The Ocean Between Us GIVEAWAY!! $50 Gift Card!

Want to win a copy of this book AND a $50 VISA gift card?????

I was recently sent a copy of The Ocean Between Us by Susan Wiggs to review for my blog via Big Honcho Media.

The book is a story about a Navy family and how they deal with deployments and the changes in the families over a period of time.  If you know me, you know that I LOVE any books about military life, and this one was no exception!

The Ocean Between Us is a powerful novel of love, duty and second chances.  Susan Wiggs deftly portrays the struggles and triumphs of an American family facing life’s greatest challenges as they come to understand the timeless lessons of the heart.

 

Grace Bennett has it all—three wonderful children, a devoted husband and a life of adventure and travel. But beneath the calm demeanor of an efficient Navy wife, Grace stands at the crossroads—of her life and her marriage. When she looks in the mirror, she doesn’t recognize the person staring back. She’s tired, out of shape and feeling invisible. Somewhere between her husband’s demanding career, raising a family, the constant uprooting and the Navy’s routine, Grace has lost her sense of self. Something needs to change. She needs to change.

 

Steve Bennett simply can’t understand the unraveling of his wife’s heart. He thought he was proving his love to her with each promotion. He believed he could still be a good husband and father while juggling an officer’s myriad duties. But he now realizes they were seeing their marriage through different eyes. And when a nearly forgotten secret resurfaces, Grace’s discontent comes into sharp focus. Now Steve must try to make their marriage right again before his next deployment. For himself. For his family. For the twenty years of shared history that have always anchored him to home.

 

Then duty calls.

 

Separated by an ocean of regrets and longing, Grace and Steve take a hard look at their faltering marriage, the love that brought them together and the family they cherish. They confront the choices they’ve made, the sacrifices they’ve rationalized and the dreams they’ve set adrift. 

 

But just as they come to grips with their marriage, the unthinkable happens—a disaster aboard Steve’s aircraft carrier shatters Grace’s world. As she gathers her children around her and waits for news, she faces a Navy wife’s worst nightmare—the cold truth that life’s biggest chances can slip away while you’re looking for guarantees.  (Synopsis provided to me)

I was provided a copy of this book for this review, but you too can win a copy and earn a $50 VISA gift card!  Who doesn't need a little pampering, especially as a military spouse?????

The Ocean Between Us

BOOK RELEASE + GIVEAWAY

One (1) Grand Prize winner receives:

• Get a little renewal in your life with a $50 VISA gift card
• Copy of The Ocean Between Us

Two (2) additional winners will receive a copy of the book!

In order to qualify:

    1 entry--leave a comment and tell me what your favorite aspect of military life is.

    1 entry--follow me on twitter  @ABW26 and leave a comment that you did

    1 entry--become a follower, of if you already are, then leave a comment!

I will  hold the drawing in two weeks on May 6th. 

Good luck!

Deployment Question #9--How much do you share?

How much do you share with your husband about things that go wrong at home and he's deployed?


How much does he share about what goes on "over there"?


Do you wish he shared more or less?  Does it help you to have more to worry about?


I hear a lot after the fact, when Gunner returns home, but not a lot while he is gone.  Each time his vehicle has hit an IED, he has told me, because he doesn't want me to hear it from someone else.  


I do tell Gunner what is going on at home too.  He knows I like to vent, and he also knows that I will take care of it, so he doesn't ever worry about it.  I'll let him know when he needs to worry! 


I know there are some people that hide a lot from the spouses, and others that share way too much.


How do you handle it all?

Block Leave Plans

Sometimes I have ideas.  Sometimes they are really good, but other times, after they come out of my mouth, I wonder what the heck I was thinking.

Today was one of those times.

Me:  Wouldn't it be fun to go to Utah?
Gunner:  That's a GREAT idea.
Me:  We could camp I guess.
Gunner:  Even better, I love camping.  Think of all the fun the kids will have.
Me:  Okay, I'll try to find a place.

Later after I had exhausted my research, I found two campsites located at the same place.

There are great reviews.

It's a beautiful location.

The catch???  There are no showers!!!

Gunner assures me that he will arrange a way for me to shower.

I told the kids that I had big and exciting news.

The girls started jumping around--"Are you having another baby???"

I was speechless, no way, no how.

When I finally gave them the "good news", Abs was jumping up and down.  Em, not so much.

Em:  How is this going to be fun?  Are we borrowing Oma and Opa's RV?
Me:  No, we're going to stay in tents!
Em:  Seriously?
Me:  Yep, and we don't have to shower the entire time we are gone!
Abs:  This is a dream come true.
Em:  You would think being dirty was a lot of fun.  Some of us have standards.

I could feel the love between them....almost...not really.  I did tell Em should could share a tent with her sister since we will have to find another tent or something as we only have a two person tent.

We will get back just in time to wash clothes, shower, and head out of town to my 4th triathlon of the season.  From there it's straight to Florida, and then back in time for block leave to end.

Whew.  A whirlwind.  Memories in the making.  Hopefully enough memories to last us for a year apart, and pictures to tell the stories.

Deployment Question #8--Does he want to go?

After Gunner's first deployment to Iraq, he received orders for Korea.  No one ever gets orders for Korea deleted, except Gunner.


Off he went on his second deployment to Iraq.


After that was over, he received orders for recruiting.  NO ONE gets orders for recruiting deleted.  The Friday before he was supposed to be there, they cancelled his orders.


Off he went on his third deployment to Iraq.


We PCSed to Colorado.  


When Gunner had orders for Korea and recruiting, he wasn't too excited.  It's not that he was dying to deploy, but then again he had spent years and years training for this job, so he also felt a sense of responsibility.  


I wasn't excited about him deploying, but I also felt that if he didn't go, he wouldn't be using his skills and his training as well, and I know he loves his job.


On the other hand, I know people that do anything and everything to get out of deployments. (NOTE:  NOT EVERYONE, there are some people that are just not deployable or in a unit that is going, it's the luck of the Irish.) Do you think people should have to complete at least one tour?  


So my question of the day, does he like deploying for the Army aspect of it?  (Let's be honest, most of them don't like to be away from their families, so that's always a reason to not want to go)  Does he feel a sense of obligation to deploy?  If he does have a sense of obligation or commitment to the task at hand, does that bother you?


P.S.  If you have any questions you want to see posted please email me at armybloggerwife AT gmail DOT com.  

Deployment Question #7--Do you stay or do you go?

A friend of mine from high school is married to a guy in the Air Force and he is about to leave for two months of training and then deploy to Iraq for a total of 12 months.  She has three kids, 3, 5, and 7.  Today on facebook she wrote this:

MILITARY friends who have been thru this - lots of questions now as to whether or not we stay where we are or move closer to family - IF you've been thru a lengthy deployment like this, please tell me what did you do? stay or move? and what were the deciding factors for you? SOOO much info to try and process quickly - all in hopes i make the right decision for my kids!

What do you do?  If you went home, was it worth it?  Did you wish you had stayed?  How did your families help you?  Did they ever become overbearing?  

If your spouse deployed for a shorter period of time, did that influence your decision?  

Would you move home again?

I didn't move home from Germany, but at the time we had no kiddos.  (Don't worry, that changed 9 months after he returned, lol)

At Hood, we were close to family, we were established, and I'd have nowhere to go.  

I have thought about it since we got to Colorado since I know absolutely no one!  I could get a teaching job in Texas, rent a house for a year, and be near family.

I quickly let that idea go to the wayside because my family and Gunner's family will visit.  We will have tons of things to explore in this area since we just moved here, and the thought of moving/storing etc., was overwhelming.  Not to mention by the time he leaves we will have been here a year and we've established doctors, schools, and all that good stuff.

Please share what did or didn't work for you!

I apologize in advance

I am going to have to start sleeping with all phones at night.

I store all my important numbers in there.  Gunner, my mom, my friend Dave, Em has some numbers saved, and a few other random people.

Be thankful now that your number is not in there.

Why?

Abs apparently has started calling people at 6 am.  Yesterday it was just Grandma.  Today it was Grandma, Daddy, two of Em's friends, and who knows who else.  Those are just the ones that reported in.

Em said at the rate she comes up with new ways to amuse herself, we will have to lock everything in the basement and live like we are in prison.

.....I slept with 4 phones on my pillow last night and spared everyone their morning phone call.

Now if I can remember to do that every day.

I went to ride my bike this morning, and I pulled it off the trainer.  I tried to pump up the tires, and for some reason couldn't get the pump to work and I was left with two flat tires.  I finally got it straightened out and got the tires pumped up.  I took my bike outside and went to ride it, and it wouldn't change gears.

Ugh.  I flipped it over, made my attempt to work on it and look like I know what I was doing.  I ended up dragging it to the bike store where I found out I had a broken derailleur.  It doesn't cost much to fix--$30--but they have to order the part, which could take weeks.

Did I mention I have a triathlon in less than two weeks?  They are going to do their best, otherwise I will be traveling up the HUGE hill on my heavy mountain bike.  It can be done, but it will be harder, plus there's the whole training issue.....I'm hitting spin tomorrow at 7.

Gunner called (at a convenient time) and said that there was a virus running around the camp.  Everyone is throwing up and getting the runs.  He is running around with a bottle of sanitizer trying to stay healthy.  I hope he can do it, because nothing has to be worse than being out in the field and being sick.  Of course everyone has to still work, regardless.  I told him he better start the sick diet.

Busy weekend planned.....let's hope Abs doesn't wake you up early...

Deployment Question #6--Is there a wrong time to call?

Gunner is still at JRTC for the month, and he is working the night shift.  He calls every night before he goes to work.

Doesn't that sound great?

Well, it doesn't work.  Before I sound selfish, and all that crap, I have three kids that need to be fed and watered, bathed, read stories to, and cuddled before bed.  He's gone for a month.  A month!  I know, I know, I read some blogs where they whine about one night apart being too many, but seriously, it's a month!  We've survived 4 years apart, so one month, while not ideal, is not the end of the world after being married over 15 1/2 years.

I tried to talk to him when he called, let him talk to the kids, and then he could listen to me make sure Abs wasn't flooding the bathroom, Junior wasn't off in the dog cage pooping, that dinner isn't burning, that Em isn't using all the hot water, no one is locking themselves in the bathroom, or cramming things down the heater....the list goes on....

If it was once in a while, I could handle it, but every night at the same time.....I had to say something.

Gunner laughed.  He understood.  He said he'll call me tomorrow morning after everyone is fed, dressed, and I am on the way to the gym.   He'll call a couple times a week to talk to the kids, at night.

This works for us.

One of my favorite readers sent me a message and asked me this:

Is it better to talk everyday and have nothing to say or talk every couple of days/to a week and then have a little bit more to talk about? I *like* in theory that he can call each day, but sometimes i just really need to get things done so I take the convo for granted. He uses his magicjack on his computer so it is always there for him to use. I don't want to sound ungrateful but....

I understand that.  We've never been in a position where he could call every day though while he is deployed and with Abs around, I always have something to tell him like this, this, this, and this.

When Gunner went to Bosnia, he called all the time, in the middle of the night, and we chit chatted for hours.  We had no children though.  (I guess he could call in the middle of the night and talk to Abs since she is up anyway.)

So my question is, is there a wrong time to call?  If he calls at an inconvenient time, do you say something or drop everything and talk?  I'm always excited to hear from Gunner, no matter when he calls, and we will chit chat for a bit and then I will tell him a good time to call back.  He can tell when I am stressed and the kids are our first priority across the board.  He also knows that chatting via yahoo isn't happening during dinner time and the witching hour while I try to get everyone in bed.

Let me know how you handle calls while your Soldier is TDY or deployed.  How often do they call?  How do you handle when others get more phone calls than you?  Do you keep a running list of things to talk about?      Give me your best!

Deployment Question #5--Staying In?

Gunner loves the Army.  He hates the stupidity of some upper level leaders, but he likes his job.  


When Gunner deployed to Bosnia, he left 2 days before our first anniversary.  After that, besides field time and an occasional TDY, he was home until 2003.  


Obviously at this point, he has been in long enough that he is entertaining the idea of retiring in the next 5 years or so.  


I would have to say that one of the duty stations that offered us the most time together, was Fort Lewis.  When he reenlisted, they even gave him 6 months of PT only, so that he could go to school fulltime.  That would never happen today!  Germany--he was gone ALL THE TIME.  Of course Hood started us on deployments, enough said.


Sometimes I wonder what we would have done if he had joined in 2003 or shortly before and we had 20 years left of this deployment schedule--one year home, one year gone.  Would I have encouraged him to stay?  Would he have wanted to stay?


For those of you entering the military life, do you want your Soldier to stay in or are you ready for him to finish his enlistment?  For those that are on the tail end of a military career, how would the deployment schedule of today affected your outlook as a new military wife?


On a side note, what's your best reenlistment story?  Gunner has reenlisted in the middle of a creek, on a wire cable over a rushing river, by the Tigres river, in Iraqi in one of those old structures whose name I can't recall, in front of his company and a news crew in Germany, and a few other places. I love hearing the unusual places that people reenlist!

Another Exciting Day?

I got all three kiddos off to school this morning and managed to spend my morning on the bike.

I watched a movie, did dishes, was domestic for a short bit.

Junior's school called and Junior pooped in his pants, complicated by the fact that they went to clean him off with a bottle of water that was actually bleach water labeled as water.  No harm done.  They were all over it like white on rice.

Abs got written up for telling the people at her table to "Shut the h*$# up".

Em was good, very good.  I originally wanted to stop at 1.  Everyone assured me that two would be fun.  Loads of fun.  I can say that it has been an adventure, but I'm not so sure about fun!

Abs dropped a penny down her heating vent.  I went to help rescue it.  In return I found out that she believes the heating vent was her personal trash can.  Seriously?  Yes, seriously.  I made her clean it out and got a Walmart bag full of trash.  I don't even want to think of what could have happened.

Please tell me how someone so smart can have no common sense.

LENS finishes up this week except for two kiddos.  Can you guess who is one of them?  They will be moving it to the morning at least, so maybe our evenings will be free again.  That would be a welcome relief.

I was reading online today about a lady who was self-employed and had a $2500 mortgage payment.  She was furious that Obama and the bank weren't bailing her out.  Who would get a house with a mortgage that large if you are self-employed and not sure what will happen?

I love animals and agree that you should be punished for crimes against them.  Can someone explain to me why people get longer prison sentences for hurting an animal than they do for hurting a child?

I changed morning shows this morning, just to check out a new one for our local news and Sammy has spent the morning growling at the tv.  I guess he's just voicing his opinion?

Deployment Question #4--Saying Goodbye

This might be a touchy, sad, subject, but I want to know what y'all do when you say goodbye.

Do you take your kids?  Stick around the entire time?  Drop him off?

The second time Gunner deployed to Iraq, was probably the easiest send-off.  I was 12 weeks pregnant, and we took the kids to school after he said goodbye to them, and I sat there and waited with him.  When it came time for the guys to march off, there were wives wailing, throwing themselves on the ground, screaming, chasing after them in formation, and sobbing.  This of course made all the kids even more upset, and I was relieved that I was there alone and didn't have to put my kids through it.

When the buses pulled off, I waved to him, he smiled, waved, and I turned and left.  I was not one of the many families that was chasing after the bus and wailing.  I was so embarrassed for them and their Soldier (I am easily embarrassed for people, probably way too much!).  I remember one wife who wanted to take one more picture of her daughter with her husband and she told her daughter to jump into formation, and she was furious when he wouldn't stop and he barked at her.  Not a very happy send-off for them.  

The last time Gunner deployed, we took the kids with us, his parents and my mom.  Of course that lead to a few more tries before they actually left, and the last time it was just Gunner, me, and my mom.  We took a few pictures, and we left before they chased families away.  Gunner said it wasn't pretty by the end.

Maybe I just can't take the drama of it all.  Sure I miss him, but it doesn't any of us a bit of good to act like a fool. Maybe acting like that works for you and your family, heck, tell me I'm wrong, but I still won't be joining in with the hoopla. 

This time, without family close by, we will have to take all the kiddos.  Abs will not handle it well, and Junior feeds off of Ab's moods.  (Let me tell you, that is LOADS of fun.)  

I'm thinking we might go do something special after we drop him off.  Maybe the Airplane Restaurant and we can hope for better results?  Any suggestions?  

Ramblings

I was hoping to make it to the pool today with the kiddos, but it looks like that will happen tomorrow.  Trying to fit in my run/bike/swim on the weekends is proving to be difficult with Gunner gone.  I did it while I was teaching, but who the heck knows how!

I'm on day 4 of p90x today, so I think it's yoga tonight and then I hope it's not too late and I can get on the trainer.  I currently have the kids eating english muffin pizza for dinners.  It has to be healthier than regular pizza, which we had last night!

Abs had two gift cards from visual therapy (one for Target and one for Walmart) so we ventured out today to look around.  She had those things spent in no time.  I did find a few things on clearance at Target, and at Walmart.  They had Danskin warm system technology long sleeve shirts for $1.  I'm thinking skiing next year or running or biking....I picked up a few, but would have bought more if they were in my size.  I scored shorts for Abs that were $3, and very bright and colorful to match her personality.  Em found a few tshirts for $1.

Abs painted her nails tonight.

All on her own.

It all washed off in the tub.

So she redid it.

She's happy with it, so that makes me happy with it.

....Guess I forgot that I was trying to blog.  Abs was up half the night, so today is going to be a long and tiring day.

Deployment Question #3--FRG's Again

Thanks for all the comments on the FRG's, I think I am going to check it out, if for nothing else, to say that I gave it another try.

Just a quick note on why I don't care a lot for them--when I was 7 months pregnant and Gunner was deployed to Iraq, my dad passed away.  I sent a Red Cross message, but he never got it.  I asked the FRG leader (who was a flake) to follow up on it, and she said I was out of luck because she was too busy.  I was such a mess at the time, trying to take care of two other broken hearted children, that I just walked away from it all.  Obviously Gunner called me, and I let him know, and looking back I could have called the Red Cross, but I can't say that I was thinking too clearly at that point.  All I wanted was a little help.  Shoot, it's not like I was asking them to mow my grass, I did that at 35 weeks pregnant and sent Em to bed with a phone since I could barely walk afterwards and I was worried I would need her to call 911.

Anyway....

The new question is once again courtesy of a friend that does go to FRG meetings.

One of the Soldier's parents donated a ton of exercise and sports equipment for the guys because they were in a remote location and had requested it.  This parent could not, however, afford to ship the stuff over there and asked for help from the FRG to pay for postage.  The FRG said yes, but there were three women that had a fit.

They said that the money was to be used on them and not on their husbands.  They didn't want money that was in the FRG to pay for anything to go over there to them.

It caused a huge ruckus and it ended with a private donor paying for all the equipment to get shipped over there.

Is the FRG allowed to pay for something like that?  (I know our first one they did)  Would you rather the money be spent on you or on your Soldier, or saved and used on a welcome home party?

Me personally, I say use it to make my husband's life better off over there, especially since now they want to take everything away.

Deployment Question #2 Update

I totally agreed with everyone's responses.

Here's the latest from the FRG front...

My friend wrote:

Due to "overwhelming responses" the BN cancelled the contest, lol. I wonder what else they will think of for us to do next!

I saw some of the women asking abut if the CO knew, etc, and yes they did in fact know because my husband asked me about it this morning. He said that we should pool our money together to get an "exotic dancer" for one of the lonely joe's over there, lol! He wondered if THAT would be put in the paper.

I can't wait to hear the next idea they come up with to make money.  


How do your FRG's make money?  Ours have always been non-existent, so I don't have any suggestions.  


Do you "do" FRG's?  What do you think makes them successful?


What's your best or worst FRG story?  Maybe if there are enough good stories, I'll venture out to the dark side and check ours out, as I hear that there is another new leader.  

Practice Run

We have survived 4 year long deployments, so this summer it will be the start of the 5th.  I know Gunner is at JRTC, but I guess someone thinks we need a practice run on preparing for all the things that go wrong during the first few days of deployments.

When Abs got home and gave me her ISS paperwork to let me know about the bite, I called the assistant principal.  She relayed their conversation to me:

Assistant Principal:  Why did you bite so-and-so?
Abs:  She was invading my personal space.
AP:  Why didn't you ask ask her to get her hand off your desk?
Abs:  I did.
AP:  What could you have done instead of biting her?
Abs:  Pushing her would have worked too.
AP:  Not exactly what I had in mind.

We picked up Junior from school, he had a rough day, and was not happy that I did not have pizza to serve him in the car.  He was tired from not napping, and he fell asleep on the way to get Em.  Em stayed after school to attend a play as part of an interest project for Girl Scouts--Oklahoma.

We get home and Abs has a major meltdown.  Take whatever your kid does and multiply it by 100.  It was horrible.  It was awful.  It was miserable.  I dealt with Abs while Em kept an eye on Junior and microwaved him dinner.  Thank goodness for Em.

I get everyone settled into bed, and then I hear all the sirens.  Not one, not two, not even three, but we had our street blocked off and over 15 fire trucks and emergency rescue trucks on our circle.  Why?  Brush fire behind our house.  An acre and a half burned, but the fire guy said we were lucky because the high winds we have had for the last several days were blowing it away from the houses.  It was about 100 yards, and they had it under control and were going to babysit it all night since they had it under control and another fire department was with them.

No worries, they weren't there this morning, because we woke up to two inches of snow and school closed.  It's been snowing all morning.  I hit the doctor for that dreaded exam, and she wants me to do the glucose test tomorrow.  I thought I was done with all of that after I was done having babies.  This would definitely explain a lot of physical problems that I have, and she has me starting a new medication anyway.

So, barring anything else, we are off to a rocky start, but that's how all field problems, TDY's, and deployments start, so I am just getting into practice so I'll be ready to go this summer.

Oh, and I completed Day 1 of P90X, and I totally sucked.  I was going to ride the hill today, but will instead ride the trainer tonight after I get the kids in bed due to the snow.  What usually goes wrong for you the first few days after your Soldier leaves?

Deployment Question of the Week--What do you think?

You're going to love this one.....are you ready??????


I got an email from a friend at another post, and her FRG is.....I can't even believe it....here's what she said.

So tell me what you think about this: our FRG wants to hold a contest. whichever lady (or family) sends in the most money over the length of the deployment, will (at the welcome home ceremony) get their soldier pulled up front and they will get to "greet" them first. AND have your picture taken for the paper. I think its an awful idea but what do you think about it? Would you send in all of your "extra" money to get a chance to greet him first in front of everyone?

Seriously???  I was totally shocked.

I want to hear what YOU have to say, and whether or not you would participate, and what you think should be said to the FRG.  If you would do it, how much would you pay for this "greet"?  Have at it!

A La Peanut Butter Sandwiches

Gunner is off to JRTC.  So far, so good.  


The girls got into the school I wanted them to go to, which is such a relief.  This means that Junior will be able to go there when he is ready to go to school.  


I found a cycling club to ride with, and I am excited about the first ride!  I think this will help improve my cycling abilities, so I can't wait to get out there and ride, meet some people that like to get outside.


I was on my run this morning, and it was so windy and cold, I cut it off at 4 miles.  I did go up and down the small incline by my house, and I think once the weather gets warmer that I might run Junior to school in the mornings....maybe, as it is all uphill on the way there.

P90X starts tomorrow.  I'll fit my run, bike and swim in during the morning and then the rest at night.  I'm hoping for the best!  Only 24 days till my first tri of the season!

The title of my blog today is what Junior's solution is to every problem.  If his sisters won't share, he says this, and then for some reason they feel obligated to share.  Go figure.  I'm going to try it on the next person that gets on my nerves and see if it makes them disappear or change their ways.

...Abs just got home from school, and she got ISS for biting someone.  Seriously?  I grounded her from the computer and the television, and she thanked me for giving her more time to focus on reading the encyclopedia Gunner's aunt gave her.  She won't make it to 10 I am afraid.

Happy Easter Morning!

Abs managed to hold off till everyone was up to break into the baskets this morning.  We tend to steer clear of a lot of candy, and Em got a basketball with sports stuff, Abs got some outdoor items, and Junior got a book, puzzle, and stuffed animal that coordinated.  (It's the teacher in me I guess!)

We had an egg hunt outdoors, and they were running like the wind!  (Junior needs a haircut, and had severe bed head)

Abs saw this picture and wondered what was up with her hair.  She was flying around the house.

Counting all the eggs to make sure one wasn't missed.  I'm a firm believer in hiding the eggs the day of and using plastic ones.

Gunner and I took off on the bikes to check out the route for the triathlon that we are doing.  Let's just say that the "hill" is ENORMOUS and TOUGH.  On the bright side we both made it up, so we just need to increase our speed.  Not sure how he is doing that from LA, but it'll be okay, he assures me.  I'll be hitting that "hill" every day in the hopes that I can increase my speed.

On another note, it's been 4 years, and I'm thinking of my dad today.  I miss him every day.

Exercise, Easter, Experiments

I read an article about how it is beneficial to you to work out in the morning.  I read it after I dragged Gunner to a spinning class at 7 am.  It was a wonderful class.  I loved it.  I don't think Gunner shared the same excitement.

We raced to Walmart and purchased baskets, eggs, rubber cement, and all that good Easter stuff.  It was a whirlwind race through the store.  

Sneaking everything in the house proved to be a little bit harder, but I got it all in and hidden.

I am the queen of the 5 minute showers, and shortly afterwards, we were cleaned up and the 5 of us headed over to the parade field for the egg hunt.

It was insanely windy today.  

Even the eggs were blowing away.

Junior started out collecting eggs until he saw the candy.

He ended up with more candy than he got for Halloween.

It was insane.  The girls age group were flying around the field and it was over within minutes.  There was supposed to be a carnival, but I think it was canceled because of the insane wind.

Em went to a chemistry event at the Academy with her troop and had a great time, and learned a lot.  We cleaned, baked, played, and built our garden.  With all of our free bricks, we have a HUGE area for a vegetable garden, and a nice sized area for a flowerbed out front.  Now we just need to get a ton of dirt, and the seeds are on order.  I gave the kids and area to grow their own veggies, and Abs went to a hole and started collecting dirt.  She took Junior with her and they dug and dug and dug, returning with a bag of dirt.  Unfortunately it didn't even make a dent in what we need, so that's on the agenda this week.

We dyed easter eggs using rubber cement.  Junior made a mess of it, but had a great time.

Em and Abs did a few, but were more interested in the dying portion.

The end results were.....

All in all, it was a great day with the family, but a long day.  Tomorrow I am sleeping in, and then Gunner and I are going to try the HUGE hill that is part of the triathlon in just weeks.  Wish us luck!

Oh JRTC, how I don't like you

The timing of JRTC though, couldn't have come at a worse time.  


Gunner and I signed up for a triathlon and it will be less than 12 hours  the day after he gets home.  I hope his flight isn't late!  


Abs got written up at school.  It's about something so ridiculous, and something that in every other classroom across the nation would have been handled in the room.  Granted, it is slightly bigger than when she got written up for having a cold and blowing her nose and using an entire box of kleenex, but still.  


I can't believe Easter is here already.  


We have plans tomorrow for an egg hunt and carnival.  Em has a chemistry day with Girl Scouts, and I signed up for a 7 am spin class so I can get my workout in before all the festivities start.  


Maybe we can ride the route for the triathlon too. 


With JRTC finally being here, it is reminding me that I need to get busy on preparing for deployment!  My initial to do lists were pushed aside with everything else that is going on, so it's time to create more--I wonder if there is an app for that?


Does anyone have any checklists that they have created that they want to share?


Oh, and earlier this week I was ready to book a one way ticket for myself on the crazy train, but more about that later!

Wordless Wednesday--Baby, Baby

Unfortunately my son knows every word to Justin Beiber's "Baby". Poor kiddo, the curse of having two big sisters.

Garden of the Gods

After picking up the bricks (they were free!) we needed in order to make a raised flowerbed and playing some basketball, we decided to go hike at Garden of the Gods.

Next time we are taking the bikes.

Yes, he had his shoes on the wrong feet. (He's holding his snack in his lap so it wouldn't fall)

It was absolutely beautiful, not a cloud in the sky.

And this my friends, is what my family looks like traipsing around the countryside. Junior decided he didn't want to ride, but wanted to hold on to the safety strap. Abs insisted on pushing the stroller and the two of them could not agree on a constant speed.

This is my family

Meet Gunner. He is easy-going, a hands on father, and loves the outdoors.

There's Abs. Always squinting. Wearing mismatched clothing and earrings, because she's decided that always matching doesn't release her creative side.

Em, Em, Em. She was irritated that I made her take sunglasses off. Twelve going on 23.

Junior--Always a ham. Learning to stand up for himself. Loves having his own camelbak.

Sammy the dog. He went crazy at every person and dog he saw. He either needs to be socialized more, or he was trying to tell the other dogs to save him.

Me--Taking the picture as usual.

Picture taken at Garden of the Gods.

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...