My Monkeys

The boys have been trying to climb trees. Why do I see more trips to the ER in my future??

bonus Bailey picture

Have I Mentioned???

That I adore this kid...

And this kid...

Well, I do. A whole lot!

Brilliant!!

I have two boys and therefore need a place for them to dig. There is a place under their swing set that would work for a sand box- there are just a few problems. 1) I hate sand! As in- I grew up in Florida, at the beach, and hate sand. Hate how it sticks to everything, hate how it's always in your shoes, and then in your house. Hate it!! 2) We have a outside cat and I don't want him to use it as a litter box and not real sure how to keep it covered so he doesn't use it as a litter box. 3) I hate sand. Or maybe I already mentioned that! ;)

Then I was talking to a neighbor/friend about my dilemma and she told me about a park that she had been to that used pea gravel instead of sand. BRILLIANT!! I sent my sweet husband off to Lowe's and viola!! The boys have been digging non stop and the cat has stayed out! I love a simple solution!!

Bonus Bailey picture!!

Egg Hunt

I have to confess that I have been a little jealous of all the beautiful family Easter pictures that I have seen. There was not even an attempt of one at our house. You see, there has been this little virus called hand, foot, mouth that has been going around my house for FIVE weeks!! This stupid virus has been viscous and unrelenting! On Easter Sunday sweet Elliott was in no shape to go anywhere (I found out on Monday that he had a double ear infection, sinus infection and pink eye...all from hand, foot, mouth-grrrr!)- so I stayed home with him and got ready to have my in laws and friends over for lunch. I didn't even shower. Oh well. Needless to say, no pictures.

However, the day before we went over to our friends for a brunch and egg hunt. I assure you, even though we have all been so sick we have been contagious a total of 4 days- give or take a day! ;) Thankfully Elliott was still hadn't yet started feeling awful and we had a wonderful morning!

Meet Bailey

We had to put Rocky down 1 year, 4 months, and 3 days ago (not that anyone is counting). I started looking for another dog about a week later. Our house just felt so empty without one. Rock did not shed- and I was never going back to a shedding dog. We looked at getting another Wheaten but they are not notoriously good with children- we just happened to have a great Wheaten. Actually, none of the breeders would let us have one until Elliott was 5. I knew there was no way we could wait that long. So I started looking at Golden doodles. I found a breeder that we really liked near here and waited for the right litter and the right time of life for us. This past Valentines day a litter was born from the parents that I specifically wanted and we figured it was time to take the plunge. We knew that it would be exhausting and a lot of work to have a puppy- which it has been- but we also believed that it would be worth it, long term, to be the ones who raised and trained the puppy. We shall have to wait and see about that one, but we are hopeful. So...here is Bailey.

The above two picture are from the day we went to pick her out. We had the second pick of the litter and felt like she really chose us. There were 3 to pick from and every time I looked down she was in my lap or sitting under my feet. She was 5 1/2 weeks here.

We got her last Tuesday evening and everyone is adjusting well. She sleeps through the night- in a crate in our room. The boys love her- I just have to keep them from loving her too much! ;) I feel like we have a new born. I don't really go anywhere- so if anyone wants to play with a puppy, you know where to find me!!

I took this one today. She is 8 weeks and changing fast!

So, that is our Bailey. I am sure you will be hearing MUCH more about her!! ;)

Staycation: day 2

On Tuesday we woke up to a dreary, drizzly, chilly day. So naturally we thought, let's head to the zoo! ;) It actually turned out to be a great time to go. Because it's spring break here, it was fairly packed. We just took our time and let the crowds pass us by. This is the first time we have taken Elliott since he's been old enough to appreciate it. And it was the first time ever for me to go to a zoo without a stroller. Very refreshing!!

The boys were excited to see the elephants and giraffes. Again, so thankful for all that Greenville has to offer.

There is a great playground across from the zoo that we let the boys exhaust themselves on. Then we picnicked and headed home to get ready for the arrival of our new puppy!! More on that tomorrow!

Swamp Rabbit

Today is the first day of spring break and Jerel has the week off. We planned a stay-cation, where we would do a few little day activities. Then we decided to get a puppy, and are getting her tomorrow (more on that later) so we have had to shift our plans. The one thing on our list to do, that I didn't want to postpone until later, was rent bikes and ride the Swamp Rabbit Trail. I know that I have said this before but Greenville is such a great place to live and offers so much to do. They finished this trail a couple of years ago and it is a beautiful ride. We were able to ride out to Furman University, have a picnic, and ride back. It was a great morning! 

We got a bike for Nolan that connected to Jerel's bike. He LOVED it and was a champion rider!

And I got the pull this little tub of love. Not too bad on the way there- not too fun on the way back! ;)

Furman is such a beautiful campus and I am am always reminded of how much I love college students when I am there.

12 miles later, and I am ready to be DONE!!