June's Random Ramblings

• Abby saw all the cottonwood flying around in Colorado and informed me "that is rains fuzz in Colorado...crazy!"
• Abby has really gotten into listening to music lately. And, because she is a Daddy's girl, she has taken to listening to "rockin music". One day I was flipping through the radio stations in the van and landed on a country channel. Abby asked me to change it, "because it wasn't rockin enough and too cowboyish!"
• The girls and I went to the furniture store to check out some couches my mom wanted to buy. After looking at a few my mom asked which ones I thought she should get. I said something along the lines of well, I like this one and it is cheaper than that other one. And Abby looked at my mom and said, "My mommy likes cheap things!"
• Abby has been talking ALOT about how much she misses her Daddy. (Its actually very sad). But, one day I told her I missed my husband and she said who is your husband and I said Andrew. We continued to talk about husbands and we went through talking about who was who's husband. As a joke I asked her who Daddy's husband was and she said without hesitation, "Mr. Tim". (Tim is a guy that Andrew works with).

Olivia's 1st Airplane Ride

Our trip to Colorado was Olivia's first airplane ride and my first experience of flying alone with 2 kids. I was a bit nervous and stressed out about how things would go, but we survived. Abby is already a frequent flyer, but we hadn't been on the plane in a while so she was a bit apprehensive about the whole thing. In fact, when it was time to board she started screaming and I didn't think I was going to be able to get her on the plane. Of course all the looks from the other passengers didn't help my stress levels at all. Once we were at our seats and had our seat belts fastened Abby wouldn't let go of my hand, she was holding on for dear life. Of course, at this point Olivia started screaming because she was hungry and making a bottle with one hand while holding a screaming, squirmy 7 month old and holding onto Abby's hand was nearly impossible. Somehow I was able to get the bottle made and feed Olivia who proceeded to fall asleep and Abby's fears were calmed. The first 15 minutes of the flight were horrible but it was all smooth sailing from there. Even the connection was fine and Olivia slept for about an hour and a half on the second flight while Abby contentedly watched a DVD and colored.

Happy Father's Day

First of all I would like to start off by saying Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there, especially my Husband, Andrew, my Dad, George, and my Father-in- law, Peter! I hope you all have a fantastic day!

This year's Father's Day is bittersweet for me. I am happy that I am able to spend the day with my Dad in Colorado. Since moving away from Colorado about 8 years ago I haven't been able to spend many holidays at home. I am excited for our Father's Day dinner out on Thursday night where all of us kids will be there at one table (this happens even less frequently). I am sure we will be laughing a lot!!

One the other hand I am sad that Andrew is not here with us. I am sad that he isn't able to spend the day with his girls and especially Olivia since this is the first Father's Day for Andrew as a father of 2. Maybe I am naive and this is actually a blessing because he can spend the day however he choses, but I know my husband and I know he would rather spend the day with his kids. Being away from Andrew for the past 3 weeks has made me realize even more what a wonderful Father he is. He really makes my job as a Mom easier in ways I don't even realize when he is here. He enjoys being a Dad and it shows in the way he interacts with the girls everyday. He plays endless games of princess, Barbies, hide-n-seek, and doll house. He pushes Abby on the swing for hours, captures bugs, and goes on backyard adventures. He has no problem with dirty diapers, bathing or feeding. He reads to the girls and sings them songs at bedtime. All of these things make him not only a Father but a Daddy, and the best Daddy 2 little girls could ask for!!!

**I wanted to put a picture or two on here but my computer is giving me trouble so I will just have to add it later**

Abby's Last Day at Apple Tree

Abby's last day of school was sad! There were a lot of changes on the horizon for her and her last day of school was one of them. She loved Apple Tree and she did so well there. She grew so much during the school year both physically and mentally. I know she is going to miss it there, on the way home she said, "Mommy I am going to miss my friend's so much!"

Abby's last day of school

Abby's 1st day of school

Enjoying the Florida Sunshine

In the weeks leading up to our move, in between packing, organizing, and cleaning I tried to spend as much time outdoors with the girls as possible. Here are some pictures from our time spent in the Florida sun. We will miss the beach lots!!!

Welcome Daniel and Joseph

Sam and Brian's twin boys made their way into the world on Friday June, 12 at 2:43PM. Daniel Ley was 5lbs 2oz and 17 3/4 inches. Joseph Xavier was 7lbs even and 19 inches. They are both absolutely adorable. Daniel has a heart condition that will require open heart surgery, as of now he is scheduled to have surgery today. Please pray for the family to be strong during this difficult time and pray that baby Daniel is strong during the surgery and recovers well. Congrats Sam and Brian on your adorable new additions!!!

Daniel Ley

Joseph Xavier

Orlando/Universal Studios Trip

The week before we left for Colorado Andrew of course had a TDY to Orlando. Since we knew we wouldn't be seeing him for over 2 months, the girls and I decided to tag along even though I had a million things to do to get ready for our move. The weather did not cooperate and it rained pretty much the entire time we were there. One of the days while Andrew was at work we visited the world's biggest McDonald's (which we had been to on previous trips) and we got creative and had a "tea party" in the hotel lobby. We decided to brave the weather one day and head to Universal Studios as planned and the weather held out for the most part. It was overcast and chilly at times but it didn't rain much so that was good. We did not make it the Disney Water Parks as planned due to the weather and actually headed home a day early because of all the rain. I am glad we went though, we had a good time at Universal Studios and it was good to spend some time as family!!

The results of a very rainy day cooped up in a hotel most of the day! Notice the paper airplane, those kept us entertained for all of about 5 minutes!

We surprised Abby with the trip to Universal Studios. We had free passes from our Coke Rewards Points :-)

Myself and the girls with Lucy and Ricky.

Playing on the playground

A photo with Barney after the Barney Live Show

The girls waiting for Andrew while he went on the roller coaster.

Playing Guitar Hero

Andrew and Abby by the car from Back to the Future

After we were done at Universal we went to Margaritaville for dinner. Here is Abby enjoying her virgin strawberry daquiri.

Entertainment at Margaritaville

Olivia managed to stay dry during the brief period of light rain!

Relaxing in the hotel after a long day at Universal Studios!

This is the bag of $5 popcorn Andrew HAD to have when we visited the candy shop. He said it had nostalgic value since he would always eat it as a kid. We had a little bit of it one night before we went to sleep and then next morning it was so stale we ended up throwing the entire bag away!!

Saying goodbye is never easy!

Again, I have to start off by saying I am WAY behind on posting. I just can't seem to catch up! I am going to try to get caught up over the next week or so, we will see how that goes!

Anyway, the past several weeks have been full of goodbyes for us as we prepared to leave Florida. Our first goodbye was very hard, we had to say goodbye to the McMenamy's earlier than expected due to Sam's medical situation with the twins. The Saturday before they left Susan watched Abby, Nolan and Olivia so that the 4 of us could go out to dinner together. We went and ate on the water at Harbor Walk and it was a very enjoyable evening. I had spent most of the weeks leading up to their departure in denial about the whole thing and I think that it really hit me at dinner that we wouldn't be seeing them again for a very long time. They have been such incredible friends and made our time in Florida very memorable! I am so sad that I won't be there to meet, hold, and snuggle those 2 little miracles in Sam's belly but I know our paths will cross again someday and until then the phone, facebook, and blogger will just have to do!!

Myself and Sam before dinner

The 4 of us before dinner. Believe it or not, this was the first and only time that JUST the 4 of us went out to dinner together!!

The weekend before the girls and I left for Colorado some of our friends had a farewell BBQ for us. It was great hanging out with everyone and the food was plentiful and delicious. The kids had a blast running around and playing together. It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. Saying goodbye is very hard for me, I have never been good at it! I guess I should get used to it, its and Air Force way of life. I think the hardest part of the whole thing was talking to Abby on the way home and her crying and telling me how much she was going to miss her friends. We have been in Colorado now for nearly 2 weeks and she still says she misses Florida and her friends. I know its only going to get harder as she grows older, but children are resilient and she has already made some new friends here in Colorado! Bottom line is we miss Florida and our friends, but we are looking forward to the adventures that await us in the future!!

This was supposed to be a picture of the adults, but we had a few sneaky kids jump in the picture with us!

Andrew and Olivia getting ready to play washers!

Some of the kiddos dancing to the music in the living room, they had such a blast playing together!

We were surprised with a bag full of goodies for our trip (which of course made me cry!) Here is Abby with one of her treats from our friends!

Most of the kids:
Top: Cameron
Middle: Dylan, Abby, Lily, Ella
Front: Jack, Brandon

Emily (the wonderful hostess), myself, and Staci
These girls have been wonderful and I am so happy I was able to get to know them and their beautiful families. I am just bummed we didn't find the friendships sooner. I feel like just as we were getting to know each other it was time to move!!

The Mommies and kids (minus Brandon)

The guys:
Brian, Andrew, Dan and Ben