Schools back in session

So yesterday Bethannie and James went for the first day of school. They only went for 3 hours and so it was not a day to still get excited about. Mackenzie started today. So the kids all get up in the morning and get breakfast and Bethannie and James get ready for school and we fix Bethannies hair. i found this awesome blog for girl hair styles and I have been watching her videos and getting a lot of cool ideas to do. Then as they are getting ready to walk out the door Mackenzie starts to get ready. After the older 2 have gone out the door we fix Mackenzie's hair and we get ready to leave as well. I am going to the gym in the morning now. Mackenzie likes going and she gets to play with her friends and I can get the workout done first thing. Come home and eat lunch and then little Mackenzie gets on the bus. They pick her up right in front of the house so that is nice. And I then have 3 hours of quiet. It is so nice right now. I love the kids and I love being their mom however, James is NEVER home right now and so for a month everything and everywhere I have gone has been with 3 kids in tow. It gets old when they fight or do not listen. So I am ready for this break. I took pictures of the kids but did it on the ipod and so they are posted on facebook and since I do not know how to move them I do not get to post pics of the first day here to go with this post.

Mackenzie fell Saturday night while we were at the neighbor hood beach area and splash pad. She was climbing up on these bars and was probably about 5 feet in the air and feel. She cam running to me and said she had fallen. Nope no one else saw and so I did not really know what she had done. She was crying but I did not think she had really done anything. Great mom I know. Any how after a few minutes of her not really being able to do anything with her arm and crying that it hurt so bad we decided it was time for the ER. So James took her and I had the other 2. They did X-rays and it was broken and they had to wait for an orthopedic surgeon to come look at the x-ray. She broke one of the bones between her shoulder and elbow. The humorous bone and the fracture went through part of the growth plate. So surgery was needed to fix her up. So she stayed in the hospital Saturday night and James and I both stayed up there with her. thank goodness the Boney's were here visiting because they were able to stay with James and Bethannie. Sunday morning she was wheeled into surgery at about 8:15 a.m. and they put 2 pins in through her elbow to hold bones in place. we were told we had the best surgeon in the hospital so that was good. Surgery went for about 45 min and when she was out they came and let us know it had all gone well. She would be out of cheer leading for the year now, and she would baby her arm for about 6 months. She was very out of it when she got back to the room. She had taken in a stuffed animal into surgery with her and they put a cast on her leopard as well. it was very cute. the hospital was wonderful and they did a great job of making sure Mackenzie was doing OK. We brought her home on Sunday evening about 5:00. She was in a lot of pain but was very excited to see her brother and sister. She has been on Tylenol with codeine and now is barely needing it. She is really quite the trooper and she is funny watching her with this huge cast on her arm. She just tried doing a somersault. No one said she was the smartest thing. but she did it and thought it was funny. Since Bethannie and James are camping this week with my family it has been just the 2 of us most of the time. I am glad I have been able to do whatever she needs and focus on her. She makes me laugh and I will treasure the time I get with her even though it was for a bad reason. we were all suppose to be camping this week but oh well. Camping will be there the next time.

The Boney family came for a visit

We were so glad to have some friends come and visit us from VA. They were on their way to St. Louis MO and went out of their way to come see us. We had a great time with them. On Saturday morning we got up and went to catch the train. the kids had a blast riding with their friends and being able to bounce around and not be stuck in a certain seat. We then caught a bus to the Lincoln Park Zoo. Talk about excitement. 12 people who walk and a baby to keep track of. It was not to bad. this was the morning of another adventure but that will be the next post. Thank you so much for coming to see us. We really did have a great time with you and we are so blessed you were here when we needed you. We truely love your family and hopefully we will see you in VA soon.

13 years together

James and I just got to spend our 13th anniversary together. It was a great night. I love that man so much. Everyday I am truely blessed that he in my better half and that we get to spend eternity together.

Strawberry Picking

Mackenzie picking strawberries but I think she ate more then she put in the basket. She loved that she could eat and pick at the same time.

Bethannie enjoying a strawberry. She was very picky about what strawberries she would pick so she took quite the time picking a basket full. It was a good morning though.

James was a busy bee. I think he picked the most. he went straight to work and kept on picking. He enjoyed some as well while picking and needless to say we had had our strawberry fill when we left.

Bethannie and Mackenzie with their baskets full of strawberries.

James and Bethannie picking away. We wound up with 6 or 7 lbs of strawberries. they were so good and in our freezer so we can continue to eat them. They did not last long once we picked them. But no big deal to us. We love strawberries in all sorts of stuff.

James and his Little League team

James played baseball this spring and really enjoyed it. We lucked into it when we got here because practice started 2 days after we got here. Talk about perfect timing. James got better as the season went on. it was a struggle for me to watch because the things he was really good at last year he could not do this year, but he learned a lot more skills this year. he had a great time so that is all that matters.

James was a playing a kid pitch team and so that was one of the things he really had to learn and practice. The team had a great coach and he was very good at letting the kids all play different areas and let every kid pitch even if they were not very good.

The team ended up winning the tournament and they were the champions. James cried when they won the game and he got his trophy. It was very comical and he was not the only one. The boys all had a great year and I am so glad James got to have the chance to win that trophy. it is a prized possession now!!!

Camping trip over Memorial day

We took the kids camping over memorial day and had a blast. It was still so cool then which was so weird to us. I do not think it ever hit 70 degrees that weekend. The kids and James took all their fishing stuff. So they spent the whole weekend do lots of fishing and bike riding. It was a lot of fun and we hope to do a lot more camping up here.

James fishing. I think he caught 3 fish

Little James was all about fishing. that was all he wanted to do. he caught a lot though.

Mackenzie did not last long fishing but it was so cute watching her try her hardest to fish like everyone else. I think she caught 2 fish still and she was so proud of herself.

Bethannie. Well this picture should explain it all. She never went fishing long enough to catch anything. we laughed that she always had her helmet on and she would so rather be bike riding then fishing.

It was a great weekend.

Mackenzies day at the lake

When James got here and before he went back to work it was fun to just go do fun things with Mackenzie. She had been so used to going to school in VA and then we get here and there was nothing for her to do. So we headed out to the beach a lot and here are some cute pics of Mackenzie enjoying herself there. I love seeing her be herself and how crazy she is. She makes us all laugh and she really is a gem.

We moved....

So we moved back in April and we love it here. I love that the summer still gets hot. I was worried about that. I do not know what to expect for this winter since lets be honest we have only lived by beaches for the last 12 years. the kids are so excited about having snow. We have already bought 2 kids ice skates because there are lots of lakes around here that freeze over thick enough to go ice skating on. Bethannie is still waiting on a pair. There is a ski resort 20 min away and James is excited about that. Hopefully our kids can learn to ski fast and love it. James and I do so they better. The kids have all been in sports and activities here and they are all doing well. I can not believe that we have been in the navy for 12 years and that we have lived in all the different places we have, But it is fun looking back at everywhere we have been and all the awesome people we have met and still consider friends.