Leavin' on a jet plane...

( Picture stolen from "Travel Journals website)

A little over 2 full days before we leave to go to Australia!! I am looking at a mile long to do/to pack list...so much to do. For posterity reasons, here is my list:

*prepare sharing time for this week
*dinner tonight for Girl Scouts & will try to stop at a dinner for a friend who is leaving
*laundry
*dishes
*clean house
*grocery shop ( I am trying very hard to help Ericka out by having food for the kids)
*write out a grocery list and hope I don't forget anything
*pack for all the kids:
underwear, socks, pj's, uniforms, tooth brushes/paste, shoes, school backpacks,
temporary bus passes, lunch bags x 3 school aged kids
*pack for Ivan who won't be going to school that week
*pack for myself, remembering passport, itinerary, adaptors, ipod, cell phone, and chargers for all those items that need it!
*Make sure all the clothes that Ben wants to take are clean
*Double check that my friend is going to dog sit Astro
*Make sure he has dog food, his bed, his kennel etc
*watch Bones & CSI:NY season finales (yep that is a must)
*pick up magazine for Ben to read on the plane ( we have only found it in 2 stores on this whole island!!)
*download missed episodes of favorite shows to watch on the plane

Hmmm...is that it? I am sure I am forgetting things! I know it will all be worth it, once all is said and done. But why does it have to be so stressful to get everything ready for a trip?

a quiet moment...

Ivan decided to kick his Mom and was sent to his room, because "we don't kick in our house." So it is almost completely silent down here. All I can hear is the wind blowing in the palm trees. So I thought I would take a moment to give you an insanely long run down of what has been going on around here!

We will start with...last Tuesday. Ethan turned 8 on Cinco de Mayo! I can't believe how fast time has flown by with him. I know that is cliche but...there is a reason everyone says it! One minute he was a not so teeny baby and now he is a not so teeny 8 year old. The time just flew by. He got a new scooter, Pokemon game, a Wii fit (he wants to be more active), Diary of a Wimpy kid book, Indiana Jones comic books etc. His baptism will actually be in June. Out here they schedule them the first Saturday of every month. Since his b-day fell after that, he is waiting for June. We will keep you posted on details.

Thursday I was invited to an ice cream social in Ivan's pre-k class. Ivan had no idea what was going on. He did not understand that Mommy would be going to his class because, "Mommy, you no go in there!" When I got in there, they were singing. It was interesting to watch him go from ok to not ok in about 30 seconds. His pre-k and spec. ed teacher were right there though. He went back to his other classroom where he didn't feel so overwhelmed and enjoyed his ice cream.

The next day I went to a Mothers Day tea for Ethan. We walked into the cafeteria and all the 2nd graders were on stage ready to sing. I couldn't see him! I blame Ben for the fact that at all concerts my children are in the very back with kids standing right in front of them! I finally found him and he pointed out my seat. There was a place mat with all the gifts that he made me...A "links of love" necklace ( I will be sharing it later) a headdress, a poem, a portrait of Ethan and I( with a nice big circle on my stomach labeled "Mason") cookies and more. He sang and than performed in a dance, which he did not even tell me he was in!!

That evening the boys had their "bridging ceremony" for scouts. It was our very, very last thing with this pack. Connor actually recieved his Tiger badge a while ago,but Ethan (along with all the boys in my den) recieved their Wolf badge. The boys were so excited. They really enjoyed Scouts this year. I have to be honest and admit I was glad that Scouts had come to an end for me! We ended the night waiting for 45 minutes to get a breathalizer test. By the time we got up there, traffic was so bad that they just started waving people through. After 45 minutes I almost made them to do it, so as to not waste my time!

Saturday morning we had Ethan's birthday party at the bowling alley. We got there, and I was a little worried when they asked me a few times what name the party was under. I had also been told over the phone that they provided cake. I was thrilled because it seemed like such a good deal. When I got there,I decided to ask again. Uh no, no cake provided.So Ivan and I rushed to the commissary to get whatever they had in the display case! Ethan had 13 kids come and lots of parents stayed around and chit chatted. His teacher, who both of us love and adore, came also! It was a fun but busy morning!

After about a 30 minute break, we headed out to a district primary activity. Ben had to go to the airport otherwise I might have made him come with me. I was completely worn out (can't imagine why?!) and had no energy to chase Ivan around. After that, we headed to the store to get chocolate for the primary Mother's day gift (I was in charge of that). I was so completely worn out that...I didn't close my van door. It was open the whole time we were in the store. Luckily everything was still in it!

Mothers Day was well...same old, same old. Get kids ready for church, fight with them to behave during church and than go to primary to do my calling. I tried to take a nap but had little interuptions the whole time! Basically I am celebrating next Sunday by leaving for Australia!

Harmony made me a very cute bracelet at GS, Ivan gave me 2 potted flowers and Connor gave me cute cards and a bouquet of paper flowers. It was all very sweet and makes me smile.

So there you have it. Our wrap up. Lots going on for the rest of the week before we head out on Sunday. I am so excited I can barely stand it!

I am scheduling my next dr. appt for right after we get back. I know Ben is a *tad* nervous about me going on a trip but I am sure we will be fine. We aren't even really going to be gone that long! At 32 weeks they are going to start checking me every week. It is so hard to believe that it is almost time for Mason to make his debut!

This is insanely long so I am ending!

Did I say I was spoiled?

Next month, Ben and I are heading off island. With no kids. I am so excited that I can't contain myself! :) Ben is trying to take care of his leave, I have to double check our dates with the family watching our kids but other than that we are good to go. And where are we going...AUSTRALIA! So excited!! I am just like Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping...I will finally have a stamp in my passport. Ben has been to so many places, me I am usually at home with the kids while he experiences the world! LOL

So many people travel from Guam. We however, are not willing to go into debt for leisurely travel. We have so many people say, "yeah but you can get cheap plane tickets..." then they tell us the price for one. Which we remind them we would have to multiply times six. Thus, we haven't done any traveling. Our vacation to Hawaii was paid for by the Navy. At least most of it.

I was totally shocked on Saturday morning when we saw the offer through MWR ( a Navy program). The price included flight and hotel. I thought he was being sarcastic when Ben said, "hey do you want to go to Australia?" But he wasn't. We just had to find a babysitter. Which we did!

In less than a year, the two of us will have been able to go on 2 trips by ourselves? Having 4 kids I didn't think that would be possible. Harmony thinks it is sooooo unfair. I tried to tell her that, Ben and I were together before she was even a thought! I also told her that she was lucky to have parents that want to be together! She still thinks it is unfair but I will bring her back stuff! :)

So I know some people have been there, so what do you suggest we do? Eat? Anything that you didn't feel was worth the cost? We are going to be in Cairns for 4 days and 3 nights and I plan to pack in as much as I can! We can catch up on sleep when we get back right?!

Sooooo excited!! I have visions of sleeping in, eating new foods, traveling to new areas, all with my favorite person! :)

Holiday lights, parties & rice krispie houses

We had a totally relaxing week, last week. It was amazing. We did get out and do a few things though. Being sick all the time, has made me kind of feel like a hermit. So it was nice to get out!

Friday night Connor was supposed to have a "Go See It" with his Cub scout den. However, they moved it to Saturday. So because of our Branch Christmas party, he wouldn't be able to go. We could go as a family though and he could still get credit.

After dinner at the kids favorite place, Naps ( they seriously love it there), we headed down to the Hilton. They have a huge train set up and a nice tree and decorations. The kids loved watching the train. Ivan had his eye set on one train and raced around trying to keep up with that one specific train! This little trip prompted lots of comments and questions about, whether or not we would ever see snow again.

Saturday evening was our Christmas party for church. I had not been feeling well all day, and actually planned to skip it. But when Ben said he wouldn't take pictures of the kids with Santa, I went anyway. The kids were very cute singing their songs. Well Connor never sings, but at least he doesn't cause any problems either!:) Santa unfortunatley, could not attend this year. (The rumor was the costume couldn't be found)and so my whole reason for going was a mute point. Oh well. We had a nice time chatting with friends and eating good food!

Yesterday I told the kids if they would just let me take a nap ( this was after about 5 requests) I would let them make Rice Krispie houses. We found a little kit at the commissary and I thought it sounded a lot easier than gingerbread houses! So they had a good time making those. The box said it only made one house, but we got 3 with some leftover.

Tonight is the Rain Gutter Regatta for the boys. After that we will just be doing a lot of baking, wrapping, watching Christmas movies, and just enjoying each other and the season!

are we done yet? Day 4 &5

I promise. Last post about our vacation. Even I am getting tired of posting about it! :)

So the 4th day was literally the best of the whole vacation. The conference was over, I got through to the Moss's (about the whole wrong day thing), no cell phones were ringing, no social engagements...it was just us. We were free to do what we wanted, and we did!

We slept in, no 7am breakfasts, and decided to go and get our tickets to the Polynesian Culture Center (or PCC). There is an office called ITT where we can get discounted tickets for military.

So we headed out to the base, that is near Pearl Harbor. We drove by the Arizona memorial and Pearl Harbor but we decided not to go. We had already packed in a lot and so if we ever go back, we will hit those two places.

Anyway, we got our tickets ( $17 discount on both, woohoo!) and than went inside their exchange and commissary. Holy cow! Their NEX was 3 stories and their commissary was ginormous. It made me very, very jealous! We picked up lunch and than started our drive out to the PCC. We stopped at a little rest stop on the water too eat lunch. Very peaceful.

I had heard two things about the PCC 1)it's very expensive 2) but it's worth the money. And I would have to say amen to both. However, it feels a lot better paying that money, when you know it is going to help pay someone's tuition instead of just going to some big company.

Anyway, we bought tickets that came with the night show, IMAX and a luau. First we went to all the different villages.I learned to weave with bannana leaves. The kids do this at school all the time but I had never tried it. We stopped and watched shows and watched a parade floating down the river. Each country that is represented their had dancers. Very neat to watch.

We took a tour and went over to BYU-Hawaii campus. I wanted to hit the bookstore and we found some great books and other fun stuff. We missed our tram back but a nice man let us in the back gate instead of making us walk all the way around. It helps to not look very intimidating!

It was almost time for our luau. Yummy food. I think Harm would have been upset to see the pig so it was probably good she wasn't there! We were sitting next to two elderly couples and they thought we were newlyweds. hah! We got our pictures taken and than did a little shopping before the night show.

If you have never seen a BYU dance production, well you are just missing out. It was very neat to watch. They didn't allow flash photography so that didn't make it easy. Instead I found myself recording a lot of it. I will put some of our fav videos on later.

After it was all done, I wanted to go and see the temple. Obviously it would be closed, but I just wanted to see it. We haven't been/seen a temple since we were in San Diego over a year ago. I went and snapped some pictures and than we were on our way back to the hotel.

Ben is tough and so he made us pack that night. OK he did most of the packing but he is good about fitting things in. It is a good thing we did it though because we didn't wake up until 9 the next day. We had planned to check out by 10.Oops.

We returned some stuff to Old Navy and headed to the airport. Our flight was delayed by an hour but no other problems. It's a long flight but without kids it seems much shorter. :)

I was sad about leaving Hawaii but ready to see the kids. So that is it. That was our trip in a not so small nutshell!

bored yet?

Luckily for all my loyal readers, day three was not that exciting! :) I am not even sure I took any pictures! We had the conference in the morning. The spouses (there was one husband) went to go listen to topics on IT and a presentation from the detailer. I think a lot of us took the opportunity to voice some complaints & concerns! After going over time, we had lunch and than Cindy and I went off to do more shopping.

This time we hit Old Navy, and Borders. Later there was a social hour at Tiki's. For those of us who don't drink, these social hours are not that exciting! So we made a quick exit, and headed to...Wal Mart. Yep we went back. (Becky I packed an extra suit case and Ben packed very light. Plus he is very good at stuffing bags!) And that was it. I started to not feel very well and by the end of the night I was still not feeling great. So I crashed!

Day 4: Last day of the conference! We had a chance to speak to an admiral (Ben said I can't be specific)and his wife about the challenges of being Navy spouses. The rest of the subjects weren't really of interest to me. Things like finding work and family stress etc.

After lunch and classes, I put the privacy please sign on the door and slept! Ben came back when he was done and we decided to go walk along the beach. It is such a packed beach. Tons of people out. So many surfers, that it was just fun to watch.

We came back and got ready to go to our friends, the Segalla's house for dinner. We had a great time catching up and spending time with them. They have 2 girls and I think Ben enjoyed "going back in time" a little. Harmony is just too old!

It was on this night that I realized that...I had given the Moss's (friends watching the kids) the wrong return date! The whole being a day behind thing threw me for a loop. Ben was the one that realized my mistake. I had told them Saturday but it was actually Sunday. I felt awful, ecspecially when I got the answering machine!

Vacation Day 2

Ok, so back to the vacation....

The conference started bright and early Tuesday morning. We didn't sleep very well at all, so being down to breakfast by 7 was not easy! I felt bad as people would come and talk to me and all I could do was yawn! :)

After a quick breakfast, with the yummiest pineapple ever, the conference began. The first day the spouses & military members met together. My friend Cindy has been gone all summer, so it was fun to catch up. The husbands didn't want us sitting next to each other because they figured we would just ignore them! But they let us sit by each other anyway. There were some very interesting speakers although I noticed Ben designing an entertainment center for us! So he couldn't have been too interested!

After lunch and a funny get to know you activity, the guys were heading back to the conference. When they were done, they were heading up to Diamond Head for PT (physical training). The wives were invited to go on the hike...but we decided to go shopping instead!!

We put the top down ( how fun was that) and went straight to Wal Mart. I was so giddy! I will not even tell you how much money I spent. Suffice it to say...it was a lot. I was so happy with all my good deals that the cashier told me she had never seen anyone so happy to shop at Wal Mart. So I had to explain to her I hadn't been there for over a year!

The trunk space in the car was not great, so we went to drop off our bags. The guys were just headed out to Diamond Head when we got there. So Cindy and I decided to stroll down the street by our hotel, and go into all the little shops. We loved going in and out and seeing all the crafts, jewlery, knick knacks etc. I dropped a pretty penny walking around there!

We went into a little market where the vendors were all trying to get us to buy things! We stayed strong and didn't although some things were very tempting! By this time the guys were back so we walked back to the hotel.

Ben was totally crashed out! They had run to Diamond Head, then hiked, and then ran back. Needless to say he was tired. After a little while we, along with Cindy and her husband Kirk, went to Cheesecake Factory.

The line was insanely long! I lost track of how long we stayed in it. We got some mean looks from Japanese people for saving spots on a bench. We finally got in though and ate. I had the Macadamian nut cheesecake, and holy cow Alishia, thanks for the recommendation!! It was soooo good. We were going to buy a whole one but they were all out of the size I wanted! Too bad. I am totally craving it now. Anyone know how to make one?

After eating we headed back to the hotel and decided to go and relax in the hot tub. It was really full, so we just went and swam in the pool for a little bit.

Ben is going to email his pics from Diamond Head and then I will post those.

We had planned to go and get a few things done today. But we are still worn out so the kids and I decided on a nice quiet day at home!

Day 1

OK, so I must still be on Hawaii time...because I am worn out. I have been doing laundry, cleaned the fridge, gone grocery shopping and emptied suitcases. So I worn myself out! I have a lot of friends & family who have been/are on vacation and are trying not to bore their readers with their vacations. But as this is my blog and serves as my journal...you have to deal with it. Although you can skip it if you want, I'll never know! :)

I dropped the kids off on Monday afternoon and went shopping! I had ordered clothes and they didn't make it in time. Ben came home from work and we got to go out to eat by ourselves. We enjoyed Chinese food without the kids running around the food court. Gotta love that! It was just the beginning of our taste of freedom!

The next morning we started out at 3:30 in the morning. I know, I know! Way too early! We were on the plane for a good 7 hours. It went by pretty fast though! The food wasn't bad either. By the time we got off, we were sooo tired. But it was only like 6:00. My first stop was the bathroom. Don't you love the sign? Ben was teasing me about taking a pic of a bathroom sign but I thought it was cute.

We went to pick up our rental car and I just sat with our luggage. We were walking to the car and as we walked past sports cars, I kept saying, "oh is this ours?" So Ben pulls up to a red convertible mustang and says how about this one? I just laughed...until he unlocked it. The car we had reserved had all been rented and so would we "settle" for this one at the same price? You betcha!!

We got a little lost finding our hotel but it was fun to drive around and look at all the shops and sites. The weather was PERFECT! No humidity, no sweat dripping down my back. So nice.

After finding the hotel and checking in, we decided to go and get dinner. We went to this cute little (expensive) restaraunt called Tiki's. They had tiki's all over the walls and tables. It was cute. I had guava glazed ribs that were totally delish! We also tried this banana butter. It was so yummy. (Julie or Wendy do you know what I am talking about?) After eating we were tired though! I did buy a few little things that night but...

So that is about it for day 1. Watch out for more updates!

I'm home...and I'm tired

My house looks like a tornado went through it! With around 9 (or more) bags that need to be unpacked, gifts that are everywhere, kids who don't want Mom to leave their sight, kids who are talking their Mom's ear off, no groceries, and a to do list that is a mile long...well I guess the vacation is officially over!

We had such an amazing time and I can't wait to sit and blog about it. Unfortunatley, the above mentioned items need to be taken care of! So for now I am going to work on that and I will try to update later this evening. I am posting just a couple of pics though....

Aloha!

So we didn't have free internet at the hotel. Total bummer. I love checking blogs and all that good stuff. Currently I am in the business center at the Honolulu airport. Our flight has been delayed but we will be home very soon. I am anxious to see all my babies!! We have had a total blast and I will be uploading all my pics and give you the run down in a little bit!

Almost time!!

We are getting down to it. Our alone time begins around noon tomorrow. I am so very, very excited. Right now we are busy...

**doing laundry
**packing all the bags for the kids
** writing out emergency phone numbers
**getting flight info written down
** preparing a to do list for the morning

And that is just so the kids can get off! Ben and I have not even started packing yet. Actually...Ben has to unpack so he can pack again. But we are so anxious and excited to be going. This is the first time I have been gone from the kids this long. We have been able to have a few trips alone, but it was usually just 2 days or so. This time it is a lot longer...and not with family.

Anyway if I don't blog for awhile...it is because I am on vacation! :) I am bringing my laptop so I will still have email, if anyone needs to get a hold of us. And my memory card has been cleared so expect a ton of pictures. I can't wait! Wal mart...oops I mean Hawaii here I come! Aloha!

sunshine through the clouds

I have a little secret. Only some people actually know about it. There was one little glitch that I was worried about...but it worked out fine. Ben comes home on the 25th of July...and on the 29th we are getting on a plane and going to Hawaii!!!

This isn't the trip that I was trying to win. I am not sure when/if I will find out about that trip.

As most people know, I am babysitting my friend's children while she goes to nursing school during the day. Well, the "payment for my services" is she is going to watch all the kids (and Astro) so that we can go. We will be attending a conference for junior officers & their spouses. So our flight, hotel and a lot of our food is already paid for. I am so excited. I can't wait to go and reconnect with Ben. It just also happens to be our 10th anniversary this month. So what a fun way to celebrate.

I am so looking forward to going to Wal Mart, the Polynesian Culture Center, Wal Mart, Cheesecake factory, Pearl Harbor & the Arizona, Wal Mart, Diamond Head, Old Navy...

So, so excited. The spouses only have to be at the conference until noon, so I am planning to try to get a lot of my shopping done while Ben is still in the conference. I am just really looking forward to this trip.

Julie & Wendy- if you know of any health food stores where I can find gluten free products would you let me know? Thanks

brain dump...

Life has been extremely crazy lately. And I have so many little things going on that I have been meaning to blog about...but just haven't. Ben was able to come home early on Friday, and we spent Saturday trying to get things done before he left. Then with church and getting him to the airport....whew. Made for a crazy weekend. So I just need to get stuff off of my brain. Here goes...

**Ben and I decided to upgrade our ipods a little while ago. The upgrade decision came after someone *cough, cough* washed her husbands shuffle. So we decided to get larger ones. The other shuffle was just sitting around, because we didn't want the kids to fight over who got it. Finally, we gave it to Harmony. She has been rocking out ever since. She takes it everywhere. To the store,to bed,to a sleepover, to the park, for walks with Astro etc. I am constantly telling her to turn it down and that no it's not going to church. She has been using the broom as her microphone and dancing around the house. Mommy's little rock star.

** I got an email the other day about my Bali trip. Because of rising costs of fuel, Continental is having to cancel flights from Guam to Bali, starting October 2nd. Our trip was supposed to be for the 16th. They were trying to reschedule, but I am not able to go on any of the dates. I had kind of arranged my schedule around that trip. I am totally bummed. It feels like I am just not supposed to get off this island!!

**Speaking of getting off the island, one year ago, we stepped onto Guam for the first time. We have one year down and one to go. Some friends of ours already have their orders. We won't find out ours for another 6-9 months I am sure, but the thought that we only have one year left is exciting. While there are things we have loved and enjoyed about Guam, I am ready to get back to the states. ( Hello Wal Mart, Target, Old Navy, Applebees, good grocery stores etc)

** I found out, a little too late, that I am not really an animal person. Astro is personally driving me nuts. He has chewed through a series of shoes, a cord to the wii controller and worse of all...the power cord to my laptop. $80 later it was replaced but ouch that stung! The kids however, are more in love than ever. Ethan takes him for a walk every single morning. He is such a responsible little kid. Harmony seeks Astro out, as soon as she makes it home.

** I was vacuming the other day, and a fuse blew upstairs. So only one outlet upstairs works. Of course it happened, when I couldn't call housing. So we have been living with out lamps, clocks, a tv upstairs, night lights. It is like we are in the dark ages. Once I have taken a shower I am going to call housing and have someone come out and fix it.

**When we went for Ivan's well child exam back in Feb., we were told that he might have some developmental delays. Things were going well and than it seemed to take a turn and get worse. I spoke to the Special Ed teacher at the school and he feels that Ivan's situation goes beyond speech. We go to a specialist on the 26th of this month to get him tested. They are looking for delays and possibly ADD, or ADHD or possibly even being on the autism spectrum. We are anxious to go but also nervous to find out.

**And last but not least, I am going to be watching my friend's kids this summer. Well really only for like a month of the summer. Her kids are really close to mine in age. I think it will help keep the kids entertained while Ben is gone. I know Harmony is looking forward to having a girl to play with. My only concern is that, I think Harmony may have a crush on her son. He is in her church class and they were also in the same class at school. She talks about him all the time and her little face turns red whenever you ask her about him. She also does a lot of giggling when he is around. Hmmm

WEll I think that is it. I know this is a long post but there is just so much going on.

Men

Ben's departure is coming up rapidly. I am not sure if I am allowed to say when. When he was in Afghanistan,I wasn't allowed to give any dates or anything. Suffice it to say, it is soon. Very, very soon. But this trip is really worrying me. There has been hardly any information given out. I am so freaked out about sending him over there, when these are the kind of conversations that we have...

M:When is your flight leaving?
B: I don't know

M: Where are you going to be staying?
B: a hotel
M: Which one?
B: I don't know

M: What are you going to eat while you are over there?
B: I don't know, something from the hotel restaraunt.

M: Do they take debit cards over there?
B: I am pretty sure they do.

M: Can you drink the water?
B: I don't drink the water here.
M:good point

M: Is someone going to pick you up from the airport?
B: I don't know, I think we will be on the same flight.
M:Well is someone going to pick both of you up?
B: I don't know.

M: Is there a grocery store? What if you run out of toothpaste or something?
B: I am sure there is a store.
M: Well do they take a debit card? Or do you have to have tons of cash?
B: Well I was told to bring lots of cash.
M: So what if some crazy local robs you?
B: sigh, Marie they won't.

This is the kind of information that we are getting. Very helpful. He tells me not to worry so I told him this. " OK Ben, I am leaving on a trip for 7 weeks. I don't know when I am going. I don't know anyone there. I don't know where I am staying. I don't know what I will eat. I don't know how I will contact you. Or what I will do for food. I don't know if they take debit cards, or how I will pay for anything. But I don't want you to worry."

I asked him if HE would let ME go under those same circumstances. His answer..."absolutely not. But you are not me. Girls are different."

Men...

the traveling bug

When we found out we were coming to Guam, we had many people ask us if we were going to travel. We said no. We hadn't really planned on it. The reason? Bringing 4 kids on a vacation to a foreign country doesn't sound like an ideal vacation!

However, there are so many people here that we know, who have gone to Hong Kong, Japan, Bali, Palau...the list goes on and on. And I have sort of been bitten with this bug to go out and see new places.

So that is where my trip to Bali comes into play. But...I still wanted to do something more. The other day, we were eating lunch with a friend of ours, who is now living in Japan. I asked him, if I could convince Ben to go, would he be willing to take us around Japan. He said absolutely. That very day we started talking about it. And let me just tell you, it didn't take that much convincing! Ben was all for it.

We figure the easiest way to handle the kids, since we want this to be a couple trip, is to have each one go to a different home. I know I have some volunteers already.

So the plan is to go in January. So, so excited. Can you tell? That is a loooong way off, but I am still excited. I have been looking at this site

going home

( all these pictures were taken from the last time we saw Vale, almost a year ago!)
I realize that some people know, and some don't, but we are going to go home this summer. The earliest we can leave, according to the school, is the 20th of May. We are going to fly on a MAC flight, which means a military flight. If you can get on, it is a free flight. We aren't on a time table so we can leave whenever they let us. The kids are sooo excited. I am too. I can't wait to go to a decent grocery store, hit Target ( as many times as possible as there isn't one where my parents live), getting away from the humidity, spending time with family, etc. The kids are also excited, but for different reasons. I asked Ethan why he is so excited and he said,"2 V's Mom. Video games and Vale." I said," you can play video games here." " Oh well just one V then!"

The kids absolutely adore their cousin Vale. I do too of course but not for the same reasons. They are so excited to see him. I am hoping that they get to know some of their other cousins this trip. My kids are honestly Vale's biggest fan!

Sorry Mom!!

I got an email from my Mom today. Very concerned ( after reading Harmony's blog concerning x-rays) and let me know that it had been 8 days since I updated my blog. So, I apologize. I really haven't fallen off the face of the earth...although it seems that way sometimes.

Ben got home( after a delay) on Monday night. The kids were soooo excited to see him. Except for Harmony who decided to skip out on going to the airport and going to Girl Scouts. They were working on a fashion show and she did not want to miss out! So the big boys and I went. Ben of course, came bearing gifts. The kids had a blast opening Legos, video games, movies, books etc. etc.

Tuesday Harmony informed me that she had signed up for the bookfair and would need to have her project turned in the following morning. I wanted to strangle her little neck but instead, I took her to the NEX in hopes that we could find what she needed. We spent maybe 2 hours on it but she was happy. So I was happy. The next day however, she came home in tears because she hadn't won a prize. I had to explain to her that some kids had put days and weeks into their projects and she had only spent a couple of hours. A lemonade stand with her friend eventually got her mind off of it and she was very happy with just her participant ribbon.

Thursday Ben had a softball game. Since Spring Break had officially began, I took the kids down to the field to watch him. On one side there is a nicely lit park although the toys leave something to be desired. However a little bit down the sidewalk is a nicer toy, just no lights. I took the kids over anyway and everything was going fine until...Connor and his friend Kameron crashed on the slide while playing Star Wars.He complained that his finger really hurt. So being the mean Mom that I am, I gave him a kiss and a hug and told him he was fine.

The next morning he wakes up and his finger is completely swollen. I felt awful. I took him to the doctor and she said to get x-rays just in case it was fractured. It wasn't but it is still pretty swollen. She said because of all the soft tissue on the finger it could take a little while to go down.The kid had a fun story to tell though!

Saturday I felt like I got nothing done. I went to a baby shower, which is always fun hanging out with friends, then grocery shopping. I took the kids to see the Spiderwick Chronicles and they were scared to death! Connor was in my lap, literally shaking, using my hand to cover his eyes.Ethan was next to me with his face buried in my shoulder saying, " I want to go home. I just want to go home." Harmony sat with her knees up to her chin and a stuffed animal in front of her eyes. I had no idea they would be so scared!

Sunday was a pretty typical Sunday for us, with out too much excitement.

Today, Harmony was off with her Girl Scout troop riding horses. Her leader said they had a great time but the girls were really hot and complained a lot about being outside for so long. I think they were expecting an air conditioned barn or something! Harm's leader is so great and she has a lot planned for them this week. Thursday night she gets to go camping. She is really excited and I have to go and find her all the gear she needs!

So there you have it. An almost complete wrap up as to what has been going on in the Turner household. And just to give her a little plug...you should head over and check out Harm's blog. She has been better about keeping it updated than I have. If you don't have the address you can email me for it!

excting stuff...

So while my exciting news is not as exciting as my sister's was a few weeks ago...it is still exciting to me. I was feeling a bit jealous of my friend Beth because she is going on a vacation without kids for a week. I say a bit because she is very deserving of a break.:) However the other day my friend asked if I wanted to be one in a group to go to Bali. I talked to Ben about it and he didn't mind so in October I am headed here

8 days and 7 nights on my own. I can not wait.