Running & Climbing

This weekend was another glorious sunshine filled Pacific Northwest day. Paul & I spent the morning running in blue in town with a few friends & Banyan. We managed to go 4 miles at a 10 minute mile pace. Not super fast but Paul was trying to find a good pace for me to settle into with out feeling like I am dying. I hope to run my first half this coming summer 2013 & so now the training has begun. I am not a gifted runner so this is a personal item to check off the old bucket list. Turn forty run a half-marathon. I have enlisted my running buddies of course so it should be fun. I've picked the Seattle Rock n Roll marathon so we can run with the blue crew & have a blast!

 

 Banyan recovering with dad after the run. He did good but was pretty tired when we finished. 

After our run we came home to grab Jacob our youngest to head to the Ashford Mountain Festival. There where several guests speakers who all had summited Everest & Rainer multiple times. Paul was in heaven! They also had some cool climbing walls we knew Jacob would enjoy

The Glacier wall was Jacob's favorite & a little more challenging for him. He has climbed before but never ice climbing. He did really well & the guy helping thinks he should take classes. We both know he would love climbing more so we really need to look into this option. Gas is just so expensive & the closest climbing gym is in Tacoma about an hour away. We shall see maybe we can make it happen some once the weather gets gross.

Now we are just relaxing watching The Lord of the Rings, a guys pick for sure. It's a nice way to end a relaxing Saturday.

Walking, Walking, Walking

Just a reminder that Jeremy , Banyan, & his family will be walking 2 miles on Sunday September 23, 2012 for Chelsea's Walk for SUDEP Awareness.
Jeremy set a goal to raise $800 and so far we are at $180.00 thanks to family & friends. If you could help me spread the word anyone can donate as little as $5.00 helps a child living with seizures get a grant for a Service Dog or an EMFIT monitor that alerts to seizures while sleeping. Please go to our Team Page or our personal page to make a donation. Then copy the link & SHARE with your friends. No parent should have to live in fear each night that their child might not wake up yet so many of us do daily. This is just a small way we can help spread the word about Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy as well as get money raised for a great cause.  The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation is a Non-Profit so if your looking for a charity here is a good one & Tax deductible to make a donation. Please remember that our highest donation winner will receive a FREE Banyan t-shirt as well as his dog tags! Go ahead click on our link & Join our Team today- Thanks!

You have two choices to either donate to Jeremy individually or to our Team- either way it all counts!

Jeremy & Banyan's Journey Donation Page

Jeremy & Banyan's TEAM Donation Page

A Little of This & That

I dropped my mom off to head back to Tennessee this morning. It was a very short visit with her for me but great for my boys! I hope that she can come out again sooner rather then later. Most times we only see them twice a year if we are lucky. My dad is still here & off fishing with Paul for the weekend. They took two of the boys so my house seems super quite. It's nice since I managed to get an ear infection on our return from vacation. Silly allergies then flying just messed my left ear up. Thankfully I got right into my doctor & hope to be able to hear again soon. I am also enjoying some much need stay at home & lounge time. I am super tired from all the activities even though I enjoyed everything.


 Now to address the following:
We had someone ask me how we where able to afford a trip to Hawaii when we fund-raise for Banyan constantly? Even though it's not really anyone's business I did realize others may wonder as well. Here are my thoughts on the subject.

1. This is the first vacation in 16 years Paul & I have taken together alone w/out children out of state. So I am pretty sure after four consecutive deployments we earned a vacation.


2. Tax Money- we used cash to pay for everything.


3. Hale Koa R&R/ Block Leave discount. When your soldier is on either from OIF or OEF you get 30% off your stay- HUGE MONEY SAVER!


4. My amazing parents paid for 1 of the plane tickets as Paul's Welcome Home / 40th Birthday/ Happy Father's Day gift. They had no idea what to get him while he was deployed so I had them save all the cash & chip in for our trip.


It may seem we where unwise to spend money on a vacation, but trust me we did not splurge- we where extremely frugal. We had fun & enjoyed every moment , I'll never regret going. Paul & I needed that time to reconnect as a husband & wife. It's hard to get quiet time with 4 boys in the house. I hope anyone else who thinks we are unfair in fundraising while going on one trip takes time to read all my posts about our Army Life- then readjusts their thinking to realize one vacation is not breaking the bank or taking advantage of others wonderful generosity helping with Banyan.

Now I am going to sit back relax & read some more of my books I have been waiting to read. I managed to get through 3 while on vacation & I have 9 more in this series to go. Have a great weekend everyone. 

Belated Birthday

Finally after months of waiting it was time for Jacob to get to see his first Sounders FC game LIVE in Seattle! We had purchased the tickets back in February to watch the Sounders take on the Colorado Rapids. Paul, the two younger boys & myself headed into Seattle late afternoon for the game. We parked and the two boys where bubbling with excitement as well as their dad. We headed to Pyramid Brewery that is across the street from Century Link Field to eat before the game. This fulfilled my husband's wish to see the brewery as well as mine to feed us all for under $50 since stadium food is expensive! Jacob was super excited for his late birthday adventure to begin!

Next we headed over to century link to see some of the fun pre-game activities. We turned around at one point & ran into our friends from church. What a pleasant surprise to be in a huge city like Seattle and see people we know unexpectedly. The boys took turns kicking the soccer ball at the X-Box set up to try to win prizes. Jeremy won a pair of purple sunglasses when his soccer ball went into the hole on the wooden board. Then we went over to the Hynudai car where Jacob threw the soccer ball into the top of the sunroof to win us a chance to get Season Tickets!! We where so excited! There will be huge fights over who get's to go to the games should we win .

As you can see Jacob was pretty good distance back & he was the ONLY ONE out of the four of us to make the shot! He was so stoked! Next we did some quick pictures before heading into the stadium.

We had great seats even though I bought them I was surprised at how close we where to the field & players. We where mid-field and five rows back- AWESOME! Jacob got a new Sounders Scarf & Jeremy picked a hat.

 They also did a Military Appreciation display before the game with a re-enlistment ceremony. It was very nice to see & hear the crowds cheer.

The sounders went on to win against the Rapids 2-1 which ended their losing streak. We went on to have a really fun time together & have decided we need to buy more tickets soon so we can go again. It was a great atmosphere with very friendly spectators. I was pleased that the crowd we sat by where very pleasant with no cussing around the many kids sitting in the crowd. We all had fun & I look forward to going again soon.

It's In the Books

After eleven months & two weeks deployment number four is in the books folks. My husband landed around 10:30AM at McChord Airforce base & relief settled into my whole body. It's a hard feeling to explain unless you've gone through it yourself the sense of constant worry just washed away.  I use to think people where crazy who told me things like you'll never know until you've been there. But those words are so true. I woke up at 4:30AM and laid in my empty bed for what I hope is the last time. Finally I got up and made the coffee & paced around my house. I checked my facebook for any updates no news was good news. As soon as 6:30AM rolled around I woke up the children who for once jumped up & got ready! The excitement was electric in the house as we patiently waited to leave. Once we arrived at the designated gym we had been seated for less then twenty minutes when the "DELAY" announcement was given. I was not surprised but still groaned along with everyone else. As the hours ticked by I thought we where never going to see that Plane come through the sky.

After I saw this they announced at least another hour & a half so they could turn in their sensitive items I voted to go grab food. We where all starving at this point. I thought if we ate lunch then came back it would help pass time. Plus Paul wouldn't arrive to hungry cranky children. Jacob  & I walked a little ways down the road as I wasn't giving up my awesome parking spot! We grabbed two pizzas and headed back to the gym. The boys happily ate saving three slices for their dad. Then came the next best part of the day.

We had a quick three minute speech then chaos ruled as soldiers reunited with their families.

This is my favorite picture, my heart is back with me. Unfortunately know one was able to tag along like in the past to get better pictures. But that's okay, who needs pictures when I can reach out & touch the real thing!

Now we are happily relaxing as he chats with the older boys who haven;t left his side since he showered & sat down. Soon I hope to get some time alone with my man. But for now it warms my  heart to have all my boys back under one roof. Who knows for how long, but I'll take whatever time the Army gives us today.

Just Add Color

I have been waiting for two months now for Mother's Day. Not so I could get some flowers or a card or even a great dinner- which I did. I was waiting for The Color Run Seattle 5K. My nine year old son decided to run with me as my gift from him. It was our first ever 5k together & his first 5k ever. It was so amazing to get up at 5:15AM (note some sarcasm) & head out to Seattle. Hunter my oldest tagged along to be our camera man. He captured some great pictures that will forever be in my memory. This will most likely be the best Mother's Day for a long time to come. I will let the pictures tell the story of how we started off white & ended up looking like a rainbow of colors. It is so cool to have my boys involved in my runs now! 

In the beginning there was a group of 9 clean runners....

For some it was the first mom & son 5K

It also meant best friends running their 7th race together

Friends who met everyday at the gym for weeks to support eachother

There was over 6,000 runners...fastest sell out time ever!

We began our run & laughed the whole way!

Jacob turned into a smurf at the first color zone

The people in the green color zone went a little nuts on us- we looked like the Hulk!

By the end we looked like a rainbow explosion!

We all had fun & all the kids ran their very best!

Jacob kept up anytime I asked to run including a big hill.

The Color Party at the end- was so fun! It was a little hard to breathe but we didn't care.

Bekah's husband looked awesome in all his color.

Color Party Zone

We got photo bombed by random dude!

 

My little guy resting after the race eating a snack.

It was a morning filled with laughter & fun that I will never forgot. It was so much fun that Hunter my oldest who took all the pictures wants to run it next year! I can't wait to maybe get the whole family to join us in the fun! 

An Overhead shot of Seattle

I Won't Give Up

It's funny because I keep hearing this new song everywhere this week. I really love the words. I feel like God has me listening to it over & over this week so I know I can do all the things that are set before me on my overflowing plate at the moment. I have the four boys going in all different directions in their lives. I always feel like I'm missing something where they ae concerned because there is only one grown-up in the house at the moment. I get so exhausted at times and hate when I hear myself saying "later I'll do such & such later with you". But yesterday at their parent teacher conferences all I heard was compliments on everything from their behaviors to their school work. I heard that my youngest is beyond smart & social. He is making huge strides in his behaviors this year. I learned that Jeremy for the first time EVER had conquered all his Occupational therapy goals!!-WHOO-HOO!! His OT thinks he could even not need her next year if his progress continues! This is HUGE as he has been going since he was 5 years old.

Then when I went to my oldest son's conference he presented an amazing Powerpoint presentation full of animation. He already has his future mapped out through to his graduation of Law school to passing the BAR. WOW! I look back and remember I was the same way only I just wanted to graduate from four years of college with a teaching degree. His schedule for his sophomore year is hard & he picked his classes all himself. He is so excited & enthusiastic still about school that I prayed last night God let's him succeed so his enthusiasm remains. His grades where good & his teachers love him-YAY Next came son number two who has always been the one to know which of my buttons to push. He has struggled the last two deployments only at home with me & his behavior. At times I want to scream at the top of my lungs "why why do I get all the sarcastic rude comments but you behave for everyone else?". I know this is just part of his anger about his dad being gone alot as well as his personality. He came out screaming & has never looked back. But his teachers where giving him high marks and praise. His English teacher who gave him an A actually told him " You could do better if you paid closer attention". That made my day to know she thought he could get an A+ as he has to work his tail off for his good grades unlike son #1 & #4 who are just naturally good at school. I left all the conferences thinking maybe I wasn't doing such a horrific job with the boys these past ten months on my own after all- thank you Jesus!

Then came time for the puppy- the wonderful ball of soft squishy golden fur who demands almost all my time. It was time to head to puppy class where I honestly never know how Banyan will  behave. It's gotten to the point where I was dreading Wednesday  night class every week. Last night Banyan showed up with his best service dog brain WORKING!! He did everything I asked the first time & even shocked his teacher. I train him everyday all the time. He is rarely not learning something. Even when he was swimming this week at the lake. At one point I had him come sit & wait by me while he had to watch Panzer swim. He was shaking with excitement it was very hard for him. He did so good last night it gave me hope that I am not messing up the dog either.

It's hard as a single parent even for just one year every other year lately to not get overwhelmed. I have about eight different balls I'm juggling & if one falls they all seem to crash. As I heard this song played every time I turned on the radio this week , I sang along. I realized if I just breathe and keep plugging along never give up on the kids, the dogs, the friends, or myself we will be just fine. That I have to try and be more positive when I hear other wives complain or whine (because that's what it sounds like to me ) when they only have one or two children who are ALL Healthy about how hard their life is at the moment. That this moment to them is hard!  I have to stop thinking "lady try living in my world for a day- you would not be complaining". I have to stop thinking like that so I can keep going and realize even though I have a whole big bundle of things on my plate- God knows I can handle it if I just trust him. That he has sent people into my life this year to help  me along my path if I just let them. Which I admit is hard for me to do, I hate asking for help. Another thing I think multiple deployments has made me, very overly independent. It's not a bad thing just something I need to work on for myself to not feel so overwhelmed. 
Anyway back to the song, I love the words and the sound. It makes me teary every-time because it reminds me so much of all the struggles as a wife & mom I go through while Paul is away. That I know I won't give up- I can't because I love my family to much.

I live for my family & they ask for a lot in return my love- oh wait that isn't hard to give. The boys love me no matter what kind of day I'm having. Even the dogs love me when I'm exhausted and the tears flow. They know mom's good she won't give up on us, even though the skies have gotten rough. She never has before & she never will.

Wrapping it up...

Hey folks we have not fallen off the face of the earth we have just been enjoying our much deserved family time while the husband is home. We had so much fun doing everyday activities together. First up was lunch at school with the two younger boys. Paul got home just in time to attend his first family lunch with Jeremy & Jacob. They where so thrilled to see him there they rushed through their lunch . They wanted to show him what they get to do after lunch on the playground for Jacob & cleaning tables as a lunch room helper for Jeremy.

Then Paul and I enjoyed the first Friday he was home with much needed relaxation heated stone massages . We where both so relaxed & a little sore from working all our muscles. We headed off to lunch after that at The Ram to enjoy our time together. It has been a very nice transition with all the kids in school during the day for Paul & I to have alone time. That has never happened before on R&R. I didn't even miss our usual night away by ourselves since we had time during the day for uninterrupted adult conversations, hand holding, stolen snuggles, & kissing eachother anytime we wanted .It was heaven!


Next we headed to The Great Wolf Lodge with the boys in Grand Mounds, WA. It is only a forty-five minute drive from our home so it's the perfect stay-cation for our family. This marked our fourth time to go together & have a lot of fun! We try to go on block leave or R&R during deployment cycles. With teenagers & younger kids it's a place that has activities we all enjoy. We all raced around jumping on waterslides, swimming through the waves in the wave pool, helping Jeremy fight dragons in Magi Quest, & eating delicious food. We had a lot of good quality family time that we all needed.

Paul & I even managed to head out to dinner with our best friends with out children one night at Fujiyama's Japanese Steak House. It was fun to have our delicious meal prepared right in front of us by a wonderful chef. We really enjoyed the time with friends.

Last night we wrapped up our family & friend activites with a great BB-Que at Sam's home.

I meant to get a picture of her cooking the 60 ribs she had marniated for Paul with snow falling down, but I got side tracked inside chatting  :0/ But they where super amazing as always & there where hardly any left at the end of the night! Paul was having a great time with all his friends . I think we had a house of about 20 - 22 people running around. Great food, great conversation, & amazing food made the evening perfect. He said his goodbyes as he won't see a lot of them until he returns home later this summer. That was a bit bitter sweet knowing his time home is almost over. 
How fast the time always seems to go on R&R. You wait what seems like unimaginably slow months for it to arrive to hold your loved one. Then it's gone in a blink of an eye.  We had Sam snap a quick family picture- not the best but Paul was anxious to enjoy the evening - he hates pictures. But I need them while he is gone to help me make it through the deployments. I need to be able to look back & smile at the memories the picture brings to mind. This photo will make me laugh as it will remind me that Paul helped Nathan brew his first ever stout that day. As well as all our friends took time to come all the way out to our neighborhood to spend time with Paul before he leaves again. It will also remind me of the boys acting silly & Paul yelling " Just Smile All Ready!" then smiling himself for the picture with no sign of the craziness surrounding the photo.

 

Poor Jeremy was not feeling well all night. He laid down on a couch almost all night. I soon figured out that his head cold had moved to his chest. He was up all night with a nasty cough & slight fever.  He hasn't eaten much & is currently still asleep at 8:30AM in the morning, so I know he feels really bad. Hopefully he perks up to enjoy the last couple of days with his dad. 

We don't have much else planned except a couple more meals to make that are favorites. As well as just enjoying our time together. Then we will do the hardest thing ever & say our goodbyes for another four months at least. Happy together in this moment though as we treasure what feels like stolen time. 

Tacoma Glass Museum

Today was a beautiful sunny day in the Pacific Northwest & I got to spend the whole afternoon with son number two all by myself which is rare. It was some much needed quality time at the Tacoma Glass Museum for a Blue Star Family event they where holding for children of deployed soldiers. We arrived had the presentation of colors ,opening remarks, then where given private tours of the museum. Matthew got to learn to make a layered glass tile, watch glass blowing, & enjoy his good ole mom's company all day! We had a good time even though it was a long day. We actually snuck out thirty-mintues early & headed to dinner. I let Matthew pick since it was our special day out together. He picked seafood at Duke's Chowder house on Ruston Way- YUMMY!!  We enjoyed sitting on the deck in the late afternoon sunshine & talking. I gave him some helpful tips for when he is on a date because I know that is not far off,uggg He also got to try clam-chowder for the first time & our server thought he was a cutie so she kept bringing him special drinks. He loved all the attention! I was very blessed to get this special time with Matthew my special,artistic, sweet son. Since he was born he has needed a little more of mom's attention & today was just what we both needed! Thank you to the Army for giving us this day,it allowed us to create wonderful memories that will last a lifetime.

In front of the Museum at the beginning of the day

He wanted a picture for his dad in front of the glass Salmon Panel display

Working on his layered Glass tile project

Glass & Water sculpture outside

View from the top of the museum

A 9 year old girl drew this "Shark Attack" then a local artist blew the glass for her.