Updates

Things around here have been extremely busy, as you can probably tell from my lack of new blogs. We made a very quick, unplanned trip to Kentucky to see all of Ben's family and just got back Wednesday. It was a great time, we really enjoyed seeing everyone. And now that we have come back, the reality has truly hit that we leave in two weeks. The stress has definitely hit as this weekend we are running around trying to get the house organized for the movers to come on Monday. Needless to say, we will be limited on time and there won't be much for new blogs in the next couple of weeks. But I will be sure to update as soon as I can. 

Also, yesterday we heard from the realtor that the house process is going along as planned. The bank ordered an appraisal yesterday which is the last step before they accept our offer. They marked the house contingent and are no longer showing it, which is great news. We will be moving into temporary lodging upon getting to California (which should be interesting). But we will make things work. Our realtor says if things go as expected we could be in the house as early as mid March and as late as early April.

We'll update as soon as possible, God bless!

Say Cheese!

Avery is obsessed with the camera these days. She is such a ham and loves to have her picture taken. When we were in California we bought her an Elmo camera which she loves. Every time I try to take a picture of her she gets her camera and takes a picture of me!

Ben's LFA

Ben & Steve Ford 

Both going on their last alert and both going to Vandenberg.

Avery was not quite as excited as everyone else. She was exhausted!

Today was Ben's last alert EVER! If you can't tell this is a big deal, we have made it! It has been a long haul but we have come out much stronger. Ben has spend almost an entire year 50 feet under ground! And he has driven enough miles to the missile sites to take you around the world twice!!! Amazing! Ave and I went to work this morning to hear him give his LFA speech. He did a great job and we are so proud of him. We have had a lot of ups and downs in this job but he has truly come out on top! So in four weeks we will be stationed at Vandenberg AFB in California where he will be instructing. His new job will be perfect for him! 

Thanks Mario for taking the pictures!

Outside!?!

Here's Ave on her car doing her best to keep up!

Avery & Cortlyn

We finally had a day warm enough to take Ave outside to play. She was elated! We have to take advantage of warm days around here, we don't have very many. Our neighbors have four kids and she loves to play with them. They are a little bit older so she thinks they are SO cool. They had a blast. 

The Beach in January?!

 Ben in action, trying to figure out how to use all those tools.

Still not quite sure yet why he needs all these tools?

Ben & me at Avila Beach

This is the beach on base, the weather was gorgeous!

Although it was a very stressful couple of days in California, we were finally able to get away on Saturday to spend some time together just enjoying the area. We went to Pismo and Avila Beaches were we just enjoyed some peace and quite. Then we ate at a place called Cracked Crab, where Ben had his first encounter with crab. He's still not sure if it was a good thing! It was so hard to leave 60 degree weather to come home to 6 below temperatures! People were surfing in January, it was great!

House Hunting

Ben and I just returned to Great Falls last night from a long five days of house hunting in Santa Maria, CA. With just five weeks left here, we are feeling very overwhelmed and extremely stressed out! We looked at 32 houses, and after seeing some interesting things and some nasty things, we finally found a house we both love. It is in a beautiful, safe neighborhood and the house has everything we were looking for. We have no idea if things with this house will work out, but hope and pray that God will provide us with the right house and the right opportunity.  We made an offer on the house on Friday morning and are now just waiting to hear. It will be a couple of weeks before we will know, but will keep everyone updated. In the mean time, here a few pictures. 

A few of her favorite things....

Avery is my little buddy these days, following me around the house, cleaning, cooking, and doing laundry. Everything I do, she wants to do or try to at least. She is less into toys and more into what we are doing. Her new favorite thing to do is paint. She is quite the artist. And when we go over to Nana's house she loves to help her make cookies. 

Tractors!

A couple of weeks ago, Ben, Ave and I went to the MAGIE with my mom and dad. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is a show devoted to farming, ranching and tractors! Ben was in heaven and Ave absolutely loved the tractors. They had so much fun. As for me, I was lacking a pair of Wranglers and boots, but had a good time anyway. 

Ave & Ben

I couldn't resist posting these pictures. Ben was over the other day and these two had SO much fun! They are quite the pair, they definitely kept me laughing. I didn't realize the boys would come so soon!

The Pig Ate It!

Avery LOVES her piggy bank from Nana & Dada. She gets so excited when we have spare change for her. She'll calls it 'Pig moyee' (money). She puts them in one at a time and after each coin drops, she puts up her hands and says, "Go?". Sometimes she gets very upset that the pig eats her 'moyee'. 

Little Diva!

I took these pictures last week and still can't get over how old she looks! She is turning into Miss Personality, she is becoming her own person. 

She loves to talk on the phone, Ben says she gets that from me. I like to think it's just a girl thing! Whether she is pretending or talking to family she holds quite the conversation. She has so many words - probably some we rather her not pick up from people at the store. We feel like we have a little parrot around the house. 

It's amazing to me that someone so small can have so much to say!

Family Pictures!

As you can tell, very rarely do we have pictures of all three of us together. One of us is always behind the camera. So, need less to say, family pictures are hard to come by. 

My sister took these pictures of us at the beginning of December at Giant Springs, and the last picture, my friend, Jen, took of us, at Fairmont Hot Springs in September. 

Wild Hair!

One of Ave's most distinct characteristics is her hair. It is always the first thing people notice and always comment about. When she was born it was brown but time has changed it to a strawberry blonde color. It is beautiful but it is also a struggle, it is very thick, curly and has a mind of its own. It takes me a good 15 minutes to comb it out and fix it everyday! So here are a few pictures of her hair, the good, the bad...and the wild!

"Fies"

For Christmas, Ben's parents sent Ave a game called Elefun. It is an elephant that shoots butterflies from its trunk and you try to catch as many as you can. We spent hours playing the day after Christmas. Need less to say, Ben and I ended up playing and Avery was quite entertained and amused by the catching nets! So now, Ave wants to play all the time. She can't say the whole word butterfly so when she wants to play she'll just say "fies...fies"!!!