Like Mother Like Daughters

They say that your pets tend to resemble their owners. I'm not sure Bailey and Kelsee look so much like me, --- others may disagree :-) --- but they sure do have characteristics like their mother. One of those characteristics that makes me laugh is the way they crave the sun. They will find the only stream of sunlight in the entire house and position their bodies "just so" so that the most possible sunlight is on them. I love the sun. I love to lay in the sun. It makes me happy. :-)


Hope you're having a great and sunny weekend!

FINALLY!

Finally! Something to make the cold weather exciting.....snow!!! These are pictures of our walk from tonight (not great pictures because it was so dark out, but still funny)... It was Kelsee's first time in the snow -- she REALLY liked it!!

Bailey taking one for the team

Kelsee saving some dessert for later

Bailey (the athletic machine) in action

Kelsee just loving life

The ice we were walking on

Will getting chased (or was he doing the chasing???)

My big helpers helping with my snow angel

Kelsee practing for the balance beam in 2012 Olympics -- and on an icy balance beam at that -- she's a shoe in!

It's supposed to keep snowing/icing -- we're hoping for a snow day tomorrow!! It won't happen, but I can at least go to bed with visions of grandeur...and save the disappointment for tomorrow morning. Sweet dreams!

Precious Baby Girl

I recently did a photo shoot of an absolutely adorable baby girl. Emry was such a trooper and was so content and happy to let me keep flashing that bright light in her face as long as she could watch the football game on the big screen tv!! ;-) Clearly her daddy has trained her well!! Here are a couple of the composites I put together of this sweetie....




A big thanks to Emry's amazing parents for letting me have the pleasure of taking photos of their sweet baby girl!

Ode to The Ark

Well, I can't write a symphony to honor Ms. Nora on her birthday, but I can reprint something I wrote for her years ago when we first moved away from each other...

I miss coming home to my best friend every night.
I miss waking up to my best friend every morning (across the hall, of course!)
I miss bending down to put my make-up on while you stand behind me to dry your hair.
I miss having you help me fix my hair or put my eyeshadow on.


I miss peaking through windows to see the neighbor girl make out with her boyfriend.
I miss going to see a movie with you, Adam and Chad --- and Chad turning it into a sermon.
I miss driving "all the way" to Checkers together to get dinner.
I miss dancing to Shania Twain in the living room.
I miss dancing to Shania Twain in the car.


I miss you laying your head in my lap while I play with your hair and sing to you.
I miss sitting in the stands at the River Bandits game cheering for Timmy.
I miss my cell phone falling through my pants onto the field at the Steamwheelers game.
I miss sitting at the dining room table for hours with you, Chad and Adam.
I miss laughing until I literally think my stomach will explode.


I miss sliding down the waterslide in Tucson, AZ.
I miss giving Chad girl advice while he and Adam get wasted on orange juice.
I miss Scottcho driving us crazy.
I miss calling you the minute anything in my life happens, no matter how small.
I miss you calling me the minute anything in your life happens, no matter how small.


I miss seeing you trip over my hair dryer cord every morning.
I miss laying on your bed and seeing how depressed we can make ourselves.
I miss your hugs when I need them.
I miss making your coffee every morning.
I miss hearing "GREEN!"
I miss dragging you down the street on your roller blades.
I miss dragging you around the ice rink on your ice skates.
I miss having you to talk to about everything.
I miss having you close and you knowing all the details of my life.
I miss having you close and knowing all the details of your life.


I miss waiting in line to take a shower.
I miss complaining that you haven't packed for a week long trip when we leave in an hour.
I miss walking to Whitey's.
I miss you knowing the real Stacey and loving me in spite of that.
I miss knowing that you need me.
I miss hearing you laugh.
I miss seeing you every day.
I miss going everywhere together.
I miss some of the best times of my entire life.


I miss my best friend.
I miss you.

Ark, those words mean more to me today than ever. No matter how far apart we live or how much time has passed since we last talked, you hold such a special place in my heart that no one will ever replace. I love you with all my heart and treasure our friendship so very dearly. I hope your birthday today is amazing and you get spoiled rotten by all those you love.

Happy Birthday, ARK!
Love, Green.

The Great Out(in)doors!!

Dear winter --- you and your cold, windy weather can't stop us from our fun!! We win!! Sincerely, Will, Stacey, Bailey and Kelsee

We packed up all our camping gear and made the long journey to the forest of our living room for a night of camping! Complete with the tent, the sleeping mats, sleeping bags and both dogs, we settled in for the night.

Post Adventure Thoughts:

- I'm not as young as I once was -- my back was not so fond of sleeping on the floor.
- The three person tent that we thought would be PLENTY big is not nearly big enough when you have Brunhilda the dog (Kelsee) sleeping with you. I woke up once having been pushed clear to the edge, breathing tent fabric.
- It's much easier to start a fire in a gas fireplace than by rubbing two sticks together in the great outdoors. But it's not nearly as fun.
- Bailey is not a fan of the fact that my sleeping bag only fits one person (and no dogs). She kept trying to wiggle her way in, but to no avail. :-)
- I'm super excited for the spring when we can put our backpacks on and go out and show nature what we've learned!!
- I have the most amazing husband EVER! We have so much fun. I love him.

What is it?

What is it about the sacred trip to the salon that makes a woman feel so great? Honestly, I would go every week if I could! Yes, I love that my hair looks blonder and fresher, but what I really like is that when I'm there, sitting in the chair, I can somehow block out work and the other stresses of life, and just allow myself to be pampered for a bit. Relaxation occurs. I mean, come on, the head massage you get during the shampoo is the most amazing thing ever! Men, I know you don't understand why we spend so much time and money at the salon, but in all your not-understanding, thanks for understanding anyway!! :-)

Can you tell I got a hair cut and highlight last night? I didn't think to take a picture with my cell phone until half the aluminum foil "things" were already out of my hair, but at least I tried. (I look so inconspicuous, don't I???)

Dedication

That's right, we really are this ridiculous. Every night, we head out for our evening walk and I'm sure on these cold evenings as our neighbors sit drinking hot chocolate by the fireplace, they look out their windows and laugh at the nuts bundled up in snowpants (that's me), and other winter gear that makes us resemble marshmallows. And you know what, I'm okay with that! :-) As you can see, Bailey, much like her mother and father, is not a fan of the cold. She wears a coat as well to keep her warm. Will thinks she looks stupid in it, I think she looks warm and cuddly....I'm such a girl. Minus the dogs crazy eyes, I thought this picture from tonight was pretty funny...

To all our family in the midwest and in Washington state.....here's to ya! I know you are dealing with much colder temperatures than we are...may the force be with you to help you endure!!! :-)

Reflection

I was struck today at how fast time seems to be flying by...is it a sign of age when I start to see truth in the "time goes by faster the older you get" saying? So, I started thinking back to 2008 and some of the great things that happened. I thought I would share a look back at the highlights of the year in pictures...

January 2008 -- We spent New Year's Eve at a great friend's house and as it was about to hit midnight, we went down to the basement to watch the ball drop on the big screen tv. Bailey found a child's chair that she was pretty convinced was made just for her. Will was able to catch a picture on his cell phone...


February 2008 -- February is when we made the wonderful :-) decision to get a new puppy. Kelsee was four months old and in a shelter in WV. She weighed 35 pounds (and was smaller than Bailey) when we got her...


Almost a year later she weighs 80 pounds and is twice the size of her older sister!!


March 2008 -- I had the honor of meeting President Bush in March. This was one meeting I will NEVER forget...

May 2008 -- May was a fantastic month. We took a long vacation out to the west coast. Will and I and 5 other friends spent almost a week on the ranch in Montana. The cowgirls had such a great time...

After our stay at the ranch, Will and I headed to Washington state for my brother's wedding. Tasha, we love you very much and are so glad you're a part of our family!!


July 2008 -- July was hot so we thought it might be fun to see if the dogs would like swimming...I'm pretty sure they do!! :-)

August 2008 -- Will and I took a vacation out to Seattle, WA in August to see Ryan, Katie and Sean. It was an amazing trip and we had such a great time. You guys are awesome and I can't wait until we get to see each other more often!! That was for you, Katie!! ;-)


September 2008 -- We found the best kept secret on the east coast for dog owners in September -- a wonderful forest with tons of trails for hiking. I think it goes without saying that our girls are glad we found this treasure...

October 2008 -- our 1 year anniversary!! Without a doubt, this has been the very best year of my entire life. I love you, Will, thanks for making me your Mrs. Kyler!


October was also Halloween -- always a favorite at our house!

November 2008 -- my birthday. The girls decided I would want to go on a hike...


December 2008 -- as I blogged more about below, we hosted my family here for Christmas.

2008 was such an amazing year. Thank you to all our friends and family for making it so great and for sharing it with us. I can't wait to see all the great things 2009 has in store!

Beautiful Days

Isn't it funny how some days can be so physically beautiful (like the picture above, taken outside our house late fall) and other days can be dull and dreary and yet beautiful in their own right.  Today was one of those days -- a normal winter day, cold and plain.  But today was such a beautiful day -- an easy morning drinking coffee, running errands with Will in the afternoon and then a lazy rest of the day together just watching television and resting.  Days like these are unfortunately hard to come by as our schedule always seems to be so full, so I really treasure days like today.  I so appreciate our wonderful home and how safe I feel here.  I love home!  :-)  Here's to more days like today!!

Friends and Baking

My wonderfully talented friends got together at my house in December to make delicious candy and cookies to give away as gifts for the Christmas season.  Ladies, your Betty Crocker-ness is more than obvious in these pictures!  Thanks for spending your day here -- if I do say so myself, the results were WELL worth the effort.  I had a blast!! 

Early Christmas Present

I was so blessed to get an early Christmas present the middle of December -- my best friend Jennifer and her husband and four gorgeous girls came out to visit.  Jennifer is an amazing photographer -- she has been my encourager and my mentor during my business start-up and I appreciate it so very much.  Jennifer, I love you with all my heart and your friendship means more to me than I could ever express.  Thank you for being such a wonderful person and for traveling 1/2 way across the country to visit me!!    Her daughters were gracious enough to allow me to take some photographs of them while they were here.  Here are a couple of my favorites...

Girls, I love you and you're gorgeous!!!  Remember me when you're famous someday!!  :-)

Christmas 2008

For my first post on this blog, I thought it would be fun to share a few pictures of our Christmas. We had such a wonderful time with my family in town! Thanks so much to Mom, Dad, Chad and Tasha for coming to visit!!! Bailey and Kelsee also had quite the exciting Christmas with lots of attention and lots of gifts. They are still tired and recovering from all the excitement...