Making the most of a fun summer!

This has been a great summer for family time and making new friends. We really love our house at Kirtland and the neighbors that surround us. Now the desert feel of New Mexico itself is something that we both still need time to get used to. We both say how we miss cool days where it rains all the time and more especially how green Japan and the east coast are.

For the past month, we've been in New Jersey where Mike completed one of a few trainings that he has to do for his upcoming deployment. It worked out great because my mom lived where Mike's training was and we were able to catch up with our good friends from Japan. Rory and Lily got to spend some quality cousin time, and Grandma Vee Bee was to her hearts content with two little grandbabies running around her house. We met up with Mike's parents as well and were finally reunited with our pup Huey. Oh the life of a military dog. We hadn't seen him since January, poor thing probably thought he was just going for a walk and instead we flew him half way around the world and in with his grandparents!

Between the New Jersey training and the training Mike still has to complete down in Alabama and Florida, Mike and I decided to head back to New Mexico to spend one last week together as a family. The next time we will all be under the same roof together in our own house will be October of 2013 so it's bittersweet for sure.  Speaking of this deployment, it is definitely lagging on us for sure. It's his first one, and hopefully it's the longest he'll ever have to do, but it's quite daunting to think of what's ahead. Rory is turning one next week and by the time Mike gets back, she will be over two years old. The kid seriously changes every day so this part of being in the military isn't the best. I think about all the other families that have done or are currently doing the same thing as us and that makes me feel a bit better. Really, I feel like these last two months that Mike is with us is the hardest that it will be because I almost want him to just go so we can get that goodbye over with and start the countdown for when he can come home. However, I am cherishing the time that we still have left as a family and I would love to have more time with him than what his orders say...

In a few days, we head back to the east coast to celebrate Rory and Lily's birthdays and then continue south to where the rest of Mike's trainings are located. Once he gets on that plane, Rory and I will go home to New Mexico and get back into the swing of things. It's great to be able to visit family and go on the occasional trip but there's nothing like your own home with your own things to give you comfort. Anyone that is headed our way though is more than welcome to visit Rory and I here. We've got plenty of room and would love the company ; )

Grandma Vee Bee with her little grand-fairies

Getting acquainted with the water

Rory's 1st of July and Huey's least favorite holiday!
He's not a fan of the fireworks! 

Hanging out with Big G and Grandma

This is what they did when they first saw each-
other after being away for a few days.

Playing with her role-model Mal!

On a side note, Rory is SO much fun! I swear they get more fun as they get older. I love that we can tell her things like "Go get your ball" and she'll go looking for it. It's neat to see that she actually understands what we are saying. We just had her 12 month appointment today and she is definitely a peanut, goodness! She's tall and skinny like her dad but I never understood the desperation moms feel when they want their kids to eat! Rory is a snacker, eats when she chooses and seems content running around rather than sitting down for a meal! She's in the 5th percentile for weight (yikes!) but the ped doesn't seem concerned since Rory has been mobile for so long and is tall as well. Some of Rory's tricks that she continues to do are wave and say hi and bye at the appropriate times, clap her hands, and talk in "fairy language" as well. She just jabbers but no one knows what the heck she's saying! She loves Huey and would constantly say his name. She would walk up and wave to him and say "Hi Huey" and we thought it was the cutest thing. However, now we are noticing that she says "Hi Huey" to every dog that she sees so we have to work on that! She also loves to dance when Mike plays music so that's cute to see. Her latest thing is running around the house and kicking her ball. We definitely think she's right footed.

Alright, I have a feeling that Rory's nap is coming to an end so I've got to get up and do chores around the house before she decides that is not in her plans for the day!