How to ride a scooter-per Henry

day 3

We are half way through the drive to Michigan and I am so ready to be there!!! This morning was a lot of fun for me. We drive by the house that we lived in when we lived in Utah. It has a fresh coat of paint, but looks the same. I cannot believe that Tom and I used to hike to the V...it is a long way up there!! Then we went by my elementary school, St. Olaf's! It has not changed at all. Most of the teachers that were there when I went just retired! It was so neat to see what has changed and what is still the same after all these years! The drive out of Utah through the mountains was beautiful. Wyoming was pretty boring! There is not much in that state! Tonight we pushed a little and made it to Nebraska. The room we got is amazing! It has a whirlpool tub!! Of course I had to have a bubble bath, put too much in and now we have bubbles all over the place!! But the bath was amazing!!! Next to the tub, the best part of this room is...2 TV's! Keith can stay up all night watching the History channel...I am off to bed!! Gotta get enough sleep for another long day!

Day 1 and 2

The movers came bright and early Monday morning! After some issues with Allied, all of our worldly possessions are on a truck and on their way to VA! Keith and I left last night and made it to Reno, NV. We stayed at Circus Circus and Keith said I was sucking the fun out of the casino because I made us stick to the budget at the casino!!! We did have a good time! This morning we set off for Utah. Most of the day was Nevada, and I will never live in Nevada!! It was such a boring day! We made it to Utah and are staying at Hill AFB. It is strange to be back here after being gone for 15 years! Tomorrow we are going to go by my old house, and my old school. I am very excited to see the changes!

The last night in Monterey

Well, I am sitting here in a somewhat empty house and lots of thoughts are running through my mind! The boys are in San Jose with Keith's parents. They left happy and waving, so it made it easier for me to see them go! California has been both good and bad for us. Living at the ocean has been amazing! One of my favorite things has been coming over the hill in the neighborhood and seeing the ocean. What a view! My other favorite thing here has been watching the fog roll in. I could sit here all day and just watch it roll!! The weather here has been great! We have all been spoiled to year round 60 degree weather!! I know that we will miss the friends that we have made here, and I know that we will be life long friends, even if it is just through face book!! Tyler has found a love for gymnastics, and I have found a love for canning, cooking, and scrapbooking. Henry has found that he too loves gymnastics and art. Keith picked up flying. We have realized that we love family hikes and picnics. We would not have had the time to find out that we love any of these things had we not had the opportunity to live here.

As I look toward the next chapter in our lives, I am both happy and nervous! Living away from family has allowed us to become closer as a family. Being close again will be such an adjustment. I have not yet seen the house that we will be living in, so I cannot wait to get there and see what it is like and where we will put everything!! Being there without Keith will also take some getting used to for all of us. The boys have really enjoyed having Keith home in the mornings and the evenings. I have also loved having him here, especially doing the dishes at night!! We will have to find a new way to do things in a new town and that is both scary and exciting!!!

So as I go to sleep on this last night in California, I am happy to have the friends that I have made here and happy to move on to what is to come. I have learned so much about myself and life over the last year and I cannot wait to see what is to come!

Tyler singing

Here is a video of Tyler singing onomatopoeia, his favorite song!!

Gymnastics recital

Tyler had his gymnastics recital yesterday. He was so cute! The first video is of him doing an obstacle course and the second one is of his class doing their little dance!

For the Birds!

Tonight after dinner we took the boys to lovers point to let them run and climb on the rocks and get their energy out before bed. Before we left, we went over to the bathrooms. Keith played with the kids, and I went to the building. On my way there, I felt something hit my head. I looked up and saw nothing. Again when I walked back, I felt something hit my head, only this time I saw what it was...birds! And lots of them! Keith thought I was nuts, so I walked back over, and sure enough, the birds attacked my head! Here is the video Keith shot!

The Mystery Spot, Santa Cruz

We went to the mystery spot today. The Mystery Spot is a gravitational anomaly located in the redwood forest. Basically, when you are in the circle, you are not straight!! The pictures will show what I mean! At first I thought that it was an optical illusion, but now, not so sure! The tour guide had a board that was straight, she put a level on it. She then tossed a ball on it and the ball stopped a little ways down, and started rolling back to us! And if that was not freaky enough, the took water and poured it on the board. Normally, the water would fall all over the place. Not here!! When she poured it, the water ran in a straight line back towards us and drained off! Pop, you definitely need to go!!!!

Alcatraz

We took the boys to Alcatraz before we left San Francisco last weekend. We thought that it was going to be really neat to see, however, we were pretty disappointed. A lot of it was closed for renovations. The best part was the boat ride over!

San Francisco Zoo

This afternoon we went to the SF Zoo one more time! Although we have been several times, this was one of the best times. Poor Henry was a little upset, the Little Puffer was not running today. The highlight of his zoo trip is riding the train and he could not do that! But we did get to tour the observatory and touch many animals that we never see at the zoo. First, there was a huge tortoise! Henry was fascinated by his face! Next, we touched a hedge hog, a snake, a ferret and finally an iguana! They boys were in heaven. They both love animals so much and this was such a treat for them! We are really going to miss the zoo when we move.

Moffit Field and NASA AMES

This morning we decided to go to the Moffitt Field Museum before we headed to San Francisco. Boy are we glad we stopped! The museum was full of naval flight history and the air ship history. The boys got to see how they worked, they got to ring a Naval bell, and they got to sit in the front of a P3 Orion! And all of this was before 11!!!! This evening we walked down from the hotel to the NASA AMES buildings and the boys got to see shuttle. Tyler took the picture of Keith and I with the shuttle behind us! He is quite the photographer!!!

Baseball Game

Last night we took the boys to see their first Major League baseball game. The Oakland A's played the Toronto Blue Jays. The A's won 5 to 3!! The boys loved every minute of it! Henry will be a life long baseball fan...guys walk by you and bring you food!!! Between the popcorn, red vines and nachos, he was in heaven!!! He intently took it all in, but was a little confused by the fact that what was on the field was also what was on the big TVs!! Tyler's favorite part was the big foam fingers! We finally got him one and he has been obsessed about it ever since!! They were both so tired when we got to the hotel room, the actually stayed in the bed together and slept the entire night!!!

Wild Animal Park

Today we took the boys to the wild animal park in Salinas. It is an animal sanctuary and most of the animals that are there are retired from movies and TV. The animals that were used to create The Lion King and Madagascar are there. It is also the home for EARS, and elephant rescue group. We went on the hour tour, and got to see bears, tigers, lions, porcupines, cheetahs, and of course, elephants. After, the boys got to stay and feed the elephants carrots. The boys were so excited at first, but when we got up there and they saw just how big Butch, the elephant we were feeding, was, they were a little intimidated! Henry gave him 1 carrot, but was not happy after Butch took it, as he put Henry's entire hand in his trunk!! Tyler threw his carrots to the other elephant and watched as she picked them up off of the ground. Mom and dad loved it!! It was one of the best experiences we have ever had!!!

April 25th

Saturday, April 25th we went to the festival for the military child at the stillwell center here on base. We had no idea what it was, but a friend ours was going and invited us, so we went! Boy are we glad we did! We spent all day there and the boys had a blast! There was a magic show that the boys sat quietly and watched, the sheriff's office was there with the k-9 dogs. We got identity kits for the boys, complete with their DNA, fingerprints and pictures!! They both got sword balloons from the balloon artist! Outside the fire dept was there and they got to sit in the firetruck. The fire department had the smoke house, and the boys learned about fire and how to get out of the house safely if we have a fire. At the end of the lesson, they went upstairs and the smoke alarm went off and there was smoke. Henry promptly freaked out, started crying and ran out of the house! Tyler stayed and followed the directions and got out with the other kids. There was also a petting zoo with baby chicks and goats. Henry wanted to keep a chick! To our surprise, they both rode the horses and wanted to ride again! Of course, with all of the fun and all of the things that the boys did, mommy did not have her camera!!!!

April 26th

Sunday April 26th was the Dream Machines car and air show in Half Moon Bay. The boys had a blast! I think that Henry has his daddy's love of airplanes! We had so much fun over on the air side that we never made it to the car side! Most of the planes were refurbished WWII planes. There was a plane from the Monterey Flying Club where Keith flies, and Tyler got to sit in it. I think that was the highlight of his day! Henry got garlic fries, his favorite, and he did not share with anyone, he made daddy go get another basket for the rest of us!!! Daddy bough the boys model airplanes that they put together when we got home home! After, as we were driving home, we decided to stop at the lighthouse that is off of CA 1. Tyler of course loved it! As we were walking towards it, Henry looked up at the lighthouse, started screaming and took off running back to the car!! We definitely had a great weekend!

Boys Night Out

Keith took the boys to the Watsonville off road car races while I went scrapbooking one night. Boy did they have fun! I was totally shocked that they both wore the ear plugs the entire time!! Henry still asks when we are going back!

Teddy Bear Preschool Carnival

The boys school had a carnival to celebrate the week of the child and the boys had a blast! They played lots of games, won lots of prizes and had fun with their friends! Mommy even made the sign for the fishing game! Thank goodness we have a circuit! Henry's favorite game was the ring toss and Tyler's favorite was the fishing game. I could not get them away from the games!

pictures from the train

Here are some pictures from today.

Tyler waiting patiently for the train to go.

Henry and Keith watching the train engine fill with water. He was fascinated by this!

Tyler and Henry waiting to give their tickets to the conductor.

Keith and the Boys

Jamie and the boys.

We rode a train today!

This morning we went up to Felton, just outside of Santa Cruz, to Roaring Camp Railroad to take a train ride through the mountains. Henry was in heaven. He was fascinated by the engine as they filled it with water to make the steam. Once we were on board, he continued to look at the engine trying to figure it all out. The pictures of him are so cute, you can read his face and see that he was thinking away in that little head of his! Tyler also thought it was great. I was sure that he would hold his ears and say it was too loud, but to our suprise, he was fine, never once saying it was too loud! Half way through, we stopped and walked around Bear Mountain and looked at the redwood trees, then it was back on the train for the ride back down the mountain. On the way down, Henry fell asleep! He woke up as we pulled into the train station, smiling and saying bye train!

Who spilled the teddy grahams???

Well, according to Henry, we had some house guests yesterday that left the house a mess! Keith came into the living room and found the entire bag of teddy grahams in the floor. He asked Henry what happened and Henry's response was "Winston and Rocky spilled". For those that do not know, Winston and Rocky are my parents English Bulldogs, that live in Virginia. Since Winston and Rocky had already gone home, Henry had to clean up the teddy grahams all by himself!!!

Navy Update....

Well, things have definitely changed!!! Keith is now going to deploy for Afghanistan for a year this fall! Then boys and I will be moving to Richmond to be close to my parents. As of now, we are planning on moving soon after Keith graduates so that we are all settled before the school year starts. And with it being summer, we are hoping to have some family help with the move! Hint Hint!! :-) We have not talked to the boys too much about it, as they have no idea of time and we have not nailed down specifics, so if you talk to them, please don't ask or tell them about the move or daddy leaving.

No Newport!

We were given lovely news yesterday!! The Navy is apparently out of money for the rest of this fiscal year, so they put a freeze on all PCS moves through at least October! So we are stuck here in Monterey. What better place to be stuck?! We are planning trip all summer around CA. So for now, we are not going to Newport anytime soon. Of course, we will update when we know something!!

Tyler

Tyler is growing like a weed, literally! He is getting so tall and so skinny! He has been taking gymnastics and that is his highlight 2 times a week. Tyler's favorite thing in gymnastics is the bars and of course Miss Renee! Tyler talks about Miss Renee all week. He has become a master at the WII and he even beats Keith a WII Bowling! Freeze tag had become his favorite game, we literally play it all the time! He is getting more and more independent! Mommy hates and loves this! My baby is getting older!!

Henry

Henry is nuna (pacifier)free!! He was down to 2 left, and both is those had whole in them. While Yaya was here, he asked for a new one. When we told him that we did not have anymore, he put it in Yaya's shoe for safe keeping and tootled off to bed! He has not asked for it since! I was dreading getting rid of it, as he was very attached. But to my surprise, he did it on his own! We are back to having to give him breathing treatments every 4 hours again. He just cannot shake this cough. I think the latest round is due to the wind we have been having and the spring allergies. He has found a love of cooking, just like his mommy! Every night he helps cook dinner. His favorite part is putting the vegetables into the wok. He even has his own stool and mommy cannot cook without her little sioux chef! The other night he started eating bell peppers and onions as he was putting them into the wok. Now he wants them all the time!!!

Easter

The Easter Bunny came today!! It took them a while to notice the baskets, but once they did, they had a blast. They boys love their baskets, especially the bubbles and books. They played outside all morning with the bubbles and the jump ropes. The Wilbur movie, aka Charlotte's Web, is now Tyler's favorite movie! Keith and I canned all day, 12 pints of White Chicken Chili and 4 quarts of apple pie filling!

school egg hunt

The boys had an Easter Egg Hunt at their preschool on Friday. They had a blast! Here are some pictures of them.

Welcome!

I decided to start a family blog for all of you to keep up with us! My plan is to update it a few times a week with what we are up to and with pictures. I know that I don't talk to everyone as often as we would like, so I hope that this will help keep us in touch with everyone!
Jamie, Keith, Tyler and Henry