SOS Graduate...

Last Friday Jason graduated SOS...yeah!

We are so proud of him!

It was an early morning as his graduation as it started at 7:30...Riley didn't exactly want to sit still so we went up to the "cry room" and hung out with some other babies so we didn't disturb the ceremony!



It was a rigorous 5 weeks for him with all the classwork and studying he had to do and he along with all of his fellow flight members were ready to be done...a few had their cars loaded and hit the road as soon as graduation was over!

We didn't waste much time either and were on the road before lunch on our longest road trip with Riley and she did great! She started off with a nap and we stopped for a long lunch about 2 hours into the trip...she got to run around Target and let some energy out and then we had lunch at Moe's!


After that we only stopped one more time and made it to Lakeland, FL at about 9:30 that night...we did lose an hour on the trip so that didn't help! Riley took another nap, played, and watched several Veggie Tales movies!


All of Jason's family was waiting at G.G. and Pa's house to see us and at the time they were all strangers to Riley but she just made herself at home. She walked around saying hi to everyone, played with Joey the dog, and really took to Jason's little cousin Sarah!

We always look forward to G.G.'s cooking and she had a feast waiting for use when we arrived Friday night...yummy spaghetti! That was just the beginning of the wonderful home cooked meals!

Where are the Purcell girls now?

It's the 2nd edition of "Where are the Purcell girls" and we have now made our way to Montgomery, Alabama! We flew from Austin to Birmingham on Monday and Jason picked us up and brought us back to Maxwell AFB where he is attending SOS training! He has been here 4 weeks already and we have been spending his last week with him and it's been a lot of fun!

Before we left the lake we got in one more boat ride...and the weather was a little crazy so we didn't even leave the cove but Riley got to drive and we had fun!

Flying on Monday was not so fun...I was not able to bring the carseat on either flight and Riley had a hard time understanding that it was not safe for her to get on the ground and try to crawl under the seat in front of us...so there was quite a bit of screaming! Thankfully our longest flight was spent next to a grandma and she helped me distract Riley with her electronic solitaire game! Whew...I was worn out and ready to be off the plane! The flight from Austin to Dallas was not very fun either because the entire state of Texas was under a wind advisory and the winds were gusting at 30 mph...taking off was not too bad but landing was CRAZY! The nose would pop up and down during the entire descent and we landed WAY to fast and literally bounced down the runway...the flight attendant followed with "That's what we call a yee-haw landing"...not exactly the words running through my head at the time...but we made it...and actually both of our flights got us in early!

Here is a pic of Riley on the plane...post-tantrum! Can you tell it was a little rough?

Jason talked his way through security and was waiting at the gate when we came off the plane...he was SO excited to see his girls...and I was excited to hand Riley off for a few moments to gain my sanity! HeHe!

We loaded up and got on the road...we stopped at Olive Garden for a good meal and then we were back on the road towards the base! We got in about 9:30 and Riley had only catnapped on the drive home so she was tired but she wanted to meet everyone so she ran up and down the hallway and flirted with all of Jason's classmates and their wives!

We are living in very tight quarters...similar to a hotel but we do have a small living room and kitchenette...Riley sleeps in the living room at night but naps in our bedroom during the day so we are moving the pack-n-play quite often! We're just glad to be all together as a family!

Jason bought Riley her own little chair and she has enjoyed getting on and off of it...and of course attempting to stand on it!

Tuesday all of the girls had a spa day...I had a mani and pedi and it was a lot of fun! A spa is not the best place for a toddling 1 year old but I managed with the help of the other wives! The little chairs that the technicians used to give pedicures were just the right height for Riley so she liked climbing on and off of them and she even managed to get Heather to give her a few rides around the spa!

After our spa treatments we went to a fabulous Thai restaurant in downtown Montgomery and sat outside as it was a beautiful day! Riley loved the soup that came with our meal and had fun playing with the spoon!

I was sure Riley would take a nice nap after all this fun but she was not interested so we went to the park and played! She was just taking it all in when we first arrived and was intrigued with watching all of the other kids play...it didn't take long for her to get after it and start playing!

Love this face!

She had so much fun...we swang...slid...and climbed! Some of the play areas had sand all over them and when she got it on her hands she was not exactly happy or sure about it...we'll see how she does at the beach next week!

Monday night we had dinner at Bonefish with the whole gang...gotta love the Bang Bang shrimp...my goodness they are so good!

Tuesday Riley and I took a long walk in the morning because I wanted to get outside before the rain came! After her nap we went to a coffee house that has an indoor play place and met up with some of the other wives. The play place was too big for Riley to play in but there were a bunch of older girls who LOVED Riley! I had to monitor everyone though because they kept wanting to hug her, pick her up, and try to pass her around...it was like she was a piece of meat! Of course Riley wanted to be right in the middle of all the big girls so trying to distract her with other toys was not happening. She was so cute with them...and they all wanted to be mother hens! Tuesday evening we went to dinner at La Zona Rosa...mexican food! It was OK...that's all I have to say about that. Riley loved entertaining the table...

Most of Jason's classmates brought their wives but they don't have children yet so it has been fun to see them with Riley...she's not good birth control though because they are all so intrigued by her and call our room to see if she can come out and play! Perhaps that's because she loves to work a crowd, she does great when we go out to eat, and when we come back and someone is playing dance music in their room Riley is right there dancing...she's really a lot of fun!

Here is some of the fun that has been had in the University Inn (the temporary lodging facility on base)!!!

Luggage cart rides..

The Up and Down game with Bill...

Spinning chair rides with Heather...

and of course Dancing...


Today was Jason's last day of class and he got our early so we spent the afternoon running errands...who knew we could have so much fun with our little one!

First we stopped at Bass Pro Shops...Riley loved seeing all the animals although she was a little scared of the bear!

Jason loved showing her all the fish...

She also loved finding merchandise, wearing it, and running wild through the store!

Then we were off to Best Buy...Riley and Jason played some guitar hero!

After all her singing and dancing she and I sat in the stadium seats and watched Happy Feet with the awesome surround sound...it looks like a really cute movie!

Tonight we went out with everyone for one last dinner...I feel like all we have done is eat on this trip but luckily I have made it to the gym once! I decided to just have dessert since I was still full from our late lunch...it was yummy!

Jason and I spent most of the evening packing up the room that has been his home for the past 5 weeks...he graduates first thing in the morning and then we are off on an all day road trip to Florida...woohoo!

More lake fun...

We had another fun day! This morning Riley was playing with my old Teddy Ruxpin...he needs new batteries so he doesn't talk but she doesn't know she's missing anything. He normally sits in the corner of my parents kitchen in the highchair that my grandfather, my mother, and myself used! He is in pretty good shape for being twenty something years old and Riley loved him!

We made a day trip to San Antonio for a baby shower and it was a lot of fun!

It was fun to see everyone...this group goes way back as the four of us girls all grew up together because we lived on the same street! We were reminiscing about the fake nails we used to play with and the Baby Alive we all wanted and got for Christmas...the good 'ol days! Now we are all grown up...and married (or soon to be)...and having kiddos! Maegan is going to have her first little one...a boy named Hudson...in June!

Me and Riley, Andrea, Maegan, Ashley and Berkley

Riley and Berkley are three months apart and had fun playing together. We had an hour and a half trip in to go to the shower and I was sure Riley would nap on the way because she was rubbing her eyes before we left...I was wrong. She fought sleep the whole time and instead decided to sing and dance most of the way...little stinker! I was worried she might be fussy at the shower but it turns out Berkley hadn't napped either so we were all in the same boat! They both did great though considering they hadn't had a nap at all!

Riley wasn't too sure what to think at first...and she was so tired and hadn't gotten her second wind yet!

After getting her grub on and warming up to everyone she was ready to party...she helped Maegan open her presents by offering to pull out all the tissue paper and test out any toys!

Here's all the babies...Riley loves to crawl and climb on things and she actually crawled under the exersaucer...she actually made it without getting bounced on!

She loved Berkley's toys...especially the Dora riding toy! Berkley was very sweet to let Riley play with all of her toys...they shared well for the most part!

We had a lot of fun and had yummy cupcakes from Elms Bakery...where my wedding cake was from! Needless to say Riley was SOOOOOOOOOOO tired and was asleep before we even left the neighborhood and slept the entire trip back to the lake! When she woke up she had fun playing with my sunglasses!

We stopped at HEB on the way home...best grocery store ever and a place I deeply miss! We found a little patio chair for Riley and had to get it...she would sit in it for approximately 1 second and then she was off. When we took it outside she just wanted to pick it up and carry it up and down the stairs with her...she's a very busy little girl...no time for sitting!

We took a nice walk before dinner and Riley got to ride on Joe Pa's shoulders...she LOVED it! She did a lot of walking herself for a little girl but she is getting faster and faster and has just loved being outside! On our walk we saw a bunch of deer and Riley stopped and said "doggie"...she's close!

We had a great meal tonight...on laketime! Laketime means we don't eat dinner until 9:00 because that's just what you do at the lake! My dad grilled quail and steaks and I made some homemade macaroni and cheese...yummm! Riley played all evening in a basket of spices and she had them everywhere! We also tried to teach her the chicken dance...she was making a good attempt at all the moves. By 9:30 she she was still going strong so Grammie finally calmed her down and rocked her to sleep...she's just having too much fun to sleep!

Where are the Purcell girls?

Welcome to the first edition of "Where are the Purcell girls?" This starts the beginning of a two week travel extravaganza and we are so excited!

We are happy to report we made it safely to the great state of Texas last night and are loving our time here! Riley and I flew to Austin via two flights...the first one was great...the second one was more of a challenge! The first flight we sat next two a 5 year old little boy who was travling with his uncle to Phoenix...sweetest kid ever! They had already claimed two of the three seats in this row and I saw them and knew this was where we needed to sit because Riley loves older kids and I hoped he could help me entertain her. I was right! He talked to her, played with her, and shared his toys with her. He was quite an insightful little one...his first question was "Did she come from your belly?" and he followed that with "Did you scream real loud when they cut your belly open to get her out?"...his uncle then followed that question with "No I'm sure Riley came down the slide like most babies do and the doctor caught her"...wow! I was laughing hysterically through this conversation and we had a lot of fun with this little one. Riley was great and didn't even know we were on a plane because she just played the whole time. When we landed the little boy hugged Riley and told her he loved her...how sweet! The next flight was not as fun...we took off at 7:30 which is bedtime in Riley's world! She had several tantrums but I managed to get her distracted every now and then with the help of the girl in our row...peanuts became our friend! Luckily it was only a 50 minute flight and we were in Austin! Grammie and JoePa picked us up, we chowed down on some Sonic, and off to the lake we were! Riley fell asleep en route and slept great last night!

I got to tour my parents new lakehouse last night and then again this morning in the daylight and let me say...it is AWESOME! I wish we were going to be living closer so we could come here every weekend!

The living room...

My mom's wonderful kitchen...the cabinets are going up!

The last time I was at the lake the old house was still standing and it was shocking to get here and see how different things are. We had dreamed of what this house would look like long ago when my parents started drafting plans and to see what it has become was really breathtaking! They will start moving in just a few weeks...and then we get to start moving! Lots of moving going on in this family!

Riley had fun playing outside today...she has to have shoes on because she does NOT like the grass on her bare feet! She fell in love with the steps on the back deck and wanted to climb up and down...up and down!

This morning we went to visit Lena...a sweet lady that used to be the neighbor to my parents at the lake but moved into town..she loved seeing Riley and Riley played and played while we caught up!

This afternoon my aunt, uncle, cousin, and her boyfriend came up for a visit and it was great to see them! We took a boat ride and ate some lunch and got to catch up with them!

Here's Kassie, her boyfriend Chad, and her sweet puppy!

Family pic...

Riley got a bath before dinner as she was a dirty girl after playing with the puppies and running around in the grass...there was all kinds of dirt in between her toes...so unladylike! After getting all cleaned up Grammie read her a story!
This evening we went to lunch at a great Italian restaurant and met up with some of my parents friends and Riley got to play with Arielle...another grandbaby who is 2 months younger than her! The girls were mainly interested in swapping binkies and stealing hairbows!

Riley ate a good dinner and then she was ready to get out of the highchair and play...she decided the highchair could be used as a jungle gym and preceded to climb under it over and over!

On the way home from the restaurant I tasked Grammie with keeping Riley awake since she still needed to put her jammies on...well she took that to the extreme and had Riley giggling harder than I've ever heard her before...it was hilarious! When we got home Riley was still wanting to play so she made a few laps in the living room while checking out Jack and Sadie (the cat and dog)! When I put her in her bed she just laid down without a peep...she is a tired girl!

We had a gread day...lots of fun...now we are wiped out!