Ray's many looks..

(The startled look and then the Koala Bear Look, as Sam likes to say.)

Ahhh... being an Aunt is absolutely FABULOUS!!! While celebrating Father's Day at Mom and Dad's this past weekend I got to soak up some niece and nephew time, which I always look forward to. Ray, being a little over 4 months old now, is sooo snuggly and cute. After hamming it up for the camera a few times, he ended up falling asleep in my arms... and I loved it!

(Hamming it up, then moments later sleeping like Aunt Amanda did when she was a baby.)

A Day of Digging....

Over the past few months we discovered that the bottom portion of the addition to our house (Sam's soon-to-be workshop) was being infiltrated by unwanted water!! The individuals who built the addition did not quite get the drainage squared away properly, which has resulted in groundwater and rainwater seeping through. Therefore, Sam took it upon himself to 're-dig' the drainage trenches, while the building people paid for the backhoe (sp?). I was actually surprised at how well Sam operated it! He would have been done in one day if large tree stump had not gotten in his way and slowed him up. Anyway - while we had the digging machine Sam thought that Ross might want to come and 'help' for a little while - seeing that Ross is the typical 6-year old boy that LOVES farm and construction equipment! Ross was in full-fledged concentration mode while he dug, scooped, moved dirt and navigated the backhoe around our backyard.

Fishing Derby

Have you ever heard of a Fishing Derby?? Well - being the daughter of a Fisheries Biologist in charge of a Fishing Derby, I was able to experience one first-hand this past Saturday. Basically, kids of all ages are able to fish for free (without a license) for a few hours out of the Hatchery's stock ponds. And let me tell you - kids (and parents) came from all over to partake in the fun-filled day of fishing. Since dad was in charge, he asked if I'd be interested in taking photos for documentation purposes... which I thought would be kinda fun.

Sam and I arrived at the Hatchery around 6:30am and witnessed the families flood in (btw, some were already there when we arrived - mind you the event did not start until 8:00). Nik and Jamie brought Ross, Hannah and Ray out for the occasion as well. I had to force myself away from them because once they arrived, I found myself only taking their pictures!!! :)

All in all, it was a really fun day. Ross and Hannah both won door prizes (fishing poles and gear) and Sam and I both decided that when we have kids and they are old enough to hold a pole, that we'll take them to the Fishing Derby too.

Celebrating 5 years...

(Pictures taken while hiking at Natural Bridge)

As many of us can attest, marriage is not always easy, it's not always fun, but it can definitely be one of the best things in life. I was fortunate enough to marry Sam 5 years ago in May and have had him by my side as my best friend ever since. Before I was married I used to lay in bed at night and wonder if I already knew (was acquainted with) the man I was going to marry.... it seemed so odd to me that I might be friends with, neighbors, in class with or perhaps had just passed the man on the street without even knowing that I would be spending the rest of my life with him! Those days are long gone and that question was answered long ago and now Sam and I spend each day discovering along side one another what life has to hold for us.

My FAVORITE thing about being married is the fact that I will always have someone to share my time with. Even though we certainly do not do everything together, we know that the option is always there. Fortunately, Sam and I do have a lot of common interests, even though we are VERY different in many aspects. Since we've been married we've both discovered our soft-spot for KY State Parks! We love them!!!!!! Therefore, I thought it would be fitting to visit a couple while we took a few days to get away, relax, and celebrate our 5th year anniversary! We had a WONDERFUL time.... :)