Twix and Rosie

We had Rosie, Sharon and Colin's dog, staying with us while they were on vacation. Rosie and Twix got along pretty well. They mainly just ignored each other and just sniffed at each other every now and then. It was kinda fun having a dog around, but we both decided that a rabbit is enough for us at the moment. Rabbits don't wake you up in the middle of the night or bark and whine when you leave. And Twix is happy to be the king of the house again. (p.s. I finally learned how to put pictures on this. woohoo!)

Absolute genius

Google Earth is a free program that is made up of loads of satellite images from space, of the earth. So basically, you can zoom in anywhere and you can even tilt the camera angle to see things in 3D.

If you are a nerd like me, you will love it. :)

Here is an example, i zoomed in on tim & chesney's house!

another blog

I decided to start my own personal blog. I started it here on blogger but then Tim got all excited and wanted me to have a better one that I could customize more and stuff so I let him make me a new one, and then I changed the whole look of it and everything. Anyway Click Here if you want to see it.

Our Anniversary

Here's the story of our first anniversary. Sunday morning we slept in because Andrew was down in Dublin on Saturday night for an Oasis gig and didn't get home until 1am or so. So we got up around 10:30 on Sunday and had a late breakfast of skinny pancakes. Then, around 2 we left and took Rosie (the dog) to Andrew's cousins house. By the way, I had no idea what was going on, just that something was planned. Then after we dropped off Rosie, Andrew drove to his parents house. Which was a bit odd. He told me to wait in the car until he said it was okay to come in. When I went into the house, Andrew was holding a big bouquet of yellow roses and pink gerberas (they didn't have any red). And he had a cooler type bag to take with us for a picnic. We decided to leave the flowers until we came back the next day. Then we got back in the car and started driving south. I still didn't know where we were going. Although, we were heading in the same direction and same roads as we were on a week ago when we went camping. And after you read our camping experience, I'm sure you can understand I was more than a little curious where we were going to end up. After driving for about an hour, we stopped at a big park and had our picnic. It was really good. Andrew had a small bottle of champagne (good thing it was small because neither of us are big champagne fans), and chicken strips with a sweet pepper type sauce on them (YUM), and a pasta salad (also YUM), and fruit salad, and chips and salsa (everything was YUM). Plus, the sun was shining and it was a really nice day. After our picnic we got back in the car and kept heading toward the mountains where we camped. When we got to Newcastle (a beach town and popular vacation spot) we drove through the town as usual and then Andrew went around and we drove through it again. But instead of going all the way through it, Andrew went in toward this huge old (cool old not old old) looking hotel called the Slieve Donard. As I now know, its one of the nicest hotels in Northern Ireland and really old, Victorian in fact. Anyway, we checked in and went to our room and instead of giving us a double, liked we asked for, we got a family room. So there was the big double bed and then two single beds. And it had a bay window and sofa and desk. It was really nice. Since we werent really hungry we just went to a pub for dinner around 8 or 9, then walked around the town.
On Monday, we got up and went to breakfast, which was a big buffet. Then took our time and checked out just before 12, which we thought was the check out time. Between 11 and 12 the maid kept coming and knocking on the door, and we were like whats the deal. But then we found out later that check out time was 11am. Oops. Oh well, at least they didn't charge us or anything. After we checked out we walked around town again and went into some of the amusement arcades and played all the 2p games and 10p games. Then we had lunch and ice cream and then headed home. It was really fun. :)

Happy Anniversary!

I just wanted to wish Brittany and Andrew a very, very Happy First Anniversary! We'll go buy a strawberries and cream cake from the Buttery when you get back here and celebrate - late.

I'm looking forward to hearing what getaway Andrew planned to celebrate your anniversary!

Gotta try it

Today we stopped at a safeway on our way to Vallejo and they had a starbucks at this safeway and there were handing out frapaccino samples. They were green so I thought it was a new mint flavor but it was really Green Tea. It was actually really good. I never would've tried it if it wasn't for the sample and then I went and bought myself one. I think it is my new favorite frapaccino flavor, so if you haven't tried it yet you really should.

Yard Sale

Today we had a yard sale, well it was more like a carport sale. They set it up so that everyone in the park would have one at the same time. It started at 8, other people already had their stuff out and ready, I think we had our stuff mostly out by 8:30. We did pretty good we got rid of a lot of stuff and made some money. We didn't get rid of everything that we hoped to but that is where ebay or goodwill comes in I guess. Our biggest sellers were vhs tapes. We sold about 2/3 of what we put out there. I sold some of the stuff that didn't sell on ebay so that was nice. But out of all the books that I had out only 1 sold. So we sold about 25 movies and 1 book. That tells you a little about society today.

Backpacking

Andrew and I went backpacking up the Mourne Mountains monday night. It was only an hour hike, which wasn't too bad, but because we couldn't go until after I got off work, we didn't leave until 6:30 and then didn't get started hiking until about 8:30 or 9, due to parking problems which aren't worth going into. Anyhow, so we got to the site around 10, which was fine because it doesn't get dark until after 11. Then we discovered midgies, which are little bugs, smaller than mosquitos that love human flesh, particulary Andrew flesh. We, okay mostly Andrew, got eaten alive trying to get the tent up. Once it was up we threw everything in and basically just stayed in there most the night. The next morning was beautiful and sunny. Although while making breakfast we discovered flies that also like human flesh and dig their way into your skin and make you bleed. I personally was not a fan. Thankfully we walked up to a little waterfall near our campsite where there were no flies and no midgies. Not to mention our tent was in a big valley, with no trees or bushes or big rocks or anything to hide behind, and no toilets within reasonable walking distance. And there were two popular hiking trails on either side, which were frequented by many hikers. Needless to say, it wasn't easy finding a way to relieve oneself. So, due to the lack of bug repellent and toilet facilities, we decided to just stay one night. Andrew came home burnt on the back of his neck and COVERED with at least 200 bug bites. Brittany came home burnt on her arms and back of her neck, with 20 bug bites, and heat exhaustion which made her feel terrible for the rest of the day. But we did have a nice time at the waterfall. That was definitely the highlight. I think we would consider going again IF we had plenty of bug spray and maybe some citronella candles too just in case, and we camped closer to the toilet facilities and brought plenty of water. It was an adventure anyway. :)

I got a job!

You probably all know already, but I'll tell you anyway. I got a job! I'm working at Linley's of Bangor (in Bangor), its a really nice shop that hires out tuxes for most, if not all, the weddings in Bangor, and surrounding areas. And they have really nice and expensive clothes. Which means I have to dress "smart" which I wouldn't really mind if it meant I could still wear my flip flops but unfortunately it doesn't. So I have to wear nice shoes. Currently I have two pairs of nice black shoes. One is big boots that go up to my knee, and the other pair is a little big so I have to wear my thick wool socks so they'll fit. So, not only do my feet hurt from wearing uncomfortable shoes, but I'm boiling too! Other than that I really like the job so far. Everyone is really nice and its pretty laid back, so thats good. I just need to get some cooler, more comfortable shoes and it'll be great. I also had an interview for an adult day center today. I think it went well and I hope I get it. It won't start until end of August or beginning of September. Updates to follow.

Independence Day

Thats right, this weekend was full of Caleb and Eli trying to show their independence. They both showed that they can independently climb onto a chair and then onto the table. They can eat their food independently and also they each have their own sign to show they are done eating (but if you don't see the sign they independently throw their plate onto the floor). Eli showed us how he can independently turn on the TV. Caleb showed us that he can independently climb on top of virtually anything. We went to Bonfonte Gardens and the boys independently rode on the merry-go-round (pictures coming soon to timches.com). Yes there was a lot of independence being shown around our house for the last few days.

It was fun to watch Caleb and Eli interact this weekend. They had a lot of fun together and are now best of friends. They showed this in a few ways this weekend. Caleb held the base of the toy so that Eli could put on the rings. In the bath Eli picked up a washcloth and started to wash Caleb. Both of the boys would "taste" each others drinks so that they knew which was the best. They gave each other a hug, then pulled each other to the ground.

Ariana, Aaron, Tim and I got to hang out too this weekend as well. We each also took a turn to go out and leave just as couples. This was a fun weekend...and we get to do it again next weekend but on their turf.