4th of July

Sure, it's now how we expected to end our 4th of July holiday...but we still had fun! Even though we weren't able to shoot off all our fireworks, we still had a great day. We slept in late, which is always a treat. I braved the crowds at Walmart to do some grocery shopping since our pantry has been pretty bare since we got back from vacation. Ed and the boys worked in the yard pulling weeds and making the pond nice and pretty again. Tyler was a bit grumpy working in the sun, so he was banished to the kitchen with me. It was like having my own little personal assistant all day!

Drew, Shelly, the girls, and baby Xander came over to eat dinner with us. We always love it when they come over. Xander is getting so big. I just love his chubby cheeks! And you know I never compain when there ar elittle girls running around! I wish we could've shot off more fireworks, but the weather was just not cooperating. Logan and Tyler ended up cuddled up on the porch in their snuggies watching fireworks around the neighborhood. After about 15 minutes, they came in because it was too cold and windy. They ended up just sitting in my office and watching out the windows.

Not exactly what we planned, but I still love speinging time with my three favorite guys. Hopefully the weather is better tomorrow!

Logan and Tyler "chilling" on the proch watching fireworks.
Tyler with the one sparkler he did before it started raining.

Aurora looking so cute!

Kiera doing her best Airbender impersonation.

Logan eating a yummy dinner.

Tyler helping me puree watermelon for slushies.

Prince Charming and Logan working hard on the yard.

Shucking corn for dinner.

Estes Park

What a beautiful place we decided to visit! The mountains literally surround us. Estes Park is nestled in a valley in the Rocky Mountain National Park. So, not matter which way you look, all you see is mountains. This is one of the many reasons why I love living in Colorado. You cannot beat the view! I went on a short run this morning--I think it was about 3 miles--on Estes Trail. The trail ran along Estes Lake, and it was absolutely amazing. This was only my second run since I started running again. I had been out of the game since May 1st due to my hamstring tear. But it was so great! I have a lot of catching up to do if I am going to be ready for the Nike Women's Marathon in October!

We took the boys to Lake Estes today to do a little bit of fishing. Logan and Ed had a blast! Tyler...well, let's just say that fishing requires patience. This is something Tyler definitely doesn't have. However, he did make a friend with a worm that he saved from becoming bait. I can't remember what he named the worm, but I do know that he was administering major resuscitation efforts once the worm became listless in his hand. He would not give up. His final technique was to drown the worm in a container of water (can you drown once you're dead?). The method to his madness was that the worm was drying up in the sun. Therefore, if he inundated with water, it would come back to life. Poor Tyler...poor worm. When he came back to check on his patient, I told him that the dog had knocked over the container, and the worm escaped. Tyler was upset at first, but he got over it. Poor worm. Ed and Logan got a few bites, but they didn't catch anything. We're thinking of going back tomorrow to try again.

For dinner this evening, we decided to cook hotdogs over the fire. It was so much fun! Of course, impatience overtook Tyler once again, and we had to cook his for him. We went back a little later and made smores. Now we're settling down to watch Alice in Wonderland--the perfect ending to a perfect day!

Our summer...so far!

We have had a busy summer so far. In just 3 short weeks, we have been to South Dakota, where we were able to see the Crazy Horse memorial and Mount Rushmore. What an amazing adventure! Our hotel was conveniently located right across the street from Bedrock City...home of the Flintstones! The kids had a blast playing their way through the small amusement park. We were a bit concerned when the storm sirens went off while we were in the giftshop. The clerks told us not to worry--they went off ALL the time! But we decided to run as fast as we could back to the hotel before it started raining on us. Turns out we were under a tornado warning during the time we were at the park! Sometime after we got back to the hotel, a tornado actually touched down just 3 miles away! Go figure! After the warning was dropped, we decided to brave the hail and rain to go get pizza. Just another normal vacation for us.

Now we are in Estes Park, Colorado. I came here when I was in high school on a mission trip with my church. We just bought an RV, and we wanted to take it on a short trip first...kind of to break it in. Estes Park seemed like a great location since it's only about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Falcon. Not too close, but not too far. This place is so beautiful! I cannot think of a better way to spend time with my three favorite guys (and the puppies, too!). Tomorrow we are heading to a fishing derby at Lake Estes, which is conveniently located right across from the campground. We promised the boys hotdogs grilled over the fire, too. Not sure what the afternoon holds, but I am sure we will be making some great memories.

SSG Greg McCoy

As Memorial Day arrives, I find myself thinking more often of Greg. I still love him, and I miss him every single day. I was so blessed to have him in my life-and I am so thankful that we had Logan and Tyler. Because of them, I am able to see a little bit of Greg each and every day. I love noticing their little habits that remind me so much of Greg. Of course, some are not as lovely as others! Nonetheless, I hold onto any little piece of Greg I can find.

While I miss Greg, what hurts the most in knowing that the boys will never really get to know their father. He loved our boys intensely, and while I know he missed me when he was gone, I know it killed him to be away from his boys. Logan, though he was only 6 when Greg died, still understood the magnitude of his dad's death. To this day, he still has moments when he longs for his father. He cries...and of course, I cry too. Tyler, on the other hand, does not have a solid memory of Greg. He only spent about 2 years of his life with Greg; he was 6 months old when he first deployed, then 18 months when he returned. He was just over 2 1/2 when Greg left the last time. That was not a very long time to get to know your father. However, we-myself, Ed, and Logan-take every chance to share our memories of Greg with Tyler in an attempt to allow him to learn more about his father. It saddens me immensely that Tyler has to depend on us for his memories of Greg, but I am so honored to be one of the people to share with him.

This year will mark the 4th anniversary of Greg's death in Iraq. We still acknowledge our momentous occasions with him...his birthday, Father's Day, our anniversary, Veteren's Day, and, of course, Memorial Day. These are very special moments for our family, and I cherish each one of them. As our lives move forward, we will never forget the sacrifice Greg made for all of us. While we take this time to remember him and the short time we were blessed to have with him, we also want to recognize those soldiers who went before him and have gone since him. We are grateful for your service and sacrifice to our country.

Happy Easter!

We have been so busy! Even though we've been on Spring Break, we seem busier than normal. Logan hasn't played football yet because every Saturday has been snowed out. They didn't pplay this weekend because it was Easter weekend. Now the dilemma is that we are supposed to go camping this coming weekend, which is now the official "opening day" for football. We're thinking about driving to Lake George on Friday afternoon, then coming back to Colorado Springs Saturday morning for his games, and then going back. We'll see what actually happens--I don't want to see weather put us down yet another weekend for football, but if there is bad weather...guess who will be camping in it???

The boys head back to school tomorrow after a 2-week hiatus. Gotta love their school district! Not to mention, it was actually 2-weeks and a day because the Friday before ended up being a snow day! But we managed to squeeze in some fun on my week off. We went to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid, went to the arcade and had some lunch at Chili's. Tyler and I took Aurora, Luna, and Kiera to Disney on Ice and then Ed and I loaded up all 5 kids Saturday morning and went to see How to Train your Dragon. We had so much fun! Both boys were sick over Spring Break, but thank goodness it didn't last too long!

Just wanted to post some pictures of the fun we've been having. Pray for me this week as I take on a new challenge at work...phonics! I've never done it, but I do not doubt that I will be fabulous at it!

Let's See...

Okay, so somehow my message is all the way at the bottom...but enjoy!

Tyler trying to convince me he can swim.
The big bucket dumping on Logan.

Wait a second, that's not my signature!

Bella and me after our first walk together. I ended up carrying her most of the way.

Family night at Joe's Crab Shack

Logan tearing into his crab legs

Bella and Tyler fighting in our bed

As usual, I didn't update as much as I wanted to this month. What can I say...I'm a busy bee! I am happy to say that I have lost 9 pounds in 3 weeks! Come to think of it, that's where most of my spare time has been going--working out. I try my hardest to work out everyday, but sometimes I leave at 6:30 am and don't get home until 8pm. I spend what little time I can with Ed and the boys, and by time they go to bed, I am wrapped up in preparing things to start the next day. So...I try. Must be doing something good though because I've lost weight! Go me!

Ed has a procedure tomorrow in Denver. We are hoping this will alleviate the pain in his neck and lower spine. I know he is dying to get back to his normal routine because he is definitely not a bed-rest sort of guy. Not to mention...I'm not the best nurse-maid. Regardless, I can still count on my fella to help me out whenever I need him to..from picking up sick kids to bringing me various shapes of pasta to create a visual of simple metamorphosis. Did I also mention the day he drove all the way to my school just to bring me the TV dinner that I had forgotten that morning? What a sweetie!

Here are some pictures of what we've been up to...

Happy New Year!

I can't believe it's a whole new year! So much has happened this past year...especially the past two weeks! I posted a few highlights from our trip to Georgia to see Ed's family. Steffani drove down from Indianapolis the day after Christmas, and Ed was so happy to get to spend time with her. The boys also loved seeing their big sister! We had a fantastic Christmas dinner with Ed's mom, Liz, and her husband, Doug. I would definitely have to say that the highlight of our trip was going to the Falcons' game at the Georgia Dome. We had so much fun!

While the trip was fun, we eventually had to head back to Colorado. The night before we left, we decided to take a detour home and go visit my family in Texas. We were only their a day, but the boys had fun with their cousins, and I got to go baby furniture shopping with my mom and sisters.

We made it home in one piece, thank goodness! I get to go back to work tomorrow, but I'm really excited because I graduate in May! I can't believe it...there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel. I really enjoy working with my clinical teacher and the rest of the 5th grade team at my school. Wish me luck...I start my teacher work sample next week!

Happy New Years! (Oh, and don't feel left out if you didn't get a Christmas card. We haven't mailed them yet!)

Steffani enjoying a hot wing (she's going to kill me!)
Tyler at The Varsity in Atlanta

Superfan Logan

I love The Varsity!

Okay, admit it...you know you secretly want a Snuggie, too! We got one for Logan and Tyler for Christmas, and we all liked them so much we went to the mall a couple of days later and bought us all one. This was us making fun of the Snuggie commercial. Great family fun!

Steffani, Liz, Doug at Taco Mac's for Ed's gig

Logan and Tyler at the Georgia Aquarium pretending to be piranhas.

Ed and I at Taco Mac's.

Logan and Tyler showing each other their gifts.

Tha family at the Falcons game. We had a blast!