I Wrastled a Cat Once...

I know my photos of Jack and Charlotte have been lacking lately, so I took this video last night of their evening antics.

Enjoy, and happy Friday!

Kinsey

2011 Taxes: Check

Can you imagine sitting at home on a cool, cloudy February Saturday, with this going on in the background while you try to file your taxes (for the first time as a married couple)?

I didn't think so.

I'm proud to say, however, that our 2011 taxes are complete! Now, on to celebrate my birthday tonight:]

Enjoy your 3 day weekend!

Kinsey

Valentine's Delight

Hi there!

I'm sorry it's been so long since I last posted. Last week was crazy, and this weekend I didn't find the time or topics to blog about until it was too late! Oh well, fortunately this week will have lots of blog worthy subject matter, as Valentine's Day and my birthday are only one day apart:]

This Sunday, I got a wild hare to make homemade Valentine's. Fortunately, I have an amazingly sweet husband who gladly cooperated--even when I decided we needed to make Valentine's to and from Jack and Charlotte too.

Here's what we did:

First, we gathered the supplies. My Mother-in-Law has an amazing amount of fabric stored up from years of collecting. I'm really envious of her collection, but I realized while crafting this weekend that I have a similarly stocked craft supply selection. Just look at all of the stickers...and these are only the ones that applied to V-Day!

Here's the card Charlotte made for Jack. Two little known facts: Jack's (made up) middle name is Keats, and Charlotte has amazing handwriting.

Here's Charlotte's card from Jack. Turns out Jack has sad handwriting, and writes lots of his letters backwards. The paw print in the middle of the heart is really his (proof below).

Don't worry, animal people--the paint was non-toxic and safe.

Here is Jack's Valentine from us (Thomas hand painted it!)

And, here is Charlotte's Valentine from us, made with leftover paper from our envelope liners.

The others (ours to each other) are still a surprise as we won't be exchanging until tonight. Even if you aren't into Valentine's Day as a commercial, spendy holiday, we had lots of fun making all of these cards for free and spending time together doing it.

Enjoy your day!

-T, K, J & C

One small step for man...

This weekend was a big one for us as we joined the rest of the world and had a DVR installed!

It's something we've wanted to do for months now, but couldn't justify spending wise. Fortunately we got some Christmas money this year that--instead of spending it right away--we deposited into our bank account as a "this will cover the DVR upgrade for the next 12 months" kind of thing. As an added bonus, we upgraded to the U-200 package (we have U-Verse), which got us around 70 more channels and a DVR for only $10 more per month!

One of our favorite new channels is the Cooking channel. We absolutely love the show Two Fat Ladies, mostly because the fat ladies remind us of Jack and Charlotte (or how we think they would be if they could talk). Here's an excerpt, if you haven't seen the show:

Funnily enough, now that we have a DVR, we keep forgetting to use it. As soon as the commercials start, Thomas will revert to his usual habit of flipping channels and a few seconds will go by before the lightbulb of "oh wait we have a DVR now" comes on. Nevertheless, I'm sure we'll end up wondering how we ever lived without it for so long.

I hope you're having an excellent Sunday--here are some cute animal photos to tide you over until next week.

-Kinsey

Santa Doggie

On the first night Thomas' family was here, we had a Christmas present palooza! They got us a ton of great gifts, some of our favorites being:

Some deliciously warm house booties.

A really fun helicopter (quite difficult to fly, but Jacker loves chasing it).

A beautiful leaf wrap ring from Sundance (also, if you're wondering, the nail polish in this photo is Glitzerland by OPI).

And some adorable matching pajamas (as well as other clothing I'm sure you'll see in future pictures).

I have to say, though, one of the most fun gifts was Jack's present--an adorable Santa suit! Last night when I attempted to take pictures of the suit, Jack wasn't cooperating. As a bribe, Thomas took the opportunity to give him his heartworm pill (in a hearty spoonful of peanut butter of course). Here are the antics that ensued:

(Please notice Charlotte creepin behind the tree).

Another amazing gift was the stocking Thomas' mom made for me. She collected birds from his dad's baby blanket when they were first married, and has saved them since then to make custom stockings for each child and their future spouse. I have to say that this stocking is one of the most beautiful and thoughtful gifts I've ever received. I love it! Fiiiine, I'll stop yammering on and just show you already.

Here is Thomas' as well. Isn't it cute?! I love the star theme.

Well, this marks the last Christmas/New Years/family visit post. We're sad to see the holiday season go, but we are looking forward to what's the come in the new year and getting back into our now familiar routine. We have lots going on this week and weekend, but I hope to keep up with posting as much as possible. If I don't though, what can I say? I'm probably just sitting around photographing my dog in a Santa suit.

-T, K, J, & C

New Years Eve in Pictures - Part 2

Continuing yesterday's post about New Years Eve Day (which sounds weird but makes sense if you think about it), today I'm going to finish up with pictures from New Years Eve Eve.

After our adventures at Oakland Cemetery, we ventured into Little Five Points to walk the dogs and sit down for coffee. The afternoon was a pretty tiring one, and once we were all back home we busted out out all our Apple products to relax.

After taking a couple of hours to recover from the day's activities, we moved the party over to Mari and Holly's (where there's more than one bathroom). Below is my version of Charleston Cheese.

Other food items included [from left]: poppy seed sandwiches, cinnamon pita chips and strawberry cream cheese, cheese-n-crackers, caramel corn, cookies, chocolate/cinnamon bugles, a bunch of desserts, a cheese platter, 3 onion dip, wasabi peas, cream cheese and jalapeño jelly, and cocktail wieners. We also feasted on pizza pockets like a group of 8th grade boys.

Before midnight struck, we played several games of reverse charades and watched goofy TV shows (i.e. 1980s Fame). Once the peach dropped, we headed outside to watch fireworks and light up some sparklers.

I don't participate in the sparkling myself, so I took pictures instead.

Thomas, however, LOVES a good sparkle.

And I pretended to be holding one for the purpose of this picture.

Andrea did a sparkly routine...

And Tom multi-tasked by drinking champagne while twirling about.

Here's the first 'family photo' from the new year (minus Charlotte since cats hate to party).

After a much needed night's sleep, we headed out to Piedmont Park on New Years Day. We decided to stop at the nearby Hobnob for a snack--we got these amazing fried green tomatoes. They were definitely the best FGTs we've had in Atlanta so far, and aren't they pretty?

After some obligatory eating, we headed to Piedmont for some fresh air. Does this picture look familiar? My family posed in the exact same place last week.

The park was really busy--probably because of the perfect weather--and while at the dog park, we saw several horse drawn carriages winding through the trees. It was pretty magical.

Our New Years was full of family, fun, and celebrating, and we couldn't be happier with 2012 so far. Tomorrow I'll be wrapping up with some assorted pictures from the Mahan visit. Enjoy your work-week!

-Kinsey

2011 Recap

2011 was a great year. We accomplished lots of things, went lots of places, and met lots of people. If I had a bucket list, I would have kicked lots of the things on it as of this year.

Lets recap a bit about what went on, shall we?

The 21st birthday

The engagement photos

The showers

The graduation(s)

The wedding

The move

The tree

The kitty

The job(s)

It was a scary, exciting, adventurous, memorable, out-of-our-comfort zone type of year! And do you want to hear my new years resolution? To spend 2012 napping and recovering.

I hope you all have a safe and fun New Years Eve, and that 2012 finds you happy, healthy, and hopeful.

-T, K, J, & C

Awkward Family Photos: Christmas Edition

Happy Friday all!

Today is the final installment of Christmas posts before the new year begins. While my parents were here, I got good use out of my tripod for the first time. There were some definite shenanigans surrounding the use of an auto-timer, but in the end we figured it out. Here are some of the best--and most awkward--results.

This photo session occurred on Christmas night after the gift opening ceremonies. Thomas and I put on our matching Zipcar shirts (a gift from a friend) and posed for the camera.

Then, we decided to get the rest of the family in on the action. Apparently something entertaining was going on in the kitchen, because Jack and Charlotte were pretty distracted.

Finally, a good picture! Merry Christmas all:]

Although this isn't an awkward family photo, what's cuter than a pug in a Christmas hat? Not a thing in the world my friends.

Enjoy your New Year--be safe everyone!

Kinsey