Tuesday, October 30, 2007

All about Cadence...now that she is 2!

My girl definitely has a personality all of her own. Especially now that she is 2 - and practically in college! She is a total girly girl who loves lotions and powder and dressing up. If I let her she'd eat all day long and now that she can get into the fridge I have to make sure it is filled with nutritious snacks like apples and grapes and cheese and Oreo's. Well that last one is for me. She hates when her hands are dirty so we have to have paper towel on hand to make sure she can wipe them off at a moments notice! One time she told me "Dirty" but I didn't understand her so I didn't get her a paper towel and she took it upon herself to get into her wipes. Hey, a girls got to do what a girls got to do! I am pretty sure she cleans up after herself better then her sister and brother do!

The other day at Waffle House she grabbed her napkin but noticed that there was a piece of sausage on it. She picked up the sausage and put it on her plate. Then she grabbed the napkin again and looked at my lap. I had crumbs all over my shorts and she started wiping them off for me. It was one of the sweetest things - and I feel much more comfortable about the fact that when I get older, she'll be there to take care of me!

Her biggest hobby lately is her love for drawing. Ski's dad and step mom Kathy got her an easel for her birthday and so her daddy bought her some dry erase markers to draw on it. Well apparently I need to watch her a little closer when she's using said markers!




Most little girls like to push their babies around in the stroller...not my daughter!!!


Jacqui and Matt decided on Saturday morning to make me a picture to show me their unconditional love. It involved glue. What a pleasant surprise to find that neither of them put the glue away after they were done with it...

Five minutes later...

The terrible two's have arrived my friends but she keeps me laughing all day long!

Monday, October 29, 2007

Carving pumpkins!

To my surprise, the kids didn't have school today...so we decided to carve pumpkins while Ski was at work. This way when there was a mess all over the entire kitchen, he wouldn't want to crawl out of his skin before it was cleaned up. After being married to someone for a while, you learn little tricks about keeping them from going crazy. This is one of them.

My daughter never over exaggerates situations.

Cadence thinks we have all gone completely crazy - and needed paper towel for her hands every few minutes!

Matt - well he's just Matt. He loves to make a mess.

It's pretty cool how I look like such a professional pumpkin carver in this picture!

The finished products
Only my kids find it necessary to pose with their pumpkins!!!!


Sunday, October 28, 2007

Just in case you were wondering...

As you all remember, Jacqui competed in North Carolina's Punt Pass and kick competition back in September. Because she was the only girl there, she won for her age group and went on to Sectionals. She had to do more then just "show up" this time as there were 4 other girls there competing against her. I can't say that she practiced for the last month consistently but she did kick the ball around every couple of days. Of the five girls, she didn't get first...

but she did get third and got a medal!!! We are so proud of her!!! Only the first place winner moves on so this was the final competition for her. Great Job J!!!

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Down on the Farm

Today we went to a farm. We got to feed the animals, go on hay rides, walk through a corn maze and pick pumpkins. The kids had a lot of fun and Cadence was in animal heaven. She ran around laughing and chasing the animals. All they cared about was that she had a handful of food but she didn't know the difference.

Cadence feeding George the Llama





There are no words for this...
All three kids on the hayride

Caders and her dad walking through the corn maze.

Picking pumpkins - they weren't the biggest pumpkins we've ever seen but they were free!





This was how tall I was at the farm this year, maybe next year I'll grow a little taller!

Friday, October 19, 2007

2 years old!!!

Cadence Evelina is 2 years old!!!!

She had a great birthday and kept telling everyone it was her "Happy!" Here are a few pictures from her day!

She thought it was so cool when everyone sang to her and she even blew out the candle all by herself!

Thank you to everyone that sent gifts!




We also had visitors in from New York. Eileen and her son Austin were staying with us over the weekend so he could visit his dad! She and I were in the Marine Corps together in Japan. We had such a good time talking all night and sharing the entire chocolate cake - skipping minor formalities such as plates...

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

3 years already?

When I told my friend Amanda that I was dating someone, she was so eager to hear how I turned on the charm to get this new mystery man.

“That’s great!!” she said excitedly. “As long as it isn’t Ski… Anyone but Ski! He’s so immature!”

Four and a half years later she flew all the way from Texas to watch as I walked down what could possibly be the longest aisle EVER and marry my husband…Ski.

It was a magical day and when she handed me the wedding card she got me, there were tears in her eyes. It wasn’t because she was so moved by the beautiful ceremony, or our unconditional love or the painfully long road we traveled just to get to that point. It also wasn’t because she was so pleased that my dreams were finally coming true. It was because she was laughing.

Hysterically.

“Open it now so we can both laugh!” She told me.

Inside was a sympathy card…

Today marks three years since I walked down that ridiculously long aisle. Although I thought I knew so much about him back then, it’s amazing what you learn about a person when you live with them on a daily basis. From the small stuff like how purging a couple of T-shirts is such a struggle even though you own 75 of them, to the really big stuff like the stress of parenthood or a cross country move with a toddler.

Although he is a very simple man he is also very complex. Here are a few interesting things I've learned about him over the last few years.

  • His wardrobe consists mainly of jeans and T-shirts.
  • If he thought there was anyway I would believe him, I have no doubt he would try to tell me he was allergic to collared shirts.
  • He cannot stand to go to the doctor and will try to "walk off" a broken foot.
  • He likes things neat and orderly - almost to the point of being obsessed!
  • It drives him completely crazy if a job is left undone or something he owns is lost.This will literally keep him awake at night.
  • He is beyond competitive - even when playing a game with Cadence.
  • There is absolutely no filter from his brain to his mouth and at times he can be a little rough around the edges.

But he is a man of integrity. He is always the voice of reason and he knows when to make me laugh. He swears he's not much into feelings but I’ve seen his daughter melt his heart in an instant with the words “Bye Bye Daddy.” I’ve seen the pain and worry in his eyes when he found out his dad had cancer. I’ve seen the pride he has for two kids that aren’t even his yet he raises them as his own. I've also seen the love in his eyes when he looks at me. And because of all of these experiences, I have seen how mature he has become and I am so proud to be his wife.

Plus he looks so darn good in his uniform!

Happy Anniversary Ski! I love you!



This is Amanda standing next to me - coincidentally she is the one that introduced us when I got to Japan. They still have a love/hate relationship and will trade obscenities back and forth to each other over the phone!

One of Ski's favorite pictures! If only he knew what was ahead of him at this point!


The whole Fam!


Here we are today - exactly three years later!

Saturday, October 13, 2007

I'm 29...again

Okay so I’m really 30.

It doesn’t seem like I have been alive 30 years. When I was younger, it seemed so old and so far away. I’m here to tell you it isn’t as old as it sounds. (This is my fantasy world here, so I can believe what I want.)

My husband did everything possible to make my birthday special! He tried so hard to surprise me, but God bless his little heart, I always find out his plans. Like a week in advance.

First of all the Fam let me sleep in. I’m not sure you can go as far as saying they “let” me sleep in. I pretty much just ignored Cadence when she started screaming “MOM OUT” and let someone else get her. Then I slept for a few more hours. Sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands!

Ski took another mysterious shopping trip to the commissary this time with our neighbor. His wife’s birthday was yesterday so it was a weekend celebration for both of us starting with the banners on our houses last night. They had been planning a surprise BBQ for us for the past two weeks. Since Matt didn’t know anything about it, I only found out about it a few days ahead of time. Ski wouldn’t make it in the secret service either – he gets too excited about surprises.

My only stipulation on the entire day was that I refused to sit home on my birthday like I do every other day of the week. My plans (which interfered with Ski’s plans) were to go to the MUMfest in New Bern.

Did you know that the MUM is a flower? The only reason I ask is because - I didn’t. I figured it was October so MUM was short for “mummy” – I’m sharp as a tack my friends! Sharp as a tack!

Anyway, the MUMfest. Ski wasn’t as excited about going as I was and he let me know his enthusiasm pretty much every 5 minutes. After about the 15th time he said it, I laid the guilt on thick. “If you don’t want to go, that’s fine. I’ll take the kids all by myself but if you decide you’re going to go, I better not hear another word!” My husband hates guilt trips. Especially when trying to make my birthday special so the rest of the day at the overpriced fair went rather well.

I never thought I would see this!

Jacqui and Matt were "almost" too cool to get balloon animals - that is until Matt found out he could get a Harley Davidson.


Cadence wasn't sure what this guy was all about but she waved anyway!


You know if there is Nascar anywhere in the area we are going to find it!


Matt paid $2.00 to do this.


Now that Cadence is starting to learn the animals, she thought this was heaven on earth!!!

Jacqui and I in line for the "Pirate Ship." A kid two seats behind us threw up!

When we got home, we had a BBQ with our neighbors. They had even gotten us a cake and everything!!! Nothing says love like a cake with whipped frosting! Or cheesy hot dogs! It doesn’t take much to please me!

The two responsible for our birthday celebration!

Amber and I as everyone sang Happy Birthday to us. Unfortunatly the "28" candle was not mine!


Thank you guys for a great birthday and for everything you did for us! Your the best!

Friday, October 12, 2007

He'll never be part of the Secret Services!

At dinner, Ski thinks it’s funny to ask one of the kids to get him something from the fridge and while they have their backs turned, he’ll throw food in their drink or something to that affect. There have been times that they have taken their entire dinner – including their drink, to the refrigerator with them just so they know that he isn’t messing with their meal.

Now if it is Matt that witnesses a prank, he just can’t watch and wait. He sits there with a devilish little smile all over his face, his little body squirming with anticipation, as he leans in staring at her, the secret about to burst from his lips. After about a minute, he starts to drop little hints “Jacqui, aren’t you thirsty?” or “Jacqui, you need to finish your milk”

By this time, Jacqui is suspicious because, well, she knows her brother could care less about her level of hydration and if he is pointing out the fact that she has to finish her milk, it also means he has to finish his milk too and that isn’t something they want to make public to their parents. At this point, she’ll examine her meal only to discover that there is something floating in her drink.

“SKI!!!!” She’ll cry as she scoops it out of her cup and throws it at him. “What!!!!” he screams so innocently as if he has no idea what she is talking about. Yeah, you can imagine how fun the game is.

Anyway, with tomorrow being my birthday and all, Ski has been very mysterious. Secret trips to Wal-Mart with our neighbor, the smell of spray paint lingering in the air, all three children out in the garage getting along without fighting and a strange pounding outside our front porch. Since Matt knew what was going on I was sure to find out within seconds of him entering our house…

Y'all, the boy did not disappoint!

“Hey mom, you know those signs that they put up for the Marines when they come back from Iraq that say Welcome Home? I really like those!” It wasn’t hard to figure out from there!