caden's mom

caden's first choral performance

2011-12-12T09:00:00.001-08:00

So yesterday was a big day for us... Michael and I joined the church, Caden was baptized, and Caden performed in his first children's choir for Christmas. As if this wasn't expected... ha! He's the youngest one up there by at least 4 months... which might explain the behavior. In case you can't catch which one he is... look at the boy in the far left corner wearing the red striped shirt. yes, the one jumping off the stage...

A good day, all in all!

more news

2011-10-24T14:24:00.000-07:00

As the last post was getting too big... thought I should hit you up with the other news up here...
1. We are going to be moving in the next month or so. With the addition to our family coming in the spring, we thought it best to get into a more spacious living arrangement. We will be moving on-post sometime shortly after Thanksgiving. So excited about that.

2. And today's big news... Caden's getting a baby SISTER! She wasn't being particularly cooperative and had the ultrasound tech pretty frustrated... but hey, what's a girl to do?!

busy week

2011-10-24T14:06:00.000-07:00

so we've had a busy week here at the Franks' house. Michael has been plowing through his classes and doing an awesome job with them! Caden and I took some friends to the zoo with us on Friday. It was an all-day event and we all had a blast.

Saturday, Caden and I went to a birthday party for Luke (the kid in the pic with Caden above, at the zoo). That was a blast. If Caden had his way, we would have brought home what we got Luke for his birthday... though, as it included ambulance and police sirens, I think it best to leave it at Luke's to play with when we go over... lol... if his mom ever wants us back after giving her son those noisy toys!

Sunday, after a wonderful morning at church, we went out to the pumpkin patch with some other Army friends. Last year, Jen and I took the kids (you might remember) to this same pumpkin patch and never made it through the corn maze. After wondering for what felt like hours, we gave up and found our way out the entrance. This year, with our men in tow, decided to take on the challenge again. Success! Caden actually led the assault with pretty good results. Ok, in fairness, last year the maze was 12 acres... this year it was only 4 acres. We also managed to pick some cotton, play with a cricket, climb up on someones tractor... lol.

2011-05-03T09:25:00.000-07:00

just a few pics

2011-05-02T15:35:00.001-07:00

cute even when mad!

2011-04-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

He's such a little man... ;) He can't wait to see his daddy again...

the big 3

2011-03-27T05:26:00.001-07:00

It's hard to believe that our little monkey is 3 now...

shy

2011-03-05T07:35:00.000-08:00

Ok, let's see if I put them in the correct order today... here is a series from this morning. It's super rainy out this morning, so we are getting a slow start. I told Caden I wanted to take a picture of him and he very clearly said "no!"... then proceeded to run across the room and wrap himself up in the curtains over and over again. Such a silly little boy.

2011-03-05T07:31:00.000-08:00

being shy

2011-03-05T07:21:00.000-08:00

a quick ride on the carosel

2011-02-27T07:03:00.000-08:00

2011-02-27T06:58:00.000-08:00

one day i will learn to load these things in the right order!

some toe lickin' fun

2011-02-27T06:42:00.000-08:00

you can hear Caden saying Hi to the cow over and over. He was thrilled to have it so close... and licking! ha!

cousin daniel

2011-02-27T06:40:00.000-08:00

he was all bundled up looking at giraffes. (poor kid got sick the next day) we have a new baby giraffe at the zoo. she's cute! and HUGE. it's amazing how BIG giraffe babies are. will try and get a pic next time we are there

some of my favs

2011-02-27T06:35:00.000-08:00

zoo with friends

2011-02-26T11:30:00.000-08:00

Here are the shots from the zoo. You will note that the mass majority of zoo pics that I end up taking are all from the "farm" section of the zoo. Don't know what that's all about... but hey, whatever.

pictures

2011-02-26T11:28:00.001-08:00

Here are some much anticipated pictures. Caden dressed for the last snow. Caden playing with someone elses phone. Caden and friends at the zoo... Here goes.

when i grow up

2011-02-22T12:19:00.000-08:00

Caden has recently been downright obsessed with all things to do with soldiers. The other day we were at one of our local sew shops picking some stuff up and Caden came running up to me and this is what he had to say...

"Mommy, when I get bigger I will be a soldier like Daddy. I will wear soldier clothes and I will have a gun. And I will shoot bad guys. Daddy is a soldier and he has a gun and he shoots bad guys. When I am big, I will have a gun."

These statements, and ones of a similar nature, have been stated many times in the past few weeks. I don't know where he heard that you carry a gun and kill bad guys (cause it certainly wasn't from me)... he thinks this is a very good idea and he wants to do it. So there ya go...

I do have some pics from our recent zoo trip. Will try and get them up after my physical therapy appt this afternoon.

Warm Days!

2011-01-29T18:04:00.001-08:00

I have a really hard time every January. I really can't stand cold weather. I can't stand being stuck in the house. I can't stand dreary gray days when you never really see the sun. Yup, I love places like the pacific northwest, but I just can't take it. It's all I can do to handle January each year. However... today was a good day! Michael sent me some beautiful lilies that have brightened up the house. And today we topped out around 57 degrees... and SUNNY! Packed up the boy after lunch and headed to the Nashville Zoo to meet up with Aunt Katie and Cousin Daniel. 'Twas a much needed time outdoors... didn't even need a jacket, just a long sleeved shirt! The boys needed it too! Nothing to cheer up the mood than a whole bunch of flamingos ruffling their feathers all up, lynxes doing some sort of barking/growling thing, and snow leopards walking up right in front of you! Not to mention chickens and cows and goats... I think the farm area of the zoo is my favorite. Odd, I know. It was a good afternoon!

roll reversal

2011-01-22T17:45:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I don't have pictures to go along with this... but couldn't forget to tell the story.

Just as we were finishing dinner, Caden got out of his seat and climbed into my lap. Looked up at me and said "You're the baby and I'm the mommy."

Of course, I immediately start "crying" to which he responds, "It's okay, it's okay!"

Then I switch course... "Mommy, May I have some juice please? Apple juice, please."

Caden looked at me and said, "How do you ask?" (*I had said please, but of course I had to repeat myself.)

He looked at my glass and said, "Since you asked so nicely, as soon as you finish your orange juice, you may have some apple juice."

I almost fell out of my seat laughing. Guess you just had to be there...

It only got better when he walked away into the living room, picked up his big red bat and took a swing. Then said, "Watch the ball, and step into the swing." Which was followed by several more swings and repeating himself.

He was in rare form this evening... :)

attempts

2011-01-21T15:48:00.000-08:00

the boys attempted to build a snowman... or at least something like that... :)

a snowy friday

2011-01-21T15:41:00.000-08:00

So our friends Amber and her son Ethan came over and spent most of the day with us. We enjoyed some time out in the snow. We were going to make a snowman... and we started one several times. But every time I got the base set, Caden would come belly flop into it... thus smashing it down. *And it wasn't very good packing snow... too fluffy... couldn't even make a snowball with the stuff. **Also note, the picture where it looks like Caden is standing on the cement block, he is actually mid-air... he was jumping off into the snow, and I managed to catch the shot! :)

nice words

2011-01-20T18:47:00.000-08:00

2 things to point out... at the end of the first video, he was fine... didn't really hit the table with his head. and just after the 2nd video finished, caden's nice word to tell daddy was "camouflage".

myriad of videos

2011-01-20T18:18:00.000-08:00

kid loves snow

2011-01-20T18:16:00.000-08:00

Caden's first prayer

2011-01-20T18:07:00.000-08:00

All BY HIMSELF without any prompting from me!

"Dear Jesus, Thank you for this day. Thank you for our friends. Please help Daddy feel better. Thank you for the snow. Amen"

Don't know why he said please help Daddy feel better, but hey, who am I to argue?! Almost cried right there. So proud of him! May he never know a day in his life when he doesn't know the love of Christ.

2011-01-20T17:11:00.000-08:00

2011-01-20T17:01:00.000-08:00

2011-01-20T16:49:00.000-08:00

SNOW!

2011-01-20T16:44:00.000-08:00

Carson came over and hung out with us this morning. He and Caden had a wonderful time pulling ALL the toys out of the ottoman.

So it ended up snowing from mid-day through early evening. We may get a bit more tonight, and are in line for more to hit us on Fri night/Saturday... then again on Monday. Yup... it's winter. So here are some more pics with the new camera! Lovin' all this resolution! (though it does make the files MUCH larger... which makes it hard to take longer videos)

NEW CAMERA! :)

2011-01-20T07:03:00.000-08:00

So Caden totally wasn't feeling the whole "say cheese" thing this morning. Hopefully I will manage to get some good shots of him later in the day. It's supposed to dump a good bit of snow on us today... so maybe we will get out and play some... that always makes for good pics! Here are a few shots of the Christmas tree that is (yes) still up. The picture heart ornament and the snowflakes were made by a few of our soldier's family members.

Zuppa di Orzo, Patate, e Carote (Italian Barley Soup with Potatoes and Carrots)

2011-01-11T06:32:00.000-08:00

10 C low sodium chicken broth (i always just use my own)
1 C Pearl Barley
2 TBSP Olive Oil
2 TBSP unsalted butter (I always just use salted)
1 lg onion, cut into 1/2" dice
1 lg rib celery with leaves, thinly sliced
1/4 C finely chopped fresh flat-leaved parsley (again, i usually use dried in the winter)
1 TBSP finely chopped fresh marjoram or 1 tsp dried** Or replace with oregano and reduce amount by half **
1tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary or 1/2 tsp dried and crushed rosemary
2 medium to large boiling potatoes, peeled and 1/2" diced
2 medium to large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Bring broth to a boil over med/high heat in a large soup pot. Stir in barley, 1/4 C at a time. Reduce heat to a very slow but steady simmer. Cover and cook until barley is almost tender. ~30 min

2. Heat oil and butter in medium skillet over medium/high heat. Add onions, celery, parsley, marjoram, and rosemary. Saute until onion begins to turn golden (~5 min). Transfer mixture to soup pot with barley, scraping out skillet with rubber spatula.

3. Add potatoes and carrots and cook until tender. (~30 min). Season with salt and pepper.

4. Serve in warm bowls and sprinkle with cheese.

YUMMY IN THE TUMMY~ :) freezes really well too...

a few notes for the day...

2011-01-10T16:38:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I know there are no pictures. Hopefully soon that will be rectified... but until then...

Last night I roasted a chicken. While this doesn't sound all that impressive... I have actually NEVER roasted a whole chicken before. I finally put into practice what I know about roasting them... soon the house was filled with a wonderful aroma and the sound of crackling skin. It came out perfectly... crispy skin, moist meat falling off the bones. I immediately picked the thing (ate a good bit of it in the process)... so I could throw the carcass in the pot to make stock. And since the skin was so well salted, the stock came out perfectly. I was gonna go all paleo with my soup choice, but with the cold, snowy day all I really wanted was my Italian barley/potato/carrot soup. So that's what I did. And honestly, it's the best on I have ever made! And I didn't have to add a drop of salt, since the broth was already perfect! :)

All this to say, I am really excited, have decided there is no reason to ever buy a rotisserie chicken again, and stock from a roasted chicken is best!

On another note...
Caden stayed with Ms Anne this morning while I went to Physical Therapy. Shortly after arriving at the office, I got a text from Anne and this is what it said...
"Your son just said, 'well, my question is, how do we get the banana back after we do bad things like throw it? I got a time out, but mommy went outside.' and then he rambled about monsters under his bed for a while."

What am I going to do with this kid? Tomorrow, if the snow comes again tonight, we are gonna put on his boots and go "crunching" around in the snow. Caden loves to crunch snow. :) If winter keeps up like this, I might have to give in and get a pair of winter boots... lol... but probably not.

I love you baby... glad you are safe and sound. Hope you keep getting good sleep!

monets garden

2010-11-18T21:56:00.001-08:00

Flowers from my love always make me feel better... it doesn't matter how sick I am. I love you baby, thank you so much!

football!

2010-11-18T21:49:00.001-08:00

Hanging out with Aunt Katie and cousin Daniel at the MTSU Veteran's Day football game last Sat. Good times were had by all! (well, except maybe the MTSU football team, and their fans). Lots of wonderful Vets though... got to shake some hands and say thank you to lots of men in uniforms of all branches. It was a great day!

And of course, always a blast to have Caden and Daniel together. They really have a good time playing together!

almost missed these

2010-11-18T21:34:00.000-08:00

How could I pass up showing you more dinosaur footage?!

hanging with friends

2010-11-18T21:31:00.000-08:00

Caden and Kealy... always getting into trouble together! I picked up 2 chomper things at the zoo a few weeks ago specifically so Caden could have one and Kealy could have the other... less fighting that way! and how could I pass up a shark and gator chomper thingies?

bad dinosaur

2010-11-18T21:24:00.000-08:00

I love him so much!

halloween

2010-11-18T21:17:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know these are WAY overdue... sorry... but here are some shots of Caden as a dinosaur... and his best bud Alston, as a horse/cowboy. :) They had so much fun. Of course, this was the day before Halloween at a friend's house for a get-together. And yes, that's a Christmas tree with orange lights on it...

caden with balloons

2010-11-03T20:00:00.000-07:00

So this past Saturday, a group of folks from our sister church in Nashville came up and gave us Army wives a bit of a break from our kiddos! I got to drop Caden off with them at the church for a few hours and go do stuff... like hit the gym, run to the sporting goods store, and most impressively, get to run into Pier1 without a toddler! (and if any of you have ever done that, or been around with Caden in there... you know it's the BULL in the CHINA SHOP scenario). Anyway, so apparently he had fun while I was gone... :) I admit it, I love that hat on him... I know it's way to big, but he loves it. And today he totally put it on, pulled it down over one eye and walked around saying ARGGG, I a pirate!

Trunk or Treat...

2010-10-29T18:49:00.001-07:00

So my family never really did Halloween. And since becoming an adult, I haven't particularly wanted to get into it. However, this year, as the FRG leader for the Company... I really needed to be at the Battalion Trunk or Treat. As I wasn't at all inspired with costumes (he was a Sock Monkey for his first Halloween, skipped his second Halloween since it was raining... but would have been a golfer)... but this year, I just couldn't decide. We ended up borrowing a Dinosaur/Dragon costume from a friend who's 3 yr old has worn it last year. (and i remembered it being super cute).

Top it off... I carved my very first pumpkin this year. Needed something to enter into the pumpkin carving contest. So this afternoon I sat down with my pumpkin and my borrowed pumpkin carving tools (which, once outlined got set aside for a pairing knife instead).

So off we went to the Trunk or Treat. Dinosaur and pumpkin in tow. Don't you know... Caden got 2nd place with his dino costume in the contest for the 0-2 group. And I won first place with my pumpkin! How awesome is that! I don't have pics yet of Caden in his costume, those will be taken tomorrow night when we go to a friend's house for an evening of fun. I do have shots of the pumpkin though. Of course - GO GATORS... A Co Gators that is! :)

Can you tell I am proud of my pumpkin. I almost want to go out and carve another one! :) Oh, and there's a random shot of Caden at MeMe's last weekend.

pumpkin patch!

2010-10-19T18:26:00.001-07:00

2010-10-19T18:22:00.000-07:00

Caden and a few of his friends (Alston, Kealy, baby Gunnar, Stryker, Stetson, and some GIRLS) all went to the pumpkin patch and corn maze on Sunday. A good time was had by all. Caden wasn't really FEELIN' the camera... but Alston was totally chillin' in front of it! ha! (There was also a cotton patch, which Caden took off into... that was fun!)

bath time for buds

2010-10-19T18:20:00.000-07:00

Alston and Caden were at the park together a few days ago. They got REALLY dirty. So before dinner, we popped them in the bath... and after getting clean... they had some good play time. :)

don't hit me!

2010-10-19T17:43:00.000-07:00

to the zoo again!

2010-10-19T17:40:00.000-07:00

We went to the zoo last week with our friend Sally, her son, Kealy, and a friend of hers and her 2 kids. Caden, for the first time ever, REALLY paid attention to the reptiles and amphibians and spiders. It was cute! So, baby, that building with all the small critters... he loves it now! :) Am planning another zoo trip next week. Yup, taking full advantage of this membership!

Just Plane Fun Day

2010-10-19T17:37:00.000-07:00

So 2 weeks ago, Caden and I went out for the Just Plane Fun Day at Outlaw Field... which, conveniently is only a mile down the road! :) we had fun. He could push on a few of the propellers and make them spin... almost hit himself in the head a few times doing that! :)

i love my husband!

2010-10-19T17:34:00.000-07:00

Baby, you rock. These flowers were beautiful. The little blackeyed Susan/mini sunflower looking flowers are still bright and shiny... :)

2010-10-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

2010-10-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

he just wouldn't sit still...

2010-10-08T08:33:00.000-07:00

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2010-10-08T08:09:00.000-07:00

sandcastles!

2010-10-08T08:04:00.000-07:00

the most caden ever sat still was when grandmommy buried his little legs...

let's go fly a kite

2010-10-08T07:58:00.000-07:00

Caden's first Kite... dinosaurs and all! it was a good day for it too... a shame he didn't want to pay attention to it for more than 5 min. Left grandaddy and I to fly it. It was fun! I like kites!

some good, some not so much

2010-10-08T07:54:00.001-07:00

but none were as good as you, my champion!

some surf for ya, baby!

2010-10-08T07:49:00.001-07:00

shockingly enough, there actually was some surf. the locals started coming out when it was safer to get in the water... and they just kinda stayed... rain or shine (mostly rain)... as few as 2 and as many as 15... made me think of you, baby... wish you could be out there with them, and then making fun of how small the surf was... :) I love yoU!

poor kid

2010-10-08T07:43:00.000-07:00

he got cold and needed grandmommy to wrap him up in no less than 3 blankets and carry him up the steps back to the condo... good thing it was a short walk! the river that you see him walking through in the video is the remnants of our tropical storm/depression. just right for him! he loved it!

we love daddy!

2010-10-08T07:38:00.000-07:00

the condo was literally right on the beach... i was standing on our balcony in these first 2 pics... and yup, the ocean was right there! I would go back there any time... it was wonderful... perfect for us!

the boy loves the beach!

2010-10-08T07:25:00.000-07:00

parasites!

2010-10-08T07:12:00.001-07:00

about time, i know

2010-10-08T07:04:00.000-07:00

We had a meeting about 2 weeks ago... the boys found strings hanging off the wall that turned into choo choo train whistle chains... of course they made the noises that go along with said choo choo trains... it's also amazing how much fun 3 little 2 yrs old boys can have with one big tough box. :)

best buds

2010-09-22T20:12:00.000-07:00

So Caden's new best friend is Alston. They are only 1 day apart in age... Caden was the 27th and Alston was the 28th. We have been hanging out together a LOT lately, which has been wonderful and these two are playing together like brothers... it's so cute. But this was a shot taken last night when they all came over for dinner (Alston, his mom Seana, Anne, and Rachel).

cheese

2010-09-20T20:48:00.001-07:00

hey daddy, we love you! :)

grrrrrr

2010-09-20T20:35:00.000-07:00

Aaron is a kid from church who came over to hang out with us a few days ago while his mom had some things to do. We had a 2nd breakfast/brunch and had the following discussion about monsters and dinosaurs... :) Aaron is about 6 months older than Caden.

mommy's shoes

2010-09-20T20:23:00.000-07:00

Please excuse the fact that I was on the phone while taking this video. It was playing out in front of me, and I just couldn't miss taking the video of it. He's really gotten into putting on shoes lately... regardless of who's they are. And if anyone is interested in these, they are a size 8 and I can't wear them anymore. (they've only been worn 3 or 4 times... and they are Aldo's... Lizzy... you want them?)

this is clip 2

2010-09-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

Watch the other clip first... or not... it's up to you. For the record, Anne didn't get to go with us on this trip... next time, hopefully, it will work out for her to go.

the morning before the zoo...

2010-09-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

he was so excited about this trip to the zoo. we had a talk about it the day before we went... this is how it played out... sorry it's so dark at the beginning, we were back in the bedroom and the shades were drawn still... (*note, I had to break this video in half, it was too big to download all at once)

chickens

2010-09-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

let's go see the chickens! Run quickly... lest they hear us coming and run for cover!

the horses

2010-09-20T19:58:00.000-07:00

flamingos!

2010-09-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

They finally got the new flamingo exhibit/habitat opened up. Those things look just like the little plastic ones you put in people's yards. It was funny. The boys liked them. It was one of the few spots we could actually take pictures while we were there. Having two 2 yr olds, and an almost 2 yr old all running around at the same time... that's demanding! No time for pics... sorry! Will try and go again soon and have more hands to take more pics.

to the zoo!

2010-09-20T19:48:00.000-07:00

Aunt Katie and I took Caden, Daniel, and our friend, Carson, to the zoo on Saturday. A good time was had by all! :)

Caden and Carson are buddies, they were so cute on the car ride to the zoo... they were reading together in the backseat and talking away with each other. I found a great deal of amusement in the situation! :)

caden's room

2010-09-09T07:23:00.000-07:00

2010-09-09T07:14:00.000-07:00

named

2010-08-25T15:13:00.000-07:00

I can't believe he really knows our names...

Run

2010-08-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Thought y'all might appreciate seeing how our Run for the Fallen turned out yesterday. They are estimating we had about 1800 people there. Amazing! Especially since this is only the 3rd year it's been done at Campbell. Here's the article from the Leaf Chronicle about it...
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20100821/NEWS01/100821001/Run+For+The+Fallen+draws+more+than+1+800+

The pic of of the women from A Co who were there for the Run. Most of us walked. There was about 100 yards that was jogged by Rachel and myself, pushing a sleeping Caden in the stroller. That stroller was not made to be used as a jogging stroller!

Here are some more pics that were taken by the Leaf...
pics

amazing

2010-08-21T15:59:00.001-07:00

Caden climbs into our big beanbag chair and gets all comfy. Looks at me and says, clear as day... "Check this out." What's next? As soon as I can get a good picture of the situation, I will... :)

Ok... and he was watching the start of a movie a while ago... and when the Warner Brothers symbol showed up on the screen... he said "W. B."

And as we walked down the street at my parents taking Bailey for a walk... he would see a stop sign ahead... read off "S. T. O. P.... stop!" Poor Bailey was getting so confused, as she thought he was telling her to stop! hahaha

Boy is too smart for me!

sleeping, finally!

2010-08-20T19:01:00.001-07:00

This kid does not like to take naps when there are fun people around (and Bailey, of course). But sometimes, sleep just takes over...

sandbox fun

2010-08-20T18:59:00.000-07:00

it's an ant, mommy

2010-08-20T18:57:00.000-07:00

Don't kill it, Caden! Don't smoosh it!
"look mommy, it's an ant... look mommy!"

new hair!

2010-08-20T18:55:00.001-07:00

I did it, baby! I finally cut if off. After MONTHS of talking about doing it, I finally just did it. And let me tell you... I feel like a brand new woman! I feel like i am back to myself again... oye, I needed this. :) So here is the before and after.

mommy's flops

2010-08-12T06:54:00.000-07:00

So while I was busy doing something, I heard Caden rumbling around in the living room... this is what I found...

daddy doll

2010-08-12T06:51:00.001-07:00

These shots are from 4 separate nights. (my flash works pretty well in conjunction with the night scene setting on my camera... i was impressed!)

swimming more

2010-08-04T19:30:00.000-07:00

So he did it... he actually got it! The child had his swimmies on this afternoon. Took the first two steps into the pool... then, without any goading from me... proceeded to jump into the pool and kick his little legs and swam around. He was holding his breath when he needed to. Was pulling with his arms and kicking with his legs. And continued on like this for the better part of 90 min this afternoon. Don't know how I am going to get this on film... but will have to figure something out. You HAVE to see this. It was a great joy to see. Our friend Anne went with us today, so maybe I can get her to go with us again and stay in the pool with him while I film it. We will see. Take my word for it though, it was wonderful. :) He's such a big boy. And was so proud of himself. Now he's sleeping like a log! Think I will go do the same thing... Start week 3 of P90X tomorrow... need my rest if I am gonna get through all those push ups and pull ups. (not that I can really do a pull up yet... but the chair helps me work into it).

:)

michael

2010-08-03T11:45:00.000-07:00

In all his glory... Thanks to the Chaplain and his camera... :)

my dear friend

2010-08-03T11:28:00.000-07:00

Deniece took this of the two of us last week while she was at the house with me and Caden. Maiya's mom is Deniece... she is a dear friend and a strong woman. I love her dearly...

a new friend

2010-08-02T19:49:00.000-07:00

"I find a new friend"... "no, let go"... "I find a new friend"... "NO"
Oh the relationships that are built in bouncy houses...

to the zoo

2010-08-02T19:43:00.000-07:00

Caden and I got a chance to meet up with Katie and Daniel at the Nashville Zoo on Saturday.

Sorry, my camera batteries died just after snapping these photos... otherwise we woulda gotten more photos. Guess we just have to go back to the zoo! :) These were all taken at the Grassmere farm area of the zoo... we were looking at horses in these.

bouncy pirate ship

2010-08-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

You shoulda seen this boy! He was all over that ship with all those big kids. He would climb up the slide, and slide down the climbing wall side.

caden's future bride?

2010-08-02T19:37:00.000-07:00

I love Maiya! She is a wonderful, spunky child. Can't wait to see her again... a shame that Guam is so far away!

open the door, mommy

2010-07-26T05:42:00.000-07:00

I still don't know what his fascination with that door was... but i had to latch the top... cause he could totally open it!

2010-07-25T20:46:00.000-07:00

more pool...

2010-07-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

yes, i am into picture overload when i do this. sorry. just figure michael would like more pics than just one or two... so here ya go baby! OVERLOAD OF POOL PICS!

at the pool

2010-07-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more shots from yesterday's trip the the pool... :) Many thanks for our own personal paparazzi for taking all these great photos.

Yes, he just HAD to get whatever bug had floated into the filter. And yes, he can climb out the side of the pool by himself.

travelin'

2010-07-25T20:24:00.000-07:00

here are some car shots and yes, another of caden in the hotel room...

and one random "getting ready to go to the pool" shot from yesterday afternoon with MeMe... :)

gatlinburg

2010-07-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

Here's the view from my balcony on the 7th floor at the Park View resort/hotel or whatever it's called. Liked the place. Good time for Caden and myself. Would have been much improved though if Daddy had been there! We love yoU!!!!

(and a few pics of Caden while we were there...)

p90x

2010-07-22T13:09:00.001-07:00

Dearest Uncle Brian...

what were you thinking by sending us those p90x videos?! Dude, my body hurts so much right now that I can't sit down normally... I just have to fall into the seat and pray that I've lined myself up properly! I can barely pick up my own child!

however, i am going to stick this thing out. I am 3 days into it and have, well, many more to go... 87 in fact. i have many reasons to do this... most of which are for vanity sake. but i have to renew my military id in sept... i have a beach trip at the end of sept... and if we are going to have a baby soon, then i need to be in the best shape possible BEFORE i get pregnant. not to mention i just want to be comfortable in my own skin and make michael proud of me.

all this to complain that i hurt so much, but mainly to thank you, uncle b... for giving me a way to accomplish my goals. i have been in a rut and the things i have been doing haven't been good enough. THIS will be good enough... as long as I BRING IT. and I am!

:) your loving niece...

what we'd do for shoes...

2010-07-22T08:04:00.000-07:00

This was shared with me today by another wife...

After becoming very frustrated with the attitude of a shopkeeper, the
young blonde declared, 'Well, then, maybe I'll just go out and catch my
own alligator and get a pair of alligator shoes for free!' The shopkeeper
replied with a sly smile, 'Well, little lady, why don't you go on and give
it a try?' The blonde headed off to the swamp, determined to catch an
alligator.

Later in the day, as the shopkeeper was driving home, he spotted the same
young woman standing waist deep in the murky water, shotgun in hand. As he
brought his car to a stop, he saw a huge 9-foot gator swimming rapidly
toward her. With lightning reflexes, the blonde took aim, shot the
creature and hauled it up onto the slippery bank. Nearby were 7 more dead
gators all lying belly up. The shopkeeper stood on the bank, watching in
silent amazement as the blonde struggled mightily and barely managed to
flip the gator onto its back.Then, rolling her eyes heavenward, she
screamed in frustration..... 'CRAP! THIS ONE'S BAREFOOT, TOO!

SIGHTED!

2010-07-22T06:54:00.001-07:00

There's my boy! We actually got some pics before the end of the deployment! Yea for us! Good job baby!

NO SLACK

2010-06-30T20:11:00.001-07:00

our new No Slack hat... as shown off by Caden... :)