Our home was constantly FULL of them. Always. My mother took them in - nonstop. (She had a huge heart)
I don't think there was a time in my childhood when we had less than 4 cats and 4 dogs, but we frequently had more- and it was awesome! One time she stole (legit) a monkey from a zoo (it's a long story). (No, this mountain lion wasn't stolen; he was my mom's friend's pet.)
Anyway... My mom instilled a love for furry creatures in my heart, and I always thought I'd grow up to be a veterinarian. :)

Animals...

But I did not become a veterinarian; I became a teacher! A lot of people don't know this about me, but I actually hardly attended school as a child. There was a lot of addiction in my family, and my mom was much more of a friend than she was a parent so I really got to do whatever I wanted to do! I dropped out of 11th grade (somehow with As and Bs) and a short time later found myself graduating from college with my teaching degree.
I've always had a passion for helping, be it people or animals, and I thought teaching would be perfect.

Teacher!

My kids in my classroom were my WORLD. We did Yoga together, played games instead of doing worksheets, and best of all: we didn't only focus on what was on the test.
I poured into my kids and they poured into each other. It was an incredible journey, being a teacher, but I ultimately did not have the freedom to teach in the ways I knew they needed (bureaucracy) so I left feeling overwhelmed and defeated at the end of the day. I met with my principal in 2017, and we both shed tears as I resigned. It was one of the best decisions of my life.

(fun fact...)

Around this time, I married the coolest, smartest, funniest, weirdest, most loyal person I'd ever met. We met in 2006, started dating in 2010, and got married in 2014. My husband, Will, is basically the complete opposite of me. He's a DIY'er- knows how to fix absolutely anything (including completely rebuilding engines) and he's his happiest when he's tinkering. I, on the other hand, would rather be exploring the earth and hanging out with my kids or friends or something. (Anything but tinkering!!)
It's perfect because we balance each other!

My Wedding!

After our wedding we left the country for 10 whole days! We stayed at Tango Mar in Costa Rica and It. Was. AWESOME. If we weren't galavanting around the sketchy outskirts of our resort, we were enjoying drinks at the pool. I laugh looking back because I remember saving all the fruit from my drinks for the lizards, and eventually they learned to follow me around because I'd feed them alcohol-infused pineapple and stuff. haha
We traveled on horseback, zip lined, and had an ATV adventure -- all through the rainforest, and saw so much stuff. It was incredible. We want to go back!!

Honeymoon

We're a pretty busy bunch! My husband runs a retail store, I run this fantastic thing right here, and together we homeschool our kids. Most mornings you'll find the kids and I crowded around the kitchen table with homemade breakfast burritos. Afternoons are reserved for homeschool fun, and evenings are reserved for beer and conversation with just my husband and I. (Okay, not every evening...) 
:)
For fun we like to hit the go carts at K1 Speed - and - not to brag, but I currently hold #1 in our family's race times.

What we're up to today