Our Summer in Photos

Since I've been a very naughty blogger, I haven't shared a lot about our summer.  So, I thought I'd give you a glimpse into our full and very fun summer in pictures.  Hope you had a wonderful few months!

Lots of time at our zoo

1st ride on a train in New Hampshire

A unusual smile from el Hub

End of a great 5K

1st trip to the ocean for the girls

Love lighthouses & this one was perfect

Many trips to the dairy farm in New Hampshire for yummy milk and eggs

Visiting my best friend from college & her awesomely patient husband. Love Seattle!

Did you know Bison & Buffalo are different???

God's awesome creation - Mt Rainier

Yummy Oreo martinis

Grace's 1st riding lessons

Our sweet friends and their new little one

4-wheeling with my best friend

Celebrating 9 years of marriage - and he even (kinda) smiled

Autumn sorting toys - love it!

Seeing the Stanley Cup

Hair cuts before school starts

One last "hoorah" this summer at a baseball game

10 Things to Smile About: April

Wow!  April is over - how in the world did that happen?  It was a crazy month around here - a good month, but a bit of a blur.  So here are 10 things that made me smile last month...

1.  Grace continuing to grow in knowledge and in her heart.  She came home with this handwriting work from school - this made my heart so happy.  God is growing her.

2.  Easter.  We had a lovely brunch with my parents, followed by an Easter egg hunt.  With all that's been going on in life, this was a truly sweet day.

3.  Lots and lots of time with new friends.  I'm amazed how quickly I've grown to love a group of people, I've only known for a short time.

4.  Autumn turned 2!

5.  Continued success with our journey to become debt free. Our grand total since September 2011 is $10,900.  Lots of hard work to do still.  But we've made a ton of progress and I can't wait to know how it feels to be able to say "we are debt free".

6.  A new workout routine that I'm incorporating with my workouts at the YMCA.  The workouts are hard, sweaty, but somehow super fun.  I'm seeing some good progress in just one month... can't wait to finally be ok with swimsuit season.

7.  Going to Harvest University in Chicagoland with my new church... wonderful teaching, inspiring ministry and God-glorifying worship.  It was truly amazing.

8.  A sleepover with 3 Kindergartners.  It was crazy.  It was loud.  It was exhausting.  It was fun.  Oh, and thanks Mom, for putting up with all my sleepovers.  I had no idea!

9.  Our first trip to the zoo this season. 

10.  With only a month of school left, we are making fun plans for the summer - a trip to the East coast, a trip to Seattle and some horse riding lessons for Miss Grace.

Guest Blog: Great Travels for Great Memories

Convincing your husband to go out of town for the weekend isn't easy. After a long week of work, he often wants nothing more than to kick back and relax at home. I, on the other hand, feel cooped up in the house and am ready to get out and see what else the world has to offer, even if it is just for a few hours. I hate to admit it, but it’s often the easiest option that gets chosen. Staying home, watching movies, playing with the kids or sleeping in. It is not a bad life. But sometimes, travel is much desired and much needed.


I find that many military wives feel like weekend travel is too hectic, that they don't get a chance to do all they want to do in a short amount of time, or that the possibilities are overwhelming. I believe that it doesn't have to be. In fact, short trips can be the best trips if done properly.

Travel for two isn't always easy. It involves not just convincing the husband to spend his weekend traveling but also finding someone to watch the kids. However, this can also be the perfect getaway. Find a bed and breakfast or a resort area close to home that has activities you and your husband can enjoy. You'll be surprised at the number of small inns that have high quality spas, fishing excursions, or hiking nearby. For childcare, talk to one of your friends and offer a kid swap. If she takes your kids for the weekend, take hers the following while she and her own husband get out of town.

Of course, if your family is like mine, it can be difficult to enjoy a kid-free getaway. The idea is always nice, but we end up missing the girls before we reach the halfway point. A good choice is to pick a location that has plenty of family friendly fare. Then focus only on that spot. Don't try to pack too much into one trip. That can lead to stress and anxiety that is unnecessary when the purpose of the mini-vacation is togetherness. Also, make sure to take into account any health concerns of family members into consideration while planning. Some places may not be ideal for someone stricken with types of mesothelioma because of high altitude concerns

If you simply can't convince your husband to travel with you, sometimes the best bet is to convince him to stay home with the kids. If you and several of your mom friends can do the same, a girl’s weekend serves two purposes: it gets you out of the house and shows your husband just how difficult it is to be a full-time parent.

Kristin Wells is a recent college graduate from The University of Georgia and an aspiring writer. She wants to make a difference in people's lives through her writing. Kristin also likes competitive cycling, running, and traveling as much as possible.

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In

Hope you all had a good week!  Join in on the Friday fun at Wife of a Sailor.

1.What’s the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you?
When I was a Junior at college, another student and I were chosen to receive a scholarship by an older couple.  At the scholarship awards banquet, we had the opportunity to briefly get to know them over lunch and I was really humbled that this couple, who didn't know me, would be so generous to help me with some of the cost of my college education.  That scholarship took effect my Senior year, and I remember when I was working on projects or studying for a test, that couple would come to mind, and I was reminded to work especially hard in order to respect their generosity.

2.If you are having a hard time going to sleep, what do you do to help yourself?
This is very timely, because the last few weeks have been terrible for me come bedtime.  Lately I've been going for the bottle of Benadryl.
3.Name something that makes you wish you were a kid again.
I really miss the vacations we had as kids... it was wonderful to not have to do my laundry, pack, plan, pay or have to drive. 

4.What is something you never believed until you experienced it?
I never understood that unimaginable love that you can have for your child.  I remember how I instantly fell in love when we heard Grace's heartbeat for the first time.  We're blessed to have two such beautiful souls in our life and I never could have imagined that I would love two people who are so much work, so much.

5.What can’t you say “no” to?
If Grace asks me to go to the mall, I can't say no.  Why would I?

Pre-Kids

Here's my third post about our marriage.  If you're interested, here are the first two posts:
State of Our Union and The Very Beginning.

So, after I decided to finally get in the picture and actually join our marriage, it was great!  We had a lot of fun and without a doubt, became best friends during this time.  We were both working - Joel was working full-time for the Guard and I was in sales for a health care network.  We both enjoyed our careers, had great friends and were really enjoying our marriage.

Much of that enjoyment may be because we had very little conflict during this few year period.  Our jobs had us working opposite shifts - I worked typical office hours and Joel worked from mid-afternoon until after midnight.  We rarely saw each other.  Seriously.  We say each other Saturday and Sunday mornings and Monday night after I came home from work.  Other than that it was just a quick kiss before I left for work in the morning. 

When we did get to spend time together, it was usually dinner out, watching movies at home and spending time with our friends and families.  We loved to take a long weekend here and there and get away.  Usually we'd go out to some nice restaurants, stay in great hotels and just relax.  Joel and I were still learning a lot about each other and working to figure out what are roles were as husband and wife.

So, this time was pretty drama-free.  It was also pretty stress free.  We both loved our jobs, lived a simple life, didn't own a home and didn't have much responsibility outside of work.  It was peaceful.  But you know what the say about the quietness before the storm...  More to come soon.

Practice Run

Joel just got back from a 10-day trip out east to see his dad and one of his brothers. It was more-or-less his last hurrah before his deployment. I decided to stay home with the girls - I wasn't quite ready to road trip with our baby. Nothing about 14 hours on the road with a 6-week old sounded like fun to me.

So, I just thought that 10 days would be a good practice run for me. I could see how I'd do with the two girls by myself.

Well, I survived. We had plenty of play dates with friends so that I wasn't sitting at home starring at the walls. We took lots of walks and a few too many trips to the mall. I even managed to take both girls with me to a doctor's appointment - miracle of miracles.

I learned two important things during this 10 day practice: I can do it but I need to ask for help. I think I tried to do too much by myself during Joel's last two deployments. There's something in me that thinks it's easier to just do it myself. But when you're talking about many, many months of doing it by yourself - it's not always easier. I ended the last two deployments completely drained. So, Joel would come home from overseas exhausted and I would be home waiting for him, exhausted.

I don't want this deployment to end the same way. Two girls by myself requires a whole lot more effort - way more energy than I can sustain on my own. So, when people offer to take the girls for a few hours, to help me with projects around the house or to make a meal - I'm going to take them up on it.

Hold me to it.