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").

Hansel and Gretel

Yesterday Anna and I went to Matt's work because I was going to be going to class that night and he was going to be watching her for the evening. When we got there, Anna wanted to "talk" and see all of his co-workers. While in the main office, Anna noticed a cardboard cutout of a frog (Matt's company's logo) and was immediately taken with frog. She began talking to him animatedly and pointing. Another one of Matt's co-workers noticed her enthusiasm over the frog and told us he had something to show her. So, we followed him to his office and he had tanks (picture what you'd keep a beta fish in) full of African Dward frogs. Anna was in heaven! Her favorite thing in the whole world is aquariums. So, she immediately began to converse with the live frogs. The gentleman who had all the frogs was so sweet and gave Anna her very own tank with two frogs in them. She was so happy! She was not so excited to later find out that she would not be able to ride home with the frogs on her lap though. :) We have had to teach her that she can not "hold" the frog friends but she can look at them through the tank and watch them play! :)

Below you can see her the first morning of being a proud "Pet Owner" of her frogs Hansel and Gretel.

Long Weekend!

A picnic at the lake!!! What a great way to spend Labor Day weekend!

Playing in her boat float :) Thanks Gran & Grandpa!!!

Aunt Becca and Anna

Daddy and Anna

Check out her hair!

Anna and her Gran & Grandpa

Us and the Grandparents

Anna and Mommy

Contemplative...

Sitting on the boat

Trying to snap a pic of the three of us....

Bliss!

Beach weekend

This past weekend we took a small vacation to Edisto for Matt's birthday. We had a great time! We spent much of the weekend just being lazy and eating good food. :) We also spent lots of time at the beach. Anna was SO EXCITED to see the waves and to be near the ocean. It had a been a few months since she had seen the water and back then she couldn't walk, so this beach trip was amazing for her. She played in the sand and in the waves. Due to the horrible riptide (tropical storms were roaming in the atlantic), we wouldn't let her go more than in to her ankles and we had to hold her hands. She loved it though! She also liked eating at the Sea Cow (who doesn't???) and enjoyed her time at the surf shops too! I have to say a huge THANKS to DW for letting us use the condo. It was perfect!!!!


Seeing the waves!


Wow!!!!


Mommy & Anna


Anna and the birthday day boy!!!!


It was a fantastic relaxing weekend!