Camp Dawson.

JUNE 29th

Spencer spent a week at a military camp, Camp Dawson, this past summer.

He wasn't sure what to expect but he was looking forward to it.

At the end of the camp week they had a graduation ceremony.

We coordinated everything before camp to make sure that Spencer's dad would be able to watch his camp graduation ceremony.

We drove to Camp Dawson the day before.....and let me just say it is a drive.

We drove long curvy roads that seemed endless, up a mountainside and then back down again, and then back up again....I was beginning to believe we would never find this place.


We woke checked in at Camp Dawson LATE that night.

The next morning we woke up, had breakfast and then got ready for to go to the ceremony.

Grandad and Grandma came to his camp to see his graduation.

The kids were all marched in as they sang their cadences and did what the instructors told them to do.



Katie recorded Spencer marching in for me while I took pictures.


Jerome was able to watch his camp graduation from Afghanistan.

When Spencer marched in I could tell he knew his dad was watching.




After the graduation they were dismissed.

We walked out into the large hall and found a place where the sound didn't echo so much, so that Spencer could hear his dad talking to him through Skype.

Unknowingly Spencer was standing at parade rest at first while he was talking to his dad.

I guess he had been taught so much the past week at camp which way to stand, that now it was just second nature to do so.


These next two make me happy and sad all at the same time.

The first picture is how he lights up and is himself again while talking to his dad; the second, how he is when he is missing his dad.


One of his instructors came over to talk to Spencer.

Spencer proudly introduced him to his dad and they all three had a good conversation.

He was holding the phone up to see how much Spencer really does look like his dad.


Grandad joined in on the conversation too.



Spencer's sweet girlfriend Danielle traveled up with us too.

They were both happy to see each other.


Then Spencer got his shirt signed by one of his instructors.

A few of Spencer's friends signed his shirt and he signed theirs.

We stopped at the small gift shop there and bought Jerome some nice boot socks to ship over to him.

We started on the road and the first thing Spencer said as we were driving away, "I've never done so many push ups in my life!"

Strawberry Pickin'

June 20th.

 Katie dressed up in her white cotton dress.

I braided her hair and tied the ribbons.

I'm going to miss seeing these braids and ribbons on her when she gets older.

It reminds me of when she was very little, she loved having her hair in braids just like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.

We took some pictures with the strawberries.
 

The Deployment Trees.

June 26th


I went with a friend of mine to a nursery that was closing to buy some trees and shrubs.

We drove home with Jerome's truck FULL of trees and shrubs.

I bought three Cleveland pear trees, two red maple trees, one peach tree, three apple trees, and four holly bushes....all for less than one hundred dollars.

I was excited being able to buy so many trees for so little.

But what I didn't think about was the amount of holes in the ground I'd have to dig.

That evening my plan was to get the trees planted in the ground.


I wanted to mow the lawn first....at least where I was planting the trees so that it would look really nice when I was finished.

I pulled the riding mower out.....it wouldn't start.

I pulled the push mower out.....it wouldn't start.

I decided to try the riding mower again, and with luck it started but was making an AWFUL noise. I turned it off, afraid that I would mess it up, walked across the street to my neighbors and asked if he could help me figure out why my mower is making that noise. He told me that he will when he has time......that right now he was busy planting all the trees that his wife had bought.

I said I understood and walked back to my yard. I decided to mow at least the place where I was going to plant the trees. I think you could have heard the mower a mile away....but I mowed it anyway.

Then I started digging the first hole for the first tree.

Our ground was SOLID and it took me almost an hour to dig that first hole.

I felt a sense of accomplishment when I looked at that first tree planted in the ground that I did all by myself.

Then I started on the second hole for the second tree.

This one took even longer.

As I was digging I couldn't help but watch my neighbors across the street.

Her husband was home. Her husband was digging the holes and planting the trees. Her husband was there.....mine was not.

I was still struggling with that second hole, trying to just get a hole dug so that I could plant the second tree.

My mind was flooded with thoughts of how I wish my husband was home.

I couldn't help but be jealous every time I would glance over at my neighbors house.

I had planted one tree in the time that he had planted four.

I was digging the hole alone and missing Jerome every single time I would put that shovel in the ground.

Molly, our dog, just kept looking at me. She knew I was upset and therefore staid right by my side.


My emotions took over and I began to cry.

I felt alone. I felt like I was NEVER going to get these trees planted.

I went inside had a good cry. Poured me a tall glass of ice water. Pushed the lonely thoughts out of my mind and made myself get back out there and finish planting those trees.

By that night I had the three Cleveland pear trees planted that I had wanted to get planted that evening.

It was late and it was dark. I was watering my trees in the moonlight. But I did it, I managed to get those three trees planted....even if it did take me hours upon hours to do.....I did it, alone.

The next morning I woke up, smiled at how pretty the trees looked in the yard, tied a small yellow ribbon around each one, stepped back and decided these trees......these three trees were forever going to be known to me as the deployment trees.

Summer of Storms

This summer has been full of storms.

It seems if it isn't in the high temperatures, it is fiercely storming outside.

The end of June we were hit with a hard storm.

We were on our way back from picking Spencer up at Camp Dawson, over three hours away from home. The sky was as blue and clear as could be.

Thankfully mom called and warned me about a storm that was coming through and to be careful. I turned the radio on and sure enough there was a weather warning on.

In just a matter of minutes the sky was as dark as night and the wind was blowing terribly. We were driving through a construction zone and we were two miles from an exit. I pulled off the exit that I was familiar with and drove past cars that had decided to wait out the storm underneath an overpass. I knew there was a gas station just up ahead.

The road was covered in tree branches and by this time the storm was really coming down hard. I made it to the gas station, pulled up and parked and the kids and I jumped out and ran inside. The man stopped us at the door and told us that he was closed because their power was out. I asked him if we could just stand inside for some shelter until the storm passes. He agreed and about that time several other cars pulled in looking for shelter.

We waited out the storm and then went to my husband's parents house for the night. They lived just a few miles from the gas station we were at but driving through all the down trees and debris wasn't fun.

Their power was also out but we made it fun and camped out at their house for the night. The kids played board games, visited with Grandad and Grandma and spent the night tucked in safe and sound.



The next morning we all got ready and started home. The kids were begging for me to run through Tudor's Biscuit World....I told them it would be closed but they didn't believe me.

 I turned the radio on only to hear the craziness that the storm had brought with it. The power was out almost everywhere around us. There were only a handful of gas stations and most stores were only taking cash. I started to worry because we needed gas and I had no cash. A lesson well learned.

I made it to a gas station and to my surprise it wasn't awfully bad. There was a long line but they had attendants out  directing people to what pumps to go to. And the best part, they had a working ATM inside! I filled up the truck on gas and then went to the grocery store.

My mom called and their power was out, so was my sister's power and my best friend's power and water. I received a text from my friend and neighbor. It was pictures of our home and it said, "A big mess but at least we have power!" I was SO RELIEVED to know that we had power.

My parents, my sister Savannah and her two boys, my grandma, my sister Jolena and her two girls (and Natalie who had been staying the night with them and my best friend Mariah and her daughter ended up staying with us. There was a house full but it was fun. I was glad that I had power, running water and a place that they were able to stay, and that it was with us.

The kids spent the days beating the heat by swimming in the pool. I think for days they basically lived in the pool.

The storm did mess up our tree in our front yard. The tree that I tied a yellow ribbon around and promised to not take it off until Jerome is home safe again.

 We headed into July and many still didn't have power or water to their home.

The power would come back on at places, then another storm would hit and knocked the power back out again. It was crazy.

We watched several more storms go through. One time we sat on our front porch and watched the storm blow in.

Another time the kids pulled up the chairs and sat and watched the storm pass through. They watched the sky get dark, the rain come down hard and the wind blow through the trees.



And here we are the end of July, still waiting for a storm to pass.

The kids start back to school in three weeks.

With all of these storms this summer it feels like the kids haven't had much of a summer.

This was taken on our way home this evening.

I had picked up one of Natalie's friends to stay over and we were headed to the store. I saw the sky and quickly changed my mind. So we turned around and headed back home.

Our 4th of July

We had a wonderful fourth of July this year.
Some of my family and friends were still staying here with us due to the storm that went through here the week before.

The rest of my family came out for a cookout.

All of the kids swam in the pool.

The burgers tasted great.

And thanks to a little pep talk from my sister earlier that morning, I made this 4th of July as memorable as I could, even without Jerome here. (Thank you Jolena)

 What better way to eat popsicles and beat the heat.....swimming in the pool!


Earlier that day Spencer bought some firecrackers with his birthday money.

He set them off while we waited for the REAL fireworks to begin.


Standing barefoot in our front yard, watching the fireworks,listening to our kids run through the water sprinkler....it just didn't feel the same without him standing there beside me with his arm around me.

I decided to send him "a little home" and recorded the fireworks for him to watch over there. I made a video and I know I will always remember this 4th of July just like this.

I love this man.

Every once in a while our youngest daughter receives a message from her daddy.

"Here's my moon tonight...does yours look the same Kaitlyn? Love you Monkey"

She looks forward to these little messages from her daddy and the picture with his moon.



Time is going by fast but at times it feels like it is going slowly.

These cookie brownies we sent him in the beginning of his deployment have been a favorite over there.

He L.O.V.E.S. these brownies!

He shares with everyone and then has a few left over for himself.

A while back I promised to make him a whole box full of these brownies and ship it out to him.

While our kids were at camp I spent the morning making batches and batches of these brownies. After letting them cool, wrapping them in loads of saran wrap and packaging them in a box....I took them to the post office to ship.

The man at the post office getting the box ready for shipping noticed the inside of Jerome's box.

He asked if I minded if he take a peek. Of course I told him I didn't mind and then he smiled and told me how he had never seen the inside of a shipping box decorated the way that I had.

 I told him the kids and I enjoy decorating them for him. And it feels good sending him a little bit more of home.



And as requested from a few of his friends over there, here is the recipe -

 Reese Chocolate Chip Brownies. 

Use a square muffin style pan. Spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Spoon chocolate chip cookie dough into the bottom of each square, then press flat.

Unwrap a Reese cup and place upside down in the center of each square.

 Make your brownie mix according to the directions on the box.

Pour brownie mix into each square until about 3/4 full.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

The brownie squares will look a little moist in the center, but after trial and error I have found that 20 minutes is good. Any longer in my oven and they are burnt brownies:)

 Let cookies cool.

 For packaging, I let the cookie brownies cool COMPLETELY.

 I wrap each one in saran wrap. Then wrap three at a time in a long piece of saran wrap. Then I place several of these brownies wrapped into a ziploc bag.

Catching up.

We have had a BUSY summer.

Which is exactly what I was hoping for.

One more season almost over.

Soon it will be fall, the kids will be back in school.

And then winter and Christmas break.

Then it will be time for him to come home.

I've taken SO many pictures this summer but I just haven't taken the time to post any or keep up with this blog.

I'm hoping to catch up these next couple of days, especially seeing the forecast is predicting nothing but rainy weather.

Everything will be out of order somewhat, but at least it will be here!