more pics from home....

I'm having a difficult time getting these pics to line up with my comments - arg!

I hope you can enjoy the pics without comments for now! " )

















John Ball Park Zoo

-- the infamous John Ball statue

Our trip home

With many mixed emotions we made the trip back to Florida after spending two awesome weeks with friends and family. Although we are happy to be home and as anxious as we were to get here, we will continue to miss everyone close to us.

While in Michigan we camped at Lincoln Lake and roasted hot dogs over the open flame and had smores galore!





The kids went fishing several times and caught tons of fish!
Although few were keepers, catching fish is so much fun! Even I caught a couple " )


















Libby Lu's - OMG How FUN!

Addison, Olivia, and Kammie all got to spend a day at the "spa" getting their hair, nails, and makeup done....and when they were all finished they even did the hokey pokey, well....at least us moms did! Thanks again to Grandma Carol for the FUN day! (where was all of this stuff when I was a kid?)

















Some of our family we haven't seen in years. I hadn't met my niece, Allyson, until this trip...she is one now, and such an adorable little thing! Olivia, three, I hadn't seen since she was one. The kids had fun "catching up" in their own ways " )



















My little sister, Julia - I can't believe she's 16!! I remember crying in the hospital when she was born! OMG I'm getting so old.........








I could go on and on......I'll save some more pics for tomorrow..........

we're coming home!

We are leaving tomorrow and heading for home....yeah! We are so excited about being able to see our family and friends that we just can't wait to be home! The long road trip will definately be worth it (although we'll probably be at each other's throats for two days....). We load up the kids and the dogs and head out early tomorrow morning.

We'll SEE you all soon!

snapshots.......

Just some fun snapshots.........


Here I am with Jayce and Addison...it's my birthday selfphoto " ) I'm not too good at those as you can probably tell - lol

Addison and Tyler strike a pose......













What a goofball.....

our first 4th of July celebration

We were invited to join some of the other spouses and their families to join the Navy base for their 4th of July celebration. There was food and tons of games and jumpy things for the kids. Unfortunately for us and our kids, they weren't able to go on any of the "rides" or play any of the games -- we stood in line for shaved ice too long!! But they were ok with that......being right on the beach the kids had more fun looking for hermit crabs and running around " )
It was a great night, though! We sat right by the d.j. who spun some of the best American music ever! And the music didn't stop when the fireworks began......the music was almost tearful as fellow soldiers yelled out things like, "Hell, yeah!" when they would hear lyrics like "Thank God for the USA" while we watched the most beautiful fireworks display. It was awesome!







Here is the Navy's Color Guard marching to the flagpole to present the American Flag.









The d.j. had lots of cool prizes for those brave enough to get up and dance in front of the crowd. Unfortunately for me (or fortunately for the crowd) I missed out on this one! I borrowed the visor for the pic!









Jim sings along to one of the songs for Addison.

my birthday surprise

These pictures don't do the crime justice, but just imagine waking up to kids screaming, "Mom come and look outside!"

My friends decided to vandalize my house with streamers, ballons, and banners - all in good fun to wish me a Happy Birthday. It was the best birthday morning ever!


Jim also had a part in this.......making sure that everywhere I drove on my special day, everyone knew it was my birthday! It was bit embarassing, but still fun.

say a prayer for me....please

Sorry for the delay in the update, but it's been a long week and weekend. I went to see my ob on Thursday for my post op visit. I was given my third shot in my butt that day...... and I want nothing more than for needles to stay away from my bum from this point forward!! The doc and I talked about my depo shot and how it will prevent my ovaries from producing hormones and the side effects that come along with that. I'm worried for my sanity and the sanity of those who live with me after the shot begins to take full effect...... so I just ask that (for now) you all say a little prayer for me....I'm not asking to be cured of anything, just asking to be able to deal with life through this period of my life.
I will also keep you updated on how things progress through this issue. Depending on how I can deal with this shot, I may end up with a hysterectomy.......