The decorations in the dining room
Decorations in the kitchen
the cake I made...it looks red but it was more strawberry
Lulu thinking about her wish
Blowing the candle out
Enjoying the cake
Typical Lulu face
The napkins
Opening presents
Above is Lauren's Bday movie. Pictures from the past 2 years. I can't believe that 2 years have passed. There will be pictures from opening presents and other stuff later on in the day. Right now, please enjoy the movie!
So yesterday was my 29th birthday. I actually had a fun day even though I was missing my husband terribly. I took Lulu to lapsit and Gabbie to swim lessons. We then went to Macaroni Grill and had lunch with some of the ladies that I volunteer with at the Battalion. It was nice to sit and visit because so often when we get together it's all about the business. In the evening the girls and I went to dinner with our friends Herlinda and Alexis and then Gabbie's mom, stepfather, and 2 stepsisters. It was a lot of fun and we had a good time. Now we just have to get through Lulu's birthday and the countdown is on!!
My bday cake that melted some on the kitchen counter!
Here I am embarassed that we are at Chili's and they are singing to me - we had almost EVERY server...and they were SOOOOO LOUD!!!!!
Trying to figure out who put them up to it - It was Gabbie and her mom...they worked together
Enjoying my milkshakeSo this post is mostly for Robbie whenever he checks out the blog again. This past week we ALMOST had a typhoon. We definitely got the outskirt bands of it but it just happened to turn southwest before it hit us. Thank Goodness. Before I knew that it wasn't going to be as severe as they thought I had already put the outside furniture away and strapped it down on the back porch. I have since figured out that I could just pile it all on the back porch and it won't go anywhere. I stood on the back porch during the worst of the wind and you couldn't even feel it. I guess that's a good thing. Oh well, now I have to unpack all of this mess!! Enjoy the laugh!
The storage closet
The backporchSo the last weeks of July have been somewhat uneventful. We have been continuing swim lessons with Gabbie now taking some. I got the flu for a week. That was fun trying to be a mommy and being sick. Don't recommend it. Trust me it was bad. Thank goodness I was able to have the girls spend the night away one night to regroup myself. Lulu got ANOTHER ear infection - so yes, I will be speaking with the doctor at her next drs appointment about that situation. The good news as July ends is that we are now down to counting weeks till Daddy comes home. Please pray for us and him. Pray that the he and his marines continue to finish their mission but continue to be safe. As we start to count weeks, I get more nervous that we've made it this far. Please just keep them in your prayers. Pray our family. With Robbie coming, it brings change to rountines. Some of us handle this well - some of us don't. Just pray that we can adjust easily and well being a family all in the same place. We handled it great last time - I know we'll do great again! Enjoy the pictures below!
Lulu posing in my shoes!
Cheese
This is one of my favorite of her looks
Jamming on the guitars
Sweet pic of Mommy & Lulu
One of my favorites
She looks like she's going to school
Her new favorite thing: Her backpack
For Robbie: I rearranged the downstairs
See I think we have more room now!Lulu LOVES to swim. She has had swim lessons for the past month and now I can barely get her out of the pool. Below our some pictures that her swim instructor took with an underwater camera. She and Gabbie are getting ready to start another session of lessons. Hopefully, they will continue to have fun. I can't believe that it is already the middle of July. I guess when you are having fun at the pool the summer flies by! For us, that's a good thing!!
Lulu working on her tummy float
Lulu putting her turtle in the water during the turtle bubble song
Lulu jumping off the wall - one of her favorite things to do
Lulu's face under the water - we are proud that she already keeps 
To get her underwater - we have a deal. For every time she goes, 
Lulu and only other student in her last class, Alex. They loved climbing the stairs I hope that everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! Ours started a little sad as we were supposed to have a video conference with Robbie but he got stuck in a sandstorm and could not make it to the location of where it was supposed to be held. Needless to say, there were some tears in our house. Later that afternoon, we decided to go over to the Kadena Air base where they were having a 4th of July festival. Gary Sinse (from CSI: NY and Forest Gump) and the Lt. Dan Band were playing. They were awesome. One of the best bands that I have heard in awhile. They played for 2 1/2 hours straight. The girls danced most of the time and then we watched fireworks. It was a great ending to a somewhat sad day!! We hope that you had a great 4th!!!
The Lt. Dan Band
Gary Sinse rockin out on "Sweet Home Alabama"
Gary Sinse talking to the crowd
Jammin out
Lulu and Gabbie - this one is for you Daddy!!
Gabbie and her friend, Alexis
Me and Lulu 
This child danced the entire time the band played. She was soo funny 
Fireworks
The next day - we are still tired
Today, we went with my friend Erin to Ryukyu Mura. It is a place that is set up to replica what an old Okinawan Village would have looked like. It was very interesting to see the different buildings and houses. Completely different from what we have known growing up. At the end, we dressed up in traditional dress and took some pictures. Hope you enjoy!
