We're back!

I can't believe how overwhelming the last six weeks has been. I need to do a lot of backtracking to go through everything, but the short version of it all is that we're in San Antonio and we're alive. We have a house, but we're still living among quite a few boxes. Noah started day care yesterday, but I still don't have a job. I slacked a little on the 12th of July and August so I'm just going to have to throw something together pretty soon so I can catch up.

Since our house is still a wreck, I took some pictures of the backyard so I can at least share those. And the backyard was a significant factor in buying this house. If you haven't heard yet, there is a basketball court in our back yard. Yes, you read that right. A basketball court. And it's blue. If you go to Google Earth, you can actually see this big blue thing from pretty far away. 

Here is the view of our yard from our back door.

The basketball hoop

There is actually electricity hooked up and there is a light opposite the hoop

There are even hooks on both posts to set up volleyball nets.

Noah's basketball hoop

Asher enjoying his walker on the court

And last but not least, this is Noah and Billy right before they headed out for Noah's first day of school.

Noah wasn't exactly excited at 6:00 am to go to a new school, but he actually had a great day.  And today he just walked in like he owned the place.  He gave Billy a hug and kiss bye, and then walked away.  Our little guy is growing up!

Asher giving Noah a Ride

Almost There!

Today is Thursday, tomorrow is my last day of work, and Billy is coming home on Friday!! I am so excited to have him home, and even though the boys may not realize that they have something to be excited about, they will certainly be excited once he's here. Asher might finally have someone in the house to match his energy level, and Noah will finally have someone else to "tackle" on the living room floor! Beyond the excitement, I'm a little anxious and nervous. It's been quite a long time since I've moved, and even though the move is back to Texas, it's still anxiety provoking. Moving seems to be a little more intense this time around, and it probably has to do with having two kids. My previous years in San Antonio and San Marcos were during college and graduate school and therefore included staying up all hours of the night, waking up at 11:00 a.m., eating cereal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, jumping at the drop of a hat for a weekend away, and having very little responsibilities in general. Now Texas will be a whole new ballpark with the kiddos. Granted, I think it's going to be a great ballpark and I'm really looking forward to it, it's just going to be different. Plus we are so used to the teachers and the day care now, and I'm worried about schools, parks, activities, etc., and hoping that they'll be just as good, if not better than what we have now. Another reason the move is making me anxious is that we weren't able to sell our house here in Charleston, but thank heaven we at least have renters. On top of that, I still don't have a job. We have been a two income family since Billy and I got married, so it makes me nervous. I'm looking for work, but it seems to be taking a little longer than I expected. For now, I'm just trying to enjoy the fact that I'll be able to spend some time with my boys before I go back to work.

So I have to end on a good note and share an adorable picture of my littlest boy. this is what happens when older cousins come to visit!

June 12th

The12th fell on a Saturday this month and Saturdays are so much more fun!  This 12th was even better than most because we headed up to Spartanburg to go to Marley and Chloe's birthday party!  Marley turned 9 and Chloe turned 6.  They're growing up right before our eyes.  The girls were so excited to see Noah and Asher and the boys love getting so much attention from their cousins and aunt and uncle.  Of course since there was so much fun to be had , the days were long!  Noah was tired when he woke up and he was resting his chin on the table while he ate his breakfast.  We spent the morning hanging out and getting ready for the pool party.  We brought Asher's new walker with us because they have great wood floors for him to get around on and he loved chasing everyone around.  We got to the pool and the water felt great, but Noah and Asher weren't too thrilled with it.  Uncle David spent some time with both of them in the pool and they had a good time with him, but I was expecting them to have a blast because just last weekend they loved the pool.  I guess it's hit or miss these days.  The girls had an awesome Sponge Bob Squarepants cake!  Marley was so excited and surprised to get a cell phone!  After the party we chilled out for a bit.  Asher had a good time hanging out on the back deck.  Noah and Chloe laid around on the bed and watched some television.  They have a little garden with all kinds of fruits and vegetables so Noah was watching Uncle David water the garden.  After all the excitement of the day, Toy Story was on TV, and even though they were all exhausted beyond belief, Noah, Marley, Chloe all managed to keep their eyes open to watch the movie. 

Big Changes

Big changes are upon us.  Billy will be coming home one month from today.  It's hard to believe that 11 months have already passed, but they have.  We are so ready to have Billy back and get back into some sort of a normal life, but that's going to take a few months.  Not only do we all have to adjust to each other again, we have to adjust to an almost entirely new life.  Billy's next assignment is in San Antonio, so we're heading back to Texas.  This is a good thing, and we really are happy about it, but the process has been and will be very exhausting, especially having to do so many things while Billy isn't here.  He comes home on July 10th and has to report to the base in S.A. by July 31st.  That really doesn't leave us a whole lot of time to get things done.  The good thing is the military will take care of the move itself, so we don't have to do a whole lot of packing.  The bad thing is we have to pack enough for ourselves and our two very young boys to last probably about three weeks.  I'm not looking forward to living out of a suitcase with the little ones for that long.  At least we're minivan owners and I'm sure we'll be packing that thing to the brim.

So it's been a crazy year, and it's just about to get a little bit crazier!