St. Nickolaus Tag

December 6th is St. Nicholas day. It's something my Mother andFather celebrated with us as we grew up in Germany. I blogged about it last year a bit but after a lot of friends once again asking me what it was all about...here you go.

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=87
Do any of you know what google is for?? JK!!

Basically each year we let the boys put their boot outside the door, if we have it on hand, leave carrots, and when they wake up the morning of the 6th, you find candy, fruit, and little toys if you have been good, or switches and lumps of coal if you've been naughty. My Mom and Dad used to slip just one switch into our boots for good measure..lol.

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The kids of course are in high fructose Euphoria all day! We celebrated a tad early this year and let them get their boots the morning of the 5th since Jon gets them on the weekends and I wanted to make sure I got to see their reactions! St. Nick is Even kind enough to write each boy a letter.. last years letters bore warnings of no Christmas, since St. Nick is best friends with Santa..lol..hey...they believed it....even Cody remembered his letter from last year reminding him to be good or ELSE! lol this year each letter told them how proud "St. Nick" was of their progress on reading, and school work, what good kids they are and little things they could work on. They loved them! Matthew walked around saying "I eat my Ho HO trick or treats" lol..
I even made a "boot", actually a stocking, for Jon and took it over too his apartment all stealth style. I know I know...I'm trying. ...lol.


Mikey and Cody had a little tiff in the video...as all children tend to do but hey...this isn't Hollywood...this is REAL LAND..lol.
This is a picture of my GOOORRRRGEOUS Husband Matt, he was having me take a few pictures in uniform for Aislinn (Matt's Daughter, my step Daughter...YAY I have a step Daughter!! hehe) and I couldn't stand how cute he looked...lol what a Doll huh!
Matty loves " HO HO " as he lovingly calls Santa, and who doesn't love a good "Bubble" picture! BA HUMBUG on you if you don't at least grin at a 3 year old in a tub with the Santa beard that is a right of passage for all of us! lol

While Jon had the boys this weekend we were all going to meet up during the Christmas Parade of Lights....but..of course there were some logistical difficulties and he was over a miles walk from where Matt and I ended up being so we weren't able to sit together and get pictures...The parade..while bright and colorful was rather slow starting and ...lame..lol and without kids to enjoy it with we left early. Man it gets cold..even here!
opps...look I put a vanity picture in...cause yanno what...somedays...I think I look cute..lol YAY for good hair days!
After the parade we ran into some neighbors who happened to moving out and needed a hand so Matt and I hopped right in there to help....him with lifting...and me with keeping the girlfriend company ....hey..we all have to do our part right! lol. To thank us they took us out to eat at Applebees and then we all went to a late night movie to see "Twilight" for the 2nd time. I liked it enough that I wasn't bored even though it was the 2nd time we've seen it. YAY we had Comp tickets so it was free...why was it free you ask....ahhh let me tell you.... Because we had to suffer ever so while we watched...AUSTRALIA.......OMG.....After the first 15 minutes Matt and I were making pleading looks at one another begging the other to end the pain! I wanted to gnaw off a limb for lack of something better to do. I know many of you have seen "Moulin Rouge" and LOVED it's quirky, opium hazed oddities....however...do you really expect that when watching "Australia"??? I mean..WOW...I knew Baz Luhrmann was directing it and all, and that he had directed "Moulin Rouge" but...........(insert crickett sound effect here). Matt and I were literally the only ones in the theater under 60 who didn't get up and leave in the 1st 20 mins. Hey..even the Senior citizens were leaving! NOT a good sign. The cast...fantastic, the music..pretty good, the acting...really not that bad...some how NONE of it meshed. There was a strange singing, magical aboriginal boy, cattle baron's a weird drunk man, HORRIBLE cliche lines right, left and center, and coo coo photography. Heck even the war portions of the movie didn't come in until the last 15-20 minutes, so don't be jaded into thinking it's some epic war movie. I was UBER disappointed as was Matt..and ummm everyone in that theater. They got so many complaints everyone was issued a comp ticket. Sad day...thats three hours of my youth I'll never get back!
So basically that was our week. Candy/holiday traditions, lame Christmas parade, helping move and having adult company ..YAY, and a crap movie..lol.
Below are some goofy pictures of the kids. When Jon dropped them off tonight they got all coo-coo and started wearing stuffed monkeys on their heads....I think this is a sign they aren't getting enough "brain" foods...I feel the sudden urge to run and purchase fish and garden fresh greens in bulk ..jk.
Hope you all had a great week!....there Lisa (cousin..not mother in law Lisa) was
that enough blog-a-rificness for ya..lol..

ROCKABILLY

My cousin Lisa asked me what Rockabilly was and since she wasn't 100% on what it was I thought I'd add this little site.

http://www.kansan.com/stories/2008/dec/04/pins_and_pompadours_return_rockabilly/

It's a cute little article that hits on the facts. Basically...I love the 40's and the 50's! I love the hair , the clothes, the romance, the CARS! But my style is a lot more laid back than some, I don't take it an extreme. I like punk hair and I like bright colors. I love Tattoo's and plan on more...so hope everyone else likes em or can pretend like they aren't bothered by them...because I won't care either way if you do or don't...lol. I frankly it's a love of the 40s and 50's with all the newness of the punk culture and women's rights act all rolled into one..lol. .... so ..think...Betty Paige covered in tattoo's driving a vintage car and not being "costumey". Think..."GREASE" lol. Think..modern day pinup girls with crazy colored hair and tattoos! Now I'm not that bad, but I've always worshipped at the house of Elvis and John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, and Betty Paige. I'd like to think I'm stuck somewhere between the loveable kookiness of Doris Day and the sexy darkness of Betty Paige......ya right! lol It's just something we love...the whole lifestyle. I love that it's back in fashion..because if I could have walked around in a poodle skirt all through high school and have it been acceptable I would have rocked that! I never really had the confidence to just DO it! Man high school is a cruel cruel place to try a nd try out a whole new "look"!

well..now I do have the confidence too..lol....
oi....I ramble! But that's it in a nutshell.

~!! HAPPY THANKSGIVING !!~

We've had a lovely week, Tuesday Mikey came home from school and had made a cute "hand" wreath and we all took turns being silly and taking pictures. Then Wednesday Mikey and Cody's classes were taking part of their schools "Winter Program". They were so proud of themselves. Unfortunately you really can't see Cody at all, as he was in the front row directly behind the elves and reindeer that had narrative parts in between the musical numbers, so he was frustrated, but we were able to catch a few glimpses of his Santa hat bobbing up and down between a reindeer and Elf #2 .lol. Mikey was on the top back row, left hand side about 4 kids in, in a red checkered shirt. He LOVED this number "Shine Shine Shine", the camera work was a bit...shaky, but in Matt's defense, Matthew kept walking under his arms trying to get from his Dad, who was one row back , to get to me forcing Matt's arms to shake a lot. !

The next morning the boys Dad showed up a little after 6 am to pick up the boys. He was taking them to Utah for Thanksgiving. EKKKK......a 5 day trip that I had no control over, needless to say I am still freaking out and will be until they are home Sunday night! They had a great Thanksgiving with Jon's family and were horribly distracted by food and fun when he had them call us, but that's OK, I was just glad they were there, safe and having fun!

That left Matt and I all alone for Thanksgiving, so he helped cook a lot , and we had a nice time, basically just watching TV,cooking, eating and talking to family on the phone.

I ended up decorating for Christmas a good two weeks ago...ya I know..lol I just couldn't wait. That and I was worried Matt might end up getting shipped out sooner and I wouldn't have his brawn to help me dig all this junk out of storage..hehe. He's such a good sport! let me know if the video and slide show are working~

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Even though I couldn't spend it with my whole family, doesn't mean it wasn't a great one. I love my boys and I am thankful for each of them and what they each bring to this family. I am thankful for Mikey's joy and excitement that he has to share as he learns new things, how he trys to be a peace maker for me. I am thankful for Cody's strength, for his hugs and the way he seems to know when I don't feel well and comforts me. I am thankful to my little Matthew for his smiles. For the was he wraps his arms around me and still needs my attention to make his day great. I am thankful for my Mother, who listens to me when I call to whine and won't tell me what I want to hear but helps me to see both sides. I am thankful for my brothers and sisters who I don't get to see often enough but who understand that distance doesn't stop you from having a relationship with one another. I am thankful for my new in-laws, who accept me and who truly make me feel welcomed and I love them all and can not wait to meet them! I am thankful for my ability to push through pain to do what I need to do. I am thankful for my ability to care for my children and hopefully raise them to be good, healthy, well rounded , spiritual men. And lastly but not least, My wonderful Husband, Matthew, who does so much for me, who loves me and holds me tight. Who makes me proud to be his wife everyday, I look forward to each day with him, and I can't wait for the years to pass and see what we do with them! I love you Mikey, Cody, Matthew and Matt!

Finally did that Tag Joy.....sorry so late

My friend Joy tagged me a few weeks ago, and I am just now getting to it...sorry Joy. I blame my laziness on you, just like we all did in high school...."blame it on Joy" lol.

4 tv shows I watch:

1. Top Chef
2. Pushing Daisies and pretty much the entire ABC line up..lol
3. Anything on FOOD Network
4. Project Runway/America's Next Top Model

4 favorite restaurants:

1. Red Lobster
2. Icon Bar and Grill (5 star in Seattle..omg!! yum!!)
3. La Casita (Sierra Vista...some BOMMBBBBBB enchilada's)
4. Outback Steak House

4 things that happened yesterday:

1. Went to go get my tat touched up but he was too busy so I rescheduled.
2. Matt let me sleep in 3 extra hours to stave off a migraine! AWWW sweetness!
3. Got some really cute Turkey shaped cookies from Nana, Grandaddy, and Auntie Brit in the mail for the boys.
4. Cleaned house, and then hung out and had pizza with the boys for dinner.

4 things I'm looking forward too:

1. Christmas
2. Matt's Bday in December
3. St. Nicholas Day (it's a German thing ya'll) look up last years Christmas traditions post.
4. Matt starting his training Jan,08,09 (well looking forward to it but dreading it..lol..)

4 things on my wish list:

1. Better relations on parenting with the ex.
2. My boy's to inherit my OCD cleaning habits and clean their rooms accordingly. LMAO Ya i know right!
3. Money to be able to get the kids and Matt even 1 gift come Christmas....oh well that's not what the season is for .
4. To meet Matt's family and have him meet mine!

4 things I am grateful for:

1. My children. They give me so much purpose in life, and put so much joy into my life.
2. My darling husband Matthew who is my everything!
3. My up bringing.
4. My family. Mom, Dad and brother's and sister's.

4 people I tag:

1. Lisa (cause I know it's your lifes joy to fill these out..lol)
2. Melissa my sister in law
3. Bonnie jo jo
4. Riv

cupcake the wonder dog!

Hallelujah! I've been trying to get this video to load for weeks! I crack up overtime at this dog.....her growl is hilarious! Make sure you turn up your volume all the way it's kind of quiet!

WE'RE IN THE ARMY NOW!!!!

First and foremost, thank you to everyone who prayed for us and supported us in this choice!

Matt went to MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station),on Saturday. He actually left from the recruiters office here in Sierra Vista on a shuttle Friday morning with another recruit. They picked up a few more recruits in Tucson before they got to their hotel in Phoenix that afternoon. The Army puts you up at a nice hotel the night before because we live more than 3 hours from the MEPS center. They played basketball together and were provided dinner, had a room mate they had to share with but hey....better get used to that huh..lol. They had to be up by 4 am, and were at MEPS by 5:30 am, starting their pyhsicals and eye exams and what not. A shy person should be prepared for a fantastic day of sitting in your undies and having your wobbly bits grabbed and probed by prehistoric dinosaurs. Fortunately the pyhsical and 90% of the tests are a giant joke. If you have full range of motion and aren't a drug user....you're kosher! Just remember to wash the non daylight seeing areas..lol. jk. What isn't a joke?? The Security Clearance interviews! This is NOT a joke! If you had a speeding ticket in high school or were tardy in high school you better freaking list it! Cause they will find it! They will also see if your ex wife drove your credit into the ground..lol...Without good credit you CAN NOT get a top secret or above clearance which is necessary for the job Matt was offered 1st. In the MI (military intel field) , doing the Electronic Warfare Signal Analyst. But without that clearance you just can't get it.....so he went back to something he knew he'd love! Getting down and dirty!
Matt was offered a job as a 19 D ( Cavalry Scout ) and he snapped it up! He loves it and is really excited! What man wouldn't be!Fortunately it's in the intelligence field still! He was offered a 3 year enlistment, $13,000.00 sign on bonus, and $60,000.00 for college. During that 3 years we will be fixing his credit score, getting rid of some of the fabulousness a past marriage can leave on it, and learn another language. The Army offers free Rosetta Stone language programs for active duty Soldier's. It's the leading learn at home language software, the government even uses it for NATO officials. During that 3 years he can freshen up his Spanish (which he learned while serving his mission) and hopefully get German and or Arabic down pat. By the time his enlistment is up he can re-enlist and re class as an 35W (Electronic Warfare Signal Analyst) with a chance to go to the DLI (Defense Language Institute) which is 1 year long (at Monteray California....ya that's gonna be harrrrdd lol..jk) it's indepth language training and you can earn between $350.00-$1000.00 a month extra for being fluent in certian languages and offers 70-80 college credit hours! Basicly handing him his Associates degree. YAY! Once he comes out of there he can apply for OCS (officer candidate school) and go in as a 2nd Lt. So in the end once his military career is over he can work for CIA, FBI, NSA, or any federal law enforcement!
He goes to OSUT (One Station Unit Training) at Ft. Knoxx Kentucky. Most Soldier's go to Basic Training at one place for 9-10 weeks, have a graduation, then ship off the next day to AIT (advanced individual training) for 15-52 weeks. Cav Scouts have it all at once place and it's slightly shorter, so YAY! Half way through his training they will have a family weekend, where you can come, see the base, be shown all of the cool things they do (ie the repelling wall and gas chamber) ,then at the end of it all a graduation. We will let everyone know asap when both of these are as soon as we do. I know Matt would love to have as many of you there as is possible, it's such an awesome experience and frankly I want to use this as an excuse to get to meet some of you!! hehe!
This is his dream, and I am along for the ride! I love this Man intensely and I can't wait to support him through all of this! For more info on what a CAV SCOUT is....click here http://www.cavhooah.com/cavalry_scout.htm

Veteran's Day, better late than never!!

I have to admit that I was really sad to see, that of the over 45 blogs that I read frequently of friends, family, and acquaintances, not ONE of them did a Veteran's Day blog. No one even MENTIONED it. I'm a bit hurt by that, especially when so many of those bloggers have family and friends who either have served or are currently serving. These men and women really deserve our respect and should be shown a little bit of it, if only once a year, especially if they are your family! I know we are all busy, or ill, or had something better to do or forget and what not, but you have the right to do all those things in freedom because of these men and women. Once a year isn't too much to ask.

I know that living near a military base gives you a much bigger opportunity to celebrate it, what with it's parades and days off work/school and all the kids having to do Veteran's Day letters and projects, the entire community comes out and celebrates in the biggest way each year. Not to mention the Soldiers that live here (retired and active) and their families come out in full force. Not all of your communities have that, however, a little word here or there to acknowledge the day would have been nice.

As a family we spent the day going to a parade down the main street and hanging out as a family. It was really nice! Not only did they have the normal high school and middle school marching bands, little cheer leaders and dance teams, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and local government officials, they had a GREAT Army marching band, Veteran's past and present, Purple Heart recipients, a cool old WWII era jeep and motorcycle, Calvary Soldier's on horse (think John Wayne in "She wore a Yellow Ribbon") prancing down the street in old uniforms, with sabers on, JROTC, and then of course or men and woman serving each branch. A company of Soldier's from each branch of the military, Army 1st of course..lol..then Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy followed up by local police. It was a really cool parade and I always appreciate seeing it. I was so proud of Matthew and Mikey, as they both clapped and yelled out "Thank you!!!" over and over and over to the Vets, Cody was being a bit sour...and actually yelled out to the Girl Scout's "YOU SUCK" to which he was promptly reprimanded for, I asked him later why he was so mean to them and he said "Ashley in my class is a girl scout Mom, and she has COOTIES!" , he said it so matter of factly I couldn't be too mad, we did however discuss how rude that was and that it was not acceptable...cooties or not! lol

I get teary eyed seeing the men and women who serve to protect our freedoms, young and old. Seeing the pride on the Soldier's faces, the tears in the eyes of the wives who stand by their men, and the smiles and excitement on the children's faces as they see their parent or loved one marching perfectly with his or her comrades in arms. I can never seem to get over how true the bumper sticker is that says "If you can read, thank a teacher, if you can read this in English, thank a Soldier".

I wish I had posted this so much sooner, maybe it would have inspired some of my friends to remember what an important day it is, whether or not you know someone who has or is serving, and whether or not you live near a base or your community celebrates it in a large or small way. I know military is a huge part of my life, so maybe I'm up on my soap box here, but I think that when you have the rights we do as Americans, that we should ALL make sure we thank those who stand up and give us those rights, at least once a year.................... I hope I haven't offended anyone, I love you all. I just think that if we can blog about such silly things as surveys on ourselves, or the funny things our kids say and recipes of the week...we can remember to mention our Veterans just once a year.

TOMBSTONE

Tombstone Arizona

About 3 weeks ago when Jon (the boy's Father) got home, he started taking the boy's for weekends, which has been REALLY hard on me. As most of you know I can be a bit of a control freak and he can be a bit of a scatter brain, so each weekend I stress over making sure I've sent enough clothes to ensure they are dressed properly for every possible scenario, that they have a comfort item of choice, and toys and what not to entertain them while there, since this whole "single parenting" thing is so new to him. I hate not knowing what they are doing 24/7 and knowing they are safe, but I have to get used too it and keep busy so I won't freak out..lol. So starting 3 weeks ago Matt and I have begun to have free weekends and frankly we LOVE IT! I haven't been able to sleep in on weekends in almost 9 years..lol..so this is fantastic! We spent the 1st weekend just around the house, the 2nd in Tombstone and last weekend we had Evan (a friend of Matt's from Florida) down for our wedding and spent it just soaking each other in once Evan headed home.
Our trip to tombstone was really fun, I always love going there, and this was Matt's 1st time, so it was really cool. They do a wild west shoot out each day, something like what they do in Jackson Hole for all you Idaho people who know what I'm talking about, only about 5 x better. The entire town is so full of history it's literally like stepping back into the past. Most of the pictures are self explanatory, just us around old crap..lol...or in a stage coach, or at the old court house. What a fun fun trip we had and believe it or not, we spent less than $40.00 in all including, gas, food and trinkets..lol It's been a real budget cruncher month, but yanno that made it more fun, we had to walk around a lot more and really investigate the town on our own.
Afterwards on our drive home we saw some really beautiful areas we just had to pull over and take pictures of. We had actually wanted to get down and walk and explore a bit but .....border town..lol..so there was barbed wire all over..lol..oh well it's still very pretty. I hope before Matt goes to Basic Training we have a chance to take the boys to Kartchner Cavern's, one of the few truly "wet" caves in the U.S.
It's really amazing, I don't even know if you can take pictures inside but if you can I plan on barraging you all with a ton!

Keep your fingers crossed, we have turned in all our "ARMY" paper work and now we are just waiting on him picking his Job (in the next day or two) and then off for that dreaded Pyhsical..lol...keep us in your prayers if you can. Thanks!!

~Mr. & Mrs. Morris~

Well, we got married yesterday!!! WOW WOW WOW the loops your life can throw at you! You either have to be flexible and bend with the loops or break and fall. I prefer to flow with life's changes than allow myself to get so set in my ways so much so that I can't find happiness in my life even if it isn't going exactly as I had planned or expected. If I had that point of view my life would be a very sad one indeed. However sliver linings are every where every day, and yesterday is one of those!

As we previously mentioned, Matt is going ARMY so long as his leg passes the physical next week. Based off of that, our own research, the recruiters and family and friends who are also military it is almost 100% necessary to be married before he signed those papers next week. Either be married now, or have to wait up to 3 years and have little to no chance to be together between now and then. We love each other so much that the thought of not being able to be together isn't an option for us, So instead of waiting we decided to get married this month, hoping that within 6months to a year we can plan a small reception or get together with family. when we called the court house to schedule it, we found out they were booked for over a month out since the judge only does them once a week on Fridays for less than an hour..lol. But..."silver lining" the judge had a cancellation for yesterday at 1:45...lol..sooooooo either do it now now now or we wouldn't be able to before he left for the army. Well well well....lol...we booked it, and low and behold a friend from Florida that Matt knew back home happens to be living a few hours north of us in Mesa, Az (who is also going ARMY) was able to head down here last min and be a witness/ best man for Matt and we were so fortunate, he was an absolute blast to have around! Evan thanks so much!!!!! We love ya!

We got married in the Cochise County Court and you know what, it was just as sweet as I would have expected, My husband is the sweetest, most amazing man, I could see his intense love for me and the boys in his eye's when he said I do. I am on cloud nine right now, but then again, since meeting Matt I am on cloud 9 most of the time. He's a wonderful man, who is spiritual, strong, funny, animated, respectful, hard working, and loves me so much that I feel so fulfilled at being allowed to be my full self I can't imagine being happier! I love you Matthew. So very much!

My female friend Kat wasn't able to help out as expected and we ended up asking our next door neighbor Matt,..(lol..yes another one,) who is really cool and went with us to the court house as our 2nd witness. We only asked him an hour before hand!! Woo talk about short notice huh..lol

Mikey, Cody and Matthew were all there and happy for us, with conflicted emotions and all, as to be expected. They one minute love Matt to death and the next feel like liking Matt some how impedes their ability to love their Dad. But they were happy for us none the less. After wards we came home and Cody headed off to a sleep with his new best buddy Avery, and Mikey and Matthew went to their Dad's for the weekend.

Matt, Evan and I had a great dinner, BBQ pork ribs, homemade bread sticks, Mashed potato's, corn on the cob, and chocolate cake. yummy. We spent the evening kidding around and watching movies and just hanging out. I love when you meet someone who is a friend of your significant other and they just MESH perfectly with the group. There was no awkward air at all, it was awesome. He crashed on the couch and was complete delight to have around, I look forward to seeing him again soon, and wish him all the best at his Basic Training!

Now Matt and I are spending our 1st weekend as Man and Wife! We love you all and appreciate those of you who are there to support us. Wish us luck in all these new endeavors!!

Rachael and Matt

!!!!!ENGAGED!!!!!!

I'm sure this comes as no surprise to any of you who read the last blog, but YAY, I'm engaged!!!!!

Matthew told me today that "I want to be your everything forever, I love you baby, will you be my everything forever???"

AWWWWWWW........... sigh
oh happy day...man I'm in love and it feels so great!

church

Me and the boys (Mikey, Cody, Me, and Matthew)

Matt and I

cracking ourselves up taking pictures in the lobby

HEHE trying not to laugh


my Matthew

My Michael....and then My Cody

Matty and I walking out to the car.

I forgot to add these pictures from a few weeks ago when we went to church. I know some of them are on the slideshow below but you can't really see them clearly or see the great facial expressions on the kids faces. If you double click each picture it enlarges huge and you can really see it much better.

Man I have some handsome men in my life! What an amazing little family I have!

Matt's Sierra Vista slideshow...this is my family...

Summer time fun

A year in Matt's life.........take a seat...you'll be here a while.

Well to catch everyone in my family up on my life and to introduce myself to Rachael's family and friends and Rachael to my family and friends I figured that I would add a blog to our family site. I'll start back in October of 2007 since that was the last time that my family was able to see me...some even longer than that. After Jordan's (my little brother's) wedding I went back home to Northern California with my wife Katelyn and daughter Aislinn. At that particular time Katelyn and I were having some issues in our marriage and a few months later she up and left me taking Aislinn with her. For a while she was letting me take Aislinn on the weekends which I made the best of until finally all the divorce papers were done and signed and Katelyn decided then that she didn't want me in Aislinn's life anymore. The following months were extremely hard for me especially on holidays that I didn't have any family to spend with and wasn't able to see Aislinn. Finally in April my life did a complete 180 going from being divorced, depressed and alone in California to being extremely happy when I met and became friends with Rachael. It was great having Rachael to talk to and vent to because at the time she was going through a divorce herself so having someone else that understood what I was going through was a great strength to me. Finally after being friends for a few months and getting to know each other over the phone and Internet we decided that Rachael would come out to visit me seeing how I lived in Northern California near a world renowned Culinary Academy which Rachael was extremely interested in visiting. So at the beginning of June 2008 her and a good friend of hers' Amanda came out for a week to visit and see all that my neck of the woods had to offer. We had so much fun going to San Fransisco to the wharf and to Alcatraz and driving around Napa checking out all the wine vineyards and beautiful scenery. Rachael and I really hit it off. We had so much in common and enjoyed alot of the same things from styles to music to being raised LDS. For Rachael...a week was just not enough...so after flying back to Idaho Falls she proceeded to pack her van up with all 3 kids and drove 16 hours back to my house to stay for 2 months...lol. It was only suppose to be a week for me to meet her kids but we hit it off so well that we decided to stay an extra day...and another day....and another day...ha ha and so on. Yes I know. Weird but it was the best summer I have had in a long time. The kids took right to me and we all had such a great time once again going to San Fransisco so the kids could see all the sites and see things that we had gone and done while Rachael was there the previous week. While in California, Mikey (Rachael's oldest son) got a chance to meet his biological father for the first time ever. So we decided to meet him and his family down in Santa Cruz and go to the beach and the boardwalk with them all. It was SUPER FUN and Mikey's Bio Dad and his family were very nice. While down there we stayed in San Jose at a pretty nice hotel and had a great time ourselves there as well. We got the chance to go see and do a tour at the Winchester Mansion which for me being a firearms guru was extremely interesting. The boys enjoyed the tour of the mansion. On our way back up to my house we once again stopped in San Fran to take the kids on the old trolleys. They had alot of fun doing that and it was really fun for Rachael and I as well. Some of the other things that we got a chance to do was go to a really cool beach at Bodega Bay which happens to be one of California's most deadly beaches. Ha ha so obviously we didn't go swimming but we had fun anyways. So finally it came down to the time when Rachael and the boys absolutely had to go back home. One of the things Rachael had offered her ex husband in their divorce is that with his military career that for the first few years if possible that she would move near him so he could have time to spend with his boys. Hence the reason she had to go home because the Army gave her less than a week to move to his next duty station. This brought us to where we are now. Sierra Vista, Arizona (Fort Huachuca). Rachael moved here at the beginning of August so the boys could get situated in their new school. I stayed in California for the next month and a half working and saving up the money to move. At first it looked like it was going to be a long time before I would be able to move but my best friend who is like an older brother to me (JD Sagley) helped me out by letting my borrow the money I needed to move to be with Rachael because 1. He cares alot about Rachael and 2. He knows how much I love Rachael and wanted a change in my life. Thanks JD, I love you man! I appreciate all you have done for me! So after leaving a pretty good job with some great friends in California I got my chance to move to Arizona to be with Rachael. So here I am in Arizona now. Everyone knows how bad the economy is right now so finding a job has been a difficult thing for me lately since I've been here. Especially being in an area where the jobs are really competitive and most people around here have military experience. So with the hard times I have really had to re-evaluate my life and my career goals. My end goal is to become a Federal Law Enforcement Officer with either NCIS or FBI and so on. So being military is a good way as well as a quick way of gaining the experience and schooling requiered to even consider those positions. Being from a family with a decent amount of military experience, being military is something that I have always looked at and wanted to do. Of course most people including my family know about my medical issues with my past knee surgeries and all that so in the past those issues have kept me from being able to join the military. In the past I have been turned down by the Navy and Marine Corps because it was too soon after my knee surgeries so I hadnt fully recovered but as of late I have been looking into the Army and they seem to be a little more laid back with their medical policies but at the same time I have had many years to recover fully from my surgeries. At first I was a little hesitant because I have always been gung ho about the Navy and Marine Corp but the farther I have looked into the Army the more I have come to like what they have to offer from jobs to schooling to bonuses and just over all Army life. So as of right now I am just waiting on my medical records to come in from my orthopedic that did my surgeries and then I'm off to MEPS to do my ASVAB and Physical to get started on my Army life. Hopefully everything will go well and I will be able to pass all required fields so please everyone keep me and my family in your prayers that I will be able to do so if its what is right for me to do for myself and my family. I really want this. I've been working my butt off everyday to train doing things from running 4 miles a day and 2 mile bike rides and an hour or so in the gym doing all types of workouts. The biggest help in all this is I finally have a companion who being an Army brat and ex Army wife understands the military and the way it works and is very supportive whether I get in or not but she has been a great help and motivator for me in all this. This is something that I just didn't have in my previous relationship. As of right now I have the opportunity of going in as a possible E-3 Private First Class or E-4 Corporal because of my being an Eagle Scout and previous college credit hours and state licenses and finishing the Army Pre-enlistment checklist. Rachael and I over the past month or so have talked alot about marriage. We love and respect each other very much differences and all and if this whole thing with the Army works out there could possibly be a wedding in the near future. We will keep everyone posted on that. Because of the time frame between MEPS and BCT and AIT there isn't a whole lot of time to have some grand wedding so it will probably be something small or in a courthouse for now but if so we do plan on having some small reception for family and friends after my training. (For those who don't speak military...MEPS = Military Entrance Processing Station......BCT= Basic Combat Training.....AIT= Advanced Individual Training....which all in all = anywhere up to 6 months to a year). We haven't discussed marriage solely because of the military. We have discussed marriage as a goal for the next 2-3 years but because of the military the only way we would still be able to be together is if we are married or else moving becomes out of pocket which just does not work financially for either of us and neither does separation if we can help it. Deployments are one thing....but separation by choice is not an option when you truly love someone........I mean come on....who else is going to wash my ACUs? Ha ha just kidding she does other house chores too (ya it's ok..she knows I put this in here....what a good sport huh! ). (oopps forgot...ACU= really cool digital camo uniforms). Other than that....that's my life in a nut shell........Married, Divorced, Sad Sad Sad, Very Happy, Fun, Fell in Love, Change of scenery and now going Military...hopefully with lots of prayers and luck....Love you all!!! I will keep you posted and like I said in the email to all of you....leave us comments and email us. We'd love to hear from you all and catch up on your lives and also have the chance for all of you in my family to meet Rachael and get to know her as well as her family and friends to get to know me a little better as well.......enough rambling...I'm out!!! ha ha
My email address.........norcal707mcm@yahoo.com
Rachael's................cute_sassafrass@yahoo.com

Cupcake's sweater...hehe

Ok so normally I get UBER annoyed with people who paint their pets nails, and put bows on them and clothes and what not.......but I had to!!!!!! It was so cute!! Now I see why they do it!

come on now...I have 3 son's and a BF...my house is all testosterone! I needed something pink...HA so her nails are painted pink and in the Target $1.00 section I found this little sweater...which so will fit...for about a week...but OMG! how cute is that! Not to mention...HELLO!!! She's winking at the camera!! lol

ok thats enough of that...hehe

Their Daddy is home.

Things post a divorce can be really messy, and for a while there things weren't exactly friendly, however now, things are GREAT! So lets all hope and pray they stay that way (fingers crossed!!).

Jon asked me to come pick him up at the airport in Tucson on Saturday, so the boys and I drove an hour and a half to get him. It's always so heart warming to see kids run into the arms of their Father coming home. It was so sweet.

Afterward he took us all to Wendy's for a quick lunch and I drove us all back to Sierra Vista, where I then took him to the car dealership (and waited a mere 2 hours...lol) while he signed for his new car, then helped him load his car with back packs and his luggage and the boys things and car seat, as he wanted to take them overnight to his motel to be with the boys. It was really sweet seeing how Mikey kept hugging me saying "Mom, I love you but is it ok to want to go to Dad's too??" lol..AWWW!! Matt and Jon and I have been doing all we can with the kids in the past 6-7 months to really teach them that it's ok to love all of us in different ways, in different homes, and still be loved by all of us. That none of us blames them for wanting to spend time with the other parent and so on. So I reassured all of that them I was so happy that they got to go be with their Daddy, and that if they missed me all they had to do was ask Daddy to call me.

Seeing as Matt and I had our 1st ever night without the kids, without a friend or family around we went on our 1st "REAL" date...lol. We went to see Eagle Eye at the mall, and guess who we ran into. while waiting in line for tickets........lol......Jon and the boys, eating pizza at the mall. Jon had yet to meet Matt, so it could have been a potentially bad situation, however the kids ran up and hugged both of us and chattered on about what they had been doing with Dad, and Matt very maturely stuck out his hand and introduced himself, and YAY for Jon, he swallowed his pride, shook back and said "jon." lol

BABY STEPS!!

By this morning Jon had to drop off a few things the boys forgot at his motel, and needed to use my Internet , and within 10 mins Jon and Matt were chatting ARMY and careers and what not. Mind you neither was about to become blood brothers but they were talking and without me having to prod them to do so! YAY....man I took a deep breath then! Things are going great right now....so woohoo...

On another note.....EAGLE EYE was really really good! I loved it!