The a"MAZE"ing Corn Maze!

This whole month I have been asking Zach to take me to a corn maze I found online about 45ish minutes away. He kept saying "when Scott gets here we can go if he wants to". (Scott flew in from ATL Friday morning and is going to drive with Z back to ATL with the dogs and Z's car... then Z is going to go to Tampa and drop off some stuff, the dogs, and his car, and then fly back to OK. He's going to be gone for TWO weeks. I know I'm going to be SO miserable without him and the pups, but that's a whole different post!) Anyway... I figured Z would talk Scott out of going and I'd never get to go. They don't have corn in Florida - so this was my last chance! Scott was a good sport about it though and when I got home from school at about 5 last night, we left the house and started our long car ride! We thought we had gotten lost at one point on the way there, but we made it!

The maze was a lot of fun and they, thankfully, gave us maps! When we were paying there was a little dog standing next to us and he ended up walking with us through about 75% of the maze. He was so cute, and actually smelled really good - lol. Scott and I were pretty surprised granted that he lived on a farm and was probably outside most of the time. He would weave in and out of the corn and pop up randomly as we walked through it. Z named him Paco and we'd whistle for him, or call him and he'd come back to us. It made for a few laughs. We only ended up getting turned around like once or twice, thanks to the boys navigating us! :) There was a number on the paper in case we got lost! lol. If it was just me and my girlfriends.. we would've been in BIG trouble! haha. It took us 30 minutes to get through. We were going to go do another one (there were three different entrances), but it was starting to get dark and it had rained a LOT the day before so it was super muddy so we called it a night!

Getting excited!!

A & Z walking through!

Scott, Z, and Paco! haha.

The sun was starting to set.. was a really pretty sky!

We made it to the end!

Thanks boys for taking me and getting me through it in one piece!!

... and Happy Halloween everyone! We bought some candy and I'm looking forward to having the boys help me pass it out! :)

-Ashley

The Proof!

I just thought I'd write a quick post showing that the Snuggie was quite a great (and useful) purchase! I caught Z wearing it yesterday morning.. and then this morning I caught Scott, his brother, wearing it! They looked so pretty in pink and I even caught Scott off guard and snapped his picture! He wasn't at all pleased, but I needed the proof! :) Thanks Scott!! haha.

I was too quick for him!

-Ashley

Gators Wear Jean Shorts!!!

This kid is SO funny!! The Florida/UGA game is coming on Saturday... and I just knew I had to post this when I saw it! WE hate the Gators and secretly hope Tim Tebow has a minor injury that keeps him from playing the whole game (okay, JK - that is just mean)! lol. Go Dawgs!!

-Ashley AND Zach!

More Than "Just a Robe with Sleeves"!

Last night Z and I went to Walgreens to pick up a prescription. When we were in line to pay there was a big sign that said SALE! Of course it grabbed my attention and I noticed there were Snuggies for only 14.99!! I told Z I wanted one, and to my surprise, he quickly said okay get one! (Right before we left the house he told me I wasn't allowed to get anything... but I almost always get what I want - it's just the way it is!) Anyway, I then noticed it came with a book light which I almost bought at Wal-Mart a few days ago! I like to read at night, but I never can lay in bed before bed because Z goes to sleep earlier than me. I am very happy with my new pink Snuggie. It's comfortable, cute, and more than just a backwards robe!!

I can read in the dark, play on my laptop, watch TV... SO multi-functional!

My excited face! haha.

-Ashley

Aunt Ashley and Uncle Zach!

Zach's sister, Leigh Anne, gave birth to Caleb Anderson Mears this evening!! We are SO excited for her and her hubby Josh and we know they are going to make AMAZING parents!!!!

Caleb was born at 7:16pm. He weighs 8lb, 11oz / and is 21 inches long!! We pray for continued health for LA as she recovers from her C-section, and also for Josh as he enters into daddy-hood and many sleepless nights (or so I've heard!)! Congrats to you both we love you guys so much!! :)

Our NEPHEW!

-Ashley

Annual Pumpkin Carving!

It took me giving Z a 10 minute back massage and a 2 minute per hand AND foot massage deal just for him to take me to get a pumpkin! We stopped at a few little "patches", but it seems as though we were a little late trying to find one.. Only the ugliest of the ugly were left! We then headed to Wally World, our second home. They were on sale for 3.88 no matter what the size and he decided he wanted to get one too... and make it a competition! I had to gut both of ours though because the insides scare him - and he says he's a tough guy - pshhh! lol. Anyway, we bought one of those cool pumpking carving tool kits that comes with pictures you can trace. I decided to use a paper, and he did it free hand. Mine is a ghost with BOO on the inside and his is the Tampa Bay Lightning logo.

I think I won (because I cheated!) ... What do you think?

Here are the pics (mostly of me, of course) from my laptop cam!

My pumpkin... pre-gut!

I got fancy with cutting my top off!

All of my guts... I took these while Z was out and about. Lol.

My finished product!

Zach's finished product!!

I spent the first half of my day, with Z, at the police department. In order to get my teacher's license I needed to get my finger prints taken... so I can now check that off!! Wooo. One step closer! :) Z goes back to work tomorrow... his last two days in the jail! YAY!!!!

-Ashley

Happy Birthdays!

I just wanted to take a moment to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my BFF Heather! She is 24 today and I wish I could be with her to help celebrate her special day! Miss and love youuuuu lots Lobe!

Ashley & Heather!
She is a marathon runner - so I thought this pic. I found on google was fitting! :)

AND I need to say Happy 4th Birthday to our beagle Lacey!! We got her from the Humane Society on April 19, 2006 in Fort Knox, KY. They said she was 6 months old when we got her... so we decided Oct. 19 would work... it may not be the EXACT date, but she isn't complaining!! We're going to take her on an extra long walk and give her some of her favorite doggie ice cream, and Z picked out a super cute new collar for her. It's black with hot pink polka dots!

My beautiful, super spoiled, birthday dogter! :)

Lace and her "sister" Kahlua!

-Ashley

Three Dead Mice, Three Dead Mice...

... which is to be sung to the tune of Three Blind Mice! Okay, in all seriousness, this really grosses me out, but it's TRUE! We have a mouse problem IN our house!!! The dogs have caught TWO today and we caught ONE on a sticky trap. Ewwwwww!!! Zach has taken all of them out to the garbage, thankfully, and I haven't seen them dead. The dogs have been going crazy ALL day sniffing up and down the kitchen area. We cleaned behind the stove and one ran across the room and I actually saw it, and freaked out. Last year we had two throughout the whole fall/winter season in the house, but this is just ABSURD! THREE in ONE day?! Seriously?! I scream every time I hear one or see one and it makes Z mad, but it's just so GROSS! Ughhh. I don't know what we're going to do about this little, okay BIG, problem, but it makes leaving Oklahoma SO easy. Never, ever in Florida did I witness a mouse anywhere except for in a petshop... where they belong. Usually I think they are kind of cute, but not when they are in my kitchen getting all nice and cozy. ICK.

Hopefully the three we got today will be the last ones we see for awhile... or else my poor dogs won't be getting any rest because they seem to be on guard at all times!

On a different note... tomorrow it's back to school! I'll be spending three hours at the university each day, but that's all that's on my schedule! Wooo - easy week! Have a good one!

-Ashley

Our Haunted Castle

Zach and I went to Wal-Mart this afternoon to get some propane for our grill... (Yes, Hank Hill would be so pleased!) lol. While we were there we, well I, spotted a "Haunted Castle Cookie Kit". It looked just like a gingerbread house kit that you'd see around Christmas time and I wanted it... So of course we bought it! hehe. After lunch, a few Xbox football games, a little begging and the promise of a foot massage for Z afterwards we went to town! We followed the directions, but our attempt looks just like a 5 year olds would! haha. It said to put the "walls" up first, and that made decorating it hard! Everything kept drooping because it wasn't dry yet and the candy balls kept falling off... dang you gravity! We had a good time doing it though and just might snack on it later for dessert!

The supplies!

What a mess!
Z "erecting" the walls.

Black icing isn't kid/Ashley friendly! haha.

The final product. Take a look at our sad, sad windows and my black teeth from the icing!

(... and I thought maybe wearing my Bucs jersey today would bring them a W... but no such luck!)

-Ashley

Medicine Park

Today the weather is absolutely AMAZING ! It had rained for like 2 weeks straight, but it has been so nice the past few days so Z and I took advantage of it by visiting Medicine Park. There are many houses, restaurants, walkways, etc. made out of cobblestone, and it's just so pretty! We walked around and took some pictures and just enjoyed each other's company! The little shops were really cute and we eventually made our way into the "Medicine Park Ice Cream and Candy Shop". We bought 1/2 pound of homemade fudge!! 1/4 milk chocolate and a 1/4 chocolate-peanut butter! Mmmm! I hope we can go again before we leave OK so I can try their ice cream (I'm so weak when it comes to anything chocolate!) ...

Which reminds me last night when we were at Pizza Hut a little boy walked in and asked if we wanted to buy a World's Finest Chocolate bar... and of course I made Z get out his wallet and buy me one. I did, however, only get one little bar out of the whole thing because Z decided to eat the rest!!!! I guess it's better that way! :)

Anyway... After we left we drove around the refuge and I took Z to prairie dog town because he had never been! He was so surprised at how big the town was and how many holes were in the ground. It's so cute when their little heads pop out and bark, warning the others that there is an intruder of some sort around. We had a nice day and it's not over yet! I want to go see Couple's Retreat tonight and right now we're watching the Gator/Razorback game.. and the Gators are LOSING at half-time! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOO! Keep it up Arkansas!!

Here are some pictures from today... in no particular order!

Cobblestone Lightpost... (didn't turn-errr)!

Z walking around! Some bridge... lol

Z & A!
Our yummy fudge!!
There are always buffalo around in OK!

Pretty cactus we saw in a yard!
Just enjoying the scenery!
Zach next to the "bathing lake".
During the summer it's filled with people swimming!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

-Ashley

P.S. Congrats to both of our brothers for making Homecoming court!!! Zach's younger brother is on court at his college and Ashley's younger brother is on the court at his high school! (Way to keep up the family tradition Douglas - make your sister proud!) Good luck to both of them and have fun boys!! :)

Reenlistment

Well, Zach is officially reenlisted! The next three years of his life will be spent in the Reserves. One weekend a month and two weeks in the summer he will have to attend trainings in St. Pete. The ceremony went really well and although he didn't get to go up in Chinook just yet, the First Sgt. that is in charge of the planes said for sure next week! That made him happy! He did get to go inside of it and ask a lot of questions about it. I learned a lot too... like it's the fastest hellicopter the Army has.

Anyway, a lot of his friends showed up from the jail and he had a lot of support. The commander of the jail, a retired Lieutenant Colonel, was the one who swore him in (I think that's what it's called) lol. He had a nice speech and thanked Zach for his service and reenlisting in a time of war, and even included thanking me for supporting Z! I am his number one fan and I know he'll be just fine, and it was nice to be included! :)

After the ceremony I was pretty hungry, but he wasn't, so I took advantage of Pizza Hut! lol. Z is not so much a fan of pizza because the sauce hurts his stomach, but he ate from the salad bar and now thinks it's funny to say we "celebrated" his reenlistment by taking me out to dinner! lol. He's so funny.

So proud of my soldier!!

Side of the Chinook
The whole gang! GO Z!

Shaking hands with the commander!

"I ZAS do solemnly swear..."

The pictures loaded backwards, but there they are! Here's to 3 more years as a "military family!"

-Ashley

Status: PASS!

I just received an email saying I PASSED! my third and final exam! This means in December, after I graduate and finish my internship, I'll be a certified teacher... in the state of Oklahoma! I'm still not sure about what this means for me when I move to FL, but either way I am so excited! The first test I took I knew I passed, the second I was a little unsure because a lot of people have to take it more than once, but this final one had a tough written response question that I thought was going to ruin me. I pretty much BS'ed the whole thing and it showed on my score... BUT! the average of the other essay questions with the average of the selected response meant I got a 265/300... and I needed a 240 to pass. I actually scored a 100% on one of the three multiple choice sections... go me!

Anyway, I just thought I'd share my excitement with my seven followers! Hehe! :)

In other news... the laundry never got done, but I'm working on it! AND tonight Zach's reenlistment ceremony is happening at 6:30! I am so proud of him! He will be joining the Reserves for 3 years. Two of those years he's guaranteed to be in Tampa, he got a bonus, AND his student loans are being PAID OFF! I am going to be the obnoxious wife taking a million pics tonight ... so I'm sure he'll post about it tomorrow and have me upload some pics!

We are BOTH OFF on Sat/Sun! I can't believe it. It feels like it has been forever that we both had two days off together. lol. Tomorrow I'm hoping for beautiful weather so we can go for a drive and visit a little town called Medicine Park! It's so pretty there and I'd like to get out and walk around and explore. I also want to go to a corn maze, but I think that is pushing my luck.

Enjoy your weekend!

-Ashley

Fall Cleaning!

This is me today...

So the past two weeks I've been so busy that I haven't done much to the house as far as cleaning and picking up after myself goes! A shirt (or 30) laying there... a pair of jeans (or 3) draped over the couch... a few tons of pairs of shoes in the kitchen for some odd reason... towels hanging over doors... it was just crazy and more than embarrassing! Thank goodness for Z or it would be an absolute DISASTER! lol. He does a good job on his days off trying to clean up after me, but I'm just not the neatest person in the world!! I make sure to try and keep the kitchen clean daily as far as crumbs and dishes go because that grosses me out, but as far as the clothes and random crap around the house not getting picked up.. I'm guilty of letting it stay where it's at when I walk by it. Sorry Zach, I'm not going to lie, I'm a bad house wife! Eeek.

Anyway, I decided to spend my first day of fall break doing a thorough "Fall Cleaning"... it's pretty much like Spring Cleaning, but obviously in the fall! haha. I still have to tackle the laundry. It makes my head hurt just thinking about it! I have three baskets of cleans clothes that need FOLDING and putting away. A few loads to get through the wash.... I just really hate laundry. Probably my least favorite chore ever, but by 6:45 tonight when Z walks in the door my goal is to have it done! (don't hate me if it's not, Z, because I'm sure you'll read this right when it gets emailed to your phone) lol.

... and I still need to go to Wal-mart sometime today because we just ran out of dog food (and unfortunately it's the 15th... and that means payday so everyone and their mother will be there - ugh!)

Okay... I'm done procrastinating back to my messy house I go!

-Ashley

Shout Outs!

I just wanted to take a few minutes before I started to get ready for school and say a few words to a few certain people! :)

Mom and Dad - Happy 31st Anniversary to you!!! I am so happy for you two and hope you enjoy your weekend away! The relationship you have is quite the example for Z and I, and we are so lucky to have such great role models! I miss you both very much and I'm thinking of you on your special day! See you in December!!

Love you both!

LA and Josh - I'm praying for you and little Caleb! I know that his lungs will be strong enough soon and you will be blessed with an amazing little boy before you know it!! Thinking of all three of you and can't wait to meet my nephew!

Zach - Thanks so much for taking my car to get new tires, an oil change, and deep cleaning it for me while I was at school yesterday! It looks and smells amazing and I had almost forgotten what the bottom of my cup holders looked like (and not to mention - my floor mats too)! You are the BEST and I don't know what I'd do without you!

Holly - Thanks for letting me observe you yesterday and help/watch you make your pumpkins this morning! It has been fun getting to know you and I enjoyed waving at you each morning as I walked by your classroom! :) You're my favorite Cleveland friend and I hope I get a chance to try your CFS soon (and the okra... even though it sounds kind of scary!) ... oh, and meet that amazingly cute little man of yours (Luke, not Cody - although I'd like to meet him too!) haha!

Well, I gotta hop in the shower! Today is a half day... with no students! I said goodbye to them yesterday and it was pretty sad! :( However, I'm excited to get into my next placement and be that much closer to GRADUATION in December!

-Ashley

The Great Elk Search!

My Sunday morning started at 6:30 when my alarm went off. I made it to the refuge by 8 and the class got in the vans to start our search for elk at about 8:15. We ended up seeing elk right off the road not too far from our starting point. They made us get out, count them, and we talked about them for a long time! I was so cold!!! They said we got pretty lucky that the elk stayed in one place for so long and we were so close to them. We then were on our way and got to go behind the closed gate! That part of the refuge is usuallyonly used for research, but these classes get special permission to go. There is a total of 59,000 acres that is used for the sole purpose of making sure these animals have somewhere to live! It's pretty cool.

We got out of the van a lot and looked around and "called" for the elk, but we didn't see many more up close and personal. There were a lot off to the distance, and the occasional buffalo, but I didn't get too many cool pictures! They must've been sleeping or trying to stay warm some where!!

Stopped by "Prairie Dog Town"... I want one!!

This little guy walked up to me and said hello. :)

"Now we're going to look at scat" - my instructor. GROSS!
Elk poop on my table... and I know how to tell a male from a female pellet...

A female elk... which is called a cow!

Anyway, I'm exhausted. I've been up too early seven days and counting! Thankfully this week is Fall Break! I will go to 3rd grade Mon and Tues... Wed I'll be there, but the kids won't be.. and then Thurs/Fri I'm off! All next week I'm back at the university for lecture so it will be an easy two weeks. Yay! Zach is off next weekend with me and that really excites me! We haven't had a day off together in awhile!

My sister in law Leigh Anne is getting induced on Wednesday!! Pray for her and my soon to be nephew Caleb that everything goes smoothly and that they are both safe and healthy! :) I'm so excited for her and her hubby Josh!!! Wed. is also my parents 31st anniversary... what a good day it will be! Have a nice week everyone!

-Ashley

Stuck in the Mud!

The first post I'm going to write shows our van getting out of the mud! Our instructor didn't make it through the slippery, wet mess so everyone had to get out. All of the boys started putting rocks under the tires and eventually started to push! After a little bit we, well they, got it out! :) It was quite comical, but it was so dang cold today I really just couldn't wait to get back in the heated van!

Hurry up boys!! :)

I'll write more about the day next!

-Ashley

Weekend Class

I am TIRED! This weekend I have a science workshop from 8-4:30 Sat. and Sun. at the Witchita Mountain Wildlife Refuge. I took a class there over the summer as well because they each count as one science credit, and I needed two! At FSU I took 3 science classes each worth 3 credits, and one lab worth 1 credit. That gave me 10 credits.. but at the school I'm at now they require 12 credits to graduate because each science class you take you have to have a lab with it... so 3 classes times 4 credits = 12.

Anyway, instead of taking a whole other class... I decided to dedicate my precious relaxing weekend time to completing these classes! The first one I took was called Prairie Ecology and the one this weekend is "Elks of the Witchitas". On my drive there two different herds of buffalo were running along the road next to my car. I was crossing my fingers they didn't decide to cross the road! lol. Saturday is mostly lecture based though, and I almost fell asleep a few times, but I really did learn A LOT! I can tell you their diet, their gestation period, how old they are based on their teeth, and even measure their antlers (including circumference!), and a whole lot more. Any questions?? We did get out and have a few activities that were pretty neat... and kept me awake!

Tomorrow we will spend about 4 hours in the "restricted" area of the refuge. We will be up close and personal with the elk, buffalo, deer, longhorn, etc. I'm looking forward to it... I just wish I could sleep later than 6:30!

The set of antlers, not horns, my group measured!

The sets of teeth my group had to work with and figure out their age...

Tomorrow will be a lot of fun, but SUPER cold. The high is only 55, but the time dedicated to when we are outside is going to be upper 40s!! Brrrr! I'll blog about my adventures on the prairie tomorrow!

-Ashley