Day 300

We had a great time trick or treating tonight. We were able to stay home all morning and afternoon and enjoyed some family time. We painted pumpkins and made home made macaroni and cheese and then took some naps!! We started our Halloween festivities at Katie's with a dinner party. The kids feasted on mac and cheese and hot dogs while the adults enjoyed Chili and Bread, yumm-oo. It took a few minutes for the 3 of us to get dressed so by the time we got out the door we did not want to come back. We enjoyed some trick or treating with our friends and then headed down the street a little further by ourselves. Emma has so much fun running up to the doors and saying " Happy Halloween" while Logan preferred to keep is real by just saying "candy" and then standing there long after they gave him a piece (he would say "Thank You" on his way down the sidewalk). In the end the kids came out with 2 gallon size bags of candy. 1 bag of chocolate made it into the deep freezer and then other was successfully placed in a Soldiers hands!!!

Day 299

Today was a great Halloween Eve. Logan and I started the day with a nice Video Teleconference with Daddy. Logan showed off his naughtiness and then ran around the little room with misc. keys. After running errands and getting Logan down for a nap, Katie came over and I was able to go to Emma's school and watch her parade and join her for the Halloween Party. Those kids were so cute and were having a TON of fun eating all the extra candy!!! This evening we headed to Trunk or Treat at church. We had a blast doing all the little games they had set up for the kids. I think the highlight was bouncy in the bouncy. And they both enjoyed the dart gun:)

Day 298

Logan had a fun filled busy 2nd Birthday today. We started the day by going to the YMCA and h got to play with his friends. We headed over to McDonalds Play Place for some fun and lunch next. Logan was having a great time until around 1 or so when he started to get tired. I quickly high tailed it to Walmart because I wanted to help him spend some of his birthday money. The kid came out with some nice toys. Our night was rounded out with Pizza and cupcakes for dessert. The kid was super tired tonight and fell right to sleep with his new Cars blanket.

Day 297

Day 296

This is a extra video clip from Sunday. We took out all the clippings, eyes, confetti, tissue paper, and glue and make masterpieces!!!

Today was a super busy day. I had the privilege of attending a ladies club here in Carthage and speak about being a Military Spouse surviving multiple deployments. After running back and forth from post twice, Logan and I watched Emma at Jazz class. And then hurried home so I could make dinner and get these kids to bed!!!

Day 295

Today was a great day. Logan and I were able to hang out around the house and Carthage all day. We even had a chance to play a little basketball at the YMCA. Today was one of those days that I can take a deep breath and know I can and will handle everything that comes my way.

After Emma came home from school we headed to the basement to paint. I knew Logan would not last long. But I was able to get two cute little clips on the kids and their creativity.

Day 294

Tonight The Disney Channel had a Mickey Mouse Special On. Choo Choo Express was the name. Logan is sooo into trains right now and Emma really enjoyed it as well. So the above picture is the kids enjoying popcorn and their special TV. (Yes, Emma is wearing calf high boots with her pajama's)

Day 293

My October Flower of the Month is A Tropical Sunset in a Vase.

Receiving this monthly flower arrangements have been so nice. It would bring a smile to my face every time I saw the long green box in the mud room. Then as I would open and unwrap the arrangement, and cut the stems and place them in water. I would continue to smile every time I would walk past the flowers for the next 1- 2 weeks. It really was something that I truly enjoyed and was worth every penny. As the holidays are quickly approaching the deployment is also quickly ending. I have asked that this be my last arrangement. I always like to decorate the island for the Holidays and before I know it my Soldier will be home to enjoy the Christmas candles that will sit in the middle of the Island!!!

Day 292

Just an extra clip from our time with Aunt Holly.

Today I get my 24 hour break so I thought I would post really quick because I will try not to be online tonight. I can already taste the Chinese and wine. I am so looking forward to a nice quite movie and then hopefully sleeping a little late tomorrow.

Day 291

This afternoon, I decided we should do some fun stuff. Since most of our afternoons are filled with running around getting ready for activities. So after school we enjoyed some hot chocolate and marshmallows. Emma, of course Loved this and wanted more. Logan does not have much of a sweet tooth and after he spilled most of the hot chocolate all over his clothes he said all done and left the marshmallows.

Next up was a craft. I found the idea in a Family Fun Magazine. It was too simple to take some paper and draw a tree trunk and then splat the colors of Fall on a paper plate and let the kids sponge paint leaves on the paper. Logan did great and enjoyed this for a whole 2 minutes before he was done. Emma took her time with the alphabet sponges and then painted the entire piece of paper multiple colors, it really looked nice. As I explained to her that you can hardly see where the grass stopped and the fallen leaves began. And she started to laugh and said, "yah".

Day 290

Today was my big cleaning day. I set myself up so I dust every room, clean the floors, bathrooms, and kitchen. As I was going through Emma's room picking stuff up I noticed behind her night stand was about 10 pieces of chewed gum and a few tissues. I sighed and picked them up thinking she was probably hiding all the gum she was not supposed to be chewing. As I was getting Emma ready for bed tonight I asked her where the gum and tissues should go, and she of course said the trash. And I said yes, why did you put it behind your nightstand. And she said, "I really would like a trash can in my room, and a TV".

Kid cracks me up!!

Day 289

The night we celebrated Logan's Birthday with Aunt Holly we made homemade meatballs and spaghetti. Logan first ate the texas toast and then pushed the plate away. Out of nowhere he started to shovel food into his mouth.

The clip of Emma is a special clip just for Daddy from his princess.

going private

Hello family and friends. After a little thought I have decided to only allow people to view by blog who are invited. If you have not received a invitation please email me or catch me on facebook and I will send you one. I will be making the switch in the next few days.

Thank you for understanding.

Day 288

Check out the updated ticker above. While the date did not change too much, 3 weeks is huge. The date is still subject to change considerably but for now I am going to start thinking about the possibility of a great Christmas present!!!

Day 287

Sundays are always are super busy mornings followed by a low key easy afternoon and evening. That could not have come at a better time. I was able to get a few hours to myself this afternoon while Logan napped and Emma played in her room. After getting up and having snacks the kids got on Skype with Nana and Papa and played around with their new coloring books and Nebraska footballs. After a while I asked Emma if she would paint my toe nails. She tried to and really enjoyed it but it was too much with Logan so close. So we decided that I would paint hers instead and she choose a rainbow of colors.

Day 286

Today we had to take Aunt Holly back to the Airport. We have had such a great week with her. So we made the best of today. Aunt Holly broke out Candy Land and played one last game while I was getting the kids and myself ready to head out for the day. Since we had a little time to spare in town we headed to the Science Tech Center which is a huge open play area with a lot of cool fun exhibits. Logan loves to have the run of the place and Emma and I find fun new things every time we go. The kids had a blast playing one last time for now. We so miss Aunt Holly all ready and hope the next time she comes to visit us that she will bring Uncle Ricky!!!

Day 285

Today we celebrated Logan's 2nd Birthday a few weeks early. We had a big dinner just the 4 of us and then opened presents from Matt, Emma, and I. And Aunt Holly and Uncle Ricky got Logan some Tonka books. Logan received 2 Thomas Train Sets and a Gorilla guy from Matt and I. And Emma got Logan a fire truck. He had a great time. After playing with the toys we sang Happy Birthday to Logan and enjoyed some cake and ice cream.

Day 284

Today was a super fun filled day. Holly and I headed out to my favorite breakfast spot and met up with another friend for brunch. After we ate we started shopping. We hit up a few stores that I had gift certificates for and then we started toy shopping for Logan's birthday. It was a super fun day.


The days are going by so nicely and smoothly. Even though I have been super busy I feel very relaxed and hope Holly feels the same. Thankfully, Holly was here this week and was able to give me a chance to get some stuff done. Emma and I enjoyed a trip to the movies Sunday afternoon. I had a meeting on Tuesday that Holly watched Emma for and that was a big help. I think we are home for the day tomorrow and will enjoy the a easy lazy Saturday morning before we head to the airport after lunch. It has been so nice to have her here.

Day 283

Wednesday are our super busy days. Just as soon as the school bus comes we head right over to daisy scouts. Emma is really enjoying this time, especially because her good friend Ashley is also in the troop. Right after scouts we headed home to pick up Holly and Logan as well as their dinner and headed right to swim class. By the time we pulled in the driveway around 8 both Holly and I were exhausted and ready for some down time!!

Day 282

Today Aunt Holly was able to take Logan to his swim class. Logan loves to be in the water as long as he can choose what he wants to do and when it wants to do it!!!


This evening Aunt Holly took Emma to her dance class and then spent some time with Emma at home while I was at a meeting. Emma really enjoyed this special time of playing lots of games and was even able to play by "Emma rules" and really enjoyed herself.

Day 281

We had a nice easy day for our Columbus Day Holiday. I took Holly to the YMCA this morning and we had a nice treadmill workout and then a challenging Core routine that is sure to leave me sore.

This afternoon I had a chance to take Emma to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. What a cute movie. I truly enjoyed this movie and the special time with Emma. While we were gone Aunt Holly baby-sat and woke Logan up early from his nap so she could play with him. Silly Auntie opened the door to check on a sleeping QUITE child. It appears Logan had a great time with his aunt.

Day 280

Today was a beautiful cold fall day in the North Country. After church today we took Holly to the Burrville apple cider mill where we picked out pumpkins. After we spent some time near the water walls and played by the pumpkins we went inside the store to buy some fresh hot apple cider donuts and caramel apples, YUMMY:)

After nap time for most we scooped out the pumpkins and carved them. The kids had fun pulling all the guts out of the pumpkins and then Emma helped me clean it all up so we could roast them.

Day 279

Today was a great day around here. We headed out this morning for a Zumba class. Zumba is a quick moving aerobic dance class and is oh so much fun. Holly than came with me to a crazy commissary trip where I had to buy TONS of stuff and the kids were starting to get super cranky and tired. I was very excited to be able to hang out at home with Holly the rest of the day. Unfortunately, the Ducks game was not on TV but we did not let it bring us down. While we ate our chicken wings and mozzarella sticks we watched Norton Hears a Who with the kids.

Day 278

Aunt Holly flew in today. We are so excited to have here with us for a straight week. It is a real treat for me to be able to go to the Olive Garden when I am in that area so I did not resist the opportunity. We enjoyed a great pasta meal and laughs before we made the long ride back home. Holly and I got the kids into bed relatively quickly and then chatted for a little while we watched Oprah before I started to fall asleep on the couch. It was a busy day but ended with excitement about the week ahead.

Day 277

This is not very good lighting and I will try to get a better one of the next couple of days. But this little girl surprised me the other night while we were on Skype with Nana and said the Pledge of Allegiance. I was so amazed and asked her when she learned that and she said last year in Pre-School!!!

Day 276

Today was probably one of the busiest days we have had in awhile. After lunch I quickly took Logan to Day Care so I could go to a important meeting. I was even able to see Matt via a Video Tele-conference so that kind of set the entire day:) After picking up Logan we got home just in time to get a snack ready for Emma to get off the bus and head straight to Daisy Scouts. She LOVED it, and I am afraid despite the busy day I am going to have to keep it up. While Emma was at Scouts I was able to quickly run home and slice apples and heat up chicken nuggets for dinner. The kids ate on the run after we picked Emma up and headed to swim lessons. We finally got home and I had the kids in bed by 8. Busy, Busy, Busy.. It is helping the time pass quickly. Seems crazy to think Matt has been gone over 9 months now. And I am happy and a little hesitant to say but it looks like we are hovering right around seeing Daddy in 2'ish months!!!

Day 275

My pictures were posted from the Army Ten Miler. If you want to see a few pictures of me running during the race check out the link below!!

http://www.asiorders.com/view_event.asp?EVENTID=50564

You can enter my bib number and it should come up 19302

Day 274

Last night I got home around 7:30 PM. So I let the kids cuddle up on the couch with me for a few before I put them to bed. Ellen had this hilarious video on her show and Logan started to mimic the lady and then Emma. I definitely have some nutty kids:)

Day 273

Today was the big day. THE ARMY TEN MILER. I have trained and looked forward to this for soo long. I was awoken with a positive encouraging phone call from Matt. He had just completed his Army Ten Miler Shadow Run with a time of 1 hour 20 minutes and 32 Seconds. This was at a elevation of 6360 feet and he ran on a rocky surface with a cold. I was super proud of him and really excited to know he completed this run "along with me".

I headed a few years later for a incredible experience. There were nearly 30,000 runners that ran in DC today. When I started the race I could not help but feel all the energy and excitement around. I started the first 3 miles at a steady 8:45 min mile and felt incredible. As the runners started to thin out a little I slowed down so I could take my 30 second walk breaks every half mile but found myself maintaining a 9:45 min pace with very few walk breaks. This was such a incredible experience. I am already looking forward to next year.

Day 272

ARMY Ten-Miler here I come!! I am so excited that this day has FINALLY came. The above pictures Emma took for me. I am excited to have designed the back of my T-shirt that I will be wearing. This 10 mile race means a little more than the accomplishment of running 10 straight miles. It means that I have made it 7 years in this modern day Army. Our marriage is a Strong marriage that has withstood 3 deployments. This body of mine has carried and snapped back (and then some) after 2 pregnancies. And I learned that I am a runner. 7.3 years ago, I would never have imagined this is were I would be. But, while I moan and groan sometimes, I would not take any of it back. Army Strong!!

Day 271

Okay, so I kept promising you all videos and totally forgot again tonight. So I thought I would take videos of the kids sleeping. The one with Logan is too dark and the one with Emma seems to be just perfect. I will work on getting some better ones soon.

Day 270

Okay, I forgot again to take pictures. I will try to get a good video tomorrow evening. We will be having a Pizza and movie night. We received Pollyanna in the mail the other day and I am anxious to get a change to watch the video with Emma.


It was a easy lazy day around here. Logan was not feeling well last night and I too was not quite myself today. So we hung out on the couch and enjoyed a day in our PJ's:)