The Shepards

Pillsbury Party

2011-12-20T19:41:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Pillsbury through Myblogspark.com, I was given the opportunity to host a "Pillsbury Party."

The party was suppose to be a potluck to try out all the recipes that Pillsbury.com offer, from Crescent Cranberry Wreaths, to Spicy Chipotle Twists.

But with the upcoming holiday season, instead of a party for us, I used the coupons to give back to the local VFW, and make cookies for everyone. Hopefully it will become a tradition for us!

We were able to make little tins full of cookies and treats for about 30 people!

So to sum it all up, Thanks to Myblogspark.com and Pillsbury for the opportunity to give back!

“Disclosure: The Pillsbury product, information, food ideas, and online coupon link, have been provided by Pillsbury through MyBlogSpark.”

Kai's Birthday Celebration Part 2

2011-12-06T19:43:00.000-08:00

Day two was spent at Disney's California Adventure. We've never been there so we didn't have any expectations.

We grabbed our pre-ordered picnic meals from the Sonora Terrace. For about 15 dollars a person we got a decent meal (which was really good, I've never had cold chicken before!). The meal also came with a bag, and a flashing bracelet for Kai. If that wasn't enough we got reserved passes for the World of Color show.

The first ride we went on was California Soarin'. Kairi loved it, but it gave Aaron a headache. The layout of the park was very nice, there wasn't that much of a line on any of the rides so we enjoyed every single one that Kai was tall enough to get on.

Kai had no idea we had a birthday surprise for her here. We made reservations to have lunch at Ariel's Grotto. She got pretty angry waiting in line and us not answering her questions about what was inside of the grotto, but when our names were called, her eyes got real wide and smiled real big! Wish I got a picture of her reaction!

The concept of Ariel's Grotto, is you get a nice sit down meal, and "traveling princesses" stop by and spend a little time with your child. It started upstairs, and we moved down a spiral staircase, which at the bottom awaited Ariel. They took a few pictures that you were able to buy after the meal (for around 30 dollars).

I'll start by saying the food was amazing! Each princess spent a few minutes talking to Kairi, take a picture, and signed her book. She is still asking to go back to the place.

It was a nice surprise to see Mulan! Never seen her at a Disney park before.

It was a little spendy, but I believe it was worth it. It came with appetizers, salad, entree, and a desert. The meal kept us full until the next day! I would go back every time we are at California Adventure.

The rest of the day we spent at the pier, and riding the rides we didn't get to before lunch, and at the Bug's Life land. They were still constructing "Car's land" so hopefully we can go back to see it finished.

The best part of the park in my opinion is the World of Color show. It was simply amazing, we got really wet being up front but it was worth it. I don't understand why they put the scene where Mufasa dies which makes me instantly sad, but after a long day, the show was perfect!

Only thing I would change, is to dress warmly! It was really cold, and I had a hard time finding a jacket I liked at the park that wasn't a million dollars.

Part 3 coming up soon! (that's if i get my butt into gear)

Giveaway: Cheerios Prize Pack (giveaway over)

2011-11-18T12:08:00.000-08:00

Winner: Tiffany R. Congrats!

Now until the end of November, on specially marked Cheerios boxes, will feature a "Cheer Postcard." Teamed up with the USO, the Cheer Postcards offer everyone a chance to write a little message to military families. As a military wife I found it encouraging to get little messages when my husband was deployed and this was a great way to pay it forward to everyone.

Thats not all, for every single Cheer Postcard the USO receives, Cheerios will donate 1 dollar. To get it started, Cheerios donated has donated $150,000. The USO is a very wonderful organization very close to my heart.

The Cheer Postcard is a simple, and easy way to send a little "spark" into someone's day.

In honor of the Cheer Campaign, I have a prize pack to give away! Just leave me a comment about anyone in your family that was military, or what you are thankful for this year, the giveaway will end on Monday, November 21! I'll announce the winner on this page when the contest ends.

Prize Pack Contents:

1 Cheerios cereal bowl
1 Cheerios cereal spoon
1 cereal dispenser
1 “Cheer” box of Cheerios

“Disclosure: Cheerios cereal, information, and giveaway have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.”

Kai's Birthday Celebration Part 1

2011-11-03T17:06:00.000-07:00

Being bad parents, we told Kai that Disneyland was "broken." That bad guys came in one day, knocked it down, set the castle on fire and ripped the princesses dresses. They had to fix it before we could go there. We came up with the idea to take her to the beach instead of Disneyland (the beach was near Anaheim so she wouldn't wonder why we were driving for a while.) Straight from her gymnastics class we started on our 5 hour trip.

It was dark when we arrived at Costa Mesa, so we saved the beach for the next morning. Who would of thought it would be cold in California. Hence the reason we all had summer clothes. Kai always brings her jacket so she was prepared.

The beach was fun, Kai picked up shells, played in the sand and got all dirty. We were just killing time till 3pm which was when they let everyone in for Mickey's Halloween Party.

Thank the man above that it was super foggy in Anaheim. We drove right by Disneyland and Kai did not see a thing, didn't suspect anything either when we checked into the hotel. Which thanks to the staff didn't mention anything about it. The only problem was they had Disney pamplets everywhere but everything fell into place and she was clueless.

I'll let the video fill on what happened next:

This was not the reaction I anticipated, but it made me cry a little. She was so happy!

I don't think anything is better than seeing your child so happy. Still makes me happy to this day thinking about her reaction. After being let in, our first stop was to Bibbity Bobbity Boutique. It was right behind Sleeping Beauty's Castle and 1 of the Birthday Presents we had for her.

Sarah our "Fairy Godmother in Training" was wonderful. She made Kai open up which was nice since she can be overly shy. Kai got the Crown Package which included a hairstyle, hair piece, nails, makeup and lots of glitter!

After the reveal, she just kept staring in the mirror. I think she liked it. The hairstyle stayed intact for the whole trip.

Mickey's Halloween Party was a blast, there was candy, no lines for any rides, and Kai got to meet her favorite princess:

It was a great start to a wonderful vacation for all of us. Stay tuned for part 2 and 3!

Busy busy!

2011-11-02T23:44:00.000-07:00

Well not that busy but enough to keep me away from blogging. Since my last update, my daughter turned 5!! We spent her birthday at the State Fair, she really enjoyed it.

I'm really glad they had such a big area full of rides for the little ones. She went on most of them, we should of got the unlimited pass so we wouldn't have to count the amount of tickets we had left. They had a card system which was neat, but made it hard to keep track of things. I think I like the actual ticket system better.

Kai had a blast riding all the rides , and having her dad there. She got her face painted and lots of treats at the fair.

The next few posts will be about our recent trip to Disneyland and California Adventure. I'm so lucky to have the opportunities to take my daughter all over the country. Since she's been born, we've been in: California, Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama and Kansas! Hopefully soon we can add a few more destinations.

I'll post more tomorrow :) Got a few videos also!

Read-a-thon oct 2011

2011-10-21T22:01:00.000-07:00

Hour 1
1)Where are you reading from today?
Glendale, Arizona!

2)Three random facts about me…
a) I just got back from Disneyland
b)my favorite food is the philly cheese steak
c) I collect postcards

3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
Honestly, no pile this time just whatever I feel like reading out of all the books I've bought the last few months and haven't read.

4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?
Hoping to finish as many books as I can! It would help with my goal of 200 books this year.

5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?
Take breaks!

Hour 2

Mini Challenge: http://athomewithbooks.net/2011/10/character-photo-mini-challenge/

I'm currently reading The Hunger Games, and being lame and half asleep only thing I could think of was the birds I have on my wall. I'm not that far in so there wasn't much to go by, but my favorite part so far was Katniss memory of her father and how the mockingjay's would flock to him whenever he sung.

Hour 3

Mini Challenge: http://librariansbookreviews.blogspot.com/2011/10/read-thon-mini-challenge-book-puzzle.html

Guess the book :) :

might be a tad easy, but I'm falling asleep here -_-

Hour 4

More awake this hour since everyone else in the house is up, my daughter leaves in an hour with daddy to her dance class. Not participating in this hours mini challenge, figure I need to get caught up in the book!

Title of book(s) currently reading: The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Number of books completed since I started: 0
Pages read since last update: 141
Running total of pages read since I started: 141
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 3:00
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 3:00
Mini-challenges completed: 2

Hour 5

House is empty! It's daddy daughter time, so I'm left at home to read :)

Title of book(s) currently reading: The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Number of books completed since I started: 0
Pages read since last update: 57
Running total of pages read since I started: 198
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 1:00
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 4:00
Mini-challenges completed: 3

Hour 6

Yikes I fell asleep! -_-

Title of book(s) currently reading: The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Number of books completed since I started: 0
Pages read since last update: 15
Running total of pages read since I started: 213
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 0:05
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 4:05
Mini-challenges completed: 3

Hour 7

Almost done with the book :)! And hubby is coming home with Arbys. Thank you to everyone that has commented so far its been a nice distraction to read.

Title of book(s) currently reading: The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Number of books completed since I started: 0
Pages read since last update: 42
Running total of pages read since I started: 255
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 1:00
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 5:05
Mini-challenges completed: 4

Hour 8

I have to head to the grocery store in a few to get milk since we ran out :\.

Title of book(s) currently reading: The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Number of books completed since I started: 0
Pages read since last update: 53
Running total of pages read since I started: 308
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 1:00
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 6:05
Mini-challenges completed: 4

Hour 9

taking a break :)

Title of book(s) currently reading: Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Number of books completed since I started: 1
Pages read since last update: 66
Running total of pages read since I started: 374
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 1:00
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 7:05
Mini-challenges completed: 4

Hour 10

break over! Back to finishing the hunger games trilogy

Title of book(s) currently reading: Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Number of books completed since I started: 1
Pages read since last update: 0
Running total of pages read since I started: 374
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 0
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 7:05
Mini-challenges completed: 4

Hour 11

Nothing new really to share, my chair is getting uncomfortable though. Thinking of throwing it out the window.

Mini Challange: This is my favorite book and a fan made trailer

Title of book(s) currently reading: Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Number of books completed since I started: 1
Pages read since last update: 50
Running total of pages read since I started: 424
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 1:00
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 8:05
Mini-challenges completed: 5

Hour 12

nothing interesting to say, I may be getting old or Disneyland drained the life out of me.

Title of book(s) currently reading: Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Number of books completed since I started: 1
Pages read since last update: 66
Running total of pages read since I started: 490
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 1:00
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 9:05
Mini-challenges completed: 5

Hour 13

Have a random picture:

Mini Challenge:
Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now? Catching Fire
2. How many books have you read so far? 1
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? finishing this book and mockingjay
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? not at all, wish I could!
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? A bunch, but that comes with being a wife and mom, just finish whatever they needed done, and get back to reading
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? How fast this day is going
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Maybe not plan a vacation that ends the day before a read a thon
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? plan a day to myself somewhere like a hotel room where no one can bug me
9. Are you getting tired yet? wide awake now :)
10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered? Not really, just have plenty of snacks, take breaks, and sleep if you have to!

Title of book(s) currently reading: Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Number of books completed since I started: 1
Pages read since last update: 59
Running total of pages read since I started: 549
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 1:00
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 10:05
Mini-challenges completed: 5

Hour 14

Title of book(s) currently reading: Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Number of books completed since I started: 1
Pages read since last update: 53
Running total of pages read since I started: 602
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 1:00
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 11:05
Mini-challenges completed: 5

Hour 15

Title of book(s) currently reading: Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Number of books completed since I started: 1
Pages read since last update: 45
Running total of pages read since I started: 647
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 1:00
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 12:05
Mini-challenges completed: 5

Hour 16

Title of book(s) currently reading: Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Number of books completed since I started: 1
Pages read since last update: 53
Running total of pages read since I started: 700
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 1:00
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 13:05
Mini-challenges completed: 5

Hour 17

Title of book(s) currently reading: Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Number of books completed since I started: 2
Pages read since last update: 67
Running total of pages read since I started: 767
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 1:00
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 14:05
Mini-challenges completed: 5

***As of now I will not be updating every hour and will update at the end of the read a thon! I'm still active though! Just want to step away from the office***

HOUR 24!!!!!!!!!!!!

Which hour was most daunting for you? The first few
Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? I'm not sure
Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Not really I like it how it is!
What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? reading a whole book series
How many books did you read? 3
What were the names of the books you read? The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay
Which book did you enjoy most? The Hunger Games
Which did you enjoy least? Catching Fire
If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? very likely, and reader :)

Title of book(s) currently reading: Mockingjay
Number of books completed since I started: 3
Pages read since last update: 390
Running total of pages read since I started: 1157
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 6:00
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 20:05
Mini-challenges completed: 5

Homecoming number 3? 4? I lost track

2011-10-15T04:16:00.000-07:00

Today is the day! Heading to the Airport in a couple hours to go pick up Aaron. I should be sleeping!

Saboten-con

2011-10-08T20:48:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of conventions. Doesn't matter what its for, but I especially love nerd related conventions. I believe I got spoiled with Phoenix Comic Con, but it's unfair to compare to the two, since they are on different levels.

It wasn't what I expected, but I had fun, Kai loved the attention she got dressed up as Belle. We bought lots of stuff, more prints for the wall, and spent the time going to panels and learning this and that. I had the most fun just walking around and seeing all the beautiful costumes.

Kai got to decorate a cupcake at the My Little Pony Tea Party. It was alright, the event it self was fun, but we got stuck at a table full of "I'm too cool to be here" people. Should of sat somewhere else in the beginning so it was my fault. Just wish some people would censor themselves when there are children at the table. I highly doubt my kid needed to hear about what they did over the weekend!

All in all, It was fun, I would go back. Next year it will be closer to home and all indoors!

Private Lessons (video)

2011-09-30T21:36:00.000-07:00

Kai had the class all to herself today! I'm not sure if no one else signed up for the time slot or they just didn't show up, but it was nice for Kai to get the one on one attention today.

She did very well, and busy right now in the living room practicing her dance routine. She has a recital coming up in November, hopefully I get a better camera than my cell phone by then!

Open Gym/ 1st sleepover

2011-09-27T07:50:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, Kai had her "bestest friend" over and we all went to open gym. It lasts an hour every friday, and only costs 5 bucks to let the kids run around like crazy. It has helped Kai pay attention more in her dance class that's afterward.

The favorite among the girls was the trampoline. They were racing up and down it for a good half hour before deciding to try other things. Runner up for the most fun was the block pit, they were pretending to be "special" fishes that swim like they hit their heads. Was pretty funny to watch them. After the special fish episode the block pit became quicksand.

Kai normally doesn't hang out with other kids her age, due to the fact shes not in pre-k, and we don't do play groups so it was nice to have her friend over for the day. The girls had a great time, and after the hour of playing were exhausted.

-------------------------------------------------------

Bad mom alert, but I did not get any pics from Kai's first sleepover. Saturday was the Gym's monthly kid's night out. I sadly had no plans, so mainly it was for Kai to hang out with other kids. She went for the full night, and I was super impressed when I picked her up that she didn't cry one bit.

I remember a time when if i moved even 5 feet away from her she would cry about me leaving her forever. It's a nice change, but still a tad sad that she's growing up.

Kai was upset she had to leave the gym though in the morning. I was the first parent there and maybe next time I'll come a little late so she won't be so upset. From what she told me, they played on the equipment, squashed a scary bug, made a fort that fell down, watch Tangled, and she got to sleep next to the teacher.

Hopefully she can go to more of these events, it was nice to have a night in a quiet house and get caught up on housework. Does that make me sound old? ha ha.

Ballet under the Stars

2011-09-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

Ballet under the Stars was put on by Ballet Arizona, and was amazing. Kai had a blast even though we got there late and had to sit behind the stage, but I think it was the best view as she got to speak to a few ballerinas.

Kai came dressed up in her ballet outfit, and got plenty of attention when she was dancing around while the show was on.

It was a sampling of what Ballet Arizona had to offer. I loved the costume, and how beautiful the production was. I highly recommend going to one of these shows, it's absolutely free, and a great time. I know Kairi hasn't stopped talking about the beautiful princess ballerinas!

Shriner Circus

2011-09-22T00:59:00.000-07:00

I feel like a downer, but I didn't enjoy the circus like I thought I would. I felt like I was getting ripped off the whole time. I've never been to a circus before and saw an ad for the Shriner Circus this past weekend. Figured it would be nice to take Kai since it was free admission for kids and the money went to the shriner's.

It was all the way in Scottsdale, so about 30 minutes, when I got there they charged for parking, wish they would of stated that somewhere, instead of when you get right to the parking lot. A few people in front of me had to turn around to get to an atm or whatever. I only had a 20 on me, and the guy made a rude comment along the lines of "Why does everyone have 20's? Give me a freaking break here, I only have so much change." That was simply off putting and I should of just left right then and there.

He told me the pass had to go on my dash, but I had my window down and didn't want it to fly away so I held it in my hand as I made my way to the parking lot. The first attendant in the lot threw a fit that my pass wasn't in the dash, and yelled at the next guy that I didn't pay the toll. So they stopped my car and he took the pass from my hand and stuck it in my dash, and said I should follow the rules or not park here. (Seriously WTF?)

Admission for me was 15 dollars, at this point I was already pissed off, so I just didn't care anymore. Food was expensive and okay, the activities they had for kids was also expensive, so Kai didn't get to do anything but watch the show. The acts themselves were okay, I was impressed with the quick change artists, and some of the acrobatics. It was hard to take it all in when three or four acts were on at once.

I'm not sure we will be going to another one of these events, but rather donate money next time. Kai had fun and really that's all that matters to me.

Princess Tea Party at Imagination Avenue

2011-09-19T09:07:00.000-07:00

I'm getting a tad backlogged on things we've done since I last blogged. (oops!)

On the 14th, Kai woke up excited, she knew today was finally her chance to wear her Halloween costume. She is still bugging me to this day about wearing it again, but she has to wait till we go to Disneyland next month. The tea party was located at Imagination Avenue on 32nd street and Shea. It's quite a drive from where we live but Kai likes the place.

It's a "mini" town with buildings, such as a jail house, fire station, school, doctor's office. There is also two craft rooms, and a dining area. There is also free wifi but you have to go to the front and ask for the pass code.

The tea party itself was a reservation only event so it was not packed and Kai had a chance to hang out with Rapunzel, and the other little "princesses" there. Her favorite part was dancing with Rapunzel.

At a cost of 25 dollars for both of us, it was well worth it. Kai had a blast, the food was really good, and I would be more than happy to take her to another tea party if they have one. Go check out Imagination Avenue sometime, its a good place to let the kids run around and play, on top of it being indoors so you are out of the Arizona heat!

Tết Nguyên Tiêu (Lantern Festival)

2011-09-14T08:05:00.000-07:00

Saturday was busy for us if you've noticed how Kai had the face paint in the last three posts.

I found out last minute about the Lantern Festival, and was a tad disappointed it wasn't held at Encanto Park this year. It's where my parents would take me every year and it was closer to home. It was held at Mekong Plaza in Mesa, a good 45 minute drive from where I was. It was a sticky hot day, but not unbearable like it has been the last few months.

I'm very lucky to live in an area where Vietnamese culture is pretty big, so Kai can learn more about her background. Her favorite part of this event? Wearing an Ao dai (traditional Vietnamese dress)

It was extremely crowded, but there was plenty to do. Kai played on the inflatable slide, did a few carnival games, and we enjoyed a nice meal at one of the restaurants. During the cake eating contest outside, a freak rainstorm came splashing down, and everyone outside moved inside, making it much of a mess. My least favorite part was getting the "free" lantern. I stood in line for about 30 minutes, only to get to the front of the line to be moved into another line since that wasn't the "right" line. After another 20 minutes they moved the line to another spot hence moving back to the end of the line. I gave up and just sat down with Kai until I noticed people moving away from the station and eventually got her one. With all that waiting she still didn't get to play with her lantern since it started raining, but now she has a nice souvenir.

Kai loved the entertainment, there was a dance group, dragon dancing, and martial arts. She took part of the "beauty contest" but didn't fare so well. She cried the whole time since people were looking at her, or she was getting touched by people. Which is almost impossible to avoid with such a large crowd.

Hopefully she does better next year or I won't enter her. She still got a goody bag, and had fun at the other parts, I might go buy her lantern way ahead of time next year so we can avoid lines.

Kimberly Ann's Tea Room

2011-09-13T21:35:00.000-07:00

On a whim after the pet expo, I decided to take Kai to downtown Glendale. We drove past the tea room and figured it would be a great place for lunch.

After looking at the menu they have high tea, which looked yummy but you had to make a reservation 24 hours in advance, so hopefully we can come back for that soon.

We were seated in the "Princess Room", there was a main room, a "Garden" room, and a "Shabby Chic" room. Kai loved all the girly decorations and they had fancy hats you could wear. The food was very good, I got the seasonal salad, that came with a cheddar scone. Kai had a ham and cheese sandwich. The meal came to about 20 dollars so it was very reasonable. I would highly recommend taking your little girl there and act "fancy" for a day.

Wonder Pets Expo

2011-09-11T08:20:00.000-07:00

Pretty much how I felt about it too Kai.

The expo was held at the State Fair Grounds, and parking cost me 7 dollars, on top of the 5 dollar admission (with coupon). It wasn't everything we thought it would be, and I guess it was more for dog owners than pet owners. The kid area was an inflatable pitching game, and a bounce house. Kai didn't want to do either, but opted for face painting and getting sparkle strands in her hair. The strands were okay, it took way to long for the attention span of a 4 year old, but she loved the face painting.

There was lots of booths for dog stuff, from clothing to toys, food to even this :

I don't think I would ever hold a wedding for my dogs, but isn't that just adorable? We only have a pet hamster so most of the expo did not apply to us. I usually go for the swag, but this one every booth had you pay to get stuff, so I was pretty disappointed. I guess if you have dogs and like to spoil them this is the expo for you, not for us who wanted to go to "pet watch."

Tap video

2011-09-09T21:42:00.000-07:00

Today was tap dancing! We started the day with power hour, which might be a weekly thing since it helped Kai get most of her frustrations out at the beginning and try things she didn't want to before. I'd have the problem of her breaking down and crying during class, but not today! She tried everything and did well. I'm really glad she found an activity she loves and talks about all the time.

Labor Day

2011-09-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

We have no plans what so ever today!

On Saturday we drove down to Chandler to hang out with two of my cousins. I did get some pictures but forgot my good camera and had to buy a disposable one from the museum store. The day started out with Dim Sum at C-Fu Gourmet. It was super good, but we did get too much food.

After stuffing our faces, we drove to Mesa and visited the Natural History Museum. There were dinosaurs, panning for gold, and a jail. I may of had a little to much fun scaring Kairi in the mines.

We walked around Main Street, and visited a few stores. I believe my favorite was the book store, but couldn't justify spending so much money on one book, even if it was a first edition!

The day ended with going to Chandler Fashion Square, and getting our nails done. It was a great day and I should get pictures developed pretty soon to upload.

I think today will be spent cleaning the office, and kitchen, getting the house all ready for when Aaron gets home next month. The busy week starts up again tomorrow with gymnastics! Now back to enjoying a quiet household since Kai is still asleep, hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend!

A quick video

2011-09-02T21:48:00.000-07:00

Taken today at Kai's Dance/Gymnastics class. Please ignore the audio, or turn it off completely, unless you want to hear about the other mom's party planning lol.

Kai is the one in the middle!

I really need to stop forgetting about this site.

2011-08-29T18:27:00.000-07:00

It's almost September! A lot has changed here, but for the better.

(completely unrelated picture, but isn't Kai cute?)

We decided against the house, and ended up losing about 2 grand, on top of dealing with a lot of BS to get out of the contract on a house that never was built. It took about 3 months to get our money back! Pretty crazy, and I don't think I'll recommend the home builder to anyone after this whole ordeal. The reason we choose to cancel the deal was we did not feel it was in our best interest to be tied down to one place. Hearing all the stories of our friends and family and how many issues they had once they become homeowners turned us off the idea. Aaron is only home about 3 months of the year, he does not need to worry about this or that. I have no problem living in an apartment, if anything goes wrong I call the office they take care of it, without costing us a dime.

Yes a lot of people said it would be great to own a home but in the long run its not for us. I like to be able to move as soon as my lease is up and not have to worry about the housing market to sell the place we are in.

In April my brother flew in from Oklahoma to stay for the summer, he was a great help!

That's Kevin! He just turned 16! I can't believe my baby brother is that big already!

Aaron came home for about 2 months.

During his time home our truck unfortunately got stolen. They took the sign in the above picture, all our stuff inside, including Kai's car seat, my steam mop, and all sorts of crap. The truck was finally recovered in the middle of the desert in Eloy, Arizona. Heavens know what they did in the truck, but we were glad it was totaled out so we would never have to drive it again. Plus it gave us a reason to get a new truck.

Isn't she pretty? I think this is my favorite vehicle I've ever owned. The only downside is people like to stop me and ask questions about it. All I know is it's brightly colored and holds my shopping bags. We got a great deal on it and very happy.

With the new truck we took a few road trips while Aaron was home. We stopped at the Grand Canyon, which Kai calls "the BIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGG hole"

Then we went to Jerome, Arizona:

It was a neat town, there was a kaleidoscope store, which I highly recommend stopping at, they let you look through everything even the very expensive ones! Kai had a blast there.

Kai's birthday falls after the cut off date for kindergarten, instead of Pre-K we put her in Dance, and Gymnastics. She thoroughly enjoys both of them, I hope she loves it for years to come. The reason she is not in Pre-K is we are leaving Arizona next year, as soon as our lease is up. The game plan is to move to Reno! I've never been there so it will be a fun adventure.

Hopefully I'll update more as I have more time on my hands these days after moving out of my friends place and being more of a home body!

Saying goodbye again

2011-03-02T23:40:00.000-08:00

This has been a super long week. It started Monday when we thought the Air Force would give us our final paycheck, but alas it still isn't here. So the last few days Aaron would be here we had to be super cheap and have free fun. Instead we opted to tour all the new builds around Surprise, and went a neighborhood near the Cardinals Stadium. We thought we were only looking at homes, and ended up signing paper work to get started on buying it. I'm so happy things turned out that way, and the home builder put us in a program to help us get our credit back on track on top of giving us the chance to buy a home.

(our lot!)

I believe everything is working out for us, and I'm very thankful for that. We had to get a POA before Aaron left but had no idea when he was leaving, so we figured there was some time to get it the next day, but he got an email not even a few hours after that he was leaving the next morning. We were freaking out, no notary's were available near us, until I found a random website with a phone number of a notary not far from us. We called her, and praise the lord she was available. She was the nicest person I've ever met, she was very professional, helpful, and sincere. She charged 20 dollars, but after hearing about what we were using it for she gave us her time and service for free. She even asked if she could pray for our family while Aaron is away.

Aaron left this morning. I already miss him, and he's somewhere over the Atlantic right now. It's nice because I have an idea of when he will be back compared to when the Air Force would jerk us around on the date. This morning me and Kai went to the community and put down an Earnest Money Deposit, to hold our lot, not even 5 minutes after I signed a check a couple came in and wanted to take the lot I just got, the seller had to let them down, and I felt bad, but very happy it worked out in our favor.

Hopefully in about 6 months, we will be moving into our brand new home, built just for us.

Being an adult

2011-02-24T14:36:00.000-08:00

(picture semi unrelated)

Finally we say good bye to the Air Force, our final paycheck is in the mail, and going to be put tword our debt. We owe quite a bit, but have worked really hard to get everything gone. With Aaron's new job, we will be debt free this year, and can work on getting both of our credit scores up. I could use the excuse of being young and stupid, and we really should of pay attention and not lived beyond our means. We have learned from our mistakes and hope after this year, we could enjoy life more and not owe anyone anything.

I feel very blessed, my husband has a great job, I have a beautiful and extremely smart daughter and on our way to owning our first home. I'm lucky to have a wonderful best friend who is allowing us to stay with her and her boyfriend while we get settled down in Arizona. I'm looking forward to starting our new life here in the Phoenix area, to get the keys to our new home, and watching my daughter start school next year.

Kai and her best friend

2011-02-17T16:54:00.000-08:00

Kai had a best friend back in Oklahoma, who was the daughter of our next door neighbor. L didn't live in Oklahoma but when she came to visit Kai was always hanging out with her. Around Christmas time, My neighbor invited me and Kai on a road trip to New Mexico to pick up L. I just came back from a road trip to Chicago and wasn't excited to drive again but excited to see Kai and L play together one last time before we moved.

This photo was taken on the way back, and one that Kai really likes. Kai keeps talking about visiting L, and hopefully we can soon!

White Tank State Park

2011-02-16T22:10:00.000-08:00

A few days before Aaron set to leave, we took a day trip to the mountains near our home. I didn't check before we went, but there was an admission cost of 6 bucks per car to get to the state park. Not really a big deal, but then I realized we were going on a hike and I forgot to pack water. (I'm a horrible parent) But thankfully I had some capri suns in my purse.

We took the Black Rock Trail, long loop, that eventually veers off to the Waterfall trail, all in all it was about a 3 mile hike.

The area was very beautiful, there was petrographic on a few of the rocks, Kai had fun coming up with meanings for all the symbols.

At the end of the Waterfall Trail sits a little pond of water. You can see in the canyon where a waterfall would be if Arizona was more inclined to rainy weather.

My brave girl stepped into the water, which she realized was super cold!

It was a neat day trip and we look forward to moving closer to the mountains so we can come back over and over again. It's extremely beautiful out there, but stock up on sunscreen and water, thats the mistake I made!

Internation Wildlife Museum

2011-02-15T18:33:00.000-08:00

We had to make a trip to Tucson to the passport office since Aaron didn't have one for work. Can I say the place was amazing? He was in and out before his appointment time, and received his passport in about 3 days.

Tucson was about 2 hours away from where we are staying so we decided to spend some time down there and visited the International Wildlife Museum. I was actually looking for the Desert Museum, but didn't want to get lost and this place looked neat from the outside.

It was about 15 dollars for all three of us to get in, and wasn't what we expected but Kai had a lot of fun.

The first room had walls of beautiful butterflies. They had little tanks in the middle with critters like the tarantula above. Kai was not a fan of it, or the roaches.

Most of the museum was animals that have long since left this life, but Kai learned a few things, and it had lots of animals that aren't around anymore.

Kai's favorite room was this extremely large space filled with different animal heads. There was elephants, bears, deers, horses, rhinos, and everything in between. The tiger was impressive, and Kai got to see a giraffe up close.

I wouldn't say I'll go back to this place, cause I don't see any room to change the exhibits, but it's not bad when you aren't expecting too much.

Surprise! Arizona!

2011-02-15T01:56:00.000-08:00

I just laugh every time I tell anyone where we live now.

Time sure did fly between my last post and today. Aaron left for his new job yesterday and had his first day today. Thankfully his company is not the Air Force and will allow him to come home for a few days before going to the Middle East.

But lets back track... to this day:

We had one week to pack everything, get the house empty, cleaned, and get Aaron out-processed with the Air Force. Since we had most of our stuff packed from our old apartment to this current place it was a little bit easier. We only spent about 3 weeks in this home before we had to say good bye! Kai was such great help, she packed her toys, picked what could get thrown away or given away, and was an all around wonderful kid.

The weather didn't like us too much since it snowed the day before we got the big truck to move everything. We had to be out by December 21st, and got the truck on the 19th. Everything had to be packed by the 18th so when Aaron got off of work, his friend could come over and everything would be loaded into the truck.

The 19th came most of the stuff got loaded, Kai went to spent the day with my mom, so me and Aaron stayed up until 3am loading and cleaning, until the home was in the same condition as we left it. We stayed in a hotel since the bed was packed, and returned early the next day to make sure we got everything.

The home inspection went better than expected and with their final approval, we said our good byes, and we were off!

Bye new house I loved so much!

I drove our truck, while Aaron was behind us in the giant truck of doom. Kai was in the back seat that was packed full of stuff also, who knew we had so much stuff? It sucked so much driving with the motorcycle in the truck bed, I had so many blind spots and was already freaking out about driving in the dark.

Kai slept most of the way, we stopped in Amarillo, and spent the night at a really nice hotel that we had points for so it was super cheap. It was nice to get that sleep and to have the breakfast the hotel offered in the morning. We trucked through the rest of Texas, zoomed past New Mexico, and soon enough we reached:

I can't describe how happy I am to be back in this state. We aren't quite settled in, as we are staying with my friend until we get a decent apartment, but can't wait to start our life here. Hopefully when Aaron comes back for the few days before he leaves we can find a place, it would be nice to get everything out of storage!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's day!

It's been a while

2011-01-11T09:46:00.000-08:00

I truly am horrible at finishing anything I start. The year has been busy, but then again I had lots of free time. My year could be summed up in one photo though:

Aaron came home December 4th, it was about 10pm so the airport was barren. Our next door neighbor (also the best friend anyone could ask for) came with me to welcome him home. He didn't want it to be a big deal so I didn't tell anyone else, but people at his job eventually found out and two of the "higher ups" came also.

I thought I was having a small heart attack when the sign said the plane has landed, then had another heart attack when people started coming out the gate. Everyone stopped and looked at Kai in her uniform and gave her high fives, and told her how much she rocked. She pretty much didn't care just wanted daddy to hurry up and come out the gate. Sadly he was the last person to get through the gate, I guess it was better so we didn't cause a bottle neck effect. Kai was indifferent at first, but warmed up really quick.

Lots has happened since I last wrote something, but to sum it up:

1) Aaron is getting out of the Air Force, he got a new job lined up and it's doing something he loves, without all the "military" aspects.

2) We are leaving Oklahoma, and moving to Arizona in the next couple of weeks.

okay that might be all the big news I have for now...

...or to lazy to think of other things.

Read-a-thon Fall 2010

2010-10-08T08:10:00.000-07:00

(sorry I've been severely MIA! No idea why, lots have happened, guess I should get back to blogging, the hiatus have been long enough)

My first read-a-thon, I finished it with flying colors, my second, not so much, so hopefully this time I can get through all 24 hours. I have no books picked out, but food is ready to go! It starts at 7am my time (central) tomorrow, so I'll be getting to bed early, super stoked to start! This post will be edited during the day to keep clutter on the page down, and to not spam up anyone's feed.

Wanchai Ferry frozen entrées (Giveaway)(over)

2010-06-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

I was recently given some Wanchai Ferry Beef and Broccoli, and being a horrible blogger forgot to take pictures while making the food.

The dinner was DELICIOUS!

I did not expect much from a "frozen" dinner, let alone frozen Chinese food. Alas they proved me wrong!

It comes with everything you need, the meat, the veggies, rice, and sauce.

The process was really simple, get a skillet, put in 1/3 cup of water and add the meat and veggies. After a few minutes turn down the heat, add the sauce, and wait for it to bubble and thicken. The rice cooks in the microwave in about 2 minutes.

With just me and my daughter we each had half a bag and it was enough to fill us up, I would buy two bags to feed my husband, but he can eat horse if he could.

If beef and broccoli is not your cup of tea, there are 7 other varieties, Kung Pao Chicken, Szechuan Style Chicken, Orange Chicken, Shrimp Lo Mein, Spicy Garlic Chicken and Sweet & Sour Chicken

Get this, none of them have MSG.

There is a coupon to get $1.60 off your own bag, or you could win one of your own!

I have a prize pack which includes, a tea set with organic tea, and very beautiful cup, all you have to do to win is follow me, and tell me what is your favorite Chinese food in the comments below! You have until 5/14/2010 to enter and the winner will be announced the following day.

(information, prize pack, and giveaway have all been provided by Wanchai Ferry through = Blogspark to review, but does not sway my opinion one way or another)

Winner winner chicken dinner! Cheryl F. you've won! Please send me an email with your address

$$$$

2010-06-03T21:56:00.000-07:00

Money.

There never seems to be enough? right?

Being young and stupid, my family does have a little debt, but I have good news! We can still afford to keep food on the table, and go out and have a little fun, but we do not have anything really in savings.

There lies the problem.

I found a wonderful program the other day and will be using it to pay off everything.

I'm not shy, we owe almost 45k including our truck and motorcycle.

With the "Debt Reduction Calculator" you input all your creditors, the APR, how much you owe and the minimum payment. There is nothing to install, it works with Excel, or Open Office (which is free)

Heck this program is free!

So after putting all the information in, click the payoff calendar tab and viola! Everything has been calculated for you, using either the snowball (lowest balance first) or avalanche (highest APR first) effect. I chose snowball since I love instant gratification, you can click between both methods or in whatever order you want since there is a custom future.

When I put all our debts in, I found out everything will be paid off in 40 months, using only $1300.00 a month to pay off the 8 things. This does not count using tax return to pay off huge chunks, and getting a raise.

I hope we get everything paid off by next year, that will be my goal at least so we can get a new car, and a huge chunk into savings, for just in case.

So go try out the program, if anything it puts things into perspective!

(I found this program on my own, was not asked to write about it.)

Afghanistan

2010-06-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

Aaron arrived a few days ago finally!

I won't be counting down, but do have a calendar in the hallway that counts up, and we've marked in dates that things happened, like where he was, what he did... etc.

I swore up and down, not to watch the news.

I don't have cable so how bad can it be?

Memorial day events should not be watched by a spouse with a deployed husband.

I keep watching the TV thinking hey maybe I'll see my husband! I think I did yesterday, but he hasn't confirmed it was him yet, I even went crazy trying to find the news story online, then taking a screen shot.

This is my first ever deployment, and it has been hard. He has been gone for a while, but when he finally made it overseas it hit me. I can't talk to him everyday like I did while he was training, I can't call on a whim and ask him how he's doing, and I can't watch Kai have conversations with him on the computer.

This SUCKS!

I have not heard his voice since Friday. He has been sending emails everyday, but at random times, I try to stay up so maybe I could catch him, but the +9:30 minutes he is ahead of me is killer.

I miss my husband very much, and know it's only downhill from here.

Help find Miranda Young (Updated)

2010-05-26T17:35:00.000-07:00

She's been found, thank you for all the thoughts and prayers.

Miranda at first was the baggage of my best friend Amanda. She was her younger sister, as my sister Anna was my baggage. We all grew up together, us four, and shared lots of memories.

Miranda has gone missing.

Please help us find Miranda Young. Missing Person Report and Active Case for Miranda is filed with Mesa Police Detective Marcella Garcia 480.644.2487 and refer to case # 2010138732. Last known whereabouts is in Greenville MI. May be held against her will. Last seen with Wesley E Pollock of Belding MI. If either are seen, please contact Detective Garcia in AZ 480-644-2487.

Please pass this along, to everyone you know, we need the word out to help us find her. She means the world to many people, and we miss her dearly.

I'm leaving on a jet plane

2010-05-25T07:37:00.000-07:00

Well I'm not, but Aaron is. He started his trip yesterday at 2am.

From Mississippi

He flew to Charlotte

(home to his favorite team, I bet he was bummed he was so close yet so far to them)

From there, he flew to Baltimore,

(I'm getting tired even thinking about getting this far)

Then off to Ramstein, Germany

(not to be confused with Rammstein the band)

From Germany, he's off to Italy

He's on his way there as we speak, I'm happy he's had a safe flight so far, I think Afghanistan is his next stop but I could be wrong! I can't wait to visit all these places, he didn't see anything outside of an airport, but still neat to be able to say, that you've almost been around the world in one day.

Please keep him in your thoughts/prayers as he makes his journey there.

Mississippi

2010-05-22T20:50:00.000-07:00

Lots have happened since I last posted. Why have I taken such a long break between posting? I need to get on my A-game again.

On May 3rd, me and Kai went on a little trip.

We didn't have a lot of money so we went Greyhound.

I'll tell you now, a 16 hour bus ride with a 3 year old is not for the weak.

Kai was getting mad at my camera, it's a constant "NO PICTURES MOM"

We left around 8pm on the on May 3rd, and arrived at 11am May 4th. It was a long trip. We had to switch buses in Dallas, and that was horrible. I had to carry all our luggage, and no one would move their luggage of seats so we could sit down, so we plopped on the floor and waited the hour and a half to get on the next bus.

I would do this trip over and over and over again, just to see this:

I am very lucky to have the chance to see my husband before he left. The first day, even though I had no sleep I wanted to explore Meridian, Mississippi for a bit. We went to Bonita Lakes, the toy store, and had dinner. It was so great to have dinner with my whole family again. I miss the simple things.

I was there for a week and we did a bunch of stuff around there. Kai wanted to see the "beach" so we took her to this lake that had a shoreline, we couldn't get in the water, but she just wanted to play in the sand.

We even drove to Tuscaloosa, Alabama (about an hour away) to go see their air show. It was very fun, but I now have a farmers tan, along with peeling skin... why didn't I put on sunblock?

I've never been to an air show before, but it was really fun. The parachutes were cool, and I love watching all the planes do tricks.

Kai even got autographs from crew members of the Blue Angels, she was happy someone was talking to her.

She loved the Blue Angels, she told me it was her goal to fly one. Then again she wants to do everything, from fly helicopters, to being a princess.

The hardest part was leaving. We spent a week together, and now working on spending months apart. He should be home before Thanksgiving, so lets all cross our fingers! I hope Aaron has a safe trip to the Middle East, that he stays safe, and does a wonderful job. We are so proud of him back home, and so happy he is doing something he loves.

And we know next time we see him will be happy tears!

It wasn't a good bye, it's a see you later.

Things I'm Thankful For

2010-05-06T15:23:00.000-07:00

I think I might of went crazy if it wasn't for my wonderful neighbors. These last few days I've hanged out with them a bunch and regret not getting to know the ladies before hand. It is a nice switch to go from friends who do not have children to some with. They understand that kids get cranky, they cry, and the house is always messy. They are very kind people and I love how we help each other out. A few days ago, the day started with Kairi swimming with two of the kids (I'm not using names since I have not asked permission yet). After a while we were all hungry, thirsty and wanted out of the sun.

I came up with the idea to go to Pops. I might of highlighted it before, but Pops is amazing. They have walls of soda and good food at a great price. We packed up two cars, with 3 adults, and 5 kids, drove all the way to Arcadia, pushed people around, got sodas and spent the afternoon on their back dining area having a blast.

The kids had so much fun playing in the grass, the manager told us they are building a playground soon for the children. I can't wait till then! It was a beautiful day, the sun was out, pretty fluffy clouds in the sky, and cold sodas. I had this delicious root beer bread pudding, it did put me in a sugar coma!

I am grateful for the wonderful friends I have made.

Arts festival 2010

2010-05-06T14:57:00.000-07:00

I love going to the Downtown Arts Festival. It's a good place to see free art, talk to artists and eat lots of good food. Kairi took the above picture, I need to get her, her own camera one day.

Fried Pickles was my food of choice, I for one hate pickles with a passion, but batter them up and give me some ranch, and I am in heaven.

Kai wanted a "pink" drink since princesses get pink drinks, so we got this really good strawberry banana smoothie.

It was a beautiful day out, the food was good, it wasn't super crowded and I saw lots of beautiful art works. I love this little squirrel! I can't wait for next years!

Metro Family Summer Adventure Expo

2010-05-02T19:24:00.000-07:00

We go every year to the Summer Expo. This year it was held at the Sheraton downtown, we were lucky and found stellar parking.

Kai got to make many things, eat lots of candy

Met the Thunder girls, she thought they were princesses.

She got to dance with the Sugar Free Allstars too!

The event was fun, we stayed the whole time, and got lots of swag. I learned about lots of programs available but only a few handful Kai can join. She's still too little. If you are in Oklahoma City area, join them next year! Lots of information is given, and if anything your kids will have a blast.

Peace, Love, Military Kids

2010-05-02T19:18:00.000-07:00

The event took place on April 17th, at the bowling alley on base. We got there super early and it was raining!

Kai wasn't to fond of the rain, but she did have some fun. We met Sparky the fire dog,

fed some goats,

and bowled one game. The bowling stunk, since they over crowded the lanes and only allowed 45 minutes of play. We had about 25 minutes to play since the people they stuck on our lane showed up late, then took their sweet, sweet time bowling, I felt bad since kai didn't get to finish her game.

Maybe we can go bowling another day.

They had a hot dog lunch, and free swag, a bouncy house and a few booths with information. Next time, I will bring 5 kids of my own and crowed the bowling lanes with children who aren't rude.

Please Bear with me!

2010-04-25T02:29:00.000-07:00

I know I've been scarce lately, had something happen that had me a little on edge for a while. I'm over it now, but need to get caught up on life i.e. house work and all that jazz. I'll be back real soon with lots of posts! So stay tuned, and thank you for sticking with me.

Read-A-Thon Part Dos

2010-04-08T16:10:00.000-07:00

The Read-a-thon is TODAY!

(Sorry I haven't been updating like I should, but my power just came back on!)

Hour 1

Title of book(s) read since last update: The Last Song
Number of books read since you started: 0
Pages read since last update: 50
Running total of pages read since you started: 50
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 1 hour
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 1 hr
Mini-challenges completed: 1
Other participants you’ve visited: 0

Where are you reading from today? A selection of books I have started but never finished
3 facts about me … 1) I'm 22 years old 2) I crochet for fun 3) I collect postcards
How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? 5
Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon ? Not this year, just reading to read
If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, Any advice for people doing this for the first time? Some people read slow, some very fast, pace yourself!

Hour 2

Title of book(s) read since last update: The Last Song
Number of books read since you started: 0
Pages read since last update: 63
Running total of pages read since you started: 113
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 1 hour
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 2 hr
Mini-challenges completed: 2
Other participants you’ve visited: 1

Challenge: I got super early so everyone in my home is still asleep, I made a pot of coffee, sat on the loveseat and started reading, I should of got a early morning snack! (No pics for right now as my camera is totally dead after leaving it on all night, today hasn't started out good :(

Hour 3

Title of book(s) read since last update: The Last Song
Number of books read since you started: 0
Pages read since last update: 59
Running total of pages read since you started: 172
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 1 hour
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 3 hr
Mini-challenges completed: 3
Other participants you’ve visited: 5

Hour 4

Title of book(s) read since last update: The Last Song
Number of books read since you started: 0
Pages read since last update: 25
Running total of pages read since you started: 197
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 30 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 3:30
Mini-challenges completed: 3
Other participants you’ve visited: 0

The next few hours I will be on the go getting my mom to the Airport and helping her pack, be back in a few :) (and no I won't be reading, It's a bummer :( )

Last update- My mother wants me to run errands for her since shes off on an airplane, so I will not be reading for the rest of the day, thank you to everyone who left comments, I am very dissapointed I can't finish, but looking forward to next time. Thank you to everyone who put together the read-a-thon, and all the cheerleaders! Good luck to whoever is still going strong!

Easter at home.

2010-04-07T08:53:00.000-07:00

I learned my lesson after last year. Kai was trampled by big kids, too big to be in the "little kids" area to get eggs. I don't understand, there are clearly signs that says "3 and under" that does not mean your 3 year old kid can bring his 13 year old brother, and older nephews, nieces, baby momma, and who ever else in that area. The little kids never had a chance.

So Easter was spent with Kai "finding" eggs around our back patio.

It wasn't much of an Easter since Aaron wasn't there, so other than the eggs we didn't do anything.

*sigh*

Operation Homefront OK: Easter

2010-04-06T08:55:00.000-07:00

I learned recently that Operation Homefront hold events for the children, and had to jump on the bandwagon. The day started off nice, but it got cold quickly, poor kai was only in a dress, I should of known better and brought her a coat, but lent her mine since she was turning into a Popsicle.

We got there super duper early because I figured I'd get lost, but got there before everyone else did! That gave little miss Kai time to play for a while.

When everyone did show up we helped tie the Easter baskets, and there were lots of them!

It was a little challenging as the wind was blowing everything away.

After the baskets were done Kai went to help "hide" the eggs.

The event was fun, Kai didn't get trampled by big kids, and everyone took turns getting eggs. She got a lot of the "special" eggs and got prizes for it.

But now I'm tripping over halves of plastic eggs.

There is an Operation Homefront for every state, check them out for local events! They also help out Military families in emergencies.

My husband

2010-04-04T21:36:00.000-07:00

Thats him the crazy tall guy! I stole this from someones facebook, as I don't have very many pictures of him in uniform.

This was from their training in Reno, Nevada. I hope to get more photos of whatever it is they are doing right now!

But most of all I can't wait for pictures of him coming home.

(this is what they were all pointing at )

Zoo trip with E-ya and Tan-ah

2010-04-04T21:29:00.000-07:00

My princess still has issues with pronouncing names. My sister Anna, is Eya, and my nephew, is Tanna, not Tanner. It's so fun to hear her say some things.

It was a beautiful day out, and my sister spent the night before. I get lonely, so people spend the night at my home.

We went to check out the new children's zoo, figured it was Friday morning and it wouldn't be very busy. Boy were we wrong. The kiddos enjoyed petting goats, and seeing all the animals, but you can't stay very long before kids get cranky!

Kai wanted to be a baby and sit in the stroller, Tanner is heavy to carry for extended periods of time, so Kai had to tough it up and be a big girl!

Food prices at the Zoo are crazy insane. Never again. I spent 15 dollars for a dang corn dog kids meal, and cheese sticks. Seriously?

At least the money goes to cute fellows like this guy.

Meet Bob

2010-04-04T21:19:00.000-07:00

Bob, was a stray. He found his way to the local pet shelter, and then found his way to us!

He's a Manx, with a cute nub for a tai.

Kai calls him "no tail bob"

Bob is a very nice cat, he loves to headbutt you, and get pets.

Poncho is still not happy with Bob being here, but he will come around.

Life gets in the way

2010-04-04T21:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been MIA lately. I just simply been lazy. Didn't feel like talking to anyone, answering the phone, or even getting out of the house. I've been in a blah mood these last few days. At last I'm out of my rut, and can update on things that has happened so far in the Shepard home without my dear Aaron around! Time to play catch up!

My Crafting Space

2010-03-26T19:43:00.000-07:00

If you are a neat freak, OCD, or tidy, please turn away now.

From pulling my back, being on vacation, and just avoiding my housewife duties...

My crafting space, my little corner of the house, the place I go to relax and make items, became a space of chaos, despair, and heartache.

Witness this:

Seriously, what is half the crap on the floor?

How long has that coffee mug been there?

*sigh*

At least I have a project for the week.

My Husband

2010-03-24T19:12:00.000-07:00

Aaron left this morning at 4am.

I felt bad I couldn't take him to the airport to say goodbye, but I pulled my back real bad last night picking up Kai.

I was half asleep when he left, he left me and Kai a beautiful note I will find a frame for next time I go shopping.

I already miss him :(

I have no idea if I can go visit him while he is stateside, but I hope I can, or at least see him a little bit before his stint in the Middle East.

I'm happy and very proud of my husband, I'm happy that he found a job he likes, that he can call me at the end of the day and say how awesome his job is, he has his bad days and his good, but I think this new program is very good for both of us. I'm proud of him since he's one of the first people on this program and hope he sets an example for the future.

We miss you very much, and can't wait to see you again!

<3 Your Girls

Washington : Fin

2010-03-24T19:08:00.000-07:00

There are two days left to document of our trip, but alas I got lazy with photo taking.

After the Forks trip, instead of going back to Debbie's we spent the evening at Kelsey's home.

Before we left Kelsey's Kai and Memaw fed the horses, a tiny donkey, and there was a sheep that was stalking us.

We didn't stay very long, and drove back to Debbie's after everyone was dressed for the day.

The rest of the trip is as boring as this post. Well I had fun, we relaxed at home, Jen came over and we went to town and grabbed pizza. Okay, we went to the pizza place they weren't done with our order, so we went across the street to the local bar. Jen was nice enough to buy me a drink, I had a really good sex on a beach, never had one before!

Before we knew it we were there for way to long, and headed back with the pizza. We ate, talked, and confirmed tickets, and got everything packed and ready to go home.

The trip home went quickly, the layovers were short, the plane back to Oklahoma was hell though. The lady behind me was so loud and obnoxious, she took two seats and complained about how small the seat was. She didn't smell very good on top of it, then got a beer and stunk even more. I hate commercial flying, maybe one day my husband will get his pilot license and we get our own damn plane.

The trip was fun, but I was happy to be home to spend the last few days I had with my husband. Is it bad I want another vacation?

Washington: Twidork edition or part 5

2010-03-22T17:40:00.000-07:00

Forks is 5 hours away from Debbie's house.

We again woke up early (sorry family) to get my nerd on.

Kai did very well the first few hours, but she needed to get out she said her "tummy hurt from eating too much"

Poor thing!

After a short walk and a hop and skip through a few puddles we were back on our way, until us nerds saw a sign for the world's largest spruce tree. Now who could miss that?

The tree was located in the Quinault National Park (forest, patch of trees?), we had to explore a little to get our legs moving again due to lack of circulation in the itty bitty car. (We missed our truck on this trip with its leg room)

The Lodge was beautiful, but that was not why we were there. No we went for:

How could you not stop for that sign. It was a short hike from the lodge, again it was raining a little (I guess that is why they call it a "rain forest."

I crossed a rickety bridge, that might fall under my weight... or I might be paranoid.

And there it was a giant tree. That is my six foot five husband at the base of the tree.

Well that was exciting?

Thats not why you are here right? You wanted to see things like:

Bella's truck... or is it? dun dun dun!!

The ladies at the Visitor Center couldn't of been more nice! My husband wanted to off himself at this point, he didn't even want to go to begin with, but he married me, so hes stuck forever with my shenanigans.

I don't think Kai was too happy either. (Have you noticed I haven't been in any pictures? I'm actually invisible and only exist behind cameras.)

The highschool :)

Yes this is a store. But if you like Twilight, go here. NOW! They have everything you can think of that has to do with Twilight. The store is simply beautiful, and the prices aren't that bad.

The photo doesn't do it justice. There is a tree inside the store (fake), but its lighted by tiny white lights. I want my bedroom to look like this, sans the clothing racks.

The store across the street was less impressive, but did have beautiful Quinalt artwork, and stuff from the reservation. Oh, and "Jacob's Bike"

At this time we are famished, and stopped at a nice little restaurant, we were the only ones there. The food was good!

A trip to forks is not complete until you went to:

La Push (La push it real good?)

It looked beautiful, the weather was nice in Forks, at the restaurant even when we pulled up.

But alas, it was so windy you couldn't move, it rained so hard, the drops stung your skin,

and it was -193812343 degrees outside.

Darn.

See what I put my child through? I'm an awful parent.

At least she had proof that her mother is a nerd.

Washington Part 4 (no longer creative!)

2010-03-19T10:39:00.000-07:00

We are exhausted at this point, but the show must go on! Kelsey joined us today, for our epic trip to Yakima Canyon. The only canyon I've ever been to was the Grand Canyon, and looking into that, I wasn't fond of being so high up. Yakima Canyon was different, you aren't up above looking down, my heart thanked me for that.

Then my heart stopped when I got on the suspension bridge, that I know my husband was shaking... that jerk.

Kai again was the navigator. Kelsey made sure bobcats didn't eat her.

Maybe next time we go on a hiking trip we go in the summer/spring to see the beautiful plants, instead of dead grass. It was fun though, I liked the creek, and we saw a hippie in the wild.

We had lunch at a soda fountain. It was really yummy! I gained 10 pounds eating the banana split. My excuse is I only live once, and it was a vacation, what happens in Washington, comes back as a new pant size. Kai had plain vanilla with "princess sparkles"

This princess stuff peeves me.

The day ended in tears as it was time to leave Grandpa and Grandma, and Kai's bestie, Kelsey. We were headed back to Memaw's house.

Tomorrow will be fun it was my trip to Forks :)

If you hate Twilight, please find the nearest exit as the next post will bore you to death.

Washington Part 3

2010-03-19T10:22:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful day in Yakima, Washington. We woke up had breakfast, and set off for the day. Randy and Kai were hanging outside until Aaron had the brilliant idea to start up the tractor, and Kai got over her fear of heavy machinery

Actually she looks horrified in that picture, and said she didn't want to ride again, but she did have a blast turning the steering wheel. Stone me now but there are no seatbelts on a tractor, and my husband was going 100 miles per hour on there... just kidding on the last part!

Baron was still hounding me for pictures.

"Please lady, take more pictures, get my good side okay?"

He is adorable, but don't tell my husband, I don't want a dog.

Being lazy and hungry, we made an evil plan to go to McDonald's. Okay it wasn't evil as Liz, (Aaron's step mom) works there. I had to take the above picture as my little daughter, is TERRIFIED of play places. She refuses to climb in them, but this one was different. We thought it was a miracle that our little princess got to the top, until we realized there was a spiral staircase. She's really just scared of the platforms that are alternated to get the kiddos up there, so really it's not much of a feat anymore. We let Kairi dictate where we went next and she said, "Swimming please."

Instead of swimming, Randy decided to take Kai fishing!

We went to a little lake that was a short hike from the parking lot. The weather was nice, but I wish it was warm enough to go without jackets!

After getting here, the short 10 minute walk, and long drive from Randy's home, we realized the fishing hooks were misplaced. No fishes were caught, but if you ask Kai she has a wonderful fishing story of all the fishes she caught.

Not ready to go home, my awesome husband had a plan to go up a mountain, on an unpaved road, and give me small heart attacks, and flashes of falling off the mountain to my death in the truck. The drive was super long, even longer fearing for my life. The plan was to go from on side of the mountain to the next, but the plan was foiled when we drove about an hour and a fence blocked the rest of the trail. I'm still on Aaron's case for driving all that way to see a dang fence.

Thankfully the sun was setting, and we were all ready to go home, if it was up to my husband he would of wanted to go on the other mountains, but a girls heart can only take so much.

Washington Part Dos

2010-03-18T08:57:00.000-07:00

The morning started up rather early, at least too early for my taste. We drove from Debbie's home to her church in Packwood. This is the church that my Sister in Law got married, I wish I came to her wedding! Anywho, we got there a little early so Aaron, Kai and I explored the forest around and took a bunch of pictures, the above is Kairi's future senior picture, she has to use it so I won't spend a million dollars later on (lol).

It was a Presbyterian Church, which I know nothing about, and still don't even after some research, but the people were nice. I was raised Roman Catholic, so I was happy to see that church didn't last 10 hours. Being rather shy, it was a little hard to make conversation with everyone especially when they know me and I don't know them.

Kai was very good, she sat in her seat, even danced to some of the music. Afterward, Debbie had to show Kai off to everyone, she had a stare down with another little girl, it was hilarious. Then Pastor Wayne Morrow, had a chat with Kai and she brought on the charm.

Debbie was nice enough to surprise Kai with a box of chalk. Kelsey (Aaron's sister) came by, and she and Kai colored till lunch was ready. They did chalk outlines, since Memaw needed body outlines in her drive way, and lots of random art.

The above was Aaron's chalk outline, but it turned into a crazy monster with parachute pants.

After lunch, we packed our stuff up and headed to Yakima, where Aaron's dad (Randy) lives. Randy has retired and moved to a home with a bunch of land, and he got a tractor he wanted to show off to everyone. I was a little iffy about going since I've never met that side of the family yet. The drive there was pretty long, we passed lots of trees, rocks, volcanos, and even a skiing area (White Pass). It was a change to go from green to snow!

We were greeted by Baron the most photogenic doggie I've ever met. Every single time I had my camera out he posed, it was so funny! The night ended quietly with Debbie driving back home, and use having bar-b-que and pulling out the sofa bed and crashing out, stay tune for part three! I won't promise when it will be here since we are getting ready for Aaron to leave for deployment! *sigh*

Washington Part I

2010-03-15T08:41:00.000-07:00

I took way to many pictures, hence the reason this is only part one! We landed safely, Saturday afternoon and we all took naps as soon as we got home... well after a run to Panda Express. (Thanks Aaron!)

The trip started last Saturday morning at 3am, when we all scurried to make sure everything was packed, and we didn't forget Kai, or any of her toys she wanted to bring. We drove to my moms house and she took us to the airport where we checked in and got to our gate. I love the Oklahoma City Airport since it's never really crowded and we can get our bags checked and scanned rather quicky. Frontier Airlines is great because Active Duty Military can get free bags checked, we only had one bag, and the carseat, which baby items are checked for free. It's no harm to ask anyone if they offer a discount, and doesn't hurt anybody if they don't!

The first plane was a small one, me and Kai sat together, and she loved the ride. We landed in Denver (first picture) where it was frigid! There was a short walk to the terminal, and we set off to find our next gate to head to Portland, Oregon. That airport is closer to Aaron's mother house then the one in Washington, I find that a little funny.

The second plane had TV's where we asked if they would give Kai tv, since Aaron flew once and they gave Military free tv, the lady gave us all tv, so that was really cool. (I want to hug Frontier at this point!)

We landed at PDX around 10am Pacific time, and headed out the gate to meet Debbie (Aaron's mom, shes also known as Memaw :) )

Kai was a little apprehensive at first since we haven't seen her for a little over a year, and Kai was super young at that point.

See the look on her face? She quickly warmed up, after we picked up our luggage, she had a minor meltdown when she saw her carseat go to the checking area, but now she had it back and knew it will never go away again.

Debbie took us to see Mount St. Helens first, it was a little cold for my taste, and Kai was a little scared of the drop off. The mountain was beautiful, and I made sure to take a million pictures!

After that we moved on down to Mayfield Lake, since little Kai decided she wanted to go "swimming." Little girls are so crazy.

I didn't even attempt to go in the water since I knew it would be negative a million degrees below zero. Kai loved it though, she waded around, threw rocks in the water, and found sticks!

We had to drag her kicking and screaming out of the water to go play at the nearby park, since I didn't want her to get frostbite. That wouldn't look good on my mommy record.

The day was a blast after that we were too exhausted to go do anything else but hang around Debbie's house. I'll update tomorrow on the next few days of our trip :) stick around!

Military Raises

2010-03-04T22:15:00.000-08:00

(I love these comics, but letting you know most of them are NSFW if you want to check out the website)

I have to put this out there, but I'm personally sick about everyone complaining about the proposed pay raise the military is getting next year. Why does it matter? A raise is a raise is a raise. It's nice but you should never, ever depend on that raise. Being in the military does not mean you are entitled to anything, 1% is better than nothing, I know its hard that your husband/wife/sister/brother/etc. is away, it does stink they put their lives in danger, but so do police officers and firemen. They do not get raises every year, they don't get BAH, BAS, etc.

Yes a raise is nice, yes the cost of living is going up, but look on the bright side, our military member, has the job security. I know today, tomorrow and the day after my husband will have his job, he won't lose his job, and that is more than anyone else can say in our economy.

I stress this a lot as I have a family member who lost everything and currently living in a cramped house with a bunch of other people, never live beyond your means. We don't make a lot, my husband just made e-4, that's nothing at all, considering most of our bills. Now we don't make new bills, everything was before I got married, the truck, the bike, the student loans. The only card we have is our Lowe's card which we got to pay for a washer and dryer when we first got married, and it is payed off. I also have a child, who requires diapers, wipes. We live on 150 dollars every two weeks for food. We don't go out to eat everyday, and learn how to have fun without spending a lot of money.

I do have nice things, and we do go out and have a good time a bunch, we can do this because we stick to a budget, and do not depend on what is coming up next i.e. pay raises, bonuses, TDY money. Everything we do is on an excel spreadsheet, how much we make each month, and our expenses. Even with Aaron's pay raise, we put whatever the new rate's difference from last year's rate we stick in savings just "in case" something happens. We don't plan on buying anything extravagant, and hope one day we won't have anymore bills, that the truck will be payed off the bike will be sold, and maybe one day we can buy a home, and retire well.

So please, re-evaluate where your money is going before getting all uppity about the raises. It's just proposed as of now, whatever we get I know I will be happy.

Edit to add(because I got mean comments about my opinion)
1) Our husbands don't work 24/7 at least my husband doesn't, he works 8-4 everyday and leaves maybe 12 hours a day a week to go fly.
2) On TDY's he is not working 24/7, actually when he was in Reno? He went snowboarding 12 days out of the whole month of February. I wish I got payed to vacation.
3) The only time you work 365 days a year is 365 tour in the middle east.
4) My husband also gets the weekends off, and four day weekends when there are holidays.
5) Everyone I know can get a day off if they have to take their child, spouse whatever somewhere.
6) They get 30 days of guaranteed leave, it is not continuous, but you get that.
7) The Military pays an hour and a half, three times a week, for you to go workout (count that as a fitness plan)
8) I know on my base we have a Gym, its free, so count in the free gym membership.
9) We get housing, 900(rounded) a month x 12 = 10800
10) You make extra money on TDY's.
12) Seperation Pay
13) Flight Pay
14) Hazardous Duty Pay
15) Hostile Fire Pay
16) Also there are many places you get discounts at, I know at Lowe's we get 10% off.
17) Now this is not directed twords anyone but a collection of what I see people saying in the forums I belong to, so please do not take offense, but I have to say I have it pretty good. It might not be everyones idea of a good time, but my husband loves his job, he is happy to go to work, and I'm proud of the work he does. For being someone with minimal job experience, and only two years of college, he is doing pretty damn good!

He's Home!

2010-03-03T18:58:00.000-08:00

I have no sappy pictures of him coming home, since lets face it, he was only gone for a month! Next time he will be gone for almost 9 months! That's a pregnancy! lol.

I want to say big THANKS! to Aaron's father. He got us all tickets to go to Washington. We are leaving Saturday morning, and will be gone for a little while. I'm very excited since I've never been up that way before, and it will be the first time I meet his dad, and all his friends. So I will be missing for a little while, but be warned there will be a giant post when I come back! I hope to pick up a million postcards and some Twilight crap for all my friends back here :)... and myself, I can't help it.

I'm very happy my husband is back home, its nice to have the extra hand to help me with Kai, and taking out the trash and all the other man duties he does. It is a little bittersweet, since I know we only have a short time together before he departs again, but thats the life I signed up for!

Till then :)

Rainbow Brite Giveaway Winners

2010-03-01T12:01:00.000-08:00

Everyone's a winner!!

Please email me at donna.shepard87@gmail.com with your name an address they will go out by the end of the month, thank you for your participation!

1) Michelle
2) Cheryl
3) Maggie
4) Samantha Henthorn
5) Jeremy Warren
6) Tiffany Robinson
7) Beth
8) FoundProdigalDaughter

Umm...

2010-03-01T11:56:00.000-08:00

Okay, you tried to be smart and post "anonymously" but I know it's you, please leave my site alone I don't care about you or your feelings, I want nothing to do with you. From what you posted last time you said you won't be following my blog, please delete it from your list of whatever, bookmarks who care what else.

Obviously nothing here will make you happy so PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE

kthxbai.

I'm sorry but...

2010-02-27T05:50:00.000-08:00

I find it hilarious that someone would get so upset about their username being on my blog. If anyone has been reading my blog the method I keep track of swaps is by putting the person username and moved it from one spot to the next.

Examples:

http://adkshep.blogspot.com/2010/01/coming-here-from-swapbot.html

Okay that was an example, it seems I deleted the other ones as the swap closed.

Now, I never made this blog to be offensive to anyone, it was a means of letting my husband who is away a lot know what's happening at home, our family who live in other states see Kai grow up, and just a place to showcase some of the things I've made.

The comments have been since removed from my blog, but there is no need to get mad at me for my methods. I have no way threatened anything, just acknowledging the fact that there is really no excuse for being late for an electronic swap, especially when I wrote that, I checked everyones profile and noticed they have been on that day I wrote it, and the day after, and the day after, hence they had a chance to simply click on my profile, click my blog link and left a comment and a simple follow. It's not back breaking work, its free, it does not require x amount of time to complete. The swap had 6 days to accomplish, if you knew that you were busy that 6 days then don't join. It also goes for the people who don't even read the requirements, as I've seen a few people that don't have blog links.

Anyways, on a good note

MY HUSBAND COMES HOME TODAY!!! *happy dance*

Reminder: Giveaway

2010-02-26T22:17:00.001-08:00

There is only one day left to enter my Rainbow Brite giveaway, so far everyone is a winner! All you have to do is leave a comment.

Political Views.

2010-02-19T15:03:00.000-08:00

This is a short post, but please don't ask a person what their personal views on politics and life are, if you don't want to hear another side.

I had this chick ask me what I believe in, I told her what I did, no offense to anyone just what my views on things were. She got upset that someone can be so "dumb" and follow conservative values.

I don't ask what people believe in, I don't push my beliefs, and just wish people would not get uppity because you don't agree.

This is what makes America great, that people can have the right to whatever crazy view they have. The only way to be tolerant of each other is not through having the same beliefs, but to be okay with other people having different opinions.

Three Weeks Down!

2010-02-17T22:17:00.000-08:00

Only a handful of days left before my wonderful husband is back home!

It's a little bittersweet since he will only be home for a little while and then off to the big deployment.

I like to think of this as a "trial separation." Which lead me to come to these conclusions:

1) What can go wrong, will

2) He will always forget something, even if he went over the list a gazillion times

3) I will forget something, even if I went over it a million times

4) Being apart sucks.

With him being gone for Valentine's, Kai and I sent him a box full of goodies. Which included Godiva Chocolate (yum) and art Kairi made. I also sent him a card I made, but silly me didn't take a picture of it.

Then I went to the local Walmart, and outside was cute little Girl Scouts. Now I have a soft spot for them since I was a Girl Scout a long, long time ago, and remember selling cookies.

So I had to buy a thousand boxes.

(okay more like 5)

And you can't buy that many without sharing, so another box went to my husband in Nevada. The hotel is probably thinking something is up since he keeps getting packages.

This time I did take a picture of the card I made. Mind you I just started making cards and have a lot to learn!

I hope he likes it!

And for your enjoyment, a random picture of my beautiful daughter.

(I'm not bias!)

Chuc Mung Nam Moi!

2010-02-14T14:11:00.000-08:00

(if you came here from swapbot click here)
(Don't forget to enter my giveaway here)

It's Tet! I love this time of year, except for the weather.

That's my lovely daughter in a "Ao Dai" which roughly translates to Long Dress. Red is a color of good luck, my mother brought this back from her trip last year to Vietnam.

There is a Buddhist Temple not that far from our home, and today they had a festival of sorts. There were musicians, dancers, fire crackers and very delicious food.

I love all the pretty colors of everyone's Ao Dai's. There were lots of cute babies, little girls, and everyone was happy! Kai loved everything, she wanted to join in with the fan dance, and wanted one of the lovely umbrellas.

Red envelopes were handed out like crazy, and little Kai got a haul of loot, and it's good luck to spend the money ASAP, so I took her to the BX and got her a brand new barbie.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Tet/Valentine's day, and wish all a happy, healthy and prosperous Nam Moi!

Valentines Day

2010-02-14T01:07:00.000-08:00

This would be our second Valentine's Day together.

But, it also marks our first apart.

No this won't be sappy sob story.

I still miss him very much!

But, I love him more than I miss him!

So Happy Valentine's Day to the bestest Husband ever!

(yes bestest is a word. Even of the dictionary disagrees!)

I miss

2010-02-09T13:14:00.000-08:00

Aaron a lot.

So does Kai.

So there is word he will have to stay out there longer, and that would mean they would start separation pay. I would trade that money in any day just to have him home.

Kai is having a really hard time dealing with him being gone. Sure it's been only a week, sure hes been gone before for longer amounts of time, but now she really gets that he's not going to come home today, or tomorrow or the day after. She gets upset when she hears trucks drive down our street and gets excited when the door bell rings, but alas it's not daddy, it's the neighbors speeding down the street, the mailman at the door, and the footsteps up the stairs? Just the neighbors. I feel so bad for her.

This sucks.

One week down

2010-02-08T08:20:00.000-08:00

(Don't forget to enter my giveaway!)

Seven slow days down, only a few more weeks to go. I'm not excited about this time of year, the days move slow, the weather stinks (it's snowing right now) and it's cold.

I'm an alienator when it comes to deployments. I want to be alone, I want to do things on my own, and I don't want to hear advice from people I don't know on how it will get better, how to stay sane or how to function. Now don't get me wrong I miss my husband dearly, I can't sleep cause I miss him so much, But! I don't need help functioning. I'm highly capable of living life without Aaron. I was a single mom for 2 years before I even met Aaron and learned how to be independent at a young age. I like figuring out things on my own and its where I get the most happiness these days.

I like how I am, and hope I don't offend, I just want to let everyone know, I am okay. I have my mom here if I need anything, I get to talk to my husband every night. Kairi keeps me entertained and shes great company. The house is still a mess, but I have no one to impress so I just let it go a little. If I need a break, I'm not paying for a sitter since I have the luxury of family close by. One thing I hope goes away soon is Aaron's old squadron to stop sending me letters. We aren't affiliated with them anymore, and I rather not go to "wine parties." Drinking is not a part of me, and wish to not partake in any event that is made so you can try to sell me something, be it your tupperware, scentsy, or purses, I just don't care and won't fall for your pyramid scheme.

To the people who have been supportive and understand where I am coming from, thank you. It's refreshing to know a few people who doesn't want to smack me upside the head, and know I just want to be left alone. It's my way of getting over my husband being gone, and everyone has their own method. If I don't come no here and blog, tweet, or even text you back please don't take offense I'm not in a social mood.

Rainbow Brite (Giveaway!) (CLOSED)

2010-02-04T09:23:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, I never watched Rainbow Brite as a kid. (I wasn't born till 1987 and it came out in 1984 wasn't geared for my demographic!) Hallmark Cards is relaunching Rainbow Brite for kids today, with a new look, brighter colors, and animated mini episodes on their website. On the site you can also play games, look at activities to do with your daughter, and even download cute wallpapers. My daughter loves the new episodes, her favorite are the ponies! The episodes are wholesome and teaches a little lesson, the characters aren't provocative like certain dolls out these days. I really enjoy how the characters are nice, and help one another without being rude, or awful. I think how the characters are developed is the reason the show has been going for 25 years strong!

If you can't wait to get your hands on Rainbow Brite swag, check out your local Target or Toys R Us for the line of fashion dolls.

WIN IT!

Up for grabs I have 8 copies of The Rainbow Brite Adventure Pack. It's an interactive CD containing:

*Animated Shorts

* Games and Puzzles

* The Rainbow Brite Theme Song

* A meet and greet of the characers

* and much much more!

To be entered in the drawing just leave a comment on what your favorite part of Rainbow Brite is, or what was your favorite show in the 80's?

Want an extra entry? Visit the website, and tell me which episode is your favorite

Want another entry? Follow my blog!

Good Luck!

Deadline: March 1st! I'll announce the winners then.

(The CD's were given to me through MomSelect, and Hallmark, the review is mine alone!)

Wait whats going on?

2010-02-02T15:07:00.000-08:00

I got this in an email today:

"I thought you said your husband was going to the middle east, why did you write hes going to nevada?"

Military life is complicated, and without saying to much and violating OPSEC, my husband is currently training in Nevada before he leaves to go overseas.

A lot of people do not know what OPSEC is, its Operational Security, and basically its a bunch of guidelines on what people can say to the public that guards our love ones from harm. So I can't tell you exactly where he's going, when hes coming back, and even the date he leaves, until after the dates have passed. It really stinks, but thats how it is, and I rather leave people in the dark then put my husband in harms way. Honestly you never know whos listening, and how they will use the information. If someone knew how long I would be here without my husband they could god forbid break in my house or such, its for everyones safety!

If anyone has any questions on whats going on just ask me! I'll try to explain it the best I can, but you have to remember I am a new military wife, and still learning the ropes!

Farewell, again...sigh.

2010-02-01T22:32:00.000-08:00

At 5am this morning I woke up dreading to take my husband to the Airport. We got mcdonald's on the way, avoided stupid Oklahoma drivers (the roads are icy) and after a few hugs and kisses he was off to Nevada.

Now what do you do when your significant other leaves? I got a little teary eyed but so use to him going that I didn't cry my eyes out, Kai was happy as can be but she doesn't quite grasp the concept yet, however she did get upset that her daddy can yell at her to go to bed through the webcam.

Back to the question I asked, for me I clean, and organize when Aaron is away. I went to Lowes and picked up some plastic shelving and have been working all day on organizing all my crafting materials. Tomorrow I'm tackling the kitchen, and Kairi's bedroom, and hopefully the house will stay spotless when he comes home.

Now, to find something to mail him for Valentines day... maybe I'll mail cookies, or a stripper (jk!)

Swaps (1)

2010-01-29T02:18:00.000-08:00

Here are a few I'm working on:

1) Theme-A-Day Journal with a Twist! I started this when I joined so got a few more days and it will be mailed out on the third, hope my partner likes it!

(Cover)

Box for it :)

2) Big Fat Stuffed Envelope- This one is being mailed out tomorrow, I wish I took pictures of it before I packed it up!

(I would consider that stuffed!)

3) Private Journal Swap- Just started this one and altered the cover a little bit since I thought it was a tad dull

4) Private Chinese New Year Swap- This one is going out tomorrow also! Just need to go buy two more envelopes and some postage.

I'll take pictures of the contents when the items are received :)

In my mailbox (2)

2010-01-25T22:16:00.000-08:00

I have a few postcards that are 30+ days traveling and I hope they didn't get lost.

Today I received this super cute card from Pewel Mała, Poland!

I also sent to Slovenia and the Ukraine today :) I hope they like the cards!

Less than 7

2010-01-25T22:11:00.000-08:00

days until my hubster is gone :(. I'm not sure why I am getting bummed already because he will be coming back in March. Maybe it's the fact that he will only be here for a little while in March then go to the big scary "summer camp for adults" over in the middle east. Maybe it's because we haven't been seperated for more than 2 weeks since we've met, or maybe it's because I'm a big softy and get sad over really dumb stuff all the time.

I took a few photos the other day while Kai was coloring on the sidewalks.

Yup I signed up for this, but man am I bummed!

I'm going to miss:

Making dinner for three

Hearing the truck roll up the street at 4:30pm everyday

His Carhartt

Bike rides

Yelling at him to get ready to go out

Waking him at the buttcrack of dawn to go places on the weekends

Looking forward to weekends

The random why aren't you in front of the stove jokes

etc. etc. etc.

The hardest part is, Kai doesn't understand. She thinks hes going on vacation, but I guess that works for now. Hopefully time flies by, maybe It would go faster if I wasn't a hermit.

on the bright side, there is less laundry?

and I can do more swaps.

yeah more swaps that will keep me chipper.

Life is slow

2010-01-21T20:08:00.000-08:00

(click on the photo I love my daughter's expression)

The weather here in Oklahoma, at least in my part has been nice. It's still a little cold for this Arizonian, but I'm getting use to it, heck I was excited it was 40 degrees the other day.

I honestly have nothing new to report, eek I lied, Aaron lost a day and will be leaving one day sooner than I though. Which is a major bummer, but he will only be gone for a month and be home, and then leave again. Wonder how that will mess with the little one.

Speaking of little one, do you love her sidewalk art? The yellow spot is Daddy's bike. The rest she said were "bro-bots" she adds b's before her r's, not sure why but its super cute.

She even has a "Brobot" dance/walk/hug. It might of came from my love of robots. She also loves Dinosaurs. I just need to teach her how to crochet, and play video games and shes me! But tiny and way more cute.

(see shes cute)

I'm a little bummed also that I had to cancel the trip to Arizona. Right now I just cant justify spending 500 dollars on two plane tickets, when it can go into savings in case anything comes up. I'm getting old. Usually money just burns in my pocket and I must spend it, but now I just want to save. I also want to use a little of it on getting some ink done. Call me weird, but it's something I wanted for a while, and a new hair style, and more yarn, (I have a sick obsession with yarn)

Ugh, I'm rambling.

Ni Hao, Kai-lan Super Game Day (review)

2010-01-20T12:14:00.000-08:00

I promised Kai, if she was good, I would get her this game, and sure 'nuff she cleaned her room, said her please and thank yous without being provoked, and was most of the time a good kid. We got the game about an hour ago, and shes been hooked! The controls are very easy, there are a few games she has a hard time with, but she doesn't know the difference. The colors are bright, the sound acting is good (even though I have a headache right now) and no matter how good or bad Kai does, the game cheers her on. (getting confused yet when my daughter is named Kai and the character is Kai too?) Kai loves playing as Kai, she says it looks just like her, I beg to differ my Kai is wayyy cuter. There are about 10 mini games, all pretty short to match attention spans of kids. The only downside is, I paid almost 40 dollars for this game. Way to overpriced for what it is, but it makes my daughter happy, and hopefully she gets 40 dollars worth of fun out of it.The games do teach about Asian culture even if the character is Chinese I see a few things that are in Vietnamese culture, not sure about the other races. Now my daughter is 3 years old, and she finds it fun yet a little challenging, there are other skill levels so an older child would enjoy it also. I would wait a little for the price to go down, or find it on Amazon, Ebay, Overstock, for a cheaper price, I believe gamestop ripped me off.

In my mailbox (1)

2010-01-19T12:39:00.000-08:00

I hate long weekends, but do love getting lots of mail on the day after.

Today I received three postcards from postcrossing

This funny one from Finland, my daughter loves Santa so this was a wonderful surprise.

This one also came from Finland, I love how the snow clings to the branches

and lastly:

I got a nice letter along with this one, the island is beautiful! This card came from Spain.

I have two to mail out, so hopefully more will come in real soon :)

Saving Cicadas (Review)

2010-01-18T18:49:00.000-08:00

This book was an utter surprise to me. Took me for a nice trip with lots of twists and turns. I was lost most of the way, but in the end found the light. Saving Cicadas, is a brilliant novel, told mostly from a child's point of view. To see the world through innocence, and not know what is going on most of the time, to learn about the Macy family through snippets of ease dropping, grasp my attention through the whole book. The story follows the Macy family who is taken on a road trip after Priscilla (the young and beautiful mother) is pregnant again. She already has one daughter, Rainey, who has special needs, and another daughter, Janie, who is very wise for her age. Their daddy skipped town on his motorcycle never to be heard from again. Priscilla is taking the family on a trip of self discovery, and growth, and in the end she finds peace with herself. Nicole Seitz has a way with words to get you to love the characters through dialog, they characters have dept. The ending was a complete surprise, but leaves you wanting for more, but content if there isn't any. This book has subtle Christan undertones, and deals with children learning about God, Heaven, Death, and Ghosts. I found it very enjoyable and hope to read more from the Author. I highly recommend picking this book up it shows a different perspective on the events of today, and leaves you with a new view on things.

(I received this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers for free to review, the opinions stated are solely mine and not influenced in anyway)

Complaint

2010-01-18T07:48:00.000-08:00

I enter a lot of contests. Maybe 100-200 a day, depending on my mood or lack of motivation to accomplish other things.

I've ran into an epidemic (okay not really) that has really grinned my gears.

When people make a giant sap story to try to increase chances of winning.

Most blogs contests are random, just random.org from all the comments, just because your story is super sad on why you deserve to win the wine gift basket, or the blu ray dvd player... doesn't mean you get another chance, just follow the rules and write the comment on the blog that actually has to do with anything. Sorry if I am coming off harsh, but this has gotten rather annoying as some people straight up lie their way to win something.... the one i see the most is

"I have 30 kids, its really sad having 30 kids with no dad in my one bedroom home. I'm disable and by disable I mean i broke my toe when i was 10 years old, and at 50 years old the emotional scarring of said toe still haunts me today. I would love to win this brand new state of the art laptop that does everything because I can't work and want to go back to school, its hard to feed 30 kids and keep rent and pay for the internet to enter all these contests. Please pray to the lord all mighty that i win, because Jesus/God/Mary/Buddah, really wants to hear my prayers on winning the lottery, contest.... etc. etc. etc."

Okay I'm done for the day. What has been annoying you lately?

(I typed "Too many kids" in google image and this popped up, ha ha)

Bounce Dryer Bar

2010-01-15T09:42:00.000-08:00

I saw this on TV, and went to the local Target and picked me up one. I don't know about you but I hate dryer sheets with a passion. They stick to some of my towels, get everywhere afterward, and just a waste of money. After looking at this package and seeing that one bar at $12.00 that last me about 4 months, so 3 dollars a month, 4 months of not worrying if i forgot to put a sheet in, if i forgot to pull it out and put a new one in, or even thinking about it, heck this is better than sliced bread!

I've installed it yesterday, it was super easy, you pull the paper off the back and plop it into the dryer drum (not the fin!!! don't do it!!)

The first load I did, the clothes came out with no static, and smelled really nice, I noticed a difference in softness too. I wonder how long this bar will last a family of three, well two since Aaron is going away soon, if it last more than 4 months I'm sold on the idea.

Now will someone make a soap bar for the washer? ha ha

(I bought this with my own money, the company didn't send me anything and reviewed this out of boredom.)

Post Crossing

2010-01-14T20:26:00.000-08:00

I have a deep love for postcards, ever since my mom started working as a semi truck driver when I was a kid, she would send home lots of postcards of places she went or places she wanted to go. I lost all of those postcards when we moved to Oklahoma, but recently I found two websites to expand on my past love. First would be www.swap-bot.com, where you can "swap" for a card, and second being www.postcrossing.com. I enjoy Post Crossing more for postcards since I have no idea where I am sending my card until I click the send a card button, and no idea when I will get one back, its the surprise in the mailbox like the above postcard I received from Belgium

I'm fairly new to the site and have sent out 10 so far, and only got back 3, you can send 5 at a time, and until one reaches a destination you cant send anymore. The concept is really neat, and I hope you check out the website, I hope to post more about it once I get more cards. I received the above card today Germany, I love looking at all the stamps on them, and the post markings. I can't wait to build an extensive collection, and hope to visit the locations sometime in the future when I win the lottery. So check out the site, join, laugh at me and my collection, but its nice to see that postal mail isn't dead like everyone says!

(I mailed this one today to The Netherlands)

If anything this makes a great geography lesson for younger kids as I've sent cards to countries I've never heard of!

Busy Busy

2010-01-13T22:33:00.000-08:00

(this picture has nothing to do with anything, but that's my mother, my little sister, and me, in some sweet sailor outfits, and bowl cuts.)

We get paid tomorrow, which means:

1) Wake up early to get groceries (living on ramen = no bueno)

2) Stop by Aaron's office to bring him lunch

3) Clear out the fridge, of whatever went bad

4) Run back to the store since I forgot this or that

5) Mail out swaps since I now have money for postage

6) Sign up for more swaps since I'm super addicted

7) Clean the house.

8) Go out to dinner with the family

9) Pick up my little brother

But in all actuallity I believe this is how my day will go:

1) wake up, whine

2) get food

3) facebook

4) watch tv

5) play the wii

6) go to bed.

I should grow up one of these days.

While still on my Lovely bones kick:

2010-01-13T11:38:00.000-08:00

Knitted Hat = beautiful.

but i suck at knitting and instead came up with this:

Yuck that yellow is super bright but Kai loves it. I need to get a muted yellow, and make the ties a little longer, but this was my first try at it. And it was crochet so it will never have the same effect. Also it's missing the jingle bells :)

I still love it none the less. <3

The Lovely Bones (movie review)

2010-01-13T08:58:00.000-08:00

I had the chance to watch the movie last night with my friend Tiffany, for a pre-screening at the Harkins Theater in Bricktown. We got there two hours early and wasted time with trivial pursuit on my ipod.

If you have read the book before seeing the movie, lots is missing, but if you haven't this is a very enjoyable movie. Peter Jackson did a good job portraying the book, but a few of my favorite parts in the book wasn't in the movie at all. I would not recommend taking children to this movie, even if they don't show the crime itself, you can put two and two together of what happens, and you do see dead bodies, if anyone thinks that is gross. The story it self is great, of how a family is coping with a missing daughter. The suspense is great, and even if you know what is going to happen in the end you aren't sure how they get there. The guy they cast to play Mr. Harvey (Stanley Tucci) was perfect for the part, he give me the chills on how creepy he was. This dude might haunt your dreams for a while. Susie's grandmother was great comic relief, when you start to feel super sad for the characters she comes in to cheer everyone back up. I'm not sure others might like the movie since some die hard fans might be disappointing the movie was adapted differently, but it is still a good movie. Don't go in being, hey this is different, why didn't she do this or that instead? Because the movie would be 10 hours long.

(creepy)

I'll do it tomorrow.

2010-01-11T12:31:00.000-08:00

It's been a year and my laundry room/pantry looks like this:

(please ignore the mess on the couch)

Now we have 1 year left in this house so why should I even bother finishing? Well Aaron's dad is coming down to Oklahoma and it will be the first time I've ever met him. So I don't want the first impression to be "OMG, Aaron how dare you marry someone who can't even finish what they start?" I've made enough excuses, so now that laundry is semi caught up, I shall finish painting it, this room has been neglected enough.

Help! My house breeds messes on its own!

2010-01-10T21:53:00.000-08:00

Housework, is really overrated if you ask me, but alas I took the role of homemaker (housewife, SAHM etc. etc. etc.).

Lately I've been slacking so much that my house is officially trashed. Not quite on the shows about hoarders, but there is stuff strewn everywhere. I'm actually quite embarrassed by the mess and not sure how it got this way. So I am making it my goal to get this house super duper extra clean this week and get everything in order before my husband leaves. Which might make me scarce a bit on the internet, but we all know how that might end up. I'm seriously thinking of hiring a maid for one day when we get our tax return so I could get caught up on housework. The main problem is we don't have a lot of space and not enough storage, and hopefully that will get fixed soon! I'll start with my crafting desk tonight, then work the living room, to my bedroom, the bathroom, my daughters room, laundry room, kitchen and finish with the dining room, which is a small circle around the home. I can't wait till we get the new houses in November, which is 4x the space we have now.

I'm rambling now with nonsense. Hope everyone has a good one :) while this lazy housewife gets her butt in gear.

The Countdown Begins.

2010-01-10T07:36:00.000-08:00

Two days ago we got word that he will be leaving earlier than expected. By a day? a week? nope a whole month earlier. I'm really bummed about it because he did talk about having the whole month of February to spend together to do family type things. Heck his dad and sister were even going to come down from Washington and hang out with us. The way this is going to work is not the same as a typical deployment. I can't get to indept about it but he will be gone for a month to train, then back for a couple of weeks, then gone for a few months to train, and then straight from training he will be shipped overseas. Basically I'll only see him for about 2-3 weeks after he leaves the first time until the end of the year.

So, then I'll have lots of time to do stuff. Except I'm super boring, and the only "stuff" I do, are swaps, and reading. Yay me!

*sigh*

Coming here from Swapbot?

2010-01-09T17:37:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my blog, to get a rating from me please leave a comment on any post, then follow me. Just leaving a comment is only part of the requirements, the following is the rest. Thanks for understanding! Let me know if you have followed and left a comment if I have missed you

It's come to my attention some might be following privately, please let me know that you are by commenting here or emailing me: donna.shepard87@gmail.com thanks!

Partners-

Got comments, but not following:

Psychedelikat

Got Everything thank you!!!!!

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EEK no follow link what do I do???

2010-01-09T10:44:00.000-08:00

When the person's blog you want to follow doesn't have a follow link?

I figured it out!

First go to their page, and right click> view page source.

You will get a bunch of mumbo jumbo.

Press: Ctrl+F and you get the find button at the bottom type in "blogid"

write the number that follows it down or copy and paste it

insert that number in place of "NUMBER"

http://www.blogger.com/follow-blog.g?blogID=NUMBER&blogTitle=Word1+word2+....

where it says blog title, replace it with the blog title... so for instance for me the link would be:

http://www.blogger.com/follow-blog.g?blogID=3274167796076151510&blogTitle=theshepards

try it out have a nice day!

Arizona

2010-01-08T17:47:00.000-08:00

Az, is my favorite place. I was born there (Chandler), raised there (Mesa), and my best friend still lives there (Surprise). During Tax time I always go on a trip. This year me and Kai will be going to Arizona while Aaron is away for classes in Reno. I can't wait to go, but then again a bit apprehensive on taking a three year old on a plane. Any tips?

The Lovely Bones (review)

2010-01-08T09:07:00.000-08:00

Anyone else like to read books before they watch the movie? I sure do. I got this book in the mail randomly, not even sure who sent it to me, why, or what for? So I apologize to the person that sent it to me.

The Lovely Bones, is a wonderful book, with a terrible ending. Well the ending itself is not terrible its not how I wanted it to end with the buildup of the whole book. The story is about Susie Salmon, who at 14 gets murdered. You know who the murderer is throughout the book, and it just breaks my heart on the lengths the dad goes through to bring the murderer to light.

In the book you go through the events from when she gets murdered to afterward, when the police are interrogating people, trying to find her body, and how it effects a family. The writing is great and it is a fast read, if you have a little girl this book might make you cry though, from seeing how the dad went from full of life to he might as well be dead. There really isn't much to say without spoiling this book, but the story does get a bit confusing as the characters do grow up a lot. The events in her personal heaven are strange also, it seems that authors these days like to add fodder to books to make them take up x number of pages, but this was a good book in my opinion and I can't wait to see the move.

The Time Traveler's Wife (Review)

2010-01-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

I've been seriously slacking with reading, and I apologize, just with Aaron leaving soon I haven't felt like doing much. I also believe I am getting sick :(

The Time Traveler's Wife, is an extensive read. It's over 500 pages, and most of it is unnecessary. I have yet to see the film, but I hated the book, but, then again I loved some of the book. I hope that makes sense? The ending stunk, and that was part of my hatred for this book, but I couldn't put it down. I recommend taking notes while reading because it does get confusing. Some events in the book are unnecessary for the character/even advancement, and you read it, then try to remember it so its important and find out later on its not, which was very frustrating. There are sex scenes, which most were unnecessary, and the only word she used to describe your lady parts was "cunt" really? Thats the best you can do? Jeeze.

How this got on booklists? Or why is this a must read? I'm not sure, maybe because most people are so dang confused they have to talk to other people about it. The parts I do like is the story it self, the guy time travels, and the girl waits for him the whole time. You know the ending in a way at the beginning of the book, and its nice to see what builds up to the end. There are lots of random characters that contribute nothing to the book and appear here and there to just confuse you. If you have lots of time on your hands or like me who like to read books before you see the movie then I would read it. But other than that run far far away.

Stinky Princess

2010-01-03T07:51:00.000-08:00

That's Kai's new nickname but that's a story for another day. I just couldn't think of a title :)

The 29th was my birthday. I partied hard, and by hard, I mean I spent the day in bed, reading. How exciting right? My mom gave me some birthday money and I took Aaron, Kai and Kevin out to eat at this new Chinese buffet, called York. It was yummy! I adored their sushi.

New Years Eve, I partied even harder. Which meant I got out of the house, had to looked a little spiffy and went to one of Aaron's friends house had 1 beer (I'm a rebel) and watched Inglorious Basterds. (Go me!) I did stay up till 4 am that night, I call that a win.

Man I have become boring! Every year I do something fun for New Years Eve, and My birthday, be it party, go out to an event or the like. But not this year, as a newly minted 22 year old, I stayed home, and honestly I couldn't be happier. I wish I got pictures though!

Ok I can't leave you hanging with no pics. These are from 2005/2006? Not sure how to do the date, but it was new years eve! Me, Anna(sister), and Tiffany(bestie (hate that word)) went to opening night. That was Pre-Baby, and right before I left to go to California!

(Oh, to be young again. What was I thinking with this outfit?)

Chuck mung nam moi! (thats happy new year in vietnamese)

Sunday Sunday Sunday

2009-12-28T09:39:00.000-08:00

The "Great Christmas Blizzard of 2009" has come to a close. The streets started clearing, ice started to melt and people came out of their rabbit holes. Our main motivation today was "Free Museum Sunday" sponsored by the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, and it's all part of "Downtown in December." Me being a ditz, I didn't read what time the museums opened and got there an hour early, at least we scored really good parking.

We walked to the Oklahoma City Memorial, very moving place, it was absolutely beautiful with the snow, and the frozen reflection pool. If you live in Oklahoma City or visiting make sure to go here, it is very sad, and makes me cry like a baby when you see the faces of the lives lost in the bombing. My three year old didn't really understand much, except the building got broken by a bad man, and people went to live with the angels. My little brother enjoyed it though, he learned about how evidence is collected to convict people and how all the rescue teams work.

We also made a stop at the Oklahoma Museum of Art. I really enjoyed the glass collection, and the "fine art." The whole contemporary art of just a colored square on white paper is lost on me. Heck anything that I can do myself is lost on me, but the beautiful paintings from early America, to the time of Monarchy are more my speed. My daughter especially loved the painting of animals, and we strolled the galleries asking her what she sees and what colors are objects in the art.

The day was fun, but exhausting, we all went home and took naps.

Blizzard

2009-12-25T09:49:00.000-08:00

I would never thought we would have a Blizzard warning here in the middle of Oklahoma. They promised a few flurries I came to amends with that (I'm an Arizona Native).

But Alas, we got a good feet or so of snow. Driving my sister home today we saw abandoned cars, it looked like a scene out of an apocalypse movie! (Think the day after tomorrow) It's a beautiful day today but yesterday was no joke. See:

That's the road leading out of the Base.

Hope everyone is having a safe and wonderful Christmas, watch out for the slick roads!

Missouri

2009-12-23T11:05:00.000-08:00

On Friday we packed up the truck, put out fresh water and food for the cats, and loaded in and started driving on turnpike heading to Nana Pat's house. She lives in Springfiled, MO, which is a 5 or so hour drive. We got in fairly late, but there was an accident on the way there pretty scary, and slowed us down a bit. As soon as we arrived, we were beat and headed to bed.

It's became a little bit of a tradition but every time we are in Springfield we go to the giant Bass Pro Shop they have there. It's the world headquarters! They have a restaurant, and all sorts of neat things, we took little Kai to the Santa's Workshop. She wanted nothing to do with Santa, so instead she rode the trains:

made some cookies:

We left a bit early since it was super crowded and headed to this really yummy Chinese buffet near the Mall.

After getting stuffed on fried goodies, we went to Battlefield Mall. It wasn't as crowded as Bass Pro, and we walked around tried samples, and Nana Pat got me a new Hello Kitty day planner which I ever so adore.

On Sunday before we headed home, Nana, treated us to Lambert's. It was my first time there.

Might be a tad hard to read unless you click on the picture, but it is the "Home of the Throwed Rolls," and by that they literally throw rolls at you, well not at your face, but you have to catch your own rolls. These rolls were made in heaven and passed down to us unworthy people. They were super good, and I'm jonesing for some now! The portions are HUGE, and all you can eat, but we barely got threw the first plate. They also have pass-arounds, such as fried okra, and potatoes. I highly recommend eating here, it's fairly cheap, and you get your fill.

We love driving up there and spending time with family, its really nice to get out of Oklahoma sometimes! Tomorrow we are going to my mom who happens to live down the street to spend some time with my sister, nephew and whatever family in town for dinner. It won't be the traditional Christmas dinner, but yummy none-the-less.

How is everyone else spending the holidays? Are you traveling? Staying close to home? Hibernating?

And I'll leave you today with this shot I took on our way home, I love sunsets.

Forget it.

2009-12-20T18:06:00.000-08:00

Post tomorrow about our trip to missouri.

But I'm in a bad mood...

so off to bed I go.

Downtown In December

2009-12-15T22:33:00.000-08:00

See that happy little girl with her Corndog?

It's a sham.

Thats her leaving the Devon Skating Rink, yesterday night.

"What happened?" might you ask.

Nothing! I won 4 passes to go skating, I invited my friend Tiffany, my brother Kevin, and we were all set to skate. Sure it was negative a million degrees outside, but Kai was bundled up, she had cute little size 7 skates on, cute hat, scarf I made her, thousands of layers on, but she said it was simply

"too cold"

I coaxed her to getting on the ice, I held both hands, encouraged her to just "walk" on the ice, but nope, didn't happen, instead I got

"mom, NO!, I hate you I hate you I hate you"

wow strong words from a three year old. So I took her off the ice, and sat down with her and got her hot chocolate.

"it's too hot mom"

Isn't that the point? Gosh, when did she become the little Diva? We ended the night soon after, I skated once around the ring (waste of time dang it) and we headed to Cuppies 'n Joe. Oops! They are closed on mondays, so we drove the Red Cup, nope closed too. So where are we going to find warmth? Hot food, hot drinks, a heater?

A frozen yogurt place on Western (sadly I didn't catch the name). It was just like Pink Swirl, very yummy, but we were still cold. (ha ha)

We ended up at Big Truck Tacos. All I can say is this is my new favorite place. Maybe I'll talk about it more later on as it is midnight, and I should be in bed (oops!)

Crud.

2009-12-13T10:04:00.000-08:00

Friday was the Holiday party for Aaron's Squadron. It was held in the beautiful Oklahoma Grand Ballroom at the Embassy Suites in Norman. Now, I've never been to any of Aaron's formal work functions, and this was suppose to be "Christmas Casual" which is such a broad range of dress, so i chose a knitted sweater, white undershirt, black skirt, and tights, and a pair of boots with the fur (ha ha).

When we got there all the Officer's where there already and dressed to the nines, men in suites, women in formal dresses. What the hell? So now I'm under dressed getting dirty looks.

The dinner was nice, people kept to their respected groups, and I hate how its separated in to groups. The kicker was a group threw 700 dollars at the bar and that ment some people could get free drinks. When we got there 2 minutes after the party started, all that money was gone.

Where did it go? Turns out some people were hoarding drinks. Literally had 10 drinks at the table waiting for one to run out or to share with each other. Very lame. I doubt I'll go to another one of these parties as I see how the people treat each other. The officer wives would scruff the Enlisted ones, even went as far as picking on how under dressed they were... (you know who you are *point point* lol) It just hurts my feelings as they always talk about how military wives should stick together, your husbands rank shouldn't have to play into that.

But besides that I did have a good night. I got to hang out with my husband, and as sweet as he is, he gave me some money and I got to go downtown with friends from his work. I had a blast hanging out with Neitzer, and Kandi. We started off at America's Pub, but soon realized that place is a big frat party we didn't belong at, and the 7 dollar cover was just crazy. We then migrated to Coyote Ugly. That was a blast! From dancing on the bar and people watching we stayed till last call.

And if you have the time go check out Kandi's music page, she is a very talented musician, and she also has the cutest car I've ever seen! (But that might just be my hello kitty obsession talking.

Pictures coming soon, as I left my camera in her car

It's Offical

2009-12-10T11:17:00.000-08:00

My husband will be deploying.

Now we knew for a while, but he got the firm dates on when he is going, and that just makes it even more real.

This is my first deployment with Aaron, but not first all together, since Kairi's dad has deployed twice in his career.

But for some reason, this one hurts more. Maybe because I'm super fond of my husband, or just that I have no idea what to do for the months he will be gone.

The hardest part though, is I won't be there to send him off to the middle east, but only be there to send him off to training in Mississippi. Heck he will be gone most of next year! Thankfully he won't miss too much of the Holiday season., but will be missing Kairi's fourth birthday, and all sorts of other stuff.

Another thing is, he won't be leaving with the unit he is in, but training on something new, so there goes my support group with anyone on this base. I'm not part of the spouses group because 1) Never knew there was one till today 2) Not sure I want to be social. I rather just hibernate for the time hes gone.

Hopefully the year will go by fast.

Open now!

2009-12-08T09:32:00.000-08:00

Sporadically, we get packages from Memaw (Aaron's mom) up in Washington state. Since Memaw lives so far away every holiday Kairi's come to expect a "happy day" from the mail man. She squeels with joy with the door bell rings during the day because she knows something good has arrived.

Sometimes its just a book, or a card, but sometimes she gets goodies, like dolls, candy, and rif raft.

This time she recieved:

A few stockings:

"This ones for daddy, this one for mom, this is the cats, and the pink one is mine"

under the stockings was:

She loved building it! (excuse the dining table mess)

But as of now the house is lacking a few candies, since they are getting eaten by the "elves"

(oops!)

How do you connect with relatives far away? Do you send cards for every occasion? Write emails? Or send "care packages" to each other?

Reading Challanges

2009-12-06T09:31:00.000-08:00

The year is quickly coming to a close and that means that the Dewey Read a Thon is coming up soon (april!) but until then I'm trying to find reading challanges to complete for the 2010 year. So if anyone knows of any please leave me a comment!

So far I've just joined Barefoot Angel's 50 book challenge. Looks fun since there isn't too many stipulations, and basically I feel like I'm free to read whatever! But I am also looking for challenges with set books.