We had visited Cagle's Family Farm over the weekend. Mom scored a good deal on tickets for the tour and we just happened upon some really cool bonuses for the day, including a tractor show, farmer's market, and herding dog demos. All around - a great day! For more pics, click here.

Summer Fun

The summer is flying by... this month, Asa got a balance bike - to teach him balance first, then go straight to peddling (no training wheels) - so goes the theory that we will be testing out! We met a new friend, Taylor Grace, the 8-week-old of Andrew's high school friend, Andrea Eifrid. We played in the water fountain at Piedmont Park's all new Legacy Fountain... now a staple in our weekend plans. And had another hang out session with cuz Miller. Enjoy all of the pics!

As promised, pics of our trip to Elijay and down the Coosawattee River! We had a wonderful time with the Larkin-Kirby fam. It was a nice getaway and made us desperately want to do it more often! For more pics of our mountain adventure, click here.

CBS covers F2D

There Andrew goes again... getting more local TV coverage. His head is getting SO big. I mean, he left his sunglasses on the entire segment. How Lady Ga Ga of him! Ha.

June Bugs

Time flies when you're having fun. This month, we had two incredible visits - the first from Jiddo and Grandma Jane, and the next from Pops. We lived in the moment, spending our precious time truly engaged, and didn't take any pics. Soooo unlike me, I know, but never fear... our first vacation in a year is this weekend, so may the family fun be bountiful and the pictures exist to prove it. Stay tuned!

Asa's 1st Swim Lesson

Twin Lakes' Pool Manager, Alison, gave Asa his first swim lesson yesterday. We knew he was quite the little fish, but she confirmed he is well ahead of most of his peers - EXCEPT in the case of safety. Hahaha - no surprise there - he has no fear when it comes to the water! Alison will continue to work with Ace every Sunday on safety skills and, of course, advancing his swim skills. It was very exciting to watch - like his first athletic practice. :-) We are so proud! See more pics here.

A Very Sad Day

Tragically, Lola passed away today.

Every morning, all the dogs are fed together - about 10-15 feet apart, but together nonetheless. And every morning, Lola (who was of course fed the least amount) would waddle over to the boys' bowls to stick her head in and munch on a bigger pile of food than her own. Both Barnibus and Lewis always allowed it - she was the queen after all.

This morning, for whatever reason, Barney wanted no part of Lola in his bowl. He gave her a warning bite. He meant her no harm, he wanted just to tell her to back off. Well, a 160 pound mastiff vs a 3 pound maltipoo just isn't a fair match up. Barney's bite took Lola's life instantly.

In just one nanosecond, she was gone. It is so sad. We are very shocked and sore by it.

This year hasn't been the best for the animals in the Zbeeb Zoo. Putting Lewis down took a piece of my heart, but seeing Lola go without warning is even tougher.

Life is so fragile. Be kind to one another and your furbabies. This day may be their last.

RIP Lola Bear.

Welcome Home

We broke in the hot tub at the new house this weekend. We've officially moved in... thanks largely to the help we received a couple weeks ago from Nana and Uncle Ryan. We all worked very hard to get moved in, out of boxes... everything short of pictures on the walls. So, this weekend we skipped the picture hanging party and went straight for the hot tub party!

We hope to get settled in and have you all over very soon. We look forward to sharing our home with all of our family and friends.

Introducing MZatGT

Yep, I'm nuts... another blog. I've had some thoughts about writing a few work-related posts, especially now that I'm energized by work again, but the content doesn't fit our family blog. I started Zbeeb Zoology to share my heart, my loves, my family. It will always be that.

Still, as I said, I am feeling more and more excited about my career - and that feels so good. And when I feel good, I'm motivated to write - this time, I want to share my brain, my ideas, my work. So, here I go - introducing MZatGT.

Feel free to follow, if you like. I won't post often - I mean, I do have to produce more than blog posts for GT. And I won't post much that non-communicators will find interesting. This is mainly going to be more a journal for me to be reflective on my work and hopefully become a better communicator over time - of course, one that is visible to all via the wonderful world wide web. In case you lose the address, it will be permanently posted on the right of this blog under Recommended Reading. Enjoy.

First Dip of the Season

The Fortunato's came for a visit and invited us over to their hotel for a morning dip... not a heated pool, unfortunately, but Uncle John and Asa didn't mind at all! More pics here.