Birthday Bash

Today, my friends from one of my playgroups, Ashley and Rebekah, threw a combo birthday party for our kids who were born around the same time! it was a whole lot of fun! (we made the cakes ourselves!)












We took A LOT more pics but I am too lazy to post them so you can view them here at this link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jennah.mullins/CarnivalBirthdayBash#slideshow/5253423697618909826

I will be doing a smaller birthday for Shane on his actual birthday. October 15th. Can't believe he will be 2 soon!

I've had the time of my life, and I owe it all to youuuuuuu.....

Mike has survived 9 years of marriage with me! I can't believe it has been that long. Time sure flies by. So, in honor of our anniversary I decided to go down memory lane. You ready?????

The very first picture we ever took together!!! Mikes arms are huge, and I had bangs. I don't know what I was thinking.



We started dating in 1996. I remember working at the gym on base and he would come in, and I would sell him power bars. I wore geeky glasses, and was a total nerd, I didn't think I had a chance. We were both very shy too. My friend Corinne introduced us one day but nothing came out of it. Later, I was at "Shenanigans" the club on the base, and he came in with his brother and friend Tim. Tim and Kevin came up to me and asked me if I was seeing anyone, and I said no, so they said, why don't you go out with Mike, and I said, OK!!
So we dated about 3 years. Then he decided to join the military! I wondered if he was going to ask me to marry him since he was going to leave. I thought he was going to ask me on Valentines day. But that day came and went so I didn't think he was going to ask. But on Feb. 23, we had a date, then went to his parents house, and he asked me then! I was nervous, excited, and scared. I wasn't sure if I wanted to become a military wife, and leave Kauai. But I couldn't imagine us not being together.
Our Engagement announcement

Our Wedding Program picture


We got married October 2, at St. Theresa's Church. Our reception was at the Kilohana Carriage house. I was so nervous!








For our anniversary last year, we drove to Las Vegas! It was fun and spontaneous. We had an awesome dinner at the top of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel, then went downstairs and played some craps. We lost though, but it was so fun!



This year we are just doing dinner. Maybe for our 10 year we will do something really cool!

Bored

How long have you been a Military Wife?
almost 9 years


How many deployments have you gone through?
2



What do you like about being a Military Wife?
Being proud that my hubby serves our country.



Do you live on base?
No, not anymore


What is your favorite base so far?
Davis Monthan in Tucson, Arizona --- Miss it soo much!


What's the hardest part of the military life?
Not ever feeling "settled", being away from family, never knowing when he will be home...



Do you go to the grocery store or commissary?
both



Do you prefer Dress Blues or Dress Whites?
Navy Whites...(sorry Mike)



Do you have a lot of Military Wife friends?
I have my fair share.




Do you prefer wal-mart or the BX/PX?
BX, but usually go to walmart since its closer



Did you marry him after he joined or before?
After, but we were dating 3 years before he decided to join



Any kids yet?
1 princess & 1 prince



kids yet to come?
Maybe...Not sure yet



Is your husband one of those "I am army hear me "HOORAH"?
No Not at all




How many bases have you lived at?
3



If you could change one thing about the military what would it be?
uhm, that's a tough one, i'll get back to you......



Do you like military balls?
Never been to one, but I'd love to go just to dress up once.



Where does your family live?
♥ Kauai ♥ Hawaii



Do you have a job?
I am a military wife and mother, so YES





Name one thing you do when your husband is gone?
Shop til I drop, clean




Do you think other wives do that too?
pssssh, that is all we do!!!

I can't live without....

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Why????? Because of this:

and this:

and this:


ACKKK! SHANE!!!!!! Leave him for a minute and he goes crazy with the crayons!!! Thank goodness for the Magic eraser. I use it all the time!!!

So, we ended up not going on a picnic today. We picked Makenna up from school and on our way to the park, both of the kids fell asleep! Bummers. We ended up just going to Kohls for school clothes for Makenna, and Mike found this:


A San Diego Chargers Ladanian Tomlinson ornament. For FIFTEEN dollars!!! FIFTEEN dollars for ONE ornament. Yikes. But Mike HAD to have it of course. :) I have to admit, it looks really cute in Shane's football themed room.

Whats going on.

I have been having headaches the last couple days so I haven't posted in a while. Mike thinks I am dehydrated so I am trying to drink more water and its helping. So anyways.... Mike has the day off tomorrow so it will be a nice 3 day weekend! It feels like he has been working a lot and we hardly get to see eachother anymore. Our schedules are so opposite. We are going to pick Makenna up from school then go have a picnic at the park. (Aren't we so family oriented ;p) Well that is my plan anyways. The weather has been sooo nice lately! Its actually been pretty cold (for me at least) in the mornings. I think tomorrow I will also go to Kohls and get Makenna some long sleeve clothes for school. I have a baby shower on Saturday. I also have a TON of laundry to catch up on. Its never ending I swear. I know I know I shouldn't complain, I mean I grew up without a dryer, so I should be used to never ending laundry. But I am not.

So Makenna might be transitioning to school full time soon. She is doing really good, and seems to really like it so I think it will be good for her. Sometimes when I pick her up at 11:30 she is not ready to leave. Thats a good sign.

The" boardroom", one year later

This photo is from Sam Hughes Championship Dining, a cool sports bar in Tucson we used to frequent to watch NFL games (even the urinals have little TVs built into the wall in front of them). This pic of from last year during the Chargers Raiders game. We went with our friends Andy and Carey (pictured) and Belma, and apparently the receptionist thought Andy was somebody connected to the owner or some such thing--we never really figured it out, but anyways, they led us to this "board room" and put the game on for us. We even had double doors that we could close and separate ourselves from the common plebeians as we got our food and beers served to us from the helpful staff...and don't let Andy fool you, he's a Raiders fan too and we trampled them that day, but I bought the drinks so all was well. The kids ran around the room the whole time too. Great times. I miss Tucson!
--Mike

update on Shane...

We have been trying a gluten free diet with Shane for a couple weeks now, and its really hard. Basically, he can't have anything with wheat or barley or rye, and there are a LOT of foods with wheat, even some Shoyu's have it! He is able to have rice, thank goodness, and oats, although sometimes oats are manufactured with wheat and there is a risk of cross contamination so there is certain oats we have to buy. It can get pretty expensive. We have found some pastas that are gluten free but he doesn't like it much. We have found a gluten free mac and cheese that he loves, but it is about 4 bucks PER serving. Sheeseh!!!

So far, we haven't seen much of a difference, but we are going to try it for at least 3 months. Shane has some days where he seems perfectly fine and others where we worry about him. He still isn't talking at all, although he is being more vocal and making more sounds. He loves books, flashcards, letters, numbers and horses. But he still tunes everyone out. Its very frustrating. I hope he snaps out of this!

Sometimes I wonder....

...why Makenna and Shane never seem tired!
...what life would be like if I knew my real dad.
...where would we be if we weren't in the Military anymore.
...why I quit nursing school?
...how can Mike sleep so much?
...what life would be like if I still lived on Kauai?
...when/if we should have another baby?

I'm just bored and thinking too much!

I'm having another niece!

Just found out that Janell is having a girl! Due sometime in January.

random pics and a video

Shane caught in the act: coloring on the tile



Playing choochoo trains



These boots are made for walking

Makenna "reading"

Japan pics 2008

***edit**** sorry I don't know why the pics came out so blurry- if you click on them they look a lot better.

I love eating in Japan! I swear I could eat noodles and tempura everyday. I love how they give you an "oshibori" (a wet washcloth to wash your hands before you eat) and they present their food so beautifully! They really present their food as art.








Japan has a ton of vending machines all over the place. From drinks, cigarettes, ice cream, to little toys, the vending machines are everywhere! I wanted to try all the different drinks. My favorite was a yogurt type of drink called "bikkle":










The toilets in Japan are really cool. When I first got off the plane, I went to one of the squatters. I like them because they are so sanitary, not one part of your body touches anything. The other type they had was a toilet with a bidet, shower, deodorizer, seat warmer, and even music or the sound of flushing.




Unfortunately, the cherry blossoms weren't blossoming while I was there. This is a cherry blossom tunnel on base, near where Janell lived.



Riding the train was so much fun. Even though the train would get crowded, everyone was really quiet and kept to themselves. It really is different compared to the U.S. where people can be loud and obnoxious.







Japan is so kid friendly too. Every store we went, there was always something for Kainoa to do. I felt bad that Makenna and Shane weren't here. They have play areas everywhere.



I had a great time in Japan! 6 days was not long enough. I hope one day I can go back. It would be really awesome if Mike got stationed there eventually.













Me and my handsome nephew

Been a while

Wow, I haven't updated in a while! Just got back from Japan Wednesday morning and I am trying to get over my jet lag.

Japan went by sooo quickly! It was so much fun, a total blur. Because of my flight delay coming over, I only had 6 full days to spend there. My body is still recovering. Since Jamie was gone, it was just Me, Janell and Kainoa hanging out. We did a ton of shopping and eating!

Mike did an awesome job with the kids while I was gone, I think it was a really good experience for everyone! He bonded with them and did everything, I was so happy to come home and find the house pretty clean! He said he scrubbed the toilets, dusted, vacuumed, and did laundry! Yup he is awesome.

Makenna is still doing great in school! She gets a little fussy when we start driving there, but once we get there, she is fine and doesn't cry or anything.

I am waiting on pictures from Janell before I post some from Japan (I used her camera and left ours here for Mike) But here are a couple that we took at the Japanese sticker booth on our birthday:

Makenna's first day of school

Makenna started school today at the Montessori School in Valdosta. She got a lot of sleep the night before, and was well rested for her first day, which ran from 8:30-11:30. One of her teachers (there are two) said that she did "fabulous" and that she loved her, so that's good to hear. I worked out at the YMCA while Makenna was at school and signed Shane into the Nursery at theYMCA. He did good until the last 1o minutes when he got fussy.

Being Mr. Mom isn't so bad so far, but I know two things for sure: 1. No matter how many diapers I change, I will never get used to poop (I think women handle this better than men--some kind of wiring in our brains?) & 2. I realize I'm almost constantly moving, cooking the kids food, changing Shane's diaper, doing dishes, beating kids (kidding, of course), and I repeat this pattern all day long. Now I know what Jennah goes through.

Well, here are some pics of Makenna's first day of school. I'll post all Shane pics on my next post--sorry buddy!

Finally Made it to Japan

I am finally here in Japan with Janell!!! Traveling was pretty painful but Im glad I am finally here! My flight leaving Jacksonville got delayed which caused me to miss my connecting flight to Tokyo, so I had to stay the night in Washington DC and leave a day later, which really sucks because now I've lost a day in Japan.

Makenna started school today!! As I am writing this she is still there, so I am anxious to hear how she will be when she gets home from school!! I am really tired so Ill update tomorrow with pics!