Back from Hawaii.

After 24 hours of traveling back to DC with no sleep or make-up, we met John McCain and his wife, Cindy, at the Baltimore airport! It was a pretty exciting way to end our trip.

Saying good-bye to Grandma Diane.

We took Grandma Diane to the airport today. We are so thankful that she was able to watch the boys for us while Tom and I went to Hawaii. They had such a fun time with her and made some great memories.

Pictures from our Hawaii trip.

The view from our balcony.

Our walk on the beach.

We ate shaved ice almost every day.

Walking around near the hotel.

Dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.

Tom went surfing.

Even though it was hard to leave Hawaii, we couldn't wait to get back to our two boys at home.

From Afghanistan to Hawaii.

Tom made it home safety from Afghanistan. For those of you who don't know, Tom is a Prowler pilot in the Navy. He was in Afghanistan for a few months. We're proud of the work he does, and we're so happy he's back.

Tom was only home for about 5-6 days from Afghanistan before having to leave for Hawaii to accept an award as the Reserve FTS Junior Officer of the Year. It's a pretty great honor. What's even greater is that I got to go to Hawaii with him!

As I write this, we're sitting in our hotel room overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It's beautiful. We're having a great time. We wish our two boys could be here, but it has been nice to reconnect just the two of us. We've been laying on the beach, working out, and eating pinnapple and shaved ice. We went to a luau and tomorrow we're going to hike Diamondhead. My mom is watching the boys, and they are having a good time with her. We'll be home in a few days and then we're taking the boys to Hershey Park in Pennsylvania for a little family vacation. DJ is excited to ride the rollar coasters. He's just tall enough where he'll be able to ride a few of them. And they have lots of kid rides and fun things to do. We are having a great time, but we miss the boys and can't wait to see them.

Tom comes home from Afghanistan today!

*picture of us waiting in the Ready Room for Tom to arrive*

*video clip of Tom landing the jet at Andrews Air Force Base*

*video clip of Tom arriving home*

*picture of DJ with his first loose tooth*

DJ has a loose tooth! It's one of the bottom lower teeth.

He's been eating lots of apples, hoping it'll fall out soon.

*video clip of DJ playing basketball today*

*video clip of Noah with the nose sucker*

*video clip of me with DJ and Noah*

Here is a picture of us reading together.

It's just about naptime, so Noah is kind of grouchy.

Today we had cake and ice cream to celebrate Grandma Diane's birthday.

*picture of Noah after celebrating Grandma Diane's birthday*

Noah decided to play peek-a-boo with his chocolate covered hands. He was a mess!

*picture of DJ celebrating Grandma Diane's birthday*

I am SO thankful for my mom being able to come out and help with the boys this past month while Tom has been away. The boys have especially enjoyed the extra attention. And I've appreciated having an extra set of hands, eyes, and ears around. We've kept busy, and I think we've worn my mom out! She has definitely helped make these weeks go by quickly. Tom - We miss you! I took these video clips today. I think DJ is going through a growth spurt because he has had a bottomless stomach these past few days! DJ and my mom made fruit cookies that don't have any sugar and are made from 100% whole wheat flour. He loves them. And Noah likes them too. Noah is doing new things everyday and he understands so much. Noah is saying DJ now, but he says it "Dee Dah" and is always yelling for DJ. It's very cute. If I can't get Noah to eat something, I just say "DJ is eating it" and he'll look over to see DJ eating something and then Noah will eat it. I hope that lasts!

*video clip of DJ enjoying the best part of making cookies*

*video clip of DJ and Grandma Diane baking cookies

while Noah wanders around the kitchen*

*video clip of Noah keeping busy while Grandma Diane and DJ bake cookies*

*video clip of DJ and Noah having fun together*

*video clip of DJ doing a science experiment*

Here is a video clip of DJ doing a science experiment. Tom is the one who usually teaches science, but since he's been gone, I'm trying to help them keep caught up. It's DJ's favorite subject.

*picture of Tom and the crew after one of their flights*

Here is a picture that Tom sent to us. This is a flag that he flew for DJ. He'll be able to bring this flag home and give it to DJ. He's also flying one for Noah. Tom is doing well. Not much I can say, because there's not much I know! He can't really tell me anything. It sounds like Tom's flying a lot and keeping busy. We are proud of him!

*picture of DJ at Military Police Station field trip*

*picture of DJ with McGruff*

*video clip of DJ and Noah vacuuming*

*video clip of Noah jumping on the couch*

*video clip of Noah getting yogurt*

Day 34

*picture of DJ and another science experiment*

*picture of DJ from today*

Day 33 - Saturday

*picture of DJ doing a science experiment*

*picture of Noah learning to feed himself with a spoon*

*picture of Noah from today*

Day 30

*video clip of Noah saying new words*

*video clip of Saturday, Feb 2nd, 2008 DJ's basketball game*

*picture from Tom*

*picture from Tom*

Here are some pictures from Tom. He said they have about a foot of snow.

Day 25 - It's February!

*picture of the boys*

It's Day 25 since Tom left, not that I'm counting. Tom is doing really well and finally feeling back to himself. He had been sick that first week or so. He's doing a lot of flying and keeping busy. I've realized it's hard to keep everyone posted on how he's doing on a blog because he can't really talk much about what they're doing there. For a while, he wasn't able to check this blog, so I wasn't updating it. But now he can check it again so I'll try to post something each week, short video clips or pictures. I'll do my best Tom! Here is something new that Noah is doing. When DJ is sitting on the floor, Noah goes over to DJ and sits in his lap. Sometimes when DJ and I are sitting on the floor together reading a book or doing something else together, Noah will come over and sit in DJ's lap and not mine! It's pretty funny and pretty cute.

Day 15 - Jenga

*video clip of Jenga game*

Hi Tom! We thought of you today as we played Jenga. DJ said he wished you were here. I do too! Love, Carey

*video clip of Noah giving a high five*

Noah learned a new trick. He can give high fives! Pretty cute.

Day 10 - Snow Day!

*video clip of Noah in the snow*

It snowed about 3-4 inches today. I wish you could be here, Tom!

*video clip of DJ showing off his school room*

Noah watching himself and dad on the computer.

*video clip of Noah watching home movies*

Noah's new favorite thing is to watch himself on home videos. Here he is watching himself and Tom together as they read a Pottery Barn Kids catalogue. I took this video today.

Day Five - Saturday basketball game

*video clip basketball game*
Here are some shots of today's basketball game. Needs to work on the concept of dribbling vs. traveling a little more. But DJ made a shot in today's game! Unfortunately, I didn't get it on film.

Day Four

*video clip of DJ reading*

DJ, who is a Kindergarten homeschooler, is doing his reading for today.

Noah is 16 months old today.

*video clip of Noah*

This is video from today of Noah doing some of his tricks.

Day Two - Happy Birthday Tom!

Day Two - Happy Birthday Tom! I wish we could be together to celebrate your birthday today. I hope you had a good day and sleep well tonight. Good night! Love you!

*video clip of boys singing*

Day One - Tom called!

Day One -
I just got off the phone with Tom! I wish I could say where he's at, but I don't think I'm suppose to write that on a blog. I can say that he's landed, he's safe, he's doing well, and that he's tired. We only talked for a few minutes and now he's off to bed. Sorry I don't have much more to share.

Funny thing DJ said that I do have to share. DJ and Tom were talking. And DJ said, "It's a busy year for us, with you going to Afghanistan and me going to Awanas." Pretty cute. Isn't that funny, that that's his perspective on things. If you don't know what Awanas is, it's a Bible study/group for kids. Through the eyes of a 6 year old!

Highlights from today:

• Got DJ and Noah's well-child exams done. Both healthy kids!
• Took DJ and Noah on a walk to the park with my friend, Heidi, and her four kids.
• It got to 70 degrees today (yes, I said 70!)
• I had 4 different moms and their kids cycle through our house and yard this afternoon/evening. That's what nice weather does around here. Everyone comes out and gets together. It's so nice.
• Got an email from our friends Angie and Troy, from our old small group in Washington State. It's fun to reconnect with old friends.
• I had both boys in bed by 7:40pm!

DJ shows off his Legos.

*video clip of DJ and Legos*

I wanted to show off DJ's talent of putting together Legos. He does a pretty amazing job with following the directions and building these things. He rarely asks for help. He's very detailed and wants to get it exactly right.

Noah plays the piano.

*video clip of Noah playing piano*

A few months ago, DJ started piano lessons. He practices ten minutes a day. When DJ is done practicing, Noah gets a turn. Here's Noah, at 15 months old, on the piano.

Starting a blog and 1st basketball game.

I've decided to start a blog. I think it might be a good way for Tom to see what's going on here while he's in Afghanistan. He leaves in less than a week. And it might be a fun way to better stay in touch with family and friends. I'll try my best to keep this up.

It's Saturday and DJ had his first basketball game of the season. He's on a team of 6-8 year olds at Andrews Air Force Base. They don't keep score, but we think his team won. It was fun to watch them play. He's the youngest, and that's good for him. I'm so glad Tom was able to see a game before he leaves for Afghanistan. We thought he was going to miss the whole season.

*picture of basketball game*