The past weekend

Last weekend was quite a busy one that includes just about as much as you could fit into 2 days.  Saturday morning started off with a 5am wake up call and getting the kids out of bed at 540.  We all piled in the van, Granddaddy too, and headed to Walter Reed (30 min.) to pick up a friend.  Then it was over to Bethesda (15 min) for the boys to start their 110 mile bike ride to Gettysburg.  I will send more pictures later that dad took while riding.

Then the kids and I headed back to Gaithersburg (30 min) for some breakfast and some rest time.  I also had a guys from the moving company coming to look over the house to see how many days it was going to take to pack our house.  Then back to Walter Reed (40 min) for a "Ho Down" for Justin's work.  There was a petting zoo, kids games, country music stars singing on a stage, park police horses to ride, and food catered by Outback.  It was 93 and really hot but a great time for picnic.
Will didn't want me to walk beside him he had to do it all by himself!  These were huge horses too.
Then since it was so hot they played in the fountain near the picnic.

After the picnic we went back home (40 min) for naps.  We were a little late for naps and that put us late getting to Frederick (60 min. due to sitting in wreck traffic).  The boys were spending the night in Frederick and I had their bags since we were late getting to Bethesda and missed the luggage truck.  They were waiting for me so that they could take showers and the kids and I were going to eat dinner when we got there with them.  After dinner and playing with daddy and granddaddy the kids and I went on to Gettysburg (30 min) and meet our neighbors at a hotel for the night.  We got the the hotel around 8, visited with our friends and then I had to bathe the kids and get all the sunscreen and sweat off them before bed.  They were in bed by 845 and didn't fall asleep until 10!  Then they were up by 630 (very early), we had breakfast with our friends and then went swimming at the hotel pool.  After getting cleaned up and dressed we went to the ending spot for the bike riders.  The riders rode in all together around 12 and then we got their bags into the van and went to see the cool planes and helicopters out in the back field.  After lunch we left at 2 and headed back to Walter Reed (90 min), dropped of Justin's friends and then went to meet Graham and Susan to pick up Nana (40 min), then back to our house so the boys could shower (30 min).  They showered quick and then it was back on the road to Justin's boss's house (35 min) for horse riding and a steak dinner.  More pictures of that later too.  We didn't end up eating dinner until 845 and didn't get home until 10.  We had a great time riding and eating steak but I was exhausted after all that we packed into those 2 days.  I didn't count how many minutes I was in the car but I know it was a lot and I know I drove all but 40 minutes of it.

I finally got the kids sleeping well again and then the packers came yesterday and then toady the truck came and took all our stuff.  The kids get too excited about sleeping on the floor to fall asleep at a decent time.  OS we shall see what tomorrow brings.  I know for me and my mom it will be lots and lots of painting, like the whole house, all 3 floors of it!

I probably won't post again for another week since that seems to be my trend lately.  Pictures will get sent out of all the fun from the week while I am at the beach next week.

Paws for Purple Hearts

I finally remembered my camera today when we went to play with the puppies.  There was only 1 today as the other 2 were having bowel issues.  The kids had a blast and were wiped out after about 30 minutes.  So was the dog!

They loved giving Owen treats as you can tell by the smile on Will's face.
Caroline's turn for giving a treat.  I have never seen a dog take a treat so gently, he hardly opened his mouth.
Caroline taking a break with Owen.
Will letting Owen smell his Lighting McQueen car.  He wouldn't let the dog get very close so it was a good teaching point for the dog to leave it.
Owen got a chance to chase Caroline and get tackled by Will.  The kids also played hide and seek with Owen.  Will also jumped off the rock (first picture) and landed on the dog with no response from the dog which is what the trainer wants to see.  

I am glad we got the opportunity to help the dogs and wish we could continue this as we all enjoyed being around the puppies.

Birthday Suits

The kids were getting to watch TV since it was a Saturday but what I really like about this picture is the baby doll stuck in Granddaddy's jacket.  Caroline of course asked him to hold it and what better place than tucked in the jacket.

I didn't get a chance to properly get Granddaddy's birthday written up on my blog.  He came to visit and you saw the cherry blossom pictures but didn't get the great story about his birthday. 

Apparently Caroline asked Granddaddy why he wasn't in his birthday suit on his birthday!  I missed hearing it but I heard the laugh after she asked!  My kids love being in their birthday suits and I use it to my advantage.  After dinner I do the dishes and the kids are responsible for picking up the den and all the toys that are out.  I tell them exactly what to do and specific jobs for each kid and the reward is getting in your birthday suit.  It works great and i am glad something so simple works so well.

But since the kids love being in their birthday suits I am sure they thought that granddaddy should be in his birthday suit.  

a little birdie told me that Susan might have prompted Caroline's question.  Doesn't matter if it was prompted or not it was still funny.

Dad, we were so glad you could come up and spend your birthday weekend with us!  See you soon for some bike riding.

Justin and I are in Michigan this weekend trying to find a place for us to live.  Two of the houses we liked got rented in the past 2 days so the market is hot for rentals.  We are going to see about 8 houses today so wish us luck and pray that they aren't all rented and we find something that will meet our needs! 

Dying eggs

I have been trying to get this post written all week.  You could say I have been a tad busy.  I am hoping to do better this week.  Here are some more pictures.  Just some random cute ones that I have taken in the past couple of weeks.  Justin helped the kids dye a few eggs the day before Easter.  I was busy getting a quick dinner ready for them since I went out with my girl friends for dinner.  

Caroline actually wanted her hair in 1 ponytail (never happens) and then choose 5 barrettes to go with it.  To cute and I loved her facial expression when I asked her to turn towards me.

What do we do in the mornings after breakfast before the day gets too hectic?  I check my email and some news and that morning the kids both got interested in the kids magazine called puzzle buzz by highlights.  They did that for about 30 minutes!!  What a pleasant way to start my morning.

He Is Risen!

Happy Easter everyone!  I hope your day was as great as ours was.  Susan and Graham came and joined us for church and before that the kids found their hidden Easter baskets and enjoyed the goodies that were in them.  It was hard for me this year only because I am not getting to eat any Easter chocolate.  Will can't have it because we are still trying to do the whole no dairy thing.

Will found his basket before Caroline did and had already looked at his stuff so in this picture he is checking out what Caroline got.
Here they are standing at the back of the sanctuary.  Caroline's dress wasn't really that poofy, she is standing on the air vent making it poof up.
Aunt Susan did a great job getting this shot.  Will didn't want to be there and he surely didn't want to smile.  Justin tickled the back of his neck to get him to smile and thank goodness Caroline stayed looking at the camera.
Our table for lunch.  Will still not in the mood for smiling.  Caroline had already taken the french braids out of her hair by this point.  At least they looked cute while they lasted.
Tomorrow night our table will be much fuller.  We are adding 6 more, Uncle Kelly, Aunt Beth and all their crew will be spending 2 nights with us.  Caroline is excited to have more family come visit as am I.

Kids and Puppies

Kids and puppies just naturally mix.  My kids really love dogs and animals in general.  They beg to go to PetSmart to see all the animals.  But today we got the chance to play with 3 golden retriever puppies.  These aren't just any puppies, they are in the Paws for Purple Hearts training program.  Owen,  Ortiz, and Nathan (the puppies) are about 6 months old and about knee height on me.  We ( i should say the kids) are helping to train the dogs.  The soldiers that are working with the dogs were there helping the dogs stay focused and calm around kids.  The main trainer also wanted to see how the dogs would react to kids and the erratic behavior of kids.  Caroline is not your typical kid around dogs and while she might get excited she isn't pulling tails, lips, and feet like Will does.  So it was really a kid like Will that they wanted to see what the puppies would respond to.  I know some of you are thinking if they don't know how the dogs will react why are you letting your kids near them?  Well, they are well trained dogs already, well socialized (but not with kids in a intimate setting), and were on short leashes the whole time.  I would not have put my kids in danger.

I am sorry to say I forgot my camera to catch all the cute moments with the puppies and kids.  It was neat to see how a kid and a dog responded differently to each other.  They paired off much faster than I thought they would.  Will went with the calmer dog and Caroline the higher energy one.  I thought it would be the opposite way around.  Will hugged the dogs head and got lots of kisses in return which made him giggle to no end.  And Caroline was able to tell the dog no when it would try to lick her and she would turn away.  They brushed the dogs threw toys and Will even put a doggie toothbrush on his thumb and the puppy let him brush his teeth!  I was so amazed at the dogs and kids.  The trainers also brought in alarm clocks and radios to see  what the dogs reaction would be.  Will did his usual thing and was loud and rambunctious.  The dogs did great and the trainer was glad to have their help.  The kids don't even realize how helpful they are being!

I love to volunteer but with 2 small kids it is very hard to try and find the right activity where I would be able to help and the kids not take all my attention.  So this was a great way to volunteer but my kids are getting to instead of me!  Next step is to have the kids playing outside and have the trainers walk by with the dogs and try to keep them from running to play with the kids.  The dogs will have to learn to wait for the trainer to tell them when they can go play with the kids.  The kids don't know that they are helping the dogs so much.  And it always helps the kids to know how to deal with animals and how to approach them.

Then we were able to meet Justin and have a picnic lunch in his office.  What an awesome morning!

You can find out more about the dogs by visiting 

 www.assistancedog.org/about_us/PPH.html

Will and his tummy

I know I have written about how Will would say that his tummy hurt as a response to almost all forms of punishment or harsh "talking to's."  But it has not gotten better and in fact sometimes seems to be worse.  There for a while it seemed like every few nights he would throw up about 45 minutes after being put in bed.  I haven't taken him to a doctor about this issue in part because I haven't noticed a pattern to the throwing up/ tummy hurts and he doesn't act sick.  Lately every nap time and bed time he has tummy hurts.  It will even wake him up at 2 in the morning hurting.  This is starting to get old and bothersome.  SO what do I do and what could it be?  Is he allergic to something he is eating, having a reaction to dairy, gluten, or all the fruit he eats? I just don't know and I wish I did so that he would feel better and not complain about his tummy hurting.  So before I take him to the doctor I am keeping a food journal of everything he eats and what his response to it is.  Over the weekend he had a heavy dairy day and that night threw up so Justin suggested trying to eliminate dairy.  It is very hard to do since every meal has some sort of dairy product associated with it.  So far he has had less tummy aches and loves the chocolate soy milk and the plain rice milk I put in his cereal.  And best of all no throwing up since Saturday night.  Hopefully this trend continues.  If this doesn't work then we will definitely be going to the doctor.

What a difference a year makes!

I know you saw this picture in the last post but I am putting it in again to make a point.  This was this years cherry blossom festival.

And this was last years cherry blossom festival.  It was much colder last year but Caroline sure has changed in a year's time!
Can't wait to see what the next year brings for you my precious Caroline!

Cherry Blossoms

Granddaddy came into town Friday afternoon and on Saturday morning we battled the crowds and ventured in to DC to see the cherry blossoms.  The weather was beautiful but very windy.  Not like last year when we had to wear winter jackets.  Susan and Graham joined us and we took the metro into the city.  Will and Caroline love to ride the train and it is an adventure the whole time.  IT was even better because we sat in the front of the front train and could see out and see the driver.  

Caroline and Granddaddy at the tidal basin.  
Justin and Will enjoying  the blossoms.
Lunch at the Jefferson Memorial. (L to R) Graham, Granddaddy, Susan, Will, Caroline, and me.  Before we ate we meet up with Sara (works with Justin) and her friend Carolyn.  Then after lunch one of Sara's friends showed up and then a few minutes later we met up with our neighbors Ellie, Rob, Ashley, and Juliet.  We gathered a crowd with us and it was so much fun to play in the sun and see the beautiful trees.
Will sitting in time-out for swinging his jacket into Juliet's face.
The girls- Juliet, Ashley, and Caroline giving a thumbs up.
Caroline and Ashley standing on the steps of the Jefferson Memorial watching a singer perform.  You can see how windy it is because Caroline's pigtails are flying straight back.
I was standing on the steps of the Jefferson Memorial looking out over the tidal basin.
I was standing in the same spot as the previous picture but just zoomed in really far.  Lots and lots of people.
Justin is not so happy!  He is going to make this his wallpaper on his work computer since he is in charge of the budget for the brigade.
We all had a great time and despite not having naps the kids did well.  We came home and had grilled pork chops, roasted potatoes, steamed broccoli, and homemade rolls to celebrate Dad's birthday a little early.  Overall a fantastic day spent with great people!  Love you Graham, Susan, and Dad.  Thanks for coming and hanging out with us we will miss you when we move in a few weeks.

Where'd Daddy go?

This is my favorite picture from when we went to the Air and Space Museum.  In one part of the space hanger they have these satellites hanging from the ceiling and so I thought it would make a cool picture.  

Justin took this picture with his phone and it is so cute.  Too bad Will won't look at you for more than 2 seconds to try and get a picture of him looking.
OK, back to the title of this post.  I hear that question about 50 times a day from Will and depending on how tired Caroline is about 5.  Will even knows the answer to the question but it doesn't stop him from asking.  I will ask him back, where did daddy go, and Will always says.  At work!  The kids just love their daddy and if they fall, bump their head, or do something really great they always want to tell Daddy.  On Tuesday and Thursday Justin tries to get home in time for reading stories before bedtime.  The reason for that is not only to read them a story but those are the days Caroline goes to preschool and she always wants to tell Justin about what happened.  She doesn't tell me anything about school only Justin.  That is special daddy time.   Last week when Caroline had missed her nap and was really tired and cranky her favorite thing to do is to cry about how much she wants her daddy.  She usually asks me why daddy has to go to work.  And I tell her that is how we have food to eat, a house to live in, a van that works, and money to buy things.  That gets her to stop asking why he has to work but then she told me that she would rather me go to work and have daddy stay home!  Maybe then I would get all the exciting welcome homes that Justin gets every night.  The kids practically knock him down the stairs trying to get hugs from him.  What a welcome home and Justin sure does love it!  And in the mornings when Justin is leaving Will sometimes tells him, Daddy, don't leave me!  Melt your heart! 
We love you, Justin!