Summer Fun!

How about a random post with a bunch of pictures that totally don't match? OK! 

Josh celebrated a birthday, and Gray picked out the cake. There were so many dirt movers on the cake, we almost didn't have enough room for all of the candles. Gray still talks about this cake! 

We stopped by the Pacific Beach firehouse because Gray saw a firetruck come back and was dying to check it out. The firemen were so nice, they let Gray get on one of the trucks and try on one of their super heavy hats! 

Gray got a new hat from the Padre's store, and he wore it constantly until he lost it. Luckily they had not sold out of them before the next game we went to and he got a replacement (that I quickly tagged with my phone number)! He is very serious about coloring in this picture. Or returning crayons to the box.

Fun times at the Safari Park!

Gray lined his boots up by his Daddy's. Awww.
Had to get a shot of that! 

Gray is officially a big boy. No more crib in his room! 

Leaving a Padre's game with Daddy! 

He is so cute, but I'm so scared this is going to end in the ER. 

He is getting TOO big! 

Babysitting two big girls. Fletch is dating both sisters on the sly.  

Skateboarding in the neighborhood! 

Josh taught him how to ride on his bottom. Much less scary for me! 

Sprinkler time! 

Rinse off after playing at the beach! 

Walking Fletch in the neighborhood.  

Beach Day! 

Fletch recovering from a walk. 

Gray gets a hideous hair cut/style.
He looks in the mirror and says 'My hair looks stupid.' 

Bike rides to dinner in Pacific Beach. 

USMC Homecoming!

I mentioned a friend's husband coming back from a deployment, but thought I would share a few more pictures from that day. Homecomings are amazing. Even if you don't know a sole coming home, just the thought of families being reunited is totally amazing. I cry every single time I go to one because I know how special it is to hold your Marine for the first time in months. It's like you can finally relax because they are home safe... What an amazing feeling. 

Lunch at the O Club. 

Waiting for the Marines. 

Finally here! 

Taxing in. Felt like it took FOREVER! 

Self portraits while we wait. 

Just discovered how much Gray loves the self-portrait mode on the new IPhone. 

Marine wives (and Gray)! 

We took Gray to the park on base to play with some of his BFFs after the homecoming and happened to watch Josh fly out (night flight) while we were there! Here he is headed out into the night! He flies all the time, but I never really know when I'm seeing him or someone else, so it's always fun to KNOW it's actually Josh in the air! 

Christmas You Missed!

The Armed Services YMCA in San Diego does a Christmas You Missed every year for the families who had a deployed service member over the holidays. They had fun things for the kids to do, like ride a horse, make crafts, etc. Breakfast was also provided for everyone. There was a fun little Boston Terrier who had his own motorcycle, that the kids LOVED!! 

With the Coleman kids! 

Ornament making!

Santa was also there, and he gave out toys to each one of the children. He had a lot of fun with his friends that were there and wasn't expecting a toy from Santa so it was double fun. The ASYMCA did an amazing job on this event! I know that our family, and the families we went with (two others from our Squadron) really enjoyed making up for some of the Christmas memories we missed while Josh was in Afghanistan. Thanks Armed Services YMCA!! 

Busy Weekend.

Several Marines from Josh's squadron came home from a 7 month deployment last Thursday. I couldn't miss my friend's spouses homecoming, so Gray and I went to the squadron to join the festivities. Gray was wearing his cammies and his Daddy's wings, so as Gray left the house he waved and said "I'm going to work."

Too cool for pics with Mommy. 

If you ever have the chance to go to a military homecoming, I would highly recommend it. I haven't ever been to a homecoming where I didn't cry. I tend to be a cryer anyway, but how can you NOT get a little misty when seeing people reunited for the first time in months? I know how excited I was the day Josh got home, but seeing my friends reunited with their husbands is almost as good as if it were my own day to celebrate. There is nothing more special than that first hug and kiss after so much time apart. The days before Josh came home felt like I was getting ready for our wedding with all of the anticipation and excitement in the air. Deployments aren't fun, but homecomings are so amazing they almost make you forget about all the things that he missed or that you had to deal with alone. Almost. 

Legoland!

At the last minute we backed out of our plans to go to the SD Fair because it was a beautiful Saturday and I didn't really want to brave the crowds. We opted for Gray's favorite place on earth, Legoland. This kid loves Legoland almost as much as he loves us. It's nice to have something that he loves so much just 25 minutes up the road. He has been begging to go back since before we got to the parking lot Saturday afternoon. 

Leaving church. 

We left church Sunday afternoon and Gray just HAD to "sit on the rock." He made this crown in Sunday School (which people in California have apparently never heard of before) and wore it for an extended amount of time Sunday and he continues to talk about it. Josh and I are still driving inland to an amazing church a friend told me about just before Josh deployed. Oh man is it the best church ever! It takes us around 30 minutes to get there from our new place, but we always learn something and get so much out of the services that we just can't switch to a closer church. If you are looking for a place to worship in San Diego, look no farther! 

First ride on the beach cruiser! 

And finally, we bought beach cruisers a couple of weeks ago. We were waiting to ride them until Gray had a seat and helmet. I finally picked them out and placed an order. Josh installed the seat and as soon as Gray got on it he decided it was a death mobile. He started screaming that he wanted to ride in the car. He wanted to walk. He was "so scared." I told Josh we should just ride around for a minute and see if he warmed to the idea that we weren't going to kill him and within a few minutes he was laughing and having a blast. We rode down to the beach and once we got home Gray said riding the bike was his "favorite." 

Maybe this coming weekend we will hit the SD Fair and try something fried, like deep fried cereal...

Sleeping to Dream

Jason Mraz has this amazing song that I discovered while Josh was deployed, named Sleeping To Dream. The chorus says:

     Sleeping to dream about you

     And I'm so darn tired

     Of having to live without you

     But I don't mind

I found that the song pretty much said it all in the midst of Josh's deployment. I would sleep just to dream about having him home, but usually I wasn't so lucky. 

I heard "Sleeping to Dream" on iTunes earlier and it occurred to me that I have been dreaming about our impeding move. A LOT. I dream that we are already there. I dream that we are in the process of moving and our landlords continue to be insane (which is actually fact based). I dream that I can't get our new couches to work in the space. I even had a dream that I tripped and broke a box of treasured items.

I hope when I fell up the stairs yesterday (that actually happened), it was the last time. I'm so ready to get out of here and be done with this house, this ridiculous corner lot with the crazy fast drivers in this neighborhood, the millions of solicitors, the stupid stairs that I fall (up or down) at least once a quarter, the irritating landlord emails, and all the ridiculous landscaping issues that come with this house. I can't believe we are moving down to the beach Friday --which happens to be in 4 days-- not that I'm counting or anything. 

I am in the process of cleaning and packing the rest of the goods this week. I'm thinking the days ticking by on the calendar will be all the motivation I need to get it all done by Friday. Until then bear with me if the only things I'm capable of discussing are wall colors, forwarding mail, security deposits, insane landlords, boxes, bubble wrap, or the logistics of moving our million dollar framed diplomas without getting any nicks/scratches. I'm apologizing in advance.