My Tuberose Collection

My mom sent me "Velvet Tuberose" body wash from Bath & Body Works a while back and I love love loved it! Since receiving it, I have been on a mission to grow my own tuberoses!!!

A few weeks ago when we returned back from our trip to Iowa, I was looking through the Garden Shop at the Navy Exchange, and happened to come across a potted tuberose. It just looked like decorative grass, so no flowers had started to sprout yet.

I snatched it up and decided to give it a try....most of you probably know that I don't have the greenest of thumbs. I was actually relieved that it was in a pot and had started growing already and that I wouldn't have to start from a bulb!

And...just yesterday, the kids and I stopped in to the Flower Shop on the marine base and happened to find one more potted tuberose....so I snatched that one too. I even got 50% off since it was not the healthiest looking!

So, without further ado, I present to you my tuberoses, which are doing great! The one I planted a couple weeks ago should flower any day now. It grown up quit a bit, and I sometimes worry the wind will break it over....so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I put it right by the front windows so that the breeze will bring in it's fabulous scent!

This one I just got in the ground today...This is how the first one started out as well:

And speaking of living things, especially plants, my friend Alaina went back to see her family a few weeks ago, and is due back in tomorrow night, but she left me her herbs to keep alive while she was gone! I didn't promise her anything, but take a look:

(Alaina, aren't you proud of me?!)

And, just for the record, I have successfully kept her little doggie, Chiquita, alive and well too! Whoot! Whoot!

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school for the kids! McKenzie started 5th grade (gulp!) today. She was up early getting ready, straightening her hair, getting her bag together. She was so excited to go back and see her friends after being away from them over the summer.

The school had an open house last night so we were able to meet her new teacher, who is super nice, and see her classroom, which is just down the hall from her classroom last year.

And just like my mother did, I had to take "first day of school pictures" in front of the door before she left on the bus. She was actually very compliant! We'll see how much longer that lasts!
Like most adults and their coffee, the same applies to Trevor and his orange juice. "Don't talk to me!" I had to go wake him up this morning to get ready for his first day of pre-school! I tried to talk to him about what his day would be like and asked him if he was excited. His response was:
"Mommy...I don't want to be happy right now."

So here he is post orange juice, all ready to go to school!

Nick did not have to go in to work until 10:00, so he was able to ride along with us to drop Trevor off at school. When we got there, he walked right up to one of the teachers and said, "My name is Trevor Nicholas Turner, and I'm growing tall just like my daddy!"
I could see PRIDE just gushing out of Nick.
The teacher introduced Trevor to his new teacher, Miss Stacey, and showed us the sign in sheet, etc...
Trevor spotted his friend Hudson and from that moment on, we did not exist. As much as I wanted to give him a big hug and wish him well on his first day of school, I didn't want to trigger anything, so Nick and I (and Addison) snuck out quietly, peeking in the windows as we walked away listening to them sing the "Good Morning Song".
Upon returning home, we noticed branches falling out of the sky in our neighborhood. Taking a closer look, we saw it was a man up in a very tall, and VERY SKINNY tree, trimming the branches, and eventually cutting it down.
He just hiked up the tree and snapped off each little branch and we watched them drift down to the ground.
As you look at the picture, you may be thinking, eh, so what, a man in a tree...but as you look at the pictures below, you will see just how high UP he is in that skinny little tree.

Off comes the top!
Then he continued to cut off little sections and drop them 'gently' down to the ground. Nick mentioned a couple times as we stood in our yard watching this crazy guy:
"It takes some big "round objects" to do that!"

So, that was our morning! Oh! I forgot to mention that Addison was up frequently during the night and that I finally gave up getting her back to sleep around 4:30 am so she and I came downstairs and played. So, that is actually how MY day started...

I am looking forward to a couple hours with just one child here, who at this moment is back in her crib taking a MUCH NEEDED nap! But can't wait to go pick up Trevor and hear how his first day of school was!

The Auction Fan

After the auctions, the kids usually help pick up the place by picking up cans, or bring grandma back her lunch trays, etc...but on this particular night, the boys decided to scream into the huge fan in the back!

Here is Trevor and his cousin Dylan...

Random Videos From Turner Mountain, Iowa

Here is the video of McKenzie driving Grandpa Larry's mower around the farm with her white knuckled passenger, Trevor!

Here is Nick showing off his amazing rock skipping skills. The 'lake' was formed in the front yard from all the rain we had from the storms. If I remember correctly, this lake was formed overnight!!!

Summer Is Ending Soon...

With summer ending this weekend, and school starting on the 29th (Tuesday) all the kids in the neighborhood have been making the most of their last few days of freedom!

This is what my living room has looked like the last week off and on. Here they are all playing the Wii. As you can see our bean bags, or jelly sacks, as Trevor calls them, are getting put to good use.

After the Wii tournament, they all lined up and did free falls on the 'jelly sacks'.

Trevor and Addison and I went to visit my friend Julie yesterday afternoon. As seen above, the kids had been playing all morning, so when we got to Julie's, Trevor fell asleep on her couch while eating a string cheese!

Nick made it home last night around supper. He is most likely home now for good, and will not have to return to the boat. RIMPAC ends on Monday. Today he is planning a flight with a P3 where he will coordinate and monitor a mission from the back of the P3. He was on the phone all evening trying to get things put together, so I hope it all works out for him! It will be another long day for him.

Pool & Potluck

At the last minute, a few of us from the squadron decided to meet up at the O Club pool this afternoon and let the kids swim around a while, then we went to the CO's wife's house and had a potluck.

As the kids were swimming, we noticed off on the distance, a boat appeared. So now that the picture is uploaded, I realize you can't really see it, but just to the left of the island is a grey boat. We believe it is the one Nick is on....but I haven't confirmed it yet. The kids didn't know any different, so as soon as we saw it creep from behind the island, all the kids went running to the edge of the pool yelling "Hi" to their daddy's and waving. It was exciting to see it!

After the pool, we hung out at the Hagan's. She made sloppy joe's and we all brought some extras... we ate out back in their huge open yard overlooking the runway. As we ate, we watched 2 53's take a "birdbath" (wash the helicopters). As well as several take off and landings by P3's, a few jets, and a C17. Talk about great entertainment while you eat! It was awesome!

Here, Addison is playing with a mini maraca.Little Richie and Addison....eating a house.

Little Richie and Addison....playing footsie!

...and again in color.

Here is a quick clip I caught of Addison and Richie 'making music' together.


Trevor having a blast in the kiddie pool.Catching McKenzie getting out of the pool.

Trevor and his buddy Helen in the kiddie pool.

Helen, Trevor & Robin making hand prints on the cement with their wet hands after exiting the pool. This was AFTER they all three laid on the cement to get warm.

My attempt at getting the three kids to look at me and smile. It didn't work out too well.

It was a great time had by all! The kids wore themselves out, and Addison fell asleep in the car on the way home. Trevor is watching a quick video, and I wouldn't be surprised if I walked out there now to find him sleeping on the couch as well.

We were supposed to stop by my friend, Julie's afterwards, but it got too late, and I had to get Addison home to bed. So we are going to visit her tomorrow....AND she just informed me that the commissary has rhubarb!!! So after our visit, you better believe I will be buying the entire stock of rhubarb and coming home to make some rhubarb coffee cake!

Also, upon returning home tonight, I got an exciting email from Nick saying he would be coming back tomorrow for another overnighter! Yay!

Surprise Visitor

Last night the kids and I were eating supper, and Nick called to check in. He is still on the boat and is not scheduled to come back until next week. We were talking about what we had done that day, and then had gotten into talking about what things we wanted to get done around the house when he got home...

One thing I mentioned, was to change the break pads on the van. He said, "ok, hold on, I'm pulling up to the house right now and I"ll take a look at it."

UH, WHAT?

And as I looked out the window, there he was! The kids were so excited!

They were flying around, and then had to land on base to do some maintenance... and since it was late, they had to stay the night! YAY!

Trevor was able to 'read' a couple books he has memorized at bedtime, Kenzie challenged him to a few games of Mario Kart on the Wii, and he got to put Addison to bed! And then he was gone first thing in the morning!

Luckily, though, he will be back again early next week, this time for good....well, for a while anyways!

Here are a few pics of the kids I took yesterday. It was rainy, so we were stuck inside for the day.

Fun with stickers
Trevor's way of sharing stickers with AddisonAddison againHere is Addison playing with our guest for 3 weeks, Chiquita!
She tolerates Addison very well! Trevor, however, is another story, she is constantly hiding from him, and jumping in my lap when he comes around. All he wants to do is just hold her and walk around with her like a baby.

As I'm typing this, Addison is playing on the floor here and Chiquita is nipping at her arms and making her laugh. So cute!

Muffins For Meridith!!!

So, this blog entry is dedicated to my dear sister Meridith. She and Trevor were INSEPARABLE while we were home. TWO PEAS IN A POD....

Meridith showed us some pretty funny videos on YOUTUBE, and Trevor really liked the muffin one, with some encouragement from my sister and McKenzie. So he did his own rendition of it below.

So, sis, these video clips are for you:

Central College Calling...

Check out what Addison got in the mail from Central College today!
Only 7 months old, and they are already trying to recruit her!The bib says:
CENTRAL
CLASS OF 20??Thank you Central College!

And Then There Were Two...

TEETH!Addison's bottom right tooth finally broke through the gums today!

Playgroup Roll Call...

This morning Addison hosted playgroup. It was her best one yet! She is finally getting social and interacting with others...and not just Mommy! It's been a month or two since we were all together last. Many of us have been out of town at different times, so we were all excited to get them all together again.

In attendance today:

Miss AddiLittle Richie
Mr. CalvinMr. Wyatt

The kids had a great time, they are all very active and crawling, grabbing, blabbering...

Wyatt had his binky in his mouth and it reminded me of THE JOKER
So I remember when we first thought it was hard to get a group picture because they were so little, and it was hard to get them all awake, or not crying...now it's hard to get them all to SIT STILL!!!
I can just hear Addison: "Hey guys....guys.....come on...we are trying to take a picture here. Leave him alone, hey...seriously, come on!"
"Listen, I'm sorry mommy, I tried, they just won't listen to me! I give up!"
(boys laughing)
They are a ton of fun when we get them all together. But boy is it exhausting!

When the boys are away....the girls will play

Nick left yesterday morning (Friday) for RIMPAC for 2 1/2 weeks. He will be living life on a boat during that time, so he is floating somewhere around the islands. So if you are trying to get ahold of him with no response, that is why. He will not have his access to his cell phone during that time unless he is lucky enough to get a flight back to the hangar for some supplies or parts.

This month's Officer's Spouses' Coffee was at one of the spouse's condo pool! It was great with a kiddie pool. hot tub and everything! The weather was perfect with just the right amount of sun and breeze, and of course a very brief spout of liquid sunshine (light sprinkle).

Trevor even took a dip in the big pool in Addison's water floatyBut spent most of his time in the kiddie pool splashing in the little water spouts.

Even Addison and I took a long dip in the pool, but it sure wore her out! She loved the water and splashing around...except when she would splash too much and get it in her face...

Trevor even hung out in the hot tub portion with a fellow marine brat and talked about their mommy's. Then they pretended to watch movies with giant bowls of popcorn. Such amazing imaginations!

It was a great day....McKenzie was bummed to have missed out, as she is at a birthday sleepover tonight.

Just a swingin'...

Tonight Nick put up the baby swing on the lanai for Addi. She loved it.

And then of course I had to take pictures of Trevor per his request...
(this one's for you, Mer)

And what would a blog entry be if I didn't have all my babies pictures...
Here is Kenzie jumping off the play yard...

Standing tall...

4th of July Weekend...of Work

Nick had a long 4 day weekend for the 4th, so of course, we decided we'd do the flooring in the entire house over those 4 days.

Day 1: Put Flooring in Nick's new office (McKenzie's old bedroom)
Set up office
Drywalled, mud & taped in mckenzie's new bedroom
Day 2: Put flooring in old office (New play area)
Put Flooring down hallway
Sanded mckenzie's room & painted
Day 3: Finished painting McKenzie's room
Put Flooring in McKenzie's room, Trevor's Room and part of Dining room
Day 4: Put flooring in rest of Dining room and Living room

Nick wants to know what everyone else did on their 4th of July weekend....I was thinking, hot dogs, fireworks, lawnchairs and drinking!!!

Here is McKenzie finally home again in her NEW ROOM!!!

Here is McKenzie helping dad finish up the flooring in the living room.

Here is the finished living room, with our new set up thanks to our little interior designer, McKenzie who sketched out where we should put the furniture. I still have lots to put back as you can see by the clutter.

I'll post more pictures when things get put where they belong. Nick has done all the hard work, now I have to put everything away. Give me a couple days...

Here Addison is enjoying the slick new floors!

Here she is posing for a quick picture!

7 months old today!!!