Homecoming 2009

This video just says it all. Jack had rockets in his shoes, he made it to Dad in record time. Although Tristan was helping Savannah so she wouldn't fall over in her pretty black shoes. Jaesen is home and everyone is happy again. The boys tried to pull the old, "I think I am going to throw up" trick this morning so they wouldn't have to go to school. I told them unless they were puking on my feet they were going to school, and off they all went. All I have to say is that it sure is nice to have my tag team partner home again, you can definitely take them for granted when they are home everyday but doing the job of two on a regular basis puts a dent in your patience level (not to mention sleep deprivation). The plane ended up being 40 minutes late due to weather between here and Key West so the kids ended up playing tag on the flight line. Only in the military do you see kids running around in nice clothes on a flight line. I always end up with tears in my eyes on homecoming day to watch everyone reuniting, it doesn't have to even be my own family. You watch a Mom or Dad come home and their kids running up to them and everything else in this world just seems so secondary. Welcome home Ba.

Opening Day of Soccer Season

And the madness has begun!!!! Jack started off our Saturday with back to back games. Before we even left the house he was a bit down and said to me that he isn't a very good soccer player and probably wouldn't score any goals this year. Well that boy scored three goals in the two games. Rock Star!!!! He did great even though he was getting used to the bigger fields this year. Both boys moved up a league and were a bit nervous about the size of their new fields. Jack's team, The Dragons, went on to tie one game and win the second by a large margin. Tristan's team, The Strikers, tied their first game. Most of those kids were intimidated by the size of the field as well as the size of some of the kids on the other team. It was a hard fought battle and our goalie who has never played before saved us. She was a rock star. Tristan played both on the offense and defense and I think after another week will have the idea down how to play on a bigger field. It's just going to take some getting used too. Savannah came prepared for the game and was dressed to the nines for soccer.

I on the other hand am hoarse from all the screaming. It was a great first day of soccer for us. I love fall!!!!

Labor Day at the Beach

Somehow I always think that these trips are going to get easier, but they never seem to do that. I picked the kids up early on Thursday for our drive to Pensacola and everyone was excited. Well until Savannah threw up about halfway into our drive. That put a damper on the driving real quick. We made it to Vickie and Jay's house (where we were spending the night) and dumped the kids inside while I scrubbed the car seat back into cleanliness. Vickie and I were able to do some good catching up that night and the next day she went off for a flight while we were off to grocery shop and check into our condo on Gulf Shores Beach. We got there early, unloaded and hit the pool before the group from New Orleans showed up. I had to sleep with Savannah in bed so that made the word "sleep" a play on words. I was steamrollered a lot though. We had fun catching up with the group from LA (good friends of ours that we have seen occasionally over the years) and the kids had loads of people to play with and then some. We made sandcastles, buried each other, the kids went on a crab hunt, we played Frisbee, caught jellyfish when they swarmed the beach (definitely not my idea of fun), swam, hot tubbed and drank copious amounts of wine and margaritas. I forgot to mention that during this time Savannah had also decided that she was going to potty train so we spent a lot of time running back and forth to various bathrooms. But she was 100% for the whole vacation though so we only do diapers for night time now, yea us! The drive home proved to be too much for the little girl as well and she puked in my car again, by the time we pulled into our driveway she had fallen asleep with her head bobbing in a plastic bag. Getting home was a relief, to sleep in my own bed, and breath fresh clean air again without being cooped up in a car with someone who repeatedly throws up. All in all it was a great vacation but doing holiday with only one parent is a whole lot of work. Can't wait until Jaesen gets home!!!

The First Day of School!

The first day of school. Jack was totally excited. He has about 7 or 8 friends in his class from last year. I am not sure if that is good or bad, bad if he does a lot of talking but good to make him feel comfortable. He got the teacher that I requested for him so that takes a load of my shoulders. She is great and will be hard on him and will discipline him when necessary (notice I didn't say if.....). Tristan also has several kids he knows in his class and is out in the portables this year and splits his day between two teachers. So a new setup all around for him. He was a little less enthusiastic about the first day of school but hopefully that is just left over from the remnants of the bad year he had in second grade (his teacher passed away and he was bullied by two kids in his class). Bean was excited to go to school too, she was just excited to go because we made a big deal of it all. She is going to start wearing undies instead of diapers and pull ups, the class she moves into today is potty training them and hopefully it will happen in a couple of weeks for her. Please keep your fingers crossed. So in anticipation I bought about 20 pairs of panties and 10 pairs of shorts, a bottle of wine for me (or 5), cause once we start there is no turning back. So off we go! Happy first day of school to everyone else out there.

My New Favorite Dance Craze

Savannah just makes me laugh. She has taken to wearing headbands on the back of her head, dancing and shaking her booty and in general just making me laugh. Since she is so much fun I couldn't keep her a secret but had to share her with our family and friends!

Happy Anniversary!!!

From then to now. Eleven years in the making. It's hard to believe we have been together for 12 and married for 11. Twelve years ago I was preparing for the knee reconstruction surgery from the injury that Jaesen caused during a soccer game. He's been stuck with me ever since :) So many things have happened in those 11 years, the end of one career, the beginning of a new one, 3 kids, moving around the world. And it's really only just the beginning. I love you Ba, wherever you are today. Actually I know where you are and am insanely jealous. I would love to be in Aruba drinking fruity drinks with you!!!! Love and miss you, hurry home.

Today was Fire Alarm Day

Well really the whole thing was my fault. I was in a cooking mood. I made Basalmic Chicken with Wilted Spinach and White Beans out of Rachel Ray's cookbook, plus a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies. Unfortunately for me, when I decided to wash the hot pan that had vinegar and oil in it, the wave of smoke set off our smoke alarm and ADT's fire alarm. Well we have never had our ADT alarm go off before. So I ran in and reset it and then went about my business of waving the towel in front of the smoke detector and having the boys fan the doors at opposite ends of the house. All of this occuring as Savannah has decided to poop and Tristan kicked Jack. So I go back to the alarm panel and it still says "Fire Alarm". Well alarm bells go off in my head and I grab my phone to call ADT. Sure enough, fire truck on the way. It seems that you have to double reset the alarm so the fire department doesn't receive the call. Things you learn through experience apparently. Well finally I get it all resolved and sit down to our wonderful dinner. Jack ruins the chicken by putting ketchup on his plate for chicken dip. But first he decided to pour half a bottle of it onto the tablecloth and floor. Sigh! I guess that is why we have dogs, they happily licked up all the ketchup, what a treat. I am sure they will throw it all up later, about 3 in the morning is my guess. So now I worry about the dogs as I swat away the flies that are swarming through the house since we had open doors during the fire alarm. I guess another glass of wine is warranted!