Happy Spring, Snow and more

SO we decided that we must take advantage of our weekends while we are out here. We hope to do at least 2 fun adventures a month. We started off last weekend with a trip to Soda Lake despite the nasty weather! This place has a neat story as it was once a volcano that turned into a chemical Soda Factory. Now the factory is deep under water and it has become a great place to dive and check out the preserved factory below. It truly amazes me how you can be at the same lake and see so many different landscapes. Check out these mountains and views from each angle of the lake. The girls had a blast exploring and searching for pieces of DEAD things. Apparently Soda Lake is where the coyotes come to enjoy their kill. Hazel had a blast finding pieces of animals everywhere. This place is also a bird sanctuary which was pretty cool! Best part about it...less that 5 minutes from our house.




First day of Spring proved to not be so "Springy" at all! This lil snowstorm on the first day of spring had to be a sick joke. I drove in the pouring snow to Safeway and bought a bulb garden. Most of the flowers are done blooming now and they provided much comfort for me the last two weeks. I cannot wait to plant them! and yes...Matt thinks I am crazy as I come storming home covered in snow with my bulb garden in full bloom :)






Off to the next milestones in Madeline's life! POTTY TRAINING and DENTIST. Let me just go on record here and say this is my LEAST favorite thing about the toddler stage! I do not like to be stuck at home and a for a few days it was necessary as we walked around naked and peed! The magical princess potty did the trick and now we have successfully left the house and managed to keep her pull ups dry! YEAH! We are still working on poo but that will come with time. I am so happy that Madeline is ready and catching on quickly. She is so proud and loves to show everyone her undies! Now if we can only get her to close her legs and stop having to watch while soaking the floor with her stream!



Madeline was a dream at the dentist and made me a little jealous as she opened her mouth and cooperated with the lady! Note: She screams every night and says no teeth brush for me Mommy! She was so good that now she now prefers the dentist over my nightly brushing...ughhh! Maybe it was the purple balloon they gave her when she was done? I need a few tricks up my sleeve!


A very long two weeks of having a sinus infection and two children with cabin fever! The wind was pretty awful so we were stuck in doors after noon each day. It looked pretty outside but unless you were concrete, you were going to blow away with the wind and tumbleweed. We are looking forward to May when the wind dies down and the beautiful mountains are visible every minute of the day, minus sand storms :) Madeline got double pink eye so after the antibiotic had taken its course, this woman was ready for an adventure....


On Saturday we took the kids to SCHEELS, the biggest sporting goods store I have ever seen, in RENO! We set out to go to both Scheels and Cabelas but we spent hours in Scheels and decided we needed a few more hobbies and to come without the kids next time! It was so fun to explore every single sport you could think of and contemplate taking it on real soon. We left without the treasured sleeping bags, tents, rifles, skis, kayak, etc of our dreams but it was very fun dreaming....... They have a ferris wheel in the store(but it was broken and my kids were heart-broken), cafes, fish tanks, interactive games, Starbucks coffee, playland for kids, and the list goes on and on. Several hours later we headed for Sushi and then it was definitely bedtime!

Ali is hoping to be a great shot like her Dad!





Finally, to end a great weekend, Matt cooked guac. burgers on the grill (such a chef) and we ended the night with our first camp fire at our new house under the desert stars. Madeline loved to practice 'death by fire' with her marshmallows and were sure they were poo-ing! Alison enjoyed being patient and getting her marshmallows perfectly brown. We made s'mores, got the kids all sugared up and tucked them into bed!





We really are enjoying the beauty out here and are anxiously anticipating the TRUE arrival of Spring!

Just couldn't resist taking a picture of the many signs like this here in the desert oasis! I am so glad that Meth doesn't have ME! :)

Happy St. Patty's Day!

May your house always be too small to fit all of your friends~ An irish blessing!

My closet stays a mess these days, can you see why?
The girls have a shoe fetish and love to wear ALL of my shoes!

Madeline has started a fashion trend...sunglasses worn inside are far more fashionable than in the bright sun!

This week marked the end of the a Top Gun class and a much anticipated trip to Tahoe for a dining out. Lake Tahoe is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. The lake boasts many shades of blue and the landscape around it is breathtaking.
The beauty that surrounds us here in Fallon is what makes it a great place to live! The weekend started with taking the girls iceskating! Alison started to get the hang of it and Madeline exclaimed, I don't skate! Matt did a great job helping Alison on the ice and I did the best I could to keep Madeline in my sights on the bleachers! Towards the end of our fun, Matt was able to capture of few pictures of Ali and I on the ice.



We headed off to the ball in a rush after we spend too much time skating! I can honestly say that I have never gone to a ball with sweaty hair after wearing a hat and no shower before! Truly this was a first! I had about 30 minutes to get dolled up for the event which meant no time for any pictures with one of our 3 cameras! I was rushed out of the door with nothing but a dying cell phone so....as of now, we have no pictures of the event! I am waiting on friends to send me a few when they get their camera downloaded. It was a fun night and we managed to escape the casino without taking out a loan! :) I am very thankful for that last one! Not sure who's idea it was to have a dining out on a night that we SPRING forward but it made for a rough morning for all!

We promised the girls we would take them sledding so off we went! Much to our dismay, there was no magic carpet at this particular venue so we were forced to walk up the steep hill upon dismount! The good news is that the runs were long and fast. The bad news is Matt had to carry Madeline up the hill each time and I carried two tubes. Alison was a trooper and walked herself and her tube up each time. We went down the hill about 6 times before we were all sore, wet and winded. It was time for the long car ride home and much needed naps! Next time we will make sure some form of LIFT is involved :) Epiphany of the day: We all need NEW waterproof winter wear and it is a MUST for next season!


Here's to a relaxing and uneventful upcoming weekend! I look forward to some family time and rest! It was warm and now it is not so hopefully more WARM days in our near future. I am ready for Spring but my allergies are not! With this, it is best we do not go anywhere for a while! :(

Please remember Japan in your daily prayers. The news this week has been heartbreaking. I am even more grateful for all of my blessings. I pray that the people of Japan can stay strong and rebuild.

Busy Week while Daddy was gone

We spent all last week putting finishing touches on our house and unpacking. I am pleased to say that our house now feels like HOME and I love it. I not only love my house but the location is perfect. Dance, gym, grocery store, Walmart, hair salon, gas station, and casinos with all day breakfast all within 1 -3 miles of my house! AHHHHH....so nice after commuting from 'the island' everyday! It takes me about 12 minutes to get to base and is a nice country drive.

The girls started school twice a week this week and I am so grateful for that! They enjoy structure so much and it has allowed me some time to be with "myself". Boy had I forgotten how nice that is to just worry about me for a few hours! Alison cannot wait for next Tuesday!

We had to send Daddy off at the airport on Sunday for a week in Vegas. We were not ready to let him go yet but duty called! He enjoyed seeing the city lights but was ready to come home and surprised us a day early! We had an exciting week to fill him in on.......

Before heading off to Sin City, we sucessfully finished our living room and had our first dinner party on Saturday. It was a great time. Matt made his world famous boston butt with special sauce and I had to do very little to prepare this tasty meal which is always a plus! Should have taken a picture....

Our friend Amy had almost a dozen of fertilized eggs that we had been watching over the past few weeks. We had a science lesson each visit to her house! Despite all of our efforts to see this lil fellow hatching, we caught this chick when it was still wet and clumsy!
New friends, clumsy together!

Mr. Mike (our Beaufort neighbor) continues to spoil my girls from afar! He sent Alison money to replace the bike that we had to leave behind due to the move. She loves have a brand new bike complete with princess stickers and baby carrier. She flies on this machine! Now if only the WIND would stop so we can go outside and play. Best part about this bike, Ali now rides it to get the mail at the end of the street. She takes great pride in this new chore!

Today was a special day! Ballet lessons began and Madeline was able to start them with her big sissy! I was so proud to watch my 2 year old sit quietly, follow directions and dance around the room when prompted. If only she responded that well to my voice!! This morning made my day! Even better, Daddy flew home a day early and got to see his ballerinas off to their lessons! There may have been a tear shed by both of us at some point!

Too cute for words

Our not so little girl! Where did the last 5 years go?? She makes me so proud to be her Momma!

TGIF! Glad it is Friday although Matt has a full fly day tomorrow. We will be taking Ali to pre-registration for kindergarten then off to our HAIL to Top Gun. I am looking forward to meeting everyone with their "better half" and will tackle the challenge of trying to remember everyone's name, call sign and who they 'belong' to! Oh the joys of being the "new couple". Fallon is becoming home and I am so happy to say that. I will always miss Beaufort as you cannot beat the people and the beauty of that place. We are meeting wonderful people here and starting to see the beauty in tumbleweed, desert brown and lots of cows! The mountains are breathtaking and surround us no matter where we go. It was so neat driving into Reno last night and seeing all of the NEON lights from the Casinos! This is our home and our story continues.......

PS. Saw a funny sign last week that sums up my days as a stay at home mom. May have to go back and purchase. It read.... GONE CRAZY...be right back! Too perfect! Have a great weekend!