13 years...

Life's like a storm that cuts a path, it breaks your will, it feels like that,

You think your lost but

your not lost on your own

I will stand by you. I will help you through. When you've done all you can do and you can't cope I will dry your eyes. I will fight your fight. I will hold you tight. And I won't let go.

It hurts my heart to see you cry.

I know it's dark, this part of life

Oh, it finds us all. And we're too small to stop the rain. Oh, but when it rains I will stand by you. I will help you through. When you've done all you can do and you can't cope I will dry your eyes. I will fight your fight. I will hold you tight

And I won't let go.

Military Spouse Appreciation Day...

(pause the music at the bottom to listen to the video)

Today is Military Spouse Appreciation Day.

A real official holiday. Not one I just made up.

So often we hear "support the troops" but how often do we think about their families. Our service members are sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers. They put their life on the line for our freedom and for our great country. Their families sacrifice too. From deployments, long trainings, missed birthdays, holidays. If you are reading this then you know our story. The past few years have been hard, rewarding, sweet, painful, lonely and exciting. Military spouses are an elite group. I am honored to be part of such an amazing group of people. Next time you see a member of our military make sure you thank them and their family for their service. Also sign up for Joining Forces and support our military families.

I will love you forever if you do... M

White House Easter Egg Roll

Since we now live in the DC area, the capitol of the United States, and are practically neighbors with the Obamas we were invited to the White House Easter Egg Roll 2011! WHOO HOO! (I really screamed when I found out. I was beyond excited about this).

Okay, we didn't really get personally invited by the Obamas it was a huge honor to be able to go to this. We got last minute tickets. Could not contain my excitement. The bad part? We only got 3 tickets. The event is geared towards kids ages 3-12 so this was a big day for Liam, Myles and me.

We had to be in line by 11:15. It took about an hour to get through security and through the long line just to get into the main line. Good thing I did my hair. Right. It was 90 degrees and 75% humidity. I normally don't like pictures of myself but I love this one. If you look closely in the reflection of my glasses you can see the cute photographer who shot this. Love him!

THE ROLL

The Easter Egg Roll has been a tradition since 1878. Only during the World Wars was it not held. What a privilege to be able to participate in such a wonderful event.

Liam

Myles

It was so fun to be able to play on the lawn of the White House. It really is spectacular.

The First Family attends the Roll but I guess they went to the earlier session (they do several sessions. it lasts all day long) so we didn't get to see them. A little disappointing but still so excited to be there. We did, however, meet some famous people!

A replica of the Obamas dog BO.

Obviously this isn't real.

Kristi Yamaguchi

She was a reader at the story stage. She has written this cute book about dreaming book. We kinda had to break the rules and be a little stalker like to get this picture but it was totally worth it. She was so sweet. And she is so TINY. Seriously. She had on probably 4" inches. In person she is smaller than Liam.
Also got to meet Kelly Ripa.

Also tiny in real life. I look like a moose next to her (and I may be invading her personal space just a bit but I didn't realize this till I looked at the pictures, sorry Kelly.)

She was talking to Myles and trying to get him to smile for the picture (taken by Liam). He wasn't super excited about it. When we walked away I said to him "Buddy that was amazing. We just got our picture taken with Kelly Ripa!" He turned to me (straight faced much like the little face in this picture) and said "Kelly Ripa? Never heard of her."... I guess that would make sense.

We also met MR POTATO HEAD

EEEEKKKK!!!!!

Myles did know who he was and was super super excited to meet him!!!

We didn't actually meet her but we got to get this close to her and watch her perform. Colbie Caillat. I like her songs well enough. They are overplayed on the radio for sure. But let me tell you. In person her voice is AMAZING!! She sounded almost better live (which is so rare). And she is stunningly gorgeous. Like I hate her kinda gorgeous.

And we met Peter Rabbit! SWEET!!

Myles, Me and Liam right before we left for the day

What an awesome fun experience.

I am so glad that I got to share this with my boys.

I hope that they enjoyed it.

Happy Easter!

thankful...

I don't know what is in it.

I don't really care.

All I know is that last night this saved my life. Literally. Saved. My. Life. As in, before I inhaled/sprayed/assaulted my sinuses with this fiery poison I thought I was going to die.

Thank you Afrin.

to the moon...

"Today I was thinkin about going to the Moon

and I would most probably need a rocket pack."

Myles age 4

Springtime...

Teacher work day means no school for kids.

No school for kids means we need to get out of the house or Mom goes nutso.

So we went for a little walk around the neighborhood.

I love spring. I love that it wasn't too hot. I love that there was just the perfect breeze. I love even more that they came home tired ;)

Do squirrels lay eggs?**

We have an abundance of squirrels in our yard. We have quite a few trees and these pesky little guys are everywhere. I was sitting at our dining room table this morning and noticed that a few of them were busy as beavers (same family right?) building a nest high up in a tree. Anyways, we watched them go up and down and back up with little mouths full of leaves. It was amazing. And that made me think... What do I know about these neighbors of mine? I know if trapped in a garage for several hours they made a hell of a mess and they are TERRIBLE at crossing the road. But that is it. So kids here is a lesson on squirrels.

Squirrels are solitary animals. The females sometimes stay in small groups. They mate in late winter and then the male takes off and leaves the female to raise the litter on her own. (what a jerk!)

They can run between 8 and 10 mph and jump over 6 feet.

Squirrels in captivity can live up to 20 years. In the wild they are lucky to make it to their first birthday.

Baby squirrels are born in the spring without fur. They are called juveniles. They are born blind and weigh 1-2 ounces each. The mother will keep them in the nest and nurse them until they are ready to venture out on their own, usually 8-10 weeks. If a mother has to move her babies she will do so by carrying them in her mouth one at a time.

Squirrels build nests called "dreys". They are made of twigs and leaves. The interior is lined with fur, feathers and other soft materials for comfort. They build these high in a tree between two strong branches. High enough to provide protection from ground predators but not too high as to be damaged by wind.

So now we know. That busy little squirrel was building a drey. She is probably going to have some juveniles soon. On her own.

Did I mention they are rodents? I still don't like them but they provide endless entertainment (as long as they stay out of my garage).

**While we were watching this developing story someone (who wishes to remain nameless) turned to me and asked me if squirrels lay eggs. Really? REALLY?? Your kidding right? He wasn't. But I think he figured it out after I laughed so hard I almost (okay maybe all the way) peed my pants.

Art show...

Last night we decided to get our culture on. We, as a family, went to an art show.

So much for the eye to behold. So much to ponder. So much inspiration and depth.

The best part?

We were VIP guests. Someone in our family was a featured artist.

Myles G. Krenz

Artist

The best preschool teachers ever. Mrs. Munoz and Mrs. Miller

Logan...

It was so fun to go back to the place we grew up. It was crazy to see it through the eyes of an adult. Jesse and I used to walk down to our friends house. It seemed like such a grand adventure. Turns out it was only about 100 feet away. Everything seemed smaller.

I had an idea that I thought would be so fun. We have about 100 pictures from the mid 70's to 1985 on the front porch of our old house. Since all of my siblings were in one place at the same time I thought it would be cool to get a picture at the old house. I knocked on the door and talked to the woman who lives there now. She was so nice and was so willing to let us do this. We talked about what it was like inside. What year the remodel was done. What color it was when we lived there (it was yellow not this battleship grey color). So fun. Glad we could all be there together.

Till we meet again...

March 11, 2011

Today was a beautiful tribute to my grandma. Beautiful music. Gorgeous flowers. Loving tributes. A lot of family. I am sure she was pleased...

~Cousins~

~ Mary Ann's family~

~The sibilings~

~Lynn~

~Karl & Ella~

~Mark's family~

~Eileen's family~

~Norman's family~