Another perk of the job... A team photo with the Blue Angels

It was a real tough day at work!

U.S. Navy Blue Angels

Well, it doesn't get much better than this! Yes, I really am that close to Blue Angel 6. And the best part is that it's all in a days work.

Now don't get me wrong, work has been very demanding lately and that is fine by me because the greater the challenge the greater the reward. Today was a great reward. One of the benefits of my job is being able to be involved with events and being able to be in places I would normally not have the privilege to enjoy. We (MedFlight) are providing air medical support to the Blue Angels for this weekend's airshow in Huntsville.

The last time the Blues came to town I was on duty on the aircraft for one of the days and got some great up-close time and aerial photos of the team as we landed near by. Fast forward a few years and now that my role is administrative I did have to spend part of the day in the Huntsville- Madison County Mobile Command Post, but hey, it was air conditioned and that was a huge plus! After all of the official business was handled we got what amounted to a private demonstration by the Blues and were able to visit with several members of the team.

For a kid who grew up around airplanes, flying with my dad at an early age, dreaming of flight almost every day for as long as I can remember, found a career actually flying (and getting paid for it) and now is able to pilot an aircraft alone and enjoy the freedom of flight; just being around the Blue Angels today was, well, lets just say it was a VERY good day!

There's nothing like the smell of Jet A and the thundering sound of freedom... God Bless America!

Kids in Camo

Tonight I dressed Jackson for bed in some new elephant "camo" pajamas (they are actually just new to us- thanks Rebekah!). As soon as Noah saw them, he of course decided that he and Jackson needed to match, so he decked himself out in camo attire. They then played together for a little while in the living room floor. Noah said they were playing "army men". They had a great time and looked real cute in their semi-matching pajamas!

Bathtime Fun

Since he kept trying to stand up in the kitchen sink, Jackson has now graduated to the big bathtub. Noah was very excited- he's been asking for Jackson to take a bath with him for months now. Jackson really enjoyed it. He loves playing in the water. As soon as I turned the water on, he started trying to get in the tub. Noah had a great time, too. He likes having a little bathtime buddy.

Stand Up Please!

Or should I say "Sit back down, please!". I'm really not ready for this. Jackson not only pulled up on the little chair, but proceeded to "walk" his way around to the back of it while holding on. He's too little for this! Sadly, it seems that our baby is not wanting to be a baby anymore. We decided to lower the mattress in his crib- Since he can pull up so easily, he could probably very easily take a nose dive out of the bed, too. Maybe we just both have bad memories, but neither me or David can remember Noah doing stuff like this so early. I think Jackson's on the move a little faster to try to keep up with his big brother!

The Swimming Pool is Open!

YEAH!!! We got to go enjoy Wendy and Scott's brand new pool today! We've been watching it progress for the last couple of weeks, and were anxiously looking forward to our first swim in it. Today was the first day that it was declared complete and ready for swimmers. The kids were thrilled! Noah, Jackson, and I stayed there all afternoon with Rachel and Olivia. David even got to join us for a little while. It was lots of fun and a great place to cool off on a hot day. Thanks Wendy and Scott!! You've made the summer just a little brighter for everybody. By the way, we found out today just how much Noah loves to swim. Before we left, we jokingly asked him if he'd rather go swimming or to the Disney store. He said "Swimming!"- now that's a little boy who loves the water, because he LOVES the Disney store and would never turn down a trip there! Not a bad deal for us- swimming is free, the Disney store usually is not!

Happy Father's Day!

Just wanted to say Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there, but especially to the daddy of our house! Noah very excitedly gave David his cards this morning as soon as he woke up. He had hidden them under his bed so they couldn't be found by Daddy before morning! This is David's fifth year as a father to Noah, and the first time he's gotten to celebrate with Jackson. I'll speak for him by saying I think the kids have taught us alot about what it means to be mommies and daddies since they came along. The kind of love that kids bring to your life is like no other. Thank you David, for being such a good, loving, and involved daddy to our babies! They love you for it and so do I.

We also want to wish a Happy Father's Day to PawPaw (Charlie), PaPa (David's dad), and Grandy (my grandfather-the only great grandfather our boys still have around). We had the opportunity to visit with two out of the three for lunch today, and will hopefully get to see PaPa again real soon- he's visiting with Aunt Danna in Tennessee today. We love you all very much and hope you have a great day! Thanks for all that you are and all that you do for us!

Sweet Baby

I think Jackson has officially adopted a "security blanket". We've used this blanket for a while at bedtime and naptime to cover him up, but here lately he just has to have part of it touching his face. When he's cranky and won't go to sleep, if he can just grab a little bit of the blanket and snuggle his face up to it, his eyes immediately begin to close and he calms down. David's been calling him Linus the past couple of days! It is a really soft and snuggley blanket. I'm almost afraid to wash it for fear that it will lose it's magic powers! It was a gift when Jackson was born from one of David's coworkers, so thanks Kim! You've made sleepy time easier on us all!!

A Day at the Lake

Yesterday we got to spend some time at the lake with some friends we haven't gotten to hang out with in a while- Jerrod and Heather Harris and Mike and Jamie Jaco. Jerrod's got a new boat, so we got to take Noah and Jackson for a ride. Noah really liked going fast! (You can see Jerrod in the background after a wipe out from skiing- we were swinging back around to pick him up again.)
Noah liked getting out and swimmimg in the lake even better than the boat ride. I thought he might be scared with all that water around and nothing to hang on to, but I was wrong. He hopped out of the boat like an old pro and wasn't ready to get back in. He's a little fish!

Jackson liked his first boat ride, too! Yes, I know, he's wearing a PINK lifejacket- a BARBIE one at that! I hope we didn't scar him for life, but he doesn't have his own yet, and Jerrod and Heather have a little girl, so a pink Barbie jacket was the best we could do on short notice. Oh well, you can see he was all smiles anyway, so hopefully we didn't do too much damage- he is only 8months old!

With four camping trailers and a great site right on the water, we had a perfect place to relax and Noah had all of the room he wanted to play and explore the woods and the water. Hanging out with good friends, grilling fair dogs at the lake and a boat cruise on the Tennessee River in a new Mastercraft; it was a great day!

As If Crawling's Not Enough...

Almost simultaneously with learning to crawl, Jackson is learning to stand up. As a matter of fact, he seems almost more interested in trying to stand than in crawling. I guess he thinks he can just skip crawling and move on to walking. He's always enjoyed standing up when somebody's holding him, so I guess he's just anxious to be able to do it all on his own. The only problem right now is that he can hold on to things and try to stand, he just can't get back down very well. This results in lots of fussing from frustration of things just not going his way. Hang in there Jackson- it'll come soon enough. Mommy's not ready for all that yet anyway. I want you to stay a baby a little longer!!

On the Move

Jackson's efforts at crawling have been a work in progress for the last few weeks- I'm just a little behind on getting it posted. He's becoming more and more mobile everyday. Still a little uncoordinated at times, but he can get where he wants to go. Today I actually had to go looking for him for the first time. I left him sitting on the floor in the living room for a couple of minutes and when I came back, he'd made to the other side of the room. We're proud of you little buddy!
He looks pretty proud of himself here, doesn't he? His new favorite toy is Noah's "Little People" Barn set. He'll sit and play with it for quite a while. He really likes pressing down on the part where the chicken sits to make the rooster crow- thinks its pretty funny!

Peek-a-Boo Jackson! We see you! Don't think you'll fit through the barn door though!

Fun in the Sun

We got to go to the pool for the first time this year yesterday. Noah picked right up where he left off last year- as soon as he had his floaties on, he jumped right in off of the diving board. I think he was a little surprised at how cold the water was, though. He had lots of fun, and was one tired little boy after he got out.
Jackson seemed like he's gonna love the pool too. This was his first time being in a pool at all, but as you can see he was all smiles! He got a little cold after a while, so he spent the rest of the afternoon warming in the sun and taking a nap while everybody else swam.

Happy Birthday David!

Today is a very special day for David- Happy Birthday sweetie!! I won't disclose his new age, but let's just say it won't be long until we can have the big 40 party! I chose this picture of him for a couple of reasons. #1- Anybody that knows David knows how much he loves taking pictures. Since he's often the one behind the camera, finding a picture of him was actually a little hard to do. #2- We usually always take a trip to the beach this time of year. Due to many reasons that I won't bore you with, we haven't been able to make it yet this year. This picture was taken last year when we went on a cruise. I thought it might cheer him up a little just to remember the great trip that we had then since we're kind of homebound right now. We do have a couple of trips planned for later in the year, but we both have serious beach fever right now. (We both have Jimmy Buffet CDs playing in our cars continuously!) Anyway, I hope that despite all the not so fun stuff that we've had going on lately, that he has a very happy birthday. Noah and I baked him a birthday cake while he was gone today, so we'll have him a little party when he gets home. Happy Birthday David!! I LOVE YOU!!!

Prayers for PaPa

Please remember David's dad in yours prayers tomorrow and for the next few days. He's scheduled to have a heart ablation and a pacemaker placed in the morning at Huntsville Hospital. Should be a fairly routine procedure, and if all goes well, he'll be released from the hospital the next morning. We're hoping this will help correct some problems that he's been having for a while and will make him feel much better.