A week with Grammy & Papa

Lily had a great week at Grammy & Papa's. Some of their week's activities included riding her bike in the driveway, playing outside, going to Skylar's house to play, finding a new friend named Catherine at an anniversary party for Grammy & Papa's friends, going to the mall with Grammy's friend Sheila & her grandkids, Kerry & Kyle, where they hit all of Lily's favorite stores (the pet store, the Disney store & the candy store) and going to a car show in Papa's car. Lily had a great time & still wasn't sure she wanted to come home at the end of the week. Thankfully, she decided she wanted to come home to us, because Mom didn't know what to do with herself while her Lily was gone! On Sunday we both drove half-way & met in New Jersey to return Lily. We met at a Chuck E. Cheese so Lily could play for a little while & break up the trip a little bit (and tire her out a little bit). She had so much fun, but was sad to see Grammy & Papa go. We reminded her it wouldn't be long before we saw them again. Lily slept most of the way home, but she woke up when we exited the freeway near home & was so excited when she got home. She couldn't stop hugging Vader & Zoey and she wanted to talk to me all about our fish & how they had been while she was gone. She wanted to play with all her toys that she had missed, but I told her she had to wait till morning, so she reluctantly went to bed. She sure seemed happy to be home!

Lily, Kerry & Kyle on one of the rides at the mall.

Lily modeling her new Ariel nightie.

Grammy is growing tomatoes on her back porch & every day, she & Grammy would go out & pick the ripe tomatoes. Here she is with the tomato plant, Rocky & Bucca. My, they've grown!!

On their way to the car show.

Spencer & Alyssa came & took Lily out for an afternoon together too. They went for ice cream, played mini golf & went to the park. Lily had such a great time, she still hasn't stopped talking about it.

Lily's friend Kylie also came to visit & the girls had a great time playing together.

Pretty girls

A Birthday, Boston & a Big Girl

We had a great time on our trip to Boston this week. Our drive up wasn't too bad. Lily was really good - she just watched her movies, listened to her FP3 player & slept the whole way there & even Zoey, who has always been apprehensive about car rides, was well behaved.

Lily had a big surprise when we got to Grammy & Papa's house. Grammy had re-decorated Lily's room with "big girl" furniture. At first she said "Hey what happened to my room?" but when she realized the crib had been replaced by a big girl bed, she was ecstatic. She was also thrilled to see Rocky & Bucca - even though they have just about doubled in size since the last time we saw them! They were pretty excited to see us (and Vader!) as well & Zoey immediately made some new friends. Rocky & Zoey really hit it off - they are both very high energy & they played non-stop until they both passed out from exhaustion. Finally! Someone who can keep up with her!

We had some special visitors at Grammy & Papa's on Thursday. Spencer & Alyssa came to see us, much to Lily's delight. She LOVES her Spencer & Alyssa. She immediately showed them her "new" room & had them playing with all sorts of stuff with her.

On Friday Lily & Grammy made Mom a special birthday cake. Lily directed Grammy on the design & she even helped decorate with the flowers & writing Mommy's name. We went out to dinner & Lily was able to stay awake for this birthday dinner. :o)The cake
Mommy's birthday celebration

Saturday was the surprise wedding shower for Shannon & Phil. I am pleased to say that the shower was a sparkling success. I don't know how, but we pulled everything off & somehow managed to keep the entire thing a surprise right up until they walked in the door of the hall. They were so surprised & everyone had a wonderful evening. Lily spent the evening at her friend Skylar's house (my friend Christina's daughter) & she had a great time. The next day, she couldn't stop talking about how much fun she had at Skylar's house.
Channeling their inner princesses

Mom & Dad's night out

look familiar? This is Brian break dancing at the shower - like father, like daughter, right? ha ha!

While in Boston, Lily made a very big girl decision & decided she wanted to stay with Grammy & Papa a while longer. So when Brian & I headed back to Virginia on Sunday, little miss Lily May stayed behind for a fun filled week with Grammy! We are missing her terribly, but she is having so much fun, she is barely missing us! She told me today that she liked it there & wasn't going to come back. Then she said she was just kidding! :o) What a silly girl. I told Grammy to take lots of pictures this week, so I will be able to put them on the blog at the end of their week together.

HOT week

Virginia saw some very hot weather this week - it was in the 100's most days! - so Lily was forced to stay inside until it cooled off a little in the evenings. This was not to Lily or Stevie's liking, but it was just too hot to be running around outside during the day. Luckily, this was a short week in VA, because on Wednesday we left for Massachusettes for Mom's birthday & a surprise wedding shower for our friends Shannon & Phil. (Both Lily & I will be in the wedding, which is next month.) Brian spent the majority of the first part of the week getting his Class A's (his dress uniform) & his promotion packet ready to go to the board next month - so he will not only blow them away with his army knowledge, but also with his smashing appearance. :o)

"It's too hot!!" - even after it gets dark
more chalk drawings
"Mom! Watch me!"

Spinning on the swings - just watching makes me dizzy!

New trick

"Look what I can do!"

Virginia Beach

This weekend we met Mimi & Grant in Virginia Beach. We all had a great time & Lily had such a good time, she said she wanted to stay there forever. :o) We had great weather all weekend too. It was, by far, the best weekend we've had in a long time!

Day 1

What a great view!
Lily & Grant on one of their many trips to fill the buckets with water.
Lily & Grant digging for treasure
The best treasure of all!Boogie boarding in the surf

Day 2

Lily & Daddy building a sand castle

Daddy's still working away...
The finished product - great lizard Daddy!!

Lily & Mimi taking a break from the sun

Mommy's pre-birthday dinner at the Olive Garden - my favorite!

Poor Lily was so tired from playing on the beach & in the pool all day she slept right through dinner. When we got back to the hotel & she woke up, she didn't remember being at the restaurant at all!

Day 3

Daddy showing Lily how to swim in the pool with her boogie board

Doing it all by herself! Fast learner...what a big girl!

Sweet girl in the pool

A girl with her Daddy

What an Imagination!

Lily spent this week counting down to meeting Mimi & Grant in Virginia Beach & using a lot of imagination.

Here she is with her fellow 'princesses' (note the crowns on all the stuffed animals heads).

She set up a bunch of her toys as an 'audience' to Ariel & Prince Eric dancing.

Making Ariel & Eric 'dance'.

Lily was also my big helper when I gave the puppy dogs a bath this week. Zoey is finally starting to get used to her baths, but she still tries to jump out of the tub if she sees a chance to escape, so Lily helps me keep her in the tub. Since Vader is such a pro at getting baths, she helps me shampoo him & tells him it's okay if he gets water in his eyes.
A clean, pretty Va dog.

In other news, we found out that Brian will be going to the promotion board in September! When he goes, he will have to answer questions regarding the Army, and if he passes he will get "promotable status". That means, once he gets enough promotion points, he will be promoted to Sergeant. Good Luck Brian!!!

Brian's Picture in the Newspaper

Here is a copy of the newspaper picture of Brian's flag detail while at WLC in Kentucky.

He is the one standing at attention at the far right.

Daddy's Final Week of School & the Graduate Comes Home!

Brian's final week at school went by quickly, mostly because he was constantly kept busy. Monday & Tuesday were spent doing combatives training (hand-to-hand combat). The training not only teaches them to fight, but teaches them how to react in stressful situations & sometimes painful situations. On Wednesday everyone had to turn in all of their borrowed equipment & clean the barracks they had been staying in for the duration of the course. Thursday they had graduation practice all morning & then they spent more time cleaning the barracks. Friday morning was graduation - at last! Our soldier graduated with a GPA of 93.12%, and we couldn't be more proud of him!! After a few more hours of scouring the barracks, the graduates were finally released to begin their journey home.

Lily & I began every day this week with a countdown of days until Daddy came home. Lily had also been keeping track of how many days until Stevie came home from his vacation, and Monday was the last day of that countdown. Stevie returned from his trip on Monday afternoon. ALL day on Monday, about every 20 - 30 minutes, Lily would run to the front door & look to see if their car was in the driveway yet. When she finally saw it, she ran over as quick as she could to see if Stevie could play. Both Lily & Stevie acted like they hadn't seen each other in months & played together for hours.

We also had a little fun with Zoey this week - or maybe Zoey had a little fun with us. Lily was playing in her princess tent, and she called Zoey's name. Zoey ran in the tent, I saw the whole tent shaking & heard Lily laughing hysterically & then Zoey ran back out. She ran around the room, ran back in the tent & did the whole routine over again. She did that quite a few times before Lily climbed out of the tent. Once Lily was out of the tent, Zoey went in there for a few minutes by herself & when she ran out, the tent caught around her & she was dragging it as she ran around the room. She finally jumped on the bed to lay down, but she was still stuck in the tent! This is the wild doggy scene:

Lily decided that since Zoey liked her tent so much, she would put it over the dog's bed. As soon as Zoey realized the tent was over the bed, she went right in to take a nap.
I guess Zoey thinks she is a princess too!

Lily has been "practicing" her dancing quite a bit lately. A lot of times she puts one of her ballet DVD's on & dances along with them. That is what she was doing the other day when I noticed that she had set up all her Barbie's & stuffed animals on her bed, all facing the same way. When I asked Lily why she did that, she told me they were all watching her dance. (of course - I should have known!)
Lily's "audience"

The prima ballerina

The first words out of Lily's mouth on Friday morning - as soon as she opened her eyes - were "Guess what, Momma? We get to pick Daddy up from the airport today!!" She asked me ALL day long if it was time to pick him up yet. Once we were headed for the airport, Lily talked the entire way, saying how much she had missed her daddy & how she was going to give him a big hug & kiss him all over as soon as she saw him. When Daddy finally arrived at the airport she hugged him endlessly, wouldn't let go of his hand & couldn't stop smiling. What a happy reunion!

Lily & Daddy - reunited at last.

Watching 'The Fox and the Hound' together

Daddy's Fourth Week of School

Brian's school is nearing it's end & we all couldn't be happier. Brian is enjoying his training, but is ready to come home ~ and we are ready to have him home!

This week Brian had land navigation training, where they used a compass to find various locations. Monday was their practice day & then Tuesday they were tested on their skills. Brian passed brilliantly with 100 points! Yay Brian! Wednesday they went to the paintball range & were trained in clearing urban terrain & infantry tactics. Brian did pretty well, but was "shot" in the foot & chest. Luckily he wasn't hit by one of the simulated IED's (Improvised Explosive Device) - if he were, he would have been covered head to toe in paint! Thursday through Sunday were spent in the field. He spent those days eating, sleeping & training in the woods. They set up tents, relied on MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) for food, and were graded on their performance as squad leaders. (The grades are unknown at time of posting...probably won't know them until graduation next week.) They were tested on how they led their squad through wooded terrain, how they reacted to indirect fire, direct fire & IED's, and clearing urban terrain. Brian survived & made it safely back to the barracks today, with only a few hundred new bug bites. :o)

Lily & I had a pretty uneventful week here at Fort Lee. I found out on Monday that I have had mononucleosis for the past few months, which explains me not feeling well & not having a lot of energy lately. I took this week to rest as much as I could & will hopefully be over this illness soon. Stevie was out of town this week, so Lily has been pretty lonely. We spent a lot of time coloring together & playing 'Go Fish' - which is a new favorite game around here. When Mom got tired of losing at 'Go Fish', we baked some cookies & painted finger & toe nails. We usually go to story time on Thursday mornings, but when I told Lily we needed to get ready to go, she said she didn't want to go & that she wanted to stay home & spend time with me. (Awww...what a sweet girl I have! I think she sensed that I haven't been feeling well.) So, we stayed in & watched movies & did a lot of nothing, which was nice for a change. I only have a couple pics from this week, but here they are:

Lily chatting with Mimi on the phone, wearing her new "uniform". (She will NOT get out of this ballet outfit...every time I turn around she is changing into it...)

Waiting not-so-patiently for the cookies to bake.

"Are the cookies done YET?!"Our tasty treats are finally done!

New Tricks

Lily learned a new song this week & Mom learned a new trick with her camera...so here is the result!

Here are the words to the song she is singing...I know it's a little hard to understand what she is saying:

Rise and shine

And give God your glory, glory

Rise and shine

And give God your glory, glory

Rise and Shine

And Give God your glory, glory

Children of the Lord.