Thursday, August 25, 2011

Just a little update...

I've slacked a little on here simply due to the fact I have run out of ideas :)  Anyhow, things continue to be semi-busy and will pick up here shortly as sports and school starts. I've still been going to crossfit, which I can see is helping tremendously! It will be iffy how much I will be able to go once September comes around because Randy will be working 12's.... Kaitlyn and Kaylee are both masters at their bikes now. I can't believe how much they love riding their bikes! Oh, and the sprinkler and the pool! Both of them start soccer practice next week. We've heard from Kaylee's coach about what time hers is and we have her schedule but not from Kaitlyns' yet. Kaitlyn starts kindergarten in just a little over a week! We saw the class list today and her best friend Bailey is also in her class, I forsee nothing but trouble coming from this. Their first day will be September 6! Kaylee is going to be lost with her gone all day i'm sure. I would love to put Kaylee in preschool but it costs something ridiculas! (really, it's like more than a normal car payment!) Rosalee had her 4 month checkup last week and is doing great. She is just shy of 14 pounds and is 24.41 in long (which surpasses both Kaitlyn's and Kaylee's measurements!). She did great with her shots. The Dr is putting in a referral to go get her heart checked out again since it's been 3 months since they found the murmur. It will still be several weeks before we do this. Randy passed his board and is promotable, now he just has to work on getting more points and he will get promoted! He goes to school back at Ft. Leonardwood mid October through the first week of December. I'm sure we are going to have a blast here by ourselves : /   oh well...  ummmm... I guess that about covers it. We all seveerly miss everyone back home and wish we could come visit or all of you could come visit us NOW :) 

Monday, August 22, 2011

6 months

I can't believe that it has already/only been 6 months since we've been here in Italy. I say it like that because really the time has went quickly but it just sucks so much to know we still have 2 1/2 years here.
:insert super duper sad face:
We will start the celebration and countdown once we reach the half way point around year 1 1/2... till then, :re-insert super duper sad face:

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Kharma

I absolutely believe in kharma. Whether it be good or bad or very crappy, you will always get what's coming to you. I have no doubt about it. Today I smile, and will continue smiling for quite sometime because I know somewhere in the world kharma has carried out its duties. :) oh happy day :)

Friday, August 19, 2011

bike riding fools!

Kaylee got a new bike (super awesome deal for $5! and it's in almost new condition!), and she loves it! She has been riding Kaitlyn's old Diego tricycle since Colorado. We were amazed at her with that little bike and how much she loved it and how quickly she picked up riding it (she zooms on it!). We picked up her new bike and she took off, literally! I could hardly keep up with her. It was like she had been riding a big bike the whole time (it does have training wheels). Both the girls are now bike riding fools, going all around on the sidewalks and in the park. So I thought I would share some pictures and video of the girls and their bike riding history. Enjoy :)



This is Kaitlyn in march 2009 when she first got her Diego bike.


Kaitlyn riding her bike she has now, here in Italy, April 2011.


Kaylee riding her Diego bike, Italy, April 2011.

Here's Kaylee on her new princess bike! Go Kaylee!




Tuesday, August 16, 2011

made you laugh...

Kaylee to Rosalee (while making faces at her): "Rosalee girl, Rosalee girl, Rosalee..." "mom, is Rosalee a girl or a boy?" me: "she's a girl." Kaylee: " ok, Rosalee girl, Rosalee girl, Rosalee... Well I want to call her a boy.... Rosalee boy, Rosalee boy"

Randy was telling Kaitlyn that Mama said that Papa can retire next year and come live with us. Her response, "Awesome! we will wait till Kaylee takes a napand then we can fly to Kentucky and bring him back!"

I asked Kaylee what she wanted to eat for her birthday, she looked at me as if I was completely stupid and said, "uh, cake."

Kaitlyn to Bailey: "you know your mom and dad are younger than my mom and dad?" Bailey: "I know because mine are like 17."

I had Rosalee sitting on my lap naked while I was waiting for the water temp to get right... Kaylee points at Rosalee and laughs, " look at her little super tiny boobies!! hahahaha!"

Monday, August 15, 2011

online vendors part 2

Here are some other folks that sell good stuff...

Camelots Treasures
This lady makes dresses for the american girl dolls. You can either buy something she already has made or she can custom make a doll dress to match your little girls outfit. Her prices are very reasonable as well, most pre-made things being around $13. I had won a contest with her and got a cute little white dress for one of Kaitlyn's dolls and she loves it! It is made so good and has tiny details everywhere. If the girls were more into dressing their dolls I would definetely buy more things from her. Also, the dresses fit dolls that are not the american doll brand (we don't have that type of doll but it fit just fine on another). She sells stuff on Etsy, Facebook, and her website.

(the pic above is the dress Kaitlyn won but that is not her doll...)

Rock-A-Bye Bedding
I absolutely love this lady's work! She makes custom baby bedding, toys, blankets, Mei Tei baby carriers and other things. She had such great reviews so I ordered Rosalee's crib bedding from her. I had a sort of different request for Rosalee's blanket too, but this lady just ran with it and made it awesome! I had sent her about 9 of Randy's favorite fighter shirts to be made into the back of the blanket. The quality is great and everything is so pretty and perfect! We love it! She does her business through Facebook, and I highly reccomend her!.


Luv Bug Babies Boutique
Here is another lady that makes hairbows and ribbon sculptures. I feel the need to reccomend her page because we have several bows from her and they are all well made, and she has thrown in a freebie bow on each order. The only reason I would shy away from buying from her is her prices. Everything seems to be highly overpriced (at least I think so). We only purchased from her because of a sale where some bows were WAY cheaper than what she has up now. Her prices are disapointing because she does make some very cute bows that I would definetly order.


kristas kreations
Well, I can't win 'em all, right? I made the mistake of ordering a custom diaper bag from this girl (I say girl because I come to find out she was still in high school while making and selling this stuff.) On her facebook page she sells now only little things like braclets but when I had ordered from her she was making purses and bags as well as other items. The bag that I received was something equvilant to a 5th graders home Ec project. It was awful. I immediatly contacted her and she apoligized and said I would be refunded fully as soon as she recieved the bag back. I sent it back (with confirmation) and she got it and I never got a refund. After continuous emails back and forth promising a refund still, she never followed through, and now has quit responding to my emails at all. BUYER BEWARE! I definetly do not reccomend this seller because of quality and buisness ethics.

Sunshines Sweets
This is an awesome cake lady! She makes custom cakes (in the Northern KY area)  and can design almost anything you can imagine or want for a cake. I ordered Kaitlyn's 5th birthday cake, and some cupcakes from her and they were amazing. I sent her a picture of something we would like and she made it EXACTLY. Not only did the cake look so cool but much to my surprise it tasted just as good! And the cupcakes that she made were a huge hit with all the kids. To top off her awesome cakes she has awesome prices. I paid the same for Kaitlyn's little petshop cake and 10 cupcakes that I paid for Kaylee's spongebob cake in Colorado from Walmart. Can't beat that!


Friday, August 12, 2011

online vendors part 1

Here are 4 people that I have bought some things from over the last couple years. These are all internet based business's that I have found through others or through facebook. I'll tell ya what I purchased, if it was worth it, if I would recommend others to buy from them, and hopefully a link to their site/page...

Pink Beret Designs
This lady is awesome. She is a stay at home mom, wife to an active duty Army officer, and makes awesome, high quality military things using uniforms. She makes purses, wallets, diaper bags, pillows, stockings, garters, wreaths and many many other items. A few years ago I bought from her a big ACU purse, checkbook wallet, makeup bag, and recently bought 2 deployment pillows. I cannot tell you how many compliments I got on that darn purse! And besides my coach wallet, that ACU wallet was my favorite of all time. To top it off the stuff was made so great. I used the heck out of the purse (only reason I don't use it now is that I don't want to draw even more attention to myself as an American in Europe...) and I carried so many things in it and it kept its shape and nothing ever went wrong with it. I absolutely reccommend others who are into this type of stuff check her out and buy from her, either for yourselves or as gifts to others!

FlyBelly Maternity
Here is another stay at home mom with a business. She sells fashionable maternity clothes through her website, facebook and Ebay. I purchased all my maternity clothes through her on ebay (much better prices, and she's willing to negotiate) and loved everything. I definetly suggest that those in need of nice maternity clothes check her out!


Punky N Munky
Hair bow sculptures are the focus of this page. There are ALOT of folks out there making hairbows and these ribbon sculptures but I guarantee that none are made as well as these. I bought several character bows about 3 years ago and the girls still wear them now. In fact, today Kaitlyn has in the Rapunzel and Kaylee the Tinkerbell. If you've seen some of my pics with the girls, they are usually wearing a bow from her. You can find her stuff on facebook, etsy, and artfire. BTW, she does custom orders too, I was able to pick the color hair of some of them and for the karate one the color belt.  Absolutely worth getting stuff from her for your princess!



Army Wife Rustic Signs
This lady makes the cutest signs. Another great military spouse to buy from, unfortunetly she is not taking orders right now due to their current PCS. I got our family name sign from her earlier this yer and it was inexpensive and well made, I love it! Stalk her on facebook and order something when she starts back up!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

ten years since High school...

It has been ten years since I graduated from high school. I remember having to give a response for the popular question, "Where and what will you be doing ten years from now?", I cannot remember for the life of me though what my response was. I do know that I in no way thought I would be married for 8 years, have 3 kids, be a veteran of the Army, live in Italy etc etc etc. So I thought it would be fun to take a look back at the last 10 years...

2001: Graduated. Worked at Kroger, and Kroger again. Attended classes at Thomas Moore College. Moved into my first place, and back home again :)  Got my first tattoo.

2002: Worked at Kroger, Toyota, and Kroger again. Got another tattoo. Attended classes at Thomas Moore College, dropped out of Thomas Moore College :(  , attended classes at Northern Kentucky Business College, dropped out of classes at NKBC :(   Gave up and raised my hand to be a Soldier...

2003: Went to (had the best time ever) and graduated basic training at Fort Leonardwood, MO. Did home town recruiting and took leave before moving to Hawaii. Moved to Hawaii. Was COMPLETELY depressed (crazy right) and homesick right off the bat. Met Randy, fell in love, was no long sad. moved from temp barracks to my barracks room to our first house. Had the times of our lives at the beach. Had 'family' visit us in Hawaii. Watch as my husband left for a year long deployment :(

2004: Went home on leave. Got another tattoo. Deployed to Afghanistan... took leave with randy, met up in Kuwait and flew home together. Went back to Afghanistan as Randy went back to Iraq :(

2005: Got promoted to SGT. Grandma Gripshover passed away while I was still deployed, and dad had a heart attack :'(  ended deployment and went back to Hawaii. Randy awaited me with my welcome home present Lolita, the world's most awesome dog. Moved into our 2nd house (technically Randy was already moved in at this point.) Took leave home. My brother visited us in Hawaii!! Got moved to a different duty station, (still Hawaii, just different post...) Found out I was prego! Started the process of getting out of the Army. Got out of the Army. Moved back to Kentucky. Worked at Kroger. Went to school to become a Realtor :/

2006: Kaitlyn was born!! Worked  Attempted to work at Coldwell Banker West Shell. Moved into our house in Kentucky.  Worked at Citi. Joined the Army Reserves.

2007: Worked at Citi. Went to an Army school in NJ. Got promoted to SSG :) Found out I was prego again!

2008: Had to get rid of my most favorite dog, lolita :( Worked at Citi. Kaylee was born!! Randy joined back to Active duty so we started plans to move again... Started our journey to Colorado.

2009: Moved into our first house in Colorado at Fort Carson. Papa came to visit. We went back to KY for Kaitlyns bday, then again for the birth of miss Hailey :) Watched as my husband left for another deployment. Moved myself and the kiddos back to KY. (crazy process!) Randy came home on leave, then went back to Afghanistan :(  Kailtyn started preschool at the YMCA.

2010: Moved back to Colorado to our 2nd house at Fort Carson. (another crazy process). went back to KY to visit and to keep my sanity. Randy came home!! Papa came to visit.Found out we were going to be moving to Italy. Kaitlyn started preschool on Fort Carson. Found out we were prego again! Went home for a visit again. Packed up all our stuff again, moved in with friends. Moved back to KY again while Randy went to school in MO. My obligation with the Army finaly came to a close. 

2011: Moved to Italy...Kaitlyn started Preschool yet again. Mama and Papa came to visit. Rosalee was born!! The Larson's came to visit. Rosalee got admitted to hospital at 6 wks old :( .... and here we are today. Rosalee is 4 months old! Kaylee turns 3 in just a few days! and my baby Kaitlyn starts Kindergarten in a few short weeks!!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

you're getting on my nerves!!! (no, not you)

Things that are driving me crazy lately…


-the intermittent internet access

-never ending piles of clean clothes to be put up (with no where to put them…)


-bug on the ceiling that I killed and it is still there.

-crazy mini-rose bush that is wild and taking over

-dishes that won’t wash themselves

-the endless amount of dog hair that I pick up, sweep up, or vacuum up on a daily basis

-the doorbell/ door for kids to ring /knock on ( I have told all the kids now that only adults are allowed to knock or ring the door bell. No kids are allowed unless it's an emergency. We'll see how long that lasts.


-toys that never find their way back to their home (the toybox)

-belly fat that just wont disappear
(sorry to dissapoint, no picture haha.)

-diapers, diapers, diapers

-pictures that keep falling down (always in the middle of the night and scare me to death)

Yes, I have a lot of things that irritate me right now but truly life is good (besides being in Italy), and I am blessed to have all that I have. Three gorgeous daughters, a hardworking husband that provides for us, a roof over our heads, and the best friends and family anyone could ever hope to have!

*Side note* If there is anything at all that anyone reading this blog would like to read more about, (i.e. my hospital experiance, a day in the life of the girls etc) ANYTHING, please let me know because I am running low on ideas! Actually I could come up with tons of things to write about and go on and on but it's probably not stuff anyone would care to read! So let me know please!!!

Sunday, August 7, 2011

comical Kaylee :)

I love my girls!! They never fail at making me laugh :)  Here are some things that Kaylee has said in the past few days to make me laugh :)

  • The girls and I went to the bowling alley to get pizza and I gave Kaylee the buzzer. I said "kaylee, let me know when the buzzer goes off." she look at it and says," ok mom but how do I turn it on?"
  • Kaylee "One time at my school my teacher said something annnnnnnd.... I'm a dog."
  • Kaylee: "what is this?" me: "a leash." Kaylee: " is this my leash from when I was a puppy and dad would walk me?"
  • Kaylee: "where is the damn thing??, I know the damn thing is here, now where is it?"
  • me :" we have to make the bed good today and straighten up because dad will be home today. what else do we have to do?" Kaylee: and we need to punch him and kick him..."

Saturday, August 6, 2011

here's some help guys...

Jennifer and I have compiled a list for you husbands out there. Please read these, agree to them, understand them, and deal with them so we can all be happy :)

  • All woman are a bit crazy, some at different levels, deal with it and move on.
  • If you get yelled at for spending too much money, it's not a good idea to look at more stuff to buy.
  • No matter what, you are wrong. Admit it, say you're sorry, and things will be a heck of a lot better for everyone.
  • Sometimes it's a good idea to walk away from the video game.
  • It is possible to use less than 6 different glasses/cups in one day.
  • If you put a drink on the floor, you can't get mad at a kid for knocking it over.
  • Public displays of affection, (i.e., hand holding, hugging, saying I love you or I miss you) is OKAY and preferred by 99% of woman. This WILL make her smile and be happy.
  • If your wife is smiling and happy then you will likely be smiling and happy :)
  • We love it when we don't have to pick up dog poop or take out trash!
  • Putting dirty clothes in the washer and turning it on does not count as doing laundry. There are several steps that must follow for that to be a score for you.
  • When we say we don't care... we really do.
  • It is okay to spend more than 1 1/2 minutes on a task that your wife asks you to do.
  • If you buy something expensive, maintain it. Don't just use it and figure it's gonna crap out and want to buy another one.
I do want to put this out there that these are not necessarily things that either of our husbands do or don't do.  :) this is just in general things that we notice.

Friday, August 5, 2011

really? a 5 yr old should just be learning this???

We went to Kaitlyn and Kaylee's well child visit/ health assesments appointment today and here are some question the doctor asked the girls that surprised me, (because I can't believe this is all that is expected and because it seems like this stuff is really... I don't know...too easy for even their ages?? Am I wrong??"

Kaitlyn (5 yrs old, going into kindergarten)
"Do you know your colors?"
"do you know your numbers?"
"do you know the alphabet?"
"do you know your body parts?"

Kaylee (soon to be 3yrs old)
"do you know your colors?"
"can you count to 3"
"do you know where your heart is?"
to me "does she speak in 3-4 word phrases?"  <---- this one seemed the most silly to me! Anyone that knows Kaylee know that she will carry on a regular conversation with most any adult!

Kaitlyn is in the 87th percentile for her height
Kaylee is in the 95th!!! percentile for her height
We have either some supermodels or WMBA stars on our hands!
The best news of all was that neither of them needed any shots, Kaitlyn is good until age 10 (besides flu shots of course), and Kaylee until age 4. woo hoo!

Alos, the instructor posted our first workout for todays crossfit class... doesn't look all that bad, but we shall see... (and it says 'for time' , I'm not sure what that means...)
Run 400m

then 21-15-9 Reps of:
Squat
Pushup
Deadlift
Finish with 400 meter run

Thursday, August 4, 2011

I am I fit for crossfit??

The answer to that is heck no. But that's why I'm doing it. I am still about 10 lbs heavier than my preprego self and nowhere close to fitting in my before clothes. In fact I'm several pant sizes bigger right now than iwas when randy got home last year and that really ticks me off because I worked sooo hard the year he was gone.
Well something has got to change because I really do not want to buy new winter clothes because I'm too fat, rather should be buying new winter clothes because I look great and need some Italian fashions. I am signed up for a crossfit class that starts tomorrow and is an hour long on Monday's, Tuesday's, Thursday's,and Fridays. There is no reason or excuse for me to not get back in shape and looking good and it all starts tomorrow. Ill let everyone now tomorrow if I was able to do it all and if I'm able to move afterwards! Wish me luck!!... And if anyone wants to checkout what exactly crossfit is,you can check out their facebook page, crossfit Vicenza (I will add the link later when im not on the iPad)

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

why the problem with pain meds Italy?????

I don't really know where to start. After my c-section at the local Italian hospital, San Bortolo, I was weary to say the least about having any medical/dental work done while in this country. However, after my visit to the post dental clinic I realized I needed to get some things taken care of before they get worse. Unfortunetly they do not have enough appointment spaces to see spouses at the clinic on post. I delayed making an initial appointment with an Italian dentist because I just was not sure how it would go. After getting a reccomendation from the post clinic and another spouse having a successful time there, I went ahead and made my appointment.
The initial checkup was weird, but fine. They confirmed the same cavities that had been identified a few weeks prior and we set up my first appointment to come back and have a cleaning done as well as get started with the first cavity/filling.
So, today was the day. I told Randy how nervous I was that after I got the shot in my mouth that I wouldn't be able to explain to them that it wasn't enough or whatnot (the shot itself is not big deal to me, hell I have 18 holes in my ear, have had my tongue pierced and have 3 tattoos).
Randy dropped me off at the street (small dead end) and left and I walked there but the gate was still shut since they were not back from their lunch break. I was finaly let inside and taken immediatly back to the room and laid back. There was only the dentist, 1 assistant, and myself there at this time. The assistant started getting things ready and I asked, to confirm, if we were doing one filling and a cleaning. She said yes. She put the green rubber thing across my mouth (which hurt so bad in itself when she tightened whatever metal it was holding it on...) then the dentist sat down behind my head, grabbed some tools (i'm not a dentist and I wont pretend to know what this stuff is called ) and started picking away at my tooth.
I tried to wave at them and mutter something (as much as possible with my mouth wide open,that thing over it, and his hands there) to ask if they were just looking at my tooth before giving my the shot. Well, they could have cared less that I was trying to get their attention. I continued to say "stop" and "get this off please" (haha, yes I was still polite as I was starting to freak out!). The dentist however continued to pick at my tooth and then .... holy shit. Seriously he picked up whatever tool/drill whatnot and started away at my tooth.
I can't even begin to explain the excrutiating pain that I was feeling as well as all the crazy thoughts that were going through my head.
Have you ever watched the horror movie 'The Dentist' ?? I have, several times. All I kept thinking in my head was that I somehow ended up in this movie.  Click here to see the trailer (which is no where nar as bad as the rest of the movie) of the 1996 film The Dentist
As I continued to get worked on and continued to wave my hands for them to stop, they just continued. Seriously now, I am not making this up. All the assistant kept saying was ''just breath, just breath", and her and the dentist spoke several times back and forth in Italian (damn me for not learning more Italian).  I kept my eyes clenched shut so I really had no idea what was going on at any time other than what I felt and neither of them felt the need at anytime let me know what was going on. In the midst of all this tears were streaming down my face and the assistant continuously used the suction thing in the corner of my eye to dry them (which I also waved off but do think she cared??), and once the tears ran down into my ears she even sucked them dry. I know. I know. This sounds absurd. But the stupidity does not even stop there.
Once there were done and they made the chair sit back up and took the thing off my mouth, I blurted out "your crazy! I am done!" Oh my, the dentist obviously didn't understand what I meant and said "yes your filling is done, don't bite down, we will do the cleaning next, go ahead and rinse."
I moved my legs to floor and said "no, I don't want the cleaning, I am done. That hurt so bad." The two started to converse again in Italian and the dentist said, "I do not believe that that hurt. I use this same procedure with babies and they are fine. Using a shot would have been ridiculi (he meant ridiculas). That could not have hurt." My reaction was a stunned face, "You are crazy, I know what hurts and that was awful, I am done." I was seriously an emotional /nervous wreck at this point. And again, I am not making this up!
I got up and started over to get my purse to leave, the dentist left the room shaking his head saying something in Italian and the assistant actually said to me, "okay I will make you next appointment and we do cleaning then." I looked at her bewildered, chuckled and said "you are also crazy, i am not coming back." She said "Okay, you call for appointment."
I left.
Are you in shock right now??? I am still in shock and pain of course! I can't believe that that happened and I can't believe that I didn't do something else like get up and just force myself out of there with the crap on my mouth and all.  I don't know...

Monday, August 1, 2011

Kaitlyns (okay, and my...) addiction

Kaitlyns and I were playing with her Littlest Petshop stuff today and she wanted to line all her pets up (as is neccessary anytime we play with these things). So we lined them all up in several rows based on whether they are a dog, cat, bunny, farm animal, zoo animal, flying thing, water/reptile thing, or rodent like. Well, holy moly. I noticed what started as a simply little thing that Kaitlyn liked to play with had turned into a serious addiction for her. And quite honestly, me too :).  Here's a list of the ridiculasness....
  • 117 animals (yup, that is sad. and if you ask Kaitlyn if she has an animal she will know and she will probably be able to tell you how many of that specific animal as well as where/when she got it...)
  • 3 fakies from the dollar general...
  • 5 animals attached to something from Mc'ds..
  • 10 Teeny tiniest Pets
  • 3 houses
  • 6 houses for the teeny tiniest pets
  • 8 stuffed pets
  • two shirts, one dress, a pair of shoes and multiple undies...
  • an umbrella
  • 1 necklace
  • 7 canvas paintings
  • bedding set
  • bike helmet and ringer
  • two purses
  • backpack
  • lunch bag
  • tote bag
  • toothbrush holder
  • bathroom sign
  • stepstools
  • multiple books and coloring books
  • halloween outfit
  • 2 board games
  • an ice pack
  • placemat
ummm, yeah, craziness. I believe that may be it. How absurd it that lol.
To top it off I asked Kaitlyn today if she had enough or if she needed more stuff and her reply was, "I still need the coo-coo clock, rug, annnnnnd... well I wanna fill my whole room up with them!!!!" 

birthdays/ holidays...

Birthdays and other important holidays are bound to be a huge bummer for Randy and I and all our family back home but I am determined to make sure the girls still have great ones!

Kaylee's birthday plans are well underway!
-the location is booked, movie theater on post, we will be watching Tangled (or Rapunzel as Kaylee chose it)
-since her birthday is on a Saturday, she gets to have her party on the same day (huge plus because different days is way confusing for little ones)
-I've alredy received all her presents in the mail (just need to find a time when she's not around me--which is never--to wrap them)
-made out all the invitations (just need to hand them all out - and hope the kids give them to their parents :\ )
-have a super ton of decorations thanks to the mama and papa :)
-have goodie bags personally made up for each kiddo.... thanks again to mama and papa :)
-I still have to figure out where I'm going to get the hillium (sp?) balloons blown up and get more balloons to have on the floor at the house (birthday tradition is to have the house decorated and balloons galore when the girls wake up), and I need to get baking supplies to make her cake for the house (she has choosen the big top cupcake frosted like a pig, lol, we will see how that goes ), and I need to order her cake.

Other than having some of the most important people in Kaylee's life on the wrong side of the ocean, she should have a blast!

As for other holidays... Mine and Randys' 8th anniversary will be in Oct but he will be getting ready to leave for school the next day or so....Halloween- all 3 girls already have their outfits picked out (and they happen to be ones we already have! super yay!) Kaitlyn is going to be the Littlest Petshop monkey, Kaylee is going to be Tinkerbell, and Rosalee is also going as Tinkerbell! For Thanksgiving Randy will still be gone so I'm hoping to get some invites from neighbors/friends *hint hint*. This is the first year for since 2007 that we will be having Christmas in our own house! (lots of moves), so we plan to make it awesome. We have LOADS of decorations for outside and inside. The tree (which Kaitlyn hopes so very badly will be a real one -if they sell in Italy???), will be decked out in lots of awesome ornaments, garland and whatnot that we've been collecting over the years. There will be new tradations started and old ones (cookies for santa, reindeer food on the lawn for the reindeer , etc) followed. Hopefully 'Santa' will even make his appereance at the house again while the girls are ready to sleep and bring their stockings (too much fun for us and the girls, we LOVE this). I already have presents bought for Randy and some for both the girls (thanks to Ebay). Have to get some stuff in October or so for everyone back home to make sure they get it in time with the crazy holiday shipping... and as for next year, Kaitlyn is already making plans for her birthday lol.