Back to the beach house...

Auntie Gianna took Maggie for a spin around the yard... Ready, set,

GOOOOOOO!!!!!

On Vacation!!

ahhhh... laying on the beach for a week. Does it get any better?We thought that we would try an activity... so that we could say that we actually 'did something' while we were on vacation. Here is Gianna on the boat ride out to pet sting rays...

Here I am. Happy and excited to feed the sting rays on the sand bar.

And then one goosed me, whipped up at me and nearly knocked me off my feet. I was all done!!! We ran back to our beach chairs and settled in for the remainder of the trip!

Where to begin??

We went on vacation! Out to California and then to the Cayman Islands. Quite a whirlwind trip.

To catch you up:

First Maggie went to work with Nikki & Diane at Pebble Beach. She was quick to find Diane's candy drawer!! Smart girl :)

Then we headed over to Baba's house and Maggie stayed with them for a week while Mommy went on vacation with Gianna!

She had such a fun week playing with Baba and Grandpa. Here she is after her art lesson with Baba! Her hands are completely covered with pen!! Thank goodness this did not happen at our house!

The Bride!

Jill & Cousin Sarah Maggie & Katherine on the horse outside. I know that it looks like they are about to fall off and Katherine's face is a little terrified, but don't worry, John was holding on to them. Cousin Libby & Katherine

More pictures from the Wedding!

My favorite picture of the most beautiful flower girl Katherine. Maggie was a little envious of Katherine's buttons on the back of her dress. Cousin Joe & his family. Amberly finished her first half marathon in the morning and then switched into party gear for the wedding! What an accomplishment!

Dada & Maggie on the altar

And playing during the ceremony

Jill & Eric's Wedding!

Cousin Jill got married on Saturday at the Bell Event Center downtown. The weather was perfect, the location was beautiful and Jill looked stunning. I have tons of pictures to share with you!

I know it is not polite to brag...

BUT, Mama sure can build a mean blanket house!! And here is a cute picture of maggie in the bath...

Bad parenting... or good practice?

Hummm... if I get the stair gate open, grab mommy's makeup bag, and quickly apply lipstick and mascara... will mommy be mad or grab the camera? Or maybe mommy will make a note that next time she should start looking for me when everything is silent.

Happy 87th Birthday Gram Trudie!

Happy Birthday Trudie! We love you and were so excited to spend the day celebrating YOU!

Maggie enjoying her cake.

Kite Flying

Do you like the color pictures of John & Maggie flying the kite or the black & white? I could not decide which one was my favorite (I loved them all if you must know). So, I posted all of them so you could decide for yourself!

Learning how to blow bubbles

Easter at the Farm

Easter Bunny & Daddy

Easter Egg Hunt!

Maggie & the Easter Bunny

She was really good at finding all of the eggs!

Push it up!

The boys trying to get their kids to push it up

Maggie Playing Hide & Seek

Can you see where she is hiding?

Happy Easter!

The small world of Secret Sisters

In squadron life the guys go away 'alot'. While they are away, if your spouse is home you 'adopt' another spouse whose husband is away... a secret sister. Picture a grown up version of a sorority. (Side note: This is all very funny, because even though my best friends in college were in a sorority, I refused to join. They are all laughing at me now!!)

Well, when we were in the UK a woman I did not know, Jane, was my secret sister. Her husband was away, she had one boy and was pregnant with her sweet little girl. I sent her a bunch of goodies throughout the deployment and had fun getting to 'know' her. Fast forward to the end of the deployment: her husband got home, she had baby Elizabeth, I got pregnant, had Maggie, Jane PCS-ed (moved for none military types), we PCS-ed, and ... we NEVER met! Since her husband was not in the same circle as mine (he was a flight doc), I figured I would never see her again. I always thought that I failed at the end of my 'secret sisterhood' and that I should haved called and I always wondered if everything was ok with her. Since I never met her, knew her, or even had a conversation with her, a certain spouse of mine would call me the 'secret stalker'! Ha!

We moved to our new squadron, John goes to work, comes home with the name of a flight doc that flew with his new squadron... I almost fell off my chair (I actually got some goosebumps)... it was my secret sister!!

They were here,
in Ohio,

and they lived a few blocks away!

Needless to say I am very grateful to have her so close by and happy to get to know sweet Elizabeth. I am pleasantly surprised by the way that life works.

Here are Maggie & Elizabeth enjoying Easter treats today.