HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LITTLE LEAH!!!!

Happy 1st Birthday to my cutie patootie, precious, funny, sweet, silly, beautiful niece Leah. Auntie Anna, Uncle Jeremy, and your big cousin Jace love you so much!!!

Pretty in Pink! Cute as can be even covered in frosting.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

This morning we woke up to find that Leprechauns had snuck in while we slept! They dyed our milk and eggs green and left behind little green boot prints!!

Jace was pretty excited to eat his green eggs and "hammy" with green milk for breakfast...


He was even more excited to find out that little leprechauns who make mischief also leave behind notes, green shirts, and a pot of gold(candy)!


Here's my handsome in the shirt the leprechaun brought him...


For lunch we had green grilled cheese sandwiches and MORE GREEN MILK! For some reason milk is A LOT tastier when it has been dyed green. hehe!

Hope everyone had a happy and luck filled St. Patrick's Day!!

Unexpectedly Awesome ....

Yesterday we woke up and decided to take a quick trip to Monterey. Jeremy had found an old truck there that he wanted to check out and Jace and I went along for the ride. THANKFULLY, Jeremy decided the truck was more work than he was looking for. I won't lie, I was pretty proud of the hubs for that decision. The truck was a BEAST and I was pretty sure that beast was coming home with us. Since the truck was a bust we headed over to our favorite deli in town for lunch before heading back home.
Let me just tell you a little about this deli, because if you ever go to Monterey you MUST stop and have lunch there! It is called Campagno's and is on Prescott street. From the outside it looks like your average corner market, but we know better than that. This place has hands down THE BEST sandwiches you will ever eat! Jeremy has been going here since he was stationed in Monterey many moons ago and the owner still remembers him! When I was pregnant I would make Jeremy drive me there just for lunch! Bennett, the owner, would bring me out a slice of Reese's Pie on the house "for the baby." hehehe. Yesterday as we were enjoying our lunch Bennett brought over a big ol' slice of that Reese's pie for Jace along with some passes to the aquarium. This guy seriously is just the best!
So off we went to the aquarium for some unexpected fun...

Last time we went to the aquarium it was just too big and too dark for Jace's liking. This time he had an absolute BLAST!


He giggled at the anchovies, who swim superfast in circles in this big round tank...


He got up close and personal with a penguin...


He directed Mommy & Daddy all over the aquarium...


He got to touch a starfish and a shell in the tide pool...


... and most importantly, he got to spend a fun day with his pal Daddy!!!!


We had such an unexpectedly awesome day! BIG thanks to our favorite deli owner Bennett!

WOOOOHOOOO!!!!

Pardon the excitement, but I just can't contain myself......JEREMY IS HOME!!!!!! It seemed like the year that was never going to end, but we can finally say that this deployment is behind us!!!

Yesterday was an awesome homecoming. It was totally the kind of thing you see in movies or on TV. Hundreds of loved ones gathered on the runway, all of us anxiously awaiting the arrival of our soldiers. The plane was actually able to taxi all the way down to where we were waiting which was pretty cool. It seemed like it took an eternity for the doors to open and for the soldiers to come down those stairs. When they finally did the crowd could not be contained. Cheers, applause, and a full on stampede broke out. We all held up our homemade signs and desperately tried to catch the first glimpse of our soldier coming out of the plane. Lucky for me my brother is a GIANT and was able to spot Jeremy right as he came out. I grabbed Jace and ran (well, as much as a gal in heels can).

As you can see Jace was VERY happy to have both his mommy and daddy together all at once. And yes, I got flowers!!! Awwww! (Good job hubs!)



After we had our hello it was off to see Jeremy's very own welcoming committee. His brother Jeff and his wife Jenn, My mom & her husband Ruben, My brother Christopher and his family, and our friends The Bales & The Hernandez families all made it out to welcome Jeremy home. He was so happy to see so many familiar smiling faces.


SO happy to have our little family back together again!


As you can see SOMEONE sure was happy to see his Daddy...






Jeremy gets to spend some time off now just relaxing and "decompressing" (as he puts it.) We spent today enjoying home cooked meals, playing at the park, and listening to Jace call out "Daddy"a million times for no reason other than the happiness of actually having his daddy here to answer him.
Thank you to those who kept Jeremy and our family in your thoughts and prayers through this deployment. We sincerely appreciate it and believe that all of your thoughts and prayers were truly a part in us getting through a very difficult year apart. We are so very blessed to have such an amazing support system in our friends and family.