Happy after the holidays~

Hi all! Someone just sent us a comment wondering if everything is okay since I have not updated the blog for 2 weeks. Thanks for your concern and yes we're doing well despite a few things: the computer got this "Vundo" virus and we were without it right before Christmas, then Mom and Dad came and we had a wonderful visit, and yes to top it all off we're on round 3 of head lice for poor Miss Megan. I must say she is quite the trooper and we have become experts on this pesky bug and we've learned that the life span of a lice can be up to 1 month so she just keeps getting it just when we think we've become "lice free"....so now our family is on a mission to get over this and move on as it is very time consuming for everyone involved.

I have lots of great pictures to download and hope to get that accomplished in the next week or so. Scott is getting back in the groove and starting to think about writing his 25 page research paper..ugh! We just took all our decorations down and are ready to embrace the New Year and all it has to offer. For now, we're going to have a fun family week and enjoy Scott being home with us and play for just a little longer before we have to get back to the daily grind!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are ready for the NEW YEAR! :)

Hugs~Alaina :)

Getting to know your friends holiday edition~

Hi all! I have had SUCH a productive day I had to take a quick break and do something fun and mindless after everything that has been accomplished. I thought this would be something fun to share~ Enjoy and Happy Monday~ :)


The holidays are near so I want to know...

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Neither-Peppermint Mocha Latte

2 .Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Depends on the gift, but everything in the stocking is in his Santa wrapping

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Yes right at the front door!

5. When do you put your decorations up? Thanksgiving weekend

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Sweet potato casserole-yummmmmm

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child: we always had to wait at the top of the stairs for Mom and Dad to wake up, then we would run down the stairs and see what Santa brought us

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I still believe!

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes after church we come home and have Christmas soup and open a few gifts…then it’s off to bed to wait for Santa

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? White lights, greenery, decorations, a huge handmade gold bow and a star on top

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? The BEST snow is in Utah…or maybe Colorado, but we loved skiing at Snowbasin-love snow and building snowmen, snowball fights, and making snow angels

12. Can you ice skate? Yes, I used to love to skate with my friend Amy

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I have so many, but my Cabbage Patch doll Emmeline was a huge hit

14. What is the most important thing about the Holidays for you? The birth of Christ and how HE the center of our family

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Strawberry Pretzel Salad and all the wonderful trays of cookies and treats

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Family sugar cookie baking day and delivering the cookies to all our friends on Christmas Eve day all together and Christmas Eve service and watching all the kids at church sing “Happy Birthday Jesus”…it is precious!

17. What tops your tree? A lighted star

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? I LOVE to give and you can tell by the closet full of gifts I buy throughout the year….

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? All I want for Christmas Is You-it is the song that Scott and I decorated our first Christmas tree too

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Yummmm especially in Hot Chocolate with some Bailey’s Irish Cream

21. What do you want for Christmas? I already have what I want and that is my family-I feel so blessed and fortunate for our health and happiness, but if I could ask for anything it would be our condos to once and for all be off our plate….

22. Do you attend an annual Christmas Party? Every year it’s different, so it’s not annual, but yes we always love to socialize with friends~

23. Do you dress up on Christmas or wear PJs? PJ’s in the morning and then we usually get dressed for Christmas dinner, but nothing fancy-

24. Do you own a Santa hat? How about cute reindeer ears?

25. Who do you normally spend Christmas with? Each other and usually one set of parents will come and visit us or we may go to see family-it all just depends on the venue of the year

Lost pictures on memory stick for camera~

Saying Goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa :(




Daddy Daughter Date night to Cinderella~

Well, I about thought I was going to be sick to my stomach this morning when I went to back up pictures from the camera and they were NOT THERE!!!! I lost over 295 pictures and thought for sure they were lost forever...

BUT, this is to let you all know that you CAN recover pictures off your memory stick for the LOW price of $49.00 and really how can you put a price tag on "Dad/Daughter date of Cinderella/Mom and the kids at the zoo/Thanksgiving and visit with Grandparents...and oh how could I forget the whole "lice pictures" and Stuart Little the Mouse...it's amazing how many "moments" happen so quickly and each day! So, you know me when there is a will there IS or HAS TO BE A WAY!

To the Internet superhighway I went to research this terrible dilemma. To my happy surprise after an hour of researching all the "websites" I found one that is legit and actually does work.

I tried the "trial version" first to make sure that I was not going to waste my money and I am THRILLED to report that I now have 295 pictures back safe and sound on our computer.

If you are wondering how this possibly could happen let me share~

First I did not delete pictures and I ran out of memory. I thought I transferred them all and downloaded them, but I found out that I hit 9999 in pictures and it started over at 0001 in a new file...so, you can see how I missed the whole new grouping of pictures.

So here is the info if you ever get yourself into this terrible bind-I also think it works for all applications on the computer so it's a great deal in my eyes.

http://www.handyrecovery.com/order.shtml

Memories are priceless and I just didn't want to be without these.... Keep this link in a handy place or call me if you ever get into a bind.

Now I'm off to get back to our Saturday~

Hugs~

Candle Light Tour of the Governor's Mansion

Once again it's "Ladies Night" and this week we attended the Governor's Mansion-oh my goodness the decorations were beyond phenominal....Everything was so exquisite and nothing was left undecorated. It was such a fun evening with the "Helmsley Housewives"....

Just so you don't think this is one sided-the guys do go out, but you can imagine that they don't stand around and take their pictures for the blog...so unfortunately I don't have any pictures from their last evening out, but I will tell you they went to a movie and went out for dinner and beer afterwards.... :)

The TERMINITOR~

Life has been happening much faster than I have had time to blog...so here goes...last week both kids got sent home for "spots" that the school thought could be chicken pox so that was the ordeal of the week and thankfully neither of them have chicken pox....and this week....drum roll please.......can you even believe we're on round 2 of LIVE LICE!!!! YIKES!!!!!

So, my newfound high tech best friend the "TERMI NIT OR.....let me tell ya this thing is ingenious-their is a magnifying glass on one end and a very powerful nit comb on the other. The novelty has surely worn off for all of us. Now we just wanted to get down to business and get this over with again-it is a serious time consumer going through every strand of hair.

Meg has been quite the cutie through it all and no, there are no you tube videos this time, but I did take a few pictures to share....Scott was wonderful and actually stayed home to help wade through the bugs-it truly is a two person job....what a great guy! :)

Notice the pink shower cap-we covered Megan's hair in olive oil and had her wear the shower cap-the goal was to suffocate those pesky lice...and happily it is working and we have not had to use the harsh chemicals this time around...

All is know is THREE TIMES IS NOT GOING TO BE A CHARM FOR THIS~ UGH....

I'm thankful for all the things we take for granted....

Happy Thanksgiving~ I am so thankful for all the things that are so routine in our daily life that we take for granted....like our spouses, children, family, friends...all the constants in our life that we know will always be there.

I am grateful for the blessings that we have each day. Those little things that we just walk through life not thinking about day to day.....like having a home, food, a phenomenal job that produces money, and freedom. I'm thinking these are not little things, but in our society it seems we just "expect" those things and sometimes forget that there are others that would give anything just to have a warm place to sleep, money to feed their families, and the freedom to live the life they want too.

I am SO very proud of our military and all they do to protect us. Especially during the holiday seasons my heart goes out to all the families that are separated. The spouse that is left behind with the kids and the spouse that is serving in the war. Their unselfish actions show why we truly ARE proud to be AMERICANS and how self-less of people they truly are to give up their lives and time away from their families for the mission of protecting our country.

I am so thankful for my family. My husband who has been my best friend for the past 14 years and my adorable children that bring joy to each new day (some days more joy than others...) :) We love all our family and friends and want you to know that you are in our hearts even though we are physically separated by the many miles~

The Air Force truly is a small world and through it we have had an amazing opportunity to build lasting friendships over the years..we send our love to each of you and wish you many blessings.

Enjoy this trip down memory lane...I have included the past 7 years of Thanksgivings.

"Knowing that God is in control and that he has a purpose for our lives is probably the biggest reason to be thankful. God blesses us in so many ways and sometimes we fail to see or recognize His handiwork in our lives. Author Unknown~



2001 Who needs a plate when you can gnaw on a turkey leg? Niceville, Florida


2001 Niceville, Florida

2002 Niceville, Florida


2003 Watching Football Niceville, Florida


2004 Niceville, Florida


2005 Spokane, Washington at Mom and Dad's house


2006 Kaysville, Utah



2007 Hill AFB Base Housing~Utah

Stuart Little the MOUSE is really in my kitchen??

Okay so get this, there was a MOUSE in my kitchen. I can't believe this...Scott's parents had just arrived and I was on the phone-Scott looks over at me and says OH MY GOSH a mouse just ran across the kitchen floor. I told him basically he was seeing things...so the hunt began. He was going to prove to me there really was a mouse. So, while dinner is in the oven him and his Dad are looking under the stove. Well, no mouse....I give him the "I told you so look" and then .....OH THERE HE GOES A MOUSE EEEEKKKKKK....dang he's in the cupboards. We need a mouse trap-so Scott and his Dad went off to Home Depot to find out they are OUT of mouse traps..apparently this is a common occurrence this time of year? So off to Walmart to find a mouse trap. Thankfully they had a few in stock~

They came home and set the trap with peanut butter and here is what we found...A SPECIAL PACKAGE as Scott so affectionately told me.

The zoo by day and catching mice by night...I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings~ :)

Our neighborhood adventure to the zoo....

What a trip~ the Mom's in our little neighborhood decided to take our kids to the zoo together. Thankfully we were the only people there so keeping track of them was pretty easy. The kids had a blast and the Mom's truly enjoyed just watching our kids run freely and just be kids.

Gretchen, your pumpkin scones were scrumptious and the drive through at Starbucks on the way was a perfect way to start our field trip~

Looking forward to our next outing....oh, and hopefully next time we go to the zoo the chimpanze will not throw rocks at me! Can you believe that one? I actually had a chimp throw a rock at me from his "post"....not quite sure what I did to make him mad, but it was time to duck and cover to avoid injury at that point!

How would you handle this?

Okay, I am totally at a loss for this one...Megan has had birthday thank you picture cards in her binder to give out for 2 weeks now...I have gone over this with her now at least 4-5 times and she has YET to give them out....What do I do? We even went over HOW to ask her teacher and hand them out and to do it first thing at school???? I am so irritated as it is now two weeks past her party and we had them done the day after. I have now made her hand write an apology note on the back:

I am sorry this thank you is so late. I have had these cards in my binder for 2 weeks and have been irresponsible in giving them to you. Please forgive me.

Megan

What am I missing and why is she so reluctant to hand them out? What are your suggestions on this one because we're just at a loss...it seems so simple, but in her mind it's a HUGE ordeal??

Thanks ahead of time for your comments, I am sure they will be helpful...

Goodnight~ :)

Six married men dropped off on an island-3 kids and 1 car

A girlfriend sent this to me and I just had to share...it is hilarious and oh so true, but on the flip side I wouldn't trade my man for the world! With all the things that he does daily that seem to go unnoticed and all the things that I do...well, I'd say we make a great team! I surely couldn't change a thermostat in his truck or fix the gas line to the gas grill....those are just a few things he did last night-thanks honey! :) Oh, and what a blessing to have a Daddy that reads to his kids at night and takes time off work to walk them to school...and yes the dreaded broken sprinkler pipe...I would be lost without Scott that is for sure! So, enjoy this little blurb and remember to thank your spouse for those things they do that we forget to acknowledge. Have a great day~ :)


THE NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES

Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and
3 kids each for six weeks.

Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes.

There is no fast food.

Each man must take care of his 3 kids; keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, and complete science projects, cook, do laundry, and pay a list of 'pretend' bills with not enough money.

In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.

Each man must remember the birthdays
of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time--no emailing.

Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment
and a haircut appointment.

He must make one un scheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care.

He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function.

Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside and keeping it presentable at all times.

The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done.

The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, adorn himself with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep fingernails polished and eyebrows groomed.

During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties.

They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.

They will need to read a book to the kids each night and in the morning, feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair by 7:00 am.

A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information:
each child's birthday, height, weight,shoe size, clothes size and doctor's name. Also the child's weight at birth, length, time of birth,
and length of labor, each child's favorite color, middle name, favorite snack, favorite song, favorite drink, favorite toy,
biggest fear and what they want to be when they grow up.

The kids vote them off the island based on performance. The last man wins only if...
he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice.

If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years eventually earning the right To be called Mother!

El Domino Grand Ball

I am so excited-today is the FIRST day since we've moved to Alabama that I have actually been able to work on our family album. Here are the pages from our album for the El Domino Ball that we just attended...we had a great evening and it was so much fun to see Scott dressed in a TUX instead of his military mess dress....Enjoy! :)

Oh, and I must share with you my absolute FAVORITE website for digital scrapbooking http://www.digiscrapdepot.com

I am thinking this is the year to learn how to make my own digital papers and embellishments so anyone that does this or knows how to do it I would LOVE for you to share that with me~ thanks :)

What a girl wants~

What a fun night out~ A group of us girls got together and went to the Bonefish Grill for a night of fun. We all splurged and had wonderful martinis and scrumptious food followed by a decadent dessert. The best part was just hangin' out with the girls and chatting with no deadlines to pick up kids, return home, or just do anything else on our ever so long "to do lists".....

I was thrilled to come home and find that my three favorites (Scott, Megan, and Riley) had a great "Daddy Night~"...they watched movies, ate popcorn, and had pizza-what a fun treat for the kids. :)

Thanks ladies-looking forward to our next outing~ :)

The joys of grade school....head lice~ yikes!

Okay, so I know this is a REALLY weird topic to have on a blog, but we have now just experienced something new at school that I want to pass along to you....Megan came home with head lice. You can only imagine what a mess it was with her LONG hair. So here are some things I want to share with you as we had NO clue what to do when she told us her head was itching. Hopefully this will give you insight if it ever happens to your child or someone you know...





1. Get this product called RID at the drugstore RIGHT away. I have attached the link to the website. Follow the instructions EXACTLY~ CHECK ALL FAMILY MEMBERS HAIR IMMEDIATELY!





NOTE***Don't be alarmed when you see the live lice crawling around near the scalp-just take tweezers and gently get them out of the hair and put into a bag. Also you want to focus on getting the "nits" which are the eggs where the lice hatch from. You can tell a "nit because it sticks to the hair shaft and is very hard to pull out. You want to get rid of these as quick as possible to cut down on the hatching of new lice eggs.





2. So after you've put the shampoo on, let it sit for at least 10 minutes, washed out, put the gel in the roots and used the comb with 1/2 inch of hair at a time.....let that sit.....then wash it out and check the hair every few hours.





3. Now the fun begins-FIRST AND FOREMOST THROW AWAY ANY BRUSHES YOU'VE USED! Don't be cheap and try to boil them because lice can hold their breath underwater and will not die and you will be doing this again and again...





4. WASH EVERYTHING (sheets, pillowcases, comforter, towels, jackets, robes-anything that could have come in contact that is a cloth like fabric) in hot water with bleach.





5. For those items you can't wash you have to put them in a black plastic bag and tie tightly for 3-4 days so the lice will die. Also spray items like sofas, vehicles with the spray-make sure you follow the directions on the spray so you don't ruin something.





6. NOTIFY THE SCHOOL NURSE AND TEACHER so the whole class can be checked. We found out the 4 other students in Megan's class have this so if we didn't notify them this would have just passed around and around-YUCK!





7. You will probably have to have your child go to the nurses station at school to be checked before being admitted back to school.





This process is very time consuming, but it is imparative that you treat this very aggressively and QUICKLY as to get through it as fast as you can. We started this process on Tuesday and repeated the shampoo yesterday and today (Thursday) Megan is lice free~ YIPEEEE





I just have to tell you that Megan was an amazing trooper through this whole process- :) The best advice I can give you is to not make a big deal out of it and make the best of it~this too shall pass~ :)

Megan and Riley on school picture day-I am glad I took these because I didn't order their school pictures....they didn't turn out as well as I wanted. :(

Riley's 6th Birthday~ Riley and I made his cake together and we had a small party with our neighbors that night...thanks for all his great gifts...he loves them all! This weekend is his birthday party with Megan-it's at this place we rented that is full of inflables-I am sure the kids will have a blast~

I love these pictures-we were over at our friend Mike's house for Sunday Brunch and this is the awesome little lake he has where we fed the ducks and played around. Megan is hiding behind a Weeping Willow tree....

We had Halloween and Fall Fest it seems like for two weeks...Riley decided to change his costume for each event and Megan decided to stay as a "Pop Star" for all events...we had a great time with our neighbors and trick-or-treating....

Welcome to our family blog~ I have finally caved and decided to start a blog. It is just too hard to send emails out with attachments and this way it will not clog up your inbox. :) So, where to begin....I will update this as much as I can so the best thing to do is to subscribe to our blog so you can get the email notifications of new pictures and updates.

Life is great-school is busy for Scott and the kids....I was working for a short while, but found out rather quickly that there are just not that many hours in the day to get things done between the time the kids get on the bus and off the bus at 3pm. I have not found myself at all bored as there are more projects than hours in the day....

This current week is full of activities-Scott's in a softball tournament, I have a luncheon with the ACSC wives, a field trip with Megan to the Art Museum, Megan's birthday party on Friday, Scott and I are going to a formal ball on Friday night, oh and how could I forget the 30 kids we're having for Megan and Riley's birthday party on Saturday, and then we are entertaining 24 people Saturday night....I am not sure how we got so "overscheduled" but this is a CRAZY week to say the least.

We're anxious for Scott's parents to come for Thanksgiving and my parents are coming for Christmas. The "ticker" that we have says there are just over 200 days left until graduation-it's sooo hard to believe that we're almost halfway done with our Alabama tour. The verdict is still out on where we're going next, but some little bird keeps chirping the Pentagon in DC...but, I'll let you know when we have official orders in hand~ :)

I have been horrible about scrapbooking since we've been here, but I am going to make a decision to just find time to do at least a few pages-this digital form is so much easier and quicker so I hope to make some progress.

Well, that's all for tonight-welcome to our blog and I hope you find this entertaining, uplifting, and up to date on our family~

I love to find quotes so here is the quote of the day:

"If you resist change, you will face challenges on a daily basis. If you consciously refocus your attitude to see the benefits of change, your outlook becomes positive and life becomes easier." ~Catherine Pulsifer

Much love~Alaina