A Boat Event...

The boat had it's Welcome Home party this evening! We had a chance to catch up with friends, laugh, and dance (way to much). Andy spent most of the evening on the dance floor and made the evening enjoyable by keeping me on my toes. I love the chance to relax with our boat families and enjoy the company of these special people.

Sue, Andy, Sondra, Jessie & Me

Joe, Andy, & Mark taking a break

Jessie & Me holding up the stage

Jessie & Joe's Engagement Party

The invitation was precious, the setting perfect, and the opportunity to toast our friends Joe & Jessie's upcoming nuptials priceless. Sondra & Mark hosted the Black/White Event and the champagne was fabulous!

It isn't often that we all have the chance to have a planned evening out and this one took a while (Joe & Jessie have been engaged since December 2010), but we finally got a chance to say "Congratulations!".

Cabella's Outing

Andy, Jack, Davis, & I headed to Hartford to spend the afternoon at Cabella's. Jack & Davis love looking at all the animals and playing the hunting games in the arcade. Andy picked up a couple of things while we were there, too. It was nice to spend the day together with nothing in particular to do and the opportunity to do whatever we wanted to.

My Boys

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