Christmas Lights

John and his brother Timothy put up Christmas lights last Sunday. Here are a few pictures of their work.

A Little Landscaping

Last week we had two trees in the front yard cut down. They were both very big trees that were leaning towards the house and made us nervous during storms. They were blocking a lot of sunlight for the grass in the front and to come into the house. Also, the one closest to the driveway was messing up the concrete on the driveway, popping up one of the seems about 4 inches and creating a large bump. Here is a picture of before and after.

Charles Payton Smith

I went to Maryland a few weeks ago and stayed for the birth of my nephew Charlie. The plan was to get up there 2 weeks before my sister-in-law's due date and hopefully be there for the birth to help babysit my niece, Anya, for a few days so my brother and sister-in-law (Matt and Kim) wouldn't have to worry about her (since they have no family in town or even within driving distance to them). All went as planned as Kim went into labor at 3:00 in the morning the night after I got there (Friday morning, I got there Wednesday afternoon) and were able to come home by Sunday afternoon. I took a few pictures while there, so enjoy!

Atlas

So, some of you may know, John and I got a new puppy about 3 weeks ago. So far things are going really well. He rarely pees in the house anymore (he knows to pee when we take him out, but he doesn't know to ask to go outside yet, we still have to tell him about every 2 hours or so, or when he starts to sniff suspiciously) and he hasn't poo'd in the house since about the first week. We weren't really looking for a new puppy, we were at PetSmart getting Caly some food and happened by the adoption room and there were about 5 little puppies running around. They were all super cute and came from a litter of 9 (the lady only brought 5 cause I guess they were a handful). We went in just to see them and play with them and ended up leaving with the bigger, more rambunctious of the litter. We aren't exactly sure what he is, we think he is some part yellow lab, some part golden retreiver, and some part terrier (because his tail curls); the lady said the mom was about 40 pounds and was a stray they found pregnant, so we are thinking he will be a little smaller than Caly (she weighs 50 pounds) maybe around 35 or 40, we'll see. He weighed about 4 pounds at 6 weeks when we got him and weighted 9 pounds tonight. We got him because a.) he's really cute b.) Caly now has a playmate and isn't quite so all over us all the time c.) we're idiots!! Anyway...here are a few pics I took today of him, he turned 9 weeks old this weekend.

Las Vegas!!

As many of you know, John and mine 1 year anniversary was last month (sorry it took so long to post the pics!!) and we went on an anniversary/honeymoon trip (since we never took one) to Las Vegas!! We left on a Friday morning and came back on a Wednesday night. We had so much fun!! We basically slept in until 10 or 11 every day, went shopping, saw some shows, and were incredibly lazy...can't get much better than that!! We tried to go all out and stayed at the Bellagio (the hotel Ocean's Eleven was filmed in), it was super nice and the room was amazing!! We even upgraded to a view of the fountain's outside!! So every afternoon/night that we were in the room, we would leave the curtains open and when we would see the fountain's start we would run to the window and turn the tv to the channel with the music that went along and watch. It wasn't until we left that we even realized that we never watched the fountain's from street level, only from the room!! THe view from our room was great, we were across from Paris Paris and had a great view of the Eiffel Tower. We also saw two shows, Mystere by Cirque du Solei (spelling??) was amazing, we couldn't get over all the awesome things they were doing, and The Blue Man Group which was hilarious, we laughed the whole way through!! Anyway, I could go on forever. I put the pictures in a slideshow...Enjoy!!!

Random

So last Friday as I was sleeping off three nights of working, John got home at about 2:30 (his usual time) and noticed that it was mighty hot in the house. Upon further inspection John realized that the air conditioning must have a leak that caused it to freeze over and stop working. So we went all weekend without air conditioning. It wasn't as bad as it sounds, luckily out house has an attic fan, so we have had that on for the most part, with windows open and ceiling fans going full blast, and, since the weather was rainy most of the weekend, it never got too hot outside which helped keep it cool inside. Also, the way our house was built, the main living rooms (the master bedroom and living room) don't get much direct sunlight, if any, which helps keep it cool. So, for now we are going it air condition-less. We decided to see how it goes and if we can bear it for the rest of the summer without air conditioning. We'll see, we might have to break down and get someone to come out and fix it, but we might be able to save some money with the electric bill and be able to wait till next summer to get it fixed. 

Kayaking on the Cahaba 04/18/09

Timothy came up to go kayaking yesterday. We were going to try a new stretch of the Cahaba, but we got a late start and decided to do the five mile run. Somehow I talked Abby into going with us. This is a remarkable feat considering the water was still in the 50's to 60's. About half way through the trip there is a rope swing. Trey and I played on it for a little while Thursday. Yesterday Tim and I adjusted the handle on it and had a blast. By the time we were finished swinging my arms were worn out. I would post the pictures I took, but I was showing Tim how I could stand up in my kayak. I was about to sit down and put too much weight on one side. Anyway, the camera was in a pocket on my life vest. It wasn't our nice camera though. It was an old clunker that I bought five or six years ago.

Kayaking on the Cahaba River

Thursday, Trey and I decided to go kayaking after work. We put in at Buck Creek in Old Town Helena. We traveled two miles down Buck Creek and entered the Cahaba River. We then traveled on the Cahaba for three miles to the take out at Alabama Small Boats on highway 52. Here are a few pictures of our trip.

New Hobby

A few weeks ago John decided that he wanted to try something new, kayaking. He has a friend that had a kayak and was talking about it one day and John thought it sounded fun, so his brother, Timothy, came up one day and they went kayak/canoeing on the Cahaba river near our house. Well, John loved it so much that a few days later he talked me into driving down to the Coosa river (near Montgomery, about an hour away) and kayaking with him, Timothy, and their cousin. I had my doubts, but ended up really enjoying it. It was so peaceful out on the water, looking at the trees. We ended up kayaking 7 1/2 miles that day, which took about 3 hours or so, but the time flew by. So, we now have a new hobby. The picture below is of our new kayaks. The blue one is mine that we bought from John's friend (we also bought the two paddles from him) and the green one is John's that we bought at an outdoor store last weekend. John went out again last Saturday with his cousin, but it was a little too cold for me (about 60 or 65 degrees out) so I stayed home. Also, the plans are in the works for a kayak/camping trip for two nights somewhere in Tennessee (I think, I don't know all the details). So, if anyone wants to go out with us, let us know!!

New Look Part 2

I (John) got rid of the "new" look. Since this is a blog for both of us, I really didn't want blue swirls and diamonds on my background. I switched it back to the plain red and gray background for now.

New Look

I am trying something different. I found a website you can go to and pick different formats for the background of your blog so I thought I would try it out. I also messed around with the colors of the writing and all that stuff to make it match a little. Let me know what you think!!

Truck Pictures

Here are some pictures of the new truck...Enjoy!!

New Car (or Truck I guess)

Well, John and I are now members of the "new car club". We have officially bought our first new car. It is a 2009 Toyota Tacoma with an access cab (basically it means it has 2 seats in the back and 4 doors, but not the full four doors, if that makes sense), we go tomorrow and pick it up from the dealership. We are both so excited. I posted a generic picture from online just to give everyone an idea of what it is going to look like, and since I am working for the next three nights, it will probably be this weekend before I can post any pictures of the actual truck.

Same Day Surgery

This past Tuesday we took Caly in to get spade (or "fixed"). She spent most of the day at the vet and came home doped up on what I can only imagine was some pretty trippy pain medicine. She slept and moped around most that night and the next day, but by Thursday she was her old self, running, jumping, and wanting to play with her daddy. (Even though she was on activity restrictions and wasn't supposed to be doing any of that for 4 days after the surgery. Have you ever tried to keep a puppy from jumping and playing?? It's very difficult!) Anyway, here are some pictures we took when we first got home.


We had just carried her up the stairs and set her down and were trying to get her to go outside to pee before we took a nap.

She finally went into the yard (we put her on the deck hoping she would be content to do her business up there but she snuck around us and went down the stairs, which she wasn't supposed to do, into the yar. Once she got out there and did her business, she just moped around a little and we couldnt get her to move anywhere, she just stood there and stared at us.

So...John had to walk over to her and pick her up and carry her to the steps and up them and into the bedroom to take a nap. It was kinda funny!

Oops..

Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the page. I added a post with a bunch of pictures (finally) and for some reason it posted it at the bottom of the page. Just thought i'd let you know. Enjoy!!

Caly

Here is an older picture of Caly. I have now figured out how to add pictures from my cell phone onto here, but an still working on pictures from my computer. I hope this will tide everyone over! I have also fixed the comments so that anyone can post one. Hope it all works!!

Home Alone

John has gone backpacking with his brother and some friends this weekend, so it's just me and Caly!! Here are some things we've been up to lately:

Working out - John has been doing better at this front than me, he has been great about going to the gym about 3 or 4 times a week with his cousin. However, I have been working so much that I am either sleeping when he goes or too tired. I guess I just need some more motivation. 

Savannah - John and I went to Savannah, Ga at the beginning of the month for a long weekend. I have been wanting to post pictures but haven't figured that part of this blog thing out yet. As soon as I do, I'll post some pics. We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast called The Zeigler House. It was so nice to get away for a few days. Like I said, I'll post some pics as soon as I figure it out.

House - We have officially scraped all the popcorn off the ceilings in the upstairs of the house!! For those of you who don't know, popcorn is that bumpy stuff they used on the ceilings to save money about 20-30 years ago. To get it off, you have to get on a ladder and use a spray bottle and scrape it all off. It is incredibly messy and time consuming. All we have left in the upstairs is some paint on the two walls, just a little of ceiling left to paint, and about half of the trim upstairs. We are thinking if we can just get one or two good weekends of work in it will be done (the upstairs at least). We will post pictures of the finished upstairs when we are done. As for the downstairs, we haven't done much of anything. We are still in the planing faze. We have a lot of ideas and are hoping that once we get going, it won't take too long to get it done. Then, once the inside is taken care of, we will move outside. A lot of work, but it will be totally worth it in the long run.

Caly - Caly is still growing like a weed. We have started leaving her out in the house for short periods of time (like an hour or two) when we go out. She doesn't mess with anything, and so far she hasn't used the bathroom in the house. Also, I've been leaving her out while I sleep during the day (for work), I've been getting a lot more sleep and she has been much happier too I think. She loves to lay in the office in front of the window in the sun and look out the window. 

So, as soon as I figure out this whole picture thing, I will post tons of pics (Savannah, Caly, the House, etc.). If anyone has any ideas on the whole picture posting thing, just let me know!! 

New Year's Resolution

So, it's that time again. Time to make a goal for the new year. So, we decided to take the first step and join a gym. That's right, we are going to try to start working out... note the keyword there "TRY". John has even joined a thing at work where you and three other co-workers try to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks. If you do you get a gift card to sort of congratulate you. Mainly we are trying to just be healthier and more "fit". We'll keep you updated on how this goes!

Now resolution number 2. John and I have officially decided to join a church here in Alabaster. We have been going to the same church for about the last month or so and have even been going to a Young Couples Sunday school class. Yesterday while driving to lunch, we decided to join. We really like all the other couples that we have met in the Sunday school class and enjoy the services. 

So, here's to a new year and new experiences. 

A few pics...

Here are some pictures of us, our baby and our home.

The hall bathroom. We put in a new floor, new vanity, and new toilet. Since this picture we have painted the walls and only have the ceiling left before it is done!

This is our bedroom. 

Another view of our bedroom.

The kitchen. We put in a new stove, microwave, and fridge. We still need/want countertops, backsplash, and sink.

The livingroom. You can see the new couches and end table. This picture was taken over Christmas!

The new couches, coffee table, endtable, and rugs!!

Fireplace. 

Foyer. It now has a runner that matches the rug in the living room. All that's left is the trim and a new light fixture.

The dining room. It has a rug that matches the run in the living room and curtains. All that's left is a new light fixture and blinds.

Caly laying on her bed.

Looking out the front door.

Being cute!

I will post some pictures of our trip to Savannah at a later date.