Prom Queen.

If you at all follow me on Instagram or are even a FB friend of mine, you'd know that recently my little sister got asked to Prom! If your a new follower of mine, my little sister was born very pre-mature and wasn't supposta make it past the age of 3, well this girl just turned 18 this month! She's come a long way! She has serve mental and physical disabilities but she's still just an angel!!

I was so happy someone in her special needs class (an aid) asked her to prom! This is one of the downsides to not living at home, I was so bummed I couldn't be apart of this special day with her. Apparently they do this with a lot of the special needs kids in her class, so they all went in a group date with the teachers as well. They do a ton of things like this as well such as Halloween Parties, beauty pageants (which my sister has done and won Miss Congeniality this year) movie nights and so on and so forth. I had no idea they did this, and I was in high school like 6 years ago!...WOAH.

Well a few days later I got a text from my mom saying that Alisha was nominated for Prom Court! How neat is that?! We were all so happy for her!

So Friday night was Prom night, and my parents went to watch the Promenade and see my sister be introduced as a Junior (my Dad was actually her escort). They saw my sister dance and play around with all the other kids in her class and they said she just had a blast.

Finally it was time to announce who won the Prom Queen...and they announced my sisters name! From what my parents said the whole room roared with clapping and yelling! They said she even loved to dance with the Prom King and everyone just clapped so hard for her!

I am unbelievably touched by these kids! From what my sisters teacher told my parents Alisha won by a landslide! Its such an amazing experience for this girl! She might not remember it in a few days or weeks but to give her something like that is a beautiful gift! I couldn't be more happy and proud of her! She's been the biggest angel in our lives!

To my sweet daughter.

Dear Evelyn,

I swear time just keeps on flying. I am about to put books on your head so you stop growing. Your an amazing, sweet hearted girl and you bring so much joy to so many peoples lives. I don't think I could be as happy as I am without you in my life, you brighten up my world and make me see a positive side of the world verses the ugly side.

As a mother it can scare me to see all the horrible things happening and not know how to shield you from all the hate in this world. I know there is only so much I can do to protect you, and one day you'll have a million questions and I may only have so many answers but at this moment I want you to know that no matter how evil a person can be, they are still a human being. They have parents just like you. You may see the dark side of them and how evil they are, and its sad for us to see that people can be like that, but always remember that just because someone is a bad person does not mean everyone is.

It seems like my generation has seen a lot of pain in the world, a lot more then they used to broadcast in your Grandparents day. I've seen terror attacks on our homeland and I have seen the sadness in your father to losing friends who died in a war. But as much pain in the world that I have seen, I've always seen a bigger side of it all.

I read a quote after the Boston Marathon bombings that said this...

" You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops in the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. "
- Gandhi

I'm sure as you get older you'll see your fair share of hate from other people, whether its in school or just on the news, and everytime you do I hope you see that quote in your head and remember that not everyone is evil. Brightness can and will over come darkness. You may not understand this now, but you will when your older and I hope you always see the good in the world. This world can be a beautiful place, you just have to remember that.

I love you forever and always my darling. Keep smiling and making everyone laugh.
Your a wonderful person.

Love, Mom

21 Months!

I know I know, I'm that mom. But you know what I am looking forward to putting these in Evelyns book. But this is just a short update.

Evelyn you are so smart! We have been working harder on your colors and animals, and even though I can hear it in your voice that you just don't care, you still humor me and try to say it. If I haven't said it already your "merrrow" aka "meow" is just adorable.

Your still on your pacifier at naptime and bedtime, and I'm not gonna lie...it doesn't bother me one bit anymore. I was planning on taking you off about now, but with another trip on the way, I'm not gonna bother until your birthday. You seem happy with it and with your last few molars on their way I'm glad I have it to keep you happy for a little bit.

I'm always concerned about you not liking some of your puzzles, but then one day you'll bring me a puzzle and put it together just fine. See like I said smart. You have really needed your own time to learn when you feel like it and I'm learning to be ok with it.

Potty training is not going anywhere. Your terrified of the potty. Your funny about it though, I always offer it to you and you'll sit for a moment and then stand back up and run away, even with your diaper on. But I'm not worried, this is another thing you'll want to learn on your own. I always thought I'd have you trained by now, but I can't force you and I don't want to anyways. When your ready its there for you.

Your still fascinated with Minnie Mouse and all your princesses. Your the perfect girlie girl! But you also love to play in the dirt with the neighbor boys! Your just fine with getting dirty!

Your favorite food is a "nana!" if I'd let you, you'd have one at every meal. Your not too picky really, you'll try almost anything now. Although I'm not into your habit of throwing your food and smearing it everywhere when your done with your meal.

We bought you your first plastic pool and you've just LOVED it!! It will definitely be one fun summer!!

I love you baby girl.

Evelyn Writes.

Hey you there, I don't know who you are but I'm pretty sure my Mom tells you all about me. I'm pretty much her life now I guess, but I'm glad I'm not all her. Just incase you don't know me, my name is Evelyn..but I just call myself "Eeee".

Sometimes my life is pretty rough, I don't really understand why I can't play with the wireless router, I mean come on I already broke it so what's the big deal? I also don't understand why I can't drink out of that red, white and blue can mom gets from the fridge..one day I'll get a taste of it.

I got some cool friends, my boyfriend Andrew lives next door with his brother, we get along so good. Mom and Miss Crystal talk about us getting married one day...I'm almost 2 Mom, I don't plan on getting married till at least 4.

I really like to talk on the phone. Sometimes Grandma and Grandpa call me on Skype and I stand there and tell them all my stories. I don't know why they laugh, most of it is pretty serious stuff like I need some raisins or a new outfit. I see them in person sometimes, but not for that long...they are pretty cool I guess. I hear I'm going to see them and my cousin Ashton soon...I'm not sure about that, Ashtons a whole year older and super mean, Mom says he's a future linebacker..whatever that is. I also hear my Grandma Sue is coming, I don't really remember her though, but hopefully she'll give me ice cream even if Mom says no.

I'm also a pretty cool dancer, I learned some of my moves from my Mom..but really its just all natural. But I'll tell you one thing, once she pulls out that darn recorder, its so funny to stop and not move, makes her so sad and makes her do silly things, doesn't she know I'm the boss.

I really like my Dad, its weird though how Mom is here all day and Dad is only here at night and a few days here and there...its like he's got some place better to be, but I like that he comes home and begs for kisses and I deny him. If he'd stay home I'd give him more. I don't really understand his uniform, he needs some necklaces to brighten that up.

Anyways...I got somethings to do like play with my ball, poop and get some juice. See you all later.

Bye Bye. *Kisses*

Bedroom Re-Vamp

P and I have had the same bedroom décor our whole marriage, and lately I've been getting sick of it. Its always been black and white, no color at all and I've really like it, until it became so BLAH!!!...just boring. Who doesn't like color.

Well unfortunately I have a husband who wants to be involved in decorating for the most part, he definitely didn't care that I wanted to update the room a bit, but if I suggested anything a little girlie he'd pretty much tell me no. Well I ended up making a few compromises, and I like what I did a lot.

Well as you can see...its pretty plain. Having white walls makes all the white so blah!! We bought the comforter in this picture last year when we moved to Fort Bragg, but sadly when we had it dry cleaned, it ruined the bedding. So We had to buy new bedding.

I love our new bedding though! Its a quilt and so its pretty thin for the summer. Also I got these pillows all at Ross. I love love love having some throw pillows! Also I know its hard to see but I added some sheer fabric onto the lamps to add some darker light in at night. I'm hoping sometime this year I can get new lamps, but so far I haven't found anything I like.

Top: I found some LED candles at Ross at a good price with these hurricanes for a good price too! I love love love this! It adds so much romance into our bedroom at night which is exactly what I wanted! Also I bought the green genie lamp in Utah a few years ago, and I love the pop of color with the walls and candles.
Bottom: My new wall décor in the bedroom. Instead of the two rectangle photos of a park, its now a wall of love! I love this wall so much! I bought the red sign, red frame and mirror at Hobby Lobby at 50% off and I just adore it! The other frames I bought at Ross.

So another room re-vamped...now which room am I tackling next (besides Ev's toddler room which is almost done.)...believe it or not...a man cave. Well its more like our game room/P's man cave/office. But it will be good cause we don't get enough visitors for us to use a 3rd bedroom as a guest room.

I'm heading to Utah.

Not right now though. I booked a flight back home to Utah for a few weeks. I'm super excited and I'm super not!

Don't get me wrong, I love going home and seeing my siblings, niece and nephews. But a full day of traveling with a almost 2 year old who can't move all day long...ya right! Count me out! But this time I'm not coming home just for pleasure. I'm coming home for my Grandma's 80th Birthday!! Pretty much every single one of my cousins is coming in for it, so even though I live the farthest away and I'm dreading the flight there and back...I'm going! Heck I'm not missing out on seeing some family!

I've flown with Evelyn a few times now, and I know how bad it can be, I also know it can be enjoyable....but then again she was one last time I flew with her. So I have so much anxiety about it.

My tips for flying with a toddler for my friends is usually. Have a birth certificate (just incase they check), bring something to pop their ears (binkies, bottles, sippys), new toys to keep them busy, snacks (who cares if they are healthy or not, your keeping them busy and distracted.), and whatever else you need. But I'd recommend not bringing yourself something, if you have a toddler like mine, you wont get to listen to your music or read your book, even if they are sleeping you can't risk moving and waking them up.

This time, I'm still taking my own advice, but this time not bringing one thing for me, besides my cellphone. Also over loading is not happening. I bought a new light weight stroller so I don't have to bring my huge giagantic stroller. New toys, your freaking bet!! Also my Mom is sending me her Kindle, because I'm not chansing breaking my ipad, and my otterbox for it makes it just huge.

I'm only going for 2 weeks, and its a month away but holy crap, I feel like I need to be getting ready now! New outfit for Evelyn for family photos, new shirt for me, new stroller, new toys, snacks and so on and so forth...there is a lot to do!

...I kinda miss just getting on a plane and listening to music and not worrying about Evelyn. Those days were kinda nice.

Follow me on Blog Lovin'!

I finally did it! I know google reader is going away...huge bummer! I didn't even know how I was going to switch but after a lot of thought, Blog Lovin' seems to be the better option for me and simpler too!!

Here's my link!!

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I'm back at it!

I'm sure everyone is tired of me crying and whining about my weight, and you know what I am tired of it too. After a lot of thought and a lot of thinking...I decided it has to be done now...or I need to stop complaining and just get over it. So 2 weeks ago...I started my new lifestyle. Yes its a lifestyle and not a diet.

P needed to lose some weight for his upcoming PT test, and so we started buying healthier options for food, and making healthier dinners. So far that's been easy. I have started my calorie tracker on myfitnesspal, and then guess what I did...I went to the gym! and I went more then one time.

Last time I had a gym membership...I wasn't married. That's how long its been! And believe it or not, that is when I was putting on my weight. Umm hello...I want to shake my-then-self, because I could have totally prevented all of this! I just chose not to.

So I went with my neighbor a few times, and she took a break one day, and so I had P go with me. Then I went by myself a few times. P and I are even talking about going twice a day.

I also had a talk with P about how he watches me when I'm trying to lose weight. If I had a soda while I was on a "diet" he would make sure to tell me how many calories and what a waste it is. So I asked him to back off of me, that this was just me starting out, and if I ask for advice he can give it, until then...he needs to lay off of me. So far he's done pretty good!

I'm not putting pressure on myself right now like I have in the past, right now its just starting out and I am loving it. I have loved pushing myself at the gym, and I love that I can do it in the morning when  some kids are in the playroom and Evelyn can be a bit more social.

So I am just here to say...I haven't given up. I may have backslided and taken too long of breaks, but I really have high hopes to lose my weight, get healthier, and set a better example for Evelyn and future babies. Wish me luck!

Washington DC pt. 3.

We knew the 2nd full day in Washington DC was supposta be rainy, so we planned for this day to be museum day. This day we got smart and took the Metro in..it maybe a little expensive...but oh it was worth it! My parents, P and I decided to split up. My parents are kinda slow and want to take their time...P and I are kinda fast at things, and we're glad we did it because we saw a lot more!

Our first stop was the Smithsonian Castle...which is technically not even a museum. Its an information center. Who knew? not me. So we headed right on over to Air and Space...I was super crowded so we didn't spend much time in there, but it was pretty cool! Especially since we had just been to Kitty Hawk.

Right after that P and I couldn't decide where to go! We had so many options! We saw a little garden and walked around it, and saw the National Archives building...and then realized...we didn't even plan on seeing the Constitution! So we decided right then and there to go see it....problem was..the line to get in the building wrapped around the building. Save that for next time.
By this time it has started to rain, so we ran into the Museum of Natural History. Pretty cool, and again really crowded, but we got to see the Hope Diamond. I hope I get it for my birthday! We spent a good amount in this building. Not any good photos though really. Just this one of P and Manny :)

After that we met my parents for lunch at the American History Museum. I had not planned on going in this museum, but we did see so many cool things! I spent walking around trying to find Dorothy's shoes..and if you've ever been to this museum you'd know they are probably the easiest things to find at the museum. But I found them!!

 We couldn't pass up Kermit either!

Especially since Ev says "roggg"

This part of the trip makes me sad. One of the things I've wanted to go since I was probably in 7th grade was The Holocaust Museum. Like I said yesterday, WW2 is one thing I love to study, and the Holocaust was a big part of that. It was the last thing to do on the to do list, and when we asked a Ranger where it was, he told us we shouldn't get our hopes up because we probably ran out of tickets for the day...in fact he told us not to even bother trying. I was crushed but still had my hopes up. We got to the Museum, and sure enough we sign said, no tickets available. My heart broke. I just wanted to leave. Everyone but me got to do what they really wanted to do, and I just wanted to leave. Everyone insisted we go inside and look around, so we did. There were a few memorials and exhibits we could see, but I was still upset. P knew I was too, and he gladly let me buy a few books to read. I told him we'd have to come back one year by ourselves and come here first thing in the morning.
I didn't even know you needed tickets, but because someone dropped their ticket on the ground (douche bag), we saw that you can get them online! So if you're going to DC and you really want to go, make sure you get online and get them!

DC was an amazing trip. Another thing in the USA you must do before you die. I'm glad we did it, P has been wanting to do it for a while now, and it's great to have finally gotten the chance to do so. I can't wait for Ev to learn about this stuff in High School and I can pull out the photos and show her that she's been here before! Maybe even take her again one day :)

Washington DC pt. 2

After we went to Arlington we went across the bridge to DC...we drove on this day and I can tell you this....not so smart. Insanely busy and crazy parking and people trying to slam into you.

After we found a spot to park we decided today was Monument Day...technically we had 2 full days in DC and things needed to get knocked out of the park. So before we even came we made a list...both my parents had been to DC but this was P and I's first time...so we pretty much got the high spot on the list. P's must do was the monuments. So we saw pretty much all of them in one day. It was a lot of walking but it was fun!

 The Washington Monument was under construction....BOO! I know. But it's beyond HUGE! I mean you always know that...but its like really big, and really cool!

 One of the first things we saw was the White House...they were setting up the Easter Egg hunt, which we wanted to buy tickets for Evelyn to do, but we weren't going to be there, darn huh! Still it was pretty neat to look there and see it!

P and I got to go up to see Lincoln by ourselves, and we enjoyed it. Talking about what he did and how giant he was. How many pigeons poop on him. It was just another cool thing to see and do. We liked it just being us too.

Seeing the Korean War memorial was a special thing for me. Both my Grandpa's served in the war. One went to Germany, and one went to Korea. I've learned a little more about it since learning that.

 I am one of those people fascinated by World War 2. I've been to Pearl Harbor and on my bucket list is to visit Germany, Poland, and you name it I want to go. So seeing the WW2 memorial was another cool thing for me to see.

You guys might find me crazy...but P and I are in a which is a better state all the time with eachother...California or Utah...Utah will be where P and I start making roots at when he retires from the Army, but California usually wins on where is the cooler state. Damn him for having Disneyland and the beach.
We saw more things, but you guys get the hint. We had a blast. It was an amazing day, perfect and sunny, and lots of history!

(I wish that man wasn't in this photo.)

(just to be clear...the man behind us...not P)

Washington DC pt. 1 (Arlington National Cemetery)

I can't even begin to tell you how long I have wanted to go to DC. If you grew up in America, or even have a huge passion for History like me, you have probably wanted to go to DC. Let me tell you, it was so worth every penny and every moment shoved in the backseat of a van.

We stayed outside of DC about 40 minutes away just because we got a better deal on a hotel. By the time we got in the first day we decided the trip to DC was going to be a little much. So we gave Evelyn a break. But the next morning we woke up bright and early and headed to Arlington National Cemetery.

The feeling I had at Arlington was unbelievable. I always knew that it was a cemetery, hollow grounds and so on and so forth, but the peace you feel there, surrounded by men and woman who died for our country, its amazing. It was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Your in a peaceful spot.

 We did just about everything you could do at Arlington. We saw JFK's grave site, which was very cool. I had no idea he had an eternal flame there. One thing that bummed me out is that the security meant to keep the grounds peaceful, were yelling across the cemetery to make people shut up. While I understand what they are doing, they were really making the noise a little worse.

 Behind us is Washington DC, you can see the Monument in the background kind of.

 In front of us was JFK's gave site.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was once again another great feeling. Everyone was so quite, and the soldiers standing guard really are on spot. P knew more about this then me, and we made it in time to see the change of guard. I didn't get to watch because Ev was a little restless and I had to take her aside, but P said it was pretty cool to watch.

Meeting family.

My Grandfather, who I don't really know, is from North Carolina. My Dad used to spend some summers here and I know that I had some 2nd cousins from here...when my Mom was here in October she went to visit the family and I stayed behind and watched my sister for her, but since my Dad was going this time I decided it was the perfect time to go and get to know more about my Grandpa and about my Dad as a young boy.

It was another 3+ hour drive and when we got there it was a go go go.

Evelyn did really good. But no kids and no kids toys left Evelyn very restless. This photo was taken when we first got there, and she was watching Cinderella and had decided this was the best place to watch her movie.

This is in a barn my Dad used to play in as a kid. It is over 100 years old! There were cows over by the barn and Evelyn started saying "cowwww" and "mooooah". She must be a visual learner.

This church is the families church that everyone goes to. It's newly rebuilt since the old one burned down, but in this cemetery is a bunch of family members of mine.

Its been kinda cool to learn about the family and see where my Dad spent time as a kid. If you can ever do trips of visits like this I highly recommend doing it!

Outter Banks.

The plan was when my parents first got here that we had two trips planned, and maybe one to the beach for a day. My parents landed, the next day P and I were out on a date and when we got home they had booked a hotel room to go to the Outter Banks in Northern North Carolina. I had never heard of it, and I wasn't too excited to go.

On the way up there we learned that we were going to Kitty Hawk which is where the Wright Brothers used to test out the planes they were inventing...pretty cool huh?! Well the trip ended up being really good! I'm glad my parents rented a rental van so we could watch TV while P and I were shoved in the backseat. So the drive wasn't too bad :)

 Ev tried our fresh crab

(P and my Dad at the top of a lighthouse.)

 we just got out of the car when we took this photo so my posture is horrible.

My parents.

Date Night with Luke Bryan...

wait...Did I just say that? I meant Date Night at the Luke Bryan concert.

Yes! While my parents were here we got to squeeze in one date night. We only get maybe 3 or 4 date nights out without Evelyn a year, so when we can take one we go full speed ahead. Usually our date night is just a nice dinner and a movie we've been wanting to see forever.

While P was browsing the internet he found out Luke Bryan was going to be in concert that very night and mentioned it. I had already known he was coming to Fayetteville but I thought the tickets were to high and didn't want to buy them at that price when we are on a budget. But P said to me that we never go out, and we do the same thing all the time...be spontaneous? Ok. We bought some pre-bought tickets for $40 a piece and had AMAZING seats! I thought we'd be in the nose bleed section, but no we were in a great area, you could see the artists so well! I saw Luke shake it, I was in heaven.

My husband knows about my fixation with Luke Bryan...its ok!

Also at the concert was Florida Georgia Line...if you've heard the song that goes "Baby your a song you make me wanna roll my windows down and cruuuise!"...yeah that's them. That's all we knew about them too. But every. single. song. they played was awesome! I bought their album the next day...now we are going to "Get our shine on" sometime...hey I gotta try moonshine while I'm in the south right?

Who else was at the concert? Thompson Square. Another amazing group...and another CD I bought after I got home. Also these two are too cute when they sing together.

All in all it was a very great date night for P and I. We really enjoyed each other, and danced in the stadium and it made us feel very refreshed, and I think I fell a little harder for my man. He was so sweet and just amazing. I really did score the jackpot with my hubby!

Easter!!

We celebrated Easter early since we were going to be in DC for Easter Sunday. I was pretty excited since my parents were in town and we never get to spend holidays with them anymore. So it had to be perfect!
We woke up and I had an Overnight Blueberry Cassarole in the fridge and threw it straight into the oven..it ended up cooking forever!! But it was still delicious!!

Evelyn woke up and got her Easter stuff!! She got way more then we planned, but this is her first Spring and Summer of being active and walking so she needed a few things!

After Ev's nap we did egg coloring and had her use a whisk to dip the eggs...thank you pintrest! worked like a charm. She had a blast!
This was my first big Easter dinner. I tried to not add too much on my plate, and went pretty simple. Everything was delicious!

Before I tell you all about my trips post.

Hello Everyone! It looks like you enjoyed my scheduled posts! I am back from...well everywhere. 3 road trips in 10 days is a lot. My Parents left this morning which means I am in cleaning/laundry/sitting on my ass mode. But here's a sneak peek at what we were up to.