Happy Birthday to Me!

Today I turned 20...plus 9. Aaaah! It's my last year of my twenties! I had a lot of fun today. I went to lunch with my hubby and had fun with my kids. They loved wrapping presents and celebrating with me. It was a nice relaxing day. I got a new dock for my ipod, some new sunglasses, and new tennis balls. However, the best gift I got today was a brand new little niece. Jon's sister, Cheryl, had a baby girl this morning. She named her Hailey Kay Kingsford. Kay is my middle name (and Lindsay's) and I am truly honored that they thought of me! We're so glad Hailey is here and we can't wait to see her!

Out to Lunch

My Cake (it's supposed to look like a Scrabble board) Blowing out the candles
Presents!
My sweet Tyler and me

Joey slept through the whole party!!

Tampa

Our weekend get-a-way last weekend was a trip to Tampa Bay. We visited Busch Gardens and got to see lots of other sights...including Paul Revere & the Raiders. We have been to the Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia and let me tell you, there is no comparison. The B.G. in Tampa is out of this world. I definitely liked it better than any park at Disney World. There was a great balance between grown-up activities and kid activities. Jon and I went on some of the best roller coasters I have ever been on. We really enjoyed Tampa. We live in such a small town, it was so nice to visit a large city with skyscrapers and freeways.

So glad Daddy's back!

Jon arrived home safely on Jan. 31. We have been having lots of fun since he's been home. He doesn't have to go back to work for a couple more weeks and it feels like we have been on a non-stop vacation. We've gone out to lunch, gone to the beach, played tennis, and last weekend we went to Panama City, Florida for a weekend get-a-way. We are all enjoying having Daddy home, especially me! Jon really is an awesome father and he has been such a huge help with the kids. I've actually had some time to myself to just relax. He has loved seeing his new little baby and can't seem to get enough of him! Hooray...we survived our first deployment!

Guess What!

No, I'm not pregnant:))! Jon is on his way home right now! He just flew out of BWI (Baltimore/Washington) and is headed our way! He gets in at 7:00 tonight. We are all estatic! I gotta go shave my legs!

Joey at 3 months

I can't believe that Joey is 3 months old! He is such a good baby and such a blessing in our lives. He gets cuter every day (I'm a little biased). He is always smiling and he is just starting to laugh. He LOVES to be held. I think I have spoiled him a little because I am always holding him...partly because if I put him down, Anna wants to "play" with him (that usually includes poking his eyes and pulling on his ears). He is such a good sleeper too. He sleeps for about 11 hours every night. I am so thankful for that! When I am rested, I am definitely a better mom. He is getting so big and I can't wait for his daddy to see him!

Nothin' New

I've been meaning to update my blog, but there really is nothing going on to blog about. I haven't even taken one picture on my camera since I was in Idaho. We're just doing the normal stuff around here and it's not very exciting...school, church, etc. I've always thought January was a boring month. After all the excitement of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, January is kind of a let down! To make it worse, my kids had Friday off of school so that we have a 4-day weekend...a single mom's worst nightmare! I can't come up with enough activities to keep these energetic kids busy.....

Lots of people have been asking when Jon is coming home, so here's the update. Jon's replacement is just north of Iraq right now. He has been delayed a couple days, but once he arrives(which will be any day now), Jon has to train him and then he will be on his way home. It will take about 3 days to train his replacement and about 5 days to travel home. There will most likely be delays during the return home, so we're thinking he will be home in about 2-3 weeks.

On a totally random note, here are a couple pictures of my kids with their favorite uncle, Brent. He is Jon's littlest brother and we got to see him lots over Christmas break.

Back to Reality!

We made it back to Florida! We got back on Saturday and the night before we flew, I got sick...of course. Our flight left at 5:30am, so we were all exhausted and being sick didn't help. One of the highlights of the day was being pooped on by Joey and having apple juice dumped down my shirt by Anna. Luckily, I brought an extra change of clothes for Joey, but not for me. I ended up getting a new shirt that says, "Minnesota" on it!

We are getting back into the swing of things and getting back on schedule. We are definitely on the home stretch for Jon coming home...we are counting down the days now.

Here are some pictures from our New Years Eve! We went to a bull riding rodeo in Idaho. It was really awesome. We had so much fun. We even got our picture in the Nampa, ID paper.

Great Grandma

One cool thing about visiting Boise is that my kids get to see their great grandparents, Doris and Figs Hanna. They are Jon's maternal grandparents. It seems like everytime I come visit, there is a new great grandchild for them to see. They loved seeing Joey!

Christmas Highlights!

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. For Christmas Eve, we had all the kids dress up as Nativity characters and then they acted it out. We had a lesson about the Good Shepherd and then we sang Christmas songs using hand bells that Grandma Pam sent us. The kids loved it. We ended the evening with a gift exchange game.

Christmas day was nice and relaxing. We opened presents and ate a delicious breakfast. I even got a nap! What a great day! We had the best Christmas dinner...we felt like kings and queens. We had prime rib, crab, lobster, mashed potatoes, and homemade rolls.

Little Anna gave us the biggest laugh of the day. She was munching on a treat that she had found. It looked kind of like a biscotti to me...she ate about half of it. A little later, my mom asked where the dog biscuit was for my brother's dog. Apparently my mom filled a stocking for his dog and the big dog biscuit was missing. We realized that Anna had found it and eaten it. What a funny girl!

Toothless Tyler

Tyler lost just lost his first tooth! According to him, "It's about time!" All of the other kids in his first grade class have lost at least one tooth, so he was getting a little impatient. The Tooth Fairy gave him $1 for his tooth. When he woke up, he said, "The tooth fairy came, but she only gave me a dollar!" I guess some kids in his class have gotten up to $20. Does this seem ridiculous...$20 for a tooth? So, what is the going rate for the Tooth Fairy these days? Does anyone know?