Dad's New Ride

While on vacation in Florida, Dad decided to trade in the old car for new one. Now we have plenty of room for Tyler, the cats and all our stuff when traveling the countryside. We were a bit sad to see the old car go. We drove the old car through fourteen countries! We put 20,000 miles on the old car since we came back to the U.S.

Chill'n with the cousins

Tyler is having a great time in Florida hanging out with his cousins Abbi and Garret. Abbi will be turning 1 year old in a couple of weeks and Garret is exactly 4 months older than Tyler.

Fun at Grandma's House

Tyler is now in Florida visiting Grandma Forst and meeting the rest of the family for the first time. Here is Tyler with his cousins Abbi, Garret and Brye sitting on Grandma's lap.

***FLASHBACK: November 2005

In the Syracuse University Military program every student has his or her photo taken for the photo wall in the military lounge. Jen Smith, a Navy photographer, did a great job shooting Heather and I with our little bundle of joy on the way. I think of all the photos, mine was the best one. These photos are just a sample of what we did. Wow, this was only a few months ago! It's hard to believe everything we have accomplished since then!

T is for...

train, three, and of course Tyler! Today Tyler turns 3 months old!!! Here he is wearing his Toot Toot Train oufit laying on his matching blanket given by Grandma & Grandpa Smith in Rhode Island. Tyler also says Happy Birthday to his cousin Garret. Garret is 4 months old today. It won't be long before Tyler and Garret meet each other for the very first time :)

Lincoln Memorial

We walked down the mall from the Smithsonian Metro station to the Lincoln Memorial. The sun was almost gone when we arrived downtown, but we were able to get some nice photos. We even stopped at the brand new World War II Memorial on the way. (There was a "virtual geocache" there and we found the clue!)

Asleep on the Metro.

Aunt Kristin and her friend Misty stopped by to see Uncle Joe and to visit Tyler on thier way to Boston. Kristen wanted to show her friend Misty around Washington D.C. too. We all went down to the local Metro station and headed for downtown. Tyler fell asleep as soon as we boarded the subway.

All Moved In

Steve and Joe are quite worn out after the move. Everything is now in the apartment and the truck is returned. We will be spending the next few days getting organized and exploring our new home. Thank's Joe for all your help and patience!

Joe Delivers

All of our stuff arrived safe and sound in Maryland. Joe had no trouble handling the biggest U-Haul vehicle we could find. He drove this twenty-six foot truck all the way down from Syracuse to Silver Spring. For Steve, this was the longest drive he's ever done without ever going over the speed limit. The U-Haul truck got about six to eight miles per gallon. We bought more than sixty gallons of regular unleaded gasoline.

Moving Day

Steve just came home and said he was just informed that the paperwork had been sent to MD. We are now all set to move. He and my brother, Joe, are on their way to pick up the rental truck. Joe was nice enough to fly up to assist us with the move. We'll be busy loading the truck up today and early tomorrow morning we'll hand in our apt keys. We are sad to leave the Syracuse area. We've really enjoyed our short stay here, however we must move on and so awaits another adventure in a new place. I'll e-mail everyone our new contact information once we get our internet back up and running.

My First Mother's Day

This was my first Mother's Day, though I must admit when you have the most wonderful son in the world, everyday feels like a Mother's Day! I love being a mom, it truly is the best! Just seeing Tyler's smiles brings so much joy to my heart. Tyler and Steve both gave me beautiful cards which I will cherish forever and a pretty pot full of flowers! What can I say, but I am the luckiest mother and wife in the whole world to have these two special guys in my life! I love you both so very very much!!!

Sophia Helps Pack

Sophia is in charge of organizing the packing materials. She's doing a good job! Our move is now scheduled for Tuesday, May16. We will be in Maryland until May 21st. We will be driving down to Florida for a few weeks before reporting to work.

The Teddy Bear Award Goes To...

Steve wasn't the only one receiving an award tonight. Heather also was one of two ladies to receive the "Teddy Bear Award". The Teddy Award goes to those women who have a baby while in Syracuse during the program.

Final Moment at Syracuse University

Steve receives his certificate after successfully completing two semesters at the Military Motion Media Program at S.U. Congratulaions Steve! Job well done!

Last time a cat, this time a bird!

Today we all went out for some geocaching near Lake Ontario. When we returned home Heather noticed something strange... bird poop on Steve's laptop and on boxes around the apartment. Upon further inspection we find Sophia asleep in the closet at the end of the hall. Two shelves up, a very worn out bluejay was hiding. Steve grabbed the bird gently and released him on the patio. After a few seconds he was up and flew away. We can only imagine what Sophia did to that poor bird while we were gone. Luigi was locked in the bedroom the whole time... lucky for the bird!

Heid's Night Remembered

Last night we had dinner with John and his wife Lori belle. After dinner we stopped at Heid's for ice cream. We did the same thing when we all first arrived in Syracuse. Steve was stationed with John for a short time in Sicily. John and his wife are actually returning to Sicily for their next assignment. Tyler's Uncle Joe is also visiting to help out with our move to Maryland!

Baby Tyler Travel Bug

Tyler loves to go geocaching with his mom and dad. Before the family moves to Maryland, they will place a new Travel Bug in a cache. The Travel Bug is named "Baby Tyler". A Travel Bug, or TB, will be found by another geocacher who will log-in the serial number and then place it in another cache. TBs go from cache to cache, found and replaced, over and over again. They often travel thousands of miles and go to countries around the world. We can track the Baby Tyler TB online. One day Tyler and the TB may cross paths while out caching! (The TB serial number is on a metal dog tag and is attached to the toy in Tyler's hand. The entire thing is placed in a geocache.)

Baby Tyler Video

Click on the link too see some video of Tyler. See Tyler!

ON THE MOVE...

Well, here we go again. The Smith Family is dropping everything and preparing to leave on May 12. We have an apartment lined up in Maryland that is ready to move into. The US Navy has once again provided me and my family with no orders, but a must transfer date of May 12. As of today the plan is to rent a truck and be in the new apartment on May 13. Please hold all letters and parcels until we have our new address. Stay tuned for further updates as things are rapidly changing.