Mother's Day!

After Thursday for me (Nicole) it's, "School's Out For Summer"! Yeah! Matt will be done by the end of next week and then he gets to work on Summer School stuff, woo hoo! Either way, we will both be less stressed out and able to relax a lot more. We've got plans to look for a house if at all possible this summer. We hope to take a trip to Virginia and Maryland to see some close friends and family. Of course I still work all summer, but we'll have fun with the kids playing outside all day! Mother's Day was this past Sunday!! Matt and I had my mommy come visit and stay with us, so we thew a BBQ bash for her, Brenda (Matt's mom) and my sister Michelle. We had a lot of fun. Unfortunately, my mom took all the pictures so I have to wait for her to send them to me before I post them. Hope all the other mommy's had a great Mother's Day! I know I miss my mommy already :) Matt and I are also very excited to see Allen and Amber when they come down for Memorial weekend. We miss you guys tons!!!!!!!

Anyways, we're doing well and that's what matters.

Teacher Appreciation Week

As some of you may not know this week is Teacher Appreciation Week. With me(Matt) being a teacher I feel that this week is a time to express to teachers how much they have impacted your lives. It is ironic that this week one of my co-workers passed away from a long battle with cancer. The reason I bring this up is the fact that I know there are many kids that never got the chance to truely express how much she meant to them. So I encourage all of you, if there is anyone who has made an impact on your lives, to go ahead and thank them for all they've done. You never know when you might miss out on an imporatant opportunity.

Love you all,

Sad News

Bad news everyone...Matt and I had to take Sammy (our dog) to the Humane Society on Friday. Thursday night I (Nicole) went to pick him up while he was lying in the corner and he growled and bit my wrist/arm. This isn't the first time he's bit. Matt and I were wanting a dog and his co-worker had offered us Sammy because she was trying to find him a good home after he had bit her daughter for no reason. The daughter had come into her mom (Matt's co-worker) to give her a hug and Sammy bit her. Usually, if a dog bites once, they can never be trusted again. Since Sammy had bit three times, he can't be trusted around anyone. So I took him to the Columbia Humane Society, told them the whole story. They said he might get put to sleep but that they would give him a week long agrression evaluation to see if he was probable to be adopted. I don't know what's been of him since. It was really hard to give him up, but we did only have him for three months and we took him in on the note that we were trying to rehabilitate him. We agreeded that this would be the route taken if he bit again. BUT, we will miss him and no more puppies for a little bit.
Just thought we ought to let you all know.

Summer & TV Shows Online

Well it's a good old fashion Monday, and it's rainy. It's what I call a "double whammy". However, the good news is that I (Nicole) only have 2 more weeks of school and then it's Summer for me. Matt has maybe 4 more weeks PLUS every Friday off in May so he's on the downhill slope for Summer. Summer school is still up in the air, but he'll most likely get it.

Matt and I just got Netflix and so far, it's really great. If you want to rent movies, it's the only way to go. Even better than the "Redboxes" or whatever they are, lol. We can watch movies on our laptop AND get them sent to our house at the same time. Since we also got rid of cable, we watch all our shows online now. It's crazy, we are paying less than before BUT now we have more to watch to the point where we don't have time to watch everything, lol. The only downfall is the sound, but we can always get speakers for the computer. With people trying to cut corners though, this is the best way to cut. We have a list of links on the website, on the right side column, please feel free to click on them and watch your TV shows. Also, let me know if there are better ones to add to the link list :) Enjoy!

A Very Busy Saturday

Saturday April 18th, 2009 was a VERY busy day! I cleaned my house and did laundy all morning and afternoon. I had to make a large amount of pasta salad for later that evening and that all happened BEFORE noon. After noon, me, Alison (lower right) and Kayla (top middle) who are my coworkers at the preschool, all had to drive an hour and a half to an old coworkers wedding. We had a blast spending most of our time on the road, lol. We all three made it back to my house by 5:30 pm where I then picked up Matt and all of us went to our other coworkers house where she was having a going away/engagement party-BBQ. Jesse (blue shirt) is our head teacher at the preschool and is leaving to move to Chicago with her finace. Jen (far left) is our other coworker. Matt and I had a blast hangin' with the ladies. Luckily for Matt, there were maybe three other guys he could at least converse with. We had buffalo steaks and hamburgers for the first time. It was VERY delicious! Matt and I didn't make it home until after 11:30pm. That is the latest we've stayed up in a LOONNGG time :) Anyways....I'm gonna miss Jesse, and we'll have to see just how work will function with her gone :(

Happy Anniversary!!!

Four of the best people in the world!
Happy Anniversary to both couples who just so happen to be celebrating it on the same day (April 16th). On the left is my Mommy and her husband, Gary. They have been married for a year now and are completely in love with each other, WOOT! On the right are my other parents (Matt's Mommy & Daddy) and they have been married for a whopping 33 years. And you guessed it, still completely head over heels for one another, yea! Sooooo, this is my tribute to you both and a reminder for me what love truly is!

Love you guys (miss you mommy)!

A Happy Easter Weekend

Sooo, Matt and I were prepared for this Easter weekend...or so we thought. It began Friday night when I thought everything was fine, until I threw up late that night. Somehow (with all my preschoolers being sick) I caught a 24 hr. flu bug. I threw up all night (no sleep) and continued somewhat into the next day. Poor Matt worked on schoolwork (grading, test making, etc.) from 9am to 6pm. Also, he took care of the dog (feeding, walking, disciplining) AND cleaned the kitchen for me. We were very tired. Sunday rolled around and I was feeling better, Whew! We didn't get to sleep in though. We drove 20 mins north to drop Sammy off at the folks' house then we (the family) drove to church. It was peaceful being with Matt's family and at their local church so that made up for alot of Saturday. We chilled the rest of our Sunday with my in-laws and had a great Easter dinner. I was starving as you could imagine. Brenda (Matt's mom) made a GREAT loin roast that she had experimented on for the first time. It was fantastic! Then Matt and I went home and passed out at 9pm. It was quite the eventful weekend. Now today is Monday and I have two exams today that I didn't have the chance to study for this weekend, so the term "wingin' it" comes into play. All I have to say is I can't wait until next Fri. and Sat. so I can just sleep in. Matt is alive, so no worries. He'll be busy until the end of the week too.

We love you all and hope every had a Happy Easter! We know we did!

DanActive: A Great Way to Boost Your Immune System

Matt and I began to drink DanActive back in December. I have a VERY poor immune system and both Matt and I work in a school setting where sickness spreads easily. Since we have taken DanActive, neither one of us has been sick to the point where we can't function. We've gotten a small sore throat but that just means our white blood cells are fighting the infection, so they're good signs. The point is you'll not get flu sick, which will impare most of you from working. A word of caution, DanActive is what I call a "yogurt shot". In other words, use it as a meal suplement not a meal replacement. Drink one a day (or more) and you'll be good to go. If you want more information I've got the link at the bottom of the post.

Trust me, you need all the boosts for your immune system that you can get. AND it's great for the kids!

http://danactive.com/

Grilling Tips

In Missouri, the weather has been starting to become consistently warmer. Everyone knows what this means....break-out-the-grill time! Matt and I LOVE grilling, and take pride in our many techniques. A while back, Matt found a wok (3 in a package) that is used specifically for grilling. We hadn't used it until yesterday, and may I say, when you make a stir fry in the wok on the grill...you will never go back to other stir fry's! I didn't do anything different, it was the grill taste that made it so good. I marinated stewing beef and fresh veggies in an Asian salad dressing and stuck it on a med-low heat and BAM! Put it on some rice and you are good to go!

Just an idea for all of you who love to grill as much as Matt and I do :)

The Dog Doing His Thang

Matt and I just recorded Sammy doing this last night. We give him a raw hide at least once a night to help keep his gums healthy. He gets bones too but it's only the "knee caps" that he feels the need to hide. Not sure why, but it's so cute! So this is a video of him hiding his raw hide.

Enjoy!