Whoopsie

July 17th,

   *sigh......* Will I ever get back into the swing of this blog? 17 days missed? I can't even pretend I know what happened during that time to try to make them up. I certainly didn't keep my word and take a picture every day. My dad came down to visit for a week which was awesome, and I just put this on the back burner. Most pictures were taken with his camera and I just snapped out of photographer mode for a bit :) July is treating us well though. We made some new friends thanks to Cael's baseball team! We had a little bbq for the kids at the end of the season (well, the almost end....We missed Cael's last game due to pure forgetfulness!!!!) 

Next for us in these upcoming weeks is getting ready for our big move!!! When Derrick deploys in September (boo) the kids and I are relocating to Washington to be with family! Lots to do before then, getting the house all set up with the realtor to find a renter, figuring out where to store all the stuff we aren't taking, fine tuning the details of when exactly we are going to leave. It's about to get crazy! I'm torn definitely, I don't want Derrick to leave. But I am looking forward to going home. I just hope this next year goes by nice and fast because after this deployment is over, we won't be facing anymore! We are ready to be close to our families and get normal jobs :) The Army has treated us fairly, and it's a proud job to have, but he loves me and knows the kids and I don't want to be without him anymore. I can't complain :)

Little Swimming Lessons

July 1st, 

I kept my promise today, prepare to be overwhelmed with pictures! While this morning was super slow and consisted of nothing more than clearing up some space on my DVR and contimplating whether or not I was going to eventually put on a bra, we still managed to get a lot done today! I bought some adorable new tutus for my teeny tiny newborn shoots coming up that I can't wait to use, and my husband woke up with a serious cleaning bug and scrubbed the house from top to bottom. (Like how I compare our accomplishments like they are equally deserving of a pat on the back? I realize he did actual work and all I did was shop, but that's my little way of making myself feel less guilty about not helping as much as I probably could have...I was the laundry folder...) 

After the sun went behind a cover of grey around 7, the kids were FINALLY allowed to go swimming in their pool. This weather right now is brutal here in TN, 107, 108, 112....you can't look out the window without getting a sunburn. But it makes for GREAT evening swimming weather! And tonight the kids did so many things that were new to them. If you don't know this about my kids, I'll tell you know...they are little scaredy cats in the water. :) We haven't spent as much time in the water as I always assumed we would, and I guess a lot of that reason is just because they are still young. The year Derrick was deployed Averi was just a baby, and taking the two of them to the pool felt a little intimidating. So now it's a slow-going process getting them used to it. I have all the patience in the world though, water can be a scary thing when you sink like a rock! Today Averi let her little elephant floaty do it's job, and I was so impressed to see her lifting her feet out of the water. When we first got this pool, she wouldn't even let go of the sides unless she had to.  

Another thing they are working really hard at, is putting their faces in the water. Yesterday I taught them how to play "motor boat, motor boat" and blow bubbles in the water, and they kept practicing that tonight. Silly things, I guess, but they make me a proud mommy. :) Anyway, here are a bunch of pictures of pool time tonight!