pics for dad

It was a picturesque Fathers day :)... in that we gave him a lot of pictures

these are going in 3 frames for the new house.. i'm thinking for the play room

these I have in a frame just like this (vertical) but black and white. Sorry.. but they are soooo cute!

 these i ended up not using.. but they are stinkin cute if i do say so myself!

These are my thoughts..

We are getting ready to make a cross country move. From the high desert of NV to the coastal area of northern FL.  I haven't talked much about our upcoming change ... basically because I do not like change.  But... I'm getting better.  A few years ago i would have said  "I hate change" and that is so not the case now. I have had practice.

I never have liked "ending" something good... a relationship, a good book (don't you always want to read the happily ever after?), a TV series... who didn't cry at the end of Friends or ER?!  I hated the end of high school and college (though i must say i'm glad now for those endings!).  One f the worst "endings" for me was when we had to move from our first duty station in Brunswick, ME.  We loved it there. I mean LOVED it.  It is so beautiful.. the summers are short, but amazing. Everyone is outside.. sitting in Adirondack chairs :) The coast is beautiful.. rocky, lush, and green.  Something i had not seen as i was used to vacationing in the southeast.  The falls are a gorgeous pallet of colors.  Some of my favorite memories have colorful foliage as the backdrop.  The winters were indeed cold and icy.  I like winter though.  I love sweaters and I wore one nearly everyday :)  Spring was wet.. blooming.  My allergies kicked in but the rain smelled good.
sigh... we just loved Maine.  As good as the surrounding small northeast town was.. the friendships we kindled were far surpassing.  It was our first duty station out of flight school.  We were taken under some wonderfully seasoned wings.. and stood along side of some other completely green newbies.  We went through deployments together, took care of each other, crafted, laughed, cried, and many of us entered another new stage of being a mommy!  Basically, we grew up into adults :)  and that was the worst part for me... leaving all those wonderful people.. even if some of them left me first or were moving soon after. (such is military life).

2 of my favorite pics.. Gull Cottage where we stayed in beautiful Oct. right before we left

I felt like if i left the place.. i was leaving the friends and with that the memories.  I had a warped view.  And man did i wallow in it.  I cried at the drop of a hat.  I was mad at Matt (I guess it was his fault because He was in the Navy and the Navy was making me change). ... yep.. warped.

I remember leaving and crying all the way to Boston (2 hours).  I would have loved to turn around, but of course we couldn't.  What i didn't realize at the time was how much I was robbing myself. I was so self absorbed in all the things i didn't want to leave that I had not given one thought to what was ahead for us.  I had no joy in the adventure of moving to a new area (hello.. there are a lot worse places than San Diego!) But i didn't want to hear any of that.  I let no excitement in.  I decided i hated San Diego before we got there, which lead to a miserable first 8 months or so.  I had decided I did not want to go through leaving friends that had become like family again.. so i would just go through this tour with out letting anyone really get to know me.  After all, Matt wouldn't be deploying this tour, so I was good.

 Not so much!  I am a "girlfriend" through and through!  I am a friend of other moms. I am a Navy wife who enjoys helping other families when the inevitable things go wrong during deployment. I am a friend who will sit and have some wine .. for no reason at all :)  I will watch your kids and i thank you for reciprocating. I need girls nights out!!  I'm not saying I'm a great friend... I'm saying I NEED girlfriends and the love that comes with a true friendship.  And once i realized that was what i was greatly worried about missing... I realized it was exactly what i was missing out on!

It was a slow process but i started letting people in and before I knew it .. I was happy in San Diego and I had some wonderful friendships too! (and .. yes.. I cried hard leaving there too.)  I started letting God work on my perspective and asked Him to "change how I viewed change".  and He did.  I stopped seeing it as an ending.  but as a beginning and most importantly a chance to continue.   To continue friendships from far away and to continue new beginnings for our family.   Sure, I can't keep up with everyone on a day to day basis.. but facebook sure helps!  And the friends that really became family.. we went through real day to day life together.. it doesn't matter how long it's been since we've seen each other or talked. 

So.. here i go again.  I don't want to leave my friends here.. but this time I am excited about our new beginning and the opportunity to continue.

linking to:

Mama May I?

Remember that game "Mother, may I?" .. didn't you say "No. You may not." ... at least some of the time?

Gosh,  I felt like we were playing a day-long game the other day!  and.. I wasn't very good at saying No. 
 Matt was away for a weekend hiking through the Ruby Mountains (which he said was beautiful and quite a work out!) I figured it was better to wait and do some Father's Day shopping after he left.. less of a chance Addison would tell him what we got :)

I think my lack of "No" use came from the fact that the whole weekend I was thinking about how I am so boring to the kids.  It was just another weekend for them.. nothing special.  But... a few weeks ago when I went to Denver with some girlfriends (insert reminder to post some of the awesome pics)... they had a weekend of Fun with Daddy!  He took them to get ice cream, made pizza, camped in the living room in a tent, went to the Discovery Museum, took them to church (3 kids.. on time!) and McDonalds.  OH.. and.. the house was straightened up.. dishes and laundry done!

I basically decided early on that I couldn't compete with that.. so we had a pretty low key weekend.  But the whole time.. i was providing an internal dialogue of why i should feel guilty for this. Talk about doing the opposite of what i try to teach the kids! Totally comparing myself and not extending an ounce of grace.

but alas... one of my closest friends and "give it to me straight" sisters  .. spun a different light on it!
She reminded me how often Matt leaves.  and that IF i made it "Fun Crazy time" when Daddy leaves.. the kids would expect that every time :)  .. see why she's such a good friend?...  Duhhh.. i was totally looking at it wrong!  Now there are no precedents.. no expectations.. and nothing for me to live up to next time Matt has to leave!!!   I mean really.. can you imagine 6 months of that!?!   And just look what he has to Top NEXT time i leave (and there will be a next time!) 

LOL!!  Ok, I'm half joking here :) 
Basically He's the more fun one.  and I am OK with that. The kids and I are beyond blessed with the best Dad and Husband.  and I am glad they have that special fun time!!

so back to "Mama may I?" ... here's some snapshots of how it went...

Mama may we eat at the little cafe in Scheels?

Ma-Ma   (that's all he said.. what did you expect?)

Mama may i pour water on baby brother's head?

Mama may I play outside after bath because it's finally cool enough?

Me too, Mama?

Mama, may we sleep in your bed....

Of Course I Said YES!!  I had to compete somewhat!!.... hey, I guess I did camp out in the living room... 

on the couch!

Colorful. Wonderful. Beautiful.

"Mommy this craft is Colorful, Wonderful, and Beautiful"  

... couldn't have said it better myself.  

Addie and i had lots of fun doing this one.  It took the span of a few days too because at the drying stops.. she of course was off to other things and we never got back to it till the next day.
It was really easy too, always a bonus!

You need:  *Craft Acrylic Paint
                  *Water
                  * Glue (we used Elmers Gliter Glue.. on pinterest it said to use Gel Glue, which  walmart didn't have 'shocker'.. so i thought this would be similar. I think the gel is suggested b/c it has a slight color to it so it's easy to see where to paint.  This of course was pink glitter.. so very easy to see.  I do think any Elmers would work!)
                  * Fabric to paint (we used a white dish towel.. came in a pack of two at walmart.  it was more like a cloth napkin though.. and worked perfect).

Ready to start! Found some items to outline with the glue to make fun shapes!

Making a Beautiful flower :)

Addie did a lot on her own, till her thumb hurt from squeezing the bottle! LOL.. so she directed me (a role she does well) in what to make and where to put the designs.

 *LET GLUE DRY*

*Dilute Paint with a little water for painting*

Let the painting begin!!

 *Let Dry*

looking good!

 *After it dries.. soak in hot water for 15 min.  This will not hurt the paint, it loosens the glue.

After 15 min I had to rub and scrape with my nails to get the glue to come off.. not hard at all.

Bonus for us... some glitter remained!

This is going to look fabulous in her new room!!

Colorful! Wonderful! Beautiful!.. don't you agree?

I found this on pinterest... on a board where i wanted to repin Everything! Jamie has so many great ideas pinned.. you can expect to see more here :)   Jamie has a wonderful blog that i've joined too called
"Hands On As We Grow"...  check her out!! Filled with greatness!
Obviously I'm not a big name in the blog world.. but all about sharing with my few readers some great ideas to use with your kids and your home!

Shared on ...
Whatever Goes Wed

Lil Slugger

Baseball season is now in the past... it was super fun!  We had a great team..many friends which made it so great.  Garrett is turning into a little slugger.. and a smart infielder :)

Garrett "Cubs 2012"

proud mom

Good job Buddy!!!!

let the summer begin!

summer is HERE!

We officially rolled out the red carpet to summer here today!  I'm excited to have a little break from the norm... but admittedly our summer is going to be so crazy with moving.. that really thinking about it stresses me out! So instead i'm trying to Enjoy the First month of summer... our Last month here in NV.

Garrett is doing a few weeks of summer camp... he just couldn't say good-bye to school!  Actually it is right Up his alley.. fun times! projects! crafts! activities! field trips! and... friends :)  plus a few pretty special teachers that he adores. so it's a win for him.  Addie, however isn't old enough for the camps.. so we are hosting our own here. Feel free to sign up... we'd love more campers!  :)

Today we finally made flowers!! Addie has been frustrated with the lack of flowers around here. (sweetie, its the desert.)  She insists that her teacher told them that flowers come up in the spring and if you water them they grow.  For the first week of Spring she actually went out side.. stated what day of spring it was.. and said "Now where Are the flowers?!"

This girl needs flowers.  And since i have some not fun allergies in the spring/summer... these flowers work for me as well!
Coffee Filter Flowers!  there's lots of links out there.. just google it :)

use water color paints to paint some coffee filters

let them dry

fold in half.. then half again

round it together and twist the bottom. then wrap a pipe cleaner around the twist. (not shown)

pull the filters apart and fluff to look like a flower

they look pretty in my DIY mercury glass vase

Since it was the first day of Summer Vaca and all... I went the extra step and planned something fun for the afternoon when Garrett was home.  It turned out to be just me and the boys as Addie earned an extended stay in her room... (and did i say it was the First day??)

This is everywhere on Pinterest.   Side walk paint made out of cornstarch :)

i mixed half a cup of water and half a cup of cornstarch then added food coloring.  

G made a race track for his motocross bike!

Micah made messes :)

Cheers!!!   It's SUMMER!!!

some history & titles

June 6th.
D-day.
This date would not have even entered my thoughts... not that long ago.
Nothing "history related" would have.
But, I'm encouraged to learn more about our country's rich history because I have been adopted into it.. serving along side my husband... he who actually deploys for our freedom, myself who tries to keep things intact and showing the kids that while we miss daddy.. we can still have fun, and the kids who serve as well by adapting and learning to appreciate the significance of the military..... and passing it on.

Garrett has passed it on.. to me!


 
Garrett has been interested in WWII for as long as i can remember.. seriously.  He was captivated by it all when we went to Hawaii. He drew Japanese flags everywhere... he was 3 so it was easier :)   We went to the Army museum next to the Hali Koa (military hotel) nearly every day.  He built bunkers in the sand. His sweet innocent eyes looked for the dead soldiers over the side of the Arizona ... then proclaimed that he saw "some red shirts" so he knew they were there.  He taught me the other ships that were destroyed that day.  He learned the ones that sank, the one that capsized (i think the Oklahoma) and the one that ran ashore (i wanna say the Nevada.. but don't quote me). He fell in love with the Mighty MO .. again I learned that it was a battle ship that housed the ending of the war. 

the Army museum

in a fox hole... ready

Mighty MO

Addison turned 1 in HI!

Basically I learned right along with G on that trip.  History.. was not an interest of mine.  In school it was easy to memorize and then dump.  It never seemed important to me.  I cringed when my mom would suggest touring some historical area for vacation. I still have never been to DC.

Obviously being a Military family.. i have come to see the important things about history.  I've actually even read a few books for pleasure! (crazy i know.)  If you are looking for a great summer read, I completely recommend Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.... amazing story!  Lost in Shangri-La is another good read and true story.

We enjoy some Great books geared for kids as well.  and today, being June 6th.. we will pull out some of these to read and check out the links listed .... and we will all learn :) 

if interested..
the books below can be viewed at my Usborne Books and More website.

this is a lift the flap book.. really neat!