Apple Orchard Fun

Last week we made it to the Country Apple Orchard. Grandma Nancy, Auntie Annie, the kids and I made it out. It was really fun and Christian had a blast.

We walked around the store:


We watched a bunch of apples get peeled:


Christian rode a horse!!


He road a 'train':


Sarah was carried around:


We rode a tractor to the apple orchard:


We picked apples:


Christian wanted to pick ALL the apples:


And Sarah even got in on the action:


It was a great afternoon and we are going back next weekend to pick pumpkins!!

Check. Check. And Check.

House packed up.
Check!
All in one day, I might add.

PT test for Matt to pass.
Check!
With Matt having the best run time of his military career, I might add.

Our vehicle making it's way to the processing center in St. Louis.
Check!
Getting there before WE do, I might add.

Things are getting done and we now have, roughly, 160 hours until Matt and I finally see each other in the flesh. It will be exactly four months of separation that we will be able to put behind us. He will soon be reunited with-
This boy:

This girl:

And this wife:


Like he has others??!! haha

He JUST text me, literally, and has ten minutes of outprocessing left. He can wash his hands of Hickam AFB and Oahu, Hawaii in T-minus 159 hours.

Not that I'm counting, I might add.

Matt Is A Geographical Bachelor

Definition: A geographic bachelor is a member that meets all of
the following criteria:
• Permanent party personnel assigned to an installation
within CONUS or Hawaii,
• Is in receipt of BAH at the With Dependents rate,
• Has received PCS orders providing for the transfer

But not for long!!! *happy dance* In less than two weeks we will finally be reunited. Hallelujah. He misses us and we miss him. It has been a tough four months and we are ready to put them behind us!

But it hasn't all been bad. We got to spend time with family and Matt was able to have some fun by himself. He went and listened to MANY live bands on base that play at the Enlisted Club. There were quite a few he really enjoyed. After our car was shipped he rented a convertible mustang! I'm super jealous and his ears are burned. :)

On Monday the process of packing our house finally begins. The movers come to start, what I'm assuming, will be a two-day pack-out. Matt also has a room booked at the Hale Koa (the military hotel) in downtown Waikiki starting Monday night. He will stay there until he leaves for good.

He spent the last few days taking all of our electronics apart and taking the TV off the wall. He took back our DVR box and has been getting the bills in order. He also went through the house to see what he could throw away.

It is getting so close I can feel him holding my hand. ...I know, I know. I'm getting all mushy gushy. This has been the longest he hasn't seen the kids or me in.....forever.

Happy Dance!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She's MOBILE!

My hip-baby Sarah Bear is now mobile. The one thing that I was so worried about with her, she is finally able to do. With her hip issues I was sad that she would most likely be delayed with any type of crawling/walking. The last few weeks she has been working hard to try and get caught up!

A few weeks ago Sarah was in the living room playing on her tummy. I walk out and talk to my mother in the hallway and go back to Sarah. She was sitting up!!! I asked my mom if she sat Sarah up and the reply was No. Dang, I missed it. So over the next few days we started to watch her and, sure enough, she started to scoot one leg under, push her butt back, and sit up! That's my girl.

Then she started to do what we call 'The Worm'. She would get up on all fours and literally throw herself forward into the ground. Get up on all fours again, bringing her knees closer to her hands, and throwing herself forward...over and over. This is how she got around if she wanted to get something. Super cute.

Now the last few days she has been scooting her knees a bit more. It would seem like she was going to take off crawling for real but then she would do the worm. Every so often she got one little scoot in with her legs. Today, however, it seemed to click and she took off a few times after Ollie! I got a few videos of the worm and her crawling. So stay tuned and look for them.

I am so proud of her. Her hips don't seem to bother her at all so I'm praying that is a good sign. She still isn't able to bear her entire weight on her legs but she sure tries. But I don't blame her. She is a good twenty pounds! Lots of weight to hold up on those little legs. Not to mention, she rarely used them for a good two months while in the brace. (We have been bad lately about keeping it on her all the time, shhhh!!)

Here is my mom helping Sarah to stand:


Now I have to really watch out. She can get anywhere if she wants to. My little girl is growing up....

ETA: Vidoes!
The Worm:


The Crawl!

Wow, I'm even worse!

I'm horrible at keeping this thing updated while I'm in Sioux Falls! Sorry!

It's just been so fun. So many things going on. The kiddos get to see their grandparents, and Auntie Annie, SO many times a week. It's just been great.

Matt is honestly going to be floored at how much each of them has grown up. Sarah is all over the place with rolling and trying to crawl, which looks like she is doing the worm. She has even been able to go from her tummy back to sitting a few times the past few days! She is getting to be a big girl. Twenty pounds - ooftah! She lets you know when she is ticked off or upset about something. Shakes her head, her arms, and grunts until you pay attention to her. She loves to shovel food in her mouth, too. Little oinker like to eat. We had goulash one night for supper and she literally ate three times more than Christian did. Well, maybe 1/3 of it ended up on her instead of in her.


Christian has been a goober but what else is new there. We have dabbled in potty training:


And he is finally getting along better with Ollie, the older, and grumpier, of the two dogs at my parents house:


He is using more words. Sometimes even getting those three-word sentences in. He asks for water all the time, especially in the car. He loves the moon. He says goodbye to it on nights that it is seen from the front of the house. He sees cigarette butts on the ground and calls them 'icky, gross' but still wants to pick them up. I think it is so he can throw them away? Ew, icky gross! haha

Other than just waiting, and waiting, and more waiting, for Matt to leave Hawaii to rejoin us, we haven't been doing much. Just enjoying how blessed we are with this quality grandparent time. Family is so important to us and we are thrilled that Christian and Sarah get to soak them up for a few more weeks before heading to Grand Forks.

All for now. I have some cute videos that I need to get uploaded for you all to see. I'll try that in another post!