THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

Whoever sent us the box of licorice, THANK YOU SO MUCH! I am so excited about all the licorice I have gotten, some from oregon, some from washington and a surprise box on the door step today! I can't believe it.

Nate loves Australian red licorice. They only sell it a few places, target, and they are phasing it out, we haven't been able to find it in tx. So, I sent out a request via email and got a great response. I am going to put together a box to send him in Iraq. Once they arrive (they haven't left yet) I will send out his address if anyone is interested. I know all the soldiers like letters of encouragement.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! YIPPEE!

CATCH UP!

Before we left for Florida, we went to a Battalion Organization Day! (or required fun day). It was fun, filled with food, music, polynesian dancers, & bouncy houses for the kids. They also had some unit skits and awards. So, when Lt. Col. Bush called my name, it took three times until I realized he ment me and I needed to go up front. I got an award for volunteering and I got a Battalion coin, which Nate doesn't have, ha ha.

Last friday Nate and I got the pleasure of going out to dinner & a movie (Indiana Jones). Since we live in the middle of nowhere, we weren't sure where to eat, we love the Chines Buffet, but can only eat there so much. So, we tried out Jason's Deli, which Christina has been telling us about since we moved here. It was great. Alot of it is organic, healthy food, and pretty cheap, so if you haven't tried Jason's deli, check it out. When we got home, this is what came in the door with us-a little frog. Natalie had fallen asleep so Nate put it in our bathtub (which it pooped in) so she could see it in the morning, then he put it in the garden.

Since is is 95 degrees everyday the kids put the sprinkler under the trampoline. Score-I got the lawn watered, the kids entertained and exercised, amd dinner made. I love to multi-task. (I'm not quite sure why they didn't put their swim suits on)

There is alot of tradition in the Army and since we don't know how long our Army career will be I am trying to make sure that my kids (and I) experience as much as possible. So I took Ali & Addie and went to the Casing of the Colors Ceremony. (this is where they case the colors to take them to Iraq). The band played (grandpa used to play in the army band), they shoot off canyons, LTG Odierno spoke along with COL Francey (the Brigade Commander). Here are some of the pictures I took...

Alison just had to go see the tanks. Ironically, Nate wasn't even there, he was a block away in the clinic seeing patients.

SNEAK PEAK

Check out some of our photo's from our session with Dana. (Dana is a friend from church who is a photographer, and her daughter is in my sunbeam class with Alison) Thanks Dana, you did a great job keeping the kids attention (I know it was tough), but they listened to you pretty good. (Click on sneak peak, cornwall) I can't wait to go look at all of them!

GORGEOUSLY GREEN!

My friend Christina (who needs to blog) has turned me into a organic earth friendly freak. I found the best book (maybe you saw her on Oprah) Gorgeously Green 8 simple steps to an Earth-Friendly Life. I am loving this book. The author, Sophie Uliano admits she loves her makeup, shopping, and looking good. She teaches you how to do that, while also being kind to the environment and yourself. I think we are at a point where we all need to do alittle (a lot) more in our daily lives if we want to keep our planet healthy. We consume and surround ourselves with so many toxins. So, for the health of my children and the environment I am trying really hard to consume less, use more earth friendly products, and eat more organic/healthy products (you still have to read the labels, all organic isn't necessarily good). I was happily suprised when Christina and I made the hour long trek (well, it took us more like 3 with a stop at IKEA and getting lost) to Austin to go to Costco. I have been having Costco withdrawls for the last six months. With the price of food I decided it was worth the gas to go and stock up. Well, I was so happily surprised at the amount of Organic products they are know carrying.

So, my goal is to remember to take my reusable bags into the store, not just in the car (I always forget).

What is something you pledge to change to make your health and the world a little better? Also, do you have any favorite organic/earth friendly/healthy items or stores? (beauty, food, clothing, anything).

LAST OF THE FLORIDA PICTURES - I promise!

DISNEYWORLD!

SURFWISE

While in Tallahassee my sister showed me a great trailer to a movie coming out...

SURFWISE

What a great life!

FLORIDA PICTURES

OUR TRIP TO FLORIDA

We made it back home from our two week trip to Floriday! It was a blast. We started out with a stop in Atlanta to see Julie, David & Dawson. It was so nice of them to let us stay there and hang out at the Aquarium with us. We were so glad to get to see them. Then we drove to Tallahassee, FL to see Sarah, Josh, Olivia & Brody (Becky's sister & family). We got to see the Florida State Capitol & Wakulla Springs, a natural spring where we went on a boat ride to see the Alligators. Then we drove to Lakeland (near Tampa) to see Joel, Kelly & Rhiannon (Nate's brother and family). We went to St. Petersburg and stayed at the beach, playing in the sand and water all day long. We got to see the sunset and stayed the night. We spent some time checking out Lakeland, relaxing, and playing with Rhiannon & the dogs. Then we headed to Disneyworld. We had so much fun. We are already planning another trip when Nate get's back from deployment. We drove to Orlando sunday night so we could get up bright and early (yah right) for Magic Kingdom. We spent tuesday lounging at the pool at the resort, before we had to say goodbye and head back to Tallahassee. We slept at Sarah and Josh's, making a little stop at the Tallahassee Museum of Natural History where we saw a huge alligator, a bear, cougars & wild turkeys. We made another stop in Pensacola to see the beach. This put us way behind in our drive, but it was worth it. The trip was a great success...no one threw up in the car, Addie & Ali had 103 degree fevers but got over them quickly, we ate lot's of great food and I only had one little anxiety attack-driving through Houston during rush hour (can you blame me)! The south is beautiful. We are so grateful we got to see this part of the country, but don't think we will settle here, too many bugs!!

Well, I am going to spend my weekend doing laundry and editing pictures.
Stay tuned for more pictures!