Sarah's Birthday!

Sarah turned 11 earlier this month!! For her birthday she got to go out with me and her Nana and get feather extensions put in her hair. Then we went to Old Navy and she got to pick out a couple of things. We then went to Goodtimes for lunch. Sarah also got a phone for her birthday this year...lucky for her mom and dad upgraded, therefore Evan got my old phone and Sarah got Evan's phone =) Later in the week after her birthday, Sarah got to bring three friends with her and we all went to a water park up outside Denver called Pirate's Cove! I think it's safe to say that she had a pretty amazing birthday!! =) Happy Birthday Sarah!! We love you so much and are so happy you are part of our family!!

He's Home!!!!

Finally after 11 long months, Bill is home safe and sound from Afghanistan!! We are so very proud of him and the sacrifices he has made this past year!! He truly is our hero and we are so happy to have him home!!! I had a friend take pictures of the homecoming ceremony for me so I soon as I get those I will get them posted!! =)

Pocahontas for a day

Before school was out all the 5th grade classes put on a "wax musuem" The students all dressed up as people they had studied and learned about. Sarah chose to be Pocahontas. Each student made a poster with information about their person. Lots of the kids even drew a red "push here" button on their hand so that when people came by they could push the button to hear information about the "wax person" The rest of the grades in the school also got to come up to the 5th grade and learn. It was such a cute idea and everyone loved it!! Sarah did a great job learning about and then retelling people about Pocahontas =)

Liam's New Friend

Going Private

Hey everyone!!

I've decided to go private with my blog! Sooooo...if you'd like to continue checking it out just send me your email address in a comment or on FB or wherever and I'll add you in so you can continue to access my blog =)

Finally caught up!

So if you are interested or bored =) I posted like 10 or so posts of all that has happened the past couple of months...so you'll have to go back through older posts to see them all.

I can't believe as I look over at my countdown clock that we are almost done with this deployment! Just about a month left and Bill will be home for good!! He is hopefully going to get a job at the hospital so he can finish up these last couple of years without having to deploy again. I am so excited for him to be home that I can't stand it!! We have lots of fun things planned for his leave this summer and it is going to be a blast!! Here's hoping the next month flies by!! =)

My Cassiegirl

Cassie was born on July 15, 2003. We adopted her at the end of August 2003. She was a lab/newfoundland mix and the runt of her litter. She was such a sweet, loyal dog. She was definitely a part of our family. I have heard it said that dogs are loyal to one person...if this is true then Cassie was my dog. She slept on my bed every single night the year Bill was deployed to Iraq. She traveled with us, would give the kids kisses when they cried. She loved to play fetch and especially loved to play tug-o-war. She would play hide and seek with us but would always give me away =) She was a quiet, calm, sweet girl and just the best dog ever!!

Cassie passed away on May 9, 2011. We don't know why or what from. I came home from running errands and found her laying on the bathroom floor as if she was sleeping but she wasn't. It breaks my heart to think that she is gone. She was not only a good dog, but a good friend and she will be missed terribly. A huge thank you to my Dad who left work to come and take her for me before the kids came home from school and a huge thank you to my mom who came and sat with me that afternoon =) A big thank you to Bill as well...even though he is in Afghanistan we were able to comiserate together over the phone and reminisce about all the fun times we'd had with Cassie. And thank you to all my friends and family who's kind and thoughful words made me feel better =)

We love you Cassigirl and we will always miss you!!

Fishing at Farish

A couple of days before Bill left to head back to Afghanistan we went fishing. We went to a new place that is actually owned by the Air Force and in order to access it you have to be military. It is only about 45 minutes away and it has 3 small lakes, lots of hiking trails, cabins, tent sites, and a playground. It was so beautiful and peaceful up there. We had so much fun and Bill caught like 8 trout in about an hour so that was fun for him. Liam loved reeling the fish in but wasn't too keen on touching them. I even got to reel one in!! =) It was a great day!!

Fun at ITZ

ITZ is pretty much like a Chuck E. Cheese for big kids...this is where Liam wanted to go for his birthday =) We had a GREAT time playing games and being together. Everyone won tons of tickets but Liam had the most at like 700 something if I remember right!

Liam turns 4

April 4th was Liam's birthday. We just had a little family party at home and then he wanted to go to ITZ. (next post) Liam wanted a banana muffin for his breakfast and then he picked out the Cars cake. For his birthday this year Liam got a DSi with a couple of games, a kids camera, a marble works set and the Playmobile dragon. I can't believe Liam is four...he is such a funny little boy and growing way too fast. He loves to play with his friends, play games on the Wii and loves to help me around the house. I am so very thankful for Liam and for the sweet boy he is...HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIAM!! WE LOVE YOU!! =)

Happiness

Here are some random pictures taken during R&R...

Surprising Sarah

When Sarah came home from school, Bill and Evan had gone to the store real quick so when they walked in the house, Sarah ran to Bill screaming "Daddy!" She cried too and was so happy to see him! Then while she was hugging Bill, Evan joined in and then Liam =) We all missed Bill so very much and it was wonderful to finally have him home for a few weeks!! =)

Surprising Evan

Evan was the next one to surprise...Bill had gone up to take a nap and was up sleeping when Evan came home. I distracted Evan in the kitchen talking to him about his day and secretly sent Liam up to tell Daddy that Evan was home. Bill was standing on the stairs as Evan walked past and at first he scared Evan. Then Evan realized who it was and gave him a huge hug and started crying. Evan is a sensitive soul and it was so sweet to see him just lay on Bill's shoulder =) Bill could not believe how tall Evan has gotten...as you can see in the picture Evan is almost as tall as Bill...crazy!!

Surprising Liam

After breakfast at IHOP, we came back to the house where my mom was with Liam. My mom so so wonderful to pick the kids up after school the day before and keep them for us so we could have a night to ourselves =) She brought the kids over so they could go to school and then waited here with Liam for us. My mom is the best!! The kids still had no idea Bill was home yet...they thought I was at a conference in Denver ;)

So here are the pictures of Bill surprising Liam. Liam was so happy...he kept hugging Bill then he would look at him and then hug him some more. It was super sweet.

FINALLY!!

YAY!! R&R finally arrived at the end of March...it'd only been 8 months since I'd seen my sweetheart!! It was one of THE best days ever!! I got Evan and Sarah off to school (they had no idea Bill was coming in)...took Liam to his friend Payson's house and then I went to the airport to pick up Bill ALL BY MYSELF!! I was able to show my ID at the check-in desk and they gave me a boarding pass so I could be back at the gate when Bill arrived. He wasn't expecting me to be there =) I got back to the gate and could see his plane taxiing in. I had butterflies so bad and couldn't decide if I wanted to cry or throw-up! =) So the door opens up and a couple of people start trickling off the plane and I am beside myself. Then I see him!! He was barely out of the door and I burst into tears. Words can not even begin to describe the amazing, wonderful feeling it was to be able to run into his arms and hug him so tightly! We were both in tears and we just stood there hugging and enjoying our reunion...it was wonderful!! We were all smiles as we walked through the terminal. We kept looking at eachother as if to say "I can't believe its actually you here and we are together...finally!!" Totally the best feeling ever!!

So after we got his bags and dropped a friend of his off we came home so he could shower and change and then we went up to The Broadmoor Hotel. Because I used to work there years ago and the reservations manager is the same guy I used to work for, I called him up and he gave us a SWEET deal on a beautiful lakeside suite. It was perfect!! Bill and I stayed at this hotel many times when we lived here before and also for our wedding night so it was a lot of fun to be back there.

We had dinner at Carrabbas, Cheesecake Factory cheesecake for dessert and then IHOP for breakfast. It was so much fun being together and having that time just for us. One of the most perfect days ever =)

Zoo Highlights

Back in March, over Spring Break, we took a trip to the zoo with Nana. Here are some of my favorite pictures from that day =)

Catching up!

It's hard to believe that it's been so long since my last post!! I have been wanting to post for awhile but just haven't had or made the time so today is going to be my day to catch this blog up and then I will do my best to keep it current =) So much has happened the past couple of months...this could take awhile =) I know some of the posts won't necessarily be in order but I think I will do individual posts to go with pictures and try my best to not forget anything...enjoy! =)

Who needs toys

Great News!!

Just got the best news ever last night!!! Found out that Bill's deployment will only be 11 months rather than 12! This means he should be home before the Fourth of July instead of the beginning of August!! He'll be taking his two week R&R around the first of April which means he will only have about a month and a half left once he goes back after R&R. He is so excited and can finally start to see the light at the end of the tunnel! I am ecstatic and can't believe that in four months my sweetheart will be home for good!! Woohoo!!

Day 200

Tonight we celebrated day 200 of Bill's depolyment by going bowling with our friends the Bauer's (their Dad left the same day as Bill). We had dinner, bowled two games and then had chocoate cake for dessert! It was a fun night and now we are looking forward to celebrating day 300!!!

Bubbles

Here are some silly pics of Liam having fun in a bath of bubbles!

Spelling Bee

This past week Sarah had the opportunity to be in her very first spelling bee. All the elementary schools in our district competed. Most schools had about 6 kids on their team...Sarah's school had 4 kids and Sarah was one of them. Sarah was number 2 and she did so good!! What impressed me the most was her confidence. Even when she mispelled permanent (she spelled it permenent) in the fourth round she still held her head high and did not get upset or cry like some of the other kids did. Round 5 took out all but 4 kids so Sarah did really well!! It was a great experience and I was so proud of how well she did for her first spelling bee!!