The Walker Blog: 2008

Washington DC, Thanksgiving, Burt's Holiday Party

Posted by Steve and Cat Walker | Burt's Holiday Party, Thanksgiving, Vacation | 2:59 PM

It's been a while-- sorry about how much time has passed since the last post! We've been very busy!

Working backwards to present, we will begin with our trip to Washington D.C. to meet up with Cathy's twin brother Scott and his fiance Christie and her son Alex. We met them November 21st-23rd and had a fantastic time. We arrived late on Friday the 21st and stayed at the Hotel George. We had a fantastic room and were super close to Union Station.

We spent the whole day on Saturday sight-seeing. There's so much to see and do. We did the Old Town Trolley tour and were taken all over D.C. for one fee. We could get off at any stop and reboard at any time during the day. It was definitely worth the money. We met with Scott, Christie and Alex at the WWII Memorial. We went to the Korean Memorial and then they went to the Lincoln while we went to Arlington. We were there to see Kennedy's grave on his death anniversary. We were able to meet up with them at the National Archives and then we had dinner together at the Austin Grill. We took the Metro back to Union Station and walked back to our hotel.

Sunday the 23rd started with us taking the Metro to the Portrait Gallery. However, it wasn't open yet, so we walked around for a bit. We wanted to see Ford's Theater, so we headed over to see it. We turned around and there were a bunch of people in line at a house, and we realized that it was the house that Lincoln had died inside of. So we got in line and went inside (it was free). It was very cool to stand in the room that Lincoln passed away inside of.

Our last thing that we all did together was the Portrait Gallery. It was pretty cool. We said our goodbyes and drove back to NC. We were home before 4pm, which was nice since Cathy had to work the next day.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. Steve's dad and his wife Sue Ann came down from Indiana and then some of Cathy's friends from work came over. They're all from out of state too and it was nice to share our home with them. Everyone had a nice time watching "the band" on the Wii. The guys played Guitar Hero World Tour, while the girls cooked. Then after dinner, the guys cleaned while the girls sang karaoke with American Idol Encore 2. It was a lot of fun!

The last BIG thing that's happened took place last weekend. We went to Fearington Village, NC for the annual Burt's Bees Holiday Party. It was Sunday, December 14th from 12:00-4:00. They had traditional southern BBQ for lunch (which was absolutely delicious) and then cake and cobbler for dessert.

The highlight of the party is the awards presentation. There are three awards that Burt's gives out each year. One is for Social Responsibility, one is the Roxanne Quimby award and then there's the Burt Shavitz Environmental Steward Award. Last year, Steve was nominated for the Burt Shavitz award, but didn't win anything more than a $25 gift card to Harris Teeter. This year, not only was he nominated (by several of his collegues), but he won! It was amazing to see him be recognized by his peers and the CEO. He was given a wood caving (Wood Spirit) and a certificate. He was also given $2,500 for himself and Burt's matched $2,500 towards any charity that Steve would like to donate. It was awesome!

So... that's about it from here. We're excited for Christmas and the week after because Cathy's parents are coming for a visit. It'll be nice to see some family during this first holiday away from friends and family in Michigan. We're going to Cathy's friend Elizabeth's house for dinner on Christmas. We'll post again soon!

Take Care,

The Walkers

November Fun

Posted by Cat's Litterbox | Election '08, Halloween, Life Update | 10:24 AM

Well Halloween has come and gone and yes, we had a ton of fun this year! We believe in all things easy and stress-free, and Halloween is no exception. We decided to put up a few decorations on Thursday and then on Friday we set up the strobe light and got the music ready. We of course, had the best house on the block (we might be a little biased though).

While we were getting ready for the trick-or-treaters, Cathy was wearing her costume (Green Bay Packers fan-- cheese head and jersey). She went into the garage, and our neighbor (Gary) was outside getting ready too. His little boy (probably 6 or 7) said to him, "Dad, did you see that Steve's daughter had cheese on her head?" At that, Gary laughed and said, "That's not Steve's daughter, that's his wife, Cathy." AH HAHAHAHAHA!!!! Cathy loved it!! (Steve didn't think it was quite as funny.)

Saturday we drove an hour to Clayton, NC for their Fear Farm. Stacy (works with Cathy) came over and we went together for their corn maze. We had a great time! When we first arrived (8:30pm) they said we couldn't get tickets for the corn maze because they stopped selling tickets at 8:00. Steve flipped out... got a manager and explained that we drove an hour... and their website said they stopped selling tickets at 10pm. They ended up letting us in and it was all good.

Cathy worked the polls yesterday for the election (see her blog for more information). We're both very excited for the change that will come our way under an Obama administration. The US as we know it will never be again.

Steve has oral surgery tomorrow. He's going to have his implant put into his gum (ouch). He'll be off work tomorrow and Friday to recover. Cathy has to go in Friday after 4:00 to set up her new classroom. We're both dreading it because it takes a lot of work to get her room ready.

That's it from here... we hope you're all doing well and are as excited and happy about this election as we are! YES WE CAN!!!

:)
The Walkers

Obama Rally

Posted by Cat's Litterbox | Barack Obama | 10:47 AM

We attended our first policital rally together this past Sunday! Barack Obama was appearing in Fayetteville, NC and we decided to head down and see him.

Let us first say that whenever you have 10,000+ people gather for an event, you should have a meeting before the event to talk about procedures and brainstorm ideas to make the event run as smoothly as possible. Apparently this idea was lost on the fine people in Fayetteville.

We arrived at 11:00 (when the gates were supposed to open). There were no signs as to where to get into the line... and looking at the mass of people, you couldn't see a beginning of the line or the end of the line. There were people all over who were volunteers for the event, but none of them said anything about where to go to get in line. So we just kinda followed everyone else and as they moved, we moved. We were given tickets so we were pretty sure we'd get in, we just didn't know when or where.

We stood outside in a hodgepodge of people for about 45 minutes. The crowd was mild and no one was getting upset or causing any problems. UNTIL we got to the barriers that they had put down. Apparently there WAS a line and we weren't even in it. We were on the outside of it and everyone that was on the other side of this barrier was allowed in and they told us to go get in line like everyone else. That was a BAD idea... people started getting really upset and the next thing we knew... the line pushed ahead and moved the barrier out of the way and everyone stormed forward. We had no other choice but to "ride the wave of people" and keep moving.

Had we not been in that spot, it's possible that we wouldn't have been able to get inside. They had more than 2,000 people outside that couldn't get inside. We got past the barrier and it was open and no lines for about a minute. Then we had to get in line again for the doors and metal dectector. Once again, there was no order, rhyme or reason to the lines. Instead of having everyone merge into one line for the ONE metal dectector per group of two doors, we had stayed in two separate lines and then had to fight it out at the door. We stayed in that line for about 20 minutes or so.

Once inside, we found some seats (two people that were in line with us were next to us) and then we went to use the bathroom. Steve asked them if they would save our seats and they did. THANKFULLY!

We headed to the bathrooms. You'd think that in a stadium, there'd be bathrooms all over, but not this place. There were ONE set of bathrooms. Of course there was a line for the women's but that was nothing compared to the line for food. We waited in line for food for more than 45 minutes. It was crazy.

We got back to our seats and had time to eat before Barack Obama came out. It was really awesome to hear the roar of the crowd when he came out. He sounded exactly like he does on television and because we have been watching the debates and some of his speeches, we weren't as wowed as others. It was a great speech though and when he announced that General Colin Powell gave him his endorsement... the place went crazy.

Cathy's Barack Paper Scissors shirt was very popular. She had a lot of people ask where she got it and a lot laughed when they saw it. It was neat to see all the Obama shirts that people were wearing. The crowd was predominately black, but there were some white people and a very small number of hispanics. We didn't see any Native Americans, Asians, or other minorities present. Steve said it's because of the area.

After the speech was over, we got up to leave and headed to the right... back the way we entered. The entrance area was blocked and the people at that door said, "You can't get out this way... you have to go back to other way." At this point, there was a huge crowd forming behind us trying to get out. For us to turn around and go the other way... NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. So once again, someone pushed forward and everyone else followed and rushed past the workers. The odd thing, once we were past that section, there were volunteers from Obama's campaign asking people to go vote early and passing out flyers. If we weren't supposed to go out that way, why were there volunteers waiting to give flyers?

We got to the car in record time and beat the crowd. It only took 5 minutes in a line to get to the road that took us back home. So let's see... we were there from 11:00-3:00. In that time, we spent two hours of it waiting in a line. Crazy!!!

The Walkers

Our Trip to the Mitten and Indiana...

Posted by Steve and Cat Walker | Vacation | 6:00 PM

Well... we're back! We left on Saturday, September 6th and drove and drove and drove to Ohio. We stopped to see Kevin, Greta, Ben and Ayden (Greta is one of Steve's oldest friends). We went to a nice dinner with them and had time to relax and forget about the remaining three hours ahead of us. We arrived at our hotel around 11:30 pm, quickly unpacked some things and crashed.

Sunday (9/7/08) we were up early and had breakfast, then headed over to Cathy's parent's house. We said our hellos to her parents and then we headed back to the car for an hour and a half drive to Frankenmuth. We met Cathy's cousin Terry, her husband Chuck and their daughter Natalie, as well as Terry's son Nicholas, his wife Natalie, her son Alex and their son Jack. Cathy's brother Scott also met us there and so did her brother Dave, his wife Heather, and their three children Eamon, Aine and Benton (they drove to Michigan from Arizona). We had lunch at Zender's restaurant and then did some shopping. After shopping, Scott, Dave and his family and Terry and Chuck and Natalie left, but Nick and his family stayed and we enjoyed a car show. We enjoyed seeing all the different cars and they had a German polka band! We even ran into Fr. Terry (small world). It was the only time that we were able to see him, so we were glad to run into him.

On our way home from Frankenmuth, we stopped at Cathy's Aunt Margie's house. Cathy was excited to see her aunt, uncle, and cousin Derek (he's leaving for France). Dave and the kids showed up and we stayed for pizza and had a nice time catching up. They have goats and sheep, so we had some fun outside with Eamon and Aine feeding the animals.

After dropping off Cathy's parents, we headed back to the hotel for bed. Monday we had breakfast and headed over to the house to figure out what we were doing for the day. We all went to Mongolian BBQ (our favorite place) for lunch. Then we drove to Plymouth Orchards for cider and donuts. Cathy's mom had to work, so she left, but we stayed a while and the kids enjoyed looking at the horses.

We headed off to Freedom Park in Canton, and stayed there with the kids for a while before heading over to Matt and Aimee's house. It started to rain and we had some time before going to Matt and Aimee's, so we went to the new Target (right behind our old house). We bought Mario Cart for the Wii and also the American Idol Encore karaoke revolution game. We took both to Matt and Aimee's and hoped to maybe play one of them.

We went to a nice Italian restaurant called Dolce Vita and had dinner together. It was still early when we were done, so we went back to their place and played the American idol karaoke game. It was so much fun!!! They decided that they wanted to buy it because it was so much fun.

On our way home from their place we stopped at White Castle for some gut-burgers. We headed home and crashed.

Tuesday Dave and Heather were leaving to go to Ohio for a visit with Heather's sister. We went to Big Boy's for lunch and then they left. We went back to Cathy's parent's house and spent time with the kids while Dave and Heather packed up their van. They left around 4:30 and we stayed and talked with Cathy's dad (he had come home from work early). We went to dinner with him (Texas Roadhouse) and then went to Dairy Dan's for dessert.

Then we headed back to the house and we all played American Idol. Scott came home from class and he joined in and then Cathy's mom came home and she played too. We had so much fun doing the tournament. The judges give you feedback and then they eliminate contestants. Cathy ended up being named the American Idol. LOL.

Wednesday we went shopping and then headed to Federal-Mogul (where Steve used to work) to pick up Cindy. We went to lunch with her at our favorite Thai place in Southfield. Then we headed over to Cathy's parents. The plan was to maybe go see a movie, but we didn't all get to the house in time, so instead we just hung out and visited. We had to leave around 4:30 to get to Mitch and Jess's place on time.

We said our goodbyes and headed off to Albion. As much as it gets easier each time we leave (because we know we'll see them again). it was really hard on Cathy this time. She cried a bit and then was able to settle down, but it was difficult to say goodbye to her parents, Scott and then even when she said bye to Dave, she got a little choked up.

Out visit with Mitch and Jess was good. They're expecting a baby girl in December, so we got to watch their ultrasound and see the baby. We went into Albion and had dinner at a cute Italian place called Cascarelli's. We had a great dinner and then went to an ice cream place for dessert. Our visit was short, but it was nice seeing them. The next time we see them, they'll have a baby!! CRAZY!!

We headed to Connorsville, Indiana on Thursday. We arrived around 1:00ish and Steve's dad was in the barn working on a rocking horse that he's making to sell. He made it out of wood and is planning on taking some to different craft fairs. They look really neat!!

We visited with his dad for a bit and then Sue Ann came home. We had dinner with them and their friend. After dinner, we headed outside for a fire but it started to rain, so we called it a night.

Friday we got up super early (for being on a vacation) and headed to a place called Lumpy's. Steve's dad eats there a lot and is President of the "Lumpy's Liars Club." We had a great time meeting their friends and then we went back to the house. We ended up taking a nap and then Sue Ann's niece Cathy had a baby that morning, so we drove to Indianapolis to see her and the baby. We were absolutely SHOCKED by the room that she was in. It was a suite and she had the baby in that room. It even came complete with a man cave!! :)

After our visit with them, we went to Italian Gardens restaurant for dinner. Yes, it was Italian. We were soooooo in the mood for Olive Garden (where had planned to go with Matt and Aimee) so this was the third time we wanted Olive Garden, but had other Italian instead. It was okay, because we like Italian, but we thought it was kinda funny.

We ended up getting home late and went straight to bed. Saturday we had lunch at Macaboo's Steakhouse and then went to the Kenny Chesney concert. It was a fantastic concert!! We saw Luke Owen, Leann Rimes, Keith Urban, and Gary Allen. It was an amazing night-- and the last stop on his tour so he played for almost three hours!!! It was fantastic!

We didn't get home until 2am and then had to turn around and drive home at 7am. We got home around 6:30 and had time to unpack the car and then relax a bit before heading to bed.

We'll post pictures soon...

:)
The Walkers

Bla...

Posted by Steve and Cat Walker | Pets and Life | 9:04 PM

Well, we went to an official pig-pickin' this weekend. A guy that Steve works with had his 40th birthday party Saturday night up in Wake Forest and he had a pig. It was really tasty!! A little gross to look at, but it was very delicious to eat.

We sat outside tonight for a little and enjoyed the luxury of a screened porch. It was 85ish but not too uncomfortable. We had fun watching Toebe bark at birds and try to get bugs outside the porch. We also watched Finding Nemo tonight. We forgot what a great movie that is!!! "Just keep swimming... just keep swimming..."

We're excited because Toebe has discovered his voice and purr! He hasn't been vocal at all since we've had him and just recently he's started to meow. It doesn't help that we've left him on the porch overnight and he's meowed so loud that it wakes us up. He's never purred before either. Just not a cuddler or lover, but today Cathy heard his purr! She was so excited to tell Steve when he got home from work and then he was able to hear it too!

I guess that's what we have to talk about--lol. No kids to talk about their great accompishments. We have cats to talk about. Sad isn't it? It's not like we're not trying to get pregnant... we are. Just taking a little longer than we had hoped. We're still young though (right?) and have time on our sides still. Until we have kids to talk about... we'll continue to bore you with details about our fur kids. LOL.

Ned is going to the groomer tomorrow. He is SO hairy! He is in desperate need of a shave! He'll be a new pup tomorrow!!

Later--
The Walkers

Paisley Party Tour and more!

Posted by Steve and Cat Walker | Summer Fun | 2:49 PM

Jewel

Steve singing

Julianne Hough

Brad Paisley and Jewel

The Walkers

Brad Paisley

Chuck Wicks

The Burt's Bees VIP Box

Goodness it's been a while since we last blogged!! What have we been doing??? Well, we know we have loyal fans that tune in regularly to hear all about our life here in NC (lol), sorry to make you all wait so long!!

As the pictures show, we went to the TWC Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek (like a DTE Energy Center/Pine Knob in Michigan) for a fantastic concert back on Saturday, July 19th. Steve stumbled upon some free VIP tickets to see Brad Paisley, Jewel, Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough and he couldn't wait to tell Cathy. We were super excited to go because we both love Brad Paisley and Jewel. Neither of us had heard of Chuck Wicks or Julianne Hough, but we enjoyed their time on the state none-the-less.

Cathy has started a new school year and has a challenging class so far. We're hoping that everyone just needed a track out to get their heads straight (Cathy included) and that when she goes back in August, it's all good. She is still teaching 4th grade and is still really happy at her school. She was asked to present to the teachers twice (on United Streaming) and she was nervous but really excited to have the opportunity to share her knowledge with others. She still receives emails each day from teachers all over the United States about her website and we're thinking about how to channel that positivity into a productive future. You wouldn't believe the emails that she gets... it's really amazing.

Steve is still loving Burt's and is really starting to make some wonderful changes for the company. He's respected and definitely regarded as someone who knows his stuff! He put together something called "Dumpster Day" and to his surprise, he was featured two different times on the "official" video that was made of Dumpster Day. If you'd like to view the video, send us an email and we can send you the link so you can watch him. :)

We both were super excited to set a new record for ourselves. We've been married longer to each other than to anyone else!! July 8th we celebrated our second anniversary. We're more in love today than ever before and it's awesome to have found each other in such a huge world. What are the odds?

This weekend we're going to a surprise birthday party for someone that Steve works with. It's a pig-roast (hopefully a real one) and we'll blog again with pictures.

We're getting excited for our trip home in September. We'll be leaving NC on Saturday the 6th and driving ALL DAY to Michigan. We'll be spending Saturday the 6th through Wednesday the 10th in Michigan with Cathy's family. Her brother Dave and his wife and three kids are going to be there as well so it'll be a great visit with them. Then we're heading to Indianapolis to visit Steve's dad and SueAnn. We'll be staying with them from Wednesday through Sunday and then driving back home Sunday morning. We'll be going to the Kenny Chesney concert with them on Saturday the 13th. It's the last stop for his tour and should be a ton of fun!!!

Talk to you soon!

The Walkers

4th of July Weekend

Posted by Steve and Cat Walker | back to school, end of the year, Holidays | 4:59 PM

This weekend we celebrated the fourth of July by going to see Hancock. It was a really good movie! Not realistic at all, but very entertaining. We give it two thumbs up!

Cathy finished her last day of school last week. She was very sad on the last day of school because she really loved her class this year. It's safe to say that they loved her as much as she loved them, and we're both grateful that she's had such a wonderful first year teaching in North Carolina.

She's been really stressed at work. She went into work this whole last week, Monday through Friday and tried to get everything ready for the first day, but she had to bring things home this weekend to work on. Even with all that, she's still not done and has to go in early tomorrow to get completely ready for the kids.

She's going to have a challenging year this year. She has 15 boys and 8 girls, only 5 that are identified as Academically Gifted (the other teacher has 13) and she has 4 CCR kids (special education). One of her boys, isn't special ed, but requires a BIP (Behavior Intervention Plan) and she has to keep track of his behavior for every minute of the day. She has to meet with a special team every two weeks to discuss his behavior. She also has a girl that's diabetic and wears a pump.

It's going to be interesting!! Steve is doing well at Burt's. He was really excited to be featured in their "Dumpster Day" video that was professionally made. If you're interested in viewing the video, let us know and we'll send you the link to view it. It's pretty impressive!!

Friday night we were entertained with the jack-asses on our street. They had like 50+ people over for a party and were drinking and being THEM, well, it got dark and they decided to light some fireworks. We're surprised that no one was injured because they were drunk and lighting explosives, and not really paying attention to each other. It was amusing. The only bad thing was that our house is now covered with the cardboard and paper that came off the fireworks when they exploded.

Satuday we went to see Hancock, and before we went to the movies we had lunch at Jack Astor's. We had a very delicious lunch!! After the movie we went to Office Depot so Cathy could get some school supplies, then we went to Jo-Ann's for stuff for Warm Fuzzies (things that Cathy makes her kids) and the to the Dollar Tree for some back to school treats for bags that Cathy gives her kids. Then we did our grocery shopping and came home. We watched Bee Movie this morning and now we're about to watch the latest episode of Intervention.

Talk to you soon!

The Walkers

What A Weekend!!

Posted by Steve and Cat Walker | Bulls Game, Hollerin' Contest, Our Weekend | 9:26 PM

What a wonderful weekend!! We were so busy doing things all over this great state of ours! On Saturday we drove down to Spivey's Corner, NC to attend the 40th Annual National Hollerin' Contest. It was very interesting! Cathy got to see Tony Peacock and cheer for him. He came in 3rd place, but he did great! There were more than 12 people in the men's contest and even someone that came down from Virginia!

After the contest ended, we drove home and on the way, Steve had a bright idea to stop at a local place called "Ron's Barn." Yeah... we should have known by the name what it would be like, but in the back of our minds we kinda had hoped that we found a hidden gem. When we walked in, there was a musty smell to the place, but there were lots of people and it seemed like everyone was happy. It couldn't be that bad right?

Well... to the left was a cafeteria-style line that was rather short. In front of it, there were a few tables. We were taken immediately to our seats and our drink order was taken. Cathy ordered a Coke and Steve had a water. The waitress brought out some hush-puppies and then said, "Help yourselves." Not a good sign... we both anticipated a menu and dreaded the idea of the cafeteria-style line. There were people at the table RIGHT (yes, we were on top of another table) next to us and they got up to go get some chow.

We thought that maybe we were in for a treat when the one man raved about the food. How can you mess up apple sauce? Well, you can and they did. They even messed up Coke. It was by far the most disgusting meal that either of us has ever ingested.

Now, you're probably thinking that we learned our lesson right? Wrong. We decided to order dessert. BECAUSE the man at the table next to use was going on and on about the banana pudding. We decided to get the banana pudding and chocolate pie. Cathy thought both were absolutely GROSS but Steve kind of enjoyed the chocolate pie.

So, at the end of the night, we spent more than $20 for dinner that was disgusting. Cathy enjoyed the corn and Steve enjoyed the pie and green beans. The rest... well, that's another story.

Sunday night we went to a Durham Bulls game with Cathy's 4th graders. She's going to blog about it on her blog, so be on the look out for that if you're interested in reading about the game.

:)
The Walkers

One Year!!

Posted by Steve and Cat Walker | Anniversary | 8:46 PM

We've been in North Carolina for a year already!! Can you believe it? It's gone by so fast! Steve celebrated his one year anniversary with Burt's today. He didn't get any recognition at work, but Cathy sent him a congratulatory email and text that made his day. :)

Cathy has survived the EOGs for this year. She has learned a lot from giving these tests.

First... regardless of how many HOURS she spends reviewing and giving test-taking tips... it's all thrown out the window when the test is in front of their faces.
Second... for some kids, being the first one done is like a secret victory. Even if the test takes the average child 60 minutes and they've finished in 20.
Third... there are a lot of things on the EOG that Cathy didn't spend enough time teaching to her kids!! :(
Fourth... Everyone from kids to teachers stresses out about these tests!!
Fifth... sitting/wandering the room for four hours a day is excruciating. It'd be better to be taking the test than to be monitoring the test.

Cathy doens't know how her kids did yet (she's very nervous about it and scared that they all bombed it) and hopefully will know by Friday. Keep her in your prayers!!

We're excited to spend this weekend at home doing nothing. It's Father's Day and both of our father's are out of state, so we'll be chilling out together.

Next weekend we're going to the Hollerin' Festival with Katie (a girl that Cathy works with) and maybe her parents and then on Sunday we're meeting Cathy's kids and parents at the Bulls game. Should be fun!!

We'll write again soon...

The Walkers

Not Even Summer Yet...

Posted by Steve and Cat Walker | | 10:33 PM

Well... it's not even summer yet but it sure is hot! This week we have had temperatures reach over 100 degrees!

On Friday, Steve attended the second annual Burt's Bees Culture Day. You might remember the post from last year that talked about it. We had just moved down here, and that Friday was his first Friday at Burt's. He got the drum and they all played the drums to find their rhythm as a company. Burt made an appearance. Well... not this year. This year, they went to Hope Crossing, (Aa"green" community) which is a Habitat for Humanity of Durham community of homes. This last week was a "Building Blitz" across the US and for the Durham area, they built ten homes in five days. To make their impact, the Burt's Bees employees went for the day and built a playground.

Steve had a great time and really felt great giving back to the community. It was a VERY hot day though. There were several groups of people that left before 10:30 am, and through it all, Steve stayed and worked hard. He was among 15 that were able to stay through the whole day and help clean up at the end. The temperature on Friday was over 100, but Steve was able to stay hydrated and able to stay cool. He was really proud of the work that he did and can't wait to volunteer in September with the Burt's group. Cathy plans on volunteering with him. The home that Burt's will be working on this fall is extra special because it will be the home given to a fellow employee at Burt's.

Cathy is getting ready for her fourth graders to take the North Carolina End of Grade exams (EOGs). She is quite nervous about it, but we're hopeful that her kids will do well on the three-day test. They'll be taking the reading test on Monday and then Tuesday and Wednesday will be spent doing math tests. She got her scores back for the state writing test (which has been discontinued for next year) and was excited about the results. Her kids did an amazing job and she was very pleased!! We hope she'll have the same results on the EOGs. She'll find out how they did on the math test this coming Friday, but won't know anything about reading until September/October.

Tomorrow we're going to see Kung Fu Panda with Cathy's fourth graders. Acutally, they're meeting her at the movies. She has about ten or eleven kids and their parents/families coming so it should be fun. The movie looks pretty good and we're sure that the kids will really enjoy it. Cathy has planned a "Meet Mrs. Walker at the Durham Bulls game" in two weeks. You might remember that she always did this in Michigan with the Tigers, and fortunately, we're close to Durham and can do the same down here. She has about fifteen families that have signed up for that event. They'll get to have their name on the big screen. We'll be sure to post pictures of the event.

We're excited to head to Spivey's Corner in two weeks. It's time for the Annual Hollerin' Contest. Cathy is excited to go and cheer for Tony Peacock. He was the writer in residence at her school this year and she was really excited to maybe get to see him compete. The contest is the third Saturday in June. He has won the contest several times!! Click this link to watch a youtube video about the contest and to see Tony Peacock!! (After the guy explains distress hollerin', Tony is the first guy and he's wearing purple.)

The warm weather appears to be sticking around for a while, so send cool thoughts our way!! We hope everyone reading this is doing well. Feel free to drop us a line and say hello!! That's what the comments are there for!! :)

Take care,
The Walkers

The New Indiana Jones Movie

Posted by Steve and Cat Walker | | 11:05 PM

Today we went to see the new Indiana Jones movie. Cathy had wanted to see "The Strangers" but after reading poor review after poor review, we decided to go see the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. We both really enjoyed it!! It brought back so many good things from the other movies, but was really action-packed and fun.

After going to the movies we went to IHOP for dinner. Cathy had never been to an IHOP so it was a first for her. She wasn't impressed with her dinner (pot-roast, mashed potatoes and veggies) but definitely envied Steve's dinner. He had pancakes and a super cheesy ham and cheese omlette.

Tomorrow, we're going shopping and then Cathy is going to do her newsletter for school. She still has another month of school (yuck). Steve just got home (Thursday) from a trip to Chicago, where he presented sustainability information to the Clorox people (representing Burt's). He had a really nice time and enjoyed the opportunity to network and meet some of the big-wigs of Clorox.

Cathy signed us up for a Triangle Area Couples group through meetup.com. We're excited to get to attend our first event and maybe meet some new friends here in North Carolina!

That's it for now...
:)
The Walkers

Where has the time gone?

Posted by Steve and Cat Walker | Life Update | 6:09 PM

Sorry it's been so long since we last posted something!! Not sure where the time goes, but finally the effort is being made.

Cathy's parents came to visit from May 3rd through the 9th. We had a great visit with them and enjoyed showing them the area. Cathy's dad was here in November, but her mom had not been down yet. It was nice to have them here right before Mother's Day and be able to spend some quality time. They came while Cathy was tracked out, so she got to spend the last week of her track out with them. Steve took a few days off too and it was time well spent.

We went to Wilmington for the day while they were here. We went to lunch and then spent some time at the battleship (USS North Carolina). After the battleship, we drove to Wrightsville Beach and spent some time at the ocean. We had a really nice dinner at a place called The Oceanic. We were able to eat outside (on their pier) and enjoy the surf and sun.

Cathy tracked back into her room on Friday, May 9th... and spent the majority of the night getting her room ready for Monday when her kids came back. She really wasn't excited to go bcak. I guess she was feeling like the year is basically over (in her traditional-calendar mind) but really, she has another month and a half before the year is over. Far from being over. LOL.

Steve is getting ready to go to a conference in Chicago on Tuesday and Wednesday of this next week. He'll be presenting information about Burt's Bees to people of Clorox (to let them know why buying Burt's was such a great investment). :) He's excited. It's been quite some time since he's had to travel for work, so as much as Cathy hates that he's leaving, she's grateful that it's not an all-the-time thing.

This weekeng we're just chillin at home. It's pretty dead around here. Everyone and their brother goes to the beach for the major holidays, which means that the restaurants and shops around here are empty. We went to Carrabbas for dinner last night (a Saturday night) at 6:30 and we were seated immediately. That NEVER happens.

We'll write again soon... hope you and yours are doing well!!

:)
The Walkers

What A Weekend!

Posted by Steve and Cat Walker | Earth Day, meeting up with friends | 11:00 AM

We had a fantastic weekend!

It started with Friday, and Cathy had her last day of school before her track out. She had to move out of her classroom this time, so the room was totally empty. She showed a movie to her kids (Babe) and they loved it! Most of them had never seen the movie (it's older than they are), but they liked it so much that they clapped at the end of the movie (always a great sign of enjoyment). One her her parents brought in movie theater popcorn for everyone and then another parent sent in bottled water and flavored waters for everyone to enjoy.

After her movie, they had their "Fun Run" and the whole school participated. The kids just ran around the track and they set up an off-track course as well. They ran the course twice and then when they crossed the finish line, they had bottled water, fruit and some crackers.

Her class had their lunch and then recess and then they had their "Track Out Ceremony." Each teacher selects some students to get awards. There are awards for math, language arts, technology, best effort, responsibility, music, art, P.E., and Spanish. The parents come to watch their child get their award and then everyone celebrates.

When her class came back to her room, it was time for their guest speaker to arrive. This year, she's tracked out during Earth Day, so she asked Steve to come in and speak to her class as a guest speaker. He did a fantastic job! During his visit he even had the chance to enjoy a fire drill (lol). Cathy's class asked some terrific questions and Steve was able to share his passion for his job and got to tell the kids about the great things happening at Burt's Bees.

Speaking of Burt's Bees, Saturday we spent the afternoon downtown Raleigh volunteering at the first annual Earth Day Raleigh event. It was so much fun! There were vendors from all over the Raleigh area that deal with the Earth in some way. They had people selling Earth-friendly items, and then some various agencies were present to pass our literature and share their information with the public. There were a TON of people that came down and it was a huge success!!

We were about to go through the "Bee-utify your life with Burt's Bees" mobile tour, when the Junk Man (that's what he's called) came over and asked if we'd help with the trash parade. It was the weirdest thing that either of us had ever participated in, but it was fun. We marched in a big group through the mall and around the Capitol building playing trash and making a ton of noise.

There were two big highlights of the day. The first was that we got to see Burt, and even better, have our pictures taken with him. Cathy had told Steve that she wanted a picture taken with Burt and Steve said, "Yeah, so does everyone else."

The other highlight was seeing the Beemones play live! We'd only seen them play on youtube, but they had their "final" concert at the Earth Day Raleigh event. They were awesome!

Our job at the event was called "Roving Ambassadors of Burt's Bees." We didn't really have to do anything but walk around and answer questions if people had them. So basically, we got free shirts and got to enjoy the day. Our shift ended at 4:30, so by 5:00 we were on our way home just as it was starting to rain. Perfect timing!

We came home and quickly showered and changed, and then headed back downtown to a restaurant called The Pit. We met Joe and Monica Lang for dinner. They went to UD with Steve and live in Philly, PA. Joe is one of Steve's fraternity brothers, and Monica and Joe have been together since freshman year of college. Steve has always told Cathy so much about them, so it was awesome for everyone to finally get together! We were out until 11:00 at the restaurant!!

So that leads us to today. We're going to take it slow today and try to get the house picked up a little. We've got to go grocery shopping and then that's about all that we have planned. Cathy's parents are coming down to visit in two weeks (May 3rd-9th) and we're super excited to see them and show them our area!!

We'll write again soon!!

We Sold Our House!!!!

Posted by Steve and Cat Walker | | 9:26 AM

Last Friday we closed on our house in Michigan (finally)!!! YAY!!! The buyers made an offer back in January (before Steve's birthday) but their offer was too low for us to accept. We weren't in the position that we HAD to sell the house, so we were content with waiting for another offer that would be more around our range. The same couple that made the first offer played a little game with us (that we didn't like or appreciate) and tried to really put the pressure on us. Again, since we didn't HAVE to sell, we didn't play and it ended up in our favor.

Basically, they made the offer and then put all these contingencies on it. They HAD to hear back from us by noon the next day or they were moving on... bla bla bla. Steve was having oral surgery the following day, and we just didn't have it as a top priority to "jump" simply because they said so.

We ended up deciding to just wait until the next offer came in. We had several showings and all had positive reviews. We just didn't get any offers. The market in Michigan is awful (it's bad everywhere, but really bad in Michigan). About three weeks later, the same couple makes another offer. Again, they were too low and we couldn't afford their offer. It wasn't that we were not interested, we just couldn't go as low as they were offering.

After a bunch of back and forth negotiations, we were able to reach a compromise and they bought it. Cathy's Dad went and signed for us at the closing (thankfully!! It would have cost $200 to have an outside person do it for us). So... we're enjoying having ONE house now!!

In other news, we got a Wii. It's the most amazing thing ever. If you've never seen one or had the pleasure and delight of playing one, you're missing out! We got Guitar Hero III and Backyard Football. We also have the Sports pack and another series of games called WiiPlay. So far we've only played the sports (tennis, bowling, baseball, golf and boxing) and then Guitar Hero III.

Cathy is a natural on Guitar Hero III. Steve started to play it and wasn't very good, so he passed the guitar to Cathy and she killed it. She has started her own band (C@strophy) and she's played a ton of different gigs. She's even had to battle Tom Morello and Slash and she's won! She was most excited when she got to play "EvenFlow" by Pearl Jam. She was definitely in the zone. Steve has been calling her "Nancy" from Heart because she kicks butt on the guitar!!

What's even cooler about the Wii is that it's a Nintendo system. There are these "points" that you can buy (a penny a point) and with the points you can buy classic Nintendo games. We're not kidding!! We bought Excitebike for Cathy (she LOVED this game as a kid back in '85), as well as Kid Icarus for her. She played it all night and couldn't get past the Grim Reaper guy. LOL. We got Zelda for Steve and then Super Mario Brothers 3 for us both to play. Steve thinks it's brilliant for Nintendo to offer these classic games for like $5.00 a game (500 points). It's a great way to make additional money on really old games. However, for people in our age group, these games bring back wonderful memories and put HUGE smiles on our faces!! (Cathy remembered going to Children's Palace (a toy store that was WAY bigger and better than Toys 'R Us) with her allowance and buying Nintendo games).

This weekend is Easter and we're just hanging out for the holiday. Cathy didn't have school yesterday, so she drove up to Burt's and met Steve for lunch. Today we're going to Wii and then maybe go to the new Chinese World Buffet for dinner (lol). Tomorrow we're going to make a ham and then have baked beans, potato salad, rolls and then something yummy for dessert.

Cathy went to the store and bought a TON of candy for an Easter basket for Steve. She hid it in the house and he had to search for it. He's not allowed to eat anything until Sunday.

Enough from us for now... we are thoroughly enjoying having 74 degrees today while Michigan is getting 5-8 inches of snow. It's not too late for everyone that we love in Michigan to move to North Carolina!!! The weather is a hell of a lot better!!!

:)
The Walkers

Update...

Posted by Steve and Cat Walker | | 2:39 PM

Well... it's been a while since we last posted so we thought it was time to write something!

Last night we went to a Leap Year Pig Pickin. It was at the house of someone that Steve works with and it was interesting. Our experiences with Burt's Bees events has been awkward to say the least. This one wasn't as bad as the Christmas party, but it was a little strange still. We fully expected a pig-roast and instead it was more of a fancy-schmancy dinner party. The only pork that they had was in kabob form and they went with the rest of the Mediterranean-style food. Weird.

Anyway, we did have fun and enjoyed seeing how the rich live. The guy that hosted the party lives in North-Raleigh in a million dollar home.

Last weekend we drove to Wilson, NC to meet Cathy's cousin Corey and his fiance Heather, for lunch. It was a nice afternoon and we enjoyed spending time with them. It's really nice that we've been able to see them twice now since we moved down in June. We're hoping that more family will come down for a visit soon!!

This last weekend after driving back from Wilson, we found a Costco and had a taste of home. We went in and enjoyed all the eye-candy and then of course, had to grab a few gallons of extra-cheap milk. :) In case we haven't said it before, the milk here is SO expensive. It's more expensive to buy a gallon of milk than a gallon of gas. And that's saying a lot because the gas is expensive!!

We've been talking about getting a Nintendo Wii since before Christmas. Well... we finally bought one! Yay! It should be arriving Monday. We also bought Guitar Hero III and are super excited to play!!

That's the latest from here. We're eagerly awaiting the visit of Steve's dad next weekend. Soon after, Cathy's mom and dad are going to be coming down (April/May). Yay!!

:)
The Walkers

Go Tarheels!!

Posted by Steve and Cat Walker | | 4:18 PM

So this weekend we went to the UNC-Clemson game at Chapel Hill. Talk about an amazing experience. We arrived about an hour prior to the game starting and had some food in the courtside club. They had all kinds of free desserts, drinks and appetizers. Steve gorged himself on warm brownie bites and these chocolate mousse thingy-ma-bobbers. :)

The game was way better than the game in Richmond. Don't get us wrong, we love UD but the Tarheels play on an entirely different level. The game in Richmond was disappointing. The Flyers lost to the Spiders (lol) and the stadium was really small. There are probably high schools with bigger arenas! Anyway, the Flyers were down the entire game and the Spiders just kept hitting 3-pointer after 3-pointer. It was fun to spend the night in Richmond though.

We had dinner at a place called the Capitol Ale House and it was okay, but a little pricey. Steve had French onion soup and then this kielbasa and pretzel thing and Cathy had a chicken ceasar salad that tasted like anchovies. (YUCK)

We drove home on Sunday and stopped in Nashville (NC) for our first taste of Bojangles. If you're not familiar with Bojangles... it's an over-priced KFC but instead of being tasty, it's really gross. LOL. They're known for their sweet tea and biscuits. Whatever. Lunch made us both sick and wishing that we stopped somewhere safe, instead of trying something new.

Back to the UNC game... in case you missed it, the heels were down the entire game. The average was nine-points down. At one point they were only six down, but that's as close as they ever got. It was a big deal because Clemson has NEVER won at the Dean Smith Dome. Not in 53 years... every time Clemson plays Carolina... they LOSE. This was a game to go down in history! All the way until the final seconds of the game we were down and then somehow we managed to tie the score and force an overtime. The crowd went absolutely ape-shit and it was as if they had just won the national championship game!

Five additional minutes were added to the clock and it was time for OT to begin. They were down for most of the 1st OT and then they were able to come back and tie it up and force a 2nd OT. Unheard of!! Once they started the 2nd OT they took control of the court and ended up winning 103 to 93. It was amazing! People we losing their minds and going bananas. The people around us were celebrating and grown men were crying like little children.

On the way out we snatched some cups and popcorn buckets (you know the ones that are super expensive and everyone leaves behind) as tokens of the game. We're too cheap to buy them ourselves, but we grabbed like eight cups and two buckets. :) Steve grabbed one for his boss Tom (he went to Clemson).

Cathy goes back to work on Thursday. Just in time for Valentine's Day! Steve is the greatest man alive... he sent Cathy a dozen baby roses today and she got them delievered and was totally surprised! They're in a really nice vase and smell soooo good! We're going to celebrate Valentine's Day either today or tomorrow by going to Outback (yay)!

Until next time... take care and be well!
:)
The Walkers

Update

Posted by Steve and Cat Walker | Life Update | 4:36 PM

Hello! We hope everyone that reads this is doing well. We're okay... hangin' in there. Steve went to the oral surgeon last Thursday and had his tooth extracted. It wasn't as bad as he thought, but it was still pretty painful. He's still recovering and has pain.

We went to the UD vs Richmond game on the 26th. We drove up to Richmond and arrived just in time for the game. We were excited to see Dayton (ranked 14 at the time) beat the Richmond Spiders, however, we were shocked at their performance. Richmond's team was hitting three-pointer after three-pointer and UD did nothing about it. No clue what the score ended up being, but Dayton was crushed.

Anyway... Steve had his birthday last Tuesday. He's 33 now. Cathy made him a birthday cake and made him dinner. She also bought him a UD Basketball t-shirt and a UD business card holder (glass) for him to use at work. His co-workers went all out with gifts. Apparently they call him "Bevis" and decided to take the theme as far as they could go. They bought him lunch and then also gave him a placemat that said Happy Birthday. On the back were numerous pictures of people with mullets (they love his mullet picture that's on his calendar at work). They also gave him the Bevis and Butthead Do America movie and a Bevis bobble-head. All wrapped in mullet-picture wrapping paper.

The calendar that they love so much is one that Cathy made for Steve for Christmas. It has pictures of friends and family thoughout the calendar and because Steve's birthday is in January, he is the spotlight for the month.

Anyway, that's the latest... Cathy enjoyed spending February 5th sitting outside reading a book in 75 degree weather. Does it get any better??

:)
The Walkers

Our First Snow in NC!

Posted by Steve and Cat Walker | Life Update, NC | 11:31 AM

We were able to experience our first snowfall here in NC this last weekend. Cathy had a Junior Circle outting planned for Saturday and she had to cancel it due to the weather predictions. Though she could have still had the event, the snow started to fall around 3pm on Saturday and kept falling until Sunday.

In other news, Steve went to the dentist and found out that his tooth will need to be extracted. He has an appointment on the 31st to get it pulled. He's not sure if they'll be doing a bridge or something else. He's really hoping that the bridge is a last-resort.

Cathy tracked out yesterday. She taught all day and then at 4pm she was free at last! She's been having some issues with her team. They do not communicate and as a result, there are a lot of bad feelings and resentment among them. Cathy gets along with all of them for the most part, but is easily frustrated with their words and actions. She was more than ready to track out simply to remove herself from the team!

This weekend we're going to the UD vs. Richmond basketball game in Richmond, VA. We'll be getting a hotel for the night and coming home on Sunday. Steve was emailed by the UD Raleigh Alumni club about the event and we decided that it'd be a lot of fun to go to a game and support the Flyers. They're ranked #14!!

In other basketball news, one of Cathy's students, Anna, has grandparents that are really into UNC sports. The grandpa attended UNC and has season tickets for football and basketball. Earlier this week he sent Cathy a letter that thanked her for all that she does as a teacher and offered her two tickets for the UNC vs. Clemson game on the 10th. Cathy was so excited!! We're both really excited to go to a UNC game!!

That's it for now. Nothing else really to report about!!

:)
The Walkers