A First for One, A Makeover for Another!

Today, I get my first haircut! (Well, it was really "the other day")!

Look how crazy the back is!

Aunt Cassie took scissors and started CUTTING my HAIR!!!

Check out this cool video of me while Aunt Cassie is cutting my hair!

I was SO patient and liked all the attention (by the way, I really like to squint my eyes)!

Here is my profile!

Yay! My first haircut! Here I am again (squinting my eyes) with my mommy and Aunt Cassie!

My sissy also got her haircut (she has been really into putting hair in front of her face. I guess that's what older sisters do)!

Isn't the back cool?

Sissy also took a profile shot (mommy, what does profile mean)?

Cool Moms...Cool Kids!!!

Well, as you have seen before, my daughter is a HUGE PureNRG fan! We have seen them in concert before and she had front row seats! Well, I received an email from Precious Girls Club (from Precious Moments) that PureNRG would be at WINTER JAM in Tampa! It was only $10 at the door. The cool thing is that other great artists like tobyMac, Hawk Nelson, Brandon Heath, Francesca Battistelli, Stephanie Smith, and NewSong would also be there!

So, being the "cool" mom that I am always aspiring to be, I decided to take a road trip to Tampa to surprise my girl! And another cool mom decided to take her girls and go with us! By the way, I have an awesome-ly cool husband because he decided to stay home and watch our youngest children (thank you again)!


Annalise is also checks out the PureNRG website often for video updates and etc. My cool mom friend, Mel, just so noticed that on the site the manager said the group would be wearing black & white and encouraged the fans to wear the same color! So, we grabbed some awesome b&w clothes, put in the side "rocker" ponytail, and turned Annie's hat sideways before heading out to Tampa!

PureNRG!!! AHHHH!!!! Little Girly Scream!!!!!
She's SO excited!

Abby's having a good time too!

Showing us how to Rock!


Our Seats! Yep, we definitely weren't front row!

We actually made it all the way to tobyMac! Wow, he's loud!

Thank you Lord for the upper deck!

We had such a great time! Girl Time is the Best!!!

Cool Mom with Cool Kids#1

Cool Mom with cool Kid#2

A trip to the Farm!

Annalise has just fallen in love with her Girl Scout Troop! She has just finished up her cookie pre-sales and a BIG THANKS to all who helped Annalise achieve her goals! She ended up selling 128 boxes of cookies! Be looking for your cookies in mid-Feb! Yummy!

Now, for a awesome hidden secret in Orlando...CLARCONA FARMS!!! They are located right down the road from our church. This farm has it all - pigs, goats, chickens, ducks, rabbits, guinea pigs, donkeys, horses, and even a Cornish hen! The girls were able to have HANDS ON experience with every animal. The loved playing with the animals and learning so much about them. It was such an educational experience (even for me)! The farm also offers a place for birthday parties and they have a summer camp! We will be back!

Here the girls are being introduced to a show chicken (won state last year)!

The ducks

Pigs!

The kids loved the pig!

My girl is holding a chicken - with NO Fear!

They even gave horseback rides!

Annalise tends to be pretty shy and this event brought her a little out of her shell! She said she wants to go back to the farm and work this summer! I think the camp idea is great! Camp kids actually get to help take care of the farm animals. I wonder if she will still be this excited when she is cleaning up horse poop!

Where Have I Been???

I know, it's been 2 weeks since I have posted anything on here! Obviously, I must have suffered some addiction here because so many of you have either emailed or called to see if I was okay. Yes, the answer is I am most definitely great! Although... I will say that things have been really busy on the home front!

Just last Monday, Jarrett officially began another semester towards earning his MBA. Basically, what that means is that I get A LOT more time with my kids. It's a wonderful thing, yet I tend to feel a little overwhelmed with the added responsibilities. Jarrett's work schedule along with his school schedule is down right CRAZY!!! But, it has been a couple of weeks now, and I think we are now getting back to the groove of things.

One of the fun things we did before Jarrett kicked off his first day back to studying was take a family camping trip. We had a BLAST!!! We have been talking about camping for a long time now. We also wanted to have something we could start as a tradition in our family that would harbor many fun memories! So, take a look at our first camping trip! We can't wait to go again!

Daddy and Annalise hammering stakes for the tent.

It's up! I had to get a family pic with the tent. Love those camera timers!

The girls enjoying their first camp fire!

We also found a game of horse shoes on clearance at Walmart!

Back at the fire with Marshmallows this time!

Can you tell which child has NO fear?

The next morning we cooked pancakes and sausage on the grill! Yummy times!

Time for fishing!

Annalise is learning how to hook a minnow. She actually touched them!

Allison liked the tackle box (aka TOY box)!

The toys are yummy!

Sweet Picture!!!!!!

Allison joined mommy while we watched sissy and daddy fish!

Annalise's very 1st fish! She also caught a 1 ft. Bass! Bummer that I didn't get it on film!

We hope to take in a couple more camping trips before the typical Florida weather comes back!

Helping a Brother Out!

My husband is an incredibly funny man. He constantly is making me laugh (even at times when he shouldn't)! Just the other day, I received a copy of a string of emails from my husband to my brother and sister-n-law. My brother-n-law is looking for a job and Jarrett apparently has the answer. For your enjoyment, I attached the emails below:


To: Cory and Cassie
From: Jarrett

I'm thinking firefighter!
From: Cassie
To: Jarrett

Ummm... for you or for Cory?

To: Cory and Cassie From: Jarrett

Well, I think the answer is obvious. Cory will start immediately due to the obvious need. Once he's in and acclimated to the Fire Dept system and makes a name for himself (most likely by pulling a child from the third floor window of a burning house), I will then join the department as the superhero veteran's cocky kid brother. We'll have our hardships as I live in his shadows and risk my life, yes for sake of others, but also to become a hero myself and blast out of the shadow of my older brother. Cory will try to reason with me and encourage me to stick to the departments policies and procedures until one day I have a near death experience when I put my life on the line for the sake a rescuing a cat from a tree. Once I awaken from the coma, we'll both realize how selfish we've been, agree that we could be an unstoppable team if we worked together, then shake hands and give a thumbs up while the heartwarming background music plays in the background. Just then, both of our pagers will go off with an message calling for all precincts to report to an out of control warehouse fire that's burning downtown. I'll look at Cory and say, "Looks like its the big one". And he'll say "Are you ready to do this?". I'll say, "I was born ready!" as the heartwarming music transitions to dramatic, yet energetic music in the background. We both go to the warehouse fire, Cory saves my life, then I save Cory's life, then we save some other peoples lives, then we're both celebrity heroes. Later that year, we both pose for the Brothers of the Orlando Fire Department calendar, where we both pose for July in respect to all the fallen kittens, God rest their souls!

To: Jarrett From: Cassie

Well, I am glad to see that this is not a rash decision. It looks like you sure have put a lot of thought into it. The only thing missing is the 2 beautiful women that give both of you all the courage and self-confidence to make it through such an ordeal (before you say anything, I am talking about Jaime and I :). We are there for you to be shoulders to cry on and an encouragement that you have what it takes to make it through. Really, that's one of the best parts

Cassie

To: Cory and Cassie From: Jarrett

Um, we don't let people see us cry. We're firefighters.

Can you help a Daisy?

I just wanted to contact you all, my family and my closest friends, and let you know that Annalise is now selling cookies as a Daisy Scout. If you are within a short driving distance and are interested in making the day of the little girl pictured above, please order some cookies! She only has a week left to sell and since we were gone this weekend, we haven't done a great job of getting out there and selling.

Here are your options (for $3.50 a box) you can get:

Caramel deLites - Delicate Vanilla Cookies drenched in caramel, sprinkled with toasted coconut and lace with cocoa stripes.

Peanut Butter Patties - Crispy vanilla cookies layered with real peanut butter and blanketed with a chocolaty coating.

Shortbread - Traditional favorite with a buttery, light flavor.

Thin Mints - Thin chocolate wafers dipped in a rich chocolaty coating with a burst of pure peppermint.

Peanut Butter Sandwich - Deliciously smooth peanut butter sandwiched between crunchy oatmeal cookies.

Thanks-A-Lot - Heart-warming cookies dipped in rich fudge and topped with an embossed Thank You message in one of five languages.

Lemonades - Savory slices of shortbread with a refreshingly tangy lemon icing.

Reduced Fat Daisy Go Rounds (NEW!!!) - Five Single Serve Snack Packs of crispy cinnamon flowers blooming with flavor in every bite!

You can place your order by replying to this post, sending an email, or giving me a call. Payment is requested upon delivery.

Thanks so much for supporting the girl scouts and Daisy Troop #1387! We hope to take our proceeds to help fund an end of the year trip with the girls!

"My Hand Hurts!" ...Back to Square One...

Annalise has been writing her letters since she was 3 years old. Her penmanship has always been very nice! And I remember the day that she used to hold her pencil correctly.

Well, things have changed. She has been complaining lately of her hand hurting when she has to write a sentence. She has also not been enjoying coloring lately. I assumed most of this was due to her boredom of the activity.

Unfortunately, a few weeks ago, I noticed that she wasn't holding her pencil correctly. She was pressing the tips of her index finger and middle finger on the top of the pencil, and wrapping her thumb around over those fingers. I don't know how she could handle the awkwardness. I have sought out advice to find out if it was an important thing to fix. I have had differing opinions. I also did some online research and have come to the decision that she needs to change her bad habit before continues down the road of painful writing or developing carpel tunnel syndrome.

I found a place online that gives advice and sells many different resources to correct her "grip." I have ordered some beautifully colored grips and some triangular pencils (that supposedly adults even like better than normal pencils...we shall see). I am excited to try these items out because Annalise doesn't correctly grip her pencil very well without a guide. So, she picked out colors for her grips and is ready to try them out! We are anxiously waiting for our mail delivery!

After asking working for 15min or so to try and hold her crayon correctly, she looked at me and said, "Mommy, take a picture, I'm doing it right!" Maybe I should cancel the "grip" order and keep the camera out? Wish us luck!

Go Dawgs!

The Dawgs took the victory at Orlando's Capital One Bowl game against Michigan State! We had a blast! Jarrett and his brother Cory received complementary tickets from a good friend for some incredible seats on the Georgia side (40 yard line)! I was too jealous to let him go without me, so I had to purchase some myself!

And, unfortunately, I couldn't get seats near Jarrett's (way too much money)! I still got incredible seats and didn't have to sit alone. I also took my sweet friend Sunday! She definitely helped make the day special! She's a great GEORGIA cheerleader!

At half time, Jarrett called and said the 2 seats next to him were available, so we moved down to join him and Cory! What an awesome treat!

Hmmm....where's Cory?

What great seats!!! Mark Richt!

Red Coat Marching Band!
Uga!

G-E-O-R-G-I-A......GO DAWGS!!!!!!