A few photos from the past few weeks... I'll try to post some others when I have extra time. Mom has me busy doing projects :) I hope you are having a great summer thus far!

sweet summer feet

Aunt Catherine!!!!

I enjoyed sunning my diapers on her clothes line and realized just how much I miss mine.....

Raelyn and Carolina

playing together :)

I haven't posted in a while and I won't be able to share any pictures at the moment, but I wanted to update you all on what's going on in our crazy busy lives! Since my last post,

Dad, Carolina, Aurora, and myself spent 2 weeks in Elizabeth City, North Carolina visiting with Aunt Catherine and Uncle Joe while Will was enduring Phase 1 of OCS (officer candidate school)

After that, we had a busy two weeks preparing him for the rest of the summer. Immediately upon returning from officer training(lots of sleep deprivation, physical exertion, and being yelled at) he had to return to his desk job :) All the while, continuing his physical training, packing all of his gear, and studying for his flight test. Yes, that's right... FLIGHT TEST!!!!

Well, the flight test that he's been studying for over the last two months was this morning and he aced it! He got a 143 out of a possible 150. Apparently, it's the highest score that they've seen in a while.... if not ever. Hopefully this really helps his chances of getting an aviation slot once he submits his packet. So, he's trying to become a helicopter pilot in the national guard :) Wish us luck and keep us in your prayers! Well, I'm finding myself very excited and proud of his superb test taking abilities, but also quite sad because he left today for phase 2 and 3 of OCS in Alabama. He'll be gone for the next 6 weeks or so.... but once he returns, he'll be a 2nd Lt. WOOOHOOO!!!! It's been a long road but it's been worth every second and every bump that has brought us here!!! I'll post again soon and keep you all updated on what the girls and I have planned for the summer..... i think we'll spend the majority of the time at Mom's....feel free to contact me and lets get together... I'm looking for ways to stay busy while Will is away

Things I'm Enjoying....

Flip Flops

Our Puppy Sullivan

The Gladiolas in my yard

which make their way inside!

The last few days

We are finding ourselves 72 hours away from Will's departure to "summer camp"! He will spend the next two weeks at McCrady training field (Ft. Jackson). This two week period is considered "phase 1" of Palmetto Military Academy. Basically, he's in officer training school. After his two weeks, he'll return home to us for two weeks before leaving for the second part of his summer officer training in Ft. McClellan, Alabama. We are expecting him back around August 9th. I'm not completely sure about dates and I've learned with the Army, it's better to not speculate and just wait for them to give you the information :) 

So, a little update on what we've been up to for the past week or so...

Mom and Carolyn came to visit on Saturday and spent the day with me and the girls while Will drove to Savannah to fly in a Gulfstream flight simulator with Uncle Bud. They had a great time!! Camera's aren't allowed in the building - so too bad I can't post pictures of that!! Aurora just turned 7 months and is scooting all over the place (backward) She's growing up so quickly! The past 7 months have been a blur of diaper changes, laundry, and nursing my sweet little one's and I'm completely happy that I haven't had time for much else :)

Sunday we had fun coloring my hair...I'll have to post a picture of that one day!

Monday we had a little Memorial Day adventure. I was on the phone with my dear friend Karrie and I heard birds going crazy in my back yard. I look outside and am shocked to find our puppy Sullivan pawing at a baby Robin. I screamed for Will and he managed to get the dog inside while we checked on the baby bird. His legs were broken and he had a little bit of blood on his belly. We ended up scooping up the bird in a box and Will, Carolina, and I rushed it off to the emergency vet where they had an aviary rescue come and pick it up. I really hope that sweet baby robin is okay!! Carolina is still talking about taking the baby bird to the doctor~! We spend the second half of Memorial Day cleaning our garage! WOOHOOO!! It's so nice having a garage that is once again functional!!! I'm glad that Mom and Carolyn were able to come this weekend and help us out! They cleaned my carpet which is just amazing. I feel very blessed to have such a wonderful family!

STS-125

This was the view from our hotel room. Across the river is Kennedy Space Center. On Mother's day, we went to the KSC's visitor complex. We had a good time walking around in the blazing hot Florida sun learning all about the history of NASA. We were fortunate enough to return to the room just in time to see this beautiful sunset~!

The manatees enjoyed playing right out in front of our room. 

Pretty neat to watch. We  should have gotten in the water with 

them!!!

Alright... on to the good stuff. We were 12 miles from 

Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A. I am pretty impressed

with the photo that ended up being my best. It's pretty difficult to shoot a space shuttle launch without the right equipment :) We really had a blast and I'm thrilled that Will was finally able to see

a space shuttle launch!!! We will go back for sure!

Fun with Family

This past weekend was so much fun!~  Will and I drove up to Columbia Friday (after he got off of work) We spent a few hours at Mom's house before I dropped him off at McCrady for drill. 

Saturday, we got all of the food together to take out to Danny and Cheryl's and headed out to Gaston. I love the Family Compound that they've created out there! I would love to do the same thing!!! It was a wonderful day with family. It's so refreshing to see everyone and catch up on what's been happening in everyone's lives! We should honestly do it more often! Check out the pictures here

On Sunday, Dad and I dug around Mom's yard trying to find the lines that he buried 30 years ago for the sprinkler system... We didn't have too much luck! At least she was able to replace one sprinkler head. Handy Man Mike will be left to help with future digging! A pair of Canadian Geese have been visiting Mom's pond and it's so neat to watch their babies grow. 

We also found a pair of Wren that have made a nest in Mom's garage~! Carolina got to see the little babies and we were able to hear their sweet little tweets. New life is everywhere :) I have a picture of the babies that I'll upload later.

       baby wrens!!!!

Well, after I drove a very tired Will all the way home in a horrible rainstorm, I was pleasantly surprised to check my e-mail and find out that I'M THE WINNER!!!!!!

I absolutely LOVE following Sara's blog. I have been very dedicated to keeping up with what she and her family have been up to for the past three years! She seems to be one cool Christian Momma that happens to think very much like me :) Winning this vintage remedies book has made my week! I can't wait to get it and devour every page! For those of you that know me well, you know how happy this book makes me!! YAAY for me and a big thanks to Sara!!! Make sure you check out her blog! 

busy little bee

Things are CRAZY around our house. I'm still trying to get settled back in from our little vacation to Florida to see the shuttle launch. We returned home on Tuesday and I'm just getting laundry and diapers caught back up :) Can you imagine bags of poopy diapers (I had 4 days worth)

soooo I'm up to my elbows in Army clothing and equipment, duffle bags, and gear!!! I'm helping Will get all of his stuff together for OCS this summer. Yup, that's right, another summer away from us :( At least I won't be pregnant this time around. I'm very needy when I'm pregnant, so last summer was pretty hard on me! I hope that I'll be much better this time around! So, I'm packing up all of this gear and we're heading up to Columbia this evening. He'll spend the entire weekend on guard duty and the girls and I are going to Cheryl and Danny's house for a family cookout! I'm pretty excited! I'll be sure to post some pictures when I get home :) I'll have to share our shuttle photos as well! I got a couple of great shots! 

Well, off I go to get all of my work finished for the day so that I can stalk a few of my favorite blogs before we leave!!