Skipper Helping Kids to Read

I love Skipper and I love books. So I thought the combination of the two would be perfect for encouraging my kids (school kids) to read. I made this little video for my school webpage (bayvale.rcboe.org). I also put it on our in-house morning news show. If everything works out the books will start flying off the shelves!

Mini Vaca Day 2

Today we went to the beach at Isle of Palms. It was a little cloudy but it didn't rain. After the beach we went to Bubba Gumps and checked out Meeting Street. It was a nice laid-back day. The following video are some highlights. It was windy at the beach so the sound is not good on that part.

Cooper River Bridge

Shops at Market Street

Bubba Gumps. The patio area is dog-friendly so Skipper was able to join us. They were very nice and brought Skipper a bowl of water. Luckily, it was not a very hot day so it was pleasant to sit outside and eat. Skipper was going crazy because there were pigeons walking around the patio. Hopefully, we didn't disturb too many people.

All in all, we had a very nice time. Sometimes it feels good to get out of town and enjoy a change of scenery. Now we are all tired (especially Skipper), happy and a little sunburned (Skipper not so much).

Sleepy Skipper in the car on the way home.

Here Comes Sandy Paws

Steven and I decided to go on a mini-vacation this weekend since we both have Monday off. So, here we are in Charleston with Skipper in tow. Here are our 'sandy paws' at Folly Beach.

Steven's Sandy Paws.

Tracie's Sandy Paws.

Skipper's Sandy Paws.

Here are some more pictures. If Skipper looks displeased or terrified it is because he is.

The waves.


Tracie and Skipper hanging out.


Steven and Skipper hanging out.

Tomorrow we are headed to the beach at Isle of Palms. They have a more dog friendly policy. Hopefully, Skipper will have more fun than he did today.

Our Wedding

I didn't like the tiny slideshow of our wedding pics I had posted previously. So, I made a new slideshow. Enjoy.

Sweet William

Here is my cute nephew who came to visit a couple of weeks ago. Of course his parents came too but for some reason I have no pictures of them. Go figure.

Here Comes the Bride

I am pleased to present to you Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Duncan!!! Lisa (Steven's sister) and Joseph's wedding was today at 2 PM. As you can see, Lisa was a beautiful bride. Congratulations Lisa and Joseph!

Lisa

Bishop Welker performing the ceremony.

The cake.

Joseph and Lisa with Lisa's Mom and Dad.

Joseph and Lisa with Joseph's Mom and Dad.

Lisa with her sisters, Stephanie (L) and Mary (R).

Dog Days of Summer

Steven and I joined his mom, sister and her two kids at a pool party yesterday. We had lots of fun but more importantly we got some relief from the heat. Seriously, sometimes I feel we live in a sauna here in South Carolina! Here are some pictures.

Issac (Steven's nephew) playing in the pool. He was so proud because he could swim without swim fins.

This is little Steven, Issac's little brother.

Steven and Issac.

Two Boys in a Box

We have been living in a jungle lately. At least I feel like we have. Our lawn mower has been broken and the grass has been growing and growing and growing. Ahhhh, the joys of home ownership. Well, we broke down on Saturday and bought a new lawn mower. Now we won't be the jungle house anymore!

Here is the new mower fresh from the box and newly assembled!

The fringe benefits of buying a new mower.

My two boys playing in the mower box.

Baby Fever

Our good friends, Amanda and John, just had their first little baby last Wednesday. She is sooooo cute. Her name is Brinley and she looks just like a baby doll. Steven and I went to visit them in the hospital and they all looked healthy and happy. And, of course, it made my case of baby fever flare up. If you want to see more pictures I am sure they will be posting more on their blog, http://www.jandapierson.blogspot.com/. Here are some we took while we were there.

Steven and Brinley. Although he tries to hide it, he has baby fever, too.

Tracie and Brinley

Jenn and Brinley

Brinley Marie!

Back to School

I went to school last Thursday to get a head start on things in the library. I tried to keep a low profile so I could actually get the head start but of course that didn't work. Oh, well. I go back for preplanning on Tuesday (8/5) and the kids will be back the following week. Where did the summer go? Here are some pictures of my library. It is such a bright and cheerful place. I feel lucky to work there.

This is what you see when you walk through the front doors of the library.

This is the fiction section. Last year I made the red shelf markers. I was very proud of myself.

This is the circulation desk.

Story Time area.

Making Cards

Shortly after moving into our new house I was called as the Young Women President in our ward. I felt very overwhelmed. I never had such a big calling in Church before. Plus, I didn't know very many people in the Ward. But, everyone has been so patient with me as I learn the ropes. Not to mention I have two great councelors. They are always so willing to do whatever it takes. Of course the young women are awesome.
This week we made homemade cards. I think they turned out great.

House

Here is the house. It is a 3 bed/2 ba split level. We are working hard to make improvements. The first thing on our list was interior paint. We had dark wood paneling in the family room. It looked like a dungeon. We had a bright blue room, a bright pink room and a couple of sickly green rooms. The lady that lived here before loved green (as you can tell from the color scheme on the exterior). We pulled up some nasty carpet and recarpeted the family room. We were happy to discover the living room had nice hardwood underneath super green carpet.

We are now in the process of pulling up some of the overgrown bushes in the flower beds so that maybe someday we can actually have flowers. And we need to replace the siding eventually.

All in all we are happy with our new home, sweet home.

Skipper loves the backyard. He has made friends with the neighbor. I caught him giving Skipper dog treats. Man, Skipper has a good life!

We have a spare room so any friends out there who would like to drop by the Carolinas for a visit just let us know!

Skipper

This is Skipper. We adopted him from the Humane Society in Morgan County, GA. Why travel halfway to Atlanta for a dog? Well, Steven had his heart set on a dachshund. Tracie wanted to rescue a dog. So, we searched on Petfinder.com until we found a dachshund that we liked (had to get along with children, etc). It was a crazy process. You would think that we were adopting a kid. There was a long application. Anyway, we went to meet him at his foster mom's house. He was a little rambunctious but once Tracie laid eyes on him she had to take him home. The rest is history. He is so lovable. He loves to cuddle, play with his toys, going for walks and eating. He hates the vet and baths.

Starting a Blog

It seems like the older I get the harder it is to keep in contact with my friends. So I decided to start a blog to keep our friends and relatives up to date on our goings-on.
Soooo.... what is going on?
For those who do not know, Steven and I got married last March in the Columbia, SC LDS Temple. Shortly thereafter we adopted Skipper (he came with that name), a long-haired dachshund from the Humane Society. We recently bought a house in North Augusta, South Carolina.
I got my MLIS (Master of Library and Information Science) in 2006. Now, I am working at Bayvale Elementary School in Augusta, GA as a Media Specialist/Librarian. I love it. Steven works in IT for an insurance inspection company in Aiken, SC.

This is a picture of us on our Honeymoon at Universal Studios in Orlando, FL. We are a little wet from the Jurassic Park ride.