Memorial Day Weekend

Alright, many of you have asked and I haven't been so good or willing to take too many pictures of my expanding belly...but here it is.

It was really hot last weekend, so I actually ventured into a bathing suit and headed out onto the lake. Damn bathing suit didn't fit right, but it didn't matter cause it sure was nice getting into the cool water.


Getting over the whole bathing suit issue, I was so excited to wakeboard again. Glenn wasn't too sure about the whole thing...I had to talk him into the fact that although I am pregnant, I am not disabled. I had to try it and was open to the idea that maybe I just wasn't strong enough and knew I would stop if I just couldn't do it. Trust me I don't want to fall either. Anyways, didn't matter...the first pull and I was up! I couldn't do much and didn't last too long, but it was great just being pulled around the lake and made me feel good knowing I could still do it.



We had a great weekend, but I gotta admit that at 35 weeks pregnant I just don't have the energy I usually do. After a couple late nights with friends, out in the heat and playing on the lake, I was done by the end of the weekend! Anyways, hope you all had a great holiday weekend as well.

Welcome home Flying Tigers!

Well all the guys have made it home over the past 10 days and I was one of the lucky ones -- Glenn was one of the first home! It was actually a huge surprise, because I wasn’t expecting him for another week or more. It was one of those bad deals, turned good. He left Iraq a couple days early to be the LNO in Qatar, however he got there and they really didn’t need him. He asked to leave early, but they kept saying NO. Well someone must have had a change of heart cause they suddenly released him and said he could go home but had to find his own way. Glenn said he never moved so fast, he grabbed his bags and headed for the terminal and begged to get on the next flight to the US. He ended up in Florida with their ANG. As he got off the plane there was a huge party for the returning soldiers and Glenn said he just walked up to some random guy and asked to use his cell phone. That’s when I got the best message from him saying “Hi, I’m in Jacksonville, Florida.”

Total shock!!! I was so happy to hear he was almost home, but at the same time I started to freak out -- I wasn’t ready for him! You all know, after spending months apart it is nice to have the house clean, fridge stocked, and most important…looking your best! Well, I only had a few hours to figure everything out so I had to prioritize what was most important -- such as washing the sheets because Boe had been sleeping with me every night. Anyways, everything wasn’t as perfect as I wanted it to be, but it didn’t matter. I found a cute outfit that best hid my baby belly and made it to the airport just in time to pick him up.

Sorry I don’t have any pictures of our home coming, but here are a bunch of pictures of random greetings throughout the week.











Not the best picture, it was windy on the ramp -- but this is the only picture I have from the last week of homecomings.

I got mail

Well he might not be home yet, however I’ve had the first sign of Glenn’s return….LAUNDRY! Over the last week or so I’ve had 2 boxes and 1 large plastic tote full of clothes and military shit show up on my doorstep. I was actually kinda excited to get the packages thinking maybe there would be a gift inside for me or at least a short note. But NO, it was just his dirty laundry!

I can’t be mad…I would do laundry and many other things, just to have my husband home again. But I must say there was a little bit of disappointment; I thought there would be something more exciting inside (and I’m not talking about Iraqi desert sand). I even went through the pockets of the bags, jackets and clothing thinking I might find something. And then I got really desperate, I actually smelt a couple pieces thinking it would remind me of Glenn. No luck -- at least it didn’t smell bad, just that stale/musty nothing smell. (Did I just admit doing that? I sound like some sort of crazy teenage, superfan…aaagghh)

Well that is my excitement for the week. The good news, the guys are planning their trip home…so it shouldn’t be too long now.

3D ultrasound

I wasn't too sure if I was going to post these pictures. Can't give you an exact excuse, except I was just a little nervous doing so. Not sure why I’m nervous, maybe it’s because I feel like he is so protected inside my belly and now it’s like I’ve let everyone in to see. Am I crazy? Please tell me that this solicitousness is just an uncontrollable motherly instinct!

I had this 3d ultrasound about 5 weeks ago. The little peanut was just 26weeks old and he probably weighed around 2lbs at the time. When we first started the ultrasound he was sound asleep. It took 5 minutes of shaking/poking/and me turning side to side to get him to wake-up and turn around so we could see his face. He never opened his eyes for us, but he sure was active. We could see him playing with the umbilical cord, sucking his thumb (or at least trying), drinking the amniotic fluid, rubbing his face…and oh ya, grabbing his 'package' (yes, it is definitely a boy).


*You can click on any picture to make it bigger*
"Hello...I'm trying to sleep in here!"

Sounds weird, but this is one of my favorite pictures.
I love seeing his scrunched up little body.
And I laugh, because that is such a Glenn knee.

Trying to find his thumb.
Does this mean I have a thumb sucker already?

Might be little, but this foot loves to kick!

"Thanks! I'm going back to sleep."

It was truly an amazing experience and it was really nice having a non-invasive, non-medical ultrasound. I loved the fact that we could just take the time to look around, see what he looks like and what he is doing in there. It was also great because I was able to leave the ultrasound with a disk full of digital pictures and a 30 minute dvd that I was able to copy and mail to Glenn.

Easter with the Family

Deployments can definitely feel long for the family members waiting back home. Be that as it may, it does help to have friends and family around to make time go a little quicker. In March, I had my parents visiting me here in North Carolina and then I was going to travel with a friend over Easter, but when those plans fell through, I thought why not just head home again. So a few days after my parents left I jumped on a plane back to Vancouver.

Darin and I getting dirty
It actually worked out great because my sister recently had surgery, so I was happy to be able to go visit her on Vancouver Island and help her out a bit (or shall I say, keep her company on the couch). Easter was pretty quiet. Even my nephews are getting a little big for the holiday, but we still took the opportunity to paint eggs and have a small egg hunt Easter morning.

Nana, Jarid, and Darin painting eggs
Darin’s excitement for the weekend was getting a new Nintendo Wii…. which turned out to be a big family affair. The boys had everyone (including my mum and dad) challenging each other to new games of tennis, baseball, bowling, golf and even boxing. It was hilarious watching my dad really get into the games…I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets his own Wii one day!

My dad boxing -- Wii style

Wrightsville Beach, NC (and Boe's new leash!)

I’ve had my parents visiting the past couple weeks. Can’t say we did anything too exciting…generally, there was a lot of shopping and trying to decide which new restaurant we would try. But we did do some NC sight seeing and I think Boe’s favorite day was going to the beach.

I love the beach! For me, the ocean is energizing and yet calming at the same time. Boe loves all the new smells and exploring as much as he can. Wrightsville Beach is about 2 ½ hours from our house, but worth the drive every now and then. Not only is the beach beautiful, you can get some wonderful seafood.

Thanks to my mum (and my new camera we were testing out) there are a bunch of pictures of Boe and I. But you may also notice the ugly looking strap over Boe's nose. Well, I finally broke down and bought a Gentle Leader. I love Boe and believe he could be one of the best dogs in the world (yes, I’m a proud mummy and a little bias) but he has never been fun to walk. Actually, to be more accurate he is one of those dogs that likes to take you for a walk. It’s his hound nose that gets ahead of him and we end up playing a game of tug-and-war. Anyways, with me pregnant I’ve been getting scared that I’m just not strong enough for him anymore and he was going to pull me over. So with the advice of a few friends I was off to Pet Smart to buy him the Gentle Leader.

Well let me tell you, today I have a new dog. I was a little skeptical, but it works!!! Boe definitely doesn’t like the feeling of the strap across his nose, but it’s not hurting him and now I think he has gotten used to it. Nevertheless, the best part is that he has stopped pulling and we can actually enjoy a walk together. I LOVE IT!


As you can see, Boe is a huge part of my life…I don’t know how I would survive these deployments without him. He is pretty much my best friend right now. It’s really nice to have someone to come home to, he is a great listener, and he loves to curl up on the couch or in bed to watch tv. I just hope he doesn’t get too jealous when the baby comes, because we certainly spend a lot of time together now.

We miss you daddy!

Girls' Night Out

Well, what do you do with a bunch of lonely, sexually deprived women whose husbands are stuck in the desert....you spoil them with a great meal and lots of drinks. Okay, so life isn't that bad, but it definitely helps to be surrounded by other women who are in the same situation as youself.

So, last night a group of us went out to the Coach Light Cafe in Southern Pines. For those of you who don't know the area, we kinda live in a weird spot for restaurants (or any kind of shopping for that matter). It is 30 minutes to Fayetteville, 30 minutes to Sanford, 30 minutes to Lillington, or 30 minutes to Southern Pines. Southern Pines is only 2 miles from the Village of Pinehurst, so I would guess that 75% of the people who live in the area are retired and/or golf fanatics. That said, the town is pretty quiet at night. Anyways, we pretty much had the restaurant to ourselves. The only other table was a nice older man and his wife. The manager came over and introduced the gentleman and said he wanted to help us out with our bill. I guess he asked when we came in what the occasion was and she said not much, just a bunch of military wives whose husbands are deployed. Anyways, we all thanked the man and thought it was so sweet that he would do such a nice thing. Now I'm not sure about the other girls, but I was thinking he might buy a couple desserts for the table that we could share...or something small like that. But no, we got the bill and he had put $200 down on our table. We couldn't believe it! It amazes me that a complete stranger would jump so quickly, to do something so nice...I guess it was his way of saying thanks.

I could go on about the generosity and kindness of so many people, but it doesn't take much to make a pregnant girl cry....so, moving on.

After dinner we headed out in search of a bar. The first bar we found was really shady and we were ready to give up when the next two were closed. But we actually found a great pub style, sports bar in downtown Southern Pines....and it was packed with people. I couldn't believe it. I felt like asking half the people in there where they came from. Anyways, we had a great time and I will definitely take Glenn there when he comes back, I really think he would like it...and it's something different to do.



How did we let DeAnn and Denise sneak out of this picture?

Thanks for the great night girls! And I'll send the rest of the pictures by email.