Orlando, FL

It was a rough June, and I really needed to escape for a weekend.  My birthday weekend, none the less!

I planned the entire vacation about two days before I flew out on Friday.  I had some Southwest credit that was going to expire, so to Orlando I went!

Got in late Friday night, rented a car, and drove a couple of hours to Cocoa Beach, FL.

Now, I'm cheap, but this was one of my all time cheapest moments.  I did NOT want to pay $100+ for a crappy hotel in Cocoa Beach.  I just couldn't do it.  I actually tried to find a spot on the beach to sleep, but ended up getting scared.  So...I parked the rental car in a dark(ish) parking lot, put the seats down,and went to sleep.  Err, kind of slept.  Turns out cars aren't so comfortable, haha.  It was a long night with not much sleep, but hey, I saved $100!

Freshened up in the bathroom at iHop the next morning, and then set off to do some sea kayaking.  Lucked out and had a manatee come right up to the boat, and really enjoyed the outdoors and the tour.

(Rest of post and pictures coming soon...)

Goodbye

It's hard to believe how fast you can go from this...

January 2009



 And this...

May 2009

To this...

June 2009

And this...

June 16,  2009

Life is short, and can be gone in an instant. 

Go hug your parents and tell them you love them while you still can.

 RIP, Dad.

Cricket & Willow

Ever since I closed on my house last month, I've known I wanted to get a dog.  A chocolate lab, to be more specific.  I have a big fenced in back yard that is just perfect for lots of running and playing! 

Well, the time has come!  I have been searching on the internet for awhile to find a chocolate lab that isn't ridiculously priced, and I finally found one!  I drove out to a farm in Missouri last night and got the cutest little (girl) chocolate lab puppy you can ever imagine. 

Meet Willow:



(NOT a good picture of her.  She is seriously adorable!)



Oh, and I also got her sister, a black lab - who I named Cricket. 

I just couldn't leave her!  She was the only black girl left, and they already loved to play together...see!

They are SUCH good girls!  The slep the whole way home and didn't whine at all.

They ate on the back deck, went right down the stairs to go potty, and cautiosly came back in to the kitchen to play with some new toys!

It was serioulsy hard to leave them to come to work this morning!!