On the Road Again....

Goodbye Roger! (He was on the road home to NH)

Piscataqua River Bridge (into NH - it was so small, we actually missed the sign!)

Into Massachusetts

Into CT - Take One

(the next morning)

In Danbury, CT - Take two

New York's not ready for us!

New Jersey - the armpit of America

And into Delaware...

...then Maryland

Gary missed the sign into Virgina ... figures.

We finally hit the road for Colorado, but before we could head west, we had to drive to Norfolk, Virginia so Gary could check out of ECRC. We decided to take pictures of the welcome signs for every state we went through. It was challenging to say the least (especially Connecticut because it was dark and rainy), but it seemed like a good memory for us (and it was fun)! The road was very familiar because we'd driven it so much, and it was good to revisit places we used to love ... including a visit to see Uncle Ron and Aunt Sharon in Glen Burnie, Md and a visit to Williamsburg, where we met up with our friend, Jd, and his son, Jake. It was so good to see them again, but sad to say goodbye. But all good things must come to an end.... :(

Saying goodbye to BEST friends!

Me and Amy

Lilly and Olivia

Olivia is going to miss Prospect

Farewell Party at Olivia's school

Before Olivia left school, a couple class moms, Kelly and Michelle, planned a small farewell party for Olivia, which was SO sweet! They had snacks and all the kids drew pictures for Olivia and they signed a ceramic plate for Olivia to put in her room in her new home. It made me want to cry! Here are some pictures I took of Olivia, the kids and her teachers. I couldn't have asked for a better team of teachers to help Olivia be successful in school. They will truly be missed!

Cole loves cars - Mazda's RX-8

Moving Day

Empty Bedroom

Cole watching tv in our last chair

The empty living room

The empty kitchen and dining room

Olivia plays in the dining room at the table (oh, the other 'last' chair)

Welcome Home/Farewell BBQ

Since we had minimal time after Gary got home before we had to pack out and leave, we decided to have a barbeque with all our friends and family - ended up a little bigger than I anticipated, so I was running around like crazy, but luckily Gary was able to spend time with everyone. It never is enough time, but it was so good to chat about old times, get caught up and laugh a lot! It was so good to see everyone, which would have been impossible to try to see everyone individually. We will miss everyone so much and really hope we can stay in touch! If you are ever in Colorado, we'd love to see you again!

Last time at Jordan's

One last visit to Jordan's Snack Bar - we're really going to miss the yummy food! But we are really going to miss Memaw and Pepaw even more!

An Evening Out!

Our first date night!! Finally Gary is home and he gets to meet Amy and Josh! Yay! Amy and I have become really close in the past six months and all we needed to complete our foursome was Gary - let me say, I think we all mesh famously! We decided to go to Margarita's one last time before moving and we had SO much fun! Yummy - Quesadilla Grande (my fave) and Spider Cider Margaritas! We also tried a Coco Loco - it's kind of how you feel after drinking it! :) Here's a couple pics from our night out!

Story time with Daddy!

Our bedtime routine is SO much better with Daddy! Here he is reading them stories - it's such a perfect moment, I just had to capture it. We haven't had it for so long, it really makes you appreciate the little things.

Blogging again...

So much has happened since my last post, I don't even know where to begin, but stay tuned because I have a lot of catching up to do. It's now June 23, 2009 and we are in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I'm back-dating the posts so that they will be in order, but I have a lot of adventures to share! The best thing is Gary is now home!! The kids and I had to drive to Norfolk, Va. to pick him up (Boo!), but thank God he is home safe and sound! He arrived home May 21st, earlier than we expected, but only a few days shy of 13 months! It feels so good to be a family again!

Almost Done!

It's Sunday, May 17th and it's kind of dreary today.  It's been raining all night, but hopefully it'll taper off this afternoon and give us a little sunshine.  :)  It's hard to believe so much time as passed, but we are FINALLY almost done with this deployment!  I am SO excited and relieved to have him home, but at the same time, I'm stressed out with trying to get ready for our move.  I hurt my back over April vacation and it's still not better.  I went to the doctor's too, but she said exactly what I thought she'd say - let it rest, don't pull on things, use heat and take advil.  She also gave me a muscle relaxer, but it doesn't seem to help other than put me to sleep.  :)  And we all know that's not a good thing when I'm the only one here (A MOTHER'S WORK IS NEVER DONE).  So, if it's still bothering me in a month, when we get to Colorado, I'll go back to see a doctor and maybe get an MRI.  

But on a more positive note, the kids and I will be driving to Norfolk at the end of this week to pick up Gary from the airport.  His estimated date of departure from Kuwait (yes! he's in Kuwait now!) will most likely put him arriving in Norfolk on Saturday and he can't check out of NMPS or on leave until Tuesday (when people are at work).  So instead of letting him sit around by himself for three days, we decided to meet him and spend some time with Daddy.  :)  Yay!  All I can ask for now is a prayer to keep him safe until he gets here!  

Terrible Two's

Although Colvin won't be two until July - I think it's already starting.  The first video was Cole giving me attitude (and then a little love) and the second was his tantrum after I yelled at him for throwing cheerios on the floor.  Take a look....

**Don't forget to pause the music - though I'm sure you can hear him over it!**