Happy Halloween!

Our set-up for Halloween. I didn't want to stress out the girls, so we sat outside in the gorgeous Florida fall weather with Tubbs (AWAY from the door and the DOORBELL, so the girls could rest inside, and Tubbs could welcome the trick-or treaters!).

Me and Gamer. She did NOT like being left inside with the other "dogs"...she doesn't see herself as a dog (she was first, of course)... so, she got to sit with her mom :) This football costume fit her much better as a puppy--and we took it off of her after about 5 minutes.

Tubbs perks up when he sees trick-or-treaters coming, and he has to run toward them when they get close--it is so cute! They love him too (usually)---but on Halloween, he is really more interested in what's in their bags of candy... :)

Tubbie in his ghost costume from Petsmart, in an XXL! (It's still a bit tight--haha). He definitely earned this chewy bone! He is such a good sport :)

I couldn't capture her raised lip/bared teeth look with my camera, but the red eyes send the message too... Gamer is missing a few teeth, so chewing bones isn't one of her strong points...BUT she still likes to guard them from the other dogs. Tubbs always gives in and runs away in the end, even though he outweighs her by at least 70 lbs.

And how cute is this girl :)

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

Megan's Baby Shower

The most beautiful baby shower I have ever seen-- my mom did all the decorations (even the flower arrangements!)

Dad giving us some background music while we set everything up :)

Charley keeping an eye out for the guests...

Allison, Reagan, Megan, and Hontas

Jeri (close family friend), my dad, and me...My dad decided that he couldn't stand missing the shower, even if he was the only guy there.

Opening presents...

We made her stand against a white wall-- the dress helps make her look pregnant ;)

One of the silver linings of Megan having a high risk pregnancy is how often she gets to her baby girl on screen. She brought a bunch of pictures for us to see, and the most recent one was a 4-D picture of the little one. She is absolutely gorgeous with chubby cheeks and my sister's chin... she looks just like Megan's baby pictures-- although I'm sure we'll see some Brian in her too once she's born :) One thing's for sure-- she will be spoiled by her grandparents and her aunt! Her wardrobe is already cuter than mine and Megan's put together! ;) I can't wait to meet her!

Weekend in Nashville!

Megan and I went to Nashville this weekend (without our hubbies) for her baby shower! We stayed in our old rooms at my parent's house (which have not been touched since we moved out ;)), and my dad even had a bunch of our baby home videos set out for us to watch. It was so much fun!

Picking Megan up at the airport! Mom and I were too excited to wait in the car. We were waiting outside of security when she walked out! I hadn't seen her in person since she was 3 months pregnant!!

Falling right into our old routines--sitting on the kitchen island. :)

Showing off pics of her new puppy, Abby.

Look at her little tummy at 8.5 months pregnant! Her little one was kicking all the time... I am in love with this baby girl already!!

Charley reminding her dad to pay attention to her too :)
Mom and I went a little overboard with the baby gifts, so we gave her a mini-shower over breakfast on Saturday. The Cookie Monster toy was hand picked by my dad... he wanted to be included too!Megan and I with our tiny Grandma Mary :) We kept having to re-take pics with Megan standing side-ways so she would look pregnant ;)
Amidst the family weekend, I snuck away to the Vandy homecoming game to meet up with my college roomie, Whitney! Whit just had a little boy, TJ, and he is just the cutest! I hadn't seen her since my wedding, so we had a lot of catching up to do :)

On my way back to my strategically (and somewhat illegally) parked car at the rec center, I found Margaret! She had actually found me at the Vandy stadium in the midst of the thousands of fans (she said I was the only one sitting when the whole stadium stood up (apparantly, I need Taylor to help me react appropriately to football plays)! I'm sure I would have jumped up had I not been holding little TJ ...haha :)

Finally, on my way home to a family dinner, I stopped to see Becca...and I had a chance to meet her in-laws to be and her new nephew, Parker (who is adorable!!).

It was a wonderful weekend... Nashville definitely feels like home the minute my plane lands, and no city is prettier in the fall (to me at least). Megan and I scheduled our planes at the same time on Sunday night, so we were able to hang out a bit before the planes left. Me, being me, started to cry when we had to leave... but I'll see her again soon....and in about 5 weeks, I'll be an AUNT! If only Nashville, Texas, and Florida were a bit closer together... :)

My Birthday!

So I am officially in my LATE twenties, as of Tuesday!

My eyes are closed here, but I had to include this picture from my neighbor's party for me! Kathy (in the middle) made me her homemade lasagna and a white cake with white frosting and rainbow sprinkles (my favorite!!)! And among many other gifts from everyone, Pam (on the right) made me my own workout bag so I have a place to put all my workout gear (I have lost my Y card twice already and walk through the door dropping things everywhere usually, so this will come in handy! :))

Me with my running buddy, Brooke-- and my own "Birthday" wine glass from her! :)

He's blinking here too-- but how handsome is this guy! He came to pick me up for dinner on Tuesday night in a suit and rang the front doorbell (which of course sent the dogs into a tailspin, but they adjusted)- it felt like we were actually going on a date! :)

He took me to a surprise restaurant -- it was an awesome steak house called Hyde Park...

OK-- any one who knows Taylor knows he is one of the most manners-conscious people you will ever meet (no elbows on the table, uses the right flatware-in the right order, etc, etc). And I snapped this shot w/ my phone of him PICKING UP the rest of his bone-in filet mignon at the fanciest restaurant in Daytona! Very cute :) I have never seen him react to a piece of steak like this-- he was truly in love.

Opening presents!! :)Taylor (and the dogs) got me a pedicure at a gorgeous spa in New Smyrna Beach on Wednesday morning... here are my new pink toes in my new pink flip flops from Suzanne and Les! Life at the beach isn't so bad ;)


Walking through New Smyrna Beach after my pedicure...My birthday was perfect :) Now off to Nashville for my sister's baby shower!!!

Having a baseball coach for a dad...

It was such a beautiful day yesterday that we just had to spend some of it outside! Believe it or not, after we got ready to go to the beach, we realized it would be too cold! Yes, a high of 77 degrees can be a bit too cold for us Floridians!! ;) So, instead, we spent the day with four-legged little ones. Maggie and Gamer like going on their walks, but they LOVE being able to run free...so we took them to the baseball field! Gamer's been able to get her paws dirty in the orange clay of a baseball diamond for years, but Maggie is new to this and she loves it :)

And no, we don't play favorites, we just have to adjust our activities to our dogs' special needs ;) (We would never catch Pumpkin if we let her off leash--even in a fenced in area like the field, and Tubbs would prefer a nice long nap) So... Tubbs babysat Pumpkin for us... yet she still tore up some papers (he was sleeping on the job, I'm sure)....and then they both got their own private walks around the neighborhood when we got home :)

"Do you wanna go for a run??" (She's so smart :))


And they're off...
It doesn't take much to tire Mags out ;)

Checking out the view from the dugout

The ride home....
And they're out.

Pumpkin is now realizing that she's next--walking is not something she enjoys yet.. (No pics f/ her walk, I needed both hands on the leash!)

Making new friends? Not today... after this picture, Tubbie turned around and took off in the other direction. That cat (Harley) was way too scary for him.

He prefers not to get his feet wet in the grass, and the sidewalk was a bit wet too... And he calls himself a Lab! ;)

Our lake :)

And then the Seahawks came on TV, and it was all down hill from there... ;) (Not really, we've learned not to let Seattle sports affect our moods this year, right Taylor??) Plus, there was a pretty good baseball game on for us to watch instead. :)

Megan

As everyone around me knows, I am going to be an aunt in December!!!!!!! My sister's baby girl is due December 1! I cannot wait, and it is killing me that Megan is in San Antonio while I'm here in Florida. I'm trying to convince her to start a blog, but until then, I'll be using mine to post pics of her :) I have these pictures from her first shower at 7 mos pregnant. She barely looks pregnant! I know she doesn't feel pretty right now, but I think she is gorgeous in these pictures!

What happens when Mom and Dad go out to dinner, and Pumpkin hasn't had her daily walk??

At least she's proud of her work. :)

Rainbow Bridge

Anyone who knows me knows that I am an animal lover-- so much so that I still cannot kill a spider without feeling like some kind of murderer (it's a problem, I know!). As I was going through pics trying to organize them this weekend, I noticed how probably 99% of my pictures are animals (mainly dogs)... Luckily I married someone just as crazy about animals as I am...someone who will always stop to pick up a lost dog and even bring it home if need be! And the best part is, we met while we were still young enough to introduce each other to our family pets. I knew Taylor was "the one" was when he told me about how much he missed Sugar on one our first dates-- and pulled out a picture of her to show me! Of course there were many reasons, but that was a big one!!

Our family has always had animals surrounding us in one way or another. Growing up in California, we had goats, chickens, ducks, horses, pigs, dogs, and a cockatiel. We would even raise the baby ducks and goats in our kitchen :) After moving to Nashville, we kept some of the animals at the ranch, and of course brought some of these furry (or feathered) family members with us across the country. Growing up with so many pets is bittersweet because they age so much faster, and as a child, I just never grasped the concept of how brief their time with us is. I remember losing our first family dog, Misty, when I was about 6 years old-- and once I realized that she wasn't at "the vet" waiting for us to come get her, my heart broke for the first time in my life. I still remember telling my mom I couldn't go to school the next day, and she had to walk me into the school all the way up to my classroom door before I would go in.

Leaving for a college was a turning point in the lives of our family dogs. We grew up with 7: Cinder,Newton, Oreo, Savannah (Savvy), Holly, Anthony, and Chant. They had all been young together, which meant that they all grew old at the same time--around the time that we left for college :( Cinder left us first, my freshman year of college, and Savvy followed 4 years later. I found out about Savvy when I was at work (my first year at St Thomas Hospital), and I had to go home "sick" for the rest of the day. Then we lost Oreo and Newton within a couple of years. They were my walking partners throughout high school, and I still remember walking into my 4th grade classroom, bragging about the scratches and bite marks on my arms from my new puppies (I was so proud!). Our house is so empty now without having them there to greet us.

Anthony is still at my parent's house-- he is going on 16 years old, with pins in his knees and a tail that never stops wagging. He has 2 new friends, Muffy, who Megan rescued while she was teaching at the Napier Projects, and Chesney, a 10 year old Lab who I rescued from a shelter in Rutherford County. But losing Anthony will mark the end of an era in our family. It makes me feel like a grown up-- and I don't like it :(

Here's Anthony last fall ... And Muffy (who is still just a baby compared to the others :))

Amidst all the highlights of 2008, we had a few losses that are just too important not to mention.

We lost Holly, Tootsie, and of course, my parent's boy, Chant. Here are some pictures of them that I came across on my computer (I don't have scanned pics of the others on the computer).

This is Tootsie, the pony my sister rode when we were younger. She was the most gentle creature I have ever been around, and had the most soulful brown eyes. She saved my sister's life one day at a horse show, and our family has never forgotten that. She was an angel. This is Holly! This precious little beagle was my sister's Christmas present when we first moved to Nashville. She was so tiny at 3 lbs that she fit in the palm of our hands. We were never quite sure what she was mixed with-- the people she came from insisted she was a purebred, but she looked mike a Daschund than a beagle :)-- either way we all adored her. And we miss that beagle smile (and howl!) ....

And then there's Chant. He became my parents' only child after Megan and I moved out of the house for college, and he made it all the way to 2008 with our family...long enough to walk through my house in Florida and Megan's house in Texas. He passed away in January of 2008, and our Nashville home will never be the same without the sound of his toenails clammoring across the floor to get to the front door! He would always grab our keys to carry them in, and I still expect to see him everytime I go back home. My parents had a beautiful memorial service for him, and he is buried outside of their bedroom window. My mom sent me the poem below after his funeral. I love the idea that our four-legged loved ones will be waiting for us in Heaven--it's the only thing that makes losing them bearable. It is a popular one that most people have read, I'm sure. Sorry for the sad post-- but it was on my mind, and I just love these pictures.

Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.

There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.

The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance.

His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again.

The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together.... Author unknown...