I have been blessed...

Christmas Cookies!

2011-12-23T09:02:00.009-06:00

Sometimes its just worth getting

Flour.
Sprinkles.
Frosting.
Crumbs.
Everywhere.

The training wheels come off

2011-12-19T15:06:00.018-06:00

Austin needs a new bike.
His wheels are bald, the chain keeps coming off, and it's just plain too small for the kid.

~~We are~~ Santa is planning on bringing a new bike for him;
so a few days after Will got home from Kuwait they went outside with Austin to take off his training wheels
and practice riding without them.
My thinking is that it's easier to learn on a smaller bike,
so he better practice before Santa brings him a bigger one.

Low and behold Austin took off the first time Will tried.

He was a little wobbly at first, but 3 weeks into practicing he is a pro.

He can pop wheelies

"Speed super fast!"

And he can almost start on his own.

Poor kid just needs a bigger bike now.

6 days till Christmas!
All my shopping is done
I got my Christmas cards out today
Will is home
Papa Bill is visiting

It's a good year, but I do wish we lived closer to family...especially this time of year!

He's home!

2011-12-05T20:04:00.004-06:00

He's home!

It's hard to believe Will has been home for over a week.

We picked him up at the airport on the day after Thanksgiving.

It was late at night, and the kids were tired and cranky, but we anxiously waited for him.

My friend, Jamie, was also waiting for her husband.

Maci didn't really understand what was going on, but once she saw Daddy she wouldn't leave his arms.

We have been having a great time as a family the last week.
Finding our new normal.

Saturday was Hunter's last day of "Ready, Set, Run"

He finished it off by running the 5K "Reindeer Run" in downtown Charleston.

He has spent the last 12 weeks training for it;
although I wouldn't really call sprinting for 20 feet and then walking a quarter mile training.
Despite a great coach...his running group didn't quite get it.

On the day of the run, Will and I decided that Will would "run" with Hunter, and I would take the stroller with Austin and Maci and run ahead.
We were both very surprised at how good Hunter did on the run.
He RAN the whole 5K and came in just a few minutes behind me and the kids.
He is very relieved running is over.
~~So am I!!!~~

We were very under dressed for the reindeer run.

Some people really go all out.

Christmas is just around the corner.
It doesn't seem like it's been a year since we moved to Charleston!

Last weekend we got the tree up and decorated and all of our Christmas decorations up.
The kids are getting excited for Christmas!

Will got our Christmas lights up.
I told Will that Maci loves Santa...next thing I know Will went down the street to Lowes and gotMaci a blow up Santa...
and put it on our roof.
Will has turned into the biggest softy since we had Maci.

For the record, he swore that would never happen.

When it got dark Will turned the lights on to show the kids.

The kids favorite holiday snack while decorating.
Sparkling cider and egg nog.

Right now, we are currently staying at an ocean front condo thanks to Operation R&R!!!
We are having a blast and I absolutely LOVE waking up to see and hear the ocean out the window.
We woke up this morning and we to get seashells on the beach.

Austin is still writing his name all over.

Maci has been copying EVERYTHING her brothers do.

Hunter's favorite thing to do at the condo.

Austin stuck his head in front of my camera while I was taking pictures of the beach.
This kid is so awesome.

Walking hand in hand with Will and watching our kids run around on the beach made everything feel a little normal again.

We are SO happy to have Will home!

Thanksgiving in transit.

2011-11-22T11:00:00.003-06:00

Friday.

FRIDAY!!!
That's the day Will FINALLY gets home.

After 20 days spent in Germany for training

and over 6 months in Kuwait...

(that's 28 weeks.
196 days.
4704 hours.
Take your pick)

...we are SO excited!

My friend explained the tail end of a deployment perfectly by saying that she feels like a kid on Christmas Eve.
That is exactly how I feel.

I'm like that kid who can't fall asleep.
Anxiously waiting.

I'm so excited and eager, but I can't make the time go faster.

As a matter of a fact, I seem to be making time go slower.
(why is that by the way?)

I'm not going to lie, it is pretty sucky (improper grammar, but I couldn't think of a better word)
that Will won't be home for Thanksgiving.
It just doesn't seem right.
I feel like it should be a time to be together...and Will is without his family, and we're without him.
We were really hoping he would be home in time, but that isn't how it worked out.

But...

it is nice to be able to say my husband will be home this week.

random things I never had time to blog

2011-11-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

This is all just random.
Some of it is from several months ago, and I never got a chance to blog it.

Every once in a while I see pine trees planted in lines.
I'm really not sure why, but someone told me they planted a ton of trees after Hurricane Hugo devastated Charleston.

I don't see this as often as I thought I would here.
Once you get closer to the beach you see a lot more palm trees
(or as residence call them, palmetto trees.)

A few weeks ago I was able to be my friends escort in the Atlanta temple.
I haven't seen Nikki since we lived in Minot 5 or 6 years ago!
It was the most amazing experience ever. She wasn't an
LDS member when I knew her in Minot, and it was amazing seeing her go through the temple. It was so good to see her and her daughters, and also meet her husband and son.

Last week I went to the midnight showing of Breaking Dawn.
It was SO fun to go and I was so grateful my friends son Brach was able to watch my kids while I went.

Maci loves going to pick Austin up from preschool because she gets 15 minutes of playtime.
That blur is her.
Stupid camera phone

We watched my friend Chelsea's dog Midget. The kids loved having a dog around the house.
We took Midget on a walk everyday.

This is Austin showing me how Midget lifts his leg to pee.

Maci getting herself a snack
*sigh*

This is what happens when I grocery shop with Austin.
These are all things I had no idea I bought

Maci

2011-11-12T18:57:00.008-06:00

Maci has an...unmistakable personality.

People comment on her personality all the time

Loving.

Quiet.

Sweet.

...also

a Spitfire.

Busy.

Clingy.

Maci is very set in her ways, and she will wait (or throw a fit) until she gets it.

She must take her blankie ("BB")

EVERYWHERE

WE GO!

If I go drop Hunter off at school, or even run to the store to get milk, we MUST have the blankie.

Otherwise people look at me funny because my child is screaming inconsolably,

rolling on the ground at Walmart.

She has always liked her blankie, and not just any blankie...this ONE.

This WHITE one. Why white!

She has always smelled her blankie under her nose.

She does love putting her blankie in the washer (almost everyday might i add!)

so that it smells good.

(just because I said she likes to put it in doesn't mean she is okay with not having it for a whole hour)

In an effort to curve the blankie habit I am trying something that was suggested to me by a total stranger.

Cut the blanket in half, wait a month or so and cut it in half again.

Continue this until the blanket is so small it will have no meaning to her.

So...I cut it in half.

She hardly noticed.

She does realize now there are two blankies, but doesn't insist on having both with her.

(score, now I don't have to chase all over the house looking for ONE blanket)

I'm not sure if I want to cut in half again though. I'm too scared it will backfire.

Maybe I'll wait a while.

She loves playing games

and getting attention from them

She loves watching her brothers ride bikes out the window

She doesn't like when I take pictures of her.

She just stares at me like I'm dumb.

I got lucky

So,

this isn't what it looks like.

I wish.

But it might not be too far away.

Maci tells me every time she has to go poo.

We sit on the toilet about 20 times a day.

But she never goes.

Well she does...just right after I put her diaper on.

I can almost taste it.

A diaper-free house.

Gross..that came out wrong. But you know what I mean.

And this is what Maci does when I ask her to smile

Multitasking

Maci LOVES brushing her teeth.

She would brush 20x a day if I let her.

Maybe I should??

I promise Maci doesn't stay in pajamas all the time.

Maci is in a "big girl bed" and she loves it!

She was very easy to transition

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T07:22:00.009-05:00

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is my favorite holiday.

My kids get so excited for it, and I love decorating and baking for it.
This year was even better because my sister, Melanie, came to visit us!!!

This year Hunter and Austin were Lego men (which got tons of kudos!)
Hunter told me he wanted to go buy a costume this year, which made me kind of sad.
I love making their costumes, and I always think they turn out cuter.
I convinced him to let me make it this year, and maybe next year we can buy one.
He was a little disappointed, but when the Lego costume started coming together he said to me,
"Mom, I always want to buy a costume, but then I see the ones you make and just think they are so cool!"

Maci was a ladybug.
At first we had a hard time keeping everything on her, but once she realized

COSTUME = CANDY

She was more than happy to wear it.

We've been baking a lot of sweets...

and eating them.

RANDOMS

A few days ago, Melanie and I were able to go see Hunter get an award for straight A's.
There were several kids who received an A/B Honor Roll award, but Hunter was one of the few who received A Honor Roll.

Words can't explain how proud Will and I are of him.
Every Wednesday we get to show Dad on Skype all of Hunter's school work from the previous week.
He's always surprised (but obviously happy) to see all the good grades.

If you noticed Hunter's face looks a little red, it's because it is.

I stood up and yelled "That's my son!" (Just like my mom did for us)

I was warned later that day to never do that again.

By both Will and Hunter.

All about Austin

2011-10-24T20:57:00.011-05:00

Soccer is over and Austin did very well.
He had a blast and can't wait to do it again next year.

Maci's always sneaking the team snacks

Two weeks ago I went the a pumpkin patch with some friends.
We were having a great time.

There was a lot to do including feeding the goats

They climb up steps, and you pulley up some food for them in that metal cup.

Unfortunately, one of the pulleys broke, and a cup fell down and hit Austin in the head.
It was pretty terrifying for him.
Thank goodness to good friends for taking Maci and Hunter
so I could ride in the ambulance with Austin.
Another good friend, Chelsea, came to the hospital to help.
Thank goodness because Austin wouldn't let anyone look at his head, let alone touch it.
We had to hold him down.
It took 3 adults.
He got 3 staples, a fireman hat, and a Popsicle.
And then on the way home, ice cream.

(further down are pictures of the gash..just warning you.
It really isn't too bad.)

Netflix on Chelsea's phone kept Austin occupied (I really need one of those things!)

He got his staples out last week. I think my weeks worth of "braving" him up for it helped because he (for the most part) let the Dr. take the staples right out.

Busy, busy, busy

2011-10-24T20:04:00.008-05:00

We have been so busy lately.
I usually don't complain about that kind of thing, but seriously...
it would be nice if I could at least eat a meal while sitting down.
(And not sitting in the car!)

It's a good thing we are staying busy though as it's making the days go by quickly.

A few weekends ago when we were actually bored (gasp!) we went walking downtown.

I like to do this. Downtown is amazing here.

King street. The main street for shopping and restaurants.

Old Slave Mart. Slaves were kept and sold here until 1863.
Today it is a museum.

Random places downtown

Cobble stone streets. Love!

This particular outing seemed...stressful.

One of those things where you ask yourself why you did it.
I didn't want to sit at home, but when I'm out it seems overwhelming sometimes.

The kids didn't want to be there, but I knew they would have fun if they stopped telling themselves it wouldn't be fun.

Austin peed his pants because I couldn't find a bathroom fast enough.
Mind you he had just peed in a bottle in the car 10 minutes prior...wow, did I just admit that?

At that point I was ready to leave.
On the way back to the car we stopped by The Waterfront park.
It is an awesome relaxed park right on the Charleston Harbor.

Austin wrote his name in the gravel. (remember he's writing his name EVERYWHERE!)

Hunter watched for dolphins, and saw several,

and Maci stole my Diet Pepsi...which was a small price to pay for a little relaxing.

It ended up being a fun trip
~~and Austin's pants were dry by the time we got back in the car.~~ Ha.

Slug bug

2011-10-10T12:26:00.009-05:00

There is no escaping a game of "slug bug" when we are in the car these days.

The only thing is...

TO AUSTIN

Every

car

we pass

is a slug bug.

Until he realizes it's not.

All photos courtesy of Google :)

Holding on to Summer

2011-10-04T18:25:00.006-05:00

I can't believe it's already October!

Summer flew by, and I can officially say that
MY HUSBAND GETS HOME NEXT MONTH!
We miss him SO very much, and we are anxious for him to get home.
Counting down the days!

The weather has been really nice here, but a few mornings have been chilly
(yes, 55° is "cold" to me)
I'm not sure if I'm ready for Fall yet.
I guess you can say San Antonio and Charleston have spoiled me with warm weather.
I just might end up as a snow bird when I'm older.

I've been horrible at taking many pictures lately.
Well at least of my own kids.
I've been taking several photo shoots of other babies and families, which has been so fun.

Well here is what I did get...

I made Maci a bowl of cereal-
She threw a tantrum-
...she won.
She wanted to pick the bowl SHE wanted.
It fit a whole 2 shredded wheat.

This made me laugh out loud when I realized that she wanted this bowl.

Some pictures of my kids playing outside.

These pictures of Maci crack me up.
They don't look like her to me.
She has many different faces I guess.

Austin, sweet boy.

Austin can't wait for Dad to teach him to ride his bike without training wheels!

Wow, he definitely got the squinty-Judd eyes.

I couldn't ask for a nicer boy.

Awesome sunrise and steam(?) on my way to take Hunter to school.
I seem to find a lot of things I like to take pictures of.
The kids always grumble when I stop...

Randomness

2011-09-22T19:43:00.017-05:00

Not much to blog about the last few weeks.

We've been busy though.

Soccer, school, scouts, piano, 2 year old meltdowns...to name a few things.

We are having a good time, and September is flying by!

Hunter is doing great in piano, and he is really loving it.
He loves getting up early to get his practicing in.
He can play 4 songs, including the Kung Fu Panda theme song (Thanks Sven!)
I need to get a video of him playing. I'm really so proud of him.

I found this in Hunter's room the other day. Man 8 year olds are busy!

In case you can't read it it says

1st- Phineas and Ferb

2nd-Play outside with Mason

3rd- Play computer

4th- Play DS while chewing gum

5th- Play outside with Mason

6th- Color

7th Play DS

8th Watch TV

9th- read

10th- Color

And the poor kid only got three marked off!

This is our "Kisses from Daddy" Jar

Each day the kids each get a "kiss" from Dad.

At the beginning of the deployment it was all the way at the top.
When the kisses are gone, Daddy will be home!

As of today we are 70% done with this deployment....but who's keeping track??

Maci is really cute with it. Every morning she points to it and says "Dada!"
I give her the candy and then she hugs and kisses Will's picture.

She misses her Daddy SO much.

This is the lake down the street from our house. Will and I got a good laugh at the sign when we moved here
(but then we realized it wasn't so funny)

Never actually seen an alligator here, but we hear stories.

We do see lots of birds, mostly heron, and some turtles.

Austin has been doing great at soccer, but this day he fell down outside at home and it totally affected his game play.
Duh, who can kick with a hurt elbow, right?

Austin is so sweet and always picks me flowers :)

Playing around before soccer practice. They were very giggly

Serious Maci

And last, but definitely not least!

Best

pancakes

EVER!

Ha!

This picture makes them look bad, but seriously..go make these, NOW!

Here's the recipe!

Mmm!

Let the fun begin!

2011-09-07T19:28:00.007-05:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, we have a lot coming up.

Well it's all here.

Today was Austin's first soccer practice.

He is in Start Smart soccer, which is a parent involvement, learning sport.
Yes, that's right.

I have to play with him.

I've been nervous about how I'm going to manage it.

This is how I saw it all happening in my head.
Austin whining the whole time.
(because, to tell you the truth...he wasn't excited about soccer...thanks to his hero, and big brother saying that soccer isn't cool)
Maci pulling on my leg
(because what else am I good for right?)

Hunter in the background telling me he's hungry, asking if it's time to leave.
(I'm pretty sure all my kids think about is when their next snack is)
Me, drenched in sweat from the heat.
(stupid humidity)

Me sweating+Maci+Hunter+Austin+trying to kick a ball=

Why the crap am I doing this again?

I was pleasantly surprised when the opposite happened.
The weather was perfect. Hunter played with another boy the whole time. Maci sat in her stroller the whole time, while another little girl talked to her.

Austin loves soccer, and he's really good at it!

It was actually enjoyable.

~~I'll just skip the part where I didn't have time to fix dinner so we stopped off at McDonald's~~

Hunter starts Ready, Set, Run tomorrow.
For the next 12 weeks he will be training for the 5k reindeer run.
They are going to be talking about heath, going on hikes throughout the base, and doing other fun things to get ready for their run.
In December, he gets to dress like a reindeer and do his 5k run downtown.
He is really excited about it.

Hunter also starts piano in a few days.
He has been "practicing" already.
...Everyday.

Hunter is going to be busy with school, scouts, piano, and Ready, Set, Run, but I think it will make the last few months of this deployment go quickly for him.

Practicing letters

2011-09-04T20:55:00.009-05:00

I have to say I feel pretty guilty.

Austin DOESN'T know how to write his name...
He knows how to spell it, but we haven't worked much on writing it.

I really feel like I deserve a Worst-Mom-Ever award.

Hunter had been writing his name for a year at Austin's age.
The good news is, Austin is learning very fast and is getting better at it every time we try.
He's been practicing his letters and name everywhere!!
....including the carpet with a marker (he knows better! .... or maybe another award for me?)

I went outside to find this yesterday.
Austin trying to perfect his "A's"

Thank goodness for my kids who make me smile everyday.
I freaking love my kids.

Let's just say...

2011-09-02T19:19:00.015-05:00

So..............

let's just say I was bored one Friday evening and decided to go for a little drive.

And lets say I drove to a dock I've been wanting to take pictures of.

I park on the awkward dirt road,

get all three kids out,

and walk down the dirt path.
And come to find out, further down, that path is overgrown with weeds.
So let's say we all turn around...darn.

And say we...

Walk back to the van

unlock van
open the door

buckle Maci up
...make sure it's nice and secure (of course....like the good Mom that I am)
And now let's say...

just for fun...

that I decide to put my cell phone and keys on the floor while I buckle Maci.

Yes, that's a very good idea.

Close the door.

Tell the boys to get in and buckle up.

Oh, crap. The boys still need to get in.

open the door.

open the door..........

OPEN THE DOOR!

Look in to see my keys AND cell phone sitting on the floor.

Then let's pretend I start to panic.

Wave a stranger down.
Use their phone to call 911.
Wait 15 minutes for their arrival.

Panic a little more.
Wait another HOUR AND A HALF! for two police men to jimmy the lock.

Not that I know anything about this story.

Let's hope that never happens to me!

Someone needs to be in gymnastics

2011-08-30T17:10:00.008-05:00

Uhhh....
Where did this come from?
I am definitely NOT this flexible.
Will is even worse.

I took Maci to the park today while Austin and Hunter were at school.
She was so excited, despite the permanent you-are-SO-lame looking face she wears everywhere.
To have the park all to herself, without two brothers ruining it for her, was heaven to her.

Preschool

2011-08-23T19:37:00.007-05:00

Austin had his first day of preschool today (tear)
He LOVED it.
I really like the preschool he is going to.
They seem to have just the right mix of social/playtime, and learning time.
He only goes for 3 1/2 hours, two days a week; but it is going to be good for him.
I went and got groceries with only one kid hanging on me, instead of three.
I think that was when I realized that I haven't been anywhere with just Maci in a long time.
It was so nice to have that one on one time with her, even walking through the grocery store isles.

Austin has his own little cubby that he keeps his lunch and important papers in.
He was so excited that he gets to bring his own lunch to preschool.
I took him to Wal-Mart and let him pick out a new lunch box.

It was a big deal that it had to be "Optimus Crime, and the yellow guy"
I was so happy when we got there to see that they did have a Transformers lunch box...whew.
But in the end, How to Train your Dragon won...but it was NOT an easy decision for him!
It was very important that he picked the right one. :)

The "free play" time at his preschool is amazing. They have all sorts of trampolines, rope swings, balance beams, and a bouncy castle/slide.

In a few weeks, Austin starts soccer.
He hasn't played any sports, so I'm excited to see how he will like it.
He's getting so big!

Pretty Girl

2011-08-22T20:54:00.006-05:00

Tonight Maci let me paint her nails.
I've painted them before, but had to sit on her to do it.
So fun that she actually wants them painted.

Maci loves socks

The Air Force has a program called Give Parents a Break.
Of course everything in the military is shortened by turning it into an acronym,
so it's called GPB.
Two Saturday's a month I get to drop my kids off at GPB on base at the CDC for 5 hours.
(Sorry another acronym, Child Development Center.)
This is really the only break I get from the kids so you better believe my kids are at every one of these.
Last Saturday, I dropped them off, headed down to Isle of Palms...the closest beach, and

relaxed,
finished my book,

and drank my Diet Pepsi!

It was heaven.

I've been dreaming of doing this since we moved here.

It was so nice to close my eyes for a second without worrying if Austin is going into the ocean too far,

or if Maci's off talking to some stranger again.

After that I went and walked downtown for a bit.
I didn't have much time left, but I walked a few blocks.
Downtown Charleston is amazing.
Everything is old, and so gorgeous.
People who love taking pictures (that would include me) go crazy down here.
Everything you look at, you want to take a picture.

I love it here.

"Halfway" & first day of third grade

2011-08-17T11:43:00.005-05:00

Today is our "halfway" mark for this deployment!
The reason for the quotes?
The military is notorious for extending deployments.
All of us military wives know it, and we live with it.
Hopefully he will be back before Thanksgiving,
but he should definitely be back before Christmas.

(unless of course something changes.
Ok, so the military has trained me to not believe ANYTHING until it is over, so there)

I have to say its been nice having half the amount of laundry. You wouldn't believe the clothes Will goes through in a day. PT clothes (Physical Training), uniform, normal civilian clothes, lounge clothes.
Aye yai yai.
And another thing,
the kids don't mind cereal and mac and cheese for dinner...
enough said.

Those things don't compare to the time Will has missed with the kids, and how much I miss him.

We have definitely had our ups and downs with the first half of this deployment.
Its hard having Will gone, and we miss him very much...can't wait for him to be home.

Hunter started third grade on Monday.
He really loves his teacher, Mrs. Corwin.
~~It's so nice,~~ ~~it's so quiet,~~ It's amazing what one less kid around the house does.

I don't know what I'm doing to myself, but I've...
signed Austin up for soccer,
signed Hunter up for taekwon-Do,
signed Hunter up for Ready, Set, Run (a running sport on base)
Hunter is also in scouts, and he is about to start piano lessons.
Lets not forget Maci is starting her terrible twos!
Let's hope ~~they~~, I survive.

Long time no blog!

2011-08-05T19:03:00.004-05:00

I guess I'll come back from my blogging hiatus. Oops, I didn't mean to be gone this long. It's been almost 6 months and a LOT has happened. So here is what we've been up to in the past 6 months.

I guess the biggest change is that Will is deployed.
He's been gone for 2 1/2 months and we miss him very much,

and can't wait for him to get home in November!
Things were a little crazy for a few months before he left.
He was supposed to leave on a short notice deployment to Lybia back in

March and they never ended up going.
(don't get me started on that! I could go on and on...)
He ended up leaving in April for training in Germany,

and then again in May for his deployment to Kuwait.
We get to talk on the phone, skype, and even text regularly.

(yes that's right, can you believe technology!? We are so grateful!)
Will says that when you walk outside in Kuwait

it feels like someone is holding a hair dryer to your face that's blowing sand.

Right now the average temperature is about 120 degrees.
It is fully light at 5am and fully dark at 6pm.
Will is lucky enough to be working indoors most of the time, which is a great blessing to him.

He works with several Kuwaiti civilians and tells me funny stories about it all the time.

Prior to Will leaving, my ~~little~~ big Hunterman turned 8!

Hunter got a basketball hoop.
After he solved his scavenger hunt clues, he walked out to the garage to see his hoop.

I seriously love this picture, it is genuine happiness.

The rest of February consisted of...

Exploring Charleston

Lots of boats in Charleston Harbor

Amazing trees

Spanish moss

Trees that bloom everywhere you go

Old mansions on East Bay street

Horse drawn carriage tours

Old buildings, cobble stone roads, and history all over down town

The Battery

Battery Park is known for many things including the hanging of pirates in the 1700's and it was an artillery site during the civil war.

East battery

USS Yorktown
Navel ship used in WWII

Awesome shopping downtown on King St.

Children's Museum

The beach

And this is what happens after the beach

The beginning of TEMPER TANTRUMS!

But still being cute

Playing Basketball

Hunter is really good friends with our next door neighbor, Mason.
They play almost every day together.

Maci likes walks around the block, she usually just takes off walking without me.

March

Bags,

and more bags.
March consisted of a lot of packing and bags.
Remember that deployment to Lybia Will was supposed to go on?
Well these bags are those bags, the Kuwait deployment bags were in April.
I stopped taking pictures at that point.

March was a high-stress time with the deployment.
It was really hard on the kids.
At one point we actually said good-bye and dropped Will off at his squadron to deploy, only to pick him up 20 minutes later.

Hunter had an impormptu baptism.
We had it scheduled for the Saturday after Will ~~left~~ was supposed to leave.
We ended up doing it last minute on Wednesday because Hunter wanted Dad to do it, we didn't want to wait until he got back, and we weren't sure how long he would be gone.

We still tried to pack some fun things in.
Nanny and Pop came to visit for Hunter's baptism.
(and to spoil the kids)

New clothes from Great Grandma

Obessivley wearing snow boots

April

By the time April came we knew Will wouldn't be leaving to Lybia. Instead, he was assigned the deployment to Kuwait. He was gone for the last 3 weeks in April for training.

Easter!

The kids had their fair share of Easter egg hunts. I think they did 3 or 4. These pictures are from the sqadron Easter egg hunt.

This was another easter egg hunt on base...that was interesting trying to watch all three of my kids hunt for eggs in 3 different fields at the same time.

I have NO idea why they did it like that.

I definitely wasn't the only one in that situation.

Bugs.

LOTS of playing outside

Our first big outing without Daddy was to the Angel Oak tree (a 1500+ year old tree in Charleston) and to the beach.

We had a good time...but I think everyone was looking at me crazy.

I even had a few people ask if I brought "3 kids..........to the beach.........by myself." Hehe! We have a good time, but I do have to say that I am SO happy to be home when we get back. It is a lot of work.

The kids were quite entertained by the dead jelly fish scattered on the beach.

This is the Morris Island lighthouse off of Folly Beach

Tons of sea shells at low tide

Angel Oak tree. It's huge and amazing.

Another fun thing we did in April was the Kids Deployment Line.
The kids get a very condnesed version of a deployment.
It's really great for teaching about why Daddy has to leave, what he does to get ready to leave, and what he does while he's away. We spend the day on a mock deployment to Monoco, getting breifings, touring a C-17, and eating MRE's.

The kids had to wear ear plugs on the C-17

May

Will got back from training and aside from work and packing more gear, it was spent relaxing and having fun as a family.

Of course we went to the beach :)

Lots of good sea shells this trip

Body boarding

June

A few weeks after Will left and Hunter was out of school we spent some time in Washington.
It was nice not being across the country from everyone I know.
We had SO much fun, and of course the time went by way too fast.

We...
Saw Cars 2!

Celebrated Austin's birthday
Wow, what a horrible Mom I am..I didn't even mention it in May's section.

I don't have any pictures from his actual birthday...but I'm sure I have video? (fingers crossed)

had lots of bubble baths

Played with whatever they can get their hands on

Loved Vancouver weather

(in June at least ;)

Showed Grandma their true colors

Ice blocked
(If you look at the picture of Austin, he isn't actually on an ice block, he was too scared so he was just pretending)

Played out side every day

look at my little dare devil...you should see her swim (she thinks she CAN swim)

Brooke and Richard came up for the 4th of July. It was so good to see them and I enjoyed every minute with them

The boys really took to Richard, but Maci was Brookes.

July

~~We've~~ I've been wanting a new table for...well for 8 1/2 years.
I finally got one :)
I realized after I got the picture loaded to my computer that Austin is picking his wedgie. Lovely.

While I was mowing the lawn I found this...looks like someone planted my cherry pits.

The last week in July Bill and Shelley came to visit.
We were so excited to have them, and we had so much fun while they were here.

Aquarium

Battery Park

H.L. Hunley Submarine and USS Yorktown

Wow, that was a long post. I swear I'll blog more just as soon as I'm done finding the secret to making more time.

Exploring

2011-02-13T21:31:00.009-06:00

Maci has been exploring her world...
constantly!
Here is what I see every time I turn a corner.
Too bad I just think she is cute and it doesn't bother me one bit!
Okay, getting things out of the toilet is pushing it...

Hunter wanted to take some pictures the other day, so I let him take some of us...it's a rarity I am in a picture, I prefer being BEHIND the camera.

Austin WANTED A TURN!

Pretty good boys!

Spouse Day

2011-02-13T19:45:00.006-06:00

Saturday was THE coolest day ever.
Ok, maybe not the coolest, but it was unexpected so it made it better.
I got to go to my husbands work and see, learn about, and actually touch everything he works with every day.
After being a military spouse for almost 8 years, I have NEVER been to a "Spouse Day"
Not because I didn't want to go, but because they really don't exist at most bases.
If you haven't gotten it from any of my other posts, I totally LOVE it here.
The people.
The scenery.
The uniqueness.

The Base.

EVERYTHING!
Really, I haven't come across anything I don't like so far.
Well..except, of course, being so far from EVERYONE I know!
I'm getting used to that, I just hope they are...

Now on to the good stuff.
First off, they had free child care.
That made it easier for me to go considering Will was home sleeping from working the night before. (oh boy, that's another post...ug)
Anyways, so when I got there, I dropped the kids off...tried to pry Maci out of my arms, and I was off!
(Can you tell I was excited? Don't worry, the kids did awesome, made new friends, and ate too much...didn't even know I was gone.)

Oh ya, and Will's commander...he's LDS.
How cool is that?
There is only one other Security Forces commander that is LDS.
The commander and his wife were on the tour the whole time. He and his wife are super nice, humble, and genuine.
Considering Gennaveeve (a fellow SF spouse) and I are the only families who are LDS in Wills squadron, naturally we hit it off with Heidi
(the commanders wife)
:)

All of the stuff I saw was really cool to me. It might not seem that interesting I guess, but after hearing about all of this stuff for so long, it was neat to finally see it.

The first thing we did was see the armory...where everyone gets their guns for their shift.
Then we got on a bus and went over to the K-9 section.
This was probably my favorite part. We learned all about how they take care of, train, and feed all of the military-working dogs.
They currently have eight dogs. Two of which are deployed.
The most interesting fact I learned was that after a dog comes back from a deployment, they quarantine that dog for 10 days.
Each dog works with one trainer.
The dog IS their partner.
We walked through the kennel area, (SCARY!!! They were barking and jumping so high in their cages) and out to the training arena.
They put on a little demonstration...SO COOL!
If you have never seen a military working dog in action, and you get the opportunity, GO.

These dogs are mean I'm telling ya. It is so cool though because the dogs listen to every command. They could be in the middle of attacking someone and if their trainer gives them the command to stop, they will. They showed us that, and a lot of other cool things.

This was the "bad guy"
The dog had a grip on his arm and the guy swung him in the air around and around.
What a bite.
I was too busy watching to get a picture of that, and a lot of other things...

After that we went to CATM...which means Combat Arms Training and Maintenance.
Are you staying with me?
This is where Will, and ALL members of the base do their weapons training and qualifications.
We got to see the shooting ranges and learn about, see, and touch the GUNS!

That's Gennaveeve

Afterwards we went to see the Phoenix Raven section, which I was so excited about since this is what Will hopes to do eventually.
Ravens are basically security personnel for the flights the military takes.
They are gone an average of 15-20 days a month, flying to hundreds of countries.
It is a really great opportunity to see the world and they only have Raven sections at 5 bases.
They taught us how they train in case a threat comes close to the aircraft.
One guy even got tasered for us.

This guy got tasered for us.
The one on the ground ;)

After that we ate lunch (free food!) and headed back to the squadron to pick up our kids.
It was really good to meet other spouses and see Will's work.
I had such an awesome time.

Lazy Sunday Morning

2011-02-07T13:27:00.007-06:00

We love Sunday's!
Well I know I do.
It's the one day during the week that I let loose.
(I try to anyways!)
The house gets a LITTLE messy, but I get to enjoy my kids...
and I love every minute of it.
The boys are getting along more and more these days.
Hunter still doesn't like that Austin copies "everything!" he does,
but I actually heard him the other day say, "It's okay Austin, you can copy me."

Some days are better than others, but it makes me SO happy to see them getting along.

Maci LOVES her doll...
She's a little rough with it,
but hey, what do you expect, she has two older brothers who taught her that.

No!
No, no, no, no, NO!
Tantrums...
We have hit the tantrum stage.
Ha, actually it's kinda hysterical to watch.
We just think she's so stinkin' cute.
...but then again...
2 more months till nursery!

How could I forget?

2011-01-30T19:19:00.006-06:00

That's a funny question to ask me, because I forget a lot of things actually.
I never thought I would be one of THOSE mom's...
Yet, here I am.
The third kid is definitely the kicker.

Before we left San Antonio, there were a few places I'd been wanting to go see that we squeezed in.
I took these pictures at one of the Spanish Missions.
Hunter LOVED going to the missions and learning all about them.
Anyways, here are the pictures...
Of course they are all of my gorgeous kids...not of the mission...duh.

By the way, three posts in three days is a record for me.

I added this last one just because I love how Maci's foot is up and she's staring at Austin.

Why use a spoon...

2011-01-29T11:46:00.004-06:00

...when you can do this?

What have we been up to?

2011-01-28T11:00:00.008-06:00

What have we been up to you ask?
Well, quite a bit actually...
I'm going to give you the broken-down, short version
so I can sleep at night knowing I've "caught-up",
and so I can start the next post off from where we are now.

Boxes, boxes everywhere.
They are gone now, but I wish I would have pulled my camera out and taken a picture.

Laundry, laundry, and more laundry.
I about peed my pants when I saw Will carrying this.

Mommy's been letting someone get dressed on his own so she can get more stuff done.

We are finally moved in and settled, but that doesn't mean the house is clean.
Maci makes sure of that.

Austin is always willing to smile for the camera!

And make silly faces

It's been cold here!!
We are freezing.

So many birds here!
I love it.

Maci girl!
We love our "maims"

There is an aquarium here we went to last weekend.
The kids loved it!

Of course they insisted on posing by the frogs outside.
That's the bridge I talked about in THIS post.

I totally LOVE it here.
It is so pretty, and I can't wait to get some more pictures of this place to show you.

Sort of feel bad there aren't many pictures of Hunter.
He's always at school when I pull my camera out.

By the way, if you look at our blog on a small screen (phone, small computer screen)
it's not going to look right.
Just thought I'd mention it since someone said something to me.

Charleston!

2011-01-04T22:00:00.001-06:00

Charleston is AWESOME! We love it so far. It is different than we imaged, but is really cool. There is so much history here and the houses and buildings are awesome. We are looking forward to learning and seeing a lot!
Some of the things I have learned here so far...
- The Civil War and the American Revolutionary war both started here.
- They use pine needles for bark around trees and bushes
- People here jokingly call the mosquito the state bird. (ahh!)
- A week ago it snowed here. It doesn't snow often. I hadn't seen snow in 4 years.
- Spanish moss grows on most of the trees out here. It is so pretty, it's my favorite part.
- They still separate things by plantations and there are some plantations that have been preserved.
- The bridges here are AWESOME.
- When Will drives (or anyone for that matter), I'm just sure he is going to loose control and make us flip over the side of the bridge. That's why I drive :)
- None of the walls in houses have texture on them. I don't like it.
- The porches are screened in so the mosquitoes don't get you.
- Wills commander is LDS. There is only one other LDS Security Forces commander in the Air Force.

We don't have our HHG (house hold goods, for all you non-military) but hopefully we can get out of TLF soon! That's temporary living facility. I might have to do a whole blog on military acronyms :))

Here are some pictures I took of our trip down to Charleston and of Charleston.

We stopped by New Orleans on our drive to South Carolina. It was awesome and we wish we could have spent more time there. We walked around the French Quarters and went to a Hurricane Katrina museum. Louisiana was beautiful to drive though. Most of the roads were raised since it has a lot of wet land.

Spanish Moss and bridge
(pictures courtesy of google)

This picture doesn't really do it justice, but it is really pretty (and scary ;) to drive over.

Those look like rocks but they are oyster shells

Boats!

Birds!

Beach!

cracking open an oyster

It was chilly and foggy the day we stopped by the beach. In the distance you can see a sail boat.

Pretty beaches

Kiddos and Christmas

On Christmas Eve, we drove though a festival of lights. There were over a million lights on different displays. You can see the Spanish moss on this one too.

Messy hair, juice mustaches, and Christmas p.j.'s
Someone please tell me what to do with Maci's hair!!!

Christmas Day

ear

eye

Someone has Daddy wrapped around her finger

can you tell?

The kids had a great Christmas, got too many presents, and ate too much candy. I'm just enjoying these little stinkers!

Home is where the Air Force sends you

2010-12-07T11:55:00.008-06:00

Yup, that's why I haven't been blogging lately.
We are moving.
In fact, the packers will be here to pack all of our things next Tuesday!
South Carolina, here we come!
I'm hoping to have time to blog one last time before my poor computer gets packed away for an undetermined amount of time.
We hope everyone is doing well and has a happy and safe holiday season.

Top ten things we will miss about San Antonio
10. Hunter's school.
9. Taking the boys trick or treating in 80 degree weather.
8. The Riverwalk, the Alamo, the missions and other historical sites.
7. Going to SEAWORLD!
6. Our neighbor, Jesus. He is a mechanic and has fixed our cars numerous times.
5. Watching troops march on base. Lackland is a big training base, so we see this everyday.
4. Hearing the national anthem every night. It plays on base every day at 5:00, we live so close we can hear it.
3. My husbands job. I hope he likes his next one as much as he enjoyed being an instructor.
2. Our first house.
1. All of the friends we made here!

Top 10 things we won't miss about San Antonio
10. Humidity+heat (wait SC has that too! dang)
9. Church at 2:30
8. Tire marks on our driveway from the heat (I'll let you know if we have this prob. in SC too:)

7. Fire ants

6. The raccoon that gets into our garbage can every night.

5. HEB (Stands for Here, everything's better. it's the only grocery store here, unless you want to shop at Walmart)

4. Grass that looks like weeds. Ugly foliage.

3. Hearing the taco truck drive by 3x a night & seeing people sell candied apples at busy intersections.

2. I don't have a closet downstairs...it's the first thing I'm looking for in our next house!
1. Finding scorpions in random places through out our house. Kitchen floor, Tupperware cabinet, pillow case, tub, car...just to name a FEW!

Photo overload. And Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-17T23:20:00.010-06:00

I did have every intention of making these into several different posts.
But for SOME reason, I just can't get around to it.
Somehow everything is getting lost between getting ready to move, and let's face it, daily life.
So here comes my photo dump.

The past few weeks go something like this:

Playing outside...

Dirty faces and clothes

Being goofy...

Practicing walking...

Bugging Maci...

Awww!....

Kisses from Maci...

Getting the mail and then running home...

Movie night. YAY!...

Maci finding popcorn on the ground...

Maci's first attempt with a spoon...with pudding no less.

Forts...

Watching Maci's many modes of transportation.
She isn't quite walking, but probably will start in a few weeks.
She started crawling up the stairs and "crawling" on her feet...

Oh ya!
THANKSGIVING.
We had a few of our friends over for Thanksgiving.

The turkey

Carving the turkey...

Yum!...

The kids

Maci eating all of Daddy's food.

Maci trying to eat the cheesecake Kim made.

Kim :)

Sandra and Cody

Sarah and I
...someone really should have told us our hair looked like that!
This was Sarah's last day before they moved.
It was hard to say bye!

Salute to Will

2010-11-11T19:00:00.004-06:00

Since today is Veteran's Day, it seemed like the perfect day to tell everyone a little bit about Will.
Facts about Will

- Will is a Staff Sergeant in the Air Force. He is in Security Forces.

-He has been in the Air Force since May 2003 and has been proudly serving his country for 7 1/2 years.

-We have been stationed at two bases, moved three times, and have orders to move to South Carolina in December. This is considered a relatively low number of bases/moves.

- Will has never deployed, but is up for a deployment sometime next year.

- He frequently speaks in acronyms, military time, and the phonetic alphabet...which leaves me translating when people look at us funny.

- He is currently stationed with 343rd Training Squadron. "It is the largest technical training school in the U.S. Air Force. It provides Ground Combat Skills, Police Services, Security and Combat Arms training to accomplish the Air Force's Force Protection mission. The unit trains more than 5,000 active duty, guard, or reserve Security Forces officers and airmen annually."

In "normal person" language, this means that he is an instructor for police in the Air Force. He has done everything from training in classrooms, giving tests, to hand to hand combat training and war type training.

- Will has received multiple awards. From distinguished graduate for Airman Leadership School, to the 343rd Airman of the Year. I'm so proud of him, most people receive 2 or 3 of these awards in their whole career

- He has completed his Bachelors degree, and is now working on his Masters degree.

- Will is a member of the base SWAT team. He has trained with some of the Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, and Bexar County SWAT teams.

- Will's claim to fame is a newspaper clipping of him hanging on the wall in Applebee's in Minot.

- Will has owned six different types uniforms, all of which come home filthy dirty from training and hard work.

- Will has shot and is certified to shoot the MK-19, M-240B, M-249, M-4, M-203, M-9, M-16, and M-60.

No words can explain the military.
It is definitely a different lifestyle, and some days I straight up HATE it.
But for the most part, it's not so bad.
Nothing can beat a steady paycheck, free medical care, and a chance to live in various places we never would have otherwise.
Will really enjoys the military, but hopes to train out of Security Forces.

Thanks to all the veterans and their families who have sacrificed so we can enjoy the many luxuries we have.

Pictures of Will

Sweat

Balance

Family

Awards

Air Show

2010-11-10T21:25:00.013-06:00

Saturday was really fun because we went and watched the air show!
They hold one almost every year, and this is our second time going.
For a few days before the air show we can hear them practicing.
Boy is it loud, but it's kind of fun at the same time.

Hunter is our big helper and loves to push the stroller for us.

Hunter and Austin enjoyed looking at all the planes and helicopters on display.
Austin was particularly funny because he would get in and smile at me while still trying to look around in the plane.

Hunter and Maci in a plane, and some weird guy looking at Austin.

As you can tell we looked at several aircraft. The boys enjoyed each of them so much.

There was a hanger full of things on display including hummers, guns, DFP's, and this mock BMT dorm , all of which we pretty much skipped since there were long lines.
(we figured if we wanted to see them that bad we would just go to work with Will)

A few times the planes scared Maci, so we ended up leaving.
Daddy couldn't stand his little girl being scared.
This picture really doesn't do it justice...
it was pretty sad.

Halloween at our house

2010-10-31T21:13:00.010-05:00

Happy Halloween!
On Friday. we carved our pumpkins which is always a big hit.

Until Austin realized...
"Wait, I have to stick my hand in that thing?!"

He was brave though and did it.
Which is big for him....Austin likes to be clean

Hunter on the other hand....

Oops.
I never did get a picture of the finished results.
Austin (Dad) carved an alien, and Hunter (Mom) carved a skeleton.

This morning I made crepes (aka rolled-ups) and colored them orange.
Crepes totally remind me of being a kid.

Like I said in my last post, I've been baking a lot.
Bread, pumpkin cinnamon rolls, more bread, pumpkin cake...
So why not something else.
Hunter really wanted to try pumpkin seeds, so I made them.
After he found out you don't crack them (like a sunflower seed) you just eat them...he said, "Nevermind"

Hunter's robot costume actually turned out decent.
I was surprised...
He really liked it (except for the fact he couldn't sit down) and he kept saying,
"Thank you for making this for me Mom!" He is so sweet.

The other kids wore costumes we already had at the house...
What do I look like? Ha, I don't have the patience to make 3 costumes...

Maci made the prettiest Mini Mouse.

Austin was super-cool Buzz Lightyear!
He "flew" from house to house collecting candy.

While we were trick-or-treating Austin took a pretty bad fall, jumped right up and said, "is there any blood?" and kept walking. Good thing Hunter isn't the one who fell, we would have been going home with a screaming kid.

EVERYONE that passed Hunter told him how cool his costume was.

He told me on Saturday after trunk-or-treat (at our church) he doesn't like it when people stare at him!

Hunter even won the trunk-or-treat costume contest!!!

Hunter decided he didn't want to wear his robot legs or feet since the kept falling off the night before.

Well, I need to go "inspect" the candy now.
Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

The Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-30T22:20:00.009-05:00

So, you live and you learn. I changed my color setting to a different setting.

Come to find out it is a great setting,

if you intend for you pictures to go to print...

not great for screen display.

I was wondering why my pictures looked "flat" when I loaded them on here.

That's why. I fixed it.

Ha, but I'm not about to load them all again, so you are stuck with my "flat" pictures.

Yay! I love this time of year!!!

It is my favorite.

I love the weather (particularly since it's still in the 80's here :), the baking, the colors.

The baking has gotten a little out of hand.

I thought I learned my lesson last year when I ate two, yes two, pumpkin cakes by MYSELF!

No one in my house, besides me, likes sweets....weird.

Mmmm. Pumpkin cake.

Getting off subject.

A few weeks ago we went to a pumpkin patch in Medina.

It was pretty hot that day, but the kids didn't seem to mind.

Maci is such a Daddy's girl.

I'm a prop to her.

A prop that holds her.

Maci and Austin loved seeing the animals.

There were several animals in baskets they passed around a circle.

Austin saw all the animals....three times.

He would have sat there longer too.

Hunter was there...
Somehow he dodged all my pictures.

Maci pointing at the animal she wants to see.

This part was my favorite.

There where two horses and some brushes.

The kids brushed them for a long time.

Austin showing off

We ate our picnic, let the kids play by the lake, let them ride the rides...

We were pooped!

Game night with Hunter

2010-10-23T18:59:00.005-05:00

Catch Phrase: A hand held game in which you try to get your team to guess the clue on the screen, without saying the word, or any part of the word.

Will: "This is something you call someone when they eat a lot. They just eat a ton!"
Hunter: "a diet!"

(Answer: Pig out)

Abbey: "This is something I like to have by my bed every night."
Hunter: "Daddy!"

Answer (a glass of water)

Hunter: "This is a slide with water on it"
Mom and Dad: "A water slide?"

Answer: (A water slide)

Last night was probably the best night I've had in a long time. We decided to play Catch Phrase. We adapted a little and we (Will, Hunter, and I) were all on our own teams. Hunter cracked us up! He is so smart and got a lot of hard ones too.

Hunter: "The meal Jesus had before he died on the cross"
Mom: "The Last Supper"

Will: "It's a place. It starts with a girls name. And the end is another name for the ground"
Hunter: "Maryland"
Mom: "Huh?"

Hunter: "It's in Florida, people go there to have fun."
Will: "Disney World"

Polka Dot Party!!!

2010-10-18T22:00:00.009-05:00

So, I hate to admit it...
but I've honestly only thrown two birthday parties.

Three now.

Yes, I'm one of those mean moms...
I decided, since we are moving soon,

and Maci's birthday happened to land on a Saturday,

that I would throw her a party for her FIRST birthday.

I'm so glad I did, because it was really a lot of fun.

Every since Austin (yes, AUSTIN) was born I have wanted to throw a polka dot party.
It's a good thing I had a girl,

because the boy's might not have been too thrilled with that theme.

Everything turned out really cute.

Actually, better than I imagined it would.

That never happens to me.

Remember this cake from Austin's first birthday?

Do those even look like Legos?

Or this one I threw together last minute for Austin's second birthday?

Wow, poor Austin. Has he ever had a decent cake?

See my "fruit dots" & "veggie dots"? We also had "chip dots" & "candy dots"
I know, I'm a dork!
The cake was pink inside, and we served it with pink and orange sherbet.

Birthday Girl in her tutu Sarah made her.

Maci LOVES watermelon!

And paper apparently

My mom coincidentally bought polka dot wrapping paper before she knew the theme of Maci's party.

Funny.

Maci was really cute because she didn't really want to sit still on the bench,

but the second everyone started singing "Happy Birthday" she just stopped and starred.

She knew something was going on!

"What? You're letting me have cake?"

"I just can't believe my good fortune!"

Miss Priss that Maci is, she mostly just poked at the cake with her finger.

Then licked her finger.

The rest of the gang

This is Austin's bestie.

Hudson.

He's so cute!

The other kids mostly just played and ate outside, which was kinda nice.

The summer's here can be miserable, but the fall and spring make up for it!

The guys playing washers.

Thanks to my friend Sarah for taking most of the pictures...

otherwise we probably would have had about 3 pictures to look at.

Today Maci had her one year check-up.

Poor girl got 6 shots

was poked and prodded

and had blood drawn.

She's a trooper

She is still tracking in the 2nd percentile and is doing great.

Maci is ONE!

2010-10-16T22:08:00.008-05:00

Wow, has it really been a year since Maci was born?

I feel like I say this with every passing year,
but every year just seems to go by even faster than the year before.

Here are a few shots I took of Maci a few days ago...
They didn't turn out the best, but hey, I'm learning.

We threw Maci a birthday party and I can't wait to blog about it.

It turned out really cute!!!

Angel Baby

2010-10-05T21:23:00.011-05:00

Maci is such a good baby...

as long as I'm holding her.

HA!

I guess that probably sounds like an oxymoron.

But really, she is so much easier than the boys were, all I have to do is hold her.

Really, I don't hold her all the time.

She's really a good baby.

Ever since Maci was about two months old, she has sucked on her blanket when she is tired.

It's so cute.

This is a familiar scene while I cook diner.

Hunter loves holding and plaing with Maci.

She likes it too.

Because I can...

2010-10-04T12:55:00.014-05:00

I can update my blog...in the middle of the day...the house is quiet.

Will took the kids (well Hunter didn't go, but he's in school) to Colorado to visit his family.

Which means I can blog pretty much whenever I want.

Problem is, I don't have many pictures right now :)

A few weeks ago for FHE we talked about what a journal is and the importance of keeping one.
My sister, Brooke, found some school supplies (for way cheap of course) and sent them, so those were perfect for the boys to decorate.
The boys really enjoyed this.
Sorry, Austin spilled a LITTLE water on himself so he HAD to take his clothes off.

Maci is getting so big.
She turns one on the 16th.

I just can't believe it.

My new toy
I really enjoy running, but pushing two kids in a Sit N' Stand is pretty tough.
We sold our Sit N' Stand stroller on Craigslist (for almost as much as we paid for it, Thank. You. Very. Much.)
and got this double jogging stroller.
It's so awesome!

Shrine Circus

2010-09-19T11:17:00.010-05:00

Last weekend Will volunteered to help at the circus and they let our whole family in for FREE.
They even fed us lunch and dinner, and we got to go behind the scenes and see the animals.

Sweet deal!

We were there all day and watched the circus twice.

Pretty sure the paper doesn't taste as good as the cotton candy

This was the boys favorite part.
Tigers? Of course it was!

My favorite part involved a little dog dressed like an elephant.
It was pretty hilarious, but I didn't get a picture.

Everything at the circus was interesting to Austin.

He had never seen anything like it before, and he was totally zoned in the whole time.

The elephants after the show

Waiting for Brother

2010-09-08T16:11:00.013-05:00

Austin likes to climb up to the front seat while we wait for Hunter to get out of school.

He's always gets so excited when it's time to go get him.

He misses Hunter a lot while he is at school.

BEING SILLY!

WAITING, WAITING, WAITING...

BORED

ISH THISH A GOOD SHMILE MOM?

Such a sweet face!

And he waits so patiently ;)

Oops, forgot about this...

2010-09-08T14:04:00.010-05:00

In Washington, we went to the Columbia River to let the boys play in the sand.

They LOVE the sand!

They loved it so much that my parents took them to the coast

after we left and the boys played on the beach all day.

There is just something about my dad that babies like.
Maci was loving all over my Dad the whole time we were there.
It was so precious.

Crawling

2010-08-30T21:52:00.004-05:00

Last weekend, Maci finally decided to crawl.
She crawls on one knee and one foot.
She's my little hermit crab.

Maci still sees a physical therapist and today she gave me "hip helpers".
They are sort of like tight bike shorts that don't open between the legs.
They support her hips so she doesn't turn them outward.
The Physical Therapist says Maci is doing awesome and we are just "fine tuning" her progress.

I really need to post a picture in the shorts.

They are pretty hilarious.

Daddy's Helpers

2010-08-28T19:40:00.015-05:00

Will washes the cars most Saturdays...

Daddy has some GOOD helpers!

Austin showing me the bubbles on his hand

It was such a nice morning this morning!

Summers here are so hot and humid that you don't find me outside much.

...unless I have to be.

I think the kids were wondering what got into me since we all spent the whole morning outside.

Both the boys adore Maci

...can't say the boys adore each other

...but that's another post.

Hunter is such a good brother.

He could spend all day playing with Maci, and still want more.

Do you see how he "lovingly" buckled her in with the leash from his Build-a-Bear?

Almost!

2010-08-24T19:21:00.004-05:00

Maci is almost crawling.
She can scoot around, and she loves her new-found mobility.
She has such a sweet personality, we just adore her.

If you look closely, you can see that she puts her foot up and tries to crawl on her feet instead of her knees.

"I worked SO hard to get over here, now what's that in your hands, Mom!?"

2nd Grade!

2010-08-23T10:42:00.006-05:00

Hunter started second grade today.

He was so excited, and got up right away when Daddy went to wake him up.

I recall last year jumping on him (pretty much!) to wake him up.

Lets home the excitement lasts!

Still too dark to take pictures when we had to go.
He dropped his backpack off on Friday, when he met his teacher.

Second grade is going to be a good year!!!

Trip to Washington...part 4

2010-08-21T10:02:00.007-05:00

Maci's ears

I think I sat outside Claire's for an hour deciding if I should do it...

What the heck, I had two boys...finally got my girl...
and she's going to have pierced ears!

Minus two kids...part 3

2010-08-21T09:49:00.004-05:00

It's over...the boys are home.

What? already? I didn't even finish blogging our trip to Washington!

As much as I enjoyed a little peace and quite (ok...maybe a little too much actually!) I'm happy the boys are home.

I missed them SO much.

Austin is so funny because when I would Skype or talk on the phone with him while he was gone he kept saying he missed his bed. One day on Skype, I found a picture on our computer of his bed and showed it to him...he was so glad to see it :) When he got home he ran up to see his bed. He came down stairs and said in an angry voice, "MOM! You got me a new bed!?" No new bed, just looked different to him. I remember when I was young and we'd get back from a vacation our fridge always looked new...

Hunter starts school on Monday and he is looking forward to that...so am I ;)

Trip to Washington...part 3

2010-08-20T23:00:00.000-05:00

Farmers Market and park

We got yummy peaches, cherries, corn, and raspberries...the boys got snow cones.

It was such a nice day!

Afterwards, we went to the park.

A lady at the park had several hula hoops she was letting people use...

while showing off her amazing talent. (wink)

My mom and I sat and watched her while the boys played at the park.

We could have watched her all day!

HA!

Maci's first swing ride.

She loved it!

Minus 2 kids...part 2

2010-08-13T12:59:00.006-05:00

Pros and cons

of the boys being gone

Pros:

My house stays clean
The house is quiet, my brain is starting to work
My house stays clean
I don't feel like I have to plop down on the couch when I get home from the store
My house stays clean
I've done one load of laundry and ran the dishwasher twice in a week and a half...enough said
The house stays clean

Cons:

I have no one to play Candy Land with
"Last Comic Standing" just isn't cutting it, I miss my mini-comedians
I'm eating all the cookies I made myself, it's more entertaining to bake with a 7 and 3 year old!
I don't wake up to kisses and hugs
My heart aches I miss them so much

Trip to Washington...Part 2

2010-08-11T13:22:00.006-05:00

Strawberries and Blueberries

My mom has strawberries in her garden.
The boys woke up every morning and ran outside to
see if there were any ripe strawberries.
Yum!
I had to keep reminding Austin to stop picking the green ones.
He would pick one and say, "This one is ready Mom!"
Silly!

We also went to a blueberry farm.
This was so fun, and very addicting.
We could have stayed all day picking blueberries.

Hunter was so proud of finding the biggest blueberry!

Maci stealing blueberries...

and eating them

shh...

Trip to Washington...Part 1

2010-08-07T20:40:00.005-05:00

Wow!

We had SO much fun in Washington.

It is so beautiful up there and the weather is awesome right now.

The first day we were up there, we decided to go camping.

We were getting a late start so we rushed to get everything

together and get out the door. When we finally got to the

lake/campground, all the camp sites were full. It was getting

late and we were so bummed. We turned around to go get a

motel at the nearest town. Hunter was really bummed and

driving to the hotel he kept saying, "please find a campground,

please find a campground..." We ended up finding a nice little

RV campsite and they were nice enough to let us pitch our

tent for the night. (Hunter was so relieved) We quickly unloaded

everything, made hot dogs, and smores, then hit the sack.

The next morning, we went boating at Yale Lake. I remember

watching Hunter on the tube and looking up and seeing

Mt. Saint Helens. It was absolutely beautiful. Tubing was fun,

I was sore and bruised the next day, but still insisted we go

again a few days later. It was the most fun I've had in a long time.

Will broke (we think) two of his fingers when they got twisted

up in the handle on the tube, but he still had fun. Here are a

few pictures...well actually the only two pictures I got the whole

time we went camping/boating. (opted to leave my camera at the house)

Minus 2 kids...part 1

2010-08-07T20:20:00.002-05:00

Will, Maci, and I arrived back home on Wednesday from visiting my parents in Washington. That's right...no boys. They are staying with my parents for two weeks! Having one kid around is so different compared to having three. I'm missing them like crazy, but also enjoying a little free time...I might even enjoy it a little more once Will goes back to work on Monday (Sorry Will ;)

Parade Grounds

2010-07-27T19:05:00.009-05:00

A few weeks ago, for FHE we went to the Parade Grounds, which is where the basic training (BMT) graduation takes place every Friday on base.

It's really not too interesting, but the boys always see the aircraft when we drive by and always ask to go see them.

I drive by several times a week, but haven't been back since Will graduated BMT on July 4th, 2003. It's SOO hot and humid out in July here, so we didn't stay too long.

Haha, just for kicks, here's the picture at Will's graduation in July of '03 (almost to the day we took the other pictures) If you can't tell, Hunter was really hot....

Company!

2010-07-20T22:00:00.008-05:00

We love having company! A few weeks ago, Will's dad, Bill, and our nephew, Landon, came to visit us.

"The Trouble Makers"

Hunter and Austin loved having Landon around to play with...most of the time ;)

One thing Will and his dad enjoy doing together is golfing...even if it's raining...wish I took a picture of that! We were able to enjoy our time by swimming, going to Sea World, eating out, and watching movies. Bill was also able to go to work with Will one evening. We had lots of fun and are glad they got to visit us!

Hives

2010-07-12T21:08:00.003-05:00

Poor Maci had hives this last week.
She woke up Thursday morning and I noticed a few red
marks on her face and didn't really think much of it except maybe

she slept on her hand or something. After I changed her diaper I noticed

they were all over her body and her ear was red and swollen. After blaming

Will for bringing poison ivy home from work, (Sorry Will, but you do get it all the time)

I took her to the doctor to make sure she was okay. Not sure what she is

allergic to. It could be pretty much anything. I think it was

her amoxicillin, but we might never know what it was.

The hives were over her whole body...the pictures

don't really do them justice. Today was

the first day they were
totally gone.

Actually these are more appropriate pictures.

The doctors wondered if it was hives for a while because they didn't bug her.

Besides not sleeping very well, she acted totally normal.

New Camera, New Look

2010-07-12T12:01:00.007-05:00

YAY! I got a new camera! I'm SO excited about it. It's a Canon Rebel xsi and i'm having SO much fun with it :) I also changed the look of my blog, but I'm sill working on it :) Our names at the top are links, and I thought this would be an easier way to keep updated on the small things about each of us that I normally wouldn't make a whole post about. I have SO much to update on and I can't wait to get started...now I just need to make time. (anyone know the secret ingredient? I'm still working on that one)

CONSTRUCTION

2010-07-07T22:20:00.000-05:00

I know, I know. My blog's a mess...I'm workin on it ok!?

Austin's birthday

2010-06-02T10:36:00.012-05:00

Austin's third birthday was on May 27th. I swear he seemed bigger when he got up that day.

Hunter helped me wrap the presents and make the cake. Austin LOVED that the day was all about HIM!

Austin had a great birthday. It was so great that we stayed at Incredible Pizza too long and had to have cake and ice cream the next day... :/

Finally our neighborhood pool opened! We spend a lot of time at our pool in the summer so we are always excited when it opens.

Hunter loves jumping in

So does Austin

Maci likes the pool too, but mostly just hangs out in the shade.

Last day of 2

2010-05-26T22:03:00.004-05:00

I had to get one last peek of my boy before he turns three tomorrow.

The terrible twos weren't so terrible after all.

My little brother got married!

2010-05-21T20:00:00.000-05:00

My brother got married! I can't believe my little brother is married!

Eric and Jemma were sealed for time and all eternity on April 9th in the Salt Lake City Temple. I'm so glad our whole family was able to go. It was our first time in the Salt Lake City Temple. It is beautiful!

Jemma looked gorgeous and we are so happy she is part of our family now.

We are so happy for Eric and Jemma.

Other on goings on

(name that movie!)

We have orders! I know! It feels like we just moved, but really we have been here for over 3 years. We have loved it here, and time has gone way too fast. We got orders back in January. (not quite sure why I am only blogging it now) We are moving to South Carolina in January! Will is really excited...I'm getting there. I wasn't too thrilled about moving even FURTHER from family, but sometimes in the military, you don't get what you want. I am excited to live somewhere I never would have otherwise...again. There is a chance we won't be moving if Will is accepted to an officers program(keeping our fingers crossed that he is accepted.) We find out around Thanksgiving about that.
My other little brother, Conor, got his mission call!!!! He will be serving in the New Mexico, Albuquerque mission. We are thrilled for him. He leaves on July 14th (on his 19th birthday :)

Maci had her weight check yesterday. She is up to the 2nd percentile, so she is gaining weight...what a relief. She's just petite. She also had her speech appointment today. The Speech Pathologist said she is doing awesome. I was very happy to hear that. Her tounge thrust is almost gone, but her social developement is still lagging. She wants to see her back in a month again.

FIVE years ago today, Will and I were sealed in the Bismarck, North Dakota Temple. So happy to be sealed to this amazing man.

Summer's approaching

2010-05-19T13:23:00.007-05:00

Only 11 days until school is out. I can't believe how fast this year has flown, and how much Hunter has grown. The weather has been great here, actually a little too hot for me, but the boys have been outside non stop. This whole week is in the 90's and I'm sure it will just get warmer from here. I'm dreading the summer...the humidity really gets to me. We plan on spending a lot of time at the pool to keep cool. Speaking of cool, last weekend we went to an "Armed Forces fun run." Every once in a while the Air Force base holds these. If you finish your run, you get a T-shirt. It's really cute to watch the boys run. Hunter got tired pretty fast, but I was proud that he finished his mile. Austin ran a lot...not sure how far, but I think he just thought it was fun, Will ran with him. I ran my first 5K. Since I had Maci I started running, and I love it.

Hunter and Austin holding up their distance papers from the run.

Fun times outside

Austin found a caterpillar in the backyard. He probably watched it crawl around for at least half and hour.

Too bright for pictures

Hunter has a bike, a skateboard, and a scooter that he likes to ride.

Maci has her first two teeth coming in!

Sittin' pretty

2010-05-08T07:32:00.006-05:00

We just can't get enough of our little princess. She definitely has us wrapped around her finger.

I have worried a lot since Maci has been born. When she was born she was 6 pounds 9 ounces. When we left the hospital she dropped down to 6 pounds 1 ounce, which was perfectly normal. At her two week appointment she wasn't back to her birth weight which was a small concern. I returned to the doctors 2 two weeks later for a weight check. I can't remember her exact weight. She did pass her birth weight, but was only in the 5th percentile. Several times over the next two months I went in for "weight checks" to see if she was gaining weight properly. Every time she was consistently 5th percentile. "Just small," they said. And I was content with that.

A few weeks ago, at her 6 month well check, she dropped down to the 1st percentile. The doctor didn't seem too incredibly worried, but as a mom, I can't help but worry. I call Maci a "lazy eater"(what can i say? she is our little princess) When she nurses, she just waits for letdown, then stops when it's over. Since she is nursing, and won't take a bottle, it's hard to tell how much she is eating. When she eats baby food, she just sucks it off the spoon, instead of opening her mouth and closing it around the spoon. I explained to the doctor her eating habits, and they referred me to a Speech Pathologist (Speech Pathologist for a baby? yep, they have those) We have seen the Speech Pathologist once so far and she didn't see any red flags for anything majorly wrong. She gave me exercises to do with Maci to help her tongue thrust and to help her take a bottle. She also told me that infants with eating problems often have speech problems. Maci is doing so much better with baby food. She is eating pretty normally. We go back to the Speech Pathologist in a few weeks and I'm excited to she what she says. Maci also hasn't rolled over yet. I really think she can do it, she's just "lazy." (probably thanks to me since I hold her a lot.) I've been working with her a lot and she still won't roll over on her own, she still needs a little help. The doctor also referred me to Early Childhood Intervention, which come to our house next week to evaluate where Maci is at. I'm excited to see what they have to say. She seems to do everything else pretty normally.