About a week ago I realized that I’ve had my Tiguan for a year now. My higher math skills helped me determine that I’ve put about 17,000 miles on it in that year. I don’t know if that’s a lot or not compared to what other people drive, but I do know how I arrived at that amount:
1 trip to Pennsylvania
1 trip to Disney World
1 drive in the worst rain of my life (Florida, on the way to Disney)
19 million errands (give or take a few thousand)
1 worst parking lot traffic jam ever (after fireworks on the 4th of July)
4 times riding with out of state visitors
1 middle of the night ER trip
6 convoys
2 times being barfed in (both by Moxie)
78 billion food crumbs spilled
1 worst drive ever (dropping off the Army Man for his deployment)
2 trips to Charleston
4 (if that) car washes
15 or so trips to Raleigh for shopping, doctor visits, and wishing I lived there
0 flat tires
0 break downs
0 problems
One year in, and still the best car I've ever had.
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Not Forgotten
I think one of the biggest fears about death is being forgotten. That all your hard work in life will vanish the moment you’re gone. I just wanted to say today that Grandpap; you’re not forgotten. I didn’t know you all that well, and didn’t see you that often, but I’ve thought about you a lot over the last year. I’ve thought about how interesting life is, how many different amazing things and completely mundane things can happen to a person, and how they all shape who you are. And then you go on to affect the people around you-your spouse, your children, your friends, even strangers.
I don’t know too much about what you were like as a father, but I know what my own father is like, and what a big part of my life he is. He molded me as a child and contributed to what I'm like as a parent, and I know he got a lot of that from you. It’s amazing and wonderful to me that a grandfather who lived across the country from me my entire life had a part in molding my own child. Not to mention that she has your chin.
You are definitely not forgotten.
I don’t know too much about what you were like as a father, but I know what my own father is like, and what a big part of my life he is. He molded me as a child and contributed to what I'm like as a parent, and I know he got a lot of that from you. It’s amazing and wonderful to me that a grandfather who lived across the country from me my entire life had a part in molding my own child. Not to mention that she has your chin.
You are definitely not forgotten.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Halloween 2009
You know what's a really bad idea? Taking your daughter to Joann's to just "look" at Halloween costume patterns. Because you're not leaving without a pattern and a promise, A PROMISE, to make your daughter a Snow White costume. That's what happened to me this summer. I've never made Laura a costume before, but luckily I was smart and started working on it a long time ago, took my time, and made it perfectly.
Okay, so obviously that is a lie. Yes, I bought the pattern and made the promise back in June, but I didn't start working on the costume until the 20th. Of October. It was really, really hard and I don't ever want to do that again. But somehow I managed it. The inside of the costume looks absolutely horrendous, but I really don't care. Laura seemed to really like it, and I thought she looked adorable. She makes a good Snow White. I really wish she could wear it again next year, but I don't think it will fit, and I get the feeling that I'll be making another promise this coming June.
Laura posing with our pumpkins
With a better smile this time
Moxie didn't want to be left out, so she her picture taken while looking extra cute
With Daddy at the local "Trunk-Or-Treat"
Mommy and Laura getting excited about candy
Reenacting the hot dog photo from last year
Okay, so obviously that is a lie. Yes, I bought the pattern and made the promise back in June, but I didn't start working on the costume until the 20th. Of October. It was really, really hard and I don't ever want to do that again. But somehow I managed it. The inside of the costume looks absolutely horrendous, but I really don't care. Laura seemed to really like it, and I thought she looked adorable. She makes a good Snow White. I really wish she could wear it again next year, but I don't think it will fit, and I get the feeling that I'll be making another promise this coming June.
Laura posing with our pumpkins
With a better smile this time
Moxie didn't want to be left out, so she her picture taken while looking extra cute
With Daddy at the local "Trunk-Or-Treat"
Mommy and Laura getting excited about candy
Reenacting the hot dog photo from last yearWe had a great time tonight and are now the proud owners of way too much candy. Also, for those who care, my hair is not black like the picture might have you believe.
Monday, October 5, 2009
A Beautiful Wedding
We spent the weekend in Charleston again, this time to celebrate the wedding of my cousin Shirley. The wedding was so much fun! Shirley looked breathtaking and the ceremony was so sweet and heartfelt, filled with plenty of laughter (my favorite type of ceremony!) It was held at a beautiful house by the water, and the food was delicious. I got to see some relatives that I haven't seen for quite a while, which was awesome. Laura got to play with all of her cousins, and the Army Man even went so far as to dance with me. Must have been something in the drinks….
As usual I did a terrible job of taking pictures. I never remembered to get a picture of the three of us together. In fact, I don’t have any good pictures of us! I can vouch for us though-Laura was adorable, the Army Man looked great and my dress was very cute (at least I thought so). Enjoy the few pictures I did take!
Laura and Daddy before the ceremony
Laura and Mommy before the ceremony
Laura and Mommy before the ceremony
Shirley dancing with her father
Sam and Fisher not understanding what all the fuss is about
Eden and Estelle, proving that our family produces the most adorable kids
Laura and Campbell at the brunch after the wedding
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Charleston Trip
It's not often that the Army Man informs me that we are taking a weekend trip anywhere, so when he does, I say "yes please!" without even worrying about where we're heading. He chose a great spot to go last weekend-Charleston, South Carolina. He went a few weeks back on some training and had a great time, and he wanted to go back again with the whole family (except Moxie. Sorry, dog). It was a short trip, just Friday-Sunday, and although I was momentarily afraid for our safety when I saw our hotel, it was a fantastic trip!
If you live in California, surely you know of the Roxford exit off of the 5? Well that should give you an idea of what the area our hotel was in was like. Charleston is a beautiful town, so we were quite shocked when our directions directed us to a rather shabby looking hotel in an even shabbier part of town. Inside the hotel and was nice and clean, and with the Army Man there to protect the family, I knew we would be fine. But I learned my lesson about booking hotels online!
Friday we walked around in the beautiful downtown area and ate dinner right by the water. Saturday we hit up the aquarium and the beach. The aquarium was nice but small, and the four penguins that call the aquarium home were the saddest looking bunch I've ever seen. They made me much too sad to enjoy them, even though Laura kept reminding me how much I like penguins (in case I forgot). Right next to the aquarium was a small Ft. Sumter museum with the tattered remains of the giant American flag that once lived at Ft. Sumter. A replica hung on the wall-it was gigantic!
After that, we went to the beach which was so much fun. It was ridiculously crowded, but the water was very warm and the weather was great. We all went pretty far into the water and I was loving it until a wave knocked me over and swept away my sunglasses. The Army Man and I searched in vain for them-the most perfect sunglasses I've ever owned. Later, I rested on the sand while Laura and the Army Man went far, far into the water to see just how tense Mommy could get. At one point they were out farther than anyone else! But of course Laura loved it and the Army Man was pleased that his plan to torture me worked. That evening we visited all too briefly with my cousin Shirley and her daughter Eden. Eden just turned 2 and is so stinkin' cute! Laura was too glued to the TV to pay much attention to Eden, and it was weird for me seeing that Laura really is a big kid now-she looked so much older and bigger than Eden.
If you live in California, surely you know of the Roxford exit off of the 5? Well that should give you an idea of what the area our hotel was in was like. Charleston is a beautiful town, so we were quite shocked when our directions directed us to a rather shabby looking hotel in an even shabbier part of town. Inside the hotel and was nice and clean, and with the Army Man there to protect the family, I knew we would be fine. But I learned my lesson about booking hotels online!
Friday we walked around in the beautiful downtown area and ate dinner right by the water. Saturday we hit up the aquarium and the beach. The aquarium was nice but small, and the four penguins that call the aquarium home were the saddest looking bunch I've ever seen. They made me much too sad to enjoy them, even though Laura kept reminding me how much I like penguins (in case I forgot). Right next to the aquarium was a small Ft. Sumter museum with the tattered remains of the giant American flag that once lived at Ft. Sumter. A replica hung on the wall-it was gigantic!
After that, we went to the beach which was so much fun. It was ridiculously crowded, but the water was very warm and the weather was great. We all went pretty far into the water and I was loving it until a wave knocked me over and swept away my sunglasses. The Army Man and I searched in vain for them-the most perfect sunglasses I've ever owned. Later, I rested on the sand while Laura and the Army Man went far, far into the water to see just how tense Mommy could get. At one point they were out farther than anyone else! But of course Laura loved it and the Army Man was pleased that his plan to torture me worked. That evening we visited all too briefly with my cousin Shirley and her daughter Eden. Eden just turned 2 and is so stinkin' cute! Laura was too glued to the TV to pay much attention to Eden, and it was weird for me seeing that Laura really is a big kid now-she looked so much older and bigger than Eden.
Sunday was a lazy day for us and we never did make it to Ft. Sumter. I guess we'll have to save that for the next trip! Now, what you've all been waiting for: the pictures. I have a ton of Laura from the beach, and couldn't decide which ones were the best, so I posted a lot. Enjoy!
Laura and Daddy, enjoying dinner by the water
Me at dinner, getting the obligatory photo take to prove I was there
The USS Yorktown
The source of my near panic attack
Looking at Ft. Sumter
Laura being cute 
Me at dinner, getting the obligatory photo take to prove I was there
The USS Yorktown
The source of my near panic attack
Looking at Ft. Sumter
Laura being cute 
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Our Empty Nest
I've been meaning to write a post about this forever, but naturally life got in the way and I'm just now going through all of our pictures that tell the story. This summer our front porch played a big part in the start of a new family, and we were honored to get watch it all unfold in front of our eyes.
One day in June, a robin showed up on my front porch and made a HUGE mess while making the poorest excuse for a nest I have ever seen. It was badly constructed-basically a few pieces of long grass laid in a line, and was an embarrassment to robins everywhere. I was in a bad mood that day and the messy porch made me madder. I pulled down all the twigs she had gathered and made short work of her "nest". I know, I know. It was a horrible thing to do. Well, this robin was a girl after my own heart, because not only was she not dissuaded from building her nest, but she decided to prove herself to me and built the cutest little nest I have ever seen. It was quite incredible watching her bring all of her materials and stomp on them to make them into a nest. When she was finished, it was as if she had bought it in a store, it looked so perfect.
Laura was thrilled with this development, and I couldn't very well go and remove such a nice nest, so we figured we were about to watch nature at work. And we were.
From what we (and by we, I mean the Army Man who was the only one brave enough to climb onto the porch railings to look) could see, she laid 4 eggs. One day in July, the Army Man called me on my cell phone to give me the exciting news...the babies were here! Three of the eggs hatched and two babies lived. 
It was simply incredible watching the bird's development first-hand. Our kitchen window looks out onto the porch, and basically any time we went into the kitchen, we would look out onto the porch to see what the babies were up to. They were noisy and always wanting to eat. The problem was that the second the mom saw us through the window, she would fly off. We all tried to be cautious, but we were constantly scaring her off.
As they got bigger, they got bolder. They started checking things out, to Laura's great delight.
One of them in particular was always giving me a heart attack, acting like he was going to fall out of the nest, or attempt flying on his own.
Then one day it happened. Almost 7 weeks after the nest was built, I just so happened to be pulling into the driveway after dropping Laura off at day camp when I saw a huge commotion. There were several large robins flying underneath the porch ceiling, and at first I thought they were attacking the babies. I jumped out of the car and ran over, just in time to see something tiny fall from the nest into the flowers below. The babies were leaving home! I shouted for the Army Man who happened to be home, and he ran outside. Our neighbor probably thought we were crazy-I'm pretty sure I was jumping up and down-but I didn't care. I couldn't quite tell if they were pushed out of the nest, or if they left willingly, but they both made it safely into the cushion of my zinnias below.
They flew off almost instantly, and one of them flew to our neighbor's yard, so the Army Man was able to get a picture of the baby before he flew off forever.
Laura took it really hard that they were gone, and that they had had the nerve to fly away when she wasn't there. We all (the Army Man included!) felt sad that the nest was suddenly empty, and that the babies weren't there for us to watch and discuss. It's been over a month and today I caught myself glancing up to the nest to see what the babies were up to. The nest is still there, empty. We decided to leave it in case the mother wants to use it again next year. I hope she will.
One day in June, a robin showed up on my front porch and made a HUGE mess while making the poorest excuse for a nest I have ever seen. It was badly constructed-basically a few pieces of long grass laid in a line, and was an embarrassment to robins everywhere. I was in a bad mood that day and the messy porch made me madder. I pulled down all the twigs she had gathered and made short work of her "nest". I know, I know. It was a horrible thing to do. Well, this robin was a girl after my own heart, because not only was she not dissuaded from building her nest, but she decided to prove herself to me and built the cutest little nest I have ever seen. It was quite incredible watching her bring all of her materials and stomp on them to make them into a nest. When she was finished, it was as if she had bought it in a store, it looked so perfect.
Laura was thrilled with this development, and I couldn't very well go and remove such a nice nest, so we figured we were about to watch nature at work. And we were.
From what we (and by we, I mean the Army Man who was the only one brave enough to climb onto the porch railings to look) could see, she laid 4 eggs. One day in July, the Army Man called me on my cell phone to give me the exciting news...the babies were here! Three of the eggs hatched and two babies lived. 
It was simply incredible watching the bird's development first-hand. Our kitchen window looks out onto the porch, and basically any time we went into the kitchen, we would look out onto the porch to see what the babies were up to. They were noisy and always wanting to eat. The problem was that the second the mom saw us through the window, she would fly off. We all tried to be cautious, but we were constantly scaring her off.
As they got bigger, they got bolder. They started checking things out, to Laura's great delight.
One of them in particular was always giving me a heart attack, acting like he was going to fall out of the nest, or attempt flying on his own.
Then one day it happened. Almost 7 weeks after the nest was built, I just so happened to be pulling into the driveway after dropping Laura off at day camp when I saw a huge commotion. There were several large robins flying underneath the porch ceiling, and at first I thought they were attacking the babies. I jumped out of the car and ran over, just in time to see something tiny fall from the nest into the flowers below. The babies were leaving home! I shouted for the Army Man who happened to be home, and he ran outside. Our neighbor probably thought we were crazy-I'm pretty sure I was jumping up and down-but I didn't care. I couldn't quite tell if they were pushed out of the nest, or if they left willingly, but they both made it safely into the cushion of my zinnias below.They flew off almost instantly, and one of them flew to our neighbor's yard, so the Army Man was able to get a picture of the baby before he flew off forever.
Laura took it really hard that they were gone, and that they had had the nerve to fly away when she wasn't there. We all (the Army Man included!) felt sad that the nest was suddenly empty, and that the babies weren't there for us to watch and discuss. It's been over a month and today I caught myself glancing up to the nest to see what the babies were up to. The nest is still there, empty. We decided to leave it in case the mother wants to use it again next year. I hope she will.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
A Visit From Nana
I'm just now getting my act together to post some pictures from our wonderful visit with my mom. She comes every July, all the way from California to visit her favorite granddaughter (and only granddaughter, but don't tell Laura that!) We all had a wonderful time while she was here, and ate way too much food. Moxie especially enjoyed Nana's visit since she got lots of long walks out of the deal. In fact, she pouted for about 2 days after my mom left-and I'm not making that up. So not only did I have Laura coming down from the high of being spoiled by Nana, but I had a sad dog too. Not to mention the Army Man and I were sad that our babysitter, I mean visitor, had left. I really hate that first day after a visitor departs-the house seems so quiet and empty.We didn't take too many pictures (I guess we were having too much fun!) but I do have some pictures from our trip up to Raleigh to meet up with her parents. And of course, we have lots of wonderful memories too!
Laura with her great-grandparents
4 generations of women, and Laura continuing her tradition of making a weird face in this photo
Laura, Nana, Great Grandpap, Great Nana, and Mommy
4 generations of women, and Laura continuing her tradition of making a weird face in this photo
Laura and Moxie showing off their "hug" for Nana
I hope to be back soon with several posts covering our empty (bird) nest, Laura starting pre-K, the Army Man growing old, and some new crafts I've done.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
No Time To Blog!
This has been a busy summer-so busy that I haven't had time to post much. But I have plenty of excuses! Such as, you ask? Well, let me fill you in!
Laura had a month's worth of this, although we missed several times
I did some of this
Moxie did this while I was painting
Then the Army Man did this for the whole deck and fence
We've been keeping our eyes on this new addition to our porch
Then Moxie had her first one of these at home, and wasn't happy about it
We've done this a bunch of times, to my stomach's great joy
We've done this a bunch of times, to my stomach's great joy
Moxie has hung out by the A/C a lot
I've manged to make a new dress
And something else new
Then yesterday we had some visitors!
And something else new
Then yesterday we had some visitors!
They took a picture of us in our 4th of July outfits (the Army Man's was the best)
We met up with friends for fireworks
The Army Man and I enjoyed ourselves
The Army Man and I enjoyed ourselves
Other things that occured lately but were not photographed were a visit from my cousin Lisa and her two children (so much fun!), a broken upstairs air conditioner (not fun at all), professional painters painting the stairs and master bedroom, and two seperate visits from my Aunt and her two girls (also great fun). Now things are calming down a bit-all we have coming up is a week long visit from my Mom (hooray!), pre-K starting on July 15th (more on that later), and Jury Duty for me on July 16th. No big deal, right?
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