my daddy...

james, in my daddy's hat.

on a drive with my daddy.  he gets as emotional about these military things as me!  (these were boots lined up for about a 1/2 mile on memorial day.)

my daddy took my baby and me to the er on vacation when he was sick and nothing else was open, cause it was a holiday...

my daddy helped me (along with everyone else) keep watch over my sicky...

my daddy loves on my boys.  

and they love on him.

my daddy is so patient.  and loving.  

i love my daddy.  i have been told i am a lot like him (although my husband will tell you that each day, i am more like my mom!).  i am so glad that my daddy raised me the way he did.  traveling all over the world with us.  racing to school so i could be the first one there to get the library book i wanted.  taking me out for ice cream (and giving me my love for sweets that's continued!).  giving me the confidence to leave home after high school and never really come back (except for vacations or extended stays).  he always believes in me and gives me courage to fly.  

he taught me to dance.  how to let someone else lead (alright... i am still TRYING to learn that lesson...).  to dance when pretty music plays.  to stop and enjoy the moment.  to make small things into fun, big things.  

there were so many father's day cards out there... and each i read just didn't do him justice.  i am who i am, in large part, because of my dad.  he let me cry and scream when i couldn't get my driver's permit on my birthday.  he moved mountains to get it as soon as possible.  i have always believed that even if i can't do it, or anyone else can do it, my daddy can do it.  and, if daddy can't, IT'S JUST NOT. POSSIBLE....  

he gave me a love for Jesus.  and taught me how to make that a priority.  and that is the most important thing.  thank you daddy... happy father's day.

and i would be remiss to not mention my amazing husband...  who is the father to our three beautiful children.  like my dad, who traveled so much, he moves mountains to make sure his kids know how much he cares about them.  chris walked around all vacation with my phone, hugging it, because it has a picture of david on it.  my kids know they are cherished by their daddy.  i am so proud of him... and so blessed to be his wife...

sleepy... and besties!

getting on our second flight.  it was a prop plane.  and nora ended up sitting next to me.  at one point, she wanted to know why i was grabbing her leg so hard.  she thought it was fun that the plane was bouncing around in the sky!  i was trying to be the brave adult and not let her see my terror!

baby boy...

this kid PASSED out.  he was sleeping sitting up, and chris was sleeping on me, so i couldn't get over to put him down.  this sweet teenager in front of me, on his way home from a missions trip, pulled him to laying position when asked.  but it terrified james!  hadn't thought about him waking up to a strange person pulling at him!  thankfully he fell back asleep...

silly girl...  

how we were greeted.  is there anything better?  (the kids were super stoked about their gluten free chicken nugs, and me about the lemonade!!

check out both super men!

he thought the lemonade was pretty decent, too!  check out how travel weary he looks!

long lost best friends for life no matter what!

my brother...

new friends... checking each other out!

old friends.  

and we got to go see this play, "i never saw another butterfly again".  it was about the holocaust.  and amazing!  then, this lady, a holocaust survivor, stood up and talked.  she was precious.  and amazing!  there were 5000 people that lived in her town.  4998 were Jewish.  two were Christians.  (cause the postal workers couldn't be Jewish.)  out of the 5000 people in her town, i think she said 33 people survived.  thirty three.  her family was the one that survived most in tact, only losing one brother.  they hid in the woods for 2 years.  oh.  my.  goodness!  

pre-vacay...

this girl.  she's getting so old.  and i am not a fan.  i want my baby back!!!  (okay, truthfully, i adore her.  she's precious and a huge help and so much fun.  but seriously!!!)

and this kid.  he's a ham.  and so much fun.  i love his imagination.  and his energy for life.  i CANNOT wait to see what he does.

then there's this kid.  this kid.  man, i absolutely love him!!!  

and he loved his ono pop.  ono means "good" in hawaiian.  and they were.  locally made with local fruit.  amazing!!!

nora's last day before vacay.  and i totally forgot about crazy hair day.  mom fail.  but she loved it!!  glad i covered it well!!!

baby boy.  just being sweet!

getting in the elevator with our three suitcases and four carry ons!

my baby and me in the airport!

saying goodbye to miss carley!  thankful they let her through security to help me out!

the red eye.  most of the night, he was under the blanket completely.  it was so cute!!!

we had a 3 hour delay in dc.  so, i found a quiet, deserted spot, and let the kids run.  

i also bought new crayons and coloring books, and gave them to the kids in the airport.  they had a blast!!!  best $20 spent at target!

sweet kids.  

beach and a birthday..

sweet boy.  who got so big while we were gone!!!  he starting using a ton of "words" (granted, that only mommy can understand!!)...  he is using sign well...  such a cool kid!

and this girl.  she's the biggest help with chris.  she entertains him and cares for him.  so proud of her.  she's so mature and so much fun!

girls.  

he loved the baby.  he loved being the "big kid".  it was so fun to watch him try to entertain her!!

and he really enjoyed the water!

my fish convinced auntie byssa to take her out far!

and this kid... you should see him swim.  he's gone from being terrified of the water to being a fish... also so proud of him!!!

boys.  on the beach.

sisters!  (missing the newest, soon to be sister!)

well, we are back and have hit the ground running!  the kids have adjusted well to a six hour time difference!  again, so proud of them.  we saw miss carley today for the first time, and chris just walked around saying "car, car, car, car" all day.  it's cute to watch him love on her!!!  

today was my mom's birthday.  i am so thankful for my mom and am only the woman i am because of her.  she always has the right answer for the questions i have and we routinely got asked at home if she was my sister.  i hope to look like her, and to be as amazing as she is, when i grow up!!!  happy birthday mom!!!

getting started...

we started on vacay on the 20th of may.  i REALLY meant to update while i was gone.  (for d's sake at least!!)  but, i was lazy.  and didn't bring my computer.  and just VACATIONED!  it was wonderful...  

the kids and i flew overnight to ohio.  james and nora slept the WHOLE way to our layover in dc.  chris didn't.  he slept about an hour, then off and on all night.  mostly off.  then, we had a delay, but i had some tricks up my sleeve.  new crayons, etc.  and then a short jaunt to cleveland.  

once we were there, we had a whirlwind two days before james, nora and i drove to raleigh to visit my bfflmw (best friend for life no matter what!!!- we've known each other since 4th grade!).  chris got to fly down a few days later.  

laura with nora...  making flower necklaces!

we were at a dairy farm, and got ice cream.  made from the cows milk on the dairy farm.  good stuff!

my boy.  in all his 4 year old glory!

then we drove over to emerald isle.  and had a wonderful week...  this is what it looked like not long after we arrived!!!  pool.  solo cups.  family.  

this was monday.  memorial day.  james had been fighting something off and was just miserable at the beach.  but he didn't want to miss out.  (i took him to the er later that day, and he rallied by the next day to enjoy the rest of vacay!)

sweet girl getting buried in the sand!

looking for something to drink.  

it was every bit as fabulous as it looks!!  our pool was on the ground floor.  

relaxing!

we got back last night.  when we got to the airport, the kids and i were split up all over the plane.  so, i stood in line to ask the gate agent to move us together.  so, i was first in line when they announced they were oversold and needed bumpers.  i volunteered and we got $1500, upgraded to first class on one leg of the flight and $30 for food.  (in addition to $150 they had given us after our last flight for the delay!!)  we got an extra three hours, so we went out to breakfast, and loved being in first class.

for some reason, they couldn't get us together AGAIN for the second flight.  and no one wanted to trade so the two kids wouldn't be by themselves.  they wanted to sit next to two kids without their mother, who were crying at the thought, rather than move their seat!  unbelievable!  oh, and it also meant moving to the extra leg room aisle!  we finally got it worked out...

chris slept 12 hours last night!  and the other two were up at 3:30.  but they are in bed now...  here's hoping they adjust well!!!  more pics on the rest of vacation...