Redding- Lake & Family

After Fairfield, I made the drive with the kids all the way up to Redding to see Mike's brother Kyle's family!

I just couldn't go all the way there and not see them too!!!!

(Oh, and I forgot, on the way to Redding we stopped in Chico and had lunch with Aunt Sarah too!!! No visit overlooked!!)

Again the kids haven't seen their CA cousins in a VERY long time. The weather was perfect!! We spent one day at the Whiskeytown lake with the entire Smith clan! Then the kids had just enough time to play outside and inside with their cousins.

Ryane & Abby swinging

 Stefan (almost 4) & Abby playing dressup!

 Oh......and Abby's favorite part of their house--cousin Ethne's hamster!

I quickly informed Abby that we do not do rodents in our home so she should enjoy her time holding one now!

 Maddy, Ethne (8) and Stefan

Fairfield- Family & Fun

Leaving Cailin's I headed back to Fairfield to stay the day/night at Mike's mom's house!

(And of course somehow I ended up with no photos of Grandma Smith......not sure how)

The girls walked right in and of course were infatuated with Grandma's little dogs! 

We made a quick visit to the Jelly Belly Factory with Mike's long time friend Ian, and then relaxed at Grandma's for the evening and the kids were entertained with storytime by Aunt Susan!

 The girls latched onto Ian as if they've known him forever!

 When in jelly bean world.....buy your own mix!!

Ian took on Maddy the whole visit and helped her choose her beans!

Steinbach's-Best Friends

I left Bonnie's after our pool party and headed to San Ramon, CA to see my best friend (and old college roommate) Cailin and her family. Her daughter Sienna is just 2 weeks younger than Maddy, and it was my first time meeting her adorable chunky 4 month old little guy Connor! We spent three nights with them, and kept busy!

 Can you tell Abby was starting to get worn out???!!! The three of us shared a room at Cailin's, and one night when I went to bed, I found Abby passed out like this with her lovey on her face (usually she snuggles it under her arm, so this was a first)

 One of the days we took a trip to San Jose to "Happy Hollow" to let the kids have some fun!

 

 

  Abby can't get enough of little babies! She loved holding Connor any chance she could get.

 Oh, and when in California, do as they do and get pampered! 

Cailin and I took her to get her very first Mani/Pedi! 

She LOVED it!! Such a special treat!

 Sienna and Maddy on their horses!! Giddy up!

 Hopefully they follow in their mommy's footsteps and stay friends forever!

Smith-Christensen Family Pool Day

After leaving my dad's in Cool, I made an afternoon visit to my sister-in-law's house in Roseville for a swim playdate and lunch! The kids haven't seen their older cousins in a very long time, but were good friends in an instant. Auntie Linda was there too, so we got to enjoy some nice conversation while the kids kept busy in the pool. Inside the house Maddy even showed Dane her skills on the iPhone....nothing like a bossy 2 year old trying to tell you how to play your game! 

What a wonderful visit! Thank you for the afternoon visit Bonnie!!

 Maddy cuddling with her Auntie Bonnie

Grandpa Ron's--Visit to Cool

The girls LOVED (understatement) being at Grandpa Ron's house.

I forgot how much fun it is to live in the boondocks and enjoy some nature with the kids.

Their favorite feature of course were the horses. And Grandpa lives around a bunch. Their favorite thing to do each morning was get up and run out the back deck or onto the driveway with Grandpa and see what the horses were up to......

 ALT Rec Lake--Both girls enjoyed it more than the pool! So much fun exploring.

 First time ever feeding ducks!! Pretty nice ducks too, especially since Maddy has no fear of anything and I worried she'd get a finger minced off......no casualties! They used up every last piece of bread.

 Morning check on the horses with Grandpa!!

Thanks for the visit dad!! The kids loved being there!!

California......and BACK!!!

Our BIG trek out West!!

The kids and I packed up and flew to California on July 13th to start our whirlwind CA tour to see as many friends and family as possible. Of course the whole vacation was based around my grandparents' 60th anniversary family trip in Tahoe, so I piggybacked on the trip to extend it and make it worth out while for traveling so far! The flights out and back were pretty seamless, and the kids enjoyed the process and even slept a bit--of course just never on the same flight at the same time.....just my luck!

Happy 8 Years to US!!!

July 24th will roll around soon, and in true Navy style, we are missing another anniversary together.

And since I will be traveling through California for the next few weeks, I thought I'd go ahead and post this now since I'll be far from a computer for a while. 

EIGHT wonderful years together!

TWO adorable girls growing up in front of our eyes!

FOUR times moving our lives across the states to new Navy destinations!

COUNTLESS memories captured over our years together.....

with ENDLESS memories yet to be made!

We may have found LOVE in California, but who knows where we will end up year after year!!??

I guess I was cut out for this military lifestyle after all, because years later I still LOVE the thrill of finding out where we will live next........

 Happy Anniversary Mike!! 

Even though we don't look quite as youthful as these shots from 8 years ago, we are still looking pretty darn good!! Have a wonderful anniversary on your end--Here's to many more wonderful years filled with adventure and new discoveries!! CHEERS!!! :) A

Out to Sea.....Week #3

 On the flag bridge

 Standing with the Rock of Gibraltar in the background--Mike has MANY uniform changes with this job, so he swaps between the green flightsuit, these blue camo's, and his dress whites!

  As they crossed by the Rock, Mike says there is an old sailor’s tale that the monkeys that live on the rock will swim out to your ship and stow away during a transit, so it is tradition for kids to dress up and fight off the monkeys.  This is a picture of the flight deck "monkey patrol" as they did a dance to ward off any potential monkeys.

 Submarine running alongside the carrier during part of their travels

 And a small glimpse into Mike's living quarters on the ship! 

His rack (bed), TV setup and mini desk! All squeezed into a small space!!

Abby in July

 We started July with a visit to the Apple store at the mall, I needed to get my new iPhone connected!

It was the kids first visit there, and right away they jumped out of the stroller and attacked the kids iPad station and knew exactly what to do! So proud!! Techy kids!!
Mike's response to this photo-- "Oh no, now she knows where they live" (Apple products that is.....)

 I ordered Abby a new backpack, which will hopefully last the next few years I hope! It will also double as a great storage bag for her to carry on our big CA trip next week! She loves showing it off!

 Abby loves to jump off the diving board.....Maddy likes to stand on it and push Abby off the end, but she won't jump herself yet! For being our outgoing/boisterous child, I'm surprised she doesn't just go for it!!

Week #2 Complete--With their 1st Port Call!

Mike started this week by crossing the Strait of Gibraltar and the rock as they headed to their first port call destination, Palma de Mallorca, Spain! This is Mike's first Eastern cruise, so these are all new and exciting port calls for him to check off the "visited" list under the promise "Join the Navy, see the world".....which seems to be working out okay so far!

 Mike and his office mate (the writer for the Admiral) standing on the bridge as they travel the seas

 Thought this map might be helpful to show where they travelled

They left Palma Island today.....and luckily we got to talk to him over the phone a few times and Skype too! Technology will surely help this deployment seem a bit easier.

Girls Night!

Just in case you think I love my kids so much to never leave them.......NOT!!!! 

This mommy needs some time off too!

My day started yesterday with one of my best friends bringing me flowers........followed by hours of fun swimming with the kids and friends, and then a nice glass of wine, which led to the babysitter arriving, my friends picking me up (so I could have a drink at dinner too!!! love them) and then we were off to dinner and a movie.....just us 7 girls!! FUN night out. Helps break up the monotony of toddler interaction all day!

Thank you to all my good NAVY friends out here who know how to help make my days better!!

There's nothing a little babysitting expense and wine can't fix!!