Madison's Makeover.....

Madison has been searching for a few weeks for a new hairdo.

She loved her longhair, but it was just getting too heavy and hot for her.

So she found a few photos and we went to the salon.

Doesn't she look gorgeous!?

It's amazing what a great cut and color can do to your whole countenance!

She loves her new hair so much!

She's so excited to go to Rhode Island with her new Summer look!

Both Madison and Zach leave for warmer climates this week!

Madison leaves on Monday and Zach leaves on Tuesday.

Also on Tuesday, Michael flies from Georgia where he's been spending time with his best friend to Florida to meet up with Zach.

If you think about it, keep my kids in prayer as they are traveling.....

and keep me in prayer as I hold my breath until everybody lands!!

Why I like having teenage sons

It only took the threat of losing his cell phone,

but Zach finally mowed the lawn!

Our lawn mower is about to bite the dust,
so while the yard is small,
it is a BIG chore to mow it.
Zach and Michael always do a great job on the lawn,
I just wish they liked to do it more!

"I'm a Photographer now!"

During Bren's photoshoot yesterday, she turned the camera on me!

She excitedly snapped about 50 photos,

but most of them are of me chasing her to get my camera back with not so flattering expressions on my face!

She loved it so much and couldn't wait for us to get home so I could upload them for her to see.

I heard her tell Madison last night that she was a Photographer now!

Music to my ears!

It was an incredibly bright sunny day and these were shot in full sunlight,
but I think Bren did OK for her little five year old self.

Just holding the camera with my big ole' lens was a feat in itself, but Bren managed minimal camera shake and she got me reasonably in the frame.


Now here's some of her work on the other side of the camera.....

I'm not sure if you can see the little clippie in her hair in this photo.

You might have to click on it to make the photo larger.

It's so cute!

It is made with little buttons that spell out "Bren".

It's part of the back to school line of hair accessories

from Melanie at Lil Miss Priss Bowtique.

You can e-mail Melanie at lilmissprissbowtique@yahoo.com to get one of your own.

Just tell her we sent ya!

As usual, Bren's reward for a hard days work is to get to play at the park where we shoot.

Let me tell you what playing with her at the park is like.

First of all, she pretends she is shy.

Hard to believe, but she does.

I can see that she desperately wants to play with some of the kids she sees there,

but just has difficulty making initial contact.

So, I watch her watching them.

She loudly calls to me to watch her do this or that

hoping that this will spark the interest of her desired buddy.

If they don't take the bait,

she will shadow them until they either tell her to get lost,

run away from her,

or initiate conversation.

If this attempt does not result in the outcome Bren wants,

she'll come up to me and ask me to help her.

So, the two of us start to approach the kids and she whistpers to me,

"Let's just bump into them."

What?

"Let's just bump into them, mom, and then they will play with us."

Now, it's been a long time since I have attempted to make a BFF on the monkey bars,

but I'm unfamiliar with the "bump and meet" method.

Being that I'm a little old to be bumping into little kids,

I convince Bren that simply walking up, looking interested and saying "Hi" will give her a much better result than a physical assult.

She grips my hand as we get closer to a group of girls making a birthday cake out of playground mulch.

It takes all of two minutes for the girls to ask Bren if she wants a piece of cake and suddenly, she lets go of my hand and joins their make-believe world.

When we out-wit, out-play and out-stay her new friends, she's back to playing with mom.

Do you see the expression on her face?

It looks like she's screaming with joy over the sheer velocity of her swing,

but nope.

She's singing at the tip top of her lungs.....

"I believe I can thly!"

"I believe I can touch the sky!"

"I believe I can sore!"

"See me running through that open doooooooor!"

"I believe I can thly!"

This is why her brother Zach will not take her to the park anymore.

He says to me, "Mom, she can't just swing like a normal kid. She's got to sing as loud as she can!"

Bren has always had trouble with her "f's" and sometimes her "Ph" sound.

So words like "fly" come out as "thly" and "cell phone" comes out as

"cell thlone."

It's endearing but we are working on it.

So, this selectively shy girl is suddenly drawing attention for blocks as she performs her swinging song.

Later on in the day, we went grocery shopping.

Before we went in, I sat in the van to make my list.

I've learned better than to ever go into the grocery store without a well planned list.

I had the sunroof open and antsy Bren had her head stuck out of it.

Again she was singing with all of the soul in her little body.

This time it was a song from my blog playlist.

"Should I give up?

Or should I just keep chasing pavements?

Even if they lead nowhere?!!"

Oblivious to the fact that she was once again on her own imaginary stage,

I was jolted back from the world of list making by

applause.

I looked up and four or five shoppers in a few different cars were asking for an encore!

Bren unabashedly belted out a few more lines as we headed into the store.

My mom will tell you that I deserve this little fireball of a child

for the embarrassing little songs I used to sing in stores when I was a little girl.

But that's another story for another day.

Somewhere out there......

Somewhere out there

Beneath the pale moonlight

Someones thinking of me

And loving me tonight

Somewhere out there

Someones saying a prayer

That we'll find one another

In that big somewhere out there

And even though I know

How very far apart we are

It helps to think we might be wishing

On the same bright star

And when the night wind

Starts to sing a lonesome lullaby

It helps to think we're sleeping

Underneath the same big sky

Somewhere out there

If love can see us through

Then we'll be together

Somewhere out there

Out where dreams come true

** Linda Ronstadt

**

I wish I had the equipment to do these moon pictures justice.

It is just breathtaking lately when I look out off our deck.

I was telling David about it the other day

and he told me that seeing the moon from the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier is also beautiful.

I can only imagine how bright the stars and moon are out there in the middle of the Gulf!

It's comforting to know that we are looking at the same moon even if it is at different times and on the other side of the world!

Butterflies and Rainbows

Sometimes you just have to paint your face for no other reason except for that it is fun!

Still pajama clad at noon, Bren had a craft filled Sunday morning.

We didn't make it to church today for a slew of reasons, but the greatest of which being my uncontrollable allergies!

So, we had a lazy morning of fun and creativity,

and lots and lots of tissues for me!

I'm not sure what it is that grows here,

but my poor nose does not get along well with it at all!

Boom city!!!!

I'm happy to say that our fourth of July was everything I had hoped it would be and more!

I wasn't sure what to expect when I made the decision to stay home and not brave the crowds with the kids for a fireworks display. I hated to miss the big show, but I also didn't want to sit in traffic for hours.

So, I went to "Boom City" which is on an indian reservation here in Washington and I bought a box full of fireworks.

I think everyone else in the neighborhood did too because as soon as the lids went down on the grills, the sky became alive with sparkling lights.

From our deck, we were able to see so many fireworks!!

We saw them in every direction, both near and far.

The kids had so much fun combining fireworks with the neighbors to put on at least an hour long show.

Zach's girlfriend, Sierra was in town and spent the evening with us.

If you look closely, you can see her jumping through the firecrackers!

Like I said before, she's perfect for my dare devil, Zach!

It seems silly, but I do put alot of stock in this holiday.

It's important to me to make it fun and memorable and just have a really great time.

Whenever we move to a new place I always ask around about the best place to view fireworks and parades and make sure we are there.

Here, I was told that staying home and viewing neighborhood fireworks and setting off your own was what everyone around here did.

I was very skeptical.

The last thing I wanted to do was settle for a handful of roman candles and bottle rockets,

but I gotta say,

the fireworks were impressive even if they weren't exploding directly above my head, filling up the sky as I snuggled on a blanket with my husband.

There were lots of big bangs and spiraling sparkles, much bigger and brighter than I expected.

I had a really, really good time tonight and you know what?

Roman candles ROCK!!

My Patriotic Yard.....

My yard is even getting into the spirit this year!

I have gorgeous blue hydrangeas and lovely red roses growing and a surprise cherry tree too!!

Happy Fourth Of July!!!!

This is by far my most favorite holiday!!

Growing up, the 4th of July meant family BBQ's in the backyard with fresh watermelon, corn on the cob, hamburgers on the grill and my mom's yummy blueberry supreme dessert.

We'd top the evening off with a fireworks show.

Something about crowds of people sitting in chairs or lying on blankets with snack filled coolers beside them, all gathered for the same reason while little ones run around with sparklers and adults laugh together over shared jokes just gives me a warm feeling.

I love fireworks shows!!

When we got a little older, we'd set off our own fireworks in the front of our house along with some of our neighbors.

It was just as fun and the atmosphere was always celebratory and festive.

When my kids were little,
I'd paint their faces with American flags and stars, dress them up in red, white and blue and we'd go watch the parade in our tiny little seaside town of Saint Marys, Ga.
We'd follow that with a BBQ with friends and then set out our lawn chairs and blankets to watch the fireworks.
It was small town americana and I loved it!

In Bristol, Rhode Island last year we were able to see the oldest 4th of July parade and it was fabulous! It was two hours in length and five miles long!

We've celebrated the 4th in Maryland, Florida, Georgia, California, Rhode Island and now today in Washington.
I've loved them all!

This year, we are going to watch the fireworks from our deck while we make smores.
We are also going to set off a few of our own and then enjoy the ones that the neighbors set off.
I'm grilling out steaks for Zach and I and hot dogs for the girls.
I've already got watermelon and pineapple cut up and ready to go.
I talked to David this morning and he's enjoying a port call in Jevel Ali Dubai.
In another post, I have some neat photos to share from his visit.

I hope that you all have a fun filled fourth of July with your families.
Remember "Freedom is not Free."

Flippy and Fun!

You gotta love a place where you can buy a t-bone steak to grill out, a pad lock for the back gate and get your hair cut too!!

The girls and I were shopping at Wal-Mart on Tuesday and on a whim decided to get Bren's hair cut.

Being a hairstylist's daughter, I would normally not choose Wal-Mart for a hair cut just as I'm sure my girls would not choose Wal-Mart for photo prints or studio sessions when they grow up, but it was right there and we were all in the mood.

Bren has been asking for a haircut for a few weeks now.

I knew it was necessary, but I still wanted to hang onto those soft (but very dry) curls as long as I could.

I bit the bullet though and signed her in before I lost my nerve.

Bren was good as gold,

feeling so big and special while I watched what remained of her babyhood fall to the ground in little champaign colored spirals.

She really wanted her hair cut to fall between her chin and shoulder so it would be free to swing. I, however, am not that brave yet.

I instructed the stylists to keep it at least two inches below her shoulders so that she could still wear pigtails if necessary.

Because she'll still be modeling hair accessories, I need her to still have that versatility.

Maybe once Kindergarten starts and the modeling tapers off, we can take the last couple of inches off so that she can have her swingy hair for Fall.

She'll be playing soccer this Fall, so a shorter bob might be better for that.

She's a spunky girl and a spunky cut that moves with her would suit her personality well.

Plus, it will always grow back right?

The cut was just what Bren needed.

Her hair finally looks thick and healthy.

All of the broken ends from too many pigtails are gone and now she has shiny, flippy hair that is much easier for me to manage!

Summer BBQ

So I visit this forum online for military wives.

It's set up for all branches and also broken up into groups according to location.

Before we moved from Rhode Island, I started reading and posting just a little on the group for the northwest. It was a great way to learn about what life was like in this part of the country.

I've been off the board for a while during our settling in time, but last week I logged back on.

The first thread I opened was an invitation to a BBQ for military wives and significant others in the northwest area.

Thinking this would be just what I needed to feel like I had more connections here, I RSVP'd that we'd be coming.

And I'm glad I did.

It is typical of me to meet online friends in person.

I did it in California when I met the mom's from my April 2003 mommies online group and I still have a couple of great friend from those meet ups.

I also did it when we went to the Summer in the City BBQ in New York City where I met ladies that I have been interacting with online for three years. That was particularly fun because I already felt like I knew the ladies that I was meeting for the first time in person.

And I did it again when we went to a birthday party for a designer friend's daughter on the second week we moved here to Washington. I really enjoyed that day and meeting Shelia was so wonderful.

This meeting was a bit different in that I really did not have a feel for what these women were like before I met them. I had not spent enough time online with them to have any sort of connection.

But, I'm glad I put myself out there and can now put faces to names when I go online.




Madison, Zach and Bren went with me.
Madison and Zach were so good to endure what they viewed as painful boredom. They were the oldest kids there by far and just sat and listened to us adults for about 3 hours and only begged me to go home about 15 times. I think they ended up enjoying themselves despite what they thought.
It was neat for them to see all the young moms and little ones. It gave them a feel of what it must have been like for David and I when we first started our family.
The highlight of the day was the recently discovered birds nest in the hanging flower basket complete with hungry baby birds! The mother flew around scolding us all afternoon for being too close to her little ones.
The food was great and the conversation was interesting. It is always fun to meet new people and this was no exception.