June

I didn't take a bunch of pictures in June, but one big thing did happen:

My widdle baby turned eight.
He'd hate it if he heard me call him that.
Good thing he doesn't read my blog.

Our youngest, the boy with all the passion, and noise, and love turned eight.  Where, oh where, does the time go?  It is fleeting...

I kept up with boot camp,

and also experimented with making my own Almond Butters.  So far, my favorite is Roasted Salted Almond Coconut Butter.  Yum!

We went berry picking again.
This time, for blueberries!
My freezer is well stocked...

And, like his sister did last month, TheBoy figured out how to ride his bike!

With only one or two scrapes along the way...

And, during one of our many beach days, CraftyGirl and I gave surfing a try.

It was gnarly, dude!

Hang loose!

And that's it for June.
See you next month.
When it will actually BE the month I'm posting photos about.
Yippee!

May

You might be saying to yourself, "What happened to April?"

Uh, good question.

I dunno.  Apparently nothing photo worthy, and since I'm so far behind, I can't remember that far back.

So, let's just move forward. 

I'm dying to get you all caught up so that I can post regularly about things that are happening now.

So I don't forget!

May was the month of field trips!  

We went to a cool, local, hands-on science museum called The MESS Hall.

The kids had fun experimenting with all sorts of things.

We also finished up our school year with a trip to the local Gulfarium.  We had a ton of fun, with the Science class that I taught at our co-op.  

I felt it was a fitting end to our study of Apologia's Swimming Creatures curriculum!

I continued to rehab my IT band with short running jaunts and pressed on with a new exercise:  outdoor boot camp.  It's fun and sweaty, and a really good workout!!

The running group I facilitated and participated in, Run for God, completed our 5K goal race, and our team even won a trophy for one of the largest groups at the run!

CraftyGirl also ran the kids' 1 mile fun run with some of her friends and had a great time!

We also went on a trip to Tennessee to visit Nana and Papa.

While there, Nana bought a bike for the kids, and having her there to cheer them on was the catalyst for them learning to ride.  (Never mind the bikes we've had for them in the garage for months!!)

I also found a scooter at a yard sale ($3!!) that the kids enjoyed.

Not one week after we returned, CraftyGirl was riding on her own.  TheBoy took a bit longer, but he IS two years younger.  As they were practicing, I overheard, "If HE can do it, then I can too!"  The positives of sibling rivalry...

And a few other highlights in pictures...

Strawberry picking.  Where we picked about 13 lbs of berries.  Twice!  

Beach time!

Starting our first SMALL garden... from seeds

 CraftyGirl babysat for friends as they welcomed a baby brother.

TheBoy was the flag bearer for a Boy Scout ceremony.  He did a fabulous job!

And just a few other random shots from the month to finish up our photo review of May.

See you back for June!!

March

So, March.
March is gonna be fast and furious... I'm wanting to get all y'all caught up so we can continue on with current events.  This is all history!  

We had some special visitors in the end of February/beginning of March.
We even got to celebrate Grandma Jimmy's birthday!
On the actual day of her birthday.  (If you're a military family away from home, you understand what a big deal it is to see family on the actual holidays and special days!!)

March also ushered in the spring soccer season...

TheBoy played quite well, considering he's had to sit out the past two years due to broken bones.  He took instruction well, learned some new ball handling skills, and had fun.

Cadey was not thrilled to be at the fields twice a week, but she did a good job of keeping herself entertained.  Building a cheeseburger plushie was this day's activity! 

I got a more polished, professional look 

and continued to rehab my IT Band and Patellar Tendonitis issues.  With a little help...

TheBoy was either being a ninja or a Jedi in this one...

Or both.  

And, because we DO live in Florida, we were able to get our first beach day in.
Remember, that was in MARCH!!!  (Eat your heart out Idaho!)

Next stop?  April!

Be blessed!

The Update Continues... February

February tends to be our toughest month in terms of homeschooling.  We're all ready to be done, and yet we still have a lot to accomplish.  We're all getting a bit of cabin fever, but don't stray far from home.  
We did manage to find a few things to keep us busy...

TheBoy had his cast removed, and (to this day) has remained in one piece.

CraftyGirl learned how to roller skate (in the house!) and zoomed around the rink at our annual Valentine's skating party.

(As you can see -- or not see -- February was sadly lacking in photographs.)  

She also, apparently, learned how to grow a mustache.  
Ahem...

A photographer friend caught me "at work."

And, most notably, I made an impromptu trip out to Idaho. 

Just me.

To look at land and a house that was on Short Sale.

That land and house have gotten into our hearts, but we'll have to see what God's plans are in that arena...

In sillier February news, I had a great time trying on every hat I could find while in Idaho.  The crazier, the better.

And, in a nutshell, that was February.

Be blessed...

I'm baaaaack!!

It's been a while since I've been here.  
If I'm honest, it's because I was scared.
I had begun to look at other blogs and bloggers and found my blog and myself lacking.  
I was scared that I wasn't doing enough, being enough, the blog wasn't fancy enough, interesting enough.
And so I didn't post.
But I wasn't happy with that.

I realized that this blog is mine.  And should reflect me.  
So it's background hasn't been changed in years?  So what.
So my posts (IMHO) have gotten less newsy, less meaty, and more photo heavy?  So what.
So the pictures and descriptions in the side bar are out of date?  By years?  So what.
This blog is mine.  And it reflects me:  busy, sorta not fancy in a flip flop and shorts way, and most importantly, ENOUGH!  

And so, here's the plan:  I'm gonna get you caught up on all the Greyhaired happenings.
I planned to do so in one post.  But that's gonna be too large.
So I'm going to post several -- one for each month -- over the next week or so.
You'll notice that at the beginning of the year, I didn't take many photos.  (That whole comparison thing again!)
But that changes as we get further into the year.  
Betcha can't wait.  
I look forward to seeing you here more often.
Welcome back, dear friend.  Welcome back.

January...

CraftyGirl kept busy with Waffles.  She loves this rodent.  I'm sure Waffles feels the same about CG, though she isn't the most cuddly of creatures.  But she's super cute!  Kinda like my girl...

And CraftyGirl continued to make her "plushies."  She cranks these things out at an alarming rate.  If there is a national felt shortage, I'm in trouble.

(Yup.  Toaster with removable toast.)

TheBoy had his Pinewood Derby at Boy Scouts.  He and MotorMan worked on the car together and modeled it after one of my dad's roadsters.  

January also found us back at the Naval Hospital Orthopedics clinic...

MotorMan had to go on a detachment to, ahem, Key West.  Being a Marine Aviator is so, so burdensome sometimes.  Though he was only gone for two weeks, we were all really glad when he came home.  We are SO out of the "daddy's deployed" routine that these two weeks seemed really hard for us all to get used to.  Being out of the deployment routine?  I'm not complaining.  Not one bit!  God willing, we will never have to face deployment again.

I ran my second half marathon.  Or, I should say, this one ran me.  I started having troubles with my IT bands after my last half in November, but paid the pain little heed.  Trained and raced through the pain and ended up with severe and debilitating knee pain after this race.  Ended up having injured my left patellar tendon after favoring my right IT band for the better part of 6 miles.  This lack of paying attention to the pain while training and racing caused me to be down for almost 3 months, and required physical therapy.  I'm still working on getting my mileage up now, but I haven't stopped exercising.  (More to come in subsequent updates!)

In January, I also began leading a group called Run for God.   Run for God is a national program that seeks to align faith and fitness.   My group and I participated in the 5K Challenge, which was a 14 week training plan where we did a weekly Bible study and workouts.  It was great fun, and a blessing for me.  Seeing as how I couldn't run for the first 6 weeks or so of the training, God used the experience to truly humble me and remind me that I need to rely on Him for all my needs.  

And, that, my friends brings you up to date.  Through January, at least.

Next up?  February!
Come back and check on us.
We'll be watching for you...

Be blessed...