ohhhhh, we're halfway there! ohhhhhh, livin' on a prayer!!!

Yours truly. Would you believe that I actually wear this sweatshirt with normal clothes, and I own two others. Maybe I am stuck in the 90s?

Playing catch up with pictures of my little man...

Oh how I love that goofy boy, meltdowns and all.

The crazy angels

She wanted to wear neon hoop earrings so bad. I just wasn't ready for that.

He was SO proud of knocking down one pin!

Wonderful surprise gifts from the battalion commander and his wife. They were filled with 'hugs and kisses.' So sweet to think of us!

Seeing his daddy on the screen really upset this little guy. His momma too.

Emma came crying soon after as well...They never act like the deployment upsets them, but clearly tonight I was able to see that.

Sweet Gari-Ann is always behind the camera, I caught her in my frame this time!

"Six months shot down" Apache wives are cool too...

My loves. I would probably be drowning without them.

Hillary was Iceman from Top Gun!!! So original and awesome!!!

That's right, we are officially 6 months down in this deployment! To celebrate we had a bowling party with an 80s/90s theme! I think the best part was shopping for all the accessories! As I was getting Emma dressed for the big event, she had the nerve to ask why we used to dress this way?! Girl, you don't know! Neon, side ponytails, crimped hair and workout attire were the best! And I was Emma's age when it was all in style, but my mom knew what the trends were! Mason and Emma had pretty long days at school so meltdowns were expected and came in full force before the end of the night. Even with the tears, we had a wonderful evening with great friends. The guys had put together a slide show of pics for us, and let's just say there wasn't a dry eye in the house...even just normal patrons in the bowling alley were crying. My precious Emma had a hard time seeing Daddy on the screen and remembering that he was far, far away. Enough sadness, let's see some neon!!!

beautiful ballerina

I feel like I only have pictures of Emma. My problem is the 50 prime lens that I have takes a beautiful shot, but if the tiniest movement occurs it becomes out of focus. So....you see where this is going with Mason. He's like flash lightening in the ones I've tried to capture of him. I promise to try harder...we do have bowling pics coming up tomorrow!

What we did this week...

Disclaimer: I am in love with the new lens that Dave got me...I have A LOT of learning to do, but so far it has done nothing but impress me!

Well this week was a bit of a whirlwind, but we survived! The spring semester of grad school started Monday and on Tuesday I started my new job as an aide. My classes seem like they are going to have very few projects/exams so that is great and the I love my students that I work with now. Of course we still had ballet this week and I was able to snap some pics of Miss Em. She also read her very first 1st grade level book this week! She is now taking tests (accelerated reader) after completing her books, so that is a big step for her! We are very proud of our little bookworm. Mason is doing very well at his German school, speaking more Germglish at home which is quite hilarious. Our halfway party for the deployment is this weekend and I am EXCITED! Not only because it's downhill from here, but the party is 80s themed! I can't wait to share pictures from that! Neon and workout apparel, two things I still love dearly! :) We are getting very excited for these next few months because we have not only one, but two visitors coming! Grandma will be coming in March and these babies cannot wait! Then in May, Chelsea will be coming for an extended summer visit! In between classes, work and children I have been researching hotels, trips, etc. for my visitors. I cannot wait to have them both here!

:)

Mix match day...

Emma put this together all on her own! And she hates to not match...it will probably bother her all day long!

Spirit Week...

Crazy hat day for Miss Em.

Back to reality...

Dave left a handful of days ago and has already made it back to his base. Sad and depressed doesn't even begin to describe my mood. We did have the most fabulous R&R ever though. We just lived, no worries, no itineraries, just lived in the moment. We loved every single second of it. The kids are doing remarkably well after the second goodbye. Emma was pretty bummed the first 48 hrs but perked up at the thought of Daddy being home in the summer! Mason keeps asking if we can go pick Daddy up from the airport, poor guy. He must think that Dave is just sitting at the airport waiting on us. Soon after all this, I was blessed with a stomach bug that I am still trying to get over. Hopefully my loves will not catch this one because....Momma is a working woman now! I accepted the special education aide job at Emma's school, so not only do I get to see her more during the day but I HAVE A JOB! The best part, it's only part time so I think I will still be able to keep my 4.0 through grad school this semester. Sorry I have zero pictures, but I couldn't take any of the airport sadness and being sick kind of played a part in that too. Dave did buy me a new camera lens, so I am sure I will be showing off lots of pictures as soon as it arrives! Love to you all!

Back to vacation photos...

Our 5 days at the Edelweiss resort were incredible! I love being in the Alps and the downtown area reminds me so much of being in Colorado, but with really good German food! Dave was able to snowboard while we were there and the kids and I spent basically every day at the pool. Emma has begged me since our last visit to the resort if she could get in the hot tub. I figured she would hate being out in the cold (since the hot tub is outside) but both kids LOVED it. We had to drag them out each time! We also had the chance to visit Innsbruck, Austria and it was really cool! Of course, I hated having to leave housekeepers, prepared meals, pools, room service, etc. but we did have to return home and resume normal lives...all good things must come to an end!

Check out the snow behind us! The kids and I actually sat outside in the hot tub in blizzard conditions at one point!

love

This was the view from our balcony at the resort...

We made a pit stop at the Hofbrau house in Munich. Best german food/atmosphere!

I had a slight panic attack when Dave had them sit here. I just knew Mason was going to tumble down into the unknown...

No lie, my children just had to make snow angels as soon as we reached the summit of the Zuhgspitz.

awww Innsbruck, how I loved you.

Bring on 2012!

A few moments before the countdown to the new year...

Yes, I danced on my friend's couch for most of the night...just like a club but with children running around...

Our princess...fearless

Mason held the flame a little further away...good boy.

I had a pretty amazing 2011, I can only imagine what 2012 holds for us!