Training Camp is OVER!

Training Camp was officially over last Wednesday. Yahooooo! 28 days is a really long time to be apart. During this time apart I constantly think of wives who have husbands in the Military. To them 28 days would be a blessing. So in the toughest of times I think about those Military wives and pray for them. I also have sympathy for single moms. Being a single parent is so incredibly hard and I only have a taste of what it must feel like. Thank you Jesus for giving me the strength and patience to get through each day. I am so thankful you are my refuge and my strong hold. I am so thankful my husband is home and I know Caleb is so happy to have his Daddy home... we missed Dylan so much.

We made a banner to welcome Daddy Home. It was Caleb's first time to paint.

It was messy but he loved it!

So happy to have Daddy home!

Daddy wrestles way better then Mommy

We had our first home pre-season game. Dylan had some great playing time and we won! Even though pre season games don't count, it is always nice to win!

Dylan's mom came to visit. Caleb really enjoyed his time with his Mom Mom. It is always nice having her here.

Carolina In My Mind...

Last week Caleb and I boarded a plane to Raleigh, North Carolina to visit our dear friend's the Thomas's. They just moved there in July because Josh is in grad school at UNC. It was really fun to be with them and see their world in Chapel Hill. Caleb LOVED being with all of them, especially Jackson, he constantly was trying to touch him, hug him or kiss him. I loved being able to have so much quality time with my sweet friend Emily (it was also great to see Josh too) who is just such a wonderful person to be around. In the past four years we have gone from co-workers, to people who get together occasionally to neighbors who could look right into each other's windows. Over the past two years Josh & Emily have become two of our very dearest friend's and we truly consider them family. We have walked through engagements, marriage and new babies together. We have truly experienced what it means to really live life with one another and support each other through some of the hardest times in our lives. It truly was a 'dream' getting to live so close to such good friends and was truly heart breaking when they moved. BUT we continue to live life with one another and look forward to walking through more seasons of life together. Here are some pictures from our visit...

Caleb loving on Jackson

We went to a Children's Museum in downtown Chapel Hill. Caleb LOVED playing with the trucks.

Caleb playing with Jackson...

I just love this lil face! Such a cutie!

The Thomas Fam

Jackson and Caleb in their matching outfits

Training Camp

We are on day 19 of Training Camp and have 8 more days to go..... it has been a challenging time for us to be apart so much (Dylan has only had one day off so far) but we are thankful that Dylan has this opportunity and job! He is having a good camp so far and had a good amount of playing time as Center and Left Guard in the game last Saturday. We are able to attend practice and then the kiddos are able to run on the field with their Daddy's. It is really sweet to see the kids reunited with their Dad's. I love watching Caleb get so excited about seeing Dylan and am thankful for any amount we get with him, even if it's only for 15 minutes!

So excited to be with his Daddy!

Keeping Busy

While Daddy is away at Training Camp, Caleb and I have kept busy keeping ourselves entertained with lots of play dates and activities. We spent two weeks in Indianapolis and it was a wonderful time being with family & friends. We are so grateful for our community there!

Our dear friends Rochelle & Maryn invited us to join them at The Indianapolis Zoo. We had a great time seeing all of the animals and then finishing at the Splash Park in the Zoo. It was a great way to cool off!

Our sweet friend's Lydia & Sylvie invited us to go with them to The Children's Museam which was a blast! It was Caleb's first time and he had so much fun. It is always so great getting Sylvie and Caleb together because they are only two hours apart.... we like to call them the twins! They are so cute!

I was able to get a babysitter so that I could go out with some girlfriend's to dinner. It was a wonderful break for me as well as a wonderful time to connect with wonderful friends. Can I say wonderful one more time???

We utilized the Zionsville Splash Park as much as we could!

This is Caleb's best buddy Dane, they are only two days apart. We were able to play with Dane 3 times while we were in Indy. They always have so much fun together being boys. They play so well together and are just so stinkin cute. I really enjoyed watching them play together as well as spend some great time with Dane's Mommy Karen. It is so sad leaving Indy when Caleb has such a fun friend...

While I was home our good friend's Ryan and Julie Diem had their baby girl, Ashlyn Ann. I was so EXCITED that she came before I had to leave. She is such a sweet, precious, beautiful baby girl.

On our way up to Detroit I stopped in Muncie to spend some time with my good friend from college, Erica and her four kiddos. She has four kids under the age of five so Caleb had a blast being around all of the fun. He definitely liked lovin' on Izzy.. he just kept following her around trying to hug and kiss her. It was pretty cute.

It is so tough leaving the incredible community we have in Indianapolis.... but we are excited for what this season holds for us and what God is going to do in and through us as we enter into another season in Detroit!

Digging Through Trash....

Lately I have been having to dig in our trash to find things that I need. Maybe every 16 month old is like this or maybe my son is just a tad O.C.D but Caleb is obsessed (obsessed isn't even the right word) with putting things in trash cans, on shelves, in baskets, ect. He also has a thing for taking everything out of drawers and placing those items in other drawers, trash cans, laundry baskets, ect. He likes order and likes things to be put away. Some days I get pretty frustrated as he seems to do all of this so, so fast but most days I laugh, especially after he is in bed and I start picking the house up and am able to notice all of the ways he has left his 'mark' around the house. I have started taking pictures as I find stuff because I think it is so hilarious. I finally had to buy locks for our kitchen trash cans because he threw the T.V remote away and we think it got sent to the dump! Below are some of my findings.....

Our coffee table has a little door, I opened it to find something and behold I found this:

I had been putting some of his clothes that don't fit anymore away in a container but Caleb decided he needed to help too. I think at one point he had taken all of the clothes out, put them back in the container and then loaded all of his books on top.

The other night I couldn't find the monitor. Here is where I found it. In the bottom of our bedroom trash along with a pair of my shoes a card and my grandmother's mirror.

This morning I went to the bathroom to find this, a People Magazine, two candles and the roll of toilet paper. No matter what Daddy says, Caleb should know by now that People Magazine's DO NOT belong in the trash.

I found these treasures in our bathroom trash: a tube of sunscreen, a bottle of lotion, a toothbrush and a bunch of bandaids.

This was in his bedroom trash: a whole package of diapers, a puzzle piece and a pair of shorts.

As I was putting laundry away Caleb decided it would be fun to clean out a drawer that is rarely visited: my lingerie drawer. Oh dear..

Here he is with underwear around his neck. Yikes.

I PROMISE that I do watch my son. He is such a lil tornado though, constantly on the move, constantly getting things out as well as running from thing to thing. Have I mentioned that he also likes to throw things over the balcony? Awesome. He keeps me on my toes!

Stop #3 Pflugerville, Texas

Our final stop in Texas was Pflugerville. This is where Dylan grew up so we always have lots of people to see and things to do and food to eat. Pflugerville is a suburb of Austin and where Dylan's mom and step dad live. We always have a great time doing lots of fun things, eating incredible food and spending time with wonderful people.

Here we are with Dylan's grandma

Dylan's Mom and Step dad are always very gracious in opening their home to a cookout where we invite a good number of people that we want to see. It is always a great time of seeing people that Dylan has been friends with since he was little. Below are two very special families, The Snow's and The Lawrence's.

Here we are at the State Capital

Dylan was a pretty proud Papa

We went to Zilker Park and rode the train

Had snow cones to cool us off

Here we are at Barton Springs which is a Spring fed swimming hole and over 900 feet long. It has a natural rock and gravel bottom and stays at 68 degrees year round. It is one of Austin's famous landmarks. It was a wonderful way to cool off. Caleb loved it!

Caleb LOVED Dot...

Josh (Dylan's best friend from college) and his wife Bess drove from Dallas to come see us!

The next day we floated the river and then ate lunch with some other good friends, The Fuller's.

The Gandy/Mock Family

It is tradition to eat at Chuy's. An AMAZING Mexican Restaurant! So YUMMY!

Caleb & Liam were best buds. Liam was so incredibly sweet with Caleb and shared all of his toys with him. Caleb had a great time playing with him. They are so cute together!