He's Home

Hooray, he's home!! We picked him up from base about 2:30ish on Thursday and have been enjoying a work free day with him today. I am super excited about having him back and the girls are just loving him to death!! He was supposed to get off the boat sooner than he did, but they decided they wanted him to help hook up the boat instead of getting off to be with his family. I wasn't expecting for them to be finished with all of their work when I got the call from him saying he was getting ready to leave the boat. I had just gotten the girls out of the tub - so we quickly dressed and did hair and off we went! We parked the car and took a short (yet hot) stroll to the pier to find Jeremiah. When we got there - we saw him coming toward the gate and waited there. I showed Melanie where he was and when he walked through the gate - she kept looking around him for a different guy that was supposed to be her dad (he had sunglasses on and they never see him in his whites). So... she looked right past her daddy. If you notice the picture where she has two lollipops - she insisted on bringing one to the pier to give to her Daddy. I guess she figured he would like the same flavor she did .... green apple! Julia later told him, "Daddy, we found you!". Everyone got hugs and kisses when we got back to the car. Here are a few pictures....


The girls posing before we head down the road for a short stroll to the pier to pick up Daddy!













Here is my little family.... all reunited again!

















This is the best picture I found on my camera of our little family. Photography isn't a strong point in our family.









Daddy taking a nap while the girls watch Bolt. It was the cutest thing.

My hair

I figured I would post a picture of my "do". It is too short up front because of me. I can't blame anyone but myself. Hopefully it will grow out fast and I won't have to sport the almost "perfect" bob for too long. P.S. Leg shine courtesy of Venus (thank you!)

Dresses.... check!

The paper links are almost gone, the to do list is getting shorter. One of the biggest things I needed to get done to get ready for the return of my "better half" is make those white dresses for the girls. I finally finished them at 1:30 am this morning. I worked (along with a long time favorite "A Knights Tale")late last night to get them all together and I absolutely love how they turned out. They are very simple, and they give me the chance and the option to dress them up with flowers, bows, whatever I want basically. For now they will stay simple and the girls will have a bow accessory courtesy of the fabulous Tara (thanks again!). They tried the bows on this morning and LOVED them!! Here is the finished product. I'm so proud of myself! Stay tuned... I hope to have some actual Homecoming Day pictures to load later in the week and then I'll have models for those dresses!

Too excited!!

I just have to say (since it's the most recent thing going on in my life... that I'M excited about) I am too excited to deal with it! I am getting all the final preparations in order and just am tickled pink to have some exciting stuff happen a little later this week. I hope to even get a little bit ahead of myself and get some things accomplished that I will need to have ready for the next few weeks (Visiting Teaching handouts and Birthday Cards for Card exchange... here I come!). I love it when I try to make a plan and things sort of work out for me - almost giving me time to sit on my bum and ENJOY some relaxin!! Oh golly.... so stinking happy. I will most definitely post more about this week as the week unfolds. I got my haircut today with a good friend (Tara) - her's looks AWESOME! Mine is a little different than I was hoping for (kinda my own fault though... not so good on the communication sometimes). Next time will be better - plus... having it a bit shorter than anticipated gives me a little more to play with for Hunter's arrival. I'll get my next trim after his debut. I'll post a pic of my hair a little later.

Ever Been.....?

Have you ever been 32 weeks pregnant and had the most incurable sweet tooth? The whole wives tale about craving salty things with boys is definitely a myth for me!! I had a "quick trip" to Walmart today and over HALF of my little bill was sweets!! YIKES!! Maybe I'll get to put some of it to good use so I'll have something to "munch" on while I sew tonight and tomorrow to get final preparations in order for the big day. BTW I FINALLY found my free motion quilting foot so I can get Hunter's blankets started on the top stitching! I'm glad he's a baby (and a boy) and won't care that my pattern is most definitely flawed. I think the overall outcome will be fine though. Cheers to the next 8 weeks (as I hold up my glass of ice water) when I can start losing some of this weight! Ugh! Not to mention the gorgeous baby boy I'll get to carry around everywhere.

Gotta see this

If you haven't seen this... you HAVE to! I thought it was very good and definitely not as scary as it could have been portrayed. Sure it's darker than the others - but with a super evil wizard running loose, what do you expect?! I am excited to buy it when it comes out on DVD. I wasn't there to share the midnight viewing with a lot of you ladies, but I was there Friday night!! I got to take my little sister with me and I'm glad I had her company. Jeremiah will usually tag along with me when I want him to... but he doesn't understand what's going on. He's not a big Harry Potter fan. I'm sure he's glad I took Jocelyn along too!

Family Celebration

 

Melanie decided last year that she wanted to have a castle cake. Yeah... definitely will have to work on the next birthday creation a little more ahead of time. Not to mention take a cake decorating class of some sort. However, it was completely edible and that's pretty much exactly what happened to it! I think there are 3 pieces left. She enjoyed the presents and all of the birthday phone calls. She was quite practiced by the end of the day yesterday. "Thank you so much!! Yes, ..... I four." That's pretty much her responses to her fans. We all about died laughing at her supermodel photo poses. She is a natural! Here are a few fun pictures from her day of cake and ice cream and her choice of spaghetti dinner.

Beach Fun

I took the girls to the beach on Melanie's birthday. I thought it would be a fun outing and my sister really wanted to go while she was here visiting. Friday was our best bet... SO.... off we went! First our quest for sand toys didn't go so great and we ended up getting some very overpriced (yet very cool) sand toys from Target. (Sigh) Oh well! The last time we went to the beach the girls didn't want much to do with the water - so I figured this trip would be more of the same story. BOY WAS I WRONG!! Julia took off (literally) to the water once we got settled. No regard for whether or not anyone was there with her or watching her. It scared me to death! Melanie loved "wading" in the ocean and feeling the waves come up on the shore. Jocelyn got quite a bit of time with the girls in the water and jumped waves as they got closer to the shore. I spent some time in the water with them and tried to help them make a bit of a sandcastle (that they continued to destroy). Mostly I was just so excited looking out to the horizon and thinking of how soon my husband will be crossing it to get home!


This girl got stuck in her diaper - soaked it (OF COURSE)- and still got most of her enjoyment from playing in the sand. She didn't eat much of it this time around.... watch out North Carolina - JULIA is on her way next month!


We even got to bury Aunt Jocelyn and I think the girls had a pretty fun time at that!! It's fun now that they are a bit older and can appreciate/enjoy the little things.



It was great fun and we were able to scoot out of there before it got too crowded (or hot).

Happy Birthday Melanie!

Today my first baby turns 4!!! I can't believe it!! She has grown up so much in the past year and is turning out to be a pretty great helper. Not to mention she for sure reminds me of what I need to work on (by acting JUST like me and using some of my favorite phrases). I'm telling you - things will get better when I get my husband back. Melanie, we are so blessed and happy to have you in our family and are excited to continue to watch you grow up and become a fantastic person!
 

Wish I could....

Here lately, I've been finding Julia asleep for the night in these places:

Under Melanie's Bed:





In the Closet:




Lastly, the big blue chair after swimming in the "kiddie" pool out back:



Lately there is something extremely fascinating about NOT sleeping in your own bed. I love it!

Taking a Survey

I've gotta get my hair trimmed and I need some advice?! I'm trying to "shop" around for some places with a good hairdresser to help maintain my shorter hair. I'm in desperate need of a trim. Please let me know where you've all been that has left you a happy victim.

Got Talent??

Came across this on NBC. I don't get the chance to watch the competition... crazy!! You won't believe it!

Happy 4th!!

Well, we have arrived. It happens once every year. Today celebrates the day of our country's independence. I am so grateful to our forefathers for listening to the promptings I am SURE they received from the Lord in helping to organize and start this country. I am grateful to them for having the courage to sign their names on the "dotted line" . That VERY courageous, bold act lead to the restoration of the gospel and to my family being here so that my children and I could be born in a free country. I am grateful to a wonderful husband who sees how important our country is and recognizes the need for us to have upstanding military members to help ensure our continued freedom. Thank you honey!!! However... I'm sad to say that our forefathers would probably slap most of our politicians in the face and ask, "WHAT ARE YOU THINKING???" I hope that my children are still able to see plenty of good in their lifetime. Enjoy yourselves today - have a blast!! (Pun TOTALLY intended)

Travel? NOT TODAY!!

I am GLADLY staying home this evening. I had a few plans - but quickly realized that if the HRBT is closed... Norfolk is a MESS to navigate! I'm starting to believe that there is no real emergency plan for much of anything around here - what is the country coming to? The news will tell you to have your own emergency plan, but the state doesn't?? This is why I think there should be more than 2 (yes... only two) ways in and out of this area! Yikes! Hopefully the tunnel will be back up to speed by tomorrow morning - or else I might not go much of anywhere tomorrow either!! Anyone get stuck in traffic today???

IT'S JULY!!!!!!!!!!!

Couldn't be more thrilled that it is FINALLY JULY! My littlest sister got her tonsils taken out of her head yesterday (gone forever)and I anticipate to hear that she got the best rest of her LIFE last night. That makes July great... Gettysburg and our country's Independence Day are a couple other perks. None quite as exciting as getting my other half back though!! Ok... maybe they are all a close tie! Not to mention my first baby is going to be 4 this month! Great month for our little family. WOOHOO!

UPDATE....Just called Melanie's school and she got in the pre-K program and will be attending this fall!! I am SO relieved and excited for her!!!

Hey... is that light at the end of the tunnel????

Well, it's that time again. I want to do a "project" or activity with my girls each week leading up to my husband coming home to get them a little excited about his homecoming and to have some things to give him to make him feel important. Any ideas? I know a lot of you are VERY crafty - so please send ideas my way! Thanks!

The Phantom Tollbooth

Last night was book club at my house. We had a good time and discussed the book, The Phantom Tollbooth. Everyone that came and had read it said that they liked the book. Yay, that's 2 for 2 so far for me!! I'm always so afraid that someone won't like the book. For any of you out there that haven't read this book yet, or it's been a decade or so..... grab this from the library (or borrow my copy... it's already on loan) and read it to your little ones if not for yourself! If you have read it, drop me a line and let me know if you liked it! (photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

Members Night at the Zoo

We got a flyer a few weeks ago telling us about a special night at the zoo for members. I was a bit excited to see that it was after the zoo closed - so hopefully the weather would cooperate and we could enjoy some pleasant weather. The outing was both a success and a disaster. Disaster being the end when my children ran away from me - and laughed about it the whole time. Needless to say, it was good that we were done seeing the animals - because we went STRAIGHT home! I actually brought my camera this time and got some pretty good picture of a few of the animals. Melanie wanted to photograph the giraffes (they were inside this time... it was threatening to rain).

 

The picture in the center is of one of the Red Pandas. The occasion was supposed to welcome Oscar - the new red panda to the zoo.... not really sure if we saw him or not.... I guess the picture is of Yen (the female red panda up in her usual perch).
Melanie loves to check out the snakes every time we go to the zoo (not really sure why) so we had to have one in our collage. The goats photographed are the ones who I'm sure learned very early in their stay at the RITZ (read ZOO) that they would definitely get hand fed for the rest of their lives! The Rhino was in an AWESOME spot (and not sleeping amazingly.... and neither were the hogs for that matter)!

IKE Children's Half Way Party

 

The beginning of June was the Half Way party for the children whose mom/dad is aboard the IKE. Actually, for those of you who know how soon my hubby comes home... it wasn't half way at all - more like... ALMOST DONE party. Anyway, the party was held at Ft. Monroe (I just LOVE that place!). Each time I go there, I like it even more. The girls had great fun jumping in the inflatables, getting their face/arm painted, princess balloons, cupcakes, and Melanie even participated in a game! (Where she ran a poor girl with her across the finish line for 2nd place (just behind Mackenzie and her running mate). I'm proud of her - it was pretty much the first thing she's ever competed in.

Why is it.....

That our current President can go on and on about how much our military sacrifices and how much the families go through while they miss their loved ones, yet propose a 2.9% pay increase (full 1% DECREASE from this year) for next year after taking away all bonuses? I'm thinking that he thinks in the back of his mind as he says these things about military families that we are going to continue to SACRIFICE because we will be required to continue to live on less and less each year. (Photo courtesy of Yahoo news)



Our local library system is CELEBRATING national Gay and Lesbian month?? Hm... I think society is getting a little confused, dontcha think? Now we aren't only acknowledging that there are people in the world that are a little confused, we are CELEBRATING them and giving them their own MONTH!!?? Ugh!


KFC gave out some coupons for their new chicken in May and still haven't sent out their replacement meal vouchers. The coupon was a little too popular and they ran out of supplies to provide for the coupons - so they say they will send out a meal voucher to families that turn in their coupons. I really hope they keep their promise.... because otherwise I am thinking.... SCAM!! (photo courtesy of Wikipedia)