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