Love is in the air...

So, Saturday evening we are driving to my mom's to pick her up and head to Montgomery for Alyssa's second birthday party of the weekend at all the kids coveted place to party, Pump It Up. As we pass by a local park, we see a very small wedding ceremony taking place. I point it out to my girls and Sarah, Alyssa's friend who is with us (apparently she and Alyssa have a much busier social calender than I ever will). Anniston, being barely 4, is a bit confused by exactly what "getting married" means. I think she confuses it with death because she asks me if they are sad. I chuckle, thinking how some may replace the word "marriage" with "death", but not me, of course! :) I LOVE YOU, WES! Okay, so anyway, I explain to Anniston that they are getting married like Mommy and Daddy are married to each other. Alyssa, being much older and much wiser tries to help Anniston understand with, "You know, they get married and then they kiss. See," she puts up on pointer finger to represent the woman, "here's the bride. And this," she puts up the other pointer finger to represent the man, "is the........". Obvisouly she isn't sure of the correct term for the groom. She is thinking, and then she has it! "This is the stinky man!" Then she continues by giving us a visual demonstration of the woman and stinky man kissing by putting her fingers together and twisting them (I guess once you're married you get long kisses!). We chuckle for a few minutes and pick up Nanny. Since we are talking about weddings, I decide this is a good time to remind Anniston that she is going to be in a wedding soon. She looks at me from the back seat and asks, "Do I have to get married?" The funny thing is, is that she was as serious as could be. In her little head, I can see her thinking about getting married now, at age 4. Bless her heart, she looked quite worried! I could see the relief wash over her when I told her no, she just was going to be a flower girl in another bride and stinky man's wedding! Oh, to have the innocence of a 4 year old and that of a 7 year old, who thinks you get married and then you kiss and thats pretty much it! If they only knew....but I think for now they know enough....

Fun at the Zoo!

Today Alyssa was out of school for "Weather Day". In Alabama that basically means schools didn't have to close for a day throughout the winter for snow (or even the possibility of it) so the kids get to have a day off in the spring. My friend, Sunday, invited us to the zoo with her two little girls, Chloe and Chaleigh. The weather was perfect, we got to see the new Otter exhibit and a baby elephant, the kids loved playing at the park and the train ride, and of course M&M's in the car on the way home was a perfect way to end the day! This was definitely a better version of "Weather Day" in my opinion!

Ayden Claire is 7 months

I can't believe that my baby is now 7 months old! Okay, I know she's still a baby, however, she's growing much too fast! I look at Alyssa, at 7 and a half, and Anniston, at 4, and it seems like just yesterday that they were Ayden Claire's age! She is changing so quickly and has stolen her ours and her sisters hearts. She is the best baby and always has a smile for everyone. She has completed our family! We love you so much, Ayden Claire-Bear!

So long, USAF

Well, after 8 and a half years of being a member of the Air Force, Wes is once again a true civilian. Its been a long road, but we have been so fortunate! He deployed once for 3 months about a year after September 11th. His deployment wasn't to a "war zone" and he was relatively safe. We have been so blessed to be stationed close to home, in fact we were at the same base his entire enlistments. He had originally planned to stay in until his time was up in September '09 but we were thrown for a loop in early February when he received orders to Bethesda, Maryland. We were pretty surprised to say the least! If you were wondering, Bethesda is about 6 miles outside of Washington, DC. We (briefly) considered taking the orders and moving our family to the nations capitol. Wes's heart just wasn't in relocating us for Uncle Sam. He would have had to re-enlist and at that point we would have really needed to plan to stay in until retirement at 20 years. So Wes went to his part-time employers, Haynes Ambulance, where he works as a paramedic and asked them if they would employ him full time if he turned down the orders to Maryland. They not only said yes, but offered him a managment position that would start him at the same salary he was currently making! So, he turned down the orders and requested an early discharge in order to take the job. Five and a half weeks later he got word that his request was approved. He was beyond ecstatic! So, while the Air Force has been a wonderful experience for our family and brought us to this lovely town of Millbrook we now call home, we are no longer a "military" family. At least not on paper; I think once you have been a part of one of the branches of service, you will always feel a part of it, whether you were the one serving or a "dependent". Congrats to Wes on your new job. This has been his first week and I think it is going to be a perfect fit for him. He loves emergency medicine and he is at last doing what he really wanted to. Thanks so much for the 8 and a half years of selflessly serving our country. I have so much respect for you and all of our men and women who choose to serve in the military in this great country!

New to Blogging

Alright, I'll admit, I'm usually a season or two behind when it comes to fashion and trends. I'm quite a few seasons behind in the world of blogging, but my sister (who also has me on MySpace and Facebook) has started blogging- and not to be outdone by little sis, Jill- I'm giving it a go! So, I'll try to keep this updated as much as time permits between ballgames, dance recitals, grocery shopping, laundry, and my HGTV addiction!