42

Last Saturday was my birthday!  42 whole years completed on this big round globe.  I feel so blessed for the life I have.  I am thankful every single day for an amazing husband. I can’t even express how awesome he is.  From little things he does to what a great example he is to me.  I have four of the most wonderful kids on earth.  I am so proud of each of them and the people they are becoming.  I feel so lucky to be a part of their lives. I am also blessed with wonderful friends and extended family whom I love and adore.  

Friday night we went out to dinner and then walked to the ice cream shop downtown.  It was a beautiful night.  Sierra got me that fun glittery pumpkin.  I love it! 

Here is my official birthday selfie 

Joe got me some flowers and a ballon and a sweet card.  I am going to get a couple of things I have been wanting which is fun too! 

The day before my birthday was a crazy car day where the battery in the van died.  Joe jumped it once and I drove around for a good while to recharge the battery but when I turned the car off it died again.  I was on base so Joe could come and rescue me.  I did my shopping and waited for my prince. When he tried to jump it again it was unrevivable.  Super dead.  It refused to turn over.  Joe took the battery out of the truck but it wouldn’t fit in the van so we drove to Sierra’s work and got the battery out of her car. She was stranded for a bit but was a good sport about it all.  That did the trick and I drove the hour to the dealership. We had only bought the battery a year before so they replaced it no charge.  I was thankful I didn’t have too much on my agenda.  And super duper grateful for a handy hubby and friends who call when you are in need and drive your kiddo home from work so she doesn’t have to be stuck.  

Back to Saturday: it was general conference weekend so my birthday was spent listening to wonderful speakers and feeling uplifted and happy.  It was a great day!!  

A few of my favorite quotes:

Haylee got her school picture proof back today.  They turned out great!!  This cute girl is one of my favorites for sure!! 

This morning I went to a meeting at Amy’s to plan food for an upcoming Stake Relief Soceity social.  She, Kari and I came up with some great ideas! 

We found this cute kebab idea while looking online. 

So cute!  

And just for good measure here is a pic of Amy when I went to pick her up for “Tara and Amy’s day of fun” 

Our day of fun consisted of lots of shopping and lunch!  It was a great day!  

The Air Force Ball

Saturday night was the Air Force Ball here at Whiteman.  It is the 70th anniversary of the Air Force. Crazy to think that when Joe joined the AF hadn't even turned 50!  It is a fun evening to get dressed up and go on a date with my handsome man.  This was the second year in a row they had the ball in a hangar on the flight line with a B-2 parked right outside. Not a bad backdrop for our evening.

The weather was pretty toasty but a breeze and the shade kept it bearable. 

Our key note speaker was a veteran of the Vietnam war.  He was the 6th soldier to be captured by the Viet Kong when his plane was shot down.  He spent 8 years in the "Hanoi Hilton".  His story was unbelievable and hard to listen to at times.  For 8 years he was tortured daily.  He NEVER got to go outside.  He was only with 3 other prisoners for 4 days otherwise he was in solitary confinement.  With those few days with the 2 other guys he taught them a tap code so they would be able to communicate.  They were severely punished when the Vietnamese realized what they were doing. They kept doing it. By coughing, sweeping in whatever way they could make noise to communicate with one another.  He testified of turning to God and praying with all his might.  He testified he knew there was a supreme being because all of their prayers were answered "not in our time, but in His."  He said he would not trade his experience for anything.  He learned how resilient he was and built his relationship with Heavenly Father.  It was inspiring and humbling to hear his story.  We had the privelege of meeting him after the program potion of the ball was over. His name is Col. Harris.  His sweet wife was with him and she was a delight.  

When her husband was shot down she came back to the states from Okinawa pregnant and with her two young sons. The Air Force told her they would put her husbands checks into a savings account so he could

have that when he got home. She told them that she and her husband had made arrangements that she would receive his checks if he were captured. They told her the Secretary of the Air Force had decreed this new plan and she could not have the money.  She told them to get him on the phone. When they told her she couldn't just call the Secretary of the Air Force she said "oh yes I can.  You get him on the phone right now." They did as she told them and the checks were then dispersed into an account for her to use right away.  What a fiesty lady.  I loved hearing that story. 

Here are some more pictures of us: 

At home before we left 

Me and my friend Nicole.  I adore her. 

My handsome. Last event with his Senior stripes on.  That Chief stripe goes on on a few weeks!  

After dragging Joe out to take pictures more than once due to lighting changes.  We were headed back in the last time when I asked if he would dance with me in front of the plane.  Who gets to dance in front of a B-2? He is the best hubby ever.  Instead of saying No way crazy lady.  He said "Sure!" I love that he is such a good sport.  No one else was dancing we may look a little crazy but true love is going along with your wife's silly ideas and then getting one of the best pictures ever:

I love that photo.  He makes me laugh every day and I am so grateful that he is mine.  One last pic close up.  Sure love that handsome guy. 

The Air Force has blessed our lives so much.  I am so grateful to be a part of a global military family.  

Friday fun

Today was a laid back day until about 4 there wasn't to much going on.  Picked Haylee up at 3:30 from the first Science Olympiad meeting of the year (that girl LOVES Science!) then headed to a squadron picnic. I am still a key spouse for Joe's old squadron.  I feel out of place there now and think it is probably time for me to move on from that gig.  It is still super hot so that wasn't fab but Haylee had fun playing with all the dogs people brought and rolling around in a hampster ball. 

I pushed her all over.  It was a workout!  

When we got home Haylee sat Joe and I down to discuss internships at NASA.  She has been researching them on the internet and wants to apply to intern next summer.  She registered on the site and was very serious about filling out her "government form" That girl is a smarty.  Instead of going to the football game she stayed home to watch all the tutorials about applying and do some more research.  She is a nerd but a super cute one.  Love her. Also, this is her current GPA

Joe and I headed to the game.  Chad and Amy's daughter Rebecca was nominated for homecoming queen and I offered to be the picture taker.  :) it was so fun.  And she WON!  That made it even more fun!  She is a fantastic girl who is smart and so, so kind she definitely deserves the queen title. After all that excitement the game was tied with about 40 seconds left.  We had the ball and scored a touchdown!!  Woo hoo!  It was a fun night.  Joe ditched me after halftime but I stayed and Amy brought me home.  I was so glad I stayed!  

Rebecca is in the red and black (her guard uniform) 

Last night I went to a paint class for the WSC social.  Here is my painting before:

During 

After 

It was a fun night!  

Tomorrow night is the Air Force Ball.  Looking forward to getting dressed up but not forward to it being 90 degrees again.  

Hot, Hot, Hot!

It is September the best month of the whole year!  Fall begins, it's my birthday month (thanks mom!) and the air starts to feel crisper.  Well maybe if you live somewhere with good fall weather.  I realize we are in the very early stages of fall and that it doesn't officially start until tomorrow buuuuttt... look at this weather from tonight 

Seriously!!  At almost 9:00pm it feels like it is 87 degrees outside with 82% humidity.  Ugh.  The humidity is killer.  I want to be able to open my windows and let in the fresh air.  That's the best part of fall.  Tomorrow the high is 90 degrees. NINETY people!  Y. U. C. K. 

Spent some time volunteering at the thrift store this morning.  It was just for a few hours and it was fun.  Came home ate lunch then headed to Overland Park to take Sierra to her pain doc to have her right shoulder checked out. He ordered an MRI so we will see. Haylee came with and it was nice to spend some time in the car together.  That kid is busy and I feel like I barely see her some days.  Stopped at Burlington on the way home to see if they had a dress for the ball this weekend.  My plan was to wear my ball gown from the Chief Induction in March but it is long sleeves and as we are having July weather it doesn't seem like the best idea.  I found a dress for 20 bucks but It was slinky fabric and showed that even though I have lost 13 pounds I have a ways to go.  I decided to leave it and see what works at home. I have several dresses in the lineup so I may change to something else besides the long sleeves.  It's hard when you have to wear floor length to these things.  I am thankful to have purchased dresses over the years and almost always buy them on sale.  I got a dress at the thrift shop two years ago for 5 bucks!  I might wear that one again. Friday will be figure out the dress day.  I did find a cute new top that I decided to buy 

It's cute. My hair looked so dull!  Fluorescent lighting is the worst.  I was ready to drive to a hair salon and have some highlights done right that minute!  I haven't colored my hair in years but that lighting made me question my life choices.

 Tonight the girls went to church stuff and Joe and I watched the finale of Americas Got Talent. That cute ventriloquist girl won the whole thing.  I was so glad! Her talent was unmatched!!  

Another day in the books. 

In control

For the moment I feel in control of my life so I need to document it!  I have cut way back on my volunteering, I currently don't have a church calling and I am working much less than I have the last year.  It is blissful to be able to keep up with my laundry, run errands for my family and prepare healthy meals instead of whatever I can think up at the last minute. I should add a caveat to the healthy meals which is I am eating healthy.  The family still sometimes get "regular" stuff that has too many calories for me.  I am back on My Fitness Pal which is a calorie counting app.  It works well for me when I can stick to it.  I lost about 30 pounds in 2012 but fell off the wagon lol.  I have been firmly back on the wagon for the last six weeks and am down 13 pounds.  Yay for me!  Every ounce feels like a victory!  😆. My mom called me today and asked what I am eating so I gave her a rundown and even sent pics!  

I drink milk every night before bed (for a lot of women it's wine for me it's milk!) since regular milk has too many calories I have started drinking almond milk.  Only 30 calories a cup!  Woo hoo!!  I am drinking tons of water and just feeling better all around.  I am determined to keep this life change going. 

Signing off for now.  Enjoying these in control days because I am sure life will get extra crazy soon enough!!  :) 

Simple Saturday

Sometimes I think our Saturday's will be laid back with just one or two things on the schedule but they don't usually stay that way.  Joe spent the day sheetrocking the new thrift shop location.  With an all volunteer crew moving that store has been rough.  Joe and Nicole's husband Michael worked all day -6:30-4:30! -to get the sheetrock finished.  I am so thankful for Joe and all he does for me. He is a great example of service and hard work.  

The new store is looking good and hopefully we can move the end of this month.  

Haylee went to a birthday party last night which was also a sleepover.  She had a great time.  Today was a stake youth activity.  It was sports day.  I was released a couple of weeks ago and it was weird to just drop Haylee off and pick her up at the end.  Weird but nice. :) I stayed home and ran errands, cleaned the house, and watched the BYU game.  Tough loss for the COUGS today. Joe and Haylee both went to bed early and Sierra is at work so here I sit just relaxing in the quiet. 

I did a Facebook thing that told me how much money I should be making every month.  Those things are dumb but definitely entertaining.  According to FB I should be making 18k a month!  Imagine my surprise! I decided I better text my boss right away and let him know.  Here is his response....

I was cracking up.  It's true, I mostly work when I feel like it which is awesome!  Guess my current hourly rate is pretty good considering.  Lol.  

Last week all these butterflies were visiting our purple flowers out front. It was pretty cool.  Haylee had fun watching them.  

Pretty good life around here.  ❤️

Testing

Testing to see if pictures work.  :) 

Yay!!!