Old Friends

Tonight I went to a meeting at church (it was Stake Auxillary Training for those of you who know what I am talking about) :) - One of the best things about going is not just learning new things but getting to see a bunch of people from around the area that I don't get to see that often. I went into one of the other rooms tonight looking for my friend Cyndi, I took her daughters senior pictures and I was giving her the proofs on CD, I find her chat for a moment when I happen to look up and see my friend Colleen from Edwards AFB, CA!!! We were in the same ward at Edwards and I just LOVE HER! I knew she was in the area somewhere but I didn't realize that she was in my Stake! I haven't seen Colleen in four years but there she was in the same room as me! :) It seriously made my whole night!
Military life is hard. Your friends become your family. Most people don't understand that. It's our friends who are there at our kids baptisms, our friends who are there when it's our birthday, our firends who are there to help us when life is falling apart, friends who are there when you have a baby. Not having family around me has made me a stronger person than I ever thought possible. I am so blessed and thankful for the friends that have been there during all those special moments of my life and extra grateful for the ones that have been in it more than once! We have another set of friends moving to this base next May. It is so fun to reconnect after beign apart for a few years and to do it for longer than just a visit is AWESOME! :) To all of my military friends - I LOVE YOU! Thank you for always being there when I need you and for being such an amazing extended family!

I've been tagged!

My friend Teresa tagged "everyone!" to do this so here is mine. :)

You post the fourth picture from the fourth folder in your pictures. Here it is...



It is the tree in our front yard after an ice storm last February. Right before I went out to take the pictures the sun was shining and the tree was all lit up. As soon as I grabbed the camera and went out there it was cloudy again! Bummer... Here are some of the other pictures I took that day.

It was really cool how the ice was coated on the branches.

PS These pictures look much better if they are bigger! Click on each picture to see it up close. :)

The Pumpkin Patch

On Monday we went on our yearly outing to the pumpkin patch. We went with our friends Rob, Michelle, and Tyler of course! :) It was unseasonably warm around 80 degrees but that is cooler than when we went last year! Last year the temperature was 98! The kids had a great time and we got some big pumpkins for a great price! Can't beat that! Here is our day....

My three pumpkins

Haylee being strong and lifting hers off the table! It is big!
Another one of Haylee JTyler with Uncle Joe. Joe is not a big baby lover but he sure loves this boy. :)
In the straw maze
Our wagon full of goodies.
Tyler.
The. Cutest. Baby!
He is always so happy!
Sierra with her pumpkin.
Strong guy!

I think this picture is posted above too but I have no idea how to take it off so here it is again! :)

He will be FIFTEEN in three and a half months! YIKES!
This one will be seven in just over three weeks!
The middle child. 13 and a half.
Joe playing with Sierra to make her touch her face with her hands after she pet a goat!
Sierra is a HUGE germaphobe!

Tyler and his cute mommy.
Haylee loving the animals- this girl needs to live on a farm with a beach nearby! Anyone know a place like that? Uncle Joe protecting Tyler's hands from the dirty sheep.
Tyler was mesmorized.
Feeding the goat.
Our fam! So glad Michelle had the great idea to go together. She took this pic! Thanks Michelle!

Haylee insisted I take this picture of her. She said "MOM! This is the perfect spot for a picture!" it's the little photographer in her.

She would not give me a big smile for anything!

I love these pictures! I think I might make a collage for my apple kitchen. :)

Money is hard to come by these days. I have to make my own art!

Happy fall to all of you!!!

Insomnia

Well it's 12:37AM and I can't sleep! Not good since I have to get up at 5:00AM to take HD to seminary. Lets see that's just a little over four hours right? Should be good times when the alarm goes off! :) Since I can't sleep I decided I might as well be blogging so I can get some things caught up.

My mom was here for a visit last week and we had a BALL! It was so hard to see her leave! I am so grateful that she took the time to come and visit us. She is so busy with work and church and traveling I know it is crazy for her to come but we are SO glad she did. The kids were so glad to have grandma here. One day while she was here we took her out on the boat. SHE LOVED IT! I think the kids really got a kick out of showing her where we spend most of the summer. We cruised down the river and found a cute little restaruant to eat at. It was so GOOD!

Haylee, mom and I -hold onto your hats or they will fly off!

My teenagers - it almost looks like they like each other

Me and Sierra

Me and momEric and his mom in law -- check out Haylee in the background I didn't even realize she was doing that. Too funny!

On Wednesday we went to Gettysburg. We stopped for lunch at Boyds Bears -this is a REALLY cool place. It is HUGE!My baby bear -shhhh don't tell her I said thatBefore the tourLook TWO pictures hugging and smiling! I love these kids!Just a SMALL sample of the gorgeous fall foliage we saw - it was the perfect time of the year to be up there.Being silly.Up on this lookout tower. I am their commander in chief so they had to salute me! :)The place where President Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address.

It was really neat to see all of the history there. Sad too, knowing how many men/boys died there over those three days during the Civil War. We all learned a lot and had a great time.

Mom I MISS YOU! Please come back SOON. February would be perfect! Heck ANYTIME is perfect! And that goes for the rest of you! I will promise you a free box of presidential M&M's if you come and visit! :)

On a side note, a little over a year ago I was called to be the primary president at church (the person in charge of kids 18 months to 11) and we have a program every year. This would make it program #2 for me. Last year I had about 40 kids this year I have about 22. Well I have to say when we practiced today and their little voices were so clear and strong it was just about the sweetest thing I have ever heard. When they sing "Called To Serve" and I hear the pride in their voices it brings a tear to my eye. And don't even get me started when they sing "If the Savior Stood Beside Me." I can hardly keep it together. Such strong little spirits in such a tough world. :) I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve in primary.

Alright enough of my rambling. I really need to get some sleep! I have a long day ahead of me!

WOO HOO!

I finally figured this thing out!!!! I have been trying to make my blog all cute for days!!! My brian has not been functioning properly! Now that I know how to work it watch out!

My mom has been here and we are having tons of fun. I will post pics in the next few days of all of our adventures!