There are days when you feel like a cog in the wheel of life...a small part in the grand scheme of things....and then there are other days.....
Today was one of those other days. Mark and I woke up very early (4:30 am!) as he has duty today, which means he will spend 24 hours on the boat. So anyways...we got up early..he to get ready for work, and me to make his breakfast/lunch/dinner/breakfast (remember the 24 hours on the boat part?).....at the ungodly hour of 4:30 am, I cannot, will not, think or see beyond the shadow cast by the light above the stove...so...once food was secured, I somehow found my way back to bed...bumping into things along the way..but back to bed I went... after 20 minutes or so..just as I was getting back to sleep, Mark calls to me to 'come outside and see'....Now...at 4:30 am whatever it is one wants to show me, it had better be close to God himself! I stagger out to the living room...put on Marks now abandoned slippers..and go outside...and as I looked outside...the world stood still....
Now, one might stop right here and say "For crying out loud, it's only SNOW".....but for some reason...maybe I've never lived in a place that can be counted on for a regular snowfall...maybe I still have some aspect of childhood wonderment...whatever....I still catch my breath when I look outside and it is snowy and the snow is coming down.....ever notice how very quiet and still it is when it snows? How clean the world looks? Feels? Ever notice the smell of the air? It SMELLS like snow...like clean water..... anyways...the world is a different place....and all of a sudden...in one moment...I stop feeling like a cog in the wheel...I feel like an Island all to myself...standing on our two and a half acres....unable to see another person (other than those in my own house!)...with the world clean and clear...and white...I feel like I am in a snowglobe....insulated from everything for just a moment in time....and it's a nice feeling..even if just for a day or two...so today...I was in a snowglobe...just the kids and I...living our lives without sense of the rest of the world.......
Tomorrow will be another day...the snow is melting...no more snowglobe...but it sure was nice for a day!

Hugs....
Mark, Jaye and Gang

Here is a picture of the kids singing in the kids choir at Church on Sunday. The picture is a bit dark, but ben is in the third row center...while Paige is in the fourth row left (red striped sweater). They did awesome! Ben wasn't planning on being in the choir, but after seeing Paige sing during the first service (we went to both morning services) he was quite excited about being in the choir for the second service! The theme of the service was 'When Ordinary People do Extraordinary Things' with the subtitle, "Ordinary Kids Sing".....they all did really well...of course, most of the littler ones were busy waving to mom and dad and not doing a whole lot of singing. Two of the girls were 'signing' all the songs and so Ben was busy watching them and copying the hand signs they were doing, it was quite funny! After church, a bunch of us (quite a few from the boat go to Newlife) went out for Mexican food for lunch....VERY yummy! This coming Sunday (Christmas Eve) will be a special service called "Christmas with Grace"...we are looking forward to this! Less than a week to Christmas! We have a party we are hosting on Thursday for Marks division on the boat (Sonar!)...we will be having it at our house and are so looking forward to it....then on Christmas Eve our home starts to fill up with friends and 'family' and we will have a house FULL Christmas day! YAY!!!

The kids are all enjoying their time off from school. Sam had a sleep over last night with five of his buddies. We were going to have this sleep over on the weekend, but with no power (for 30 hours!) we felt it best to postpone it till yesterday. My baby is 16 now! I can't believe it! He will start his drivers ed in the new year.....look out world, here comes Sam with a CAR! Yikes!

Hugs to all
Mark,Jaye and Gang

Nine years ago today, I was at work. Mid afternoon, I looked up and there was a sailor (MY sailor!) in full dress uniform with a dozen roses! I was surprised because he hadn't told me he was coming up to visit (Mark was in WA and I was in Canada). He handed me the roses and said "I came up to take you out for dinner"....needless to say, all the gals I worked with were just GAGA over Mark in uniform.....it was like a scene out of An Officer and a Gentleman!

After work, I went home and Mark was waiting for me (by this time he had a key to my place and alot of his own stuff there....jeepers..looking back, maybe I should have been charging him rent! haha)......we went to the next town from mine (Mark was not in uniform by this point in time....and NO, it wasn't because I ripped it off him when I got home!) and found a really nice Mexican restaurant on the waterfront....Mark was being a smarty pants and ordered his dinner as hot as they'd make it....he was warned by our waiter that it would be H-O-T...and Mark said "it's never hot enough for me!" lets just say, it was MORE than hot enough...in fact, Mark went through several pitchers of water!

After dinner, Mark suggested that we go for a walk along the dock (pier to you Americans!)...it was a nice cold crisp night, and all the boats were decorated for Christmas with lights of all colours.....so Mark and I were walking along hand in hand talking...and then...Mark just wasn't beside me....I looked around and he was down on one knee with a ring. I remember seeing his mouth moving..to this day I have NO clue what he said. All I could think was 'whatever you do, don't drop the ring into the water' (and you all thought I wasn't a romantic!).....of course, I said YES!

So here we are...nine years later...five kids...two cats (one of which has been replaced twice)...a lizard....a house....six moves....shore duty...sea duty.....one advancement....two re-enlistments....college.....whew.....we have kept busy!

Today is also my Mom's bday. I won't say how old she is...I will just say that like fine wine, she gets better with age (or is that whiskey?).....We haven't gotten along all that well throughout my life..and we rarely see eye to eye....but she is my Mom and I love her dearly.....
So..Happy Birthday Mom (even though you won't be celebrating it...I will think of you!)....

Hugs to you all....

Mark,Jaye and Gang

This coming Sunday, Paige will be singing in the kids choir at Church! She will be singing at both the 9am service and the 10:30 service (we go to this service normally)....of course I will be videotaping it and I'll also take the digital camera so that I can email a small clip of her to anyone who wants to see! Just email me (pinger29@web-o.net OR k_did@hotmail.com) and I'll make sure you see our singing sensation! Also, Mark is going to be signing up to head to Mexico in June (if he can get leave!) to go with a large group of men from our church to build 3 homes there. It only takes $4000.00 to build an entire home for a family!! Our church is trying to raise money to be able to build three and we already had one person give enough for one entire home! How awesome is that!!! So here is a shameless plug..if anyone wants to donate an amount to this worthy cause (every dollar helps!) you can send it to us and we'll see that it gets to the right place OR you can go to the Newlife website (Newlifekitsap.org) and donate directly there...just be sure to denote that it is to go to the 'me case et su casa' fundraiser!

Hugs to you all!
Mark, Jaye and Gang

Sams 'Golden Birthday' (16 on the 16th) is just around the corner. He will be having a sleep over with a group of friends next friday and on Saturday, when Mark comes home from duty, he is taking all the boys to the rock wall climbing gym! Sam has wanted to do that for quite some time and as our neighbor owns it, we get a sweet deal! We let Sam open his gift from us early as Mark is going to be on duty when we have Sam's party. Sam has wanted a keyboard for a long time now and so we thought this would be the perfect gift. He has mastered quite a few songs in just a few days and is now composing his own! I think we are going to have some wonderful music in our home in a very short time. Just think, years from now, we can all say we knew him when! :)

Hugs and Love,
Mark, Jaye and Gang

Day four! WOW!!! Did we get teleported to Alaska? hehehe.....This picture is what we saw when we looked outside our front door last night around 6pm...the snow fell thick and fast for most of the night. We woke up to about 5 more inches of snow...BUT! We also awoke to nice blue skies and sunshine!! YAY! The snow is getting 'soft' looking and has pretty much fallen off of the trees. The roads are still a mess in most places but it looks as though by the weekend we should be free and clear of this early winter snow and it's aftermath. The kids have had no school all week due to the districts in five counties being closed (here in WA a few inches of snow shuts the state down! hehehe). I have a hunch that they will be back in school tomorrow. YAY for me! :)

Hope all is warm and dry in your world!
Hugs

Mark, Jaye and Gang

Day three. Still snowed in...can you believe it???? Schools all closed....kids playing peacefully (for now!)... I am baking and playing pogo to keep busy! Another snow storm is headed our way so not sure how many more days we'll have of being snowed in! I hope we get this white stuff over Christmas!! Oh well...A white Thanksgiving is nothing to sneeze at! hehehe...

Hugs and love

Mark, Jaye and Gang

We woke up to a yard still full of snow this morning...you can see the view from our front door, snow snow snow! We had a few trees come down during the night. You can see the kids play structure outside- we had two trees fall- one on either side of it, and missing the structure itself completely! WOW!!

Mark and Paige went for a long walk in the woods today and saw all kinds of deer 'sign'. Once they came back Ben joined them outside to go sledding! About 3:30 the snow started to fall again and it is now coming down pretty good. I think we are in for another night of snow and I wonder what our yard is going to look like TOMORROW! I'll post pictures so you can see!

Hope all of you are warm and dry!

Hugs

Mark,Jaye and Gang

As promised, here are our 'out in the snow' pictures. The snow is actually quite heavy even though there is only a few inches of it...we've had several trees fall on our property and many many branches are down along our road (1/2 mile from main road to our driveway). Mark and I took the kids for a walk down the road and it was just gorgeous! As Paige said, "it's like a Christmas card out here!" and it truly was.

Mark is now all outfitted up and is headed out deer hunting in our 'back fourty'! Our property backs up onto State land and it is open for late season (bow hunting). Maybe we won't be eating the chicken I have out defrosting for dinner tonight...perhaps a venison roast???? Yummers!

Keep warm and toasty everyone!

Hugs,
Mark, Jaye and Gang

This picture is for my dearest friend Mim, who like me, is Canadian born but lives outside the country! Whilst I simply moved across 'the line', Mim moved across the world and is now living in Carterton, New Zealand.....I bet she misses waking up to THIS outside her front door! (The reason the picture looks so 'foggy' is because the snow is still coming down!)
This is what we woke up to this morning, snow snow snow and MORE snow...it started about 4am (my friend Bobbi emailed me to let me know, thanks for NOT phoning at that hour Bobbi!) and at 8am it is still coming down! WHEEEEEEE....
I will of course be posting 'playing in the snow' pictures later today!

Hugs to you all!!

Mark,Jaye and Gang

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful! We stuffed ourselves with turkey and ham and all sorts of wonderful side dishes (Thanks Peggy and Gordon and Carol!) and then gave our tummies an hour or so before we re-stuffed them with desserts! WOW!!! I don't know who was more stuffed, us or the turkey! :)

On Friday, after we left Peggy and Gordons, we went to WoodBee Tree Farm on Whidbey Island. This is our FAVOURITE place to get our tree each year. It took us awhile to select 'the' tree, but as you can see, we eventually found it....the one! Ben was quite helpful to Mark this year, getting right under the tree with him while he used the saw to cut it down! Just the kind of help every Daddy needs! hehehe.....Paige and Ben dragged the tree out...they insisted on doing it themselves with no help from Mom and Dad!

We managed to find a way to tie it to the top of the van and then we rushed for the ferry...which turned into a two hour wait as the ferry was running behind AND we missed a run due to overload...AND the restaurant at the terminal was closed because they had run out of food!! We have NEVER heard of that before but hey..Welcome to Whidbey Ilsand! haha...

We got home about 430 and dragged the luggage and tree into the house. We set the tree up and Mark and I did the boring part-stringing the lights on it! Then the kids all put on their 'own' ornaments and of course, each one was strategically placed to offer the best view...Sam was able to be king of the tree as he is taller and could put his ornaments much higher! :) As you can see, our tree is beautiful...and at only 6 feet, is the SMALLEST tree we have ever had...I am falling down on my duties and will promise to do a MUCH better job next year!

We hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving holiday and are ready for Christmas (we still have our shopping to get done!)....more importantly than gifts and 'stuff', we hope all of you have your health and lots of family and friends to share this magical season with!

Hugs
Mark,Jaye and Gang

Well, the Holiday Season has officially begun! I turned on my radio to my favorite 'oldies' station, and it is now 'all Christmas, all the time'....wahoo!! We are heading up to Whidbey Island this afternoon/evening to have Thanksgiving with our dear friends, Peggy and Gordon. We do this every year and always have a great time. On Friday (the day we head home), we will be stopping by our favourite Tree Farm to pick up our Christmas tree. We have gotten our tree at this place every year but two....once Mark was out to sea and I wasn't about to lug a tree home from Whidbey Island on my own, and the other year we thought we'd shop locally- big mistake..the tree was FULL of baby spiders! UGH! So, we get our tree on Whidbey now. Not sure what we will do when we move to WI! Mom and Dad, you better find us a great tree farm!

Hope everyone has a safe, happy and fun Thanksgiving! I will post pictures when we get home (yes, I found the digital camera...LONG story there!)..

Hugs and Love
Mark, Jaye and Gang

It has been WAY too long since I've posted...our digital camera has gone missing...long story....lets just say we will have to make a claim for theft on our home owners insurance! Enough said on THAT topic!

Halloween went by without a hitch. We went on base to our good friend Paul and Ami's and lilly bugs and the kids went trick or treating...had lots of fun, got really cold and received more candy than kids even remotely need! :)

If you have been keeping up on the news here in the Pacific Northwest, you know that there has been some major flooding here. Our home and lives have remained intact and ok, but that is not the luck of many people in WA state. Fall has moved in with a vengeance...pouring rain, howling winds and today it started to be bitterly cold. The mountains that we see from our living room are now covered with snow, which they WEREN'T yesterday! So winter is fast on it's way. We are hoping hoping hoping for a white Christmas!!!

We are headed up to Whidbey Island next week for Thanksgiving with Peggy and Gordon (they will be here Christmas eve to celebrate with us).

Mark received word last week that he is off the boat in July!!! YAY!!! He is trying to get into a few different things and once we have definate orders...well...as definate as we can get in the Navy we will let you know what lies ahead for us.

On the homefront, I am just two semesters away from my degree AND I am getting state certified for Daycare. I want to spend another year or so at home but also want to 'do' something without leaving my own kids with someone else while I do that! This is called wanting my cake and eating it too! :)

Hope all is well with everyone! Don't forget to leave comments so we can keep in touch!

Hugs

Mark, Jaye and Gang

Last night the kids and I attended their schools annual "Fall Festival". Each classroom and the gym had different games and activities for the kids to play and do. The prize was candy! Most kids dressed up and it was fun to see all the different costumes. You can see what Paige and Ben are going to be this Halloween! Ben is "Jack Sparrow" from Pirates of the Carribean, whilst Paige is going to be a "Gypsy". I am proud to say that I MADE her costume (Ok, not the skirt!)....The past few weeks, each classroom has been asking for donations from home along the lines of a specific theme (Bens' class was chocolate, Paiges' class was Christmas). Then this week, each class put together a basket with the stuff donated and these were raffled off and the money from each basket goes directly to the class for various things (field trips etc). This is a HUGE success each year and this year was no exception...and Kindergarden made a killing on their chocolate baskets (they had enough donations to make FOUR! WOW!)....There was also a cake walk which Paige was determined to win, and so after six tries (she IS persistent!) she won a tray of cupcakes! Yummers.....so we came home last night with lots of candy....the winnings from the cake walk...and very tired from all the running around (Ok, I was tired, the kids were NOT! hahaha).

Mark was on duty last night and I am expecting him home any minute now (Saturday Morning)...we plan on spending the day out in the yard cleaning up all the limbs and branches etc of the places we cleared this summer. The burn ban has been lifted so you know this means one thing at our house: BON FIRE!

Hope you all have a great weekend!
Hugs

Mark, Jaye and Gang

Yesterday (Monday, October 9th) was Canadian Thanksgiving. Mark had duty on Sunday, and when he came home yesterday morning, he had these BEAUTIFUL flowers in his hand for me! I am so spoiled rotten! :)

We spent the day just relaxing and doing things we each liked to do to relax....we watched movies and tv...played on the computers and ate...and ate some more! We also had a nice phone conversation with Shelby, who is doing really well in school and having lots of fun with Cross Country. She is going to see Mom and Dad next Saturday...I'm sure they will have fun as usual!

We had a nice ham dinner (Ham, mashed potatoes, carrots, corn) and pie....then layed around some more....

It's nice to have a lazy family day now and then, but it's also nice to get back to our schedule.....so today the kids are all at school while I catch up on some homework.

Hope your day is going well too!

Hugs,
Mark, Jaye and Gang

Before hitting the shower and starting the pie baking for Canadian Thanksgiving (tomorrow!), I thought I would post a picture of our new fridge! It is much bigger than our other one (22.5 cf), and also has the freezer on the bottom which I REALLY like! Our old fridge is great for an extra 'companys coming lets load up on soda and wine' fridge...so we put it outside in Marks grill kitchen! As you can see, our new fridge already has the required number of magnets and kids artwork on it!

Ok, I am off to shower..then bake pies...Pumpkin (for Paige and I), Chocolate (for Sam) and Coconut cream (for Mark)....Ben doesn't like pie so he will probably have banana bread!

Hugs to you all,
Mark, Jaye and Gang

This past Thursday, Troop 1224 had their annual Investiture/Re-dedication ceremony. What this means is that any girls who have bridged from Daisys or who are staying in the troop and re-registering for the new year, get pins and have a ceremony to mark this event. They have a whole ceremony with each girl putting a different flower in a vase...each flower symbolizes something different (Patience, kindness etc). Then the girls take turns and each light a candle on the log. Here you can see Paige lighting her candle...again, each candle and each colour of the candles represents something (lighting the way etc). It is a fun way for the girls to start their girl scout year off. The following day, the troop left for their annual September camp out. This was the first time Paige wen tto Girl Scout Camp without either Mark or I. We only had ONE teary phone call, and after that she was just fine. It helped having her 'other mom', Miss Ami on the trip with her! The girls came back with lots of new crafts and lots of stories. It's events and clubs like this that these girls will take with them into their adult lives! We are truly blessed to have two WONDERFUL troop leaders! Thank you Miss Karen and Miss Libby!! We love you!!

Hugs
Mark, Jaye and Gang

I know, I know, I know! I haven't posted in awhile....many of you have emailed and/or telephoned me to say 'hey..what's up with your blog?'..so for you nags..here it is (and by the way...you all know who you are and you WON'T be getting a Christmas card this year! Haha).

Ben celebrated his fifth Birthday on September 24 with a 'Curious George' themed party! It was so much fun.....Ben was thoroughly spoiled by family and friends (Thanks everyone!!) and the kids all had fun. We played lots of party games, ate cake and snacks and ended up playing outside(The weather here has been amazing and even now, into October...the days are WARM!).

Our dear Friends, Peggy and Gordon were able to be at Bens party as they spent the weekend with us after having come up for MY party (total surprise!).....so what a weekend we had....more cake and fun than any family should have in one week!

Hugs to you all,
Mark, Jaye and Gang

Boy do we have alot to catch up on!! My 40th birthday has come and gone and I have to say I am like fine wine...I get better with age! hahaha....

My actual birthday was spent ferrying kids from school and back and around and over and up and down...Mark was on duty so dinner was simple and uneventful....and I quietly turned 40 without much hoopla...but little did I know that was about to change!

Saturday the 23rd of September was Ben's actual birthday, but we were having his party the following day (Sunday afternoon), so that found us having to run errands on Saturday. Mark had been on duty on Friday and came home bright and early Saturday morning and made me get out of bed and rush around to get ready. He was being rather persistant and really started to bug me! We had four stops to make, and Mark was rushing me at each stop...and kept looking at his watch and telling me to 'come on..lets get going!'. At one point, I looked at him and said "I don't know what crawled up your butt and died but you are starting to really bug me!"...hehehe...(at this point, I was still unaware that he had a master plan in the works). We arrived home with all our errands run (pick up Bens birthday cake, Costco, a new winter coat for Paige, crickets for the lizard) and Mark was still rushing me! UGH! I walked into a house full of balloons and people and food! What a surprise!! No wonder Mark was rushing me! I had a party to get to! It was such fun. Our very dear, wonderful, glorious friends from Whidbey Island came up for the weekend (they just LOVE me! )....along with all my other wonderful friends (I have surrounded myself with a group of true blue, tried and true people!)....Mark had chicken and Brats for the grill (Brats are a kind of sausage, not bad kids for all you Non-Wisconsinites!)....a pasta salad had been donated to the cause and Lumpia (read a previous post to find out what those are!) was cooked and ready to eat..I was truly spoiled...I received many wonderful gifts and cards and so a big huge THANK YOU to everyone who remembered me as I turned 40!! You are all awesome and all are greatly loved....I don't know what I would do without any one of you....you are each unique and bring something wonderful into my life....True friends are hard to find but I have been blessed to find a whole group! YAY for me!!

Hugs and love
Mark,Jaye and Gang

With my 40th (yup...you read that right...40th!!) birthday just around the corner (the 18th in case you want to send me a card! haha), Mark gave me my present early...and WHAT a present it is too! I am using it right now to do this blog! As you can see, I have alot of things to figure out on how to use this wonderful gift...I hate to admit it (and my brother hates it EVEN more so!) but I am so technologically challenged that it isn't even funny. My brother Aaron got all the 'computer brains' and I got what was left...and yes, Dad, before you even say it, 'that doesn't leave much'! Funny guy!

So while Mark heads up into the mountains to go hunting again, I will be spending a good part of the weekend at home figuring out how all the bells and whistles work on this thing!

The kids and I are going to see a double feature tonight...Barnyard and The Ant Bully. Should be good. Other than that (and figuring out this new laptop) it should be a pretty relaxing weekend!

Hugs and love,
Mark,Jaye and Gang

Where were you? Like the day that JFK was assasinated, we can all say exactly where we were and what we were doing when the events of September 11 unfolded five years ago.

Mark and I had only been in Bremerton five months. I was VERY pregnant with Ben, and was up early that morning getting the kids ready for school. Paige and Sam were watching cartoons, so I was unaware as to what was going on. Mark was still in bed. Mom phoned and asked if I was watching the news...and I said no...cartoons are on. She said 'you need to turn on the TV'....we hung up and I did. It was at that time that the smoke was billowing from the first tower hit and the second plane had just hit. I knew instantly that I had to get Mark up. He came out and took one look at the TV and started making phone calls. He knew he had to get in touch with his command and get on base. He was told that the base had been closed and the subs were all already heading out to sea. He was to not even try to get on base, but to keep in touch throughout the day.

I could tell that Mark felt 'powerless'. He felt he should be on that boat....some of his shipmates were headed out to sea and no-one knew for how long they would stay out there. He was getting antsy. So I suggested we go and try to watch the subs leave through the Hood Canal bridge. By this time, Katie and Sam were already at school. We felt they needed to keep a routine, at least for right now. So Mark and Paige and I headed to the waterfront. We couldn't get NEAR the bridge so took a road along the waterfront. We stopped and asked a man out in his yard if there was public beach access anywhere as we wanted to watch Marks sub leave. He graciously let us tramp across his yard and sit on the beach in front of his house. We watched the boat leave and silently said a prayer for their safety and safe return.

I have a picture on my entertainment center that I will never take down. It is a picture of Paige, playing with rocks on the beach...the wind gently blowing her head of golden curls...the date stamped on the bottom right corner is 9/11/01. It is a picture of gleeful innocence taken during the very minutes that the country she is living in was being forever changed.


After the beach, we headed into town to the Red Cross. They couldn't take my blood (being pregnant) and merely took down Marks name and blood type on a roster. Why? Because the town we live in is a military town right to the core and so The Red Cross had so many people lined up in front of their building, and down the block, and around the corner, that they didn't need anymore donors at that time. By days end, the American Flag was flying from anyplace possible, homes, cars, businesses.....and our town pulled together and hunkered down for the long haul.

We are still reminded every day of the events of Sept 11/01. When going on base now, we have to pass through a very tight security barrier that was erected after the attacks. There is an 'alert' status board when we go into the Commissary parking lot. And the Flag still flies, although not in such profussion, definately in more places than before the attacks. Living in a military town, we see reminders every day and we will never forget.

May those of you not faced with these daily reminders never forget either. May we always remember the solidarity that was shown that day. How strangers hugged...how people reached out to others....lets not let these actions be reserved for times of crisis. Lets always reach out to our fellow man. It is in this way that we show those cowards that America was not weakened by their acts.

Much love,
Mark, Jaye and Gang

Well it's official! I now have NO children at home in the mornings! Ben went for his first 'real' day of Kindergarden yesterday. He rode the bus with Paige in the morning (she looks thrilled doesn't she?) and did the full three hours at school. When I picked him up at 11:30 I asked him what his favorite part of Kindergarden was. In typical boy fashion he said "Recess".....better than zero percent! hahaha.....

So now I drop the kids off, come home and work out, shower and cram an hour and a half of homework into my brain before I go back to get him....

I must say it's awfully quiet around here in the mornings now...even Morpheus notices and follows me everywhere meowing! :)

So...off to start my day!

Hugs and Love,
Mark, Jaye and Gang

September 5th...the first day after the Labour Day long weekend can only mean one thing...school is back in! Sam started High school! Paige had her first day of grade two, and Ben started kindergarden! as you can see from the pictures (Sam wouldn't let me take one of him this morning!), Paige is MUCH more sophisticated about 'going back to school' than Ben is! :)

Ben only had an hour of school today and it was more of a 'parent orientation' than actual Kindergarden. The kids were taken to the library and had a story read to them whilst us parents learned the ropes of kindergarden (after four kids I could stand at the front of the room and tell them what it's all about! haha). So afterwards, I asked Ben how he liked Kindergarden so far. His answer? "Zero percent". I guess we can only go UP from here! Tomorrow will be his first 'real' day, which will consist of taking the bus with Paige in the morning (she's told him if he is late for school he has to go to the principals office. Gotta LOVE big sisters!), and the full two and a half hours in class. We'll see if we do better than 'zero percent' tomorrow!

It will be nice to get back into our regular routine, and after volunteering one morning a week in Paiges class, and one morning a week in Bens, I will still have three whole mornings a week to have uninterupted, quality HOMEWORK time as I want to finish my degree this year!

So here's to all of you parents who are wiping the sweat of your brows and are glad that school is back in!

Hugs and Love,
Mark,Jaye and Gang

What a fun Labour Day long weekend we had! We spent four days in Eastern Washington, in the middle of God Knows Where, just outside a little town called "Naches" (pronounced sorta like Na- cheese). Eastern Washington is very much like a desert climate. Dry, Dusty, Dry, Dusty, and more dry! :) So there we were, three women, three men, six kids, four dogs, no showers and no potties (ok, Bobbi and Stephanie are wimps and had motor homes/campers with toilets!)....the guys went out before first light every day and scouted and 'hunted' (I use the term loosely because Hunting actually implies seeing an animal that is huntable! hahaha), then came 'home' midday to have lunch and family time, then headed out before dusk to 'hunt' again. They did see quite a few does (it's deer season) but only three point bucks or better were 'huntable'. As you can see, the scenery was gorgeous....and Mark looks rather daper in his hunting garb! I was teasing the kids all weekend that I couldn't find daddy as he was in camoflauge! hahaha.....There was a creek by our campsite which we explored...and we managed to get up to the top of one of the peaks, after going over MAJOR rocks and bumps and getting whiplash I might add! :)....but the meadow at the top was worth the ride (not to mention the LUXERY of an outhouse! WAHOO....). The guys all plan on spending the next few weekends up there as Elk season opens (all the guys are bow hunting) on Friday....maybe our freezers will be filled up yet!

On the way home we had quite the adventure. All four vehicles in our convoy had trouble! Marks pick up blew the alternator (cheap fix that only took ten minutes thank heavens), another couples jeep over heated and wouldn't start for awhile, the other couples truck had the accelerator stick, and on the way down the mountain, after all was fixed and ok again, MY vans tire pressure light came on! Good Grief! I was saying that in the old days, women were not allowed aboard ships as it was considered bad luck.....I was wondering if the same was to be said for women on hunting trips after all our vehicle trouble!!

We stopped in Yakima on the way home and picked up 40 ears of corn (to be decobbed and frozen...and YES, Dad, decobbed is a word!)....a case of peaches....some hot peppers and a few zucchinis......yummers.

So now we are back home and are still getting all the hunting/camping stuff put away and organized. But still a wonderful way to end the summer.....and the weather is holding up and being quite glorious for this time of year!

Hugs and love
Mark,Jaye and Gang

We took the kids to the fair on Wednesday and had a ball. It was Military Appreciation day, so we received entrance to the fair AND rodeo for free! YAY! I had also found a sweet deal at Burger king the day before....I could buy all day unlimited wrist bands for $17.00!! (At the fair they were $22.00, so I saved five bucks a band!). Mark and I didn't buy wristbands as we get sick just WATCHING the rides now! hahaha..old age, isn't it grand!

Sam took off on his own for a bit to the 'big kid' rides, while we took the little ones around the smaller rides. Then Sam found us and we all went to look at the 'big rides' as Paige was DYING to go on some. She is so brave (or crazy, not sure which!) and she went with Sam on the Octopus (twice!) and the Gravitron! For those of you unfamiliar with fair rides, this is the big circular room that you go inside of, and it spins so fast that cyntrifical force holds you against the sides...yah..Paige went on that...came out and said 'Mama, you can FLOAT in there!'.....I can see her when she's older...she'll be our adventurous one and give me heart attacks every other week or so! Lovely!

We grabbed a 'fair' dinner...which means everyone got what they wanted! Paige had a HUGE serving of Chili fries with cheese...Ben had a corn dog (as illustrated above!) and Mark and I each had a Gyro...yummers...Sam went off to find his own food and devoured it before he got back to us! hahaha...

The Rodeo was also fun. We only stayed for an hour, but were able to see some great riding and roping! Once the 'Rodeo Royalty' rode out (Miss Kitsap etc) Ben said he wanted to learn how to ride a horse.....he takes after Mark doesn't he?!!

After Rodeo, we went BACK to the rides and midway and stayed until well after dark....and came out stuffed, dizzy and tired......
Nothing like a fair to end the summer....as Templeton said "A fair is a veritable smorgasbord, oragasboard, long after the lights go out..."

And with the closing of summer, our 'regular' routine kicks in...I take Sam to 'maze day' at the high school today. He gets his schedule, locker assignment and lock. Pictures taken and friends caught up with. School clothes shopping for him as well this weekend...supplies are all bought and waiting to be packed off to school.

The days are starting off much cooler, and ending chilly. The sun is still warm during the day, but like Mark said as he left for work the other morning "It smells like hunting season out here". Summer is fun, but fall is still my favorite time of year. It is warm enough for you to remember the hot days of summer, but the air carries with it a hint of things to come. The leaves start to change colour, and our routine picks up in pace. Halloween and Thanksgiving are just around the corner. And before we know it, Christmas will be here, with all the excitement of 'chwistmas swecrets' as Ben calls them. Lots of baking and wrapping and visiting with all our friends...then we settle into the 'soup and stew' months, those long,lazy, chilly days before spring comes around again....
Isn't life grand?

Hugs to you all..
Mark,Jaye and Gang

Yesterday was a big day in Bens life! We took him to his new school and registered him for Kindergarden!! What a big boy he is now! After we did all the paperwork in the office, Ben had to go and have yet another look at his new classroom! He is VERY excited about starting school! We have requested that he be put into the morning class, which would mean that his teacher would be Mrs. Kay, who is a WONDERFUL lady..but then, have you ever heard of any Kindergarden teacher being any less than WONDERFUL?

Also, a big huge CONGRATULATIONS to my best friend Melissa for getting her first teaching job yesterday! Melissa and family recently relocated to Idaho and Mel has been interviewing for teaching jobs since before they left here! Yesterday she was handed a third grade class!!! WAY TO GO MELISSA!! You will totally rock at this! And don't let the little ankle biters get the upper hand! Hehehehe...

We take the kids to the County fair sometime in the next few days (probably tomorrow as it's military appreciation day!). That leaves us with one more week till school starts! YAY! It will be nice to get back to a 'routine' and get more accomplished each day!

Have a great day!
Mark,Jaye and Gang

Yesterday Mark and I and our friend Ami took our kids to the Point Defiance Zoo! They have finally completed all the construction and upgrades and the zoo is AWESOME! Here you can see their newest exhibit of Monkeys! Hehehe.. We have a busy weekend ahead of us (what else is new?). On Saturday we are going 'crabbing'...which for you non coastal people means we are going to the ocean to catch crabs! We will be having a crab feast on Saturday night with Paul and Ami (their daughter is pictured above)...on Sunday we are going to Church (of course!) and then the boys (Mark and Paul) are going to finish our backyard fence while Ami and I get a supply of Lumpias made for our freezers. Lumpias are a wonderful Philipino roll made with a wonton sort of wrapper, full of meat and veggies...then you fry them up crispy and YUMMERS!

Sometime this week Sam will be coming home. He is on a camping trip with his Dad and as always, there are no set 'limits' or 'visitations'! Sams Dad and I are very open about raising our kids together and don't even have a parenting plan (we have NEVER spent one second in a court room even for our divorce!). Wouldn't it be nice if all divorces and remaining years of co-child rearing could be this way??? It is really what is best for the mental and emotional health of the kids, but it takes two adults willing to do this in order for it to work. And sadly, as we all know, there is usually one person in a divorce who is more interested in revenge against their 'ex' than they are with the health of their child...ok, I'll get off my soap box now...NOW you know why I want to get into family law! hahaha...

Hugs to you all..
Have a great week!
Mark,Jaye and Gang

It's amazing how quickly our time with Shelby flew by! Nine weeks came and went in the blink of an eye it feels like! We know Shelby was excited to see her Mom again...get back into her routine and get back with her friends, but we also know she had an absolute ball out here! Paige and Shelby did more giggling and laughing than any two girls this summer. While Ben was counting the days until she left (too much estrogen in the house for HIM!), Paige is going to really miss having her big sister around! Shelby is a lovely, wonderful, smart, funny girl with a heart that is pure gold (can you tell I am a proud bonus mom? hehe).

Anyways...we are draining the last drops out of our summer break. Sam's Dad and Sam went to Oregon to camp for a week. Lilly bug is having a two day sleep over at our house and then Paige will go to her house for a few days. On Wednesday, Ami and I are taking the kids to Point Defiance Zoo (pictures I promise!) . Next week brings reminders that school is just around the corner. I have to register Ben for Kindergarden, and Sam has his high school orientation. Just so that we don't get TOTALLY bummed out about summer being almost over, we will be going to the Kitsap County Fair next weekend. Nothing like ending the summer with a good old fashioned fair and rodeo. We have some of the best bull riders in the States come to this fair to show off their stuff....and get their stuff battered! hahaha....

You also know that summer is almost over when I receive our Christmas Card catalog and have actually placed our order for Christmas cards (we get them personalized every year!). Ok, ok, ok...for those of you who know me well, I will admit...I am VERY anal about being organized and I am completely, unabashedly NUTS about Christmas! :) . So for those of you who are groaning out there about me already having done my Christmas cards, let me just rub it in a little more- I've already started buying gifts! hahahahhahahahahaha...Gotta LOVE Christmas! (Sam HAS forbid me to play Christmas music before Thanksgiving! haha).

Hope all of you have a wonderful week....don't forget to keep in touch with us!
pinger29@web-o.net

Hugs to you all...
Mark,Jaye and Gang

Well, after all the things we've been up to lately, Morpheus looks how we all feel! Exhausted! We took Sam to the Airport on Wednesday, as he flew out to visit Gramma Laa and Katie! On Friday, we took the remaining kids for a 'day of activity'! We started out by going bowling, and all the kids did really well. Shelby almost broke 100 in one game! After bowling, we headed to the park on base so the kids could feed the ducks. We found one duck all on her own, and it appears that she's lost her 'quacker'! She makes all the motions of quacking, but no sound comes out. We aren't sure how long she can last, hopefully the rest of the ducks will allow her to hang around at least on the fringes of the flock! After the park, we went to the kids newest favorite restaurant...Kings Wok Buffet. After dinner we headed back to base for a double feature (I told you it was a day of activity!). We saw Garfield 2 and Cars! Both were GREAT movies.....the only one who wanted to see Cars was Ben, but we are ALL glad we saw it, one of the best family movies we've seen in a long time!

Mark had duty on Saturday, so the kids and I hung out and played games/watched movies and sorted out school clothes etc! (Yup, that time of year again!).

Sunday was Mark and my 8th Anniversary! We've been together for ten years, married for eight! Not sure where the time went....but it sure has flown by fast! Mark bought me a beautiful silver watch and a gold chain, and I bought him a gameboy! Romantic hey? hehehe...

This week we pick Sam up at the airport (Thursday) and take Shelby to the airport (Saturday). We've taken the kids to the lake and played lots of games and are doing alot of 'sorting' around here in preperation for fall.

Hope all of you have a great week!

Mark,Jaye and Gang

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the newest member of the Greene clan! His name is Morpheus. He is just seven weeks old and isn't much bigger than our hands! But his Mama is sick of her babies, and he is litter boxed trained and eats 'real' cat food, so we brought him home tonight!

Welcome to our home Morpheus!!

The Greenes

As I promised in my last post, I will give you our opinion on the movie "Pirates Of The Carribbean, Dead Man's Chest". The special effects are wonderful! And it's pretty funny too. The only thing we would advise, if you haven't yet seen the first one, or forgot how it goes, rent it and watch it BEFORE you go to see this second installment! It would have made a world of difference if Mark and I had done that on Friday! hahaha.....but it was a great movie and nice to have a night out just the two of us!

Yesterday (Saturday) we all went fishing at Point No Point beach. Lots of bullheads were caught and the kids all had a blast catching and releasing fish. I DID happen to catch a flounder which we brought home and ate! It was small but yummy!

Today the weather is doing weird things. We WERE going to work outside and do some yard work, wash the van etc...but we've decided on movie and snack day! Mark is making his famous salsa as we speak and then we will sit down to watch some movies! Brats for dinner later! Yummers....

Hope all of you have enjoyed a fun weekend! Mark has two more days of leave! YAY!!

Hugs and much love,
Mark, Jaye and Gang

Great job on your blog. Your family is having a wonderful summer.
Wish I could be there too.
You deserve a gold star for your efforts and there it is!
We all look forward to your updates.
Congratulations Mark and Jaye on your 8th wedding anniversary yesterday, August 6, 2006.
Dad

We made it back safe and sound, and WHAT a week we had! Mark and I took the kids plus one (Sams' friend Daniel came with us) to Pacific Beach for a week of camping! I don't think we could have crammed any more activities into the week...ok..maybe we COULD have, but we'd have had to crawl home!

We left Bremerton on Thursday July 20...and headed to Pacific Beach. Interestingly this used to be a NAVFAC (Oceanographic facility for the Navy) but has since been turned into a resort for Active duty, retirees and Federal employees. It is a beautiful place, overlooking miles and miles and miles of sandy beaches in a series of communities collectively called Ocean Shores. While there is a hotel and RV spots, we did 'real' camping and set up our tents!

Friday was spent on the beach building castles and digging to China! Shelby started to dig a hole and Mark told her he'd give her five dollars if she dug until she hit water. Mark owes Shelby five dollars! hahaha. While the kids got tanned, Mark and I got sunburned. OUCH.

Saturday was spent exploring the nearby town....the kids rode their bikes all over the resort, and in the evening, we attended the annual Hawaiian Luau! What a great time we had. Shelby had never seen a whole roasted pig before, so THAT was an experience for her..and Ben couldn't take his eyes off the Hula dancers! In fact, when they asked for the kids to come up on stage to learn Hula, he was up there before they'd finished talking! And he did very well I might add! In talking to the 'Mama' of the dancers (it was a family owned business) we came to find out that my dad Joe Laa and HER mother were related! So now we are officially part of the dancers Ohana (Family in Hawaiian). Paige just thinks this is the greatest thing!

Saturday was also Daniels birthday, so we had made sure to pack a cake in our food stores and brought it out for him complete with candles! Happy Birthday Daniel! In less than a year, Daniel and Sam will be driving. I think I'll start taking the bus! ;)

The rest of the days were spent on the beach, riding bikes...flying kites (Mark and Ben just LOVE flying kites!)....going to the game room to be declared the universal champion ping pong player (that'd be ME!) and basically just relaxing and enjoying the family time. It's nice to get away from tv/phones/schedules for awhile and just be a family.

Our last night in camp saw us down at the beach with a bonfire. We roasted weiners and made s'mores and enjoyed the ambiance of being on the beach and hearing the roar of the waves. That night, a power pole caught on fire about 1130. No body did anything about it...it seems that Greys Harbor didn't want to handle it...and everyone was passing the buck about who should deal with it. Well..about 330 the thing BLEW UP! Mark leaped out of bed, probably in drill mode from the boat and dashed out of the tent to 'fight the fire'. He was in his underwear! So while he is dashing across the camp to assess the situation, I am dashing after him with his pants! Turns out the fire was electrical and he couldn't do anything to fight it so he blocked traffic so no-one would drive over live wires (by this time, I am pleased to report, he had his pants on!). Anyways...we stumbled back to bed about 430 when the power company finally lost the rock/paper/scissors fight over who should show up! hahaha....

We packed up camp on Wednesday and drove home to sweltering heat here in Bremerton (Pacific Beach is very windy and temps hover around mid 60's low 70's).....it was in the high 80's which was making us melt after our week in the coolness of the beach! We unloaded the van and truck and headed to Wildcat lake to soak for the rest of the day! Do we know how to live or what?

And so that was our busy week! Mark has his new toy, the DR power mower (look for it online!) and is busy mowing Bremerton. I am doing a grocery shop today, and tonight, Mark and I are going out for 'Date Night'. We try to do this once a month or so, and so are going to see 'Pirates Of The Carribean' tonight. I'll let you know how it is!

Hugs and love to all
Mark,Jaye and Gang

I have some exciting news to post! As you all know, the kids have been taking another session of swim lessons. Today was their last lesson of the session and they all did AWESOME! Ben and Paige both passed from level 1 to level 2! YAY~~

And now.....drum roll please! da da da da da da da..............Shelby! Our SWIMMER!!! Shelby went from Level 5 to Level 6. Now. The totally AWESOME, AMAZING thing about this is..............she is the ONLY kid EVER to pass this level in ONE SESSION!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!!!!! All the kids in her class this time have taken this level three or four times! WAY TO GO SHELBY!!! Daddy and I are soooooooooooo proud of you!!!!!!!!! You are such a wonderful kid.....we love you very very much! And proud! Boy oh Boy!! Are we proud of you! :)
Ok...bonus mom will step off her soap box now! hehehehe......

As a side note, Skip/Paul (Marks Dad) discovered that if you click on a picture in this blog, it will enlarge so you can see it better! Thanks Dad for the great tip! (He is also my proof reader and does a GREAT job of keeping me grammatically correct!)......

Hugs to you all,
Mark, Jaye and the super swimmer gang!!!!

What an absolutely amazing weekend we had! Mark and I took the kids up to Mount Rainier for the entire weekend! We did a three mile hike up the falls and into Reflection Lake the first day and all the kids did AWESOME (even Ben went all the way!). It was VERY bizarre to play in the snow in July!

We were unable to book a hotel in or around Mount Rainier as everything was all full, so we started looking a bit away from the mountain and found a little GEM in Eatonville! It was called the Mill Village Inn. Nice clean rooms, continental breakfast, GREAT restaurant right next door (Aarons Ark) and a grocery store across the street. If this sounds like everything was really handy, you'd be right as this is definately a ONE street town! But we will stay here whenever we want to spend a weekend or longer at Mt. Rainier. It was so peaceful and fun!

Sunday found us back at the mountain. Our first stop was a river right inside the park entrance. The kids had fun playing on the banks and seeing the various mountain views (you can see various views from the pictures that go with this blog)! We then hit the giftshop where each of us picked out a little something to take back home. We moved on to the museum and learned some neat facts about the founding of the park and saw various stuffed animals from the mountain (real animals...taxidermied!...is that a word? hehe). Our next stop was Cougar Rock for a picnic lunch.....it was so wonderful to sit in the shade of these HUGE trees while looking wayyyyyyyy up and seeing huge snow covered peaks! After lunch we headed up to Paradise and the information rotunda. While Ben and I stayed behind and played tic tac toe and had ice-cream (his little legs had had enough..he did AWESOME for being four!) , Mark took the girls on another hike up the mountain. After they came back, it was time to head home. We hit a restaurant right outside the park for dinner (WildBerry Restaurant) and it was nasty! ugh...but that's ok..live and learn! We won't go back there I can tell you! We were all happy to get home and SLEEP!

Mark had duty on Monday (his last duty day before going on leave!) and so the kids and I spent the day recovering from the weekend and doing laundry (ok, I did laundry while the kids played! hehe). Swim lessons Monday evening...the kids do so awesome!

Yesterday and today we did various errands and lots of shopping in preparation for our weeklong camping trip to Pacific Beach. We LOVE it there and are looking forward to a week of playing in the sun and sand! Of course we'll have some awesome pics of THAT trip as well.

On a side note, I am sure you all remember me talking about Ben having to be tested as his b'day is two weeks after the cut off for Kindergarden entrance. Well, we have the test results back! Mr. Smarty pants tested in all four areas in the 99/98/97/99 percentiles respectively! WOW!! We are so proud of Ben the Brain!!! Way to go little Buddy!!

Hugs to you all!
Mark, Jaye and Gang

The week flies by when you are busy I am finding out! Another week has zipped by and I don't know where the time has gone!

The kids had swimming lessons on Monday as usual. We stayed afterwards for open swim so that Mark could teach the kids how to dive. And let me tell you! Shelby is AWESOME! She dives off the edge of the pool, through a hoola hoop and doesn't even touch it with her body! WOW! (You have to remember, when she first came here, she couldn't dive at all!). Paige and Ben both are learning to dive as well..in fact, Ben is becoming quite the little fish! Swimming lessons are such a great thing for kids to have when they are smaller..they learn to let go of their fear of water and it becomes second nature to them! Ok..off my soap box! haha....To celebrate, we went to Red Robin for dinner (actually, it was so I didn't have to cook, but who is telling?! hehe). I also forgot to add that while Mark was teaching the kids to dive, I spent a leisurly evening at Barnes and Noble book shopping for various birthday gifts and having a nice Mocha at Starbucks! YAY for me time!

Swim lessons again on Wednesday and THIS time, Shelby jumped off the HIGH DIVE! WOW!!!! The kids are all doing so well with this swimming thing...we are so proud of them all! After swimming we met our very good friends Kevin and Melissa and family at Olive Garden for a good bye dinner. Kevin is retiring from the Navy in a few months and Melissa and the kids are moving to Idaho and getting settled into their new home. It won't be long and WE will be settling into our post Navy life! wheeeeeeeeee.....

Today we met Melissa and kids at McD's for lunch prior to attending John Michaels Baptism! I was asked to be a witness and how special was that!! I had never been to a childs' baptism before and so it was quite the new experience! My favorite part was during the ceremony when John Michael decided to smack his head with the palm of his hand as if to say 'mamma mia'! hahaha..It was SOOOO hard to keep a straight face! Kids...go figure!

My next post will have some AWESOME pictures I am sure as we are taking the whole weekend and heading to Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens! The kids are so excited and we can't wait to show them the sights! Mom, hide your eyes at this next part! Are they hidden? You aren't reading anymore? ok...I just wanted to say that Mark and I are getting a sitter in a few weeks and taking the weekend to hike to the brim of Mount St. Helens!!!!!!!! They've opened it up for hiking again and we are so thrilled to be able to do this! YAY! Ok Mom, open your eyes now!

Ok..have a wonderful weekend all of you!

Hugs and much love,
Mark, Jaye and Gang

What a crazy busy week we have had!! We started out the week with Mark re-enlisting in the Navy for his final four years! One of our very dearest friends in the world, Gordon, who happens to be a retired officer, stepped up to the plate and was the officiant at the small ceremony that we had! Thanks Gordon! Mark re-enlisted at a park right by the Hood Canal Bridge. We have a love/hate relationship with the bridge.....we hate it when the sub goes out to sea and LOVE it when the sub is coming home! We though it would be a very appropriate place for Mark to re-enlist! Speaking for myself, our family and friends, we would all just like to say how PROUD we are of Mark and all that he has done for this Country...it takes a really special person to step up and give up so much of what life has to offer in order to do what they feel is the 'right thing to do'!! After his ceremony, everyone went to the Olive Garden for a celebratory lunch. After the kids had their swimming lessons in the late afternoon, we moved the celebration to Azteca (Thanks Mom!!).....boy, did we eat ALOT while Mom and Terri were here! (What else is new?!?)

In light of Marks re-enlistment AND the fourth of July, we had a big party on the fourth. Of course Mark and Gordon and Terri went a little fireworks happy!! In fact, for the first time ever, we actually had too many fireworks and have some left over!! Perhaps New Years Eve?? Shelby is very sound sensitive (always has been, right from birth) but even SHE fell asleep during the very long fireworks show!! hahaha....

Wednesday saw us cleaning up from our bash...then the kids had swimming lessons in the afternoon. We came home and had.......yup.......you guessed it........leftovers! :)

Mark got off duty a little early on Thursday so that we could all get new ID cards, due to the fact that they had all expired on the 4th of July and PSD was closed until after the holiday! So now, Shelby and Mark and I all have nice new updated pictures. Shelbys' is the one with the most change of course as she was 7 when her last one was done and is now 12! What a cutie pie she is turning out to be!!

Thursday night obviously wasn't exciting enough for Terri and she decided to give us one heck of a scare! Her heart started racing out of control and she wasn't feeling very well. Mark had to convince her to go to the hospital and after much fuss and bother, she finally agreed to go...about halfway there, Terri decided that an ambulance would be a better idea!! Thankfully she and Mark were at the firehall when she decided that this was needed and so an ambulance was only a few minutes away! She spent the night in the hospital and after much testing and more testing, the Doc's decided she could actually fly home! As they (Mom and Terri) had missed their mid day flight on Friday, a new flight was secured for EARLY this morning (Saturday)! We went out for one last dinner (Olive Garden!) and then came home so that the gals could pack! I drove them to the airport last night in order to avoid having to get all the kids up and on the road at 3 this morning!

Mark is on duty today....and so the kids and I did a bunch of catching up! I took them to see the movie "Hoot" which is a really cute family show! Shelby had already seen it (She and her mother see ALOT of movies together so it's hard to find one that Shelby hasn't already seen!) but was more than happy to see it again! Then we went grocery shopping and THEN.........I got the call that we had only a half hour left of my girlfriends b'day party left!!!!!!!!! I felt soooooooooo bad that this had slipped through the cracks of my schedule! I am always soooo organized and yet somehow, with all the goings on of the past few days, this had just not made it onto my day planner! I am sooooo sorry Melissa!!! Happy Birthday Isabelle!!!!

It is hot here again! The girls are outside having a water fight, while the boys and I sit by the fans and watch movies! The weather man says that it should cool off by tomorrow, which will be nice for going to Church......not sure what the rest of the day will bring but I am sure it will be funfilled!

Hugs to you all,

Mark,Jaye and Gang

What a busy weekend we have had! So much fun, and always 'one' more thing to do! :)

On Saturday, we took Mom and Terri to Seattle! We took the Bainbridge Island ferry across to Seattle which is always a fun adventure no matter the weather! Saturday was a bit windy crossing the sound, but still so warm! you can see Shelby and Paige standing on the front of the boat looking at the Seattle skyline....and yes, they are wearing matching outfits....they are two peas in a pod those two-exact same colour hair, same colour eyes, same skin tone.....the common denominator being Mark, I guess they both take after their FATHERS side of the family (so much for us moms who did the hard work of carrying them for nine months!).

Once on the Seattle side, we made our first adventure the Pike Place Market! What a cocophony of smells and sights to take in! Our senses were on overload as we drank in the aromas of flowers and baked goods, the colours of a wide variety of fruits and veggies and the various oddities of seafood and people that we had not seen before! What a wonderful place! Of course, our first stop was the doughnut stall! I am sure all of youl can remember the miniature doughnuts hot from the fry pot and rolled in cinnamon sugar commonly found at state fairs and such! What a wonderful way to munch your way down the aisles of the market! Yummers!

After the Market, we made our way over to the Space Needle! While the sane ones in our group (Mom and I!) kept our feet firmly planted on solid ground, the rest of the nuts took the glass elevator up the side of the Space Needle! (seen with the sun bouncing off of it!).....Mark said that all the kids (and Terri!) loved the views...and enjoyed looking through the binoculars at all the sights below! Notice the Seattle Skyline in the background of the picture of Shelby and Terri! How beautiful a city is this??!!......

As we had started our day a little later (11:30 ferry over to Seattle), we headed home once everyone regrouped from the Space Needle (Mom and I did a little retail therapy while they were high up in the air!). Once home, we enjoyed a calm evening out on the patio with the tiki torches lit! Still loving this little piece of paradise! Yay!

This morning, being a Sunday, we headed out to Church. Mom and Terri LOVED the service and voiced the same sentiment that Shelby did today- they all wish they could have a Church like ours in Madison. Shelby said that her and her mother have been looking for a church the past few years, but haven't found one that they liked....and that She would LOVE to have one like ours in Stoughton! Maybe we can get one started there! :)

After Church, we had to run to Wal-Mart for a few things, then came home and Mark,Terri and the kids headed to the lake! It is Shelby's goal to swim across the lake! With her being in level 5 swimming, I am sure this is something she will be able to master! Once her and her Dad get the "diving off the diving board" down pat, Shelby will be the MOST AWESOME swimmer ever!

Tomorrow is a VERY special day! Mark will re-enlist for the last time in the Navy! Only four more years to go and he retires!! wow!! Where DID the time go!?!

Well, I am off to watch Mark and Gordon light a few 'pre 4th of July' fireworks!!

Hugs and much love,
Mark, Jaye and Gang

You can tell we've been busy busy when I haven't 'blogged' for a few days! We picked Mom and Terri up from the airport on Wednesday....raced back home in time to get the three younger ones to swim lessons and then out for Chinese food! Yummers!

On Thursday, Terri and I and Shelby went grocery shopping and ran errands...we met up with Mark on base, and then headed home for Brats! Another Yummers!

On Friday, Mark and Terri picked up a load of dirt for my garden (am I spoiled rotten or what?!), while Ben and I went to his kindergarden testing session. Ben misses the Kindergarden cut off date by two weeks! Ugh...so he has to be tested to see if he is 'ready' for Kindergarden. Because he misses the deadline, he now has to be that much more capable than other kids, in fact, he has to test in the 80th percentile. Well, our smart boy passed with FLYING colours! Way to go Kindergarden Ben! After testing, Ben and I went to Costco to pick up all the food for Marks re-enlistment party/4th of July party.....I was pleasantly surprised to whip in and out in less then 40 minutes...it will be a zoo in there this weekend I am sure! Once home, Mark and Terri took all the kids to Wildcat Lake while Mom and I caught up on laundry etc (ok, we had a cocktail too!). Once all the 'kids' came home, we went to our all time family favourite restaurant, Aroy Dy! It is in the city of Poulsbo, and has the most AWESOME Thai food! The kids all LOVE it! In fact, Shelby has her meal for NEXT time we go all picked out! hehehe. You can see her and Paige in the picture at the top showing wonderful smiles after such a good meal! They have so much fun together! After dinner was done, we went to super wal-mart (always a great place to take company! haha) and the girls conned Mom into buying them matching outfits, which they are both wearing today when we head into Seattle! They have such a strong bond, always laughing and giggling...it is so heartwarming to see!

So today, we are headed into Seattle like I said. While Mom and I sit somewhere having a coffee, the rest of the tribe is headed up to the Space Needle (I've done it once, that was enough for my lifetime!). Then we are headed to Pike Place Market and whatever other things catch our fancy! I will definately have pictures to post tomorrow!!

Hugs and Love,
Mark,Jaye and Gang

More busy summer days at the Greene's! And HOT too! For the third straight day in a row, WA has broken past records for heat (this same time in previous years!), with the temps into the mid 90'S! WOW! Needless to say, we spend evenings at the lake cooling off! Although, with Mark telling Shelby there was an octopus in the lake, I'm not so sure she'll jump in as eagerly! hahaha. (For those of you from the 'inland' states who don't know already, Octopi do NOT live in lakes!).

In the top picture, you can see our finished patio, complete with stairs! The retaining wall now has flowers planted in it, and the tiki torches are ready to light! We can't wait for Mom and Terri to get here (TOMORROW!!!) so that we can all sit out on the patio and enjoy the great outdoors!

Just in time for the heat wave, the kids (Shelby,Paige and Ben) started their summer swim lessons! Paige and Ben are in level 1 (they finished the previous level in April), and Shelby is in level 5. Shelby has concerns about the requirements for completing level 5, as there are alot of things that she hasn't done before it seems! But Mark told her that we'd go to public swimming and he would catch her up on all the skills she needs to master. Shelby is such a smart kid, and SUCH a GREAT swimmer, we have no doubt that she will master and pass level 5 with no problems! One of the neat things about this level though, is that Shelby has made a couple of really nice friends! With swimming and Youth group (starting next week!) at Church, Shelby will make a nice little group of friends that she will be able to keep in touch with when she goes back to WI and look forward to seeing whenever she comes out here next (spring break and summer 2007)!

You can see in the two bottom pictures, the kids in their various lessons. The two monkeys in pink and blue (respectively) goggles are Paige and Ben....

We head to the airport tomorrow to pick up Mom and Terri! We are soooo excited about their visit! Once we are home, we head straight to swim lessons (every monday and wednesday!) and then out for dinner at a local Chinese restaurant! (I said that I just CAN'T cook after such a busy day! hehehe).....

We will keep you up to date on all the trouble we get into over the next week!

Hugs,
Mark, Jaye and Gang