Our Vacation

I'm finally getting around to sharing some pictures of our visit with my sister. Overall, the kids and I were really lazy and just enjoyed taking it easy. It was a much needed break for me from the move and all the unpacking, painting, and organizing that I was constantly doing before we left for Missouri.

Uncle Levi, Erin, and Howie playing a rousing game of Battleship.

The local PBS station was having a special "Curious George" meet and greet at the Youseum (basically like a health museum about YOU and your body) for kids. Howie was board with Curious George while the others really liked to hug him. Howie liked the health exhibits better.

Levi took the kids up and down the street a couple times on his quad. This was probably Howie and Erin's favorite thing.

Jack is potty training. It's easier for me when they are naked, so this is how he spent most of his days. I'm not even sure why I even packed him clothes (oh yeah...church and going out).

Here's Nadia showing off her make-up that she put on. It's a clear glittery lip gloss...she used the WHOLE container on her face, hands, and arms. She posed for the camera quite a bit, she knew she was cute.

The first time it happened.

5 years ago last month, Erin had a green stick fracture in her left wrist which required a cast for 3 weeks. Her first cast was white, but it only extended up her forearm, but during her nap she removed her cast. I saved it for a keepsake. After her nap we went right back in to the doctor and they had to put a larger cast on that she couldn't slide off. I was really hoping for a pink cast, but our only color choices were red or green. Bummer. Within a week of breaking her wrist she learned how to walk, since crawling wasn't as comfortable. She actually took her very first steps on Howard's last night with us before he deployed to Iraq.

Howie was 2 1/2 and Erin was 10 1/2 months.

The Birthday Girl

Erin's sixth birthday was on the very last day of my visit with my sister Lisa and her family. Monday I drove all day to get home, and today I started the slow process of getting my life back in order. Hopefully I will be done before Howard returns!

Anyway...Happy Belated Birthday Erin!!!

We started the festivities early by having a fun filled evening at Chuck-E-Cheese on July 10th. (Levi, Erin's uncle had the night off, and Erin is practically in love with him, so we had to make sure it was a night that he could be there.)

By the expression on her face, she was so happy to get the Diamond Castle Barbie from Aunt Lisa. Since we celebrated early, I only let her open half of her presents.

Sunday July 19th, was her real birthday and like with birthday's past I let her open her presents first thing in the morning, since it's her birthday ALL day! She loves snow globes and I had searched all over the mall for one just right for her, but with no luck. Later that day I searched online and found this one. She adores it, I also had it engraved just for her.

As an extra special treat, Levi took Erin up and down the street on his quad. My boys got a ride also, but Erin got a longer turn. It was a beautiful day, perfect weather!

To top it all off we enjoyed a delicious cake from Dairy Queen. Well...Levi and I LOVED it, but the others thought it was okay. Erin wants a regular cake next year. I love her candles that spell her name. Oh so cute!

(Notice the purple candy cane cast? The white stripe glows in the dark, she picked it out herself. So far she has done an excellent job taking care of it and keeping it clean and dry.)

Not the first time this has happened!

We are currently in the show-me state visiting my sister, that's why I haven't blogged in a while. I thought this was worth sharing. Sadly, this is not her first broken bone. And of course we only get broken bones in our family during the summer! She was climbing on her uncle's back with her cousin and he wiggled her off, and down she went. She's in good spirits though.

Not So Yummy Food

We tried some rice cereal tonight for Luke, but he didn't seem to care for it. He kept spitting it out. I'll give it another shot next week, maybe he'll change his mind. He does enjoy his high chair though. He's been joining us in the dining room for meals now. He sits and chews on his pacifier or hands and watches us eat. He's teething now, so he chews and drools and makes a slobbery mess. Just today he started chomping on my face! It's too cute.

Howie and Erin

Howie: Mom, where's the oatmeal?

Mom: In the cupboard where all the food is, did you look there?

Howie: Oh, I forgot!

30 seconds later down the hallway...

Howie: I'm so stupid. (Said with a chuckle in a funny self deprecating way.)

Erin: Howie, you are NOT stupid! You're DUMB. (In all seriousness.)

Aww, the good old days of having a sibling to tell it to you straight. 

For My Daddy

This post is for my Daddy.

Mommy forgot to tell you on the telephone today that I weigh 13 lbs. 5 oz. and I am 23 1/2 inches long, that's almost 2 feet!  I'm getting so big, I even have cute fat rolls on my thighs. I also had to get shots today, but I only cried a little bit, I was a big boy. Mommy's going to give me rice cereal pretty soon, when we get my high chair on Monday.  One more thing before I go to bed, I've been keeping your side of the bed warm, Daddy.  I cuddle with Mommy all the time and I'm taking good care of her.  I miss you and I can't wait to show you all the new things that I am learning when you come home.  Right now my favorite thing to do is take out my pacifier and play with it, it's more fun that way.

3rd Times the Charm

As most of you know I really enjoy decorating, and getting a new home meant that I was able to redecorate.  It's so fun picking out colors, but for those of you who know me really well, it's REALLY REALLY hard for me to make up my mind.  We were so blessed to have Howard with us for a week before he had to leave and while he was here he painted the kitchen, dining room, play room, living room, and our bedroom.  Out of all the rooms, I kept having a nagging feeling that the paint in the living room wasn't quite the right color.  All of a sudden out of the blue I got a horrible nagging feeling that I needed to fix the color and get it done right away.  So on Wednesday I set out to make it right.  I didn't get the color right the second time either, but I had sense enough to stop after I painted the trim, because I could tell it wasn't what I was going for.  Finally after 3 visits to Lowes in 1 day I got it right.  I finished that night at 12:30am.

From left to right - "Lettuce" our original color, "fennel" not quite pale green, almost off white like the horrible masking tape color of base housing in Okinawa. Lastly, "nutria", just the right shade for my living room.  I love to just sit in there and stare at the walls.  Good thing too, since that's all there is to do in that room currently.

On the left is our new color, and on the right is the old one. (It was only 2 weeks old.) 

The new shade is a bit more olive and a little less pastel.

I know why I felt such an urgency to paint.  The very next day, on Thursday, I got a call from TMO informing me that our last shipment has arrived and is ready for delivery.  I will be getting it on Monday.  Yippie!  Once I get everything pretty and in place I will post more pictures.

From this experience I learned a few things that I want to share.

1. Only buy a gallon of paint if you're 110% sure that it's the color you want.  If you have even a hint of uncertainty, buy a small sample can.  I learned the expensive way.

2. Just because it's a good color on the card, doesn't mean it will look the same on your wall.  Lighting changes it!

Disclaimer: The wall color looks okay in photos, but in real life it looks much better, I promise.

Happy Birthday Old Timer

You've had a birthday; shout "Hooray!", 

We want to sing to you today.

One year older and wiser, too,

Hap-py Birthday...to YOU!

Memories

Now that I have all of my stuff out of storage, I have the daunting task of going through it all and keeping the good and tossing the junk.  Most of it is junk, but I have a couple boxes of letters and other personal effects from my youth.  It brought back a lot of fond memories (and icky ones too) as I read through the cards and letters.  I found A LOT of wedding invitations and announcements, birth announcements, cards, and letters.  I just wanted to share a few samplings of my treasures I found today...

This was from a birthday card from my sister.  I don't think that I really got the joke when I received this card, but it's pretty funny to me now!

"You know it's going to be a bad day when the elastic waistband in you pants breaks...

...and they still fit!"   

This next one was a letter from a dear friend in middle school (I didn't consider him a dear friend then, but in hindsight, he's a real keeper.)  I wish ALL boys were like this! I hope he doesn't mind me sharing this.

Dear Tina, 

Yes I do "like" you.  I like you first because you are a strong Christian.  The Bible says "Do not be unequally yoked".  I also like the way your attitude toward school is.  The Bible also reads "Wisdom is supreme over riches and fame." I also like you because you have a great personality.  I like the way you talk, the way you laugh,  and the way you smile.  I also think you are very "beautiful".  I use the word "beautiful" because it doesn't have an impure atmosphere about it.  The Bible also reads "Treat young women as your mother". For me, using the word "beautiful" keeps a proper respect.

Sincerely,

XXXX (I know who it is, but I wanted to keep his name private, just in case he's embarrassed.)

P.S. I printed this letter so it could be read. I apologize for any spelling errors I may have made. I also apologize for anything I may have said or done that may have offended you.

How cute was that?!  I fixed all of the spelling errors when I re-typed it.  This letter is 15 years old.   His parents really taught him how to respect women, I hope that I can teach my boys to do the same, especially in this day and age.

Lastly is a Valentine's poem written by my first high school boyfriend to me.  After reading through all of the cards he gave me, I think that he was a lot more serious about our relationship than I was. He was a nice boy but I didn't want to lead him on, that's why I broke up with him after 3 months, I just didn't feel the same way he did.

Your lips are like the fire of a passionate flame.

Your hair is a river of chocolate; flowing sweet and pure.

Your figure appears to have been molded by the hands of Venus.

Your eyes pierce my inner most feeling of love.

You are the promised gift of Valentine's Day.

This poem was a little too steamy for a 14 year old (that was me, he was 16).  It gave me weird feelings, on one hand it's well written and very romantic, and on the other hand...I was only 14! That's too young for this kind of stuff.  He was a very smart young man, not your typical teenage boy.

Now I need to give Howard credit for something...I don't want him to feel left out.  I also found some of our first cards and letters, but I'll keep those between him and I.  Howard isn't one to write me poetry or even be super mushy, but the best thing that I could ever get from him is HONESTY.  He's pretty straight forward and doesn't really sugar coat anything, I like it that way.  He's not infatuated with me like these other boys were years ago, but he's truly in love with me (on good and bad days).  Tomorrow is Father's day and as a special treat for him, I'll let him sleep in as long as he wants, I'll make sure the kids won't wake him up, and he won't even have to change a diaper!  Now that sounds like a nice day to me.  Happy Father's Day Howard, I miss you!

Pirate Ship Park (American Style)

The other night we went to a park down the street from us on base.  It's a ship!  We took Ava with us and they had a grand old time.  I couldn't get any pictures of Jack because he kept running away from me.

Look at the BLUE sky!  It's beautiful!

...and those beautiful blue eyes!

Here's a shot of Luke from earlier that day.  I know he's a little blurry, but I wanted to show off how he's holding himself up.  He does pretty well.  He's also starting to drool a lot, I've been watching for those teeth.  Our babies get them fairly early (between 4-5 months). Also, notice the blue walls in our play room.  Howard did a wonderful job getting the house all ready for me to decorate.  Thank you Howard! Now I'm just waiting for my last shipment to arrive with all of my "pretty" things that I can decorate with.

FYI - Howard and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary yesterday (June 17th).  I can't believe it has already been 9 years!  The kids and I had ice cream to celebrate and I cuddled up to my little stud muffin last night (Luke). Howard got to study in his room last night...how romantic.

Swimming Lessons

I've finally enrolled the kids in swimming lessons! 

I had no more excuses...I'm not pregnant (and sick), I don't have to get in with Jack, they all swim at the same time, I have a shady spot to sit with Luke, it is affordable and only 2 minutes from my house.

Howie and Erin are in the same class, while Jack is in the pre-school class in the kiddie pool. So far it's going great, I just have to watch Jack really close so that he doesn't get out and run over to the big pool.  He tries to do that and get in with Howie and Erin.  It's a little nerve racking, but fortunately I have a few other mothers helping me out if I can't catch him in time since I'm holding Luke.

Hawaii Pictures

Since I didn't put any pictures up while we were on vacation, I thought that it was better late than never.  

A view from our guest room at Howard's Aunt Wendy's house.  This is Turtle Bay Golf Course.

The kids thoroughly enjoyed the water park!  Jack was a bit more cautious and Luke stayed in the shade with me most of the time, he got his feet wet.

The kids favorite part of the Polynesian Cultural Center was the fishing.  We stayed there for a LONG time.

Howie, Erin, and Jack all fell asleep during the night show, they were all tuckered out for the day.

I forgot to take pictures on Sunday while we were visiting with family and friends, maybe they'll email me copies.  Hint, hint.

Good Bye Howard

Saturday morning came too quickly and it was time to say good-bye to Howard.  Up until the night before I was just fine, but then on Friday evening and all morning Saturday I was a wreck!  Howard got up early and got himself all ready for his little trip, but between 7 and 9am he fed the kids breakfast and spent some last minute quality time with them.  We had lots of hugs, cuddles and kisses to go around before it was time to leave.  To make it a little easier on me, I decided that I would just load the kids up in the car when Howard got in the car (Howard actually buckled the kids up for me) and we left the base together.  I went in the opposite direction to go see a morning showing of "Up" with the kids to keep our minds off of the new separation. Howard started on his way to Mississippi.  He stopped in Louisiana for the night halfway there.  I spoke with him tonight and he's safely at Keesler AFB.

This past week has been CRAZY! We are SO SO SO grateful for our home on base and especially that we could move in right away.  (We arrived in OKC on Thursday night and we got our house keys Friday morning!) What a blessing.  Then for 5 nights straight we painted our walls.  And we also spent a good deal of our time shopping (I hate shopping now) for all kinds of things...food, mattresses, a broom, lawn mower, paint, etc. All of those random things that you need right away before your stuff comes.  Another blessing that we had was that we received 2/3 of our stuff already, it came on Tuesday.  How awesome is that?! We're just waiting on our big shipment from Okinawa, but since we have our furniture from storage we're living fairly comfortably.  I'm just missing my home decor items (notice the bare walls?) and other random items.  Howard is truly the best husband in the world!  I don't know what I would have done without him this week.  Honestly this week has been a miracle in itself, Howard helped me get done so many things that would have literally taken me months to do by myself.  Luke can get pretty fussy at times and Jack is very rowdy, so I don't have a lot of free time to do much beyond the basics of cooking, cleaning, and spending time with the kids.  Unpacking, painting, and decorating would have been a nightmare by myself.  I still have some stuff to do, but nothing very overwhelming.  

THANK YOU HOWARD...I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU VERY MUCH!!!!

The Happiest Place on Earth

Once we entered mainland one of the things to do on my "list" was go to Dairy Queen.  And boy did we go, very frequently.  One time we even went for dinner (and we ordered ice cream!) I've actually never ordered any of their real food, I only get the cold stuff, it's to die for.  My first job was DQ and so I'm very familiar with the menu and even some items that are not on the menu.  While in Arizona we went every day except Sunday I think, I lost count.  The kids love it as much as I do!

Here are a few items that I recommend...

Peanut Buster Parfait

Buster Bar

Arctic Freeze (formerly known as Mr. Misty Freeze)

Cookie Dough Blizzard

Raspberry Truffle Blizzard 

Chocolate Cone double dipped in Butterscotch (not all places have the butterscotch dip)

Peach Sundae (when in season)

I haven't seen a DQ here in OKC yet, but I think there's one in the local mall across town.  It's probably a good thing that it's across town so that I won't go every time I drive past it.

We're Still Alive!

Okay, so I just got my Mac and internet set up about 20 minutes ago. Howard leaves tomorrow morning for school, so AFTER he leaves I promise that I will get some pictures up and be better about blogging!  Please keep us in your prayers while he is gone.  If you want our address and home phone, please leave a comment with your email address and I'll email it to you.  

On the Road Again...

We're all settled in our hotel for the night in Albuquerque, NM. Luke was so happy to be out of his car seat, this picture doesn't do him justice. He was so content tonight just being in a position different for that of his car seat. The kids enjoyed a nice swim in the hotel pool to get some energy out of their systems, while Luke and I sat next to the pool and enjoyed the splashing. It was just a little bit too cold for him to enjoy the water...maybe next time.

Earlier today we took a detour that a friend suggested, instead of going north through Flagstaff, we headed north east on some state routes. It was so beautiful! Arizona has some beautiful scenery when you get off of the interstate system. Howard and I purchased walkie-talkies since we are driving 2 cars, we had fun talking back and forth with each other since we don't have cell phones. We had to stop every two hours give or take, so that the kids could go pee or Luke could eat. We were fortunate to be able to stop at a campground to feed Luke in the late morning. It was in the mid 70s, and absolutely beautiful. The kids collected pine cones and we're going to make bird feeders with them when we get to OKC. The kids can put some peanut butter and bird seed on them and we'll hang them in our trees in our yard, we have several.

We'll be getting to OKC on Thursday evening...CAN'T WAIT!

The Temple

We are enjoying our time here in Mesa, AZ. It's about 100 degrees, but since it's a dry heat, it feels way different. Sometimes my skin feels like it's on fire, but I'm not sweating...weird! It just feels like we're in an oven here in the southwest instead of a steamy bathroom in Okinawa.

Howard and I went on a date to the Mesa Temple this afternoon while his sister Edna tended to the children for us. It was a nice break, peace and quiet. We also had a quick lunch in the cafeteria, for some reason I think Temple food is delicious! After we were done in the Temple we went over to the visitors center since Edna was meeting us there. We have been wanting to see the Joseph Smith movie for a long time now, so that's what we wended up doing. Two times during the movie Jack said he had to go pee, so Howard took him, but he failed to produce any results. Finally the third time he said he had to go pee, Howard ignored him. After whining about it for a minute or two, Jack strips down naked (on the bottom half anyway, he left his t-shirt on) and starts yelling that he has to go pee. I try to get his pants back on before we exited the theater to go potty, but he just kept screaming, so he went to the potty half naked. Third times the charm, he finally peed on the toilet for me. I was embarrassed that Jack was having one of his toddler moments, but grateful that we were able to make it to the bathroom without anyone seeing him naked. (I didn't take this picture I have posted, but I had to add something nice for everyone to look at.)

This Week in California

Here's a run down of our "vacation" so far. We call it a vacation, but it seems like work. We're always on the go and never get a chance to really relax. Life had been so hectic and there just never seems to be enough time for everything that we want to do.
Monday - Arrive to California, late night dinner at Denny's (very tasty)
Tuesday/Wednesday -Van shopping, we ended up getting a 2006 Honda Odyssey EX, very nice!
Thursday - Visit with my Mom, do some housekeeping for the BBQ
Friday - Visit with my Dad in the desert, also saw my half brother and 2 aunts. Haven't seen them in about 9 years. The kids had a blast swimming in a converted trough.
Saturday - BBQ at my Mom's house, saw lots of relatives. Ate lots of watermelon (it's so cheap in America!)
Sunday - Went to Church in one of Howard's wards from his missionary days. We saw Elder Daniel Jensen there (I was his Sunday School teacher when he was in high school in Okinawa.)We were really excited to see him, it was just a coincidence, what a small world. After church we went to the Wiley's and saw a good friend and met his wife and new baby. My friend Jeff and I were good friends in high school and he baptized me 10 years ago. It was great to see him and his wife, they are such a fun couple. (And their baby is soooo cute.) Afterward we went to the cemetery to visit my Grandma. She passed away 13 years ago, and I miss her more the longer she's gone. It was a really good experience for the kids, to show them a cemetery and talk about life after death.
Monday - We went back up to my Dad's house and he gaVe me a set of OLD China, so Howard and I packed that up carefully. What a relaxing day.
Tuesday - We spent the afternoon at Chuck E Cheese and met up with a couple friends that we knew in Spokane. All the kids have grown up so much, I remember when they were babies!
Wednesday - Hasn't happened yet, but we plan on packing up the van in the morning and head on over to Mesa. I'm really looking forward to going to the Temple there. Wish us luck on the road trip!

Hawaii

Our Hawaiian vacation is coming to an end. We've had a pleasant time staying with Howard's Aunt Wendy. Her and her husband, Rick, are wonderful people and we truly felt at home while we were here. I'm short on pictures, sorry. We enjoyed the water park, Target, and the Polynesian Cultural Center while we were here. We wanted to do more, but we ran out of time.

Today we went to Church and afterwards we went to visit an old friend of mine (she's not old, I've just known her for 12 years). We had lunch with Cara and Ongo, they're such a cute family. I knew her when I was in high school and she has always been such a good example for me and I've always appreciated that. I'm visiting more of her family next week, I'm looking forward to that visit as well. Tonight for our Sunday dinner we had a cousin and her 3 children over at Aunt Wendy's house. Anela and I got to know each other well on my last trip to Hawaii 2 years ago. We both got married in 2000 and have kids the same ages. She's really sweet and we had a nice talk about Twilight. I haven't read the books, but I plan on it when Howard leaves for school in a few weeks.

The kids are FINALLY asleep and we've packed our bags for ANOTHER plane ride tomorrow. We're off to California. We arrive Monday night and then on Tuesday morning first thing I have to go buy a mini-van. I'm excited and dreading it all at the same time. It will be nice to get a new vehicle, but at the same time it's painful to have to spend that much money on a dumb van. Wish us luck and pray that we'll get a nice salesman that will give us a good price on the van.

Sayonnara

Good bye Okinawa! Thursday morning we boarded our bus to Naha and left beautiful Okinawa. Our flights went well. Not easy, but we survived and I think that made it successful. Jack was naughty in the airports, but well behaved on the plane. The other kids were perfect. I was just grateful that our kids were quiet. I hate being the one person on the plane that ruins the trip for everyone else. We had the most kids in tow out of everyone on the flight, but it was the families that only had 1 child that threw the temper tantrums. Ironic.

All of the Japanese people oohed and ahhed over Luke, even business men in their fancy suits. Babies are hard to come by in Japan.

Many tears have been shed over the past few days, but now that we are in Hawaii, it's time to relax and enjoy our vacation. Oh how we LOVE Hawaii. It's now Thursday morning (again), thanks to the magic of time travel and the International dateline.

What a day!

I'm using this post to grip and complain about my day. This was the most recent problem, Erin got gum in her hair. Normally the kids don't chew gum, but I bought some for the plane ride Thursday and the kids found it. Thank goodness I had peanut butter!

Here is our lovely view from the 3rd floor. You would think it would be nicer since we're on an island.

The base recently renovated the lodging for families here. It was closed for over a year and yet, they still failed to install an elevator. I know it's good exercise for me, but this is NOT fun taking a 2 year old, a 3 month old, groceries, and a stroller up and down all by myself. We are on the top floor!

They also failed to put in new refrigerators. Yes, that is rust around the freezer. There are also water drops in the freezer. I have to keep the milk in the freezer to keep it cold enough. The fridge is worse than an ice chest.

This morning when I did laundry, I did not see the purple crayon that Howie left in his pants. There was only one article of clothing that did not get marked up. I used my stain stick liberally and I bought some bleach (notice it in the first picture) and I saved the clothes! Thank goodness!!

Last but not least, Howard was in a car accident today! It wasn't his fault, but it's still a hassle. He's okay, no one got hurt at least. Thank goodness there were witnesses, because the lady that hit him would not take responsibility. Once everything was all said and done and the police report was filed, Howard was cleared of any fault.

I hope tomorrow is a better day!

Friday Night

Here are a few pictures from the Kadena Marina. I'm really going to miss this place, it's awesome! This was Friday night at the restaurant on the patio.

Busy Busy Busy

The past few days have been very busy for us. We've said some good-byes, cleaned our house, and visited a few fun places. Saturday night we went out to a bon fire on the beach. We had a wonderful time with some friends, I'm really going to miss this place. Lots of tears were shed this weekend as well. I had a nice Mother's day. Howard got me flowers on Friday, and I got some more from church. Sorry this post is so scatter brained, I'm in the library and I'm trying to keep Jack and Luke quiet. Very difficult! Other than being really really sad about leaving, I'm super excited to get on with life and move on to new adventures. I wish I could take all of my friends with me and the sun set on the beach as well. (And the Japanese parks, sushi, curry, free dental, cheap cars, etc...the list can go on and on!)

Moving Update

First things first...I just wanted to share with everyone that we SOLD OUR CAR!  And we got a fair price for it.  We were afraid that we were going to have to end up giving it away. We're SO relieved that we got our money's worth out of it.  Every little penny helps go towards the purchase of our van in the States.  Tomorrow the movers come again to take away the last little bit.  This will probably be my last post for a while.  I'm not sure how often I will have internet access in lodging, and blogging probably won't be high on my list. 

Right now we are in the middle of packing our suitcases.  My bedroom looks like it vomited clothes everywhere.  We're having to decide what to take and what the movers take.  I really want to pack light, but it seems like that is nearly impossible with 6 people.  Friday afternoon we move into lodging.  I'll have a housekeeper for the week, HEAVEN!  

Yesterday was my farewell luncheon.  When my good friend Verenda said goodbye, I just broke down in tears.  I've been so blessed to have been able to have known such wonderful women!  I've learned so much from all of them and will cherish their friendships forever!  It's so hard to say good-bye, especially since I don't think that I'll ever be able to return to Okinawa. It's not like we can just get in the car and take a road trip!  

I need to close, if Howard catches me blogging, I might get in trouble.  He's outside with all the kids keeping them out of my hair so I can pack.  

Dorothy

Jack and Luke had some pictures taken on May 1st.  I can't pick up the disc until Tuesday, but she emailed me this picture of Jack.  He had a fun time with that fish! We named her Dorothy (like from Elmo's World).

House

We just received an email today from Tinker AFB.  They offered us a 4 bedroom house!  It will be ready for us June 4th, a day BEFORE we get there. Howard and I are so excited.  They sent us the floor plans and it said 'renovated' on it and it is 1350 sq ft. We will have a separate living, dining, and family room.  All we currently have is an all-in-one room for everything.  We are so happy to be finally moving up from our 950 sq ft 3 bedroom home that we have been in for the past 4 years.  It is TOO small for our growing family.  We accepted the house, but nothing is final until we get there and sign the lease.  Hopefully it's not a dump, but I'm sure it will be better than what I am currently in!