A Mostly Fun Week

This week has definitely been better than last week, even including the nervous breakdown on Monday. But, Monday night I went to another friends and stayed the night there so that we could go horseback riding Tuesday morning. I had forgotten how much I miss riding! It was a blast! The girls seemed to really enjoy it too.



Then Wednesday, we went out to spend some time with one of my young women's presidents from when I grew up, Kathy Geyer. She is one of the most wonderful women I know! She had a blast with the girls, especially Alyssa because she is expecting her first grandchild in August. It's always nice to visit Kathy!
Today, I took Hailey on a mommy-daughter date, our first ever, but hopefully no where near our last. Kathy (previously mentioned amazing woman) watched Alyssa for me so that I could have some fun with Hailey. We went down to King's Island! WOO HOO!

This is one of my favorite places ever! My mom and I used to go at least once a week when we lived just one exit up the freeway. We just always got season passes and would go on the less busy days. It was so much fun! Anyway, Hailey seems to be the next generation of roller coaster junkies in my family...she rode all the kiddie rides that she could, and then we went over to the other side and she rode the spider and the scrambler and then wanted to ride the spider AGAIN! It was definitely her favorite of the day. She kept pointing to all the big roller coasters and saying she wanted to ride them, then she would be mad when I told her she wasn't quite tall enough. But, with the way she grows it won't be long.....







This last picture doesn't have Hailey in it because I rode with her, but I had to pay tribute to her favorite ride of the day!

It's About Time.....

...For this roller coaster of a week to finally be over! So, I have to put in a few updates real fast. I went five days trying to figure out how to get money to get gas and formula and the things that my little family needs, since my wallet had disappeared on Monday. I thought I finally had it figured out. I was going to call Walmart and see if they would cash a check for me, or even put it on a gift card, since they knew the whole story and I didn't have any ID yet. So, Friday morning, I got up and showered and called in to talk to a manager. As soon as I asked, the manager goes, well this is your lucky day (which I found a little ironic being Friday the 13th, but hey.....), someone found your wallet around one this morning and turned it in. WOO HOO! The cash was missing, but everything else is there. I figure someone else needed the $40 more than I did, and I'm just grateful to have my ID's, my social security card and my temple recommend back. I guess it was out on the ground in a cart corral near a trash can. I started crying when I got it back, and thanked my Father in Heaven more times than I could count. It is still a bit of a pain since I had cancelled my debit cards and stuff, but oh well. I'm just SO thankful that someone found it and turned it in.
So Friday, my friend Erica and I headed up to Dayton to go to the Air Force base (mostly just because I can) and to a mall to do a little shopping. It was so nice to be in a place with something besides a Walmart. We had lots of fun in Dayton, and some yummy food too. We LOVE Steak 'n' Shake!


Then, today I went down to Cincinnatie and saw my friend Janelle. We met in German class at Sycamore High School. She has a little boy now, Kyle, that is almost one. He is so cute. We took the three kids and went down the the new chidren's museum at the old Union Terminal. There are SO many fun things for them to do and play with. The girls had a blast, especially at the water works part of the exhibit where they got to play in lots of water. It was so much fun!











I realize this has been a lot of pictures, but the last several posts haven't had any so it was about time for an update. I hope you have enjoyed my cute girls as much as I do. Oh yeah, then to top off the rest of the week, I was sitting in the Wendy's drive thru tonight and thought I had put the car in park to make Alyssa a bottle, since she was screaming in the back seat. Anyway, apparently it wasn't in park and I rolled forward into the car in front of me. ARG! It didn't do any damage to their car, it was a Suburban...unfortunately their trailer hitch punched a small hole in my front bumper, but I'm just glad again that no one was hurt. I will finish this off with a few more pictures of the girls. My friend that I'm staying with, Erica, babysat a puppy the other night and my girls had a hayday, especially Hailey, so that is when these were taken. Take care and have a great day!

The Silent Ranks

I wear no uniform, no blues, or Army greens
But I am in the military in the ranks rarely seen.
I have no rank upon my shoulders, salutes I do not give.
But the military world is the place where I live.


I'm not in the chain of command, orders I do not get.
But my Soldier is the one who does, this I cannot forget.
I'm not the one who fires the weapon, who puts my life on the line.
But my job is just as tough, I'm the one that's left behind.


My Soldier is a patriot, a brave and pride-filled person.
And the call to serve our country not all can understand.
Behind the lines I see the things needed to keep this country free.
My Soldier makes the sacrifice, but so do our kids and me.


I love the Soldier I married. Soldiering is his life.
But I stand among the silent ranks.
Known as the Military Wife.

Okay, I'm maxed out on STRESS!!!

So today I have totally about lost it. Mostly though, I just lost my wallet. Last time I had it was to check out at Walmart yesterday and today when I went back to get formula and things for Alyssa I couldn't find it anywhere. We have turned Erica's house upside down searching, along with my car, the parking lot at Wally World and the managers have checked the cash office several times. I have also called the police departments in town and it has not been turned in. If I were still in Utah or Arizona, it would be a little easier to get things replaced, but since I'm in Ohio, and have no permanent address here I have no idea what I am going to do about getting a new ID. I also, therefore lost my military ID, a couple credit cards, a little cash, and a few other things that I am completely stressed about. I am hoping it turns about, but for those of you that read this, I would certainly appreciate an extra prayer or two.

The Buckeye State

So, the next leg of my crazy summer has begun. I arrived in Ohio this afternoon to my best friend from high school, Erica's house. I will be here for about 3 weeks. There is a lot planned here. We are hoping to go to King's Island, a childhood favorite amusement park. Erica and I LOVE roller coasters, and since Jed won't ride them with me it's time to get my fill. I'm also hoping to get together with some other friends from high school down in Cincinnati, but I will keep you updated as things happen.
I spent my last few days in Tennessee with my family and that was a lot of fun. My cousins, Hannah and Jeremiah, graduated from high school. Their graduation was a really nice ceremony and then the next day we had a nice little party thing for them. It was nice to get to see everyone for a few days. Now they are all headed to Peru for a few weeks and then they will also be coming up to Ohio where we have a cabin reserved for about a week. That should be a lot of fun.
The girls actually did really well in the car. Thank goodness for Hailey's DVD player, it is a life saver sometimes. I think that is about all the news for now. I hope everyone is having a fun summer.

Fields of Corn

Well, we have arrived in Nebraska and have actually been here for a week now. Sorry it has taken me so long to post. Hailey hasn't been feeling well, but seems to be on the up swing, and there is definitely an adjustment going on with the girls living with family and not having their daddy around. I have heard from Jed three times so far. The first was a phone call the second day he was in Missouri just to let me know that he had arrived okay...it lasted all of four minutes. The next was a bit longer....7 minutes...he was able to tell me that they were pretty much done with the paper work phase and he got to talk to the girls for a few minutes. Finally, I got an email from him last Tuesday. Apparently the people in the ward there will email for the soldiers, which is really nice because I can also email him back and they will make sure he gets it. That has been great because I don't have an address for him yet so I can't send him any mail or pictures, but this will tide me over in the meantime. He shipped for basic Tuesday and I'm sure they are tearing down the civilians to turn them in to soldiers. We miss him dearly, but Jed and I both knew this was what he was supposed to do.
My aunt, her family, and my girls and I leave next Tuesday for Tennessee. We will be there almost a week, Hannah and Jeremiah (my cousins) are graduating, and then they will all head to Peru for a bit. Hailey, Alyssa, and I will head up to Ohio at that point and spend a few weeks with my friend Erica and anyone else we may want to go visit. Then I will head over to D.C. to meet Aunt Betsy at my other aunt's house and we will visit them for a few days. After that we will head back to Nebraska, via Ohio and a visit to my great-grandma (and one of the most amazing people EVER). When we get back to Nebraska, Aunt Betsy and I will be doing lots of painting and house up keep through the month of July. Then I will head over to Jed's graduation from Basic Training. He will then head to Texas for his training as a health care specialist, his MOS, and the girls and I will head to Arizona to stay with dad until Jed gets his first duty post assignment, at which point our family will be reunited.
There is the update of the plans through November. I will write and post pictures as we go. We love and miss you all!

Off We Go....

Well, today is moving day. I'm actually pretty impressed with how much we have gotten done. We have just about everything in boxes so it will be nice and easy when the elder's quorom comes over later to help us actually move stuff out. All the stuff that goes in storage is in the front part of the house, and the stuff we are taking with us is back in the master bedroom and we will close the door so that they don't have to worry about that stuff. It has been crazy, but I have had tons of help from some wonderful people, especially with watching my girls. I can't tell everyone thank you enough. I guess with each move we have gotten better at it and more organize....of course, that should be the case after 7 moves in less than 4 years. I'm just grateful that next time the Army will take care of it for us. Well, I am going to go finish up the last bits of packing and start on some cleaning. I hope everyone has a great day!