Day 269

We had a busy productive and mostly fun day today. I fear that I may have a head cold coming on so I let myself sleep in with the kids until 7 AM. The day got started right away and as soon as Emma headed out for school Logan and I headed out shopping. We had a great morning. He got a haircut and we wondered around the PX before we headed to the commissary and did our grocery shopping. By the time we made it home it was time for a nap and my lunch.

The afternoon stayed rather busy. Right after Emma got off the bus we headed straight to swim lessons. And then a quick dinner on the way home made for a busy rushed kind of stressful evening. The kids are down earlier then I really wish but I need some quite time tonight and hopefully will start to feel a little better in the AM.

Day 268

So, I have not been good about taking pictures the last couple of weeks and I am sorry. I will get on it and try to post a few videos over the next couple of days.

Day 267

It was another day at home, BUT today I was super productive. Aside from spending wayyyy too much time on the phone I managed to clean the entire house and do 5 loads of laundry. I feel very much accomplished.


Emma had a great day at school. She is enjoying the color themed days, today was black and white!! She also ate breakfast at school that she really loves.


Logan is crazy as ever. He is talking more and more. A few of my favorite phrases, "No, Don't want too" and "Emma School??". He brings a lot of smiles to our days.

Day 266

It was a nice easy Sunday. Not a whole heck of a lot to report other than I am now volunteering during Chilren's worship and I have a feeling that I am going to LOVE it!!!

Day 265

It kind of seems unreal that today is Day 265. Only 100 days left of a 365 day deployment.

And, I was able to start the day off on a incredibly positive exciting note. I received the much anticipated phone call phone Matt saying we got Fort Benning as our next duty station. I could not be more excited. Not only does this mean that I get to go back to a city that I felt so loved and enjoyed so much but this also means 2 extra years at home for Matt. We are looking at 3-4 years in non-deployable positions. We are STOKED!!!

day 264

Today has been a pretty good day. I set out this morning and took Logan to the YMCA drop off care so I could get out and get one final 10 mile training run in. All in all it was pretty sucky. I finished in 1 hour 42 minutes and I felt every minute of it. I am sure the oily salty popcorn did not help last night as well as my protein shake was too close to my run time. But it feels good to finally be completely ready.


So, I am a little sore and incredibly tired so the kids and I took it easy this evening. We headed out and got Subway for dinner and stopped for some candy and ice cream. We had a good time until the sugar kicked in and I had to say good night to the kids:)

Day 263

Luminescent Color: Acapulco Lilies is the name of this months Flower of the Month. It is gorgeous and I am really really enjoying this months. I have such a great husband!!!

Day 262

AHHHHH!!! I am emotionally spent and ready for this deployment to be OVER ALREADY!!

Okay, back to reality. Today Lori headed back home. It was very bitter sweet. It has been a incredible nearly 2 weeks. She helped me in more ways than just helping with the kids and household chores. She is also a bit of a mentor that either helps me see how things are or makes me see how things are. It is nice to have a "friend" who will tell me straight up how they feel. Now, it is time to get into the swing of things. The Army Ten Miler is in 11 days!! I am super stoked to head to DC and get a chance to spend some time with Sam and show off a accomplishment then means a little more than running. (Official bib # 19302!!!!) Our weekly fall schedule is coming along . Logan now has swim class on Tuesday Mornings and Emma will have Jazz Tuesday evening. And then Emma will have swim on Wednesday evening. I have PWOC ( Protestant Women of the Chapel) on Thursdays and hopefully will get a small group of ladies together for Friday night Supper. And then the weekend will include a much needed and I will force it Saturday at home followed by a busy Sunday at church now that I am a volunteer for Children;s worship in the morning. Jeezzz, looking at all that looks like I only have Monday's free. Oh well, the end of this deployment is getting here, right???

Day 261

It was another easy day in our household today. Yesterday Lori gave Logan a early Birthday gift which was a hot wheels ramp and 3 cars. He is totally digin the hot wheels!! Logan also received a gift in the mail from grandpa David of a Ducks "Hat" (Logan calls it that but it is a head band) Logan would not take it off his head. Way too flippin cute.

Emma was able to have Gramie go to Jazz one more time and thankfully she took a couple cute pics. Emma is really enjoying Jazz class.

Well, we are up late tonight. Now that the blog has finally uploaded we are on to play a card game on the living room floor so we can also watch The Biggest Loser. I have had such a great time with the company in the evening, tomorrow I will definitely be in bed super early to avoid the reality that no one is in the house.

Day 260

The above video is from last week but I wanted to put it on here because I love the noises Logan is making these days.

Today was a super fun day with Lori. We look Logan to care this morning so we could head out for a huge breakfast at a nice restaurant that is famous for their stuffed french toast. The french toast is stuffed with a cream cheese and ricotta cheese and is heavenly. We completed out afternoon with a bit of shopping before picking Logan up from care and enjoying the rest of the evening with the kiddos.

Day 259

Today was a bit of rush rush but we were productive and ended the day with friends. After Church this morning Emma and I went to a girl scout sign up here in Carthage. Emma is excited to start Daisy Scouts in October. They had this set up like a carnival and her little friends Ashley and Danielle were also there so we enjoyed playing and hanging out with our friends.


While Logan finished his name this afternoon Gramie and I prepared a feast to take to my good friend Katie's house where Kresta also met up to hang out and get to know Lori a little more. I have some incredible friends!! We had a great time giggling and getting excited about Katie's husband upcoming R & R.

We got home with just enough time to get the kids in bed and sit down and enjoy a couple card games ourselves. It has been nice having company here in the evenings. I sooo miss playing cards.

Day 258

Today we attended the Cream Cheese Festival for the 4th Year in a Row. This is a fun little festival that is all about Cream Cheese. So today we started out by having the kids write their names with Cream Cheese on a giant poster. They thought this was pretty cool. After making a quick tour of the food booths we decided we would rather have dessert first so we got in line to see the Largest Cheesecake in the United States. Super doper fun!!! After we ate some lunch and Emma had her face painted we decided to head on back home so Emma could get ready to accompany Gramie to mass.

Day 257

Today was a nice Friday. We hung out around the house and enjoyed being home. Logan and Gramie cut out cookies and baked them while Emma was at school.

This evening we made home made pizza and sat down to watch Parent Trap part 2. Emma and I both got a huge kick out of this. And then the real fun began.... After Logan went to bed we popped some popcorn and got out a few bags of M & M's and watched Annie. Emma really enjoyed this movie. Annie happens to be one of my favorite movies but as I curled up with Emma on the couch around 9 PM I feel fast asleep!!!

Day 256

Today was a nice easy day at home. Emma was so excited to have Gramie come to school and have lunch with her. This was also the first time Emma purchased a hot lunch at school and really enjoyed it, as well as the ice cream she was able to purchase!! So, Emma will now get to have a hot lunch at school once a week.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out and getting a lot of stuff done. Gramie is stripping and refinishing the hardwood floor, I am so thankful for this time consuming chore that she is doing for me while she is battling a cold. I was able to get some random things done around the house. And was also able to sleep in a little longer than normal since I knew Gramie was here to get the kids up while I was working out.

Day 255

today the kids had their first swim lessons. Emma was in swim lessons last year but we choose to wait until this year. So she was a little hesitant but I am confident that with time she will enjoy herself. Logan had a ball!! He thought jumping in the pool and dancing around was the funniest thing. He was good for about 20 minutes and then was ready to get out. I look forward to the next 5 weeks!!

Day 254

We had a super fun day today. I had a chance to go to lunch with a good friend and get some shopping done.

And Emma was excited to take Gramie to her Jazz class, while I enjoyed a little time at home with Logan.

Day 253

Today has been a nice easy day around the house. I was able to enjoy a nice video chat with Matt where I also learned about a special birthday gift that I will be given next March. Matt surprised me with a ticket to Mazatlan Mexico in March. Lori and her friend Mary will be meeting me there and treating me to 1 week in a beautiful resort. I am so excited for a opportunity to get away with no kids and no responsibility. While the trip is a little overwhelming for me to think of Matt not being there; I know this is a great gift for me to get away with my good friend and enjoy the sun and beach after a long deployment:) I am already looking forward to a spa day, sitting by the pool with a good book, and enjoying many many margaritas at the pool bar!!!

Day 252

Today we had a chance to enjoy our family for a few hours this morning. After breakfast with Granpda and Gramie we headed over to Aunt Judith's. I enjoyed getting a chance to talk a little more with the family while the kids had a blast running around in the back yard with Aunt Abby, Uncle Derek, Uncle Patrick, and her cousins.

We started our long 6 hour drive back to Carthage so we were able to get home just in time to let the kids run around for a few before bed.

Day 251

Today was a super super busy day. We started off taking Grandma Terri to the airport in time to pick Gramie up and drive another 4 hours for Cousin Erin's wedding in Pennsylvania. We arrived and were able to spend a little time with Grandpa, Uncle Patrick, Uncle Derek, and Aunt Abby. And then we all got dressed and headed downstairs for the wedding. We all had a great time. I want to send a huge Thank you to Gramie for taking Logan up to bed which allowed me to stay with Emma and enjoyed myself of the dance floor.

Day 250

Today Emma's kindergarten class celebrated her 5th Birthday. Emma was so excited to bring in cupcakes and share this special moment with the Class. I observed Emma being rather shy yet having a few friends that she was sitting close to.

We are well around here. We have enjoyed our time with Grandma Terri. Grandma and Emma had a good time at the library the other day and Logan has enjoyed some special play time with her while Emma was at school. Terri and I even got a chance to get out and do some raspberry picking and have some lunch without the kids. Thank you Grandma Terri for spending the last week with us!!

Day 249

Today was a nice easy day. I was able to start to the morning with a peaceful 4 mile run as the sun was rising.


Terri and I had a chance to head out by ourselves today. We enjoyed a little shopping and lunch before we went raspberry picking. I now have enough frozen berries to last me all winter for smoothies, yumm-o.


The kids are well. Emma seemed to have a better day at school today and was very happy and excited to come home and head to the library with Grandma. Logan is also doing well. A little naughty, but you all already now that!!

Day 248

Today has been a nice day. After Emma headed to school we headed out to the YMCA for a Cardio and Sculpt class. This was really nice for me. My legs were rather tight after my 10 mile run yesterday so step class appears to have helped me loosen up a bit.

This afternoon I was able to make 3 batches of applesauce before Emma got off the bus. Emma is having a bit of a hard time at school. She said she got to play outside today but she missed her Mommy and the other kids did not play with her. This is hard for me to hear but I have to keep reminding myself that this is how Emma will learn how to be independent and social all on her own.

Logan is doing well. He is talking up a storm, and repeating just about everything we say. He is missing Emma a ton and reminds me many times throughout the day that he misses Emma by saying "Emma school". It is too sweat.

extra video clip

naughty naughty Boy

Day 247

We had a busy busy day here today. Today was Emma's first day of Kindergarten and she was sooooo excited. She woke up bright and early at 6:45 AM ready to go. Unfortunately, real elementary school does not start as early as Pre-K and she did not understand why the bus was not coming super early. So after we finally saw the bus she jumped on and took her seat with all the other Elementary students as if it was no big deal. And the day went on. Once I knew school was out of school I started to wonder where she was and why she was not home yet. It took them 45 minutes to deliver her safe and sound in front of the house. And we only live 1 mile from the school. I am hoping as things start to run smoother it will not take so long to get home. Emma had a blast at school. Right away she told me they ate in the laboratory (cafeteria) and told me about eating cupcakes for snack. Emma even gets to celebrate her birthday again at school on Friday with cupcakes for the class.

The day continued to stay busy after Emma came home. We quickly made dinner and then off to Jazz we headed. Emma did alright but she was super tired. So I hope to get better pictures and maybe a video next week. We came home after Jazz to tuck Emma into bed by 6:30, my little angel was very tired!!1

Day 246

We had a blast apple picking. We ended up with 19 pounds of apples which has given up plenty of snacking apples, 2 apple pies, and 1 batch of applesauce.

Day 245

Today we went to our friends house for a house warming party. The kids had a great time with all their friends, there was even a large bouncy house. Terri and I enjoyed a chance to chat with other adults while the kids played so well together.

Day 244

Today we got up and headed out for a nice 7 mile walk with Grandma. It was a nice walk but it kicked my butt. We kept a pretty quick pace and the tires were almost flat on the stroller so it was heavier to push.

After our walk we took the kids to the park for a picnic and some playtime. They really enjoyed being able to run around after being stuck in the jogger for 90 minutes. It was a beautiful day in the North country.

extra video clip

Day 243

Today was the Big 5th Birthday party for Emma. We were lucky to have a few friends that allowed us to use a community center on post so we were able to take advantage of the splash park and a party room. The kids all enjoyed a snack before heading out to the splash park for a little while. After getting dressed they played stick the diamond sticker on Strawberry Shortcake and then duck duck goose followed by Pinata fun!!! Emma had such a great time and got a ton of cool fun new toys. We are so blessed to have so many incredible friends to share this special time with.

Day 242

Today was a super busy day for Emma. This afternoon she had her 5 year well child Doctor's appointment. And she had to have 3 shots, oh you would have thought the world was going to end. But thankfully, after the first one she realized it was not that bad and we quickly got through the next two. Emma is now weighing in at 39 pounds and is 42 inches tall.



After dinner tonight we went to Emma's kindergarten orientation where she meet her teacher and got to look around the classroom. the teacher was so kind to have a little goody bag for both the child and the parent. Emma is sitting in front of her cubby here. She is soooooo ready for school to start. I gotta say I am anxious just as well.

Day 241

Emma's 5th Birthday was a blast. We started the morning by opening 1 gift before heading to Syracuse to pick up Grandma Terri. We then went shopping for all the Strawberry Shortcake Party supplies and went to Target to pick out new shoes and 1 new birthday game. After a birthday lunch at Friendly's we drove back to Watertown and stopped at Walmart to order the Strawberry Shortcake Cake for Emma's Party on Friday. Emma enjoyed her day and is looking forward to seeing all her friends at her party on Friday.

Day 240

August is Over Already!! WAHOO, we are 8 months into this deployment.