A Day in the Life of the Military Wife!

Where do I begin this blog...working out or throwing up? I'll start with the work out.

The other day I was doing the Jillian Michael's (The Biggest Loser trainer)"No More Trouble Zone" workout. This DVD was no joke! I know I could be in better shape but this thing kicked my butt. Of course, I had the peanut gallery sitting on the couch while exercising. Hunter told me that this workout was easy and he could do it. So I told him to get off the couch and try. He did. He made it look easy. I probably could have made it look easy too if I had the body fat that Hunter has. Brody was a different story. He was always giving me encouraging words, telling me I only had one more set to do, just words of wisdom by Brody. First let me start by telling you this...Jillian was wearing black spandex shorts and a blue sports bra. I was wearing black sweat pants and a green tank sports bra. Now remember, this lady is a trainer so she has muscles I didn't even knew you could have and she is thin. Brody tells me "Mom, if you would have worn your blue top, you and that lady (Jillian) would look alike!" Those were probably the best words I could have heard at that point!!

The other night, Hunter woke up and told me his stomach hurt. I looked at the clock and saw that it read 2:45am, and told him to just try and go to the bathroom. Well, at 3:30 am, Hunter threw up. I forgot to tell you that he was on the top bunk! He didn't want to get his bed dirty so he leaned over the side and threw up on the ground. Somehow Brody slept through this commotion. Joe was cleaning up Hunter so I decided to move Brody into our bed. As I woke him up he said, "Geez Hunter, you got me all wet" Apparently, when he got out of bed he stepped in a very small spot of what came out of Hunter's mouth and was mad that Hunter got him wet!! We have had no other episodes of sickness so I guess it was the 2 minute flu!

Obviously, I am not going to post a picture of the mess in the boy's room and I am certainly not going to post a picture of me exercising. No pictures this week!!

Football and Earthquakes!

My Raider and my Saint!



Another week has gone by and the boys are continuing right where they left off. Hunter played more of a defensive game this week by grabbing 3 interceptions (running one back for a touchdown). His coach is trying to keep the scoring about the same for each boy so Hunter didn't get the ball as much on offense. I over heard the coaches talking about Hunter "reading the quarterback/play" and they said that you can't teach a kid that, they just pick it up on their own. So I was telling Hunter what they said after the game and he started crying. He told me that he didn't know it was a pass play, he was just going for the quarterback and he happened to throw it. He thought that "reading the play" was a bad thing and he was in trouble. After I tried to explain it, he felt a little better. I'm sure Joe could have explained it better but I did my best.


Brody is taking after Uncle Mike by playing center, and loving it!! He told me if he plays center, he always gets to touch the ball. I think I have to work with him on his stance. Most of the time before he hikes the ball, he has his feet spread, ball on the ground, head on the ball, looking through his legs and shaking his butt. I didn't get a picture of it but it happened almost every play. He did end up getting the ball and running right up the middle for a TD. I have no idea how he made it through without getting his flags pulled but he made it.

Brody scoring a TD

Playing center

Pulling flags


I'm sure most of you didn't know, but Okinawa had an earthquake on Friday evening (8:08 pm to be exact). I was at a neighbor's house watching all the kids when I felt it. None of the kids felt it (actually Brody said he did but not until the next day so I don't think he really felt it) It was a 5.3 on the scale. There was no damage, not even one glass fell off the shelf! My ceiling did hold up throughout the shaking- so if it isn't going to fall in an earthquake, I think I am safe the rest of the tour here.

Just about to score the TD (I just figured out how to edit my pictures on my camera (zoom in)).

Joe should be home next week for about 3-4 weeks then he is off for a long time. Talk to you all next week.

Flamingos and Football!!

Football season is upon us again but this year both boys are playing. Hunter has made a huge improvement from last year. He has his game face on and is ready to go every play. He was able to play most of the game at various positions and had fun. It is great to watch him out there. You can tell he knows the game and is able to figure out what to do when a play doesn't go as planned. He is able to find and open player or get open himself. Today, he was fortunate enough to get the ball a lot and was able to score 3 TD's.




Brody is also playing this year for the first time. I really thought he would be the one on the sideline, playing with the water jug or picking blades of grass. I couldn't have been more wrong. He is a competitor. He listens to the coach and does exactly what he is told. If someone is in his way, he pushes them out of the way and keeps going. The boys played at the same time today so I was having to bounce between fields. I was very lucky in that when I got to Bordy's field (close enough to take pics) he got the ball and ended up running for a touchdown!! He even spiked the ball when he was done (no penalty, thank goodness!!) Of course, he was excited the team won but was really more concerned with what was brought for snack! I guess the competitive edge doesn't last forever!






Finally, Flamingos!! I was flocked!! I woke up Tuesday morning to find 10 flamingos aligning my front walkway. The local church youth group was doing a fundraiser and my neighbor paid money for them to place the flamingos in my yard. The boys were excited to see them but mad that they were only staying for 24 hours. How come when I was in youth group, we never did things like that?!

Brody's Birthday

Pinata at the party

Cupcake soccer ball

Well, I survived another birthday party and let me tell you, I am done with parties. They are too much work, especially around the holidays. Brody had a good time and was very excited about the entire day. He ended up having everyone come, including some siblings, which I had no idea were coming until they got to the door!! Of course, it rained and all the games were going to be played outside! So, we had an indoor crab soccer game with a beach ball and pin the ball in the goal. It finally cleared enough to have the pinata outside, only to have one of the kids take a swing before Joe could get it set up. Let's just say, the boy sat in a "time out" during the hitting of the pinata. The cake was cupcakes and the extra ones I made into a soccer ball. I think Brody enjoyed his day and I am glad it is over!!

Brody making his wish.
Gift from Uncle Mike and Aunt Christie

Christmas was very mellow for us. We stayed inside all day (it rained all day too) and played with all the new toys the boys got! Nothing too exciting to report on Christmas day, just some good ole' family time.
Playing with gift from Nana and Opa (Gretchen's parents)

For New Year's Eve, Joe and I (kids too) had a progressive dinner with some friends. Thank goodness I have a condemned ceiling because no one wanted to come to our house in case it did fall (actually, we live the farthest away from all the houses so we didn't have to host.) It was fun. The evening ended with a movie in the driveway of one of the houses (he brought a projector home and hung up a sheet and we watched a movie under the stars!) Of course, if you talk to my kids, the highlight of the day was not the progressive dinner, it was mom getting pulled over by PMO (military police)that afternoon. Apparently, he said I was going 52km in a 35km. Now here is my problem, I was in Joe's car. I don't think it can even go that fast, second I was going up a big hill, third I had just turned onto the street! So when he comes to my window, he says "Ma'am, you were going 52 in a 35!" I really wanted to tell him that "That's crap" but I refrained. I told him his gun was wrong and there was no way I was going that fast. He took my ID and driver's license and came back to the car and said he was just going to give me a warning! Now, I don't know if it had anything to do with Hunter, who was crying in the backseat saying "We're going to jail, I know it, we are going to jail" or Brody yelling "Look at the police lights, I think he is going to pull someone over". Once we were free to go, everyone calmed down in the car. The car wasn't even stopped at the house when the boys jump out to let their dad know what just happened!! Lesson learned, if you are going to get pulled over, have one crying kid in the back and another one clueless as to what is actually happening! Happy New Year to all!!