Daddy is HOME!!! :)

Jim arrived in VA Beach Friday night. I've got to work on getting my husband to communicate a little more... I knew he was walking Friday morning because I called him just before he got on the jet. I didn't know anything more after that... I didn't get a call when they stopped to refuel (and they stopped twice) and I had no idea of what time to expect him to be home. So, after dinner, I packed the kids in the car and headed to the Exchange. (I had to get a few things, so it was a good excuse to get the kids near base... I wanted to be close when Jim landed.) It was a few minutes before 8 and I was loading the kids into the car... up in the sky were 3 jets!! I was so excited thinking that one of those could be my husband... I headed towards the hanger. One of the avaitors from Jim's squadron was loading his gear into his car and he said that Jim was about 15 minutes away, so the kids and I went to the flightline. We got to see Jim land and taxi. Jemma was so, so excited. James was a little intimidated by Jim in all of his flight gear, but as soon as Jim took his helment off, James practically jumped into his arms!! It is so wonderful to have my husband home...

Jim took James to MyGym Saturday morning. Then he and Jemma went out for lunch. Jim mowed the lawn Saturday afternoon and it certainly looks better than when I mow it! We fed the kids dinner and gave them a bath and read books. James was in bed asleep before the sitter arrived. Then, Jim and I went to a nice dinner! We went to a local restaurant that was fabulous!! It is called Blue Pete's and if you are ever in the VA Beach area, you should definitely go. Jim had she crab soup and I had scallop caprese, then he had blackened mahi and I had the soft crab special. Then Jim got a peach cobbler with homemade vanilla bean ice cream, and I shared... yummy!! To complete our date, we went for a walk on the beach. I had such a nice night with my husband... what a fabulous day!!! :)

Sunday was wonderful, too. We played and enjoyed a nice morning then went to church. After a nice lunch, James napped while Jim and Jemma went to base to see the jets and go to the Comissary. After dinner, we took a walk around the neighborhood and chatted with our neighbors. It was a great weekend!! :)

Navy life

Just over a week ago (6/13), there was a mishap in Fallon. Thankfully, Jim was not involved. Two aircraft tried to occupy the same space and a pilot was lost. The young pilot from our sister squadron had a handsome little 2 year old son, and I hope that he will have some memory of his father. I helped with the memorial service reception on Friday, 6/20. As we (the four wives from our squadron), finished putting the food on the tables and making sure everything was just right, someone suggested that we walk outside for the fly-bye. As I looked over at the Navy wife and the son, I started to get teary eyed. When the jets flew over with the missing man formation, I just couldn't control the tears. Then they played the bugle... oh, my goodness... it was beautiful and heartwrenching. The reception went like clockwork... people visited with the family, ate and drank and seemed to enjoy being together. The wife of the young pilot was walking around with her son near the end of the reception and I just happened to be going to my car to move it closer to the chapel. She thanked me for helping with the reception and I had no words... I was all choked up... there was this Navy wife who just lost her husband and she was thanking me... I had to fight back the tears. We embraced and then I kept walking... I wished I had some words, but hopefully a hug was enough. Later, the pilot's Uncle helped me load a cooler into my car and he commented that everyone had been so giving and so nice. I told him that Navy makes you family... it is kind of strange... as a civilian I would have never really considered my co-workers family... but the Navy gives you a bond that I can't explain. This is the first time that I have truly grasped this truth. I did not personally know this young pilot, yet I paid a babysitter and left my kids for an afternoon to serve his family. And I wished that I could have done more...

Saturday night (6/21), we had a wives club meeting. It was so nice to get together to celebrate our new CO's Wife... she is the COW! I had gone shopping on Thursday and gotten lots of neat cow stuff... a silver cow charm, cow earrings, cow socks, cow bookends, BBQ sauce with a picture of a cow, cow tails candy, a cow plush and a decorative box with pictures of a cow standing in sunflowers. Nicole hosted the party/meeting. She did an incredible job... she had a cow patterned table cloth, cow figurines, cow napkins and balloons and a delicious cake with cows on the top. After eating a cow-inspired dinner, we played pin the tail on the cow. How funny!! :) It was a much-needed, stress-free, fun-filled evening with the girls! I'm looking forward to getting to know this group of women during cruise... I have a good feeling about our group! :)

Talking to Daddy

It has been really nice for the kids to be able to talk to Daddy so much on the phone. It is a very rare treat when he is on the boat to get a phone call, but he has been able to talk almost daily on the phone while in Fallon. He even read Jemma bedtime stories two nights!

Here is Jemma talking on speaker phone with her Daddy (6/11) . This is the first time that I have allowed sidewalk chalk and water to be mixed... what a mess, but they had so much fun!

This is James waiting while Jemma talks to Daddy (6/13).

This is James talking to Daddy. He misses Jim so much. Last Friday while I was getting ready he was carrying around a framed 8x10 saying, "Dadada" and grinning from ear to ear! (I have to get around to putting that picture on the wall soon!)

I know that my kids have too many clothes, but I went into Gymboree to get a hat for James and could not resist this monkey on a bicycle romper! :)

Bow-bow

James loves Jemma's hairbows. He will find one of Jemma's hairbows, bring it to me and insist "bow-bow" until I put it in his hair. However, if I delay too long in getting it in his hair, then he will put it in his mouth. This kid still puts EVERYTHING in his mouth!

Weekend

We travelled to South Boston last weekend. We had a lovely visit with Granny & Papa. Amy came to visit Friday evening/Saturday morning. She brought her dog, Dallas and the kids had such fun chasing him all around! Nicole, Bryan and Logan arrived very late Friday night and we were able to visit with them on Saturday and Sunday. Logan is such a cute, sweet little boy. He and James are just too cute for words... I wish we were closer so they could play more often! The picture highlights from our visit:

Logan playing with the shopping cart. The kids removed the handle and just wanted to push the basket around. I remember putting Amy in the same cart and pushing her around when she was little!

Swinging with Granny (They were all looking at Jane pulling a branch from the tree!):

Taking a walk with Uncle Jesse:

Jane brought yummy cupcakes! Jemma licked all the frosting off and left most of the cupcake. James ate everything and Logan didn't want any!

Jane wearing Jemma's hat:

Saying goodbye to Jane and Ryland:

The boys taking a bath and playing wonderfully together:

Auntie Nicole reading Jemma a bedtime story:

Logan in James' hat Sunday morning (I love this picture!):

Papa took each of the grandkids outside for a little while Sunday morning. Here is James looking for the cat:

Now James saw me leaning out the door to take pictures and decided to run to get me!

Riding the motorcycles (after church Sunday):

Oops... James had a little too much to drink and needed a diaper change!

Jemma and Papa returning with new potatoes:

Jemma twirling in her dress before church:

James loves his stuffed frog:

Logan and Papa:

Father's Day with Papa:

Happy Father's Day Daddy! (Jemma is blowing you a kiss.) We miss you!!! :)

James

James is at such a fun, fun age! He keeps me on my toes, but he also keeps me laughing. On Monday I had gotten up from the table to grab something from the kitchen and discovered him eating the watermelon from my plate. He had finished all of his and wanted more... my plate was close enough for him to reach!

Here he James in his Hokie onesie Tuesday evening. I took the kids out to play and Mya came over to join us, but the smoke from the wild fires in NC was so bad that we had to go inside.

Jemma went to Mya's house for a little playtime on Wednesday afternoon. After she left, James grabbed Jemma's stuffed dog and just laid back on the pillow.

Then he decided he wanted to read books. His favorite book right now is titled, "Mine, mine, mine!" He will pull it out of the bookshelf while saying, "Mine, mine, mine" until I read it. We read it many times each day and he has managed to rip the first two pages already.

This is a picture of James from last Sunday with his new hat. He didn't really like the popsicle!

Rhyme time

Jemma's love of all words rhyming started about 3 weeks ago. Sometimes she gets words a little mixed up and sometimes her words aren't really words at all, so when she gets them correct I applaud and cheer her on. Yesterday as we were driving she says, "Mommy, chore rhymes with whore." I paused... we were almost at MyGym and I didn't want to engage in the discussion of the definition/explanation of whore and I was afraid to tell her it was not a "good" word because that just means that it is even funner for her to use... and so I just said, "Yes, they do rhyme." Well, then she decided to repeat these two rhyming words several times. I silently prayed that by redirecting her to a new rhyming words, she would not repeat whore again, especially at MyGym. I supplied "red/bed" and "red/fred" and she came up with "red/dead." Thankfully, she was happy to move on...

Here is our little girl who did her own makeup... check out the lips and eyes!