March

In a mere THREE DAYS, Billy will be home for R&R - we cannot wait! Sometimes I think my lack in posting while he is gone is based on the flawed logic that by not recording the time we had to be apart, I can pretend it never happened...though more likely is the fact that the blog often ends up at the bottom of the to-do list, right under the piles of laundry and dirty dishes. Regardless, I figured this had to be updated prior to Billy's arrival, because I know I'll have lots of fun photos and stories to share after his visit!

March's weather has been much improved - shockingly, the few feet of snow that was piled in my yard is completely melted. The weather has been in the 50s/60s and we have enjoyed being outside, even if the ground is still extremely muddy.

Brody has really kept me entertained lately with his preschooler's outlook on life, though I think we may have watched a few too many cartoons during our long winter days - while at Burger King one evening, he saw my burger and asked me if it was a 'crabby patty', and just yesterday while helping me unload the dishwasher, he pulled out my strainer and said, "Look! A jellyfish net!"

Thankfully his new favorite cartoon is no longer Spongebob, but Max and Ruby. We check out Max and Ruby library books each time we go, and he and Alexa often act out the story lines. Anytime he needs a 'pretend name' for a game, he insists on being "Max."

Alexa is doing well in 1st grade and has made lots of friends through school and church. She has lost three teeth now, all on the bottom row! Her elementary school hosted a math and science night last week, which featured the 1st grader's rain forest creation! It was super cute and she was quite proud of her contributions to the rain forest.

I love hearing the excitement in her voice as she tells me about the things she's learning or doing at school. A few weeks ago she asked me if I knew where we would be going next when we moved from Ohio. I told her we wouldn't know until closer to time for the move, but New York might be an option. Her class had been studying our nation's symbols and she asked, "Is that where the Statue of Liberty lives?" I told her yes, the Statue of Liberty was in the same state, and she excitedly asked, "Do you think she'll still be there when we get there?" I assured her that the Statue of Liberty should indeed still be there, and we would plan a trip to visit her if we ended up in New York state. :)

I have not done a great job taking photos this month, but I promise the post at the end of the month will more than make up for the lack of photos thus far!!

The Adventure of a Lifetime

Ten years...today I celebrate ten amazing years with my husband. Every day has been an adventure! When we met in 1997, our shared love of the outdoors and sports led to a 'first date' climbing the beautiful granite faces of Utah's Wasatch Mountains.

The adventure continued in December of that year when my college roomie and I flew to Utah for a ski trip, and Billy surprised me with a horse drawn carriage ride through downtown Salt Lake City in the lightly falling snow...

December 1997

The next few years included several other plane rides and road trips, as well as camping, hiking, climbing, and skiing when possible!

Colorado Springs - 1999

I moved to Utah in 1999 and we married in 2000 - and still, the adventure continued. In our ten years together, we've had five addresses, lived in four state capitals, and either visited, lived in, or driven through at least half of our nation's states.

Donner's Pass - 2000
2000 - Cracker Barrel somewhere!

March 11, 2000

1st Anniversary - March 2001 - Moody Gardens - TX

March 2001 - Texas

Billy's Commissioning - May 2001

Officer Basic Course Graduation - May 2002

2002

Yosemite - 2002

Yosemite - 2002 - the Half Dome hike I thought would kill me!

We've had six pets (counting the one 'foster dog' that tried to eat our cats).

Artex in 1999

Chance in 2001

(I'll try to put up more pet photos tomorrow)

And of course our greatest adventure has been in becoming parents to our two amazing children!

August 2003 - our precious daughter!

February 2004 - visiting Daddy in Colorado during pre-deployment training

August 2004

February 2005 - this photo was taken around 4 or 5am the morning Billy's unit returned from their deployment! I'm all blotchy and teary eyed from crying all morning - but they were happy tears! And that's little Alexa under the green blanket in her Daddy's arms...

March 2005 - 5th Anniversary

November 2005

May 2006 - a proud Daddy with his son!

August 2006

November 2006

November 2006 - Nashville, TN visiting my sweet aunt who passed away this year

December 2006

7th Anniversary - March 2007 - celebrated in Virginia

May 2007

October 2007 - Disney World!

Hiking in SC - 2007

May 2008 - zoo in Omaha, NE

August 2008 - hiking in Illinois

November 2008 - another military ball!

May 2009 - crawfish festival in SC

May 2009-Military Ball

August 2009 - Utah

October 2009

The last ten years have truly been an amazing adventure shared with my best friend, the love of my life, and I cannot wait to see what adventures the next decade will bring!