She needed the chance to feel glamorous again! And she did :)
Monday, June 29, 2009
Narb, Sasha, & E (and CJ!)
AKA Brandon, Angel, & Evan (and niece on the inside).
My brother, his fiance, my nephew, and their baby bump.
Family pics =)
\\
I cannot wait for little Miss Catalina to be here!!!
My brother, his fiance, my nephew, and their baby bump.
Family pics =)
\\I cannot wait for little Miss Catalina to be here!!!
Out in the west Texas town of El Paso...
Update from Nathan...
He's been in the Texas/New Mexico desert for a few days now. He texts me every morning and every night. Occasionally, I get a random mid-day text if they are on a break and he's actually called twice really late at night. They are supposed to get a phone call in the middle of the day today so that he can call and talk to the kids!
As usual, he has no complaints so far. I think the temp was around 104 the day they arrived (but no humidity so it felt about the same as it does here, he said). But it's been raining for two days since, which apparently only happens about five times a year. Kind of hilarious to go to Desert Defender School to prepare for desert life and be stuck in the pouring down rain. He's still getting used to walking around with all his gear on and carrying those weapons 24/7.
The first six days are only classroom work; "death by powerpoint" he says. He is excited that their unit was assigned to stay together when they go overseas and their fire team will also remain together- he was nervous about that. They were also paired with 2 units from Wisconsin. He's run into several guys that he had gone thru Tech School with, so that's cool. He says he's sleeping well in the barracks and getting used to the Islamic prayer they play at night.
The kids and I been SUPER busy the last few days- photo shoot, birthday parties, church, baby shower, LOTS of errands, etc. I like keeping busy, but it always takes me a few days to adjust to doing things without him. We've had fun though- only a few teary moments (both their's and mine!). I realize he will be back in a couple of weeks, it's just knowing that's he's going to turn around and leave again, I think.
So that's that for now... Come on July 12!!!
He's been in the Texas/New Mexico desert for a few days now. He texts me every morning and every night. Occasionally, I get a random mid-day text if they are on a break and he's actually called twice really late at night. They are supposed to get a phone call in the middle of the day today so that he can call and talk to the kids!
As usual, he has no complaints so far. I think the temp was around 104 the day they arrived (but no humidity so it felt about the same as it does here, he said). But it's been raining for two days since, which apparently only happens about five times a year. Kind of hilarious to go to Desert Defender School to prepare for desert life and be stuck in the pouring down rain. He's still getting used to walking around with all his gear on and carrying those weapons 24/7.
The first six days are only classroom work; "death by powerpoint" he says. He is excited that their unit was assigned to stay together when they go overseas and their fire team will also remain together- he was nervous about that. They were also paired with 2 units from Wisconsin. He's run into several guys that he had gone thru Tech School with, so that's cool. He says he's sleeping well in the barracks and getting used to the Islamic prayer they play at night.
The kids and I been SUPER busy the last few days- photo shoot, birthday parties, church, baby shower, LOTS of errands, etc. I like keeping busy, but it always takes me a few days to adjust to doing things without him. We've had fun though- only a few teary moments (both their's and mine!). I realize he will be back in a couple of weeks, it's just knowing that's he's going to turn around and leave again, I think.
So that's that for now... Come on July 12!!!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Ooooh dear.
Layla- "I have a boyfriend at VBS."
Me- "You do? What's his name?"
Layla- "Who cares? He's seven!"
Lawsy Mercy. She's only five and this is the attitude she has about boys?! We are in BIG trouble. And no, I did NOT tell her daddy about this little exchange. He is about to go off to war, I don't think he needs this on his plate.
Me- "You do? What's his name?"
Layla- "Who cares? He's seven!"
Lawsy Mercy. She's only five and this is the attitude she has about boys?! We are in BIG trouble. And no, I did NOT tell her daddy about this little exchange. He is about to go off to war, I don't think he needs this on his plate.
Daddy's Week at Home with Us
This is going to be a long one folks (and ridiculouly overloaded with pictures- you've been warned). We fit a LOT of stuff into that week.
Nathan is officially on active duty as of last Friday, so he took off from work Monday- Thursday to be home with us before our lives became completely consumed by the military (and they have).
It. was. wonderful.
We had hoped to use that week to go to Destin, but there is so much going on here, there was no way we were going to be able to get away. Nathan wanted to make sure we spent quality time together as a family and didn't just sit around and waste our last days together. Mission accomplished I think :)
MONDAY
We had such a busy weekend before that, we really did need Monday to recooperate though. They were calling for rain Monday afternoon and Nath wouldn't have been able to enjoy himself until the yard was mowed, so Monday was a jumpstart day. We cleaned house, got groceries, and of course took care of the yard... wouldn't want old man across the street working himself into a tizzy.
It was all very "Disney Sing-a-long" though... might as well have been little cartoon blue birds helping me fold laundry and deer holding the dustpan while we swept- we were just so dang happy to be home together, we didn't care what we were doing!
Layla LOVES to help Nathan mow. It's kind of their "thing".
TUESDAY
Tuesday started off a little slow. It was raining, so we slept in but made a BIG breakfast. Let the twins get their nap in, and then we all got ready and headed to the Adventure Science Center. Another family membership we have (Xmas gift from Deda & Poppy). This is the first time we've used it. It was the perfect day for it with the rain too. We got their just as the school(?) groups were leaving so we timed it just right.
The kids were in HEAVEN. Since it wasn't very crowded, we pretty much just let them run around to whatever little thing they wanted to and we trailed right behind. They wanted to touch, explore, play, climb on everything. Space and body were the two main exhibits, but there were lots of other little things going on too. We were only there for about 2 1/2 hours, but it was plenty of time really. All three of them also had $10 each to spend in the gift shop from Deda & Poppy and all three left with stuffed dinosaurs. It was a nice visit, I don't think they would tire of going and I can't wait to see what the next exhibits are!
WEDNESDAY
Wednesday we spent the whoooole day at the pool. Nathan's first for the year. Actually, only the 2nd for the kids and I. The kids are doing GREAT in the water. Layla the mermaid, of course, picked right up where she left off last year. I wasn't sure what the little ones would do, but they love it! Cale LOVES jumping off the side over and over (and over and over). Brynn will jump once or twice, but she prefers to float, especially on her back if you hold her hands. I thought Brynn would be the more daring, but she's surprised us all and has been much more hesitant than her brother. She usually has NO fear whatsoever. Hence, the water vests Nonie and Pap got them for Easter. Which, just plain makes sense. Even though neither of them seems to be too fearles around the pool, anything can happen, especially when there are two of them running around. Better safe than sorry! So, on Wednesday, they wore the vests...
THURSDAY
Thursday, the kids had their own day with Daddy at home. They did a few little projects around the house and played outside a lot. I spent that day taking Angel's glamorous maternity pictures downtown :) Later that afternoon, we met everyone at Genghis Grill for Uncle Casey's birthday dinner. We had a lovely dinner out on the patio and then everyone came back to our house for cupcakes!
FRIDAY
Friday ended Daddy's time with us. Boo. He was at the base bright and early and our military time officially began. We went from spending all day, every day with him to barely hearing from him throughout the day. Yuck. The babies were exhausted from Thursday night's festivities and took an extra long nap so in the meantime, L and I busted out the crazy wierd sprinkler thing Nonie and Pap got her. Se loooooved it. Can you tell?
That night we had a cookout in Murfreesboro with some of our playgroup/adoptive family friends. We were a little late getting there, but we still had a great time! The kids were all SO adorable and had a lot of fun playing together. We love getting together for stuff like that.
AND... we found out that Nathan was going to get the weekend off!! So...
SATURDAY
Back at the pool! This time at Ba & Ge's (without Ge and WITH Evan,and broken glass everywhere...).
Since we had a surprise night off with Nathan, we decided to cancel all our other plans for the night and surprise him with a Father's Day dinner at P.F. Changs- his favorite. The kids were GREAT, the food was even better, lol.... we had the best day!!
and of course,
SUNDAY
Father's Day :)
Which, we thought Nathan was going to have to work! But since they are leaving for TX 2 days early, he got to actually spend with his kids and our dads!! After church, we loaded up and went strait to see Poppy's for lunch and guess what?!? More swimming. Then to see Ge. And... Swim. Then over to Sam and Jackie's to see Pap, Pop, etc. and.... swim. =) Good thing we're water people. Now, I'm sure at this point in the blog you are freaking tired of seeing my kids in their swimsuits, but tough luck because for whatever reason something struck them when we were getting in the car and all of sudden they started posing while the camera was in my hand. And well, I just have to:
It really was a FABULOUS week. A lot of water! But fabulous. Layla is working on her dive- she's getting there! Just gotta straiten those legs. Cale is pretty much jumping by himself now, but still wants to make sure you're gonna catch him ( you can let him go under first though!). Brynn has ditched the vest. She is still wearing wings, but she doesn't want you anywhere near her. Just let the girl swim.
Last week was a stark contrast to this week. We have barely seen Nathan at all and he leaves tomorrow. So glad we had that time together!!!!
Nathan is officially on active duty as of last Friday, so he took off from work Monday- Thursday to be home with us before our lives became completely consumed by the military (and they have).
It. was. wonderful.
We had hoped to use that week to go to Destin, but there is so much going on here, there was no way we were going to be able to get away. Nathan wanted to make sure we spent quality time together as a family and didn't just sit around and waste our last days together. Mission accomplished I think :)
MONDAY
We had such a busy weekend before that, we really did need Monday to recooperate though. They were calling for rain Monday afternoon and Nath wouldn't have been able to enjoy himself until the yard was mowed, so Monday was a jumpstart day. We cleaned house, got groceries, and of course took care of the yard... wouldn't want old man across the street working himself into a tizzy.
It was all very "Disney Sing-a-long" though... might as well have been little cartoon blue birds helping me fold laundry and deer holding the dustpan while we swept- we were just so dang happy to be home together, we didn't care what we were doing!
Layla LOVES to help Nathan mow. It's kind of their "thing".
TUESDAY
Tuesday started off a little slow. It was raining, so we slept in but made a BIG breakfast. Let the twins get their nap in, and then we all got ready and headed to the Adventure Science Center. Another family membership we have (Xmas gift from Deda & Poppy). This is the first time we've used it. It was the perfect day for it with the rain too. We got their just as the school(?) groups were leaving so we timed it just right.
The kids were in HEAVEN. Since it wasn't very crowded, we pretty much just let them run around to whatever little thing they wanted to and we trailed right behind. They wanted to touch, explore, play, climb on everything. Space and body were the two main exhibits, but there were lots of other little things going on too. We were only there for about 2 1/2 hours, but it was plenty of time really. All three of them also had $10 each to spend in the gift shop from Deda & Poppy and all three left with stuffed dinosaurs. It was a nice visit, I don't think they would tire of going and I can't wait to see what the next exhibits are!
WEDNESDAY
Wednesday we spent the whoooole day at the pool. Nathan's first for the year. Actually, only the 2nd for the kids and I. The kids are doing GREAT in the water. Layla the mermaid, of course, picked right up where she left off last year. I wasn't sure what the little ones would do, but they love it! Cale LOVES jumping off the side over and over (and over and over). Brynn will jump once or twice, but she prefers to float, especially on her back if you hold her hands. I thought Brynn would be the more daring, but she's surprised us all and has been much more hesitant than her brother. She usually has NO fear whatsoever. Hence, the water vests Nonie and Pap got them for Easter. Which, just plain makes sense. Even though neither of them seems to be too fearles around the pool, anything can happen, especially when there are two of them running around. Better safe than sorry! So, on Wednesday, they wore the vests...
THURSDAY
Thursday, the kids had their own day with Daddy at home. They did a few little projects around the house and played outside a lot. I spent that day taking Angel's glamorous maternity pictures downtown :) Later that afternoon, we met everyone at Genghis Grill for Uncle Casey's birthday dinner. We had a lovely dinner out on the patio and then everyone came back to our house for cupcakes!
FRIDAY
Friday ended Daddy's time with us. Boo. He was at the base bright and early and our military time officially began. We went from spending all day, every day with him to barely hearing from him throughout the day. Yuck. The babies were exhausted from Thursday night's festivities and took an extra long nap so in the meantime, L and I busted out the crazy wierd sprinkler thing Nonie and Pap got her. Se loooooved it. Can you tell?
That night we had a cookout in Murfreesboro with some of our playgroup/adoptive family friends. We were a little late getting there, but we still had a great time! The kids were all SO adorable and had a lot of fun playing together. We love getting together for stuff like that.
AND... we found out that Nathan was going to get the weekend off!! So...
SATURDAY
Back at the pool! This time at Ba & Ge's (without Ge and WITH Evan,and broken glass everywhere...).
Since we had a surprise night off with Nathan, we decided to cancel all our other plans for the night and surprise him with a Father's Day dinner at P.F. Changs- his favorite. The kids were GREAT, the food was even better, lol.... we had the best day!!
and of course,
SUNDAY
Father's Day :)
Which, we thought Nathan was going to have to work! But since they are leaving for TX 2 days early, he got to actually spend with his kids and our dads!! After church, we loaded up and went strait to see Poppy's for lunch and guess what?!? More swimming. Then to see Ge. And... Swim. Then over to Sam and Jackie's to see Pap, Pop, etc. and.... swim. =) Good thing we're water people. Now, I'm sure at this point in the blog you are freaking tired of seeing my kids in their swimsuits, but tough luck because for whatever reason something struck them when we were getting in the car and all of sudden they started posing while the camera was in my hand. And well, I just have to:
It really was a FABULOUS week. A lot of water! But fabulous. Layla is working on her dive- she's getting there! Just gotta straiten those legs. Cale is pretty much jumping by himself now, but still wants to make sure you're gonna catch him ( you can let him go under first though!). Brynn has ditched the vest. She is still wearing wings, but she doesn't want you anywhere near her. Just let the girl swim.
Last week was a stark contrast to this week. We have barely seen Nathan at all and he leaves tomorrow. So glad we had that time together!!!!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Stacey & Andrew's Wedding Pics
I didn't want to share any of their wedding pictures until they had had a chance to show them off themselves at their reception this past weekend. But these two people are part of the reason we have been so busy the last couple of months!! And we love them for it =)
Our weekend as a blur...
This past weekend FLEW by... but it was SO.MUCH.FUN.
It was basically broken down into three parts: dancing at CMA Fest three times in two days, hanging out with Stacey & Bear and their friends at CMA Fest and their reception, and hanging out without with our kids at CMA Fest and Stacey & Bear's reception.... got all that?
The weekend kicked off Friday with a 5 o'clock dance performance at Cadillac Ranch.
This particular dance is a lot of fun to do and it was my first time to participate in CMA Fest so I loved running all over town to perform it- it was really exciting! Stacey and Bear came!
Friday after dancing, S & B and I met up with Nathan and a bunch of Bear's friends (LOVE them!!) from out of town to go to dinner @Rosepepper and then out to the Piano Bar. Thank you, Sarah, for babysitting!!!
Saturday morning, I had a photoshoot at Rock Castle and then we all got ready to head back downtown. This time with the kids!!
First, I had a 3 o'clock performance at the Wildhorse. We also got to see the finished music video for the first time- and I'm in it a lot! lol.
After the 3 o'clock dance performance, we walked around for a little while and decided the kiddos needed some ice cream to cool them off. Photo op!
After ice cream, I had one more performance back at Cadillac and then we flew to S & B's reception. We were an hour and a half late, but there was still plenty of time to enjoy everyone's company and celebrate with the happy couple, family, and friends! The kids went home with Deda & Poppy after some really heavy persuasion from Bear, so Nathan and I headed back downtown with our new friends for the rest of the night!!
We were exhausted by Sunday, but we had the biggest grins on our faces. We had so much fun!!!! I can't believe we have lived in Nashville our whole lives and never experienced CMA Fest/Fan Fair. We still never made it to any of the shows but just the excitement and buzz around Nashville was fun to be a part of. The crowds really weren't that bad at all, we barely spent any money, and our kids looked adorable :)
It was basically broken down into three parts: dancing at CMA Fest three times in two days, hanging out with Stacey & Bear and their friends at CMA Fest and their reception, and hanging out without with our kids at CMA Fest and Stacey & Bear's reception.... got all that?
The weekend kicked off Friday with a 5 o'clock dance performance at Cadillac Ranch.
This particular dance is a lot of fun to do and it was my first time to participate in CMA Fest so I loved running all over town to perform it- it was really exciting! Stacey and Bear came!
Friday after dancing, S & B and I met up with Nathan and a bunch of Bear's friends (LOVE them!!) from out of town to go to dinner @Rosepepper and then out to the Piano Bar. Thank you, Sarah, for babysitting!!!
Saturday morning, I had a photoshoot at Rock Castle and then we all got ready to head back downtown. This time with the kids!!
First, I had a 3 o'clock performance at the Wildhorse. We also got to see the finished music video for the first time- and I'm in it a lot! lol.
After the 3 o'clock dance performance, we walked around for a little while and decided the kiddos needed some ice cream to cool them off. Photo op!
After ice cream, I had one more performance back at Cadillac and then we flew to S & B's reception. We were an hour and a half late, but there was still plenty of time to enjoy everyone's company and celebrate with the happy couple, family, and friends! The kids went home with Deda & Poppy after some really heavy persuasion from Bear, so Nathan and I headed back downtown with our new friends for the rest of the night!!
We were exhausted by Sunday, but we had the biggest grins on our faces. We had so much fun!!!! I can't believe we have lived in Nashville our whole lives and never experienced CMA Fest/Fan Fair. We still never made it to any of the shows but just the excitement and buzz around Nashville was fun to be a part of. The crowds really weren't that bad at all, we barely spent any money, and our kids looked adorable :)
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