Follow the Yellowbrick Road...

For Ella's 5th birthday we gave her a choice: She could take a road trip to Dallas and go to the American Girl doll store and pick out any doll her heart desired, OR we could head to Wamego, KS and go to the Wizard of Oz Museum. Yes, my friends. She chose OZ. I love that she is such a fan of the movie that she had her heart set on a trip to see as much of Dorothy and friends as possible. She was so excited to get there. The six hour car ride didn't even phase her. I think she counted down the minutes. She kept asking if she was going to meet a munchkin there, but I let her know the only munchkin there would be her sister.

This is what happens when Tom finds my poor sunglasses broken to pieces.

A very content almost 5yr old on her way to KS

The museum itself is very small, but definitely worth seeing if you are a fan. I love the movie and loved seeing all of the memorabilia. As did Ella. She was in heaven. Everywhere she turned was Dorothy or her red slippers. Neither girl loves the wicked witch and as much as I begged for them to stand by her...they wouldn't. I think there is some sort of resemblance:

Biggest Tin Man ever.

This was as close as I could get them to the witch. ;)

The museum had a cowardly lion forest to walk through

Makeshift tornado with the wicked witch in it. And the house is over to the left hanging.

Tom especially enjoyed seeing all of the different Oz brews.

Ella's hands in the munchkins prints

Sitting in the Wizard's throne

I just love this picture of her.

So much for that awesome souvenir;)

After exploring the museum (it didn't take very long) we headed next door to Toto's Tacos for a late lunch. Cute place and the girls enjoyed finding all of the Toto's the owner placed around the restaurant.

Once we all had full bellies, we decided to take a walk on their famous yellowbrick road that leads to a pretty park. The bricks were definitely the slightest pale yellow I have ever seen, but in my mind I was picturing a the golden yellow road from the movie. Notsomuch. The girls enjoyed running and skipping along it though!

I love that I caught Tom skipping in the background! 

And I LOVE these girls. Love.

Tallest slide that I have ever let them go on...I was a little hesitant, but they loved it. Tom wouldn't slide down though;)

Teaching Madeline how to skip down the yellow brick road

Is there anything sweeter? 

Couldn't have asked for a better day.

 Stay tuned for birthday road trip part 2 when we head to the pumpkin patch!

To see even MORE pictures, feel free to click here. 

Eight Years

Eight years of sweet wedded bliss to the most amazing man. Happy anniversary my love! I know that I couldn't have asked for a better partner, friend, husband and confidant. You fill my world with patience, understanding, laughter and best of all... love. When I married you eight years ago, I loved you. But after eight years of living together, raising a family, surviving deployments, moving around, army life...I really, really love you. We've grown up together and learned so much about each other. I know I may not always be the perfect wife and I have quite the list of faults, but for some crazy reason you can overlook them and love me anyway. Thank you for giving me the most beautiful girls in the world and for little P#3. You couldn't possibly make me a happier girl (unless you moved me closer to my family hehe) and I hope we can one day sit on our wrap around porch in our big beautiful forever home and still be as in love as we are today.

Wherever our love takes us, just know I will be right there beside you.

New Look!

Did anyone notice my pretty new colors and pictures on the blog? A huge thank you to my sweet blogger friend Jamie for making it look beautiful all over again. :) 

Daddy's Surgery

October seems to be the busiest month for us with birthdays and anniversaries and Halloween. And this October, throw in kidney surgery for my poor husband. He finally got that "kink" in his ureter fixed so his kidney could have some relief. It's an odd surgery to explain and I am sure you do not want to be bothered with the pictures the surgeon so happily showed me;)

As a wife of a tough guy, it was hard to see him in any kind of pain while recovering. Let's just hope this helps to alleviate the pain he has been feeling for a few years now.

Daddy and his girls right before surgery. For 6 am, they all seem WAY too happy.

Our Little Surprise:)

A re-deployment surprise really. We are having another baby! Yup, I'm pregnant! Didn't take long. I know. I have been getting that joke quite a bit. We are THRILLED to say the least.  Tom, I believe, was even more ecstatic than I was this time. I knew I was late, but didn't want to "know" just yet. I just wanted to enjoy a few more alcoholic beverages with my husband. Haha. It's the truth. (Sorry baby in my belly, but I was being selfish.) Anyway, it was Aug 9 when we found out. I told Tom to go buy me a 6 pack and a pregnancy test. The lady at the counter said that he must have some celebrating to do;) I literally took one sip of the beer and knew I was pregnant because I didn't want it. Took the test. Positive sign showed up before I finished even going to the bathroom. I brought the test to Tom and started crying. I don't know if I was crying because I was elated...or terrified...or full of nerves, but either way Tom looked at me like I had three heads and hugged me tight and I knew everything was going to be ok. My honest first thought was "Please God do not let me have killer morning sickness like I did with the girls". He must have listened to me because unlike with the girls, my head has not been in the toilet the whole first trimester. I have been sick. Some days VERY sick. But all in all, I am a functioning human being.

We heard the baby's heartbeat on my birthday. Best birthday present I could have ever received. Hearing that made all of my sickness worth it. Babies are such blessings and little miracles and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't consider myself more than blessed for everything I have and for the children I am able to bring into this world.

Right now, Tom has been guessing BOY since the beginning, but I am guessing another GIRL. Either way, being politically correct...we just want a healthy baby;)

Wedding Weekend Away!

Tom and I took a little getaway to Wilmington, NC for his cousin Michael's wedding. We flew my mom into town to watch the girls (a complete treat for her and probably the only way I wouldn't stress about them when we were away!) Wilmington is a gorgeous little city right on the coast and we loved our stay there. Our hotel was right downtown so we were able to walk to everything from the restaurants and pubs to the cute shops. We had lunch on the water the day we arrived and I have to admit, it was really nice to enjoy a meal without having to worry about kids. I only had to feed myself! Amen! We loved being able to spend time with Tom's family, too. We miss them so much and being able to see them again made me that much more homesick for FL. 

The wedding was absolutely beautiful...it was simple, charming, southern chic with lots of burlap and white flowers and handpainted signs. An awesome sparkler sendoff ended the night and by then I was very ready to kick off my heels and relax in our room. After all, I was able to sleep in and I was definitely taking advantage of that! (Gosh being a mom really changes how much you party...or at least for me it does.) I'd choose sleep ANY DAY over a night out. ANY DAY.

Our View from the room

Lunch on the water

My keepsake ornament ( I collect ornaments from everywhere I go!) 

Lunch with Monica and Alexis and my niece Olivia! 

I was able to meet up with my awesome cousins Lara and Stuart! I love them dearly!

My beautiful sis Monica!

Nice face Tom.

A little improvement!

Such a fabulous little weekend and the best news...the girls were angels for my mom:) At least that's what she told us anyway!

Well Hello October! And Hello 32!

Have I mentioned before how much I love October? It's my birthday month, Ella's birthday month, our wedding anniversary will be celebrated among many other fun and exciting things. So much to keep us busy and grateful for.

So yeah...I turned 32. Happy birthday to meeeee! I had a most perfect day. (You'll find out exactly why in a future post). The girls spoiled me with all the love and attention in the world. Ella was at my bedside first thing in the morning wishing me a happy birthday and giving me hugs and kisses. She remembered all on her own. They behaved all day! I was able to go to lunch with Tom and enjoy some peace and quiet. He surprised me with a new Ipad, perfume and yoga pants (even though I have more than one pair, my favorite pair was ruined with white paint during the table painting experience and he was obviously very bothered with the fact that I still wore them around the house!). He is so thoughtful and knows exactly how to always put a smile on my face. As much as I love the new iPad, we have joked that it was more of a birthday present for Ella since she uses it more often than I do now! The girls can't get enough of that thing.

We went to dinner at a nice little hibachi place here in town. It's probably my favorite place to eat in Lawton. It's the first time we took the girls to a place like that and they LOVED it. I have never seen them so well behaved at a restaurant before. They barely spoke, no less moved! The only "issue" was Madeline sticking her straw through the bottom of the styrofoam cup and her lemonade going all over. But it was easily solved and they continued being awed by the chef's performance and the crazy fire. They love eating with chopsticks, too. Funny because Tom and I prefer a fork and our little kids have mastered chopsticks. Doesn't seem right...or fair.

We returned home where Tom had surprised me with yummy chocolate cheesecake! I have to say, I think we all enjoyed my birthday very much:) I say it all of the time, but I am one lucky lady. Blessed. Blessed. Blessed.

Ella took the first four photos. She loves playing photographer with the nice camera!

These girls are my world!

And they are always making me laugh!

Madeline was helping blow out the candles. In my old age, she probably thinks two numbers is difficult on my lungs. 

Dinner:)

See?