Merry Go Round at Idlewild

Isaac's First Birthday Party

Before....

During....aka getting the hang of it
the aftermath

Check out the rest of the pictures here too!

The kids: human and 4 legged

The hoodie twins

little man at our volleyball game this weekend
the girls

the boys

happy dogs

Visiting with Friends

Although I didn't get to see everyone that I would have wanted to, I did get to visit with several old friends. I got to see friends from elementary/high school, college, friends met through the military, and of course old family friends.

"Some friendships do not last, but some friends are more loyal than brothers."- Proverbs 18:24

We went to see old family friends while we were home in PA & they let us swim in their pool regardless of our attire!

""A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure." - Sirach 6:14

"A mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses." - Proverbs 27:19

Friday Fill-ins

And...here we go!
1. He was an interesting man.
2. Fall is what I look forward to most this time of year.
3. My best friend is pregnant with her first baby right now.
4. I really hate fighting to be honest with you.
5. Appearances can be super misleading.
6. The last person I gave a hug to was Kendall bug when I put her down to bed.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to chilling at home with Ben & the family, tomorrow my plans include playing some fun volleyball with friends and Sunday, I want to have a great first birthday party for Isaac!

Sorry for the lack of posts (or should I say more than just pics to go with my posts) this week. I have been going non stop since I got back from PA. I started my physical therapy this week & I am now going 3 times a week for it. I am also getting ready to get my bottom braces put on next week plus going in today to get the top ones tightened again. I attended a morale support coffee for Ben's squadron this week & to top it all off unpacking, grocery shopping, cleaning, etc. I promise to try and get myself back in the game soon :-)
Have a great weekend!

Anniversary weekend

Here are the pictures from the two days we spent celebrating my Grammy & Pappy. Hope you enjoy!

Idlewild Amusement Park

Rated the #2 park in the world for kids, we certainly did all we could with 2 small children & rain the day that we went. My sister and I spent every summer there for the gas company picnic. We always had a great time but I think that by far I had more fun taking my kids there. I hope next summer that Ben will be able to come up & take the kids with me. (Plus Isaac will be able to go on more of the rides!) Here are some pictures from our trip....

Happy 60th Anniversary Grammy & Pappy!

My grandparents actual anniversary was on August 20th but I wasn't home in NC to really be able to do anything in blog world. We had such a blast celebrating with them & our family. I have lots of cool pictures, videos, and other memories to put on here that I will have to slowly do as time permits with my increasingly busy schedule. For now.....

60 years ago.....

Now......

We love you guys!

You'e going to miss this

Where all it takes to get a huge smile from your son is popping out at the other side of a giant soup can.
Where your daughter will stop and pose in front of the cool pirate ship with the cowgirl boots on that she picked out....

Head on over to http://pramom26.blogspot.com/ which is the creator of You're going to miss this moment.

Thank-you Mamoo and Dadoo

Thanks for housing, feeding, taking care of, etc. Hurricane Jamie, Tornado Kendall, & Typhoon Isaac. Now you can get back to normal!! (At least until we are here in December with Landslide Ben!)

Friday Fill In's

1. I remember, I remember when I felt like I had not lost my mind.
2. Dear Benny I want you to know how excited I am to see you!
3. Is that my foot on the gas? I'm sorry officer I thought it was the brake!!!???
4. I'm trying to resist the temptation of a $50 box of chocolate truffles.
5. I'm saving a big hug just for you!
6. If I made a birthday list a string of pearls would definitely be on it!!!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting the kids and I home to NC, tomorrow my plans include going to Dan & Jen's for the summer end party then out to the beach for the luau and Sunday, I want to collapse after church and Sunday school!

Sneak Peek

We come home to NC tomorrow. Today is hopefully going to be a fun filled, no thunderstorms day at Idlewild park. I wanted to show you my grammy & pappy with Bug and Silly Boy at our family dinner last Saturday as just a little preview of what is to come when I get home! Have a great day guys!!

What would your children say?

Marianne over at http://familyamericanstyle.blogspot.com/ is doing What would your children say? Wednesday. Hop on over to see the rules & join in the fun!

We went to my grandparents anniversary celebration this past Sunday & Kendall had a ball. But unfortunately even while you are having a great time there still needs to be potty breaks. My daughter is rarely shy so when we went to the restroom & she started talking to the lady in the stall next to us it was really no surprise. What did shock & embarrass me was when she crawled under the stall in with her. (Turns out this was the wife of my grandparents old pastor) When I finally got her to come back over with me, I explained that we don't crawl in with people because going to the potty is a private thing. Kendall patiently informed me, "Moooooooom she said hi to me & wanted to see me." I told her that she needed to wait until we washed our hands to see her to which Kendall said, "Mom you're so silly." Hope your children are doing something fun to embarrass you today too!

Having a blast!

Hey all!
We are having such a great time with family & friends here in western PA. I have read a lot of your comments and promise to get back to y'all & visit your blogs when I return home. (My parents have DSL BUT it is still super slow out in the sticks!) I had hoped to be able to upload pictures to chronicle our visit as we went but my parents computer won't take my memory card.
We were blessed to celebrate my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary today with about 125 of their family & friends. Their real anniversary is on the 20th. I can only hope to reach that milestone. Benny and I will be 86 by that point! What a crazy thought.
What a great example to the current generation on what hard work it takes to keep a marriage alive and thriving. It just goes to show you what happens when you keep God in your lives and marriage. I hope Ben and I can pass that legacy to our children as well!

Our Nightmare OOPS I mean our trip up to PA

Ok,ok so I am very grateful to God for getting the kids and I safely to PA but (And it is a big BUT) I could have dealt without.......

• 11 hours and 20 minutes in the car with 2 cranky kids (oh yeah did I mention my fastest time for this trip was 8 hours & 45 minutes?)
• 6 (Count them with me) construction zones
• 5 potty stops for Kendall(with one peepee accident in the car seat less than 5 minutes from my parents house)
• 2 blow outs (thankfully NOT on his car seat) from Isaac
• 1 INSANE stop at a McDonald's (that didn't have a playground?!?!?)
• 2 heart stopping moments while speeding & seeing police along the way (Hubby has the radar detector!)
• Isaac refusing to eat anymore baby food or anything the consistency of baby food so now I just literally throw food at him from the front seat & hope that something sticks!
• Tinker Bell (twice), Finding Nemo, The little mermaid, Diego (The iguana one) twice!
• Isaac screaming one time for 40 minutes straight, once 25 minutes straight (in the middle of DC beltway traffic) and then off and on!

I am ready to be out of the car and visit some :-)

Friday Fill-ins

And...here we go!
1. When will I get to PA today?
2. Army Wives was the last good book I read or movie I saw or tv show I watched.
3. Everything has its beauty but man I want to be ugly with my neighbors.
4. Yummy pork chops, rice, & ice cream!! is what I had for dinner.
5. I'd like your smile please.
6. Already in PA is where I want to be right now.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting to my parents house, tomorrow my plans include celebrating my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary! and Sunday, I want to hang out with my family & go to another celebration for my grammy and pappy!

For those of you that asked about the Friday fill ins you can find them here
http://fridayfillins.blogspot.com/

On the road again.....

The kids and I are on our way back to western PA today to celebrate my grandparents 60th anniversary! So excited to be at my other home for a little bit. Let me know if anyone wants to meet up!

Happy 32nd Birthday to Me :-)

My 32nd Birthday

Yummy ice cream at the Carousel

Sweet Birthday song

Goodluck and Farewell!!

Sorry for the poor quality of picture everyone. (I think the humidity got to my camera!) Anyway, we wanted to say we will miss you Rani, Mason, and Sidney! Best of luck & hope to see you soon!!!

What would your children say? Wednesday

Marianne over at http://familyamericanstyle.blogspot.com/ came up with the What would your children say? Wednesday and I thought it was a great idea as I am always telling stories on what has come out of Kendall's mouth! So go on over to her blog and check it out!

The most recent comes from yesterday when Kendall had gone #2 on the potty & got her treat. (We are only rewarding for #2 now so it is a big deal!!) It (the treat) happened to be laffy taffy. I was sitting there feeding Isaac lunch when Kendall comes out to pull on my shirt. I asked her what she needed but wasn't really looking at her. She said, "Mom look at my face." (A phrase that I unfortunately hear quite a few times a day now...) I looked at her & she smiled. To my dismay she stated, "Look mom my teeth like yours!" She had stuck the laffytaffy to her teeth to try and make them look like braces. I almost peed my pants laughing! Hope you enjoy it too!

(Thanks for hopping by Marianne! I enjoyed reading your blog & the What would your child say?)

Technical Difficulties

Hey my blog buddies.
I have a question for y'all. Yesterday when I signed in I could no longer view the people that I follow or their updates. I have went to a few of my real life friends blogs that I follow & it appears that I am still following them but when I signed in today still no updates & it says that I am not following anyone. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what is wrong? I would hate to miss out on your updates!
Thanks for the help in advance.
Have a beautiful day :-)
UPDATE: This has apparently been an ongoing problem for some people and google/blogger is working on fixing it. I can't see anyone's updates so if I am out of touch for a little bit it is because of that....I have so many blogs that I am following I won't be able to check them all on a regular basis until this problem is fixed. Sorry guys :-( I hope to be reading your blog posts soon!!
UPDATE #2: It appears that we are back up and running thank goodness! I am getting updates again so keep your fingers crossed! Thanks for all the support :-)

Gunrunners

fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

—Isaiah 41:10

Goldsboro, NC Triathlon 2009

The final results are in!
Ben did this race in 1 hour 35 minutes and some seconds.
He placed 1st in his age group.
Overall he was 14/88.
Go Benny!!!

Blog Hop...Favorite Photo

Today's blog hop is all about your favorite photo (s).
This of course is right up my alley!

My first one is from 2007. This is Kendall the day we dropped Ben off for his third deployment. So sweet, so innocent, and so unaware of what was actually going on.

Isaac caught at just the right moment!
One of the engagement photos that Dana took for us....Pensacola Beach
In 2006 when Ben met Kendall for the first time. (I so wish that I could take this outfit back & come up with something else!)

Our precious 4-leggers who are always found close to each other.