Day 2 in Memphis: 12/7/09

So, the next day the kids had school. After a quick stop at a store, we went by and picked up Kelly to go to lunch. We went to Macaroni Grill and OMG was it good!! This is one of those places that we love but haven't lived around in a few years, so any time we travel and there is one in that city, we try and go! After lunch we went to the Mall because Shawn was looking for some boots. Kelly and I planted ourselves at the kids play area and watched Savannah run around like a wild woman, and talked while Shawn went on the hunt for boots. Shawn was unsuccessful but it was awesome to get to sit there and talk to Kelly face to face just the two of us, rather than on the phone as usual! =)

Shawn, Savannah, and I dropped Kelly back off at her house so she could go get the kids from school and we ran back to the hotel to let the dogs outside and feed them because we figured it would be another late night hanging out.

We ended up just staying at Kelly's house that evening and letting the kids open presents from us and just giving everyone a chance to chat and catch up. It was fun!

Here are some pics:

I made Sara and Emily art bags filled with all kinds of fun stuff! They waisted no time getting creative!

Kelly and Andrew!

Sara was feeling brave and decided to start wrestling with Uncle Shawn

...nuf said!! lol!

Emily, Andrew, and Sara in their Chef Aprons I made them!

Savannah and her Cousins!

Playing Duck, Duck, Goose!

Shawn and Kelly!

Uncle Shawn and Aunt Sheila with the 4 most wonderful kids!!

So, Savannah, being the goofball she is, was calling Shawn "Uncle Shawn" for almost the entire night because that's what she heard the girls and Andrew calling him! lol!

We had a great time hanging out with everyone and can't wait until they come visit us here! Love you guys so much!!

Stop #2: Memphis, TN Day 1

So after our fun in Atlanta we loaded up the van again (bags, kid, pets, and us!) and headed to our next stop which was Memphis Tennessee! The stop was particularly exciting for me for a few reasons. 1) I have only met my Sister in law and her awesome kiddos once even though I have been talking to her for close to 4 years now! She has become more like a sister than a sister in law and I feel so blessed that her and her family have come into my life! 2) Savannah is getting to the age to actually remember her cousins and because I came from such a large group of cousins and we are all still pretty close, I am excited for Savannah to get to know hers! 3) Shawn has not seen his sister in over 5 years! Time, distance and life just come into play and things tend to slip by. So I was most excited for Shawn and Kelly to get to see each other again because after getting to know both of them separately it's kinda scary how much they are alike!!

We ended up going to Chuck E. Cheese for dinner so the kids could run, play and eat pizza! Here are a few pics from that night!

My 3 Beautiful Girls!! =)

All the KIDS waiting patiently while Kelly and Shawn filled drinks! (LOL, Andy will love that!)

Aunt Kelly and Savannah

OMG! You had to have been there to see how awesome Andrew was at this game! For those of you who read this and don't know, Andrew is blind. He played this basket ball game probably 10 times and was freakin' amazing!!

Sara helping Savannah play Air Hockey!

3 Wild and Crazy Girls!!

Shawn and Sara playing Air Hockey!

We had a great time playing and eating!! Another post will be coming of our second night in TN!

Stop #1: Atlanta, GA

Atlanta Georgia was stop number one on our trek across the country to get to Nebraska. We left at 6pm Friday Dec. 4th. The trip was kinda miserable. It rained the entire trip. We had just purchased a luggage carrier for the top of the van and were unsure as to how it would affect the drivability of the van, but it actually did wonderfully! We were also loaded up with 2 dogs and a cat! The van was packed as was the car topper!

We finally got to the hotel around Midnight and were asleep by 1:30 or so. The next morning we woke up and did a little running around before we headed to the Georgia Aquarium. We had purchased tickets for 2pm that day, because originally we were planning on driving to Atlanta Sat. morning instead of Fri. night.

Any who, the Aquarium was actually a bit of a disappointment. Some of their main exhibits were not on display and it only took us about an hour to go through the entire thing. That was too much money for things like the Beluga Whales, Penguins, and Sea Lions to all be off exhibit. Savannah still had a good time, but I guess I feel like we could of gone without. Here are some pics of the Aquarium....

This is the best picture of Shawn and Savannah! Love it!!

Daddy helping Savannah reach in and feel the sting rays.

So, as luck would have it, the Atlanta Children's Museum was within walking distance from the Aquarium so we decided instead of holding up in the hotel with a crazy 3 year old, we would go there and let her run off some energy!

Playing in the Moon Sand table. This is where we spent the majority of our time!

Painting!

Hugging Curious George! She actually got to hug the "real" curious george, but I was unable to get a picture.

Fishing....

and riding the tractor with Daddy!

The museum was worth it. Savannah had a great time! We stayed that night in Atlanta and then headed to Memphis TN the next morning to visit my SIL and her family!

Pack out day...

This move was my first experience doing practically everything by myself. The most frustrating part was I had to change our pack out date 4 times!! The boat schedule was constantly changing and up in the air and I couldn't handle a pack out without Shawn home! Luckily the lady I was dealing with at personal property was super nice and understood the situation and worked with me to get the dates changed as I needed them. Everything eventually worked out and Shawn was home about a week before the pack out! We were able to enjoy a nice little Thanksgiving just the 3 of us and also enjoy a little bit of Black Friday shopping! Ok well I really enjoyed it because Shawn dropped me off at Jo Ann's and I bought WAY too much SUPER cute fabric!! lol! Here are some pictures....

Welcoming home the USS West Virginia for my final time! I can't even express the emotions knowing I would not have to be on that beach again in a few months waving goodbye!! She was bringing my husband back home to us safe and it would be a few years before we have to say goodbye to him again!

Savannah spending the last night in her room. She did great seeing as EVERYTHING was in boxes around her room! She was a rock star with the move and didn't freak out or anything!

Keeping herself occupied in my bed while the house was packed up! They left the TV in my room hooked up so she would have something to do.

It still makes me sad to see all the stuff gone in our house! We put so much time, energy, and money into fixing that house up just the way we wanted it, and then had to move! Luckily we got renters in there quickly so (god forbid) if we ever have to move back to Kings Bay we can move back into our house!

Shawn and Savannah in an empty house. I couldn't be in a picture because I couldn't stop crying long enough to smile.

We left the same day as they loaded our stuff, after saying good bye to my friends. We drove 5 hours in non stop rain to Atlanta, GA for our first pit stop on the way to Nebraska!

Our Last Few Weeks In Georgia...

So, as most of you know, we have moved to Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha Nebraska for Shore Duty! This has been a very exhausting, emotional, whirlwind of an experience! I have been neglecting my blog because of Facebook, but I am going to try and do better. So this will be the first of a bunch of posts regarding the move!

Savannah and I spent the last few months in Georgia by ourselves as Shawn was on his final sea patrol! We stayed busy in between feeling like crap during my first trimester! Here are a few pictures that I haven't posted that were taken by my phone....

Spending time with Mari and Baby Ally at St. Mary's Water Front Park on a beautiful day!

Savannah loves throwing pennies into the fountain!

Savannah spent the day with Kerry Jo and her daughter Chloe on the 4th of July while Mary and I ran a booth for Banana Bear Boutique! She loved her face painting!

Yeah, that's one big ass horse fly! Something I won't miss!!

Savannah and I usually spent our Monday's down in Jax while Shawn was gone. We really enjoyed lunch at Maggiano's!!

Posing by the pumpkins at St. John's Town Center!

She fell asleep in the car and then fell right back asleep on the chair! She was pooped!!

My tummy!

This sweet little face was what I got to wake up to almost every morning!

And then we spent a few min cuddling in bed before we got on with our day!

Having a very yummy dinner at Osaka's a few nights before the guys got back home!

That isn't nearly all the pictures, but it's a brief over view! Please stay tuned for more posts on our move!

So Thankful....

Sometimes it's really easy to get caught up in the negative in life. This time of year really gets you thinking about what you are thankful for. For me, the number one thing I am thankful for is this beautiful little girl! I could go on and on about all the things I am thankful for, but this post is about what Savannah is thankful for. She had a Thanksgiving feast at BBMS and the kids dressed up at Indians. Ms. Barbara, her teacher, gave each kid in her class an Indian name based on their personality. Savannah was "Little Sunbeam!" It fits her perfectly considering she is always smiling!

This is where my post leads to. I was given this at the feast and told that each kid was asked what they were thankful for and Ms. Barbara wrote it down. So this is what Savannah said she was thankful for this year. I thought it was really sweet! When I saw "My Baby Sister" I almost lost it, considering she isn't even here, yet Savannah said she was thankful for her!

I feel so blessed to have Savannah as my daughter! When she isn't driving me totally nuts, she is the most amazing little girl ever!!