Fini flight

While Kev was in Florida he had his fini flight in the Eagle.  We were bummed that we could not be there but that is just how it worked out.  It's usually fun for the family because you get to meet daddy out at the jet and they spray him down when he gets out.  Here are some photos they guys took for me.

Getting ready for his flight

Sprayed with champagne after landing

Bee Hunting

Why have grass when you can have a yard full of clovers and provide endless entertainment for you kids??  The kids love to bee hunt, they find the bees in the clover and chase them all over the yard (probably not the best idea but it keeps them busy).  F is usually the spotter, she can find a bee like nobody's business, then O runs over to check it out.  K just kinda runs around like crazy but that is normal.  Here's how it looks.

Pure Joy

What is better in the summer than water fountains everywhere???

Bikes

The girls got new bikes for their birthday, we went with Strider bikes with the hopes of an easier transition to 2 wheelers.  Kind of unconventional for this area but I've been interested in this type of bike for a while now.  They are just getting the hang of the pushing with their feet park, well more like walking.  I think K will take to it really fast, she has no fear.

F wants off already

K is ready to tackle the open road

C'mon sis you can do it

I hope they like them and can really take off once we get to TX.  O has tried several times but isn't sold on the whole idea yet. 

Just another day....

at the beach.  Notice the container ship in the distance with the truck on the far right?  That is actually a British Navy ship to the right, complete with helicopters on deck, the kids were pretty impressed.

Now that the excitement has passed time to look for some crabs

They actually found a few and shrimp too

I asked O if I could eat the shrimp and he said "no they are poisonous mom, you can only eat shrimp from stores that are not poisonous"

we forgot O's hat so he got to wear this awesome one from his buddy Luke, I gotta get a few of these.

F enjoyed swimming with dad and O pushed that crane all over the beach for at least and hour.  

We are getting in as much beach time as possible before we get to TX and are too far away to enjoy it.  The kids do really well at the beach as long as they have some shade and few drinks, F is even warming up to the prospect of swimming but will not let her feet touch the ground (I feel the same way, who knows what's crawling down there).  K keeps right up with O and is way more daring than he ever was a this age.  Kev got to spend some time with us before he leaves for a week to go to Florida for work.  They have even more fun when daddy is with us cause he does crazy stuff with them, I'm booring.

USO Sesame Street Show

I took the kids to a free show on base sponsored by the USO (an amazing support group for military families).  It was Sesame Street and I figured at least all 3 would know something or someone in the show. It did not go as well as planned but I think everyone had fun for the most part.  We had to park relatively far away (for 2 2yo's to walk) and they were not cooperating, I dragged the two girls most of the way there.  Once inside everyone was happy, well mostly because of the 'weapon' like toys they handed to the kids at the door.  The show only lasted a brief 30mins about the time it took us just to walk into the building but I think the attention span was waning at that point anyway.

K had to wear her USO headwrap they gave out

Notice the 'toys' they were given at teh door, not the best choice for little kids IMO.

All in all they had a fun time, next time I will reconsider and bring Kev along with us for an extra set of hands.

Mother's Day

I woke up to this amazing breakfast, made totally from scratch by Kev, here is the recipe he used.

I also got a Flip video camera that I wanted, we had been taking videos with our point and shoot camera.  I wish I had more videos of the kids from when they were little, they grow so fast.  Now I will have plenty since this video camera is so easy to use and I can keep it with me (it's the size of a cell phone).

We then took the kids to Busch Gardens one last time before we move to Texas, they are just getting to the ages when they can enjoy it and we have to move....
K is for sure our daredevil, she is not afraid of anything.  She would go on every ride if she was tall enough.  O is somewhere in the middle and F is our most cautious, she does not like to do anything too risky unless her brother and sister have done it 1st and she can watch them.  O does go on his fair share of rides, he especially likes the rollercoaster in the Forrest of Fun area.

K has to find the one area of water to play in

nobody else would venture in the big tree and yes that is K with her baby of course

F on a stage laying down with her blankie, make sure you're nice and comfy F!

I had a great Mother's day, being able to see the kids have fun was the best part.  I am truly blessed and couldn't ask for more.

My Gardner

O loves to do any type of yard work esp to water flowers, this is at the Botanical Gardens, one of our favorite local places to go.

Spouse Taxi

I got to taxi in Kev's jet on friday morning, just to see a small portion of what our husbands do on a daily basis.  We had to show up by 7:15am which is very early for me to be out of the house (with O in tow).  He was dad's big helper for the day and got to see me do something other than our day to day stuff, I hope he was impressed!

getting my helmet fitted in life support

waiting to go with my bud

ready to go after Kev strapped me into the jet

here we go

pretty cool huh?

O waiting to go back into the building

Thank God we didn't take off because that would have been way beyond my comfort zone.  What Kev does on a daily basis is pretty amazing, sometimes we just take it for granted.  There are days when I'm outside playing with the kids and 4 jets will fly overhead and we know it's Kev, I'm always kinda amazed that it's actually him up there.

Pickin

I took the kids to a local farm to pick our own strawberries, it was well over 90 degrees so probably not the best idea, what's a little heat anyway?  We got a tractor ride out to the field, O was thrilled and the girls were scared to say the least.  They were allowed to eat as many as they wanted in the field and they took that to heart.

here girls only pick the red ones

K's 1st strawberry right into her mouth

forget helping mom lets just eat

We I did manage to get a TON of berries in our box, they will be gone in a few days in this house.  We also go some really yummy corn and watermelon which the kids ate as soon as we got home.  It's summer in VA and it doesn't get much yummier than this.

Mother's Day Tea

O's school had a program for Mother's day on tuesday, it was so cute.

All those goodies on the table were my gifts from him, he was so proud of them

we hardly have any picts of just the 2 of us

His teacher Mrs Pope who he just adores

The kids sang us songs, we listened to a speaker and then got to have lunch together.  Once I can figure out how to post videos I'll get him singing up...