Short update

  Well, we are now back to our 'two kids, two dogs, two adults' family. We decided last minute to go house hunting over Thanksgiving weekend which was the perfect excuse to have to give the 4 foster dogs back. We have (mostly) enjoyed having the puppies to look after but they just kept getting to be more and more to handle the older they got and I just didn't want to do it anymore. At least not for a little while.
  So, we did go house hunting.  We were able to see everything we wanted to see which was wonderful.  I was, however,  surprised after walking through the home I though was more than perfect for us. We nixed it before even walking out the door. 
  I'm grateful we were able to go and narrow our list of potentials down to four houses.  Now that we know what we want, we are ready to make an offer as soon as Andrew gets his orders.  Hopefully this week or next.
  An update on the girls. They are as sweet as ever!  Kate has made it her job to "wake up" Abby in the morning and in the afternoon after Abby's nap.  She goes in and plays with Abby for quite a while most of the time.  It usually gives me an extra 30-60 minutes of sleep in the morning, which is so nice, and it makes me so happy to watch and hear my little girls get along so well with each other. Definitely one of the best things in the world is to watch your kids play sweetly with each other.

Three kids, puppies, and ballet class

  What a long, busy, and exciting week this has been.
  Slight catch up from the past two months:  Our first week back from SOS, our best friends moved to Florida which was super hard.  That whole week we helped them pack up and tried to spend as much time with them as possible.  After they left I was able to keep busy with the girls and time went by just as fast as it ever does.
  I, however, started wanting a little bundle of something to take care of so I asked Kate if she wanted to help me foster a puppy.  Silly question to ask a little girl...and well, anyone else really.  So the next day we went to A Pet's Wish, a dog and cat rescue center in town.  They didn't have any young, small puppies which is what we had wanted, so K brought out a bunch of smaller dogs for us to look at.  Two of the males hiked their legs as soon as they came out marking their territory.  Nope, that's not gonna work.  One of the females started barking as soon as she came out.  I'm not a fan of loud, yippy dogs so nope, she wasn't gonna work either.  Another one jumped a little too much and the other wasn't really interested in us.  First impressions were a bust and I was let down.  I wanted a baby to take care of.
  I wanted to keep face and obviously these dogs were excited to be out of their kennels so we just started playing with them.  Abby wasn't really a fan.  Too much doggie happiness to handle at once.  But Kate really took a liking to the little female that had barked when she came out.  We played with her and after asking Kate a few times if this was the dog she wanted to take home, we loaded the dog up and went home.

  A few days later K was brought an abandoned little baby puppy, only 5 weeks old.  She texted me that night if I wanted to take care of it.  Um, yes please.  So the next morning we were picking up another foster dog to take care of.

  Fast forward to this past week.  A friend came back in town for some hearings her husband was a part of.  She wanted to be with him but asked if I could watch after her little girl.  I was happy to help.  Kate had a great time with little R.  Abby was content to watch the fun and games but only participated a few times.  However, the third and fourth day that little R came over Abby was not happy.  Started crying immediately and became super clingy.  It was like we had brought home a newborn baby and she needed to fight for attention.  All in all, we had fun.  But like with any day spent with more than one child, fits were thrown, tears were shed, there were little tiffs over toys, snacks and momma's attention.  But there were also squeals of delight, fun games of chase, sweet kisses given, and funny things said.

  So that took up my Mo Tu Th Fr.  Friday evening, I noticed Penny (our female foster dog) was acting off.  We've had her for a little more than three weeks now and I have been noticing her tummy getting bigger. I suspected she was pregnant, like maybe 6 or 7 weeks along.  (Dogs are pregnant for 9 weeks).  Well, Friday evening she was having body shakes and panting constantly.  I got a video of it and messaged it to K at A Pet's Wish.  I was in the process of messaging K when Andrew got home.  I was telling K that I didn't know what was wrong with Penny and telling Andrew the same thing when he looked down and pointed at Penny and said, "Well, she's having a baby." 

  I looked down and sure enough, there was a puppy coming out of her right in our kitchen!!  Trying to not let myself totally freak out, I grabbed my phone and called K.  I told her what had just happened.  She said she was on her way to help.  I then looked down at Penny.  There was no puppy.  I looked in her bed, under the towel.  Nothing.  The puppy had gone back inside her. 

  Simplified story:  K came and went.  Penny had settled down quite a bit.  We put the girls to bed.  Andrew then sent me to bed because I'd possibly be up with Penny all night.  A short time later at 0026 Penny gave birth to her first puppy.  The puppy was breach and took a minute to come out all the way after the feet had shown.  It was amazing to watch.  I did help pull the puppy out just a little bit but Penny did the majority of the work.  She was awesome.  An hour later at 0116 the second puppy came out.  She came out much easier than the first.  Penny probably knew what to do this time around.  I made sure both puppies had latched and nursed for a bit before I felt I could go to sleep.  I set my alarm for a couple hours later to make sure the puppies nursed again.  Repeat that again.  Then Kate got up for the day. 

  Saturday morning was Kate's first ballet class!  My friend had told me about it the previous week so I called and signed up Kate.  In December they will be performing the Nutcracker!  It's going to be adorable.  I'm thrilled.  Anyhow, I got Kate ready for her 9 o'clock class and we left.
  Being as that Kate is extremely shy, I figured she wouldn't do much.  She wouldn't do anything with me in the same room so I left but was able to watch from another room.  It took her a while to warm up but she eventually did a few thing that the teacher asked her to do.  I loved watching.  There were two other girls in her class that morning.  One didn't do hardly anything, then there was Kate, and the third girl did everything wonderfully well.  It was a delightful continuation to my already exciting morning.

  And it's General Conference Weekend!  What a great way to end a great week.  I look forward to watching/reading the talks again and giving them my full attention, lots for the first time.

The last four weeks of SOS

  We got back from Alabama an entire two months ago.  I can't believe how long I have procrastinated updating this blog and how fast the time flew by!
  Alabama was great. We went to the zoo twelve or thirteen times.  Maybe more.  I ended up losing count after five. The girls absolutely loved going, though.  Their favorite part was probably the Parakeet Cove where you could feed the Parakeets.  I ended up buying some bird food at a local pet store so that I didn't have to spend $2 for ten pieces of bird seed stuck to a stick.  Whenever we went in with a hand full of bird seed the Parakeets would swarm us, which Kate absolutely loved.  The girls also enjoyed the Giraffes.  We fed them a couple times as well.  I had never done that before so that was probably my favorite part.

  Our second weekend in Alabama we were able to drive down to Hurlburt Field AFB, FL to visit my brother, Jared, and his wife, Kristen.  It was only a 3 hour drive verses fourteen hours from where we are in Texas.  Jared deployed a week later so we only went down the one time but it was awesome!  We hung out at the beach the majority of our time there.  When we first got to the beach we made both of the girls get in and try out the water.  You don't know if you like something till you try it, right?!  Well, they didn't like it, like hardly at all.  So we set up some towels and they ended up have a great time playing in the sand and finding sea shells.

  I was able to try snorkeling and boogie boarding for the first time!!  Both were a lot of fun!  Jared said that the water was not good for snorkeling, and it wasn't.  We couldn't see more than a few feet in front of us, but I was just amazed at being able to keep my head under water for long periods of time and being able to see under the water - even if it wasn't very far.  It was great!

  Our third weekend we went to Atlanta to visit the Georgia Aquarium.  It was SO awesome!  I felt like a little kid when we first arrived.  The fish and whales and sharks were HUGE!  I couldn't believe it. Because we spent quite a bit of money on the tickets we decided we were going to get our money's worth and spend all day there so we walked through some of the different exhibits a couple times.  Both the girls napped in the stroller which worked out great.  We through the gift shop while they were sleeping so that we could get our souvenir without them begging for all the toys while doing so.  After they woke up we went to the Dolphin show.  That was amazing!  Very entertaining to watch and the perfect way to end our day at the Aquarium.

  Fourth weekend was Independence Day and my brother Jon was able to come out with his wife, Noreen, who just arrived in the states from the Philippians! It was a miracle she was able to get her visa so we were incredibly happy for them to finally be together after being apart for their first year of marriage. And! We were able to meet Noreen in person!  She a wonderful person and we are so happy that she is apart of our family.  Kate attached to her fairly quickly although it took a little bit more time for Kate to fully open up and talk to Noreen, but they had a wonderful time hanging out together.
  Saturday we went and watched the fireworks. We went to a little town that was setting them off at their high school stadium.  The show was fantastic.  And the food!  Yum!  Wonderful time had by all!
  Sunday we went to a different church we hadn't been to yet because it started at 11 o'clock instead of 9 o'clock.  We sat down and Jon immediately leaned over to me asking me if I remembered a friend of Jon's from when we lived in Minot, ND.  I said yes and then Jon pointed to the stand.  His friend was in the bishopric.  We met up with them after the meeting was over and caught up on the past few years.  Because my parents were set to come in the next week we exchanged numbers to set up a dinner date.
  Last weekend in Alabama my parents, my sister Kiersten, Jon and Noreen, and Kristen all came up for a half of the family gathering.  It was great.  We drove around Montgomery, did some sight seeing, went out to eat, swam at the hotel pool, and played games.  It was a short visit, like all our visits tend to be, but it was wonderful!

  Andrew, the girls, the dogs, and myself all packed up and drove out Sunday morning.  We did 7 hours each day.  Andrew stopped in San Antonio on the way back to pick up his mom from the air port while the girls and I continued home.
  When pulling into the carport Kate teared up because she was so happy to be home.  We went inside and it was like Christmas for the girls, seeing all their toys that they hadn't played with in ages.  Kate jumped up on the couch and gave it a big hug and a kiss!  Made me laugh.  I guess it's always nice to be home no matter where you live, as long as your family is with you.

...pictures will be posted later.

Montgomery, Alabama

  We are in Alabama!   Andrew got picked up for SOS (Squadron Officer School) mid April and after changing our summer plans around quite a bit, the girls and I...and our wonderful dogs... decided to join Andrew for this 5 week course.  Canada trip has now been cancelled completely with hopes of doing a family trip with the Strongs one year in the future.
  Kate also had her teeth fixed a week before we came here. That was fun. Six crowns, two of them root canals, plus two additional cavities later, all fixed in the hospital under anesthesia, equals a hefty bill that insurance does not cover. Even though our savings account got a pretty good dent taken out of it, I'm so grateful we had savings put aside so that we didn't have to take out a loan. I'm so grateful for Andrew's job.
  So, Montgomery. It is great!  Very hot, but I've gotten over the fact that I am going to be sweating every single minute I'm outside. There are so many things to see, places to go, shops to spend money! We are having a good time!
  Today we went to the zoo. I bought a family pass and plan on using it at least twice a week. It was hot, as expected, but the girls and I had a great time.

  The Bengal Tigers were the first cool animal that we saw. This white one decided to go for a dip which was fun for us to watch. 

I couldn't believe how close the Rhinoceros was.  He was just chillin in the mud, but we enjoyed being so close.

The Black Bear was super close as well. His eyes were open but he didn't move much.  Kate wanted to take him home with us :)

 

Walking though the bird cage

 

Happy baby

 

The monkeys were our last stop for the day.  They were very entertaining to watch.  They were screaming at each other, smacking each other, one monkey got pushed into the water and then pulled out by the tail.  It was crazy!

 The girls got a decent nap on the way home but the zoo must have really really tired them out because they both passed out by themselves while we were trying to get everything ready for bed.  Works for me!

Kate's 3rd Birthday

  My baby girl is now three years old!!  We celebrated her birthday this past Saturday at the bowling center on base.  Best decision ever.  All I had to do was bring the cake and ice cream.  No clean up before, no clean up after, and no worrying about anything in between.  It was wonderful.

  Kate's day started off with a visit from our friend Brian.  He stopped by to drop off Kate's gift - an Elsa dress, Elsa jewelry, and a birthday card that sings "Let it Go."  As soon as Kate opened her gift bag, also Elsa, she squealed with delight and ran to her room to change immediately.  Her adorable self danced around for a good little while afterwards making me smile.

  Bowling was fun.  It took Kate a little bit of time to warm up to bowling by herself but once she did, she had a good time.

  Last year Kate needed a bit of help from her friends opening her presents but that was not the case this year.  She was very excited to see what she had gotten from her friends.  

  We did cake and ice cream after presents.  Singing to Kate started off just fine but then she got shy and I had to hold her.  :)  The song was short enough that tears did not flow.  Having the cake right there to distract her worked out well, too.  

  Once the party came to an end, the Strongs came over.  Kate wanted to show Julia "her new puppy."  The day before we, mostly Kate and I, decided to foster a momma dog and her baby.  Kate is fairly gentle and careful with the dogs and she was super excited to show her friends.  

  We've now had Momma Dog and Baby Dog for six days.  I keep telling Kate that we can't keep them forever, just until they find a new home.  I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it but she sure is enjoying this tiny puppy that she can carry around everywhere!

Wonderful weekend

  Gosh, we had a great weekend.  It started last Thursday. We drove out to San Antonio that morning for Andrew's follow up surgery appointment.  After being in the car for three hours we knew it wouldn't be fair to set high expectations for the girls' behavior. So we dropped Andrew off at the hospital and went to go find some fast food and a park to play at. 

  Well, we found quite a few parks. And they were awesome. Andrew's appointment went faster than we were planning and the girls didn't want to leave the park so I told them we'd come back after we picked up daddy.  

  We came back and ended up playing at the parks for two more hours!  They had bridges, ladders, long slides, music toys, toy balls, rocking bugs (not horses), swings, steering wheels and more. We all had a great time, including Andrew and myself. 

  After the park, we headed over to our friends' house. They are in San Antonio for fighter fundamentals and will be heading to Whiteman AFB in June. It was nice to visit with them and catch up on all the exciting things going on in our lives. While there, my friend April convinced me that I should start fostering puppies. She has had seven great experiences with finding unwanted dogs new homes. Her last and present experience involving three 10 day old puppies. Kate was smitten, as was Abby.  ...As was I.  

  Friday morning we had breakfast and departed for Houston. We arrived at the hotel one minute before my brother, Jared, and his beautiful bride, Kristen.  The girls took quite some time to warm up to their aunt and uncle, no surprise there. We got our swim suits on and headed down to the pool. The pool was quite chilly. Jared braved the cold in an attempt to get Kate to play with him. Kristen even hopped on Jared's back to show Kate how much fun she could be having but Kate wasn't convinced. 

  We returned to our room to change back into our clothes and left to go to the Houston Astros baseball game. The entire evening was awesome. I haven't been to a baseball game in fifteen plus years and it far exceeded my expectations.  The girls even had a great time! 

  After the baseball game there were Friday night fireworks which was icing on the cake. The girls loved all the pretty colors. 

  Saturday morning Andrew and I went to the temple while Jared and Kristen watched the girls. We grabbed the girls right after so they could go through while we headed off to the zoo.  

  Here Andrew is with the girls right before going into the zoo. Yes, before. I guess they were tired. :)

  We just moseyed around until Kate woke up. Worked out great cause Jared and Kristen arrived ten minutes later. 

  Kate didn't totally open up to Jared and Kristen but she did warm up to them enough to hold their hands and allow them to hold her.  

  We saw the monkeys on our way out. I'm not a fan of monkeys but the girls sure loved watching them swing and jump around. They were both laughing together which was super sweet to watch. 

  After the zoo we went and got some delicious Texas bbq at Fainmous BBQ. It was so delicious and the service was great. 

  We headed back to the hotel happy and full.  After breakfast the next morning we parted ways. Our drive home was long-ish and fairly uneventful, minus the nail Andrew found in our tire. We arrived home safe and sound and only $10 out of pocket to fix our tire. So much less than I was expecting!

  Had dinner with the Strongs and brought the dogs home which nicely finished our wonderful weekend!