Welcome Home Blade!

On Monday Oct 11, we got word that Blade was getting to fly off a day early due to bad weather that was predicted for the next day! So we got ready within the hour, and headed to the squadron to welcome our Blade home! Since then, we have soo enjoyed having him back. We are still unpacking, but loving our home and being together. Baby boy #2 is just 3 weeks away and we can't wait to welcome him too!

The second day Blade was home we went to the Pier to welcome home the rest of his DET. The ship pulled in that morning and it was fun to take part of that experience too.

Day 2:

Taking a short break while waiting for the ship to pull in..

Mason and Jack with the USS Vandegrift mascott. Jack's daddy was Blade's OIC and roommate on the ship. He rode the boat in that morning.
They had characters for the kids too. Mason went nuts over Cookie Monster! Except he kept calling him ELMO! But to his defense, he calls all of the Seasame Street characters ELMO! We need to work on that :)

Day 1

Blades family and us! His brother Travis, and mom and dad came down to help us with the move. His folks were AMAZING. They drove our car down for us so that Mason and I could fly into San Diego and then did all of the moving from the storage unit to the house. It was so much help having them there and I know Blade loved seeing them on the flight line too as he flew in :)

Mason was so excited to see daddy. He honestly just keep smiling at him. And still, almost 2 weeks later, just can't get enough of him. Blade sure does know how to make that little boy laugh!


Us next to the aircraft they flew home on..(and had on deployment)

First Hugs and kisses

We are just so happy to have him home. Our family is complete again...well until our next litte one decides to come! So Welcome home Blade and thanks to everyone who helped us while he was gone too. We couldn't have done it without all the love and support of our families. We miss you all but know that we will see you again soon ;)

Sooo much!

Since we got back from seeing Blade, sooo much has happened! Time has really flown by and we are now packing and getting ready to go back to San Diego and Welcome our Blade home with loving arms! But until we do that, here's whats been happening..

My grandparents came to visit from California.. and everyone loved having them here!!

Ryal and Felicia had a beautiful baby girl, Elsie Faye. We've seen her a few times and she's just the sweetest thing!

We've been hanging out with the Casey kids...alot, and loving it more than they will ever know! Mason and Joey have gotten closer..

Mason has been loving on Kylie, lots! His favorite thing is to play with her toes or give her kisses! I promise he wasn't crushing her, I was watching!

Mason and Jack have been playing super heros...along with everything else! Mason just loves his buddy Jack and everything he does :) He loves his toys, his cool outfits, and the fact that he shares and is so loving and patient with him. They are cousins and buddies, and I so appreciate how good he is with him.

.

Joey girl turned 3!! She had an Ariel birthday party and it was so much fun!

Hanging out watching, who else, but probably SPONGEBOB!
My dad came and we had lots of fun with him too. It was so nice to see him! The kids loved playing with him too!
A fun day at the Caroseul with him and then ICE CREAM! Thanks dad!

So we've had a really fun last few weeks around here. Tomorrow is our last day here and then we fly off to San Diego to get everything ready for our new home and for Blade. It's very bittersweet leaving though. Mason has become so attatched to my mom, sister and cousins, as have I. We will miss them more than they know. They saved us this deployment...we wouldn't have made it in one piece being alone these last 6 months, I just know we wouldn't have. Can't wait until Blade and I get to move home one day in the future and be near everyone again! So we're on our way back to the man we love and we'll keep you updated once we get settled!!

TOKYO

After getting to go ahead from our doctors and Blade's ship, we booked a trip to go to Tokyo to see the man we LOVE, our Blade! A crazy couple days of traveling and one long 10 hour plane ride, we made it to Japan...and oh was it amazing! We had missed Blade so much, so it was wonderful to spend a few days together.

Mason did so good traveling and being with daddy. He warmed right up to him and the two were inseperable, just like they were before we had left each other. He loves his daddy and can you blame him, the guy is amazing! We started our mornings out with going down into the hotel and getting some fruit, yogurt and pastries and then eating them in our room. Then we just took each day as it came!



We went to Tokyo Disney Sea! It was so fun...HOT, but fun! We walked around, got lots of yummy food, and rode some rides that could accomodate a toddler and pregnant lady! Poor Blade missed out on some of the cooler ones, but the way we are going we'll live near a Disneyland or world, so we'll go back and do more next time!

We rode the trains and got to see some of the countryside. Mason had fun sitting with Daddy, and even fell asleep on the ride there and back!

We had fun hanging out in our beautiful hotel, too. We cuddled in bed, ordered room service(had the best salad of my life with an amazing ginger dressing!), watched movies on Blade's laptop, and just enjoyed being together.

My favorite was the Thai food that we got! It was so good! Blade went and got Mason some chicken nuggets and fries from McDonalds too, so we all had a yummy dinner! Yep, they even had a McDonalds there! It did have a bit of a different menu though..Filet of Eel anyone?!

We rode the hotel shuttle lots too.

One day we even went to the hotel pool. Mason and daddy swam, while I dipped my feet and took pictures.

And Mason loved riding the elevator! He was just barely tall enough to push the button, so that was one of the highlights for him :)

I was so happy that it all worked out. I was nervous that Blade would have to cancel on us last minute, or that we would have problems with our planes, or trains, or health...or who knows what else, but it all worked out great. I truely love Blade and appreciate everything he does for us. He took such good care of us while we were with him, and we are so excited that we only have 2 months left until he comes back to us for good. He got to feel the baby kick for the first time too, and that was wonderful! I think I kinda shocked him with my belly though :) So now we can check family trip to Tokyo off our list of things to do! Haha! If you get to read this, WE LOVE YOU BLADE!

Library and Loggers Days

One of the things we have most enjoyed since being home is going to the Library with Jen and kids!! Story time is super fun with these 3, including the songs they sing in the end and then getting a stamp. Mason now knows to hold his hand out while waiting in line to get it, so cute!

The songs they sing in the end are usually by Laurie Berkner, including 'I know a Chicken', 'We are the Dinosaurs', and 'The Goldfish Song'. I am really wanting to download a few so we can sing to them at home too!

Last weekend we went to Darby to visit our Schallenberger Family. Mason drove the whole way...haha! We did have a few meldowns on the way, so I am a bit nervous for the ride back to San Diego, but it will SOOO be worth it!


Loggers Days was going on, and it started with a parade. Mason wasn't a huge fan of the sirens, but warmed up to the Darby Tiger at least! Here's us with Auntie Felicia. We had fun with her :)


And here's some of the crew sitting as we watched the parade. My brother in law(Travis), In laws(Ed and Gina) Sister in law(Kayla) andCousin Claire! We collected mucho candy!
We've still been keeping busy and get to email and chat with Blade often. We love him and miss him so much. Mason and I can't wait to have him back home with us!

Babies, fun and more!!

Well Friday June 4th little miss Kylie Belle joined the Casey Family! She was 6lbs 10 oz and cute as can be! We all went to the hospital to visit Jen, Kylie, and Kevin while they stayed. It also was National Donut Day, hence the donuts the kids have :)

Welcome to the family, Kylie! She is so stinkin cute and is such a good baby. I have hardly heard her cry, just make cute little baby noises!

About a week later my friend from college came to have lunch and a playdate with Mason and I. She has a little girl named Autumn, whom Mason loved, and one more on the way, Haley Jo! We had fun playing with them and catching up :)

Then a couple weekends ago Mason and I went to Lolo to see Ryal and Felicia. Ryal is Blades brother and Felicia is his new wife!! We had fun playing outside and visiting with family. Felicia took us to the Farmers Market in Missoula, and that was super fun too. She is really sweet and I am loving having her as a new sister-in-law :)

This Friday was Stacey Casey's wedding (Kevin's sister). It was out at the Kleffner Ranch and was really nice. Everyone looked so cute dressed up and Mason had tons of fun with his cousins...as always :)

Little Kylie, looking cute!


Lastly, we went to Butte on Monday to see Travis and his friend Noah. Trav made us lunch, we went to Tech, Bonanza Freeze and the PIT!!

Noah and Mason had never been, so Trav felt it was a must that we take them :) It was fun, but OH SO HOTT!!

So once again, we've been having fun and staying busy. Miss, miss, missing Blade though! But he's doing good and we get to talk with him and write emails lots. He has been pretty busy thus far, flying double bags and is on the night schedule (which means he is up until the wee hours!). He is so smart though and is such a hard worker and I know he is doing an amazing job being an officer and pilot out at sea.

Happy Early 4th of July!!

Recently

Well recently we've been hanging out with these 2 alot!! And their mama! We've been having fun playing almost everyday, and having fun snacks! Mason and I watched them a couple weekends back, and this is what we had for dessert!

Mason and I went up to Butte to see Kayla and Travis off! They were just finishing up at school before summer hit, so we went up for the afternoon.

I seemed to forget how many stairs there are between dorms, and put Mason in the stroller. Good thing Uncle Travis was so strong and could carry Mason up all those stairs!!! It made me smile and think of the time Blade packed Mason in our big Chico stroller down stadium bleachers last summer!

Travis built a really cool airplane for one of his classes, and we were excited to see it! Even Mr.Mason got to sit on it and be the pilot! Blade would be proud!!

We've seen some rainy/snowy weather, and we've seen some sun here in MT. So when the sun came out, we all enjoyed some IceePops! Oh how the cousins loved them! Mason even been getting his own, and he's lovin it!

We've been doing lots of artwork too. Mason's been making some really nice pictures for Daddy, but it seems like we always get distracted by snacks!! Last picture ended up being covered in Cheetos! Oh well!

We also had a really nice Mothers Day. Mom and Glen, Jen and Kevin and the Kids, Mason and I, and Kevin's family (parents and siblings) all went to Mt.City Grill for their brunch. It was really yummy and Blade would have loved the biscuts and gravy! Speaking of the guy, he sent me a beautiful orchid and a carepackage with more goodies. Even in the middle of the ocean, he can be so thoughtful and make my day wonderful! LOVE HIM!

Oh and Jen is going to have her little girl on June 4th, so we are all super excited for that! She is such a wonderful mommy and is so beautiful and we can't wait to meet their new little sweetheart!

So we are 1 month down...plus a few days, and we are doing good. Missing Blade, of course, but having fun with our families :)

The next 6 months...

Long time no blog!! Haha! Lots has happened since Mason's birthday (last blog)...Blade had a birthday, Mason had his first haircut, we were busy getting ready for Blades deployment, moving out of our house, and thinking about our next 6 months.

Sorry the pics are out of order, again!!

Mason and daddy saying goodbye..

one last family pic..

Saying goodbye :(

At the squadron, hanging out until he had to leave..

On the ship for a meeting earlier that day..

Blades Birthday!

Mason and daddy's haircut...Mason's FIRST!

So, on April 12, 2010 Blade deployed on the USS Vandegrift. He is 1 of 4 pilots on the ship. We have been able to contact through email and have even gotten a couple phone calls! Yay! The day Blade left, my mom, Mason and I took off for MT. It was a long drive home with a little one in the backseat, but we made it and were happy to see all our family. We miss our Blade everyday, but being here with my parents, sister and her kids, and having Blades family close, has already been wonderful! If you get to read this Blade, we love and miss you baby!!

Stay tuned for our MT adventures and updates on our Blade!!