Slacker.....

I know I am a slacker. I will try and keep this updated more often. I just let time slip away too much!

It is now official, we have painted every room in our house since move in 2-1/2 years ago. We finally updated our bathroom from the builders standard and I think it turned out pretty decent.

I don't have a before shot and pardon the cluttered sink....

The hardest part is always refinishing cabinets and no, they are not perfect but I did my best!

Here is a cute picture of Tyler "playing" with Abbie

A photo of our visit to Arizona:

And a photo of us at the Marine Corps Ball"

I cannot promise but I am going to try my hardest to keep this updated!!!

Summer 2009....so far!

I think we are getting to about the middle of summer here in Virginia. We have been gone for most of it, having a great time in Hawaii and Ohio.

First stop....Hawaii! We had such a good time in Hawaii. We stayed at the Aston Waikiki Beach (the one with Tiki's) and had wonderful views of all Waikiki and the sunsets. Of course, we didn't spend much time in the room. The North Shore was our most visited location (as it was when we lived there!). The first day the water was flat which is the norm for the summer, the next day we returned and there was a really rough shore break but Robert enjoyed getting out there and doing some body surfing. We also headed out to Lanikai and kayaked out to the Mokes, hiking around to the back. The kayaking out there was hard....I have done it before, but the swells were 4-6 feet and the wind was like 30 mph....Rob was determined to do it so I agreed. I think it was harder for me because I was in a kayak with Amber (who if you don't know thinks walking to the mailbox 50 feet in front of our house is exercise). Luckily I have been hitting the gym for a good time now and we survived! We saw some friends while we were there- my dearest friend on the island, Steve, who I worked alongside for 5 years. While we lived in Hawaii, he treated us like family; he really made sure we were taken care of when Robert was away on deployments and I will never forget his friendship. Amber got to see her best friend Taylor. She said getting back together and hanging out was like Amber never left. I am so thankful they have kept that friendship going; it's so much easier now to keep in touch with email and cell phones!

Here are some photos from Hawaii:

Waimea Bay (typical summer day)

Waimea Bay (unusual swell)

View from our balcony

Manoa Falls

Amber and Taylor (together again!)

On the Mokes

Hopefully I can find the time to share our Ohio vacation soon!

Ready for Summer!

This is such a busy time of year. There are so many events going on with the end of school- and I only have Amber in school. Luckily, Tyler will start kidnergarten when Amber is a senior!

With all the activities going on, I find myself looking forward to our summer vacations! First off is Hawaii for a week. Tyler will be staying at Meme and Papa's- hopefully he can cope with being away from Mommy for a week! He loves to be outside so I am sure he will have a blast while we are gone. Abbie (our dog) will also be keeping him company! After Hawaii, we will stay on in Ohio and spend some time with my family. Our 10th anniversary is also coming up and we are going to New Orleans for a short weekend. Robert says he is more excited about the New Orleans trip than the Hawaii trip- I really can't believe that! And right after that Dave Mattews is coming to Virginia and we got our tickets and can't wait!

I think I forgot to mention that Amber got her braces off. I didn't take specific picture of her with them off (ALTHOUGH I SHOULD HAVE!!!), she took this with her phone in the bathroom of the orthodontist office and sent it to me.

We are in the midst of Little Mermaid. I have been forgetting my camera but finally took it on Sunday when we watched the show. I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of Amber- she is wonderful on stage. She also auditioned for the high school Show Choir and got a callback which I got her late too. Because she was late she had to learn all the choreography while watching everyone dance and just try and jump in. After the call back I felt awful- knowing it was my fault if she didn't make it. She was OK with it saying there was always next year. Saturday the list was up and she made it! I think she may be the only Freshman who made it! She is so talented and such a good hearted kid

This time of year....

is sooooooo extremely busy! Not only does Amber have a million things happening at school, she will also be in Little Mermaid later this month and she has been having rehersals a lot of weekends. I guess I am not too busy but I feel like I am in the car chauferring most of my day!!!

We took a short trip to Hershey, PA over Easter weekend. It was a lot of fun for everyone. On the way there, we drove through Gettysburg. Since Tyler LOVES trains, we went on the Easter Bunny train and he had a blast. Heshey Park was open for "Springtime in the Park"; most of the rides were open. It was in the 50s but we all bundled up and had fun. Amber and Robert went off to ride the roller coasters and I took Tyler on the kiddie rides- which were a lot of fun for him and not so much for me! Trying to fit my long legs in those small spaces was not easy and then the annoying horns on every ride gave me a headache after a while..... but Tyler eventually got tired of riding so we took a break!

On the Easter Bunny Train:

Being cool in Gettysburg:

Tyer's favorite ride at Hershey Park:

We were planning on leaving Hershy around 3:00 but ended up having so much fun, we stayed until it closed at 6:00....so we got home late on Easter evening (had our Easter dinner at Wendy's)....the next day we finally dyed our Easter egg (I told you we were busy!) and had our ham dinner!

I'll try to update a little more, depending if I get some time! The only way I am doing this now is because I stayed home from my spin class today!

Seussical was AMAZING!

So the final show was Sunday....it was SOLD OUT and we had so many walk ins we had to add more seats! And may I add that it was snowing heavily outside and it didn't deter people! It did postpone our strike party though until next weekend which is probably not a bad thing so the cast can rest up and get healthy....many of the kids were hit with some illness....it seems that everything was going around- strep, the flu, viruses of many kinds! Those kids are tough though, they were singing with high fevers and throwing up backstage....not a fun thing to envision but the crowds had no idea..... like I said, these kids were tough- if it were me, I'd be asleep in my warm cozy bed!

Here is a video and some photos! Enjoy! (There are also some videos on my Myspace- click on the link for Sara's Myspace on the left!)

We're Whos

Seussical is here!

Opening night is tonight and it's going to be great. Last night was dress rehersal, so I took a few snippits of the show. I'll try and get a few more and update!

Amber is a Whoville Dance Teacher and she has a really cute costume. I will try and get a really good photo of her and her "dance students".

"Chasing the Who's"

"How Lucky You Are (reprise)" End of Act I

I've been a little busy....

So I try and keep this updated but I have been busy every weekend and too much on my mind. I did finally upload some photos so I thought I would post them....there are none of Amber because she is never home! Seussical opens on Friday so I will have some photos of the show to share with everyone... Robert flew Obama for the first time on Friday. He is up in Chicago so of course we spent another Valentine's Day apart. I had fun though, I went to dinner with some friends and got some much needed adult conversation! Most days the majority of my conversations are dealing with Thomas the Train or Legos! Any way here are some cute photos of the Ty guy....
His more serious side!

Close up...when he sees the camera he always wants to grab it


OK- here is a picture of Amber's rehersal....you can play "where's Amber". I am sure you won't find her! But that's a lot of kids on stage! This is a "goof off" moment!

Doctor's orders: Milkshakes

Last Friday I took Tyler to his 2 year check up. The doctor said he looked great. She first told me I could switch him onto 2% milk until she had me undress him.....and she said, "Well let's keep him on whole milk for another 6 months." She looked at the charts and said he was 6 lbs underweight for his age, falling off the charts....he weighs only 23 lbs. So she told me to feed him mac n cheese, chicken nuggets, pizza.....which are all the things I have been feeding him because this is not the first time that I heard he was small..... he is just a small guy- I mean look at Robert, he weighs nothing too! The doctor did have him run and she said she has never seen a 2 year old run as fast and as well as Tyler did. I told her that could be part of his weight problem, because all he does is RUN around all day long. So I will be making Tyler milkshakes everyday per doctors orders (and hopefully I don't gain 6 lbs too!)

Tyler had his birthday party and had lots of fun with all his friends. This year he understood opening up presents, so he now attacks them and goes through them very quickly! Thanks to all who thought of Ty on his birthday, you made it great!

In other news.....I am on the makeup and hair committee for Amber's next show- Seussical..... meaning I have to attempt "Who hair". This is not an easy task especially since I am not a hair person! If anyone has any ideas I am open to hearing them! If you are in the area and want to see the show, let me know and I'll get you a ticket. This is going to be the best show yet, there is some amazing talent and I am blown away when I hear them rehearse!

Christmas in Virginia

Well I have been pretty busy throughout the holidays....therefore the late post! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and that the New Year is starting out wonderful and will continue to be!

I tried to buy less gifts this year (which I did) BUT I still ended up spending the same amount that I did last year! Oh well, maybe next year! Me and RObert did get a few gift....a steam cleaner and new blinds for the house- which we just ordered! TYler has destoyed the mini blinds so we are going for something that can withstand his wrath! Here are a few photos of our Christmas.

Amber got lots of clothes and cds.

Amber with her Rock Band game. Highly addictive!

Tyler loves trains!

Tyler's face was like this on a lot of pictures!

Dunking on his new basketball hoop!

Robert and Amber concentrating while playing Rock Band.