Boating, Boating & more Boating

Pretty  much sums up our summer so far. In May, Matt & I finally made the decision to buy a boat, after more than a year of talking about it. Of course, we got all the usual boat comments in regards to what a bad idea it is- in particular the 2 best days are the day you buy it and the day you sell it...yeah, yeah, heard it all. However, we were prepared for all the was to come with the joys of boat ownership (or so we thought).
All kidding aside, we have really enjoyed it and had a great time so far this summer. We have had the dogs out a few times with us, I enjoying taking them as they are so darn cute in their little life jackets!! They don't enjoy them nearly as much as I do though.



Get this thing off me!



Sig LOVES the water!



I'm not so sure about this yet!

 We busted out the kneeboard that Bill was nice enough to give to us a few weeks back. That was interesting to say the least!! Matt & Jess were both pro's at it, however the rest of us that have attempted it, didn't do so hot. Its really hard to get up on but its definately entertaining. And not to worry, we have already gone through one prop ($150 down the drain).  We apparently hit something, no clue what but if i were to guess I'd say an alligator bit it, thats what it looks like (plus I was driving when it happened so I'm going to blame it on anything else other than my abilities).

We are determined to use the boat as much as possible considering it will sit in storage for 5 months out of the year. If you want to go boating- let us know and come visit!

Captain Matt

Back home again in Indiana

While we were in Indiana for MeckesFest we also spent some time with my mom's side. My Mom and Don live in the country so its so nice and relaxing to be there. We had so much fun just relaxing around their "beach".  The dogs LOVED running around free out there and swimming in the pond. I wasn't sure how Brice would be with the pond but he jumped right in and swam all around, both dogs were worn out at the end of each day!


ahhh, so relaxing!

 We did have a close call with Siggy though involving the golf cart! Apparently Sig was under the golf cart and we didn't realize it. As my brother and cousin were pulling away, we heard Sig yelping and freaking out. As you can imagine I nearly had a panic attack immediately when I saw him. Thank goodness for my Mom and Matt as they went over to help him and see how he was, I obviously couldn't even get near him. (side note:I have no clue what I'll do when I have kids that actually require my help in these  situations).  Turns out, it apparently just scared him and slightly hurt him but no vet visits!! We have seen our fair share of the vet (as has our bank account) in the past 5 months, so I'm doing all I can to avoid that place for awhile.
We had such a great time visiting and as usual the time went way to quick! I always look forward to staying out there and enjoying the country...oh and not to mention all the fabulous food my mom always makes for us. mmm mmm!!



My Momma and I



I LOVE his face in this pic!!



He's catchin' a ride on my mom

  

The Beach Bar...good times had here!



Whats cookin....

Fresh from the Garden!

I love summer time for the fresh food/veggies it brings!!! I could probably be a vegeterian but living with Matt would make that nearly impossible as he loves some meat. Most nights when Matt is traveling I make very simple dinners since its just me,tonight is one of those nights. Matt's gone so I can eat veggies for dinner. Our garden is, well... unpredictable. I guess I don't know enough about gardening as some things are living fine others are flat out dead and I dont know why. I did however get some good stuff out of it which I'm having as part of dinner toninght.

I have become alot more aware and much more passionate about the food that I eat (Matt is a work in progress but we are getting there). For the most part we have cut out processed food all together- its the devil! Now, its not like I dont still eat it from time to time, I do! But I stopped buying processed foods and have noticed a huge difference. I have lost weight and my  health in general is better (i'll spare the details) but trust me, its makes a big difference. We buy organic when possible/feasible along with free range or grass fed meats. I started reading more and more books about food and the more educated I became about what we put in our bodies and where it comes from, I totally changed my outlook on food. After reading this book, it really made me rethink the meats that I eat! I could go on and on about food and what people eat, but I'll spare you for now. Alright, back to my plate of veggies....

MeckesFest 2011!!

About 2 weekends ago, Matt and I along with both dogs headed back home to Indiana to visit family and attend the 28th annual MeckesFest (fyi, I'm assuming its no coincidence it started the year I was born)!! MeckesFest is a large gathering of all the Meckes' each year, basically our family reunion but much more crazy and wild than a typical famly reunion! Traditionally it was always held in Rushville, primarily at my grandparents house but over the past 5 years or so we have branched out and tried some new spots for the annual party. This year we happened to go camping...in a campground and it was, um and adventure! By adventure, we camped in a tent and came home covered in bug bites, chigger bites to be more specific. I had no idea those really existed but they do, trust me! Oh yes and Sunday morning when we woke up, I found a tick in our bed, at that point I was done camping!
We had such a great time spending time with family though and it was a beautiful campground. We were camped out right along a river and had a lot of fun floating down the river in tubes! Dad especially loved the tubes!

Yee Haw!

My cousin Kiel set up a bloody mary bar on Saturday and it was ah-mazing! I mean really, it was awesome- gourmet bloody mary's!!

Anyhow, the weekend came and went all to quickly and I'm already looking forwar to next year's gathering...wherever it may be held. I'll leave you with a few pictures snapped from this years event...


Mark & Kellie relaxin in the river!



Coolin' off



Deep Thoughts I'm sure!



Warning: Do not pass out at MeckesFest!

During this trip we also got some QT with my momma...more to come on that later as the dogs LOVED running around in the country and especially the pond!

Welcome to the family, Brice!!

We recently added a new addition to our family, a sweet lil Boxer boy we named Brice (more on his name shortly)!! As most people close to us know, we lost our Boxer, Bailey in May to cancer and it was much harder to take than Matt or I either expected. Of course, Matt immediately wanted another Boxer, which I was completely against. Let me tell you, after I got Sigmond at 6 weeks old and pawned him off on my mom for a month to potty train him, I swore I'd never get another puppy...EVER. Well, never say never! We brought Brice home on June 11th and what entertainment he is!  I will say, there are days when I could do without him but when he's not making a mess, I adore him! 

Sigmond even loves him, which is a huge plus!

Testing out their new life jackets on the boat!

When we brought the puppy home, we were having a really hard time figuring out a name for him...that we both agreed on. Jess & Mike were over and Mike gets all the credit for the idea!! As everyone knows, Matt is a Gamecock fanatic, you may already know where I'm going with this. If you not a fanatic like him, then I'll tell you that the Gamecocks play at Williams Brice Stadium in Columbia, hence Brice. It seemed fitting! I will keep you up to date on everything he gets into.

Here we go...

My first blog! So how did this blog come to be?! Well, I have been thinking about starting a blog for awhile now to keep my family in Indiana up to date on our life happenings but of course have yet until now to get around to it. Basically I wanted a way to share with them whats going on with us and of course share pictures. I feel like our lives get so busy, its hard to keep in touch with everyone and so this is a vehicle to keep everyone more up to date.
I will do my best to update this as much as possible!