The Haywood Crew

Long time no post :)

2010-07-16T12:23:00.000-07:00

So I have been horrible at posting this year! Sorry for that :( We have been EXTREMELY busy @ work and had a lot going on. So here's a quick follow up to get everyone up to date!

We have done a lot over the summer! We surprised Teddy with a another quick trip to Disney for Father's Day! YAY! It was fun as usual and we had a great view of the Magic Kingdom from our room! I'll post pics later! Cara already wants to go back!

We have also been to Dollywood a few times and stayed @ Nana and Popa's cabin which is always fun!

Then as usual, we have been on the lake, FINALLY! We kept selling every boat we wanted for ourselves before we could get it to the water :) Which is not a bad problem to have.

Oma and Opa (Teddy's mom and Stepdad) came to visit us over the 4th and had some good times! We played a 5 HOUR round of Spades!!!!!! Cara has a hard time understanding that they don't live down the road where we can go drive and see them after work. So just yesterday, Cara made a picture for Oma and we mailed it to her trying to help Cara understand that she lives 400 miles away! Cara still asked why we couldn't drive it to Oma!

On anohter note, we hit a milestone work today!!!! WOO HOO!!!! We hit the 140 mark! That's 140 boats sold so far this year!!!!!!!! Our total last year was 147, so we only have to sell 7 more to tie last year! Of course Teddy and I want to sell more than 7! We'd like to sell at least 30 more before the end of our year! Our Goal we set at the beginning of the year for the dealership was 160. Meaning that if we get to 160 we take everyone at the dealership and their families on another trip! We won't be able to go on a cruise again like last year becuase I will be too preggers!

Speaking of being preggers! I'm into the 2nd trimester now! Most of you know Teddy and I do the DNA to find the gender of the baby. Well, I took it and the first test was inconclusive!!!!! What a let down that was! So I have taken the test again and we should know something next week!!!! But we won't officially know until the ultrasound confirms it!

I will post pictures soon!

Warm Weather......YAY!!!!

2010-04-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

SO, I think Spring has FINALLY sprung! I hope so anyway! We have had consecutives days of warm beautiful spring weather!!!! And with warm weather, comes crazy work schedule and I'll take it! I'd much rather be so busy I don't know what to do or which way I'm coming or going than to be sitting at work with nothing to do! I think the abnormal amount of snow we got with the FREEZING temperatures.....has made everyone long for Summer and wanting it NOW! We had a record breaking sales month for March and I hope it's only a sign of what's to come!

On another note, our boat we ordered for ourselves came in last week!!!!!! YAY!!!! I can't wait to get it on the water! The guys at work keep telling me to get off of it cause I'll have it sold before I ever get to use it! They are propbably right! BUT, until it is sold.......It's mine and I can't wait to "fix it up" the way I want it! By, the way, I already LOVE IT! After we get it rigged and the way we want it, I'll post some pics :)

I hope everyone has a FABULOUS Easter weekend! I know we will even though Sunday is our only day off! Cara is very excited and can't wait to go find eggs!

Thanks for the compliments!

2010-02-25T07:16:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! It's been a little bit of a challenging week this week with work. Which either lead me to remember a few things or forced me to remember a few things! Anyway, if I ever get down, which isn't often, I try to do or think of things to bring me back up! Plus there is always someone who is worse off than me! So I started thinking about a few things that have been said to me or Teddy just since this first of the year! So hear goes!

These are from our employees:
"you guys are so good to me! I'm learning something new everyday"

"I've never been this happy at a job before! I can't wait til our season kicks in"

"My family says they can see a change in me. that I'm a much happier person now."

" I love my job"

These are from customer:
"my husband said when we left here the other day, 'I've got a gut feeling about those people, I wanna go business with them', and here we are picking which one we want!"

"I'm buying from you becuase you make me feel comfortable"

"You live for the sell don't you?"

"We can tell how passionate you are with your business"

"that's it, were done? y'all make this too easy!"

"your Boaters 101 is priceless"

So I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone! Small comments and compliments can can a LONG way! Thanks for brightening my day both when you said then and down the road when I needed them!

So say something nice to someone today and give them a smile! It goes a long way!

What a wonderful weekend!

2010-02-22T09:24:00.000-08:00

So, having been freezing my hiny off for the last month and a half.........we FINALLY got some good, warm weather, that just happen to fall on the weekend! We have really needed a good couple of days of sunshine and warmth! It's amazing how a little sunshine and being outside can recharge your soul! We were ready to hit the ground running today! It started getting a little warm Friday which led to us being busy at the dealership and selling a boat! YAY! Plus we had some GREAT prospects that I think will come back soon! This lead into a nice relaxing evening....which was needed. Seems like we'd had a lot going on since the first of the year!

Then came Saturday! WOW! Beautiful day and we are obviously not the only ones thinking about boating and being on the water! Teddy, Myself, and Joe(our new guy) were all with customers the ENTIRE time we were open! It was nice to be back outside in warm weather showing boats! Then we headed home for a quick break before we were to go meet with my family for some bday celebrations. It's so hard to get everone together...we did 4 in one shot! My dad was gone the whole month of January, then there was the boat show, etc. So we celebrated, dad's birthday(Jan7th), mine(Feb.4th), Angie, who is now 40 (Feb14th), and Christie's (March 16th). At least our birthday's are somewhat close??? We'll celebrate Christie's again but without dad. But when we get together.....it's not a quick dinner :) So it was VERY dark and well into the night when we left to head home! BUT, we did make a trip to Harriman so we could see our new billboard at night! Which, by the way, looks AWESOME!!!

Finally Sunday arrives which happens to be the best of the 3 days!!!!! We slept in, lounged around some, and spent a lot of time outside! Again, it feels SOOOO good to be outside! We attempted to do a little bank fishing. I know, it's hard to believe that WE didn't take a boat out! It was a hard decision for us, really! Then we loaded up and went to the Roane County Park! It was nice to see everyone out and about. Sugar, our dog thinks she a giant attack dog though. She was even barking at a German Sheppard! It was cute though and EVERYONE wanted to play with her! Cara had a blast on the playground sets they have there and didn't want to leave! But we then went home and Teddy cooked us some GREAT, scallops, shrimp, and Flounder that we had picked up @ the Shrimp Dock! MMMMMmmmmm it was ALL so tastey and good! We then watched a movie and the Olympics.........aaahhhhhhhhh!!!!

What a wonderful weekend!

2010 Here we go....

2010-02-04T08:08:00.000-08:00

Well, I obviously have not updated in a LONG time! But part of my resolution is to be better at keeping everyone updated! So to fill you in since the last blog...........long story short, we did a lot of GREAT traveling, had some great holidays, and BAM!!!! 2010 is here! We are VERy excited about this year and what it may bring! We are already up in our business, had some pretty snow, and are already hitting the gound running with work!

Work should run a little smoother this year since we hired 2 new guys to help us out! So We should get to spend more time with Cara and our Friends.

Right now the Boat Show is going on and we are VERY busy! It has been very cold and I keep looking at warm pics from our travels over the Fall/Winter so I thought I'd share a few!

Here ya go.......

Can you tell we like water???

Getting out of town!

2009-09-29T05:02:00.000-07:00

After working a very hard, long, and greatful boating season.........we are finally going to enjoy "the fruits of labor"! We are headed to Jamaica and are looking forward to some fun in the sun and some down time. We are also VERY excited about our neice getting married while we are there! I know she can't wait and we are very proud of her! I hope she has a perfect day and week full of great memories! I'll post pics after we get back!

update.......

2009-08-26T05:56:00.000-07:00

So, if you read my last blog you know we had a good season! We have still been steady at work, but not hectic! My life has been getting back to normal, somewhat, in that we are getting home at normal hours and we are getting to spend more time with Cara which is GREAT!!!!!

By the way........I'm signing Cara up for a tiny tot clogging class :) I think she will enjoy this! We'll know soon enough!

We are very excited about cooler weather coming! Looking forward to Fall, Football, Winter, and traveling. Teddy is counting down the days to college football starting, which is about a week now!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!! So, I know what are plans are next week :)

On another note......I am always curious as to where other people want to travel to! I have TONS of places I want to see but where do you all want to go? Just curious, so let me know!

We are headed to Jamaica in 35 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is a much needed vacation!

updates...

2009-07-16T07:26:00.001-07:00

So I haven't blogged in a while and I'm finally getting a chance to do it! So here we go.........I Can't believe July is already half way over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It seems like the 4th was just last week!!!! In our business, July 4th is the peak so to say. It's why you work EXTREMELY hard from Memorail Day up to the 4th..... And as most of you know.....I've been telling everyone that I am "Happily tired". And I AM!!! I would much rather be tired than sitting here not selling anything and having to worry about not being here next year.

I'm not complaining.....but......Now that the 4th has come and gone, everything is starting to catch up with me and I really am tired! But still thankful! We are still busy which is GREAT especially since our time frame on making money in this industry is small and (typically) starts really slowing down after the 4th. So here's to a great year and a lot of hard work! YAY!!!!!! Hard work does pay off!!! So I am REALLY looking forward to the Fall and Winter for some travel and down time! Our first trip will be to Jamaica the first week in October for our niece's wedding! We have other things planned as well.....I'll blog about those later!

Here are some pics from Father's Day and the 4th! Enjoy !

This was @ breakfast...the start of the day!

This was @ the end of the day...in case you couldn't tell:) They were both SO tired!

Cara LOVES Nemo and Dory!!!! She ran up to this tank talking to "Dory" and telling her, "Hi" it was too cute!

I have a BIG animal lover!!!!! ALL Animals!

Until next time..........

Father's Day!!!

2009-06-20T06:51:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in long time but I wanted to give some quick credit and thanks to all the great DAD'S out there. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have one! I know a lot of us get inspiration, admiration, determination, etc from fatherly figures! So cheers to all the great dad's out there! I know that my Hubby is one of them and works hard everyday to prove it even though he doesn't have to!

Happy Father's Day everyone!

FREE Pub is great!!

2009-06-09T11:02:00.001-07:00

So, most of you know.......We made the front page of the business section of the Knoxville News Sentinel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!! We are VERY excited about it and we have been FLOODED with phone calls today! So maybe it will help us sell some more boats too! The picture above is what's on the front page and the one below of Cara and Teddy is inside the cover where the article wraps up! It's a nice write up. The title of the article is "Popcorn and Pontoons" If your not local, or are and don't get or buy the paper, check out the article online @ http://www.knoxnews.com/ click on the business tab or just search us from the home page! Finally something nice in the paper and not something negative! I hope everyone enjoys reading it!

Pround Aunt...

2009-05-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Just wanted to brag a little...... I am always a proud Aunt for many reasons! But , today my nephew Tanner had his last day of school and it was awards day. He got EVERY award but one!!!!!! And has the highest overall GPA!!!!!!!! He has just finished the first grade and I am so excited and proud of him! Most of you know, but some don't, Tanner was diagnosed with asperger autism when he was about Cara's age. Through extensive therapy and GREAT persistent parents...he was finally considered "normal" about a year and half ago. I have always loved him and said that he's the smartest kid I know and he has proved that! He has tons of friends and loves everybody!

I LOVE YOU TANNER!!!!!!

Christie, Jamie, & Tanner Wallace

(this was @ Disney on Ice back in the Fall)

I am also very proud of ALL of my nieces and nephews, they have ALL done very well and won awards and what not! Congrats:

Tyler, Ryley, Lexi, Mackenzie, Sydney, Carley, Cameryn, Madison, & Morgan.

I am also very proud of my niece Kayce for growing up to a beautiful, successful, smart young woman. She is getting married in Jamaica October 3rd, 2009 and myself along with Teddy and Cara are VERY excited for her and can't wait to go!

WE LOVE ALL YOU GUYS :)

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a memorable weekend! I know we FINALLY got some needed rest even though we decided to work on Saturday(it was worth while because we sold a couple of boats :). Even though we had spotty weather, it was still a lot of fun! My triplet nieces came in town and Cara just LOVES them. All the grand kids went skiing, tubing, and swimming! Everyone was worn out come yesterday. Dad was in town too and went for a ride on the boat with us yesterday! He stays gone so much that is was a pleasure to get some nice, relaxing time with him!
Thanks to all those who have served or are serving our country so we can enjoy everyday in America but especially the nice long weekends that are few and far between when we get to spend time with our families!

Where does the time go???

2009-05-11T14:24:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a GREAT Mother's Day! I know I did! Plus we all have so much to be thankful for. I knew Memorial Day Weekend was coming up soon but at the same time it REALLY hit me today! Probably because we sold 6 boats in 2 days and everybody wants them this week! On top of everyone calling and wanting their boats serviced before the Holiday weekend......I have one question for those people.....WHY didn't you get your boat serviced in the Fall??????? So all of that top with over two weeks of it raining everyday.........has put us behind schedule to say the least. We will manage to get everything done somehow though but we'll be looking forward to the Holiday as well!
On another note.....I would like to ask everyone to pray for my best friends son and her family this week. Carter Houston is having brain surgery on Thursday to hopefully help with his seizures. Most of you know that his mom Leslie is my BFF and I really wish I could be in Cleveland with her this week! So please pray for him to have a smooth surgery, a speedy recovery, and hopefully this fixes his problems. He is not even a year old yet but he is a trooper! Wish them the best of luck this week!

Cara has been sick

2009-05-05T08:45:00.000-07:00

Cara came down with a HIGH fever Saturday night that just wouldn't go away! So first thing Saturday morning Teddy called Dr. James and he was in the office so I loaded her up and off we went! We were then told she has Strep!!!!!!!!!!! AAAHHHH....how? Anyway, she still ran some HIGH fevers over the weekend but Finally started feeling better yesterday. Fever free yesterday!!! YEAH!!!!!! And somewhat back to her old self! So today she is back @ Nana's house......who got strep from Cara....and fortunately they are both doing better! Cara is still a little whiny but active again and not lifeless!

On another note.........it seems like it has rained for 40 days and nights here lately! The lakes are flooded and brown! Yuck! Hopefully it will dry out soon and get back to normal!

Movies on the water

2009-04-30T07:22:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! We have been EXTREMELY BUSY........but I wanted to let everyone know that our first "boat-in" was a success and I'm glad we now have one under our belt! Now we just need to decide what movie we are going to show for the next one! We are open to suggestions! The sunset was BEAUTFUL that night and I can't wait to see the next one!

Poor Cara made it through the movie but feel out while we were taking everything down!

This picture is from Emma's Birthday party on the 17th. Cara LOVES Jump Castles!!!

Looking forward to the weekend.....

2009-04-24T07:59:00.001-07:00

So this should be a very exciting weekend! FINALLY, weather in the mid 80's for several days in a row and lots of fun things to do! We're going to the Branham's tonight to help do some things to their boat to have it ready for Saturday night! So I know we'll have fun tonight...Cara loves playing with Edward & Jourdin, Chris & Teddy with have fun working on the boat, and Christina & I will enjoy just hanging out and chatting! Then tomorrow after work we are headed to the LAKE...YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are hosting a Boat-in as most of you know(our version of the drive-in but you can only come by boat)! This was suppose to be our "trial-run" to get one under our belt before Summer........Well........now it seems as though there's going to be 30-40 boats or more! I've had a half dozen phone calls this morning alone asking me about it, and numerous people throughout the week telling us they are going to come with their "crew". So here we go...head first into things as usual! I'll post pictures Monday! I can't imagine how big it will be when we actually advertise it! So here's to a fun filled warm, nice weather weekend that I hope everyone gets to enjoy!

Easter Sunday

2009-04-13T07:21:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a great Easter Sunday. I know we did and the weather was great. We spent most of the day at my mom's house eating and playing outside! Cara did a GREAT job at finding eggs. After dinner Cara, Tanner, & Ryley hunted eggs a couple of times. Then Ryley and tanner just kept hiding eggs for Cara to find. They all ha a blast and everyone enjoyed being outside. After egg hunting the kids moved on the the sandbox and other toys while the adults played a few games of Horse...me included. None of us were very good, but at least we had fun and everyone had a good laid back day. After mom's house we were suppose to go to the Branham's for an egg hunt but Cara feel asleep in the car so we went home. Once home we just relaxed, watched the Masters, and grilled out. Poor Cara was so worn out she even went to bed early last night. It was a very Blessed and Peaceful day. Here are some pictures! Enjoy!

Nana and the Grandkids!

Teddy & Cara

The Masters.....ahhhh

2009-04-09T12:04:00.000-07:00

So it is one of my favorite times of year......the weather gets warmer......boating is almost here in full force....Easter is here....and BEST of all...The Masters's started today! YEAH!!!!!!! Everyone knows that golf holds a VERY special place in my heart. Although I do not get to play any where near as much as I'd like to, I still LOVE the game. To those of you who have been there, you can appreciate this quote from my dad, "If there is a heaven, it can't be any prettier than Augusta National!" I never really appreciated him saying that until I got to go myself! It has to be one of the most Beautiful places on earth! There is just something about that place! The feeling when you are there is unreal! And it's the same Mystic feeling every time you go! So here's to some great golf the four days and good weather! I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL Easter weekend!

Nice Weekend!

2009-04-07T10:28:00.001-07:00

Fortunately we had a VERY good turn out for our open house @ the dealership! YEAH!!!!! The weather was perfect, lots of people showed up, everyone had a good time.....and we sold a few boats. So we couldn't have asked for a better day! I am still however recovering from it :) I'll post some more pics later of the kids on the inflatables.

For the weather to have been so beautiful over the weekend.....Today is the opposite! IT"S SNOWING!!!!! What is up with that????? I thought we had our last cold spell......evidently not!

But it's suppose to be warm again by the end of the week! Well, I have a busy week this week so I'll post again as soon as as I can!

Sound off.......but thankful!

2009-03-30T17:08:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone! I'm trying to get better about posting more often! I just wanted to take a second to sound off....... I have been saying for MONTHS about how tired I am of hearing SO much negative BS in the news.....I'm glad we (me & teddy) stopped watching it so we could do our thing and be positve and keep doing business! We are doing GREAT with our business and are VERY thankful! But, it seems as though everyone asks us how we are doing and they assume we are "down, not selling anything, or about to go out of business"!!!!! What the H*LL!! We heard those things so much we actually questioned ourselves if we were doing well and double checking things! Guess what, WE ARE DOING GREAT! Some people like one of my neighbors....I'd like to tell them to stick it for thinking we'd be going out of business. We are ahead of last year and last year in a down economy we were up from the year before! So I would like to say thanks to those of you who still believe in us and support us! It is Greatly appreciated and we are thankful for everything that we have been able to do! I hope to post again soon but we are having an open house @ the dealership this week and I wil be very busy! Until then.....

Over the weekend!

2009-03-24T12:40:00.000-07:00

So we had a full FUN weekend! Saturday we went to work and had a decent day there......Then after Cara's nap we went fishing again and caught 15-20 fish!!!! FUN times......we caught bass, brim, catfish, crappie, etc.....a wide variety. Then Saturday Night we had dinner with the Branham Family(Chris, Nina, Jourdin, & Edward) @ Wasabi's. It was a blast! The food was GREAT and the kids were entertained! Then Sunday we woke up and went fishing again and had a good morning we mainly caught brim but did another 15-20 like on Saturday...we had to stop to come in and get Ready for Tyler's Birthday party @ Mama Mia's...yumm...... Cara had a blast playing with the younger kids and chasing Gracie. Then we came home and crashed. But I got some cute pics of Cara!

Here Comes the Sun.......

2009-03-17T11:06:00.001-07:00

I am LOVING today's weather! I hope that warm weather is finally here to stay! I think it just puts everyone in a better mood and makes life a little easier! It seems like everyone I have had to deal with today has been extremely nice and a pleasure to deal with! Maybe this will also help people start being more positive with the economy and what not! So thanks to everyone I've talked with today!
NOW>>>>>>>on another note......this warm weather just makes my itch to be on the water worse! AAAHHHH!!!!!!
But I am getting excited about our "Movies on the Water" promo we are getting ready for this summer! It's going to be a blast! Imagine....a "drive-in" on the water .....I guess I should say"boat-in"...We got our Projector a week or so ago and tried it out on our deck......so much fun! I can't wait to do it on the water! I'll get back with everyone on date of when we are going to have our first event!

Daylight Savings!

2009-03-08T05:22:00.000-07:00

I absolutely LOVE Daylight savings! I'm glad it starts earlier and lasts longer than it use to! It would not hurt my feelings if the clock stayed like that ALL year, which is something I hear they are considering????? I love having more daylight when I get home from work so I can actually get things done inside and out the house!

On another note....we took Cara fishing yesterday! Too cute! She thinks every time she reels in, she's reeling in a fish. Then when we got back in the truck to leave she said, "bye fishies!". More to come on this I'm sure!

Trip to KY

2009-02-23T11:33:00.000-08:00

Alright! So we went to KY to the Houseboat Expo! It's suppose to be the LARGEST houseboat show in the world! To say that I was not impressed is a little contradicting. The boats that were there where very impressive and it only makes me want to get a house boat even more! BUT......there where only 15 boats there????? What is up with that? I just don't get it! We took that many ourselves to our show here in Knoxville. Now granted, ours are not houseboats.....but still! The manufacturer we went to see...only took one boat! The good news it that we did find one that we REALLY liked and we had a great trip. We could see Churchill Downs from our hotel window and got to see some snow! It was not a wasted trip but I don't plan on going back to the expo next year. I do have say that Cara is an excellent traveler! I guess since we have always taken her anywhere and everywhere she's just use to it! As long as she's got her movies, "colors"(crayons/markers), and some snacks......she's good to go!

first time

2009-02-20T07:02:00.000-08:00

OK! So here goes, I finally decided to create a blog page for my family! So, I'm still learning the ropes, but I think it's a great way to keep in touch with everyone and what's going on! So what's going on we us right now????? We just finished up a GREAT and successful Boat Show here in Knoxville. So, in my opinion, the economy is not all doom and gloom! I'm sure it is worse in other areas but I think if we want things to get better....WE have to make things happen! I wish more people could be positive.....I think that's why people like dealing with us! My husband and I are VERY postive people and people enjoy that. This weekend we are going on a "mini" trip! We are going to KY to the Houseboat show! As most of you know, my husband and I have a thing for ALL boats! We got free tickets so we are going to check them out! It will be fun and I know Cara will enjoy it. Who knows.....maybe we'll pick up a line and start selling some????? Any input on house boats???? Anyway, I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend.