Suprise Suprise

Today D is officially finished with graduate school! He checked this morning to make sure his final paper was approved. He let out a Whoo Hoo and was out off to work! W and I had plans to meet him for lunch. I mentioned to W that we would take a cookie cake and balloon to the office to celebrate at lunch. All morning "Get Daddy a baalllooonnnn..Mama!" 

I ultimately changed my mind and decided that since W has been sick most of the week we shouldn't go out to eat. Driving to town, I came up with the idea of a mini celebration! Of course the wind was crazy hard today but, I braved it toddler in tow to get cupcakes and a balloon...which if you have ever done this you know is not an easy feat. Of course no close parking spots! I almost panicked when all I saw were Valentine balloons and something with Elmo. LOL!

Anyway, D had no idea and W walked down the hall carrying the balloon.  I was in tow with pizzas, cupcakes, plates, etc. D was certainly surprised and said "Oh fun!"  The Congrats on your MBA party was a success and we celebrated with a few of the other therapists!!

 

Yes I made him take this picture! :)

D words can not express how proud of you I am. Going about this degree the way you did was not easy. W was still an infant when you started and you really didn't take any time after your Bachelors degree to breath.  I know it wasn't easy balancing full-time travel, constantly transitioning jobs, having an infant, and a family..but YOU DID IT! You even became a Rehabilitation Director and we kept on moving! LOL! Like I said earlier, I am bursting with pride! Whoo Hooo!!!

Most of you may not know this however, since meeting Daniel he has been in school of some sort. We are beyond ready to have a point in our relationship where he does not have school to worry about. We have made time to enjoy life, travel, and play...but we are really ready to start living it up! (Yes, you know we will go Snowboarding soon and NO W is not old enough!)

I love you D! You are an inspiration to many! Serving in the Navy, working for a few years, then ultimately deciding to go back to school while supporting yourself. You have worked our way up and are a true testament of hard work and that you can do anything you set your mind too. You are the first in your family to get an Associates, Bachelors, and now an MBA! I know your family is proud and mine is even prouder. Hold your head high Daniel, you did this...YOU DID THIS!!! I love you and can't wait to watch you walk across the stage!!!

Now wipe those tears, go play trucks with W, finally plan all those hunting trips, and watch some DIY Network! I love you and can't say it enough..you DID THIS!

You will really only understand my JOY if you are a fulltimer...

I dealt with this for 2 weeks!!! It was harder than I thought to find a faucet that I liked. Amazon came through, they just took longer! :)

Per typical we went through an ordeal putting it in...meaning it took 2 days! The opening under the kitchen sink cabinet is not tall...as in it is hard to fit a soup pot. It has width and depth just not height. So.....shimming in it to loosen hoses and pipes was a challenge. Long story short, lots of loving words, several attempts, and a new smaller channel lock later it was off and we have a new faucet!

Small space under the cabinet... (That bowl is a cereal bowl...always space issues!) LOL!

The result..I like it a lot better. It is taller and will make washing big pans so much easier and it matches the one in the bathroom exactly. Why didn't they match before from the factory when we bought the 5th wheel? Not sure? Why didn't we ever notice they didn't match...Not sure!!! LOL!!!

I wanted to clean off the counter...move Wyatt's cups, the knives, and bucket (yes W's Easter bucket) of scissors, pens, and random before I look this picture..but I decided to keep it real! LOL! I would not normally have this kind of stuff out on the counter but in my small space (ie 5th wheel) I don't have a choice. Oh well..I am doing the best I can!! Who knows...this might just be the week I figure out a way to get all this off the counter! :)

Typical 0-100....

 Last weekend the weather was so nice on Sunday. We went from this...

 

 To this...

 My three boys....

 To straight  Rollin' in the RV Park! (LOL!)

 Yes..you have to be game on 100% of the time when Y is outside! You never know what is going to happen..run, jump, bike....full of energy!

It was a great afternoon before the cold temperatures hit!

Family Blanket

My sweet mama has been working on this amazing blanket for THREE years and I had no idea! When you full-time you really do not have places to put all those sentimental things you think you can't live without! Pictures being one of them...believe me I have tried! We do have some, just not many. My mama made this amazing family "tree" blanket. She suprised me with it at Christmas. To say that I LOVE it is an understatement. Yes tears when I opened it!

 

Anyway, when I see the names of relatives it makes me smile and I think of special memories. Some that I actually remember and some stories that have been told. Every name on that blanket is special!

 Up close...

I can't believe my mama spent all this time embroidering names! It is so special and something I will always cherish and will pass down! I love you mama and can't explain to you how much I love it!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Better late than never the blog..right?!? I have been holding out to post this, because some of our friends and family are still waiting and I mailed them out BeFoRe Christmas! Oh well! Wishing you a late Happy Holidays and fantastic 2014 from our bashamtravel! :)

Keeping busy while D has conference calls...

Almost every night Wyatt and I play with flashcards to keep him busy while D is on a 2 hr call. We have about 10 sets of various cards, but lets be honest you can only look at bears, girls, chairs (or as he call them sit downs), cats, colors, trees, numbers, shoes, etc so many times. He will typically say whatever the item is and then add a little something like "Sthwings Wee Mommy" or "Duck, Waack, Waack", "Aaaplle, Mmm Mama" LOL! I never have any idea what fun comment will follow. We will also sing songs based on what is in the picture. Like a Circle turns into Cindy Circle.etc
 I also use this time to work on pronunciation, show him letter sounds, counting, colors, etc. I know he is super young but we are trying to keep busy so why not!

 Anyway, I always throw in a few books or magazines (they are my favorite), randomly flip through them and let him discover/identify what is on the pages after a few sets of cards to keep it interesting. Tonight we came upon this as I was flipping the pages of Parents and he said "Mama" and pointed to this picture. I said "Who is that?"  "Mama that mommy!" I am not sure what to think! LOL!

 

Later we had moved on with another magazine. He picked up the Parents and said "Mama's picctaaaurrr" and looked until he found it! How did he remember? It always amazes me what his little mind can soak up. Every time as we flip through them I am almost surprised as he recognizes several different drawings, pictures, and a photo in a magazine and will be able to recognize it is the same item like a frog. It just impresses me how much kids soak up and learn at such a young age! He is growing up..smart boy! Sniff sniff! :)

Welcome home..

We arrived home last night just on time for D to jump on a conference call. W and I have been gone since Christmas Day. We had a great time visiting family and friends and much more to come on that in another post! In the meantime...we were about a mile from being back "home" last night when D got.pulled over for not using a blinker to change lanes. From the backseat we heard "Fire Trucks mommy look FIRE TRUCKS!" Lol. I just responded with "Kinda buddy." W was so excited The officer was very nice and let us go without even a warning. Whew! Then we walked in the door, D turned on the water, jumped on a call, I started dinner and found this...what the?!? How does that even happen? Yep that is a hole in the kitchen faucet!

Boys Breakfast..

I sent the boys out this morning for breakfast in what I hope will become a tradition when we are visiting AR.

 

 That has turned into them being stranded at the bottom of the mountain due to extremely icy road conditions because of rain! My plan was to edit and make training programs...success! Now for them to make it back safely! W was so excited about going with Daddy and PawPaw he really didn't want to stop and take a picture! So it isn't the best..but ti will do!

Ikea Meltdown Fix...

Last week we were in Austin and I really needed to go to Ikea. Daniel is not a fan, so my mom and I made a quick to trip for a few essential items that we absolutely need while living on the road. I have gotten to a place where I think I cannot function without several of these clear storage bags for hauling the laundry and several packages of the kids white washcloths. LOL! *Someone** started being a typical two year old right when we made it to the closet storage section. He decided this was the funniest thing and walked the rest of the way through the store like this! He kept cracking himself up and was perfectly behaved!

The toddler fit came and went in a flash...Hey whatever works! (Yes he could breath and it wasn't even close to his face..it was balanced on his head.)

 I also wanted to look at kitchen islands, shelves, storage/organization, and toddler/twin bunk beds to see if they had something that might work since my lil guy can how haul out of the Pack-N-Play in less than a second. He was hilarious trying out every bed in the kids area! I had not told him we were looking, but it was like he knew.

 Then we moved on and had a little snack. He was in heaven..A Juice Box!!

 This kept him occupied until the above mentioned clear bag man that appeared throughout the rest of the store! Regardless a trip to Ikea is always an experience...add in a 2 year old more fun! And..no I didn't find a bed however, I did find the right size kitchen island for the 5th wheel! It is perfect and I can't wait to make a trip back when we are not visiting for the holidays with a packed car!

Happy New Year...Resolution Time!

Happy New Year! My resolution is one that will make me, well some people, happy! I am back to blogging weekly! I am over the "pressure" of constantly catching up. I love these memories and want to make sure they are recorded! I may even attempt daily for a while...overachiever!!! I know..:) I still have a lot of catch up to do and I am determined. Posts are in the works!
 So here goes! Happy New Year!!

3, 2, 1...Happy New Year! 

 I made a sad face becasuse D was back at home due to work. So...my daddy and brother made me feel better!

 Today we had a Cake Pop Pinterest FAIL! This is how we expected them to turn out.

 This was the result. What the heck happened?!?!

 Someone liked them anyway!

 The weather was gorgeous today so we were able to have some fun at the park! It was a great way to spend the first day of  2014. The kids obviously had a blast!

 Three Cousins so sweet swinging!

So far 2014 has been great! Wishing all of our friends a happy and healthy 2014!