March

 Creed and I were able to get down to the Keys one last time this winter. We met some lake friends and had an awesome long weekend on Islamorada. 

Peepaw and Grandma Beth came down to the lake for a few days for a visit.

We celebrated Tilly's FIRST birthday. She is just growing way too fast!

The boys are loving their room, and it's where they spend all their time. We are just thrilled with how it turned out now that everything is in place.

When we are at the lake, Lacey lives her best life. She loves her off-leash walks, running through the woods, chasing squirrels, napping on the deck, and running along the shore, chasing after the waves. (When we get back to Louisville, she always sleeps most of the day!)

February

 On Sunday, January 30th, my dear friend and co-worker, Whitney, passed away suddenly from a brain aneurysm. You can imagine the shock, disbelief, and intense sadness that not only her current and previous students' were feeling, but also teachers and staff as well. I decided to bring Lacey to work with me as a "therapy dog" to bring some smiles and much needed laughter. 

She spent the morning going from class to class, meeting students and getting lots of love. My friend Whitney LOVED animals and letting her students play with Lacey would have made her so happy.

Throughout the afternoon, anytime students were feeling overwhelmed, they were free to come to my room and play fetch with Lacey. It really helped them to feel better and take their mind off the grief, at least for a little while. I was SO proud of Lacey- she was friendly and couldn't have done any better! It was just exhausting... 

Lacey loves her off-leash walks down to the point!

She runs up and down the shore line, barking at waves and grabbing sticks out of the water. While she still won't swim, she will wade leg deep to grab sticks.

We went down to the Keys for a quick getaway the second weekend of February. 

We stayed at the boys' favorite hotel in Marathon and just had the best weekend.

ping pong battles 

Caleb took his drone, and while he couldn't fly high because of the small airport nearby, he still got some awesome shots.

The next day we went bridge fishing

and Caleb continued to impress us with his drone photography.

We also spent an afternoon on Sombrero Beach since it is just a couple of miles from our hotel. 

While we were away, we found out that our bonus room was finished! 

We got the beds put together, and while we still need lots of other furniture, the boys were thrilled with it. 

Luke's buddy Tey spent the weekend at the lake with us and they went hard all weekend! They explored, played down by the lake, had Nerf gun wars, played hide and seek outside- basically just had a blast.

The week of Luke's birthday, he found a big surprise at the door- Hallie Girl! 

On February 25th, our Lukey Babe turned 11 years old. 

Luke requested a French toast birthday brunch, and Grandmom and Grandpa were happy to oblige.

For his birthday dinner he requested Papa John's, and he ended his day playing games in the bonus room.

The lake level went up quite a bit over a week's time, which meant Lacey had plenty of sticks to clear out. 

The Pointer in her came out when some geese swam by.