Happy 10 months Parker!!!

My sweet Parker. Everyday I am thankful for you. You have brought so much joy into this family.

Right now you are walking everywhere. You almost never crawl now! When you learn how to do something, you never look back. You are into everything. It amazes me how fast you figure things out. If the cabinet locks aren't tight, you know exactly how to get in there and quick! I love to watch you dance. You are not a big TV baby but you love Cho-Cho soul and the I-pad commercial. Something about the beat. You will only eat your baby food if there is no real people food in sight. :/ And if we feed you before dinner, you still expect to have plenty of what we are eating too. Momma is not a word you are even considering. In fact for a month or more now you think it is the funniest thing to say Da-da when we ask you to say Momma. Not nice. Up side is that you LOVE your momma. Very much a Momma's boy and I love it. Your brothers adore you and you them. They will tickle you while you just laugh and laugh. You are such a happy boy. Always smiling, laughing and making faces. My favorite is when you scrunch up your nose, show your teeth and snort! My little entertainer. You play well by yourself but you love having an audience too. You still HAVE to sleep with Gordon, the puppy that your brothers made before you were born. You get excited and laugh everytime you see him.

I am sure I have left out tons of the things you do. Every smile, every laugh and every funny face lights up my heart. I love you Parker. Can't believe you are getting so big!

First real week of home schooling.

So far I have to say that home schooling is going really well. My biggest challenge is trying to figure out exactly what Blake already knows and doesn't know. Everytime I think I have it figured out and start to teach...he already knows it :/ When I ask him if lessons are too easy, he says no. We will figure it our eventually. I found a great online program for him and Hunter to do. He works on the computer for about an hour a day (3 20 min blocks). Then we reinforce info taught or branch off the lessons. I love the flexibilty of the day. We take several breaks and also ride/walk to the park just about everyday. Yesterday was great because Ben actually got to go with us.

I am very thankful for our family time. I believe that is one benefit of being a military family. We are shown on a regular basis just how precious family time is. It is so easy to take advantage of the time with the ones you love.

Parker is walking EVERYWHERE!!! Didn't take him long to get his balance going and take off. He is just amazing. Growing up so fast but will always be my baby. :)

We actually unpacked the final box in the house yesterday! Almost everything is in its place. I bought a couple bar stools yesterday and stuff for the 1/2 bath downstairs. We keep finding more things we need though. I REALLY need a new vacuum. A futon or pull out bed/sofa is a must for the loft. And I need some kind of color for my living room. I'll figure it out eventually though.

Right now my biggest struggle is Ben working the night shift. Like I said earlier, I cherish him being home so I feel bad for even complaining. But, I seriously feel like a single mom again. He tries to stay on the nights schedule so that his body doesn't keep flipping back and forth. But it just makes it feel like he never has a day off. He is always sleeping during the day and doesn't get to go to bed with me. :( I am a big cuddler and I don't sleep well without him.

Ben is off Sat and Sun so hopefully we will head to the beach again. We did get tickets to the Pro Bowl!!! They aren't the best seats because we waited so late to buy them but we will still be there :)

It is past my bedtime...so the rambling will pick up another day :)

FINALLY settled!!!

A lot has happened since my last post. We decided to stay with the house that we signed the lease on. I was so unsure but once we got everything moved in and were able to get out in the neighborhood a little, I am VERY happy with our choice. I feel at peace here. The house is perfect for us. Just a little info on cost of living...our house is $2700 a month!!! Luckily the army gives us a housing allowance and cost of living allowance. :/ Here is a picture of the house.

Now here is a picture of a house for $2600 a month. I feel like we got a good deal!

I thought it was crazy the range of houses you could get within a $300 price difference. Ben has to drive a little further to work but we have a beautiful home that is only 5 years old. It is 2002 sq ft. Love the floorplan. The neighborhood is awesome. There are bike trails everywhere. They are building a park within walking distance. And it is only 5-10 minutes to the beach. :)

Speaking of the beach...while we were there last weekend a seal swam up on shore to sun bath and take a nap. I spoke with the life guard and he said this guy was a regular. They have named him Benny. He said that Benny likes to pop his head out of the water to scare someone and then will swim away. Playful guy! I just loved him!

Ben tried out surfing for the first time! He got up a few times but unfortunately I missed it :( We were distracted by the seal. But here are a few shots of an awesome attempt.

And here are my adorable boys enjoying the beach.

We are about 95% unpacked which is awesome. Blake and I are going to restart home schooling Monday. Starting with everything in chaos was not a good idea. We finally had the internet hooked up Thursday, so I feel like I can plan much better.

Today we went to the Dole Plantation. The boys loved the maze. I personally felt like the train and the garden was a rip off! The food was great though and the pineapple ice cream was even better!

I really miss all of my friends and family! Some good girl time is much needed!!! I am sure we will make good friends soon though. Ben started back to work last week, so hopefully we will start getting into a routine.

Puzzled

I apologize for not posted for such a long time. When we came here, I thought I would be so blown away by the beauty to worry about the little things. unfortunately...I am a CONTROL freak!!! I need MY space. My orderly space. Being in this hotel room is driving me crazy. I am cranky, moody and impossible to live with.

We have been challenged with a very difficult choice. After signing a lease last Thursday, we received a call Monday from the housing office. They have a house available in Feb. Now we have to decide what to do.

Pros and cons:

House we already have:
pros: Love the floor plan, wonderful neighborhood, bike trails galore, new park being built within walking distance, nice yard, and away from Honolulu.
cons: distance for Ben and work, and we have to ask owner for priviledges for the pool.

military house:
pros: military community, pool, skate/bike park, playgrounds, and really close for Ben and work
cons: no idea about the floor plan, from heresay the yard is almost non-existent, only one car garage

I would love to have the military community but there are just so many unknowns. I don't know what to do. I know we would be very happy in the house we already have. But what if we would be happier in the military community? I hate this.

The boys have had a great holiday in spite of the hotel circumstances. We went to the North Shore for New Years Eve and had a blast. Then we went to our "house" and camped out to ring in the new year. There were insane firework displays everywhere. We just sat in our driveway and say at least 5 shows!!! GOOD shows!!!

Here are some pictures from the North shore trip.

Parker LOVED the fireworks!!! They didn't bother him at all!!!

I will let you know about the house as soon as we know :/

First week in Hawaii

Merry Christmas Eve to everyone!!!

This week has been very different to say the least. I had no idea what to expect when coming here. I am glad that I didn't have expectations. The first few days all I could think was "what have we gotten ourselves into!" It rained constantly the first 2 days with flash flood warnings. We are staying on Ford Island which is WAY too close to Honolulu. Traffic in the Honolulu is INSANE!!!! For example, I went to the commissary (military grocery store) yesterday. It is 2.5 miles away. It took me 1 1/2 hrs just to drive back!!! You seriously can sit in one spot for 10 mins.

We have been house hunting all week. This too is frustrating to me. When I call someone...I expect a call back in a timely manner. It is just good business. Even the realtors won't call you back for several days. Some houses we thought were taken and that was why they didn't call back. But no, they just took their sweet ass time. I am NOT a patient person. I think this is extrememly rude. That is the reality I am going to have to get used to though. The people here are in no hurry for ANYTHING!!!

Upside...I think we have found a house. I absolutely LOVE it. It is 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath. But it has a large loft for a game room/guest area ;) We REALLY want visitors so the extra space was really important to me :) The kitchen and living area are open. I really like that. I will actually have a pantry!!! Yay! The boys' rooms are a little small but with the loft it won't really matter. I like their toys to be seperate from their beds anyway :) The house is in Ewa Beach. It is located on the opposite side of Pearl harbor than Honolulu. Big plus! The subdivision is Ewa by Gentry. Really nice neighborhood with lots of bike trails. It is about a mile from the beach. I'm thinking we will make several bike trips down there.

We went to Kailua beach the other day which in on the east side of the island. Beautiful!!! Here are a few pics of our trip.

Once we are settled and I am away from Honolulu...I think I will love it here. The mountains are amazing. It is definitely an adjustment though.

Day 2 and Parker's FIRST STEPS!!!

I can't believe it! Parker took his first steps tonight!!! I stood him in front of me and begged him to come to me. Everytime he tried squatting to crawl and just stood him back up. After just a few times he took a step. The next time he took 2 and then 3!!! He is amazing! He's NOT even 9 months yet! He will be 9 months Christmas day. He won't take more than 3. Something about that third step...makes him think he needs to dive for you! lol

I failed to mention where we were actually staying right now. Military housing has a waiting list about 6-9 months long. :/ So, we are staying in the Navy Lodge on Ford Island. It is so neat to be staying here. The bridge to the Island goes right by the USS Arizona Memorial. Everytime we drive across the bridge I try to imagine what the attack on Pearl Harbor was like. The lodge is actually pretty nice. It is a large room with a seperate bedroom. No fun sleeping in the same room with your kiddos tho! We have a small kitchen, so at least we are able to cook basic meals.

Took my first trip into downtown Honolulu today. Unfortunately it was during rush hour! OMG! I lost my patience very quickly. The Wal-mart and Sam's are in the same building. Wal-Mart is on the 1st floor and Sam's in on the 3rd. Very weird...and a cluster F*** of people. Sorry but there is no way to say it nicely! I have now vowed to avoid downtown Honolulu at all cost!

House hunting is about to begin. We have found several online and are going to call tomorrow to set up appointments. We would like to move into a house beginning-mid January. Housing is insane here. There is no such thing as a decent yard. The prices are crazy. Thank goodness the army gives us a housing allowance. We are hoping to find a house in the Mililani area. Location is great for Ben and getting to work. I really like the Ewa Beach area but it is a little further than Ben would like to drive.

Prices...not nearly as bad as I expected. We went grocery shopping yesterday and I was surprised. I have to admit...we did go to the commissary on post. But even today at Wal-Mart and Sam's I didn't think the prices were much different. Chicken and milk were the 2 things that were noticeably higher. Milk is $4.07 a gallon. Gas is $3.49. High...but not as high as I thought it would be. I guess I expected the worst!

It has rained pretty much non-stop since I got here. It should be overcast tomorrow but no rain. I am hoping I can FINALLY get some pictures to post. I think we are going to head to the beach :)

Home Sweet Home Hawaii!!!

We are here!!! FINALLY!!!

First off, I have to say that my boys are truly amazing! We had 2 1/2 hr flight to Minneapolis and then a 9 hr flight to Honolulu. They were great. Parker got a little restless once, but he didn't even cry. He just got a little fussy. Blake and Hunter were fabulous. They watched movies and played games the whole flight.

We arrived a little after 5pm Saturday. Day light was very short. We went to eat dinner with friends of Ben. Very sweet family...I think we will be getting along very well :)

Unfortunately today it rained ALL day!!! Flash flood warnings even!!! We still managed to get out and drive around some neighborhood though. We were able to cross out and circle a few. :) I was really hoping to get into military housing. We even (thought we) put our name on the list back in August. BUT...it didn't do CRAP! So the waiting list is 6-12 months!!! Not sure we can manage a 1 bedroom hotel room for that long. It is really nice but only has a mini fridge and a 2 burner stove top. Did I mention that I LOVE to cook?!?!? I can't even make Parker's baby food :( So I think we are going to find a temporary home.

Our biggest concern is Blake. He has had to move schools too much in such a short time already. We really don't want to make him change more than he has to. I am really considering home schooling him until fall. It would keep him from having to change 2 more times! I would LOVE some input on this!!!

I HAVE to find a Christmas tree and figure out how to make a Christmas dinner without an oven!!! I'll let you know how all of that goes.

As far as Hawaii goes...it really is beautiful! Some parts are better than others. I will post pictures as soon as the rain stops and I can take some!!

My time in Arkansas has come to an end...

Bittersweet...that is the only word that can really sum up how I am feeling about this. I am so excited to be in Hawaii! Ben keeps sending pictures and telling me how beautiful it is. I want to be there with him so badly. So ready to start my life again. I feel like it has just been placed on hold for 4 months. But...I am so sad to leave my friends and family.

Today is my day to finish up errands. Mom and Jonathan are coming to spend the day with us. We are going to take the van to get a tune-up. While it is getting serviced we are going to hit Wal-mart, Ulta, and get some lunch. Tonight is my last night with Nikki :( I hate good byes and I really don't want to say goodbye to her and Kendyl.

Tomorrow I will be packing everything into the van. It will be Blake's last day of school and I promised him that I would come eat with him. After school we are going to see Santa!!! Then having dinner with Chelsea and going to see the lights in downtown Fayetteville. We will stay the night at Ken and Cathy's house.

Friday morning we will load up the van and had to Dallas. Linda and Ken are going to follow us down to help with all the luggage and the boys. I have to drop the van off to be shipped to Hawaii. We will find something fun to do in Dallas for the night. I am so thankful to Linda and Ken both for making the trip with me.

Saturday morning at 8am we board a plane for Hawaii!!! It will be a very long day. For Christmas the boys got tons of stuff for the plane. Maw and Papaw gave them DVD players so we should be set! Thanks!

In Hawaii...Ben is getting us into temporary housing. He found out yesterday that we could be on the waiting list for a house for 6 months! Give or take! He already bought a vehicle over there. He found a nice trailblazer and seems to really like it. My first order of business will be to find a Christmas tree for the boys. If we are having Christmas in a hotel, we at least need a tree!!!

I will try to update as much as possible. I linked my phone to my blog. As long as it works I should be able to update regularly. I will post pics soon too! Love you all!

Finally getting EXCITED!!!

All this time I haven't been able to get excited about Hawaii. It always seemed so far away with a thousand things to do in between. The time has raced by though! Ben leaves tomorrow!!! I take him to the airport in the morning. He will have a very long day of flying. We decided for him to go ahead of us so he can get us into temporary housing and buy a vehicle. The boys and I only have 8 days left!!!

What am I excited for? My own house, my own space, a baby free bedroom :) I am so appreciative to my mother-in-law for letting us stay with her. It really helped in so many ways with this move. But I am a control freak (yes I said it) and I need my space to control! I like things to have their place :) Of course I am really excited to see Hawaii and all of its amazing beauty. It will be so fun to learn more about photography in a place like that. I can't wait to see what kind of pictures I get. Ben and I want to learn how to scuba dive and take the boys to surf lessons. We will be able to learn a whole other culture and way of life. This will be an experience of a life time. We feel so lucky to be able to go on this adventure.

With all this excitement there is some sadness. It is SO far away! Anyone who knows me knows how much I cherish my friends. They have been there through so much. It has been so nice to see many of my old friends again. Feels like old times, just all grown up. And then there are friends who step in your life and within moments they have changed it forever. I have been so blessed with the most amazing friends. I will miss them terribly!!! My family too!

Please come see us in Hawaii!

Happy Birthday to my sweet husband :)

In a world where love is rare, where marriages fail more often than suceed, where there is so much pain...I am lucky to have my amazing husband. I am married to a man who amazes me, inspires me, takes my breath away, makes me feel all ends of my emotions' spectrum, and still after 11 years gives me butterflies.

Happy 29th Birthday my love. On this day I want to say exactly what I am thankful for...you. I fell in love with this crazy, funny, full of life guy. I lived life being scared. Scared to be risky, to let loose, to have fun...to get in trouble. You taught me how to let go, how to live, how to embrace life and the fun in it. You taught me a love that I had never felt before. No matter where we are or what we are going through, our love is still there...even if we lost sight of it at times.

You are a man that a wife can be proud of. You are your own person and don't let others change who you. Your heart is so big. Your family, friends and patients are taken care of with kindness and compassion. You serve your country bravely...and look damn good in that uniform ;) And our boys are incredibly lucky to have a dad who is so involved and loving.

Thank you for loving me. Thank you for the life we share. And thank you for being able to fall in love over and over again with such an amazing man.

Life just races by...

It has been a couple weeks since I posted last. It as been a crazy time. We are FINALLY a family again. We had an amazing week in Texas. Ben and I even had a couple nights alone!!! We made so many wonderful memories over the last couple weeks with family and friends. Too many to go into detail! I hate being so behind!!! Instead I want to take a moment write down some of my thoughts.

I am constantly looking at myself and trying to learn more about what makes me tick and why. I feel like through reflection you are able to become a better person. I also think while looking in, you should also look out. I have had a lot of driving time which equals thinking/reflecting time. I have come up with some new goals.

#1: To be more cheerful. Life is so much more fun when you walk through it with a smile.

#2: To let go. Grudges only hurt yourself. Rather than hanging on to anger...be productive and find a way to fix what is making you mad.

#3: (most important) Love who I am. No one is perfect. Of course I have my flaws, but for the most part, I think I am a pretty amazing person ;)

I tend to take everything to heart. I over think things. Sometimes things are the way they are just because they are. Life happens, things change, people make mistakes but how you choose to handle it is up to you. Be someone who you are proud to be. Make choices that you can live happily with. Then at the end of the day...if someone doesn't like who you are, let them go. You shouldn't have to change for anyone.

A happier, less angry person is who I want to be. I am so lucky in life. I have the most amazing friends and family. I have happy, healthy children. A husband who I can laugh with, learn from, and continue to grow while hand in hand. Nothing else really matters.

I could go on for forever...

Crazy, wonderful week! :)

The last week was absolutely wonderful! :) I was able to spend each evening with a different one of my amazing friends.

Monday night the boys and I met Charita and her family for dinner at the local Mexican place. We don't get together nearly enough, but when we do it is so much fun. Full of laughs! We each have 3 boys who all get along so well.

Tuesday we went over to Chelsea's mom, Vanessa's house. The boys were able to ride a horse :) Chelsea's sister and neice were also there. River is only a couple weeks older than Parker. It was sooo cute to see them interact! It was very nice to see Chelsea and her family, and even better to see her happy again! Chels will always be like my little sister. No matter how old we get I continue to have that protective urge inside me. I love her to peices.

Wednesday we went over to Jeremy and Meredith's house. They are proof that friendship has nothing to do with the length of time you have known someone. Sometimes people just click. We just started hanging out and I feel like I have known them my entire life. I love so many of my friends here like they are my family but I am already used to being away from them. (Very sad but that's the life of military) I NEVER expected to move back to Arkansas for a few months and start a new friendship that is going to make it feel impossible to leave.

Thursday was my weekly night at Nikki's. My favorite thing about spending time with Nikki is that she has seen me at my best, worst and everywhere in between. We have had so much history together, even rfriendship has had it's ups and downs. But she is the one that through everything has always been there, or at least just a phone call away. I feel comfortable to just be myself with no worries of not being good enough. It has been so wonderful to finally spend time with her amazing little girl too!

Finally...Friday we drove to Texas to be with Ben!!!! We met at my Dad's house in Conroe. I always love seeing my Dad and other mother but it was just amazing to finally wrap my arms around my hubs! It was a LONG drive though. Surprisingly it went very well. I had the 3 boys and our 90 lb dog! If you can believe it...I only stopped 2 times on a 10 hr drive!!!

Saturday Maw and I decided that we needed to get matching tattoos. She has another one that matches her 3 girls so I was totally feeling left out ;) We went down to the tat parlor and got some cute tats on our feet :) There is a large star in the center in my Dad's favorite color, purple. Then there are 5 small stars. Each star represent the birthstone of our immediate family members. I have to say that Blake's green is beautiful. I want to extend the one on my side at some point and may just have to add some green to it!  Ben also got a tattoo. It is HUGE on his left shoulder/arm.

Yesterday, my wonderful other mother, Kim (aka Maw) was wonderful enough to keep my boys while Ben and I spent a couple days alone in San Antonio! We drove to San Antonio yesterday afternoon to help a friend of his move into his apartment. After we finished uploading his u-haul we went to eat at Papasito's. OMG Yum!!! The best fajitas I have ever had!!! Then we can back to ben's home for the last 3 months. (a hotel off the riverwalk) Let me tell you, he has not been roughing it at all! It was so nice to have a quiet evening with no worries of children!

And today...I have a day all to myself :) I have to go to Babie-R-Us though because I forgot my breast pump. Just great! I was already worried about being away from Parker for 2 days and having to pump. I had the pump already loaded in the van and decided to pump one more time before leaving the house and then left it :( Even with that little bump it feels so great to be in a kid free zone for a day!

Whew...that was a lot of catching up!

Our weekend away :)

There is nothing better than seeing the look on your children's faces when they see something new and amazing. From the time I was itty bity I have found the Gateway Arch in St. Louis to be absolutely incredible. As time in the continental US is ending, I decided that I needed to go see my Grandma in Illinois. I haven't seen her in 4 years. That is so hard to believe because her and my grandpa were such a huge part of my childhood. So I decided to take the boys up to see her. Since we had to drive right by the Arch anyway, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to show the boys a historical structure that meant so much to me :)

The boys LOVED! To see how huge it is, how small it looks up top but then to be able to go up there, all of it was so cool to them. Blake was a little unsure about the small, shaky elevator up but they did great!

Then we got to eat at my all time favorite restaurant...The Old Spaghetti Factory! Yummy!!! My Grandpa liked it too so it has great memories. The atmosphere is awesome!

My mom came with us too! She loved getting to spend the time with the boys. 

Then we headed up to my grandma's in Wood River, IL. It amazes me how much can change in just a few years. Everywhere I look in her house I see my Grandpa. I loved and admired him so much. A remarkable man! The whole time I was there all I could think was what a shame it was that he didn't get to see my boys. They would have adored him. But Blake got to read to Grandma. He is getting REALLY good!

 

Blake and Hunter got to play on the organ that I loved as a child. I spent more hours than I can count on this organ :)

We had a great time! We stayed in a hotel Saturday night, woke up and went swimming. Then we headed back home. The boys were really excited because we picked up Tugger from my mom's house. He will spend the week with us and then goes to Maw and PaPaw's house this weekend.

4 MORE DAYS AND WE ARE WITH BEN!!! WAHOO!!!