!!!!

I hope you all have a fantastic week!

Lake Day

Matt wanted to take our boat out again before the weather gets too cold (and we have something every weekend from here until Dec.), so we decided to go this Sunday. The weather was absolutely gorgeous!


Anna waiting on us to leave for the lake.


Driving Daddy's boat


Driving David's Bayliner.... what a lucky girl! Two boats in one day!


A very happy Daddy!



This post would not be complete without mention of the fact that our Gamecock football team did such a great job this weekend beating Alabama. What an exciting game! Our girl was decked out in her apparel to cheer them on! After their big defeat, we decided to celebrate with a treat out! :)

Fall....fall.....

This past weekend we had a get together with the "Ward" bunch! Since we were together it was a great time to celebrate Jean's birthday!








After work on Monday, Matt and I decided to take Anna down to the pond to feed the ducks! She gets so excited when they start "quacking" and heading her way. These domestic ducks are so well fed the minute they see people they start to descend and the flock comes right to us. We also got a bit of backyard play time in before it got dark outside. :D

Girls, Girls, Girls!

This morning we got to visit with Anna's Great-Nanny! Anna was excited to see everyone and showed off her dancing skills to her audience. :) I was super excited to get to snuggle my niece (and see my sister too). Brayden is getting so big!

Here are some of the pics:

The girls together!!!

My sweet niece.....love those cheeks!

Anna playing with Tia

Checking out her cousin

Getting Brayden to smile

Great-Nanny and Brayden

All four of us take 2

Free time....finally!

Well folks, it has been a while and I apologize. I can not even being to tell you all the things that has been going on around here. Life itself has it's way of getting in the way! I have been battling with a bit of medical issues.....come to find out after many tests that it is not in fact lymphoma (thank God!) nor do I appear to have any autoimmune disorders but that I have some type of horrible infection that they are choosing to treat with heavy doses of antibiotics. My doctors are also choosing to send me to a special team of doctors in Washington DC with the National Institute of Health, that hopefully will have some insight to this Premature Ovarian Failure that I have. No doctors here in my state are familiar (or even have another patient) with the same condition as me so I am a bit of a marvel. Lucky me! So, despite the hot flashes, pains, nausea, extreme tiredness but plagued with insomnia, I continue on! I really am looking forward to going to meeting the team of doctors. I think they will be leaps and bounds more informative than the ones I am being treated by now. I will keep you all posted on when the trip is once I know more.

On to other more happier topics, I am immensely looking forward to this fall. The month of October is my very favorite of the year! I love everything about it! From the fair, the weather, the decorations, Halloween, and my birthday! I love it all! This year we have two exciting trips coming up in this month and the next. In October, we are taking a trip with my family to Gatlinburg, TN for a long weekend. I am soooooo ready for a vacation! Then, next month we are taking a trip up to PA for Thanksgiving to be with Matt's family! I am ready to see all of our PA family and maybe even get to see a bit of snow! I am planning on running the Turkey Trot the morning of Thanksgiving at Presque Isle on Lake Erie's border so I hope the winter weather won't be too bad. This will be the first race I have ever attempted by myself so say a prayer for me! I am really looking forward to being up there. PA family.....get ready for Anna...she is so much different than when you saw her in January! She is a mobile, talking, energetic bundle of sweetness with a bit of sass thrown in for good measure! She is my source of constant motivation and entertainment. She makes every day wonderful!

On a side note, I am taking another graduate class (yes, I know I said I was finished with school) but opportunities keep cropping up. I am taking a Spanish class at the local technical college. And since I teach in a school that is at least 67% hispanic....I feel obligated and motivated to learn the language. Not to mention I am having a blast learning it. It has become a personal challenge now to see how well I can read and speak it. I find myself listening to the mp3's on the way to work just to add extra vocabulary to my school lessons. Not to mention I have discovered this helps with road rage.....it is a nice distraction from idiot drivers! haha! Anna chatters along with me while I repeat various phrases. Who knows, maybe she will pick some up too! :) I am sure she thinks I am quite funny while watching me from her car seat while I am trying to correct my pronunciation.

Well, I shall call it a day for now. Check out the pics below from a zoo trip a couple weeks ago (yes, I know, I will do better about posting a bit more "promptly").