Finally!!

Jake's first day of school in Orlando.

Finally...a real update!! First, Jake started school last Tuesday; he is going to a Christian-based Mother's Day Out program very similar to the one he was going to in Birmingham. His class has about 10 little boys and 2 girls in it. He said it's "fun," but he had "hard time making friends at first." :( That broke my heart when he said that, but by day 2, he had made a new friend that he couldn't stop talking about. His teachers say he has done really well, though. I'm so glad to be over that huge (in my opinion) hurdle.

What else? We got a dog!! Tyson and I (ok, mainly just me) have been talking about getting a dog for a while, but the timing hasn't been right. Well, what better time than now! We have a fenced in yard and a house of mostly tile/hardwood floors, and to be honest, I think we could all use a companion right now. (Orlando hasn't been the easiest place to make friends.) :( Anyways, we wanted a bigger dog that could be an inside/outside dog that would be good with our kids and didn't shed a lot, so a friend recommended we get a goldendoodle. I'm not a big fan of poodles, but I liked the idea of it being hypoallergenic because of the poodle in it. So, goldendoodle it was! Sam, our dog, is actually 3/4 poodle and 1/4 golden retriever, but I think he looks more golden than poodle, though. He is a really sweet dog and LOVES Jake to pieces! They are so cute together!

Walker isn't a big fan of Sam. He likes the idea of "woof woof," but Sam is big into the puppy phase of jumping and biting, and it scares Walker. I can't blame Walker, though, Sam is almost as big as he is! That dog is going to be HUGE!!

Hmm...what else? My brain is still kind of boggled from the move, so I might hit the highlights in bullets again. Oh, and here are some pictures of Walker to show that he does still exist.

• The kids LOVE the pool. Since it is screened in, the temperature of the pool is about 10 degrees (so I'm told) cooler. So needless to say, it is soooo hot outside, but the pool is freezing cold. Jake asks every day if the pool is warm enough to get in. :)


• Speaking of it being hot, DID I MENTION IT'S HOT DOWN HERE? Oh my lord, I thought I'd be prepared for the heat since I grew up in South Georgia, but y'all...it is some kind of hot down here! People say my blood will thin and I'll get used to it; well, that needs to hurry up and happy because I am burning up...and it's only February! I'm the one walking around in sundresses and flip-flops while the rest of Orlando is in jeans and long sleeve shirts.


• I love the screen around the pool. I would highly recommend it for people with young kids. Jake can usually figure out how to break locks and get into stuff, but that fence is totally bullet (and Jake) proof.


• Orlando is definitely a "melting pot" like everyone has warned me it would be. I'm so glad my kids will be exposed to different cultures and ethnicities,but honestly, I really miss my Southerners and Southern hospitality. And I could kick myself for taking French in high school and college instead of Spanish. Just another reason I look like a dumb redneck!


• UCF's campus and athletic complex are AMAZING! I'm so excited for Tyson.


• Tyson has been working like a dog. Once again, he leaves before we get up and gets home after the kids have gone to bed. :( I'm hoping this doesn't last too long...we miss him!


• I don't know if I mentioned it or not, but our house in Birmingham is under a lease/purchase. We actually had several offers, but this one seemed to be the best. The tenant is supposed to lease it for a year and then close on it, so we'll see. I'm just thankful it isn't sitting empty!


• Jake got his bunk beds that we had promised him, and he pretty much thinks he is big time now. He really wants Walker to sleep on the bunks with him, but I told him we needed to wait until Walker is at least 2. Having the new beds seem to have helped our sleeping issues we had prior to the move.


• Mine and the boys' hair doesn't agree with this Florida weather...everyday is like the worst hair day ever for all 3 of us. I ended up getting Jake's hair buzzed, and I'm contemplating doing the same with Walker. At least Walker can pull off the blond, curly 'fro for now.


• We haven't ventured out to Disney or any other local attractions yet, but Tyson has Spring Break next week, so I'm hoping we get to go some places then.


• I love our neighborhood, but we definitely don't (or probably never will) have anything like we had in Birmingham. There doesn't seem to be a ton of kids near us, or if there are, they don't come outside and play a lot. We've spent a good bit of time at our neighborhood park, but people and kids kind of stick to themselves. Again, I miss good ole' Southern hospitality.


• I am so thankful to be back together as a family and living under one roof again. Even though Tyson is working long, hard hours, the weekends and the little bit we see him during the week totally made this quick move worth it. I still miss Birmingham bad, though. I never knew it at the time, but life was pretty much perfect there. Now, I just have to figure out how to make Orlando perfect for us. :)

We made it!

We don't have internet at our house yet, so bare with me as i blog from my phone.

The boys, my mom, and I made it to Orlando last Thursday, and we've been going nonstop ever since trying to get moved in and settled. Tyson had Thursday, Friday, and the weekend off so he has been a big help.

I'll blog more once we get internet up and running; i just wanted to let everyone know we made it. Enjoy the pics of my poolmen and of Walker's first friend. :)

Daddy Came Home!

Tyson FINALLY got to come home this weekend! It had been almost 2 weeks since I had seen him; I can't even begin to explain how much I missed him. I absolutely DREAD leaving Birmingham this week, but I'm so ready to be a family again.

We really didn't do anything too exciting this weekend since it was so miserably cold here. We were supposed to have our last and final "Chalybe Fest" (aka fire pit party in the drive-way) this weekend, but it was too cold to even be around a fire. Ha! So we just mainly hung out and enjoyed some family time.

I can't believe the next time we'll be back together as a family of four is when we are moving into our new house in Orlando! Wish us luck!

Our Last Week in Birmingham

Building forts.
Sorry Kaitlyn, "no babies allowed."

These two! I'll tell you what, I'm really going to miss those Madden kids!

Walker can't wait to show his Daddy that he can drive the jeep all by himself without me running behind him like a crazy person!

I am not going to miss the hill behind our house...or the trouble that it causes my kids to get into!

One last date for these two!

Wow! Sorry for the lack of updating! I have lots of good excuses, though. First and foremost, my nights have been filled with house drama (both here and Orlando) and moving drama. And secondly, my nights have been filled with trying to convince a certain 4 year old to sleep in his bed, but only to lose that battle around midnight. Ugh! What a bad habit I've started. I'll be honest, though, I've been in survival mode for the last month, so don't judge.

Since I posted last, we actually ended up renting a completely different house than I mentioned before. It was actually was our 2nd house, but it got rented right before our 1st house fell through. Long story short, the 2nd house's lease fell through, so we ended up getting it. See why I said "drama?" Ha! I'm excited about the house- it has a pool and is in a pretty awesome neighborhood. The house itself is a tad dated, but that's ok. It's a good bit bigger than our house here, so we've got to figure out the whole furniture situation. I'm just glad to be done with the searching. I'm not in love with this house by any means, however, I refuse to go through this renting process again anytime in the near future!

As far as our house here, we've had a lot of people come through and look...like almost daily! We actually received an offer Wednesday, but I'm not sure if it's gonna work out. We'll see. I'm so ready this figured out so I can mark one more HUGE thing off my list!

We are trying to make the most of our last few days here. I'm not one for goodbyes, so I've kinda been avoiding those at all costs. We've mostly been hanging out with the Maddens and just trying to be as normal as possible. Jake is really confused about what's going on- he knows we're "moving" but he thinks because Ryan Madden is moving too (to South Carolina), that Ryan is moving with us. Jake's really gonna have a hard time without Ryan; they've been together almost everyday since birth and are almost like brothers. I'm really worried about this transition for Jake.

Tyson is coming home this weekend! This is only the 3rd time he's been home (and the 1st time he's been home for more than 8 hours) since Jan. 8th. I can't tell you how excited we all are! I'll tell you what, I don't know how other coaches' wives do this (living without their husbands) for long periods of time (like waiting for the kids get out of school). It's only been 1 month without Tyson, and the kids and I are missing him like crazy! Thank goodness he isn't in the military, right?

I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to blog again; I might try early next week, but no promises. The movers will be here Tuesday to start packing and then the truck will roll out late Wednesday headed to Orlando! I can't believe it's time. So sad but so exciting! We'd appreciate your prayers for 1) safe travels, 2) a drama-free move, 3) an easy transition for Jake, and 4) some kind of resolution with our house in Birmingham.

Thanks y'all! Have a great weekend!

Signing Day!!

Here is a video of Tyson talking about one of the recruits he got to sign with UCF in the few short weeks of being there. Super proud of him!! Go Knights!

Here are the boys watching the video of their Daddy. Only seeing him twice this month for a short period of time is definitely wearing on them. Jake said, "I miss my Daddy" as we watched this video. :(And here is a picture of them giving Tyson a kiss.