One of Those Saturdays

this is our first coast guard move that has us living far from the beach. c'mon, we're in the gulf coast- shouldn't we have a little more coast in our lives? you mean we have to pack up our car and travel to the beach? clearly we've been spoiled in the past when we lived thisclose to the ocean. on a side note: we're also in hurricane country and i will never regret living far from the beach whenever a severe storm heads our way. but it's deceiving to be married to a coast guard rescue swimmer- that surfs- who's stationed on the gulf coast and be 40 minutes from the nearest beach. i mean, really. 

we schemed earlier in the week to make the upcoming saturday a family beach day. we woke up early, packed up our car, dressed birdie in her swimsuit, kissed our doggies goodbye and prayed that they didn't destroy anything in our absence. along our way we stopped at a local farmers market. we wandered through isles of fresh produce, flowers and baked goods. d and i left with a power snack and a bag of sweet peaches. 

we had so much fun playing in the waves and body surfing. mila-bird had a blast splashing around in the gulf. it was one of those beach saturdays were even i kept saying over and over, "this is so much fun!" it's been a long time since i've actually played in the waves. it also helps that it was a thousand degrees outside, despite the rain clouds, and the water temperature was into the eighties. 

we cut our beach time a little short as we wore out our little bird. we were also invited to a last minute baseball game, and wanted to have plenty of time to shower, change and tend to our doggies before we left for the game. 

i honestly couldn't tell you who won the baseball game. my hot dog and diet coke did absolutely nothing to take away the heat and humidity (holy. cow.) but we had a blast sharing mila's first baseball game with friends. our day was as much fun as it was busy... and i'm still trying to get the sand out of our beach stuff. 

We Kept Busy

before d left we had the opportunity to help a friend in need. her family had purchased a house in northern alabama and found themselves pressed for options when their current house sold faster than expected. she and her daughter needed a place to stay to finish out the school year and the dance lessons they had invested in. when we moved to mobile we were given so much help by a family from our church. we decided to pay it forward by hosting our friend and her daughter. it just happened that the time they would need a place would coincide perfectly with d being away. it was wonderful to not be totally alone everyday. birdie had an older playmate and i had a friend to keep me company. we already miss them.

"i don't know how you do it," is the response i get a lot when people ask how i've been doing these last 7 weeks without d. "we keep busy!" is always my overly enthusiastic response. for those who have experienced a separation from their spouse, while still maintaining family life and raising a little one, it just plain sucks most of the time. there are good days. days where the time passes all too quickly and you're laying in bed- exhausted- thinking about all of the things you'll catch up on tomorrow because you had too much fun that day. there are also bad days. days spent in pajamas with a fussy baby on your hip while you yell for the umpteenth time at your dogs for chewing up a cheap little toy. those are the days that seem to drag on. nevertheless, it was still helpful to have a couple extra hands around to bounce a baby while mama was out in the field dragging dogs back in the house, eating nightly meals with people other than a baby, and having company during reallyreallyreallyreally scary storms.

we kept busy, basically, because we didn't have any other choice.

i crafted... a LOT...

i painted our table and chairs. i absolutely love how they turned out- a seafoam green and coral.  

an old picture frame + scrapbook paper= a dry erase board for our kitchen

i jumped on the bandwagon and made a "southern" wreath for our front door.  

our couch got a little more cheery with four newly recovered pillows 

i tried to keep our garden alive... (and succeeded!) 

 marigolds that we grew from seeds 

 yellow squash

my beautiful hibiscus makes me excited for hawaii later this year.  

cherry tomatoes and a pepper- a very small portion of our harvest  

our porch peach tree 

i discovered wild blackberries behind our backyard

we played...

mama read countless books over and over to our little budding bookworm.  

birdie spent lots of time outside in her birthday suit. things are a little more fun when you're in the nude.  

water play with friends. 

won't keep a sun hat on but she'll wear a chef's hat for over an hour.  

her new pretend kitchen 

we napped (mama, too!) a lot.

we spent our evenings on the porch enjoying the weather.  

we laid low for a couple of days while we nursed our furry brother back to health after he suffered a snake bite. (normal paw on left, very swollen paw on right.)  

birdie sat patiently on my lap while mama got a haircut. (love that my new hairdresser was so accommodating to us!)  

birdie turned into a tummy sleeper.  

now that we're at the end of our family separation it seems as if the time has flown by. i'm extremely happy that this is our last separation for a looooong time. 

It Ended With A Bowl of Cereal- Photo Dump

On our great trek across the lower states we made a full pit-stop in Texas to see our favorite family, the Hamiltons. It seems like yesterday Megan was moving into a room in my little college house. Then, in a blink of an eye and countless moves between the two of us, here we were with our own little families... her's quickly expanding with the addition of a baby girl coming any minute now (!!). Mila and Hayden played as best can be expected from a 4 (!) year old and 4 month old. Cory and Megan took us to our first BBQ experience. Boy, they did not disappoint! Salt Lick- we WILL be back... one day. 

After stuffing our manly/ pregnant/ nursing faces we retired back to their home, where they graciously put us up for the night. We ended our night with bowls of cereal and gabbed late into the night, just as we used to back in the day. It was a perfect day in Texas.

This Time

E, C and I in Yosemite around this time last year. 

This time last year... I broke down emotionally during dinner with my mom at a restaurant. It was hard to watch my mom find words of comfort to make everything all better.

This time last year... I had a really fun visit with e and c. (pictured) And was secretly wishing they'd start dating.

This time last year... I had random, crazy reaction to a medication I've taken before.

This time last year... all of the hard work that d did was wiped away in one injury.

This time last year... I kept telling myself over and over and over that everything happens for a reason. (right?)

This time last year... we were getting ready to move back to Oregon.

This time last year... we were surprised (understatement) to learn that a little bird was soon to be on her way.


This time... I am the happiest I've probably ever been.

This time... I'm counting down the days until I get to see e and c again. (11 to go!) And I'm over the moon, tickled, thrilled that they're now married.

This time... all of d's hard work and sacrifice paid off in a huge way.

This time... all I can think about is how things happen for a reason, and someone else knows of a bigger plan than I do.

This time... we're starting to plan our move to our next station in Mobile, Alabama.

This time... I have an almost 3-month-old (what!?!) birdie sitting contently in my lap as I type this, chewing on her soft, chubby hands.


What a difference a year makes.

4th of July

Our holiday was packed with friends, fireworks, food, bonfires, people watching, surfing, ice cream, reassuring scared dogs and the like. We spent a quiet weekend recovering from all of the festivities with a few nice walks and naps. Now that Monday is here it's time to get back to our regular routine- one that includes a plan to attack all of the things around the house that need to be accomplished. Side note: one of the few great things about Oregon is the ability to set off fireworks that are very illegal in California.