Suzie Q... aka Melissa

We have a creeper!

2010-09-19T21:22:00.001-07:00

So right now my Mom is down in Texas visiting us at our new home. Gary is always pulling pranks and Mom got to know Gary really good this past week.
Tonight Gary left for the grocery store to get us all some ice cream. I was upstairs on the phone talking to Tabitha and Mom was downstairs playing with Jackson. Jacksons favorite game is to chase this laser around, he'll do it for hours!

Little did we know that while we thought Gary was at the store THIS was creeping around our house looking in the windows!

Gary pushed the back door open just a little bit. Mom was just outside with Jackson and she thought she didn't close the door all the way so she walked over to close it.

When she got to the door, this is what popped in and grabbed her!!! All of a sudden I hear Mom screaming and yelling and even Tabby on the phone was saying what is going on at your house what is all that screaming. I ran down the steps....

And this is what I saw... Mom pointing the laser at Gary and screaming. She was trying to hurt or kill him with the laser!!! I started yelling at Gary cuz I thought he was going to give Mom a heart attack. At this point Mom ran to the couch and was hiding. She literally had her head burried in the couch cushions. Mom I think you need to come up with some better defense moves cuz a laser isnt going to hurt anything....

So I think it is payback time... Gary better watch out!!

My Lunch Box!!

2010-04-19T22:57:00.000-07:00

So a couple of months ago I was talking about how I want a lunch box. Every day for work I carry my sad little lunch into work in a plastic bag. Well, there are no cool lunch boxes anymore, not like when I was a kid! When we were in Disney Land I looked for a cool one but no where to be found, no one sells those anymore.

Gary asked me what kind did I have growing up. I said I think it had horses on it and it was pink. I remember Kari had a New Kids on the Block one...hahaha.

Well today there was a little package waiting for me when I got home. It has been weeks since I've been talking about a lunch box so I forgot all about it. Well, Gary did not he has been searching the internet for one and he found me one. I was so excited! It's a little metal lunch box with horses on it. He is too sweet.

It even has a little farmer on the side picking corn!

Jackson wanted his picture taken. :)

Me and Jackson.

Swimming with the Dolphins

2010-03-28T22:29:00.000-07:00

We had one of the most amazing days ever at SeaWorld San Diego. While we were planning this trip I had told Gary I have always wanted to swim with the dolphins. I mentioned it to Kiana and she was so excited! Kianas birthday was right at the end of mid tour so we decided as part of a birthday gift we would let her swim with the dolphins.

We had soo much fun! It was amazing, they are such beautiful animals. It was an experience Kiana and I will never forget and I was so happy to share it with her.

The most interesting part...getting in and out of a wet suit. Not easy! It peels on and off like a banana and we got stuck several times. We had to walk thru the park with these on from the locker room to the dolphin tank. It was well worth it tho!

First meeting the dolphins and getting aquainted. We had 2 dolphins. Gracie who is the oldest dolphin in the park weighing over 600 pounds. And Camille (I think that was her name) who was one of the youngest and the trainer let Kiana help her teach Camille some tricks.

Kiana with Gracie.

Kiana with Camille learning some training techniques.

Kiana going for a ride on Gracie. We both swollowed some salt water- yuck!

Kaila was too young to swim with the dolphins so her and Gary had some fun of their own. They got to pet, feed and train some dolphins as well.

She is such a Daddy's girl. I love watching them together. :)

So the dolphin experience was definately worth it and definately plan on doing it again!

Some Random Short Little Stories...

2010-02-28T21:44:00.000-08:00

Here's some favorites of mine from the trip....I have A LOT of favorites.

Is this Kaila, a kitten or the newest member of the band KISS?

Kaila and her cousins Zane and Isaac

One of the best rides at Disney is Indiana Jones. Kiana got to drive the jeep during the ride. She's a pretty crazy driver. Cant wait til she turns 16!!

This picture is for my sisters.... they know why.

At the show A Bugs Life. It was a great show! I love the glasses, wish I could have taken a pair home with me.

Sooo much like her Dad. :)

Our last night in Dinsey we played a lot of games trying to win some prizes. All I won was these 2 little ducks. I played Kaila in this horse race game (and about 5 other people) and she won this horse! She was so proud. Then us girls tried another game and Kiana won the big Dumbo. I think we went home with 8 or 9 of those little stuffed ducks. It's just a matter of time before Jackson finds them.

The girls with all their trophies!

Disney Land Characters

2010-02-28T20:36:00.000-08:00

Sooo many pictures to choose from. I didn't realize how many characters we got to meet and I wanted to meet more! The girls bought autograph books and every time we saw a character they got their autograph- too cute.

Kiana and Dale- he was famous for blowing kisses at us every time we saw him.

Aladdin- We were eating and Kaila kept seeing Aladdin and wanted him to come to our table so bad. When he finally did she froze! She would not talk to him and kept blushing. I'm surprised I got her to take a picture with him. We joked with her the rest of the trip about her big crush on Aladdin.

Baloo

Tinkerbelle at her house- I think she was Kailas favorite

Cinderella- she was teaching the girls how to pose for pictures

One of my favorite times, eating breakfast at Goofys kitchen. Goofy joined us for breakfast. He asked the girls to dance so they went in the middle of the restaurant and danced to the Twist.

Dancing!

Chip joined us for breakfast for a little bit too.

The 4 of us with Pluto at Goofys kitchen.

And last but not least Minnie Mouse. She was actually the first character we saw and we saw her a lot!

1st day at Disney Land and our Mickey Ears

2010-02-27T22:50:00.000-08:00

I have never been to Disney Land before so Gary brought me this button that said "1st visit!" Anyone else that I saw wearing one was about 2 years old. But it was so cute I wore it all 3 days.

I think I was more excited than the girls. I told Gary I wanted one those hats with the Mickey ears. So our first day there all 4 of us got a hat. I had no idea there were so many! Every kind of Mickey Mouse ears you can imagine. I couldnt decide so Gary and I just got the regular plain Mickey and Minnie ears. The girls picked out some pink ones and had princess stuff put on them. We all had our names wrote on the back and wore them all day!

Showing off my 1st Visit button!!

Me and the girls headed to the park our first day.

See... every kind of ears you can imagine. We had to try on the bride and groom ears for fun. This whole trip we had friends and family asking if we were going to get married or engaged, especially when we went to Vegas. So we took this picture and emailed it to my mom that night...I dont remember getting any response from her tho. She probably just shook her head and said- those brats.

Gary and Kiana

Gary and Kaila watching the parade.

One of my favorite pictures. We had so much fun that first day!! I cant wait to go back again.

Another Joni...??

2010-02-27T22:20:00.000-08:00

When Gary and I first met something about my little sister Joni came up. I remember him saying, "you have a little sister named Joni- so do I!" I was like yeah right you're just saying that because NO ONE else has a Joni. Well I was wrong.... his little sisters name is Joni. Pronounced and spelt the same way. I finally got to meet Joni and her family on our vacation!

Me and Joni

By the way did I mention he also has a Grandma named Joni!! She came with to Disney Land too. I didnt get many pictures of her but here she is with Kaila. It was so funny saying Grandma Joni all the time... So now I have 3 Jonis in my life- what are the chances of that??

I love San Diego...

2010-02-26T23:42:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite days out of the two weeks was our last day in San Diego. I think we all wished we could have spent a little more time there, especially along the beach. I got to show them where I used to live when I lived there for a summer.

Our last day before we headed to Disney Land we ate breakfast along the boardwalk. I cant remember the name of the place but under the name it said "the best breakfast on the beach" and it was!!

Love this picture of the girls! After we ate we headed down to the water. I think all of us would have loved to spend the entire day there together.

One of my favorite pictures from the entire trip.

Looking for sea shells.

Kiana was on a mission to find the PERFECT sea shell. She had handfuls of them to go through.

While we were eating breakfast I was telling them how when I lived there and went swimming I loved the water but was afraid of it because I always got sucked in and the waves are soo strong and you just get carried out sometimes. Well while they were hunting for sea shells Kaila got caught in the water and fell completely in. Here she is all upset waiting for Gary to come back with nice warm DRY clothes. I asked her Kaila what happened..."the ocean got me."

After she had some new clothes she was right back in the water!

The Grand Canyon

2010-02-26T23:19:00.000-08:00

Garys hometown Williams, AZ is the last town you go through to get to the Grand Canyon so we definately made it there. It was cold and snowy! We didnt get to see a lot of it. We saw one part of it and then we went into the gift shop and then ate lunch. When we came out after lunch it was snowing so hard we couldnt see the Grand Canyon at all. So there will definately be a 2nd trip back there to see more of it because it was beautiful!

Absolutely love this picture of me and the girls!!!

Almost looks like a painting.

Anytime we take the girls anywhere and there is a gift shop of some sort Kaila will find the rocks. Hmmmm.....who does that sound like?? She has so many bags of rocks from all over the place! I am guaranteed to find one or two in her pockets when I do laundry.

On our way back to the car of course a snowball fight started. Gary against me and the girls...I think Gary won. We were all thrown in the snow banks at least once!!

First stop, Arizona.

2010-02-26T20:49:00.000-08:00

The first stop in our trip was Arizona. Friday we headed down to Pheonix to pick up the girls. We were so excited to see them!! Then we stayed up in Flagstaff and Williams where Gary grew up. He got to show us his old schools and some of the houses where he lived. We also got to meet a ton of his family! Saturday they had a big welcome home party for him. Then we spent super bowl Sunday at his aunt and uncles house.

One of the days in Flagstaff we took the girls shopping for their Christmas present. Kiana has been wanting a skateboard so bad for the last few months so that is what she picked out. She was so cute she had one all custom made with matching wheels and everything. Of course Kaila decided she wanted to be like her older sister and she needed a skateboard too. She found the perfect one, a pink Hello Kitty board! Had her name written all over it. The girls got backpacks to carry their boards and walked around the mall with them. They were so funny, Kailas is about as big as she is. I didnt get any pictures of them with their boards tho...too busy and kept forgetting.

Too many pictures to go through from Arizona so here is just a few favorites mostly of the girls. They were the same yet different. Taller for sure and growing like crazy but after 5 minutes it felt like the 4 of us were never seperated at all.

Gary holding Kaila at the airport when we first saw them. I'm a little bummed I didnt get more pictures but we were too excited and distracted to be taking pictures.

Me and Kiana. We have gotten so close I love this girl to death! She told me once that she thinks of me as one of her best friends. She is one of the sweetest most thoughtful people that I know. I see so much of Gary in her, not only in looks but personality wise they are the same!! She is so smart and is getting straight A's in school. We know she will be successful in whatever she does in life!

Me and Kaila. Well I call her by her middle name, Jude. She is quite the character, never a dull moment when she is around. We had so much fun this trip with her. She is always willing to try anything (as long as Daddy is not too far away). Definately always attached to his hip. We all call her his mini me because they look sooo much alike! All of Garys family was like wow...twins.

The Twins :)

This last picture was taken at his aunts house. They had a wii with dance competitions on it so everyone was taking turns. Me and the girls did a couple together....I'm pretty sure I lost but it was a lot of fun.

Crab Legs...yummy!!

2010-02-26T20:33:00.000-08:00

So Garys first night home we were both craving crab legs, our favorite! One of our favorite places to go eat is Joe's Crab Shack. We knew we werent going to be in Colorado very much these two weeks so we invited some of our good friends out to dinner so they could spend some time with Gary.

Clearly Tara is ready to eat some crab legs! Bib on and beer in hand... she's ready to go.

Yummy!!

One of Garys best friends- Joe and his girlfriend Christina joined us for dinner. It was a great night!

Mid Tour 2010!!

2010-02-26T20:07:00.001-08:00

So I figured I should maybe update my blog since it's been a few months! I'm trying to remember how this thing even works because it's been so long. I haven't had much to write about lately but as most of you know Gary was just home on his 2 week mid tour from Afghanistan. It had been almost 9 months since we had seen each other...way too long!!! We had the most wonderful 2 weeks ever! I got 2 weeks vacation from work and Gary had an entire trip planned for me him and the girls. I will try to keep posting on parts of our trip but it's going to be hard picking out which parts were my favorite because there is a lot! I'll start with picking him up at the airport.

Waiting for days to hear from someone if they're in the states yet or not or when they are coming in and then flights are delayed... I was almost sick just because I was so anxious and nervous to see him. But he got in Tuesday morning right on schedule! I guess I'll let the pictures say the rest....

In case you are wondering who is this other girl in this picture...? This is my best friend Mandy. She came with to the airport to take pictures for me. Isnt she sweet. :)

Here he comes.... I was speechless. I kept telling him I was going to tackle him when I finally saw him but I didnt, I froze for a few seconds! But then I jumped up and ran at him!!

We probably stood there and hugged for a good 10 minutes... just werent ready to let each other go yet.

Sooo happy and a great start to the best 2 weeks ever!

A loss for words...

2009-10-07T21:19:00.001-07:00

As many of you know this last weekend was pretty rough. A lot happened with Garys unit in Afghanistan. Luckily Gary is ok and doing well. But I still cant help not thinking about the families who got that horrible knock at their door. Please keep these soldiers families in your prayers.

http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/63548602.html

http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/63700862.html

We are down to 8 more months of this deployment for Gary. Hopefully it goes by quick with Gary returning home safe and sound!

September Gone Already!

2009-09-26T14:40:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it is almost October! But I am not complaining- time needs to keep flying by. It was a pretty uneventful month here in Colorado. Afghanistan has been very rough, getting worse and worse. Gary is moving this week to a new location. This place is nicknamed "Camp Hell" because it is one of the worst places to be stationed at overseas. Below is a link that was on the news a few months ago of Camp Lowell (Camp Hell) and the unit that was there before Garys unit took over. Gary is going to be the new company 1st Sgt there. I know I always say this but please now more than ever keep him and his soldiers in your thoughts and prayers.

Link here: ABC News: Camp Hell 7-18-2009 by Mike Boettcher

One good thing that keeps us going is great memories and looking forward to making many more great memories! So I thought I'd post some pictures from before Gary deployed. We are all counting down the days til January when he is home for a couple weeks!

Gary and I at the Valentines Day Military Ball

One of my favorite pictures! Gary and his mini twin Kaila.

Gary and Kiana on Christmas morning

Gary and I out dancing one night with our friends.

A gift on my doorstep today

2009-09-26T14:20:00.000-07:00

So this weekend I have been feeling a little under the weather...well a lot under the weather. Thank goodness I had the last 2 days in a row off from work! Gary keeps saying I wish I was home, I wish I could help you feel better. So today there was a knock at my door and when I opened it this is what was on my doorstep. A get well fruit basket! It did the job tho it made me smile and laugh! The balloon actually sings if you tap on it. It sang "dont worry, be happy."
I don't know how he thinks of these things! I also got an early Christmas present...well he said it is my parents Christmas present.... a flight home for the Holidays!! How did I get so lucky to meet this guy??

The basket

The base is actually a piggy bank duck. It looks like my easter basket from mom and dad!

The fruit was shaped like flowers and teddy bears. It was actually really good fresh fruit too!

The best part was the bottom that was all chocolate covered strawberries!!! MMMM!!!!

A teddy bear pineapple. :)

A rough month!!

2009-08-29T21:34:00.000-07:00

Finally it is the end of August! August has kind of turned out to be a stressful month. I lost Jackson...but was lucky enough to find him 5 days later. And then a few days ago I got into a car accident with Garys mercedes. Not my fault by the way...some lady on her cell phone not paying attention couldnt decide do i want to go straight...or turn...or how about I just slam on my brakes during a green light in the middle of an intersection and sit and think about it. Not cool!

It has been even more rough over in Afghanistan. It seems like every time Gary calls there is stuff going on in the background that I really dont need to hear....or want to hear. He told me that a few days ago his group went on a big "mission" because of the elections going on over there. He said it was absolutely horrible but he also told me that he carried with him in his bag the Prayer shall that my Grandma Emmerich made for him...I think he rubbed it a few times for some good luck. And him and all of his guys made it back from their mission safely. Thanks Grandma. :) They have had A LOT of casualties this last month and its not getting any better. Please keep him in your prayers.

Here's some pictures from this last month.....

Jackson is back! He found this under my bed and was laying on it. It's the blanket from Kianas bed...he must be missing her...so do I! I miss the girls so much!

These two pictures are for my mom. Once in a while I help our friend Joe out. Joe is a single dad of six kids!! So last friday night I babysat all six, plus their dog and Jackson. Mom called me while I was at their house and she said "what are you doing, where are you!?" She put me on speaker phone and her and dad thought it was hilarious listening to me chase around these kids and be the referee between these two dogs. In this house there is no "time out" corner...I am making a penalty box...5 minutes for rough housing! I dont know how but I managed to take care of them all, no one got hurt and I got them all fed, showered and put to bed. We also all went for a walk...with the dogs. I am so brave!! But I do have to admit the two older ones are like 9 and 11 and are a tremendous help with the 4 little ones.

Poor poor Ben...yes I named Garys car. His name is Ben. This is the damage. It may not look like a lot but it is NOT cheap to fix.

So I will end this blog on a positive note... we have 3 months of this deployment down and 9 to go!! A quarter of the way done!! Time needs to keep flying by! 4-5 more months til I get to see him and the girls for 2 whole weeks during mid-tour. I cant wait! We already started planning our vacation...time just needs to hurry up so January/February can get here!

REUNITED!!!

2009-08-18T15:21:00.000-07:00

So today was day 5 that Jackson had been missing. I was trying not to give up hope. We looked everywhere! The humane society every day, walked through parks and some unpleasant places, put out flyers, posted on craigslist. Didnt know what else to do.
Well today I went into the humane society and was looking through reports that came in since yesterday. I found one that a lady reported found in the same area and matched his description.
I went over to her house and sure enough there was Jackson! She found him on saturday, which means Thursday and Friday who knows where he was. But she took very good care of him and kind of got attached to him. She said if I ever need a dog sitter to call her up. And how crazy is this she lives about 5 houses down from where he went missing. He was just right around the corner this entire time.
But I am so happy and relieved! Gary and I were thinking how are we going to tell the girls, especially Kiana. Kiana got pretty attached to him and Jackson has never chosen anyone over me except for her. One night when Jackson was really sick and throwing up we found Kiana in her room with him. She made a bed on the floor and was laying there with him holding onto him. She took care of him all night. Jackson loves that girl!
I'm so glad to have him back...even though he is a pain in the butt sometimes.

Crying by the door to go outside...I think he's done enough running around!

Aww who wouldn't want this lil guy!?

I Lost My Puppy...

2009-08-13T19:24:00.000-07:00

Well today is turning out to be not a very good day. Jackson got out again but this time he's gone and no where to be found. We have searched everywhere for hours. The neighbors, surrounding neighborhoods, parks...I've been to the humane society twice today. I got so excited about five times because there were dogs brought in that matched his description...nope not him. I was shocked at how many missing dogs there were-a lot just from today!! I'm going back in in the morning. I feel so sick I lost my appetite. For those of you who dont know me well Jackson is like my child. Hopefully he finds his way home tonight.

Jackson as a baby

He was so cute!

He kind of looks like an otter in this picture.

Standing guard like always. He was always so protective over me and Kiana and Kaila.

My Birthday Present!!

2009-08-12T20:04:00.000-07:00

Ok so this was not really my birthday present...but it is on my future wish list. Today was my birthday and it overall ended up being a very good day. I just wish Gary and the girls were here to spend it with me. I spent some time at the mercedez benz dealership. I had to bring in Garys car to get fixed and of course sit there for hours! My best friend Mandy was with me so we made it fun. I think everyone in the dealership thought we were crazy. We definately took advantage of all the free drink and cookies. They have an under ground showroom so we went and checked it out. That's when I found this car.
We finished our day by Mandy taking me out to dinner and then did some shopping. Thanks Mandy for a great day!

I'd look good driving this around!

Mandy and I

Mandy found herself a car too.

Happy Wedding Anniversary Mom and Dad

2009-08-04T23:11:00.000-07:00

Today (August 5th) is Mom and Dads 31st wedding anniversary! Happy Anniversary! Love and miss you guys!!

Mom and Dad dancing at Joni and Bobs wedding. My dad is so handsome.

And then there were six! What a great family to grow up with, we are so blessed!

And this picture is just for fun. Aren't we just cute together?

Another Month Down

2009-07-29T22:51:00.000-07:00

Well the countdown continues...2 months down 10 to go! 6 months til mid tour and I get 2 weeks with Gary and the girls. Time needs to start going a little bit faster!

I figured every blog is a little more interesting when it has a picture. So here is Gary and I at Joni and Bobs wedding reception. I know this was toward the end of the night and we were exhausted. I had my hoodie on half the time cuz I was freezing! I'm sure right before this picture was taken I was saying...I'm tired my feet hurt from dancing in these shoes...lets go home. :)

A Bitter Sweet Photo

2009-07-28T18:49:00.000-07:00

I called this a bitter sweet photo because I was excited today to see a recent picture of Gary but the photo in itself is sad. This was taken over in Afghanistan at his friend and soldiers memorial service. Gary lost his friend Jason about 2 weeks ago. It's a big reality check when things like this happen. Especially seeing pictures of them over there and it's not just people on the news that I dont know it's people I've met and friends of ours. Please keep Gary and his soldiers in your thoughts and prayers.

Gary is on the left, standing, 4th person in.

Puppy For Sale!!!!

2009-07-22T20:38:00.000-07:00

Ok so he's not really a puppy he actually just turned 3 years old (in human years). I love Jackson to death but this week I am ready to give him away!! In the last 2 weeks for whatever reason he has turned into this social dog who now wants to never be locked up and roam the neighborhood all day while I am at work and meet the neighbors. I used to be able to leave him in the backyard all day and he'd run around and play but never run away. Now he is an escape artist! He started breaking out of the fence by chewing the wood and slipping underneath and he'd be free. So I started being mean and locking him in his kennel. Well he sat in there a day and must have thought enough of this I'm breaking out and he did! I have resulted to everything yesterday he was tied on a rope, locked in his kennel and still got out! How...he has learned to take off his collar!! He has escaped at least 5 times in the last week. Luckily random neighbors keep bringing him back. Yesterday he hung out with some guy named Kevin who lives down the street and Kevin was nice enough to bring him home. I guess Jackson spent the afternoon there hanging out- what a weirdo! My neighbor Roy has found him several times and calls me at work to let me know. The other day I saw him trotting down the street like he was some cool teenager hanging out in the hood. Oh and one day he was just chilling on the front porch waiting for me to come get him. CRAZY DOG! I'm ready to pull my hair out...anyone have any good suggestions???

Notice the kennel door is shut and Jackson is on the outside looking in like he's innocent...and look how destroyed his pen is!!

His escape door

How can a 110 pound dog fit through that hole!? And chew through metal??

Seriosuly, what a mess! I think he thinks its a game now like how fast can I break out today.

Oh now he rests in his house. He's probably exhausted from partying all day!

Jackson and I had a little talk before I took this picture...the talk involved a stick, my shoe and his butt. So he ran and hid in his house....he thinks I cant see him in there. What a brat!

Baby Bella

2009-07-19T17:59:00.000-07:00

Nope this is NOT Tabbys baby it is my friend Nicki's. She finally had little Bella at 2:00 this morning. Luckily I was off today so I got to go see her in the hospital. Her Daddy gets to come home from Iraq and meet her in about 3 weeks.

She is sooo tiny!!

I know she was 7 pounds 9 ounces...and I dont remember the rest.

More Pics...

2009-07-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up and checked my email and it was like Christmas morning again...more pics!! This first picture I'm not too sure how I feel about it. He is not just posing for the camera he was actually "working" and had the guy next to him take a picture during a "break." My mind cant really process what is actually going on...its just weird to think about it and I choose not to. Just like I do not watch the news. I talked to him this morning and he said to tell everyone Hello!

Not your typical day in the office...

Across this river if you look closely you can see little villages.

Back in the office...like its just another normal day.

This made me laugh! The last picture he sent was this one of him and his girls. Its an older picture from a couple years ago when he took them to Disney Land. He said he thought it'd make me smile. It's crazy how they can go from being in a war zone and doing their job to thinking about times like these just hanging out with your family...I guess pictures and memories like these are what get them thru the day over there!

Afghanistan Pics

2009-07-08T17:51:00.000-07:00

So I have been telling Gary I want to see you...send pictures!! He told me that when he gets mail over there he feels like a kid on Christmas morning. They get so excited to open a letter or receive a package. Well today I felt like a kid in a candy store when I came home and checked my email. He sent me some pictures so I thought I would share a couple with you guys.
It's crazy how excited you get just to see a picture of someone!

He said...can you tell how tired I am...aww poor guy :(

This is his little tiny room. Has just enough room to turn around in a circle. He is lucky tho because most of the guys have to share rooms and he gets his own private one. I was shocked to see a tv in there! I'll have to ask him if it actually works and when does he have time to use it?? Hopefully I'll be getting more pictures soon to share with you all.

Happy 4th!!

2009-07-05T13:23:00.000-07:00

So my 4th of July this year was a little different than usual. I got up and went to work til 6:00. The mall was dead! There's not too many people that go shopping on the 4th. By the time I got out of work it was raining and thunderstorming out. I had made plans with my friend Ilene. Her husband Kyle is a good friend of Garys and is in Afghanistan with him. So we spent the 4th together...better than spending it alone! We ate some dinner at Chilis and it was still raining out so we watched the fireworks that the air force academy was having from my car in the chilis parking lot.
Then we decided to go to a bar called Meadow Muffins in Old Colorado City. Our good friend Joe works there so we went to visit him. Joe is a good friend of Garys and one of Garys old roomates.

Me and Ilene

Almost every picture of Gary he is giving the peace sign. So here's Joe and I doing Garys signature move... throwing up the dueces.

This last picture was taken this morning in church. I usually sit with Raquel and her family. I've worked with Raquel for the last 4 years at Zales. Her daughter Maiya is usually attached to my hip. This is miss Maiya...she's such a cutie.

Happy 3rd Of July!

2009-07-03T23:15:00.000-07:00

So today I got to celebrate the 4th Of July on the 3rd. On Ft Carson they have the big party and fireworks on the 3rd so no one has to work on the actual 4th. I was off of work today so I spent the afternoon on post with my friend Nicki. Nicki worked at Zales for a few months and we got along great. She is pregnant and due...RIGHT NOW and her husband is in Iraq. So we walked and walked and walked today hoping she would go into labor...nope no baby yet. My other friend Rebecca was working on post in one of the booths so she hung out and watched the fireworks with us. It was nice to have people to hang out with but it was still sad. I was missing Gary and the girls so much and my family back at home. Mom you better be having a big 4th of July party next year!!

Me and Rebecca

Me and Nicki

See how pregnant she is! She is having a little girl and naming her Bella. Hopefully she'll be here soon!

I had to take a picture of the fireworks but of course they never really turn out. Fireworks are one of my most favorite things and 4th of July is my favorite holiday! I'm looking forward to next year!

First Month Down...

2009-07-01T00:24:00.000-07:00

So Gary left a month ago today. So I just wanted to say YAY one month down...11 to go!! Since I can't really put up any new pictures of us I thought I'd post an older one. I have been hearing from Gary pretty much every day. He is doing very well and he says most days are going by really fast. They are definately keeping him busy over there.
He got to talk to the girls today and he found out that Kaila broke her left arm a few days ago on the playground. Poor little girl has a cast on from her wrist to her shoulder. Brings back memories... I am usually the accident prone one around when people break bones. I remember being by Andy Rodman when he broke his arm and of course every time Heather was around me she got hurt. I peer pressured her to jump off the monkey bars and she broke her leg. Then there was that girl at church who fell off the slide with me and broke her arm. And of course breaking my own leg while jumping on a trampoline. See...accident prone...or is that just being bad luck to have around....???

Another Visitor

2009-06-28T17:38:00.000-07:00

So today I had some visitors. It's so nice to come home and see a familiar face at my apartment waiting for me! Lorin and Julee were in Colorado for a wedding so they stopped in the springs today to see me. We didn't have much time so I didn't get to show them around and go sight seeing at all. Maybe next time! But thank you guys for stopping to see me!!

We hurried and snapped some quick pictures right before a huge thunderstorm hit. You can see in the right corner where its all blurry...that's rain coming over the mountains.

A Nice Surprise

2009-06-18T21:05:00.000-07:00

So today at work I had two little visitors come running in to see me! It was Garys daughters Kiana and Kaila. I was so excited! It hasnt even been a month and I miss them so much! They were in town with their grandparents so they brought them in the store to say hello. They're moving away so I probably wont get to see them again until Gary comes home. :( It sucks because I've gotten pretty attached to these girls and I have the most fun times with them. But I was just excited to see them for a bit today and I really appreciated their grandparents bringing them in to see me. It meant so much to me!

Here's poor Kiana. She crashed on her bike this week and got a nasty black eye. Poor girl. :(

Kaila Me Kiana

Me and the Monster

Here is Miss Jude (Gary always calls her either Jude or Monster). She wanted me to take a picture of her for her Dad. She is so funny every time I talk to her she says is my daddy there? Well where is he living again? The other day I had to explain how far away afghanistan is. Today when I saw her she said Melissa where is my daddy do I get to see him too? I said no sweetie he's still in afghanistan...she sighs and says STILL well for how much longer I wanted to see him today! I tried explaining why and when he'll be home again...its not to easy explaining a year long deployment to a 5 year old. But overall the girls are doing very well and I cant wait to see them again!

Look Mom I can grow plants too!

2009-06-16T20:42:00.000-07:00

When my Grandpa Poyda passed away we were all given a plant from his funeral. I picked this cute little pink pot that had 4 little plants in it. Well 2 years later my plants are still ALIVE!! I'm so proud! A couple weeks ago when Garys girls were here we re-potted them all. Kiana picked out some pots with me at home depot and they were so excited to re-pot them. My little porch was full of soil from Kaila "accidentally" dumping soil in mine and Kianas hair...reasons like this are why she is nicknamed the Monster. But the best part about my plants is everytime I look at them I am reminded of my Grandpa. :)

The little pink pot they started out in

So I've managed to keep my plants alive and a dog for 3 years now...hmmm maybe someday soon I'll be ready for children. :)

A Trip to the Dog Park

2009-06-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

So as most of you know I have a baby...he's black has 4 legs and answers to the name Jackson. I never knew I'd be one of those people who are crazy about their pet but I am. I took Mr. Jackson to the dog park today. I was so scared he has never been to one before and he always gets into trouble with other dogs. Notice the first picture his nose is finally healing...he got into a fight with the neighbor dog a few weeks ago. But today he was so good and he LOVED the park. He was all shy at first...his bark is bigger then his bite.

Jax in the backseat of the car all excited to go for a ride

Guarding his toys

Taking a break from playing

I think he made some friends :)

Where I Live...

2009-06-15T19:41:00.000-07:00

So I thought I would post some pictures of my new apartment. It's weird living out here you get used to seeing the mountains and forget that they're even there. But once in a while on days like today you really notice them. I am so lucky to have these beautiful views every single day! Here's a few of my apartment and some of the views I have of Pikes Peak and the mountain ranges.

The Pool

Walkway to my apartment

An Oldie but Goodie...

2009-06-11T23:06:00.000-07:00

So I was going through some old emails today and I came across this one I got a few years ago....the web site still works so I'll post it and hopefully it works! It takes a minute or two to load and you need to turn up your volume. Its kinda sad...hits a little too close to home for me...but enjoy!

http://www.clermontyellow.accountsupport.com/flash/UntilThen.swf

Meet my 2 BFFs!

2009-06-07T22:32:00.000-07:00

So one of the best things that could have ever happened to me when I moved out to Colorado was meeting my two best friends; Mandy and Aunee. Mandy moved away a couple years ago to Texas and just this last month Aunee moved to Arkansas. :( But Mandy recently surprised me by informing me that she is moving back to CO this month! Thank goodness!! Just in time to keep me company while everyone else in my life was moving away.

I've been thinking I have spent so much time with these two girls and their families and they have never met my family. Sad! I think this means my family needs to visit me out here in CO more often. HINT HINT

I probably have a couple hundred pictures of me and these girls. It's hard to choose just a few to share.

One week down 47 to go...358 more days...

2009-06-07T20:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I am new to this whole blog page thing so bare with me please. My life here in the Springs right now is not too exciting. Just a lot of going to work then to the gym. As you all know Gary left last week Saturday for afghanistan so the count down starts! He is doing well so far and he says Afghanistan is A LOT prettier then Iraq.

Its going to take some getting used to being here on my own again. Especially because I got used to having every other weekend with his daughters. Their last week here we did a ton of stuff but of course we all forgot our cameras. So our trip to Denver to the aquarium, childrens museum, dave and busters...no pictures of it! Luckily his mom was here to see him off and had her camera so we have some pictures from the week.