Where has the time gone??

Why the pictures are at the beginning AND in the wrong order is beyond me...sorry! I am so far behind with blogging, it's not even funny! Please bear with me! So I left off at the end of October...since then, we moved to North Carolina at the end of October. We got settled in, learned our way around the area and hung out with old friends, while making new ones. November, Dusty's parents, Liz and Danny (Big Dan), came to visit for Thanksgiving. We had a great time, just the four of us. We ate a TON, went to the Airborne and Special Operations Museum, to the movies and just hung out. The first weekend in December, I drove over to Germantown, TN for Nicki's, Dusty's sister,bachelorette party. I made a long trip out of it and spent a few days at my parent's house visiting family. On my way over there, I was called about my job status and actually started the following week I got back. I work at Cook Child Development Center on post and am a flex...which means I fill in the rooms where they need me and can start work at 5:15 in the morning and work until 6:00 at night when the center closes (with multiple breaks throughout the day). Sorry, I know this is all random, but I'm trying to remember all that we have done since the end of October and now it is the end of February :) We had a Christmas party at our house before all our friends and the guys Dusty works with went on leave for Christmas. It was a great turnout and it was good to see all our friends all together, and new ones included. To officially kick off Christmas break, Dusty and I went to a Lady Antebellum concert in Roanoke, VA. It was awesome!!! We had so much fun! Josh Kelly and Eden's Edge were also there. The ride over, however, not so much! Here's the short and sweet version: Layla and Paisley in the car, many miles of very curvy roads and one sick pup! (Thank goodness it wasn't both. Now, we finally get to Christmas break and make our road trip from NC, to GA, to TN, then back to GA, then NC. We had a great family Christmas with the Roy's (my family). We celebrated Rachel's (my older sister) 29th birthday by eating at Garcia's and we all went bowling afterwards, including my 87 year old Grandpa! He beat me in bowling...I know, it's very hard to believe, but he did...haha :) Next came Christmas eve. We spent it by going to the Christmas eve service at our church, then having pizza and wings at our house with the family. Christmas morning was filled with smiles, love and laughter, especially with Branton, my now 19 month old nephew, in the house. We had a lot of fun! Santa even left presents for Layla and Paisley! That afternoon, my dad's side of the family came over for our annual Christmas day dinner. We had about 25 people and had a lot of fun. Even though everyone pretty much lives on the same road or within a mile of each other, we really don't see everyone all that often; not in one place anyway. Dusty and I got up on the 27th and high tailed it to Memphis and picked his parent's up from the airport (they were coming in from South Florida to have Christmas with Liz's sister's family.) We did our Christmas celebration that night with his parents and sister and her fiance, Christopher. Once again, had a lot of fun visiting, opening presents and eating. Overall, we had a great time with all our family and are so grateful we had the opportunity to take two weeks off to visit. Whew, we've made it to the New Year! We celebrated back in Ringgold with my sister Rachel and her husband Beau. We went to dinner then went down to my cousin Kelly and Corey's house and watched the ball drop with a group of friends. We hit the road the next morning to get back in time for work on the 2nd. One of our family friends from church got married in Greensboro, NC on January 14, so mom and Kim came up that Friday night and the next afternoon, the three of us went to the wedding. It was beautiful and great to see everyone and hang out. We had another wedding the next weekend...Dusty's sister Nicki and her husband Christopher got married in Memphis at Independent Presbyterian Church on January 21. It was beautiful. Nicki was a stunning bride!! It was great to see all of Dusty's side of the family since it had been 2 years since we had all been together. February 10th weekend we went to Charleston to hang out with our good friend Greg. He and Dusty went to West Point together and he was also in our wedding. We walked the downtown area, shopped, ate, visited the Citadel and Fort Sumpter, and had fun together. Please pray for Greg's safety and protection as he heads to Afghanistan for his 4th tour of duty. Valentine's Day is up next. Dusty and I had never been together on the actual day, ever, in our 6 1/2 years of dating. So...we went all out :) (Get ready to hince some sarcasm). Dusty made a reservation at one of the local steakhouses in Fayetteville. We thought it was going to be a hidden gem, a nice restaurant where all the locals go for great food...ha! We made a reservation for 7 pm (hello, it's Valentine's day), they told us they had a great Valentine's day menu and specials. Looking promising...until we pull up, which we did right at 7. We walk in and our mouths might have hit the floor...we walked in to a diner? Maybe a Lizzi's back in Dalton? The waitress yelled, from the kitchen, "y'all find a seat wherever". Thank goodness we had those reservations because we almost didn't find a booth for all the 3 people in this small restaurant. :) We sit down, the lady brings us the Valentine's menu, and asks what can she get us and kept standing there until Dusty had to ask her if we could have a bit more time. She brought our waters back and took our order. We had cheese sticks for an appetizer that either came from the freezer at Food Lion or the bowling alley. And they were the best thing I ate that night!! Dusty ordered a steak (that was half and inch thick, maybe,) and a baked potato that wasn't done. I had crab cakes that were a little bigger than a silver dollar and were so fried I tasted no crab. And did I mention my potato wasn't done either?! Yea...we were done eating and paying at 7:25, if that tells you anything. Once outside, we burst out laughing. Such a great night and great memories of our first V day together. We actually drove through McDonald's on the way home and ordered a smoothie. HA! This past weekend,President's weekend, Rachel, Beau and Branton came to visit. We went to a local zoo (a pasture with horses, a giraffe, two tigers...one of the tigers was the biggest thing we had ever seen, wow!, some monkeys, some wolves, a brown bear, skunks, llamas- don't worry, I stayed back. And yes, they were all caged, separately. We hung out at the house for the rest of the weekend and took it easy. Branton and Paisley instantly became best friends. Paisley had someone to chase and have toys thrown to and Branton had someone to chase and throw toys to. Layla on the other hand, slept. So now I think we are all up to speed on what we have been doing for the past couple, or several, months. Dusty is learning Arabic and can speak it really well. I am so proud of him for learning it so fast and doing well in his class and on his quizzes/tests. I am still working at Cook Child Development Center, but now I am a full time teacher in the pre-k room, which is exactly where I want to be. Tonight, Dusty has planned a special date night to celebrate my promotion. NOW, y'all are all caught up on our lives, probably more than you would like to be, but thank you for being patient for this extremely long post. If y'all ever come over our way, stop in for a visit :) Thank you all for your prayers, support and love. Dusty and I really appreciate it! Now if I can post pictures....

We'll always be Georgia Peaches, even if we don't live in the state!

As you know, Dusty and I are/were on the move, again! This makes 3 places, 3 towns, and 2 states in the year 2011! The movers came last Tuesday and Wednesday and packed up our stuff and moved us to Raeford, North Carolina (Fort Bragg). They were at our house both Tuesday and Wednesday for hours, but finally got us all packed up. Layla, Paisley and myself were locked up in the guest room while they were moving the stuff. They took the front and side doors off the hinges so we stayed in the guest room with the baby gate up so the girls couldn't get out. Let's just say I got a lot of reading done while stuck in there! And of course, the girls slept most the day, when they weren't whining to get out! After the movers left on Wednesday, Dusty couldn't sign out of work until Saturday, so we stayed with our friends, Amy and Brandon, Wednesday through Saturday morning. Dusty's MCCC (Captain's Career Course) graduation was on Friday morning. He did really well during the 6 month course. He was in the top 20% who make the Commadant's list (an A avergae the entire course). I am so proud of him, and know he definitely earned it. Friday night, we got our last Georgia BBQ fix with our friends Amy and Brandon and also our friend Amanda,who now lives in Birmingham. It was a really sad goodbye leaving them. Amy and Brandon's little girl, who is a little over 2, kept giving us hugs and kisses as we were leaving. Of course, she thought we were coming back. We got up Saturday morning and drove to Dalton to spend time with my family. My mom was out of town on a choir trip, but we hung out with my dad, Grandpa, sister, her husband and my nephew. It was so good to see everyone. We stayed outside most of Saturday in the nice fall weather. We rode the 4wheeler (even Layla and Paisley, and Branton took a ride), walked through the woods, and went out to eat with my dad. That night we babysat Branton while Rachel and Beau (my sister and her husband) had their 10 year high school reunion. Branton is so much fun! He is 15 months old; runs wherever he goes and is just so much fun to be around! Sunday, Dusty and I got up and made the 7.5 hour drive to Fayetteville. We stayed the night in a hotel and Monday morning, got the keys to the house and met the movers and got to work. Dusty and I worked hard most of this week and got everything in place. We had dinner with James, Dusty's good friend from West Point, Monday night. Then James' mother came into town and we had dinner with her and some other guys tonight. We've been busy, but also have had some down time. Tomorrow, Greg, Dusty's other friend from West POint, will be coming into town from Savannah and hanging out with us. Any chance the three of them, and me, can get together, we do. It's rare that they are all in the states together, and within driving distance. Greg is stationed at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah and James is here at Fort Bragg. We are excited to live in the same town as James, and be only a few hours from Greg! On top of moving, I got a phone call on Friday afternoon for a job offer on post. I did accept it and I will be working at the Child, Youth and School Services as a Program Assistant. I am looking forward to working with children and youth, along with their families, on post. And learning more about what I'll be doing. I don't have a start date yet, but hopefully it will be soon! Thank you for all your love, support and prayers!!! (Pictures to come, hopefully)

Our time in Georgia is coming to an end...

Dusty and I went to North Carolina last weekend to check out the area, and most importantly, find a house. We succeeded in all areas and will be moving next weekend to Fort Bragg. We will be living there for about a year and a half while Dusty is in the Q course. We have been lucky over the last four years and have lived in Georgia the whole time, except for 3 months in Missouri. Our time in Georgia is coming to an end. I have lived in Georgia my whole life, except for the time in Missouri, so it's kinda bittersweet for me to be leaving and moving to NC. I think will we have a great time in NC; I've heard all good things about Fort Bragg, the surrounding towns, and NC as a whole. We are looking forward to the change- a new state, town, house, job, adventures and friends! We will be further away from family, but will be surrounded by good friends and more to come. I will keep you all updated once we are there and settled. Thank you all for your love, prayers and support!

Wild Animal Safari

Dusty, Amy, Brandon, Maddie and myself went to the Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain, GA. It was a BLAST!!! If you haven't been, you should go, whether you have small children or not. I know the four of us "grown ups" enjoyed it more than Maddie, who is 2! We rented a van, that would be the snazzy zebra 1992 Dodge Caravan with only bars for windows, and piled in with our cameras, 4 bags of animal food, and wet wipes, and boy was I glad the mom of the group thought to bring wet wipes. Thanks Amy! Dusty volunteered to drive and he was such a good sport about it. He had to drive really slow 1. because of the 5 mph speed limit, 2. there were animals everywhere that would just walk in front of the van and 3. we took endless pictures, which you can see below, sorry! The animals would stick their head through the bars and into the van to get us to feed them! And boy were they hungry! The animals we saw were: an American Alligator (sorry no pics of this- it was at the second part of the park which was a walkabout.); an American Black Bear (also at the walkabout); several American Buffaloes; several Blackbuck Antelopes; Black Mane Lion (caged); 2 Camels (also caged); a Liger (who, besides me and Amy, thought that Napoleon Dynamite made this up?? He didn't, it's real! Don't worry, he too was caged); Capuchin (a little monkey who was caged); Coati/Coatimundi (raccoon- like carnivore, also caged); Elks; Giraffe; several Grevy's Zebras; 3 Kangaroos (caged in the walkabout); Rhinoceros (caged); and lastly a couple Siberian Tigers (caged). Most of the animals were out running around and we could feed from our hands, but not the Zebra's and a couple others- they bite. They also had Cows, Longhorns, Deer, Pot-bellied Pigs and Piglets, Llamas, Emus, Baboon (caged in the walkabout). Funny story and probably the highlight of the trip if you ask everyone but me. I was feeding a Llama and Amy made a comment to be careful because they spit...yup...sure enough, the Llama spit his food out all over me! It went on my chest, neck, face, mouth, yup, pretty disgusting!!! Luckily, or unfortunately, no one was taking a picture at that moment so we have no documentation, but it really did happen. The last picture with me holding the pink t-shirt up that says "I Got Slobbered", that's from the Llama. We just had the best time!!! I recommend everyone going!!!