Hal's day in the Army Reserves 2011

A few months ago Hal was asked if he would be interested in being an "Army Reservist" for a day. The army was collaborating with local businesses to offer knowledge/training/a brief overview into the lives of our servicemen in hopes to better transition their homecomings. He jumped at the opportunity, taking along one of the guys who worked for him, and LOVED every minute of the experience (well except the few seconds they decided to fly at ZERO G's and see if they could make someone puke!). Haliee had a game that day & they actually flew over us as they were playing, it was fun to tell the kids, "Look Daddy is in one of those helicopters!" He was able to yell "Get to the Chopper" Arnie Style, take part in an actual (fully automatic paint ball style) war, have a MRE (Meal Ready to Eat) Lunch which he claims was actually quite good, fly in the chopper, amongst other things. He had it all spelled out for us in a slide show presentation, I am sure I am not even coming close to explaining it correctly, but I wanted to document it here so we would have the forever memory. *Selfishly glad he is over 35 and not eligible to become a reservist! And again, so thankful for the men and women who risk their lives for us every.single.day.

TOO BIG!

This baby girl

Which happens to now look like this

Flew all by herself on Monday morning to Boise to hang at Grandma & Grandpas. I was super nervous even telling the boarding counter to make sure some creeper didn't sit next to my baby! YEP, I am all kinds of psycho when it comes to these babies of mine! {Judge away, I am cool with it, HA!} :) She is having the best time so far and let me tell ya this is where cell phones come in handy. We are able to text non-stop and that makes the distance seem a little less. I am so glad she is able to go and make memories she will have forever but why is she this big already? Drew has had the hardest time with it. He knew he couldn't make it 10 whole days without his Momma so he opted to try next year. What he didn't realize was how hard it would be to see his sister off. They are so twin like close it's crazy. You wouldn't think when they were arguing about silly things like who got out the milk and left it on the counter, they would be weeping and holding each other in the airport as if she were leaving the country or leaving for College. He told me he feels like a part of him is missing. SO PRECIOUS! I am so very thankful they are so close. We miss ya Haliee Girl but are so glad you are having fun! <3 143

Kids Helping Kids Fix Broken Hearts!

One of Drew's Best Buds and his awesome sisters need your vote! They created a charity a few years ago & have been selling dishtowels which they designed and promote to help kids in need of heart surgery. You can read their complete bio on their website HERE. They were nominated by Sacred Heart Children's Hospital Spokane, WA for the 2011 National Small Charity of the Year Award. Of the 2,000 nominations, they have made it to the top 25. They need our votes to stay in the top 10 in order to win $15,000 for their charity which could help 10 families with children needing heart surgery! To vote go HERE click on vote, then small charity of the year, then kids helping kids fix broken hearts. Make sure you choose the kids helping kids fix broken hearts as there are a few similar named charities! Thanks for your help, these kiddos are amazing! :)

Haliee's Birthday Weekend of Pampering

The Friday after Haliee's Birthday I picked the girls up from School, ran through Sonic for some Slushies & Snacks and we were off to Spokane for some girl time! The girls were over the moon excited to stay at the Davenport!

1st stop...Nordstrom's for makeovers!!!

The ladies were all so awesome & accommodating. They LOVED the girls, doted on them, loaded them up with samples, and fun memories!

Next we checked in and the girls were so beyond excited about the room! Ola bought them a special little box of Truffles which was waiting in the room with a sweet little note! Thanks Ola!

After investigating every inch of the room, it was present time!

Then they changed for Dinner. Even primping in the elevator on the way down.

After dinner we took a tour! The girls had a blast dancing in all the ballrooms!

They were so mature all night. Perfect little ladies until...the pool was just too enticing & they were not quite ready to give up bring kids! YAY!!! Off to change into our suits we went! They played games & even made Ben Franklin Hairdos! :)

After their swim, they decided they were starved...so we ordered some fries. They thought room service was AWESOME! Nothing like french fries in a windowsill ;) They were so cute in their robes!

The next morning we got up, the girls had cute little pink donuts and got ready to get pedi's. After the girls ate & were ready, they asked if they could go look around while I got ready. I agreed as long as they promised to act appropriately. They came back a few minutes later with these...they had gone down to the flower shop inside the hotel to buy me a flower as a thank you gift for bringing them. When they got there it wasn't open yet but the staff were so proud of the girls for the thought, they opened early for them. It was all I could do not to cry my eyes out. I <3 these girls! :) We made a little pit stop to the candy shop to get Hal & Drew a little prize! {They make the best caramel here, it's Hal's fav. They also sell these little decorated gumball animals Drew loves.} After a sugar high, we were off to the salon.

The girls were exhausted can't you see their sleepy little eyes! {So was I! Very different than the relaxing weekend I spent with my husband at the Davenport!} They shopped a little and tried on formals at Macy's then we went to Taco Bell on the way back home. What a fun little weekend of awesome memories! Happy Birthday Haliee Girl. I hope all your 13 year old dreams came true.