Moving on...

So its finally official. We're back from Washington where we found a house and great school for the boys. We have applied for our moving date which is less than a month away! I'm feeling all those emotions of moving- the excitement of a new adventure, the stress of paying deposits, scheduling carpet cleaners, fixing things that are broken, signing contracts, trying to decide what stays and what goes to Goodwill, and then all the regular stuff that's going on apart from the moving preparations! SO OVERWHELMING!

So, I'm taking a break to update my blog.

We finally did our tour of the Nimitz with James. The kids will never forget it! Such a neat experience. Its so much cooler than I imagined! That being said.... if I had to live on that thing, I'd feel like I was in prison! Here's some photos:

The (4.5 acre) flight deck (and a gorgeous view of downtown San Diego too):



The tower & ship's identifying number:


Up inside the "Pry-Fly"



Inside the massive hangar bay (the size of two Super Wal-Marts end-to-end):



The Anchor room (each chain link weighs over 350 lbs and the anchors themselves weigh 6000 lbs!):




I was tingly and a on edge the whole time - its so dangerous on that ship! There's gaping holes that drop 40 feet down and the ladder wells are so steep. Some of the walkways are metal grates so you can see the water 50 feet below you... We had to climb and desend over 40 ladders while onboard! And we only saw a fraction of the ship!

God Bless America and every Soldier, Pilot and Sailor who stick out their necks for our safety!!! We are truly grateful.



We decided to take advantage of one randomly warm day this month (we've had an unusual amount of cool weather and rain) and do one last beach day! This time up in San Clemente. G O R G E O U S





James and I were not going to waste 3 days in Seattle without the kids plus, we couldn't have had more spectacular weather. So here are the highlights of our trip:

Views from the Ferry:






Pikes Marketplace:



See why I said you'd love it here Kami!?





Zoomed in on the lady trying to catch the fish:



Views from the Spaceneedle:





View from our hotel room:



We went and saw this musical while we were there:



Photos of the Seattle Temple (isn't it awesome?):





Last but not least, the new house!



I don't think any place will compare with where we have been for the last 3.5 years, but that's ok because you couldn't really compare these two places anyway! They're so different in such extremes. It'll be an adjustment, but I think we're ready.

Happy 3rd Birthday Annie!

We hosted a birthday "Tea Party" celebration in honor of Annabelle's 3rd birthday! It turned out really cute and the kids had lots of fun despite the unseasonably HOT weather. Here's what the invitations looked like:





I wish I had photos of the kids playing our little game! They had to walk balancing a book on their head wearing high heals! I should mention that the heals were optional for the male guests ;0)

The girls all got tutu's and jewelry as party favors. YES I made them all (with help from James who is quite proud of his contribution). I love making cute girly things! The boys got Star Wars goody bags.

The two "biggest hits" were:

the "pupcakes"

and the bouncy castle, of course!

SCORE!!







Saying goodbye. All good things must come to an end!

Adventures on land and at Sea

Our recent adventures on land:

This Summer, the kids and I decided to do a series of Lemonade Stands to benefit our local animal shelter. Our friends Brynn and Aubrey helped out as well. They were able to raise $40! The nice people at the shelter gave the kids stickers and took them on a tour of the facility. They showed them where their money would go and how it would help the animals. They loved visiting all the animals and felt great about helping them out. It was a very memorable experience.



As a kind of "Last hurrah" before school started, we visited the New Children's Museum in San Diego. I had been there once before a couple of years ago and wanted to take the kids back again since. We were so pleasantly surprised at how much it had changed and improved. What a fun place for kids to get a little crazy and creative! The boys' favorite part was, of course, the bouncy tunnel!



Dillon has had trouble with climbing walls in the past, so making it to the top was a big deal for him!



They had an enormous "Trojan Horse" that the kids could climb inside.



Way more fun than at gym class!



I think this was Annie's favorite. It was a giant metal whale that you could paint. Just paint. By the end of it, they had embraced their creative freedom, ditched the brushes and were finger painting all over the whale!




Daddy is tall, so he wrote their names where no little kiddos could paint over them. ;0) tee hee



Only a child could look at their reflection with such adoration....



As you can see, coloring on the PAPER is merely a suggestion! ;0)



Alas, school had to begin sometime, and we were excited to see Charlie attend his first day of Kindergarten!




The public school system is such a mess. Casualties of the latest budget cuts are: every school funded extra-curricular program, lunch and recess aids, speech therapy, and BUSES! No buses! It has made drop-off and pick-up a nightmare. The only thing I could see to do about it was join the PTO and I am currently the secretary. I am also spending one morning a week in Charlie's class which is 32 kindergarteners, one teacher and NO AIDS! Incidentally, there is also currently no air-conditioning. It makes me somewhat excited to move on in a few months.



That being said, Charlie was adorable. I laughed so hard when I compared his "first day of school" photo with Dillon's from 3 years ago:


Adventures at sea:

On August 6th, James left for his first "underway" with the Navy aboard the USS Nimitz. He has been home only a handful of days since and won't return for a few more weeks. It has been hard. Especially when 2 days after his first departure I ended up in the hospital with a serious infection in my kidneys that turned septic. However, we've grown a lot already from this experience. We don't take things for granted as much as we used to - that's for sure.

Here are some awesome photos from aboard the ship:



The view from the flight deck of San Diego just before they left the harbor:







The ship is incredible. Its like the Empire State building (or as Charlie like to call it - the Empire Strike building) on it's side in the water. Its HUGE and just amazing to observe. If you are curious about life aboard an air craft carrier, check out this PBS show:

CARRIER



Its actually filmed on the Nimitz about 5 years ago during a deployment to Iraq. James has watched a few episodes with me and confirms that it fairly depicts what its like out there - good and bad. I watch it when I miss him. Somehow it makes me feel connected to him. ( I know.... booo hooo) ;0) You should check it out!!

BTW - speaking of James, I am so proud of you for passing your boards babe!! CONGRATULATIONS Lieutenant James D. Mathews, D.O. Its official! We're finally 100% done with all your training. No more tests for at least 7 years :) You made it. I never doubted you would. I love you! I hope you can get internet long enough to see this out there! XOXOXOX