as we could

the start of summer.  wow.  there were so many changes and things to adapt to for all of us.  i was working part time, which meant the kiddos had to experience a baby sitter, eric was in an out for missions and such, both eric and I were working on school, and then planning for the little road trips that we had to make in a little amount of time.  it seemed nearly impossible to actually enjoy the summer nights and the poolside play.  we survived and enjoyed as much family time as we could.

our family

in may eric and i celebrated 15 years married. with an additional 4 years together.  19 years together.  holy cow.  that is crazy.  i am absolutely in love with this man.  it has not always been easy (is it ever?), but growing, maturing, living life together has been amazing. this particular weekend we were able to go away to pensacola - alone.

 i am so proud of him, so proud of us, so proud of our family.  

get it next time

while eric was gone for most of the first half of the year, the kids and i had to do it on our own.  like we haven't done this before, right?  we got lucky this particular outing with our church!  we got to ZIPLINE!  how cool!  kids and all.  it was my first time ever. have to admit, i was a bit shaky in the knees when i got up there. ha!  ty had NO problem.  in fact he was first to go and jumped so fast i didn't even see him go!  little monkey.  kadence had no problem either and was off the platform in a few seconds.  kambel on the other hand.  poor girl.  she tried and tried, but just couldn't make herself jump!  i swear if i was allowed to push her she would have been ok! she was so disappointed in herself.  she will get it next time!

having a sister

catherine rae finally came home from afghanistan in may.  there were a ton of people there to greet her, i know she was overwhelmed.  it had been a long time since we all saw each other.  it was a great mini reunion and so amazing to see my baby sister.  nothing more special than having a sister.

baby brother ben and myself

catie coming off the plane

formation before release

waiting for release

got my moment with her

this old dog

sadly, in april we decided to let our 13 year old baby go.  buster was with us from the beginning.  he was the first baby eric and i had all the way back in hawaii.  it was so hard, but we knew it was the best thing for him.  i am so thankful for the memories with buster boy. he has licked many of my tears away and kept me safe through many deployments.  even when human kiddos started coming into his world one by one, he was gentle and patient.  he put up with me freaking out over his hair and his messy bed.  i love this old dog.

the morning we said good-bye

in the window

finally made it to kindergarten round up for ty david gray. k.i.n.d.e.r.g.a.r.t.e.n. wow!  my little buddy, my tyster the myster. all ready for big school now.  can't believe all three are actually going to be in school now.  we got the grand tour of the school and ty got to take his very first bus ride.  note his face in the window.  

weeks of therapy

 here is another fabulous idea in the gray household.  again - eric's fault.  eric thought it would be a wonderful experience to have a few ducklings, raise them until they were big enough and let them free in a pond to live a wonderful life.  i don't know why, but at some point i went along with it.  eric built a coop of some sort, with a little swimming pool and all the fixin's.  it was quite the responsibility for the kiddos.  play with them after school, keep them fed, and lock them up at night so God knows what wouldn't eat them.

well.

something ate them.  each one.  one by one.  each on a different day.  good lord.  what a dramatic mess.  oh ya, eric was in school for all of the latter part.  the kids have recovered after weeks of therapy.  :)