Were back!

Well Ashley and I arrived home from our trip to Washington last night after 24 hours of traveling. Yikes! But at least the train and plane rides went much smoother this time around. There were no delays nor any uncontrollable screaming babies (hint hint Ashley). Whooohooo for that one.

Here are a couple of pictures from the wedding. It was such great fun to get the group of us girls back together again.

OH and one piece of GOOD NEWS....

I got an email today from Mike and a phone call "hey did you check your email yet...go check it now!!!" So upstairs I went to check my email and was absolutly shocked at what I found out.

MIKE GOT STAFF Sergent!!!!

He made the cut off for this cycle by mere weeks as he just put on SrA in November. He didn't study a wink because he really didn't want to make is as he put it "as soon as he gets staff and they get him up to a 7 level they will ship his butt off" and lord knows we need him home for a little while at least. But he got it anyway so that is great! His line number is some 12,000 or something so it will be some time but at least he got it! He just signed up for honor guard so regardless that gives him 8 months of no deployments!!!!!! So we will be safe until a little after the baby is born.

Whoohoo, Congrats Mike! I am so proud.

A trip from hell....

Well my trip back home hasn't started off on a good foot, not even a bad foot, I would have to say more like an amputated stub.

It started off with my amtrak train running 4 hours late. Thankfully I had about 7 hours before my flight left msp so I had time to make that. Ashley had a rough night on the train and I got harrassed by some mean amtrak passengers for having a crying child. So I spent almost 3 hours pacing the lower level and sitting in the ladies bathroom/lounge to please the other passengers. I felt awful not to mention tired. If finally got her to sleep around 6am and was able to catch a few hours of interupted sleep there. My amtrak finally arrived in MSP at 11:30am (instead of the 7:15 am scheduled arrival).

The cab ride to the airport was fine, uneventful and welcomed.

We boarded our 1st plane headed to Dallas at 1:50 and Ashley screamed and I mean screamed for the 1st 45 minutes of our 2 hour flight....or so we thought. She finally fell asleep and was quite until the crew announced that we were within 25 mins of dallas. Then about 5 mins later they announced that there was a thunderstorm over dallas and they were not allowing us to land. So we circled dallas for the next hour until we recieved the announcement that we were running out of fuel and had to divert to Littlerock, AR to refuel. Another 45 min flight to littlerock where we landed 4th in line for the refueling truck. Over 2 hours later we were okayed for takeoff and headed back to dallas to land. We were all cleared for landing at dallas so everything was looking up, but then we had to wait for 5-10 minutes that turned into another 1 1/2 hours waiting to taxi up to our gate. It took over 8 hours for us to make a 2 hour flight to Dallas and to make it even better Ashely was not the happiest camper nor did the airline offer anything more than one beverage service and a small bag of pretzles.

I was in the very back of the plane so was one of the very last passangers deboarding the plane. As I approached a turn I felt weak and lightheaded and collapsed. I was offered water and a sugar cookie and then pushed in a wheelchair to my next gate. Needless to say the lady at the counter recieved an earfull from a very unhappy Mandy. I think I was stressed, dehydrated, starving, and did I say stressed from dealing with a toddler on a plane for 8 hours.

I then grabbed a bite to eat from a deli in the airport and boarded a plane for another 4 hour flight to seattle. Yikes, to say I was a nervous wreck was an understatement. Thankfully this flight went over much better and Ashley only cried for a minute during takeoff and then fell asleep until we were landing when she cried again. But overall this flight was a well needed rest break for me both mentally and physcially. Then.....

at baggage claim I learned that they had lost my baggage. 2 pieces of luggage and my carseat. Wonderful....I am surprised I was able to keep a smile on my face and wring the neck of the poor guy helping me to file a complaint for my lost luggage. As of this time right now I just recieved a phone call saying that my luggage should be delivered in the next four hours. Whoohoo, I can get a clean change of underwear :) Thankfully my mother is about the same size as I am so I was able to sneak into her closet to find some shorts and a tee shirt to wear for the time being.

Well thats about it for now. I will update again soon.....

Breayne's getting married!

So I am leaving this Sunday after work to go back to WA state to be the maid of honor in Breayne my best friend since 2nd grade's wedding. It is going to be an evening wedding in a zoo and I think it will be just stunning. I am nervous about the toast but I am sure it will go fine. Maybe a little stuttering or some tears but hopefully I can hold it together! Sorry Brea I had to do it. This is a picture of us at our 8th grade graduation. Brea is on the far left next to me!
Wow it has been a while since I pulled out those photos.

Greater Grand Forks Fair...

We had a good time at the fair. Ashley was able to go on 2 rides which she really enjoyed. It was a much smaller fair than we are used to but we had a fun time anyway. Mike was sweet enough to catch a picture of a "Cow Pie" so I have included that one for your viewing pleasure!

Pushing fun!

Chloe came over last week and her and Ashley really enjoyed our garage sale find. It kept them entertained for quite a while.

Baby, Baby, Baby...

Well I finally had my OB appointment and after a little scare of not finding a heartbeat and getting sent down for an impromtu ultrasound we learned that we are not as far along as I was thinking. We are officially 10 weeks along (not 14 like I thought). This now puts us with a due date of 27 January we hit the 2 year mark pretty close because Ashley's due date was 30 Jan. So we will see what happens... Here are the pictures from the ultrasound. It more or less looks like a little blob but if you look carefully you can see a head, body, arm, and a faint leg.

I was a matchup instawinner!

Well I finally entered in my game pieces and I won an instawinner coupon good at any of 6 services locations. Whooohooo! I never win things!

Here is Ashley in her bumble bee costume that she HAD to put on. She tried on her cow one also and loved them both.
I have my first OB appointment in the morning so I will finally have a due date...

things are calming down here....

Well finally things are calming down here.

Mike fixed the Ford and now it is running fine again. Plus the new alternator that he put in has a lifetime warranty. So if the darn thing goes out again, we get a free replacement and Mike already knows how to install it!

Mike broke the door handle on the Toyota so now it looks pretty trashy. We have to order a new part to replace it. But it is rigged right now so you can still open it from the outside so at least that works.

Our puppy Macy is finally getting the hang of potty training. Ahhh, I hate potty training! But hopefully she will finish up her "training" soon so I don't have to deal with anymore "uh oh's"!

Oh and the pregnancy. I think I am about 11-12 weeks along right now. I have to wait until the 30th for my OB appointment to find out for sure. So it looks like I missed most of the 1st trimester without even knowing I was preggo. So I am feeling good with very little morning sickness or anything else.

My sweet darling Ashley got into mommy's twix candy bar yesterday while I was cooking dinner. I thought, hmm it's too quiet, and went to go check on her and she was sitting on the couch with her face covered in melted chocolate. She wasn't good enough to get that candy bar completely out of the wrapper so she insisted on sucking on the wrapper which made a huge melty mess. What a dear! And then at the same time I turned around and Macy had stolen a roll of TP and shredded it all over the carpet. Wonderful!!!!

Ahh, I hate FORDS!!!!

Ahh I hate our FORD! I will never again buy one!!!!! Our Focus is a 2002 and just hit 30,000 (well 32,162 to be exact) and guess what....On our drive into town yesterday our battery idiot light came on. We took it to Sears (cause no one else is open on Sundays in GF) and our alternator is going out. What, our alternator! Ugh, Sears wanted to charge over 400.00 for new one and installation. Nope, don't think so. We went and ordered a new part from the auto store (168.00) and Mike is going to do it himself. I just cant believe that they can be so crappy! My poor toyota is a 97 and the only work I have had to do to the darn thing is a replace a flat tire (my fault) , and put in a new battery (also my fault for parking it all summer long in the garage and never starting it up)! Our next vehicle will be either a honda or toyota, no more of this made in the USA (well part of it b/c our ford is made in Mexico and assembled here)AHHHH, cars, I hate them~!

Sprinkler Fun!

Ashley got her first chance to really play in the sprinkler. She loved it. The water was really cold but felt nice considering it was 94 degrees outside. She hasn't donned a swim suit yet this season but we are hoping to head to the pool this weekend to go swimming.

Our New Puppy, Macy!

Well, here are the pictures of the new puppy Mike brought home the other day. (Before we found out we were expecting). I wasn't very happy about getting a puppy but I am dealing with it. It is 1/2 husky and 1/2 lab. She is very cute and is really having a good time with Boca and Ashley. She feels just like a cotton ball, super fuzzy!

Pink OR Blue????

We're expecting. I just took a test this morning and yup it is positive (Mike doesn't even know yet cause he took his truck for a drive to test out the tachometer). Oh my oh my!!!!!
No, we weren't trying but look what happened anyway! (Mom, call me!!!)

another climbing first...

Today Ashley has discovered her rocking chair. No, not the small childs size version but the big momma! She climbed right on up there and was rocking away, not sitting of course but standing up. (Cyndy, I really feel for all you have been dealing with, I am just now getting my dose!)

New Territory!

Ashley has discovered new territory. The Couch! She can now climb right on up there and finds it amusing to run back and forth throwing herself down on the cushions while I am having a heart attack thinking that I am going to have to rush her to the ER. I have to just turn around and let her do it because I can't stop her. When I take her downit takes her 2 seconds and she's right back up there. Oh the joys of motherhood.

Toys, Toys, and more damn TOYS!!!!

How in the heck does a 1 year old accumulate so many toys?

Today I ventured into Ashley's toy box to see if there were some toys we could part with due to the fact that her toy box was overflowing. Not to mention that I had a rubbermaid of toys from before the move that I haven't even touched....Oh boy was this an overwhelming task. Oh well it has to be done. I have decided I need some sort of shelving unit in her room to help with the daunting task. I did mangage to get rid of a garbage bag of stuffed animals and other toys and stored a big bag of "baby" toys for the next one.....Now I just have to face the fact that 30 seconds after leaving her room I heard her dump out her entire box of legos. Ugh, not again....

Easter...

Well the pictures are a little late. But what the heck. Ashley had a great Easter and of course was spoiled. Her Great Grandma Pappas sent her a package with some candy (which mom confiscated) and a new stuffed bunny. The Easter bunny brought her a basket filled with a stuffed dog and a bunny, plastic eggs, 2 peeps, and a big box of legos. The eggs and legos were her favorite. Umm, well after the Easter basket itself. She carries that darn thing around the house constantly filling it with anything she can fit in it.

Trip to Grafton...

So Mike and I were craving Mexican food and have tried all the local restaurants but 1 (we've heard shaky reviews) so we decided to venture out to Grafton, ND to try Azteca. We had Azteca's back home so were expecting something similar. After a 45 minute drive to get there we walked in to find a burrito bar that looked terrible. We turned around and drove back to Grand Forks. Oh well, it was an adventure. We ended up getting food at the Mexican village, and it turned out alright. But the wierdest thing is that they put regular brown gravy on their stuff. It actually didn't taste bad! Ashley got a grilled cheese sandwich and hammed it up on the way home. She thought the binky thing was super funny!
The freeway had water over in a couple spots it was pretty crazy to be driving on a stretch of freeway with water on the side and in the median.

A walk to the park

Today was a beautiful 61 degrees so Mike, Ashley, Boca and I took a walk to the park. This was Ashley's first trip to an outside park and she had a blast. Her favorite was the covered slide, some of the pictures came out blurry but there are a few really good winners.

Ashley's newest favorite food is string cheese. She loves it and will devour a stick so quickly. Every time I open the fridge when she is around she starts whining for one. Oh well at least it is healthy.

Long overdue

Alright so here are some pictures of Ashley with her new wagon that daddy put together for her. I demanded seatbelts and he was handy enough to put them in. Bolted to the frame, none the less. So now I am happy. Ashley loves it. We have taken lots of walks and she loves the change of view from her stroller.

Mike is using his leave to build us a new entertainment center. It is going to be beautiful when he is done. It is made out of solid oak and is 6 feet long. It is going to be huge but that is good so when we can finally afford to get the big screen TV that we want it will work. I am super excited to get to put it to use. We are so in need of a new entertainment center. Our 5 year old walmart version is just not cutting it anymore.

We are moving at the end of this month into a different house on base. I am super excited because it is a one level and the basement is at least twice as big as the one we have now. Plus it has an attached garage so that will be just wonderful. We have some planned improvements on the near horizon so we are looking forward to lots of changes. We have been shopping around for carpet, paint, and new couches for our new place. It should pan out pretty well for us.