Two thumbs up

Well it only took about a week for the boy to get used to the water again. Now I cant get him out, he practicing all of his jumps for the diving board. With the summer starting out in the high 90's we are going to be parked at the pool for the next couple months.

Life is good

Well John got home two weeks ago today, it is so funny to me how time can go so slow when your waiting for something and then how fast it can pass. I cant believe he has already been back for 2 weeks! It was by far the sweetest reunion yet, because this time we all knew it was for good. In the car I asked Johnny if he was happy that his dad was home (duh, stuipd question) and he said " I am happy he is never, never ever going back to the desert again."

Everyone and everything has been invisible to Johnny except for dada, I am not even sur

e he remembers my name at this point. He has been trying to tell John everything that has happened in the year and at the same time show him all the things he has learned. Johnny

is going a million mph and is so happy. They have to match all the time - what is daddy having for breakfast, what color shirt is dad

wearing, John rolls down the window Johnny rolls down his. I know it wont be like this

for long so I am just trying to stand back and let John have all the love. (Even though I have become the mean mommy who cant even get a hug these days. lol) But John cant get enough. We did get a bigger bed cause one blue boy tossing and turning is a lot but 2 leaves me on the floor.

For right now I am trying to keep Johnny on the same schedule we have had, until we figure out what John will be doing. The last thing I want is to get Johnny off schedule only to redo the entire thing. With summer here things have slowed down a bit anyway. Johnny is only doing Karate, and swimming - thank God for the pool in this heat!

As for John he is just soaking it all in and taking a very deserved break for a couple weeks. He has been hitting the trails and riding his new bike everyday. (I think he was just as excited to see that bike as he was us). Fixing everything in the house that has been neglected - not that there is that much, l

awn cough cough and just hanging out with us. We are going to head to the beach in a couple weeks then he is taking off to see his brother for a few days.



Its funny I never really thought of having to get used to my husband but he is back and I

am having to get used to him again. We have played such different roles in this year, that coming back together as parents will take a little while. I learned a lot about myself and am proud that I survived the year and managed to stay out of mental hospitals, and the bar - lol.

A lot of our goals were accomplished, John did an unbelievable job for his family and himself. He has a very impr

essive resume and I am so proud of him but the best part of the entire year is realizing how important family is. Every aspect of family - all

the support we got was amazing.

The saying rang true for me that friends will come and go but you will always have your family. And now seeing the way my son looks at his dad, life is good.

Exciting NEWS.....

I don't know who has been following the blog, but if you notice the countdown is to 3 DAYS!! So what is going on with John, when will he be home, what are yall going to do - those are a few of the questions I get asked about 10 times a day. lol
Here is what I know for sure - John has filled out all his paperwork to demobe. He will hopefully be able to fly out on Friday the 20th to Baghdad for there he will fly to Dubai. He is letting the company send him home so once he is in Dubai he will be flying standby which means I don't know when he will be home! It will be no earlier then Sunday and hopefully no later then Friday, either way it is over. He completed his year with KBR and kicked ass, now its time to come home and see his family!
The Blue's are all very excited, I'm not sure any of us will be getting much sleep the next few days.
Now all I have to do is about a million things - haha I will try to keep the blog and everyone updated!

One for you, two for me

That seems to be the theme while picking berries! For Johnny and me berry picking has become an annual thing. This year we brought along two rookies GiGi and Jenny. Hard to believe with such a big strawberry patch right down the street they had never been. It was the perfect afternoon sunny with a slight breeze. The strawberries were perfect, I think this excites me so much because it feels like the kick off to summer. I love going to the grocery store and seeing the fresh ripe fruit! We all picked a bucket and Jenny won the contest for the biggest berry found, and Johnny for the smallest. It was a great afternoon, and even better evening there is just something about a fresh strawberry shake! mmmmm

Funny we started this year (May) with John a few days before he left picking strawberries and seems we have come full circle, here we are one year later with only a few days left picking berries.

What do you think, has Johnny changed in one year? To me he looks so much older!

Busy, busy!

Well once again I have neglected my blog. Trust me everything that has gone on I have thought of a great blog post to share with the world but lately I seem to be lacking on one thing and that is TIME! Time to actually sit down and put these thoughts on paper is limited. So we will just do a quick update on the past few weeks mkay?

The only time we had all the people we love in that same room (minus the few that couldn't be there) was our wedding. John and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary in April! Most days it feels like we have been married forever, which isn't always a bad thing I just don't remember my life without him. (seriously, I have a bad memory. lol) Every year has had their ups and downs and I really feel like we have become a good team and are always improving. This year challenged us in many ways and looking ahead it will be an adjustment living together again! (weird to think that) But I feel in spending this time apart we have gotten such an appreciation for each other and our love has grown even more.

I know some amazing women, I am very lucky to have them in my life as friends and family. All are very strong, smart, confident and independent I look up to all of them and have really used them as an example to make it through this year. One in particular has been there for me my entire life and I never fully appreciated her until I became a mother. Amazing does not describe my mom she has always been there for me, loved me unconditionally, worried when she should and let me go when she had to. She has been such a great example - a teacher, a nurse, chef, chauffeur, a councilor, a maid and all without a complaint. Thank you mom for everything you do for us!

On the flip side of mothers day I must say I am a pretty to be the mom of such an amazing kid! He is so loving and thoughtful not to mention freaking hilarious. He made me a couple of sweet presents at school including a golden shoe - no dont worry I always wanted a pair of shoes 1 gold and the other normal. lol It was a nice and relaxing day.

Lots of good stuff going on, stay tuned!

Turning it up a notch...

Now that Johnny is in the black belt club he is allowed to spar. He was so excited to get his bag filled with all the gear which included a cup which he thought looked great. Oy ve, anytime now John. He did awesome in his first fight and loved every minuet, shocking I know.

John Blue, kinda a big deal...

Well I think everyone in the middle east knows his name, at least everyone at KBR. While he was in Arramadi the entire incinerator broke down, which is the only one on that base which meant they had to shut it down. Now who would be able to fix this? Only someone with good knowledge on machines, someone who could read and follow instructions and someone with the common sense and smarts - John took the job. He told them it would be up and running in 3 days time. After putting in a lot of hard work and manual labor, he is not able to stand up straight but the incinerator is running. And the good news is he was able to fly back to ALasaid, now he can start getting ready to come home. I know I have said it before but I am so proud of him, and I know all of the higher ups and people around him are too.