Daddy's Home!!!!

Jim arrived home Wednesday just before 1pm! I was so happy and the kids were even happier!!! :)

I left Daddy "dancing" (actually, Jim was throwing the kids up in the air and they were begging for more) with Jemma and James... I went to Carol's for dinner. We (Carol, Trina and I) had planned to get together with all the kids, but since Daddy was home I got to hang out and talk. I also got to hold Allie, who is now two months old and an absolute doll. :)

When I returned home, the minivan was washed and the kids were in the tub. When Jim took the kids out for ice cream, Jemma told him that the minivan was dirty and needed to be washed... so, they washed it! I have an awesome husband!!! :)

Quick post

It was a beautiful and HOT day today, but we had storms all evening so I unplugged the computer. The storms just passed... I stayed up watching Army Wives. I'll post tomorrow about a wonderful weekend with Tracy... have I mentioned before that we love visitors?!? We had such fun just hanging out and catching up and playing with the kids! It is almost midnight, so I have to get to bed...

But I have to brag before going to bed... I have the MOST wonderful, amazing husband!! As I shared my Grand Central Station ice cream from Handel's with Tracy and Jemma after lunch, I smiled as I remembered how thoughtful he was to buy me a gallon as a surprise on his way home from a Hail and Farewell two weeks ago. Then, just after both kids had their meltdowns this afternoon ("I want my Daddy"--yes, even James can express this phrase now), he sent Jemma an email with a picture of himself on the ship. It was such perfect timing! Jemma was so happy, and James grinned, squealed with joy and just kept repeating "Dada" over and over again! Then, he sent these two pictures... I know Jemma and James will just love seeing them in the morning! I know they make me very happy!!! :)

Daddy at 10,000 feet somewhere over the ocean:

Daddy in the jet landing on the carrier: I miss my husband!

Happy Birthdy to Me!

Today is my birthday. It was a good, relaxing day. We needed a restful day after our little adventure! It rained most of today, so we stayed inside and just watched TV and played. Jemma remembered that today was my birthday. She said, "Mommy, I want to sing to you, but we don't have a cake." I laughed and told her that she could sing without cake but she refused.

Trina and Derek joined us for lunch (I had one of her bags still from our trip so I invited them to stay for lunch when they came to pick it up.), so Jemma and Trina sang to me over baked ziti! Trina said that she had planned to get a cake later in the day, but I declined because Suzanne and Andy sent me home with brownies! Yes, we celebrated my birthday in PA Tuesday night after the kids were in bed. I got a cute PJ set as a birthday gift... Suzanne knows that I would never spend the money on PJs for myself, so it was a great gift! Trina gave me a Pampered Chef Ultimate Mandoline... I love Pampered Chef stuff and I can't wait to use it! Today I got lots of cards and phone calls and emails and my mother-in-law sent a beautiful bracelet. Jemma wanted to keep the bracelet, but I refused... she has her own bracelets and this one is mine! I feel very loved! :)

My favorite birthday gift... a phone call from my husband! I was so happy to hear his voice. And he said that they may get to come home a day early... I hope, I hope, I hope that they get to come home a day early. I miss my husband! I'm off to dreamland...

Our adventure...

We left Monday morning for a whirlwind, crazy fun adventure to Sesame Place in PA! Jemma, James and I pulled out of the driveway at 10 am and picked up Trina and Derek. Yes, that would be two three year olds, one sixteen month old and two Moms in a minivan... a little crazy, but we made it work!

We had a great drive up. We made it almost to the end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel when we had our first potty request. At an hour into the trip, I was a little worried that this may be the trend, but it wasn't. We stopped again 20 miles south of Salisbury at a Friendly's for lunch. It took us more than an hour to eat, but the kids were happy and we all had a good lunch so it was worth the stop. Then we stopped at a park just before Dover. It is truly a great park for the kids!! :)

We made it to Andy and Suzanne's just before 7. The kids had been fabulous! I drove and Trina rotated toys and DVDs. James and Derek both took a nap. Jemma is my non-napper, but she was content to play and watch TV.

The big day was Tuesday. We arrived at Sesame Place at 10:15. (The park opened at 10.) Trina took Derek and Jemma to wait in line for tickets while I got James ready. When we walked into the park, I rented a double stroller with James while Trina took Jemma and Derek on the Vapor Trail, a roller coaster. We were so lucky... one of the park attendants volunteered to ride with Derek so Trina could ride with Jemma. I could not believe that Jemma wanted to go on the coaster... it was pretty big and fast! And when she got off, she wanted to do it again! From there, we went to the Count's Fount where they played in the water. Then we went to ride on the Flyin' Fish. Again, we were very lucky... there was a mom with a small child and an older daughter who offered to ride with Jemma so I could ride with James. The kids then slid down Snuffy's slides (just a big straight dry tube slide) before we went to see Big Bird's Beach Bash. James had the most fun... he was clapping and moving to the music and so excited! Jemma & Derek watched and enjoyed it, but James was truly into the music!

We ate lunch and then headed for Sky Splash. It was a water ride with a large tube that we all piled into. Such fun! Then we went on Slimey's Chutes. It is a water slide that I never would have dared put my kids on before! But Trina insisted that it would be ok, so I decided to give it a try. It was a twisty water slide that you could either go on alone or have two people. So, Trina and Jemma went down first. Then Derek followed alone. (Trina and Derek and Derek's Dad go to the waterpark in Virginia Beach often, so Derek is familiar with water slides.) Then, James and I went down. All the kids wanted to do it again! Trina said that James had the biggest smile on his face as he came down the slide. So, we did it again. This time Trina and Derek went down. Then, Jemma got into her tube. Somehow, before she even got onto the actual slide her foot slipped into the center of the tube. The life guard helped her get back into the tube properly, but she was saying, "I don't want to do this... Mommy, I want out." I told her that she was ok and she was going down... then the life guard gave her a little push. James and I followed after her and she was fine. The kids wanted to ride again, but I couldn't do it... carrying the tube and James with a lifejacket up all those stairs was quite tiring. Plus, Trina had to carry two tubes, which was not easy.

So, we went off to Abby's show. That show was loud! I think James was the only one who really enjoyed it. In fact, Jemma laid down on the bench during part of the show like she was bored. After the show, James fell asleep sitting up in the stroller. So, we unbuckled him and put some towels down and laid him down for a more comfortable nap. Derek climbed up high into the Nets, Jemma went to the monster maze for a little while, then we rode Big Bird's Balloon Race while Trina stayed with napping James.

We had such perfect timing. There was noone at the Elmo picture booth when we decided to try to get the kids' picture with Elmo. A worker said that Elmo was on break and would return in a few minutes. Less than 5 minutes later, Elmo came out. Our three kids got to hug and give Elmo high fives until the camera operator came out. It was great!

Then, we went to the Elmo World taping. After the taping, we headed back to the Vapor Trail. Trina volunteered to watch James while I took the kids. First, Derek and I rode, then Jemma and I rode. The park attendants were wonderful and watched the kid that had to wait for me to ride. When we were walking to ride the coaster again, I spotted a Dad riding alone. So I waited for him and asked if he would ride with Derek. He agreed and since there was no line, his wife and kid rode again too. It was so nice! Then the kids played in the Sesame Neighborhood and we ate dinner. Then, we watched the parade. The parade was better than I remember it from 2 years ago when we took Jemma. Jemma and Derek enjoyed the parade, but James LOVED it!

It was a wonderful, wonderful day. There were times that I wished I had my camera to capture the pure joy on the kids' faces, but I really enjoyed not having to worry about the camera or "getting the picture."

The trip back was great, too. The kids were a bit whiny because they were tired, but it went rather smoothly. We stopped in Smyrna for lunch and to play at the rest area. Then we stopped in Salisbury for gas and potty. We didn't stop again until we arrived home.

I am so grateful to Andy and Suzanne for letting us stay at their house. They fed us a wonderful dinner Monday night, Suzanne helped me give the kids a bath and read Jemma books before bed. They were such wonderful hosts!!! And it was so great to have a cozy place to rest and recharge. I'm glad that we get to spend some quality time with them in a few weeks. Cassandra is a happy, wonderful little baby. I gave her lots of snuggles and kisses, but eagerly await more quality time!

An "extra" day...

Jim was originally scheduled to leave (or so I thought) on Sat (7/19), so I was very happy when he got to stay home until Sunday afternoon. The Navy work schedules sometimes drive me a little crazy, but I know that he needs to train to be the best...

My parents came to visit. Papa had to deliver a motorcycle to the area Saturday, so Granny came to drive him back home and they spent the night with us. They brought lots of yummy food from their garden. We have tomatoes, cucumbers, corn and snaps. I love fresh produce! :)

Here are the kids playing with Papa. I was so busy doing laundry and getting ready for our big adventure that I hardly took any pictures! After Jim left Sunday, we went to the mall. I wanted to do a little shopping and Papa kept the kids amused! :)

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Daddy needed to take his stuff to the ship, so he took the kids with him Thursday night. (I went for a girls night out to a Mexican restaurant!)

Playing "rough" with Daddy:

This is saying good-bye to Daddy, just in case he doesn't get to fly home as planned Friday!

My big helper

I don't know whether to jump for joy or shed tears of happiness... I was so, so proud of Jemma this evening. I had to put James in the tub after his dinner of spaghetti (which he decided to smear all over himself then throw handfuls all over the kitchen while I was upstairs... yes, I left him unattended eating dinner for 2 minutes while I took the clean laundry to my bedroom for folding later)... Jemma was downstairs playing wonderfully by herself. Then she came upstairs and proudly pronounced, "Mommy, I was helping you do laundry." I smiled and said that was nice, thinking that she was pretending... she has such a great imagination! After the sitter arrived and was playing with them outside, I decided to finish the laundry. I walked into the laundry room and was amazed... Jemma had taken the clothes from the washer and put them into the dryer and taken the pile from the floor and put them into the washer. She wasn't pretending earlier. I love having such a wonderful little helper!!! :)

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We had a neighborhood "Wine and Appetizer" social this evening. It was so nice... wonderful neighbors, perfect weather, great food and a perfect atmosphere... very relaxing!!! :) I had gotten a sitter because Jim was supposed to be home and I had planned to leave the social and go out for a romantic walk on the beach and just spend some quiet time with my husband. Well, he had to fly to the boat this evening, so I went solo. And, I kept the sitter. She played with the kids while I got ready for the social, entertained them and put them to bed before I got home. What a wonderful evening for me and I know that the kids had a great time too...

Big sister

Jemma is getting to be such a good big sister (at least more good than bad)... Tuesday after swim lessons, I got both kids showered and ready to go meet Daddy for a picnic dinner at the park on base. (He was flying late so it was a good chance for them to expend energy and visit with their Daddy!) Then I left them watching the Wiggles while I went upstairs to get myself ready. I overheard Jemma ask James if he wanted something to eat, then I heard the refrigerator open and plastic rustling (she was getting cheese sticks), then I heard her say "Here James, this one is for you." I crept down the stairs to see her giving James a cheese stick, then open one for herself. The two of them were sitting beside each other eating their cheese and watching the Wiggles. A few minutes later, she said "James are you thirsty?" The answer must have been yes because she got a cup, filled it with water from the fridge and gave it to her brother. It was super sweet and it made me so happy to see her taking such good care of her brother! :)

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At the park looking at the horses with Daddy:

James climbing... the boy is fearless:

Jemma is fearless sometimes too! Here she just climbed up the ladder, grabbed the bars and started going across. I took this picture before sprinting over to catch her as her hands started to slip. That would be quite a drop for our little girl!

Monkeying around:

Doing chin-ups:

James loves rocks and dirt:

The last slide:

Driving with Daddy:

GrandMary's Visit

GrandMary (my MIL) arrived for a visit on Tuesday (7/8) and departed early Sunday (7/13). It was such a wonderful visit! This is a long post with lots of pictures from the week. :)

Tuesday: GrandMary watched the kids for Jim and I to attend a Relationship seminar on Tuesday night. Her friend, Vicki, brought her two grandkids over and they had fun with all 4 kids while we were away. It was a nice evening for everyone!

Wednesday: GrandMary, Jemma and I went blueberry picking while James played at MyGym. I wish I had taken the camera. We had a great time and got lots of yummy berries! When we arrived home, the kids wanted to play with bubbles.GrandMary and Jemma went to Vicki's house for a visit. Then we went to Red Robin for dinner. (Jim had to fly Wednesday evening, so he missed the fun!) The waitress thought James was so cute that she gave him an extra balloon. It was great to have GrandMary give baths!

Thursday: GrandMary, Jemma and I made blueberry jam. I had never made jam before. Jemma helped pulse the blender, which is a huge step for her since she usually runs and covers her ears when I blend anything. It took us just over 2 hours to make 11 4-oz jars and 3 8-oz jars. And the jam tastes wonderful!!GrandMary took James to the Marine Science Museum/Aquarium and he had a blast!

Friday: GrandMary and Jemma made blueberry muffins. GrandMary and James went to MyGym in the early morning. I packed a lunch and sent GrandMary, Jim and Jemma to the beach. I planned to join them after James woke from his nap, but he napped for over 3 hours!James loves the peanutbutter and blueberry jam! GrandMary and I went out shopping to a kids store that had 70% off everything. It was a great little trip and she got Jemma the cutest dress for under $10! After dinner, GrandMary and Jim went to the driving range and I took the kids to the park, which is a short walk from our house!

Jemma pushing James on the swing.Daddy reading to James before bed.Saturday: Jim took James to MyGym. GrandMary painted Jemma's toes.GrandMary went to breakfast and biking at the oceanfront with Vicki. While James napped, Jim took Jemma to Munden's for lunch... yes she went in her dress-up outfit!We all went to the zoo Saturday afternoon.

GrandMary, Daddy, Jemma and James. (This is one of the best pics!)

It was hot, so we took a break to eat ice cream inside. Jemma had a snoopy ice cream.

Walking...

Our family under the prairie dog.

The kids played in the fountains.

GrandMary and Jemma making the ball move.

What a great day! What an awesome visit!! :)