Our Navy Family

The Bray's were in Boston visiting Cait's family for the holidays and they made a trip to Groton to visit! It is always fantastic to see our friends that the Navy has brought into our lives, or what I call our Navy family! These are the people that we experience so much with (good & bad) and find a special place in our hearts.

Pat & Cait made it in around lunch time, so a trip to 5 Guys Burger & Fries was needed. After visiting for a little while, Andy & Pat made their way down to the Dallas to catch up and Cait & I visited at the house while the boys played. The whole gang made it over for dinner and we spent the night laughing and chatting. We had a great time and are looking forward to the next visit in Hawaii!!

Allens, Leavitts, Brays, & Hills

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

So the new street we live on is Silverbell and it makes me sing everytime I tell someone our address, lame I know. The last few days have gone by in the blink of an eye. We have unpacked and set up our house, visited with Santa, celebrated Christmas, and every spare moment has been spent being a family of four!

With the help of some great friends, we unloaded the storage unit and quickly set up our house to be ready for Christmas. Andy and I stayed up late and woke up early to unpack the house in three days and even hung pictures prior to our holidays. My main focus was to be able to have the house done before we started on holiday shopping and cookie making. Well we accomplished it! The boys were fabulous during this time and Andy took breaks to play with them between unpacking boxes and hanging pictures.

After that whirlwind, we started on our holiday fun! The boys & I made cookies and candy and Andy finished the holiday treats by making springila (a unique German cookie). We ordered our lobsters for Christmas dinner and saw Santa, too! The packages were all tied up pretty with bows and we even read the Christmas Story.

We also received the huge news that we would be moving to Hawaii in early summer! It was huge news and we were very excited, but man I just got this house unpacked and movers are coming again?!

Stockings were hung with care

Our first year with a star instead of an angel gracing the top of our tree, Jack's request

Christmas morning fun

Our little Captain America

Why yes that is our elf sitting by a Hawaiian palm tree

Lobster and prime rib now just waiting for Davis & veggies to be ready!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Davis Parker!!!

Davis turned three and what a perfect day! It feels like yesterday that we welcomed our baby boy into our family and he has made each day brighter! This little guy is always hunting for a sweet treat, has all the hugs and kisses in the world for us, adores his big brother, JackJack, and makes my heart melt with his little grin.

It was so nice to have Andy home to celebrate. We took the birthday boy to breakfast at the Shack for pancakes and then Target. He got to pick out his own birthday gift, a roaring dinosaur! The day continued with our dear friends, The Allens & Leavitts, joining us for Mystic Pizza for dinner. It was a wonderful evening with pizza and singing!

Davis Parker is the big 3!

Celebrating Davis

Welcome Home USS Dallas!!!

This day has been a long one in the making, but what a perfect day! The sun was shining and it wasn't bitterly cold. It felt like the day was dragging by and from the moment we saw the boat (Andy was driving) the minutes went by even slower. But wow what a moment when we finally saw him up close and were able to give him hugs and kisses!

From the moments Jack & Davis woke up, they talked about what they were going to tell Daddy and how many hugs and kisses they were going to give him. I was a bundle of nerves and also worried that the outdoor elements would lead to some type of mishap (namely Davis ending up in the water). Well, I was wrong about Davis ending up in the water, but his Welcome Home sign did :)

God graced us with a gorgeous day and reminded me of how many miracles I have in my life!

Andy driving the boat!

A family moment, I love how Davis is looking up at Andy!

Waiting for the boat to make it's way down the river...

Jack waiting

Getting Ready for Andy (Daddy)!

The boys & I picked up the keys to our new house on the 12th and have been busy passing the days before Andy gets home. All of our stuff (besides what was loaded in the BMW) is in storage, so we have been roughing it with an air mattress and the computer to entertain ourselves. The boys made their welcome home signs, and our day is almost here!

tired momma

Jack Jack's sign, he is so excited!

Working on Davis' sign, Davis gave up and went to bed

Goodbye Texas, Hello Connecticut (Again)

I knew this day was approaching, but nothing could prepare me for how sad I would be to leave Texas. There are no words to explain how much I have loved being with my sister, brother-in-law, and nieces since March! The boys have loved having family and I have loved having the support, company, and friendship only my sister can give me!

So as we pulled away and started our road trip, I let the tears pour. I don't often cry in front of my boys, but they were sad too and I wanted to let them know it was okay. We focused our road trip on getting to Connecticut and reuniting with Andy (Daddy), so that definitely helped our spirits.

Along our 2,000+ miles road trip, we got to see some states we hadn't been to and also had the luxury of visiting with Pat & Cait in D.C. and finally arriving in Connecticut and catching up with Sondra and Harper!

Goodbye Texas

the king with his sword

Aunt Terri bought Jack some new art supplies

Davis with his new art items

Photo Session

My sister and I have been talking about getting pictures of the kids taken for my parents, and wouldn't you know it we are leaving in two days and haven't taken pictures yet! Part of the problem was Jack accidentally got a buzz cut (he cried) and we have been waiting for his hair to at least grow in a little (very little) before the pictures. So in the photos Jack has very short hair, but a huge smile!

I love these littles so much!

Davis being a ham!

Taylor & Holly looking beautiful

love how much they love each other

my personal favorite

Even though it was last minute we captured a moment!

Choir Concert, Anyone?

Holly decided to take choir this year and tonight was their Christmas concert, who doesn't love a Christmas carol? Jack enjoyed hearing all the classic tunes and even the more modern songs. Davis and I listened from the back, since he was more interested in the refreshments :) It's hard to believe our time in Texas is almost over, but we can squeeze in some more memories between now and then!

Waiting to leave for the concert

Davis waiting by hiding in the laundry basket

An awful shot, but the small 6th grade choir