Long Lost Pictures of Little Miss Lily May

Talk about a blast from the past...

I found these pictures recently on my moms camera & we both realized we never made copies of them or sent them to anyone. We completely forgot we even had them! There's some really cute ones here. I think they were taken on one of my mom's visits to Houston while Brian was in basic training/AIT, so they are from March - August of 2004!

Memorial City carousel - one of Lily's favorites!

Dinner at Olive Garden - Mom's favorite!
Check out those cheeks! yikes! :o)

Playing in Toys R' Us
A princess even then...

Lily's first swim class - while we were still in Houston

Mommy & Me!

Houston Downtown Aquarium
Lily LOVED this...she had the best time running through the water & getting all wet. She got sprayed in the face a few times, but she thought it was hilarious!

Daddy's second week of school

Well, another week has passed & Brian is still doing very well in WLC. This week he & another Sgt, who is also in WLC, were tested & graded on a PT (Physical Training) routine they had to put together themselves. They had to call out all the exercises to everyone else & they were graded on their performance. Brian received 96 points out of 100 - Go Brian!! He also had to instruct a class on observation points, which he was also graded on & received a 90 out of 100. He's continuing to take classes on leadership & counseling statements, as well. We're so proud that he is doing so well & can't wait for him to come home!!

Miss Lily has been a busy little bee this week too.

A little monkey on the jungle gym!

Drawing with chalk on the patio.

We figured out coloring on the patio wasn't the best idea, because when Zoey is tied up outside, she lays on the patio & when she lay on the drawings, her white fur turned a lovely shade of pink! I also get lots of colorful puppy paw prints all over the floors in the house!!

Lily asked if she could take a picture of Zoey. She's becoming quite the photographer...it even looks like Zoey is smiling!

Taking a break from all the fun for an ice cream cone!

Lily told me to take a picture of her in her strawberry outfit. Nice pose!

There was a fundraiser today at the newly built movie theater at our local mall. All movies were $2 & popcorn & sodas were just $1!! We took advantage of the deal & went to see Shrek the Third & Meet the Robinsons. We took Stevie with us for one of the movies & they both had a great time. And the best part is that the fundraiser benefits Ft Lee's Army Community Services!

Poor Zoey

This was just too cute to not post, even if it's not about Lily...

I was just sitting at the computer, working on the blog, and all of a sudden I heard Vader & Zoey whining & growling back & forth between each other. Zoey sounded pretty pathetic & Vader sounded like he was NOT happy at all. Vader growling happens a lot since we've gotten Zoey...he's getting to be an old man & doesn't want to play as much as Zoey. He goes & hides & just wishes to be left alone, so usually I ignore them, but today they went back & forth for almost 10 minutes, so I decided to go find out what was going on.

This is what I found...Vader was hiding under the bed (that is his usual spot, since Zoey is too big to fit under the bed), but Zoey apparently wanted some company that Vader was unwilling to give. She was sticking her head (the only part of her that fits) under the bed & whining in Vader's face & he, in return, would growl at her.

She looked so funny with just the back of her sticking out from under the bed & the pathetic whine on top of that was just too cute. Poor Zoey just wanted a friend to play with!

Fourth at the Fort

"The Fun Crew"

Lexi, Andrew, Noah, Paige, Lily, James & Stevie

Today we went to the annual "Fourth at the Fort" celebration. I think we had more fun this year than any other year, but it may be that Lily is older & can enjoy things a little more. In any case, the fun was well documented with lots of pics.

They had a huge inflatable slide for the kids to play on. Lily, Stevie, Madison, Paige & Lexi loved it & went on a bunch of times.

Climbing up...
Sliding down!!

The kids got their faces painted too Fun in the bouncy castle!

Balloon animals (a pink poodle, of course!)

When the Army Band (Stevie's dad is in the band) started their rock concert, the kids started dancing all over the place.

Some of Lily's dance moves...

Watch out! It looks like we may have another break dancer in the family!! Ha ha

Lily & Madison

Time to take a break & watch the magic show!!

They put on a pretty good show...they sawed a woman in half, made a man disappear (well, everything but his hat) & Harry Potter even levitated! The kids really enjoyed it.

Cotton candy time

Lily & Mommy getting ready to watch the fireworks

The firework show was really good - the show was a little long, but pretty spectacular. While we were watching the show, Lily said "Mommy, it's so pretty! Thank you so much for bringing me here. This is the happiest time ever!" - SO sweet!

Lily & Madison with the "ladies man"

Happy 4th of July to all!!

Pics of Lily & Stevie

These are some pics of Lily & Stevie that Stevie's grandpa took. (He is a professional photographer.) SOOO CUTE!!

Daddy's first week gone

Brian's first week of WLC went very well. He's had lots of leadership classes - & lots of early mornings too! He passed his PT (Physical Training) test & was able to shave 1 minute off his run time (yay Brian!!). He's also been assigned to a flag ceremony detail - so he is one of the people in charge of raising the flag every morning & taking it down every evening.

Lily has been keeping herself busy while Brian is gone. She still plays with our neighbor Stevie every night until dark, but it's been a little too hot for them to play outside in the afternoons, so they have been playing a lot of Play-Doh at Stevie's house & "picnic" at our house. We went to the pool one day this week & Lily & Stevie had a blast going down the water slides.

Here are a few pics I was able to get this week:

Taking a "rest" with Zoey

Trying to be just like Daddy

She's gotten really good at using her stencils...

Daddy's going to school

Brian has been recommended by his NCO's for WLC (Warrior Leadership Course) which is basically a course teaching him how to be a sergeant. This is one of the first steps in Brian being promoted to sergeant. His NCO's have a lot of confidence in his potential to become an NCO & have gradually been giving him more responsibilities & challenging him with NCO duties to see how he handles the situations.
WLC is a 30 day training course in Fort Knox, Kentucky. Lily & I dropped Brian off at the airport earlier today & he starts his training tomorrow morning bright & early (5am!).
We're missing him tons already, but we'll be keeping ourselves busy for the next month & he will be home stronger & wiser before we know it! :o)
GOOD LUCK BRIAN!!

National Zoo

While Grammy & Papa were visiting we decided to take a trip up to the zoo in Washington D.C.

It's a great zoo, but it was a VERY hot day & there is a lot of uphill walking. Lucky for Miss Lily we brought the stroller, so she had a nice relaxing day... :o)

Lily really liked the baby panda

Elephant - still Lily's favorite!
While we were visiting the elephants, the baby elephant decided he was going to go for a swim! It's not every day you see an elephant swimming!!

Hippo

Pygmy hippos

Lily couldn't wait to see the tigers & lions. Luckily we weren't disappointed this time - both animals were in plain sight, roaming around in their homes.

ROAR!!