Long-awaited Road Trip

Well, this morning we are leaving to drive to Annapolis. The pack-up of our house was pretty uneventful. Abby was so cute because I took her to the pool that morning and when we got home they had already packed up all of her toys. She looked at all of the boxes in her empty room and said, "Oh no! My toys!" I told her that it was okay- they were all going to go to our new house and then it was okay. Unfortunately for us the rain has moved into our area, so I hope we don't get hit too bad when we are driving out of here. Texas thunderstorms can be the worst. We will try to update along our journey, but not sure if we will have access. Talk to everyone soon!!

Baby Muscles!

Last Friday we went to dinner with two of our friends that Abby adores. She likes to show people all the cool stuff that she knows like her ABC'S and how she can count to ten, but most of all she loves to show her muscles.

Little Green Monster

The other day the Ice Cream man drove by our house and we decided that we would all get an ice cream. Janice had some kind of fruitsicle, Abby had an orange creamsicle and I had a ninja turtle ice cream. Needless to say, I was the only one that didn't get to eat ice cream because some little girl decided she wanted mine too!

Don't feed the cats!

We were out driving around in Portland, a town in between our city and Corpus Christi, when we came across this trailer park. It was funny because this is the first time that we have ever seen a sign like this.

Fail-safe Contraceptive!

We have been going back and forth with the idea of having another baby now that Abby is two. We are leaning more towards waiting for my next shore duty (she will be seven) because I am going to have so much going on with work and school. Quintin keeps reminding me of how tired I was when I was pregnant, but the other day I saw this really cute pregnant lady and had an immediate case of "belly envy!" Didn't know that I could really envy another woman's stomach for being something other than really flat, but it happened. Luckily, if we decide to wait a while for another baby we have some extra protection on our side!

Time to hit the books

I am officially a grad student as of yesterday. I am pretty excited about it. It has been five years since I graduated, so hopefully it won't be too hard to start again. Lucky for me I have had to study for a lot of different qualifications associated with my job, so that part shouldn't be too hard. I am only worried about a couple of things. One is that I have to re-orient my writing style to that of a college student. The military has a unique style, much shorter and choppier than usual, which was hard for me to get used to at first. The other thing is the program I am in is through the Naval War College, so I am worried that I will be surrounded by much senior officers who have way more experience than I do. Guess I will have to wow 'em with my sense of humor! :) No, maybe not the best idea- better just study hard. The funny part is that the first class that I enrolled in cost more than one whole semester at SDSU! Good thing Uncle Sam is picking up the tab. They did tell me that if I fail the class I have to pay it back, so I'd better not fail. My class starts July 3rd, so I have a little time to goof off before it's time to get down to business.

Year of Pottery and Willow.....or Leather for a Modern Twist

Today is our 9th wedding anniversary! Can't believe we have been married for so long. Time has really flown by. I googled traditional anniversary gifts and this year they are pottery and willow....so I guess we should have gotten each other plants in a nice pot. How romantic. Who comes up with those things anyway? I think after nine years you should rate something a little higher than baked dirt and some plant that will probably be dead in a few weeks. The modern gift of leather is a little better, but still. Anyway, we had a wonderful day (without any potted plants or leather items). Next year looks promising- tin and aluminum- wow! I prefer the modern idea of diamond jewelry. I just won't let Quintin decide which one I get :)

Fun at the Dentist

Abigail went to the dentist today for her second check-up. She sat in the chair all by herself and did a great job opening her mouth. She really liked the cool sunglasses they had her wear.

The dentist said that everything looks great and we should be seeing some more teeth come in pretty soon.

Chocolate Lover!

Yes, even Abby loves a little chocolate every now and then. Not sure how she got it all over her face, but that isn't important....what is important is that it tasted really good, and she didn't share any with her Mommy!

Superstar in the Making

A couple of weeks ago Abigail and I went to Barnes and Noble bookstore to purchase some books. It just so happened that the local news station was there and they decided to film Abigail. Abby made the 6 o'clock news for that night so I tivo-ed it so that Janice could see it when she got home. She is the one standing in front of the dolphin and then I point her out for you when they are all sitting in a circle for story-time.

Little Miss Manners

Nothing is cuter than hearing Abigail say, "No thank you, Mommy." She really has taken to all the polite words we all try to teach our kids, and uses them without being prompted. She used please first, and then bless you. She likes to pretend to sneeze so you can bless her. The funniest was yesterday when we were sitting out in the backyard and Quintin, being a man, "passed gas" and didn't say anything. Abby heard him, turned up her little nose and said, "Excuse you, Daddy!" We all died laughing. Nothing like having your two-year old remind you to use your manners.

Happy Memorial Day

We just hope that everyone is having a safe and fun holiday. We almost had a near death experience when we walked into Foley's (just bought out by Macy's) and found that they had their entire houseware department 60 to 75% off. Needless to say, we stocked up. The hardest part was having to carry all of the stuff on only one good leg.

Letter Game. I got "M".

The object of the game is to come up with 10 words that start with your letter and explain why. If you want to play and don't have a letter I'll be happy to give you one just leave me a message. Anna gave me my letter.

Mother: Being a mother is the most important job I have. I love every minute of it. I thank my own Mother, even though she passed away when I was a child, for teaching me to never take anything for granted and cherish every moment you have with your children. They truly are a gift from God.

Man of my dreams: I am so lucky to have found him early in my life (we are high school sweethearts), and I wouldn't trade him for anything. He is also the best Dad in the world. He gets bonus points for being a stay-at-home Daddy for Abigail. What a lucky little girl!

Magnum: We have a 2005 Dodge Magnum and it is the coolest car we have ever owned. It is nice to have a car that both you and your husband like.

Manning the rails: I love seeing a ship pass by with all of the sailors standing topside. This is usually done when you leave and return from deployment. It is a very emotional time- you are heartbroken when you have to leave your family and you keep your eyes on them for as long as you can, but when you come home there is nothing like finding their face in the crowd.

Movies: Any genre, any location.... love to watch 'em.

Music: My favorite kind is R&B, hip-hop, and pop. We listen to music all the time at home. Abby is the best dancer in our family :) My favorite song right now is Over My Head(Cable Car) by The Fray.

Marathon relays: Ran one last weekend and had a blast. The real thing is too much for me, but this was just enough to feel the energy of competing in a race. It is also cool because you know that you aren't going to win and you won't finish last, so there isn't any pressure. You can just enjoy the run....unless it is 90 degrees, then you enjoy the people that squirt you with waterhoses as you pass by!

Mornings: I am not a night-owl by any means. Mornings are definately for me. I love breakfast food, especially french toast- yummy. I also like the smell of morning breath- not mine or Quintin's, but Abigail's. She isn't old enough yet to have bad breath, so it smells really sweet.

Maryland: That is where we are moving to this summer and are really excited. We will have four seasons! Imagine the concept. We are also looking forward to all of the great roadtrips. Definately going to take advantage of the location.

Malls: Need I say more?

Sweet Ride!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my gosh I just found my dream car. We were driving back from the park and we saw this sweet car. I begged Janice to let me ask the guy how much he wanted for the car but she said no more toys for me. I did ask the guy if he liked his car and he said yeah the chicks dig it. What a loser.

Beep, Beep!

We took Abby to the Go Kart tracks on Sunday and we had a great time. Abigail's favorite thing was driving the go-karts. We did experience playing the worst miniature golf course ever. There were no special wind mills, hills, bridges, not even a zig zag course.

Go, Mommy, Go!

Janice ran in a marathon relay (Beach to Bay) this past Saturday and ran 4.4 miles in less than a 9 minute-mile average. Not too bad considering it was about 90 degrees outside. Janice was really smokin' the other runners. Abigail and I didn't get to see Janice cross the finish line because parking was insane. :( We did get to cheer her on while she was running when we drove by.

Misdiagnosis

It has now been three months since Quintin first injured his ankle. A couple of days ago, when he finally was able to see an orthopedic specialist, he found out that he didn't have a high ankle sprain as he was first told, but rather a ruptured achilles!! No wonder he has been in so much pain. The ususal treatment for this would be surgery, but since it has been so long, it has started to heal on its own (lucky for us it is healing straight). Now, Quintin has to wear this boot that goes all the way up to his knee for 6-12 months and he goes to physical therapy twice a week. I don't know how he keeps up with Abigail, especially when I was gone for 2 weeks. What a super Daddy!!!

Little Helper

On Friday afternoon I re-injured my ankle and this time it is for the worse. I have to stay on my crutches (both of them) and off my foot for 6 to 8 weeks.
Even though I am injured the house still needs to remain clean and tidy because we are in the process of selling our home. You can't have people come over to see your house and have it be all messy. We have a very active 2 year old, and you know how quickly they can make the house look like a tornado.
Abigail helped me clean up. She gets really excited when it is time to vacuum. She hands me things that she thinks I can't reach. She is just too cute.

Off to Panama City

On friday Janice left to go to Florida for 2 weeks for her job in the Navy. Janice is taking part in a training exercise off the coast of Panama City, Florida. Abigail and I are sad to see her go but atleast we get to watch whatever we want on t.v. We will be counting the days down until she returns.

Secret to weight loss

People want to know how Janice lost so much weight......and might I say she is looking mighty fine myself. The reason is because everytime we go out to eat Abigail never lets her eat, so I am stuck having to eat everyone's food. So, all the weight she is losing I am gaining, but everyone knows that I am sexual chocalate so it doesn't matter.
Abigail likes to play "I've got your nose" but she doesn't know how to hide your nose so she just throws it and does it over and over. She is so funny!