A goodbye Cookout

The week that Jason was home we had a little cookout so he could say good-bye to the friends we have made here in the last 4 years. All our good friends were there!! It was a fun day and the weather was perfect! Unfortunately there is always a lot going when there is a lot of people at your house, so I only got a few pictures. I wanted to get some of everyone, but it just didn't happen, instead I have a couple of the same people! Thanks to everyone who came!! We love all our friends and neighbors here and we are going to miss everyone. It is not easy making such great friends and always having to say goodbye at the end of a tour. But we have met some awesome people at each duty station and our lives just keep getting richer from our friends.

Eric, Carrie, Jackson and Erin

Jason with his favorite DI's! Chris, John and Joe. He loves these guys, they were the few bright spots of his tour of a Drill Instructor.
Jason with Eric, Ryleigh and Ben
John and Jill
Chris and Amanda
Jeff, Emily and Mandy
Cammie, Mike and kids
Becky and Sal
Jen, Madison, Jason T., Grant and MichelleMy SC sister, Carrie! :) Erin with baby Caroline, me and Carrie
Kyle playing baseball. As you can see, he is the catcher. Like his catcher "uniform?" Very original!

Too much to post.....

As you can see by dates from my last post, I am way behind in the blogging world (and in most other areas...). Jason was home for about a week, we went back up north for Lydia's wedding and for a visit with family, and now I am home, but overwhelmed with how many pictures I have! While I was home Aimee showed me how to use a website called "photobucket" that lets you do lots of fun things to your photos. So, I just picked a few photos that we had fun editing from our trip to hold everyone over! Who knows when I will get them all up. After a 11 hour car ride back home with three kids all by myself that was full of fun times, (that is a joke in case you couldn't tell) and settling back down to life that does not include a husband or Daddy, blogging has not found its way into my days or nights. :) How cute are these photos? :)

Jason with his sister Lydia and brother, Joel. I love this picture!

Lydia and Katie.

When I get finished mowing our enormous yard and the countless other things I have to do this week, I will put up more. Trust me there is more, lots more! :)

A Decade

Then and now!

On Friday, April 4th, we reached a milestone, our 10th wedding anniversary! I woke up that day sad since Jason is away and I knew I would be spending our 10th wedding anniversary alone. Now, I think we have been together on the actual day of our anniversary maybe half of our ten years, so I am used to not celebrating on the actual day. But, since 10 is a big one, I was a little depressed about this one! He is in Virginia right now and when I talked to him earlier in the week he said he would drive home Friday if he could. Then on Thursday he called and said they were not letting leave the area this weekend and there was no way he could come home. I believed him because it sounds like something that would happen! He called me early in the morning to wish me a Happy Anniversary, but only had a second to talk. I only heard from him a few times that day, and only briefly, because each time he was on his way to a class or had to be somewhere in the next few minutes. I kept myself busy that day, working in the yard all afternoon, mowing and raking. I ran to Lowes after I got Aiden from school and picked up some bags of mulch. (dragging 3 kids and 18 bags of mulch through Lowes and loading them into my car was no small feat!) I came home and immediately starting spreading the mulch. I worked until the boys were literally banging on the windows from inside the house begging for dinner and Ryleigh had taken off all her clothes outside and was running around the yard in just a diaper. I heated up some dinner for the kids and was just getting it on the table when I heard the door open. To paint you a better picture, I should describe what I looked like. :) When you mow in this lovely state of SC you kick up a lot of dust, dirt and sand, it kind of covers you with a nice gritty layer all over. My clothes were filthy, mulch stuck in my hair and on my clothes, my face streaked with dirt. Not a pretty sight. :) I turned towards the garage door, wondering what kid was escaping and there stood Jason! With flowers and a card. I was shocked! I am not easy to surprise. :) He drove all day to be here for our anniversary. It was the best gift I have ever received on an anniversary! Thanks honey for spending so many hours on the road for such a short time at home! Thank you for 10 wonderful years and this great life you have provided for us. You are an unbelievable husband (and father) and I know I am the luckiest girl in the world to have you in my life. I love you!!!

Kyle turns 4

That grin says it all, that is Kyle, captured in a photo.

Kyle with his new board, on his birthday.
Our adventurous little guy turned 4 years old on March 31st. It is hard for Jason and I to see them grow up so fast, yet we are having fun watching them grow and enjoying each stage. 3 was a fun year with Kyle, though not without its many challenges. Kyle is a very determined young man. While this really helps him in conquering any challenge that lies before him, it also sometimes makes meal time, bedtime, bath time or anytime a challenge for me! :) We have had many a battle! Kyle is loving, sweet and sensitive. He is the first one to Ryleigh when she falls, helping her up and soothing her with his cute little voice. Last week when I got the news of my grandmoms death, I was visibly upset. Kyle came right to my side and started stroking my arm, patting my leg and saying "It's OK mommy". He didn't leave my side until he knew I was OK. He makes us smile daily with the funny things he says, gives us daily heart attacks with the crazy stunts he pulls. He is tough and brave. Most of the injuries he gets would have other kids out for the rest of the week. Kyle jumps back up before you even have time to see what happened. I think he is afraid that if he admits he is hurt, we will take away his skateboard, bike, ramps etc...! We will forever be grateful that God decided to place Kyle in our family!

Kyle asked for a chocolate cake, with chocolate icing and chocolate ice cream for his birthday. A boy after my own heart! He wanted to help make it, but when he saw how long it was going to take, he decided he just wanted me to call him when it was time to put the sprinkles on. I by no means claim to be a cake decorator, but Kyle thought it was awesome! :)

One happy birthday boy.

Kyle is still taking skateboarding lessons and loves it more every week.

Kyle with his instructor, Justin.

Kyle cruising across the skate park. :)

Happy Birthday Buddy!