Gotta love technology...

Well I got a new toy in the mail today and I love it!

I am blogging from it right now and having fun figuring this thing out! Riley actually caught a glimpse of it this evening and said "oooohhhhh what's that?"...little does she know that she'll probably have it all figured out before I do!!!

Today I took Riley to the duck pond on base...we fed the ducks, played on the playground, and met up with Katie and Sophie!



Riley had no fear on the playground and knew everyone there in a matter of minutes!





After playing at the duck pond we headed to the Deployed Spouses Dinner! I had never been to one before but had several friends going so I decided to go! It was a lot of fun...they had pizza and all kinds of fun planned for the kids and us spouses got to eat dinner, play games, and win lots of prizes!


Here's us girls...Julia, me, Katie, Joy, Ashley, and Melody!

I went home with no prizes and a cutie covered in pee...she had an accident right before we left...poor girl was in a room with three year olds and lots of volunteers so I actually expected she might have an accident!

It was a fun night!

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Another week...

Another week has past and what have we been up to?

Well last Monday we played outside with all of Riley's new bubble toys...so much fun!

After we played outside M came over to babysit while I went to Bible study and the two of them had a blast playing together!

Tuesday Riley and I went to the mall to get a few things and we had to make a stop at the carousel! This time she wanted to ride on the top story and she chose Racing Stripes! We actually rode twice and she had a blast!

We had a Chik-Fil-A date too and it was yummy!

Wednesday we had a Starbucks date before we ran a few errands...isn't she such a cutie?

Thursday we walked with all the girls in the morning and then met up with everyone at the pool that afternoon!

Will got his first swim in and he was great!

Kaitlin was as cute as a button and was super happy but only when her floaty was moving...once it stopped she was putting up a stink...at least she knows what she wants!

Riley sort of swam...she wasn't too sure about her puddle jumpers and wanted to be in floaties like the babies. She was also afraid of Braden's fish toy...she has a thing about fish toys and she won't get in the pool if one is in there...I think she's so used to catching fish on a pole that she doesn't see them as friends!

So she took a break and ate a fruit roll up!

She finally won and got to use her floaty and this is what she did...she finds a way to have fun regardless!

Friday we went over to the Hollender's house to play and have dinner...Patti made homemade pizza and it was great!

Braden had fun pushing Riley around in his car...a true gentleman!

Happy kids = happy moms!

Patti and I got to relax and enjoy a glass of wine while the kids played!

Friday night Riley woke up at some point in the wee hours of the morning...she had gone through a spell of this about a week prior but her sleeping habits had been getting back to normal. I think she was actually having some growing pains because she kept complaining about her legs hurting and she seems to have grown an inch taller in just the last few weeks! We don't let Riley in bed with us on a normal basis and I haven't had her in bed with me during this entire deployment but I decided to put her in bed with me...well we had a long night! She was too excited to be in bed with me and she just couldn't get comfortable. Our conversation went something like this:

R: Mommy my leg is broken!

M: Riley your leg is not broken...go to sleep.

R: Mommy I want to watch TV

M: Riley we aren't watching TV...go to sleep.

R: Mommy I wake up.

M: Riley it's the middle of the night...go to sleep.

R: Cry cry cry

M: Riley if you don't close your eyes and go night night you'll have to get in your own bed.

Riley finally went to sleep!

At 6 the sun was shining bright and she woke up cranky but insistent that it was time to wake up...I made her get in her bed and she slept a few more hours.

What a night!

Needless to say any motivation to do a lot of fun things on Saturday went out the window and we were super lazy! It all worked out well because we got to skype with Jason for quite awhile and after a 3+ hour nap for Miss Thang we headed to Sacramento to shop at Ikea!

She was really good and got to play on the slide!

After shopping we went to Inn-N-Out and had cheeseburgers, fries, and a chocolate shake...oh so good!

Sunday we were sort of lazy again and didn't make it to church. We did some grocery shopping and and Riley helped me in the kitchen. She is a lot of fun and a great helper when I'm cooking now! I got her a stool that she can use in the kitchen and she helped me make Haystacks for Bible study!

Stir stir stir!

And she learned from her Mommy how to take a taste!

The finished product!

My baking assistant had to take a long nap because she was completely exhausted!

So I took this time to put together some Ikea furniture and attack this playroom!

This is the before with some additional destruction on my part as I made room for the new furniture!

It was honestly a wreck in there and I'm embarrassed at how long it has been since I actually cleaned it up..I mean that's the point of a playroom, right?

But it felt great to get it all cleaned up and here is the end result!

It's more organized and easier for Riley to get to her toys...I haven't really packed up much of her toys because she has friends that are younger and it's nice to have something easy to pull out for them to play with!

After her nap I showed her the playroom and it was as if she had a whole new room with all new toys...she was enamoured with it and said "I like it Mommy". Then I asked if she was going to keep it clean and she said "NO"...at least she's honest!

We headed to the pool that afternoon and it was jam packed but Riley and I were in the big pool the entire time and she really got used to her puddle jumpers and was all over the pool. She even let me throw her and she would go under and pop right up with huge grin on her face...priceless!

After the pool she got a bath and I made us breakfast for dinner...waffles and eggs! We sat outside and had dinner together...a great end to a great weekend! Today my baking assistant helped me in the kitchen again! She actually wanted to wear her apron today and she was super cute..notice she's wearing a dress and it's shorter than her apron...proof at how much she's grown!

We had Bible study over here and had a smaller group since several girls are out of town...my friend Melissa had her three boys in tow so we basically let the kids go wild while we ate food and talked...a good night!

And the new playroom organization got put to the test...there were toys all over the house which I love because it's a sign that the kids had a blast! The best part is it didn't' take long to get everything back in it's place!

So that's what we've been up to...and the best part is that we have an official countdown to when Jason comes home. 29 days until he leaves to head home...whoop!

Some firsts...all fun!

Well this past week has been busy, fun, and warm!!!

Monday was Memorial Day and a day off for both me and Riley...we spent the morning doing some projects around the house and after Riley took a nap we headed to the pool!

She always has a blast and always meets new friends!

She loves to bring her watering bucket and play with it in the pool!

Snacks are a must!

My water baby!

After we played at the pool we went home and got to hang with this blue eyed cutie Will all evening while his parents went to celebrate their anniversary!
He is such a good baby and I just love snuggling with him!

He accidentally hit one of the buttons on this toy while Riley was cooking in her playroom and once the music and lights went off he was hooked!

Riley couldn't resist pretending to be like "Baby Will" and play with it too!

I spent much of the evening carrying him around like this until Riley went to sleep and then he ate and we snuggled!

Wednesday we went to Katie's for wine and snacks and got to meet some of her family that was in town! Carter came to play too and he and Riley had a blast!

She put her doo-rag on, tied a dog leash around her waist and a whole new personality came out...she was Max (from Where The Wild Things Are) and she roared at everyone in the room! It was hilarious!

She also tried to get Carter to be pulled on "her" leash again like she did last time and while he held it for a bit he caught on quickly and didn't want anything to do with it!

We also had a visit from Mumble this week during dinner!

Friday night we went to the bowling alley on base to celebrate Ashley's birthday...I didn't think Riley would actually get to bowl but she sure did! They had this great ramp she could use to push the ball down and the bumpers went up so she was a high scorer!

She was all about Ashley all evening!

Miss Independent even tried to pick up the bowling balls by herself...had to keep my eye on her!

My bowling buddy!

Here's some video of our night of bowling...as you can see Riley was enamored with jumping after bowling and could care less whether any pins were knocked down!


She met a little boy who was 4 1/2 that was a GREAT dancer and at one point the two of them were putting on a show for the whole bowling alley! I wish I had captured it on camera but it just didn't happen.

Saturday morning we ran some errands and then headed to meet the Hollender's at the pool and eat a picnic lunch!

Riley met some new friends again and of course she could have cared less about what I brought to eat or the toys we brought to play with...she was all about everyone else's stuff!

Here she is with a floatie and some puddle jumpers...I am going to get her some puddle jumpers because they worked perfectly in the big pool!

Riley and her new pal Sophia!

After several hours at the pool we came home and Riley slept for over 3 hours...oh how I love the pool!

I had to wake her up so we could attend Saturday night church...she did not want to wake up and just kept going back to sleep! Eventually she came around and had fun playing with her friends at church and watching Veggie Tales!After church we headed to the Burrell's for a wonderful dinner and I brought Mocha Brownies from my new Pioneer Woman cookbook...I am addicted to her recipes but am having to work out much more in order to actually eat them!

We had such a fun night eating on the patio and enjoying great friends!

Today we headed to Lake Berryessa with Ashley, Katie, and Jill and it was a blast!

Such a beautiful lake and the water was so pretty!

Me and my boat lovin' girl...ever since she knew about our trip to the lake she was constantly asking to go on "Ashley's boat"...today was the day and she was stoked!

The girls!

Riley even got to drive the boat!

We found a beachy area, pulled the boat up, and sat around, ate, and played!

Riley had lots of yummy snacks and had fun playing with Sophie, Katie's labradoodle!

It was such a fun day and we are some wiped out girls...the sun just drains you! Despite no nap today, until we pulled out of the marina this evening, Riley did great and had a blast! She has also made a huge step in potty training...she has been telling me when she has to go pee every time! Woohoo! She has had very few accidents over the last month but I still was having to moderate her trips to the potty and be very conscious of her liquid intake and timing of bathroom trips...she even "roughed it" today at the lake and did ALL of her business "in the bushes"...so proud of her!

Lastly, I just have to share a few recent conversations that Riley and I have had...she is hilarious and just so much fun to be around...she is a party all by herself and pure entertainment!

Mommy: "Come in my bathroom Riley while I put my makeup on"
Riley: "Your face is broken?"
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As I was pulling the trash cans to the street for pickup...
Riley: "No no Mommy...those are Daddy's"
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A few weeks ago when she was not wanting to make a trip to the potty when I knew it was necessary
Mommy: "Riley you need to go potty because you just drank a lot of lemonade and it has to come out"
Riley (once the peepee started coming out): "Look Mommy...it's lemonade!"
She now says this most times that she goes pee pee!
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LOVE LOVE LOVE this girl!

We don't officially have a countdown started yet for Jason's arrival home but I can say that it's getting close...it can't come soon enough! We are so ready to be a family again and Riley asks every night for her Daddy to hold her...I can't wait until the day he can again!