Military Gala

Last night we got all dressed up, and went to our first Military Gala. This was to celebrate the end of the deployment, the end of a unit, and the start to new experiences. We had such a great time, and I always love seeing Nick all dressed up in his blues. This time, with his Sergeant stripe! 

By the time I found out about this, I didn't have time to order a dress online, so I set out looking for a modest, or at least mostly modest dress. I finally found one, for only $50! Trouble was, it had no sleeves. I cut off the weird bow thing on one of the straps, and turned it into a hair piece. After my plans for sleeves didn't work out, I frantically searched for a black jacket, the day before. That afternoon I finally found one! I ended up hitting the top of my budget, but I don't regret it for one minute. I may not have had the fanciest dress, the most sparkly, form fitting or anything along those lines, but I held to my standards, and I think, looked the classiest out of all of the women there.

Roger Sergeant

 

After getting the points for the training Nick did in February, he finally had enough to get his promotion to Sergeant!

I am so unbelievably proud of him and all of the hard work that he has put in. He is such a great leader and will be a fantastic asset to any unit that he is in. He is such a great role model and no doubt a man that I look up to. Next step, First Sergeant!

Daddy's Girl

William has always been a Mamma's boy, no question about it. Nick always felt, and still feels a little left out. However, since we have had Kaelyn, that void has been filled a little bit. Kaelyn LOVES her Pappa, she gets so excited when he comes home, can't wait for him to play with her or just sit on the couch together. She is going to have him wrapped around her little finger :)

Making it Rain

It was a beautiful day after church so we went to play outside after we all changed.

William LOVES the water, so Nick and I was back and forth the front yard while he tried to spray it. Once Kaelyn woke up Nick and William made it rain in the driveway while the girls stayed dry on the stairs.

It was so much fun watching his face as he played and experiences all of these fun things.

Spring Break

My niece Melanie was on spring break the same time as me, and her parents were both out of town, her dad on business and her mom taking care of our parents while my dad had his surgery.

We had so much fun together, we went shoe shopping, went to the movies and just hung out.

She helped me clean, and even got William cleaning too!

We went to the park one day and spent a couple of hours enjoying the sun shine and eating lunch.

We made Frangos because she had never tasted the deliciousness and William was more than happy to help clean the beaters off.

 She came skating with the young women, and just helped me with everything I needed done. We all had such a great week and the kids were so sad to see their playmate leaving, especially Kaelyn. 

Cake Auction

Our annual cake auction we use to pay for girls camp every year was finally upon us. This is always so much fun, and although I am by no means a baker, or cake decorator, I do love that this is really my one chance to dabble in this other form of art/crafting.

After three days of working on the cake, it was finally done, and the kitchen showed how time consuming it had been! I hadn't left enough time to properly dry everything, so I had to rush the decorating using some rather unusual techniques.

Once it was done though, I think it turned out pretty darn good. My first time using fondant and gum paste, so it was an experience but I really enjoyed it.

St. Patrick's day was only days later, so I thought this would fit the mood perfect. It ended up selling for $80 so I was pretty proud of myself. I bring Frangos every year as well, and since no one knows what they are, they are like a hidden treasure. I brought extras for people to try, now that they know how amazing they are, they said I would have to mail some back since I wont be here next year.

Kids Fair

As we were driving up to the temple one day, I saw a billboard for a kids fair that weekend. After looking it up, it seems like fun, but for the price and the drive, I wasn't sold. Then, I found out Curious George was going to be there and that alone, made the whole thing worth it.

I got William dressed in his George hoodie (his George shirt was dirty), and we headed on our way.

We had so much fun playing, petting animals and just watching all of the new and crazy things around us.

Kaelyn's favorite things were all of the balloons!

He couldn't see George from anywhere so I literally had to drag him kicking and screaming to get in line to see him.

Once he noticed what we were in line for, he could not wait! He ran up and gave him a huge hug, and a couple of high fives.

William was literally star struck that he was actually getting to meet his best friend in person!

Spring!

Spring finally arrived in Kentucky, which meant Kaelyn could go play for the first time!

I came out from getting dinner ready, so see everyone on the trampoline, safe and sound.

We had so much fun playing together, William was so excited to show Kaelyn all of the cool things about outside.

There will be so many more days like this to come!

Lonely February

 February was a long month, Nick was gone and because of a glitz in the day care system there was no space for William. I had to find somewhere for the kids to go, no one here was in a position to take them so long term, so I called my sister to help me look for cheap plane tickets. Kim called back after her husband agreed to take them for the month, and although I was so happy that the problem had been worked out, and that they were being taken care of and having so much fun, I missed them terribly.

I got a lot done, cleaning and organizing, went to the temple every week and immersed myself in my calling, so I was never bored.

I was so happy to have them come home, only to have Nick return a day later as well!

William's Room

Last year I worked really hard getting William's room all painted and decorated so that it would be ready once I moved him down there.

After a few hiccups, I finally got it all painted and even got the sand textured on one of the walls.

This was so much fun, and he even have stars and clouds hanging from the ceiling, a moon on one wall, and soon to be, a sun hanging on the other side.

A Full House

My brother Frank was in the area doing some job interviews and Kim and her family were here to pick up the kids so for two days, this house was very full! I got to meet two of my nephews and see everyone else after way too long. It was so much fun watching all of the kids playing together and just spending time with my brother and sister.