Moving

Thursday the packers came and started packing up the house. By Friday they had finished. Now Monday the movers come to load it all up and take it down to Pensacola. We are really excited to see our new house and see our old friends. but of course, we are pretty sad to leave our friends and our house behind. We're still waiting on a buyer to come through on the house. So far, no luck in that department. Fingers crossed!

New Bikes!

The boys needed new bikes in a BAD way! They had resorted to fighting over Clare's pink tricycle. So we broke down and got them both new bikes. They LOVE them! And now, they are part of the neighborhood bicycle gang that rides around the cul de sac harassing the neighbors:)

4th of July!

To celebrate the 4th of July we went to New Bern to watch their fireworks. It's about an hour from us, but they had tons of entertainment and great fireworks, so it was worth the trip. The kids played on bounce houses, we ate and enjoyed the Marine Corps band before the show. It was on the river, which was really nice. The kids loved seeing all of the boats parked in the water to see the fireworks!



No one was really happy that I made them pose for a picture while they were trying to look at the water!


Henry had a good time, but never really wanted to leave my lap:)



Clare clawing her dad's eyes out to get a better view of the fireworks!



Mike's "before and after" with his cotton candy



Michael dominating his cotton candy

Trip to IN!

We had a great trip to IN! The kids were great on both the car ride there and back. We were pretty busy most of the time, but we got to see everyone at least once!
The first weekend was our anniversary weekend, which we spent in Indy. Joe was in a wedding on Saturday and we had a great time with all of his friends. The week was filled with hanging out with family and friends. The following weekend was the big surprise get together in Brown County for Joe and Chris's birthday/anniversary. Of course the whole trip went way too fast and we never spent as much time with anyone as we would have liked. But now we are in moving mode, getting everything ready to hit the road to FL. Everyone is welcome anytime! And as a bonus, anytime large groups want to come visit, there is a lodge on the golf course to house anyone who can't fit in the house! We'll be ready for visitors after the middle of July!

Topsail #2

Thank you everyone for coming down to visit us! I wish I had taken more pictures of the group, but you know how easy it is to tote a camera along with all the kids!

Topsail Beach!

A picture is worth a thousand words........

This is why I never get anything done. Ever. Because I can't leave them alone for one second!

Easter Round 1

Today some of my lovely neighbors put together a block party. They had everyone pitch in some candy filled eggs and a side dish. The kids ran wild looking for eggs (who were hidden by the only husband left on the block:) but quickly tired out due to the outrageous heat. After the egg hunt we went across the street for a BBQ. Again, the only husband left did the grilling. This guy is doing triple duty for sure! The kids had a great time and were all ready for baths and bed by a reasonable hour.

Whoa-That was fast!

Well we are skipping right from November allllllll the way to April:) I wish this deployment had gone that fast! But here we are. Back in North Carolina. As you all know Hank had an accident right when we got back. He's doing fine. We are getting ready to put the house on the market on Tuesday. I have spent every waking minute since we got here trying to get the house ready. These kiddos aren't really too concerned with cleanliness:) So I spend all my time cleaning and recleaning everything!
We did get to the beach. It was still kind of cold. I got really brave and took all 3 by myself. It went well. That was b/c Clare was very unsure of the sand. Toward the end, she was making a break for it running down the beach. I suspect that may be my last trip alone if she keeps that up!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE!

Today is Michael's 4th birthday! I can't believe it! My little guy isn't so little anymore! We had a party yesterday. It went very well. He got lots of really great gifts, but GG gave the best of all. Bet you'd never guess that this kid loves cheese balls more than anything!

Thanksgiving

This year the kids and I just stayed at my mom's. She had Thanksgiving at her house. The kids had a blast with their cousins. Clare LOVED the food. She at non-stop and we were starting to think she might just pop the buttons right off her shirt. Hank was worn out. By about 7pm everyone was ready for bed!

New Family Pics!

I had some new pictures taken so Joe could see just how much to kiddos have changed. My friend Lori took them. They are sooooo good!
To see the new photos visit her blog-
www.lorimargasonphotography.blogspot.com

Trick or Treat

For our Halloween festivites we went over to my grandma's house. My Dad and Wendy came over to see all the kids in their costumes. After that we went to Barbara and Joe's and that was about as much fun as they could handle:) Round 2 will be after naps when we go to Popo and Grandpa's.