Aiborne!

To maintain sanity it is an absolute must to find new and exciting things to do as a family, especially in a town where family activities are so severely limited. Today we found our way to a small airport where there was a WWII Demonstration Team. There were many opportunities to learn, A was in his element showing us around, J had a blast, H slept, and I enjoyed taking pictures and watching A's face light up at each opportunity to teach us (especially J) something new.

Unfortunately, it was too windy for the Demonstration Team to do an actual jump, but that didn't stop A from rigging J into a parachute....

...and giving him as much as of an airborne experience as a 3 year old can handle.

We also toured a C-47 and watched an airborne demonstration.

Finally, we got to talk to a WWII veteran who went to airborne school when he was 17 years old. He has 5 combat jumps, including one into Normandy. (A was chosen to jump into Normandy on the anniversary of D-Day 2 years ago.)

The only problem I have is that J had so much fun that I have a funny feeling he is going to grow up, break my heart, and join the military as well. Maybe we can convince him to be a commercial airline pilot instead...

Little Fish

Due to the extreme heat in this state (among several other differences, read: everything) we have really been missing home (Maine), particularly the summers in Maine. We grew up being outside and swimming all summer long, usually from sunup until well past sundown. Although the heat still hasn't let up, we reenacted a Maine summer day as best we could on Saturday, minus the family and (bonus!) the mosquitos.

In the morning we packed up the car and went to the lake that is tucked neatly into the corner of the post. We spent all morning swimming, building sandcastles, going down the waterslide, and picnicing.

J spent most of the time building sandcastles at the water's edge

H knows how to relax at the beach!

While we were at the lake our friends invited us over to their apartment complex to swim and cookout by the pool. We were sold.  We headed home from the beach just after lunch, attempted to get J down for a nap (Ha!) and spent a couple of hours inside, out of the hottest part of the day.

Fastforward to the pool. The water was perfect, the food was delicious, and the kids were in the water for almost four hours! Even Haven took a dip. She was a little shocked at first, but relaxed after a minute and even almost fell asleep!

My little fish

J chillin' with his friends, A and baby J.

J's Day

I might possibly have the only 3 year old on the planet who loves to get his haircut so much that he asks for weeks until I finally take him.  Lucky for him his hair grows uber fast, so he gets them often. I think he may just be in it for the lollipop at the end.

Look at that head of hair:

J is used to going to barber shops, but I have not found one that I like for him down here, so I decided to take him to the salon. He was a little confused as to why there weren't any toys for him to play with, so to make the trip exciting I told him that his hair dresser had red hair. His response: I like blue hair.

The other disadvantage to getting his haircut at the salon-no lollipops. To avoid a major prenap meltdown we headed next door to Orange Leaf. Translation: self serve frozen yogurt with all the delicious flavors, toppings, and overall greatness you can imagine. Ice cream for lunch trumps a lollipop any day!

Ice Cream for lunch may make me a cool Mommy, but laughing and taking his picture when he got his first ever throat freeze may take away my coolness and simply make me a little bit cruel. The slight panic attack was just too funny. Afterall, no one ever had to be hospitalized from a throat freeze. I think...

And thus completes our day. One happy boy (minus the throat freeze), one tummy filled with ice cream, and one stylish new haircut!



A New Ride.

No. Not a new car. It's just time to start this blog again. I truly enjoyed blogging while A was deployed last year, but according to google (so smart keeping track of my time away), it has been about 8 months since my last post. It has also come to my attention that my brain cannot retain usernames and passwords over an 8 month hiatus, thus forcing me to create a new blog. You can still read the old one here (that is, if you're into 8 month old material).

Most of you reading this already know the happenings of the "Zikowi" (as The Power Family now refers to us) since I abandoned my last blog, so instead of writing a book about the many changes that have occurred in our very busy lives, I'll write a list. Besides, experts say that reading lists makes for easier comprehension.* Since there will be a test later, this will greatly benefit you.**

*I totally made that up.
**There will be no test.

January:
~A came home from Afghanistan within hours of ringing in the new year. I personally think this makes for the best New Year's Day ever. Go ahead, try to top it. I bet you can't.

February:
~We took a family vacation to Turks & Caicos Islands and it was nothing short of amazing!
~We took a family vacation to Maine and it was nothing short of freezing!

March:
~We worked on being generally awesome.

April:
~We moved 1,000 miles from our home in the southeast to a new home in the southwest. (I googled the United States regions, because there has recently been debate on what region this state is actually in. Debate settled. Google is always right. Everything you read on the internet is true. Everyone knows this.)

May:
~A began his 6 month CCC (Captain's Career Course).
~I turned the big 27.
~Julian turned the ripe old age of 3.
~We welcomed a 7 pound, 18.5" baby girl into our family! (To be referred to as 'H' from here on)

June:
~We perfected being generally awesome, while teaching Haven to be just as awesome as the rest of us! Success!

And now you are caught up! Welcome back to my blog, and start following again!