Chris left for the field earlier this week ... and as they rolled out on their Tanks, I took the boys to go watch them drive by. Needless to say, it was a huge hit.
Here is what their Daddy does day to day ...
Unfortunately, when I was taking these videos, I had no idea which tank Chris was actually on. This 1st video shows the first 4 tanks heading out .... and come to find out later, Chris's actual tank that he was on was #5. Go figure.
TOP Priority when Daddy got out of the field was to celebrate his 30th birthday (that he "celebrated" out in the field - boo).
So, NEW grill for his birthday - yay! We grilled hamburgers, hot dogs ... and of course had cake.
Jake brought out his grill and started grilling with Daddy, too. Love it!
Jake was just thinking he was such big stuff out there with Daddy grilling!
Happy Happy Birthday to the best friend, husband, and daddy anyone could ask for!
Opening presents ....
THIS one is from Jake, Cole, and Chase ....
NERF GUNS!!!! Jake and Cole were pretty excited that I bought them one, too .... so they could fight back, of course. Lots of nerf gun wars have taken place in this house over the past week!
We love you Chris!! Happy 30th Birthday!!
(didn't we just turn 16?!?!!!!)
So, when we arrived in the "high desert" (as Jake says, now that he has heard us talk about it), Chris was out in the field, so we had a couple of days here FIRST before we even got to see him .... BUT it was SO SWEET to all be reunited again. The boys were so excited!!
Here they are right by Daddy's side when he got home!!
The unpacking is never ending. You would think w/ all these moves, it would get easier, but I guess 2 toddlers and a newborn slows you down a little bit :-) I still have a little unpacking and organizing left to do, but .... it'll get done. The house is "livable" now - and that's all that matters at this point.
Thank GOODNESS that Mom stayed for 9 days. I couldn't have done it w/o her - no way! So, not only did she clean and unpack and organize - BUT she spent a lot of time distracting the boys, so I can't thank her enough!!
Needless to say, all the paper from the kitchen boxes were a huge hit ...
Santa Claus is only bringing boxes and packing paper for Christmas this upcoming year.
JUMPING into the pile!
THIS picture is classic, b/c it describes about how I felt ... I felt I was buried among all the boxes that needed to be unpacked :-)
THIS BOX was DEFINITELY A KEEPER!
Such a mess!
Before the beds were put together ... :-)
Presents from Aunt Jenn ....
Oh, Christopher :-)
Phillies Phanatics!!!
Cutest Phillies fans ever. Promise.
Totally in love.
"Cheeeeeeese" :-)
I told Jake that it NEVER rains in the desert. 6 days in ... one of the biggest rains they have had in YEARS!
Never ever seen another kid eat and make such a mess like Cole does! Every meal.
Soaking up some last moments with Mimi :-)
I surprised the boys with an Angry Birds bathroom. I normally wouldn't choose to use a character theme in their bathroom, b/c character themes come and go ... BUT they have been such troopers - and I wanted to do something I knew they would love. AND I was right, they loved it :-) In fact, in this picture, they are both taking a picture of the angry birds trash can.
About to take Mimi to the airport :-/
We actually saw her plane fly away :-(
AND now .... reality. No more Mom to help me out :-)
It's a FUN reality, though ... but we sure miss family!
It was awesome that family was IN 29 Palms waiting for us when we arrived :-)
I was happy to get to show Uncle Hal, Aunt Mary Anne, and Mary Ellen where we will live for the next 2+ years. It's hard to really imagine how different it is out here - until you see it for yourself. Needless to say, I'm glad they were able to see where we call "home" these days!
Mary Ellen with Jake and Cole .... building trains.
Cool, crazy dudes!
Uncle Hal, Aunt Mary Anne, and Mary Ellen came bearing an inflatable pool gift. Way fun! However, we had to blow it up - and fill it with water (without knowing where our air pump OR hose was ... since we had just gotten there - and everything was in boxes).
It makes for a good story now, though :-)
Aunt Mary Anne with Cole and Chase :-)
Filling up the pool w/ water.
Everyone was pitching in :-)
And now time for some FUN!
What a FUN afternoon we had with them. They were great sports, too, since all of our stuff was in boxes - and I had absolutely nothing to offer them :-/
