John's going to Hungary!!!

We've kind of known that there was a good possibility of this happening for about a month but it's official as of Monday that he will be going to Hungary for a month with his boss and two others from his Det. In general, this shouldn't be a hard working tdy by any means. He'll probably have a ton of fun traveling, sight seeing, eating, and hanging out with old friends who moved there early this year. The purpose of the trip is to ensure that those starting the maintenance squadron there at the brand new NATO base really know what they're doing. If any problems come up, they can train them up to date so as the aircraft begin arriving they are prepared to handle all the problems that may arise. John doesn't exactly expect there to be much to do though. But he's happy to have the opportunity to tour another country. We'll of course miss him at home but are excited for whatever goodies he might find to bring us home! :) (Oh yeah, and for this amazing opportunity!) But especially the goodies!!! John will fly out mid July. At least we'll get to spend the 4th together and he'll be home a couple weeks ahead of Ashley's 5th birthday. I think I need a pampering session before he leaves.

Hayley turned the BIG 3!!!

We all celebrated Hayley Belle's 3rd birthday last week and she couldn't have been more happy about it. She is so excited to be a Big Girl now. John worked that day so that morning I took the girls along our neighbor friends Ebony, Eamon, and Amara to the zoo. We had a lot of fun on her special day.






After our day at the zoo, we headed home to wait for Dad to make his way home. Then the real birthday fun began! Hayley loved opening her gifts as always.







We capped off the day with dinner and dessert out. We still can't believe that our little love is 3 years old now. It's crazy how fast her baby stage seemed to fly on by. She went to her doctor for her 3 year old check up today and is now 39.5 inches tall and weighs in at 33 lbs even. Such a Big Girl!

Hayley Belle's 3rd Birthday Bash

This past Saturday, the 13th of June, we celebrated Hayley's 3rd birthday with family and friends. In tradition we kept with the bbq style only this year we added in some water fun for the kids. Thankfully, the weather cooperated and everything turned out great. As always, we appreciate all of the Arnold side that joins us for these special occasions. It's always great to see them again and catch up. Having our friends here is a double bonus. Thanks to everyone who came for our little love's birthday party. She was so happy the entire day. Here are some pictures of Hayley's special day. I still can't believe my baby will be 3 years old tomorrow.

John's Birthday

On Sunday, June 7th, John celebrated his 31st birthday. He really didn't seem to like this idea much. He even worked his second job in the morning, I think to get his mind off of it. I'm thinking that from now on, he just needs to stay "30" because this concept of being 31 is really making him grumpy. After he got off work, we took him to lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Here are a few pictures of our day.

Our Montana Trip

Over Memorial Day weekend, we finally made the drive to Montana to visit with John's older brother Joe and his family in Kalispell. The drive was a 10 hour long one but the girls were really great. Thank goodness for the dvd system is all I can say about that! Half of the drive was gorgeous. The other half was as dull as can be. But we made it in safe and sound as long as you don't count the busted windsheild that we now have thanks to those big trucks vs. construction areas with extra debris! Anyhow, we spent the first night getting in a nice swim at their athletic club. On Saturday, we drove up to the top of a mountain where we got an awesome view of the whole city and more. Later that evening, we enjoyed witnessing Joe in action at his Saturday night contemporary church service.






Sunday we drove to Glacier National Park where we spent much of the day checking out the gorgeous views and hiking through the mountains. Maybe when the girls are older I will enjoy this type of thing more but at this age, I'm terrified the girls are going to get too close to the drop offs or to the rapids. So much of the day I was a bit on edge if you could imagine. :)















On Monday, we headed back home only this time it took us 12 hours due to the holiday traffic trying to get through the Snoqualmie pass which is gorgeous by the way. Other than the traffic the trip home was an easy one. I have to admit that while I had a good time visiting with the family, the highlight of the trip for me was seeing that Cracker Barrel sign off the highway in Missoula, Montana. It's one of my favorite places to eat and there are none in Washington or Oregon, so needless to say I was quite happy to see that sign. The food was so dang yummy too! Ahhh, I can't wait to move back down south one day. Until next time...