THE ECKERTS

Monday, April 28, 2008

all by myself!

First you do this........and then you do this.......and then.........!!!!!!!!!!!!

She's so proud!!! And I'm a happy camper b/c I don't have to tie shoes anymore! Ah, the stepping stones of parenthood....

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

This is a hard birthday for me. My baby is now in the double digits, has his own group of friends, wants nothing to do with family stuff, loves skateboarding, and is acting like a teenager already. It's so hard to believe how kids are maturing now-a-days!!!! I want my money back because this is not what I signed up for!! ;)

Tyler also had his first "real" birthday party with his own friends this year. We had to put his party off a week so he could invite his friends from school (his birthday fell over spring break). He chose to have his party at the bowling alley - that was fun! Jim had the kids bowling backwards, with their "other" hand, on their bellies, etc., and bought candy bars for the winners. My camera lost power so no pics of that stuff.

We came back to our house for cake and ice cream and then the kids proceeded to run around like wild animals.....

HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY ADDISON!

Addison celebrated her 6th, but FIRST, birthday party with friends this year :) It seems like every year we just do a simple family celebration....but not this year! We celebrated at Pump It Up and the kids had a BLAST! It wasn't cheap, but it was worth it to see how much fun the kids had!

I can't believe Addison is actually 6 now.......time flies, but I have to admit that I love the kids being "grown" and responsible. Parenting, on the other hand.........well, that gets harder and

harder......

the best deal EVER

During my 45 minute commute to/from work each day I kind of put myself on auto pilot - a lot. Well, one day I noticed this boat sitting in the parking lot of the credit union across from the Navy base. I didn't think too much of it, really - that is, until my friend proposed that I find out what the deal is with the (awesome) party boat. Turns out a girl I work with knows a girl who works at the credit union (we all know each other from the spouses group....but that's too confusing to try and link all of us together - I'm trying to keep it simple ;) and she calls to ask her what the deal is on the boat. Come to find out, it's a REPO - a 2007 boat, trailer, and motor - the asking price: $11,840 Negotiable. Oh, I'm ALL about negotiations and getting things for a steal!

(By the way....Jim and I had been talking about getting a bigger boat for several months now and have been keeping out eyes peeled for good deals)

To make a long story short......I fought off two other people, raced my butt into the credit union (during work), and filled out the loan papers for WAY BELOW market value! And, I got a FABULOUS rate to boot!!

Jim knew nothing about my purchase - we put an offer in on the boat but was outbid initially - that was the last he knew of the situation. I think he was pretty happy to see her sitting in front of our house when he got home from work!

Check her out!!

This was my attempt to show the F22's flying all around us (it's like this everyday - we love it!)

Tyler took this shot from the boat -- at first this dolphin was slapping his tail on the surface of the water....we pulled up near where we saw him, turned off the engine, and the next thing you know, this is what we see!

WARNING WARNING WARNING

We had our first Tornado Warning a couple of months ago (I've been meaning to post this for a while, but.......). We had the kids pile up into the bathroom, which was not my #1 choice of rooms to seek shelter, but it's the only room in the center of the home. The kids thought it was necessary to bring their entire bedding sets in with them to keep them comfy (or so I figured).

I tried to show where we are in reference to the storm........

The downspout was like this for hours........

news....news.....news....

Where to being? Where I left off, I suppose......

So I ended up going back to Michigan for my great grandmother's funeral. I felt like I made peace with her passing the day I found about it, but knew I needed to be home. I have to say...I DON'T miss the cold....brrrrrr!

Here I am with Mary (my dad's gf, and my brother and sister)