3 Girls, 1 Guy and a Zoo!

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Fort Rickey family trip

After Doug was gone for 2 weeks, Dairy One gave Doug 3 days of comp time. We decided to take our first day and head to the zoo...at the last minute, we changed our minds from Utica Zoo to Fort Rickey.

So many awesome parts of this place...this is definitely one of my favorites. I could have stayed in here a good share of the day and been happy doing it!

The brown one that Marissa is petting was my favorite :)

Madalyn had to go find the sheep laying all by himself...

She definitely didn't get this from Doug or I...we were standing a ways back with Madalyn ;)

...and we were crawling at this point in time...lol

Granddaughter....

...and Grandma! I'm pretty sure she was 40 something years old!

A new addition this year....the girls had a blast!

They sure are cute...even with their prickly hairs!

So cozy

...and we ran into another one...lol

Why couldn't we have a regular sized bunny? Sooo cute!

Probably my favorite "show" that we saw there. An amazing relationship that they have with the owner!

Madalyn's favorite buddy

This little girl started out smaller than his hands and found with it's mother who had been hit and killed. She was a ball of energy and so much fun to watch!

Seriously....so sweet!

If you are ever thinking about a family outing, Fort Rickey is a great option! We love it there!

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Leah Picnic

Lowville Leah, the homeschool group that we are a part of, is changing a bit this year. To get us started, we had a kick off picnic with a bunch of families. I was really excited to see a few different families show up! The kids had a BLAST! I think it's a great thing to have them be able to hang out with other kids that are also homeschooled. What a blessing!

Marissa took these pictures after the picnic...

I'm looking forward to another great year with an awesome group!

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Fast Forward to the First Day of School :)

I was dreading this morning, up until I started getting things set up. This morning has gone sooo smooth! The girls are excited about the new things they are learning this year and the new set up!

First, here are the pictures for this year...

Marissa's favorite color is still yellow and she also still wants to own a dog daycare center when she grows up. I'm starting to see some consistency here! Her favorite subject is ... all of them! She can't pick one and it isn't because she hates them all ;)

Madalyn's favorite color is still orange and she now wants to be a stay at home mom! (Taking after her Mommy!) ;) Her favorite subject is Science...she didn't however take after her Mom is this department!

I'm excited to see what this school year holds for us!

Friday, September 2, 2016

I'm back...

Ahhhh, what an awesome 5 days off with Doug, together as a family!

It started Friday night when the girls and I headed to Syracuse to see Doug get off the plane. We decided to surprise him again this year, so I played it off like we were going to be home waiting for him. There may or may not have been a lie involved to get him off the trail ;)

Last year when we did this, we were upstairs sitting against the wall, so when he came through the capsule looking things, we called his name and that was that. I had a feeling that he would look for us again this year in the same spot. I wanted to turn things up a little bit this time.

We decided since this year he checked his bag, that we would hide downstairs in the baggage area...behind a sign! LOL This year his plane was on time, so we got into place and waited. I finally saw Brandon coming down the stairs. He stands 6ft 6in, so he is easier to spot for sure! I figured they wold be together....sure enough they were. We jumped out from behind the sign and ran to him. We got about 1/2 way there before he realized who we were and what was going on. I was right and he had looked for us upstairs and was pretty disappointed. There were tears and hugs and the girls complained that I was hogging Daddy, but overall it was awesome! I'm so grateful we had the opportunity to make that trip!

If you were to ask me where I would see myself in 10 years, I never would have guessed that I would be here. However, I couldn't be happier! I'm very happily married to the love of my life and have two girls. We have begun our journey towards adoption and I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for us over the next couple of years. I'm a stay at home mom who home-schools. I enjoy researching and finding things out for myself. This blog allows me to share with others my passions and keep in touch with family that I wouldn't normally be able to keep in such close touch with.

Daddy is such a blessing to me. We met in college and became best friends. About one and a half years after we met we were dating. The rest is history. Together we have grown in the Lord and learned many lessons even in our few years together. Things haven't always been smooth, but together and with the Lord's help we can accomplish anything. He is the love of my life and my true soul mate. He is 100% committed to his family and the Lord. He is currently working for Dairy One in Ithaca. He loves to ski, ride dirt bikes, tinker on things, mow the lawn :) and spend time with his girls.

Marissa is our oldest. She was born in May 2005. She is 100% Daddy's girl. She is a home body and usually isn't away from home for long and she is asking to go back to our house. She always claims a job and sticks with it till its done. She is very quick and catches on fast. You have to be careful what you show her, because before you know it she is going to be attempting it herself. Madalyn is her best friend. She loves church and loves learning and singing about Jesus. Marissa is now is school and she is doing great. She loves to read and do projects. She LOVES animals and has decided that she wants to be a Veterinarian when she grows up!

Madalyn is our youngest. She is 100% Mommy's girl (nice of them that they split us up so that one isn't quite so overwhelmed isn't it?). Madalyn knows what she wants and goes for it. She has no fear and is usually the leader of my two even though she is younger. She does love to shadow her older sister though. She is my girly girl, but also my one that is always getting messy. She loves her hair done, to get dressed up, and shoes! We are in trouble with this one! She loves school and is super smart. She has decided she wants to be a "snow plow driver" when she grows up. She is also going to build a house RIGHT next to us and live there so she can still see us every day ;)

Case was actually our "oldest child". Sadly we said goodbye to him on October 29th, 2013. He was a black lab/ red-tick coonhound. He loved to roam the fields, swim, play ball, catch frisbees, go hiking and spend time at the barn. He also very much enjoyed those black and white cats that roam in the dark and have stripes down their backs...or he must have because he kept getting sprayed! He hated to be abandoned by his family and preferred us to all be in the house by 9pm or he started pacing. His biggest dislike was winter. He hated the cold and would rather hold his potty all day long than to go out and pee. Even when he did go out he barely makes it out the door and he was starting to go! Haha He was our "little boy in a doggie suit" as my aunt says. We love him and miss him like crazy.

Cali is our first cat together as a married couple. Sadly we said goodbye to her on October 8th, 2014. We got her from the barn shortly after we moved. She had to be one of the softest cats you had ever felt and of course one of the best looking calicos. LOL She was a great mouser and spent alot of her time in the basement hunting. She had a funny quirk. When she got ready to settle down and sleep, she parted the hair on her tail so only a few hairs were sticking up and then she proceeded to suck on those hairs.

Beaker is a litter mate to Cali. She is a great mouser. She loves to sneak outside when she gets the chance but if you say her name she quickly darts back in. She is VERY attached to Doug and is always coming up to him purring just as loud as can be begging to be picked up. Beaker of course never does this to me. She doesn't like change and isn't fond of strange dogs, although she has gotten much better with the dogs. She will still swat at Molly but it's not angry, it's almost like she is playing.

Sid was our Marshall Ferret. We said goodbye to him in 2012. He was amazing! Great with kids and other animals, but a total goofball. He definitely lived up to the typical ferret personality and a total thief! Sid's favorite thing to steal was pacifiers. He would take them right out of a baby's mouth if given the opportunity and then take off running! He always hid everything in the same place, so at least we knew where to find them, but of course they were always ruined. Anything rubber was in danger of ending up in the said spot. We definitely miss having him around.

Chloe is Cairn Terrier. She is a blast to have around and I'm definitely sold on the terrier family! She is great with the kids and loves spending time outside. She is a great woodchuck hunter and will sit at an occupied hole all day till she catches one. Even in the winter time she will spend forever out there and come back looking like a snowman. She loves to swim and will swim in any temperature water. She loves to mother other animals. Whether it be kittens from the barn, Case, or her own litter of puppies, she is a great mother! We have since fixed her. Although I'm sad there won't be another litter, it's for the best with the probability of us moving and having to find a new vet.

Meet Molly, our newest dog addition :) After taking some time to heal after losing Case, we decided that our household wasn't the same without a big dog around and we were missing something. So we took the plunge and went full out this time. Molly is a purebred, mis-marked mantle, Great Dane :) She has grown into one good looking pup! I'm still in love with this old picture though, so I'm not changing it! She stands about 31 inches at the shoulder and weighs over 100lbs (although honestly I'm not sure how much over because I can't lift her anymore!) She is great with the kids and loves to cuddle. She shares our bed and is the biggest baby ever. She is very protective and does not like when anyone is pinned down. She is right there to break up the "fight" LOL We love her to pieces!

When Doug's sister and her husband started breeding rabbits, I had a feeling deep down that it was only a matter of time....Here she is! Peterette started out as "Peter". When Madalyn realized "he" was actually a "she", she settled with Peterette. :) Peterette is a flemish giant, which according to what I have read is the Great Dane breed in the bunny world! Figures right? She is super sweet, very laid back and loves to be cuddled and pet. She'll stick her nose out of her cage when you enter the room just so you will scratch it!