A Great Day in L.A.

As you read this title you may be thinking to yourself, "The Orr's back in California?"  No Los Angeles for us...now we are talking L.A. as in Lower Alabama.  I am not going to lie, most Saturdays I wake up and wonder, "What the heck are we going to do to day?"  By Saturday I am looking for a change from Jake and my "normal" routine, but it easier said then done.  By nine it is usually too hot and humid to go outside, it can even be too much to go swimming and who knew that was possible?  The beach is beautiful, but the 3 to 4 hour round trip is not something we can do every week.  And since we have a toddler, staying inside watching reruns of NCIS or Criminal Minds is also out of the question.  Needless to say, our whole family (especially Arthur) were excited when the Kimber's invited us to a place they call Shark Tooth Creek.

As far as I know, this place is not on any map and although it is only 45 minutes from our house there is no way I could find it again.  I think its seclusion is part of it magic.  It was like entering a tropical paradise as we made our way down the hillside to the base of small waterfall that feeds the cool clear creek.  The sound of falling water and the canopy of branches and vines protecting us from the Alabama heat made a beautiful backdrop for a morning of "excavating" and memory making.  A big thank you to the Kimber's for sharing your special spot with us, we had a great time!

A perfect 2 year old hike to the waterfall

Making our way down stream

Katie showing Jake one of the fossilized shark teeth that she found.  She's a teacher (can't you tell?) and one of Jake's (and our) favorite people out here.  

Jake walking back with the boys.  We love spending time with the Kimber's, and it makes it so much better that they love Jacob.

Jake playing in the water downstream.  It is moments like this, when the independent little boy he is becoming is so apparent, that I hold my breath and wait to become melancholy or nostalgic about the baby he use to be.  But I don't.  Instead I am just happy and excited as I watch him learn and grow.

As if stomping around in water and finding fossilized shark teeth wasn't enough, that was not the end to our awesome day.  After hamburgers and naps, we were off for an evening of extreme bowling with our best friends here, the Kimber's (they hadn't had enough of us) and the Moody's.  It was Jake's first time bowling and my first time in nearly 10 years.  But even with our lack of experience, we had a great time.  Arthur even helped me improve my game.  On my second game I scored a 98.  That may not sound like much, but after a game of gutter balls, I was pretty excited.

Jake's independent self was in full force.  After Arthur showed him what to do one time, Jake wanted no further assistance from either of us.  He would go pick up his ball and carry it over to the dragon slide.  After pushing is down the dragon, he would stand at the end of his lane and yell, "Go! Go! Go!" as his ball rolled toward the pins.  The best part was that it didn't matter to him whether he hit one pin or all 10.  He was just enjoying the experience.

When he it wasn't his turn, he would lean against the beam next to our lane as Talen, Michelle and Sean's son went.  He also enjoyed sliding around and dancing to the 90's music in his sweet bowling shoes.  He had some pretty awesome moves in those shoes.

As for me, I was just grateful for a fun family night out and that we got through the evening without Jake dropping one of the heavy bowling balls he kept trying to pick up onto his foot.  Simple blessings right?

All in all it was a great weekend and for old times sake I feel like I should ask, "So, what's next?"

Fabulous Fourth! Family, Friends and Freedom

I had never realized what a holiday of traditions the 4th of July is for people.  Talking with all our new friends here, each of them had a unique tradition "back at home" that they were sad to be missing.  While we do not do the exact same thing every year, Arthur and I are not completely excluded from this.  Since we started dating we have spent at least part of the holiday in Tahoe.  While I know we both missed the family and friends we see when we are there, not to mention the incredible Tahoe weather, we were both excited to start some new family traditions that we can move with us and share with our children wherever the years take us.

Tradition #1: Jake and Daddy buying and setting off fireworks together.  This will obviously be effected by where we live and what is legal, but both of them had too much fun to not do whenever possible.  Jake liked the dragon snaps the best.
Note 1: Everything is legal here
Note 2: Fire works have a way of turning grown men into 8 year old boys while making Mommies very nervous and jumpy (I did make Arthur promise that everyone would end the evening with all the limbs and digits they started it with).

Tradition #2: Mommy taking lots of pictures of Jake (and future children) in cute red, white, and blue outfits doing what I like to call "All American" activities.

Tradition #3: Freedom Fest (the post sponsored celebration)

Since Ft Rucker is the home of Army Aviation, helicopters were brought out for public enjoyment.  Jake thought is was a really great idea.

The old fashion firetruck was also a big hit...

for both my boys.

Tradition #4: Spending time as a family surrounded by good friends, food, and fireworks to celebrate our freedom.  Now we understand first hand that freedom really isn't free.  

However, the Independence Day tradition that I want to pass along above anything else is love for their country, gratitude to the men and women who sacrifice to keep us free, and pride for their father who is now among them.  

Reflecting on the day I can say that there was something extra special about the Fourth for me this year.  I have always been a very patriotic person, but celebrating on Army post surrounded by other soldiers and their families magnified the feelings of pride and gratitude I have for the men and women who have sacrificed so much to keep this country free.  Throughout the evening there was a feeling in the air, one I have never felt at a 4th of July event, and you could just feel that you were surrounded by proud Americans.  These people were not just here for the food or the fireworks, they were here to celebrate this amazing country that we live in.  The live music was great, the speeches where moving, and sitting on our blanket with our friend I couldn't help but realize that Independence Day will never be the same for any of us again.

Here is a poem that was read that night.  I thought it was beautiful and was worth sharing:

It is the Soldier, not the minister

Who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the Soldier, not the reporter

Who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the Soldier, not the poet

Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer

Who has given us freedom to protest.

It is the Soldier, not the lawyer

Who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the Soldier, not the politician

Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,

Who serves beneath the flag,

And whose coffin is draped by the flag,

Who allows the protester to burn the flag.

Charles Michael Province, U.S. Army

Happy June, Honey

Between Arthur's birthday, Father's Day, and the fact that he actually started class again this week, June has kind of been Arthur's month.  So I don't want the month to completely pass without expressing my love and appreciation for him.

It is funny how focused people (or maybe just me) can become on the milestones and the growth that our children have made, but how often we overlook the growth and development in our partner standing right beside us.  As I was reflecting last night, I started to think about how this fall it will be seven years since Arthur and I started dating, and almost 11 years since we met back in high school.  Even back then, when he was way too cool for me, I knew there was just something about him.  And he must have seen something in me too because he wrote in my year book, "You stay hot and don't forget that we gonna get married soon..."  I don't know about the hot part, but he was right about us getting married.

We have both been through so much since then, both as individuals and in our relationship, and when I look back on who we were I feel like we are almost unrecognizable.  However, I am so grateful that we were able to grow up together because I love seeing how far we both have come.  And I am so amazed at the incredible man, husband, and father Arthur has become.  A few days ago some of the army wives were talking about what their husband's plans were within the army after flight school.  When the conversation turned to me I said, "I trust Arthur to make the decision that is in the best interest of our family."  I know this to be true in all the decisions that Arthur makes, and I hope he knows I will always do the same.

I love you Honey...Happy June!

Sneaky Sneaky

Jake can be quite an old soul at times (much like his father) so it is not surprising that I often find the two of them sitting on the bench on our front porch enjoying our frequent afternoon thunder storms.  From time to time Jake will even go out there by himself.  If Jake was any other two year old, I might panic at the sound of my front door opening as my toddler lets himself outside, but it's Jake.  Of course I will immediately go peak out the front window and check up on what he is doing, but generally I find him hanging out on the front porch.  However, what I saw Jake doing this past Wednesday made me rethink this bit of freedom.

Apparently Jake wanted a snack and he felt that the rest of his chocolate Easter Bunny would be a good choice.  While I can't blame him for wanting chocolate, but I was a little taken aback by the sneaky plan he concocted in order to get it.  There is no doubt that he thought this through.

I couldn't help but laugh (and Arthur couldn't help but get the camera) as we watch Jake open the Ziploc bag, remove the bunny from its box, and victoriously take a bite of his spoils.  

We only let him get through a bite or two before Arthur knocked on the window.  Jake jumped and turned to the window saying, "I see you."  "No Jacob, we see you!"

Thank you for silly sneaky two year memories.

The Sesame Street Show

Last week was a big first for Jake, it was his first live theater performance!  And I am happy to say that he loved it!  The USO provided a darling Sesame Street performance on post for army kids and their families.

It made for a great evening out with our awesome friends the Moody's, but the best part really was sharing with Jake my life time love and passion for musical theater and watching him fall in love with it too.

(Waiting patiently for the show to start...okay, the new toy they handed out might have something to do with that)

(waving to all his Sesame friends)

(This one is my favorite...his face just says it all)

Trying to stay cool and calm under the Alabama sun

It is the middle of June and we are officially experiencing our first Alabama summer.  I know that it gets hot in California, but the intensity of the sun here makes it so much worse.  It makes me grateful that Jake has brown eyes like his Daddy because my baby blues are of no use to me here.  One step outside and I am literally "blinded by the light."  But no matter how much I would like to lounge around in my air conditioned house until the sun goes down we've got a growing boy to entertain.  Everyday I wake up and try to think of things we can do to keep his body busy, his mind working, and most important, keep everyone in the family from getting heat stroke.

Over the last few weeks we have become regulars at the pool.  Jake is cautious when he is introduced to something new, and after 9 months away from the water, the pool has been a perfect example.  First Jake must spend time assessing his surroundings and analyzing the situation before he can be comfortable.  I feel like he is doing some sort of associated risk survey.   Only when he feels good about his odds does he move forward.  I guess he is just way too much of a thinker to be impulsive and fortunately or unfortunately he gets that from both Arthur and I.  Understanding this, I let him spend the majority of our first few trips to the pool just sitting on the side.  As he plays with his pool toys I know he is carefully observing the other kids splash and wade around the shallow kiddie pool.  It didn't take long before he was ready to hold my hand and make his way across the pool.  Now he feel felt confident enough to jump in himself, but he definitely has a system.  Arthur calls their strategy "calculated risk taking."

While I gave him a few free days, he has not escaped Mommy the swim instructor.  Now we spend at least a few minutes every trip in the big pool working on swim skills.  As I carried him to the lap pool one afternoon last week he said, "I don't want to do up and unders."  I laughed a little because I couldn't help but think, "Jake if I had a quarter for all the children who have said that to me over the years, I would be a rich woman."  Needless, to say like the children before him, Jacob didn't stand a chance.  Like I told Arthur, "Jake doesn't have to be a swimmer, but he does need to know how to be safe and comfortable in the water."  So after only a few days he is warming up to the whole thing, and I hope to have him swimming independently by the end of the summer.

Besides the pool, Jake and I keep busy with all sorts of activities.  I'm no Montessori school, but I do my best to expose him to new things and introduce creative ways to help him become familiar with the things I know he will need for school.  Luckily Jake has always loved to be read to.  He will sit for hours and listen to stories, and now he has most of his favorites memorized.  He can even recite Corduroy word for word, which I find pretty impressive.  I love to catch him reading to himself using the words and phrases he is learning, and I love that the library is one of his favorite places to go (besides the Aviation museum of course).  We enjoy coloring, painting, and sticking stickers (a new Jake favorite) especially if Disney music is blaring in the background.  I don't know about Jake, but it sure helps me get those artist juices flowing. :-)  Puzzles and blocks are another popular way to pass the time, but I've recently also started creating my own little matching games with index cards and crayola markers.  The first game I made is an Alphabet game.  The cards are face up so the focus is more about letter recognition rather than memorization.  While he is getting pretty quick at finding matches, he usually only gets through 4 or 5 matches before he is ready for something new.  The newest game is a color matching game.  We've just tried it once so the verdict is still out on whether or not I was successful in creating something worth playing, but I'll let you know.

I feel so much pressure to make sure that I am giving Jake everything he will need in life.  He is only two, and already I wake up and night thinking, "Did we do enough today?  Did I teach him enough?"  Did we do enough productive play?"  I know it is crazy, but I also know that other parents can relate.  I just love him more than anything and I want to giving him all that I can.  But before I can go too far something happens to reminded me to slow down and enjoy the innocence and joy of childhood.  Yesterday Jake and I spent the afternoon in the backyard playing in the sprinklers.  If you can't run around naked in your backyard when you are two when can you?  Seeing his happy smile and hearing his little giggle silences my busy mind, and rather than worry I just enjoy these moments almost as much as he does.

A Time for Us

I keep thinking I am going do some amazing game of catch up and write about all of the things that happened while I was without a computer.  But really who am I kidding? :-)  So rather than procrastinate on bringing my blog up to speed, I'll just try to stay current from here on out.

We've been in Alabama now for a little over three months, and I can't believe the way the time has flown.  Arthur is still on hold, awaiting a class start date that constantly seems to be moving later and later in the year.  I know that he is itching to start so he can begin flying again, but we are enjoying all the family time this "hold" provides.  I must admit that I am much more productive when Arthur is not at home, and I do my best house keeping when he is gone studying.  There is just something about having him home that makes the days feel more like a vacation than real life.  But after the last few years, maybe a vacation from the normal stresses of life is just what we need.  Jake is especially enjoying all this time together.  I don't know what he'll do when Arthur starts class again and he is stuck with only Mommy all day.  Mommy is good for many things like art projects, reading books, and "learning" games, but Daddy is much better for boy things and just playing the day away.

So when I feel like a day was not quite as productive as I think it could have been or when Arthur gets frustrated by all the waiting, I remember the unavoidable times of separation that loom ahead and I am reminded just how blessed we are to be together now.  No matter what the future holds, I know that this time together is precious.  When we look back at this time in our lives we will remember this special season where we had nothing else to do but be together and when time seemed to almost stand still...almost.