Boooooooo!!!
We had a smashing time this Halloween. We had a great time at our ward Fall Festival on Friday night and then trick or treating with friends on Saturday night. The kids made out like sugar bandits!
The 80's girl, the cheerleader, the witch and the Firefighter
I have to say, I was proud of Hailey's hair! I've still got it girls! The bigger the better, right?
All set to go trick-or-treating!
Sorting their loot! Halloween isn't complete until you
swap a few treats!
And I'll cry if I wanna! Thankfully there were no tears this year. Although it was strange realizing that somehow I'm in my mid-30's already! Thanks to my fantastic family and friends it was a very special day. I met my "girls" (Lizzie, Ashley and Amber) at one of our favorite places, 606 E Cafe for lunch. The food was delish and the kids obliged and played while we chatted. Amber even surprised me with an adorable cake! When I got back home, I was shocked when a man delivered a dozen beautiful red roses from Joe. What an awesome surprise!! Because I didn't want to cook on my burfday, we went out to eat...again! This time for Mexican food. Yum! During a trip with the little ones to the restroom, a waiter told my friend he was going to get me a shot to help me celebrate my birthday. However, it wasn't until after he left the table that it sunk in what he meant. He brought me out a shot of something and a big sombrero to wear while they sang to me. Nooo, I didn't drink it, but it made for a fun photo op! Besides, the guy at the table next to us was more than happy to drink it for me. Thanks to everyone for making my day great!
CAUTION: This turned out to be a rather lengthy post and there are but a few pictures I had to steal from my friend. Stick with it if you dare risk the boredom of our lives.....
I have completely given up on the dream of having a regularly updated blog. Our first few weeks of summer vacation were fairly relaxed and filled with free movies and daily trips to the gym and pool. The last few weeks have been anything but relaxing. We are praying that our efforts pay off.
What took us so close to the Alabama border you ask? Well, we still own our home over in Columbus, GA (Ft. Benning area). Our renters broke their lease early, leaving us once again in the dilemma of renting vs. selling. After loading up the kids and what seemed life half the house, we headed over to find what damages were waiting for us. Thankfully things weren't nearly as bad as we had anticipated. After spending the first few days cleaning (after promising to leave the house cleaner than they found it, it was FILTHY) we had to make a decision. We decided to try and fix the house up to sell, rather than rent. It will just be one less burden on my plate when Joe deploys again. New carpeting was installed today, and hopefully the house will be listed within the next couple of days. Wish us luck!
In order to make myself feel better, here is a list of some of the things we accomplished in a short week and a half time span.
And the most impressive, or pathetic feat of all (you decide)....Our family of seven consumed a full 14 DOZEN DUN-KIN DONUTS IN A WEEK AND A HALF!!!!
During our time in Columbus, our schedule was completely messed up. We worked hard all day, finally got cleaned up enough to go eat dinner around 9 PM on most nights, just to come back to the house for a crappy nights sleep on an air mattress, and then repeat the entire process over again the next day. Thankfully, we were able to see some old friends which made things enjoyable. Our neighbors over there have four cute boys and were more than happy to play with my little girls. They would go back and forth between each other's backyards and they played like we had never moved. Aren't kids amazing like that? The funniest part was listening to Avery (he was born 5 days after Sadie) and Sadie talk trash to each other while they played basketball in the back yard.
Cooper was really bummed out that he was never able to meet up with his friend Bobby John, but Hailey was in heaven the entire time we were over there. My good friend Kim has a daughter named Anna that is only a few months older than Hailey. The two girls were inseparable the whole time we were there. Kim was so gracious to let Hailey spend the night at their house multiple nights. She even allowed them to do silly things like wash their hair in the swimming pool and make crazy videos. We were able to go to church at our old ward, which was a lot of fun. Hailey and Anna's old Sunbeam (Sunday School class for 3 year olds) teacher was overjoyed to see her two girls back together again. We also spent the 4th of July with their family, just like we did several years ago. On Sunday afternoon, Anna was feeling sad that she was separated from Hailey, so she made us a yummy batch of brownies just so she could bring them over to us. Another time, Kim and her clan brought ice cream over because they knew we needed a break and a treat! They are all such good friends are we are blessed to know them.
We realized how much we loved living in Columbus and how much we miss our neighborhood and friends over there. Driving in Columbus is a breeze compared to Savannah and we love that they use the country prisoners to collect trash and leaf & limb, which leaves the city much cleaner and puts energies into positive places. We've made several quick trips back to Columbus since we moved to Savannah, but this was the first time we really been able to spend a good amount of time in a place we moved away from (other than home).
When we left on Sunday afternoon, it was very bittersweet. We're sure we'll be back again, but we love so many things in Columbus. We came with doom and gloom when we pulled into our dirty, somewhat broken home and left it a clean, fixed up home and our hearts were filled with the joy and love of good friends. After our drive back home, we were so blessed to see that our fantastic neighbors and friends watched over our house, watered my flowers, mowed our lawn and collected our mail while we were gone. This is the hardest part of military life. We love every place we have lived and wish that we could just take all of the good parts and our friends and create our very own hodge-podge of a community. I guess we'll just take all of our experiences and hold them near and dear to our hearts.
Our current challenge...... the house that was dirty is now clean. They house we left clean is now dirty! Even so, our good friends remain no matter what. Thanks to everyone. We love you all!
Yesterday was packed full of activities for us. Joe, Cooper and Hailey got up early and went to clean the church at 8:00 AM. With Joe being gone, they took us off of the rotation, so it was definetly our turn! I think it's very important for the kids to take part in things like this. It takes only a little effort but teaches them the valuable lesson that this is OUR chuch, not a business that belongs to someone else.
After they got home, we loaded everyone into the car and headed out to Ft. McAllister. We had seen the turn off, but had never ventured all the way out there. Our ward had a fantastic activity filled with food, games, socializing and boating. It was very casual....somewhat come and go. The kids had fun on the playground and the pier where they excitedly watch the creatures pulled in from the fishing lines and nets. At one point, an entire crew of kids came running over to tell us that they caught a crab, a shrimp and a baby shark! This would later have an effect on Hailey. With the girls playing, Joe and Cooper left to try catch a boat ride and hope for a go on the tubes. I played my first game of BOCCE BALL with our Bishop's wife and two other great gals that are in Primary with me. I had a great time, and I think we will have to put a Bocce Ball set on our Christmas list.
After everyone came back together, we had just enough time for the whole family to go out on one of the boats. The Bishop was sweet enough to volunteer to keep Brady so the rest of us could go out. He is such a fabulous guy.......I LOVE their family. Anyway, Sadie and Ella went on a tube ride with Joe. It was all fun and games for Sadie. She made me VERY nervous as she held on with only one hand and had the other in the waves the entire time. Sadie cried out in joy the entire time, but Ella kept quiet and held on tight! When they got back to the dock, Ella said "next time, I don't want to go on the tube!" Hailey couldn't be left out,so she and her cute friend Isabelle jumped on for a ride as well. When Brother Olsen could see that they were having fun, he ramped it up enough to give them a bumpy ride. One bump proved to be a bit much for them, and they both did a back flip off of the tube. When Hailey came up along side the boat, she was scared and tried to get back in the boat as quickly as possible. I think she got a slight case of whip lash and she might have hit Isabelle's foot upon entry to the water, but I think she had that baby shark in her head and was especially affraid of what might be lurking in the water. Still, we all had a great time. Even Joe who is usually left disappointed, was very pleased and said "now THAT'S my idea of a great ward party!"
(L to R) Hailey, ???, Rachel (in striped shirt), ???
You would think that our day was already full at that point, but we had one last stop to make before we came home. Our neighbor and Hailey's best friend Rachel was celebrating her 9th birthday at a family fun park. We were a little late, but made it in time for High School Musical birthday cake, presents and lots of fun on the go-carts and miniature golf. Thanks to Natasha and Ben for another great time. Happy Birthday Rachel! We love you!
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