The Mary's

Corinne's Birthday Party!!!

2010-08-01T08:37:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby girl is one already! (I also can't believe we will have another one in only 3 months but that's another issue!) The past year went by so fast and she has gotten so big! Some of her new words are: stinky, kitty, mama, dada and hi. I am pretty sure she says Carter and Christa too-or at least her version of them! Here are a few pictures from her birthday!

The giant catarpillar that I bought with the money from Grandma and Grandpa Mary! She absoluetly loves it and will go over and lay on top of it to give it a hug! It's so cute!

Corinne with her daddy!

Playing in the new swing that she got for her birthday! It's the first time she was ever in a swing and she had a great time!

The birthday cake and party decorations! I made the cake myself and am so proud of it! It turned out great!

Corinne all dressed up for her party and looking so cute!

Sitting at the table with the big kids!

Wearing her party hat-she didn't like it too much though!

Singing Happy Birthday!! She was very confused.

Taking her first bite. It was a little one a first, she wasn't sure what to do.

Once she got that first taste though she couldn't wait to get more!

Two handfuls!

She was such a mess-but she sure had a good time eating the cake!

July 19th

2010-08-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

Jeremy wasn't here on Corinne's actual birthday so I just had a few friends over and bought a cake.

Corinne spotting her birthday presents that Erin and Casey brought for her.

A stroller for her doll.

And a baby swing for the swingset.

Christa helping Corinne push the stroller-or really trying to take it from her so she can play with it.

Singing Happy Birthday-she looked really confused.

Mommy and Corinne!

Eating cake...I didn't let her just dive in because I wanted to wait for Jeremy to be around. She sure did love it though!

Summer Fun

2010-07-31T16:56:00.000-07:00

The bath towels that Great Grandma sent the kids! They were so excited to get them and just love them! Christa thinks it's her princess cape!

Corinne's first birthday presents! She got them in the mail from Great Grandma and loved that she was actually allowed to rip up some paper!

Movie time!

Corinne loves popcorn!

With the way the weather has been this summer we've had a lot of indoor days!

Corinne in the new diaper that I bought for the baby-giving it a trial run!

Playing outside!

Corinne loves the Little Tykes cars that we have!

Christa pushing her around the yard.

Carter trying to help Christa...it was pretty funny to watch!

Baby Chase!

2010-07-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

I got this shirt for Jeremy for Father's Day...

I saw it online and it made me laugh so hard I just had to buy it for him!

Of course, it won't be too long before The Impregnator will retire but it was still funny!

My belly at 18 wks 4 days!
Great profile picture!

Our little baby!
It's a boy!!!

We can't wait to meet Chase Alexander!

Taylor and the kids

2010-07-08T17:00:00.000-07:00

When I was on bedrest my friend Erin and her daughter came to stay with us and help out. The kids had a great time with Taylor and Erin took some pictures of them playing.

Corinne and Taylor getting ready for bathtime!

Corinne is loving the bath!

The kids outside playing in the pool.

Taylor in the pool with Carter and Christa.

Corinne's 9 month pictures!

2010-07-08T16:58:00.000-07:00

Just like everything else lately I was a little behind getting Corinne's 9 month pictures taken so she's really 10 months old but the other kids had theirs done at 9 months.

She sure is a cutie and she and Christa look more and more alike everyday!

Summertime

2010-07-08T16:14:00.000-07:00

The kids playing in the backyard!

Corinne crawling around and exploring the grass (and dirt).

A box turtle I found crossing the street. I grabbed him and brought him home so the kids could see him. We left him in the backyard while we went out and he was gone when we got home but they had fun while it lasted!

Jason and Amanda's Wedding!

2010-07-08T15:39:00.000-07:00

It was too bad that Jeremy couldn't make it to the wedding because of training in Altus, OK-but the kids and I were still able to make a quick trip up to Kentucky to see Jason and Amanda tie the knot!

Jason and the guys.

Nervous?

The bridesmaids, including Sadie.

You may kiss the bride!

Mr. and Mrs. Jason Mary

The kids with Grandma Mary.

Peggy, Sadie and Jeremy's Aunt Janet.

Sadie and Peggy.

Christa with Grandma.

Jeremy's Aunt Sandy and Aunt Janet.

Jeremy's cousin Misty holding Corinne while she slept at the reception.

Sadie in her bridesmaid dress.

Sadie and Amanda after Sadie caught the bouquet.

Boating with the Rose's

2010-07-08T15:25:00.001-07:00

We've gotten to go out on our friend's boat a few times this summer and it's been a lot of fun! The kids had a blast swimming and jumping off the boat and Carter even went tubing and loved it! Here are some pictures from our first time out with all the kids.

Me-I know, I'm rarely in pictures but Jeremy actually took one!

Corinne, Christa, Carter and Taylor getting ready to go out!

Carter and Christa in the water with Erin.

Jeremy and Corinne hanging out.

Carter playing on the tube.

Erin and the kids in the water again

Spring Stuff

2010-07-08T13:33:00.000-07:00

Carter's field trip to the beach.

I got to go on Carter's first field trip! We went to the beach and the kids got to play in the sand a little. It was a fun day!

Corinne's First Trip to the beach! She wasn't crazy about the water, maybe because it was freezing cold, but she sure did like eating that sand! She was grabbing it by handfuls and trying to shovel it into her mouth!

Carter playing in the sand.

The kids playing around at home.

The South Carolina Aquarium!

We got a membership to the aquarium so we could go whenever we wanted to. Over Carter's Spring Break we went out there with some friends.

Christa and Christian-I'm pretty sure Christa has a little crush on him.

Corinne enjoying the fish from her stroller.

I'm a little behind, but here are some Easter pictures!

2010-06-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

The kids at the Sqadron Easter picnic.

Carter and his friend Anna.

Christa hugging the Easter Bunny.
Carter Hugging the Easter Bunny. I couldn't get them to sit on his lap because they were scared, but they hugged him.

Here are the pictures from Easter day! The kids all dress up in their Easter clothes and ready to go to church-and enjoying their Easter baskets.

Carter and Christa love each other so much!

Christa with her candy.

Carter enjoying his treats.

Corinne excited about the puffs in her basket.

Corinne-getting bigger!

2010-03-07T07:48:00.000-08:00

Corinne sitting up and playing on the floor! Getting so big!

Corinne and her pal Jayden with daddy.

Corinne eating puffs. One got stuck to her nose, it was pretty cute!

Corinne's first attempts at crawling on March 6th.

March 7th, getting a little better.

The Girls-3 years old and 6 months old!

2010-03-07T07:28:00.001-08:00

I had the girls pictures taken at Olan Mills for Christa's 3rd birthday and Corinne's 6 month. They were great, as usual!

Snow in Charleston!

2010-03-07T07:10:00.000-08:00

We heard all the rumors on the morning on February 12th, and the kids even got out of school early, but we didn't believe it! They said we were going to get 2-4 inches of snow and we thought they were nuts. The around dinner time it started snowing, and it kept snowing all night long! Who would have thought that in Charleston, SC we would actually get around 4 inches of snow!

Here is the view from our balcony before we went to bed on February 12th, crazy!

The next morning it had already begun to melt, the roads didn't need any plows or anything.

We got the kids all bundled up to go outside anyway. Jeremy, Carter and Christa had a great time playing in the snow while mommy and Corinne stayed inside where it was warm!

Jeremy was just as excited at the kid were since he missed going to Ohio at Christmas time.

The snow was wet enough to make a nice snowman.

I'm sure it will never happen again, what with global warming and all that, so I was sure to get lots of pictures!

Christa is 3!!

2010-03-07T06:32:00.000-08:00

We had a cake and a small family celebration on Christa's birthday. The cake is beautiful, but I bought it, I did not make it! I wish I could make something like that.

My big 3 year old blowing out her candles!

Eating that delicious Publix cake! Yum!

We gave her one present on her birthday...

a Dora the Explorer camera. She loved it!

The birthday girl on the day of her party. Our good friend Casey was nice enough to bring her stuff to make balloon animals...she used to work as a clown!

Corinne and her buddy Taylor all ready for the party!

Casey brought her parachute and the kids had a good time until two of them bumped heads.

Anna after playing pin the tail on the donkey.

Christian playing pin the tail on the donkey.

Carter somehow was able to get the tail in the exact right place! No idea how! (You can see him peaking...,)

Her princess cake. I got lazy this year and didn't make her one. Publix has such good cake that I just bought it instead. I will get back to it, once Corinne is older it will be easier.

Blowing out the candles.

Eating her cake with her friends.

Opening her presents with all the kids around her excited to see what she got. She got some great things and had a great time!

Christa got the pink Leapster 2 for her birthday. Carter got one for Christmas (not pink) and she played it all the time so we got her one. It's for ages 4-7 so we didn't think that she would be able to play it-we were wrong!

Weekend in Orlando!

2010-03-07T05:40:00.000-08:00

After Jeremy got home from the deployment we were able to head down to Florida for a long weekend and go to Sea World and Disney World. We got lucky and didn't have to pay for either one sinch military can get into Sea World for free and Robyn and Patrick have friends who got us into Disney for free. The kids had a lot of fun and we had a great time visitin with Robyn and Patrick who were nice enough to let us stay at their house! It was a pretty inexpensive trip for us!

We almost didn't go because it was only 44 degrees that weekend, but we braved the cold, bundled up the kids and headed out anyway! The average high for that time of year in Orlando is 60 degrees!

Jeremy and the kids outside of Sea World.

The kids loved watching the dolphins underwater-and the dolphin show which was really cool.

The kids and all bundled up trying to keep warm.

Robyn's friend is one of the trainers at the Shamu exhibit so she was able to take us behind the scenes so we could see the baby whale closer up. The kids thought it was pretty cool.

The trainers feeding the baby whales.

The baby whales posed with us.

Corinne all bundled up in her Reindeer outfit.

A lot of the rides at Sea World were closed because it was so cold that day but we were able to ride a few before we left. Christa was too little to ride a lot of them, but Carter had a blast going on them with Robyn, Patrick and Jeremy. I don't do rides because they make me sick so I just took pictures.

Christa in front of Disney. Carter refused to get his picture taken, which is why there are more pictures of Christa from here on...

Christa with JoJo and Goliath. Carter went on the Tower of Terror ride with Jeremy and Patrick while Robyn and I took Christa to see The Little Mermaid show. Carter loved the ride.

The castle at the Magic Kingdom.

Robyn and I.

It's a Small World ride. The kids loved the music and all the dancing dolls.

Robyn and Patrick with Corinne.

The kids and Jeremy on the Pirates of the Carribean. They actually changed the ride so Johnny Depp's Character from the movie is in it. I'm not a fan of the movie, but it did look a lot like him!

The castle still had Christmas lights on it, it was beautiful!

The girls and I all snuggled up on the tram back to our car. It was a fun day but it sure was cold!

We stopped at the Murray Brothers Caddy Shack in St. Augustine, FL on our way home. Bill Murray wasn't there, but Jeremy had fun anyway.

Jeremy standing by the sign.

Our Family Christmas

2010-02-22T20:24:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas morning!

The kids were so excited to get their bikes!

The kids got to ride their bikes a little bit that day, but it was too cold to stay out too long.

We had a traditional Christmas dinner that night and had our good friends Josh and Lauren over. Believe it or not, all of those gifts are from them-for the kids! They don't have their own kids so they love to spoil ours!

The moose that they got Corinne. Fitting since the squadron mascot is a moose.

Corinne enjoying her octopus.

Lauren with the girls.

Josh holding Corinne.

Daddy's Homecoming!

2010-02-22T20:06:00.000-08:00

The kids waiting in the terminal for the plane to arrive.

Casey and Jayden waiting for Jason to come home...

Erin and Taylor waiting for Mike...

Casey's sign...

Corinne all bundled up...it was about 25 degrees that morning!

Lauren's brother Ari was there to take some pictures for us...he does such a great job!

The kids were so happy to have him home!

It was just too cold to stand around at the airport terminal taking pictures so we just took some when we got home.

Corinne and Daddy.

I remember this silly face...

We are so happy to have him back!!!

Christmas-I know, I'm REALLY behind!

2010-02-22T19:26:00.000-08:00

The kids with Santa at the squadron Christmas party!

Pictures from Christmas in Ohio.

Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa's house.
Great-Grandma holding Corinne and loving it!

Carter, Elizabeth, Katherine, Corinne and Christa.

Katherine holding her baby cousin.

Mom and Grandma.

Christmas day at Mom and Dad's...a bit out of order but you get the picture.

Rebekah with Liz and Kat.

All the grandkids! Christa, Elizabeth, Katherine, Corinne, Carter, Anthony, Brooke and Chris.

Corinne with Aunt Jenny and cousin Brooke.

Corinne and I with grandma.

Carter and Anthony doing a puzzle.

Brooke.

Grandma and Corinne.

Christmas morning...Corinne's first Christmas!

Carter opening his Playmobile animal clinic.

Stockings...

Christmas morning and SO excited!

Grandma and Corinne napping on Christmas.

Grandpa Mary and Corinne.

Uncle Jon

Aunt Amy

Corinne Laughing

2009-11-01T16:55:00.000-08:00

Just a little video that I took of Corinne laughing.

Trick or Treating!!

2009-11-01T14:47:00.000-08:00

We had a great time Trick or Treating...I just wish it hadn't been 85 degrees that day! Corinne looked so cute but she didn't get to wear her costume very long because she was too hot!

Carter was a Storm Trooper, Christa was a pink fairy and Corinne was a caterpillar.

The kids and I all dressed up and ready to go.

Peggy with the kids and I. I'm not going to say that her costume was appropriate....

When I told Jeremy that his mom was going as a wich he said that all she needed to buy was a broom! She looked very scary! She made little Taylor cry!

Lauren as Betty Rubble and her dog Eddy as a dinosaur...holding Taylor Rose.
Lauren and Taylor

A good one of Lauren and Eddy.

Christa checking out the decorations in someone's yard.

Erin and Taylor Trick or Treating.

Taylor Rose all dressed up as a little ducky.

Casey and Jayden Star. Jayden had on butterfly wings and Casey went as a butterfly catcher.

Carter Trick or Treating.

Corinne roasting in her costume!

Fun with Grandma Mary and the 17th Spouses

2009-11-01T13:59:00.000-08:00

Carter and Christa looking cool.

Chuck E Cheese with Grandma Mary and some of the other 17th spouses. It was a lot of fun!

Peggy won the Jackpot on one of the games! She was very excited!

Erin and Taylor enjoying their pizza.

Corinne with Grandma Mary.

Christa and Casey eating pizza.

Courtni with Anna.

Carter playing games with Christian.

We thought the babies would enjoy some rides too. Corinne and I on the horse ride, I did not win the race.

Erin and Taylor.

Casey with 1 month old Jayden in her sling.

Courtni and Jackson giving it a try.

Christa sitting on the potty and reading her doll magazine.
She actually went in the potty! Too bad she wouldn't do it again! Hopefully it's progress though!

Carving Pumpkins

2009-11-01T13:39:00.001-08:00

Carving pumpkins with Grandma Mary!

We were so excited that she was coming to visit we decided to wait to carve pumpkins until she got here. The kids didn't know that she was coming so it was a surprise when we picked them up from school and she was with me.

Christa looking cute in her pumpkin clothes.

Carter showing off "his" pumpkin...I carved it but he gets to take the credit!

The kids outside testing them out.

Christa is a rose, then mine is the monster and Carter's is a little boy in a bed and there is a giant eye looking through the window. It was a lot of work!

Peggy tried to carve a ghost but messed up. Not sure what it's supposed to be now!

More Fall Fun

2009-10-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

Well, Corinne is 3 months old now! She's awake more during the day, she loves to look around at her surroundings and she's cooing and smiling a lot. She still has only given small half-laughs, but she should laugh any day now. She is also starting to wiggle around more and there have been a few times she has gotten close to trying to roll over.

The kids showing off the pumpkins they painted the other day at the pumpkin patch.

Hanging out front of the house with the spider webs and skeleton.

Carter and Christa always want me to lay Corinne on their stomachs.

Corinne has gotten good at lifting her head up and looking around.

Bath time! She loves being in the bath tub!

We went to Carter's school on Tuesday night and saw the Kindergarten Halloween presentation. The kids sang some songs and did some dances. It was very cute and Carter really got into it. I took a few videos since it was too dark for pictures to come out really well and that way Jeremy could see it too. Christa was pretty mad that she didn't get to dance and sing too though!

The videos are a bit shaky because I was holding the camera with one hand (and holding Corinne with the other!) but it is still fun to watch!

Fall Pictures

2009-10-17T12:38:00.001-07:00

We had a spouse social this Saturday at the local pumpkin patch and corn maze and the kids had a great time playing with the other kids in the squadron. It was a nice cool day-the first one that actually felt like fall for us!-so the weather was perfect for it. They had a great time running around and playing with the pumpkins.

Here they are posing with the pumpkins, looking pretty adorable too!

Christa with some of the other kids...Anna with the pigtails, Christian in the hat and baby Taylor.

Carter and Christa with Christian and Anna.

Carter looking cute.

Carter, Christa and Christian at the pumpkin patch.
The kids at the pumpkin patch decorating pumpkins.

Carter's finished pumpkin.
Christa in the straw maze at the pumpkin patch.

Christa with gloves on her feet.

I know what you are thinking, why did a take a picture of Christa eating an apple? Look closer and you'll see that it is in fact a tomato. She got it out while I was in the shower and started eating it. She is crazy!

Christa at the Outlets on one of our shopping trips.

Corinne has started grabbing her toys when she is laying on the floor.

Carter had cowboy day at school and got to dress up as a cowboy. This was the best I could do with only 2 days notice-good thing he had that Indiana Jones hat!

I always say that Christa will eat anything...I didn't know that she would try to eat her own shoes though!

I was upstairs the other day doing laundry and Christa was watching TV. I came down to find her asleep on the floor-sprawled out like this. It was cute!

Christa singing the alphabet song....

Ari's pictures and more!

2009-09-30T15:26:00.000-07:00

Lauren's brother, Ari, was in town and he does some photography so we went to the park with the kids and he took their pictures. They had a great time and the pictures were so good!

Carter on the zip line.

Carter on the tire swing.

Christa playing...she is so beautiful!

Christa and her favorite, the swings!

Corinne and I.

Pushing Christa on the swing.

Carter on the tire swing again.

Corinne didn't get to join in the fun at the park so Ari took her picture at home!

Corinne and her octopus! I bought this while I was pregnant because both Carter and Christa have an octopus...I was sure I was having a boy so I thought the blue one would be perfect! I added the bow so it looks like a girl octopus!

Christa with her suitcase that I bought for Christmas! She found it so it's hers now!

Christa in her new skirt from Old Navy!

Another video of Corinne. She almost laughs right at the end! It won't be long!

Videos of Christa

2009-09-27T08:07:00.000-07:00

Corinne Smiling and Cooing...

2009-09-27T07:11:00.000-07:00

Moving Furniture Around...

2009-09-26T12:07:00.000-07:00

I've moved the furniture in the living room around since Jeremy left and he wanted to see some pictures. We have more room this way, but Christa keeps climbing up onto the counter so we'll see if it lasts!

Our new TV! I am working on getting a wall mount so we can hang it up but for now here it is!

The 32" I bought for our bedroom.

This week...

2009-09-25T12:48:00.000-07:00

Christa got her ears pierced! She told me a couple of weeks ago that she wanted earring like me but I wanted to make sure that she understood that it hurt to get them so I waited. But, she kept bringing it up and we passed a Claire's today so I finally gave in. She cried but got over it very fast. She really likes them and as we were leaving the store she told me she wanted to show daddy.

The kids put on their swimsuits last night and were pretending to swim in the living room so I told them that they could take a bath in the garden tub and wear their swimsuits. They had a fun time pretending they were at the pool!

Corinne is 2 months old! She's smiling and cooing and she's over 12 pounds now!

Christa still loves her baby sister and always wants to hold her and play with her.

I've been trying to get some pictures of her smiles but it's hard to catch it since I usually have to run and get the camera. Here are a few though.

Here's a good one from the other day...

She was pretty excited about something here...

And a sleepy little girl...her hair is just as wild as ever!

My Crazy Kids

2009-09-20T19:19:00.001-07:00

Carter and Christa making silly faces.

The kids love using my camera to take random pictures. Usually it's of silly things like their sippy cups or a dead bug out on the sidewalk, but the other day they actually took pictures of each other and Corinne. So, here are some of the pictures that they took.

I'm pretty sure Carter took this one of himself. He's just like his dad. Jeremy loves to take pictures of himself making strange faces.

Christa is pretty good, she just hasn't quite figured out how to keep her finger out of the picture yet.

Carter was having a good time playing with this package that I got in the mail.

Future super model Christa.

Christa trying to mimic Edvard Munch's famous painting, The Scream.

She looks innocent, but don't let her fool you.

His head looks huge in this picture...

I took these pictures...

Corinne and her big brother. Carter loves her so much!

Kenny Chesney Concert

2009-09-20T19:09:00.001-07:00

I was lucky enough to get to go to the Kenny Chesney concert a few weeks ago. It was a last minute thing since a friend had an extra ticket. They were great seats, we were on the floor in the 20th row. It was expensive but I had a great time!

My friend Courtni Wicker and I at the concert.

Miranda Lambert opened for Kenny Chesney.

Kenny Chesney.

I got lucky that the concert just happened to be on a day when mom was here so I didn't have to worry about getting a babysitter for the kids. It was a nice evening out and a nice break from the craziness of home.

This is why we can't have nice things...

2009-09-06T06:40:00.001-07:00

Our TV that we have had for less then a year and a half. I'm still not totally clear on what happened, Christa says she hit it but can't really tell me with what. Carter promises that he did not hit it. Christa is the most likely culprit...she has been a monster lately so it was really only a matter of time before he broke something major. I'm just sad that it's the $1,600 television!

Anyway, the new one is on the way. The bad news is that she cost us $1,500, the good news is that the new TV will be bigger- 52 inches instead of 46 inches. At least it's during the deployment so we will have the extra money to pay for it! I just wish we could have spent that money one something else and kept the old TV!

Bowling night with the 17th Spouses!

2009-09-05T09:15:00.000-07:00

The kids and I went bowling with some other spouses from the squadron last night. We had a great time and it was super cheap since it was on base.

Lauren Wygant (a good friend of ours) doesn't have any kids but she came with me to help me out and have something to do since her husband is also deployed.

She helped me out so much with the kids! Here she is helping Christian Wicker bowl.

Carter and Christian picking out their balls.
Courtni and Jackson Wicker.

Heather, Anna and Ethan Thorsell.

Lauren Wygant and Corinne.

LJ Ramsey, Carter, Anna Thorsell and Christa.

LJ Ramsey and Carter

Christa showing off her great fashion sense.

We had a blast and so did the kids. We plan on making it a weekly thing.

Banana Brush

2009-09-05T09:04:00.000-07:00

Just a quick video I took of Christa this morning "brushing her hair." She's a nut...

Deployment

2009-09-01T15:23:00.001-07:00

Yes, it's that time again. Jeremy left for his 4 month deployment a few days ago. I've been so busy since he left that I wasn't able to get any pictures up until now-I've actually been working on this for a few days but kept getting interrupted.

Anyway, here are the pictures that we took the morning he left.

Christa doesn't completely understand. She asks me every morning where daddy is. I guess she just thinks it is like one of his short trips.

Christa has Jeremy's exact personality...
Carter was okay while we were waiting for them to board the plane...but he started crying as soon as Jeremy left.

Daddy and the kids being silly.

All three of our babies...

We've been able to email quite a bit back and forth and have even talked on the computer. He called yesterday and we got to talk for a fifteen minutes. Right now he's working the desk so he is on 12 hour days which should make it go fast. I've been so busy I've had little time to myself so that should make it go fast for me too!

Carter's First Day of School!!

2009-08-20T08:02:00.001-07:00

Carter started school on Monday! He was so excited to go! School starts at 7:25 am so Jeremy had to wake him up at 6:30 am! Even though he was tired he jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs as soon as he heard that he had to get ready for school.

He he is showing off his new Star Wars backpack and lunch box. He gets peanut butter and jelly every day, of course!

Isn't he cute!

We all went to drop him off at his class on his first day. We live close so we either have to drive or walk-right now with the baby things are too crazy to have time to walk in the morning. I am going to walk him to his class every morning until Jeremy leaves, but then after that we will just drop him off at the door so I don't have to get the girls out of the car. We just want to be sure he knows his way first!
He had fun on his first day but he was upset when I picked him up because he wanted to ride the school bus. I had to explain to him that we live too close and the bus doesn't come to our house!

Carter seems to really like school. He's excited to go everyday and runs into the room without even saying goodbye! But, when we ask him what he did all day he just says, "I don't know." As far as Jeremy and I can tell all they do is stare at the walls all day long.

I finally got around to making his lego man cake! Since I was too tired on his birthday I decided to do it on his first day of school instead. He was very excited to eat it!

When Carter saw the cake done he said, "I want the head." Here he is eating it!

Corinne's First Bath

2009-08-20T07:35:00.000-07:00

Just some pictures of the first real bath Corinne got. She cried a little, but she didn't seem to mind too much and ever since then she hasn't cried at all. I think she actually kind of likes it.

Corinne in the kitchen sink.

And there's the crying...

Corinne hanging out at home...almost a month old!

Looking beautiful!

Corinne with the hiccups...

I think she's trying to knock the camera out of my hand!

Showing off her crazy hair to the world!!! And no, those are not my legs!

Carter turns 5!!!

2009-08-20T07:13:00.001-07:00

Carter turned 5!!!

We were able to celebrate his birthday while Grandma and Grandpa Mary were here by going to Chuck E Cheese one night. It was a fun night and Carter got a lot of great presents!

I usually like to make the birthday cakes but this year I was just way too tired since Corinne was only 2 weeks old! We settled for a cake from Publix.

Here Carter is with his fake smile-he gets that from his dad.

Carter and Christa both showing off their fake smiles.

Carter blowing out the candles.

Eating cake...their cake is so good! I really am not a big cake person-or as Great Grandma would have said, I'm not very cakey...but Publix has the best cake, even I like it!

Jeremy taking a HUGE bite! Our good friend Josh came for the party. He doesn't have any kids and since he's a big kid himself he loves to go to Chuck E Cheese. He and his wife Lauren come for all of our family functions.

Josh and Lauren got Carter an outdoor chalk and paint set that they kids have had a lot of fun with.

And they got him some Sponge Bob Legos.

Grandma and Grandpa Mary got Carter the transformer that he really wanted.

We got him a Darth Vadar costume that he was very excited about!

G.I. Joe action figures from Grandma and Grandpa Caillouet.

Lincoln Logs from Grandma and Grandpa Mary.

Carter showing off his Darth Vadar costume at home!

On August 5th we just got a small cake for after dinner.

Crazy kids...

Singing Happy Birthday...

Carter blowing out the candles!

I can't believe that my little boy is 5 now!!

Grandma and Grandpa Mary

2009-08-10T08:27:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa Mary Visit!

Phil and Peggy were able to come see us a week after Corinne was born.

Christa at the beach. Corinne and I stayed home in the AC while everyone else went to the beach for the day. They had a good time even though they all got burned.

Grandpa Phil with Corinne and Christa.

Grandma Peggy holding Corinne.
Jeremy and I outside our house.
Carter and Christa in the fountain downtown.
Corinne sleeping on daddy.
Grandma Peggy again.

Granda Phil with the girls once again.Corinne trying to eat her hand.
Grandma Peggy with Carter and Corinne.
The kids enjoying their new baby sister.

Family time and new baby Corinne

2009-07-26T10:16:00.000-07:00

A few pictures from our first week at home of the new baby and the kids being silly.

Jeremy took some pictures of the kids being silly the other night so I thought that I would post those as well.

I'm not sure what they were doing, but they were having a good time posing for pictures.

Christa loves being dramatic.

Carter dancing?
All three kids!

Christa and Corinne with matching outfits.

The first week home went by really fast and I didn't seem to have a lot of free time. I'll try harder to take more pictures this week though!

Corinne Ava Mary

2009-07-26T09:45:00.001-07:00

We are so excited to welcome Corinne Ava Mary to the family!

Corinne was born July 19, 2009 at 10:53 am

She weighed 8 lbs 1 oz and was 20 inches long!

She surprised us all because we were so sure that we were having a boy!

Here are a few pictures of Corinne's birthday.

Me in labor not too long before Corinne made her appearance. It had been a long night of very little sleep, as you can tell.

One of Corinne's first moments in the world. She came out screaming. Her apgar score was 9 when she was born and I heard the nurse say that she was one of the few babies she would consider giving a 10.

Jeremy cutting the cord.

Getting cleaned up.

Getting weighed.

More crying!

Daddy holding her for the first time-you can tell he was up all night!

Mommy holding her .

Christa meeting her new baby sister. She was so excited!

Corinne and daddy again.

Carter holding his new baby sister. We were afraid that he would be upset that it was a girl but other then the fact that he has had a hard time remembering her name he doesn't seem to mind...yet.

Daddy with Carter and Corinne.

Corinne asleep in her bassinet-one day old. The hospital here doesn't take pictures so Corinne will be the only one to not have hospital pictures taken. We plan to take her to Olan Mills to get the pictures done instead.

Corinne on Daddy's lap.

Christa seeing her baby sister again. She loves to hold, kiss and hug the baby.

Carter kissing the baby.

One day old!

Summer Family Fun

2009-07-12T13:20:00.001-07:00

We decided to take the day and head off to the beach. I had promised the kids that we would go as soon as Jeremy got back but then the weather was really bad so we weren't able to do it. Today seemed like a perfect day and we figured we may not get another chance before the baby comes! Jeremy and I were busy getting ready to go and Carter was watching TV...Christa was quietly playing which we should have known meant that she was getting into trouble!

I found her sitting on the stairs covering herself from head to toe with Desitin Diaper Rash cream...it sounds funny and I'm sure one day we'll be able to laugh, but it really wasn't funny to either one of us! That stuff is really difficult to clean off and the carpet is still all white from it...I don't know if I'll be able to get it out!

Even though we didn't think it was funny we took pictures...one day we'll laugh about it but I'm not sure when that will be.

We think that she thought it was sun block and that's why she did it...she was excited about going to the beach.

She was not happy when Jeremy had to scrub her skin to get it off...

After cleaning up Christa's mess we finally made it to the beach and it was a great day. Not too hot and not too crowded. The kids had a lot of fun in the water and playing in the sand.

Here is Christa burried in the sand...

And after she got out of the hole all covered in sand...

Carter looking cute and digging in the sand...

He tried to cover himself but it didn't work out...

So Jeremy burried him too...

Jeremy playing with the kids. He was too big for the hole...

And me looking big and pregnant at 37 weeks and 3 days!

And a side shot!

Monster Spray

2009-06-10T11:53:00.000-07:00

So, Christa has decided that she is terrified of going to bed at night because of "monsters." After trying a few nights to put her to bed only to have her hysterical, I got on the internet to ask other moms advice about what has worked for them in the past. So many people recommended "monster spray" to me that I figured I'd give it a shot. So, today while the kids were at mom's day out I made a "monster spray" bottle and when I picked her up from church I told her that I went to the monster store and bought it. She seems to be excited about the idea and she seems accept that it will get rid of them. I kind of goes against your natural instinct to tell your kids that you bought "monster spray," I want to convince her that there are no monsters but that doesn't seem to work so I'll give anything a try at this point! The only way I could get her to go to bed last night was to sit on the floor next to her bed until she fell asleep...I can't do that every night!

Here's the bottle-I chose this picture because Mike looks scared and because it's a monster that she will recognize.

Hopefully it works! I'll find out tonight!

Grandpa Imel's 90th birthday weekend

2009-05-20T17:14:00.000-07:00

I forgot all about these pictures until last week because they were on Jeremy's camera. I figured that I would post them on here since I was thinking about it.

Here is Grandma Imel at the Lee's Inn in Anderson, Indiana back in February. We were all there for Grandpa's 90th birthday party. We were hanging out in the hotel lobby and Grandma was cold so she borrowed Carter's Buzz Lightyear blanket.

Jeremy and I with Grandma.
Jeremy and I with Grandma and Grandpa.
Fran and Reed with Grandma.

Peggy and Janet.

Belly Update-25 wks!!

2009-04-18T11:50:00.000-07:00

Yes I am now 25 weeks so that means only 15 weeks to go!! July 31st seems like a long ways off but HOPEFULLY it will be here before we know it!! I've been buying baby stuff a little at a time the last several weeks because, although I have all the major stuff, some small things did not make it through 2 kids. I've also started stocking up on diapers so we have plenty of those when we bring the baby home!

Anyway, here are some pictures of me! They're not good so you'll have to excuse that. Believe it or not the kids are NOT great photographers...good thing they are cute!

I think I look pretty good...despite the poor picture quality. I've gained about 23 pounds so I'm doing well, I was definately much bigger by now with Carter so that makes me feel good!

Easter Fun!!!

2009-04-18T10:59:00.001-07:00

The day before Easter we went to an Easter egg hunt on base with Candice and the boys! The kids had a great time racing for Easter eggs!

Carter and Rhett before the hunt started.

Jeremy and the kids.

Jeremy and Christa showing off their cheesy smiles!

Me, all big and waiting for Christa and Rowan's time to start!

Christa, anxiously awaiting the start of the 1-2 year old hunt!

Christa getting her eggs!

Carter and Rhett waiting for the 3-4 year old hunt to start...Christa trying sneak in a second turn!

Carter racing for the eggs! I went out with Christa to help her, but parents were not allowed to help the 3-4 year olds because they said they had parents push kids down last year! Over plastic eggs!

The kids after the hunt is over.

The Easter bunny!

Easter morning...Carter looking at his Easter basket.

Christa wouldn't sit still so we get the back of her head!

Carter and Christa all dressed up for church...Christa showing off that cheesy smile again.

Christa's pouty face...no idea why.

All smiles again...

Carter looking handsome as usual!

More pics from grandma and grandpa's visit...

2009-04-18T10:21:00.000-07:00

Well, the kids had a great time while grandma and grandpa Caillouet were here visiting! We were able to get out to the South Carolina Aquarium, go fishing twice and even go to the beach one day! It was a lot of fun!

Carter at the Aquarium.

Christa wasn't in the best mood that day, a little grumpy from all the running around...but I did manage to get a few pictures of her.

The kids touching some marine life.

We were able to go out to Folly Beach one day. It was pretty chilly but the kids had fun playing in the sand. Carter and Jeremy got in the water but it was pretty cold!

Jeremy helped the kids build a sand city until it was washed away by the tide.

Our second attempt had a lot more to it and was farther away from the water.

Christa had a lot of fun this year. Last year she couldn't walk so she didn't enjoy it as much.

The day before grandma and grandpa left we went out and did a little fishing again. It was a really windy and chilly day so we didn't last that long, but the kids enjoyed it a lot!

The kids had a lot of fun fishing with grandpa! Hopefully on their next visit the weather will be better and they can go again...and maybe do some crabbing as well!

Fishing with Grandma and Grandpa Caillouet

2009-03-31T16:02:00.001-07:00

My mom and dad came down for a little visit and my dad really wanted to take the kids fishing. He got them some fishing rods and we drove out the James Island County Park. We tried the little pond there at first but didn't get anything at all.

Jeremy and Carter fishing.

Christa giving Grandma a kiss.

The kids got a little bored when nothing was happening with the fish so they started picking all the clovers.

We moved to the pier to try it out and saw people crabbing. We may give that a try next time since they seemed to be doing pretty well. It was salt water there and Jeremy was doing pretty well catching small fish but dad wasn't having a lot of luck.

Jeremy looking proud with his four inch fish!

Carter looking freaked out by the fish.The kids checking out the next fish he caught, a little bigger then the first.

Christa really wanted to touch the fish.

Dad finally got lucky and caught something big! We were pretty surprised to see that it was a small stingray!

The kids had a good time touching the stingray. It was pretty exciting for all of us!

After she was done touching the stingray and the fish she was pretty grossed out by her dirty hands.

It turned out to be a pretty fun day and we are going to try to go again this week if the weather is good. The kids had fun running around and it was exciting to see the different fish that the salt water had!

Christa's 2 Year Pictures

2009-03-28T16:24:00.000-07:00

I finally got Christa's 2 year pictures back today so I thought that I would post them. She did such a good job of following directions and posing that they turned out beautiful! The photopgrapher even asked me if she could enter several of them into a contest that they have.

What We've Been Up To...

2009-03-25T07:28:00.000-07:00

I realized a few days ago that I haven't put much on here lately, but then I realized that I just haven't been taking any pictures. We've all been sick on and off for the past few weeks (sinus problems!) so I just haven't had anything to take pictures of.

Anyway, I had a few pictures on my camera that I thought I would post just for fun, and pictures of Christa's new bed that just arrived this morning!

Here's Christa watching the pizza cook in the oven. She's always ready to eat loves that she can see the food in the oven.

The kids playing around in the kitchen while waiting for dinner. I don't know why they were covering their mouths and noses, but they thought it was very funny.

Well, here I am at 21 weeks and 3 days.

Christa's new bed was delivered this morning so I got up and immediately took apart her crib and put it away. I had already told Carter that she was getting a new bed but I guess he just didn't totally understand because about an hour after I took the crib apart he said, "Is Christa going to sleep with me or with you?" I thought that was cute.

She's excited about the bed right now, I just hope that she's still excited when it's time to sleep in it and she doesn't give me a hard time!

Carter felt a little left out and thought he needed to have his picture taken on the new bed too.

Our Ultrasound-20 weeks

2009-03-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

We had our ultrasound today! It was supposed to be next Thursday but Jeremy found out yesterday that he was leaving on a trip on Monday. So, I called this morning and they were able to get us in today. We were sure to tell the tech that we did not want to know the sex of the baby, but she did say that she could tell what it was. I am still sure that it is a boy, but you never know!

Anyway, the baby looks great and is measuring perfectly for a due date of July 31st. The heartbeat was 142. According to old wives tales if the heartrate is over 140 then it's a girl, but I don't know if 2 points over really counts that much.

Anyway, here are the pictures that we got today.

I am officially 20 weeks tomorrow so I've reached the halfway point!

Christa's 2nd Birthday!!!

2009-03-12T13:11:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm a little late...but better late then never, right? It's hard to get on the computer during the day without Christa bothering me, but thanks to the warm weather I had a few free minutes so I thought that I would post some fun pictures of Christa turning 2!

Christa on her actual birthday! We went to Chuck E Cheese that day but I'll have to add pictures another time because I can't find them so they must be on Jeremy's camera.

Christa's birthday cake that I made for her in Ohio when we celebrated with our family.
Christa at Marions before blowing out the candles.

Christa eating her cake.

The kid's cousins Katherine and Elizabeth.

Carter and Grandma Caillouet.
Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Hale.

Grandma Mary.

Christa and Uncle Clint.

I am planning on getting Christa's 2 year picture taken next week so as soon as I have those done I'll post them as well.

Our New Furniture!

2009-02-25T05:13:00.001-08:00

Thanks to our income tax return we were able to buy all the new furniture that we have been wanting to get for awhile now. Moving a lot has really taken a toll on our things and we had a few items that were looking pretty bad and in desperate need of being replaced.

We were able to get a new TV console-which I am really excited about! Our old one was cheap to begin with and then on top of that the move from Georgia to Mississippi beat it up pretty badly. We also got a new DVD case. Amazingly they match really well. We didn't buy them at the same place and we didn't even buy them at the same time but they look like they go together!

Our new dining room table which I have been dying to buy for awhile now! Our old one was given to us when we first got married and between 5 moves, 2 kids and Jeremy it was looking pretty bad. I looked all over Charleston at different furniture stores trying to find one exactly like this and couldn't. I found similar styles that were really cheap, but I couldn't find what I wanted. Finally we found it at Sam's club of all places! It's great quality and was about $500 cheaper then we would have paid at a furniture store for a table so solid. We love it!

And, finally, our new bedroom furniture! New bed, nightstand, dresser and mirror, mattresses, lamps, bedding and curtains! It feels like a whole new room!

It's so nice to have new mattresses and a bigger bed, I can really tell the difference.

My goal for this week is to get all the different pictures up from Ohio and Christa's 2nd birthday. Hopefully in the next day or two I will be able to sneak away from the kids long enough to get it done.

Our new house!

2009-01-10T13:03:00.000-08:00

Here they are, the long awaited pictures of our new house! I know people have been asking me to post pictures, but with my mom and dad here I just didn't get around to it before now. But, we are pretty much settled in, almost completely unpacked and just have a few finishing touches. We're changing out some light fixtures in the halls and closets and we need to hang pictures in then we will be in great shape! Here are a few pictures of the house so far!

Our front door and hardwood floor.

The living room view from the foyer.

The living room from the kitchen/dining room area.

The dining room.

Two different views of the kitchen.

The stairs.

The kids bathroom upstairs.

Carter's room which is pretty full. He has a lot of toys!

Christa's room.

The master bedroom from two different views. It was very hard to tell how big our room was exactly until we moved in. The room is huge! We can't wait to get our new bedroom furniture in a month or so.

One of the two walk-in closets in our master bedroom. This one is the big one.

The second walk-in closet in the mater bedroom. This one we are using for all of Jeremy's Air Force uniforms and other Air Force stuff. It's nice to have this extra closet since that stuff takes up so much extra room.

The master bathroom with our garden tub and separate shower.

The backyard with our 6 foot privacy fence. It's really nice to have this so the kids can play outside.

The back of the house from the outisde.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-26T05:51:00.000-08:00

The kids had a great Christmas this year and were very excited to open presents! On Christmas Eve we let them open their stockings and one gift. Here are some pictures of Christmas Eve.

They each got a slinky in their stockings-Carter calls it his spring.

Cartrer got a couple little Lego sets.

Christa got a necklace, purse and glove set. She loves the necklace and has to wear it everyday.

Carter opened his Hot Wheels Track that we got for him. We saved up all our tickets everytime we went to Chuck E Cheese and got this with them-6,000 tickets. We figured it was better to save them up for something big instead of using them for little pieces of junk.
Christa opened a big set of toy food that she got from Grandma and Grandpa Mary.

Christa wearing her high heels, her necklace and her purse from her stocking and pushing her grocery cart-she has her baby in the front seat.

Carter playing with his Hot Wheels track.

The living room after we put out all the presents on Christmas Eve.

Carter got up about 4 am and went out to see the presents. Jeremy heard him and got up and made him go back to bed, but first thing in the morning before he even went back out in the living room he went into Christa's room to get her play food so he could play with the kitchen. They both really love to play with it.

The kids on Christmas Morning.

Christa opening her presents on Christmas morning...some pots and pans for her kitchen.

Christa opening more presents...an apron, chef hat and some pot holders.

Carter opening some presents.

Christa wearing her chef hat and apron and playing with her kitchen.

Carter's marble set that he got. Both the kids love it.

Christmas Fun...

2008-12-22T07:14:00.000-08:00

The kids are really looking forward to Christmas this year! It should be a lot of fun on Christmas morning now that the kids are older and can enjoy it more.

Our picture for our Christmas card along with some other ones I took that day. Carter was more then willing to have lots of pictures taken but Christa wasn't feeling well so she didn't want to cooperate.

I've taken the kids to see Santa every year but this was the first year that it was actually too warm for them to wear the sweaters that I bought for them. I don't know if we'll ever have a picture on Santa's lap with Christa wearing short sleeves and capris again!

On Saturday we went to Chick-fil-a for lunch and the kids got to see Santa Cow! They thought it was really funny, Christa may have been a little scared.

Eleven days until we close!

2008-12-19T08:04:00.000-08:00

Our walk through has been changed to the morning of Christmas Eve so that means we have only 5 more days until our house is done and only eleven days until we close on the house. We started packing last night and we are getting pretty excited. The carpet should go down today and the counter tops will be installed either today or tomorrow! We have all our light fixtures in, the driveway poured, and toilets and sinks installed and the hardwood and tile floors in as well! The kitchen looks great and I can't wait to see it with the appliances installed and the countertops done!

Here's the kitchen!

The dining room light-I love it!
That's all the pictures I took yesterday! Hopefully when we go out tomorrow it will look even better and I'll be able to get some good pictures! It will be nice once they do the landscaping and put up our fence.

What's Happening with Us...

2008-12-13T13:56:00.001-08:00

Well, we had a pretty exciting week. On Thursday morning Jeremy and I went in for my second ultrasound. The first ultrasound that I had last week was uncertain. It looked good since they were able to see the yolk sac and everything was measuring normal, but there was something around the outside that had what the ultrasound tech described as a "swiss cheese" look to it. It made us nervous by the scheduled us for another ultrasound a week later. So we went in this week and were very relieved to find out that everything looked totally and the "swiss cheese" that we had seen the week before was gone. The baby is measuring the correct size and we even saw a little heartbeat. My HCG levels have been good and everything else is looking great. It was a big relief to get some good news!

So, here's the ultrasound picture. Our little baby at 7 weeks!

Another exciting thing is that our house is almost done! We actually have our walk-through in only 10 days, so that means in the next week and a half we will really start to see some major things happening in the house! We stopped by today and were excited to see that not only were they done painting, but the were instaling the kitchen and bathroom cabinets!

The guy was in the middle of doing the kitchen when we stopped by, but it was pretty cool to see our wine rack already up! Jeremy brought me back a bunch of wine on his last trip overseas-which I can't drink of course-so I'll be excited when we get into the house to have a place to store it!

The cabinets in our laundry room.

The kids bathroom.

The master bedroom all painted. We had the entire house painted this brown color with the exception of the kids rooms which we left white so I can do something special in their rooms later.

The master bathroom with our shower and garden tub. Can't wait to use that tub! And another one below that of the cabinets in the bathroom. I paid extra to get the one side with all drawers so I woul have plenty of drawer space.

Our garage door is also up and the garage is finished as well. Sable homes is the only builder that we looked at that actually finishes the walls in the garage.

Another Update

2008-11-27T05:13:00.000-08:00

Not a lot has changed in the last week. The workers have been preparing the walls for the past week. It should be done tomorrow, if it isn't already, and then they can begin getting the trim and doors installed.

They did put in the support beams on the balcony and porch though.

A shot of the living room (from the kitchen).
Carter standing in the dining room.

The kitchen.
The closet doors in the garage waiting to be installed in the bedrooms!The doors to the bedrooms, bathrooms, laundry room and other closets.

The trim ready to be put up!

Hopefully by the end of next week we will have kitchen cabinets and a few other exciting things to show off! It's really starting to look like a house now!

The Sheet Rock is Up!!!

2008-11-22T13:17:00.000-08:00

I stopped by the house today and was surprised to find that the sheet rock is up already!
It will be about 5-6 days for them to finish it off but then they will start getting the trim up around the doors and windows and get that painted. After that we'll get some cabinets. It's coming along really fast now!

The kitchen just ahead with the wall for the bar. To the left is the stairway and to the right is the dining room.

Carter in the Pantry in the kitchen. I am very excited about how big the pantry is. It will be nice to have a lot of space for our food!

The kids in the master bedroom. The house is really starting to feel real now!

The Siding all done on the outside.

I went into the sales office to talk to Lidnsey and ask about a possible closing date. Right now it looks like our walk-through will be on December 23rd and we will be able to close on the house on December 31st. We were hoping to be in before Christmas, but the 4-5 days of rain and wet ground that delayed our foundation being pourred messed that up!

Anyway, we will be able to start the new year in our new house and that should be good enough!

We Have Siding!!

2008-11-22T05:59:00.000-08:00

They put the siding up on Thursday and Friday!!

We were so excited to drive by the house and see that they were putting the siding on. When we went by on Friday afternoon they were almost finished with the siding so it should have been done by the end of the day yesterday. It's great to see the siding on the house and know that we are getting close! Only about a month before we can close-it's hard to believe that it will be done so much, but everything that has happened so far only took a month so it's possible!

Another addition to the inside. They framed the half-wall going up the stairs. We were originally going to pay for a rail and pickets but this way there is a little nook at the bottom of the stairs for us to put a bookcase or another piece of furniture. It just gives us a little more space.

Next week they will be starting on the sheet rock inside the house. After that is done it will soon be time to install cabinets, paint and get flooring down. It should go really fast after that so keep an eye out and I will keep the blog up-to-date!

Insulation...

2008-11-19T13:13:00.003-08:00

The progress the past week has been slow because of all the inspections that go along with the water and electric. But, they did get the shingles on the roof last week. Here on the 13th I drove by and saw them working on the roof.

Our front door is now installed! It will be painted blue before we move in. I love the front doors on these houses, with mos companies you have to pay extra for doors like these, but this is standard with our builder.

The insulation in the downstairs! Pretty soon they will be able to get the sheet rock up, which is already sitting there waiting for them to start on it.
Insulation and sheet rock in the master bedroom.

Making progress...

2008-11-12T10:06:00.000-08:00

The outside or our house today. Most of the windows are in already and the doors are in the garage waiting to be installed. They should start working on the siding next week and the shingles have already been delivered and are waiting to be put on!

A picture in the living room, you can see the windows.

The dining room with the front door leaning against the wall.

The piping and wiring as they install the electric, the water and the heating/air conditioning.
The master bathroom. Our garden tub installed and the shower being set up right next to it.
The hall bath room with the bath tub installed.

The kids enjoying the house...

2008-11-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

Some pictures of us exploring the house while we wait on them to start putting the electricity in. They should be starting that at the beginning of the week!

Here is a picture of the Tech Shield Barrier that came with the green package. It is really supposed to help keep the house cool-I've read good things about it on the internet-so hopefully that helps a lot with our cooling bill.

The kids in the mater bedroom looking out the window.
Another cute one of the kids enjoying the house.

Christa on the stairs.

Carter enjoying the stairs.

Carter in one of the walk-in closets in the master bedroom.

Our Frame is done!

2008-11-05T10:34:00.001-08:00

Well, the frame is done! I went in today and walked around and it was awesome! I only took a few pictures of the downstairs because it's kind of difficult to see the upstairs in pictures. I'll try to do a better job tomorrow, but for now here are a few of the downstairs!

Here is the Kitchen with the bar.

Here are the stairs.

Here is the living room with the kitchen to the left and the dining room will be to the right.

And the dining room to the right of the kitchen.

Pretty exciting stuff! We are supposed to go on our walk-through tomorrow but Jeremy is leaving on a trip so I have to find out if I can do it without him and he and I need to go over where we want the cable outlets to be. We don't want to wait until he gets back because we want them to get moving on the rest of the house. It will be exciting to see the progress from here on out!

A little more Progress...

2008-11-04T15:59:00.001-08:00

Our house on Election Day. The elementary school is right across from the neighborhood. I didn't think about that when I drove out to see the house today, but the school was set up as an election polling place. Needless to say, the road was backed up pretty far and it took a lot longer to get there then in normally does. It was well worth it though.

You can see that the balcony off the master bedroom is now there and on the inside I coul see that they were putting the stairs in when I drove by. I'm hoping that tomorrow afternoon we will be able to drive out there and actually walk through the house and up the stairs!
It's looking pretty good and we are hoping to have our frame walk on Thursday or Friday.

Trick or Treat

2008-11-04T15:35:00.000-08:00

October 29th they had a Trick or Treat night at the squadron. The kids were excited to get their costumes on and go from office to office getting candy. Christa was a little overwhelmed, and clearly didn't understand what was going on, but she was very happy that people were giving her candy!

Christa is an adorable pink dragon! Carter had the same costume the year we lived in Georgia (except it was green) and I remember seeing the pink one at the time and loving it. I was able to find this one on Ebay and only spent $10. She looked so cute and her tail wagged when she walked!

Carter really wanted to be a transformer, but the costumes were so expensive and so cheaply made that I didn't want to spend the money on it. I saw this sword and hat at a store back in early October so I bought it for him to play with in hopes that he would change his mind. It didn't take long! This Gymboree costume was much nicer-and cheaper thanks to Ebay!
He really loves his sword!

Captain Carter-so cute!

Christa didn't want to stand up and take pictures.

Carter in the squadron with all the other kids.

Christa looking very confused at the squadron.

Carter, Rhett, Rowan and Christa getting ready to go out on Halloween. This is the first time we have been in one place two Halloween's in a row. It's a nice change and hopefully we will have at least 4 more years here!

The kids outside Candice and Nathan's house.

Little Christa Dragon Poo...

Our family. Jeremy did want to know why I wasn't wearing a costume.

Candice and the boys. Nathan was on a trip so he missed out on the fun.

The kids getting some candy.

Christa was very overwhelmed and didn't understand what was going on, but she was very excited about the candy. Her pumpkin got so full that she kept falling over, but she refused to let us even touch it. She would have stayed out longer than Carter. He was done after 30 minutes but we told him we weren't going home yet. He got over it fast, but he was still tired. Christa would have stayed out longer and she walked most of the way even though we took the stroller. I did have to carry her from time to time just to keep up though.

We had a great time and the kids are still working on their candy-Jeremy and I are helping a little.

Moving Along...

2008-10-31T17:30:00.000-07:00

I drove out to check the progress of the house on Thursday evening. I knew that we would have some work done on the frame, but I had no idea that so much would be done. I was so excited to see that most of the downstairs frame was finished! It's going to go really fast from here on out so I'll be putting up pictures every few days.

It was about 7:30 pm when I drove out to check on the house and they were still there working away. Hopefully they stay that late every day and we'll get it done really fast!

Here's the progress on Friday afternoon. The second story floor is already done and they have started framing the walls up there as well. It was just amazing to see how much work they had done in less than 24 hours!

Left side of the house.
Right side of the house.
Front of the house.

It may have been a weekend, but that didn't stop them from working on Saturday! We thought that they would probably be working even though it was Saturday so we drove by to see the progress and were blown away by how much they had done! We now have an upstairs and it is really starting to look like a house! At this rate we will be doing our frame walk by the middle of next week for sure and then they can start on the inside.

November 1st

We Have A Foundation!!

2008-10-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

It has finally started! Real progress! They started framing the foundation back on October 17th. I went out and took a few pictures. There isn't a lot to see, but it was still exciting knowing that the foundation was getting close!

They were supposed to pour the foundation last Friday (October24th) but, of course, it rained. We were hoping that they would still be able to pour the foundation on Monday, but Friday's rain was a record rainfall for the area so the ground was still too wet on Monday morning. I drove out Tuesday afternoon and saw them working on it which was pretty exciting. Here are the pictures from today.

Carter was very excited to see the floor of the house!

I was also pretty excited to see the wood for the frame was already there waiting for them to start. Hopefully we will see some work on the frame by the end of this week!

Only 2 months from Christmas and we are still being told that it will be done by the end of the year! We are really looking forward to seeing some major progress in the next few weeks! I'll probably be posting pictures at the end of every week from here on out!

President Bush Comes to Charleston

2008-10-10T16:09:00.000-07:00

We found out at the beginning of the week that the President was landing at Charleston AFB and that we would be able to go out and see him. After waiting for almost two hours we were getting impatient, but we were pretty excited when the planes finally landed.

The First Lady's plane landed before the president's.

About 20 minutes later Air Force One landed. You can see the Presidental seal on the side of the plane.

Here is a picture of Laura as she is walking over to join the President at his plane.

Here is President Bush getting off of Air Force One.

A close-up of the President...

Another one...you can see how close we were.

Jeremy got to shake the President's hand.

A couple of pictures of the First Lady...

Another of Laura...

I got to shake her hand.

Jeremy and I

The President and the First Lady getting on Marine One to leave.

Another picture of Jeremy and I and another pilot from the squadron.

It was pretty cool to get to see the president that close!

A little progress...

2008-10-03T16:37:00.000-07:00

Well, the building permit is finally in and they are getting our lot prepared to start working on the foundation. It's pretty exciting to see our lot cleared and staked off, and we have a walk through on Tuesday which will start to make if feel more real. Hopefully next week the weather will be good and they will be able to prepare the lot for the foundation.

Here is picture of one of the floorplans finished. It gives you a little better idea of what it will look like since it is not a drawing.

Here is our lot on the 12th of September. As you can see, nothing had been done to it yet.
Here is our lot today! All cleared off and prepared for us. There is even a port-a-potty right next to it now! Jeremy suggested that we have them not put any toilets in it and leave the port-a-potty there to save money...I said no.

Right now we are thinking that the house should be done by the beginning of December. We should get a better idea of when they plan on having it done next week when we do our walk through of the lot.
We went in last weekend and picked out all the colors for the carpet and the paint and finalized the cabinets and faucets and everything else. It's pretty exciting! Hopefully we'll have more exciting pictures to put on here soon!

Jeremy's Mom and Dad Visit...

2008-09-29T16:17:00.000-07:00

Phil and Peggy drove down from Ohio for a little visit and we had a great time exploring Charleston with them. We were able to do a lot of outdoor stuff since they came on the first cool week that we have had.

We went out to Charlestown Landing one day. It's a park in the area-lots of walking-that is the "birthplace" of Charleston. There was a small "zoo" with a few animals that were local to the area at the time the settlers first came here. Bison, bear, deer, an otter and a few other things. We had a great time and even saw a few alligators!

Us posing in front of some native american statue.

Christa on daddy's shoulders.
Carter looks cute even when he's in the stocks.
Peggy and I being crazy.

We left the kids here for a few hours so we could look around without them. ;-)

A cannon-always a fun place to take pictures.
Christa and grandma.
Peggy and I sitting on the branch of a HUGE live oak tree.

This is the time of year for spiders in Charleston. We see a lot of brown widows, which are poisonous, but they are small and not very scary. Here is a banana spider which are very common in the area. They are HUGE and very scray looking-but not poisonous. I put my hand up next to it to show how big the spider is. Everyone else was too scared.

We took a trip out to Fort Sumter which, for those of you who don't know, is the starting place of the Civil War. The fort is a 30 minute boat ride out and then we had an hour to walk around the inside.

Carter and Peggy before we left to go to Fort Sumter.

Christa was pretty scared on the boat at first, but she finally calmed down enough to enjoy herself. She liked going up and down the stairs.

Carter posing next to one of the many cannons on the inside of the fort.

They took our picture before we boarded the boat to go out to the Fort. It turned out pretty good, even if Jeremy does almost have his eyes closed.

We did make it to beach one day, but it was too chilly so we weren't able to get in the water. Carter had a good time playing on the beach, digging in the sand and looking for shells. It was our first time going to Folly Beach since we usually just go to Isle of Palms so it was fun for Jeremy and I too.

Carter loves the beach!

Christa does not enjoy going to the beach. At first she was fine walking around as long as she was holding someone's hand, but then the waves came up and got her feet wet so she wanted to be held. She is very afraid of the ocean. Jeremy did finally get her to sit in the sand and play though.

See her holding on to Jeremy's shirt for dear life.
Still upset.

A little video of Carter playing in the water. It was really cold, but he didn't seem to notice.