HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALIVIA!!!

I can't BELIEVE that my baby girl is 10 years old! Where did the time go? Liv you are amazing! You have such a great heart. You are so nice to everyone. You NEVER give up ! Thanks for letting me be your Mom! I love you! Happy Birthday!

Tyler's Graduation

Last week Allie, Alivia and I got to go to Florida, to Amy's house, to see Tyler graduate. I just can't believe that Tyler and Jaxon are old enough to graduate from high school. It seems like just yesterday they were in Grandma Sherie's backyard fighting each other with "Sticks" Thats not what they called them, but this blog is "G" rated.
Anyway...We had a great time! Grandma Sherie was there, so we got to spend time with her too. We shopped, and shopped, and shopped. I think that we wore Amy out. We also got to go to John's parents Anniversary. Joe and Terri have been married 60 years! WOW!! We went to a Greek restaurant. It was the real deal. We had dancing on tables, a belly dancer, and even a broken plate.
Thank you Amy, John, Emilee, Tyler, Amanda. You are the best hosts ever. We miss you and love you a ton!

Water Play

The Cabiness Family invited us to go boating with them. We had so much fun! We water skiied, knee boarded, and tried to wake board. We mostly just hung out and had a great time visiting and playing in the water with their dog, Sawyer. Thanks Cabiness Family! Lets do it again!!

Hospital Kay

Jumping off a pier into the ocean is kind of a scary experience. Really the only thing that worried me was seeing "things" swimming around in the water, hoping that I didn't land on one...

School Music Program

Liv and Elijah had a singing program. It was an experience I will never forget!!!!

NEW HOBBY

Scott and some of the kids, have really had a lot of fun learning how to Deep Sea Fish. Sometimes they go for hours without catching anything, and other times they catch one every 5 minutes. They are NOT allowed to bring them home, so they always find someone who wants to clean and eat them. I have promised myself that we will eat a few of these...I'll keep you posted on that. Anyone have a good recipe? One that can make a fish NOT taste like a fish :)

ARMED FORCES KIDS RUN

Yesterday was Armed Forces Day! Alivia and Elijah signed up to participate in a kids run. Alivia's age group ran 2 miles. She wasn't going to run it, but changed her mind at the last minute. She had worn her flip flops instead of her tennis shoes. She was determined to run anyway. She ran one lap in her flip flops, and 7 laps barefoot. She was so happy that she finished, and we were so proud of her, for finishing in Alivia Style. She is one of a kind!!
Elijah's age group ran 1/2 a mile. He was so fast, and so funny. He was ahead the whole time, and not even looking like he was trying. He was running with a girl, Ally, in his Kindergarten class most of the time. At the end of the race, she started getting really tired and slowing down. Elijah stayed right with her, and kept telling her that..."You can do it. Keep going.." It was so cute. I am so proud of him for being such a great friend. It was so exciting to see him come in 1st place. I don't think that he even realized he had won the race. It was just something he was having fun doing.

BASEBALL

We signed Alivia and Elijah up for baseball. Alivia's team is the BEE'S. Elijah is on the MARLINS. At Alivia's 1st practice, she got a baseball to the mouth. She was bleeding all over the place, and when I looked in her mouth, her 2 front teeth were blowing in the wind. Yes, the permanent ones. I thought I was going to cry. I called Grandpa Lou. On his great advise, I took her to the ER, who called in Dental. We were at the Dental office until 10:00 that night. They numbed her and shoved them back into place, and wired them all together. Soft diet for 3 weeks, and a REALLY fat lip. Scott calls her "The Botox Beauty." She was so brave. She went to the very next practice (with a mouth guard) I told her that she didn't have to keep playing, and she said..."Mom, if you fall off a horse, you just get right back on." She is amazing!!
Besides the 1st practice, they are having a blast, and are improving everytime they play. It is extremely entertaining to watch.

St Augustine

What a neat place! I could spend days here. It is the oldest city in the US. Lots of pirate history, etc. We went to Ripley's Believe it or not, and walked around. It's a really, really fun place. I wish we could have stayed longer than a day. Maybe next time.

SeaWorld

This is the year to go to Seaworld, if you are in the military. They have a special, that if you are active duty, they will give you and 4 of your dependents a free day pass. How could we pass that up! We had a blast! We sat on the 1st row of the "soak zone" for the Shamu Show. We got drenched. The kids were amazed that Killer Whales and Dolphins can be trained so well. We rode rides, fed the sea lions, and pet sting rays. The only thing we wanted to do but didn't get to was feed the dolphins. The day was just SOOOOO fun.

Amy's House

We had to get off the island. We were all starting to feel a little claustrophobic, and needed to do some serious shopping. We got to visit family to top it all off. We had so much fun. Amy and John are such good hosts, and their kids are some of the kindest kids alive! We spent almost a week with them. We shopped,played nintendo ds, ate, got a tooth implant, shopped, bought puppies together,went to a movie, and shopped some more. It was great to be with family. We love and miss you!

Jumping!

We went snorkeling at a place called Phillip's Dive. It was so clear and beautiful. We saw some of the prettiest fish I have ever seen. After we had worn ourselves out, Alivia and Elijah decided to jump off the pier. They loved it! I can't believe how daring they are. They have both turned into VERY good swimmers. I took a ton of pictures, but since it takes forever to load them, I can only post one at a time. FRUSTRATING!

Girl Scout Beach

We spent the day at Girl Scout Beach. I can post this now, because it has been a week, and the scare has kind of gone away. We went snorkeling, when all of the sudden it started to get really windy. We decided to turn around. We swam and swam and swam. It was the kind of swimming where you swam a foot and got pushed back 3 feet. It was getting scary. Long story short... We all got back to the beach fine. We were all really tired and had sore muscles for a few days. This is a picture of Sam after the FOREVER swim. I think that I'll hang out at the pool on windy days......

Rock Climbing Pool?

Our pool got a new attraction this last week. They installed a rock climbing wall. It was a lot of fun. It was also very hard to climb up that wall when it is wet and slippery! The kids loved it, and played FOREVER! They had pretty sore muscles that night.

Happy Birthday Scott!!

Happy birthday to the best husband, father, and friend! We think that you are awesome!

Dolphins In The Bay!!!

Saturday, we rented a boat. There is a little island in the bay, that has really great seashells. We spent a few hours there, and then headed for home. On the way back to the main boat dock, a dolphin was PLAYING in the wake of the boat. Apparently there are 3 dolphins that live in the bay, and they are very friendly. It was so amazing to see. They are absolutely incredible animals!
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THE PRINCESS BRIDE???

If you have ever watched "The Princess Bride", you know what a R.O.U.S. is. It stands for Rodents Of Unusual Size. We have them here, only we call them Banana Rats. They come out at night. They are about as big as a large cat. They only eat grass and various plants. They love popcorn! We go to an outdoor movie theater, and they will come up to you and eat the popcorn off the ground. (We TRY not to drop any) They are EVERYWHERE!
I must be perfectly honest....They kind of FREAK me out, but on the other hand....They are kind of cute. I wouldn't want one as a pet or anything.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

My Mom is awesome! She is just COOL...always has been... from her hair, to her car, to the way she treats everyone. She is the best example to us all. I am so happy that I was raised by her. I hope that I can be even half as good as she was and is. Not only is she a great Mom, but she is an AWESOME Grandma and friend. We love you Grandma Sherie! Have a great BIRTHDAY!!

THE BEAST

Our van was not able to make the journey with us. When we got here, we had a huge variety of large vehicles to choose from. Our criteria was that it had to sit us all, and it had to run. We lucked out! For only $800 we are now the owners of "THE BEAST" I love this van. I don't ever worry about the kids spilling anything. I don't ever have to vacuum it out. (A hose works wonders) Everyday is an adventure, about 2 weeks ago the trunk doors broke, so we had to buy a bungi chord, to keep them closed. Last week the passenger side door stopped opening, so we now just climb in the back or drivers side. As long as one door works, we are good. It is the kind of car that keeps us on our toes! And it's VERY patriotic!!! We love the USA!!!

Good Morning!

This morning I sent Elijah outside to sweep off the patio. He came running into the house, and quickly shut the screen door. He was being chased by our neighborhood Iguana. We have named him IGGY. These iguana's are all over the base. They are protected, so if you intentionally hurt one, you get a pretty little $10,000 fine. Iggy sat at our back door for about a half an hour. He was not happy with us, but he did let us take his picture. YES, they do bite!!!

Beach vs. Pool

The pool is one of our favorite places to play. It is very clean, free, and you don't get sand down your suit! Elijah and Alivia have accomplished the great feat of jumping off the "High Dive"

SUNBURN

We spent the day at the beach with friends. We put sunscreen on in the morning, but I think it must have worn off. We are all burnt. Poor Alivia got it the worst. She is practically glowing a bright red color.

The Little Mermaid

Musoula Children's Theater was in town this last week. Alivia tried out and got the part of "The Town Crier". She did such a great job. We had a week of her being very busy, and when we did see her she was usually singing, or eating. The play was so fun to watch. Way to go, LIV!!!

Cuban Cigars

January 30 was Cuban/American Friendship Day. I bet you didn't know that! We had a big celebration. There was dancing, eating, singing, and fresh rolled Cuban Cigars. I asked the kind man rolling this cigar if I could take his picture. He said that I could. After he was finished, he held up the cigar and said in English (I think) "I made for you." How could I refuse? I don't think I will smoke it. I am hoping it will hold up in a shadow box. Anyone have any ideas?

"Look At That Face!"

Elijah totally gets serious, when it comes to snorkeling. I don't know too many 6 year olds, that can snorkel for hours and hours. He LOVES it!