Happy Halloween

So it has been a long time since I have posted anything on the blog. I have been so busy with the kids school, Aydin finishing football and starting school. Yes- I have started school again- and more often than not, I wonder why I ever thought it would be a good thing.

Enough of that... Halloween was great. We went to a friends house to watch the GA/FL game... where FL killed GA. After the game, we got the kids ready and went trick or treating. The younger kids went down the street and back and were done, so they started their party games, while the older kids went back around the block for more candy. When they got home, they had their turn of games. It was a great night, with great friends!!

our pumpkins- were so good... trick or treaters were taking pictures

Aydin was a ninja... Morgan was Cinderella

Julianne, Tristen, Morgan

Walker, Jordan, Ty, Jimmie Frank, Aydin and John Kenny

Me and the kids..... Aydin was not happy with all the picture taking :)

Steve is Home again!!

We love when it is that time for Steve to come home!!

Like always- we went to the beach to watch him pass through on their way to base. This time we had Morgans little friend and Aydins two friends. They have been wanting to come along and see the submarine coming home. They had a great time. As for me... it is always great to see it heading home. We are so blessed to have Steve home through the new year!!

FINALLY.....

For the past few weeks we have been going to our friends house a couple times a week to hang out. They have a ton of land... so the boys all go outside and shot bb guns 'trying' to shoot the squirrels. Well- Tonight was their BIG night!! Morgan pointed out a squirrel in the tree, Aydin aimed and shot. He HIT it!! They were SO excited they could hardly stand it.

Well our friends are big hunters (they have 15 hunting dogs - for deer hunting) and has always told the kids that if they ever kill anything, the are going to eat it. I didnt think they would actually live up to their statement. And they did! They skinned it, gutted it, and grilled it (with a ton of seasoning).


Much to my surprise... Aydin actually tried it. He tool the smallest bite ever- but I have to give him props... My little man tried squirrel.

It does make me wonder if they are going to be shooting squirrels anymore though.


Ok- Do I win the mother of the year award or what?

Goodbye Steve... AGAIN

It was that time of the year again for our house. Steve has left once again. We are just so grateful for all he does for us!! He will be missed.

1st day of school!

WOW- How could the time have gone any faster?? My baby girl IS NOT a baby anymore. I always knew she was growing up- but WOW is all I can say. Today was not only the first day of school for Morgan (pre-k) but the first day for Aydin.

Aydin is now in the FIRST grade. Where did the time go?? My house that used to be full of noise (that mostly came from the kids either laughing or fighting) is now quite for 3 hours a day. It will be very different around here. It almost makes me sad. I said almost!!

Although I will miss the time with both the kids, they were ready for school to start. Morgan has been talking about going to school since she was 2 1/2, so I was so happy to see her walk proudly in the building and all smiles when she met her teacher this morning.

Morgan with her new teacher

Aydin has been looking forward to school to start as well. He is in the same classroom with his 3 best friends (that poor teacher) and couldnt wait to hang out with them every day.

Aydin with his teacher... along with Ty- one of the friends in the class.

1st football game of the season.

Saturday was Aydins first day of football games. He had 2 back to back games and he did awesome!! I was a little worried at first about how well he would play... but he got out there and did a great job. We were so proud of him. He is going to have a great season...

Before the 1st game...

During the first game... #25
After the 1st game... waiting for game #2

Just got done pushing down the kid...

Horseback riding...

Last Saturday Morgan and I were invited to go ride horses with some friends. On our way there, the clouds decided to open up and pour down the rain. Luckily it stopped for about 20 minutes right around the time we got there- so we had to hurry.

The girls were able to get on and go up and down the road.
Morgan had a blast!! She was a little unsure at first but then ALL smiles while she was on.

Morgan bareback...

Morgan and Tristen together...

We will be going back- maybe when hurricane season is over and we do not get afternoon showers everyday so we have time for all of us to get on and ride. I cant wait- the horses were beautiful.

Military Spouse

I got this in an email today- and thought I would share it. I thought this was great. I hope all you Military wives enjoy! Thanks Tiffany.



Each one may look different and each is wonderfully unique, But this they have in common:

Lots of moving...
Moving...
Moving...
Moving far from home...
Moving two cars, three kids and one dog...all riding with HER of course.
Moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house; Moving curtains that won't fit; Moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours.
Moving away from friends;
Moving toward new friends;
Moving her most important luggage: her trunk full of memories.

Often waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting for housing.
Waiting for orders.
Waiting for deployments.
Waiting for phone calls.
Waiting for reunions.
Waiting for the new curtains to arrive.
Waiting for him to come home,
For dinner...AGAIN!

They call her 'Military Dependent', but she knows better:
She is fiercely In-Dependent.

She can balance a check book;
Handle the yard work;
Fix a noisy toilet;
Bury the family pet...

She is intimately familiar with drywall anchors and toggle bolts.
She can file the taxes;
Sell a house;
Buy a car;
Or set up a move...
.....all with ONE Power of Attorney.

She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her.
She reinvents her career with every PCS; Locates a house in the desert, The Arctic, Or the deep south.
And learns to call them all 'home'.
She MAKES them all home.

Military Wives are somewhat hasty...
They leap into:
Decorating,
Leadership,
Volunteering,
Career alternatives,
Churches,
And friendships.
They don't have 15 years to get to know people.
Their roots are short but flexible.
They plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them.

Military Wives quickly learn to value each other:
They connect over coffee,
Rely on the spouse network,
Accept offers of friendship and favors.
Record addresses in pencil...

Military Wives have a common bond:
The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands; his commitment is unique.
He doesn't have a 'JOB'
He has a 'MISSION' that he can't just decide to quit...
He's on-call for his country 24/7.
But for her, he's the most unreliable guy in town!
His language is foreign
TDY
PCS
OPR
SOS
ACC
BDU
ACU
BAR
CIB
TAD
And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.
She is the long- distance link to keep them informed; the glue that holds them together.

A Military Wife has her moments:
She wants to wring his neck;
Dye his uniform pink;
Refuse to move to Siberia;
But she pulls herself together.
Give her a few days,
A travel brochure,
A long hot bath,
A pledge to the flag,
A wedding picture,
And she goes.
She packs.
She moves.
She follows.

Why?
What for?
How come?
You may think it is because she has lost her mind.
But actually it is because she has lost her heart .
It was stolen from her by a man,
Who puts duty first,
Who longs to deploy,
Who salutes the flag,
And whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her Military Husband, she will remain his military wife.
And would have it no other way.

--Author Unknown

Football season is here!!

Well- I have been very bad at my blog lately... but nothing new has been happening. Until now- FOOTBALL SEASON IS HERE!!

Football has started back up again and it consumes every night of the week from 5:30-7:30. We love watching our kids play in sports and cant wait for the games to begin. I am SO grateful for wonderful coaches who want to teach the kids all about the different positions, plays and rules. They are really going to learn a lot and enjoy the sport even more. HUGE change from last year.

Aydin and Ty

Aydins back is to the camera- getting ready to tackle.

Hair cuts all around....

What can I say... I am THAT mom!

We finally took Aydin in for a much needed hair cut!! He had not had a hair cut since April 2008!!! What can I say- I loved the long surfer shag look- UNTIL- this summer when it got out of control. Since school is starting at the end of this month and football starts this weekend we thought today was a 'the' day. I can not believe how different he looks. He loved being able to pick out his hair cut out of a look book and be in control of what he was going to look like.

Before....

During....

AFTER.....

Are you ready.....

While he was getting his hair done- I thought it would be good to have Morgan get a trim.

SO- Today Morgan had her very fist hair cut- EVER! Yes you read correctly... it only took me 4 years, 4 months and 3 weeks to finally get a trim. She was so happy to be 'pampered' while she got her hair washed, brushed (nicely- because apparently I do not brush her hair nice), cut, the blow dried straight. She is in love with her hair!!

Before...

Washing... her favorite

Cutting....

After- She loved it!!!

Our yard and plants...

Steve and I love living in an area where we can grow almost any tropical plant we want. This year we added a few more plants in the front. They have taken off and we love it!! Our back yard- we didnt do a whole lot of changes... but we did add banana trees along the fence. I do love how our citrus trees are finally growing back- after the hard freeze we had during the winter. Here are a few pictures of our yard.

Here is our front yard...

Ginger- our newest addition to the front (along with a banana tree right behind it)

Our much loved plumerias- we took a stem from Hawaii and grew these in our backyard. These are my favorite flowers.

This is our back yard... with our new banana trees

More beach days...

Here are just some random pictures of this months beach pictures... We are there at least 3 days a week and we LOVE it!!

Aydin catching waves- or in the middle of one :)....

Aydin and his friend Ty

Morgan riding the waves- This is her favorite thing to do now!!

Our Cruise to the Bahamas

Thursday we were lucky enough to take a cruise to the Bahamas. Steve and I went with some friends Brad and Monica to Nassau and Freeport. We had a great time! We spent Thursday and Friday out at sea, so we had a lot of free time. We went to karaoke, trivia, newlywed game (where Brad and Monica were called up to play- and won), ate, ate some more and hung out.

leaving Jacksonville

the four of us after triva

the best server ever- Juan

Saturday we went to Nassau and spent all day there. We first got off the boat and started walking- just to look around and ended up walking about 5 miles.. maybe more to the hotel Atlantis. We then walked more- around the hotel... got rained on for about an hour... left the resort and walked more!!
After about another 5 miles..we finally got a taxi back to the boat- where we then rented scooters. This was the best part of the day!! I was looking forward to renting scooters to see the other part of the island and coastline. Well- the traffic was so awful and the drivers were even worse... (Yes- WAY worse than me!!) Monica jumped off. She was done- didnt want to die on a scooter! So her and I walked back- about a mile to the port side shopping and downtown while the guys took off to see the island. I was a little bummed at first- but there was no way I was going to leave her by herself. Well about 2 hours later we see the guys (back early) to find our their bikes had broken down. Steves bike stopped while he was still driving- so he had to jump on Brads bike (I wish I had pictures!!) and about 2 miles later Brads bike broke down. They then have to hitch a ride back to the port (30 minutes away) to where Steve has to go back with the rental guy to show where the bikes were. We walked around for a little while after Steve came back but had to get back on the boat. We will never forget our adventurous day in Nassau.

at the Atlantis hotel

scooter time

the parade they put on for our Independence Day


Sunday was the best day of the trip!! We stopped in Freeport and we all loved it! It reminded us all of Hawaii. Slow paced, green, clean, and beautiful. We got a taxi to Port Lucaya to snorkel. We were the only ones that signed up- so we were on our own boat. This was SO much fun!! Went went about a mile of shore, settled on a reef and jumped in. I loved it!! We didnt have too much time in Freeport so we didnt do much else but snorkel and shop the market. It was a blast though.

I am so grateful I had the chance to take this trip with Steve- to spend time together, the have great friends Brad and Monica with us and so grateful for Amy and Kevin to watch the kids for us while we went. I will always remember this trip and the laughter we had.