Caitlin's Pool Party

Caitlin turned 2 on Saturday! Since Ryder's birthday is 4 days after, we decided to have a double pool party. We had turtle cupcakes and presents and swam, it was perfect!

Biloxi Seafood Festival

We got caught in our first rainstorm. It comes down like crazy out of nowhere for about 5 minutes and then its gone as fast as it came! A nice man gave us an umbrella but we still got soaked.

The boys got to try alligator and ate a big basket of crawdads.

We Have a 5-Year-Old

Sophie turned 5 on Friday! She had a great day at school and loved all the attention and getting to wear the birthday hat all day. Since we already had her party in Boise, we had a small celebration with pizza and cookies and then went to a hands-on children's museum they have here called the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center. It was impressive and the kids had a blast. So glad the Crooks are here with us!

Sophie's birthday interview:

Hurricane Isaac

Well, we made it through a category 1 hurricane so I guess we've been initiated into the Gulf Coast now! At first we thought we would evacuate just to be safe, but then they tried to split up our family and make Phil shelter on base with all the other students. Luckily, they changed their minds and let him stay home with us, but we couldn't leave. The commander on base did not issue a mandatory evacuation so we trusted in him that he would not let us be in danger. But look how scary the satellite image was!

At first, the storm was going to hit us straight on but then THANKFULLY kept going more and more west.

Being less than a mile away from the beach though, I was seriously scared. The military housing we live in though was built after Katrina so the windows can withstand 140 mile an hour winds, etc. So, we just waited it out. It was actually kind of fun to just be home as a family for a couple of days but there were 2 nights of crazy wind and rain. I was worried about the tree right next to our house falling into it or possible flooding but we were blessed and made it without a scratch.

Well, there was one annoying thing. Because we put our stinky trash can in the garage during the storm, maggots took over! SO GROSS!

Here is the marina on base, pretty much underwater...

Here is Hwy 90 that runs along the coast, flooded. We drive it to get pretty much everywhere...

Here is our attempt at setting up the camera to get a family pic of us waiting out the storm:

Our Little Mermaid

Caitlin loves to be Ariel. She has taken this melody over, as her theme song and sings it ALL the time. And very loudly. In public. It is so cute. This isn't the best video, but you get the idea.

Sophie's 1st Day of Kindergarten

School starts really early here. August 8th to be exact! Sophie's teacher is Miss K. Her name is actually Kovacevich but what Kindergartener can say that? She is really sweet and I think she'll be wonderful.

Sophie was really excited for school before we left the house, but when I dropped her at her classroom I could tell she was apprehensive. Being pregnant and all, I thought I would bawl, but I didn't cry at all! Weird.

When I picked her up, she was happy and telling me all about her binder and that she made 1 friend! Her teacher said she had a great first day. Everything seemed to be great...until we got home.

I think this transition is going to be a little more difficult than I expected. She is a mess when she gets home after being at school from 7:30-2:30. Last night, we even had her in bed by 6:30.  She is really acting out and being ridiculous. Hopefully we will all get adjusted quickly!

We love our little Kindergarten doll.

The Move

Well, we made it! We are finally all settled in and it is starting to feel a bit like home here.

Thank goodness for Becca is all I can say! We picked her up in Utah and she was a huge help. She probably drove 90% of the way because I started having these super annoying leg cramps that probably would have been pretty painful if I had to drive. Plus, it was much more fun having her with me!

Don't I look lovely in my compression socks?

We made it in 4 days, driving about 9 hours each day. We went through Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi. Some were very beautiful and some smelled like urine (Nebraska).

The girls did really well. Caitlin was difficult sometimes, which we expected, but the bags I put together for each day with different snacks and toys really helped. In order for Becca and I to be able to listen to music in the front of the van, Caitlin had to keep her headphones on so she could hear her movie. She didn't like them at all because they were too big, but a diaper on her head seemed to work pretty well. :)

Both girls wanted to ride with daddy in the big truck and Sophie pretty much did the whole time, even with the A/C stopped working the second day.

 

The hotel stays were interesting. The first night, Caitlin woke up about 2 am and wouldn't go back to sleep. She pretty much kept us all awake. The second night, Sophie woke up about 1 am puking everywhere. That was really fun. After that, we were all so exhausted that the next two nights we all slept great.

Stopping for lunch...

We got our house in a military subdivision the next day. Everything was going smoothly until Phil sprained his ankle unloading the truck! Luckily, his friend Trent was here to help and Becca really stepped it up for us. The humidity was killer though, especially because we weren't used to it.

We did take some time out from unpacking to go to the beach. It was nicer than I thought it would be and we had a great time until I got stung by a jellyfish which Phil quickly caught in Sophie's bucket.

The girls both love the beach and I have a feeling we'll be spending a lot of time there. A big thank you to Becca for helping with the drive, the move and the girls. I am forever grateful!

This is a fun place to live, but we already miss our Boise friends and family. XOXO