TATTOO

Last night we went to base for their 2008 Freedom's Call Military Tattoo. We were curious to see whether or not Allie would like the fireworks this year (she slept right through them last year). It turned out that she didn't care for them too much. She said she didn't like the loud boom, but that they were pretty like a flower! We ended up sitting in the van for the majority of the fireworks because she felt safer in there, I guess. Here is a cute video of Allie at the event:


Yes, she was afraid of the airplanes too! Can you believe it? She usually loves airplanes, but I guess these were just too low and loud!


FIREWORKS!!


My cousin, Alicia, and her family were in Cincinnati for the weekend for a wedding. Allie and I met up with her and Alex this morning for breakfast and some fun at a park. It was great to see them (we hadn't seen them since Alex was a few months old).



Just as a side note, you may have noticed I haven't posted a What's Cooking Wednesday edition in a while. Well, this summer has turned out to be busier than expected and we are cooking on the grill a lot too. So, I've decided to hold off on those posts for a while!

What's in the pond?

Yesterday Allie and I went to Cox Arboretum & Garden MetroParks. It was a beautiful day outside so we thought we'd get out and explore a new area and enjoy the day.
Dayton has lots of neat little.....I mean BIG....metroparks scattered throughout the city. This one is mainly just ponds, gardens and some nature trails.....beautiful scenery (perfect for a family photo when our newest addition arrives!)




So, what did we find in the ponds?

B is for Birthday!

Saturday was Allie's 2nd birthday!!! It's hard to believe how fast these past two years have flown by. We have known for a while that we would throw an ELMO birthday party for Allie since she absolutely loves him. We then decided that we would go ahead and have the party at Grandma and Grandpa Virgins so we could get lots of family there. As I said in a previous post, Allie and I spent the majority of the week (leading up to her b-day) at their house so we could get everything organized and ready. One of the major things to do was to order the cake. Derek and I had looked around at cakes in Ohio before we headed for Indiana so we could decide on one together. Well, we went to about every store in Lafayette and no one had Elmo!!! I guess it's just really popular or something. So anyway, Derek ended up ordering the cake back here in Ohio and here is his experience: Derek - "Hi, do you have any Elmo cakes?" Bakery Lady - "Yes, we have a couple." Derek - "Do you have the one with Elmo, Dorothy, and Mr Noodle?" Bakery Lady - "Umm, we have one with Elmo, a fish, and a guy." Derek - "Ok, that will work."
Needless to say, Derek was embarrased because he knew the names of all of the characters......he said it made him feel like a Dad. Here's the cake:
Good Job Derek!
We weren't too sure how many people would be there so we just got the smaller cake and made ELMO cupcakes on our own. Here are the cupcakes:
Allie knew it was Elmo...that's all that matters, right!

On to the party.......
Allie and her cake! Isn't she cute in her Elmo hat?!

Allie's Sand and Water Table kept the kids entertained....
Allie and Parker
Trenton and Parker
Mason, Allie and Myles

Allie had a lot of fun with the boys!!



It was a lot of fun. Allie was so exhausted by the end of the night. She thanks everyone for coming and celebrating with us!!!

We had a few pre-birthday festivities with Uncle Buddy and Aunt Kim since Aunt Kim flew out to Florida to visit family. Here are some pics from that:

Baby News

I went to the doctor on Monday (3rd time since we've been here and the 3rd doctor I've seen, plus my next visit is yet ANOTHER doctor). I guess this way I'll at least know who ever delivers this baby! I really liked this last doctor I saw though. She was really nice and made me feel less nervous (I always get that way in the doctor's office). Anyway, she asked me what we were having and I told her about our ultrasound experience. She said she would see if she could fit me in real quick for an ultrasound! I said, "That would be awesome!" A few minutes later she came in and started. Right away she said, "It's a girl!" Then all of a sudden we both looked at each other like we saw "something." So then she says, "Okay, I thought I may have just caught a glimspe of "something" but I'm not sure." She went on to say, "I'm a little gun shy because the last couple I told that they were having a girl, they had a boy!" I'm not sure if that "something" was the umbilical cord or not....I hadn't even thought of that until Derek told me that was probably what it was. He's dead set on it being a girl because he's not "lucky" enough to have his boy. Anyway, so she proceeded to say then that she couldn't tell us 100% because he/she just wouldn't uncross his/her legs. So, "it's 90% a girl".

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day......yesterday! I wanted to post this last night but we had such a busy day yesterday and I was too exhausted to do it. Shame on me!!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy! xoxox ~ Allie

Happy Father's Day, Dad! xoxo ~ Brooke

Happy Father's Day, Dad! xoxo ~ Derek

We wish we could have been with both of you!

Saturday Derek got to have a boy's day out on the lake (a great Father's day gift, huh!) He did have a lot of fun and is looking forward to another one. Sunday we relaxed, went to church and had one of Derek's friends from Scott AFB over for dinner. He's here to get his eyes fixed and was without his family for Father's Day so he spent the day with us. Later this afternoon we're off to Indianapolis......for a craigslist purchase!! Go Figure! Yes, I think we're addicted to craigslist. Hopefully everything will work out with this trip. We're getting a pool table. So since that's half way to Lafayette then my Mom and Dad are meeting us there so that Allie and I can go back with them for the week. This way we can get ready for her birthday party on Saturday!

I also want to say CONGRATS to those in our family who have recently graduated.......sorry we missed your ceremonies and parties......we were thinking about you and wish you the best in what lies ahead!!! {Congrats to: Jessie, Amanda, Dallin, Jordan, Alicia, Laura and Rich}

Weekend Rundown

We had a busy weekend (our weekends start on Thursday since Derek doesn't have class on Friday!) So, Thursday we had thought about going camping, but it all depended on how long we stayed at this cookout we were going to. The cookout was being thrown by a guy that Derek met at school.......he was celebrating pinning on Captain. We ended up staying until about 10 so it was definitely too late to go camping. The cookout was fun though and gave us a chance to meet some new people.
Friday we were excited about heading to the lake b/c the weather was beautiful and HOT. Derek was going to ride his toys while Allie and I hung out at the beach. Well, we got there and everything was flooded so we couldn't do anything!!! We were bummed but at least it's only 20 minutes away. So anyway we came home and played in the sprinkler. Amazingly, I think Allie might have enjoyed it.



Saturday brought us another day to meet new people (for Allie and I anyway). After that we went to buy a canoe.......but it didn't work out. (Long craigslist story!) So as we were driving home we drove past a Warehouse Clearance sign. We've been looking for a recliner so we thought we'd stop and check it out. We ended up buying a few things, but no recliner! We bought a headboard and footboard for our bed, a new kitchen table, and 2 hutches........it was a great deal! Later that evening we had visitors stop by for the night (Kevin and his crew stopped on their way from white water rafting).
Sunday we just relaxed and today that's all Allie and I have really done. So even though it was a long weekend it wasn't really all that exciting, but I thought I should post something for all of you faithful readers!

What's Cooking........WEDNESDAY

Ok, I know I missed last Wednesday. I lost track of the days with Memorial Day Weekend and everything! Plus, we ended up just going out to eat that night. We went to The Submarine House. Highly recommended if you're ever in the area!!!

Tonight we had Cashew Chicken Stir Fry..........it wasn't all that great so I'm not going to mess with posting the recipe. Instead I'll post a summertime drink that we had over Memorial Day weekend. It's a Frozen Strawberry Lemonade.

Ingredients

20 oz of Lemonade Flavored Drink

1/2c. Water

3c. Ice Cubes

1c. Frozen Strawberries

Directions

1. Mix in Blender!!

As far as other things that we've been up to.......not a whole lot. We're having some strong storms here. Yesterday Allie and I braved the rain and went to a "Bundles For Babies" class. It's sponsered by the Air Force Aid Society and it is a class that informs parents to be on issues like Shaken Baby Syndrome, Sids etc. It also fills you in on all of the info you need as far as getting your baby registered with insurance, daycare options in the area and that kind of stuff. It's a really informative class.......especially for first time parents. They also give you "bundles" of baby things! Anyway, today we've just lounged around the house. Hopefully the rain will go away and we can have a more exciting weekend!!

Miscellany

It's been a few days since I've updated this. There really isn't a lot of interesting things that have been going on here. We did go to Lafayette for the weekend. It went by so fast. Allie loved seeing Mony and Papa, Uncle Buddy & Aunt Kim and GG. She was crying for them on the ride home! I will have to say that it is nice being an hour closer to family than we were previously when we were at Scott AFB. Just taking the hour off of the drive makes it seem sooo much faster, plus it's nice being in the same time zone.

I had a doctors appointment today. I'm measuring 27 weeks! Things seem to be getting closer now that I'm almost to 30 weeks and I'm to the point where I go the doctor every 2 weeks now. Exciting!! I really can't wait to meet this little one. We've started to narrow down our girl name possibilities some (we're down to 3). It's hard to get it down to just one though! Don't even ask about middle names because we're definitely not there yet (except for with our boy names)!

Allie is growing up on us. She's starting to put sentences together.....saying things like "Mommy, I hot." or "Mommy, I want out." Those were the most recent anyway. It's so fun watching her use her imagination. We brought a play kitchen home with us from Grandma and Grandpa's and she plays with it for hours. She also plays with her baby dolls non stop.......feeding them, putting them night night, clipping their nails etc.

Anyway, that's it for now.

Happy Anniversary

Today is our 4 year anniversary!! Derek said this morning that it may be only 4 years, but it feels like 40. It all started back in 2000 after meeting in high school our senior year. Derek came up to me one day in the hallway and asked me out for coffee. I said, "I don't drink coffee." He said, "I don't either....how about some apple juice?" So anyway, the rest is history I guess. I won't embarass Derek with the story of our 2nd date! I'll just say that after that date he got the nickname "Bad Boy" from my family! Looking back we've had a lot of ups and downs......mostly ups. We've traveled all across the country and experienced a lot of fun and exciting things. We have a beautiful daughter that we love more than anything and another precious child on the way. We are greatly blessed and forever thankful for all of the love and support we get from family and friends.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY DEREK - to another 40 plus years!!!!

Memorial Day Weekend

What a fun and busy weekend we had! It started off w/ Uncle Buddy and Aunt Kim arriving Friday night followed by Uncle Kevin, Aunt Tami and cousin Abby. Allie was so excited to see everyone! She really enjoyed having Abby around and quickly got attached to her. After all of our visiting we had an extremely late dinner of hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill. Then the little ones were off to bed so the rest of us had a ping pong tournament and played Mario Kart and Dr Mario. The next morning Bryan and Kim were off to Cleveland to see a Kenny Chesney concert. It was sad to see them leave so soon, but we know they had a blast at the concert! The rest of the weekend was so busy that I'll just sum it up in a few words and pictures: the LAKE, waverunners, bike rides, CANOE trip, croquet, Fill or Bust, frisbee golf............