Kid's Kingdom

There is a playground called Kid's Kingdom near my parents house. One day, we packed a lunch and went there to play and enjoy the nice weather. We would call parks like this castle parks. They were made of wood and had different places with a little "roof" surrounded by mazes of passageways. All in all - kid heaven!

FHE

For our last Monday night there, we went to the park nearby and played with the girls for a little while. We drove over there after having our song and prayer. They love the swings and are quite good climbers! Here are a few pictures (it was getting dark)

Temple Trip

My mom and I had previously planned on going to the temple on the 6th of September. Saturday came and we woke early to head down for the first session. Unfortunate for us, it coincided with the tropical storm off the coast and so lots and lots of rain accompanied our trip. Well, we missed the exit (hey, it was raining! and mom was driving) turned around, got caught in a little traffic from an accident, then were unable to use the normal roads to the temple due to flooding. So, we FINALLY make it to the temple, dress and head up to the endowment session. Thank heavens they held the session for a little or we would have missed it! I love the temple. It's always a wonderful experience. My favorite part is the celestial room. I feel at peace there. I love being in that room so much that I don't want to leave! Since we drove to the temple, we decided we would stop in a the bookstore and see what they had. Upon leaving the bookstore, we started feeling something different with the car. First my mom thought it was a flat tire, so I get out in the pouring rain and check. Sure enough, no flat tire! We continue on a bit more only to feel the same weird scraping - so, we decide to look UNDER the car this time. I get out again in the pouring rain and look under the car to find out that my mom aquired a tire from the bookstore parking lot and we had drug it for a little less than a mile. Well, for any of you that know the area around the temple, there are HUGE speed bumps. I figured if the speedbumps we had already been over hadn't dislodged it, I would need to use the jack and take the tire out. So, that's what I did while my mom stood over me with the umbrella. I was soaked by the time we got back in the car and we had a good long laugh on our trip home!!

Bike Riding

Jocelyn and I did quite a bit of bike riding while I was there. Since she is homeschooled, she would finish her work around lunch time and we would head out for a ride and my mom would watch the girls. We rode to Giant one day to rent a redbox movie, then we went to Sheetz another day. On the way back to my parents house, we would stop at the UTZ outlet and test drive some chips. I bought some the last trip there and we took them home with us on the trip. I took Julia and Jocelyn with me on the UTZ factory tour (sorry, you couldn't take pictures) too. If you are ever in Hanover, you should stop by and do it. You get a small bag of regular chips for free at the end of the tour. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of Jocelyn and I riding our bikes either. Jocelyn ran a red light once but overall, we had a blast!

Celebration at the Olive Garden!

The 2nd was my mother's birthday. I don't get to be with her much on her birthday - so it was very special for us. She wanted to go somewhere to eat for her birthday and she chose the Olive Garden (also one of my favorites). Of course we asked them to sing to her - and they brought out a cake for us to share. IT was fun to be there with all of them on my mom's big day.

Labor Day Picnic

One of the first things we did while we were there, other than lots of walking (my family loves to take walks - I try to convince Jeremiah to go with me with our little family, but that doesn't happen much), was the Picnic. Growing up we always had a ward picnic on Labor Day and Memorial Day. Sometimes they were combined, and sometimes they weren't. We used to have the get-togethers at the Littlestown Community Park, but since the ward building is also the Stake Center, they have recently built a Pavilion right there on the church grounds! How nice is that?! So, we had it there this year. Melanie loved walking around to see the different children and watch them play games. She also liked to visit the dog that was there and chat with other members of the ward. She was hilarious!! Julia preferred to run out into the parking lot and try to snatch a little girls purse everytime I turned around (or sat down). Julia tired me out pretty quickly and so we had an early departure. Plus I wanted to head back to the Outlets in Gettysburg to catch some good deals on clothes. My mom and the girls went home and they napped while I went to the outlets. It was a lot of fun to shop by myself. I don't get that luxury much, and shopping is pretty demanding for me these days.

Visiting with my Parents

At the end of August, the girls and I "took off" to Hanover, PA for two weeks. We had a wonderful visit with my family and the girls really got a chance to warm up to them. Julia kept getting into my parents refrigerator and all the cookbooks. She's such a silly girl! I definitely know what I will be bringing with me for our visit this Christmas!! Now, for those members of my Primary Class reading this (or rather so you can't say I didn't miss you) - I did miss you all terribly while I was gone. You'll understand when you have children, that sometimes it is just nice to visit your parents. The next few posts will contain pictures of some of the things we did while we were visiting. I'm glad to be back and I have a lot to catch up on!

Quick Update

Things are going just fine here. We are up for another adventure! We will be going to visit my family for about 2 weeks. I have high hopes to get to the temple while I am away. It has been a long time since I have been able to go (It takes a lot around here to be able to get to the temple). I am VERY excited about going. I will miss my class for the next two weeks but I know they will be fine without me.
Tara and I toughed out the free bread program that the ASYMCA does for the military yesterday. It was a lot of waiting, but I think we did fairly well in getting bread for our families that will last a bit. Overall, it was a success I think. I had plans to go to the gym afterwards, but, yeah - it took WAY too long. SO, I will be there today and tomorrow. I have a lot of cleaning to do (I am obsessed with making my house JUST RIGHT before I leave so life is so much easier when I get home). I'll still be updating my blog - and the new blog I joined (Made by my sister - I'll tell you more about it later). I don't have to get anyone ready for school this year, but I do have to make sure one of them will be ready for some school NEXT year! Wish us luck on our trip and I will see you all in a few weeks!

Last Half of the OBX!

Thursday we went Parasailing. It was a ton of fun. If you check out my shutterfly pictures you can see them all. I will attach one so you can see. I just take so many pictures when I am on vacation. Most of them are bad pictures, but hey, I try! Jeremiah and I rode together and the 1st mate (one that hooks you up and makes sure you are safe) took a picture of him holding a knife up to our rope and pretending to cut it! He was a pretty funny guy. We saw tons of crabs floating around in the water and were hoping to see some dolphins (the group before us had claimed to see some). Then, at the end of the "flight" they dragged us through the water. We went up 600 feet. Friday was another day where we just wanted to get out of the house a bit and keep the girls busy. I wanted to go to the beach but we didn't get the chance to take the girls this year. So, no beach pictures. =0( Uncle Tom arrived Friday night. He and Nana went shopping Saturday morning, we went looking at some last minute things we wanted to see, then we all went out to eat at Jimmy's buffet. It was TERRIBLE!! (never go there!) It was definitely an "experience". Then Sunday, we packed up all of our things and made sure the house was cleaned out and traveled home. I tried taking some pictures on the way home of different things. That's what all the pictures at the end are about. There's a picture of Grave Digger (monster truck) I think a place called Burton (my maiden name) I tried to get the street name Cameron (name of my brother-in-law) and a few other odds and ends. So, all of those were taken from a moving car. That just about sums up the vacation though! We are back to the "regular life" and happy to be home.

Shutterfly

Ok, so I have uploaded almost 400 pictures to shutterfly. A lot of them are duplicates (I just kept taking pictures in hopes that a great one would show itself). You are now forewarned. Go ahead and check out my shutterfly album if you want. I hope to put explainations and labels on them in the next few days. Well, I hope that you enjoy the pictures! Just copy and paste it in your browser.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AYuXDlu4YtGLl4

So...

My attempt to break it down a little so I could upload photos hasn't worked with the wifi we are using. So, I will have to add pics later when I get home I guess. So, the rest of the week (so far) in a nutshell... Tue - went shopping and looking around. Wed - Went to Manteo to see the Aquarium and Christmas shop (VERY disappointed with what they had to offer. They had closed a couple years ago and have now reopened - I'm not sure if it is under new management or not). The girls like the fish and Julia loved trying to touch the animals in the marine area. We've gone swimming or hung out in the hot tub pretty much every night. The girls are getting the hang of floating with their lifevests on! Oh, we also got a lifevest for free the other night. Pretty fun story. Then, Thursday - we're still just hanging out and checking out the stores in the area. But, this morning on my way home from the gym (I've gone every day except for Wed. so far) I filled up the car and ended up getting $10 of free gas! Apparently someone had pre-paid and then left. So, I was the lucky recipient of an unknowingly abandoned pre-pay!! Good things have been happening to us this week. We've been blessed.

Monday

Monday we headed up to Duck to sightsee and shop. We will be going back tomorrow to do some parasailing. I am hoping to get some really fun pictures - we'll see how it goes! We found me some crocs (on sale) to replace my pair that is wearing thin! The girls did pretty good and we were happy to have some time together to look at what we wanted.

First Half of the OBX!!!

So, Monday we decided to travel up to Duck to see what they had to offer. We stopped at a lot of the shops (Scarborough Faire and walked to the neighboring stores). I found some crocs (on sale too!) and got them - I am really wearing out my pair. I just love them, very comfy. Tuesday we decided we would go window shopping and ended up finding some fun things for the girls. Melanie just loves to touch on all the pretty things (very breakable) and all the toys she can put her eyes on!! Keeping her from touching them has been a great feat this week. Wednesday we went across the bridge to Manteo to check out the stores there. We hit traffic on the way and then found out that they had the art fair going on!! Go figure! I guess next time we'll have to check the events calendar! We went to the Aquarium and then of course went by the Christmas shop (it closed a few years ago and has re-opened, we were VERY disappointed). I got a nativity by Willow Tree last year with plans to add on a set each year. I have the basic set with Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, a Shepherd, a few sheep and a donkey. So, I still need the wisemen, more shepherds and some more animals. I found the wisemen at the Christmas Mouse and I bought them this year. All that is left now is more shepherds and animals if I want! Like my mom, I love nativities and I also love Willow Tree.

Sunday's rainy trip

Our trip down here on Sunday was quite the rainy one. I thought that most of the week would be wet, we have lucked out so far. (only rain Sun and today (Wed)) It has been beautiful weather since - allowing us to get lots of time outdoors (not neccessarily tans though)! It looks like the rest of the week from here on out (starting Thurs) will be wonderful! I will post more later and hopefully be adding some pictures if this free wifi will allow me too! I also found out on Sunday that our ward will be splitting and we'll be losing quite a few families I really enjoy being around! I guess that means we'll have get togethers at my house now so we can keep in touch!

Olympics

I am so excited about the Olympics. I was eager to watch them on Saturday. I think there is a special spirit that comes with the Olympic games. Dreams come true, Miracles happen, etc. So, I am just so excited about them! My favorite sports to watch are swimming, gymnastics, and track events. What sports do you enjoy watching in the Olympics?

Our Trial before the Fun

I wanted to wait to post this so that I didn't jinx myself. So, on Thursday, our battery died. I found out by packing the girls in the car and having to go pick up Jeremiah only to find out that my car wouldn't do anything when the key was turned! I frantically tried to reach Jeremiah (I finally got him on his cell) to let him know. Of course I was crying because I felt I might not get the chance to go on vacation. So, the boys came to save me! YAY!! Thankfully it was only the battery and it was promptly replaced. We seem to not have much luck around the time that vacation happens. Last year, the day Jeremiah returned to work - he was in a car accident. Oh, then I thought the car completely "reset" the odometer to 50- some thousand miles. Only to find that it was probably fine. I just prepare for the worst I guess!! Imagine the relief when I find out it isn't that bad. Sorry, I'm rambling. I need to fill you in on what's going on here!

He's Back

Jeremiah is back! Yay! Now it is just a matter of days before we leave for vaction. If anyone wants to check out the house we'll be staying at this year, here's the link. http://www.kittydunes.com/rental/house.html?ID=81
It's really nice. For those of you who haven't been to the Outer Banks, this is a great example of what they have to offer as far as homes to rent for the week. They all aren't as expensive as this one, you can get what suits for your family's needs. I hope to catch some internet somehow while we are gone to share some fun things.

We Lost a Member of our Family Yesterday

This is a picture of my Aunt and our late family member, Suzy. She has always technically belonged to our Aunt. However, Our family took care of Suzy for a few years of her life and she always took care of us. She passed away yesterday living to be almost 17 years old!! She always had spunk and love for those around her - even in her last years. She suffered from blindness, and hearing loss before she passed away. I won't forget how she would run into the bathroom during thunderstorms and jump in the tub and shake because she was so scared, or how she would scratch up grass all over the yard after she went potty. Jeremiah knew her while he was on his mission and I'm sure will think, "Well, she smelled anyway." We love her though and she has made our lives a little more cheerful by being in it. I know she is watching over those who loved her now in Heaven with Our Heavenly Father. Since we stopped taking care of her, I have missed having her curled up at the foot of my bed keeping me company at night.

Here's to Susan - 10/2/1991 - 08/04/2008!

I got them!!!!

Yay! I finally received this month and next month's books in the mail today!! I was hoping to get them in time for vacation so I can read them. I am so excited to read next month's book (sort of because it's the book I picked) because I have heard so many good things about the author. The other thing we got today was Jeremiah's computer screen. I learned a few things and switched out the cracked one with the new. Sorry my posts haven't been as exciting as most of yours, I am trying to keep a journal and remind myself what I have been through and measure my growth. I hope you all are doing well!!

Ft. Monroe's Kid's Day

We traveled over to Ft. Monroe today to participate in the Kid's Day festivities. I brought my camera, only to realize once we got there that I had forgotten to put the memory card back in! So, I unfortunately do not have any pictures. The girls had fun and we have LOTS of information from different organizations in the area. Melanie and Julia jumped around in one of those inflatable jumping pits. After a little bit, Julia got a little spooked out. Melanie wanted to try everything, but due to the heat, was unable to bear the hot plastic on her feet. She ended her day by playing in the tent that the gymnastics program put together for children to "tumble" in. She had a blast! Maybe we have a gymnast in the family?! We got some snow cones and free lunch too! It was great fun!

Isn't he handsome? I'm sure you all feel that way about your husbands. He really does have some pretty cool powers though. A few of them are: making me mad in less than a nanosecond, making me melt in just as much time, making me feel safer than a bank vault, and getting me to laugh. It's been awhile since I wrote something for my dear husband. I love military life because we are never together long enough to get too terribly comfortable before they have to leave for a bit (be it a week or months). I hate military life for the same reason. However, I do find blessings in the times we are apart. I find that the longer they are gone, the more time I have to think about what he really does do for me. Well, for those of you who are wondering, he does quite a lot for our family. I like to feel as though he doesn't do anything because I have to deal with the girls all day or have to do most of the housework. The song I have on my playlist called "The Way I am" is a pretty good interpretation of us. Jeremiah shrugs it off when I get frustrated and mean because my house isn't clean and I have company coming. He is a wonderful father and they definitely know he's the patriarch! One look from him and they go running to their beds!! I wish I had that talent! He works hard each and everyday (sometimes even the weekends) for us. The boy has awesome work ethic!! I complain because I don't necessarily see that at home - but I suppose he should get a break sometimes. No one wants to work hard ALL the time!! (even though I would argue till I was blue in face that I work hard all the time) Everyone here that is married knows that there a million little things that can bother us and make us all too eager to punish them in some way. I'm just amazed how little those things are sometimes! He likes to let me go out and shop or be with some friends if I get the opportunity to give me a break when he can. But, the adversary is truly good at what they do - if a messy house will really turn my world upside down and ruin anyone's chances at seeing a smile on my face, that is usually what I get to come home to! Thus killing the good mood I might have been in from having a chance to go somewhere without my children. Time allows for perspective. I am grateful that I get that perspective often so that I don't continue to let the "little things" blind me.

Blessings

I have started this post probably three times already, maybe this one will be the "final draft". I've had chances for service this week and I've struggled with the load or hardship that comes along with brining my children with me. To keep this post short, I found out why one of these people needed my help. I felt so blessed to be available to help her and serve her today. I hope that I am not alone in thinking that sometimes doing the service is near to impossible with my children in tow! I find great joy in helping others, I've just realized that I am not supermom. I'm not like my church friends that seem to be able to do it all without the slightest bit of difficulty. I had to post this because I feel like it was something that helped to strengthen me and make me a better person. Does anyone out there understand what I am trying to say?

This week has gone by so fast!

I can't believe that it is already Friday! (well, almost) This week started out like most others, just minus the husband. Now, I know that that isn't something new for me, but it usually brings out bad behavior from my children. Kind of like how the full moon brings out the crazy people. On Tuesday, Julia decided to decorate my couch (and her face and clothes of course) with sour cream!! She managed to push over the gate that we use to block the kitchen and got right into that sour cream. Then, she did it again on WEDNESDAY!! For those of you that are thinking, "wow, she must really be a terrible mom" it's true. I was distracted with Melanie while the second crime took place - thankfully the damage wasn't as extensive as Tuesday's. Momma was pretty upset though and definitely tired of scrubbing her couch! I am very relieved and happy to say that today went pretty wonderfully. I didn't have any major problems with my children, and even was able to get some cleaning done!! (imagine that!) Plus take care of a few matters of family business (book order, ordering the screen for Jeremiah's broken laptop). I feel as though I have accomplished things, and that is usually half the battle when you're a mom (or at least I think so). I finally got the book Three Cups of Tea from the library (I've had it on my hold list forever it seems), I am excited to read it. I apologize that my posts are always a jumble of thoughts and lots of parentheses. It kind of gives you an idea of how my brain functions these days! I definitely need more adult interaction and visit time!!

In Honor of The Cheesecake Factory's 30th

While at playgroup on Wednesday, I heard about the Cheesecake Factory's $1.50 piece of cheesecake. I was unable to attend (military life) but decided I would go ahead and make my own!! Thank heavens for the Jello Cheesecakes! My heart was with you for those of you who took advantage of the birthday treat. This picture doesn't look like much, but it was still a treat for me.

Wyatt and Melanie's Birthday Celebration!!

Sunday July 13th was the day we celebrated both Wyatt's (July 12th) and Melanie's (July 17th) birthdays! So, I of course felt terrible that I was feeling sick. I took the pictures and tried to stay away from the fun. I didn't even eat the dinner! All I had was rice and mashed potatoes. Anyway... all we had was Christmas wrapping paper, so we had a bit of "Christmas in July". Here are a few photos of them throughout the day.

Wyatt's gift from us

Melanie's Dora sprinkler

New Clothes!!

Twirling with her new dress. She loves to twirl!

Gifts from Nana

Nana even got a gift for Julia so she wouldn't feel left out!

She loves dora! Excuse daddy's blink, it's the only pic I had!

The big present

Wyatt's cake - the candle fell off as soon as we put it on the table and blew itself out! So, Wyatt had no chance to blow it out on his own.

Melanie's cake - I bought it this year. I can't make really small cakes and I tried to find a small one. Plus, I can't make the words look all pretty either. Jenn is great with decorating cakes though - I should take lessons!

Melanie blew out the candle before we could finish singing! She loves "happy days".

Already the seasoned pro (he had a birthday party the day before too) digging in.

Catching up on the past few weeks....

Well, to usher in my sickness a few weeks back I had an unexpected thing happen to me. I was asked to talk at one of my Primary "students" baptism. (July 12th)I'm the kind of person that gets very nervous about these things and of course worried about what to say, let alone why this person chose me to speak! So, I think the reason will remain unknown for the rest of my life, but I hope that I was able to share some things that touched both she and her sister. (They were baptized on the same day). I also feel very blessed to have been a witness to their very special day. Here is a picture of them.

Sonja and Amore

Under the Weather

So, our family has been under the weather for quite a bit. The girls have had "digestion" problems during last week. Then I got sick Saturday evening and have been sick since! I'm slowly getting my strength back and getting back into things I normally do. By the way, thanks to Heidi for taking over my class (I didn't call the Primary Presidency in time to let them know I was sick and unable to be there). Heidi - you're so great for helping out, thank you so much!! I thought I would just send out a quick note, so you all know why I haven't been updating my blog. Hopefully more will come later, but for now I am taking it easy! Hopefully I might even get the chance to scrapbook (Oh, I really hope so!).

Prayer - better than a Psychic

As a member of the LDS church - I have to share my opinion on something I witnessed today. While I was "winding" down and shredding some paper in my room - I was listening to the radio. On Thursdays, there is aparently a Psychic on this particular station (never knew that - don't normally listen to the radio in the evening). People would call in and ask her the most outrageous, yet ordinary questions. She would share her advice gathered from whatever means she used, received a "thank you" and then move on to the next caller. In listening and laughing quite a bit I realized something. All of these questions that were being asked could be answered correctly, if they just knew who to ask! I am so glad that we know who we can ask to help us with our problems or our questions in life. The Lord will always give us the right answer for us at the right time. The answer might not be what we wanted to hear, but it is still the right answer for US. Who needs a pyschic when you have a wonderful Father upstairs that can give you answers that will improve your life and increase your happiness? I pick the happiness and better life. What would you choose?

Un-rabbid Squirrel

At the end of our outing to the Botanical Gardens, we stumbled across a squirrel. He was meandering around, mostly under my car, while I put the girls in the car and the stroller away. Then, I came around to get in the car, and the squirrel came out and followed me a bit. He stared me down and stayed just close enough to freak me out. I would move, the squirrel would follow. I COULDN'T GET IN MY CAR!!! Julia still needed to be buckled and I couldn't get close enough to the car without the little guy following me! So, I took some pictures!!

While this was happening to me, I tried to sneak behind his back (above picture), but couldn't get past him without him turning around and staring me down! He was a pretty cute little guy. Being a wild animal, I found myself continuing to think of two things: 1) What if he has rabies and bites me? - even though I saw none of the symptoms 2) What in the world will scare this little guy away? - I 'stomped' at him, shoo him, anything I could think of that would encourage him to leave.

Needless to say, we "danced" a bit before he walked off to visit another car, I looked behind me to make sure there weren't more. Guess what? There was one coming straight for me!! So, I jumped in the car, buckled Julia in her seat and left as quickly (and "humanely") as possible. To all the animal lovers out there - he and his friend are still alive.

Enjoying my Hobby

I know that this isn't a well known fact, but I really like to take pictures. I am not very good at it, so I take a lot in hopes that a few will turn out nicely. We went to the Botanical Gardens today (in the drizzle) and I took some pictures of plants that caught my eye. I thought that a few turned out very nice. My favorite one is this one though.....

Then, Melanie directed us towards the rose garden and I got a few of those as well. Just experimenting with some different ways of taking pictures of groups of flowers. It was great fun, I even let Melanie take a few pictures (they were out of focus so I deleted them upon uploading them). Here are some more pictures, enjoy!!!

The Artist

Melanie really likes to color and draw these days, and I am so thrilled when she wants to make a "pretty picture"!! She knows she is only supposed to color on PAPER too. When you are a mother of two small children, you find that you need to take advantage of the short times your children are occupied to take a shower unless you have the luxury of waking before them to take your shower and start your day. Today, her color of choice was Orange Sharpie. So, this morning, while I was taking my shower and getting dressed for the day, Melanie was doing this:









After a nice little "chat" she went ahead and started doing this:




That was the straw that broke the camels back, so I packed the girls in the car and headed to Walmart to get some Color Wonder things for them to color with. Thank heavens there are such things as Magic Erasers. In no way am I rewarding them for coloring on things they shouldn't, or eating things they shouldn't (in Julia's case, she eats crayons!). There wasn't even a sharpie in sight when I took a shower. Also as a mother, you learn to make sure there is nothing around that could potentially cause a premature death of one of your children while you are taking a shower. This marker has been banned from our "living area" and is jailed in a plastic box in the top of a closet right now.

Geneology..... I am doing it.....

I love having a best friend (aka husband) when they inspire you to do something great and worthwhile. So, Jeremiah got the "itch" today to look up some of his ancestors names on google. Then, it got me to thinking about some of my ancestors that I had been taught a little bit about. The snowball continued to grow until I was just so excited to see what I could find! I am on a "mission" now and hope to find some things and learn about how to do my family history. I have never taken any classes on it at church, nor do I have the convenience of having a family history center at my ward building - let alone having the babysitters to watch my girls so that I can go do it. Technology will have to be my friend (as well as foe and obstacle maker I'm sure) and lead me to some wonderful information about my family. I am extremely excited to learn about them. I guess that is my new goal for the summer. YAY!! If anyone knows a little bit about how to research your family online and would be willing to leave a little message to nudge me in the right direction, that would be WONDERFUL!! Thanks!

WIPEOUT

"Wipeout" Sneak: Iris - The best free videos are right here">

If you click the part of the link above that says Wipeout - you will see a preview of the show Jeremiah and I watch on Tuesday nights if we are still awake and downstairs. I have always had a problem with laughing at people when they fell. I don't like to see people get hurt, but there is something funny about the act of falling. Maybe it is because I did so much of it growing up! I also think that it is hereditary. So, anyway, there is a lot of falling going on in this show. Thus, the reason I enjoy it. Check out the link if you would like - I was hoping to have it show up with the picture and all on the blog - but I haven't learned that just yet.

Long Walks

So, we've recently been taking 3 1/2 mile walks around the area since Jeremiah has been taking the car to work. So, Monday and today, we went out in the heat to get momma some exercise. We cover the distance in about an hour and a half. I push the girls in the double stroller. By the end of the "course" I'm am definitely sweating from the heat of the sun. So, I feel as though I accomplish quite a bit! It is definitely not what I do at the gym - so it's nice to get a little bit of change in there. I'm still doing pretty well with watching what I am eating and making sure I get exercise during the week. I hope to find the numbers on that scale a little smaller the next time I "weigh in". For anyone out there - I am trying to find some fun, tasty vegetable dishes (without meat) to spice up my snack options. Please feel free to send them my way.

There is a story behind our walks however. Melanie LOVES to collect things while we are outside. Mostly rocks. However, today was a little different. She first collected her favorite of Heavenly Father's creations - the rock, followed by a feather, a flower, a baby pinecone, large pinecone, and some leaves. I was hoping to get some pictures of the "collection", but most were thrown overboard (no doubt to help mom get home quicker by decreasing the weight of the load!) and only the rock remained.

So, I've been Tagged!

So, I was reading friends blogs and thinking I was so lucky that I hadn't been tagged, and then I get tagged! YIKES! I'm not sure I have enough people to tag, but I'll try!!

3 Joys
- Being able to cuddle with my girls anytime they let me
- Watching my husband play with our children
- Taking pictures of my family and friends (I'm practicing so that maybe one day I'll actually be good at it!)


3 Fears
- Losing Jeremiah to war
- One of my girls running away from me and not being able to find them
- Sleeping alone

3 Goals
- To lose 15 lbs in the next 7 weeks
- Catch up with the book club by reading the books I missed
- Continue meeting new people and become more social

3 Obsessions
- Cleaning my house (I have learned to let go a little bit -I have two young girls, but I still don't like it)
- Working out
- Finding the lowest price (still practicing that one to get perfection too!)

3 Random Facts
- I am 23 (that seems to always shock people, so I am listing it)
- I hold high school records for shot put
- I love the smell of burning wood (i.e campfire)

Now I get to tag 5 Lucky Winners!!
- Angela
- Jamie
- Cheryl
- Tami
- Tara

Flag Cake

Growing up, my mom liked to make a Flag Cake for the 4th of July. I have a picture of me as a child holding the first Flag Cake. So, in order to fulfill the tradition and ensure that it would get eaten wihout there being much left, I made it for the Picnic we went to on Friday. There was just enough left over for us to have some for dessert on Sunday. So, a perfect end to the 4th of July weekend.

If your family would appreciate this wonderful cake for a patriotic holiday - here is how I made it. The cake is white cake mix. Bake it according to the directions on the box (greasing the dish and lightly flouring it). Let it cool. Poke holes 1/2 inch apart across the whole cake (I used a 2 prong fork from my knife set). Take any flavor jello (as long as it is red) and mix it with 1 cup of boiling water until dissolved. Add 1/2 cup of cold water and mix well. Then, pour it over the cake and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. After refrigerating, dip bottom of dish in hot water briefly to loosen the cake from the bottom of pan and flip the cake over on a flat surface - you then return it to the pan or whatever dish you wish to use to serve it on. (I was unsuccessful in this endeavor - so I just kept it in the pan) Thaw an 8 oz container of whip cream and "ice" the cake with it after flipping. Then, decorate with blueberries and strawberries. I used about a cup of strawberries and about 2 ounces of blueberries. Then refrigerate until ready to serve. It's WONDERFUL!!!

Here are some pictures from our 4th of July. We went to Busch Gardens with the Gaines (I don't have many pictures of that because I was the one riding most of the rides) and then had some fun with some friends (I don't have pictures of the kids playing in their backyard because I didn't have my camera with me) - but we do have a few of us waiting for fireworks, then finding out they were cancelled and waiting a few levels down for the traffic to clear! Melanie dipped her hair in the run-off water in the parking garage for Portsmouth Naval Hospital. Ugh!

Usher the day of the Independence (pronounced with a Dana Carvey (aka Pistachio) accent)

So, Thursday evening, we had the first of our "group" of mishaps. Due to miscommunication or whatever guys call it - the laptop I bought Jeremiah during his last deployment was damaged. Yes, that is right - there is a huge "crack" across the screen that is growing "branches". Then on Friday (the 4th) , we had a great and exhausting day at Busch Gardens with some GREAT friends of the family (pictures to follow) to return home and get ready to run out the door to some other GREAT friends' for dinner and fireworks (downtown). During the "down time" - yeah I like to use "". Julia snatched my glasses off my dresser and ran (there's a pattern there if you were wondering - she runs when she is being naughty). I found them broken on the floor when I followed her to see what mischief she was bringing upon herself. So - my wonderfully creative husband has come up with a plan (we think). We'll see how it works and I'll try to post a picture of my make-shift Harry Potter glasses (not broken in the same spot as his though). So, that is number 2 of our misfortunes - I hope there isn't a three, but that sometimes happens in this family.

12 Week Challenge!!

To all of you "Y" members out there. If you haven't signed up for the 12 week challenge, you have NO idea what you are missing out on! Well, let me describe it for you a little bit. Those lunges and squats you hate to do?? Yeah, you do TONS of em!! Haha! Then, for the next two days you are pretty much incapacitated when it comes to running, walking, squatting down to pick up your kids or let them look at something lower than your eye level. Excruciating pain. Let me tell you. BUT - I wouldn't trade it for the world. No Pain, No Gain. Needless to say, I've taken "leave" of the gym for a few days - but I made sure I had plenty of walking in there to still be active (and get points). So, sign up for the 12 week challenge, you'll find muscles you never knew you had hurting in no time!

The almost crime.... plus our update

Hello all! Well, again I have tried to be diligent with my blogging and have fallen behind. Things are going well for us here. We are quickly approaching the 4th of July weekend and are happy to be getting together with some friends. Maybe if all goes well, this will be the first time we actually see (as in closer than a few miles) the fireworks here in Virginia! Hopefully the girls will last that long and have a blast! I am very excited. Other than that - an update on my weight loss. I've lost 2 1/2 lbs as of last week sometime. I will have to weigh in again before too long to see if I'm still on track! I've been burning over 700 calories during each workout and I've been to the gym every day other than saturday and sunday. I am doing my best!!

We had kind of a funny thing happen to us on Monday. I bought a few movies from ebay last week and was waiting on one more to arrive. The mail carrier brought our mail Monday and told me that he accidentally put my envelope (no doubt containing the dvd) in my neighbors mail slot. He said he knocked on the door but was unable to get anyone to answer the door. After he left, I checked to see if I thought anyone was home. Anyway, I ended up knocking on the door and catching them home. They told me the mail man didn't put an envelope in their mail slot, nor did he knock on the door. (A mother's intuition told me they were lying). So, I chased after the mail carrier to find out my course of action (I mean - this movie cost me 4 dollars!! plus it was the movie cast away - awesome movie). He called his supervisor and they said they would stop by the next day and try to get the movie back for me. I returned home fuming about it and about an hour later the lady next door brings over my OPENED envelope saying "sorry, my son had it". Her son looks like he is six and it was one of those hard to open envelopes. I'm pretty sure they were trying to steal my movie until they found out that it was Cast Away. (These particular neighbors didn't seem the type to like the movie Cast Away). I felt that if it were any other movie more appealing to them - that they would have kept it and not bothered to give it back. So, needless to say - I had to be like my dad for a bit and figure out how to get my movie back. So, I went through all of that for Cast Away. It's a great movie - what can I say??

Botanical Gardens and the Beach

Virginia Beach
We went to the beach today to help the girls get used to it so we can have some fun on our family vacation this summer. Jeremiah took Melanie out and pretty much scared her (not intentionally) note picture above. They both enjoyed playing in the sand with our sand toys and then Julia resorted to eating the sand. (Just when we thought she was over that). So, I guess she is going to like gritty foods for the rest of her life! Maybe there is oatmeal and grits in her future!? Then, they left the beach holding hands. It was a pretty great day. Mommy was tired by the end though.

We love to go to the Botanical Gardens (when time and temperature allow). We just went Thursday and I took some really fun pictures of the girls sporting their bathing suits for the water. While we were there we found a Canadian Goose feather. Melanie picked it up and was playing with it - then a worker from the gardens came and told us we couldn't have it because "It might be a Bald Eagle Feather. There is a federal fine for having a Bald Eagle Feather. I'm pretty sure it's not an Eagle feather but because they are in the area, we collect any feathers we can find.". So the man took the feather from my poor two year old child!! She was so devestated! Enjoy the pics!

My Weight Loss Log!

So, I've been trying to get some weight off since I gained a little bit the past year since Jeremiah came home. Mind you - I had gained 8 lbs by February. Then, I joined the gym and gained another 5!! In order to help motivate myself (my husband has a sweet tooth too and it makes it hard to "be good") I have decided to put up some pictures of me and take pictures in the same outfit as time goes on. So, I will have an exercise log and such on the computer so that I can motivate myself and keep track. For those of you who check my blog (I know there aren't many it any at all) please continue to motivate me!! I look at some pictures of myself from around the time Jeremiah came home last May and then some recently and thought (YIKES!!). So, here I go. I'm really trying and I am taking every effort I can to make it a success!! My goal is to lose 20 lbs (look better than even when Jeremiah came home). I will update frequently. So, please cheer me on!! Thanks! - so I've decided I need a better picture! I'll add one soon!