WiNtEr VaCaTiOn

Well winter has hit Michigan!  We have SNOW!!! I didn’t think we would actually have a white CHRISTmas this year…. But we did. It snowed Christmas eve and then the day after Christmas. The girls have had so much fun playing outside and sledding in the backyard.

(insert cool winter pictures here, if I had been a good mom and taken some)

 

It has also been nice to have my hubby home on LEAVE for the last 3 days!  I ACTUALLY have enjoyed having him home. For any of my “followers” that are military may know and understand, you get so used to your marine being GONE. Either on workups, deployments or in and I & I duty, they are gone A LOT for meetings and classes.  So in the 17 + years he has been in the Marine Corps, I have really gotten used to him being GONE and doing things on my own.  Taking care of our girls and the home and all that is included in that. This duty has been so different.  This duty has been more of the REAL WORLD than I care to be a part of.  I have always enjoyed living on a base.  Living in a neighborhood of military families. I don’t really like living in the REAL WORLD.  Honestly I would give up living in our OWN home to live on a base again.  This duty has been a little difficult on my hubby too, I think.  It definitely is NOT like a regular unit. 

Anyways, back to my hubby being on LEAVE. He decided to take leave and enjoy some time OFF while our girls were on Christmas break.  He was on duty the week before Christmas and then started leave the day after Christmas. He doesn’t have to go back until the 7^th of January.  He has helped with the girls, cooked meals and we have been able to enjoy some good quality family time together.  I am lucky to have such amazing kids and a wonderful husband.  I hope that I can enjoy ALL of the vacation and not go CRAZY having everyone home ALL THE TIME!  You know how it is with family???

As 2012 comes to a close, I am looking forward to 2013 and excited to see what it holds for our family.  We have BIG plans for 2013 and NO it DOESN’T include a baby. L

My little Monkey's jumping on the bed

All my monkey's jumping on the bed....

it's NoT OUR bed!  

It all ended good

With it being Labor day weekend, last weekend, I was HOPING to do something FUN and EXCITING with the girls.  The last Hoorah before no more time off of school for awhile.  I had talked to my mom and she said that my parents and brother would come visit us on saturday and stay until sunday.  But then saturday came and No gramma, papa or uncle David. Things happen I know but man, is it a let down for the girls. (I REALLY should stop telling them of plans until it REALLY happens)

So as we all sat for lunch on saturday I asked the girls what FUN thing they would like to do.  We came up with 4 choices....

Go to Big Bear (a little over an hour from us)

Go to the M&M Factory museum thing in Vegas (3 hours from us)

Go to visit Gramma & Papa (3 hours from us)

OR

Go down to Camp Pendleton to visit friends and GO TO THE BEACH (3hours from us)

Well we decided to go to......... Pendleton!

We loaded up the truck with all the beach gear, the stroller and LOTS of towels, jackets and changes of clothes. Then we headed out Sunday right after church. We got down to Pendleton and surprised our friends the Dawson's.  What a shock to see the shock and surprise on their faces when we showed up at the door.  The best part was, it was like our kids have ALWAYS been together and we haven't been gone for 5 years.  They all had such a great time playing together and I loved chatting and catching up with my friend Andrea.

After our 2 1/2 hour visit we headed out to meet other friends at Chuck E. Cheese. (Yes we broke the sabbath, and yes I did go to Chuck E Cheese 2 times in 1 week.... that certainly doesn't HELP the waistline OR the wallet!)  The Dodd family is in the same boat as us these days... their daddy is deployed too.  Ann (Dodd's) marine and my marine worked together years ago.  We actually figured it out and we have been friends for 8 years now.  (man does time fly by) She has been my strength and was there to watch my 2 older girls when I had #3.   It was a great time to visit and watch the kids play.  Besides having to WAIT 45 minutes on our food, but thank goodness because they compensated us with FREE tokens, the trip to Chuck E. was Fun. Yes I said it.

(Riley- Ann's youngest)

All of kelsee's tickets

The Dodd Family

After the goodbyes we made our way to the hotel.  With it being Labor Day weekend, every place was either booked or WAY OVERPRICED! But we found a place to stay and all my girls cared about was there was a pool and a hot tub!

Here are a few of the FUN pictures we took from our hotel stay.....

Yes I LET my girls jump on the beds!

and they LOVED it!

And the adventure continued monday.....

(check out my next post)

Time to get back to the Real World!

what an Awesome summer we have had!  It sure has gone by FAST!!!!  It seems like just yesterday school was ending, Haylee graduated from 6th grade and we began our summer fun.  

We spent the 1st month and a half in Simi Valley with my parents and brother.  Then me and the girls made ANOTHER trip to Utah to visit with 2 of my sisters, 1 brother in law and 8 cousins.  YUP!  12 kids and 4 adults in (basically) 1 house.  (I say basically because my 2 sisters live in a house that is an upstairs 3 bedroom house, with a downstairs 3 bedroom house)

What a blast that was!  The trip was originally supposed to be 5 days and ended up being 10 days.  We had many adventures while in Utah (I will be posting pictures soon)  We went swimming, went to Salt Lake City and went to visit cousins.... (we have LOTS of cousins in Utah) While I was there I even "schooled" my sister Jeanne on coupon shopping.  We had a few chances to put my teachings to the test and she did AWESOME!  We even went grocery shopping the night before I left.  We hit 3 stores.  We left at about 10pm and finally returned home at around 215am.  LUCKILY Wally World is open 24 hours.  It was so much fun hanging out with my sister.  She is my buddy and I already miss her tons :(

Also while in Utah I found my DREAM HOME!  I know many of my "fans" aka double coupon day followers where SHOCKED to find out that I was NOT coming home for this past Double coupon day.  BUT there was a GOOD reason for it

this house is AWESOME!  I know I shouldn't get my hopes up but I would LOVE to have it for my own.....  here are a few other pictures of Inside :)

the HUGE pantry in the kitchen!

the view in the backyard

the HUGE walk in closet in the master bedroom

the master bathroom... yup!  Its HUGE

this is the 2nd bath upstairs for the kids

oh! and this is the master bedroom.... well part of it.  I couldnt fit in the whole thing... Its HUGE!!!

This house has 5 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths.  It is over 2900 sqft and a beautiful view from the backyard.  

We all fell in love with it the 1st time we saw it.  I even went so far as to put in an offer!  Now its the waiting game.....

So that is why we haven't been home.  Too many other FUN things to do.... but now it's time to get back to reality!  School starts in 10 days YIKES

I came home for this???

We left shortly after school got out to head up to my parents for a couple of weeks.  Before we left I gave my house keys, my mail key and my Marine's truck keys to my next door neighbor.  She said she would get the mail and start the truck for me and JUST IN CASE she would have the house keys.

Well before I knew it 2 weeks had gone by and I realized that I didnt have my neighbors phone # to check on things..... Great!  What am I supposed to do now?  Oh wait, call another friend to go by and check.... So that's just what I did.  My friend, Ryalin stopped by for me this past weekend, but NO ONE was HOME!  WHAT???? Seriously?  Did they leave to go on their vacation already?  how is the world am I supposed to get my keys??? Luckily I have extra's to the house and the truck... but NOT the mail!!!!

So, I decided to make the trek back home (usually a 3 hour drive, 189 miles, but yesterday it took over 4 hours with traffic) just for a few days... if that!  As we drove from the nice 82 degree weather at 3pm in Simi Valley to the NASTY HOT desert weather, I was thinking to myself, WHY? WHY AM I COMING BACK???? Oh ya, I gotta do a few things and then we are GONE AGAIN!  We got home at just about 8pm and it was 101 degrees out. YUCK!  29 Palms is so yucky.  It was like a wall of heat hits you as you open the door to get out of the truck.

Anyways, so I unload the girls, walk over to turn on the hose, OH! thanks to the neighbor for "watering my lawn".... NOT its brown!  It was green before I left.  So the water starts to trickle out of the sprinkler... I walked over to check to see if there was a kink in it... NOPE just a 3-4 inch slice in the hose!  Are you kidding me?  Its already been repaired once.  I am so not gonna spend the money to replace it! What else can happen?

I go next door to get my keys and NO ONE IS HOME!  Their truck is home, but they aren't! WTHeck?  I NEED my keys!  This is really starting to irritate me.  About this time I am thinking I am so NOT sticking around this CRAPHOLE!  Inside my house it was 80 degrees (and that is with the air set at 75 while we were gone) I am hot, cranky from a LONG drive home with 4 crabby girls, I miss my MARINE! and I dont wanna deal with the daily CRAP!

I was so irritated last night that I wallowed in my hot fudge sundae ice cream treat!  Well it made me feel a LITTLE better (til I stepped on the scale this morning :( ) and then I went to bed.  I must say... I have missed my own bed!  I dont think I woke up once :)  Makes me a happy girl.