Wedding

Here is another of us at the wedding yesterday. The girls had a ball since it was on the beach and they were able to run around and dig in the sand. What a beautiful place to get married!!

Wedding in Carmel

We went to a friend's wedding today on the beach in Carmel. The girls got all dressed up and played in the sand.

A picture of me

Ok, I'm in trouble from Andy for not having any pictures of me on here. So, here it is - a picture of me, Ellie, and Lexie from this afternoon.

My Dad Rocks!

My Dad Rocks!! Ellie saw this T-shirt and just HAD to have it - even though she doesn't like pink. Of course, not to be outdone, I had to get Kate the My Mom Rocks! shirt :)

Ellie is on diaper duty

Ellie was very proud of herself when she took the initiative today and asked to change Nick's diaper. She was successful - and now that I know she can do it, she's probably going to wish that she didn't.......

Rice Krispies

Whoever invented Rice Krispies marketed it the wrong way. I mean, the cereal is neat and all - it snaps, crackles, and pops, but if added to a liquid and left to dry it can actually hold better than most glue or paste out there. Andy and I know this very well since our kids love this cereal and we don't love trying to chisel it off the floor when they're done eating it :)

Nick Rolled Over

Nick rolled over for the first time yesterday. He was laying on the floor in the living room with Andy and he rolled from his tummy to his back. He looked really surprised. We had the girls out in the backyard playing so he wouldn't get flattened. I was starting to worry that he'd never roll over, sit up, crawl, or walk since I'm ALWAYS carrying him, but it looks like he's on his way to moving....

Change of Command, Part 2

Here is Andy at the company Change of Command.

Ellie, the belle of the ball

Here is Ellie, all dolled up for the ball. Doesn't she look beautiful??

Army Ball

Here is a picture of Andy and Ellie before leaving for the Army Ball tonight. Andy said she was quite the little lady and got tons of compliments from everyone. They really enjoyed themselves. I'm so glad that they had a good time. The other kids and I stayed at home for movies and pizza. We were too tired to go to Vacation Bible School tonight.

Traveling with kids

Ok, so I got a trial run for my trip to WA. On Wednesday I took Andrea to the airport in Sacramento (3 hrs one direction). It was fine while she was in the car - we had to stop and use the bathroom 3 times and she was able to take them in for me. But, after I dropped her off (and got stuck in rush hour traffic) things got ugly. Nick was screaming, Ellie was crying because Nick was screaming in her face, and Kate and Lexie were fighting with eachother. Over 4 hrs later we made it home. After 7 hrs in the car we were all pretty beat and I was asking myself, "How badly do I want to go up to WA??" It's not going to be a fun trip......

Andrea

We have enjoyed having Andrea here visiting us for the past couple of days :) I really wish she didn't have to go tomorrow. We're going to miss her.

She's here to PUMP US UP!!

Aunt Andrea was here to give the girls a good workout.....before they finished off the chocolate cake!

Ahoy Mateys!!

We celebrated Ellie's 7th birthday today with a pirate bash! Unfortunately, Kate and Lexie are sick and we couldn't let any friends come over to enjoy the fun :(
Captain Andrea was here for some swashbuckling fun though!

Change of Command

Well, I was going to post pictures from the change of command ceremony today, but I forgot to put the card back in my digital camera and wasn't able to take any. There were lots of people with cameras though and I'm sure we'll have some to post within the week...
Andy and his soldiers looked really sharp.

Sisters

I know I sent this picture out to some of you before, but I really love it and wanted to post it for those of you who haven't seen it. It is from Christmastime.

Deep thoughts

I let the girls stay up late tonight and watch a movie. When I was about to put them to bed, Katie came to me crying. She said she doesn't want to grow up because then she'll miss me. I explained to her that I would always be her mommy, even when she's all grown up and has a family of her own. She was so sad still because she would miss me if I didn't live with her. She was really upset by it and it made me want to cry. She really is so sensitive and sweet.

Sleep deprivation

There's a lot to be said for sleep. I think Andy is going to faceplant early tonight. You'd probably guess that we were up all night with our screaming newborn, but fortunately Nick usually sleeps like a log at night. No, we stayed up late watching a movie and as soon as we got into bed, Lexie was up every half hour crying.... I'm puzzled as to what was wrong with her. She just couldn't seem to stay asleep. Too bad for Andy that he had to get up at 4:30 - at least I got to sleep in until 7 :)

Rainbow Tiger

This is Kate at the local children's fair last month. Didn't the lady do a nice job? Kate couldn't decide between a tiger or a rainbow, so the lady said she'd make her a rainbow tiger :)

Can you guess where we're moving to??

If anyone wants to visit us while we're still in Monterey, you need to do it before the end of the year. It looks like we'll be moving to.......Fairbanks, Alaska!! We're really excited about this - although I don't think January is going to be the best time to move there. I think it will be quite a shock for all of us from the mild climate in Monterey.
So, it looks like we're going to have to stock up on long underwear and parkas, because we should be there for 3 years. We don't have our orders yet, but Andy's name is pinned to the assignment.

Ten reasons I want to move to Alaska.
1. The total population of Alaska is much less than that of San Antonio where we used to live.
2. SNOW!! The kids are just dying to play in the snow - although I'm sure they're going to get more than they bargained for.
3. The Northern Lights
4. Long summer days
5. Beautiful scenery
6. Fishing (for Andy)
7. Homeschooling laws in Alaska are lax and if we decide to go with a charter school, then we'll be getting about $3000 a year to spend on educational materials and classes - WOOHOO!!
8. No income tax and no sales tax.
9. A new house (ok, not a new house but a different house - and hopefullly a bigger house than what we're in).
10. Adventure!!!!! I love Monterey, but I think we're all ready for something new :)

Nicholas William Woods

I decided to post this for those of you who didn't hear about our new addition, Nicholas William Woods (Nick). We named him after his grandpas.
I didn't seem to have time to get birth announcements mailed out this time and it seems silly to do it now that he's a couple of months old.
This is a picture of him while we were still in the hospital. He was born March 23rd and was 9 lbs 1 oz. I had another amazingly easy birth and I consider myself very blessed to have been able to have 4 drug-free labors without any complications. The doctor walked in about 30 seconds before he was born - perfect timing. We left the hospital within a day and have been home in total chaos ever since :) His sisters just love smothering him with kisses and hugs. He is going to be so spoiled!!

Memorial Day

Ellie was upset that I posted the picture of her with her rash all over her face, so I decided to add another of her looking her normal cheery self :) Here she is with her dad at the Memorial Day ceremony we went to.

Kate the Runway Model

As most of you know, Kate is rarely in normal clothes. She has spent the last couple of years wearing nothing but leotards, tutus, swimming suits, dress up clothes, and church dresses. I have had to wrestle her down in the past to get a pair of pants on her. Here she is all dressed up again. If not for her, I might only have to do laundry once or twice a week :) I think she's either going to be a pro wrestler or a runway model (or maybe both?). We'll just have to wait and see....

Pigtails

Lexie wanted to show off her pigtails - and her cheesy smile. She has actually kept them in all day long. It's a miracle.

Poor Ellie

So, I took Ellie to the doctor this morning after her rash had gotten even worse. They wouldn't see her yesterday since we thought it might be chicken pox. It got much worse yesterday afternoon and it was HORRIBLE when she woke up this morning. Her eyes are puffy and swollen and the rash has covered her whole face and both arms. The doctor said that it wasn't anything serious. He thinks that it is Fifth Disease (see the link below). Anyway, I just need to give her Benadryl and let her rest. Poor kid. I think everyone else got it last week, because we all went through a mild cold - Ellie was just the lucky one that got the rash to go along with it :(

We're just having a crummy day today. As we were getting out of the car at the doctor's office, Kate decided not to listen to me (nothing new of course) and she proceded to open the door herself - right into the new Harley Davidson pickup truck right next to us (complete with navy officer sitting in the driver's seat). Lucky me! Of course the paint was scratched up and needs to be fixed.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/bacterial_viral/fifth.html

Do we really have 4 kids????

I just love this picture.
I feel like I just blinked and we have 4 kids!! How did that happen??
The house is full (actually overflowing) and there is never a dull moment. Someone always has something to say and there is always something to clean up after..... I just can't wait until they're old enough to clean the house for me. That will be a beautiful thing :)

blogging

I decided to start blogging so I can keep everyone up to date on our family. I just don't seem to have enough time to call or write everyone often enough. Plus, it seems like I let the days slip by without writing down all of the wondeful memories we're making :) I want to thank my friends Christy and Catherine for inspiring me with their blogs.
Enjoy!