June

Since our last posting we have done some exciting things! Paige graduated high school at the end of May. We were happy to come together as a family and watch the last of the 3 siblings graduate! Paige plans to attend the University of West Florida in Pensacola in the fall! We were also happy to spend a few short days with my dad during the weekend!

Rusty celebrated his 26th birthday on June 1st. We had a small get together with friends to celebrate. Rusty has also done a job shadow at the hospital with a respiratory therapist. He plans to attend Valencia Community College in the fall to begin work on his pre-requisites for the Respiratory Care program at Valencia the following January (2011). This program lasts 2 years. In the meantime, he will have to quit his job at Greenway Ford as early as this spring. As a result, I have taken a position on the night shift on my unit starting in July. This will be a nice change of pace but I am still a little nervous about the change in sleep schedules. However, my friends and co-workers (and Rusty of course) have been very supportive of me during this transition.

Next weekend, we are taking Paige on a long awaited trip to the Keys. We will be camping there for three nights to celebrate her graduation from high school....Can't wait!

Disney Cruise

So, our long awaited vacation has finally come...and gone! We left town on my birthday after a great night at Bahama Breeze with friends. On Saturday, we left Cape Canaveral on the Disney Magic for our Western Caribbean Cruise.

Here I am in Key West!

Our planned stops were Key West, Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Castaway Cay. Due to the threat of swine flu we lost of Mexican port and visited Nassau instead. In Key West we explored the city via a walking GPS tour. It was nice to walk at our own pace and were able to stop at the shops and eat lunch. We even walked a total of 2 and a half miles to the southern most point of the US! In Grand Cayman, we were on a bus tour to "Hell" a unique rock formation, and a stop at the turtle farm. We later discovered that the turtle farm harvests the turtles for meat! Yikes, wish we didn't participate in that! But all in all it was a beautiful place to visit!

We celebrated our third anniversary with a special dinner at Palo.

In Nassau we swam with stingrays and laid out on the beach. At Castaway Cay, our favorite stop, we snorkeled and enjoyed paradise! Overall, we did a lot of relaxing, laying out by the beach and sleeping!! As always, check out our photo album!

Sunset on the boat.

Now that we are home we are back at work...woo hoo! We are excited however, about Rusty's future career path. He has decided to start back to school in the fall to study Respiratory Therapy. He will do a shadow at the hospital next week just to make sure this is for him. He is really looking forward to this change in careers.

Rusty's birthday is coming up the first of next month! Looking forward to that!

A day at the Dog Beach

Here we are trying to get Layla in the picture too!

Last week Rachel and I took Layla to the beach for the first time! It was a beautiful day with a nice breeze. The beach is located on the intercostal waterway at New Smyrna beach. We saw dolphins, sting ray and lots of other sea life. Layla seemed to have a good time, although she would have had more fun if she could run free! Can't wait to go again soon!

On Friday we'll be leaving for our cruise! Only 5 more days!

Easter and Prom

On Easter we enjoyed spending time with both families. First we visited my side of the family and enjoyed a nice brunch. We also decided to let Layla swim in the pool. It took some encouraging but she finally got dunked by Rusty and then decided she liked it! Then we went over to Rusty's family's cookout at the lake. It was really good BBQ from the slow cooking grill Joe made...yumm!

This past weekend Paige went to her senior prom! She was so pretty and grown up and brought back a lot of good memories!

Today I took Layla to the dog park but we got rained out after only a few minutes. She has been doing really well playing with other dogs. Her favorite thing to do there is play fetch with the ball in the water!

Right now things are tough with Rusty's job since the economy is so bad. We are still saving up very slowly for a new car for me (hopefully mine will hold out long enough!) and our carpet desperately needs replacing. We are considering laying hardwood this summer if time and the budget permit.

Less than 2 weeks until we leave for vacation (and my birthday!) More later...

Spring!

Last weekend Rusty and I went camping with a few friends in Ocala. This is the first trip we have also brought Layla along! It was a lot of fun and I think Layla enjoyed the outdoors but was also really happy to get home!! Mike and Michelle were there with their son Michael, now 5 months old. It was really cute to see the two of them interacting. Layla was wild and crazy as always but surprisingly gentle with the baby! Michael was just trying to grab the dog's nose and eat it!

Friday night was nice and we enjoyed some time at the spring Saturday. We also went hiking and as always, enjoyed great food! Saturday night we awoke to a storm with thunder and lightning! The campsite was drenched by morning and we headed home. All in all it was a pretty typical camping adventure! When we got home we discovered Layla was covered in ticks (and I had 2 on me too!) Gross!

Last week we learned that Jim's father passed away after a battle with cancer. Nolan, Paige and I attended the funeral and enjoyed hearing stories about his life. Although it was a sad day, it was nice to see our family.

Random thoughts: Today I spent some time in the backyard planting basil, oregano, tomatoes and green beans. I have them in little starter trays and haven't quite decided what to do with them when they are grown yet! I am excited to see some green sprouts on my pineapple plant I thought I surely killed in a frost this winter! Today is truly the perfect Florida day. There is sunshine, blue skies and a nice cool breeze!

That's all for now. As of today, less than 1 month until the cruise! (26 days, but who's counting?)

Trip to Vermont!

Finally sitting down to write about our trip to Vermont! Earlier this month we traveled to Vermont to visit my dad. It was a nice get away from the routine we'd been falling into. When we first arrived we checked out a house dad was listing and helped take pictures. It was a plain house with the most spectacular view! It was right off of the (now frozen) Lake Champlain! Dad finally convinced us to go out on the ice which was "at least a foot thick!" In the end I'm really glad I went out there!

In our visit we also spent time in downtown Burlington and traveled to Stowe, a local ski town. We checked out a lot of the little stores in town (much to Rusty's delight...!). I even convinced Rusty to eat at a local diner called Bee's Knees who served the best burgers we'd ever eaten! Everything there is organic and fresh. The restaurant used produce from the local farms in their dishes. Other than that we spent a lot of time relaxing! After a rainfall mid-trip we had a few inches of snow to wake up to the morning of our departure! As always, our trip was great!!

Other than that, not much has been going on with us. Layla is a challenge and a joy at the same time! She is a very high energy dog that requires lots of exercise, more than most I'm pretty sure! But I never knew how nice it would be to have someone waiting for you when you come home (besides a wonderful husband : )! She is getting better with her training and has really turned into quite the swimmer! She goes crazy for the tennis balls at the dog park and would run for hours if we let her!

We are eagerly awaiting our next adventure...in May we are leaving for our long-awaited trip to Mexico! Can't wait!

Keeping Busy

Well, it's hard to believe it's already half way through February! Rusty and I have been very busy already this year. At the end of January we enjoyed a visit from our friend Kara from Tennessee. Since we are all working people it was a short visit but we hope to go up for our own short visit soon! Here is a picture of us sunbathing in January....oh how I love Florida!

Rusty's grandfather was recently hospitalized for a heart attack. He was flight lifted to ORMC, not Florida Hospital where I work. Working in a cardiac ICU, of course I was right up there nosing my way into things making sure he was getting the best care. After repairing the blockages with several stents, he suffered a small stroke! The nurses at ORMC were great and his care was excellent there. He is home now and doing well. It was nice to see how everyone came together during his week in the hospital.

Each Sunday night Rusty and I are attending FPU (Financial Peace University) at a local church. Our friends Mike and Michelle urged us to come to this 13 week course on financial management. The class discusses basic concepts of paying off and staying out of debt, building an emergency fund and building long term wealth. Some things we knew and were doing, some things we knew and weren't doing and others things we have learned have helped us tremendously. It has been great for not only our finances but also our marriage. Opening the lines of communication about money has really decreased stress and increased our feelings of teamwork!

During the past few months the economy was worrisome but not overly so. It was always just a news story on TV. This week Rusty had a mandatory meeting at work and we were almost certain he would be laid off. Luckily, Rusty still has a job but has had to take a 10% pay cut from an already decreased income. Later that day there were many people that did lose their job. Everyday, I am more and more thankful for my job. No matter how hard of a day I had, I can rest knowing I HAVE a job that many do not.

Lastly, we attended a wedding of a friend of mine from nursing school, Erika. It was a beautiful wedding and we had a great time. I was also glad to have the company of my friend Boni and her husband otherwise we wouldn't have known anyone there! Here is a picture of us at the reception near the beach!