Primary Program 2015

Today was the primary program and it was completely adorable. Nanny and Papa drove over just so they could be here for it and we are so glad they did. It was Bailey's first program and Tanner's third.
We are lucky to have Nanny and Papa close enough to make these quick trips.

We snapped a quick picture of the family too.

How I love these primary kids.

They both did so great on their parts. The sunbeams were asked "How do you know your parents love you?" and then they each answered. Bailey's answer was "They give me hugs and kisses" and that was the part she was given. Tanner's part was "Jesus Christ can heal the sick. He healed the blind, the ten lepers and the invalids". I was so proud of them both for memorizing their parts and saying them so well in front of the entire congregation. They sang pretty well too.
I'm so grateful for the primary program and the good things my kids learn there. It was an awesome program and the kids loved it.

Tanner the Soccer Star

We finally started Tanner in soccer. I think he would have loved to have started earlier, but I didn't have the time or energy for the practices and games every week. But now he's playing and he's loving it. 

Here are some pictures from his first practice. It was actually a workshop with some speed and agility coaches. All the boys his age played together. It was so fun to watch. 

I love this kid. Maybe he will have some athletic ability, heaven knows I don't have any. 

We also found Tanner's little buddy Braxton at the workshop. 

Water bottle buds.

Here's Tanner watching the coach completely enamoured. And Braxton has his arm around Tanner- lol. 

Then today we finally had Tanner's first soccer game. It was so fun to watch. I was a screaming/yelling/cheering mess. It was a blast. 

Tanner did so good!

The pre-game huddle

Tanner waiting on the sidelines to sub in. 

The teams only play 3-on-3 so he has to alternate playing. 

Yay, finally getting some game time. 

The coach had Tanner throw in a bunch of times. Whenever the other team kicked it out of bounds, Tanner got to throw in. 

Here's my boy, leading the charge. He had such great hustle and played with his whole heart. 

Here is his smile after scoring his first goal. 

Listening to the coach for directions before throwing in. 

He actually scored two goals and one more of his went in, but the other coach didn't call it. But his team won and it was a great game!

"Good Game" high fives. So cute!

"GOOOOO STARS!""""

Tanner loved playing in his first game and had so much fun. I basically cannot wait until his next game. I had a great time watching and cheering. So fun! Even Daddy said he was surprised by how much fun the game was. We can't wait til next Saturday. 

Mimi's Lifesaving Visit

Mimi flew in last Friday to hang out and go to Daddy's OCS graduation. We were so excited to have her. Unfortunately, Chris' plans changed and he wasn't allowed to come home on Saturday as planned. We were all so disappointed. We hadn't seen him in 2 1/2 weeks and to have his plans changed broke everyone's heart. 

Having Mimi visit helped. Saturday we got donuts and then ran to the store. We made ourselves a Chinese lunch and enjoyed ourselves. Tanner was pretty thrilled with his Chinese food. It's his favorite kind of food. 

On Sunday Tanner wasn't feeling well, so Mimi and Tanner stayed home from church and played legos for hours together. They were so cute together. 

They build quite a few cool star wars ships. 

Monday was labor day, Tanner was off school and still recovering from being sick, so we just stayed close to home. Mimi and Tanner worked out in the yard. Tanner was Mimi's sidekick. 

Tucker wanted to help too. I kind of love this little naked body. 

That night we played in the water table and then grilled hot dogs. 

These three are so cute. 

Yummy hot dog dinner. So fun. 

Tuesday Tanner went to school and Mimi and the rest of us just ran errands and stuff. It rained that night so soccer was cancelled. Which was nice, we were able to just hang out at home. 

Wednesday was Bailey's first day of preschool. Mimi kept Tucker while I took Bailey to school- which was so convenient . Then because Bailey was on the verge of getting sick and Tanner was getting over it, we skipped our classes on Wednesday. Thursday we finally heard from Daddy and found out he was flying home and would graduate from OCS on Saturday. It was amazing news!!. 

Tanner went to school on Thursday and while he was gone, we got laundry done and got all ready to go to graduation. Friday after Bailey got out of preschool and Tanner got off the bus, we drove down to Little Rock. 

We spent the weekend with Mimi and Daddy in Little Rock for OCS graduation and then came back Sunday afternoon. Mimi left first thing Monday morning. 

I can't even begin to express how grateful I am that Mimi was here during the last week of Chris being gone. I was at my wit's end and exhausted and she helped so much. We spent each night watching "The Paradise" and eating junk food. We hung out during the day and got lots of projects done. She's awesome and I feel so blessed to have such an amazing mother-in-law. She seriously saved me!

Mimi and Grandpa are coming back in November for a few days and we are all excited to see them!

OCS Graduation

Hallelujah Daddy is home! And it's amazing!!!

We finally got to see him on Friday when we drove down to Little Rock for his OCS graduation. OCS is "Officer Candidate School". Chris has worked for the last 18 months to become an officer and on Saturday he graduated with his class and is now a 2nd Lieutenant. I'm incredibly proud of him.
I can't begin to explain how hard this school was. He was emotionally, physically and mentally exhausted but he did it. 

We arrived in Little Rock on Friday evening and we all flipped out when we got to finally see Daddy- after over 3 weeks. 

We checked into our hotel and then we went to Dinner. Chris had lost quite a bit of weight and we decided he need a good meal. We went to "Kobe Sushi & Hibachi"

It was lots of fun. The kids faces were so funny when they watched the guy work his magic on the hibachi grill. 

After dinner we went back to our hotel to put the kids to bed. The kids insisted that Daddy tuck them in and watch some tv with them. I love this picture. They missed Dad so much and didn't want him out of their sight. I understand the feeling. 

Chris left bright and early for graduation. We followed a few hours later. 

Our hotel had a glass elevator and it was quite entertaining for the kids. 

We were on the 8th floor and the kids loved the long ride down on the elevator each day. 

We arrived at "Militia Hall" on base at "Camp Robinson". We found seats and attempted to keep the kids happy while we watched Daddy's graduation. 

Here's Chris' graduating class. There were 15 that graduated. There were a lot more officer candidates a year ago, but many didn't make it through the program. I'm telling you, it was ridiculously hard. 

I'm so proud of my husband and the other 14 officers. 

Here is Chris receiving his diploma. He looks so handsome in his dress uniform. 

After the new officers received their diplomas, each officer was pinned by a loved one. I was able to pin Chris' rank on him and we were both near tears. I'm just so proud of him and I think he was so relieved it was over. 

Here is the entire class in the dress uniforms. Tough looking bunch huh?

After graduation was over we had cake and punch.

We had to grab some pictures with our new 2nd Lieutenant. We are so proud of him!

We are so happy Mimi was able to be there for the graduation. 

Then Saturday night Chris and I got to go to military banquet for all the new officers. It was so formal, but we had a great time. Chris had so much fun catching up with all his classmates. 

It was a great night and we had a nice weekend with Daddy. We are thrilled to be home with him and let life resume as normal. So proud of him!!!!