So Proud!

I am finally getting around to posting pics and updates from the last six months!  This is what we sacrificed a year for, a beautiful April day in Arizona, when we watched Ryan graduate from the Intelligence Academy at Fort Huachuca.

Right after Graduation

Ryan winning an award for a perfect PT score!!  The military whipped him into the best shape of his life!!

Ryan's home for the eight months he was in Arizona.

His company in formation.

Ryan with Sgt. C.

He made some life long friends while he was gone and two of them were his Sgts, which is usually frowned upon.  Ryan was Student First Sgt during his cycle at Ft. Huachuca over 250 soldiers.

Happy to be together again!

Someday I will post my feelings and emotions from that day, and the year we spent apart.  It was one of the hardest, and best years of my life.  I learned a lot about myself, my strengths and weaknesses, as well as the strengths of my husband.  We grew as a family, and learned to rely on the Lord to guide us during the hardest times.  But most importantly I learned what it means to be a military family, and the sacrifice that millions of soldiers and their families make every day by wearing the uniform. 

This could get addicting!

Last week amidst my crazy hectic life, I had to have an emergency appendectomy!!  Yeah me!  Nothing like a little stomach ache to put you out of commission for a few weeks!  Enter in my amazing sister Sheri!  First of all, she had my favorite flowers sent, Gerber Daisies, and then over nighted my favorite cookie dough under the sun, from this little bakery in Salt Lake, called RubySnap.  The cookie is 'Margo', and it is a chocolate cinnamon dough with a molten mint chocolate center, rolled in raw turbinado sugar, seriously, they are so dang good, and I have them frozen in my freezer, ready to bake, at a moments notice!  As if that wasn't enough, she hired The Cleaning Ladies to come and attend to my poor two week neglected house!  Oh my heck, when I came home Friday, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  My house was clean, and not just cleaned, but organized and cleaned.  They made beds and washed walls and cleaned under the sink, the stove and oven, behind the tv, moved all the furniture and vacuumed underneath, organized toys and cubbies, floors, bathrooms, showers, sinks, you name it, they cleaned it!  And, left all the toilet paper rolls in cute little rose shapes, I almost cried!!

But, I can't give all the props to my sis, I do have the most amazing friends and family.  As I texted my girlfriend at 4:30am from the ER to let her know I wouldn't be able to do carpool that morning, I think by 8:15, she had arranged meals for two weeks, and playdates for my children.  I feel so blessed and grateful for all who stepped in to help, it was hard for Ryan to be away, knowing that I was down for the count, but he knew between my mom, and my church family and friends, I would be just fine, and I was! 

Now if the swelling would just go down, so I don't look like I actually had a baby, even though it feels the same as a C-section, I would be good to go!

The TSA would have had a field day with this!

So, here was Ryan's idea for sneaking Adeline back to the base with him!!  She seriously let him carry her around in there for hours, just giggling and giggling!!

I tried it myself, but only my big toe would fit!  Hurry home honey we miss you :(

Meet the Newest Member of our Family!!

I know what you all were thinking, and if you had seen my husband oogle over this precious baby the other night at a Christmas party, this post may have rang true, but for the sake of my sanity, this guy is only around for the holidays!!

We received the sweetest gift from a cute little couple in our church.  It is the Elf on the Shelf book!  I don't know if you have heard about it, but if you haven't run out to your local book seller and buy it now!!  He came on December 1st, so that night we read the story, and then named our little man.  His name is Snaps, and we thought that was fitting for an elf.  Every day until Christmas he keeps an eye on all of the happenings around our home, and then at night, he flys back to the North Pole to tell Santa all the nice things the kids have done that day, and the not so nice things too!  When he comes back in the morning, he is always in a new place, so the kids have fun finding him, and the little treasure he brings back and places in our advent countdown.  It has been a fun little morning ritual, the kids are always so excited to see what he brought, and where he ended up.  This morning he was in Adeline's little baby highchair, and she was so delighted, except for when it was time to feed her baby, and then Snaps had to find a new place to sit!!

I love this new tradition that we are adding to our ever growing list of Christmas magical moments!

Five Months Down, Six More to Go

Obviously it has been a LONG time since I have blogged, but it is either dinner on the table and a semi clean house, or an updated blog.  If you miss my boring life updates that much, cook me dinner and clean my house, and I will blog, blog, blog!  Otherwise here is a super condensed version of our life the last five months!

June-Schools out, and summer begins!  We also spent two weeks in Utah, visiting my sister.  However, on the first morning of our trip, my mother tripped down the stairs and broke her ankle in three places, spent four days in the hospital, and the next eight weeks in a wheelchair.  Imagine how awesome that was!!  For the record, I did make it home from Utah with four kids and a completely immobile mother in 10 1/2 hours with 5 stops.  Someone was watching over us that day!

The kids and cousins at Hogle Zoo, which we all got in for free, since it was Military Appreciation days, thankful for that small blessing!

July-Jr. Giants, and becoming a chaffeur to my gimp mother, although my arms did get buff carting her up and down my front steps twice a day for eight weeks, and I am now a master of wheelchair maneuvers, add that to my resume!

I am not really sure which one is up to bat, but you get the idea, a bunch of kids playing t-ball, aka a great way to burn through a month with twice a week games and practices, and a super fun end of the season bbq.  As a side note, it did make the Giants winning the World Series so much more exciting for the boys, because I think they secretly thought they were part of the team, wearing their jerseys and hats every night!!

August-Ryans graduation from bootcamp, and my trip to South Carolina (see above posting), and then three weeks of total depression.  I seriously cried the whole way home, I think the poor flight attendants thought I was either coming from or going to a funeral, it kind of felt that way, and still does.  Oh, and Adelines 3rd birthday, which I threw together at the last minute, as an attempt to pull me out of the trenches, parties are a great distraction, so I throw alot of them.  A reason to be creative and clean the house!

Have you ever seen anything cuter?  I think not!!

September-Back to School, a quick visit home from the hubby, a new job, and a Pirate Party!  I was super excited to have the boys in 1st grade, they are doing quite well, and I love their teacher.  I also am doing Joy School again with Ashden, and I love it.  Daddys visit was super short, but totally worth it!  I started back at work for a good friend of mine that is an Insurance Agent, super low key, and the few hours a week is just enough to pay for those outrageous airplane tickets to bring Ryan home for holiday visits!  Last but not least, our little man turned five in style with a Pirate Party, aaaargh!

October-The start of my favorite time of year, fall!  We had soccer times two, and Halloween parties galore.  Family pictures minus Ryan, and some news.  This is the first season of soccer that Ryan hasn't coached any of the kids.  The twins ended up on a fabulous team, and although we don't keep score, they won 7 out of 8 games, and had 3 shut-outs.  The teamed scored 76 goals, and only allowed 17.  It was so much fun to see them learn positions, and to play as a team!  Ashden played kindersoccer, which was a slow go at the beginning, but he really excelled at the end.  The first few games were more running than actually playing, but once he kicked the ball and scored his first goal, he was hooked!  Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, so we had to throw a Joy School party, and an after-school party, plus the school class party and carnival, the trunk or treat, and then the actual Halloween.  Despite all of that fun, we found out that Ryan has an additional three months of training, and instead of coming home at the end of January, he won't be home until the end of April.

 Little Kid Party, Mummy Wrap!

 Big Kid Party

Trick or Treating at the Neighbors

There you go, my life in a nutshell, someday I will blog each event in detail, so my kids have proof that life still goes on, even when daddy is gone.  So what will the next six months have instore for us?  Only time can tell.  Things I have learned: I am stronger than most, I have the most amazing kids, I can get through anything with my husband by my side, and a true friend sees the sadness behind the smile.  The Lord will bless me in His time, and I have faith that He will, until then I will continue on, or as I like to tell my children, 'suck it up soldier'!

My very own Mastercard commercial

Round Trip ticket to South Carolina, $600 dollars. 

 Three nights in a decent hotel $346.

 

Economy sized rental car $129. 

Twenty hours with my husband, Priceless!!


***************UPDATE***************

I will treasure the memories from this trip as long as I live.  I have always been proud to be an American, and still and always will cry at the playing of the national anthem, or the saying of the pledge of allegience, but seeing your husband take an oath to his country, will forever be burned in my memory.

I am grateful for all the military families who everyday make sacrifices that most of us could not imagine, or comprehend.  We don't know what the road ahead awaits for us, but I do know now more than ever, that with this man by my side, I can do anything.

Track and Field Challenge!

The boys had so much fun being involved in this years District wide Track and Field Challenge.  They each selected the events they wanted to do, and then they performed like champs!  Aiden did the Frisbee Throw, Softball Throw, Long Jump, and the 50 yard dash.  Anden did the Frisbee and Softball Throw, as well as the 50 and 200 yard dash.  It was so much fun to see all of their friends out there and to cheer them all on.  Aiden won third place in the Frisbee throw for his age group and Anden won 1st place for the 200 yard dash!  We are so proud of both of our little athlete's.  Way to go!!

Anden doing the softball throw, thanks for wearing one blue sock so I can tell who is who in all of the pics!

Anden running his little heart out to take 1st in the 200 yeard dash!

Aiden finishing his 'big' jump on the long jump!

Aiden running to the finish, during his dash.  The boys decided to wear their soccer shoes because according to them they run super fast in them!!