3.. no 2!

This funny little sprite has turned three!! Her birthday "is... April Fourf," as she loves telling everyone. The last few weeks, she's hit some big milestones for herself. She recently decided she was ready to try the whole underwear thing, and a few days before her birthday, we snipped apart her pacifiers (sorry if you're not on board with that whole lifesaver thing...), telling her they must have just "gotten yucky" because she'd used them for so long. I wanted to do this before she turned three so she would have something to look forward to (presents and cake!). It worked like a charm with far less tears than I had expected. It was miraculous. However, even with the cake and presents, she still wants to stay a "little tiny girl" and stay 2 for the rest of forever. Sorry Emmy! You're three now!!

^^ Singing happy birthday to herself before we even had started - she was ready!! ^^

Sure, we have "normal" pictures of her blowing the candles out, but this one is my favorite! I can't stop smiling over that sputter-out candle blow.

snowed in

Once Mark was home with us, Mother Nature decided Spring needed to stay away a bit longer, and threw us into the most exciting blizzard we've seen since living here. The winds were so unbelievably strong and the snow was just coming down as fast as it could. Our garage had about 3 feet of snow blown against it, and it wasn't even the worst of the drifts around us. Our neighbors across the street had a 6 foot drift out their back door, just to name another. It lasted for two days, and the base was completely shut down. Even huge snow plow trucks were getting stuck on the streets outside our houses, and needed to be pulled out by others. It was insane! (And very fun to have Mark home for this one!!)

coming home

Mark made it home safe and sound on March 29th - and while I had tears, I assured Mont that they were nothing but happy ones. I was nervous about how Emmy girl would react, as she wasn't in the talking mood any time we face timed with Mark through the deployment. It was 11 weeks of Emmy mad at Daddy; but when she saw him, there was no holding her back, she was in her daddy's arms as fast as she could get there, and didn't want to let go or be put down for a very long time after. Mont was jumping up and down so fast that Mark had a hard time giving him a hug! It was adorable, and a moment I'll cherish forever. Seeing them reunite with their dad was very very sweet. We missed him so much!

And our friend Andrew who doubled as our phone-photo taker. :) He's about to head out to Chicago for his residency at the hospitals there. We'll miss having him around! He is one of Emmy's most favorite people: 

princess diary from a younger sister

While she can pretend to be a princess.. her brother will pretend her dress is a fort. 

(hot air vents work wonders for a dress's billowing abilities)

puzzles for patience

This is the week! It's the week Mark is coming home from his 11 week deployment to the middle east. Monday morning I dumped out a puzzle to help keep my impatient thoughts on something else. Puzzles always remind me of the time my family would spend at our Grandparents' cabin on Cedar Mountain in Utah. Puzzles meant family time for chatting and laughing, usually at someone's expense, but that's how it works. : ) I would have a puzzle out every week if it didn't take up so much 'valuable space!' 

Even the kids like to sit near and either do their own thing or wait for me to find a piece's place and hand it over so they can feel that satisfying 'click' as they push it down with tiny little fingers.

... one more day! Well.. 36 hours, but that's just a detail. 

March roars on

After a blizzard last Friday, some brave friends/neighbors (the Jones') drove the kids and I, plus them and their kids around in their big truck. I had thought about going out on my own, except I had JUST washed (inside and out) my car for a friend to borrow that night (to help us out no less).. so I voided that plan. Ha! Anyway, we drove around and admired the path of the storm the night before. This was before it hit again, and we got to spend all day at their house (we walked home later on and the kids just about lost it on that 4 houses-down walk) and the base was declared "closed." 

The odd thing about this storm is that it was warm enough for it to be watery in the beginning, so everything that was touched, first has a crust of ice, then the snow came, and stuck to the ice; the temperatures then dropped, freezing everything (both ice and snow) in place for a week! The roads were incredibly icy (both crunchy and slippery), so it was good we were the only crazies on the road, in a nice big heavy 4 wheel drive truck.

Through the window:

Down a ravine:

"pascetti"

Emmy will every now and again get the hankering to try something new. The other day it was spaghetti (and we had none in our pantry! ... I'm a penne lover), so when we next went to the store, we picked some up and promptly made it. She wanted no sauce.. just "pepper" she said. So I added a little olive oil and salt as well (just to keep things going!), and she dug right in: 

Now if only Mont were as "adventurous" in trying new foods - is it weird that spaghetti was a 'new food' at our house? haha She does love pasta, so it wasn't too new-outta-the-blue.

cow boy boots

These were their outfits for church yesterday, Mont even telling me "No tie, please." Emmy was thrilled to be wearing Mont's old boots to church, even though they are in desperate need of a good polish! 

I can never seem to get one good picture of them both, so enjoy one blurry and one with eyes closed. :)

great gatsby party

Tonight was our Squadron's Great Gatsby Party at the Alerus Center in town.  It was a bitterly frigid day, and I was lucky to have tights on, and two coats (one almost to my shoes). I put this picture on my instagram, explaining how I had to accept an award for Mark's flight's movie he orchestrated, or I suppose the word is "directed" - and when I did my evening went from nerve-wracking to heart pounding. I hadn't expected to have to walk up in front of nearly 200 people, praying not to stumble on others' feet or cords, or dance floor raises, or whatnot! AH! Flying Stag is not a strong suit of mine, but I'm glad I did. I think Mark's commander appreciated it. Hope so!! haha

And a picture to remember how I had done my hair - I triple barreled it earlier, then put this rhinestone studded headband in, then tucked it up in and pinned it down to hold. Might have been my favorite part of my evening! :)

bowling for wednesdays

Nice squishy hug of a picture:

Every Wednesday, during the winter at least, a bunch of friends of mine on base with young children get together for lunch at the bowling alley + a couple games for each "meal" purchased. It's a pretty fun deal! However, this last wednesday we showed up to all the bowling lanes being maintained, so we were only able to eat lunch, but to make it even better I let the kids each get their own root beer (not the norm at our house, as it affects their behavior and hyper-ability instantly!). They filled up pretty quick with all that fizz and ate maybe half of their lunch. I couldn't expect to take them home right after that, so we headed to the gym's field house for a good run around. 

vanilla no bakes

Today I was lucky and got Mont to try a new cookie recipe with me. I woke up wanting to bake something, even if I didn't want to eat it, I just wanted to whip something up like a momma should on a cold snowy day.

Here's the recipe, as found on a pinterest link:

2 c. sugar

3/4 c. butter 

2/3 c. milk

1 (3.4 oz.) box instant vanilla flavor pudding mix

3 1/2 c. quick cooking oats

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

In a large pan, mix together the sugar, butter and the milk. Bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, add in the pudding mix, oats and vanilla. Let stand 5 minutes. Drop by tablespoon onto wax paper and let cool. Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy like you are a 4 year old boy! : ) "Can I have another cookie??" "Can I just have ONE more?" "Please?"

my paintings this last year

'black eyed junco" - for kids, 4x6" watercolor

"Eastern Bluebird" - for Stacey, 5x7" watercolor, gouache 

"American Goldfinch" - for Cami, 4x6" watercolor, gauche 

"Pirate Ship" - for Maxwell, 3x5" acrylic on canvas

Untitled - 3 landscapes for our kitchen, 8x10" (2), 9x12" acrylic on canvas

 "Umbrellas" - for Dodie, 5x7" watercolor

"Anne of Green Gables" - for Nova 8.5x11" watercolor, gauche 

"Seashells" - for Chelsea 4x6", watercolor, gauche 

"Anne of Green Gables" - original #2, for Lindsey 8.5x11" watercolor, gauche 

"Barn Owl" - for fun 10x14, acrylic on canvas

"Flowers" - for Sharon, 5x9" watercolor 

"Flowers 2" - for Sharon, 5x9" watercolor 

"Sacred Grove in Light" - for Leslie, 18x24" acrylic on canvas

"Hot Air Balloons" - for Darci, 8x10" acrylic on canvas 

"Hot Air Balloons 2" - for Darci, 8x10" acrylic on canvas 

 "Small Brown Owl" - for Stacey, 4x6" watercolor, gauche

"House Finch" - for Cami, 4x6" watercolor 

"Mountain Bluebird - NV" - for Kjersten, 5x7" watercolor 

"Cactus Wren - AZ" - for Kjersten, 5x7" watercolor, gauche  

"Seagull - UT" - for Kjersten, 8x10" watercolor, gauche 

Hawaiian Holiday

I should have just forgotten my camera, for all the pictures I did not take. Here are just a few: 

Bellows Air Force Station. Mont ran around at full speed through the surf for about 30 minutes; 

back and forth, back and forth, kick kick, cha cha cha. 

A lagoon or two down from ours, we were walking with the kids down to see the hammerhead sharks at the I'hilani Hotel and try the buffet at the Disney's Aulani Hotel. On the way back, to keep Mont motivated to keep moving, we had told him he could "run through the dark trees" .. and he did. The entire walk home, all three huge lagoons, he ran and ran and ran, even circled (multiple times) around  the "dark trees" - he thought it was the most adventurous thing ever. In North Dakota when it is dark, it is either snowy out, or very late in the summertime, so nighttime is always a "new" thing for him to experience when we are farther south than our current living coordinates. :) I couldn't believe his little legs had that much running power. It was hilarious!