WALK NOW FOR AUTISM 2009

Matt and I volunteered at the 2009 WALK NOW FOR AUTISM at Atlantic Station today. We worked the registration booth before the walk began, then we participated in the walk. I could not believe the number of people that were there supporting Autism Awareness. There were so many families that had shirts made honoring the children they knew that were affected by autism. Before the walk began, almost $500,000 had been raised for the Atlanta walk alone. People turned in more donations today and the walk, so I am sure this number is going to continue to rise. It was a great way to spend a dreary morning!

A Day at "The Land"

Matt's family has land in Oglethorpe County. When we were in college, we used to visit the land 2 or 3 times every week to fish and explore the trails. Now we only make it up there 2 or 3 times a year. We headed up there today with the dogs, Kale, and his girlfriend, Megan. We fished for a while, but then a storm came so we had to run for cover. As we were getting the boat to the side of the pond, I tried to step out onto the ground, but as I stepped, I pushed the boat back into the water and fell into the pond. I was soaked from my waist down but was able to pull myself back into the boat. Then I tried it a second time, and fell into the water again...this time all the way up to my head! I just crawled out of the pond that time. By then, the rain was pouring down so we headed into the cabin to wait it out. Finally we thought it was finished, so we headed back out. Just as we got the boats back into the water, the rain started coming down again. We had a great time though. After we finished fishing, we took the golf carts out to explore. Here are some pictures and video of our fun at "The Land."



Harley and Tiger are absolutely obsessed with the golf carts. Once they see them, they do not want to get off of them!


Hanging out at the river.




I caught the first fish of the day!


After I fell into the pond, I turned the heater in the bathroom on full blast with hopes that my clothes would dry out. It didn't work as quickly as I had hoped!


This was the 2nd time we went out, when the thought the rain was finished. Obviously it wasn't!


Tiger watched us fish from inside the cabin.



Kale and Megan got stuck riding with Harley.




Matt was thrilled that I caught this big catch on video!


A little video safari ride through the woods.


Bet you can't guess who made this video...weather man Matt! He loves videoing storms and rain!!!

Late Night Drama at the Dorminy's

We were sitting in the living room tonight when we heard the engine of a car revving. The car was stuck on a mud road behind our house. Matt was really annoyed with the noise of the revving engine at 10:30 at night, so he called the Suwanee police department. As he was on the phone with him, I see sparks fly and flames shoot up. We then heard the driver of the car yelling profanity and that he needed buckets of water. He then came running up to our deck and asked if we had any buckets. By this time, his Jeep was totally engulfed in flames. Matt said that a bucket of water would not do him any good. Long story, short, the guy was arrested for DUI. His girlfriend comes driving up about 20 minutes too late with a little fire extinguisher asking if it would help. This was the most exciting Thursday night we have had in a really long time!

I AM THE BIGGEST LOSER....

Matt and I have been participating in a month long challenge through BodyPlex with several people from my school. We had our first weigh-in exactly one month ago. Over the past month we have had to attend weekly weigh-in's where we were weighed, measured, and had our body fat percentage measured. We also had full access to the gym and took advantage of the spin, combat, and pump classes. The winner of the contest was the person who lost the highest percentage of body fat and....... Drum roll please....... I WAS THE BIGGEST LOSER! I lost a total of 3.7% body fat over a 30 day period!

Easter

We spent Easter at my grandparents house in Toccoa. Here are some pictures from the fun day with the family. We took a family field trip to the pasture out back to take a look at the "old house." This is the house where my great grandparents lived and also where my mom spent the first few years of her life.


The family Easter picture.


Karson and his best buddy....Uncle Kale


A Dorminy family Easter picture.


Kylie with her pouty face on because nobody wanted to play soccer with her.


The "Old House"


Yep, this is definitely a good old fashined outhouse that my grandfather turned into a shed. He's pretty crafty!



Benji could use a good hair cut and bath.


The pasture out back.

Smell the Scents of Spring

Kick Off to Spring Break 2009

Well, spring break 2009 has officially begun! Matt and I packed the camper up Friday afternoon and headed up to Hart State Park on Lake Hartwell. This has now become my favorite place to camp. Those of you campers should make it a point to add this park to your list of places to visit. Matt and I liked the city of Hartwell so much that we have added it to our places to consider moving, if we ever decide to get out of Gwinnett County!

Friday afternoon we set up camp and got everything ready for the weekend. Saturday morning we went to the office to check in and saw two of the biggest snakes I have ever seen. They were in aquariums in the campground office. I was so creeped out!! Later in the day we took a trip into town and explored the surroundings around the campground. Sunday was chilly, so we spent a lot of time hanging out and napping in the camper. Since we were just laying around, I decided to start the book Twilight. I had heard that it was really good, so I made sure to bring it with me. I started the 500 page book around lunch and ended up finishing it before I went to bed Sunday night. I really like to read a good book, and this was one that I could not put down. I actually got the second book in the series today and plan to start it tomorrow! Monday morning, thankfully the wind did not blow us into the lake. It was howling though! The camper was shaking like crazy. We packed up fairly early and headed home.

We are currently participating in a Biggest Loser competitiion with several teachers from my school, so we had to watch what we ate on this camping trip. That made it a trip like no other! No smores! No hotdogs! No hamburgers! No chips! It was rough, but I really felt better eating our grilled chicken and pork sandwiches with carrots. We also made sure to get more exercise this trip than we normally do. Our typical exercies routine while camping includes walking to the bath house or getting up to get a snack! This trip we hiked the nature trails, we jogged around the campground, and we rode our bikes. I guess as an adult, you forget what it is like to ride a bike, but it really is painful! My rear end and legs are still recovering.

I will be sure to update on what the rest of SPRING BREAK 2009 brings for the Dorminy's!


Here is the redneck riveria leaving out of Suwanee. For those of you who have seen the Robin William's movie RV, this was our "BIG OL ROLLING TERD!"


The dog's don't ever have a lot of room when we go camping because we like to bring the entire house with us!



Our boys LOVE camping! Luckily, Harley did not have any mishaps this time! He didn't even have to take and Benadril!!!


My absolute FAVORITE camping meal! This time, we had 2 slices of turkey bacon instead of a pack of real bacon, Egg beaters instead of half a dozen real eggs, and a 2 pieces of wheat toast, instead of a loaf of Texas Toast! It was still YUMMY!


Harley wanted to know what was for dinner!


The Savannah River at the Hartwell Dam.


Harley was determined to get some of our food at each meal!


Tiger was so shivering so much this morning that his ears were shaking. We had already packed all of our blankets, so Matt gave him his fleece pullover. It fit him nicely.