trip to jc & barbie's, take two!

john and i went to his mom's house for the afternoon today. it was in the mid-50's here in blacksburg during the day, but a cold front (with rain & sleet!) coming in tonight brought much cooler air. we decided to enjoy the brisk air by taking a hike up the mountain behind his house before a yummy supper. i'll let the many fun pictures do the explaining for me. enjoy! :)

emmy loved playing in the mud, as evidenced by her spotted face!

the pups really enjoyed the new scenery and new smells!

we had a little photo shoot at the place john's family has termed "picnic rock"

and, of course, emmy gets camera-shy

me with the sadie bugs

john with his parent's dog, beau!
beau has grown up so much!!!
i think this is what emmy probably looked like as a puppy :o)

beau, look over here!

hanging out on picnic rock
check out the background-such scenery!!

that's john's house, at the bottom of the hill!

what a view!

john with the sweet pups

jp wrestling with beau
"boys will be boys!"

self-shot #1

self-shot #2

one last shot of emmy, having the time of her life!

snow day

after 70 degree days at home during christmas break, i was certain that the notion of winter had long past. little did i know what was waiting for me the first few months of 2007! i have had one snow day a week for the past four weeks! :o) young or old, a snow day is a GREAT day! although we've had more ice than snow, i did snap a few shots of the bugs playing in what little snow we had two weeks ago. as you can see, even the emmy bugs loves snow days! :)

we started off the lazy morning snuggling in bed

emmy estimates the snowfall to be about two inches ;)

standing tall

another sepia shot

she tried to hide her new squeaky toy under the snow,
but there wasn't quite enough of the white stuff!

we found a neighboring buddy, nika

playtime :o)

raleigh visit

john picked me up last friday from school and we trekked down to my favorite get-away place: deerbrook! for those of you that don't know, that's my brother & sister-in-laws house in willow springs, nc (right outside of raleigh). life down in willow springs is just a little bit slower, a place where everything moves at a slow, relaxed place. whenever i need a get-away from school, i always rush to their house for a weekend of family bonding, great sleep and lots of sweet tea! :)

this was john's first time meeting my brother (Matt), sister-in-law (Ali) & sweet little nephew, Wyatt! he really enjoyed meeting the family and i know that the feeling was reciprocated. here are some fun pics of our time there--as you can tell, it was wyatt-filled! :)

my two favorite guys

so sweet!

look at how big my little guy is getting!!!

early morning playtime :)

it is so precious to watch little wyatt play with his favorite animal train

static-y bedhead!

gettin' kisses from auntie ash

we found a new favorite playtoy, the bendy chair!

i think this shot should be sent in to the raleigh news & observer.
if this doesn't sell newspapers, i don't know what would!

you know me & my fascination with sepia-toned pics :)

closeup!

he had fun with john ;)

ak got me!

so i'm great at checking for updates on my "regular blogs," however i seem to casually forget i have my own! i'm really bad about blogging if anything else is going on in the evenings- which is pretty much every night now that i'm student teaching! i know, i know, poor excuse. as i read ak's blog, i decided that since i was "tagged," i had no excuse but to respond! so here goes...

six things that make me happy...

1. babies! i am absolutely in love with children, particularly those under the age of one. my new nephew, wyatt, is my absolute favorite. i am known to stop everything i'm doing and swoon at the sight of a beautiful baby- just ask john! he has deemed it "baby fever," and rolls his eyes in amusement at my fascination everytime this happens. get used to it babe! :)
2. tan lines. my mom has native american blood in her that has allowed me the good fortune of olive-toned skin that tans very easily. i was often teased for it as a child, being called the "oreo" because my skin would turn so dark. after a few tears and years of maturity, i now take pride in those so-called "hideous" lines and skin. i'm so proud of the blood that runs through my veins and feel blessed to be a part of such culture.
3. emmy. if you know me, you know that i love dogs almost as much as i love babies. emmy is my 110 pound bundle of unconditional love. as irritated as i get with her 5am wake-up calls, 2am potty runs and incessant tugging on walks, i wouldn't trade her for the world. she is the definition of a life lived "nothing without joy."
4. family. i know everyone says this about their family, but i'm going to say it and MEAN it about my own. my family is incredible. when one falls, we all fall; however, we're the best support system in the world to pull each other back up. my mom is the one i call to when i'm crying over a bad day, knowing she'll lift my spirits and set my mood. the lucky lady i call my mom is filled with grace, so compassionate it is almost immaginable. my dad is the person i call when i need a good laugh or a prayer to get through the day. he is such a man of God, and his calling to pastor a church was never a doubt in my mind. this man's love for the Lord transcends all else and is an inspiration for me daily.
   
5. john pollock. amazing. this guy makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the world. john is the boyfriend of every girl's dreams. when i have a bad day, he's waiting for me with a pint of ice cream and a listening ear. when i'm overjoyed, he picks me up and wants to hear all about it. when my kidney stones hit, he's next to me day and night, letting me squeeze his poor hands to death. he even does church nursery with me, all while smiling and saying, "i love you."
6. life. today john and i were driving home from visiting my family in raleigh, nc. i was all smiles driving back, just thinking about how fortunate i am to be a child of God, born into such a loving family, surrounded by incredible people, living a life filled with joy. this life is good. so good, and i refuse to acknowledge it enough. :)
   

six oddities of mine...

1. i'm a grammar nazi. i can't stand people that end sentences in "at" (or other prepositions). i love punctuation, yet i hate capital letters, as evidenced by all online writing that i do!
2. i sleep in a ball at night. i've had a double-bed since i was out of the crib, yet still manage to use about a quarter of it every night, regardless of the weather.
   
3. i love string cheese. and i eat it daily for lunch.
   
4. my sweet tooth is the size of texas. i don't think i've met anyone who loves sugary foods as much as i do. while in raleigh, john and i drank insane amounts of sweet tea (thanks matt & ali!). we drank so much in fact, that it gave john a headache! me, i just kept drinking like it was water. i think i have sugar in my veins.
5. i wear old man slippers. yep, the kind that look like moccasins and come from wal-mart-- those are the best!
6. i love to write. you wouldn't know it by my lack of writing online, but i love to write. i never journaled/kept a diary as a child, but i love to write now that i'm an adult. whether it's a reflection for class, fiction for creative writing or personal notes in a devotional, i love to spill it all with a pilot g-2 pen and some handmade paper.

there ya go! i'll try to post pics from our weekend in raleigh very soon! :)