Heading To Another Swim Meet

Vicki and fellow swimmers getting ready to leave for a swim meet!

Having fun on the bus!!!

Night at the Pool

Just a normal night at the pool while Vicki is having swim practice for her High  School....I swim laps and the boys have fun jumping off the platform! Of course there is always the courtesy frog hanging out as well...

One Last Walk at a Favorite Spot

The rain held off, so we walked hand in hand on one of our favorite piers....it will be awhile before we walk it together again.....

Leaves Are Falling On My Head

Out back this morning with the dogs making sure little Bella didn't escape under any of the fence line enjoying my hot cocoa but completely annoyed at all the leaves falling on my head! Lol :)

Last Twilight Midnight Showing

What are the odds of me talking Ed into going w me and the kids to the midnight showing of the last Twilight Movie? Lol

Yay! Swim practice done! Time to head home!!! 

This last Twilight movie was sooo much better than the last one!!!!Yay for a 10 pm showing!!!! And my very own Edward didn't come with me lol

Boys & Swim Practice

Vicki has swim practice every night at Camp Johnson for her High School.  I swim laps and Ty and Ryan have fun jumping from the platform....they have fun jumping off in every way possible.... 

Hard to get NON blurry images with my phone in this lighting!!!

Swim Season 2012 - 2013 Has Begun

The swim season has begun!!!  Vicki swims for Richlands High School and now i get to swim laps every night while she is at practice!  The boys enjoy playing around in the water and jumping off the platforms! We love swim season!!!  The life guards are pretty cool too!

Bella is Confused at Ty in the Tub!

Bella is wondering why Ty is in the tub.  She is not awate of the rules of Hide and Go Seek! She gave away his hiding spot with all of her barking....

The Clock is Ticking

You can feel that feeling....the feeling of the clock ticking.....time is running out!!!! We are at the Tree Lighting in  Swansborro....so glad they are doing this early so The Dude in Cammies gets a little bit of Holiday celebration in since he leaves before Thanksgiving!!!! He holds my hand a little bit tighter than usual tonight, nobody will notice this but me....for now we pretend there is nothing amiss and we eat fudge and laugh and listen to Christmas music and steal kisses under the mistletoe...but i think he left intentions in my arm when the photo was taken....he squeezes me just a little tighter than usual....i feel the clock ticking with every touch of affection.....look from his eyes.....the clock is ticking.....

Off To School

Yep! I think they will fit right in....

Halloween Love

Off to a Halloween Party with my date! That is if he doesn't kill me first!

Bell Peppers in October!

Wow!!!  My garden is still going!!!  I am still getting bell peppers in October!!!

I love this picture of my Dad!  First, it shows how simple my Dad is.  He and my little brother Monte are leaving on a Father Son camp out trip.  Yep, everything they need is packed on a Harley.  The perks of going out in the wild with a Marine; you really can survive with the bare minimum.   Second, this picture shows my Dad's two favorite vehicles which happened to be my least favorites growing up!  I always dreaded my Dad picking me up from school.  I never knew if he would show up in the black hearse or the kill my hair Harley.  (I was an 80's girl, big hair! Even though i had a pretty blue sparkly helmet it still was NOT nice to my hair!)  It was a happy day when i got to go to the orthodontist, birthday party, etc. in the Volvo or the VW Bug!  I was impartial to his truck that he used to haul his Harley around at times, but the Hearse, was just dreadful, except for when going to to the beach!  Then it was perfect!  All the boards fit as well as friends and you could just sweep out the sand afterwards.  But still, it just always looked like there should be a dead body in the back....but i still loved my Daddy no matter what he showed up driving because, hey, he's my Dad, and they are just the coolest no matter what they roll up in.....even if it means looking like you might have dead bodies rolling around in the back or have a helmet head when you are dropped back off at  school or that cool party where that cute boy is going to be!  I'm just glad my Dad taught me how to enjoy life and giggle at an early age so i was ready for all his crazy antics in my teenage years! 

     

But, my favorite memories of my Dad will be the laughter...

I'm a Statue

I was having fun posing like a statue.......

Peek-a-Boo!

Grandma Mik and i having fun at Tryon Palace.  So many great places for photos! We were just having a lot of fun!

Please Don't Move!!!

We were driving home from football practice and all of a sudden Vicki and I saw the cutest little fur ball of a creature in the middle of our lane looking up at us into our headlights.  We were on the two lane ice cream road.  There was literally no place to go unless you want to crash your vehicle…..Soooo, while I gripped the steering wheel really tight and closed my eyes for a split second waiting for the bleb blump of the smoosh while the two of us screached in a really high octave at the same time that the boys were nonchalantly discussing their never ending building strategies of their minecraft game on their ipods, well until their ears were pierced by our high decimal squeals……we were pleasantly surprised to not feel the blump plump of squish, mess, and death of the I have no idea what that cute furry creature even was, although I am leaning towards a racoon!    It’s nice to know that even the smallest of prayers were answered!  Even the itty bitty ones of ‘please don’t move, please don’t move, please don’t move!!!’  However, I would not be surprised if the adorable bundle of fur might have been sending up its own pleas of ‘please don’t swerve, please don’t swerve, please don’t swerve!!!!’  Oh the joys of driving the dark animal inhabited roads of the South!!!

Vicki Teaches Ed

Vicki is giving her Daddy dance lessons...it was sweet to watch.....gonna miss him when he is gone...a whole year and no new dances will be taught to him from his daughter.....he will be so far behind in his moves when he gets back....what will he EVER do?!!!

Carpooling With The Dude In Cammies

I got to ride to work with The Dude In Cammies 3 times this week!!! THREE!!!  WOW!!! We have NEVER been able to commute together and probably never will again....but it's been fun while it lasted!!! 

Bus Stop Minecraft

The boys LOVE this game called Minecraft! They are especially happy about being able to play it on their ipods at the bus stop and on the bus! 

First Fall Day

It is the first day of Fall.....we are at Mike's Farm......one of Ed's favorite places.....I can tell he really doesn't want to leave this time....he is going to all his favorite places lately...making his mental snap shots of everything he will miss this next year i s'pose... 

Did You Lock The Jeep?

Last night we were all comfy cozy in bed and about to drift off into sleep when i asked Ed if he had locked the jeep. He said he didn't care. I burrowed into my pillow and said, well if ya have nothing in there than it doesn't matter.  He mumbled something crawled out of bed and later got all under the covers and i said something about glad that none of the windows were down.....he growled at me while throwing back the covers as he stumbled down the hall.I was cracking up while i heard him pounding out the keys on the alarm panel. I couldn't stop laughing and hoping that the 300 pound bear that has been seen behind our house didn't pick tonight to go thru our trash 'cause Mr. Grumbles was obviously in a bear fighting mood by now!!! He came back to bed grumbling about how everything was all locked up and who knows what else he was grumbling about! I just couldn't stop giggling....yep, i don't think he misses me when he is gone!!!  But, if i don't help him keep track of his vehicle either stuff will be stolen out of it and he keeps work stuff in there or he will have a soaking wet vehicle if it rains during the night! I hate being the bad guy, but he atleast needs to be responsible for the vehicle he drives!       

Ice Cream in Wilmington

Having a fun day in Wilmington with Ed's Dad and Debbie.  Loving my ice cream cone!  Ed din't want one....he is silently stressing....but i love this picture of us even though there are a million thoughts going on behind the hint of a smile and the intense eyes....I'll just smile for both us us....

Ty Poses in Wilmington

We were in Wilmington with Grandpa Ed and Debbie and Ty let me take a couple pictures of him and he HATES me taking pictures of him!!! So i was very happy to get these!!!

Close of Summer Walks

Summer is coming to an end.....this always makes me sad....Ed took the kids and i for a walk at one of my favorite places....he knows me well....

Sweet 16 & Sassy

Vicki is 16 today!!!  She wanted a Champagne 

cake, no biggie, except they can NOT be found here!!!  I guess it is just a West Coast thing, so she wanted me to make her one! I found a recipe and whala! It happened and it was delicious! The bakery ones in California are better!!! She had a fabulous time in California for her Sweet 16th Birthday from ziplining the Redwoods to seeing Broadways Little Mermaid! She is 16 and as sassy as EVER!!!! Thank goodness she still has no desire to date!!!  

Whose That Guy?

Ed and i love going to this one spot in Swansborro.  We sometimes even see dolphins here!  He looked so cute just sitting there looking into the water.  I'm sure he has a LOT on his mind.  He is carrying a LOT of reponsibility with this next deployment.  He's never been a Sgt. Maj. before on a deployment, shoot! He's not even a Sgt. Maj. now! I didn't ask him what was on his mind....i knew he wouldn't tell me what he was really thinking....instead i just sat next to him and held his hand.....

Another Pool Day

It was a HOT one today!  In the 100's, so we went to the pool and just had a great time splashing around together!  Ty and Ryan can NOT get enough of chasing their Dad or being chased by him!

Wave Crashers!

It was a great day at the beach!  The water was perfect and the waves were fun!!! I love that my family loves to play in the ocean!!  It is my favorite place to be!  

Fins Popping Up Everywhere!

This was the summer of fins breaking the surface!!!  Every time we went to the beach we saw at least one fin pop up to the surface of the ocean!  Most of the time we are pretty sure they were friendly fins, but there were a few times it was too far out to tell.  When we saw the single fin we were a little nervous until it got a closer to shore or I got my super zoom lens out on my camera to take a quick peek at what shape the fin was, but most of the time, these fins were in groups of 3’s and 5’s and very obviously dolphins!!!  It was sooo fun to watch them this summer!

Fun Day With My Guy

My favorite guy and i had a fun day just doing what ever we felt like doing.....we spent most of the late afternoon and into the night at Swansboro at our favorite hang out.  I had my favorite sandwich at the Irish Pub we love so much and he had his favorite burger on the pretzel bun and than we just sat around outside at George's with some of our favorite people...I think it is officially a Tracks hang out but all Marines are welcome and stop by and say hello or linger.  I just love any day with my guy no matter what we do....the clock is ticking.....

Every Saturday Morning

This is where we go and what we do every Saturday morning....sometimes we drag the boys crying and complaining with us.....but we mostly just go the two of us now.....it is our favorite way to start our Saturdays......last Duty Station we started every Saturday 60 feet under with our fishy friends.....this Duty Station it has been on the surface of the water.....i sweat a LOT more this Duty Station on Saturday mornings....but i don't pee myself.....hmmmmm.....i think i would rather be peeing myself....but i will take this with my sweetie!

Ryan Turns Snake Eyes

Ryan wanted only ONE thing for his 11th birthday, an IPOD!!!! He was one VERY happy eleven year old!!!  He also got a super tough case for it as well as a screen protector, and an itunes card.  He was VERY busy that evening downloading apps! 

He wanted a super chocolate cake with cookies n cream candies on it.....so i made him a 3 layer chocolate cake with his favorite cookies n cream candies on it.  It was quite yummy!!!

I still can't believe it has been 11 years since i held the lil guy in my arms for the first time!!!  He arrived a week early, i guess he wanted a July birthday with me instead of an August one with his sister!

Party Rockin' in the House Tonight

Just some of Ed's itty bitty team going to Afghanistan with him. Tonight they are taking a breather between the nonstop intense training they have been doing....it was a hilarious night and my face may never recover from laughing so hard!

Hello Dolohin

The dolphins are out in full force it seems this summer! I love that they seem to feel the need to swim up and down the areas that we like to swim!  Thank you dolphins for patroling our swim waters! You make our ocean swims a LOT less stressfull!!

My View Tonight

We were at our spot in Swansboro tonight....this was my view from my chair....i liked it....it was a fun night with our favorite people....Marines are a funny and unique breed....

Beautiful Saturday For a Picnic, And Hot And Humid!!!

We had a picnic today with Ed's team so everyone could kinda get to know everyone.....match up faces and family members with names....it was fun, but boy was it a hot humid day!!!  Kinda eerie....most of the guys are single with no attachments....this is a first...

Restaurant Hopping

Ed and i went restaurant hopping tonight in Swansborro for dinner tonight.  This is one of our favorite little places to go.  We had dinner at one restaurant and dessert at another.  It was a beautiful evening! We spent the rest of the evening at George's with Marines that he works with.  It is kinda the (unofficial) hang out for Tracks.  Good company and plenty of laughter.  A lot of the guys were smoking cigars so it was mosquito free while we sat outside and chit chatted the night away.

We had dessert here....

A Hottie on a Hot Day!

I went a walking today with Mr. Hottie!!!  Yep, he is even hotter than a NC summer day!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Dolphins Swimming By...

We were enjoying the day at the beach today and what do we see swimming by....a pod of dolphins....i think we see dolphins almost every time we are at the beach!!! Atleast i hope that means there are no sharks swimming in the waters we are swimming in!!! It was so fun watching them swim by, just leisurly doing their thing...brought smiles to all our faces and let us forget what is looming down the road....

Vicki in Deep Summer Thought

I walked in the living room and saw Vicki just vegging out in the chair.....she must just be in deep summer thought.....

4th of July Fun 2012

I guess i forgot to take my camera back out today!  We had a wonderful day celebrating next door with Jim and Jills family.  We are truly blessed to live in this country and enjoy the freedoms that we have.  I am honored to be married to a man who has chosen a life to protect our freedoms as well as for others around the world who are not able to do so themselves.....next 4th of July he will be doing just that.....helping the people of Afghanistan to be able to take over the security of their country......today we enjoy him home.