Our buddies

This week, two of my dear friends from Pacific Grove, CA were in town to visit - it was so great to see them. Karey and Jenn were some of my first mommy friends. They played an intergral part in my first two years as a mom - and they will always be very special to me! I'm so glad we got to hang out with them, but the time spent with them also made me realize how much I miss them!

When we moved to Monterey, Ryan was only eight weeks old. I found Stroller Strides shortly after we got there and Karey and Jenn were the first women I met. We had a ton in common and became fast friends. Coincidentally, our kids were born within a week of each other, so we had LOTS of playdates throughout the two years we were there. We formed a dinner group where we got together and had themed monthly dinners. We trained for a half marathon (everyone completed it except me because I got pregnant with Caitlin two weeks beforehand!). Our husbands all completed the very difficult Big Sur Marathon. I could go on and on about all of the great memories we have!!

Karey and her family (another Navy family) were in town from Norfolk, VA visiting family in Bremerton, so Jenn and her son, Spencer, flew up to visit all of us. Jenn and Spencer stayed with us last night and then we all packed up and headed to Bremerton this morning.

I think the greatest part of our visit was seeing the kids interact with each other. My Ryan, Jenn's Spencer, and Karey's Sevrin were just two years old when we moved away. It was so fun seeing them play together and have conversations - they were barely talking last time we were all together! Here's a few pictures of their visit...

Caitlin, Spencer, and Ryan playing at our house last night.

Caitlin and Sevrin playing catch in Bremerton.

Ryan, Sevrin, and Spencer getting ready for lunch.

And for comparison's sake...this picture was taken a couple of months before we moved away from Monterey. Ryan, Sevrin, and Spencer celebrated the 2nd birthdays at the local children's museum. They have changed so much in the last 18 months!!

Little sport

It's really hard to get a good picture of Ryan these days. He won't slow down long enough for a posed picture - and if I do get a posed picture, usually a goofy smile comes with it! Here are a few shots of our guy, doing the things he loves to do!


Playing at the Bennett Elementary playground near Grandma and Grandpa's house - it's where I went to school.

Playing pool with Uncle Joe. My grandpa (one of Ryan and Caitlin's great-grandparents) has a pool table in the rec center of his condo complex. Whenever I tell Ryan we're going to visit Grandpa Ray, he asks if he can play pool.

Playing soccer with his buddy, Jon. Ryan loves to kick the soccer ball and is looking forward to playing soccer this fall through our YMCA.

Decorative pot or...

Last week, I had a string of several challenging days with the kids. It felt like Ryan was in one continuous time-out because as soon as he got out, he did something else that warranted another one.

One afternoon, he was sitting in his time-out spot on the landing of our stairs and he came running into the family room to tell me that there was pee-pee on the stairs. Here's a replay of the event...

Ryan: Mommy, there's pee-pee on the stairs.

Me: Oh, you wet your pants? Ryan! That's okay, accidents happen. Let's go change your pants.

Ryan comes running into the family room and I noticed that he did not wet his pants.

Ryan: No mommy, I didn't wet my pants. The pee-pee was in the pot.

Me: What?!

Ryan: The pee-pee was in the pot and I knocked it over.

Me: What?! How did the pee-pee get in the pot?

Ryan: I went pee-pee in there yesterday.

Me: What?! Why did you do that?

I go and see the pee-pee stain cascading down the stairs. I lean down to smell it, and it is indeed urine.

Ryan: I don't know.

Ryan runs off to play with his cars. I stand there, not sure whether to laugh or cry and proceed to clean up the pee-pee.

So, yes, while I wasn't watching, Ryan relieved himself in the pot on the landing. This little incident makes me wonder what else he has used as toilet. As the days go by and I get farther away from the incident, the funnier I think it is!

Our future veterinarian

I'm sure it's just a phase, but Caitlin is absolutely obsessed with animals! From bunnies to bugs, she can't get enough!

Last Sunday evening, we were over at some friends' house for dinner and they had a bunny name Butterscotch. Caitlin loved "Scotch," as she called him. There was a major meltdown when she had to leave the bunny cage.

She also loves "buggies." Whenever the kids are outside, they are scouring the ground for bugs. It makes for slow going when we're trying to get somewhere in the morning because it takes them a good 10 minutes to get into the car!

Weekend sun

We took full advantage of the sunny and hot weekend, spending as much time outside as possible. We had a great time - the only downside is that I'm completely worn out- just in time for Monday morning!

Being in the middle of a backyard re-landscaping project, we have no grass. So, yesterday when the temperature topped 94 degrees, I packed up the kids and headed down to my parents' house to run through the sprinkler. Ryan had a blast, but Caitlin wasn't so sure.

Another month...gone!

We've painstakingly reached the two-month mark which means more presents from Daddy. Two months down...only five more to go. :(

Since we're re-landscaping our backyard, this month's theme was outside toys. Ryan got a new dump truck (like he needs another one!) to use in the yard.

Caitlin got a her own watering can and yard tools. Hopefully this week I can get my pots planted so she'll have something to water!

It still seems like we have sooooo long to go before Mike gets home. I think I'll feel better once we reach the three-month mark - then we're almost halfway. We're really busy all the way through July 4th, so I'm hoping the time passes quickly!

Goin' crazy

Mike always encourages the kids to "go crazy" which means to wildly shake their head around. Ryan and Caitlin decided they were going to "go crazy" at the dinner table tonight and said 'hi' to daddy at the same time. They never cease to make me laugh!

Cool picture

The Navy released another picture of Mike's ship towing the dhow - click here to see it.

What's Daddy been up to??

Mike has sent several cryptic email messages about where he is and what he's been doing the past few days. He told me to watch for news today because they should be mentioned. Click here or here to find out what he's been up to. Hopefully he'll be on his way to friendlier waters soon!

I miss him tremendously, but I'm very proud of him and his commitment.

Fine Dining

Here's Ryan and Caitlin telling you where we had dinner tonight...

The way they say it totally cracks me up -- Ryan with his over-exaggerated enunciation of words (I think he picked up an East Coast accent when we lived in Rhode Island!) and Caitlin with her sweet little voice!

Whose kids are these?

This is how Ryan and Caitlin ended up right before bed tonight.

Who do these little ragamuffins belong to?

And here's some other random shots taken throughout the day...
Socks or oven mitts? You decide.
Mug Shot.
Feeding baby Dolly and Mallard the duck.
Check out Ryan's tool belt...and another goofy face for the camera.