stay-cation

My mother and father-in-law came to visit us this past week. They came on Monday and left yesterday. The past week has been a blur! I have so much to catch up on.. laundry, dishes, and blogs, haha. I've missed reading my favorite blogs!!!

While they were here.. we went here.

And here.

And walked through this. (Got in free, too!)

And played some of this.
And played in this water. Okay, they said it's "refreshing".. yeah, right! It's FREEZING. Supposedly 68 degrees all year long.
Add in playing at our favorite kid splash pad and visiting a butterfly house, I think a good time was had by all!

Old Friends

Today I was able to go have lunch with two best friends that I grew up with. We met when I was 5yrs old, so I have known them for about 17yrs!!! It was so great to be able to see them again. It has only been two years since I last saw them, but when you see someone pretty much every day for many, many years - two years seems like a loooong time. I wish we could meet up more often, it was fun catching up!! =)

My sister, Marie, Alicia, Courtney, Me, Leah, and Kyle

Alicia, Courtney, Me, Leah, Kyle and my brother, Chris

Unforgettable Moments

I saw this idea a long time ago, and now that I have a blog, I figured this would be a good place to share just a few unforgettable moments. Of course these are in no particular order.

1. The day I came back from Christmas vacation, and Brandon surprised me at the train station. My Mom and brother came to pick me up, and deep down I had a feeling he would be there, too. We weren't dating yet (we had been talking about it though), but the feeling I had when I saw him is unforgettable!

2. The night I trusted Jesus Christ to be my personal Savior. I was spending the night at my K-5 teacher's house and we were going through the Bible story picture cards when she asked me if I was going to heaven. After explaining Heaven and Hell, Jesus' love, and that I was a sinner I asked God to forgive me and was saved.

3. The day my Mom and sister came to "steal" me and my brother from my Dad. My parents were going through their divorce and we were still living with my Dad. My Dad was at work and I was at T-Ball practice when my Mom came and told me to get in the car. We went and picked up my brother from the babysitter's, left Tokyo and drove up to Misawa. Every time I hear any of Madonna's old songs like "Like a Virgin", it reminds me of that long drive home. I was only 5yrs old, too.

4. The day my best friend and her brother sneaked me into their house. Their Dad came home early so I had to jump out of the house through their shower/bathroom window!! I remember Arlene throwing my shoes out the window and running so fast. I looked back and her Dad stuck his head out the window and yelled at me. Funny now, but it wasn't back then!!! LOL

5. The moment Brandon held Kyle for the very first time. His eyes watered and it melted my heart. It made me love my husband even more, if that was even possible. =)

6. The day we found out that baby #2 was A GIRL!!!

7. The day Brandon and I went to go on a cruise for our friend's wedding. We had Brandon's Aunt and Uncle watch Kyle for us. It was so hard waving goodbye and leaving him for the very first time. I cried so hard on the drive to Miami. While on the cruise, every.single.thing reminded me of my baby boy!!! We had a GREAT time though. It was a vacation/honeymoon (we didn't have a honeymoon after our wedding) for us, and I would go on another cruise again. But the next time we do it, I will wait until the kids are a little older.

8. The moment I heard my niece's first cry. I had walked out of the delivery room to call my Mom and Kylie's Dad to let them know that Kylie was about to make her grand entrance. As my friend and I were walking back to the door, we were debating who should open the door (hey, I was only 16yrs old!!) and as soon as I put my hand on the door knob I heard Kylie cry. I opened that door, oh-so-fast!! I will never forget the day my niece was born. I was ecstatic!!

9. The day Kyle locked us out of the house. Leah was just a few months old, sleeping in her crib and we were outside cleaning up. Kyle walked into the house and when I realized he went back inside, I walked over to the door. But it was already too late. Brandon and I stood at the door begging him to unlock the door. There are two locks on the door, and once we got one of the unlocked, he turned the car alarm on! He had gotten a hold of Brandon's keys that were right next to the door. Brandon closed the garage door, I don't remember why (probably to avoid a scene), but when he did it got extremely loud. All I could do was stand there with my hands over my ears tryng not to go into a panic attack. I was about to start crying my eyes out when Brandon had me go to our sliding glass door and yell for Kyle. I banged and banged on the door and finally he came and looked through the blinds. Kyle was able to open the sliding glass door for me. Of course he was crying the entire time because he thought we were locking him out of the house! I never want to go through that again!!

10. The day my hubby came back from his 5wk TDY to Nellis AFB in Las Vegas. It was our first "homecoming" and it also happened to be the day he asked me to be his wife!

Do you have any unforgettable moments you'd like to share?! If you do, I'd love to read them. I'm just nosy like that! hehe

Brother and Uncle

My Brother and I are 19 months apart, so needless to say, we are pretty close. When I got married and moved out, I think he took it harder than anyone else. I haven't seen him since Christmas of 2006, so it's been great catching up! I love my brother and Kyle and Leah are already fascinated with him. They love their Uncle Chris!!


Btw, I cut my brother's hair. He hated it at first, and he still doesn't love it. But, I do! I think it looks great. Wouldn't you agree??

California

We had a pretty good flight here to California. About 35mins into our first flight, I noticed Kyle was turned in his seat with his blanket over face. I asked him to turn around and that's when I noticed he was crying. He kept saying "Dada gone" and "go home" over and over. I wanted to cry with him, the poor thing was missing his Daddy. It took about 10mins, but I got him to calm down. Kyle did so great on the airplane, I was really shocked. Leah did well, too, but she had her moments where she just wanted to get down and crawl.

My sister and brother came to get us at the airport. They told my niece that they were going to the hospital, because it was a surprise that we were coming in. Kylie thought we weren't flying in until the next day. I wish I would have taken a picture of Kylie's expression when we walked through the door. She was so confused!! LOL

We are having a blast here. My sister has a dog, which the kids aren't used to. Leah has gotten licked in the face a couple of times, and she's not a fan, hehe!!

I have taken over the house. My sister just moved into this house, so I did a lot of re-arranging and decorating yesterday. It's nice decorating with new-to-me stuff!! My sister and I have different tastes in home decor.. I am a more modern person and she's more country!! It's been fun though!

This it totally off-subject, but prayers are definitely needed. The day we left Florida, there was an accident right in front of the street we live on. A military man in a SUV crashed into a bus, it was so bad, his vehicle went underneath the bus. Unfortunately, the Airman didn't make it. Brandon's co-worker was actually one of people who pulled the man out. Please pray for his family. I don't know if he was married or not or if he had any kids.

Questions

Am I forgetting something?
How will I use the bathroom while holding Leah?
Will Kyle freak out when I flush the LOUD airplane toilet?
How will we will all fit in the airplane's bathrom?!
Will we have to run to catch our next flight? (only a 45min layover)
Will the kids behave or will they be cranky?
Did I pack enough snacks for us?
Are we going to have a friendly person sitting next to us, who won't mind Kyle's constant talking and Leah's need to be constantly attached to my breasts?
Are my suitcases going to be lost? Because, you know, my coupons are in my suitcase and I just can't lose those!!!!!!

So many questions running through my head. Please pray that we have smooth and safe flights to California!! Thanks in advance =)

It's official ...

The kids and I are going to visit my sister, my niece, my brother, and quite possibly my Mom!!! I am so excited. We leave on the 14th and will be gone for quite awhile (Brandon will be TDY). I haven't seen my brother in two years (that's a looong time for me!). My brother nor my Mom have met Leah yet, so we all can't wait to get together again. The last time I was in California was Christmas of 2004. I'm going to miss my hubby and the kids will miss their Daddy, but I am sure the time will just fly. AH! I am so excited! Can you tell?! :)