Updates, Updates, Life moves on...

I know, I'm terrible.  I keep telling myself that I just need to post something small, some pictures or something.  Since Mike left in November, I have been journaling in different ways.  I have written letters almost daily.  I don't even know who looks at this blog (if anyone), so I figure it's more important to share what's going on in mine and Anabelle's lives with Mike than everyone else.  Sorry to those of you who may be waiting for a post from me. 

Anyway, in less than 3 weeks Mike will be an Ensign in the United States Navy.  I leave in 2 and a half weeks, along with Anabelle and Mike's parents, to fly out to Rhode Island for Mike's graduation.  I can hardly wait!!  I've been working on some projects for this event, so I will share them soon.  So much has changed in our family's live and plans within the past 6 months, and we are thrilled about the new adventures that lay ahead.  Our next step after OCS graduation is to move to Charleston, South Carolina for 6 months of Nuke school (training for those in the Nuclear Engineering program for the Navy).  After Nuke school will be 6 months of Prototype (training on live nuclear reactors), which will be either in Charleston as well or in upstate New York.  Then, 12 weeks of Submarine school in Groton, Connecticut will finish up his training.  At that point we will be stationed somewhere for 3 years while Mike fulfills his first Sea Tour.  We don't know yet how long his deployments will be but they will range anywhere from 2-6 months.  I know, that's a big range.  It will all depend on what type of submarine he is placed on.

For now, Anabelle and I are enjoying time spent with family here in Utah.  Thank you to all the family who has invited us into our homes.  It's a strange feeling not to have a home.  Although, right now I feel like I have 3 or 4 homes, just not one of our own. 

Well, Mike is doing fantastic at OCS.  He is now a Candidate Officer, which means he is in the final phase.  They are now the "top dogs" of OCS, or the oldest class there.  They have the responsibilities of making sure everyone at OCS fulfills their responsibilities and that everything gets done.  It's hard work, but I imagine very rewarding as well.  At least it will be once graduation is over :)  Mike gets to carry his cell phone with him all the time now, so I get to talk to him once or twice a day.  This has been amazing.  I know it sounds a little crazy being giddy about talking to your husband for maybe 15 or 20 minutes a day, but I absolutely am!  It's much better than the one time a week in which I could hear his voice.  I miss him so much, and this time apart has been very challenging.  In some ways it has been very rewarding though.  We have grown closer together through the letters we have written and our time apart.  I can't really explain it, but I'm grateful for that blessing.

So now, I have to change hears and focus on preparing to move.  I have to make sure that everything is ready to go before I leave for RI, because we still don't know whether we will be coming back to Utah to get our things or if we will just drive straight to SC and have movers come pick up our stuff.  Crazy life, not being able to plan anything until the last minute and then having to rush to get everything done in just a few days.  The craziest part is that we aren't even the ones who have the final say in how things go.  We wait for the military to give us our orders, telling us when and where to report.  This is why the famous military motto is "Hurry up and wait".  ha ha

Anabelle will be two years old on Friday.  I can hardly believe we will have a 2-year-old.  Mike will miss her birthday, of course, so we will just celebrate it again when we are all together.  AB, as I like to call her in writing (it's shorter), is doing very well.  Her vocabulary is amazing, and growing every day.  She speaks in complete full sentences all the time, and even uses proper grammar most of the time.  She is so intelligent and wise, and every day I have to stop and marvel at something she says or does.  She understands so much.  Today, she heard the dogs chasing each other in the other room, huffing and puffing, and she stopped playing with her puzzle to say, "The dogs are laughing!"  She loves to play with babies and stuffed animals, especially to take care of them.  She'll get right up close to their face and whisper to them things like "Are you hungry?"; "Are you okay?"; "Go to sleep. I love you."; and so on.  She responds so matter-of-factly and with such confidence somtimes when I ask her a question.  This exchange from the other day just made me laugh: We were getting out of the car.  When I put AB in, she had a flower bow in her hair.  As I got her out, I noticed it was gone. So I asked her, "Anabelle, where is your hair bow?"  She just looked and me and replied, "I took it off.  It's in the car seat."  I looked in the seat and there it was.  Just the way she said it made me laugh.  Another thing, she always knows where things are.  She remembers just about everything.  She's also a bit OCD.  Each thing has its proper place.  Only certain babies go in the stroller, cupboard doors must be closed and not left open, Mommy has to be sitting in the driver's seat or she gets upset and whines, "No, that's Mommy's seat.  That's Mommy's seat."  She does enjoy structure.  I'm learning this as well, since I am definitely not the most structured person there is.  I love her so much, and I am so blessed to have her in my life, accompanying me with my everyday adventures.  She is my little buddy, and her presence and bright personality lights up my life.  I am so grateful for the honor and blessing of being her mother.

Well, I think this is a good update for now.  A little long.  I do hope you enjoy :)

2 more days!

Mike will be home on Sunday!  I am so excited!!  We have been apart for 5 weeks, and I am so glad to have him home during the holidays.  Just thought I would share how happy I am :)

Long time no blog

Ok, so I know I should have posted a while ago, but what can you do?

Mike left for OCS (Officer Candidate School) November 14th, which means that Anabelle and I have been in Utah with family.  Mike will be in Rhode Island for 12 weeks (plus a 2 week break for Christmas!).  He is being stressed out and drilled physically, mentally, and emotionally during this time to prepare him to be an Officer in the Navy.  I am so proud of him and grateful for his hard work to become what he wants to be.  He is such an amazing example to me and I know that he will do his best and succeed at OCS and beyond.  Thanks Mike for all you do for us!

While in Utah, Anabelle and I have been going back and forth between various family members' homes (my parents, Mike's parents, my sister Laura's).  It's been great to have so many places we feel welcome and loved.  Thanks to everyone here for all your support!  Thanksgiving without Mike was certainly not the same, and was difficult at times.  I was able to speak to him for 5 minutes on the phone (which certainly wasn't long enough), but I was so grateful to hear his voice, know that he is okay, and tell him we love and miss him.  He misses us very much, too, and I think will much appreciate the break in December.  We had a good Thanksgiving, spending time with both sides of the family.  Lots of turkey, potatoes, rolls, and pie :)

My dad feeding all the kiddos blueberries
I think they liked it...
Ryder

Anabelle

Graham



Anabelle has been a trooper without her Daddy here.  I have definitely noticed a change in her.  For the first week and a half, she was very fussy, threw tantrums about everything, skipped naps, etc. She is doing much better now, but still gets sad sometimes when I ask her about Daddy.  I am so grateful to have her around.  She is such a spitfire, and very active.  My adorable, fearless, feisty little angel.  Oh how I love her.

Letter writing has become a common habit since Mike left.  I actually really enjoy it.  I feel like there is so much to tell him.  I can tell him all about the mundane things going on and know that he will still love hearing about it.  I haven't received a letter from him yet, but I expect to get one any day now.  It will be interesting to see if he has lost weight from all the exercise or just gained muscle :)  I just can hardly wait to see him.

Happy Holidays to you all!

blueberry pie and rolls

For those of you who may not know, I LOVE TO BAKE.  I have for a long time.  Here are just a few photos of some of the things I have made lately.

The crust, slightly baked

 The blueberry filling

 Crumb topping

 Ready to bake!

 All done.  Look at that yummy juice that leaked out

And yes, it was as delicious as it looked

 I make rolls quite often, but this time I decided to turn some of the rolls into coconut cinnamon rolls.  They turned out great!

 Sorry, no after pics of the rolls.  I forgot.

Yum Yum Yum.  Just thought I would share :)

Cookies, knitting, frogs, and more...

Anabelle has been helping me bake lately.  We've made cookies a few times (which she of course can't get enough of), biscuits, and she even helped me make bread the other night.  She gets to dump in the ingredients and help stir things up.  Kneading the dough also proved to be a lot of fun for her.  I've had a great time doing this with her.  We make a great team (although quite a messy one!!)

 Of course, I could hardly get her to stop eating it...

On another note, I learned to knit.  I needed a crafty, creative activity, so ere-go, my knitting hobby was born.  I really never thought I would be interested in learning, but I guess I was wrong.  This has been a relatively quick activity to learn, with low start-up cost (like $5).  My first project: an ear warmer headband for when I go running.  Since it has started getting cold, I don't want to completely forfeit running outside.  But I HATE when my ears get cold.  It hurts like crazy and takes forever for the feeling to go away when I get done.  I made the headband way too long, so I just sewed the seam where it fit best and twisted the extra into a flower.  I think it turned out okay, eh?

Anabelle was a frog for Halloween, and she loved her costume.  Her frog sounds are adorable, for those of you who have had the pleasure to hear them.  We went to a couple of community Halloween events, and then to our ward's trunk-or-treat last night.  It was fun getting her dressed up again this year, but I think next year (when I have my sewing machine handy), I will make her costume.

 Checking out the chickens

And a few more photos, for good measure:

Helping Mama clean out the pumpkin.

 This is her new favorite hat.  Anabelle always seems to have a favorite hat, which she wears ALL the time.  Little cutie, always making faces

 Mike, carving out his pumpkin.  You can see Anabelle's that she colored, on the table.

 I think this headband is absolutely adorable on her, when she will keep it on her head!

Visit from Nana and Papa

I must warn you, this post has a ton of pics.  I just didn't want to leave anything out.  This is why I have postponed it for so long...I knew it would take a while to blog about.  Nonetheless, here you go :)

My parents came out to visit us for about a week. We had a great time and kept pretty busy.  Anabelle misses having them around and seemed a bit confused as she awoke to an empty house the next morning.  (Even more empty than usual, as Mike went out of town at the end of their visit for his Navy VIP tour in Jacksonville, FL).  They brought her a gift, her favorite book "There's a wocket in my pocket", by Dr. Seuss, and an awesome stuffed Dr. Seuss creature, whom she calls "Wocket".

 Us getting ready to go out to celebrate Mike's 26th birthday (man, he's getting old)  :)

 Have I ever mentioned how much Anabelle LOVES stuffed animals?

 Annie with her Papa

 Trying to fit the entire delicious burger in my mouth.  Don't worry, I didn't eat the entire burger looking like a starving monster.

 She really likes ketchup with her fries

 Pretty pretty colors

 Anabelle really loved playing in the leaves

 This is among the many wonderful photos my mom took of the beautiful foliage

We stopped by the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. on our way up through Vermont and New Hampshire chasing the changing foliage.

 This enormous shoe, equipped with gum stuck to the bottom, stood outside

 Self-explanatory

 Enjoying the long car rides ;)

 The little orchard in Mass. we stopped at. They had a pumpkin patch, goats to feed, and some yummy ice cream

 She kept trying to lift these pumpkins, and even succeeded a few times

 These tall stalks are the weeds growing in the pumpkin patch.

 Check out this caterpillar, the fuzziest one I've ever seen.  Annie just went and picked it right up, no fear at all.  I, on the other hand, was much more hesitant.

 Lots and lots and lots of pumpkins

.We took my parents to NYC for 2 days.  This is a photo in time square.

 and another

 Playing on a playground in Central Park

 The Guggenheim museum

 Lady Liberty was so beautiful (and soooo big)!

Anabelle was very tired.  Here I am copying her grumpiness

 All of us with the city in the background.  Taken from Liberty island.

 Ellis island

Thanks Mom and Dad for such a great visit!!