He's home!

He's home. He's home. He's finally home. 

Rhett was deployed for 205 of the longest days of my life. That's not counting the training to the states right before he left. So it was closer to 7 1/2 months.We are so excited to have him back.

The little boys have been stuck on him like glue since he got back. The twins especially don't want him out of their sight. It is actually quite adorable to watch. They get a little worried when he has to go into work, but he always comes home.

Rhett is dealing with them very well and is excited to be near them. I see him get a little overwhelmed sometimes and I try to intervene, but so far he is dealing with them great. 

I am SO excited because he just got all his in processing done so now he gets 2 weeks off to spend time with family. It is so nice to have him back. He is having a hard time adjusting to the time difference, but I'm sure he will get it soon. :) Love you Rhett!

Here are some pictures from the airport.

We got there about 45 minutes before his flight because when we picked him up from the training we were running late. Not only were we late, but both babies had accidents on the way to the airport. He called and asked where I was and I told him we were out in the car and to meet us out there. lol. This time we came more prepared. We even made shirts and got an awesome sign. :)

He is coming. Comesario is right next to him. They did the deployment together. The kids couldn't wait to run to him. Rhett that is. lol He ended up getting mobbed and blocking traffic.

I couldn't wait to be in his arms again. It felt so good to be back as a family. Very long overdue!

The babies seriously follow him everywhere he goes. lol. They even follow him into the bathroom. They just want to be right next to him all the time.

Carter has also had so much fun showing him EVERYTHING. They had a paper airplane contest last night while I made dinner and are just having a blast together.

Taylor loves to snuggle him and comes up randomly and kisses his legs.

I had the BEST nights sleep last night and didn't toss and turn at all. It is nice to have my snuggle buddy back. Unfortunately, he is not used to the time difference at all and has had a hard time sleeping. Hopefully, he will get back to normal soon.

We are still enjoying just being in each others company and look forward to 2 weeks of family play time. Hopefully he won't get too overwhelmed by all the attention. The kids can be quite intense.

A group from the dental clinic also came to welcome them home. I was so happy because one of them offered to take some pictures for me. :) Thank you Dr. Lee.

This is pretty much what it is like now. Stuck like glue. The big boys can't get enough of him either, but they still have to go to school so they only get to play when they get home. Welcome Home Rhett!!

Just another day at the beach... in Paradise.

Carter loves  the camera and is often found behind the lens.

I love where we live. We went to the beach in November to play in the sand and water. The kids had an absolute ball posing for silly pictures and I enjoyed laying out and getting a little sun. I love that they are old enough to play and I can watch from the sidelines sometimes.

It was a gorgeous day and just what we needed. There is nothing like enjoying the beach together. My poor car will have sand in it forever, but it is always worth it. We packed some sandwiches and chips and made it a picnic. I was also able to rent some diving gear while we were there. Later that evening I got to go on my first night dive with a friend. Diving at night is a lot different than during the day, but really awesome. You see different fish than during the day. It was a cool experience. 

Just getting tan while watching my kids play in the water together. I am pretty sure this is close to Heaven.

I can't wait for Rhett to come back so I can take a nap while he plays in the cold water with the kids. He is so good with them. They love taking turns skyping with him, but it's just not the same as holding him. They miss all the snuggles. We are so excited though because he should be home in just over a week! :)

Special Olympics 2012-

 It was such a RAINY day, but that didn't stop us from going to the Special Olympics to cheer on the athletes. I was a "hugger" last year and had a blast. Best experience ever! This year due to Rhett being gone and not having a babysitter I just packed up the troops to go and cheer with me from the sidelines. We cheered our little hearts out for about an hour and a half before we were soaked through and decided to head home. The Special Olympics touches my heart so much. Everyone was so excited to be there!

 We switched from cheering from the side of the track to the winners podium a few times. I was so proud of my boys. Taylor gave hugh fives to everyone with a number on and clapped and cheered so hard. He would always yell, "Come on. You are doing so good." I actually teared up at one point. I love moments where my kids make me smile.

It was a really fun day and I wish it had been better weather so we could have stayed longer. We were surprised to see my friend Chris there as a "hugger." BEST JOB EVER!

Chris is in the white shirt up above. As a hugger, you get to help them race and be there for support at the end. (Which usually is accompanied with a huge hug.) If I could do this everyday I totally would. Chris was smiling because his girl just took second place in her heat. :)

Taylor really got into the cheering. As we were leaving a little boy ran up and gave him a hug and a high five and Taylor just kind of smiled. As we were walking back to the car he got a cute smile and said, "He reminds me of cousin Josh." Josh has down syndrome and is the most lovable person in the world. We are so happy he is in the family. Overall, another great day with the boys. Carter was at a camp out with scouts so he was gone, but the little ones and I really enjoyed ourselves celebrating the success of the athletes this year.

Taylor is learning to WRITE....

... And he's going to get his BUTT kicked!!

On the mirror-

On the Fridge- Great spelling buddy, but that's naughty talk!!!

On the car seat in Rhett's car-

On the Fridge-

On another Wall in the living room-

On the Wall in his room-

On the Wall in the hall-

On Carter's door-

I guess the only nice thing is that he usually writes his name so when he tries to blame it on someone else I KNOW IT"S A LIE!!!

Happy Birthday Carter (9)

 Carter turned 9 a few weeks ago and I absolutely love him. I do not love the gift he picked out for himself, but he has promised to ALWAYS wear his helmet and braces.

For his birthday this year we went ice skating together as a family, but more to come on this later. We also went to the bx and he got to pick out his own presents. He is extremely excited to learn to skateboard and immediately went out to try it out. I was impressed. He did really well! :) Happy Birthday Buddy!

 We then went inside and had cheesecake and ice cream. The babies and I put trick candles on his cake and giggled and giggled when they kept lighting back up. Carter thought it was pretty funny too.

The little boys all love getting rides on Carter's new skateboard. He is such a great brother. 

Daddy was missed and we can't wait for him to come home. Daddy and Mommy are taking Carter to Forest Adventure to do the ropes and zip lining tour as soon as he gets back. It's going to be so fun to go with Carter for the first time.

Hands On

The babies and I needed a date day. I have been one grumpy Mommy lately. :( Rhett's deplyment release date keeps getting pushed back. We will be lucky if he even makes it home for Christmas now. So I felt like they deserved a day reserved for play. I cannot explain how HANDS ON our zoo is. We fed the giraffe, hippos, elephant and watched the elephant show. I love the zoo. It is one of our very favorite places to go when it's too cool for the beach. 

We sat and watched the bats eat fruit and the boys were cracking me up. Hunter said, "I wish I could eat that watermelon." Ryker quickly pipes in with his opinion stating, "Yeah and I wish I could eat the bat." Yummy! Who doesn't want to eat a bat? 

They are obsessed with Mario and Luigi or Weeji as they call him. All day they wanted me to call them those names. If I messed up and said Hunter he was very quick to correct me. 

She gave us some hay that we got to toss into his mouth. The boys were actually pretty good shots, but to be honest we were so close I touched the top of his nose. It was hard to miss when you are that close. It freaked me a little, but it was so AWESOME. I love when we get their for feeding time. It truly is so cool.

Hunter and Ryker loved feeding them too until a little flick of chewed hay landed on Hunter. Look at Ryker checking it out. lol

Then, we got to watch the elephant show and I even paid the $2.00 for them to feed the elephant a banana. I mean we had just fed the hippos and the giraffes. Why not make it a full day of feeding animals? 

We watched him kick a soccer ball, dunk a basketball, shoot water at us, and even hula hoop. This is one talented elephant. It was cool to watch. They have done a great job training him.

He shot two shots and missed the second one. That was when we cheered him on and he went right up to the hoop and dunked it. I was laughing and the boys thought it was so funny. 

2012- The year of the DRAGON-

Next stop, lunch and petting zoo!

Poor Chicks!

Poor Turtles!

Another fun day with my boys. Thanks little guys for making Mommy smile. I love you two!