First Camping Trip of the Year

We took our first camping trip of the season this weekend. All of our regular campgrounds had not opened up yet, so we tried out a new one. We went to Bald Ridge Campground on Lake Lanier. It was really nice! We had an awesome site right on the water. The wind was AWFUL and almost unbearable on Saturday, but we still managed to have a great time. Mom gave us the blue camping chairs for Christmas this year. It was out first chance to use them! They ROCK!!!! They are the most comfortable chairs ever! I curled up in my chair with my snuggie and a book on Saturday while Matt fished! That's what camping is all about!

FOXTROT Class 0110

I wanted to update on how Matt's training with DeKalb County Fire Rescue is going. I know those of you on facebook have seen my many posts regarding what EMT topic we are studying each night, but not everyone is on facebook (shocker I know!). Matt began his career with DeKalb Fire Resuce the end of January. He will be in training for 10-11 months. Matt reports from 7:00-3:30 each day to the Fire Headquarters.He is going through the EMT training first. He will be finished with the EMT component in July, then will head to "the tower" for fire training.

Matt has had to hit the books really hard these past 2 months learning all kinds of medical things. A few weeks ago on our way to church we were studying the path your blood takes when traveling through your heart. This week we studied the different assessments that have to be done on scene. I actually enjoy helping him study because I am learning all the "medical lingo" that all of my TV shows use! When I am watching Trauma, Grey's Anatomy, Mercy, or House, I will pause it and yell the terms that they are using to Matt. We are learning together! If I ever get tired of being a teacher, I guess I could go ahead and get my EMT certification too since I am studying each night!

Once he finishes EMT training, he will be in fire training until November or December. He is really excited about going to the fire academy. We frequently listen to the "scanner" at night to hear the calls that each station is responding to. This is just one of the "tests" that he has to pass at the fire academy!!!



They have to climb a 130 foot ladder, then harness in once they get to the top. To pass the "test" they have to lean back and trust their harness!!!!! HOLY COW! I would FREAK out!

Here is just another look into what the Fire Rescue Department is all about. There are several more videos like this one on You Tube. I thought DeKalb really did a good job of giving insight to what goes on within the fire department.




I will try to do a better job of giving everyone updates on what is going on! Thanks for all of your prayers and support as Matt begins this new and dangerous career path. I am so proud of him for sticking with fighting for this job for 2 years! I am proud of him for all of his hard work that he has already put forth to ensure that he does his best with his training too!

There are several new posts below! I have been on a blogging roll today!

Never Ever

Never ever get an English Bulldog! Don't get me wrong, we love Harley, but he is such a pain! When we talked about getting a dog about 5 years ago, I told Matt that the only way we could get a puppy was if it was an English Bulldog. WHAT WAS I THINKING?? Before we bought Harley, we read a lot about the breed. One of the first things I read was the English Bulldogs were special needs dogs. I thought that was perfect for me since I work with special needs kids, I could handle a special needs dog!

Just to name a few "special needs" that they experience include:
1. Breathing problems
2. Heart problems
3. Joint problems
4. Gas problems
5. Skin problems
and the list could go on and on!

We have been really lucky with Harley for the most part, and have really only had to deal with the GAS and the breathing. If you have ever been around Harley for very long, you know that his gas can clear a room! and his breathing/snoring can get so loud that you cannot hear yourself think!

You may be asking what has prompted this random e-mail about English Bulldogs? First of all, we took Harley to the vet last weekend for his annual check up and vaccinations. He had gained 14 pounds since last April!!! We decided that we better cut back on the food and get him to exercise a little more. So we took Harley and Tiger to the park late this afternoon. It was in the mid-sixties and felt great! We only planned to walk a very short distance since Harley tires out so fast. We were at the park for about 15 minutes and Harley started breathing so incredibly heavy. We got him in the car and seriously did not know if he was going to survive the 10 minute ride home. His throat was closing in and he just could not breath. His tongue was turning purple and he was drooling like crazy! When we finally got home, it took us over 30 minutes to cool him off. We had to put ice packs all over him and pour water on him before we calmed down. (Now you know why you see UGA laying on his bag of ice at all of the football games!) This was in SIXTY degree weather! I cannot imagine how the summer heat is going to effect him! I guess we are going to have to put him on a treadmill in the house to get some of that weight off!

Tiger is a different story, he is an OLDE English Bulldog and does not have ANY of the issues that English Bulldogs have.

If you are looking for a new dog to join your family, think long and hard about which breed you choose! Again, we LOVE Harley and think he is one of the cutest (in an ugly way) dogs ever! Just thought I would share!

Here are some of our pictures before the difficutly breathing really started!

Deals of the Century

For those of you that know me well, you know that there is nothing that I love more than a good deal! I NEVER pay full price for anything! I got some AWESOME deals at a consignment sale in Suwanee this weekend! I went to the sale 3 different times since Wednesday and bought stuff each trip. Today was 1/2 price day on almost everything! I ended up getting 7 Ann Taylor Loft shirts, an Ann Taylor Loft skirt, an Ann Taylor Loft pair of jeans, 2 other skirts, 2 dresses, 3 more shirts, 3 necklaces, a brand new Vera Bradley purse (with the $71 price tag still on it), another purse, a belt, and 3 pairs of sandals for under $100!!!! I LOVE DEALS!! I bought the cutest dressy sleeveless blouse for $4...now I just need a wedding or a cocktail party to go to this summer so I can wear it! Here are just some of the clothes that I got!

Anna's Game

We went to see Anna play ball this morning at Murphy Candler Park. They are so stinking cute at this age out on the ball field. After about 45 minutes on the field, several of the girls had had enough!

In honor of camping weather....

It feels wonderful outside and I am really hoping that the cold is gone for good!!! In honor of this great camping weather, I am posting some of our favorite camping pictures from past trips! We are hoping to be able to take our first camping adventure of the year in a couple of weekends!

GYM DAWGS

We gave Anna and Kylie tickets to go see the GYM Dawgs for their 6th birthdays. We took them this afternoon and had a blast!!! I have never heard 2 girls laugh as much as those 2 did!!! The giggled from the time we left until we dropped them off! We are guilty of feeding them an excessive amount of sugar while they were in our care, but isn't that aunts and uncles do?? Buy and feed them whatever they want when they are with you and then drop them back off at home!! Nothing quite like popcorn and soft drinks, then cotton candy, and McDonalds topped off with milk shakes (all within a 5 hour period!)

I have not been to a gym dawgs meet since I was in college! They are so entertaining! Talk about the ultimate female atheletes! Those girls are ripped!! You know they have big muscles when you are sitting on the other end of the colusuem and can see the definition of their calves! If you have never been, I would highly recommend taking a trip to Athens to see them!<






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Surprise!

We went to a 50th suprise birthday party for one of my assistant principals Friday night. It is so much fun to be in a social environment with the wonderful women that I work with!! I think we often forget how much fun we can have together due to the stress of work! I think we should start making it a monthly outing!!!! I truly do have the best co-workers!!!!