The letter W

      P and Q love playing in the Water. It's not even officially summer yet and, P is already begging me to get the swimming pool out. They prefer to shower instead of bath. I think the reason they love it so much is cause, they can splash to their hearts content. The best thing about water in my opinion is the weightless feeling that comes with it. I guess they're not the only ones that love water. So, as soon as the days get warm our pool will be up for sure.
      Like most other fruit we love Watermelon. I love the bright colors of this fruit. I also, love that it's not acidic or squishy (like bananas). I love watching my children eating it with giant smiles as juice drips down their chins. The best thing about it is seed wars though. We see who can spit the farthest, fastest, and sometimes we just have seed spitting wars. That last one usually ends badly though. We love everything about this fruit but, it might help that we usually only eat it during summer. When everything is more fun.
      My hair is Wavy. Sadly, it's not the type of wavy that is cute or, that when gel is added becomes curly. It is for this reason that most days my hair is up in a ponytail. When it is down I normally have to straighten and, blow dry it to make it look decent. I have noticed though, that when it is cut shorter the wave tends to be less dramatic. It is for this reason that my hair is now short. Well that and, because people say it makes me look younger.
      P is a very Wakeful child. He is up every morning by about 7. He's normally happy about it too. He is also, the only person in the house that refuses to nap. I'm not sure what it is about this boy and, his constant energy. I just hope he's like this when he's 12.

The letter V

     Somethings that our family truly Values are movie nights together, a car that properly functions, temple blessings and freedom.We value movie night because, it is the one guaranteed time during the week that we can all be together and have fun. A car that runs is important to us because, we haven't always had one. We value temple blessings because, we know that through these blessings we can be together as a family forever. Freedom is important to us because, without freedoms we wouldn't be able to pursue our dreams or, practice our religion. Freedom is also important because, that is what M and, Uncle Squeals (along with many other soldiers) work so hard to protect each day.
      We love Vegetables. My favorite is spinach. M and, P both love corn on the cob. Q's favorite is green beans. It is so much easier to prepare meals since, there really isn't much that we don't like. In fact, I think there are only two veggies that we really don't like. Those would be sweet potatoes and, cabbage. 
      Like most people we have our Vices. I won't take time to delve into our deep dark skeletons cause those would probably, scare most people. I will tell you instead some of our guilty pleasures that you might not already know of. M and, I of course have our drinks Mt. Dew and, Dr. Pepper. P and, Q love bananas. All of us can't seem to resist Subway or, cheese quesadillas. As far as Tv shows go P and, Q love Dora. M's would have to be Dexter. Mine would be Law and Order SVU. Now none of these are too horrible but, like I mentioned we don't want to scare you away.

39 DAYS

We got another phone call yesterday from M. He must have done really good this week cause we got to talk for almost 20 minutes. It was so great! M sounds like he is doing even better than the last time he called. We went over to his parents house to share the phone call with them. It was fun for him to talk to Mommy T since, she is retired Air Force. They laughed about M's jobs and, talked about how quickly he can do some of the different jobs. He can make his bed perfectly in 7 minutes!
M also said he is an element leader. Of course we forgot to ask at what though.Being an Element leader just means that he is the best at some part of BMT. M said he is working hard on his sit ups cause they aren't quite up to par. He also talked about how great it is to go to church each week for a little down time. The only torture he mentioned is having to walk past Subway and, Burger King. His two VERY favorite places to eat.
M mentioned that some of the guys are really struggling which makes the TI's harder on all of them. Hopefully, things will get better though as the days go by. Today, is the beginning of WOT 3 (Week Of Training 3) where they will learn all about combat lifesaving. Basically, it's all of the first aid they could ever need while out on the battle field. With all of M's previous jobs he should be amazing at this weeks classes. 39 more days till we get to fly to Texas!!

The letter U

      We are all quite stubborn and, Unbending. Luckily, we tend to agree on most things. However, sometimes we disagree on things. Like when P should go to bed. This usually results in a giant tug of war with P screaming no and, either M or myself having to coax him to bed. We're getting better at it though, by understanding that when it's dark outside then it's time for bed. 
      I feel like our family is very Unique. Some ways we are unique are: all of us are gamers, our boys have uncommon names, we have never lived or traveled much outside of Utah, and we both come from really large families. Hopefully, as we continue on each year there will be more traditions and things in our life together that are unique to us.
      Right now our future seems really Uncertain. We know that we are military but beyond that we don't know much. This whole life style is new to us. We are busy learning new terms. We are also learning what is expected of both the family and the soldier. We are also uncertain as to where we will be stationed at the end of tech school. Even though M seems to be doing great nothing is guaranteed yet making life exciting and nerve wracking.  
     Like most other parents we love our children Unconditionally. Despite the days when I feel like I live in a zoo, I want to pull my hair our, or just simply run away. I wouldn't trade my kiddos for anything. I also love M unconditionally. It would take A LOT to make me walk away from my crazy wonderful Hubby. I'm pretty sure they all feel the same way about me.

Totally Awesome Day

       On Saturday we were invited to a birthday for my best friend Jer's daughter. They had the party at a local swimming party. It was alot of fun first, we opened presents. Then, it was cake and ice cream time. She had a Super Mario theme. P thought it was pretty neat. Her daddy did a really great job on the cake. They also tried a really cool idea with the cupcakes. Instead, of muffin tins they filled ice cream cones with cake batter and baked them. After, they decorated them to look like mushrooms. They turned out so cool.

Happy Birthday!!!

Awesome cake!

Mushroom Cupcakes

      

       Anyways, after all of that was done we got to go swim in the pool. P and Q thought this was just about the best thing ever. There was a water slide in the kiddie pool. The boys of course had to check that out. Q decided going head first was not the best idea. The pool also had lots of different ways of pouring water on people. Both boys wanted to be in the deep end (of course.) So we'll have to see about some swimming lessons. Next, time we go to the pool I'll have to take pictures; I was too worried about them drowning this time.
       After swimming we went over to D's (M's brother) house to play some more. They took us to Mcdonald's for more ice cream and, to play in the play place. Once the boys were bored with that we went to the park. P's and Q's favorite toy at the whole park was the broken merry go round. It would spin but, man was it really hard to push. I think there was too many wood chips stuck in the spinner. After awhile it got cold so we went back to Uncle's house to watch the movie Rio and have some pizza.
       It was really great to spend time with friends and family. P told me that he had a "Totally awesome day today." I have to agree it was a pretty great day.

The letter T

       P has a Tiger that he sleeps with. He went to the Zoo with Grandpa E and, at the end of the day Grandpa bought him a stuffed tiger. To my surprise he's slept with it every night since. P doesn't play with stuffed animals much but, this one seems to be his favorite.
       The boys and, I tend to be quite a Tearful bunch. We cry easy and, sometimes over simple stupid things. I cry when things at church stand out to me. I also, tend to cry whenever I see somebody else crying. My favorite cousin happens to be the same way. We made the mistake of sitting by each other at a funeral. Needless, to say we both cried through the whole thing. I'm not a wuss, I'm just very emotionally perceptive.
      Both of the boys are very Thoughtful. They are constantly doing things to help each other. P is very good at watching out for Q. Q in turn is very good at sharing his toys with P. They will notice if I'm doing a chore and, come to help me. Another way they are thoughtful is that they both think and see things in a way I never would. P says things all the time that surprise me. The most recent was when he told me "I want to be a soldier like Daddy." My only guess is that he assumes if, he becomes a soldier too then, he can spend time with Daddy again. Other things he says: "I want to be tall like Grandpa", "Look my plate is a smiley face", and when asked why are you doing such and such "Cause it makes me happy".
      I have become a very Thrifty person. I have not yet become a coupon guru like some people but, I am all about a good deal. We don't buy name brand pretty much ever. I make menus out of what is on sale at nearby stores. M doesn't buy lunch because, I get up and pack one for him. We are big believers in hand me down clothes and, DI sales. Aside from a few appliances most things in our home are used. I just don't see any reason to pay full price for things. Especially, when I can get a used version that is of the same quality for much cheaper.  
      We are Trustworthy. If, I volunteer for something I'm there. When M commits he does it with his whole heart and, he's there til the job is done. P will actually tell me if he's been mean to Q.  As the boys grow we're trying to teach that their word is a contract, binding them to whatever they have agreed to. To me trust is a very important quality that either makes or breaks a person.

Adventures on Base

       Yesterday was a pretty good day. It all started as I talked with a dear friend about all of M's progress in BMT so far. Her husband works on base so she understands alot of what I'm going through. As we were talking I saw the mail lady pull up and put a letter in the box. I totally figured it was a bill since I'd received mail from M two days in a row I didn't think it would be from him. Turns out it wasn't a bill or a letter from M. It was a letter from two missionaries stationed on Lackland AFB. They talked about meeting M at church and enclose with their lovely letter was a picture of. . .  you guessed it my wonderful handsome smiling uniform wearing Hubby. It was so good to see his smiling face.
       However I must say he looks a little silly with a bald head. The boys were immediately smiling and screaming "Look it's DADDY!!" This picture as simple as it is has totally made this easier for them especially since they've have started to ask more and more about where Daddy is and when he gets to come home. I folded it up slightly and put it in a frame so they could carry it around without having to worry. Ever since P and Q have taken turns holding it.
       Then, my wonderful sister in law came to visit with me and helped me conquer laundry mountain. We proceeded to some lunch at McDonald's. It was so great to have her help me but best of all was having some girls time. Thanks for coming to help me chica.
       Finally, we want with Grandma H to explore the local base. Grandma has a military ID so she volunteered to show me where to go to take care of the DEERS forms and all of the Tricare info. After locating the clinic and the customer support offices we went to the commissary and the Bx to explore. I learned that most of my grocery shopping will be cheaper thanks to the commissary. The Bx to me seemed a little bit like being at a Walmart. Some things were cheaper others not so much. The boys thought this whole thing was pretty cool.
       Today, the kiddos and I went to get our military Id's. I was extremely nervous to be on base especial by myself with two wild boys. We pulled up to the gate and the nice guard said "You need to go to the visitors center a get a pass then, come back." So, we went and got our visitor pass then, went back to the gate to enter the base. Once, on base we went over to the old Bx to get our id's. After, our id was all taken care of I went and talked with a Tricare representative to figure out health insurance. Turns out everything is all set up. Which means we can catch up on vaccines for the boys. YAY! Last night was far more interesting but today was the important stuff. I'm glad that it went smoothly, and that we have good health insurance again.