The Vegetable Garden

We really missed having a vegetable garden in Arizona. It was way too hot there for anything to grow, whether in the ground or in pots. We're very excited to grow vegetables here. We arrived at our new house a little late to plant our normal stuff, so this past week, I decided to go ahead and plant a few Fall veggies. It stays hot enough into the Fall that hopefully something will grow. The kids are SO excited about the garden and go outside every morning to see its progress. It hasn't even been a week, and several things are already starting to grow.

I was going to build my own, but when I was at Lowes, I spotted this veggie planter box. I kept my eye on it, and that paid off. I got it for 65% off, so I got two because I think that will be about the right size. So far, I have only put the one together, but the second is coming soon.

The kids enjoyed helping build the trellis. Madison thought you had to line up the veggies in the boxes.

Here's our first planter box. It came out really well, and the wood being cedar was a nice surprise. Stay tuned for garden updates...

Progress vs. Maintenance

Everything here is a work in progress. Along with progress, I have daily maintenance. It's a lot especially considering first and foremost I have three kids to take care of here. The yard is coming along, and I wanted to post some pictures especially for Edward to see that I have made progress with the yard.

Freshly cut front yard...and no, Edward, your car hasn't just been sitting there. I have been driving it plenty. And, before he left, we still couldn't even get my car into the garage, so that is major progress that I have cleaned out/unpacked the garage too.

Stading at our gate looking toward the backyard (got the string trimmer working again, Edward)...the grass is coming in well, and I am conquering the weeds!!! The previous owners weren't here much, and the backyard was weed-infested.

The kids' swingset is still standing, and they have given it quite the use. The grass is filling in from where they dug up quite a lot to put in the patio.

More of the backyard- No weeds!

I put down more sod around the patio, as I posted a couple of weeks ago the kids had turned that into a dirt haven. The sod is coming along nicely, and I"ll get more yard pictures soon.

Edible Arrangements

Our realtor stopped by last week and dropped off an Edible Arrangement. I've never had one of these, but I can now say it was delicious. The kids were bug-eyed as they saw this beautiful fruit display come into the house. Mary Jo, our realtor, never could have known that the kids LOVE all kinds of fruit. She loved the house and couldn't believe how much progress had been made. It was nice to show her all the things we told he we had wanted to do. She especially loved the patio and remarked at what a difference paint can make to a house.

Here's our arrangement. Luke is waiting patiently behind the basket for fruit. The highlight of the basket turned out to be the "flowers" of pineapple rings and cantaloupe. Both are HUGE hits with the kids. Alex ate all the strawberries except on that I snagged to try. All of the fruit was really good.

American Girl

Madison has been begging me to go to the American Girl store. We visited the one in Los Angeles two years ago, and now that she is getting old enough to start reading/understanding the historical dolls, she has been wanting to go to the store. We are currently reading the first of the Molly books because Molly's dad is a doctor who goes off to war to help people (sound familiar?). Anyways, somehow while in Maryland, we started talking about American Girl. Jenn had given Madison Hannah, her beloved Bitty Baby almost six years ago, and I'm sure that was part of the conversation. Unknown to me, the new American Girl store recently opened in Washington D.C. When I heard that, I knew we had to stop. So, on the drive home, I surprised Madison by stopping. As we got off the exit, the kids started asking me where we were going. Luckily, the store was at a mall right by the interstate. We got there just after 10AM, so they had just opened and weren't busy. We were able to park right in front of the store, and as we pulled into the space, Madison read the sign and started shrieking. She was so excited. The boys were fine too. Luke actually helped Madison pick out an outfit, and Alex just kept pointing at the Bitty Baby dolls and saying, "Hannah" for Madison's doll. Hannah got a little TLC too, as they have a "spa" for the dolls to clean them up. With Hannah being our cross-country traveler, we decided she needed a treatment. If you had seen her lately, you would have agreed! The boys also enjoyed that after American Girl, we ventured into the mall where we got pretzels. That made their day.

Here we are at the car, just in front of the store. Madison was delighted. Oh, and don't forget Hannah was excited too :)


Inside, here we are at the spa area. Hannah is behind Madison being treated. They even took off her dress and put her into a doll robe. They did a nice job cleaning her up too. Madison loved watching it and was shocked at how dirty Hannah really was. That was a great $5 spent. Priceless.

Deployment Marker-1 Month

One month ago tonight was the hardest night I have ever faced. The kids and I said good-bye to Edward in the middle of the night on a dark airfield. Right now, that seems like much longer than a month ago. As we pulled out of the parking lot around 1:00 AM, Madison asked, "Mommy, why are you crying? Don't cry. I'll cry." At that moment, I realized I couldn't cry. Not in front of my kids. I couldn't. They didn't understand enough as it was, and they get really upset at the sight of crying, so I had to pull it together.

A month later, here we are. Things are going along. Life still happens. We all have our good days and bad days. Kids are kids, fighting, laughing, playing. School is getting ready to start, and the house is becoming our home. Day after day, we go on, thinking about and praying for Edward everyday. We eat our "Kiss" from Daddy each day, and the kids enjoy putting together packages to send him (we're on our third already, not counting the MANY boxes sent from Amazon).

One of the saddest things to hear is the sound of my kids in their beds playing the voice on their Build A Bear animals. Prior to leaving, Edward and I took the kids to Build A Bear, where they picked out animals, and Edward recorded a message for each kid. That message is in the animal, and by pressing the paw, they hear their personal message. So, as I am cleaning up around the house after the kids have gone to bed, I hear over and over, "I love you Madison. Jesus loves you. Goodnight." "I love you Luke. Jesus loves you. Goodnight." "I love you Alex. Jesus loves you. Goodnight." That mixed with Alex crying out for Edward everynight from his bed is one of the harder parts of deployment.

I dare say it is quiet here with three kids running around, but in the evenings it definitely is. So far, I have filled the void in the evenings by painting the house. I'm down to the last room, our master bedroom. I started priming it and hope to finish it in the next few days. It's a huge room and will take more than a couple of hours in the eveings.

Moving just prior to all this didn't help either, as I still don't know people here. Neither do the kids, but school is starting soon, and I pray they make some friends.

Churchlife is moving at a snail's pace. The church I'm going to is nice, but meeting people while chasing down three kids each week is challenging. I found a nice Sunday School class and look forward to meeting people there. The surprise to me is that church is the hardest thing for me. I miss Edward dearly at church and haven't made it through a service yet without crying (somehow, otherwise, I hold it together outside of church pretty well). I didn't expect that. People probably think I'm a nut job, hence the no friends yet. Edward and I have been going to church together since we were dating; it's always been the top priority for us. Coming from a Lutheran and a Southern Baptist background, we quickly decided if we were going to ever get married, we had to compromise on church. So, at 20 years old, we started going to the Methodist Church in Clemson. Trying to feel closer to God has made me realize how far away Edward is right now. The kids go to Children's Church, so when I pick them up, I'm back to the mom they need.

Stories on the news hit hard too. Some might say, "Don't watch the news," which if you knew me, is extremely unrealistic. I enjoy the news and often have Fox News on in the background. Stories lately are so sad, and again,they make you realize how precious life is.

Life here continues to go on. The kids and I have had a busy month. We have been traveling: Raleigh; Tybee Island, Georgia; Baltimore, Maryland; and Wilmington, NC just in the last month. More traveling is coming, but it will be slowing down with school starting. You don't know what fun is until you spend hours in the car alone with three kids who talk your ear off and fight as to whether they are going to watch Diego, Planet Earth, or Cinderella III.

Restaurant preferences have shifted a little. We've discovered Friendlys for traveling. Their kids' meals with free ice cream sundaes = priceless to me. Rudinos with their lunchtime pizza buffet is a favorite friend while running errands. So, yes, I do take the kids out to eat. It's interesting and loud, but we do go to places where I don't just have to order at a counter or a drive-thru. What is really challenging is the fact that my two-year-old has discovered he is two and refuses to sit in a highchair or booster seat. I generally get a "No," with arms crossed and pouty lip. That's fun.

I am very blessed to chat with Edward often on the computer. I know things could be much worse. I know. But, he's still gone for a long time. The "he's not going to be gone that long" comments don't help, as would you tell someone who is pregnant that nine months isn't that long (they'd probably disagree)?? Away is away, and it saddens me all that he has to miss, so yes, he will be gone a long time in my book.

I do want to thank the family and friends who have prayed, helped out, called, and just been there for both Edward and myself. I want you to know how much it means to me. I try to let you know how appreciative I am, but if I haven't, know I am. I can't imagine where we would be without the prayers and support of family and friends.

One month down; too many to count to go. I still say God Bless America and God Bless our Troops. Thank you for all you do to keep us all safe.

Baltimore-The Pool

We really had a great trip to Baltimore. A very special thanks to Mrs. P for allowing us to stay with her, along with Jenn and Adam for all they did for us while there. We really appreciate it and are so glad we could come. For the kids, the highlight was Mrs. P's in-ground pool.

Everyone was shocked Alex, at two-years-old, loved jumping off the diving board.

Luke did an awesome job swimming without floaties! His two years of swimming lessons in Yuma have really paid off.

They loved playing with Jenn's puppy, Foster.

Audrey had fun hanging out in the swing.

Madison liked relaxing in this.

Alex really liked Audrey.

Thanks again. We had a wonderful time.

Baltimore Inner Harbor

Wednesday morning, the kids and I ventured to the Inner Harbor of Downtown Baltimore to visit the aquarium. After parking, we walked by some of the boats before heading into the aquarium.

The kids really liked this Coast Guard cutter.

As we came up to the aquarium, they had to get their picture taken with the Maryland Crab.

Once inside the aquarium, we toured the Australia habitat where they had to have their picture taken with the crocodile swimming by (yes, he was real in a glass enclosure).

Luke was very proud to show off his crocodile shirt, worn just for the aquarium.

This is a display of a Great White Shark's mouth....the kids couldn't believe it.

We watched the aquarium's dolphin show.

After the aquarium, we walked along the harbor and had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. They were ready to go by dessert, but wanting dessert, so we got one to go and sat on the harbor to eat it. The kids were fascinated with the dragon paddlewheel boats.

So, we went on one. It was quite interesting to take three kids on the water, but we all had lifejackets, so that helped. Madison had wanted to ride in the front, as the seats were two in the front and two in the back, but I had to have Alex next to me in case I needed to grab him before going overboard. Luckily, we all stayed in the boat.

It was misting, which was actually nice considering the humidity. The kids absolutely loved our half hour dragon ride and are still talking about it.

Pirates in Baltimore

This past week, the kids and I ventured to Baltimore, Maryland. Now, it wasn't just an out of the blue trip. My college roommate, Jenn, lives there. Even better, Jenn and her husband, Adam, just had their first baby, a sweet baby girl. The kids and I stayed with Jenn's mom, and during the days, we ventured out and had some fun adventures. One adventure Jenn discovered was a pirate ride. And yes, I took a ton of pictures...Edward requested it.

Here we are with a view of the Baltimore harbor from our pirate boat.

The pirate ride was very interactive. They allowed the kids to dress up, and they gave the kids each pirate tatoos on their hands. The kids were sad that later in the day, the tatoos came off in the pool.

Getting ready for the ride

Jenn's husband, Adam, was so sweet to take a day off of work to come on the pirate ride with us. I really appreciated it, and Luke did too. It was really nice to have a guy along to hang with Luke. Thanks, Adam!

Once we got out into the harbor, the kids had to "shoot" pirates as they came too close to the boat.

Yeah, this was a HUGE hit.

Alex wanting in on the action...

Agggh, a pirate!

Take 1

Take 2

After the kids had defeated all of the pirates, they had to get the pirate treasure. They each got to pick two pieces of treasutre. Luke is proudly showing off his pirate ring and coin.

Madison picked a jewel and coin.

Alex didn't want any treasure. He was just ready to go. I didn't put the diaper bag on him! He picked it up and insisted on carrying it like this.

Back on the mainland

Alex has spent everyday since the ride shouting, "Arrrghh," like he's a pirate.

The pirates on the boat claimed Audrey was their youngest pirate. She's Jenn and Adam's little girl, and at 11 weeks old, she slept through the whole ride.

Thanks for finding such a fun thing to do. The kids are still talking about it!