Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Back in Cali...

Well the Cali girls made it back home and have been enjoying just that...being home!
We have loved seeing everyone and traveling but I needed a break from the traveling part and am enjoying being back here!
We came home to flowers blooming everywhere and some great weather...unfortunately with that came torrential allergies for me to the point that I have had quite the man voice the past few days and the few rainy days we are having now are washing these allergies away!
I didn't let the allergies keep me down and in fact I did just the opposite...we spent lots of time outside because it was just too pretty not to!
Last week I finally got Riley the sand for her play table and she had a blast playing in it!
Hank of course had to check it out and I had to keep an eye on Riley because she kept trying to feed Hank sand...yuck!

I bought her the super soft sand and it's so fun to play with!
This girl loves boats!

I did some yard work while Riley played and when it was time to go in we were both a mess so we showered up and then ate dinner on the patio together...it was such a great night!

Riley loved eating outside and I'm sure we'll be doing a lot more of it over the next few months!


Saturday we got to go to Muir Beach...so beautiful!

Riley was tickled to go to the beach and squealed the entire morning while we put on our beach gear and packed our lunch...literally squealed!
Check out this beach girl...

The sand was black...so different than what we are used to...but nevertheless it's sand and it's fun to play with!
It was quite a warm day for the Pacific coast...in the 70's...but the water is always freezing!
I could hardly stand to get my feet wet but it didn't even phase Riley!

She ran in and out of the water, rolled in the sand, played fetch with all of our friends doggies, and we never even ate a lick of our packed lunch because I couldn't get her to get 2 ft away from the waves...she was literally having the time of her life!
Here's all the girls...
Me and my beach girl...

She ate some food when we got in the car and I scarfed down the whole ride home because I was starving...she literally passed out with food in her hand...one tuckered out little girl!
She slept about an hour on the ride home and woke up cranky...as soon as we got home we both went straight to the shower and she screamed bloody murder the entire time...wow. She kept crying for her bed...however once the shower was over she never mentioned her bed again...hmmm...the mind of a 2 year old.
We laid low and were pretty lazy that evening because I was feeling the effects of being outside all day and I hardly had a voice and she was a cranky girl...nothing a little "Chikamunks" couldn't help! She's addicted to the Chipmunks Squeakquel movie...so cute!
Sunday was an early morning for us girls...I had the privilege of going on a spouse flight with the KC-10 squadron and Riley went to play with my friend Ashley and her little guy Blake.
We both had a blast!
The flight was awesome and it was a great day to fly!
The KC-10 is just like a DC10 airliner...a plane you might take to Europe...but since I frequent the US on Southwest this was the biggest plane I had ever been on!
This is a jet that is great to utilize for hops and they frequently carry passengers so it was pretty similar to a commercial flight in regards to our seats and such!
Here's us girls in our seats, with our seat belts fastened and our seats and tray tables in their full and upright position...ready for takeoff!
We all laughed because the boom operator who controls the boom to refuel other jets also has the responsibility of the passengers...sort of like a flight attendant. He went through all the safety features, pointed out the lavatories, and let us know when we were cleared for departure. I was tempted to see if he would redeem all the Southwest drink vouchers I have...hehe!
We flew down the coast of California towards LA and there were two jets full of spouses. The best part of the experience was getting to see these jets do what they do best...refuel.
They had planned this trip very well and made sure that each spouse got to see the refueling process up close. On the way down south, we were the jet taking on fuel and we got to watch the process from the cockpit!
The beautiful coastline and the other KC-10 flying above us!
It's crazy how close these two huge airplanes get to each other during the refueling process...such precise flying to make it all work!

Our pilots positioning the plane to take on fuel...
Some of the views from the cockpit...


Once we made it down to LA we turned around and headed back north up the coastline and this time it was our jet's turn to give fuel to the other KC-10.
As we walked to the back of the plane to step down in the world of the boom operator we were able to grasp just how big this plane is...there was absolutely no cargo on it and it just felt huge!
We got to sit right next to the boom and watch as he refueled the other jet...

Crazy just how close we got!
We could actually wave to the other pilots and spouses in the cockpit!
Another group shot...such a blast!
This was by far one of the coolest things I've done!
I thought I'd share a few pics from Jason as well...he did get to go off base to Abu Dhabi for his birthday and had a lot of fun!
He also got a visit from some UFC fighters and had a blast showing them around...three red heads!
These dudes are some big dudes...Jason actually looks small next to them!

Glad he's getting to have a little fun amidst the extremely long work hours...we sure miss him...almost half way through!

Friday, April 23, 2010

Rounding out our trip...

Our second week in Arkansas was jam packed with visits as well!

Monday...lunch at Scallions with Ryan and Sue, my former boss and co-worker! Riley was more fascinated with playing in the rocks since we ate outside than eating her food...that girl just doesn't realize how much she missed out on...her grilled cheese was sooo good!
Tuesday we sort of laid low and I snuck out for ice cream with Andrea after Riley went to bed and we had Coldstone and stayed out WAY too late talking!


Wednesday we had lunch with Angela, another former co-worker, at US Pizza in the Heights...our usual place! For dinner I met up with Sue and Debbie...two very special ladies in my life...we had wine and Bang Bang shrimp at Bonefish and it was a beautiful night so we sat out on the patio and caught up!
Thursday we met with Tamey, another former co-worker, at Canon Grill...our usual place as well!


Thursday night we went to dinner at Megan's house...I stole pics from Megan AGAIN because she just captures life so well.
Riley showed off her "All the Single Ladies" dancing skills...and she impressed Dave so much that he burned us Beyonce's ENTIRE cd...so sweet of him. Dave...it has been playing non-stop in my car since we got home!
It was such a nice evening so we took a walk and went to feed the ducks in Megan and Dave's neighborhood...Riley had a blast!
When we got back she tried on several of Dave's WWII hats...
Only in Dave and Megan's house would I ever expect to find this book...Riley took a gander!

Thanks Megan for a delish meal and a wonderful evening!

Friday Riley had a play date with her old BFF from school, Haylie!
They were sort of unsure about each other at first because obviously they didn't quite remember each other...but they decided that sharing tea together in a sterile environment would be fun...love Haylie's face in this pic!
Then they tried riding together in the bath tub...after a few tipping moments they decided to move onto something else!

So they pushed each other in the stroller!
They were hugging and holding hands before we left...and had a blast jumping on Haylie's bed!

Friday night we had a family dinner...except CJ was out being a stud at his school dance so he didn't get to join us!
We went to YaYa's for dinner and it was soooooo good!

Riley sure loves her DiDi and Doc!
I sure love Gaby!
After dinner we strolled over to Maggie Moo's for some ice cream!
Saturday we went to have lunch with Scott and Laurie and then the day was spent doing all kinds of fun things...
Doing art...
playing the piano...

riding horsies...
loving on her Bubba...
jumping on the trampoline...

love this girl!
Saturday night it was family night again...this time Doc and Gaby were at a father-daughter camp out so it was DiDi and Bubba that we spent the evening with!
Can't leave Arkansas without some BBQ...Whole Hog was our place of choice!
and since Bubba had missed out on Maggie Moo's the night before we went again!
Riley chose the BLUE cotton candy ice cream and she was a mess...and it came out the same color that it went in so a few days later we had blue doodoo balls...glad they ended up in the toilet!
We had a blast in Arkansas and still wished we had more time to spend with everyone. Ironic because today marks the one year anniversary of the day we pulled out of Little Rock on our journey to the West coast. We love and miss everyone and thanks for taking the time to hang with us while we were there!

Monday, April 12, 2010

The fun goes on...

Well I'm way behind with all the fun we've been having...rewind to last week!
Last Thursday we went to Megan's school and had lunch with her...I picked up Fantastic China which is what Jason and I basically lived off of our first year in Little Rock...yum yum!
Riley ate well and had fun checking out all the cool things in the desks of Megan's 5th graders...good thing they were at lunch while Riley was snooping and trying to steal their things!
Megan is EXTREMELY talented...both a photographer and a great crafter!
She had a booth at a craft fair several weeks ago and since I wasn't able to attend I did some shopping in her trunk after we had lunch! I bought several baby gifts and some fun things for me.
Here I am showing off my new purse and pin! Thanks Megan!

Thursday night was a girls night for me, Andrea, and Laurie...Olive Garden and staying up until midnight gabbing...doesn't get better than that!
Friday we went and had lunch at school with Gaby...we picked up Chick-Fil-A and all ate together. Riley was acting especially goofy and basically wouldn't let go from wrapping her arms around my neck the entire time...I was loving all that love from her!
I'm not sure if she was overwhelmed with all the kiddos or was just plain scared of the lunch monitor...I have to admit I was too! She finally warmed up, ate a few bites of her lunch, and even helped Gaby do clean up duty...put that girl to work!
Friday night we went to the Barnard's house for some major play time. We had Deacon, Stella, Kaleb, Riley, and Ashton together and pizza was the main course!

The kiddos had their own little dance session and I got the "Mom of the Year" award as Deacon was requesting songs by Hillsong and Riley wanted to hear "All the Single Ladies" and "Boom Boom Pow"!

They were all HILARIOUS and were so fun to watch!
Riley takes her dancing seriously as you can see in this pic!
Riley did some vacuuming and had fun playing ball with the boys!
She even pulled out her smooth moves of stealing toys...here she is vacuum in hand setting the stage to steal Stella's riding toy...gotta love 2 year olds and their lack of sharing ability!
What a fun night...great to see everyone and thanks Barnards for having us all over!

Saturday was a big day...Mr. Reed turned ONE!
Andrea is one of my dearest friends and I was so thankful that our move last year didn't keep me from being there for Reed's birth and I am so thankful I was able to share his birthday with them as well.
Andrea has a gift for party planning and as with anything she has planned she did a GREAT job with his baseball themed party!
The weather was great, kids were running all over, and it was just a good 'ol time!
The birthday boy LOVED his cake!Riley and Kaleb had fun walking up and down the stairs together...so cute!
Deacon, Owen, and Riley had a blast playing in the ice chest!

Riley even got a ride with the birthday boy in his new wagon!
Before we left she had lots of kisses for her Uncle Derek!
Andrea and I with Riley!

Tara and I with the kiddos!

Kaleb even shared some of his treat with Riley...what a sweet boy!
Saturday evening was a girls night here at the LoRusso house!
CJ and Frank had gone off turkey hunting...gobble gobble...so us girls had a fun night!
We played outside for a bit...sandbox, swings, a girl's dream!
Riley likes to make "eggs" and "ice cream" when she's in the sandbox!
Loving the slide!
After playing outside we headed to Cabot to check out our house that we still own...we are in between renters and I wanted to make sure a "For Rent" sign was up...it wasn't. The house looked great and well kept up but I wasn't sure why the sign wasn't up...sure enough it's because our property manager had already secured new tenants..woohoo!
Sunday we went to church and then headed to the zoo with the Burns and Wyndham families!
Riley and Kaleb were too cool for school with their suckers!
Checking out the giraffe!
The bear got SO close...these two were loving life because they were under the impression the bear was following their commands by responding to "come here bear"
We saw a baby monkey who loved riding with it's mama...so cute!
Riley and me!
Holding hands with Lexi!
And these two monkeys just had their own thing going on and couldn't contain their laughter!
Posing...finally!
We even rode on the horsie before we left...Riley was ELATED and when we had to get off and head to the car she had a HUGE meltdown...as in I could barely keep her in my arms she was screaming and flailing and saying "my horsie...my horsie"...that's what happens when it's 3:00 and she hasn't napped yet!
Loving her horsie!
We had a great afternoon at the zoo and after she napped we did some more playing outside and even jumped on the trampoline...I think we might have to get one for her! She LOVED it!
We had a great family dinner thanks to DiDi and celebrated Jason's birthday...sure do miss that man of mine!

He had a great birthday and got to go off base to Abu Dhabi to shop and have dinner...so thankful he's working with a great group of guys and his day was special even though we weren't together!
Yesterday we went to lunch with Ryan and Sue...my former boss and co-worker! It was so great to see them and catch up and we ate at Scallions, one of my favorite places! Riley was not a fan of sitting in her seat but since we ate outside she spent the time playing in the rocks and talking with all the other people eating lunch!
We are still trying to fit in lots of visits and play time before we leave!