tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33096832144334052932024-02-18T18:21:40.069-08:00The Lemons FamilyElisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670095077649917431noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3309683214433405293.post-88747839872310334352012-01-01T09:17:00.000-08:002012-01-01T09:17:12.306-08:00Well Hello 2012 We've been expecting you...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As we welcome in 2012 I can’t help but reflect on what this past year brought us and what the hopes are for the New Year. 2011 was a year where we crossed the country with two little kids, two car seats, and one little Toyota Tacoma not once, not twice but three times. I drove in a snowstorm for the first time and also learned the lesson of why Jesse always packs the car for snow even if there isn’t any. We moved a total of 4 times, one of which I did alone with my tough as nails Mother, a sick baby, from Washington to Kansas, in 48 hours. My little brother got married. We lived in 4 different places, Tristan became potty trained, and Brianna grew up right in front me. But most importantly the Lemons family survived our very first deployment…a 12 monther!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The deployment was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my entire life. I am always proud of Jesse each and every day for the job he does…but after surviving a deployment I am proud of myself. I found grey hairs, a few pounds and then some, lost my mind a million times over, and lots and lots of tears. At the end of it all I learned you find emotions you never knew existed for example, that moment when your child does something amazing like walk for the first time and you’re feeling sooo overjoyed and proud. but at the same time you feel guilty that you are experiencing it and your spouse doesn’t get to, and you want to be sooooo happy, but you’re feeling like bursting into tears too because that moment is one you want nothing more than to share with your other half. It’s like an emotional melting pot. I learned a lot about the Army.I learned that the people you meet in the Army are a special breed of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>people. They understand you better more often than not than some people who’ve been in your life for years. They’ll help you move into your house just minutes after meeting you (Thanks Amanda and Bennett). They will listen to you complain about how you want to lock yourself away in your bathroom away from your kids and cry. They understand that life goes on, and time doesn’t stop so they help you carry on by inviting you over for dinner, play dates, help with your kids, take your garbage to the curb, put your garbage back…basically they don’t waste time getting to know you before being your friend…they befriend you and get to know you along the way. 2011 brought us to this little neighborhood, and they have been so awesome in making this year just a little easier. I am grateful for this year because I learned a lot about myself. I learned I can survive anything. I can do anything I put my mind to…hook up a washer and dryer, move a King size bed, drive cross country, put together furniture etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also learned to appreciate my husband, our marriage and our relationship. I realized how much the little things he does really change my life. Something as simple as waking up with Brianna in the middle of the night <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is one thing that I too often overlooked, was something I came to miss beyond words with him gone. I learned that saying I love you and never ending a conversation upset are two of the most important things in a marriage. I learned the value of life…it takes a deployment to make the reality of this life seem a lot more real. I knew what was involved in becoming a part of this lifestyle and up to this deployment we reaped the benefits, the adventure, the cash flow and I was handling all the challenges. This deployment I learned the tough stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found that nothing makes my skin crawl like hearing a woman complain about her hubby’s weekend work retreat being so hard, or people asking “What are you doing to keep busy?”(um carrying on…what like I just pine every day crying and eating bon bons waiting for my hubby!!) or “I bet you miss him” or “are you worried about him coming back?” or my all time favorite “ I don’t know how you do it!!” I also learned who I can and can’t rely on. You learn that everyone’s lives carry on but those who truly care will still reach out to you no matter how busy they are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That people will disappoint you, and that fair-weather people will never change no matter how much you need them. I learned a new found and amazing respect for my parents who dropped everything for me so many times this year to just be there. <o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As hard as 2011 was for me, I wouldn’t change it for the world… Jesse and I are stronger, my appreciation for this lifestyle is greater, and my adoration for the Military woman (especially all the ones I’ve been fortunate to meet) is now real. Looking forward to 2012 I can safely say we have started some goals…first and most importantly is to make memories together again… ones that Daddy can finally be a part of. I will strive to make up for lost time and kiss and hold my hubby more than argue with him</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. I will lose those pounds I found in 2011.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will probably move again, hopefully see Jesse through Ranger School, SF Selection, and Captains’ Career course. My little boy will start preschool, I will work on finally being brave enough to start legitimately pursuing my goal of becoming a photographer. We want to learn to slow down more, turn off the TV more and just<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>enjoy each other’s company in appreciation that we are blessed to all be under the same roof again. To all my ladies starting this New Year still waiting for your hubbies know that you are in my prayers and there is nothing you can’t do. I promise when you’re crying to yourself or drinking your 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> cup of coffee for the day…you will someday very soon look back at that and this and think “Damn it feels good to be a gangsta”. Ha-ha JK but you will feel like a superhero badass!! :)<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">P.s. THANK GOD for the new 9 month deployment plans, block leave, and Skype</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><o:p></o:p></div><br />
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</div></div>Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670095077649917431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3309683214433405293.post-80523493127130258282011-10-26T18:43:00.000-07:002011-10-26T18:43:59.564-07:00Screw you WED<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The harder I try to force myself to think positive, and remain optimistic… the inner pessimist in me is somehow sabotaging my days to prove to me it’s way easier to just accept that I am way better at being negative. I honestly don’t think this is possible, just my luck of the draw of course. However, my bad day today does humorously coincide with the goal I recently set to start being more positive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I should start with the side bar, I love Halloween. I love love it! To me it’s so fun to dress up, eat candy like a mad person without any one staring at you, and it is a fun and funky way to kick off the Holidays. It’s the introduction to the Holidays. However, with Jesse gone this year I in all my cheapness thought I’d play it really low key. I didn’t want to spend a whole lot of the kids’ costumes, and I definitely didn’t want to spend anything on mine if I could avoid it. I knew that come Halloween day, with two toddlers, trick or treating with a thousand things going on around them and dangerously flirting with dinner time and bedtime time range; I’d be pushing my luck to say we’d all last all two hours allotted for trick or treating here on post.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, with the combo of Jesse saying “it’s about having fun right? You want the kids to enjoy Halloween right? Don’t be cheap for once and just enjoy yourselves…get the costume you want and get what you need to make it fun”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and that weird guilt I have that I must make this Halloween extra awesome because it’ll somehow make the kids forget Daddy isn’t with us. So I bought the costume I wanted. I’ve wanted to dress up as a 1950s June Clever looking housewife for years now…and I ordered it online. I bought the wig, the accessories everything. I thought for once I’m spending more than I’d ever want to but I’m shutting down my cheapness and just doing it. When the first of my costume arrived today…the wig…I cringed. I half wanted to scream, and half wished I could call up my DH and say “this p.o.s wig is why I am cheap, what a waste”. But instead I looked to see if I could return it (no can do). Then started to brain storm how I could fix it …maybe hot roll it, maybe brush it out and curl it with a curling iron (I’m posting pics of what it looks like advertised and what I really got). Then I concluded the whole reason I got it was to embrace the costume, to truly look 1950s without sitting all day Monday teasing my hair , curling it and rocking rollers…but if I’m gonna do it to a wig, why not my own hair?? There’s money wasted I was reluctant to spend! This started my day on a down ward spiral.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After stepping outside I also realized I can’t just hope it’s going to be decent weather I need to prepare for the worse. B isn’t going to last all but 5 mins in her little devil leotard/tutu outfit if I don’t find something to layer under it. So I call Target…the dance leotards for B’s size that are long-sleeved are sold out. I can order online or shop around. I decided I’d go to the PX grab some tights to go under her leggings and see if I could at least find a long sleeve turtle neck black shirt…seems like an easy order. It was a no go...found tights still no top. Thinking that all was well, just try Wal-Mart or worst case scenario overnight it offline we headed to Starbucks. I should note at this point B is sitting in the cart; nothing is in the cart besides my huge ass Mom purse just sitting underneath her seat in the actual cart. B all the sudden goes exorcist style on me and starts spewing barf ...PROJECTILE!! As I comfort her through the ordeal I’m also cringing because I notice although she turned her head so as not to puke on herself, she has unintentionally managed to get all her vomit into my purse. My options laid out before me.I could grab my purse out of the line of fire, save what remains of my purse and its contents<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but get puke on me, possibly her, and the cart etc. OR I can just let it be what it is. I chose the latter. So there B sat staring at me, wondering what’s next. For those of you with kiddos you know that the longer you wait to get to cleaning up puke and comforting your sick child, the more the freak out over the whole incident of having just barfed their body weight. So I got to cleaning. But I realized quickly to get her in the car, clean and warm I had to fish out the keys out of that same purse that minutes ago was her barf bag. As I reached in the bag I got nauseas too (I swear it never happens…this is something I’d expect from Jesse), but I was just so grossed out, hand just soaked in chunks…I barfed. There I was standing outside of the truck, with vomit in my purse, my hair, my hands and now more puke to wash away. I was so overwhelmed I had word vomit(no pun intended..) and just blurted “S!@# this really sucks” just as a I said that a soldier walks by and smirks and stares as he walks away and I couldn’t decide at that moment if I was mad or embarrassed more. After emptying what seems like ever half drank sippy in the truck (thank goodness the kids drink water 95% of the time) on all the barf around our truck and fishing out the essentials from my purse (before tossing it in the trash) we were headed home. I started the truck and for a brief moment had a pity party break down sitting there in the parking lot. I haven’t had too many of these this deployment (not really my style) but I did today. I just sat there for a moment and cried. Now it looks like I’ll be lucky if one or all of us don’t have the flu on Monday. We didn’t make any progress in fixing the cold weather dilemma for B’s costume, and the first time I invested money into a Halloween costumes for the family is turning out to be a total bust. So I felt sorry for myself for 5 minutes, and then realized we got a sick baby to take care of…and life goes on. But I couldn’t help but say…oh balls…sometimes being positive just sucks!</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvmOTvZKuInbCxCoRWz9CSkkh13weID6_qEWIQq-KkGguqvJhsFdNCnbq477rfDIrn9lXLsTStm7z8G1hGTKNkHo98O9vXb0sqhAxU1Kt8shTRyWDAGfKdfmmW-c-J9ekrM2FbEk2vOQ/s1600/DSC_0022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFvmOTvZKuInbCxCoRWz9CSkkh13weID6_qEWIQq-KkGguqvJhsFdNCnbq477rfDIrn9lXLsTStm7z8G1hGTKNkHo98O9vXb0sqhAxU1Kt8shTRyWDAGfKdfmmW-c-J9ekrM2FbEk2vOQ/s320/DSC_0022.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> WTF...I'd look almost as ridiculous as the pumpkin...what a hot mess this wig is!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaLZBQG2KksZ9TjE8xSK8dRKlmpHZIaNva7OeMc2F79IbmA-p0-NEFXxajKMBgjpDKGGcbHsi9tgdz8vNTCBapKGQklaa1U3On0YxTGA3KWY4e_FmN_YTUsox283s0XQIxBNrOezmbZiw/s1600/DSC_0021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaLZBQG2KksZ9TjE8xSK8dRKlmpHZIaNva7OeMc2F79IbmA-p0-NEFXxajKMBgjpDKGGcbHsi9tgdz8vNTCBapKGQklaa1U3On0YxTGA3KWY4e_FmN_YTUsox283s0XQIxBNrOezmbZiw/s320/DSC_0021.JPG" width="214" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p>The pictures looks badass though...cuz Lord knows I can't do that to my hair, but I sure did want it to look like this:(!</o:p></span></span></div></div>Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670095077649917431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3309683214433405293.post-69204650974446990162011-08-24T22:58:00.000-07:002011-08-24T22:58:09.642-07:00Birthday Boy Having a Birthday Week<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As August 29<sup>th</sup> approaches our home is filled with the chatter of a little man and his birthday wishes and Mommy’s chaotic preparation for a birthday bake a thon. Because I just can’t say no to the adorable little requests of a soon to be three year old. Not to mention to add to the chaos my folks are coming into town. This I must state right now is something I am whole heartedly ecstatic about, however I also<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>can’t help but feel the desperate need to clean this house in a way it hasn’t been cleaned since…exactly when Jesse was coming home on leave. Because let’s face it, a quick wipe down and a once over is good enough when it’s just you and the kiddos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On a side note I should also say that my dear Mother won’t really care because 1. She knows how hard this is 2. She also won’t notice because the kiddos will keep her good and distracted…problem is I WILL NOTICE!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For some God forsaken reason whenever I have company I have to deep clean everything. Problem with that is kids don’t understand such concepts. Perfect example: I finished cleaning the whole families’ bedding from mattress to comforter, and even bedtime "snugglys"(stuffed animals etc.); that morning Tristan had his first accident since starting potty training, and Brianna….well let’s just say poop was everywhere</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">L</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> . This folks is why I never deep clean…it’s the two toddler curse. Same goes for the car, clean the car seats and they will inevitably puke or spill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But on the positive note, here’s the thing I can’t get over…all this is in celebration of little man. Our little baby boy is already three years old and all I can think about is “where did all that time go??”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was this time around January three years ago, Jesse and I just sat there in denial that this was actually going to happen. Ready or not here comes baby I believe was our mantra at first. However, shortly after his arrival Tristan turned out to be the missing piece that we never knew was missing. He just made everything …more. I knew from day one he was going to be a challenge. That’s something I can’t deny. In utero that kid was a little Kung foo ninja…almost all night, and especially to Daddy’s voice. As an infant everything operated on his schedule, like never leaving the house practically because he refused to nurse under a blanket. One of my favorite pregnant memories of Tristan is whenever I’d spoon Jesse, and he’d say something, Tristan would literally kick Jesse as if to say “don’t forget I’m here too”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tristan is such a blessing to our lives, and to every life he touches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is a lot to handle at first, but that kid wears his heart on his sleeve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have so much pride in our little man I could go on and on for days. But I’ll try to keep this simple and to the point. Tristan is a kind hearted little boy who loves his sister because “she my bwest fwiend” and I have been quite possibly the happiest Mom when I watch him dote on Brianna. Watching them together, I know without a shadow of a doubt they really are going to be best friends, and he’ll always look out for her. I love that Tristan accepts everybody. Even if that means he’ll talk to a complete stranger like they are long lost family, and hug kids he’s just barely met. I love that he will try to nurse an already dead bug, because he doesn’t want it to suffer. I love the way he’s always communicated so eloquently. They said babies don’t sign early than 12 months-ish; Tristan was signing to us as early as 9 months. Problem is that kid hasn’t stopped communicating his points so well, since then</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. To this day, I swear the kid just wants to be heard! I love that Tristan is the ying to my yang…that kid sees the world from a different angle. He has a vivid, really vivid imagination with limitless possibilities that keeps me young too. I love his curiosity that he always wants to know how things work, why things are that way etc. He is a Three year old who loves the discovery channel for that reason. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also adore the fact he’s been a smiling, giggling, and being attention whore since the moment he realized what affect he had on his surroundings when he did so. But the thing I adore most about Tristan? These three years he has shown me parts of myself I didn’t know I had. Taught me about the world from a perspective that people too often miss out on. He has shown me a true strength, because he is my inspiration. He holds fast to his Daddy being a super hero “Awmy” guy, and that’s all he needs to get through all the challenges he’s already had to face so young. He doesn’t care how things are, because he knows they are going to always be better…somehow at so young. The average Three year old hasn’t lived in 4 different states, traveled cross country 3 times, had war “explained” to them, had to say goodbye so many times, have Daddy gone for so many things and still come out so well rounded. I can safely say that he has changed Jesse and I, made us stronger and sooo much better. Happy Birthday to our little Love bug! He truly is one of the best things to have ever happened to us.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY8JUrTcIIBb0Z7G5Cdtg06Hr2E63WUzEfpTXc1o7EqDb8Z3PcWQlum2j4X_RFCsCfaboKepDdw1_dvTRow6_qK93eg2dv2KNqaYHuy95pvqi-t3hHu1o0P4-hUS9kej518TztLtklBWY/s1600/n40307106_32169215_5292.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY8JUrTcIIBb0Z7G5Cdtg06Hr2E63WUzEfpTXc1o7EqDb8Z3PcWQlum2j4X_RFCsCfaboKepDdw1_dvTRow6_qK93eg2dv2KNqaYHuy95pvqi-t3hHu1o0P4-hUS9kej518TztLtklBWY/s320/n40307106_32169215_5292.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div closure_uid_9wnays="171" style="text-align: center;"> Welcome T 6:46 AM August 29th,2008</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmEZvLVitstrY49_DzSUAeeFu0cHuypDeD7-d2NkscANQpc0oEHDK4kqIknmVg5uTX-iL3zwoh2J2Z-0stjolPIbwd4vizp4UH7Yks637e-Unco8U7QF4-zaq6Y8mkKwEQLkMUznBYn8w/s1600/n40307106_32169216_6332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmEZvLVitstrY49_DzSUAeeFu0cHuypDeD7-d2NkscANQpc0oEHDK4kqIknmVg5uTX-iL3zwoh2J2Z-0stjolPIbwd4vizp4UH7Yks637e-Unco8U7QF4-zaq6Y8mkKwEQLkMUznBYn8w/s320/n40307106_32169216_6332.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div closure_uid_9wnays="189" style="text-align: center;"> Daddy's Little Man from Day One</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjP7t4AAef6tR2cQVUXi-4AaMNRHL0Q7jd05TJifAKrQ3LzfOkG2R13wBxKabVcATB4HsNz2KBkuvR8PyNpXiS3AlJXbsOzVUVmggjhH2ZTZ_bZ5rzZfqSbEjGAcgswNwaHjGNplEiqac/s1600/8823_560404078974_40307106_33274579_5529106_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjP7t4AAef6tR2cQVUXi-4AaMNRHL0Q7jd05TJifAKrQ3LzfOkG2R13wBxKabVcATB4HsNz2KBkuvR8PyNpXiS3AlJXbsOzVUVmggjhH2ZTZ_bZ5rzZfqSbEjGAcgswNwaHjGNplEiqac/s320/8823_560404078974_40307106_33274579_5529106_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div closure_uid_9wnays="191" style="text-align: center;"> First Birthday</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiV7aemFtM0s3K_OQQ8heDwqy4QQy9iG08bNjeKCAknSLkmjT7srkuzyFJGYp9DRBUNspGHa-yehyphenhyphenWuJ6_FQyKLM86CyWIVOExnhedKFea7dIUsqtXcaHLCgbfpRBoli_nNPbxJPZ5-A4/s1600/59497_597448476704_40307106_34536602_6892029_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiV7aemFtM0s3K_OQQ8heDwqy4QQy9iG08bNjeKCAknSLkmjT7srkuzyFJGYp9DRBUNspGHa-yehyphenhyphenWuJ6_FQyKLM86CyWIVOExnhedKFea7dIUsqtXcaHLCgbfpRBoli_nNPbxJPZ5-A4/s320/59497_597448476704_40307106_34536602_6892029_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div closure_uid_9wnays="193" style="text-align: center;"> Second Birthday</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFJu8YoqinJmp2t9KRRJikpFT5_9enfyPfQI5ifwPS-imlPfQlkcIOQkLxDYfdbBUgCSPqp8BH5zco76TjndEmcVtsUl1Bx6AcvzIyP5xE-sU9LbhgkO5krx5jMYfl5k2fJUAI8E-qh-0/s1600/8823_560407122874_40307106_33274741_4097568_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFJu8YoqinJmp2t9KRRJikpFT5_9enfyPfQI5ifwPS-imlPfQlkcIOQkLxDYfdbBUgCSPqp8BH5zco76TjndEmcVtsUl1Bx6AcvzIyP5xE-sU9LbhgkO5krx5jMYfl5k2fJUAI8E-qh-0/s320/8823_560407122874_40307106_33274741_4097568_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div closure_uid_9wnays="194" style="text-align: center;"> With his love of flowers, we've always "stopped to smell the roses"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG84Rc-95KZqATEKcXtOY-tgLJw08T1xN1JlzA-XRR8YNr8vLSPs6UOdrH745wx5R_6jvuDsEFqHD6dju8pQG33shUvoNT_9V5jDKkwu4HCrFnQYyE7Bqdg71Fsp6NJqDJVTPGFGtbaJ4/s1600/8823_560411239624_40307106_33275052_402154_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG84Rc-95KZqATEKcXtOY-tgLJw08T1xN1JlzA-XRR8YNr8vLSPs6UOdrH745wx5R_6jvuDsEFqHD6dju8pQG33shUvoNT_9V5jDKkwu4HCrFnQYyE7Bqdg71Fsp6NJqDJVTPGFGtbaJ4/s320/8823_560411239624_40307106_33275052_402154_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div closure_uid_9wnays="195" style="text-align: center;"> St.Louis Zoo</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnQQhEzdiWD3OC8b8tPwd66pi2bMAWA7Ei-TyXsIeN108mvus2shhWjQhijG56Xnb9es4KoAyaQVWAjpLdsVpfGfBvZTzR949XVBbHHcsxc0UGg8Al0tGkn6pid8poF9657kAGcgo7nsU/s1600/ako-400-20110717-593972587519c5233e94b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnQQhEzdiWD3OC8b8tPwd66pi2bMAWA7Ei-TyXsIeN108mvus2shhWjQhijG56Xnb9es4KoAyaQVWAjpLdsVpfGfBvZTzR949XVBbHHcsxc0UGg8Al0tGkn6pid8poF9657kAGcgo7nsU/s320/ako-400-20110717-593972587519c5233e94b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div closure_uid_9wnays="197" style="text-align: center;"> So patriotic at so young...Daddy really is his hero</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzMpA2xRW2m0LH6qKZcNsOmcUpeW4MQ9u1j7B-hVZk-EDzh-kcXW69kWLinAWzepdF5Tqky_j_p0AE6j9sm3vPWotwUxw7qIzoGy3xMTAeMyFRL0kA4y5BPPWd0UxGDY7uhAFhKvTqaU/s1600/281940_696579043254_40307106_35623985_7921910_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzMpA2xRW2m0LH6qKZcNsOmcUpeW4MQ9u1j7B-hVZk-EDzh-kcXW69kWLinAWzepdF5Tqky_j_p0AE6j9sm3vPWotwUxw7qIzoGy3xMTAeMyFRL0kA4y5BPPWd0UxGDY7uhAFhKvTqaU/s320/281940_696579043254_40307106_35623985_7921910_n.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div closure_uid_9wnays="198" style="text-align: center;"> Mr. Show Stopper</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDn3o0-qusOsUihM347OUJBuVo9oOyf0BeJgrycofnQWPjtXakzQIEADRyL-lkYyT_vlC1LllbWWKkJegmJ3iXnViBj5PgQaobZQpi69Pq42xqqb19wxDVW7fYojA6ovYL8Mh8KhGJLYo/s1600/8823_560418794484_40307106_33275437_3972888_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDn3o0-qusOsUihM347OUJBuVo9oOyf0BeJgrycofnQWPjtXakzQIEADRyL-lkYyT_vlC1LllbWWKkJegmJ3iXnViBj5PgQaobZQpi69Pq42xqqb19wxDVW7fYojA6ovYL8Mh8KhGJLYo/s320/8823_560418794484_40307106_33275437_3972888_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div closure_uid_9wnays="199" style="text-align: center;"> Goof ball from the begining</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioo5M_iUWrUg4JlsU1NOUtIfFi7nn_mKi8WiqO3ol-GaL0rBm9EhT-rNvcrGg7yWJZP5AISvfsxo4-N6T2fNSTC0hkKC0brKrb6Y_V5nbsTZfyLqckuKJBinh_4gKyv_1Kv3I-4E1mqZM/s1600/262870_696576338674_40307106_35623912_56925_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioo5M_iUWrUg4JlsU1NOUtIfFi7nn_mKi8WiqO3ol-GaL0rBm9EhT-rNvcrGg7yWJZP5AISvfsxo4-N6T2fNSTC0hkKC0brKrb6Y_V5nbsTZfyLqckuKJBinh_4gKyv_1Kv3I-4E1mqZM/s320/262870_696576338674_40307106_35623912_56925_n.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div closure_uid_9wnays="123">I love him<3<3<3<3</div></div>Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670095077649917431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3309683214433405293.post-35332454595917386912011-08-21T19:46:00.001-07:002011-08-21T19:46:57.157-07:00Motivator List<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Too often you come across the Army wife who takes her plight and turns it into the next Days of Our Lives. Honestly, I will admit sometimes this job sucks. It’s not always sunshine and lollipops…but what in this life that is worth a damn really is? Anything worth having or doing is not ever easy. So here’s the deal rather than feeling sorry for myself the other day when I was having a “bad” day, I started to motivate myself by creating a mental list of the pros of deployments (if you are a civilian you are probably saying “how is there anything good about a deployment?”). I thought out of the interest of fulfilling my free time and possibly amusing fellow “Domestic engineers”, I’d share said list. So here it is in no specific order what so ever. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I save a butt load of money on toiletries i.e. razors, make up, hairstyling products because I only dress up for myself,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and when I have to time too( so far I can count 5 occasions where I put on makeup while Jesse has been gone)</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The part of the house that can’t be seen on the webcam isn’t always clean…but as far as Jesse is concerned it’s spotless (I did just blow my cover). That’s not to say he would be bothered by it but I wonder what he thinks I do with my free time when the house isn’t clean.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The kids and I can wear our PJs all day if we’d like and there’s no one that’s going to walk in and go “WTF??”</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I can watch any show I want. I watch the crap TV that if Jesse was sitting next to me would say “Why do you care?? Who are these ladies anyway” (Housewives of…series, Jerseylicious etc.)</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My delicates and camisoles stay nice because there are no uniforms in the wash</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Laundry demand is cut in half... see #3</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There are less dishes to be done</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">8.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Groceries aren’t needed quite as often</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">9.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I can cook whatever I feel like…PBJ for dinner heck yes!</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">10.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I can hog the covers, turn up the heat, or turn it down and there is not compromise necessary</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">11.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have finally get a go at things I never would before…i.e. car, garage, yard etc.(that’s not to say I like it, but being able to see what I’m capable of is always empowering)</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">12.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For the time being I’m B’s Favorite(until Daddy gets on Skype then she’s back to hating Mommy</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">)</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">13.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I get to pick Scentsy smells Jesse can’t stand</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">14.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I wear the perfume he doesn’t like, and lip gloss with coconut flavor(he’s allergic)</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">15.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I don’t have alarm clocks going off</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">16.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I get to pick all the movies</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">17.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If I don’t’ leave the house, I don’t have to wear a bra all day if I don’t feel like it</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">18.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">No whiskers in the sink, or farmer’s blow boogers on the shower wall</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">19.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The truck music is almost always what I want(when Tristan doesn’t request rock n’ roll)</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">20.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I can dress the kids in all the clothes I think are cute and don’t need a second opinion on</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I love Jesse, so much sometimes it hurts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are so many things that suck about deployment that’s definitely a fact, that list is almost 3 times as long. But, sometimes at least for me it helps to try, really really try, to look at the glass half full. Otherwise, I think we’d all just lose it. Because if I spent my time feeling sorry for myself, crying about how lonely I get then I’d be wasting my time, that’s not going to do anything but make this time go even slower.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For now , I<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>look at this list when I feel like poop; like this deployment is just taking too damn long to be over, and I just can’t go another day without my best friend and I remember it’s always doable…just one day at a time</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.</span></div><div closure_uid_xxiyrb="99"></div></div>Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670095077649917431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3309683214433405293.post-80083983218913927592011-08-07T18:22:00.001-07:002011-08-07T18:22:45.146-07:00Tears in Target and All!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My week was quite a dousy! I can say with much certainty that a deployment for however long is quite possibly the World’s Largest rollercoaster (of emotions obviously!) I was nothing short of a disoriented hot mess this past week, and I think I have cried in public this past week, more than I have in my 26 years of life. It all started on Monday when my sweet, loving husband misspoke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m just saying that he misspoke because I’m still processing the denial and am still trying to accept that there may have been a little truth to his “observations”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Long story short, the man pointed out that at 12 PM I was still sitting on the couch in a messy house, in my pjs, with kids still rocking theirs too. He hinted that perhaps I just may be allowing myself to become too lax…that perhaps the kids may need more from me too. So this was phase one of my emotional journey. I started the week a little bitter, and annoyed. Any other wives of deployed spouses find that their hubbies always have the “solution”? These brilliant methods that sound awesome in theory and “so easy” that will solve it all? ARGGH! I find that I too would probably be the best disciplining, planning etc. too if I had peace and quiet in my free time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But here’s where I started really falling apart.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mailed a card to my Grandma from the kids and I for her Birthday and forgot to address the card, both return and addressee! All it had on it was The Lemons in the corner and Grandma Glenda on the front….genius. Not to mention we started the journey of potty training with Tristan. I cried when Tristan went potty for the first time in a long time because I realized how much Jesse was truly missing out on, there I was dancing and celebrating…alone. To add salt to well…tears I guess, Tristan said “My Daddy is going be sooo proud me! Can we talk Dad on TV?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The days came and gone and I found myself<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>crying on Tuesday because I just lost my patience and willpower throughout the day with the kiddos…just one of those days where the Mommy in me had vacated the building and these two little monsters were taking over! I swear the kids chose the one day I am in my worst mood to be the biggest brats ha-ha, or it just seems that way because they are just mimicking my mood…either way we were struggling to get along</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. Wednesday finally rolled around, and this meant Mom day. Although I had high hopes of a very low impact emotion day it became the opposite. I took myself to lunch and while standing in line at Panera I saw a man in uniform walk in holding hands with this adorable little girl about maybe 3…she looked at her Daddy and said “I’m so glad you came home so we could have a date”…I cried. Lame I hate crying in public, I always have but there I was trying to casually brush tears away like it was no big deal. I thought the crying was most definitely over then and there. So I went to Target and thought I’d buy a card for Jesse’s birthday. This is something I usually love to do, because I adore my husband and I love to spoil him any chance I get (I really am not making this part up…I still gush over him…most of the time). Anyways, as I’m going through the cards I come across this one that starts with “I love sitting on the couch watching movies with after the kids are in bed”… “I love holding your hand in the car going nowhere in particular”… “I love kissing you after work asking you how your day went”…and “I love watching our children play together with you on a summer afternoon”…blah blah blah. I didn’t get through the rest because there I stood in the card aisle blubbering like a little baby. This stupid Hallmark card pointed out a lot of things I adore about my husband, but it also made it very obvious all the things I’ve been going without all this deployment. Things you miss here and there on the “bad days” but otherwise you forget in the chaos of trying to keep your head above water. The worst part about crying in public AGAIN(I swear I’m really not into crying) was this almost 80 year old woman came up to me and put her hand on my shoulder and said, “Are you going to be alright dear…those Hallmark cards aren’t all that bad??” No, but my emotional state obviously is! I didn’t say that of course, I simply thanked her for her concern wiped my tears and continued shopping in emotional shame</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But on the bright side the roller coaster is finally taking us up. Of course not before I eyeballed a few maternity outfits in the lounge wear section at Target. I was really debating purchasing them, until I realized wait…these are nursing snaps on the top and that’s for sure way too big of an elastic for regular pants. My inner fatass needs a good beat down!! (But seriously why would anyone NOT want stretchy everything ;)) Tristan started singing to the radio in the truck which I adore. Brianna reaches for Tristan’s hand almost every outing we go on. But the biggest “ups” this week? When I heard Tristan say to Brianna “Hold my hand sister. It’s ok I here protect you, keep you safe from Monsters” and when he kissed me during the storm the other night and said “I here protect you, and Bnana (Brianna) and keep you safe for Daddy…I be big kid so Daddy can do work”<3 My little man is sometimes braver and stronger through all this than I ever thought he’d be…and more so than myself some days. I cried that night too as I tucked him in…but not because I was a hot mess anymore(well still kind of),but because I<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>think we’re doing a damn good job riding this roller coaster… tears in Target and all.</span></div><div closure_uid_kmoy9b="98"></div></div>Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670095077649917431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3309683214433405293.post-31269780530647746922011-07-31T20:50:00.000-07:002011-07-31T20:50:54.666-07:00Screw Tomorrow, I'm Talkin Bout Today<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Britannic Bold", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It seems up to this deployment or even part of it, I have been living a life of “tomorrow I will”. Tomorrow I will start eating better. Tomorrow I will start the laundry, or clean the house, run the dishwasher, clean the car etc. etc. Tomorrow I will step on the scale and I will have lost a pound. Tomorrow I will look in the mirror and embrace the way that I look post babies and will be happy with it. Tomorrow I will make that phone call, or I will stop waiting for that one that never comes. Tomorrow I will hear from that person because tomorrow they will feel bad for the way they treat me. Obviously this list of “tomorrows” can go on and on. I always set goals, always have and probably always will. I make obsessive lists of things I always want to do “tomorrow”, or over many “tomorrows” but I always find a way of running circles around them. But the beauty of these “tomorrow I wills” is this deployment has taught me that some of them aren’t important. This deployment has shown me strength in myself because I must rely on me, and up until now I never realized how much I relied on everyone else around me. I have a power within me now as cheesy and lame as that sounds. I know now what I am truly capable of, the things that should and shouldn’t matter, and what must be today and not tomorrow. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Britannic Bold", "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve realized that I could probably spend every day of the rest of my life trying to measure up to the standard I set in my head for myself. But I realize now that I won’t ever be a size two again, but eating fairly well, and exercising as often as I am motivated to and have time for will always be good enough. The dishes and such can wait, but loving on my kids and taking a mental time out cannot. Today I don’t care anymore about being liked, accepted, supported, or appreciated by those people who’ve neglected me and left me alone during what could possibly be the loneliest time for me. Forgoing this constant state of tomorrows has changed me in such an amazing way that as sick and twisted as it sounds makes this deployment a good thing for me. My new philosophy of “today” is why I now am making friends with amazing people in my neighborhood, why the kids and I now have a break from each other every other week, why I go to the gym because it feels good not because anything is or isn’t happening on the scale, and why I of all people have actually let my house be filthy for days at a time. Because sometimes especially without Jesse, I have to get over myself and let things just happen or not happen for that matter. But the beauty in all this is for the first time in a long time…it’s really time for me to focus on so much more than missing Jesse and counting down the months, weeks, days, hours until he’s home.</span></div></div>Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670095077649917431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3309683214433405293.post-38098709720432821612011-03-27T00:41:00.001-07:002011-03-27T00:41:55.006-07:006 Months to Reality<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We are officially nearing the 6 month mark of Jesse’s Deployment(seems like a little lame since that still means 6 MORE months…but it’s the small things). Unfortunately, my excitement is a little overshadowed by anxiety. Weird, I know! What kind of wife am I that I am a little more anxious than excited for my husband’s looming R and R time or return home after this deployment? However, I am not THAT wife; my anxiety comes from somewhere different. I’m nervous because all I can think about is the goals that I set for myself to reach before Jesse came back. I wanted to be the wife he fell in love with. I wanted to get back to my pre babies body and get that self esteem back. I also wanted that comfort and high energy back, and to be a better wife and mother. As the time of Jesse’s return looms closer I start to get anxious that I haven’t achieved a darn thing. I have become obsessed with numbers, pounds, calories, input and output, and I still feel like it’s not enough and too much at the same time. Why is that I have dropped 4 Dress sizes since starting this journey, and yet it’s still not enough to make me happy, or proud?? What has become of women these days that we are constantly reaching for perhaps something that is unattainable? Shouldn’t I be happy that I am eating well, I am wearing clothes I haven’t in years?…heck I put on a sweatshirt today that I haven’t worn since my honeymoon!! Granted it’s a little snug, but months ago I couldn’t even get it over my chest!! All I can think about though is the pants I have I still don’t fit in…the fact not a pound has been lost according to the scales, and the double chin and preggo looking bulge that still rear their ugly heads in my photos. How messed up is this process? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I feel lately that I will never be the size I want to be in my head. Let’s get real…I am approaching thirty at a very rapid pace, I have the schedule of a maniac, I have two kids that I am constantly running after and because of said kids there are things on my body that will NEVER be the same. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why do I feel like I should be tiny to be satisfied? Shouldn’t we live in a society where if someone lives a healthy and active lifestyle, they shouldn’t have to be a size 2 to feel “comfortable”? I hate that I see cute clothes and feel like they just don’t “fit right” on me so I still run around in frumpy clothes I’ve had since I got pregnant with Tristan so they’re threadbare, stretched out and saggy, and probably make me look and feel worse than any new outfit would? It should be noted that my issues aren’t with my husband. He doesn’t need me to lose a single pound, but only wants me to be able to look in the mirror and see the sexy babe that he sees, at any size. It doesn’t lie with my parents…my uber supportive Mother tells me everyday I’ve come so far,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I look great and need to just focus on how my change in lifestyle has made me feel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess I’m reaching this point where one thing needs to change and it’s not what I’m doing, it’s how I’m thinking. I’m writing this for people to read so if someone else is thinking like this with me they think about the big issue seriously. Perhaps the reason we feel we look so bad to others, is because we THINK we look bad to others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am going to try to be like those people who wear anything no matter their size because they don’t care about what people think, because they feel beautiful. I am going to start to stop focusing on this “I’m going to do this when I get to _ size”, “I like that outfit, but I’m going to get it when I drop one more size”…when will I be enough at this rate?? I am going to start today embracing the idea that I am a Mom of two beautiful children, who whether I like it or not have made changes to my body that make it so I will never look like I did in High-school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that is ok because my husband still adores me and the body I think is so gross. So as Jesse gets closer to getting home, I’m adapting my goal a little…I don’t need to lose _ more pounds, I need to just maintain this healthy lifestyle, reinforce my inner beauty, and just be comfortable with what does or doesn’t happen. If I continuously strive to be smaller and smaller, when will I ever be satisfied?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is not the example I want for Brianna. I want a daughter who feels that she is gorgeous NO MATTER WHAT. I need to start setting the example for her and for me. She will never learn to embrace her own beauty if she spends her life watching her mother try and find hers. I need to start feeling sexy inside in order to be sexy outside. All I really want is for Jesse to come home to a sexy wife…and I ‘m almost positive I don’t need to be the same size as high-school or even pre baby for him to think I’m sexy</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. It’s time for me to be enough, for myself, so I can feel that I am enough for my husband and kids.</span></div>Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670095077649917431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3309683214433405293.post-140491001601668272011-02-27T22:59:00.001-08:002011-02-27T22:59:38.683-08:00What's Happenings<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here’s the not so up to date entirely update of the Lemons family. The kids have been taking turns terrorizing me, some times both at once. I swear they make a draft of their plans when my back is turned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brianna is teething (for my sleep levels feels like the billionth time), however she broke her two bottom teeth only days apart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then followed her two front teeth (which are still making the decent), and finally the most recent debut is the top peek a boo act of an incisor tooth on bottom. Both kids are ridiculously sick with colds, but I feel like death warmed over some days so my sincere hopes is that means I have now received their gift of the “ickys” and they will be over this cold in no time. I have my fingers and toes crossed because this would mean no more cabin fever (I just can’t be that Mom that drops her kids off at the daycare at the gym and gets everyone sick, or runs errands and spreads “sick” everywhere). The kids and I are highly looking forward to not being sick so we can finally get out and ditch the bad attitude and tantrums (Mom included).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have been watching lots of movies, Nick Jr. and Disney channel I swear I have every theme song memorized and our lungs are also singing the praise of our Vicks humidifier.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brianna is getting to be such a sassy pants…well for those who know her it should be said she is becoming a BIGGER sassy pants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have a huge battle at meal time, seeing as how she feels she needs to hold the food and spoon, heaven forbid Mom even tries to. Problem is she still doesn’t know how to feed herself, so most meals we tug of war over a spoon with food on it that ends up mostly on her. Lately I have been blessed with random puke fests from Brianna as she learns that coughing is not the same as gagging…which during meals she gets confused with during cough fits...cough cough cough, spewwwww. It’s been more than fantastic. Tristan still keeps me on my toes, in fact it’s been decided that kiddo is way too smart for me. He asks in the middle of the night to “go Poop” because he knows I will not turn down any potty attempt; however he now uses it to stay up later and will just sit on the potty, when I go to remove him he screams… I want to try to go poop!! He also has learned rather well to talk back with statements like “No Mom, I am not going to listen to you”. He also likes to point out the obvious and say inappropriate things such as the other day when my Dad says “Tristan did you see the snow outside? It’s snowing outside!” in which Tristan replied “NO S#$T Grandpa!”(yes punishment followed). Or “Shut up Mom” (also a big punishment inducer). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Most days lately, I’m tired and exhausted and don’t even realize what’s going on. If I didn’t have a helping hand from the Mom I’d probably be completely mental. However, with all the crazy comes all the perfect. The other night I found Tristan sleeping in Brianna’s Crib (same night I tried to let her cry it out) Tristan when I tried to carry him out “No Mom, just helping Tristan stop crying”. Yes, my heart swelled, and I cried a little that Daddy missed it. Tristan and Brianna bathe together now that she sits so well. He always helps shampoo her hair and shares his bath toys. When Brianna wakes from a nap Tristan always greets her and kisses her head and says “HI Nah-na”. Tristan always tries to help everyone these days whether it’s cleaning the house, carrying groceries, doing laundry, or even carry the car seat. Basically, the kids are so awesome when they want to be that I tend to forget the bad and that is my battle. Exhausted, stressed and frustrated with the kiddos, but at the same time adoring them and loving them to death so I can’t blame them for a thing. Brianna is finally proving to be a lot more like her brother; she is already trying to creep along EVERYTHING!! She picks up anything (I really mean ANYTHING) that she finds on the floor and will always put it into her mouth. Additionally she is working on trying to test the limits of stairs too. She is so funny she really is moody and has an evil streak: she laughs when Tristan throws tantrums (Brianna doesn’t do much giggling for those who know her), she also will “scream” whenever I am raising my voice at Tristan…almost as if she’s yelling at him too, and giggles when I get hurt (stub a toy, scratch ha-ha anything!!!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh and Jesse, not like he’s an afterthought, in fact he’s all we think about. He’s doing well, but keeping oh so busy that we get to hear from him not so often. Looks like things will be easier soon?? Come late spring his job description should change but we’ll see, we are hoping for the kiddos’ sake and my peace of mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He really has a hard time being away from the kiddos when they are at such a fun age, but what can you do? I know it’s killing him so much, because he’s just an amazing …um really amazing Daddy. Simply put, life is crazy crazy crazy busy with the kiddos and Daddy being awesome (well I am Awesome too).But we are blessed, and the kiddos are literally killing me and making me stronger all at once<3. I take great pride in the sacrifice we make together as a family; we are Army Strong and love our soldier. These days aren’t always easy, but they are worth it knowing how much we will have as a family at the end of this.</span></div>Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670095077649917431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3309683214433405293.post-79881906305009082282011-01-22T21:57:00.000-08:002011-01-22T21:57:23.638-08:00Play A Latte<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Just a few days ago I tried out a facility in Gig Harbor that recently just re-opened. Upon first glance I couldn’t imagine a better afternoon outing for me and the kiddos: a café (including kiddie snacks), espresso, indoor playground facility, and all the gossip magazines you can handle. I could just visualize Tristan running around making friends, while I drank my coffee and caught up on all my juicy, unnecessary celebrity gossip. However, let’s get down to why this didn’t turn out as awesome as the picture I made for myself in my head. For those of you that don’t know there is a high likely hood at some point in the city of Gig Harbor to run across the snooty bunch. Apparently I wasn’t the only Mom with the same idea, in fact I was amongst familiar territory that I found super amusing…all moms of toddler boys who looked as though they were a “wild” bunch. Upon first glance I thought this must be too good to be true, look at all these active boys that Tristan can befriend. However, I was a little disspointed quickly into our outing when every Mother around me took the relaxing part a little too far, like zone out far. There were kids pushing, shoving, stealing toys, teasing, taunting and running a muck. As a self defined “hands on Mom” I took the approach to discipline Tristan each time I caught him not sharing, each time he took a toy from another kid, each time he even accidently hurt another kid I had him apologize (he took the extra step<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of kissing and hugging <3. I felt my son was indeed on his best behavior. The other Moms had devil children, in fact one kid threw a toy at my head, and then when I said “No-No we don’t throw things at others, it hurts them and its naughty” the mother of said devil child glared at me! I thought to myself, it’s one thing to have an active child, but a totally other issue when you let them run around with no boundaries like a bat out of hell! I was proud to say my little man for once didn’t make friends.I was glad about the fact he found nothing interesting about these rude little boys and just went about his play as if they weren’t there. I was a little embarrassed for the Moms… how can you be proud to have such rude inconsiderate children? What happened to the day when parents actually participated in their children’s play time as well as take time to relax? I read a few articles out of US, read about the 16 and preggers girls and felt a billion times better about my plight as a wife of a deployed soldier aka “temp. Single mother” but I also played with Tristan in the blowup tent, hid in the fort with him, and pushed his fire engine around making noises for his enjoyment. I was just a little disappointed to look around and see these little boys lashing out, misbehaving<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>through their play looking for some attention in some form from their Mothers and none was to be found. I may decide never to return. I may have walked away feeling like I paid an admittance fee to watch kids pick on my son, but I also walked away proud of my mothering skills no matter how much I question them these days. I walked away filled to the brim with pride that my son said, please, Thank You, waited his turn, kissed kids’ boo-boos, and offered hugs and cheek kisses to console those kids he might have offended. No my son isn’t perfect, he’s a typical terrible two wild and active boy, but he is one amazing little dude and I am now more sure of it than ever after being able to compare him to the masses. Sorry folks my kids are pretty awesome…just sayin</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">!</span></div>Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670095077649917431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3309683214433405293.post-18925167741688632412010-11-17T21:57:00.000-08:002010-11-17T21:57:57.103-08:00Just a Little of Me<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTkNWicQ0QgyB8jJqbrHwAJ1Ioj9Ol-f3FZGmIDp-NWJiZJVUO6iOWqlkIHuRJzz0hLx-fS-qgNt_ckW3VCx_OTsczjmxfhRVXdAmgn_eEYUoVb7bRqGynPQ6e_Gv0KAgE2kqE9cqTsmI/s1600/before+deployment+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTkNWicQ0QgyB8jJqbrHwAJ1Ioj9Ol-f3FZGmIDp-NWJiZJVUO6iOWqlkIHuRJzz0hLx-fS-qgNt_ckW3VCx_OTsczjmxfhRVXdAmgn_eEYUoVb7bRqGynPQ6e_Gv0KAgE2kqE9cqTsmI/s320/before+deployment+004.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m officially over the mid twentys and definitely feel a little torn after this Birthday. I ‘m not quite sure whether I feel old or young. Most days I don’t feel like I’m old enough to be a wife, a mother, and paying bills and taking care of things like<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>shots, memorizing the family’s social security numbers, folding laundry and organizing house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other days I feel like I’m old. Those are the days where I have to take care of EVERYTHING, the days where the kids overwhelm <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>me to a point where I want to just cry,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and the days where there are bills we can’t pay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess that comes with adulthood , the good , the bad and the ugly. However, I wouldn’t change any of the days I’ve had in the past year and all the 25 years before because everything I’ve been through has taught me who I am, and what I am capable of. Here is my compilation of what I know about the past 26 years of MY life. If you don’t know me too well, this might shed some light …haha. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Top Ten Pet Peeves for 26 years</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Loud eaters</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Civilians who wear any piece of a real military uniform</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bad parents<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>which include ( diaper only children in public, smoking next to your baby/child,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>having babies without being able to afford them(I overheard a couple arguing about how they couldn’t afford enough diapers for the week or food), <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>soda in baby bottles, etc.)… I will always believe people should have to qualify for parenting. Being able to have a baby does not a parent make</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People with nice cars, that they don’t clean</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">People who ask questions during movies instead of actually watching for the answers</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Know it alls, I HATE when people offer unsolicited advice </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">People that are rude to public service employees i.e. waiters, customer service people, Baristas, etc. Think about how you’d want to be treated if you were on the other side of the counter</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">8.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sloppy people. Cleaning up after yourself is not hard, just takes a few more minutes. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">9.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Copying, I’ve always been told to take it as flattery. I really have never been able to.When people copy me it makes me CRAZY!!</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt 0.5in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">10.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">People who seek out praise or attention<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>when it’s not being freely offered their direction</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Top Ten Life lessons(thus far)</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. What is beautiful to me isn’t to everyone else.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The best lessons learned, are some of the hardest things you experience and that hurt you the most to go through or overcome</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Everything really, really, really happens for a reason. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Motherhood is the hardest, most stressful,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>most overwhelming,most beautiful, and rewarding experience.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Love is really all about a little give and take, and ALWAYS takes work.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you don’t have your integrity you have nothing. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Friends worth keeping are there for you in your darkest hours, the times when you are hurting, suffering,or simply just going through something challenging even when they have no idea why.These are the friends who don’t always have do say<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>something they just understand</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">8.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My parents weren’t lying when they told me growing up that money doesn’t grow on trees. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">9.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sometimes the unplanned, the accidents, the mistakes are some of the best things that could happen to you.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">10.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My husband and my kids are my life and I never thought sooo much love was physically possible.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Top ten things I could not live without</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My husband and kids</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My Camera</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Flip flops</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Music</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Coffee/’bucks</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ice cream</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My wedding ring</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">8.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mascara</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">9.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Anitbactirial </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt 0.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">10.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Small notebook /pen…I can’t live without my lists(HAHA obviously)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">25 Things about me</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Live for routine, often difficult as an Army wife, but I’m obsessed with routine and order.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am obsessed with the color pink, dangerous as a mother of a little girl.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">When I<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>think no one is looking I love to sing at the top of my lungs and Dance like a fool.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I love to play my music loud, but I absolutely hate when I have to listen to the radio bc I HATE commercials with music..total buzz kill.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will wear my favorite pair of jeans as many times as I can get away with before people start to notice. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m pretty sure we’re done having babies.However whenever I see a newborn, or a pregnant lady my ovaries go into hyper drive and make want to instantly be pregnant. Then I quickly realize the whole labor and delivery part, the getting fat part, and then trying to get rid of the fat part and, I’m back to reality</span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I love to take photos. In fact I would love to one day have my own little side job of free lancing photography taking pictures at weddings, and portraits of kids,babies and families. However, I am so involved in my pictures and love everything about them(it’s how I see the world)That I’m scared to put myself out there in fear of rejection.(Kinda of contradictory concepts I know)</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">8.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m really really afraid of rejection</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">9.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t like to cry in front of people. In fact I can safely say my mother and my husband are the only people besides maybe my brothers who have REALLY seen me cry.(see pet peeve 10)</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">10.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am slightly OCD. I can walk into a room/building and think of all the germ infested places. Example, I<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>cannot use a dishcloth more than once to clean something or one rag for multiple surfaces for that matter(just spreading icky germs from one place to another).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t like to touch the toilet handle without tp in public restrooms, and yes folks I hover in port a potties.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">11.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am very particular about my kids’ care. I have a hard time leaving my kids for very long. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am very scared of the concept of daycare.(FACT: only 1 out of 3 child care facilities is ever inspected!!!)</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">12.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hate painting my fingernails because I don’t like chipped fingernails, it looks so trailer park(please note I have chipped fingernails as we speak haha).</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">13.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>some holidays deserve to be celebrated whole heartly: Birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Fourth of July, Halloween(sometimes), and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anniversaries</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">14.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am very afraid<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of what the world will be like for our children when they are teens/adults. Perfect example freezing military pay??WTF</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">15.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love to just chill, but I prefer to always have something going on that keeps me busy.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">16.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hate going to the doctors (except when I am pregnant). I will let something go as long as I can until I ABSOLUTELY have to go to the doctor.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">17.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love to workout when I’m skinny, but when I’m overweight I HATE IT!! I find it kind of an amusing concept.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">18.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not above bribing my son. Sometimes it’s the only way to get him to listen to me.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">19.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have many moments that channel on the same level of blond as Jessica simpson. Example: “I don’t think this turkey leg takes much like Turkey”</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">20.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>absolutely despise mornings.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">21.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I Don’t feel bad that I spend entirely way too much money on things the kids probably don’t really need.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">22.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>believe that life is short. Because of this I overuse “I love you” , shower my kids in Kisses and cherish every moment we have together as a family as sacred and special.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">23.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hate being lost, in fact it kind of makes me panic a little.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">24.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am extreme. Very all or nothing type.</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 12pt 0.5in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">25.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am a sentimental pack rat. I still have every corsage I ever received, my driver’s permit, all my cheerleading uniforms, my college acceptance letter and even the pay stub from my first paycheck.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Weird quirks I've Developed:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">1. I only like to drink water if it's cold</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">2. I hate when my food touches</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">3. I love ketchup on my eggs</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">4. I clean my ears like almost every day</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">5.I think warm coffee sucks unless you can drink it before it's cold</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">6. Milk sucks</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">7. I take time outs in the bathroom---Mommy time outs for even just 5 minutes</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">8. I take almost scalding hot showers</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">9. I don't like socks</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">10. I pack household goods in our clothing</div>Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670095077649917431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3309683214433405293.post-88263763302728713742010-10-19T15:30:00.000-07:002010-10-19T15:30:34.592-07:00Block Leave AdventuresThe time we had together on block leave was simply put, FANTASTIC. I couldn't think of anything more that we could have managed to cram into such a brief time together to ourselves. Who ever came up with the idea that two weeks was enough?? We went to Topeka zoo, Oktoberfest, the playground what seems like a billion times, fishing, bowling,the nature center, had a movie night, and a pumpkin patch. I was going to detail each trip but that'd take a lot of time. A run down of it all is Tristan loved playing with Daddy, Brianna loved convincing her Daddy that she has to be held or snuggled in order to sleep. Tristan loved only about three things from the zoo trip... the train,playing peek a boo with a baby oragatanun, and the zoo playground. Oktoberfest would have been a complete bust had it not been for all the kiddie rides in which Tristan rode multiple times. He even received a compliment from a ride conductor that he was the most well mannered, smart, and mature two year old he's ever seen. Fishing was fun for Daddy, while the rest of us pretty much just provided support. Daddy thought it'd be fun at the nature center to rock Tristan on those bouncy rides on a playground and instead flung him to the ground. At the Pumpkin patch Tristan insisted on carrying aka dropping his pumpkins, thought every one he saw was his. He also wanted to feed the animals but didn't want them to touch his hands so we had quite a dilemma . Brianna was a poop for the last bit of the Pumpkin patch but all in all after all the places we've been she was a good sport almost every where we went. When we went bolwing I apparently was wrong that I was good in High School. Tristan and Jesse raked me over the coals for two games. If we had put in bumpers Tristan and Jesse would have probably beat me even worse. We had a lot of fun on movie night, even though Brianna didn't cooperate. Tristan tried Sprite for the first time and ever since has insisted on getting more of it. I also discovered that they make Charleston Chew minis ...AMAZING, I think I'm in love.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tristan found this ring and insisted on putting it on Mommy</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This Little Guy and Tristan were like two peas in a pod<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They had a HUGE park across from the Zoo with a Train </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tristan sat like this for nearly 30 minutes, and his expression stayed the same while he looked at EVERYTHING!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNFKyZXlxU9P7yeAUHKhl4eqNFXZH6sJhYbr5VIMEyDtYSXWWY3tsX83Q_D0mQjUTW7Y_Z5RKEFTIutWZh-oCnsHCmPDf9LwmSlUa4aHM6ke7K8fkL16dZGeajVcGrhuwIh-E7sH6vMOc/s1600/PREDEPLOYMENT+448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNFKyZXlxU9P7yeAUHKhl4eqNFXZH6sJhYbr5VIMEyDtYSXWWY3tsX83Q_D0mQjUTW7Y_Z5RKEFTIutWZh-oCnsHCmPDf9LwmSlUa4aHM6ke7K8fkL16dZGeajVcGrhuwIh-E7sH6vMOc/s320/PREDEPLOYMENT+448.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perfectly folded, and I didn't even tell him to:)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOvsdY5LotnwHFdPK6a5FM7GnVVsEICuZblHFfqCkdRy5Kj9pERTb_JVJvuLIVmQybyhE-HbotBH8fD2tp600BpL4zW6eFDcAM7YZOSJwJbXIPQWKi7Ri6kIeoqvqdbazfdkPlZeMIhE8/s1600/PREDEPLOYMENT+465.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOvsdY5LotnwHFdPK6a5FM7GnVVsEICuZblHFfqCkdRy5Kj9pERTb_JVJvuLIVmQybyhE-HbotBH8fD2tp600BpL4zW6eFDcAM7YZOSJwJbXIPQWKi7Ri6kIeoqvqdbazfdkPlZeMIhE8/s320/PREDEPLOYMENT+465.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Such a Trooper, she was happy like this in her Stroller all Afternoon at the Zoo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZcn-dTt_IlfMBCNww2nW9veYPfxohq03ueluORhlatxAF4fv4V4WD4c5gtqsrQpAiJaMs725g7NAjsml1V4LP4uFMLP6Y8PDG6ibZcdw7wLxPIXycwsV-pufSS73oMLYw6bznfcbMZQo/s1600/PREDEPLOYMENT+473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZcn-dTt_IlfMBCNww2nW9veYPfxohq03ueluORhlatxAF4fv4V4WD4c5gtqsrQpAiJaMs725g7NAjsml1V4LP4uFMLP6Y8PDG6ibZcdw7wLxPIXycwsV-pufSS73oMLYw6bznfcbMZQo/s320/PREDEPLOYMENT+473.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the many attractions at Grant Park in Topeka was a rose garden, with over 16,000 different roses!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXAR73yHk_GEyrJT-4u1xOGBf1oYbFnJZqXex5zzoZSL8SJjVrmY82v4KfDHHLcQ6uzx8WSOqBtdsbzW0wQrfTuZwM5ugkh9AJGOtdGJEM6hlhl1rKwsgE_GFQR0sO5Imd1NX2Vx4a_ss/s1600/PREDEPLOYMENT+486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXAR73yHk_GEyrJT-4u1xOGBf1oYbFnJZqXex5zzoZSL8SJjVrmY82v4KfDHHLcQ6uzx8WSOqBtdsbzW0wQrfTuZwM5ugkh9AJGOtdGJEM6hlhl1rKwsgE_GFQR0sO5Imd1NX2Vx4a_ss/s320/PREDEPLOYMENT+486.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She kept me Company while we waited for Dad and Brother at the Carousel</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga9ti5TGYGDXv6BG0o-qbYasDoY0UApcmW3v9tcqotOQ0JaKMMClieoj8uznVkG1DxvhL46EVK0zZlt82x1-MqZrGSa2gY1i7SenT-G19iCG1gGVNcUnhQk4iVepTkXDQzBXDK8cwq7KE/s1600/Daddy+home+322.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga9ti5TGYGDXv6BG0o-qbYasDoY0UApcmW3v9tcqotOQ0JaKMMClieoj8uznVkG1DxvhL46EVK0zZlt82x1-MqZrGSa2gY1i7SenT-G19iCG1gGVNcUnhQk4iVepTkXDQzBXDK8cwq7KE/s320/Daddy+home+322.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Found him like this after his morning Trip to the park...on the couch, only a few hours after waking up!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC9iCja4-YECDASmAgtP-hXLQ-Qy6gnDGuIM4HhzugvLEi7BT4uSWMays7VyJeh2qvpQORug4UmudSNiUbwq13lP58MT4-q9DbViIkNZD2uvcG7CWCjZGWgx59WfdqWHtgiru_lMkFYKY/s1600/Daddy+home+404.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC9iCja4-YECDASmAgtP-hXLQ-Qy6gnDGuIM4HhzugvLEi7BT4uSWMays7VyJeh2qvpQORug4UmudSNiUbwq13lP58MT4-q9DbViIkNZD2uvcG7CWCjZGWgx59WfdqWHtgiru_lMkFYKY/s320/Daddy+home+404.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tristan took full advantage of finally having Daddy around for Bed time stories</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFtW4JCAXmg3PqtcalcuWbFO5zjGW_O7IQJfVNHazWgSCapaXUwNZgW1PcN4qiZbXjDIq-7zi3Gkh5bpUe8Cfa4Ud90E7C4TZ2KQnjiWhqTTQUX8xP2vDCQUMUjV0whZYuxPaEEGp9uJA/s1600/PREDEPLOYMENT+163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFtW4JCAXmg3PqtcalcuWbFO5zjGW_O7IQJfVNHazWgSCapaXUwNZgW1PcN4qiZbXjDIq-7zi3Gkh5bpUe8Cfa4Ud90E7C4TZ2KQnjiWhqTTQUX8xP2vDCQUMUjV0whZYuxPaEEGp9uJA/s320/PREDEPLOYMENT+163.JPG" width="214" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDjpBLnhO_7scMRqgjkiIvdFfejk3y2z3rM8GeX-LL5AMo8gLtEmrISo2LXYcXL03BhkIA-_lnTMOjJadDAAN2TjuiwyL25POc5CnuvI0XrF-P7Vapx39IZn-r0KmqlDBdQ8MWxqUYGlU/s1600/PREDEPLOYMENT+218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDjpBLnhO_7scMRqgjkiIvdFfejk3y2z3rM8GeX-LL5AMo8gLtEmrISo2LXYcXL03BhkIA-_lnTMOjJadDAAN2TjuiwyL25POc5CnuvI0XrF-P7Vapx39IZn-r0KmqlDBdQ8MWxqUYGlU/s320/PREDEPLOYMENT+218.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He told me he was calling Grandma</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo8LGXK6xHoigc9Dt1YBr5-k6rBBggSpUlyPoi3LbXtZUT3e7tdaEyC5t5D3hoXtSVKxBN20GwxvMLxV_YBvkGX8hOMtLakgbSiKIWSUyiT2uzpjXjf1-Q4oJROyXS0gGl597XBA7xMr8/s1600/PREDEPLOYMENT+243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo8LGXK6xHoigc9Dt1YBr5-k6rBBggSpUlyPoi3LbXtZUT3e7tdaEyC5t5D3hoXtSVKxBN20GwxvMLxV_YBvkGX8hOMtLakgbSiKIWSUyiT2uzpjXjf1-Q4oJROyXS0gGl597XBA7xMr8/s320/PREDEPLOYMENT+243.JPG" width="214" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrU-Zh_sR6PPH4K6hqd_CbeH9F6kWnHTz3HhGM_v_6RsLemp9GSlQzLrdVn8fDH8cJ_TyEbAez6tcJPFk-HvP5wODwovyRnpw3OIL6vpyvOFrU40Ck8yUZ-35JhU_7lC0mzI539_RUzBU/s1600/PREDEPLOYMENT+498.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrU-Zh_sR6PPH4K6hqd_CbeH9F6kWnHTz3HhGM_v_6RsLemp9GSlQzLrdVn8fDH8cJ_TyEbAez6tcJPFk-HvP5wODwovyRnpw3OIL6vpyvOFrU40Ck8yUZ-35JhU_7lC0mzI539_RUzBU/s320/PREDEPLOYMENT+498.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When Jesse first was on leave Tristan would sneak out of his bed after bedtime and into Jesse's spot, just in case Daddy decided he wasn't going to stay haha!</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBdmHeM-lxlKeHNVkdjrQVqoU2kODVi_MUN3ifwTvHddBlfb4-8FHLqNW8XTMn0Id22MUo6Bp1Oy2_NsMKzW6lHsqNaWlOHucYPNRD52qeJJsSxcGp8wW9BBceymFsY9VOw2pcqV_TWX4/s1600/PREDEPLOYMENT+524.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBdmHeM-lxlKeHNVkdjrQVqoU2kODVi_MUN3ifwTvHddBlfb4-8FHLqNW8XTMn0Id22MUo6Bp1Oy2_NsMKzW6lHsqNaWlOHucYPNRD52qeJJsSxcGp8wW9BBceymFsY9VOw2pcqV_TWX4/s320/PREDEPLOYMENT+524.JPG" width="214" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvCyqRYA3Gk_aL-6p8RgDXukjQb6NTvsVz5ctu7h5Kpyt26mz4ov-AhcJbZqcfSr9I7CfiFeeHFmTOthLsFxoDyQcqhky-y95HLnmm8BrpwL001GXt_-oa8YLGV9OUFO4E5WotCrTUX8/s1600/PREDEPLOYMENT+535.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvCyqRYA3Gk_aL-6p8RgDXukjQb6NTvsVz5ctu7h5Kpyt26mz4ov-AhcJbZqcfSr9I7CfiFeeHFmTOthLsFxoDyQcqhky-y95HLnmm8BrpwL001GXt_-oa8YLGV9OUFO4E5WotCrTUX8/s320/PREDEPLOYMENT+535.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I tried to channel my inner child by going down on my stomach and my fat ass got stuck at the end</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxc4JbWQHXDX-wnc8La3BmkzioLItpiltyo_5IzUkRd0x9rL94XqQ4chSWf0EstQv3bxcLKbu9e-fYBd88ifmNLZV7JHGzHnSBnC4talhCnfrJVvEjHKpDtQAF5Vid2UM2ZJEB1ip_ikY/s1600/PREDEPLOYMENT+544.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxc4JbWQHXDX-wnc8La3BmkzioLItpiltyo_5IzUkRd0x9rL94XqQ4chSWf0EstQv3bxcLKbu9e-fYBd88ifmNLZV7JHGzHnSBnC4talhCnfrJVvEjHKpDtQAF5Vid2UM2ZJEB1ip_ikY/s320/PREDEPLOYMENT+544.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tristan went down after me and gave me a good shove off the slide:)</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit9ordzZwRN7-9axFHRfhpr1rCpE97s_QdkPJdf4u3rQCxEV41Q-jrra5L4C2bFHGXAS3L_s1PBAzq0XlaKzYthw4QHtAoZ197TjbbKZlicH1cGqIhqn4QMz6NwtiGTzBL2cKj-0UciiY/s1600/PREDEPLOYMENT+570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit9ordzZwRN7-9axFHRfhpr1rCpE97s_QdkPJdf4u3rQCxEV41Q-jrra5L4C2bFHGXAS3L_s1PBAzq0XlaKzYthw4QHtAoZ197TjbbKZlicH1cGqIhqn4QMz6NwtiGTzBL2cKj-0UciiY/s320/PREDEPLOYMENT+570.JPG" width="214" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSCRczlmRqJp5SXJCsADI4iN7BhXrfcMzjbw87O1qPeaOoEkR-Wf7sgk9_Y5O_BR0gceKO85gHgLUnYTxOvayVfz5uIjeGhk_UhB7nUYUjrhK_6vCN2tZOp5OKnvrRXn_CmsnngQCZeCc/s1600/PREDEPLOYMENT+610.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSCRczlmRqJp5SXJCsADI4iN7BhXrfcMzjbw87O1qPeaOoEkR-Wf7sgk9_Y5O_BR0gceKO85gHgLUnYTxOvayVfz5uIjeGhk_UhB7nUYUjrhK_6vCN2tZOp5OKnvrRXn_CmsnngQCZeCc/s320/PREDEPLOYMENT+610.JPG" width="214" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKGrQA-F_x1-egdl6w9flpNkaYkMdROxZGBPe6TG66Voz8oKrtD5XLE8rkOBT-G7sfq5ZgY0qHNgEG_ttUFj6LN2nE1IcuWXZv5lC4YoVYAjwOy8k1LTH4wCfqyngBp2w6wQ9MEuc5mFw/s1600/PREDEPLOYMENT+642.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKGrQA-F_x1-egdl6w9flpNkaYkMdROxZGBPe6TG66Voz8oKrtD5XLE8rkOBT-G7sfq5ZgY0qHNgEG_ttUFj6LN2nE1IcuWXZv5lC4YoVYAjwOy8k1LTH4wCfqyngBp2w6wQ9MEuc5mFw/s320/PREDEPLOYMENT+642.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even though it was kind of cold , he insisted your suppose to lay in the sand, or as he called it the beach</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXUIeJf-N3oQ1iOwNGmMYORSTVY-Gu9T6GmnqjaOzN8YQOlwnVRg8qBN5tINu1Aztp-3bNxH6sYYETnpFVjJF1OFIUsT31tcFrc0FRrGKCs_MAvT8wzNgs0U4RFoaSlr5hrtKxp55tsY/s1600/PREDEPLOYMENT+686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXUIeJf-N3oQ1iOwNGmMYORSTVY-Gu9T6GmnqjaOzN8YQOlwnVRg8qBN5tINu1Aztp-3bNxH6sYYETnpFVjJF1OFIUsT31tcFrc0FRrGKCs_MAvT8wzNgs0U4RFoaSlr5hrtKxp55tsY/s320/PREDEPLOYMENT+686.JPG" width="214" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuoUzxyDS38MM4Oyj2pwNaqZr98anCRY8Sf58MQd4zqkktQ2F6buc76c1E3CD8Dc6PJZxnVB8tej67vdjMfO5vmA8UwWxgtZFJYulnlvl_zbBuh7RwaBTQKG_vUusFZ5oDMLph6AISDBM/s1600/PREDEPLOYMENT+734.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuoUzxyDS38MM4Oyj2pwNaqZr98anCRY8Sf58MQd4zqkktQ2F6buc76c1E3CD8Dc6PJZxnVB8tej67vdjMfO5vmA8UwWxgtZFJYulnlvl_zbBuh7RwaBTQKG_vUusFZ5oDMLph6AISDBM/s320/PREDEPLOYMENT+734.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love this because it looks like Tristan is already starting PT</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijfp5JyB4gFaNVjUZh162i19IdC1zJvcR3Hg7FkfJacasaXPZD8Hw5R1PGq-XVihwzzKwqKGnBt9j1v_29a2yW14jM_DBORdEsCplmlN4Ri1g1exgsx4yHGRjXx2NaxwtmNeli8SkQac0/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijfp5JyB4gFaNVjUZh162i19IdC1zJvcR3Hg7FkfJacasaXPZD8Hw5R1PGq-XVihwzzKwqKGnBt9j1v_29a2yW14jM_DBORdEsCplmlN4Ri1g1exgsx4yHGRjXx2NaxwtmNeli8SkQac0/s320/predeployment+phase+II+010.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the many times she convinced Dad he was the only way for her to get some sleep</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD_QHNhcrcHH0sEoPACEFOFONv4jx_KoPQ81SEqKHo055kXbcCT5Qv-DiaRMkXcpPl27i_aUubT208l8jHXrn-hdtY_VG95G6jyFPLyUt0YhrLA-VN9djsn8fdm6J1WRCilhjWikOF3oI/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD_QHNhcrcHH0sEoPACEFOFONv4jx_KoPQ81SEqKHo055kXbcCT5Qv-DiaRMkXcpPl27i_aUubT208l8jHXrn-hdtY_VG95G6jyFPLyUt0YhrLA-VN9djsn8fdm6J1WRCilhjWikOF3oI/s320/predeployment+phase+II+075.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Park Bench Bum:)</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkuLdHYfSjWody_Bm4IiAiozXopf3dSJa1zJbJ1beijg7yfpRNvcfFOjDOh5S2lmBPuaGb3ezYX9dkzW5cDvl_GAKFr9w82oVoZ_jEfrAiGe6OdbCOaWuB52tPmT1HoZarX1bCNZxXeKs/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkuLdHYfSjWody_Bm4IiAiozXopf3dSJa1zJbJ1beijg7yfpRNvcfFOjDOh5S2lmBPuaGb3ezYX9dkzW5cDvl_GAKFr9w82oVoZ_jEfrAiGe6OdbCOaWuB52tPmT1HoZarX1bCNZxXeKs/s320/predeployment+phase+II+091.JPG" width="214" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNzLz-umnBM1Dt7iuquPfU7a_enovVuyCIRF-0oE-QHRFj5YyMXA1SwxrwZaFRMd_4Ll0MQVqsv4_nex0VvctbmNbtPtcNmjgVTaI6ejbreFYE3xKfWKLj2VRfq6x0RwUH-pUOd3p-71k/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNzLz-umnBM1Dt7iuquPfU7a_enovVuyCIRF-0oE-QHRFj5YyMXA1SwxrwZaFRMd_4Ll0MQVqsv4_nex0VvctbmNbtPtcNmjgVTaI6ejbreFYE3xKfWKLj2VRfq6x0RwUH-pUOd3p-71k/s320/predeployment+phase+II+096.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He is such a good big brother , he was so careful and had so much fun taking her down the slide with him</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOTh3-fn9xijXcvDk9RsSBNwYlJ6xHbSu0PcArauF16oIGiJrByoVZVu01omnU8mS0gDJQcFBKvykptR98jOopeapxSIbxsVLySVKIdU8jRHVyHW-WFUlwBmbcyaDRQORrF31YhvSHunI/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOTh3-fn9xijXcvDk9RsSBNwYlJ6xHbSu0PcArauF16oIGiJrByoVZVu01omnU8mS0gDJQcFBKvykptR98jOopeapxSIbxsVLySVKIdU8jRHVyHW-WFUlwBmbcyaDRQORrF31YhvSHunI/s320/predeployment+phase+II+101.JPG" width="214" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0FJCW3-icy4xRjKIVPXh-NFHs2vFg38nuiQLz5zLC-8Wga4cUzz1fapcIwd8vhM7vlG5mEFSogs4yaXrLs7t4BzVUzOekvVkaoK89CAw4Sd_MEpgMjPN_eJMSCG6rOt9g2_XlcQyJVL8/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0FJCW3-icy4xRjKIVPXh-NFHs2vFg38nuiQLz5zLC-8Wga4cUzz1fapcIwd8vhM7vlG5mEFSogs4yaXrLs7t4BzVUzOekvVkaoK89CAw4Sd_MEpgMjPN_eJMSCG6rOt9g2_XlcQyJVL8/s320/predeployment+phase+II+210.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yet another nap for Dad and Brianna, she has him hypnotized, and I secretly think he uses her as an excuse to nap himself</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmipoiLgxT9utHRPZkLh_d3IIFQ751zoCaz01tzNMgLZm1BFm4wKvq9GNMxE7jj_LXM21DDYWDwRg5WjwOg_TWtbH_nreTf_8Poj3qbHRaZzaeMa4o-DTbASMqtJwqwPxdyNYW6Hntcqw/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmipoiLgxT9utHRPZkLh_d3IIFQ751zoCaz01tzNMgLZm1BFm4wKvq9GNMxE7jj_LXM21DDYWDwRg5WjwOg_TWtbH_nreTf_8Poj3qbHRaZzaeMa4o-DTbASMqtJwqwPxdyNYW6Hntcqw/s320/predeployment+phase+II+310.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jesse found this little guy hiding on the tall slide at the playground</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaZZa5tH_vUK17Z1LYGbUw4fVqcTell2bzSR1gs8biqV_cwZYPx4FCGndjCYJvrfMQ6GR6rfIW30Pa0Ui23xw86uouXZ2XTiBGVyIyv0as54PIFq39JJIzsu7CeOV9xQ6mpDm100Ar61s/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaZZa5tH_vUK17Z1LYGbUw4fVqcTell2bzSR1gs8biqV_cwZYPx4FCGndjCYJvrfMQ6GR6rfIW30Pa0Ui23xw86uouXZ2XTiBGVyIyv0as54PIFq39JJIzsu7CeOV9xQ6mpDm100Ar61s/s320/predeployment+phase+II+337.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He's got such good balance</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9I0XoXmNhXYs01WbLgOWfuhTKdWbfRrzG6JB-D7EodJ7J17lT3ZtKQr6FgiffVOC843GYzQfRqJKFmmB84Z9voiUhW9GAt8d_tdF-A9WSNKSg-4leQZX9hxAqxhiUfBf9gWVUysX4-zY/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+376.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9I0XoXmNhXYs01WbLgOWfuhTKdWbfRrzG6JB-D7EodJ7J17lT3ZtKQr6FgiffVOC843GYzQfRqJKFmmB84Z9voiUhW9GAt8d_tdF-A9WSNKSg-4leQZX9hxAqxhiUfBf9gWVUysX4-zY/s320/predeployment+phase+II+376.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He got a fat lip and wouldn't take ice, so I gave him a popsicle ...looks like Dad isn't the only sucker in the family:)</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTZJDeG3hVCNmORNqIfKeSHU_2TXXoV2D67YmnE8TuIkhVV-loerfoTpR-bttdYwiHelFMgVzNbdHru8q0whP2HiI2OfMmmAZcsbnf067gHyZqFMuirxrmjiaYaacrIPdEQd-Wm51k9oQ/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+377.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTZJDeG3hVCNmORNqIfKeSHU_2TXXoV2D67YmnE8TuIkhVV-loerfoTpR-bttdYwiHelFMgVzNbdHru8q0whP2HiI2OfMmmAZcsbnf067gHyZqFMuirxrmjiaYaacrIPdEQd-Wm51k9oQ/s320/predeployment+phase+II+377.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ2WUKgjuKzCwH3X9rVXG14kMnPeecnt-QaU2cBKOcyJxdvhplfOKIrxtA4keDSwxUwq3zbNbls3wuKD7_rY_OyAhSDUXkZndbfmisujEGisGelEgusYWsYgnNtdDMN6XZO3QV7E8SIao/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ2WUKgjuKzCwH3X9rVXG14kMnPeecnt-QaU2cBKOcyJxdvhplfOKIrxtA4keDSwxUwq3zbNbls3wuKD7_rY_OyAhSDUXkZndbfmisujEGisGelEgusYWsYgnNtdDMN6XZO3QV7E8SIao/s320/predeployment+phase+II+400.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">haha this is the ride Jesse tried to bounce Tristan on and instead launched him straight into the ground. I love giving him a hard time about it because he felt soooo horrible about it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP4ey84awkjNI4qN-jvr9XzTlJNrKEc9dOWGyCbau77UDnGzeDZ4LelHbicpTtFJP78yU-tpNqDhHRNSqC28ZPfNk3C4fxhlz3OkecZUyM99nvk0IEciixdtP6OKGUedc6r_VXdl4kGJI/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP4ey84awkjNI4qN-jvr9XzTlJNrKEc9dOWGyCbau77UDnGzeDZ4LelHbicpTtFJP78yU-tpNqDhHRNSqC28ZPfNk3C4fxhlz3OkecZUyM99nvk0IEciixdtP6OKGUedc6r_VXdl4kGJI/s320/predeployment+phase+II+108.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First ride of the little Kiddie Motorcycles at "Oktoberfest"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He was the only kid who actually thought he was driving the boat, he was very focused</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our little eager beaver didn't take long to figure out how the ticket thing worked</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFYbt3aMdl8PE93K0jy1YcJKtre39KMNnAkhvsMbiERLjIsm6et8ZQxd-I98eB_Pm42vUOgXu35vpUPD6mACEuv-E33fTjuNOppeSZuZcb_MgfCz4rmcqruQpsKEa2kyJp8lLxBrekn7E/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFYbt3aMdl8PE93K0jy1YcJKtre39KMNnAkhvsMbiERLjIsm6et8ZQxd-I98eB_Pm42vUOgXu35vpUPD6mACEuv-E33fTjuNOppeSZuZcb_MgfCz4rmcqruQpsKEa2kyJp8lLxBrekn7E/s320/predeployment+phase+II+144.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He rode this little roller coaster twice and each time followed directions and held on the entire time:)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWHXQYJqkKJ7pm9VABDaK0k0KFJPJ3qEe5HD2ej1a1YU5yQmsyIxKso4flO4Y-zOCB15hzXKHOwDsrolVcZnfYa-E7aNNfv4C7W4eK8Yly-ljWoGjCgzVU-lukuFCOAC5xXY-MSpPuQ-g/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWHXQYJqkKJ7pm9VABDaK0k0KFJPJ3qEe5HD2ej1a1YU5yQmsyIxKso4flO4Y-zOCB15hzXKHOwDsrolVcZnfYa-E7aNNfv4C7W4eK8Yly-ljWoGjCgzVU-lukuFCOAC5xXY-MSpPuQ-g/s320/predeployment+phase+II+150.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watching Mom and Tristan on the Ferris wheel</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGWE2qu4Gc44QvVB7pGD_PQshQQEilZKN0_rdIPJbLqRxdoceqbjaLDy0xByy3OOdv4lwC5oTjbJi8GKyodTefuKltImyxpbl2b2-BegYA-wSZkR1swcE3qDRWTIy-GDAe3cILq1TeKPM/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGWE2qu4Gc44QvVB7pGD_PQshQQEilZKN0_rdIPJbLqRxdoceqbjaLDy0xByy3OOdv4lwC5oTjbJi8GKyodTefuKltImyxpbl2b2-BegYA-wSZkR1swcE3qDRWTIy-GDAe3cILq1TeKPM/s320/predeployment+phase+II+166.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tristan went down this slide once with Daddy and once with me, this slides scare me to death so I can say I conquered a fear at "Oktoberfest"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4viYfEz_cPjUxk1Yl2vkD688-eiaau1sqAtsVPprSRMn9vaOhT_T2UINENok0p3qn8GiIdsuOaAPm0-UNPMdikUATBnEQsxDcpYliu-WHao15z9L8jG0kr0aLjHCSprOktm5CVICiXkE/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4viYfEz_cPjUxk1Yl2vkD688-eiaau1sqAtsVPprSRMn9vaOhT_T2UINENok0p3qn8GiIdsuOaAPm0-UNPMdikUATBnEQsxDcpYliu-WHao15z9L8jG0kr0aLjHCSprOktm5CVICiXkE/s320/predeployment+phase+II+169.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LoL I wish I could have got a good shot of Jesse and Tristan actually on the ride, Jesse was on the verge of barfing the entire time and Tristan was so focused I couldn't tell if he was going to throw up, cry , focused or all three! It was soooo funny to watch!!</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrZHY1pi0UhvOMRo5V50Pgo3XHLo72Vo4yhwel03BNGajkLKYt0nR1kbugG9hnG0ssB2ghXV2rUOiBCmEI0KWLkEnGSgbAFZSNYAxlLKGsaNipuKRffygdfmtSCMHuHMc_Y7frTZzxZzs/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrZHY1pi0UhvOMRo5V50Pgo3XHLo72Vo4yhwel03BNGajkLKYt0nR1kbugG9hnG0ssB2ghXV2rUOiBCmEI0KWLkEnGSgbAFZSNYAxlLKGsaNipuKRffygdfmtSCMHuHMc_Y7frTZzxZzs/s320/predeployment+phase+II+170.JPG" width="214" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They had a fire engine with the Ft. Riley Fire Department. Being on an Army base Tristan doesn't really care much for none Army stuff, on the engine the only thing he found interesting about it was a piece of candy he found while he was up there!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRx2btJ6HR0WXn5KWCAXDPH3KReo3R_8Lumn7ZVyxXfQeJOVpxAYzpJzg737dZovFNagU32FVBfEdMp_W62REMja2MIX4sv94yaNQpPiEYfb4FoAnwLP_85GQGoebds-jz8vP7dUs9yc/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRx2btJ6HR0WXn5KWCAXDPH3KReo3R_8Lumn7ZVyxXfQeJOVpxAYzpJzg737dZovFNagU32FVBfEdMp_W62REMja2MIX4sv94yaNQpPiEYfb4FoAnwLP_85GQGoebds-jz8vP7dUs9yc/s320/predeployment+phase+II+218.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enough Crap for an Army, I swear we probably put 2 extra pant sizes on Mommy! Those Charleston Chew minis though are probably my new favorite candy, only trumping.....Charleston Chew Orginal Candy Bars haha!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiorhikHGEd8wYu_XXCFJZhG9VUl2v8mep8yfebeK8O6_J4UvEuEdLHpeiC1zflbHmnZ0xCazm2qft2KdeVBp19GrkYMXsSROIpe1tbc96Uxv_Hsln97pI4yhi7lQlFaDdi3I0NppVwzhk/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiorhikHGEd8wYu_XXCFJZhG9VUl2v8mep8yfebeK8O6_J4UvEuEdLHpeiC1zflbHmnZ0xCazm2qft2KdeVBp19GrkYMXsSROIpe1tbc96Uxv_Hsln97pI4yhi7lQlFaDdi3I0NppVwzhk/s320/predeployment+phase+II+219.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Movie night layout, the boys rough housed in the pillows A LOT!!</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPR0afr6_RaVRTfIQrk3u8HvDStPWwcJa129hf1w2gHMEKAoBn6lWfMwa-PZziCkr9qLlMGQDFYJIvmXDrbNrfhKbLBHs-na83cQaaqvThayFjmqMxldhBrHjOb0d6uOJ60IrYsKjYIhQ/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPR0afr6_RaVRTfIQrk3u8HvDStPWwcJa129hf1w2gHMEKAoBn6lWfMwa-PZziCkr9qLlMGQDFYJIvmXDrbNrfhKbLBHs-na83cQaaqvThayFjmqMxldhBrHjOb0d6uOJ60IrYsKjYIhQ/s320/predeployment+phase+II+225.JPG" width="214" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxPr-vYIYF3WtuxGEENojVYLs4A4qL-LqkiRv0a_KAIoxoGF8aqs6k6zIrsOpgpinkmaIwq96C20yjjJ1hxy3xlAYBE9ZJP5d6YkO8QX_e1il1_DZCnpEQzE9DgSxCHwUOxOKI_q4Eff0/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxPr-vYIYF3WtuxGEENojVYLs4A4qL-LqkiRv0a_KAIoxoGF8aqs6k6zIrsOpgpinkmaIwq96C20yjjJ1hxy3xlAYBE9ZJP5d6YkO8QX_e1il1_DZCnpEQzE9DgSxCHwUOxOKI_q4Eff0/s320/predeployment+phase+II+228.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Proof I wasn't lying when I said Brianna was a POOP for movie night, but upside is we could press pause, no one else was affected and the night went on without any money wasted!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3PIYhUiwGz0ygaWYsdXZQz_etToWsVZGNFspnqFvSOVUL5GxHKh4wokHiagKEJumFqnt624CK5niFe57m09tkdXEjfxfvWOjfdWYwM1asK8cS6brrx6srvWKNRe8DvnL3TCyNaFwhkjo/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3PIYhUiwGz0ygaWYsdXZQz_etToWsVZGNFspnqFvSOVUL5GxHKh4wokHiagKEJumFqnt624CK5niFe57m09tkdXEjfxfvWOjfdWYwM1asK8cS6brrx6srvWKNRe8DvnL3TCyNaFwhkjo/s320/predeployment+phase+II+232.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tristan Ready for the Movie, the whole gang is here.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjax8WuP8dO-5X2gzWQyCIjgLx3F1YOuQpoKfQpgxslbdvTDq78qIsq6fJOWI1cXicIUVt1lfiAWQN_6EdgnwqSJaz9QA2uuBfo2DVn7SOX1M31GZPp3kPl3yvzSXGOKr0v-h_eiQo7nnk/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+239.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjax8WuP8dO-5X2gzWQyCIjgLx3F1YOuQpoKfQpgxslbdvTDq78qIsq6fJOWI1cXicIUVt1lfiAWQN_6EdgnwqSJaz9QA2uuBfo2DVn7SOX1M31GZPp3kPl3yvzSXGOKr0v-h_eiQo7nnk/s320/predeployment+phase+II+239.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Could our footwear be any Sexier??</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8fT_fQWdKygb6xydjAX44LlOx5zeLWxi-gh9xPpFwyYBJAmYHL-44HI4GGmCAG2d39RB7xaJN17mICi1dDTa-y4fPYWzKDaBlJ-UkGVmT2pvYxxgpZqL6tieQR4ELKE9mNu6ZoMr9Yq8/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8fT_fQWdKygb6xydjAX44LlOx5zeLWxi-gh9xPpFwyYBJAmYHL-44HI4GGmCAG2d39RB7xaJN17mICi1dDTa-y4fPYWzKDaBlJ-UkGVmT2pvYxxgpZqL6tieQR4ELKE9mNu6ZoMr9Yq8/s320/predeployment+phase+II+244.JPG" width="214" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj75weKc8s7xp6w4UyMYPx0MoQUSJmKxy1EWN5yPpJinwUML-rErl2uBrYNjbQM4RSJCLAYOkK4seLTvF6ml0av0Pd3ApH_DnUYA8Xz9ECYSB5Ro54kRPppIq_FFz9eztYI4D2iqwxS1VA/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj75weKc8s7xp6w4UyMYPx0MoQUSJmKxy1EWN5yPpJinwUML-rErl2uBrYNjbQM4RSJCLAYOkK4seLTvF6ml0av0Pd3ApH_DnUYA8Xz9ECYSB5Ro54kRPppIq_FFz9eztYI4D2iqwxS1VA/s320/predeployment+phase+II+248.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Family Balls....hahaha </td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5l6yp5ztuqdCPicIGOxlTsclN7YB85sVCzohMvBvQntrgul_Wxdcis3clqIFFd5M9cKbn780sCjNXZnHnMlksIr-Q2dliyxKs90HVGwO6n3zwuyKRkIM46pgDp-nQdZLoQly8D22jv5w/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5l6yp5ztuqdCPicIGOxlTsclN7YB85sVCzohMvBvQntrgul_Wxdcis3clqIFFd5M9cKbn780sCjNXZnHnMlksIr-Q2dliyxKs90HVGwO6n3zwuyKRkIM46pgDp-nQdZLoQly8D22jv5w/s320/predeployment+phase+II+251.JPG" width="214" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSeZZ6YH3fLQtSJ8hs7awTOCqTyqj_pH-teLlQlVL0fbw4wKwPGuYva52mJdH_S-0SK_oCbqGYSB3WXt8lD3CZzktOyfFXBlf_SHHmzh3GBgjpjQWygRGlp1ndBMxlewGRgGzce-wdlw0/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSeZZ6YH3fLQtSJ8hs7awTOCqTyqj_pH-teLlQlVL0fbw4wKwPGuYva52mJdH_S-0SK_oCbqGYSB3WXt8lD3CZzktOyfFXBlf_SHHmzh3GBgjpjQWygRGlp1ndBMxlewGRgGzce-wdlw0/s320/predeployment+phase+II+255.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Didn't take long in a game for me to start to get my butt kicked!</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXjYR_6NsU394MHlYbhTyuZpISRm8yCwSx228P_mMmUoOU-pCxLmQJyk31B-7336P-o-BknbNvGxcG17dA4La2FWS0L-qciWb0AH09JezO3CK_ObxU55wPebu6a4al7AWCYvq2f0sUtd4/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXjYR_6NsU394MHlYbhTyuZpISRm8yCwSx228P_mMmUoOU-pCxLmQJyk31B-7336P-o-BknbNvGxcG17dA4La2FWS0L-qciWb0AH09JezO3CK_ObxU55wPebu6a4al7AWCYvq2f0sUtd4/s320/predeployment+phase+II+273.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhln0_kgh2lp8TYBfqdB8tyEOESiGf65EsLfjobAkxQpdJ5NmLpn0NLY7u3CCtPnvJ564VONf_OdTETD13AOUYLMl0awkfQJ-JicoHCz8A7Ha9_NCDnvc-y8_fNO1XV48owLppyRS59t84/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+279.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhln0_kgh2lp8TYBfqdB8tyEOESiGf65EsLfjobAkxQpdJ5NmLpn0NLY7u3CCtPnvJ564VONf_OdTETD13AOUYLMl0awkfQJ-JicoHCz8A7Ha9_NCDnvc-y8_fNO1XV48owLppyRS59t84/s320/predeployment+phase+II+279.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She was perfectly content as long as she could see us bowl, and no one stopped her from blowing her bubbles!</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBNGoNFdy3xJRyuZkuI_ptEOgvs1fa6nCi0Nj4NUmJy-a82kLpuw37TOuAgKdSkO6KcE5BkXEqapYQT9nK8ScU4TWh6K9cJN4ex_ooasBBsIj2j-W94Sa5uT-IoElqNbPzlqMBDXEf1oI/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+292.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBNGoNFdy3xJRyuZkuI_ptEOgvs1fa6nCi0Nj4NUmJy-a82kLpuw37TOuAgKdSkO6KcE5BkXEqapYQT9nK8ScU4TWh6K9cJN4ex_ooasBBsIj2j-W94Sa5uT-IoElqNbPzlqMBDXEf1oI/s320/predeployment+phase+II+292.JPG" width="214" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbihjdqLr6V14nV-QlNaFni-9f6TfDhMuYZy3rFAYa18AEWHMJC7TzORc7Zj1iZFXfP4M8GItR49ck3YoBh6-RZOiBWXluW8jibf6fHZgom4LVVxuHFDq-mUeOoaL9BOXXzIqdBuzNR4/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+434.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbihjdqLr6V14nV-QlNaFni-9f6TfDhMuYZy3rFAYa18AEWHMJC7TzORc7Zj1iZFXfP4M8GItR49ck3YoBh6-RZOiBWXluW8jibf6fHZgom4LVVxuHFDq-mUeOoaL9BOXXzIqdBuzNR4/s320/predeployment+phase+II+434.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loved the little baby calves at the petting zoo at the Pumpkin patch.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9S-3rSAm3wtPNzegunH20NJaGCqIpfaCSzQdaacxubyChr6DZK3soFP6b6jJliru1IoR1mtXg_Ysu-xklz9EBCv9rSyMMdn9FKDoa9tOS_MRdZ6gw2g4eI6hq5yeFmpjPPp2LiCNgpwA/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+444.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9S-3rSAm3wtPNzegunH20NJaGCqIpfaCSzQdaacxubyChr6DZK3soFP6b6jJliru1IoR1mtXg_Ysu-xklz9EBCv9rSyMMdn9FKDoa9tOS_MRdZ6gw2g4eI6hq5yeFmpjPPp2LiCNgpwA/s320/predeployment+phase+II+444.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This picture might trick you into thinking he fed the animals. False. However, he did everything but because he refused to let the animals eat off his hands.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDOodd6n1GNsg-CMOOCQ7FP5FyyaQfQsicOqt4VTaBnM8zHZD88rhS_ChmV1SMt7Z9BmU3XuI6pFOzAcl_wVLclDn4OS1p9hTGR14FfZkA_xFNWyIG-H7RacTy1Mck8hlgE6tJGjz_tn4/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDOodd6n1GNsg-CMOOCQ7FP5FyyaQfQsicOqt4VTaBnM8zHZD88rhS_ChmV1SMt7Z9BmU3XuI6pFOzAcl_wVLclDn4OS1p9hTGR14FfZkA_xFNWyIG-H7RacTy1Mck8hlgE6tJGjz_tn4/s320/predeployment+phase+II+438.JPG" width="214" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwi8n8uC4F6s_UwOanfGPuEGhQZ2sOHxl4keH39u0iLuO85Jhyphenhyphen5H3YSn5omPSZFBBSaB9gTDVGFxlIrcNGnm9Sq9uBdQQU6PpHLqT9XJIrUdShCWHk3p_mjXhGKo3ZtCz152n3_J2LU1k/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwi8n8uC4F6s_UwOanfGPuEGhQZ2sOHxl4keH39u0iLuO85Jhyphenhyphen5H3YSn5omPSZFBBSaB9gTDVGFxlIrcNGnm9Sq9uBdQQU6PpHLqT9XJIrUdShCWHk3p_mjXhGKo3ZtCz152n3_J2LU1k/s320/predeployment+phase+II+453.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was the good part. He loved getting into the tractor, sitting in the Tractor seat. After realizing how high up he was by himself...he was a little less enthused.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilsNNE26HJ9is7I-pCVumCVJYGV10JX_ooioDgErudmgOHVhDlIn2QUIlP9jpjv0pAGR79aa1Tu5UAzf-qXpigFz_rGWxEpkoUpBKWTXMZE8fmD0bDZFLx9xLyS1md6y4BhlFz8xYCwx8/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilsNNE26HJ9is7I-pCVumCVJYGV10JX_ooioDgErudmgOHVhDlIn2QUIlP9jpjv0pAGR79aa1Tu5UAzf-qXpigFz_rGWxEpkoUpBKWTXMZE8fmD0bDZFLx9xLyS1md6y4BhlFz8xYCwx8/s320/predeployment+phase+II+467.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daddy home also means I finally get to be on the other side of the lens once and a while.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi29meX2FM2NDoFgKx6PvWLqv-77lc1e77fawlc4T6v5YxGZwp9OOI1MePkD_G8Uj8gQT0OX3wdjqQ3ZYkU7DtLAoCSzYxUiolSlLZfVpytuWy2Q5UPpO4QiWQ74e5RD4seq9opc5gxHv8/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+479.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi29meX2FM2NDoFgKx6PvWLqv-77lc1e77fawlc4T6v5YxGZwp9OOI1MePkD_G8Uj8gQT0OX3wdjqQ3ZYkU7DtLAoCSzYxUiolSlLZfVpytuWy2Q5UPpO4QiWQ74e5RD4seq9opc5gxHv8/s320/predeployment+phase+II+479.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Telling everyone about the Tractor stamp on his hand while we were on the hay ride.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picking up pumpkins</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ofkcRSxLZ56cRZvVZVkgojc3v0sZ7p56FtYk7epNNu2M_bqBfOh5E__ApgFfrhhCy1KYn4gRzXQv-T3WDSPRqUv_CZTwWb2jaKyZEcv9LJkTHyOeoXox6B8yC1ywA62fBZ2Y1gl2pxs/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+547.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ofkcRSxLZ56cRZvVZVkgojc3v0sZ7p56FtYk7epNNu2M_bqBfOh5E__ApgFfrhhCy1KYn4gRzXQv-T3WDSPRqUv_CZTwWb2jaKyZEcv9LJkTHyOeoXox6B8yC1ywA62fBZ2Y1gl2pxs/s320/predeployment+phase+II+547.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Every pumpkin was his pumpkin. He'd pick it up carry it , see another one, drop his and pick up another.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxwAjyp5OGpAj6IeqRcqRc-lpPM5HyQRuqKMQDXhPntraTRqkdSCSLqh8uOzJ9JFYHHoH3aZKG_XfuW8qtALiki0eytD9gAi-NOIWeIHMvqyJ-qMUNO4_taYo0jG6hqWq8DtiPelljsss/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxwAjyp5OGpAj6IeqRcqRc-lpPM5HyQRuqKMQDXhPntraTRqkdSCSLqh8uOzJ9JFYHHoH3aZKG_XfuW8qtALiki0eytD9gAi-NOIWeIHMvqyJ-qMUNO4_taYo0jG6hqWq8DtiPelljsss/s320/predeployment+phase+II+557.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very protective of his pumpkin.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpwtWTaz3vH3dLPKxGCyn-kuMYRkfsTuF7hXvicq6LUbLTRJ192KBRfHNVKS5QU0ECu3FO-zgve4yrCvmhImRZl7SDM31-EG25itGTDC7DJzZ1rVHRrm5MXAgONeWVbuQn3-zHvNWsub0/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+602.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpwtWTaz3vH3dLPKxGCyn-kuMYRkfsTuF7hXvicq6LUbLTRJ192KBRfHNVKS5QU0ECu3FO-zgve4yrCvmhImRZl7SDM31-EG25itGTDC7DJzZ1rVHRrm5MXAgONeWVbuQn3-zHvNWsub0/s320/predeployment+phase+II+602.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everyone's Pumpkin except Brianna's.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirEB2yQvfhfUt9_Qz9C3ECaJvXWOVeSZZMqFid-qRDAYsg0TWLaaJZrUrUBSzawkvybL7KW5izFS3cvLVNeWQZX8KicsYQO64Jz84sSLZ-150VLO9PP9xiF-bdBurQAF1Ek_HoKgEvsg4/s1600/predeployment+phase+II+670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirEB2yQvfhfUt9_Qz9C3ECaJvXWOVeSZZMqFid-qRDAYsg0TWLaaJZrUrUBSzawkvybL7KW5izFS3cvLVNeWQZX8KicsYQO64Jz84sSLZ-150VLO9PP9xiF-bdBurQAF1Ek_HoKgEvsg4/s320/predeployment+phase+II+670.JPG" width="214" /></a></div>Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670095077649917431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3309683214433405293.post-85054669556252535272010-09-29T10:53:00.000-07:002010-09-29T10:53:51.239-07:00Taking For GrantedLately as we prepare for Jesse's deployment(our first since marriage and kids) I can't help but realize all the little things in our life that we take for granted. It seems so simple and easy to get caught up in the every day mumbo jumbo. Sometimes there is so much to do and so much going on that we don't even take time to realize what is really important. However, because this deployment is looming even closer each day seems like a time for reflection. I don't know why exactly, and I don't really know exactly how to describe it. But I feel like each day is somehow different. Trips to the playground aren't just trips to the playground. Snuggling to a movie as a family, isn't just a movie. Even watching tv with Jesse and the kids feels like something special. I guess you can say it's a lot easier to cope with the idea of being seperated as a family for an entire year, if we view each day before he leaves as a blessing rather than one less day together. The other day Jesse thanked me for doing so good with the kids, and for making such beautiful babies. This made me realize something. We need to stop taking credit for something we are only partially responsible for. The Lord has blessed our lives in so many ways. Although sometimes I feel like everyone is against me, Jesse has to work a long day, the kids won't nap, Brianna won't stop crying, the house is a mess, and bills are waiting to be paid. I have realized more now than ever I am really blessed. I have two uber beautiful and healthy kids. A roof over my head,and food in my belly. A loving husband who supports me in everything I do and is an INCREDIBLE father to our children. We have a steady paycheck, our own health, and Jesse stays safe each day and comes home(eventually) in one piece. I am blessed. We are blessed. So I am taking the time to slow down and capture the blessings I have in my life each day, I think it makes things easier. So we may not get around to doing all the "family pre deployment" activities. I think what really matters is right here. Jesse getting to tuck the kids into bed, hold Brianna until she falls asleep, hear the kids giggle, see them smile, and watch them do all the amazing things they do as the become beautiful little people. So today and each day before Jesse leaves I will cherish the time we have rather than time we've lost. I will hug longer, smile more, and just breath. Because as crazy as this life is , it's our life and it's beautiful all by itself.Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670095077649917431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3309683214433405293.post-33566537874621940312010-09-28T12:53:00.000-07:002010-09-28T12:53:00.050-07:00Playground EttiquetteToday was a playground day. As I headed to the playground with the kids in tow the only thought I had in my mind was that nap time would last forever and man oh man did I need that long nap time! Anyone ever notice though that when there are other kids there, there seems to be some unwritten playground rules of ettiquette? Who decided these rules? Obviously Tristan going up to a little girl that caught his eye and rubbing her butt is not ok haha in fact it was quite embarrassing. My little man thinks he knows all the right moves to wooh the ladies. When I told him we don't rub girls butts (as I choked back laughter at the fact I had to say those words) he replied with "cute" and pointed to her and laughed. Ohhhh boy... I don't think he gets it. However, here's the deal with the rule thing. Tristan is two not even old enough to understand turns. The kids that were playing on the playground were like 4 and 5... anyways they all decided to go down the slide at once. I'll admit I'm not the paranoid Mom on the playground, in fact as long as he's not bleeding or crying I assume he's having a heck of a time. With all the kids on the slide everyone collided at the end, which made all the kids cry. All the kids except my own... of course because he's awesome and tough:)! Toughness aside the other moms and one dad...(totally weird too, in uniform, this guy doesn't have anything better to do during work hours than hang with some housewives?) gave me the look of death and glared at my little dude. Seriously?? So the best part is they began a little whisper session( which brought me back to highschool) as they gathered up their kids and headed to the "other" playground about 500 ft. away. I couldn't help but laugh to myself. Did Tristan just become the playground bully because he was the only one that didn't cry after the group slide sess?? So lame. Even more lame is I had to explain to Tristan why he now was the only one at the playground and how the other kids didn't want to play. My two year old had the first moment of rejection. Where did this rules come from?? How sad has it become that I am a bully's mom and Tristan a bully simply because he's not that wimpy kid that cries over everything. My son played at that playground today for hours and wouldn't you know other kids came and went and played contently with Tristan... no crying either. Apparently the days of childhood innnocence are being clouded with the complexes of some parents.I will not understand these unwritten rules, and I guess that means some days Tristan will just be the bully.Elisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670095077649917431noreply@blogger.com0