Saying goodbye to El Paso

Well, the time has finally come for us to say goodbye to El Paso - at least temproarily. With as big as Ft. Bliss is getting, we may very well be back some day...

David returned home yesterday morning and thankfully will be able to stay until we are all ready to go. The movers will be here to pack on Tuesday, and then load everything up Wednesday. Hopefully we will be able to get all the last minute things done on Wednesday afternoon and be on our way to our new home by Thursday morning.

(Tristan playing peek-a-boo with Daddy)

Unfortunately, the offer we received on our house fell through, so we are still trying to lease or sell it. We've had quite a bit of interest, and everybody LOVES it, but there's always a "but". So we put our trust in God and know that He will provide - even if it is in His time and not ours. He has done well by us so far!

I finished up working on Thursday, and even though it was a really long day, I hated having to leave and say goodbye. I have had such a great time working in the Recovery Room this last year and made some wonderful friends. I hope I can find another job that I enjoy as much as I did here.


On to some more smile-worthy things...


We had pancakes with blueberries for breakfast this morning - Tristan really enjoyed them!



Thankfully I had the foresight to have both the kids take off their shirts before we started eating.


I was washing Grace's sheets yesterday and didn't have them done before nap time, so she just snuggled up with all of her animals and pillows - right where I had thrown them when I took them off her bed...



What a joy they are! They always provide entertainment and laughter, even if it is amid frustration sometimes...

We may be out of touch for a few weeks, but will get back on as soon as we can.

My new toy

I should be getting things ready for moving - you know, setting things aside that I want to take with us, but I just can't seem to get motivated to do that. So, I thought I'd share some pictures that I took with my new camera...

Our old camera's telephoto went out, so it sounded like a pretty good excuse to upgrade. So, Tuesday I went and purchased a Nikon D60, complete with zoom lens - and I LOVE it!! Now, if I can just figure out what all those pretty little buttons will do for me I'll be way ahead of the game. But, until then, I'll continue using the auto mode and still get fabulous pics.

Here's a few of them...

The kids got into the water last night after I cleaned up the spilled bubbles...

In other news... David went to Ft. Huachuca, AZ on Sunday and secured a house for us on Monday. We will be joining him on or about the 26th of June. We decided that with the price of gas these days that the kids and I really didn't need to go with him. After all, it's not like we had to go house hunting - he saw 2 models and chose one of them. Now if we can just get this house sold or rented...

Party Time

I have had a HUGE case of the lazies lately, and have been working quite a bit - which explains why I haven't been keeping up our blog.

David has been busy doing all of his out processing stuff these last two weeks, and in preparation for movers coming this week, we decided to have a farewell BBQ and a little party for Tristan's upcoming 2nd birthday. So, I printed invitations and made sure they all got out in a timely fashion since this was really last minute - and then I got a call from David saying that we can't get any movers to come out until at least the 24th of June! UGH!! Since David is still going to Arizona on the 10th, we went ahead with the party and had a great time. We have made some wonderful friends here who we will dearly miss.

Friday I made cakes for Tristan and David. Tristan's is the John Deere, and David's is the International - he even directed me on how to decorate them so they would be more accurate than the cake instructions depicted...

Tristan had a great time, and was really into opening his presents this year. He got stage fright when it was time to blow out the candles though...

Monday, David took the kids out in the back yard and had some batting practice

A Busy Week

I asked David to blog this week as he stayed home and played "Mr. Mom" on Monday and Tuesday, but I had no luck in getting him to. He was off Monday and Tuesday since he reenlisted last Friday and officially became a career soldier.

The thing I love about thie times that David stays home with the kids is that he has a whole new appreciation for what I go through on a daily basis. I think it is good for him to have this experience every once in a while - it benefits me too, I start getting more help around the house!

In addition to reenlisting last Friday, David was presented with an Army Commendation Medal.

Although they were not officially "presented" to him, he also received a Bronze Star and an Air Medal from the U.S. Special Operations Command, which he was a part of while he was in Iraq. Needless to say, we're very proud of him.

While I was away making the "big bucks" this week, here's a few of the things David had to deal with ...

(You'll notice there's no pictures of Grace here... she doesn't get into near the trouble her brother does)

I will say that I love my job, but I have gotten so used to staying at home most of the time that working every day last week really wore me out! I'm not looking forward to having to go back to work full time - maybe if I keep having kids I'll never have to go back to work... Fat chance - I think I'd lose my mind if I had any more! So, I guess I'll just have to get used to the idea of going back to work in a few years...

Daddy's Home!

David returned home from a six week school at Ft. Huachuca, AZ on Friday afternoon. The kids were thrilled to see him. He rang the doorbell when he got home and Gracie ran to the door and said "Daddy! You're home!" at which point Tristan dropped what he was doing and ran to the door too.

David took a few extra days off so we could have some family time, which we all thoroughly enjoyed. He goes back to work for a few days, then begins the clearing process before our move to Ft. Huachuca, AZ.

Mother's Day was a wonderful day. I was given a beautiful gold heart necklace with a banner that says "Mom" before we went to church, and then we went and had a wonderful brunch. We then came home, and later in the day, I got the greatest gift of all... A BREAK!! Daddy became the jungle gym for once...

Monday David made a delicious dinner of grilled chicken and corn on the cob, not to mention having pancakes for breakfast...

Today we went to see the El Paso Diablos play baseball - the kids were all ready with their baseball caps and gloves. They both love baseball, but today I think they loved the freedom to run around even more than the game.

At one point, the chicken came over and got Tristan and took him over one section of seats and danced and played with him. I asked David if we should be concerned that our son will run off with any ol' character that comes along...

Needless to say, we are all very happy that David is home! He goes back to work tomorrow, which means that my spoiling is over and I'll have to get back to my regular duties...

Fun in the sun

The last few days have been absolutely beautiful here. So, the kids and I have spent quite a bit of time outside.

Yesterday, Grace helped me transplant a couple of plants.

She does everything in style, you know...

And today, the kids had a ball running through the sprinkler! They were having so much fun this afternoon, that they decided it should continue after supper. I was cleaning the kitchen when I heard the water come on in the back yard... I was about to go out and raise cain, since I had told Grace that it was getting too cool to get wet, but then I figured, what the heck, they're kids and they aren't doing any harm.

Potty training continues to go well for Tristan. We even ventured to church yesterday without a diaper on, and he did great! They say that a child will do it when he/she is ready, and it's absolutely true - he let me know long before I had even considered it. Now, if we could only convince him that Mommy doesn't need to clean up his stinky messes anymore we'd really be on the right track! Grace is super cute when Tristan goes "potty"... She runs in the bathroom and says "Tristan, you peed all by yourself! Great job!" Gotta love toddler talk!

Potty Training Bliss

Today Tristan decided that he was going to potty train himself...

He came and told me this morning "pee". So, I checked his diaper and he was still dry. I took his diaper off and sent him into the bathroom, where, lo and behold, he peed in the potty! Mind you, he's been doing this about once a day for the last few days, but there has been no consistency to it, and he would let me put a diaper back on him...

Today however, it was a different story. He REFUSED to have a diaper on. All it took today was asking him if he needed to go "potty" and he would go into the bathroom and do his business. The only time he used a diaper is when he took a nap. Grace and I have both made over him each time he has been successful, and he gets a kick out of the "bubbles" he creates.

This being my second child, I was in no hurry to get him potty trained because Grace was almost 2 1/2 before she was potty trained, and I keep hearing that boys are more difficult to train and they take longer. So, I am still hesitant to get too excited about all this, but it sure would be nice to not have to change diapers anymore! If we continue with this trend, then the only thing we're going to have to work on is getting him to sit on the potty the right way so he doesn't have to disrobe when we're out somewhere...