4th of July Festivities

For the 4th of July we went to a celebration at Schofield Barracks. We had a good time. The kids rode some rides, we had dinner, listened to the band Kansas, and watched fireworks, it was a good night.

Dinner time - my favorite time :)This is a rare picture of the kids getting along in such close quarters. (That is a glowing binky in Cole's mouth...not real)

They had a program about the U.S. flags, for each state they named they shot off a canon. It was pretty cool. You can't see much in the video since it is dark but you get the picture.

Proud to be an American!

While driving today to the beach we passed along a stretch of road that had about 100 yards of signs like this one


It frustrated and angered me that people are so ungrateful. There are so many people who have lost their lives in the pursuit of freedom. Our neighbor was recently killed in Afghanistan and I am so grateful for the sacrifice that others have made so that I can live in this awesome country. These people are truly heroes.

I love this country and I am so proud to be an American. Having my husband deploy to Iraq for 13 months changed me as a person. I was always grateful to live in America, but I never appreciated it fully. I can no longer sing patriotic songs, watch slide shows, or tributes to our country without becoming teary eyed. When the soldiers pass during the 4th of July parades carrying the flag I get choked up. I am sorry that it took a deployment by my husband for me to realize how lucky I am. I am so proud to be married to someone who is so selfless and who would do anything for his country!




I love the 4th of July. It is a time when patriotism is at a high...and I love it! I hope we can all stand tall tomorrow and remember the sarifice of so many! Happy 4th of July!

Reunion

Steve recently reunited with a friend from High School via facebook. His family was vacationing in Hawaii so we had the opportunity to meet up a few times for some fun beach days. It has been fun meeting and getting to know the Gray family. We have had a great time getting together and letting the kids play....they were instant friends. We wish you guys would think about relocating to Hawaii! :)

Steve and Michael Gray

Steve, Amber, Alex and Michael at Sunset Beach

Rylan, Rolan, Cole, Taylor, Havyn and Madison at Sunset BeachNot the best picture, but needed to add one with all the kids (Monet wasn't in the last one)Havyn and MonetHavyn and Monet - snack time

Happy Birthday Steve!

We recently celebrated Steve's 25th birthday :). I think the kids get more excited than we do...but we tried to make it a good day for Steve. We started by making him an omelet and banana bread for breakfast. We opened gifts. The kids picked out their own gifts for Steve. Taylor and Havyn bought him a shirt and Cole and Madison bought him a table soccer game. I purchased the planet earth dvd's, a new swimsuit, and new flip flops (what do you get for the man that has everything). The morning celebration was pretty short because the majority of the day was spent at church and at church meetings. For Steve's birthday dinner, he picked navajo tacos, and for desert, I made him a chocolate cheesecake-type thing. Happy Birthday babe, we love you!

Kayaking

Today was the girls actual birthday, and since it was a holiday we were able to spend a fun filled day with some friends doing some kayaking. We launched at Kailua Beach Park and kayaked to the Mokulua Islands. It was a perfect calm day. The water was emerald, clear and so gorgeous! We kayaked to the islands and ate our lunch there, cooled off in the water a bit, and then headed back. After the strenuous workout we headed to Teddy's Bigger Burgers and re-energized...yummy! Happy birthday girls and thanks for the fun day Jex family!

About 3/4 of the way to the Mokulua Islands

Amber, Cole, Taylor, Aedan, Treavor, and Jeff

Jamon, Ann, Taylor, Cole and AmberSteve, Madison, Aedan (sorry bad picture taken by Amber, it is hard to tell in the waterproof camera bag)Almost there!Taylor, Ann, Aedan, Jeff, Havyn, Steve and Madison having lunch (oops water spots on camera)Aedan, Madison and Taylor....peace out!Cole and Jamon catching hermit crabsTreavor and HavynCutieMadison and Taylor, birthday girlsAll tuckered out!

Happy Birthday Taylor & Madison

Our little twin girls have turned 11! It is hard to believe that they aren't our little girls anymore, they are growing up so quickly. The girls decided on a slumber party....we had 11 girls over. It was a busy night, but it went well. We had an auction, did blind makeovers, homemade facials, decorated pillowcases and painted nails. It was definitely a night full of girly things. Happy Birthday girls!

Blind makeovers, don't they look great!

Opening presents

The birthday girls and the birthday cake....they wanted fingernail polish on it????Make a wish!

Kaneohe Invitational Track Meet

The girls participated in the Kaneohe Invitational Track Meet. There were 16 kids picked from the 5th grade to participate. There were 8 schools competing. The girls each ran two races and did a great job. Taylor placed 2nd in the 50 meter dash, and 4th in the 4 x 100 relay race. Madison placed 2nd in the 200 meter dash, and 1st in the 4 x 800 relay medley. Great job girls!

The "A" Word

So as usual, Havyn has been saying some funny things. She cracks us up! Last night we were outside riding bikes....she jumped off her bike came over and said "what the heck is not a 'A' word, oh my gosh is a 'A' word!" She is constantly tattling on Cole when he says "oh my gosh." She is quick to let us know that "he said the 'A' word." I'm not sure where she is getting her information, but OH MY GOSH she is cute!

Boston

Steve had his AAO (orthodontic) meeting in Boston this year. And thanks to some great friends willing to do a kids swap, I was able to join him and get away for a few days. We had a great time! It is such a different experience traveling without kids...you can see twice as many things and it is just so much easier not having to keep track of everyone.

We took a tour along the freedom trail. It takes you to the first public school, the site of the Boston Massacre, Bunker Hill, USS Constitution, Paul Revere's Home, burial ground of Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, John Hancock and many others. We also went to the Boston Commons, the Boston Garden and Fenway Park. The day we did this tour the USS Constitution was closed....the USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned war ship. While talking to our trolley driver he said that since we were active duty military we might be able to get a private tour, he was right. They were very good to us and took us through the whole ship, we were able to see things that you don't get to see on the regular tours.

One of the funnest things we did was attend a Boston celtics playoff game against Orlando. It was a lot of fun. The fans were very intense, which made it exciting. The only downside was that the language of Bostonians was very bad. I've decided that Boston is the capitol of fowl language!

We had an interesting experience on the public transportation one of the days. Public transportation in Boston is great but you always have to be a little careful with the crazy people that use it. We boarded one of the buses and I immediately noticed a guy (he wasn't hard to notice) who was going on about Jerry Springer. After a couple of minutes, he pointed his finger right at me and said "YOU!" You can imagine my heart jumping out of my chest, and I said, "What?" He then said "You are the one that I am going to marry!" Then he looked at Steve and said, "you have the best one." At this point I linked my arm with Steves and this guy kept motioning Steve to move over. Then he mentioned something about a kiss. I was so glad that there were other people there with us and that Steve was there with me. So I guess it doesn't matter if you have a ring on and that your husband is sitting right next to you....you can still get marriage proposals.

Once again thanks Ann and Jeff for keeping the kids. Now I am charged up and ready for the summer.

Dream Job???

We were driving home from baseball the other night when Cole started this conversation:

Cole: "Mom, I know what job I want to do when I grow up."

Amber: "Really what is it?"

Cole: "I want to be one of those guys who has the pitchfork things and walks around picking up garbage."

I couldn't help it, I laughed....I explained to him that the people he sees in orange jumpsuits, doing his dream job, are actually prisoners who don't really have a choice. I tried to make him feel better after my laughing and told him that it is great to pick up garbage, and that would probably be a great service project. If this is still Cole's dream job, it shouldn't be hard to fulfill.

Bump, Set, Spike!

Taylor and Madison started a volleyball league on the Marine Corps Base about a month ago. The league they are in has girls ages 11-14. Taylor, Madison and one other girl are the youngest players, they don't turn 11 until May. It has been so much fun watching them improve each week. The coach is intense....and I love it! The past two Marine Corp papers have had pictures of the girls in them, last week the journalist interviewed Taylor, Madison and me. I guess this is our claim to fame! The title of the article comes directly from my quote.....I'm not getting a big head or anything. :) The first two pictures are from the paper. If you want to read the article you will have to click on it.

Baseball

Cole is in the middle of his 2nd back-to-back season of baseball. He is a good little player and he really enjoys it. This past week they had the hit, pitch & run competition. It is a little competition sponsored by major league baseball. At the end of the competition they gave awards to the players with the highest scores in each category. Cole was surprised when they called his name. He was the high score in the hitting category for his age group. Good job bud!

I know nice picture with a rake right in the center