Parkin' and Carvin'

Shockingly enough Tom had part of a Sunday off. I say part as in he came home late that afternoon. But it was still enough time to hand him a beer and tell him to start carving a pumpkin. He wasn't thrilled about it, and he was even less thrilled when I showed him the princess designs the girls picked out. But he obliged after Madeline broke down in tears thinking he really wouldn't carve Cinderella and her castle.

However, maybe it was the power tool he decided to use. Or the beers. Or the design was just a little difficult. Either way, our jack-o-lantern faced the other way on our porch after it was all over;)

I took the kids to the park after church. Gorgeous weather!

 Can I keep them small forever?

 Then I took them to the pumpkin patch to pick a carving pumpkin!

 Best wagon shot I could get. 

Ta-Da!!!!

The night view. Nailed it.

Neighborhood Fall Festival

I love the little (huge) neighborhood we moved into! It has cute festivals for the holidays, and it makes me feel better as a mom to take them to things like this so I feel like I participated in fall-like activities. The kids had a blast running around with our neighbors. Ate some yummy food, bounced around in the bounce house, collected and painted pumpkins from the patch, completed some crafts (that surprisingly did not get trashed right away) and listened to some very cool live music. I would have preferred to drink while attending this event, but alas I was the solo parent since Tom was working on a Saturday of course, and chasing Sam back and forth with a beer can get complicated. I wouldn't want it to spill after all.

I love watching the sunrise from our backyard.

 Ella wanted her face painted. She has never had it done before because she has never wanted it done before. I was shocked!

 I love the little hood children.

 Silly faces!

 Who gave this boy caramel apples?? Oh that's right. I did.

The Martin's Visit!

I was so excited when our friend Wendy asked if she could visit on her move down to FL from Newport! To think she actually asked if there was a hotel nearby. As if! I love her and I love her kids, and they couldn't get here fast enough so we could catch up. Bonus: she brought me my favorite bottles of cider from Newport. 4 of them.

It was such a treat to have them here even if it was only a night! There is just something about making friends while living the military life. It can be the hardest thing ever and loneliest of worlds, or one of the easiest things ever. With Wendy, we bonded the second we met and the year we lived in Newport we made sure to make the most of it. I guess we got lucky!

We wish the Martin's well as they begin their next adventure in sunny Florida!

This pic...

warms my heart! Tom has been working so much after our trip to Charleston that Ella actually asked me "is Daddy already deployed?" The poor kids wouldn't see him at all because he left before they woke up and came home after they were asleep. So I let them stay up late one night for some much needed time with their daddy. Everyone was happy:)

Our 10th Anniversary-Charleston Trip

When I married my husband ten years ago I loved him like no other. We were young, had no clue what marriage truly entailed, but we were excited to finally say I Do after many years together.

Fast forward ten years, three children, six moves, a few deployments, and we are more in love and happy than ever before. It isn't always peachy, but we have one heck of a strong, committed love for each other.

Maybe the army life has helped with that as we have learned to truly appreciate each other and our time together. Our time apart seems more frequent lately and well, absence makes the heart grow fonder. We are willing to work through anything, and no matter what, we never give up. I hope in thirty years when our children have their own families, they will instill the same values of marriage and love we are teaching to them now. Then I know we have done something right;)

I don't know how I got so lucky in the 6th grade to meet this fabulous man I call my husband and best friend, but I did. He has given us an awesome life, and I know the best is yet to come!

Happy 10 Years to my OAO! Thank you for always loving me:)

Tom had been planning our big 10 year anniversary trip to Charleston for a few months. He flew my parents in to babysit the kids. Booked a beautiful hotel. Bought a 2004 bottle of Dom. Had our wedding flowers waiting for me in the room, and an awesome little six-pack of locally brewed beers. He definitely knows the way to my heart. Little did I know an even bigger surprise had also been in the works for months!

I had that card made for him. He loved it! We had a picnic on the beach where our reception was to start off our weekend.

 Our hotel was awesome! Highly recommend it!

 Lots of selfies to be had this weekend. Ha!

 Every time we visit Charleston we always take a walk to the Battery. 

 I love the houses, the peace and quiet, the clicking of the horses hooves trotting through the city, and the gorgeous views.

 And little did I know...

 He would get down on his knee and ask me to marry him all over again with a brand new, absolutely beautiful ring. 

 Before our 2nd anniversary, I lost my original engagement ring while swimming in a lagoon in Hawaii. In one of my crying fits, Tom made a haste promise that he would replace it on our 10th anniversary if I would stop the tears. We have joked about it with every passing anniversary that he has X amount of years left to save. Never in a million years did I think he was ever serious. But he is definitely a man of his word!!

 

I posed with this ring all weekend. I was so excited. We had dinner that night at our favorite restaurant High Cotton.

 The next day we had brunch at Poogan's Porch and walked around the city a bit. 

 We visited the Citadel of course. 

 It was such a beautiful day. Reminded me of our wedding day!

 Summerall Chapel where it began!

 We tailgated with friends! 

 We drank a lot. 

 We went to dinner with our Citadel family;)

 The last day we went back to the bench where he gave me the ring. It's definitely our bench. Back in the day when Tom went to the Citadel, he told me when he gets his class ring, I will get my engagement ring. About a month after he got his ring, I was visiting him. He told me he wanted to walk along the Battery. We did. Then we took a seat on that very bench. It was a romantic moment. One perfect for a proposal. But he never proposed. I remember walking away being so upset and he didn't understand why. So ten years later he brought me back to that bench and made up for it. When we started walking toward it, he said "remember that bench?" And I said "I sure do." We sat down and he reached in his pocket. I thought he was kidding and brushed it off, but then he quickly got down on a knee and said "Will you marry me again?" I started crying. People were cheering. A jogger stopped to ask if we just got engaged. Tom was totally embarrassed. I was loving it.

Of course I said "yesssss!"

 That view will never get old.

The most perfect weekend.  A huge thank you to my parents for watching our babies and keeping them safe and well-fed. They loved every bit of their grandma and grandpa time.