Snow Day

We woke up to 5" of snow yesterday and it was still coming down.

Luckily, it quit about 10 am and started to warm up.

We went to Focus on The Family, because the girls were dying to do the 2nd script for the radio show.

There was a meltdown about a cookie instead of a sundae.

They put on a show for us.  Em was in the back in charge of costumes and makeup.  I could remember when she wanted to be the one on stage.

Junior pooped in his pants.  Then he had to go again, and Gunner was the foley guy in the radio show, so I took him to the women's restaurant.

Junior:  I don't want to go into the girl's bathroom.
Me:  It's okay, it's a bathroom for mommys and little boys.
Junior:  That doesn't make any sense.
Me:  Just go potty, you don't have any other alternatives right now.
He starts to potty.
Another mom and her little boy walk in.
Junior:  Hey, this bathroom IS for mommy and their little boys.
Me:  Yep, so focus on what you're doing.
Other Little Boy:  I just peed all over my legs.
Other Mom:  How did you manage that?
Junior:  That doesn't sound good.
Me:  Focus on yourself kiddo.
Then the other mom tried to get into the stall where the little boy had locked himself in, apologizing and explaining that he was three and she should have known she couldn't go into her own stall.

Junior at this point announces to everyone in the bathroom that he is pooping, a lot.

Thankfully the third lady in there assured us that the boy with pee on his legs in the locked stall, and the boy that were pooping a lot were no problem because she had a 4 year old son.

We finally made it out of there.

I had to fit in an hour and 45 minute bike ride, so we tracked down the parts to the trainer and got it situated in front of the tv.

Even with a good movie, it's a long ride inside.  I better get used to it though because it's where I'll put a lot of time in once Gunner is gone.  JRTC is creeping up...

I love this face

Money & Deployment

I got an email from a friend last night, and her husband has spent a lot of money since he deployed last month.

How do you work money and the budget while he is gone?  What about TSP?  Do you increase it?  Does he get an allowance?  Do you pay off bills?  Do you buy more things?  Do you eat out more?  How do you make it work?

I've had friends that give their spouses all of the extra money they earn.  What works for your family?

Do you plan out a budget before he leaves?

This is what we do, and it works for us.  Gunner always jokes that his next wife won't have a MBA, lol.

We have absolutely no debt.  No car payments, no credit card bills, nothing.

We increase Gunner's TSP, by 1%, quite frequently.  You don't really notice a 1% decrease in your pay, every month or so, but the increased amount in your TSP is noticeable.

Gunner has his own bank account, and he gets an "allowance" every month.  The first few deployments it was $25 a month.  I know, sounds really cheap.  The third deployment to Iraq he got $40 a month.  He never spent it all.  I check his account and if he needs more, I put it in there, but he might have needed that once a year or something. (I just called Gunner at work to see if he needed an increase and he told me that since they are closing everything down, he won't even need $40 a month, lol)

What do we do with the extra money?

We make sure we max out our IRA contributions, I play the stock market, increase 529 contributions, save more, and save, save, save.

What probably helps, is that Gunner is usually not in locations that have all the perks of home.

The first deployment to Iraq, my mom sent Gunner articles that she found in the local paper about life over there.  Gunner's response was "Tell you mom that not everyone lives in palaces and swims and BBQ's all day long".

How do you make your money work while he is gone?

P.S.  For the record, Gunner has no problem with the amount of money that he gets, and at no time has he not been able to get what he needs or wants.

Ab's Birthday

We survived another birthday with Abs.  She only managed to wake up at the crack of dawn, knock something over and give it a little character, and make a mess wherever she went.

We found this cute little outfit at walmart today, and I thought it would make her pictures a little more toned down than what she was originally wearing.  Six dollars too!  


We spent forever trying to pick out a cake.  Abs inspected each one, compared and contrasted, and mentioned that it might be easier with a venn diagram.  Finally she decided on one, and then requested that the cake lady write "happy birthday" and her name in a different color for each letter.  The cake lady looked annoyed, but said she would write each letter of her name in a different color.  


When the cake lady was finished, Abs was absolutely delighted, placed the cake in the buggy, and then threw her arms around the cake lady to thank her for making her birthday so special.  What was the cake lady to do but smile, tell me what a wonderful kiddo I had, and give her free cookies.  Just what she needed, sugar.


We had her open presents before we went to eat, and she was so excited about capri pants.  

She got a dinosaur.

It moves, roars, plays music, is really neat.  She loved her sewing machine.

And she seemed happy with everything else that she got.  We went to dinner at The Airplane Restaurant.  It was so neat!

We made reservations to sit in the plane portion of the restaurant.  Abs was about to jump out of her skin.  We hit the bathrooms and they reminded me of The Mrs.

We came out as Abs was telling everyone that we had reservations for the plane. (one guy thanked her for letting him know, so he could sit elsewhere) When Abs is excited, she gets louder and louder.  Three kids, and they need to be heard, so the sound seemed to be deafening to me.  

The waitress came to our table and introduced herself as our Flight Attendant.  Abs screamed "We are going to take off????".  I assured Abs we were staying put.  They were amazed to be sitting over the wing, that the table was a map, and that they were allowed to go to the cockpit and "fly" the plane.  Don't think that Abs wasn't trying to figure out how they had it stuck to the ground, so she could make it take off.

The food was great, although a tad expensive.  Our flight attendant assured me that we were not even close to being the loudest family that had ever been there.  Whew.  The kids were just so excited and it was pretty cool.  

There were milkshakes to be had.

Cute Soldiers in attendance.

Two piegons that decided to give a facts of life demonstration on the wing of the plane.  This was before those two little lovebirds got carried away.  

The kids' analysis of it was "they are riding each other piggyback like Sammy used to do to Junior".  Thanks kids for telling everyone in the restaurant that Sammy the humping dog lives with us.

The restaurant was filled with memorabilia and history.  I could have walked around all day trying to absorb it all.  

We returned home for cake and ice cream. 

 

Now all three kiddos are tucked into bed and will hopefully be asleep soon.

Happy Birthday Abs!

Will this help the mission?

I was wondering what other military spouses think about the General that is over in Afghanistan wanting to shut down fast food, no Hodgie shops, no coffee shops, and no movies.

Will this help the Soldiers focus?  How many of them take computers, DVD players, video games with them?  Will that be banned too?

I guess there was talk of shutting down AAFES, but the Soldiers need access to hygiene items, etc., so they are talking about limiting what is sold by AAFES.

What's your take on all of this?

Happy Birthday!!!

Nine years ago today I gave birth to a bouncing baby girl, weighing 9 lbs 9 oz.  She was by far the easiest birth, but from there, well.....it's still Abs!

See here and here.

Her only request this birthday was a stuffed duck for her dog.  I think we can manage that.  She's also getting a sewing machine (so she will keep her hands off of mine), a dinosaur (of course), material, a jump rope (because she finally learned how to jump at PT), and probably some legos (her other obsession).  While it is tempting to get her a straight jacket for the bus stop, a muzzle so she won't bite, and a lock on her bedroom door so she can't get up at all hours of the night, I think I will just hope that this year is a lot easier than the other 8.

Happy Birthday Abs, you have given us a run for our money, but we are fortunate that we were chosen as your parents because you are so special, and not everyone would be able to deal with your antics.  I love you!

I'm in the basement if you need me.

This would be the artwork that Abs drew while she was sitting in the third row seating in our highlander.  She was lucky that the tar came up with oxiclean.  Very lucky.  She then had to detail the entire car under the watchful eye of her father.

I finished cleaning up the basement and made room for my sewing machine down there, so I am back at work.

  I took a class several years ago, specific to my machine, but I am having to practice a little to remember everything that I learned.  It's slowly coming back to me.

This machine does everything, I love it!

First order of business was to applique some pillowcases.

Even Em got in on the action and made herself a bag.

Not too shabby!  Junior got a pillowcase and next on my list is a shirt for his birthday, some more bags, and a billion of other things.

Gunner and I were able to hit the road today and get in a 15 mile bike ride.  It's been absolutely beautiful the last few days.  We will have snow dumped on us tomorrow.

A better view, without me, and you can see Pikes Peak.

I'm still trying to simplify my life.  Some days it is better than others.

It's Spring Break this week, so plenty to keep us busy till they return to school.  

Relaxing??? and Abs

I imagined myself swooshing down the slopes and drinking beer at night.

Sleeping in.

Running after a day at the slopes.

Sitting in the hot tub, hanging out with my friend, and enjoying my time being alone.

Reality of it all?  I only got to hang out with my friend.

My skiing skills did improve drastically, but then they couldn't get any worse!  The very first thing I did was try to get on the lift to go up the mountain.  I fell off, didn't have my gloves on, and tore up my forearm.

I fell getting off the lift every single time but once.  It wasn't pretty.  Something about the lift just gets me all worked up and stressed out, it's crazy!

Out of everyone that observed me, it's not my skills that are the problem, it's my confidence.

I don't like speed.  I have only been on a go kart once, and it was awful.  I start going fast, I'm swooshing down the slopes, and I get scared and fall on purpose.  Once, I did get that rush while I was going back and forth, then realized how fast I was going, and down I went.

I am so sore today, it's not even funny.

I had a great time, missed the kids and Gunner terribly, and was glad to get home.  It was worth the trip to see my friend and hang out.

Abs called me no less than 38 times, leaving me heartfelt messages about how much she missed me and loved me.  I was gone 48 hours, and she told me that I'll need to get her a cell phone so she can call me from camp.  Sorry kiddo, they don't allow them.  She's asking for a Mommy Doll to go with her Daddy Doll.

I took Abs to OT tonight, and she was wearing a green shirt, purple shorts, and pink cowboy boots.  (It's rodeo time in Texas!)  In the loops of the boots she had tied a piece of yarn and it went from one boot to the other, over her shoulders.  Her reasoning?  There's a storm coming to our neck of the woods, and this way if  she gets blown away, her boots will stay on.

On the way home we were talking about responsibility.

Me:  One day you will want to drive, and you need to show me that you are responsible.
Abs:  I don't want a car.
Me:  What?
Abs:  I'm going green.
Me:  I'm afraid to ask you what that means.
Abs:  The only thing I will be driving is a mule train.
Me:  A mule train?
Abs:  Yep, I'll have 10 of them and they will pull me in a cart everywhere I want to go.
Me:  It will take a long time to get to Texas in a mule train.
Abs:  That's okay, I'm young.  Plus I am tired of people hurting the environment, so I'll be helping it.
Me:  What if they don't let your mule train on the freeways.
Abs:  They will, it will become the new way of traveling.
Me:  I think you have been playing Oregon trail too much.

Abs has had an obsession with mules since she rode one in Utah with my mom.

Oh, she also said she is going to adopt two children, a boy named Bob and a girl named Ann.  When they misbehave she is going to make them muck the stalls.  I think she might need to muck the backyard tomorrow, just for practice.

I made it!

I sent Abs off to school and she promised to keep her hands in her pocket so they wouldn't get away from her again.

Em's school called with her "situation of the day".  I wanted to scream.  

I went and got Junior early today, then Em missed the bus.

Finally I hit the road. In the first hour, Abs called me 10 times.  I drove and drove, up mountains and down, on what seemed like the edge of the cliff at some points.  I am afraid of heights.  I went to an area with no cell signal.  It was quiet.  The drive was beautiful till it turned dark.  The elk and deer on steroids made their appearances.  There were close calls, idiots passing on curves, accidents (not me), and more elk and deer.

What should have taken an hour took two (the whole trip was 5 1/2 hours), but better safe than sorry.  Have I ever mentioned that I hate driving?

I arrived, got settled, and called my friend T to come over.  It's been too long since I have seen her!  She was my triathlon training partner in Texas, and the one I am going back to do one of the triathlons with this summer.  

Tomorrow we hit the slopes.

I thought I would relish the quiet, but it is too quiet.  I'm sure this will be just the right amount to recharge, have fun, and then be ready to take on Spring Break by the horns.

Wish me luck!

Not everything is raindrops on roses

Junior likes to lock himself in the dog cage in order to poop in his pants.

Abs was suspended from school for one day--tomorrow.  I kind of hope it is a snow day since they didn't suspend the other kiddo.

Em has decided that we are forcing family togetherness on her too much because she had to ride bikes yesterday and go swimming today.

On our way to the pool, I noticed that Abs was wearing pink cowboy boots, Em had on a blue cape, Junior was wearing his old flight hat with the propeller (he calls it his "fly away hat"), Gunner was in shorts (it was snowing), and then there is normal me.  At least we are interesting.

But....

I keep reminding myself that eventually these days will be distant memories, and it won't really matter what happened.

Some days that seems more plausible than others.

In the meantime, I am going skiing for two days with a great friend, and I can't wait!  The hotel is booked, the skis are rented, and Gunner is in charge of the kids.  Wish him luck!

Saturday

It was absolutely beautiful in Colorado today. We had plans to hit the gym and then a health fair, but like everything else, plans changed.


We decided on another bike ride, heading south on the Santa Fe Trail this time. We loaded up the 3 bikes, the hitchhiker, the trailer, 5 people, and of course, Sammy the dog.


Junior was king of the hill.

The flag came into play later when we took a walk and it was his "horse". What good is a horse if you can't say "hiddyup"?


Em did not want to go at all. She had all kinds of excuses—I don't want to sweat. I don't want fresh air. I don't like to be outside. I don't like to exercise. It's too cold. The list went on and on and on and on.


We went anyway, much to her dismay.

The south part of the trail was beautiful, and a lot more of it was paved. They had a sign up that said that they want to eventually extend the trail from New Mexico to Wyoming. I'll take that trip, but without the extra 100 pounds I was packing there with Abs attached to me.


We finally reached a turning point, and headed home. Abs and I took off, with Em close behind. We got back to the park and realized that a train had parked and blocked the exit. We waited for Gunner, Sammy and Junior….and waited….and waited. Finally I started running back on the trail to find them.


There was Gunner, walking, holding Sammy's leash as he was walking, followed by Junior who was walking. Gunner was still managing to push the bike followed by the trailer. He was quite a sight, but I didn't have the heart to take a picture of him.


We took the kids home, fed them, and got them situated watching tv and Gunner took me to a mountain bike trail up the road from our house. It's going to be great once it is dry, but it was a little too wet to fly through today.


Gunner fired up the grill and we had ribs, pea/corn salad, beans, and cornbread for dinner.


We got Hurt Locker and it took less than a minute for Gunner to start pointing out inconsistencies.

This will be fun…

There are a few of my favorite (Army) things...

10.  Black Silks--perfect for keeping me warm when I go skiing next week.

9.  Army slang--hooah, roger, over, out, at ease--the list is endless, and I love them all, especially when coming out of the mouth of my handsome Soldier.

8.  DFAC--where else can you eat so inexpensively?  I remember when we got to Germany and got stuck at 21st replacement, I couldn't wait to go there three times a day.  My husband thinks I am insane.

7.  Tricare--While there are a lot of unfortunate stories out there, and they didn't cover Ab's visual therapy, they have covered everything else that we have tried, and without question.  After three kids, I had nothing but great medical treatment, and only one cost me $20, the other two were free!

6.  PT & cadence--If you don't like the sight of men running in formation and singing cadence or marching and calling cadence, then there must be something wrong with you.  Ummm....I had to ask Gunner which one was which.

5.  I'm sure there's a technical name for this shirt, but Gunner and his buddies call it the "spidey shirt".

4.  Reunions--Deployments aren't ideal, and after 4 years of them, I can assure you, that a reunion is better than anything else.  :)

3.  Full battle rattle--It may be heavy for him, it may be a little uncomfortable, but the sight of Gunner in his full battle rattle.......love it!

2.  Brown towels--You don't like them?  They are the perfect size for my hair!  I love that they aren't so heavy, so I don't feel like my neck is breaking under the weight of the towel and my soaking wet curly hair.  They dry quickly, so are great for the pool, and they fit Junior perfectly after his bath, but don't soak up all the water off of him, which is not good for his eczema.  (You want to lube him up when he is wet, to lock in the moisture)  I heart brown Army towels.

1.  The OLD Army PT shirts--I love, love, love them.  They are soft, warm, comfortable, and remind me of a time when Gunner wasn't deployed all the time.  I wear them to workout in, sleep in, hang out in.  Forget what Oprah says, these ARE the perfect tee.

Of course there are always the ideals that Gunner holds true such as pride, patriotism, honesty, integrity, brotherhood, etc., but most of all I love that he has dedicated his life to not only his family, but to ideas that most people can't even fathom.

But I really love those brown towels.

Cutting Losses

I'm the type of person that takes on a lot, and puts up with a lot.

I'm tired of doing it.

I'm simplifying.  My life.  My house.  My environment.  Everything.

I won't be investing time in any projects that are not going anywhere, friendships that are one-sided, and even cooking meals that I know my children won't eat.

I will quit worrying about everyone else and focus on what is most important.

Lack of time=lack of desire.

I will make the time for those things that are most important to me, and will without regret, release those things that I can't be bothered with or change.

I'll go to bed earlier, get up earlier, and hopefully be able to hit the 5 am spin class.

I'll purge my house of everything that doesn't make me smile or serve a purpose, regardless of who gave it to me.  (Don't worry mom, I won't get rid of anything you gave me)

I'll be prepared for this deployment.

I plan on finishing all these books I have accumulated and then passing them on.

I will laugh more, smile more, and worry less.

Remind me of all of this in a week.

Sunny Days in Colorado

They say that March is the snowiest month in Colorado.  So far this hasn't proven true, but I can't say I wouldn't mind a little snow!

I had an hour of biking on my training plan today, so we decided to make it a family outing.

That of course sounds easier than it really is.  We decided to do the Santa Fe trail, and we decided to drive to it, to alleviate the whining from a certain preteen who doesn't like to sweat.

Gunner pumped tires and loaded up the car while I prepared children and water bottles.  The five of us hopped in the car along with Sammy the dog.

We arrived at the park down the street and started to unpack everything--3 bikes, 1 bike trailer, 1 hitchhiker, 5 people and 1 furry dog.

This cute Soldier hooked everything up and didn't even flinch when I mentioned a family bike ride.

We had to stop for a potty break.

We rode 8 miles round trip.  With a view like this....

and no matter what you hear, the hitchhiker, while convenient is not easy when you are in the front!  If Abs looks anywhere but forwards, I have to fight to keep the bike up.  We fell once....in the mud....but managed to remain somewhat clean.  Abs and I had a good time, so we rode all the way home too, for a total of 10 miles.

By the time we got home, Gunner had time to air up my road bike and I hit the road for 5 miles of hills.

We ran some errands after, and stumbled on this piece of work.

Do you think they are Bronco fans?  They had Bronco seat cushions, spare tire cover, and every imaginable Bronco car accessory known to man.

Tomorrow is my day off of training, but we'll see!

What are your best tips?

I posted this on fb and got lots of great answers, but now I am asking for your help!  What are your best tips for going to Disney World?

Today

Abs gave us a run for our money.  I really miss her wearing a school uniform.

Today she went to school like this.

This was much more appropriate than when she came home with a pair of her tights on her head the previous day, like gigantic bunny ears.  Clothing that covers her body parts is not a battle I choose to fight.

It was pajama day at Junior's school, and he fell in love with these fireman pajamas from Heidi.  So much so that he insisted he wear them to dinner.  He cried when we made him put on clean pajamas for bedtime.  We're such mean parents!

Have you ever read the book Caps for Sale?  He loves that book.  He was wearing Gunner's beret and trying to act out the story.

We went for pizza, and we were there over an hour after we ordered.  Gunner went to check on the meal and they said it was coming up.  The first pizza came up, was brought out, and delivered to the table next to us.  They delivered us the second pizza at least.  I told the waiter that I wanted a refund on the pizza, and he said he would have to talk to the manager.  I asked him to just send the manager out.

I explained the situation--waiting for the pizza over an hour, our neighbors eating our pizza, and only getting one pizza.  He apologized and said he would take care of it and get us our pizza.  He brought us the missing pizza, took care of our entire bill, which was more than what we asked for, I just wanted the pizza we never got, taken off.  Our neighbors also got the pizza that they ordered, so they thanked us and smiled with mouths full of my pizza as we sat starving.

After enduring painful blisters while running, I went and got fitted for new running shoes this morning.  My gait is fine, etc., but apparently when you move to a higher altitude, they told me that everything expands.  I thought my jeans were getting tight!  I tried on several pairs of shoes and if you saw a curly headed girl sprinting jogging around downtown, that was me.  I ended up with a pair of shoes that make it feel like I am running on air.

I came home, grabbed Sammy, and went for a two mile run.  Sammy could have continued, but it was too windy and cold for me!

Time for us to hit the sack, we have a full day of child wrangling coming up.

Hello, my name is ABW, and I am not organized--Deployment Ideas Part II

Most of my friends might call me a mess.  There's no rhyme or reason as to why I put anything anywhere.  While my house is clean (most of the time), I couldn't tell you where anything important is.

Enter Gunner.

My uber organized husband that loves me dearly.  After he went to Iraq the first time and I had to have my mom sign for housing because I couldn't find my POA--thank goodness he knows me and gave her a POA--he decided he needed to organize me.

He made me an Everything Book.

It was the best thing he could have done.

He made categories, printed out nice little labels, and spent weeks scouring the house for every important piece of paper.  There's a section on the car--titles, insurance copies, dealer information.  One on each child--shot records, passports, birth certificates, daycare information, school information.  There's a deployment section with POA's, orders, rear d information.  He included banking, credit cards, cable, job information, etc.  You name it, it's in this gigantic white binder--housing, camps, contact numbers, addresses, etc.

It's time to start updating it now that we are in a new location.  He'll sort through the piles of mail I don't open and start putting in all the vital information that I might need while he is gone, and if I ever have to go anywhere important, this book goes with me.  (He's also learned and gets more than one POA for me, just in case!)

I won't have to search for anything.

I'm thinking this time he might want to include ideas of things to do or maybe races I can train for?  Maybe a list of books for the kids to read that he loved at their respective ages.

Do you have one of these books?  What do you put in it that I am missing?

Give me your best!

So Gunner leaves in less than 5 months, and I am trying to come up with new ideas and things to do for both the kids and myself.  I usually go 125 mph the entire deployment, but since each deployment is different, this one might not be that way?  (knock on wood)

What was the best thing you did for the kids while your Soldier was deployed?

What helped you the most?

What was the one thing you wish you had prepared for before they left?

Any good books that you recommend?  

What's the one thing that helped you the most?

Last deployment I counted trash days in order to make the keeping of time bearable.  Now, because of bears, we have a dumpster with locks.  

What can I count now?  Number of times I have to unstop the toilet?  How many nights Abbie doesn't sleep?

I need some fresh input on how to survive our 5th year long deployment.  Hmmm....maybe I should count weeks until retirement?  

Booked

We are expecting snow today!  While everyone else gets piles of snow and it never melts, one of the things I love about this place, is that besides a few piles, it melts within a couple of days!

Yesterday we planned, researched, priced, routed, and spent hours upon hours planning the perfect vacation.

Then I said forget it, and booked another vacation to the other side of the country in less than an hour.  I can't wait!

Friday morning, I won 4 tickets to see The Magic Flute!  Em and I asked her friend and her mom if they wanted to go, and they jumped at the chance.  We had a great time!!!  The show was hilarious!  It was nice to get dressed up and get out and do something different.  There's a Broadway show I really want to see in Denver, so maybe that is next on our list!

Em attended a tennis sports camp at the Academy yesterday, and has fallen in love with the game.  I love that they have these camps here for the kids to be able to try out different sports, attend a game, and they even feed them and give them a shirt!

I'm trying to decide what to do with Sammy while we are gone.  The military gave free subscriptions to sittercity.com, and they have a pet section, but I don't want someone to stop by once or twice and feed him, he would go crazy!  I also hate the thought of someone I don't know coming by.  There is one place that comes highly recommended, so we might try him out in doggy daycare there and see how he does.  I never thought I would be one of those people that took their dog to daycare!

Today is biking day at the gym, core, and arms, followed up by my swim for the day.  Happy Sunday!

On a roll....

The Army has a habit of giving block leave dates and then changing them as they see fit.

Deployment date got moved up, so block leave got cut short.

In the past, they always have changed it a day or two and with no tickets or reservations, you are out of luck.  That gave me the kick in the pants I needed to book our entire vacation this week.  I have a schedule of events, now I just need to find the best deals and make it happen....by Sunday.

I told the kids where we were going and they were excited.  I then told them before that we were going to Texas, and they came unglued.  They don't know why anyone would want to live anywhere else but Texas.

Since I planned the Texas trip, I was able to commit to two triathlons.  One with a friend, and one with my sister!  I can't wait, but I have a lot of training to do before then.

I won four tickets to see The Magic Flute tonight!  Should be a lot of fun, and this will be the first opera that I have seen auf Deutsch.  Em is excited about it, and my friend is coming down to go with us.  I'm still working on convincing Abs that it will be fun.  She loves opera, but it also might be too late of a night for her.

Yesterday was a 4 mile run and an hour advanced step class.  I need to squeeze in a workout today too.

Em is headed off to a tennis clinic at the Academy.

I registered Abs for her first week of camp!  She's excited, and I am terrified.  This is the same girl that got kicked out of VBS.

Gunner hasn't been home a month yet, but he leaves again in less than 5 months.  Time to get busy getting everything together!  More on that later...

I did it...

I registered for my first triathlon in Colorado.  There are two I want to do in Texas before then, but I am working out the logistics on that.

I'm almost ready to take the plunge and register for the half marathon and marathon.

Tuesday was 18 miles on the bike and working my core.  Yesterday was a 1 mile sprint, an hour of an ultra conditioning class that wanted to make me barf, and then another two mile run, followed by weights and core.  I'm back on the bandwagon and finally over that horrible cold that Gunner gave me.  Today I am sore.

Gunner graduated yesterday.  Woohoo!  I'm so proud of him!

I'm apparently too efficient for my volunteer job.  Crazy.  I do enjoy getting off early though!

Abs came home from school, and apparently her marker slipped during art class.

Seriously?  I'm hoping it was washable markers.

Junior drew blood today at daycare.  He had been doing so well, so no idea what really set this off other than "they ruined my ice cream factory".  How do you get them to stop biting?  He had a good day other than that.

Still no door for Em.  She came home smiling this afternoon, and when I asked if it was about a boy, she just started giggling.  Shoot me now.

Tomorrow is a step class and hopefully a run, core, and weights.

I have a present to mail off to a certain blogger who makes me laugh every day.  I just hope they fit her kiddos.  :)

BDU's, DCU's, ACU's, FRCU's, Oh My!

I never thought that they would change the uniforms as much as they have while Gunner has been active duty.

Of course I never thought he would see a war, or that he would deploy as much as he had.  I guess I lived in denial?

First deployment to Iraq.....BDU's.  He was so young!

When Gunner first went to Iraq, they didn't have all the rules they do about getting involved with the animals.  He loved this puppy.

The second deployment it was DCU's. (This picture was from the first deployment when they could wear both uniforms) I still think that they are kind of pink.

Then there was the third deployment to Iraq.  ACU's.  I like them better than the DCU's, but not as much as BDU's.

This picture was from his homecoming from the third deployment.  So much for getting a nice picture of the two of us with crazy kids like this!

In keeping with the Army's tradition of changing the uniform every time Gunner deploys, they have come out with the FRCU's.  As if our house didn't have enough abandoned uniforms littering the basement, we'll be able to add to the collection.  All of Gunner's uniforms and TA50 fit in the front closet of our one bedroom apartment when we got married, not anymore!

Oh, and just for the record Army, I miss my husband shining his boots every morning. Can you go back to the old boots?

Catching Up

Sometimes, okay a lot of times, I let the little things slide.  I bought a picture frame over a year ago, displayed it proudly on my schrank, and finally put some pictures in it.  It took no time at all, so I have no idea why I didn't do it earlier.  I am the queen of procrastination.

I think I want to take a framing class so I can frame all the other stuff that I have.  I took Thai cooking before, but now I want to take another type.  Maybe I am just thinking of all the things that I want to do because deployment is looming and I have no idea how to occupy my time this deployment.  I've always had a ton of stuff going on, but right now I have nothing planned.

Yesterday Em went to a workshop at the AF Academy with Girl Scouts.  It was a sports clinic, and then the families could join them for the basketball game afterwards.

Junior was so excited, he couldn't stop moving and waving his flag.

He loved the falcon.

Abs was Abs.  After it was all over, she loved it, had a great time, and wanted to go again.  Go figure.

Em was over with her troop so we didn't see much of her.

Gunner made cinnamon rolls last night from The Pioneer Woman.  They are unbelievable.  Tomorrow I must run, and run far.

Yesterday we woke up to find that Abs had eaten 1/2 quart of ice cream and 13 candy bars.

We hid the candy bars, but can't hide ice cream.

This morning she polished off the remaining quart of ice cream.

We won't be buying ice cream again.