kenny chesney, vegas, newlyweds, and weddings

The highlight of my year, maybe my life (besides my husband and children) was seeing Kenny Chesney in concert. We tried to see him in concert almost 5 years ago in Spokane, Washington. But I was admitted into the hospital that very night and gave birth to Kaylee the next day. I've been a KC fan longer than I can remember. Five years go by and he hasn't once came to a town we were living in. Finally, my patience has paid off. Chris, Brian, Trisha, and I got tickets in the 15th row and they were awesome seats. But when I got up to get a beer during the opening acts a guy approached me and offered us tickets to the sandbar. Which is the area at the stage. I was literally right against the stage and looking up at him. It was the best concert I've been to so far and I doubt anything will top it. Lady Antebellum and Miranda Lambert were awesome as well.

Vegas... Chris is a lucky guy. He left this morning at 3am for Vegas. Its for work so thats the downside but he gets to go to vegas, sleep, eat, and play for free. I wish I could have gone with him. Neither of us have been so it would have been nice to experience it together. But I know he's in it to gamble and I am in it to watch shows and shop. Oh and eat the buffets. He does travel a lot and its getting harder to do since I know that time is minimal before he leaves in August. Its fairly easy to drop him off to work for his short TDY's but for some reason this time was hard. I cried when he left but I didn't let him see. I know he has a hard time leaving us so I didn't want to worry him.

So newlyweds... this story is a trip. I was watching Grey's Anatomy season finale and saw a preview for a show called Here Come The Newlyweds. To my surprise my cousin and her husband are on the show. It totally tripped me out because I've heard nothing of it. Her parents are coming to visit for Memorial Day Weekend and I called my dad to tell him about the show. He laughed and said he knew a long time ago. I guess while they were filming. I scoffed and said he should have told me because I would have hassled her earlier to see if they won. Haha.

Wedding and love is in the air and I am loving it. Dave and Tina are getting married this weekend. My cousin Katherine is getting married in November and I'm lucky to be a bridesmaid. I just wish I was closer to her so I could help her with anything she needed. But even more awesome, my best friend Christina just got engaged. They have been together for almost 10 years and it will be quite a change to call them husband and wife. I am so happy for her!

date night, girls night, pot holes, and fever

We spent last weekend in Memphis. Surprise surprise. Chris and I ended up having a date night on Friday which isn't typical but well needed. I love spending time with our friends and rarely pass on an opportunity to be with them but it is nice to be alone with my husband every now and again. Especially with August around the corner, we need more nights alone. Hopefully we'll be heading to St. Louis soon for a Cardinals game and a weekend away.

Saturday night was spent with some great girls. I went to Tina's bridal shower. I can't express how excited that her and Dave are getting married. I've been friends with David for more than a decade and its so nice to see him with such a great girl. I'm a sucker for weddings and love them. Even better, I'm not a bridesmaid or the bride. So I get to be stress free and watch two people say their vows then have myself a drink at the reception. Haha. Well after the shower Tina, Kellie, Trisha, and I took Tina to a bar for a couple of drinks. It was such a blast. I definitely can't get enough time with my girlfriends. I'm lucky to have such good ones. Just wish I could have seen a couple more girlfriends that I missed this weekend.

We left Sunday night and 10 minutes into our drive we hit a huge pot hole. We saw a couple cars pulled over afterwards with blown tires. We were concerned so we kept checking our tire pressure gauge. It would go down then go back up. We got home thankfully. But the rim was bent pretty bad and was causing a slow leak. We had to order a new rim and that was $400. Price gouging is ridiculous. I'm just glad we were all ok.

Sunday night was also the start of Ava's fever. That was the only symptom she had but she was pretty miserable. Last night was the worst. She got up to 104 degrees. I gave her Tylenol then put her in a luke warm bath. But because she was so hot the bath felt cold to her. She screamed and cried. I felt so bad. But I dried her off and put her into bed with me. Today she woke up like nothing happened. The fever broke and I guess she's all better. Only now my throat hurts... story of my life. haha.

just me and the girls

Chris left for Talladega on Thursday. I spent the next few days after that entertaining them and spending some quality time with my girls. It feels like we're always on the go so it was nice to be alone with them for four days. On Saturday I took them shopping, then to lunch, and to a movie that night. We saw Coraline on base and they loved it. On Sunday I got Kaylee a new bike and I took the girls out to ride for a bit. Then we washed the car and as I vacuumed it out I let them go to town with the hose. Needless to say they were drenched by the time we went back in. I can't remember the last time I went into a weekend with no plans and just did whatever. Tomorrow Kaylee has a field trip to the Jump Zone. I'm so excited because I actually have a chance to chaperone. Chris has a night flight so he's on Ava-sitting duties while I go. The school year is coming to an end and I definitely can't wait!!

military wife

You would think that growing up with a father who was in the Navy for 30 years would prepare me for the life style I live now. But nothing can quite prepare you for all the sacrifices and heartbreak a wife has to endure. Chris' first deployment came after we were married for a year. It was difficult because I was in a risky pregnancy and I wasn't capable of doing much. Thankfully my parents took care of me for the 3 months until he returned. I still missed him like crazy. I cried every night. My heart literally ached because I was without him. Since then we've only experienced being separated for a couple months at most. It was easier those times because he was in the states for training and we could talk every day and all day unless he was in class. But this deployment will be different. He is scheduled to leave in August for 4 months. Surprisingly I'm hoping he goes to Iraq. Iraq is more established and is actually safer. Phone calls and emails to each other might not be every day but more frequently if he were there. The other scenario is Afghanistan. He's not quite sure how Afghanistan will be but its more difficult flying because of the mountains, canyons, etc. We spoke to a friend who got back from Iraq in February and said the bombings and raids have significantly dropped since last year. His safety is my number one concern. Secondly, its my girls. They are too young to understand why daddy will have to be gone so long and why they can't talk to him every day. I don't want them to be disappointed. I don't want to see their hearts break. They love their daddy and miss him when he's on a long flight. I can't imagine how it will be for them to not see him for 4 months. And I can't even think about myself. To sleep in an empty bed every night. Wake up, take care of my girls, and experience things with them that he can't be a part of. Its times like these I want to pack up, get out, and go back home. But I support my husband and I commend him for his strength. We were in college when 9/11 happened. I remember Chris, Brian, and myself standing in the university center and watching the TV's. It was then Chris and Brian jokingly said they would join the military and kick some ass. At the end of that semester Chris didn't register for the next term. He joined the Air Force. When he went to Qatar it wasn't enough for him. Qatar aided the war, but it wasn't the war. He did recruiting and hated it. He said he felt like he wasn't really in the military sitting behind a desk. He wanted to matter, he wanted to leave, he wanted a job that meant more to him. As much as I rag about his job consuming so much time... how do you not love a man who has such integrity and ambition. He wouldn't be the man that I love if he wasn't volunteering to go. And so we enjoy the next few months before he leaves. Atleast he'll be home for Christmas.

2000-2009

I was browsing through some folders on our computer and I came across the pictures we used in our slideshow that was playing on the tv's during our reception. I thought I would share. Hopefully you find it as amusing as I do.

optimistic

Two weeks ago I took Ava to the doctor. My aunt brought to my attention that Ava should not be toe walking at the age of 3. She was diagnosed with a short achilles tendon. The first step is physical therapy. We went for an evaluation a week ago and the therapist said she also needs work on balance and other skills. Ava is now going to physical therapy twice a week. The therapist said they ideally like their dorsiflexion to be 20 degrees. Ava has 12 degrees on her right foot and 10 degrees on her left. Hearing that made me extremely concerned. However, her therapist said she feels very comfortable the therapy will work but also gives no promises. We will continue therapy for 6 weeks and reevaluate. If therapy doesn't work the next step is braces for her legs. And the final straw if that doesn't work is surgery. I'm praying it doesn't have to go to that extent.

I've racked my brain and questioned what happened. I'm so grateful to my aunt because I'm not educated about that aspect and I would have never thought to question her toe walking. I should have paid more attention when she was born. Ava was born a month early but was a healthy 6lbs 9oz. We were so happy that her lungs were good and we could take her home. From our joy I might have overlooked the one thing they questioned about her preterm birth. They had said her feet seemed underdeveloped. How that is possible, I have no idea. How they noticed, still I have no idea. But it does make me wonder if thats why her tendon is too short or if its just a coincidence. All this aside, Ava is a smart child. She is learning and growing every day.

We just took her 3 year portraits and in one photo we encouraged her to tip toe. Haha, our little ballerina.

call me crazy

Rule number 1, never buy a man a video game. As usual I go to the store and seriously stock the girls up on toys and goodies for their easter basket. Me being the best wife that I am, decided to make Chris a basket too. Of course I buy a super cute basket that I can reuse as decor. So I fill his with the I Am Legend DVD, a football, Recess bunny rabbit, a huge bar of Mr. Goodbar, fart putty (yes, I said fart putty), and... Tiger Woods 2009 for the WII. He played it all day till we had to leave for Easter dinner at a friends. As he played he cursed and yelled at the game because he says its cheating. I laugh out loud, literally. If this is a preview of whats to come, I'm crazy. So far our WII games are group preferred games. But I show no interest in golf, so I'm assuming he'll hog the WII and I will now have to pry him away when we have things to do. But the girls had an awesome Easter. I love it, it's like a mini-Christmas. They get toys and treats but it comes from the Bunny instead of Santa. hehe