Things I've Learned Since I've been 5

Cora really has achieved so much this past year. She turned 5 years old last June and since then has learned how to:

-Ride her bike without training wheels
-Swing on the swing without anyone pushing
-Dive off the diving board @ the McChord pool and Grandma's pool
-Touch the bottom of Grandma's pool in the 8 FT
-Reading all by herself, 1st 2 books: Green Eggs and Ham, Cat In The Hat
(I love that these were some of the first books I learned to read too)
-Tie her shoes all by herself
-Started playing soccer and scored a goal
-Will swim on our neighborhood swimteam next month

Sorry if this seems like one of those parent brag posts, it's more for our memories and everything she has accomplished in just this last year. Definitely a year of firsts that we want to remember. I'm so proud of you Cora.

My Co-Pilot

This has been an interesting year full of change. With Cora in full day kindergarten Shay and I have missed her terribly during the day. I do have to say I never thought I would have that special one on one time with Shay the way I did with Cora. During Darryl's 1st year long deployment it was just Cora and I and I called her my little co-pilot. This year I've been able to have that same special time with Shay. I look at Cora's schedule now with school, friends, and teachers, getting to see almost more of her than we do. I realize that time with her is precious and something I treasure more than I can express.
Lately Shay has been so much fun to run errands with and be my model when I want to practice taking pictures. I'm surprised she doesn't run the other way when I break out the camera with all of the pictures I've been taking lately. I do need to spend more time with her on her ABC's and 123's. It's just so much fun to have fun that sometimes it gets put on the backburner. She is saying the cutest things, she is so mellow, and she is such a snuggler. I will miss this special time with my girls when they are both in school. Thank goodness we still have the summer, then I get to enjoy more of both of them.

First Soccer Season and First Goal

I have truly enjoyed watching Cora's first spring soccer season. When she first adorned the uniform, shinguards, and cleats I felt like I was looking at myself about 20 yrs ago. I wanted to make sure this was something she wanted to do, instead of me just forcing her to play soccer. Cora came to some of the soccer games I played in up in WA and since then has told me she wanted to play too.


Her team has come a long way since the first few games especially for being one of the youngest teams. It's an under 8 league, with Cora not even 6 yet sometimes it looks like she is playing w. giants out there especially since it's co-ed. I was so excited to see her score for the first time on Thursday night. She kept saying..did you see me kick it in Mom? The Sonic drive thru was a definite stop on our way home from the game that night. She wanted a big chocolate shake to celebrate. That's my girl!

After her shake she says to me, can we play on the same team when I get bigger?

I'll have to get a new shirt, this one won't fit.

I'd be honored to play on your team my sweet Cora. sniff sniff *wipe tears of joy
Hmm...hopefully Mommy won't need a bigger shirt by then. ;)

A new year a new resolve

Gosh, hard to believe it's March already?! Where did January and February go? As you probably know I have a lot of catching up to do. I tried to promise myself that I would not let my blog turn into the same lack of consistancy I have with keeping a hand written journal. Hmmm..it has. I have been consistant with my photography blog, but when it comes down to it, which will be more important in the long term and even right now? Pictures of random flowers or whatever, or imperfect photos of my family, our follies, and memories? I definitely know the answer to this. How easy is it just to post a picture on my photo blog and maybe title it if I'm lucky. Opposed to writing something creative attached to a moment or memory. The 2nd is definitely a lot more work but is totally worth the time. Thank you Mary for your inspiration. I'm jumping on the family blogging bandwagon again. So here's to the here and now, making the most of today, and remembering the details.

Married For A Decade

Can it really be 10 years that we are celebrating today? Are we that old? j/k Maybe it's because sometimes I still feel like we're newly weds. Then again that could be from being apart from each other for a year and year plus at a time. This year has certainly had it's tears of joy and it's heartaches. I'm glad that we can go through both and it has only strengthened us as a couple.

I'm so grateful to have you by my side again. It's been wonderful to watch you with the girls and hear their laughter when you play with them. I've loved watching you tuck them in and see you check on them as they're sleeping. It's been so nice to enjoy family dinners with you and go on walks when we're through. It's been a wonderful thing to hold your hand again. You wouldn't believe how much I missed something so simple.

I'm so glad my brother Tim and his family will be watching the girls for us this weekend as we head to the beach..one of our favorite places. I love you Darryl and I'm so happy to have spent the last 10 years with my husband and best friend.

Wow...for me?!

My friends Blaire and Drew gave me this award.
Thanks for not letting me be a quitter!!
Here are the rules for receiving the fabulous award:

1. You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous blogs in a post.
2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.
3. You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.

Instructions: On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them. When you post your five winners, make sure you link them as well. To add the award to your post, simply right-click, save image, then "add image" it in your post as a picture so your winners can save it as well. To add it to your sidebar, add the "picture" gadget. Also, don't forget to let your winners know they won an award from you by emailing them or leaving a comment on their blog.

I’m addicted to...

01. My Cannon. It just came yesterday and we are just getting to know each other.

02. Posting to my photoblog. Trying to find that one picture a day that might actually
be good.

03. Face Book. Where else can you see what everyone is up to, even your kindergarten
buddies.

04. Twilight. Ok this one is probably shared by many but some don't want to admit it
Here is my admission.

05. My FAMILY. They are my everything. I'm so grateful for them in my life.

my 5 blogger awards go to...

01. Laurie Layer. Because she is my most favorite Twilight fan and she's not afraid to admit it.

02. Amy Kauer. She is a dear friend and is the" jill of all trades". She is always sharing or learning a new talent.

03. Sarah Arnett. Love Sarah's sense of humor. Her posts are always making me laugh or it's something I can relate to.

04. Jamie Chiara. Jamie could be writing in newpapers or magazines. Her posts and pictures are always amazing.

05. April Clark. Because she says it like it is. Loved her Not Quitting post and it has inspired me as well as Blaire and Drew. I'm so grateful to have such wonderful friends who don't let you quit.

:)

Georgia

So we finally made it to our destination..*actually about a month ago at the end of September is when we officially arrived. We live in the town of Evans a little city connected to Augusta, Georgia. If you're into golf it's where the big Masters tournament is held.

I must admit when we first arrived in Georgia it was oh so different then Washington state it took a little getting used to. Besides the fact that it was still near 90 degrees and very humid. Have I mentioned the bugs yet? Well there are a lot of them. Everyone has a "Bug Man" who comes and sprays regularly. We've had some issues w/ ants but my personal "bug man" has kept them at bay. Guess we'll have to hire one here soon.

Ok, this is probably sounding really negative but I have to say I am really enjoying our Georgia adventure so far and am loving it here. We've already visited my family in Florida two times..that definitely beats flying all day and paying for expensive plane tickets. It's only about a six hour drive. My sister and her family moved to Fort Benning this past summer, so now we're only 3 hours apart. I'm so excited to see and spend more time with her and her family. Our neighbors are nice and the ward is friendly and there's plenty to say about all of the southern hospitality. I feel like Paula Dean might just jump out from behind one of the bushes. It's still hard to be the new guys though. I'm loving the weather now..I won't say very much more about that I promise. It was so hard when we lived in WA during the rainy months when my parents would talk about their Florida weather.

I've had some friends ask about our house and where we're living. Sometimes it's better to picture things when you have a picture. We're just renting right now with an option to buy. We didn't get a chance to go house hunting before we moved and we thought this might be the best option to see what is down here. Basically I just looked for a good school and went from there. We definitely don't live across the street from the base anymore (a very nice luxury in WA). You're usually hard pressed to find a nice neighborhood so close to an Army base like that. So Darryl has a 30 minute commute to work. We sure miss him especially @ lunch time. So this is where we are living for now. There are definitely some pros and cons to this house so we're also working with a realtor. We're loving our new Georgia adventure..most importantly we're loving Daddy being home with us and in a position at work where he'll be teaching and non deployable. We miss our dear friends in WA terribly. There will always be a special place in my heart for WA but especially the friends we met there and will keep always.

P.S. I'll be sending our new address via email..don't forget to check :O)