On the Road

Hi everyone! We're saying hello from wonderful Lehi, UT. We left Cheyenne officially this morning around 8:30 and drove until about 5:30 this evening. We stopped, got our hotel room, ate some dinner, swam in the pool, and are now getting ready for bed. I'm making this very short, but wanted to update everyone while we have internet access. We are hoping to make it to Barstow, CA tomorrow so hopefully that goes smoothly.

I will write more about our time in Cheyenne, but I just wanted to say a very quick thank you to all our friends! We were able to see most everyone before we left and cannot believe we are actually leaving. We made the best friends anyone could have while we were there.

OK, enough gushing....more later.

Bye!

Kim, Matt, Avery and Sammi

Splash Park

I'm a little behind (as usual) with posting these pictures...I try! Our town built a splash park and it opened a few weeks ago. I thought what a great place to take Avery this summer since it's been so hot. So while my mom was here, we took her to this fun and exciting place. However, at first she didnt' think it was so fun and exciting! They have a little jungle gym in the area so we spent the first little while on this. Avery wasn't too sure about the water thing but after we got her used to the little fountains, we couldn't get her to come home!! She had a blast!!

I'm hoping to get a few more posts in before we leave town. We are officially leaving next Friday, but after Monday I will not access to a computer for a little while. I can't really talk about our move right now because I'll get too upset, so I will post on this later on.

Enjoy the pictures and short video!

P.S. In the video, Avery is drinking from the fountain. I guess she assumed it was water, what's the big deal?? We drink it all the time at home, this is just a much more fun way to drink it! Ha Ha


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Shuneeee!

I'm not quite sure how you spell it, but Avery LOVES when I sing "You are my Sunshine" to her. So much so that I can't stop...sometimes singing it for 20-30 minutes at a time! Ha Ha And while MeeMaw D. was here, she had to be involved as well. Avery will make you sing, even if you don't really want to. :) Well, she can't say Sunshine very well, and it has now turned in to "Shuneee"...every time she says this, we must sing. We have sung it so much lately, that she has started to learn the words and sing with us. I was able to capture it on video. Enjoy!!!

P.S. You'll have to put up with me singing in the background. :)



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Avery's First Haircut

Yes, it's her first haircut and she's almost two! :) She actually didn't even really need this one either, mostly for sentimental reasons. I wanted my hairdresser to do it before we move to CA. Avery did very well...hopped right up in the seat and let Dena do her thing. She did want to keep turning her head to find out what was going on, but all in all she did awesome for her first time. Since she doesn't have much hair to begin with, Dena just did a little evening up and trimming. No layers or highlights for this crazy girl yet! Ha Ha

Enjoy!

P.S. In just a few hours I will get to see Matt! Yeah!!!

Before the fun begins...

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I caught Avery at a bad time. Hee Hee Not sure what she is thinking here.

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All done! Doesn't she look beautiful? ;)

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Random Pics

Avery got her first haircut yesterday....more for sentimental reasons than anything else. I will post some pictures of that later today or tomorrow. Only one more day until my sweet pea comes home! Thank goodness!! I'm over the super mom thing! Ha Ha :) Just kidding. Avery and I have been having a good time and thanks to Grandma Rose and Grandpa Tom, we even have more fun things to play with outside! Thank you!!

I wish I could say I have taken more pictures of Avery while Matt's been gone, but I'm sad to say that I haven't! Here are some random pictures. Since we were both alone on Father's Day, Beth and I decided to celebrate together with the kiddos. We headed to I-HOP and let me tell you , that was an experience! I don't know if we really got to do much talking to each other because both girls kept us on our toes. After brunch, Reagan came over for a little while to hang out with us. :)

Avery and Miss Beth Self Portrait

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Reagan and Avery hanging out.

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too cute.

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This one's for you Uncle Jon!! Ha Ha Matt's brother Jon thinks these Blue Tooth things are hysterical....so I had to take this for you Jon! I was amazed that she even realized what it is, but didn't take her long to figure it out. Here she is talking to Matt on Father's Day. Hee Hee

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A little behind...

on posting a lot of things!! These are some pictures taken at the Denver Children's Museum when Matt's parents were in town in April. I know, I know....they are almost two months old! :) I'm trying here!

The museum was a really neat place for Avery, except there were only a few things she could do. A 4 year old would probably have had much more fun, but we enjoyed it while we were there. Almost the entire first floor is geared toward younger children, so we pretty much stayed there the whole time. It's like a little village where the kids can even go to a grocery store, plant a garden, and play house.



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They have these cute little costumes that the kids can put on. Avery is wearing a butterfly I think.

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Long Overdue!!

So I've been getting some slack from all my blogging friends about a new post. Here it is! :) This is from our dinner with at the Wing Commander's house in April. We had such a blast....hanging out with our good friends, drinking wine, and eating gourmet food. I think we may have drank enough wine that night to open our own liquor store! Ha Ha I'm so glad we were able to do that together with our friends...what a unique experience. Beth, the wonderful photographer that she is, took most of the pictures that night. We have a ton so I'll try to narrow it down to just a few.

Shot of the whole table.

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Matt, Tammi and Shawn

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We even had our own place cards....the table was absolutely gorgeous!!

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Matt and I :)

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Mrs. Morgan, Mrs. Carey, Col. Carey, & Col. Morgan...behind the scenes making our food.

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The cheese tray.....this was AFTER we ate our main course.

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Dessert....beautiful!

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The whole crew with the butlers (Col. Carey & Col. Morgan)

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The whole crew with the chefs (Mrs. Carey & Mrs. Morgan)

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We had such a wonderful time. After 5 hours of eating and drinking, we were ready to go home. It's a good thing we walked!! Ha Ha

You gotta pick your battles...

We constantly fight with Avery about eating the dog's food. So the other day, she reached in the dish and I started to yell at her...well she either got really smart or had intentions all along to feed the dog her food by hand. She's pretty funny because she got so mad when Sammi didn't want to take the food...she started chasing her all around the table! Ha Ha

Enjoy the video of these two goofballs!!



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Lily Anna Cross

Congratulations to one of my best friends from back home, Mae and Anson!! They had a beautiful baby girl, Lily Anna Cross, Saturday morning, May 19th at around 10:00am. She weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. They went in to the hospital Thursday night to be induced and after a very, very long wait, little Miss Lily arrived. Mae was a trooper as she had been without food for almost two whole days. They had a hard time getting little miss to come out, but in the end everyone was all right. Lily is absolutely gorgeous and we can't wait to meet her! Miss you guys!!

Mother's Day

Here are some pics of the kiddos playing at Tim and Tammi's on Mother's Day. It is getting so much harder for them to smile at the camera, so the pictures didn't turn out as well as I'd hope, but you get the idea!

Evan chilling on his scooter.

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Tanner and Avery goofing around with the bubbles. Thanks Evan for letting us play with them. :)

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Evan and Avery playing with more bubbles. :) Well I guess it's more Avery playing and Evan watching. Hee Hee

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OK, this one is just too cute. Evan is trying to push Avery on the little tractor. She was a little hesitant to do it herself, so I think she was more than happy to let someone else push! :)

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Back to OH

I'm almost done guys! Promise! Here are some more pictures from our trip to OH in March.

I hope all of you mother's had a wonderful day yesterday! We spent some time hanging out as a family and then headed over to Tim and Tammi's for a little BBQ and a lot of wine. Hee Hee We had a great time and the kiddos were able to play together. I took a few pictures...hopefully will get them posted soon.


Aunt Kaye with Avery and Devin

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More nanas please!

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Aunt Jen and Avery Grace. Jen just graduated from her nursing program in VA! Congratulations!!!!

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Momma, Avery and Daddy....posing for a picture before we headed out to dinner with Matt's sister, Michelle, her husband, Eric and Jon (Matt's brother) and his wife, Jen.

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The girls....Michelle, me and Jen

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The guys...Jon, Eric and Matt. Matt's mom and dad volunteered to watch Avery, Alexis and Riley for all of us so we could go hang out together. That's the first time in a long time we've been able to do that since we're all scattered around the country. Now with Jon and Jen moving back up to OH, it will be much easier to hang out together!!

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The Military Spouse

My friend Beth posted this on her blog and I couldn't help but be moved. This is for all the military spouses around the world who get this. And for all our family and friends who try to understand. We cannot do what we do without the amazing support of our family and friends. God Bless all of you.

The Difference

Over the years, I've talked a lot about military
spouses...how special they are and the price they
pay for freedom too. The funny thing about it, is
most military spouses don't consider themselves
different from other spouses.
They do what they have to do, bound together not by
blood or merely friendship, but with a shared spirit
whose origin is in the very essence of what love
truly is. Is there truly a difference?
I think there is.
You have to decide for yourself.

Other spouses get married and look forward to
building equity in a home and putting down family
roots. Military spouses get married and know they'll
live in base housing or rent, and their roots must
be short so they can be transplanted frequently.

Other spouses decorate a home with flair and
personality that will last a lifetime. Military
spouses decorate a home with flare tempered with the
knowledge that no two base houses have the same size
windows or same size rooms.
Curtains have to be flexible and
multiple sets are a plus. Furniture must fit like
puzzle pieces.

Other spouses have living rooms that are immaculate
and seldom used. Military spouses have immaculate
living room/dining room combos. The coffee table got
a scratch or two moving from Germany, but it still
looks pretty good.

Other spouses say good-bye to their spouse for a
business trip and know they won't see them for a
week. They are lonely, but can survive.
Military spouses say good-bye to their deploying spouse
And know they won't see them for months, or for a remote, a year.
They are lonely, but will survive.

Other spouses, when a washer hose blows off, call
Maytag and then write a check out for getting the
hose reconnected. Military spouses will cut the
water off and fix it themselves. Other spouses get
used to saying "hello" to friends they see all the
time.

Military spouses get used to saying "good-bye" to
friends made the last two years.

Other spouses worry about whether their child will
be class president next year. Military spouses worry
about whether their child will be accepted in yet
another new school next year and whether that school
will be the worst in the city...again.

Other spouses can count on spouse participation in
special events...birthdays, anniversaries, concerts,
football games, graduation, and even the birth of a
child. Military spouses only count on each
other; because they realize that the Flag has to
come first if freedom is to survive
It has to be that way.

Other spouses put up yellow ribbons when the troops
are imperiled across the globe and take them down
when the troops come home. Military spouses wear
yellow ribbons around their hearts and they never go
away.

Other spouses worry about being late for mom's
Thanksgiving dinner; Military spouses worry about
getting back from Japan in time for dad's funeral.

And other spouses are touched by the television
program showing an elderly lady putting a card down
in front of a long, black wall that has names on it.
The card simply says "Happy Birthday, Sweetheart.
You would have been sixty today." A military spouse
is the lady with the card. And the wall is the
Vietnam Memorial.

I would never say military spouses are better or
worse than other spouses are. But I will say there
is a difference. And I will say that our country
asks more of military spouses than is asked of other
spouses. And I will say, without hesitation, that
military spouses pay just as high a price for
freedom as do their active duty husbands or wives.
Perhaps the price they pay is even higher. Dying in
service to our country isn't near as hard as loving
someone who has died in service to our country, and
having to live without them.

God bless our military spouses for all they freely
give. And God bless America.

By Colonel Steven Arrington
17th Training Wing Vice Commander
Goodfellow AFB
San Angelo, Texas

Zero People in the United States...

have my name! This is pretty cool...especially if you're looking for something to waste a few minutes of time. :) My friend Lori sent this to me...Thanks!

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Still trying to catch up!

OK, so I have a ton of pictures to post. I'm going to try really hard to get them all caught up soon!!

Here are more pictures from OH.


Avery, Alexis (our neice) and me hanging out

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It's banana time! Avery's second cousin, Devin, taught her a cool new trick. How to eat a banana whole! She got a kick out of it....and we got a kick out of watching her.
Pictured L to R: Riley (our nephew), Devin, Avery, and our cousin Missy

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You can't tell from this picture, but Devin and Avery are cracking up at Riley, who's in the sunroom being goofy. He LOVED making them laugh at him!

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Michelle (Matt's sister), Alexis, and Avery.

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Uncle Erick showing Avery the ins and outs of stacking block. :)

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This is the video of Avery and Devin cracking up at Riley. Of course, by the time I got the camera, things had settled down a bit. :)

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Back to OH...

for a little bit! I still have so many pictures to post from our trip last month!!

We had a great weekend....busy, but productive! Friday, we relaxed and went to bed early because we had a big day on Saturday. We bought a new car!! Well technically it's an SUV. We had to trade in Matt's truck after an unsuccessful attempt to sell it :( I will miss the truck, but we have moved on to our new 2003 Acura MDX. I love it!! We went down to Boulder with the intent to purchase a Honda Pilot, but after driving the Acura...well you know the story. I'll try to post a picture soon, but it's gray with gray interior. It has a sun roof, heated seats and a 6-disc cd changer among other things! I love it....however, not that we're going to need the heated seats in CA. :)

Yesterday, Beth, Reagan and Lindsey came over for some shish kabobs and potatoes and stayed for coffee and dessert. It was great catching up with them....and even Shawn was able to swing over for a few minutes after trying to get some work done before this morning. :)

OK, here are some more pictures from our trip to OH:

Our nephew Riley (my sister's youngest). He's a cutie! :)

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The three cousins. From L to R: Kayleigh, Avery and Riley. Don't they look thrilled to get their picture taken?? :)

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Awwe....how sweet. Kayleigh giving loves to Avery.

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Kayleigh being goofy. (Or Goothy as she calls it!)

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My sister, Katie, and Avery Grace.

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My brother-in-law, Randy, with Avery.

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Katie getting a work out with the girls!

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Avery and Riley readin' books together.

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Up close and personal with Katie and me!

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Uncle Matt and Kayleigh playing around.

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Me and the Ri-Man

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Avery and Kayleigh playing one of MANY, MANY games of Ring Around the Rosey.

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C'mon Uncle Randy, please play Ring Around the Rosey with us!!!!!

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OK, fine. As long as I don't have to actually fall at the end! Ha Ha

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A sweet picture of momma and her baby boy. (Katie and Riley)

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