Weekend in Georgia

This weekend we made the trip back to Clarkesville, GA to visit my brother and sister-in-law, Alex and T.

Friday we went on a fifty seven mile hike to see Panther Creek Falls.

The walk was so pretty and we loved getting exercise in such a fun way.

Mike told me to run out on a fallen tree to take my picture.  I made it about two steps and then freaked out and couldn't figure out how to even turn around.  I'm so pathetic!

Mike of course ran right out on it.

The waterfall was super pretty and definitely worth the walk.

Our delicious dinners went undocumented as the new camera is a little large for toting around.

I did manage to capture some of the downtime at the house.  The weather was ideal for hanging out in the backyard with the puppies and some wine.

charlie.

puds.

delicious local wine.

he's a lap dog.

so many dragonflys.

ellie mae.

boy and his dog #1

boy and his dog #2

The trip went by way too fast but was really fun!  Thanks again to our hosts and we hope to be back soon.  Wait till you see what we did on Sunday...

Staples.

They told us to keep Ellie calm after her spay...  Unfortunately, she doesn't really do calm.  She prefers crazy to calm.  So tonight when we realized she pulled out some of her stitches, we went back to the vet.  He closed her back up with staples and sent us on our way... with more instructions to keep her calm.  Really??

He makes me laugh

I received an email today that had me crying in the clinic from laughing so hard.  I know some of you find my husband as hysterical as I do, so I thought I'd share it with you guys...

{Background: I made an enchilada lasagna last night for dinner while Mike was at his soccer game.  Also, we affectionately refer to our furry zoo members as dinosaurs (Elladon, Jastasaur, Pouncesaur).}

Perfect Sunday

Sundays at our house are our long run days so I mapped a 7 mile route to include the new addition to this year's Country Music Marathon that we haven't run yet.  Somehow the gorgeous warm weather of last week disappeared with yesterday's rain and it was actually snowing a little bit when we started (okay... it was like three flakes but STILL it was cold!).  The run went really well and we were both happy with how we felt at the end.  Having a good run really helps boost my confidence for the upcoming race!

a little bit faster and we'll beat 2 hours for the half!

When we got back home Hubs made some post-run smoothies while I whipped up a treat.  I had half a can of pumpkin yesterday that needed to be used so I decided to imitate the yummy sweet potato yeast rolls we'd had at Mikes birthday dinner.  I sort of made up the recipe and was really impressed with the result.  I split the dough into dinner rolls and a loaf of bread for today's breakfast.

I sliced up the bread, dipped it in a mixture of eggs, milk, and cinnamon and fried it in some melted butter.  Pumpkin bread french toast!  We both loved it.

Now I've got to go snuggle with these cuddle bugs...

In case you're interested...
Dissolve 1 packet yeast and 1 tsp sugar in 3/4 cup hot water.  Allow to sit a few minutes until foamy.  Mix in 1/2 can pumpkin, 1 egg, 3 T butter, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 cup brown sugar.  Add flour until dough forms (I didn't measure but I'm assuming it was around 3 cups or so).  Knead dough, coat in oil and place in covered bowl to rise until doubled in size (2-3 hours).  Punch dough down, shape into desired shapes and allow to rise another 1.5 hours.  Bake 350 10-20 minutes until done.

Expanding our zoo

The mister and I have talked about adding a dog to our little family for as long as I can remember.  A few times since moving into our rental house we've seriously considered it and then shied away, always coming up with reasons why it was a bad idea.  Eventually though, we came to the conclusion that there is never really a good time to add something to your life that chews on everything, isn't aware of the proper place to use the bathroom, needs constant supervision, and requires an unending supply of patience (a quality that is neither of our strong suits).  Realizing that once May comes around I'll be a full-time resident and have way less time at home than I currently have, I began my puppy search.  

A golden retriever fit all of my criteria for a dog including big, smart, furry, long life expectancy, and minimal health problems (when compared with other large breeds).  I called lots of area breeders and finally succeeded in persuading Mike to go see this little girl.  From the second they opened the door to three tiny golden puppies, we were hooked.  We played with her sweet momma, gorgeous dad, and adorable brothers before calling her Ellie Mae and taking her home.  

Ellie has since knocked our world on it's side in the greatest of ways.  She is a ton of work and incredibly frustrating at times but super cute and sweet and so worth it.  Overall, she's been a great puppy.  We've been "accident" free for over a week and she sleeps all night long in her crate.  If we could just get her to stop chasing the cats life would quiet down quite a bit!  We laugh at her all day and cuddle her every chance we get.  Every night I ask her not to grow any that night but sadly, she's not listening.  I apologize in advance for the millions of pictures I'll probably be posting :)

saying goodbye to mommy

one good thing about snow

Snow Day

Last weekend, in the midst of cramming for finals, it started to snow.  And it kept snowing... for over a day. 

FOUR inches!!

Being the true Floridians that we are, Hubs and I bundled up in some ridiculous clothes and headed outside for a snowball fight.  For once in my life, I completely kicked Mike's tail in something.  He will even admit it!

this was after just the first few hours of snow



see? snow covered. I win!

 After M admitted defeat, we decided to bring Pouncey out for some play time since he'd been attacking snowflakes through the window all day.  He was so funny eating and digging in the snow and chasing the flakes as they fell. 

Mike began throwing snow balls at him.  He desperately wanted to catch them and would dig in the snow looking for them after they landed.  Too cute!



It's not quite as funny as his kitten video, but he's still pretty darn cute. 

Red Bull and Cookie Dough

When I arrived home from school today with a shopping bag containing these two items, Hubs said "I guess you have a test tomorrow?"  Too funny... Unfortunately, I have a three big tests coming up in the next few days so things will be a bit stressful around here!  Luckily, I have these jokers to keep me company...

Speaking of my crazies... thought I'd share a few of the million pictures we take of them doing funny things. 

Cuddlebugs...

my favorite

 They're the weirdest sleepers...

Back to the books!