Happy birthday to my hunka hunka burnin' love!

Haha! This past Wednesday was my hubby's birthday!

Tuesday we went to the Bass Pro shop to pick out a good fishing pole for him!

And..I've been having way too much fun with my new iPhone app...

so excuse all the phone pics. LOL

Then on his birthday, after getting of of work, we headed to dinner!

Outback's cheese fries are oh so heavenly!

Ahhh love this man. :)

After dinner, we headed to the reservoir to watch the sunset and just hang out.

It was SUCH a beautiful night!

Earlier in the day I had been preparing an ice cream cake for my man..

with his fave ice cream! Mint chocolate chip! And he wanted yellow cake.

Mmm...I love yellow cake.

It turned out pretty good for me not knowing anything about making ice cream cakes! LOL

What.a.goober.

Mmmmm.

A few days later, our families came in town to celebrate!

We did alot in the short time they were here! On Friday Darryl, his dad, and 2 of Darryl's friends went golfing. My dad couldn't get here until friday night so he couldn't go with. They said they had a great time though.

While they did that, me & the boys went with Justin, Julie, & Mimi on the boat!

We had lots of fun just cruisin' around in the beautiful weather!

And Caleb & Justin even jumped in for a quick swim! Ay got in for a few seconds, and

then decided it was too cold. ;)

When the guys got home we ordered a few pizzas and ate, and then my parents got in!

Then we all headed to Bass Pro, because that's where Darryl's parents

were taking him to get him some fishing stuff for his birthday, and

where my parents got him a gift card to!

My dad doesn't shop, so he just plays around and acts goofy with the kiddos!

Like this. hahaha

We all went out on the boat on Saturday morning, but I didn't have the camera with me for that part because we were going fast, and I didn't want to get my camera wet!

We then went back to the house and bbq-ed and

I had asked my mom to bring a king cake!

Purple & yellow for LSU, of course.

My parents had to leave after that, and we all hung out and got ready for another boat adventure! This time though, to fish! But that'll have to wait for another post... :)

All in all, I think Darryl had an awesome birthday, and I'm so glad we could have our fam around for it for the first time in 6 years!

Love ya, babe!

Thankfulness.

I'm thankful. I promise. But it's been SO very busy around here, I just haven't had time to blog about it!! And even though I really don't have time now because I have a huge pile of laundry to do, and floors to vacuum, and toilets to clean, I'm making time. Because if I don't, it'll be Christmas before I do, and I cannot let Christmas come without being able to share what I'm thankful for.

I'm thankful for..

*the cross, and for Jesus who died on the cross to save me from Hell.

*the Bible. It's the only book I have time for these days, and really the only one that matters.

*an amazing husband who supports me and loves me without fail.

*the 2 most amazing, wonderful, handsome, curious, witty boys on the planet. I love my bubbies.

*an awesome Mom & Dad who have taught me so much and have become my very close friends, they are awesome Grandparents too.

*a hilarious brother. He is such a fun person to be around and I look forward to all the moments we get together. He always has a good attitude no matter what. I'm thankful for his wife and kids too. They are SO cute and I just love hanging out with Sarah.

*wonderful inlaws who are always there for us, they are amazing grandparents too.

*the ability to drive 2.5 hours to see those grandparents. That's such a blessing. Just a year ago we'd have to take a 12 hour flight plus layovers.

*for friendships. I've made so many amazing friends in Germany and here back home. I cherish every one of them, and miss my friends I left behind!

*for laughter. It's what makes me tick. I love to laugh, and I love to be with people who love to laugh. It's just who I am.

*tickle fights. They make the bubbies dimples show. And I love their dimples.

*Freedom fighters. All of the ones past and present fighting for our freedom. They are heroes. Darryl's brother just got back from Iraq in September, I'm so glad he made it home safely We're so grateful for his service.

*Darryl's sister Julie. She's my sis, and I love her. She's grown so much in the time since I've known her, and I'm so glad to be able to call her a close friend.

* an awesome church family in Slidell who treats us as if we were never gone every time we go back.

*my bestie, Lisa. She moved to Cali this year but I got 2 months with her before she left and got to meet her baby girl, Aubrey. She's sooo cute. Lisa's been my best friend since best friends mattered. I miss and love my Wheeza!

*Our beautiful home! We were so blessed to be able to have bought our first home this year. We love it so much and so do the boys.

*webcams. They make smiles, and googly eyes, and all that snazzy stuff happen. When we were in Germany it's the only real way the boys knew their grandparents. And now I get to see Aubrey in them too! :) Score.

*Urgent care. Because even if they can't live up to their name, they still get the job done and make my bubbies better.

*Amoxicillan. It makes the double ear infections go away.

*My camera. Because I'd die if I couldn't capture these memories in still form. I want to remember how little the bubbies were, and how funny Ayden looked when he spilled the rice krispies all over the floor. Or remembering the look of amazement on Cbear's face when he was picking up acorns off of the ground. Those are things we could easily forget, but I won't, and I'm so glad I won't.

*A constant mess to clean. Because it means my boys can run around an be boys. There isn't an illness taking over their bodies, they are just healthy little, rambunctious boys who love to get into things. And I can handle that. :)

*Traveling. The chance to be able to travel Europe was amazing and I wouldn't change the 4 years we lived there for anything. I loved seeing the Eiffel Tower, Coliseum, and Berlin Wall. There were soooo many things we got to see and I hope to see more some day.

*Computers and Internet. I just don't even know how I'd live without it. It makes so much possible!

*STORES! Clothing, grocery, craft, you name it! After 4 years of not getting to shop much in Germany, I am surrounded by awesome stores 5 minutes from my house!! Good for me! Not so good for Darryl. ;)

*The moon. I love looking at the moon, and so does my Ayden. Sometimes when I'm driving at night and there's a beautiful moon I won't go home right away, but I'll take the long route and just stare at the moon. It's an amazing thing.

*books. The boys love em', and I do too. I just wonder when I'll get the chance to read one without pictures again.. haha.

*the ability to have Thanksgiving at our new home with my parents, my brother and Sarah and 3 kids, Darryl's parents and sister, his brother and wife and 2 kids, and us and our 2 kids! It was crazy but SO fun. Michael introduced us to a new game and I love it. I think Darryl and I are officially addicted to it. The grandparents had a blast making memories too. It was a great time.

*Christmas music. We LOVE Christmas music. It makes me all warm inside, and I can't stop playing it right now!

*Hot cuckoo coffee (hot chocolate) Because my boys love it, and so do I. I despise coffee, but I can down some hot cuckoo coffee!

There's so much more, but I'm out of time. You see, I'm behind on uploading pictures, doing laundry, cleaning floors, and vacuuming. I also have to start school back up with Caleb tomorrow, and I need to hop on the treadmill and run 2 miles. I have lunges and squats to do, and also have a 2 year old with a double ear infection to put down for a nap. My ears, head, and throat are also killing me, but who has time for that, you know? And I'm thankful for ALL of it. So, if you don't get by now why I haven't updated, you probably never will. But I will try to do it more, k?

I'm so very blessed and thankful for it.

~Erin

Trip to OKC!

Last week we drove to Oklahoma City to visit Daddy at the FAA Academy. He's been there 5 weeks already and has 2.5 left! YAY! Anyway, we left early Monday morning and stopped 8 hours later in Greenville, TX to visit with my brother and his fam! We had a blast swinging on the swings in the backyard and the 4 boy cousins just hangin' out with each other. We went to the park there too and it was soooo nice. The weather was just beautiful. We left the next morning around 11, and only had 4 hours left to OKC! We made it there around 4ish, and Daddy was so happy to see his boys, as were they to see him! We went out for mexican at a place down the street from the apartment, headed to the park, and then home to rest. The next few days were spent just hanging out with Daddy at night since he was at school all day long. Friday finally came and we went out to Texas Roadhouse for dinner after Darryl got out of school. It was so yummy. Afterwards, we took the kids to play at the little park within the apartment complex. They even made some friends with some kids who had cool toys. Hehe. Then we headed home, and Caleb helped me mix and pour the cake batter into the pan for Ayden's birthday I made it the day before so it had plenty of time to cool for the next day. I already posted about Ayden's birthday, and it was such a blast. An awesome memory of his 2nd birthday. It's funny how the things that aren't always huge and planned and perfect seem to be the things that are the most memorable. Anyway, Sunday we went to church and it was really nice! Caleb went into the nursery with Ayden to keep him "safe" and Ay didn't cry at all because his big bubba was by his side :) SWEET! After church we went out to eat with an awesome family that's been taking care of Darryl on Sundays, picking him up for church so he doesn't have to walk, and then taking him out to eat afterwards! So sweet. After we ate Darryl wasn't feeling so good, so I stopped at CVS to get him some stuff and made him nap! He and Ayden did just that and me and Caleb just hung out and rested too. The next morning Darryl was feeling much better, so we were glad! We went to the OKC Nat'l Memorial, and it was really really nice. It was so sad to see all of the memorabilia that people left in memory of the people that died but it was beautiful. We really enjoyed it. After that, we headed to the bass pro shop where Daddy envied the boats. hahaha. He wants one so bad! Caleb and Ayden really loved it there too because they could watch the bass swim in the water through the glass and shoot fake guns.. It was fun. After that we headed back to the apartment to do laundry and pack because we were leaving early. And early it was. Yesterday morning, (Tuesday) we left at 445am and arrived in Slidell exactly 11 hours later!! We made really good time considering we stopped 4 times, but Mommy was speeding, hehe. The boys did so well on the trip, I'm so proud of them! And I'm so glad we got to go make some memories with Darryl, it was a really nice trip!

Leavin' on a jet plane..

Darryl flew out to Oklahoma City to the FAA Academy today. We are very excited to get this journey started! He'll be there for a little more than 7 weeks and then we'll immediately move to Brandon, MS! He'll start working at the Jackson airport right away, we cannot wait for that.

Anyway, we had a great last week before he left. Thursday we went to the local park here and let the boys play on the splashpad there. They love getting all wet with the water that shoots out of the ground! It's so neat. Then we walked around to the pond they have there and let the boys throw rocks in it. It's the simple things in life they just seem to love..and it's so cheap for us parents! ;)

Friday we got up early to go to the Riverwalk in New Orleans with Mike & Jenna. It was a great time, and pretty nice weather!! We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe there and it was yummy! We enjoyed taking in the sights and just hanging out. The boys were tuckered out by the time we left.

Saturday we took beach trip to our favorite part in Gulfport! It's a really shallow part where we don't have to worry about it being too deep for the kids, and there aren't alot of people either! It's perfect, and the boys LOVE it! They never want to leave. Caleb & Daddy really enjoyed finding crabs in the water, and Daddy said he even saw a stingray! I didn't get a pic of that though. After we were done we packed up and headed home so the boys could take naps before meeting Mimi, Pa J & Juji at Chuck E Cheese!! The boys always have a blast there, and the grandparents loved hanging out with them too.

We made lots of memories and just had a wonderful time hanging out together this past week. We should be closing on the house on September 15th, God willing!! This is such an exciting time in our lives, and we can't wait to get into our home!

Independence Day!

Happy 4th everyone! I love Independence Day, it's a day for remembering EVERYONE who has served and is serving our great country. I'm so proud to be an American, and so proud to call myself an Army wife. We had a great day, full of family, barbecuing, swimming, and fireworks. It was awesome to be in the wonderful USA again for the 4th! Hope everyone had a great one!! Don't take your freedoms for granted! Freedom is never free!

PS-- Thank you soldiers & all of those fighting for our freedom. We love you!

My 23rd bday!

Had a great time celebrating my bday with awesome friends today. We went with Cassandra & kiddos down to Renates, and had a great lunch and just enjoyed hanging out. I even got a new piece of furniture to put by the couches! YAY. Just in time to almost have to pack it :) Anyway I had an awesome time and will surely miss these ladies when I'm gone!

Daddy came home bearing gifts!

So Darryl came home with toys for the boys and a Wii Fit for me! I've been wanting one of these ever since I hula hooped at my friend Cassandra's house. LOL They are so fun and even Ayden tries to play! Hahaha. So glad to have Darryl back home!

Darryl's trip to Los Angeles!

So this past week Darryl was in Los Angeles for a job interview/drug testing dealy for the job in Baton Rouge. He did awesome, and once he's on terminal leave in June he'll get his official paperwork for the job! We are so excited about that. But anyway, Darryl's brother's wife, Ashley, and their 2 kids Kenny (14 months) & Devign (2months) live in Cali currently while Dwayne is deployed. Anyway, Ashley, her 2 boys, and her sister in law drove to LA to see Darryl. It was so awesome that Darryl got to spend some quality time with them. He had a great time and LOVED being with his nephews. They even took a tour of Hollywood! Darryl said that Ayden & Kenny look alot alike. I cannot wait to get all of the boys together so we can see them play together in person!

Isn't he handsome?

I just have to say that it was SO unfair for me to have to endure seeing photos of this beautiful warm looking place when I was stuck with laryngitis in winterville! ;)