Kevin, Emily, Elena, Lucy and Isaac Ross

Our best shots at Breezy

2010-09-30T11:15:00.000-05:00

Triple Vision at Breezy Point

2010-09-30T11:12:00.000-05:00

My Favorite Breezy Pics

2010-09-30T11:08:00.000-05:00

Breezy Point 2010

2010-09-30T11:03:00.001-05:00

Carolyn is such a baby person...

Smudge, the foster kitty.

2010-01-17T13:28:00.000-06:00

Nana and Papa had a late in the season drop off and she has been spending her time at their place instead of the farm since it was so cold. I had a weak moment and said out loud to the girls "Maybe Nana and Papa would let you do foster care for their kitty during their winter stay in Mexico." Not more than a week later, little smudge arrived. She was so good on the car ride home, sat with both girls and didn't make a peep. Awesome, our veteran cat, wasn't too pleased at first, but seems to have given in to her presence. She hasn't gotten into too much trouble, except for climbing the curtains from time to time. The girls have taken care of her for the most part. They are monitoring her food/water/litter, and I've hardly had to step in-that should last about another week, right?! She sleeps with them every night. This picture is right after we got home with her, Lucy crashed and I guess little Smudge knew her place in the household...

Sock Hop 2010

2010-01-17T13:18:00.000-06:00

All Dolled Up

2010-01-17T13:15:00.000-06:00

The kids looked much cooler than I did. But some of the other Girl Scout moms and I decided we are all going to dress up as different characters from Grease next year. I did grease what little hair Isaac has left... Elena is wearing the Carlson's poodle skirt from their elementary days, I'll have to get mine from mom's house for next year.

The Bunny Hop

2010-01-17T13:05:00.001-06:00

Prescott knows how to put on a Sock Hop! The live band and Elvis appearance were great. The girls spent most of the time on the dance floor. I had to resist my temptation to join them, since the floor was packed already. Guess I'll get my chance in February at the Caves. There was also a carnival in the classrooms. I gave each of them 10 tickets. Lucy spent all of hers immediately. Elena spent 4 and saved the rest...for a rainy day I guess?? Apparently that "Spend, Save, Share" Piggy bank is having an effect. 1 out of 2 ain't bad.

Big Sisters, Little Brother

2009-11-30T13:23:00.000-06:00

Sweet!

More excersaucer pics

2009-11-25T13:53:00.000-06:00

Tummy Time

2009-11-25T13:51:00.000-06:00

First time in the Exersaucer

2009-11-25T13:50:00.000-06:00

Gustie Girls

2009-11-25T13:48:00.000-06:00

We finally found a time to get all 7 of us together...the last time may have been at our wedding...almost 5 years ago...

McHattie's Tea Party

2009-11-25T13:39:00.001-06:00

We had an adult tea party to recuperate from the Birthday Party at McHattie's.

Elena's 2nd Hair Donation

2009-11-25T13:35:00.000-06:00

Elena decided a few weeks ago that she was ready to get her hair cut again. We went in yesterday and there was enough to donate 10 inches to "Locks for Love" again. She was all smiles the entire time and so excited to show off her new do to her classmates this morning...

"Mom, I got it!"

2009-11-25T13:22:00.001-06:00

Isaac was in the swing briefly this morning when he started to fuss a bit. I'll admit, if I'm trying to get something done, I'll wait until he really lets me know he needs me... This time Lucy stepped in to let me know, "Mom, I got it!" She runs over to him and he stops fussing. I assumed he just needed a little human interaction, and for the time being, little Lucy talking to him was comforting. A short time later, I went to see how things were going, this is what I found...

...an empty swing...

...Isaac on the foot of the couch...

...Lucy's back to him. She's busy watching TV and holding up the back of her dress...

"Lucy why is Isaac on the couch? Is he scratching your back?"

Lucy, "He wanted to!"

Everyone always says that the middle child is the one that has it the hardest. I beg to differ. I cannot count the number of times my older brother told me he would scratch my back if I scratched his...and he fell asleep before I got my turn. Here it is starting and the kid is not even 2 months old!

Isaac Mugshots

2009-10-19T17:21:00.000-05:00

At the birth

2009-10-19T17:17:00.000-05:00

See, dad was there for the birth, okay, maybe not in the literal sense, more the electronic version of dad...

Brand New Baby Isaac

2009-10-19T16:36:00.000-05:00

Isaac was born at 3:48am, Thursday, October 1st. He was 7 pounds 8 ounces and 20.75 inches long. Mom had been in labor since Tuesday afternoon and arrived at the hospital just after midnight on Thursday. This was our first completely natural childbirth - no pitocin or epidural. Dad was there via skype. In attendance were Christine, Deb, Grandma Audrey and Jess. Carolyn was there in spirit, but didn't quite get that, "we are at the hospital", meant that there would be a baby here in 3 hours.

Fancy Food

2009-10-19T16:26:00.000-05:00

Didn't these ladies do a wonderful job with the food. There were sandwiches in fun shapes, too.

Fancy Nancy Birthday Party

2009-10-19T16:23:00.000-05:00

Elena had a wonderfully Fancy 7th Birthday Party hosted by Christine, Carolyn, Deb, Jess, and Grandma's Audrey and Laura. There were 12 little princesses in attendance - which was a full house....

Check out some of the Fancy Party Hostesses...

That's our little Lucy in the middle, I don't think the crown came off for 3 days.

The servers decided that everything should be done in courses, mostly because they were trying to eat up time. Apparently everything went a little more swiftly than planned and there was some fear that they would have 12 princesses with nothing to do near the end of the party. I left the hospital a day early so that I could at least see the party. 2 day old Isaac and I made a few quick appearances.

Isaac and Lucy 1 day old...

2009-10-16T12:54:00.000-05:00

4th of July

2009-09-20T23:32:00.000-05:00

Spent with the Carlsons/Chans

Mother's Day

2009-09-20T23:29:00.000-05:00

Planting flowers for Carolyn's new house.

Harvest Fest 2009

2009-09-20T23:23:00.000-05:00

Harvest Fest at Malone Elementary. Always a good time...

2 Weeks 2 Go

2009-09-20T23:21:00.000-05:00

2 Weeks 2 Go!

2009-09-20T23:15:00.000-05:00

This was a "trying" photo shoot. Good thing the photographer came at such a great price....Thanks Christine! The girls were not into getting their pictures taken, they were more interested in playing at the beach.

1st Grade Fun

2009-09-20T23:06:00.000-05:00

Christine went to the Fall Harvest Fest with us on Friday and took some great pictures of Elena's 1st Grade Fun.

There are 32 kids in Elena's class due to a shortage of class space, but there are 2 full-time teachers.

Awww, isn't she cute!

This must be a self portrait...

Our Guest Room

2009-09-05T14:29:00.000-05:00

Warning, this is what may happen to you if you enter the guest room. May I suggest using the bed rather than the chair for a good nights sleep?

First Grade!

2009-09-05T14:22:00.000-05:00

Didn't we just start Kindergarten? Where has the year gone? She's an old pro now...

Going to Africa?

2009-09-05T14:20:00.000-05:00

Well, they have had enough of home. They have packed up their babies and are headed to Africa.

Elena's New Look!

2009-09-05T14:17:00.000-05:00

Elena is very proud of her new glasses.

Showing their Army Spirit

2009-07-31T22:27:00.000-05:00

I think that one's for you dad...

I LOVE my sister....

Painting Rocks at Grandmas

2009-07-31T22:22:00.000-05:00

Grandma's sure know how to have a good time. I am so glad my mom is willing to let the girls paint, because it means that I can let that life experience slip a bit.

Notice the delinquent rock painter on the side of the pic...

Hydrangeas

2009-07-31T22:14:00.000-05:00

The best flower purchase this year was undoubtably the hydrangeas I bought at Gertens. I got the smallest size for around $17 and they have flourished in our sandy soil out front. I may just have to get a few more of these next year...

Pics at Home

2009-07-31T22:10:00.000-05:00

I thought Kevin would enjoy a few pictures of our house (you know, the one we have lived in for 15 mos, but he has only vacationed here for about 10 weeks). This first one is some of the flowers we have on our back deck. I love the morning glories, and Lucy knows it, she keeps picking the blooms.... Ignore the dead Hibiscus plant, but notice the pretty flowers surounding it, I figured it would make a good trellis for the morning glories.

In the background here you can see our vegtable garden.

Kinda hard to pick out green against green, but the veggies I have successfully grown so far includes: 25+ tomato plants, 1 pepper plant, several zucchini, several acorn squash, peas, beans, pumpkins, carrots, lettuce, and cucumbers.

This is part of the front garden. I don't remember what the coral blooms are, but they sure are pretty (I put those in last year). The yellow bloom is our first gladiolus of the year.

30 weeks pregnant

2009-07-26T22:24:00.000-05:00

Kevin has been begging for recent pictures of us. Here is a picture from a birthday party we went to today. Black just doesn't seem to be slimming on me anymore...

Camping in Hayward, WI

2009-07-26T22:17:00.000-05:00

We spent the night at the Hayward KOA for the cousins birthday. Here is Lucy, Abby, Elena, and Maya.

This is the playground with the pool just beyond, and a jumping surface beyond that.

The campsites were mighty "cozy".

An email from a friend

2009-06-23T08:27:00.002-05:00

Kevin sent this in response to an email about how hot it has been in MN. His mom was thinking that we have it pretty good compared to his weather forcast of highs in the 120's and lows in the 90's. This was what he had to say:

Funny. I just got back from a run. 0500 is prime time to run, as it's cool, but the sun is up so we can see fine. It is also funny that I have actually gone outside in the middle of the night (I'm currently on night shift for another week) and it feels cool, almost chilly at 85! Not looking forward to being a day walker again... And yes, Plant life is one of the things I miss. You can't see much more than the occasional weed and all of about 3 trees anywehere!

I got a good repsonse to one of my previous emails a few days ago. This is from one of my groomsmen, Enjoy:

This past weekend I biked the MS 150, a ride from Duluth to the Twin Cities. As I was biking, some ATVs passed on a sandy trail next to me. Initially, I thought about how sore I was from biking 90 miles in two days, how I was out in the 80 degree heat while I was biking, and how the dust the ATVs kicked up was annoying. I was ready to give up and take the 90 miles as a good accomplishment so I could go home and see my wife and my dog.

Then I remembered you, Dave, Ben, and the rest over there in Iraq. I thought about how 80 degrees is a cold day, how dust kicked up by a vehicle is the norm, not the exception, and how in addition to your normal tech type jobs, you have physical work to do too. I thought about how you're not doing this for two days out of the year, but day in and day out. As I kept biking there were people on the side of the road cheering and telling us what a good job we were doing. When I crossed the finish line, there were hundreds of people cheering about how I had done a great thing. All I had done was bike 75 miles a day for two days. I have people telling me at work how impressed they are that I finished it, and I think of my friends in Iraq.

I know I haven't been replying to all of your emails, but I read every one of them, and I think about you over there, separated from your family, friends, and ten week old house. I appreciate all that you are doing for us, and I'm glad to hear that you are doing well. You are the ones that we should be cheering, not some computer tech that decides to get off his ass for two days and pedal a bike. Please feel free to share this with anyone else that you see from our unit.

Nick

Spring Hanger Dance

2009-06-17T16:07:00.000-05:00

2009 Boys (2006 girls)

2009-06-17T16:06:00.000-05:00

This is our girls along with 3 friends family's. We all have (or will have) 2009 Boys and all but one of the 2006 babies were girls. Now that's what I call a party...

So Proud!

2009-06-17T15:59:00.000-05:00

Daddy's Girl

2009-06-17T15:55:00.000-05:00

Elena's Soccer

2009-06-17T15:52:00.000-05:00

It was fun to watch the Kindergarten and first grade teams develop over their 5 weeks of practice/games. Elena spent a lot of time in goalie which she seemed to enjoy. It's easy to get distracted when you are running around the field...giving hugs, talking with the opposite team....

Elena's Kindergarten Graduation

2009-06-17T15:48:00.000-05:00

Receiving her diploma!

Elena and Mrs. Kittilson

Lucy's T-Ball

2009-06-17T15:41:00.000-05:00

She's all about the game, deep in thought, check out that stance...

Hmmm...should I make a run for the ball or the playground next to the field...

Her coach convinced her to put the mitt on the correct hand.

It's all about...the sand...
We only made it to about 10% of the T-Ball practice for Lucy, bad weather, bad timing, not much interest in the game. She loves to talk about it now, even if it only lasted about 20 minutes total!

Giraffes at the MN Zoo

2009-06-17T15:36:00.000-05:00

The girls and I took a quick trip to the MN Zoo recently and they were able to feed the giraffes. They have been hearing about them via the advertisements on the radio, so they were pretty excited about the purple tongues!

What to do today? USO

2009-04-16T03:20:00.000-05:00

About everyother time that I call home, I get asked: "What do you need/ What can I send you?" Thus far, I've haven't really had an answer other than to help with the kids and upkeep of the house (Thanks Mom, Dad, Audrey, and everyone else who's pitched in! It's greatly appreciated.) For the most part, we really don't need anything here. What we have been using on a daily, or several times a day basis is the USO. They provide Free Internet, Free phone call where you only have to dial the phone # (not 4 phone #s, a code, then talk to a person to get a switchboard call,) Games systems, movies etc... So, I finally have an answer to everyone: Donate to the USO. Don't have money, check out the website at USO.Org and see "How to Help"on the top right.

Mr Sears, one of the help desk/ IT Gurus poses. In the midle is a phone bank, and background has computers and games systems. Oh, one area I didn't take a picture of is the lounge, where there's microwave popcorn, tea and a bunch of other snacks. In short, GIVE TO THE USO! Thanks!

Elena dances to "Singing in the Rain"

2009-04-15T20:07:00.003-05:00

Elena is the one with the long blond ponytail. She is usually 2nd from the right.

Lucy dances to Under the Sea

2009-04-15T19:30:00.003-05:00

I finally downloaded some video clips. Lucy is the littlest (and the one dancing to her own beat) one on the left.

Sisters

2009-03-23T20:27:00.000-05:00

A few snapshots from Disney!

Lucy Dances!

2009-03-23T20:00:00.000-05:00

This is just too cute for words. She actually did a great job dancing to "Under the Sea". It was probably the live production at Disney that we saw a few weeks ago that instilled her dancing abilities!

Ft Lewis II

2009-02-26T23:25:00.001-06:00

The weather patterns are fairly different than I’m used to: Storms without lightning and thunder, clouds for days on end, and fog! The fog around here is amazing. At home, we’ll get fog, and occasionally it will stick around for a full day. Here, it’ll show up, overstay its welcome, and still not leave! The hills behind the barracks are covered with trees. A few days ago, the fog came in, and we could see it traveling different routes, we actually watched the fog come in, roll though an open area, and then climb in a channel as if moving through a tube through the tree-tops. It climbed up the hill in the tube before saturating the area and finally filling in the gaps. It was rather odd to watch, especially as we were at the range with constant volleys of gun fire erupted between us and the view.

Daily life: We’ve finally settled into a routine, (other than listening to rumors.) Wakeup, eat, hygiene, barracks maintenance (clean the bathroom etc), get ready for the day’s activities which has mostly been classroom/hands on with our New Commo equipment. I learned last week that we, the MN Guard, is the first unit to deploy with the complete commo system. Take that active duty! (there’s often a bit of rivalry between us “Weekenders” and Active component, the latter claiming NG stands for Nastie Girls and that we don’t know what we’re doing.) I’m doing what I can to catch up to the kids that I’m leading, (ok, 3 are about my age and 1 older, but the others are all pretty young.) I’m feeling a bit over my head, and I’m trying to tell myself it’s normal while simultaneously using that as motivation to keep studying in the evenings. I’m very grateful for all the intelligent people that we’ve gathered, that I will lead and who will help train me as a leader, and find it amusing what an oddball group it is.

Rumors: We’re getting pass! We’re not getting pass!$#@ We’re going to Bagdad. No we’re not. We won’t be getting leave. We might. There’s no commo mission. We’ll be diverted to Afghanistan. We’ll be extended. We’ll be cut short. It’s amazing what happens when you put a group together. Here’s what I know: We’re going to SW Asia (read the newspapers). We are going to get to play with computers. Our personal and protective gear that we got issued is SWEAT!! The body armor that I got issued in June, that’s old news: we got new ones here that are way better (and way more expensive I’m sure!)

While I’m much less busy than some (including Dave, who just got here but I’m sure will be playing makeup until we get home next year!) I’m busier than I’m used to and that’s why I haven’t talked to many. At the same time, I don’t have all of the tasks that I do at home: help with the dishes (we have chow hall and MREs), shovel the driveway (the few times it’s snowed were light), and the ones I really miss: getting the kids to bed and tucking them in, swimming, playing, tickling, hugging etc… While nothing can replace those things, it’s easier to know that I’ll be in a much better position when I get home: I’ll have a strong resume, great experiences, good income for a year, and hopefully the economy will have recovered and I be able to find a job! Hope everyone is well, and don’t hesitate to call!
Ciao, K

Ft Lewis

2009-02-15T02:05:00.004-06:00

I've made it to Ft Lewis. It's a beautiful area, about 45 minutes from Seattle, and 2 hours from Portland. The first weekend here, I was able to get off and dip down to Jon and Cindy's for a three day weekend. Not wanting to be a leader without men, I took one of my privates with me (I extended the invitation so as to not leave him stranded.) On Friday Eric and Hubred and I went East to the mountains for sightseeing and a hike.

Notice the house

My Cousin Eric.

A few days later, it was back to work. This was probably the most physically demanding of my Advance Party days. We unloaded more than 1,000 weapons, and put them into the vaults. this was about a six hour job, of moving crates and racks, and making sure each and every weapon was clear of ammo before Ft lewis would let us put them away! ARRRGGG!
The Main Body ARRIVES. This is McCord AFB, their flight in the foreground, Rainier in the background.

This is a blurry pic from our barracks. You can't really see in the pic, but Mt Rainier is beautiful (center frame)!

And last and least, our barracks area. we had snow for about 1.5 days. Last taste of home for a while?

Packed and Ready

2009-01-13T09:48:00.001-06:00

Ok, so I'm not completely packed yet. I'm supposed to be doing that now: Emily is at work for 4 hours, Elena is in the second semester of kindergarten, and Lucy is in day care. Ok, so I'm not completely ready yet either. Being gone for five months did wonders to prepare our family for our one year deployment: Emily was able to learn a lot about things she needs to plan, prepare and procure before I leave and can’t come home once a month or so. I learned that counter to my thoughts before training began, that saying goodbye doesn’t get easier, even if you know it’s “only going to be for two weeks this time”. I learned I need to get the bills set up to auto-pay, because I won’t actually remember to go on those couple of sites every month and click the little button to “Pay now”. I learned that webcams are wonderful! Being able to see my girls running around in the background while talking with my wife was great. I think the most important thing is that it takes a Lot of Hugs and Kisses to make up for being gone months at a time!
While packing last night, the girls decided to help. They successfully packed themselves into my ruck sack, and so I loaded up.

Ready to Roll!

Running, Spinning and Jumping, Oh My!

Ok, ENuf spinning and jumping!

Flower Arranging!

2008-11-17T01:48:00.000-06:00

Beauty Prep

2008-11-17T01:14:00.002-06:00

Here's the groom getting a few pointers from his brothers...
And the bride applying some finishing touches in the lovely daycare bathroom!
Here is the pre-wedding Elena...
There is no stress in Christine's face. I am muttering...you have 8 minutes to produce a gorgeous updo!

More wedding fun!

2008-11-17T00:13:00.005-06:00

In October, we were blessed to be able to be a part Jesse and Angie's wedding as a family. We would like to thank them for planning the wedding on a weekend that was a 4 day break for Kevin. Also, we are requesting that no weddings/birthdays/anniversaries/births be planned until after Feb 2010 (okay, just kidding about that part)! Our entire family crashed at the Carlson/Chan Household for 2 very busy days. That was the weekend we transformed into flower arranging, hair updoers, dress fitters, seamstresses, photographers, models, and party planners. NO ONE was given a moments rest, except apparently, Al, who we caught on a few occasions, not only watching TV, but also, getting a massage? Okay, so in all fairness, you can see we caught him working from time to time as well.

Quiet time for mommy...

2008-09-30T15:24:00.002-05:00

I finally caught up on the cleaning. Although never ending, I felt I could sit for a moment. I positioned a chair in direct sunlight and curled up with Lori's cookbook. I'm not sure she meant for it to be read as a novel, but it is perfect for my attention span. Lucy was within hands reach...playing with Kevin's chess set. The girls think this is great, it has a ton of potential for creativity. Hope Dad doesn't mind... One moment she is there, the next moment...gone. "Hi Mommy, I am cleaning my arms with soap (and face, and shirt and pants...its not soap, its lotion). 2 days in a row Lucy has gotten into lotion. She is so quiet about her little escapades, and typical discipline doesn't seem to set in yet. It quickly became naptime for Lucy...

A few more...

2008-09-30T15:12:00.001-05:00

Elena and Me

Precious Lucy

Couple thugs we found on the street...

More unedited portraits

2008-09-30T15:02:00.002-05:00

Eric and Rachel

The girls in age order: Lucy, Elena, Abby, Maya and Kayla

Kevin and Me

Sisters: Kayla, Maya, Abby

Youngman Portraits unedited

2008-09-30T14:45:00.002-05:00

Mom with her kids

Me and my older brothers

Oldest and youngest cousins, Kayla and Lucy

The Kiss

Everyone!

Some unedited Youngman Family Portraits

2008-09-30T14:29:00.002-05:00

Kevin, Emily, Elena, and Lucy

Eric and Rachel

Rachel, Emily, Tanya

Elena

Grandma, Great Grandma, and the girls

The Steps

2008-09-16T20:19:00.001-05:00

This is Elena in 2004.

This is where Elena and I found Lucy napping today!

Fun Pics

2008-09-16T20:11:00.002-05:00

The Girls at Elena's school for Harvest Fest. They loved the train ride. The driver made mom nervous as he swerved through crowds of children!

This is the bright one!

Elena's Kindergarten Portrait

2008-09-16T16:05:00.002-05:00

Sweet!

Bikes

2008-09-03T10:02:00.002-05:00

We found a bike for Lucy at a garage sale, she got about 10 ft from the driveway, then it was discarded in the ditch for a smoother ride, the stroller. You have to give the girl some credit, we have a heck of a long driveway!

Elena's 1st Day of School

2008-09-03T09:05:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we all went to school together for an hour of orientation. Elena had pictures, meet your teacher, etc. Kevin flew home from Georgia for this but had to go back last night. Today was Elena's first official day. Elena, Lucy and I waited for the bus out in the cold, brrr! When the bus came Elena was a bit hesitant but got up there on her own, and turned around for her picture to be taken with a great big smile on her face. The first picture I have is fuzzy and crooked. I am holding Lucy back who is screaming because she wants to go to school, too! The bus pulls away and Lucy runs a full block chasing it, frantic the whole way (rainboots and all!). I finally pick up the screaming ball, carry her back to the house, kicking and screaming the whole way. Well, I had to deal with the 2 yo tantrum, so I didn't cry until now, when I got a little teary thinking about it! I'm sure Elena is charming all of her peers and teachers as we speak!

Grand Ole Days

2008-08-12T11:41:00.003-05:00

and she steals the show...

It's 7am, do you know where your children are?

2008-07-26T20:41:00.003-05:00

I was sifting through pictures, trying to get the number down to a manageable amount. Then I came upon this:

I suppose there are many worse things Elena could be doing....for instance, "making eggs" like Ava did while her parents slept....

Crazy Dancin' Fools

2008-07-21T23:50:00.003-05:00

Lucy's 2!

2008-07-21T23:37:00.001-05:00

Here are some great pictures from Lucy's 2nd birthday! Her birthday was in March (oops - little late!)

Kevin's Commissioning

2008-07-21T23:33:00.003-05:00

Here's Kevin and General Casey in May at his Commissioning.

Boat Cruise

2008-07-21T23:23:00.002-05:00

One of the things we did for Kevin's last week here was take a Paddleboat ride on out of Stillwater. Elena said she wanted to go on a boat! We played a great game of charades!

The first 49 days...

2008-07-07T00:26:00.002-05:00

Awww....the loveliness of Independence Day. The holiday has a whole new meaning for me this year. Independence from cooking, washing stinky boy clothes, cleaning the newspaper off the bathroom floor...all those other wifely duties. It's just me and the girls now. Give me a break, I'm trying to look at the positives. Of course I'll miss spending $180 at the grocery store and gaurding my dinner as Kevin finishes his own and eyeballs mine. I do miss my husband, I'm just in denial that he is really gone for the better part of the next 20 months.

It really didn't help that my alarm at 5am was a recording of some historical military song. Really, couldn't we have come up with a better departure day than the 4th of July? I should feel proud of my husband as he drives 1200 miles to report for duty in the heat and humidity of Georgia. I do, and my anger towards the US Army is slowly subsiding. I've gotten better about this whole deployment thing. I can now explain to someone that my husband is leaving for months without them getting uncomfortable as I start to get teary eyed. Kevin won't believe that for a second, as he still denies that I even got teary when he proposed.

My weekend comprised of "normal" shifts at wor. I then went home to my mother's and barely falling onto the couch before I was asleep. I make a great houseguest (sorry, Mom!) I don't think I have felt the true impact of this event, as I am so emotionally drained, there isn't much feeling left to be had. Maybe I have worked through the feelings enough that I am dealing with everything just fine. Even so, I'm still waiting for that moment when the whole ground beneath me will collapse. POOF!

I remember reading the beginning of a book entitled "While They are Away"(I read many beginnings of books, but rarely get to the end.) It was a compilation of stories from military wives during the war in Iraq. There was one woman who dealt with the situation by keeping as busy as possible, any down time was too painful for her. I remember thinking how awful for her child, who was also experiencing this horrible change with his father gone, and now she was gone all the time as well. Although I don't think I have gone over the top with activities, I have taken to more of a busy schedule than one in which I'll have a lot of time to dwell on how things could have been different. The girls are excited for their first day at daycare in a few weeks (I am too!) They will spend a couple days/week meeting new friends in our community.

So far the worst part of the deployment process was preparing for Kevin's departure. Trying to get a full summers worth of chores complete in just a few short weeks, but not wasting all of our precious time working on the house. We did manage to spend some much needed time with family and friends. In the past few weeks we did a short cabin/waterpark vacation, took a train ride, a paddleboat ride, went strawberry picking, and hosted a large party at our new house. I remember last summer when Kevin said, "We should really sit down and talk about all the things that I usually take care of that are going to be your responsibilty while I am gone." My reply was, "Why do we have to sit down, go ahead, let's talk about it." Kevin said, "Okay, well first there is the credit card bill that needs to be pd every month...the trash is on Tues...hmmmm....I think that's it..." So I am going to make a list of all the things I have found that he probably would have done, had he been home.

1. Turn the sprinkler off at midnight (when I was the one who forgot to turn it off in the first place, but I am afraid I might be eaten by a bear.)
2. Charge the camera (where is the cord for that and what does it look like?)
3. Deposit the checks.

To be continued...

Coyote Ugly

2008-02-08T12:07:00.000-06:00

We've been having a fun day. At the crack of 4am, Lucy entered our room screaming louder than she's screamed in a long time! As I picked her up, it registered that she's wet. As I checked her, she wasn't wet around the waist, just the belly. After figuring out that she'd puked, Emily and I cleaned her up. After another 10-15 minutes, she threw-up again, this time I was quick enough to catch it (in my hand... lucky me J) After a few repetitions of this, we went through shirts, then several small towels and pillowcases. She finally settled down around 7am, and has since only thrown-up a couple times in the convening hours. After Lucy fell asleep, I took Elena downstairs to play. While on the couch, I looked out the window and what did I see:
a coyote.

Here is another pic of a coyote.

Here is a third pic of a coyote. Notice my children's swing set
framing the picture. I took this shot this morning, from the house!

Ski III

2008-01-24T21:52:00.000-06:00

Here are some videos (YEAH TO POSTING VIDEOS!)

Not sure if this qualifies as downhill or cross county, but she's doing her best to hit the Slalom caps, and finishes with a "First Position."

Elena's Review and lessons learned

Why is it that our ski's are about our height, but kids skis are 18 inches long?
Anyhew, We had a GREAT time, and can't wait to go again!

Ski II

2008-01-24T21:43:00.000-06:00

Here we're at the top of Buck hill. It was about 20
degrees and sunny. Perfect for skiing.

Elena fell twice. This first time was because I skied right behind Kris (while she was going backwards) and tripped her which dominoed to Elena. The second time I couldn't get a picture because I was laughing too hard. Emily did the splits, caught Elena's ski, and brought her down too! I almost fell over laughing so hard before helping them up. Emily was hurting for about 3 days.

Kris taught me how to ski backwards... Very helpfull for getting a 5 year comfortable.

She like using our poles to get her skis off.

Ski Time!

2008-01-24T21:11:00.000-06:00

This is my first time skiing since Feb. 03! before that, it was ~97ish!

This is Elena's first time...Ever! SHE LOVED IT!
Emily's friend from work, Kris, taught us how to teach Elena. She spent two hours with us, teaching us.. err Elena how to ski.
THANKS KRIS!

I snuck away, and snapped this shot from the ski lift!

Elena wasn't even scared to go up the lift!
THAT surprised us.

Winter Fun

2008-01-24T21:02:00.000-06:00

What, you don't sleep in your goggles?

How big is Lucy? So Big

Yep, they're cute

One of her first snowballs. And she missed!

Triple Trouble

2008-01-24T20:56:00.000-06:00

Doesn't everyone make this face when they fill their diaper?

Our friends Niki & Chris had Triplets in June! YIKES.
And everyone thinks we stay in a bunch.
N&C: When you get this in 2026, give me a call!

Oh, and beware the big bad wolf!

Halloween

2008-01-24T20:50:00.000-06:00

Lucy as a fairy, wearing a stolen hat.

Now she's a careBear. What can we say, she loves to change clothes.
(or is it needs to?)

Cute kid pics

2007-10-28T23:15:00.000-05:00

Elena "practicing" for school

Lucy practicing to skip school

Here is Elena trying on one of mom's baby carriers, along with the "baby"

Somehow I don't think Lucy is enjoying the sisterly bonding

Tim & Karen's Wedding

2007-10-28T23:04:00.000-05:00

Here are the kid's having their own "dance" party.

This is Tim...

This is Karen...apparently, we did not capture them together on their wedding day...

However, I did manage to snap a picture of Kevin dancing with the bride!

Jason & Emily's Wedding

2007-10-28T22:54:00.000-05:00

Alex & Christine's Wedding

2007-10-28T22:49:00.000-05:00

Wedding Day Blues

2007-10-28T22:42:00.000-05:00

Oh the price you pay for beauty!

2007-10-24T00:18:00.000-05:00

In an effort to save space, we picked up a new space-saver crib for lucy.

Her and Elena thaught it was great!

Until we discovered we could seal them in and leave.
All I can say is it has been a LONG time since we went to the movies without kids!

Two of my favorite Ladies

2007-10-24T00:08:00.000-05:00

Two of my favorite Ladies, sitting at the table. I found these while looking back through pictures. Not sure why I always find good pics during midterm and finals time...

They just found out we're out of Oreos:

Hmm, Elena still has one left... for now ;-)

The Little...

2007-10-23T23:53:00.000-05:00

What to do when you have eight little girls showing up for a party, and all you have is duck tape? Put them in a bag and tape it shut of course! Then, throw them outside, and see who can still escape! Finally, chase them down with shovels… errr cake, yah that’s it, cake. Elena’s fifth birthday went off with great success, and would you believe, rather cheaply, (with my wife, is there any other way?) I wasn’t around for Ariel’s preschool party under the sea, but we made it to Chuck E Cheese’s Friday night for some quality family time video gaming.

The state of ...

2007-08-31T16:33:00.000-05:00

We went to the State Fair on Wednesday. Somehow we got the idea in our head that riding the "Express Bus" was the only way to go. It convenietly picks up 2 miles from our house, it was only $3 ("that's less than gas") and it drops you right at the door. Somewhere in there we forgot that we were taking a monkey along. As I am riding along with the almost 5-er in my lap, quietly reading the ads to myself, a monkey appears from behind a wall of legs (did I mention that the bus was standing room only - sardine style). Only this monkey is yelling something sounding like "mama" and "Lena" combined. Now we are riding with the monkey on top of the 5-er. One of the precious ads at the top of the bus was showing the in's and out's of traveling with a toddler, and it included keeping them safely in your lap at all times. This little monkey is not the quiet sleepy type, but the Curious George version. After this mama has had enough monkey-business, she disregards all posted safety signs and sends the monkey back through the crowded aisle to her father, who proceeds to let her hang from the safety bar overhead.

Finally, we arrive at the fair, fun is had by all. We end the day with a bucketfull of Sweet Martha's and 6 cups of fair style milk in our tummies.

Since the fair, something has become more and more apparent. Our sweet little monkey appears to have a sensitivity to cow's milk... We've been potty training now, due to the bright red rash on her bottom. It seemed like a good idea this morning. No diapers, meant max exposure to the healing air, and the monkey loves her potty seat. This morning went fairly well, 2 strikes - both the piddle version, 0 runs. Diaper for nap of course. Now, as I take a break from monkey business and update the blog, another strike, only this time I am not so fortunate. That was the third strike, guess it is back to diapers, and lots of Desitin.

This is how we wash hands at our house "Monkey Style".

More home improvement pics

2007-08-28T17:52:00.001-05:00

Army Girls

2007-07-30T12:16:00.000-05:00

The girls enjoyed playtime in daddy's uniforms while he was away this summer.

Home Improvements

2007-06-05T00:23:00.001-05:00

Lucy has been working on a few projects throughout the house...new floors, new paint on the wall, new pantry...

Here she is posing with her new favorite toy...

Cute kids...

2007-06-05T00:00:00.001-05:00

Here are some cute kid pics, still from our trip in March. Not sure how to turn the last, so your going to have to turn your head!

Wisconsin Trip

2007-04-25T00:05:00.000-05:00

Here is Elena, organizing her Polly Pockets and working on an art project. We had a very "open" schedule during our trip to Wisconsin. Mom and dad enjoyed the cable television, while the girls were creating at the table nearby.

Easter Portraits

2007-04-14T17:56:00.000-05:00

Lucy's 1!

2007-04-14T17:40:00.000-05:00

Cake, mmmm, can we have this everyday for lunch?
Here's the happy Birthday girl. I think maybe Elena tried putting the party hat on Lucy, before the party began. Every time I brought out the hat, Lucy went hysterical.
Notice the spoon to the left of the birthday cake. Notice there is no use for it in this household.

Our friend Karen made Lucy's cakes for the party. Lucy was transfixed even before her first taste!
This was Lucy practicing before her party. "How old is Lucy?!"

Eric and Rachel's Wedding

2007-03-26T15:29:00.000-05:00

Wedding Fun!

2007-03-14T16:16:00.000-05:00

Rose petals

This is as normal a picture as we could get. Perfect hair, perfect attire, perfect tongue up Elena's nose...

What is better than riding in a limo? Riding in a multicolored, stretch hummer, now that is better! The girls thought this was a great set of wheels.