Ahhhh, Green, Green Grass

Our visit to Detroit included some gorgeous, spring weather. We jumped at the chance to play outside and enjoy some romping in my parents' beautiful, soft, lush, green grass. Oh, how I miss nice grass. Having lived in rental homes in the south the past 4 years we just have not had the good fortune or resources to have the kind of grass I enjoyed in Michigan.

Clara couldn't wait to take off her shoes and socks and feel the blades between her toes; she loved it! Colton was picking through the grass with his little fingers and was crawling over the the yard.


Daddy's Little Man

Fun with Papa

A "big girl" bike for our big girl

Get...this...hat...off...of...me!

Papa makes it look so easy...

....why isn't it working for me?

Mommy and her sweet girl



I know, there are a lot of pictures here, but there were just too many cute ones to not share them!

Easter 2011

The kids and I had a fabulous trip to Detroit for Easter this year. The adventure started with our flight to Detroit from Louisville. I had no idea what an undertaking I was embarking on, but I did know it could go great or horrible. It went great! Our kids were absolutely fabulous flying to and from Kentucky. Not only that, but, our travels reminded me that there are plenty of kind strangers out there, and like my friend said, "chivalry is still alive." Thank goodness that when perfect strangers saw this mom traveling alone with two young children they didn't hesitate to offer a helping hand. Whether it be closing and opening a stroller to get through security, holding open a door to get into a restroom, carrying a car seat off the plane and then all the way to baggage claim when our stroller was taken there instead of left at the gate, and many other little courtesies and blessings, it made our airport/airplane adventure the best it could have possibly been.

Our great experience getting to Detroit definitely put me in a great mood to start our actual visit. We had a great time visiting with friends, family, and playing....A LOT!

One of the highlights for Clara was our trip to Jungle Java! Oh, how I wish we had one in the Elizabethtown/Ft. Knox area. A coffee house/cafe with the most incredible indoor kids play equipment! I was so proud of our little Clara. She was climbing rope ladders, going down 4 level-high tube slides, and having a blast. Colton was just as busy exploring the baby/toddler area complete with tunnels, steps and slides. It was so much fun watching the kids have so much fun, and the coffee was good, too!

All in all, it was a great visit. I have more pictures that I'll post later this week. For now, it's getting late, so I'll leave you with our 2011 Easter pics.

Colton is 11 Months Old!

Eleven down, one more to go and our little man will be one year old! Here are Colton's 11 month stats.

He is quickly becoming a handful. I'm not sure if it's the difference between Clara and Colton or just the difference between a boy and girl; but man, this kids can get into everything! If I take my eyes off him for 3 seconds he darts off the dump over the cat's water bowl. He follows me into the kitchen where I give him pots and pans and spoons to bang, but he decides he'd rather open up the trash can take out some wrappers. If I have to put clothes in the dryer, he takes them out as I put them in. And when it's time to take the clothes out, he climbs into the basket to help. Not only can he get into anything, he has figured out how to get out of his play/activity table seat. Yep, he leans right over, bounces on his feet and lunges right out of his safe spot, well, not so safe spot anymore! He's going to have to learn to like the play pen.

Caught in the act!

Despite the path of destruction he is capable of creating, this little boy is full of smiles, giggles, and love.

Sunflower Time!

That's right! It's that time of year to plant our sunflowers and enjoy watching them grow bigger than Clara. We planted them this morning and already Clara is waiting anxiously, wondering when they will look like sunflowers. So, here we go! Let's watch them grow!


Planting day, 04/10/2011

Aaron's Re-Enlistment

I guess this makes it official, we are in the Army for the long haul. In March, Aaron signed his re-enlistment papers for 6 more years. That would put us in the Army for 11 years. And if you're gonna be in for 11, you may as well be in for twenty. He and I have talked about this many times and decided that an Army career is the way to go. Sure, there's many things about the military that aren't ideal to family life, but there are also several advantages. And, really, when it comes down to it, Aaron enjoys serving his country and if it makes him happy, it makes me happy. I am proud to stand beside him through thick and thin and I know I'm tough enough to make it though the challenging times. Being a soldier is a noble calling and I am proud to be his Army Wife.


Aaron taking his re-enlistment oath in Afghanistan

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Wednesday was Aaron's birthday. At home, we celebrated by singing "happy birthday" all afternoon; Clara just loves to sing! We planned and sent his birthday packages over a month ago - we wanted to be sure he got them in time. And, it worked! When Aaron called on Friday he had gotten his packages. He also said he spent his birthday week sleeping out in Afghanistan villages. Doesn't sound like the most fun way to spend a birthday, but such is the call of duty.

Aaron's birthday packages were full of special Clara-made projects like a picture frame, a life size tracing of Clara that she decorated, plenty of pictures she colored, a Shutterfly book, Girl Scout cookies, Swiss Cake Rolls, Triscuits and Squeeze Cheese, puzzle books, CD's with pics and videos, other favorite goodies, and my personal favorite, a "birthday cake". Yep! Clara made a birthday cake out of clay, painted it, stuck a candle on the top, and we wrapped it up in bubble wrap and shipped it to Afghanistan! Granted, it's not tasty like a big slice of chocolate cake, but Daddy loved it way more. It even arrived all in one piece, he said.


Clara painting Daddy's birthday cake

The finished product!