Searching for Sunshine

It seems like everyone is Oak Harbor is willing the sun to start shining. All of the local stores have colorful pallets full of flowers, everyone is proudly displaying their spring/summer "goods", etc., etc., etc., but there's just one problem...it doesn't feel a bit like spring around here. I'm so tired of the cold, the rain, the wind and the clouds I could spit. I don't really spit when I get mad, but I might start if this goes on much longer! Anywho...we're doing our best to think positive around here and in honor of the fact that we're just certain spring is right around the corner we decided to sow a few seeds. They'll get a head start by spending a little time growing in our kitchen windowsill, and when the time is right they can head out into the great big world and spread their wings (or leaves I guess you would say). I chose to go with Black Eyed Susan's, which I'm hoping will eventually climb and cover a trellis, and Carter went with the Veggie Tales Snapdragon mix (great marketing on their part by the way)...

This was a great rainy day activity...she had so much fun!




It's as simple as planting the seeds...



and then having a little patience...


while they sit snug and warm in their own personal "greenhouse"...


safe from the cold, wet, weather...


nice and cozy, in their own little "piece" of the world...


and, not to get to deep or anything...but I can't help but draw a quick comparison. Did you know that apparently it is proven that prolonged exposure to gray, wet, damp, windy, cloudy conditions can affect your mood??


I'll vouch for it. I don't just love calling Texas home for all the obvious reasons, I also LOVE the fact that the sun smiles on Texas A LOT! I'm sort of starting to feel like these seeds...


damp, muddy, dark...


but don't worry...


it's nothing that a little sunshine can't fix...


patience...patience....patience...we're all just waiting to bloom!


We'll keep you posted! Oh, and apparently three year old's and their moods are not affected by the lack of sunshine...this little lady is as happy as a lark...how lucky am I? I've got sunshine on a cloudy day...when it's cold outside I've got the month of May...



Dear sweet Carter~You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know dear how much I love you...please don't take my sunshine away.

Monday Carter~Edition #21

Oh HaPpY dAy!!

Hope your Monday was just plain GrOoVy!!

Word to the Wise

You are better off not knowing...

that kids with bunnies survive the end of the world thanks to some really nice aliens. Yeah...it was that bad.

Making up for lost time...

For the better part of my schooling I attended institutions that boasted Christian values and morals (i.e. I went to private school). One of those regulations just happened to be the elimination of anything resembling a prom, dance, etc. Don't worry...I don't really feel deprived or like I'm any less of a normal person for having missed out. I think I have attended one dance (it was in college and I'm going to go ahead and bust out with a pretty obvious observation...it was kinda' lame). I have been to one club...it was for a bachelorette party and I just about peed my pants from fear of the unknown, so in case it isn't overly obvious the person who invented the phrase goody two shoes was looking at my picture. I never went through any really overly rebellious phases...I've pretty much strived to please (for better or worse) my entire life. Which leads me to now. One of the things that sort of comes with the territory in terms of military life are social functions. Dining Outs, Balls, Holiday Parties etc. When Nate first headed to OCS and I caught wind of the possibility of attending these sorts of soirees I have to admit I was just a little excited. Visions of me in pretty dresses/outfits and him looking fine in a uniform danced through my head. The events would be classy, tasteful, well done...we'd be living the life...making up for lost time. Well, after five years in the military we've definitely attended our share of events. And, if I'm speaking honestly, they usually leave something to be desired. Of course most things don't live up to my Martha Stewart imagination...what can I say my eyes love to be entertained! I think what I am starting to realize is that these get together's are probably just a grown up version of what I missed out on all those years. Because even though I never attended a junior high or high school dance I'm gonna' jump on out there and guess that they may not be all they're cracked up to be either. Feel free to disagree, like I said I'm not speaking from much experience here. My lack of experience also leaves me usually feeling one thing...slightly uncomfortable. Surrounded by 20, 30, 40 (and maybe even a few 50) somethings happily moving their feet to the beat I am forced to confront the fact that Bethie ain't got no groove. At least not one she's willing to share. My family laughs their heads off at me...my daughter thinks I'm hilarious...my dancing seems to bring a great amount of joy to those who know me best (and by joy I mean the kind where they stare and point and say things like "stop I can't take it anymore"). But I'm not sure I'm really ready to share that side of me with the outside world. What can I say, I have issues...sue me. So, I happily stick to the reserved "I'm not a party girl" persona. It seems to work. I called her into action this past Friday night for the latest social event associated with our squadron The Flight Suit formal. Simple concept, guy's wear flight suits, girls decorate and wear a flight suit. We were happy to be going with our good friends Kenny and Molly. Molly and I took one of Nate's old suits and put it to good use...I cut the top into the jacket and after a little work Molly was able to wear the pants as a pair of shorts, what can I say, we're pretty resourceful...

Kenny got creative and turned a glow belt (something they wear while jogging) into a tie, I think Kenny and Martha Stewart would get along just fine...

Me and my favorite flight officer...

who does not share my dancing issues...

which means I may be headed to some sort of "Get your groove on" therapy or something! After all, I heart my NFO...

I want to be sure I can keep up with him!! So, to sum it all up...Socially dance deprived girl marries Naval Flight Officer and is forced to deal with rhythm issues in order to support him by attending job related functions...WHEW...I'm glad I got that out there!

p.s. As a complete side note, this photo is for my mom who did a flower arranging consultation via the phone while we were decorating on site! Thanks mom...they turned out really pretty!

Quote of the Day

"I can see your pits. It's fuzzy in there, and the other one is smoky."

~Carter Age 3

Roots

***Ok...so I thought I'd better add a little disclaimer...after further review (and some nice observation on my sisters part) I can totally see how the mermaid statue in the following photos would appear to be topless. So, I just wanted everyone to know, we are not parents who would EVER allow our sweet baby daughter to climb around on a topless mermaid...she had some really nice shell pasties covering each nipple...which made the whole thing real classy.


Our last stop while we were in Texas was in Nate's old stomping ground. We headed back to central Texas where, as you hear him reminisce about everything in sight, you realize he still has a few roots left growing. We spent a few days hanging out with Kathie and Bart and Nonna and Poppa. It was a great way to end out "tour of Texas" and we had such a good time. The first stop was Rudy's BBQ where Carter enjoyed hanging out with her "cousin" Josh (I use the term cousin lightly, Josh is actually Nate's cousins son...but that gets a little confusing when your 3)...


two thumbs up...

for a friend your own age to play with...


We also give two BIG thumbs up to all the delicious Mexican food we got to eat while we were there! We had lunch at Jalisco's and were happy to get to spend it with this little guy, who was the ring bearer in our wedding...


although that was seven years ago...so he's not so little anymore...


We were also so glad that the sun decided to come out and play...which gave us the perfect idea of letting Carter play in the creek in Salado...

she thought the mermaid was beautiful...


and loved the water on her toes...


we had a great time at our play date in the park...



it was so good to see friends...


and family...Carter enjoyed helping out with dinner...


and by the end of the day, she was pooped!!


And, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end...but not before Carter had a chance to ride two things that are native to Texas, a tractor...


and a horse...

There's nothing like family!


And while central Texas has many things to offer, great Mexican food, BBQ, friendly people etc. etc. etc...my favorite thing that comes from this great part of the state...is this guy right here...


and my favorite part of visiting is all the memories it brings back of meeting and falling in love in a little town called Belton....it's the best thing that ever happened to me.

Monday Carter Edition #20

Snazzy little Monday Carter serenaded me all the way to MDO this morning...

She was singing Oh where oh where has my little dog gone, oh where oh where can he be? And she was obviously drawing inspiration from all her sweet dog friends she got to hang out with in Texas.

Griffin...

Britain (and Lana not pictured)...

and Brady...

Ever since we headed home she's had doggies on the brain. We love dogs, so the thought of getting one is tempting. So tempting that we were contemplating it (just a little bit). It was a happy thought. A normal little family, getting a normal little dog, hanging out with each other and their four legged companion...but then the reality of our life brought me back to earth. Nate came home today and is now leaving an entire month earlier than we expected...which just serves as a reminder that right now we are not normal. I'm sure I will want to travel...it is after all what I seem to do...and bringing a dog into the mix doesn't really seem conducive to the lifestyle we currently lead. So for now, Carter will have to settle for her doggie relatives...

Maybe someday...

C.C.C.C.C

Cloudy, Cold, Corpus Christi...Crap. So that pretty much sums up the weather during our stay on the Texas coast! I'd be lying if I said that we weren't a little disappointed. We were so looking forward at hanging by the pool, walking on the beach, letting the sand run through our toes. Unfortunately mother nature didn't get the memo. We felt right at home walking out into the cool and damp weather everyday (apparently we were there to experience one of their very infrequent cool snaps). Lucky for us we were able to "mix" up a little indoor fun with Grammy and Grandad and we still had a great time! First up on the rainy day activity list, making a chocolate cake with Grammy...

Carter proved to be a very good assistant...

mixing...

and of course the very best part...

"cleaning up"...

it's like a little bit of chocolate heaven...

Then Grammy really put her to work (but Carter didn't seem to mind)...

We also put the extensive dress up collection to good use. Meet Tina...

and apparently when you tell Nate and Carter to make a funny face the exact same one pops into both of their heads...

When we finally did have a break in the rain we decided to try and teach Carter how to ride a "bike"...it's one of the trainers for kids that doesn't have any wheels...

Nate did his best to show her how is was done...

Carter didn't last long, but Nate got pretty good...

When the rain decided to grace us with it's presence again we headed in for some world famous (or maybe just family famous) Pizza...

Despite the rain our trip was full of "sunshine". We so enjoyed our visit. It was a very relaxing few days. And we also had the chance to visit with a few of our Navy friends who now live in Corpus, Doug and Katie and Casey and Carlos. That is one of the funny things about the military...you are almost guaranteed to see people again!! We packed back up and headed North to see Nonna, Poppa, Aunt Kathie and Uncle Bart. That's right, we weren't messing around! We managed to squeeze as much into our 10 day Texas extravaganza as possible!