Why did we want to start this blog?
I (Amanda) have been toying with starting a blog for a while. I’ve wanted to do this blog for many reasons; so that we can share the fun things that are going on in our life, trips, crafts, favorite recipes, pictures and other random goings on. With my dabbling in Pintrest, I figured it would also be a neat way to share the things that “worked out” for me. We hope you enjoy and find something useful in what we post in the future.
About us – How we met, engagement, marriage
Allen and Amanda met in 2005 at Stetsons. He saw a “cute girl in a pink hat” she saw a “cute guy in a cowboy hat”. The first thing Amanda said to Allen was “I’m watching your feet so don’t mess up." Later during a slow dance, we discovered that Amanda’s first teaching position was at Allen’s mom’s school, and that her class was the very 1st class that Amanda taught in her teaching career.
We enjoyed a first date out at Lake Ella skipping stones and then sharing Sonic afterwards.
Allen proposed after 1.5 years of dating by planning a special night out at Cypress, and then skipping stones at Lake Ella. It was very sweet and planned perfectly. We finished the night by dancing at Stestons and sharing the joy with our friends.
We were married on August 30, 2008 at Willow Pond Plantation, Monticello, FL. It was a beautiful and fun affair, on the heels of Hurricane Faye, who flooded the venue and threatened to cancel our outdoor plans. We are now approaching our 5 year anniversary and can say we were a world traveling couple.
• Allen - grew up in Tallahassee. He left and came back (by choice) after graduating from UCF in 2005. He has a B.S.B.A. major in finance and a minor in economics and accounting. Even with all that he says he learned the most while living in the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house. He likes to play disc golf.... a lot...that's been his hobby since 2009. He worked for 4 years at a State Farm office after college and decided he was better able to take care of people as an independent agent. He opened up his own office with a partner in 2009 and has been doing an awesome job ever since.
• Amanda - graduated from FSU in 2004 with a degree in Physical Education. She earned her Masters degree in Physical Education in 2005. Amanda has been teaching Physical Education 9 years with one year at Killearn Lakes and at DeSoto Trail for 8 years, and has enjoyed every minute of it. She enjoys her time off trying out new recipes and Pintrest projects, reading all kinds of books and watching movies.
• Ava was born 12/1/2005. She is very athletic and loves to fetch.
• Annabelle adopted us in 2006. We think her birthday is March 2006. She’s a stinker and would rather be out doors than inside.
• Apollo is a big goof. His birthday is May 9, 2008. He’s a lover, and would rather chase Ava than a ball every day. He loves to go with Allen to the disc golf course, and is known for his laid back sauntering around Tom Brown.
How we got our nickname
McGinni - While canoeing on Bear Paw August 2011, we all got into a discussion on how to correctly pronounce and punctuate our names due to many of us having names that end with “s” and “y”. Of course in our silly state of mind, someone came up with McGinni because it’s like Octopi…instead of saying McGinniss’s…or McGinnisses…or McGinniss’…We love it, and refer to ourselves as McGinni all the time.
