Koda Update

For those of you who like to know what Koda is up to, I thought I'd make a special post just for you. Koda is doing great! He still goes on his daily walks in the morning and evening and enjoys special outings to the dog park with Carter a couple times a week. Koda plays well with the other dogs - he plays hard and LOVES to be chased. We enjoy watching Koda run, he looks so graceful. On Saturdays we take him to Shelley Lake, which is always a beautiful outing.

We recently bought Koda a Jolly Ball - a large ball with a smaller ball inside it - we thought he was going to lose his mind! He played for at least an hour by himself, throwing the ball across the room, chasing it, rolling it, rolling on it, barking at it, etc. It was $8 well spent.

We have made sure to keep up Koda's commands. He is a pro at sitting, laying down, and shaking hands (his new trick!). Carter and I made a video of him performing these simple tasks. You'll also notice Koda's fancy toy - we discovered that he enjoys playing with empty 2 liter bottles. We wash it out, put some macaroni in it so it will rattle, then let him chase it around.

10 Things I Will Miss about Cornerstone...

This past Wednesday was my last day working at the Cornerstone location.  I was recently offered to transfer to a location 15 minutes away from my house compared to the 40 minutes I was driving to get to Cary.  Although I am happy to work closer to home and to be off from work on Saturdays, I am going to miss the Cornerstone store and it's staff terribly!  I have never worked with such a fun group of people before.  Here are just a few of the things I am going to miss.

1. The staff

2. Scaring Ricky

3. Dr.Gray's sarcasm

4. Listening to the Willy Wonka soundtrack when we're having a bad day

5. Having a lab with a door

6. Kevin's homemade cheesecakes

7. The funny and sometimes inappropriate songs made up by Dan

8. Having a Goodberry's flavor of the day calendar posted on our lab door

9. Tyler Byrd's temper tantrums

10. The "quote of the day" list

Here are some pictures from our Annual Frame Expo - this is always a fun event (minus the 3 hour long meeting beforehand) where all our vendors bring their frames and products and display them for us.  We get to see all the new product and frame lines and meet with some of the actual designers themselves!  Each year we vote for our favorite booth and that booth gets an allotment of board spaces for the year.  Marchon was one of the winners - their Reps dressed up like superheros and I was excited to get my picture taken with Batman (our Nike rep)!

Meleah, Ricky, Me, Jennifer and the Docs

Dan, Kevin and Tyler

Ty, our Oakley rep

When I first came to Cornerstone I kept hearing these funny stories about one of the PSR's named Ricky (who was on vacation at the time).  Everyone kept telling me, "I have never met anyone like this guy, I can't wait for you to meet him."  So, for the first week I was there I was filled in on all these stories about Ricky.  When I finally got to meet him, I remember coming home and telling Carter, "I met Ricky today...I have never met anyone like this guy, I can't wait for you to meet him!".  Ricky is one of the easiest people to scare and his reactions are priceless.  

For my last day at Cornerstone, I wanted to scare Ricky and catch it on video.  I put a black sweater on and a Scream mask that Kevin had on hand for this type of situation.  We set up a chair facing the wall in the storage room and I sat there quietly waiting for Ricky...Kevin recorded it on video for me...Enjoy!
(Note:  This video was taken after we clocked out and closed the store for the evening.)

Though Cornerstone will be missed, 540 will not...

Wild and Wonderful...West Virginia

For Labor Day weekend, Carter, Koda and I traveled back home to Roanoke to visit with our parents and to attend the Carter Family Reunion in West Virginia.  We always have a great time visiting with family and friends "up on the hill" and this year we took Koda to meet the family!

Koda getting some love from our moms...he leads a rough life.

The old store...Carter's grandfather ran this at one time.

John is walking already! 

Some of the family outside of Carter's Meemaw's home where she was raised and where she later raised her own family (Carter's mom and four other siblings).

This is where the Carter family reunion takes place - Carter's grandfather grew up here, this house is over 100 years old and is surrounded by beautiful mountains. The picture below is one Carter took a couple of years ago, a day before the reunion, so we could capture it in all its beauty - without all the cars and tents.

What family reunion would be complete without a friendly game of volleyball?

Koda had the greatest time!   He met some doggy friends and had some time off leash where he could chase and be chased.  He also met Carter's little cousin Alayna - they fell in love.  She was so sweet to him and he had a great time chasing her and fetching the volleyball for her.

We ended the night with some singing - thanks to the musical talents of Alan and Leigh - and fireworks!

It was nice being back in Roanoke in the neighborhood Carter grew up in.  It is great for walking!  We never let a little rain stop us.