I miss my Daddy

July 27th, 2006 is the day
we said so long.
Daddy had to leave me here,
but I knew I could be strong.

I didn't understand why
Mommy had to cry.
She took me by the hand
and tried to tell me why.

Daddy has important work to keep our country safe.
He'll be gone a while, but I know you can be brave.
See, Daddy is helping all the kids in Kuwait & in Iraq,
so they can have a better life, but soon he will be back.

I wrapped my arms around Mom's neck
and squeezed her really tight.
It's okay Mommy, please don't cry.
I know we'll be alright.

Before I knew it, months had passed.
I really miss my dad.
I miss his hugs & kisses,
How much longer could this last?

I need my Daddy
to tuck me in at night.
Read a book, say a prayer...
that would be just right.

Mommy misses Daddy
I can see it in her eyes.
She really works hard for me.
She really, really tries.
I'm sure it isn't easy, to be
the Mommy AND the Dad.
She keeps me safe & happy,
even when she's feeling sad.

I want my Daddy here with me for many many reasons
He missed Thanksgiving,
and my birthday,
and even the Christmas Season.

I really want my dad at home,
but he is fighting for our freedom.
He's working hard & being brave
and Kuwait is where they need him.

Not much longer and he'll be home
safe with us to stay,
and I will thank him
for his selflessness each & and every day.

Sleep Over!

Lily's friends Paige & Lexi came over for a sleep over party! Here are the girls all tucked in watching a movie before bed.

Dance Class

Lily was thrilled to get back to her dance class after being away for a few weeks over the holidays. She loves it as much as she did the day she started!

San Diego Sight Seeing

We took a "Seal" tour through San Diego (similar to a "duck" tour, but they call it a seal tour in San Diego)Sea lions sleeping on bait tanks - hoping to get a meal!

Lily's first view of the Pacific Ocean!

Look at all the sea lions laying on the beach!

Lily & Mommy on the beach!Lily digging in the sand

LegoLand

Our best day by far in San Diego was our day at LegoLand. We had SO much fun & there was so much to see & do. I haven't seen Lily that excited in a long time. It was amazing to see some of the things they made out of legos!

Lego Elephant

Lily shooting a water gun at lego animals

AHH! The lion ate Lily!

Some interesting creatures living in the LegoLand trashcans...

Love the pose...

Holding up the line for the telephone already...


Lego STAR WARS!

One of the first things Lily saw when we walked in the park was a roller coaster. She immediately said she wanted to ride on it. I wasn't so sure about this, since she had never been on a roller coaster before and this was NOT a baby roller coaster, but Lily was VERY insistent. She wanted to go - no question!

Waiting in line before the ride...

The first ride!

Lily had SO MUCH FUN on the roller coaster! I can't even describe how excited she was. She screamed in absolute delight the whole ride. When it was over, she said she wanted to go again. Since there was no on in line behind us, we were allowed to stay & ride again - 4 times in a row!! An excited girl after her first roller coaster!

When Lily & I got off, she ran out to meet Grammy & dragged Grammy on the roller coaster with her another 3 times! When she rode with Grammy, she felt brave enough to put her hands in the air for the entire ride. Later in the afternoon we came across another roller coaster - this one even bigger & faster than the first - and again, Lily demonstrated her '4 year old' bravery & ran to get in line. She loved that one even more than the first & would have spent the rest of the day riding the roller coaster over & over if we would have let her!

Wild Animal Park

The first thing we saw at the Wild Animal Park were some flamingos, which Lily really likes -because they are pink. Go figure...

We went to an 'Animal Encounter' show, where we were shown a beautiful African bird called a Knysna Lourie. Lily, again, exhibited her bravery when she volunteered to have the lourie fly to her & land on her arm. She was the only child that did not flinch (or run away screaming) when the bird flew toward her!

Lily entertaining herself (and everyone else) while waiting for the train

On the train with Grammy!


When the train pulled up to the rhino exhibit, several rhinos walked over to where the train was & we got a good view of them. There was a baby rhino as well that Lily thought was 'so cute'.

Ride on the carousel

We're Goin to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo!

The first thing we did when we got to the zoo was take a bus tour around the whole zoo. We learned a lot about the zoo & it's animals, but the best part for Lily was being able to ride on the top level of the double decker bus!

Lily's favorite zoo exhibit is always the elephants, but this elephant made our visit even more exciting for Lily. This elephant was swaying back & forth & swinging her trunk - she was "dancing" for us!

Up close & personal!
Lily found lots of animal statues to pose with.

STAR OF THE SHOW!

The most exciting part of our visit to the zoo was the sea lion show. The sea lion trainers asked for a volunteer to help with the show & Lily jumped up & raised her hand. The trainers chose Lily to help them & she displayed her new found bravery by going right up on the stage in front of the whole audience!

'Norman' the sea lion
Norman getting a back scratch

Lily & Norman clapping

Lily teaching Norman how to stick out his tongue!

Feeding Norman a snack of fresh fish

Sea lion kisses!! YUCK!

(She really did smell like fish for the rest of the day!)