I have a dream...

Thanks to my parents, Joel and I enjoyed a lovely date "catching up" at a local bookstore. I know this may sound silly since we are married and live in the same house but having a new born in the house with 3 other children plus a husband trying to get his Master's degree makes having an adult conversation nearly impossible. It was so nice to sit in quiet and talk without interruption. Joel and I spent that time dreaming, discussing what our dreams for our future military or post military are. My dream is relatively new (since our time in Hawaii) and has become quite consuming. It was nice to share it with Joel who was totally on board. We have no idea how long we will be in the military but when the time comes to leave it or retire, we hope to settle in that one place where we can grow old together, to invest in the house were our kids and grandkids will come visit us. We are not sure where that town is but our dream is to be on the east coast (preferably New England) in a sailing community. We want our own sailing yacht, a small one, somewhere between 28 and 36 feet, that we can take out by ourselves or with our family or friends, at our leisure. Who knows, maybe I can even teach again. When we travel, we want to travel to places where we can experience the best sailing around the world. In Hawaii I discovered this love and feel it is now in my blood. I can't imagine a future without it. I am excited about our next move to DC just because it will allow me to sail again. It is nice to imagine this future, to have a goal, to dream. I know that is all it is now-a dream. But one can have that, can't they?

Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. Life hasn't been easy and getting on the computer isn't often a luxury I get during the day. Josie is doing great. Jesse is keeping me on my toes. Asher and Anna are great helpers. I am sleep deprived and have had some complications with my recovery. However life is good. How could it not be with this sweet face to look at every day?! Anyways, I thought a few pictures of Josie would hold my faithful readers over for another week.

Josie received a sweet package from my Wet Hen sisters in Hawaii (her "Auntie Hens", my fellow sailing instructors). It was such a nice gift! She received her first sail boat and Wet Hen/Pacific Yacht Club gear, and lots of RED clothes (the Hen colors). She is ready for a trip to Hawaii to go sailing! All she needs now is a life jacket.

Hanging out with Jesse and Anna.

Love those eyes!

Enjoying Mommy and Daddy's bed.

Ice Ice Baby

OK, Josie has nothing to do with this blog post but I just had to add a picture of her!

Anyways, back to the point. This week we were really missing Hawaii as we got pummeled by a huge ice storm for 2 days straight. We were literally house bound for 2 days. It was perfect timing for Joel to have snow days from "school" as it was supposed to be my 1st week adjusting to being alone and life getting back to somewhat normal. We stayed in PJs all day, watched movies, and ate popcorn. It sounded like fireworks outside as branches fell left and right. We were super nervous about a tree falling on the house. We lost power for only a few hours. Many people were out for days. It was quite an adventure! Here are some pictures of the damage around our house, and the kids making the best of everything-they ice sledded down our neighbors driveway and had a blast!

Our neighbors tree.

Our front yard.

The backyard.