Just my luck!

I had another "Army Wife Experience" yesterday. I call it that because it seems everything seems to go wrong whenever Roger is gone for army stuff and I have to deal with it alone. I know these things happen to everyone in and out of the army, but they are pretty commonplace for military wives. With each one I feel myself getting a little bit stronger and comfortable with handling the not-so-fun surprises that pop up in life.

So my car started making some crazy noises and I took it into the shop only to find out that the transmission is blown and I need a new one. Well, my car isn't even very old and a transmission costs $3,000.00!!!! When the guy told me about it I couldn't even hold back the tears, I have been way emotional lately, but I can usually wait until I'm alone to lose it! But they suggested trading it in since we were planning to buy a van in the next 6 or 7 months anyway. (easy for them to say) But it just stinks when you can't call your Mr. Fix It husband and ask him what you should do and you are stranded since the car isn't drivable!

So I was actually thinking of renting a car to drive until Roger gets back and we can decide what to do, even though Roger's truck is sitting in the driveway. But I have never driven it because it is HUGE and I am totally not comfortable driving that BEAST!! But I realized Roger would probably kill me if I paid to rent a car when his truck was here so I took it for a drive around the block and didn't hit a thing! Hooray! But I did have to sit in the dark last night for 10 minutes trying to find the switch for the dash lights! :)

One more fear conquered!

Growing Up

I've been meaning to post these pictures we had taken recently of the boys. It is Michael's 4 year picture and Brigham's 3 month pictures!

Chuck E Cheese's Can Fix Anything

Michael had a tough day today! He had his 4 year physical so he can start preschool this fall and they had to give him some booster shots. I have been preparing him for this for the last couple of days and he said he was ready to be "bwave". Well he was very "bwave" until he saw 5 shots waiting for him! Yep, 5! I couldn't believe he needed that many since he is totally up to date on his vaccinations. Anyway, he did as well as any 4 year old could be expected but the only thing that cheered him up was going to Chuck E Cheese afterwards. Check out the poor kids thighs!

He thinks his 5 band aids are wonderful battle scars meant to be shown off!

Happy 4th!

We had a wonderful 4th! It is my favorite holiday! We did our usual traditions, matching shirts, homemade peppermint ice cream, fireworks, and family! We went up on post to see the fireworks and let Michael play at the Carnival they have. We listened to the army band and they had 3 skydivers jump right above us and fly the American flag. It was so cool, and they even did some tricks. They climbed up on top of each other so all 3 divers were stacked (see picture) and then they landed on the field right in front of us.

Then on Saturday night we were invited to a BBQ with some friends where we had great food, the kids swam and we set off our own fireworks. And the guys did a little go cart racing. We had such a fun weekend celebrating our nations birthday! I am so grateful for this country and all those that work to defend it!

Trip to Nashville!

We took Natalie to Nashville to see some of the sights! We visited the Adventure Science Center where Michael had a ball running from one exhibit to the next. Then we saw the Nashville temple. (we are so glad we have a temple close by) And then we went to Centennial Park where they have a life size replica of the Parthenon and a huge steam engine to see. It was a busy and fun day!

Rough Landing!

I had to post about Roger's latest adventure!

He is "Airborne" in the army so he periodically has to parachute out of airplanes/helicopters to keep his training current. Well, he had a jump this past week, and as always I waited for the phone call to tell me he was okay. Finally he calls, and tells me he is fine. But he did have a tough landing! He ended up in a tree!!! First he was pulled through a couple trees and then he came to rest about 10 to 15ft. off the ground! And amazingly enough he doesn't have a scratch on him! He was hanging sideways but was able to deploy his reserve chute and climb down. And just like a man, he can't wait to do it again!

(but not the tree part)

Check out my Slide Show!

Nat's Here!

My sister Natalie is out visiting us for a while. She is going to hang out with us while Roger is gone for a couple of weeks. It is so wonderful to have an extra set of hands and someone to visit with. Michael is in heaven having her to play with!

We are enjoying our summer so far! We spend lots of time at the splash park up on Post (I'll post some pictures later) and in our kiddie pool in the back yard. And I have started teaching Michael to read. We spend about 15 minutes a day doing this reading program I got and so far he is loving it.

It's fun having some Michael/Mommy time while Briggs is taking a nap and it is wonderful to see him learning so much! I totally recommend this reading program!

Mother knows best!

So we had a tough couple of weeks with Brigham.

Every time he was drinking his bottle he would stop in the middle and start crying hysterically. And then he started to spit up alot so I took him to see the doctor and she said it was reflux and he needed to be on Zantac. But she also told me that they don't know the effects of Zantac on kids so it was up to me if I wanted to try it or not. I asked if maybe switching to a different formula would help and she said it wouldn't make a difference and that it would be a waste of time. She advised I try the meds and come back in a month.

So really she wasn't any help. Clearly she didn't understand how awful it was to watch your baby scream his way through every bottle and then throw most of it back up after!! I was seriously at the end of my rope!

So we tried the medicine for a couple of days and nothing happened. Then I got online and read about similar symptoms in other kids and many of them had success with other formulas so I tried like 5 different kinds of formula with no results. But then I tried Nutramigen, and it was like a miracle!!! Briggs was back to his happy self and not spitting up at all!!!

The downside is that this stuff costs $25.00 a can. And not for a big can, but for a small can that lasts us about 3 1/2 days. So now we have a happy baby, but a sad budget! I never expected the littlest member of the family would cost $200.00 a month to feed. :)

What can I say, the kid has expensive taste!

Here's to Fireflies and Daddy's

Just one more things that makes Roger a wonderful Dad!

Last night AFTER I had gotten Michael tucked into bed I found Roger sitting with him on the back porch watching the fireflies in the backyard.

(we just can't get enough of these fireflies, they are so cool!)

He even caught one for Michael to put in his bug cage, which totally made Michael's night!

I love that Roger enjoys spending time with our sons. (Even after bedtime) Michael would rather hang out with Daddy than do just about anything else.

Brigg's seems to be a Daddy's Boy too.
Roger can calm him down when no one else can!

Thanks for being a wonderful Father!
Our sons are very lucky!