C-A-M-P-I-N-G

This past weekend we went camping at Morrow Mountain State Park in Albemarle, NC. It was our first time camping there and we were really pleased with it! It's a beautiful park with a lake to fish in or canoe, hiking trails, a swimming pool, horse back riding; you can even rent a log cabin there! We "tented it" and had a blast. Our good friends Adam and Ashley and 2 of their boys came along with us. We only went 1 day because earlier in the week it called for thunderstorms Friday night so we stayed in. We were a little disappointed when the weather was gorgeous and we didn't go! On Saturday the weather was a little hot and humid but it was still enjoyable. The boys enjoyed playing in the water and running around in the woods ("a redneck's babysitter_- as Adam would say- LOL!) Nothing's better then roasting marshmallows by the fire and playing the longest game of Phase 10 ever! (LOL). We also saw lots of Deer which was pretty cool! We are looking forward to going back in mid-October, hopefully by then it will have cooled off some!
Enjoy the pictures- there's quite a few

Lions and Tigers and Bears OH MY!

On Monday, Labor Day, we went with some friends, Mike, Ashley and their daughter Kylie, to Tiger World! It's a small Zoo in Rockwell, NC near Salisbury. We didn't really know what to expect when we pulled up... especially after seeing this sign at the entrance --->

It was hard to realize that there were LIVE Tigers, Bears, Jaguars, living behind these wired gates!! We were literally 5 feet away from them all!! It was pretty cool

This Tiger jumped on the fence when Eric and Mike went to take pictures. The lady working there said that she has never done that before.... she actually when up to the fence and stuck her had in to pet her!

Christmas time has come and gone..

Caiden's 1st Christmas!!

This Christmas was extra special this year for many many reasons. Tyler is getting really into Santa and it's so cute listening to him talk about him and we even "tracked" Santa online on Christmas Eve. It was Caiden's very 1st Christmas and even though he's too little to remember and know what's going on, it was still fun dressing him up in his little Santa hat! AND we got to share it with our new dog Buck! We stayed in Charlotte this year for Christmas day and eventhough it was nice to be together as a family, I sure missed the big gatherings with ALL the family in one house. Luckily we got to have that not long after Christmas!

"why does mom put me in these silly hats?"

Tyler opening his stocking (he asked if we were bad this year because Santa didn't put anything in our stocking, just his... LOL)

Buck's enjoying his hickory smoked bone Santa brought!

The Friday after Christmas we surprised my family in Columbia a couple hours earlier then we had said originally because I was able to get off work which was really great! We went to my Nana's house in Gilbert, SC along with my Aunt Robin, Uncle Jimmy, Jimmy and Zach, my whole family, my Papaw, Aunt Cherri, Uncle Robbie, Caleb, Joshua, Skylar, Aunt Becky, my cousins from Charleston and many more! Nana made a DELICIOUS dinner with a roast, pork, ham, corn, green beans, asparagus cassarole, rolls, mac and cheese, red velvet cake, etc...YUM!!!

Me, my Great-Grandma, Kate, Nana, Aunt Becky

Tyler with his cousins- Skylar, Caleb, Joshua and his Uncle Jay!

My cousins Zach and Jimmy

We brought Buck with us and he had a blast playing with my parents dog Sparky. They chased each other around the big yard and played fetch in the lake out back

a better Santa...

The daycare I work at was open Christmas Eve until NOON and lucky me had to work! I got there around 8:30 AM with the boys and to my surprise, there were only 10 kids in the whole center so I got to leave! Tyler wanted to play for a little bit so I hung around then we headed off to the mall to see Santa and get another picture taken...and boy was it better!

Merry Christmas

Caiden (4 months) and Tyler (4 years)

Wonderful Wieblers!

Howard and Robin Wiebler came over Sunday night to visit and took us out for a yummy dinner!! It was so nice to see them (as always!). They got Tyler a 487 piece Spiderman Lego set and Caiden, Eric and me a new outfit!! They are such wonderful people...like second parents to us. Thanks you! We love you guys XOXO

So I decided to take the boys to Petsmart to get their picture taken with Buck and Santa Clause. It seamed like a good idea at the time, I even figured I'd be fine without Eric... BOY was I WRONG! Picture this:

• Me in high heel boots
• Caiden in his infant seat on my right arm
• Buck pulling on his leash in my left hand
• Tyler wondering next to me
• Rain
• cold
• Slippery tile floor
• Animals everywhere.....

Do you see where I'm getting?? I was definitely an experience I'll never forget! As we were entering Petsmart with Caiden on one arm, Tyler in front of me and Buck in my left from the rain in black heels, a lady was leaving and wanted to "share" the doorway... she said excuse me, but I really couldn't move... I tried but when I did I slipped and fell INTO the doorway as I told the lady "sorry but I can't excuse me!" Oh how embarrassing!! Luckily the door caught me and she was able to help me back to my feet and nobody was hurt. Now that I think about it I'm wondering if that's how I got this bruise on my left forearm? Hmmm...

After that we made our way back to see Santa and I was a little disappointed in his little helper.. Santa was a girl! LOL The picture turned out cute though.. Caiden looks surprised! (haha)

Charlie Brown Christmas Tree?

Okay, we're just not having any luck (again) getting the "perfect" Christmas tree. It's the second year in a row we've brought home a Charlie Brown tree. When we're there picking one out we think it's great, then we bring it home and set it up and think "wow" that tree is small! We were going to go to the Mountains to chop down our own tree to start a family tradition, but we didn't get the chance so we'll have to start it next year. Plus, with the drought going on, there's not the best selection... at least that's what I'm telling myself now because I really wanted to go to the mountains....

We decorated our tree last night and although it's small, it's still very pretty. We also added a Nativity Scene that was passed down from Eric's dad who got it from his dad! It's old, but really neat!

Our 2006 Charlie Brown Tree

Our 2007 Charlie Brown Tree!

...and Buck makes 5!

We finally found our new dog and he was definitely worth the wait. Eric found a listing on Craigslist for a black lab and we went to visit him this Saturday morning. By the afternoon we had him back at our house for a "trial run". After spending just a couple hours with him, we knew he was the right dog. The family we got him from did a great job training him and had several kids (13, 5 and 2) so he is great with the little ones. He is a 1 year old pure bred black lab so he still has plenty of energy, but is really well behaved. His name is Buckeye and we call him Buck. He loves to catch frisbee and play fetch (definitely prefers the frisbee though) and of course loves to play in the water. When he is ready to come inside he lays down and loves to get attention. We are all so excited to have him around it is great for the boys to have a dog to grow up with. We are definitely lucky to have him. Of course, he is a boy so the Mick family boy to girl ratio is now 4 to 1. Yowza!

i heart cincy

what i (and eric) love about cincinnati

• 1. Seeing wonderful family (Nana/Mom, Wayne, Tish, Chris, and Bella)

Our niece Bella-boo!

• Waking up and seeing snowfall on Thanksgiving morning!


• The beautiful skyline when you first enter the city at night

• Greater's Ice cream (black raspberry chip is YUMMY!)

• Listening to Wayne and his daughter Julie play music on their guitar and violin (beautiful!)
• Skyline Chili

• Visiting Eric's house he grew up in on Lisher
• Goetta - it's not a "Cincinnati" thing, we just seem to eat it only when we go there and it's de-lish!
• The Riverfront
• St. Xavier Football (it's where Eric went to HS and they're ranked #1 in the NATION!)