Taco Night

Tyler wanted me to take a picture of the gigantic taco he made. And yes, he ate the entire thing and then made more. LOL

International Children's Festival

Last weekend, we attended the International Children's Festival. We met Yasuko and Yuki there and together we traveled around the world learning all about different countries, 33 in fact. This was probably the best festival we've attended here in the Hampton Roads area thus far; we were highly impressed with the number of hands on activities to get the children involved in learning about so many different cultures. Each country had a booth set up filled with tons of information geared towards children.
There were also food vendors representing the many different countries so we not only got to learn, but also taste the international food. Along with the food and booths, there were also several stages featuring native dance and music.
After an hour or so, we met up with some more of our friends, Heather, Dawn, Rachael, Kristin and Shaun. Together we had a wonderful afternoon exploring the many different lands with our children. Tyler especially loved the festival and is already talking about going to next year's. Here's more photos.

Look Ma, Still No Cavities

It was time for another dental checkup for Tyler. This morning he not only got a complete checkup, but also a cleaning. The dentist said everything was excellent and told him to keep up the great work of looking after his teeth. Because he still has no cavities, his membership in the "No Cavities Club" was renewed and he got to put his name in again for the monthly drawing of $50. Way to go, Tyler!!!
Steve Update: He went to a couple of more malls today. This was his last day in Bahrain. The ship pulls out tomorrow morning. We did get to talk to each other on the phone which totally made my day. :)

Best Husband in the Whole World

My wonderful husband sent us a box filled with tons of goodies from his stop in Greece. He remembered all my favorites too. 7 Day Pastries (I actually ate one tonight for dinner...LOL), Lacta chocolate bars, olive oil, olive oil soap, matching t-shirts for the entire family, not to mention giant chocolate Easter eggs for Tyler and I. These are just a few of the treats he sent us. Tyler especially loves the Spider-Man car he sent him. It was super sweet of Steve to send us these things.
Steve Update: Today he went to a really cool water park where he had lots of fun and got a good sunburn. LOL Afterwards, they went to an Italian-Japanese restaurant  next to the tallest building in the world.. They sat outside where they were entertained by a fountain show that would go to different songs every 30 minutes.

Career Week

It's Career Week at Tyler's school. There are several activities all throughout the week to learn about different occupations that the children may want to have when they grow up. Today the kids got to dress up. Last year at Pre-K, Tyler wanted to be a Sailor, just like his dad. Well, this year he wanted to dress up as a Photographer, just like his dad. He already said that when he grows up that he doesn't want to be the type of photographer that specializes in a particular subject, but rather he wants to be open and take photos of all kinds of things. Speaking of Dad, here's the update for today. :)
Steve Update: As mentioned in last night's post, Steve and his crew are now in Dubai. Tyler and I were super happy that we got to talk to him today. It totally made our day!!! He spent most of his day at two malls there, including the largest mall in the world, and ate sushi from a conveyor belt. LOL

Mommy Son Date Night

Well, finally some good news to post. Tonight, was a special night. I went on a date with a very special guy very dear to my heart. I signed up for the Mommy Son Date Night at Chick-fil-A. Tyler and I had a lovely evening together. When we arrived they checked the list for our names on the reservations list and had someone escort us to our table. The table had a candle burning, Hershey Kisses, a stuffed Chick-fil-A cow, and a place mat with a list of "conversation starters". Then a server came to our table and took our order. While we ate, we listen to a violinist playing. A server came by and asked if Tyler could go and get something to give to me. He came back with a beautiful red rose. Then after we finished our dinner, we were told to go to the playroom where we got to pose with the Chick-fil-A cow. It was a very nice time spent with my favorite 6 year old.And for those that may not know, Chick-fil-A is a fast food chain, so to have this treatment there was wonderful. Below are more photos from our date.
Steve Update: I'm very happy to say that Steve is now in Dubai. Though he couldn't get off the ship today because he had duty, he'll definitely enjoy a day off tomorrow. :)

My Dad

4 years ago today, my dad went to heaven to be with God. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss him. I think of all the good times we had. He was not only my dad, but my friend and he will always be in my heart.

Padre Luigi (Weegee)

2002-2012

It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of a wonderful friend. Luigi (or Weegee) first came into our lives when Steve and I adopted him shortly after moving to Sicily, Italy in 2002. He was just like our first born at the time. He made us laugh, comforted us, and gave us unconditional love everyday. I have fond memories of playing fetch with him in our apartment. We had a large kitchen and he would run from one end of the room to the other over and over again. That was when he was only 4 or 5 months; he was just a little guy. Then over time his love for food (a true Italian) came out. Oh, he would get in sooo much trouble getting into food that he wasn't allowed to have. We would bring the groceries home and it would only take 2 seconds for him to get his little nose into one of the bags and start chewing straight through to eat some bread. LOL We would joke and say he had an obsession with food. But that's what made him Weegee. Overtime his belly started to show his love for food and he would have this adorable little waddle as he walked. 

Several months passed and he was no longer "an only child". Sophia, came into our lives. At first, there was a lot of growls and hisses, but overtime these two became inseparable. They napped together, played together, and Sophia would even clean Weegee's areas where he could no longer reach because of his big belly. LOL It was especially nice because Steve and I would travel a lot, so they would keep each other company while we were gone.

Then in 2008, Steve was being sent to Iraq for a year. Tyler and I decided to go home to live with my mom and help her cope with the recent passing of my dad. Unfortunately, we had to split up Weegee and Sophia because my mom already had her cat, Snuggles. It would have been overwhelming to have three cats in the house and Snuggles was already not very thrilled about the guest coming to live in her territory. LOL Over time though, they learned to deal with each other and often were seen in the same room together just a foot apart from each other. LOL

When Steve arrived back home and it was time for us to move back to the U.S., it was decided that Weegee stay at my mom's. By this time, she had grown too attached to him. Snuggles was not well and we figured that after her passing that Luigi would make a good replacement. Yes, it was a sad and difficult decision to make, but we knew that my mom needed Luigi more than we needed him, especially at that time. He was a great companion to her over the years and kept her company. A couple years later, Snuggles passed away and there was a sense of comfort knowing that Luigi was there to help her through the loss.

Luigi was extremely happy at the "Walker Resort". Mom gave him lots and lots of love and care over the years. And he returned the same to her. 

Then last summer, he became ill. We noticed a cyst on his nose that, in time, spread. He would have good days and bad days. For awhile, we actually thought it was getting better, but it eventually came back. Mom noticed a difference in his health just recently and he seemed to have gone down hill fast. There were other complications as well. He had several vet appointments, however we knew there was not much they could do. He would never be the same Luigi.

This afternoon, my mom, took him into the vet once again to get looked at to see if there was anything they could do more to help him. The vet basically said that he would never get better. My mom was left with a difficult choice to make. She talked to Weegee and explained to him that everything was going to be OK and that soon he would be in God's garden. He would be all better and free of pain. My mom said her goodbyes and then went to the waiting room. Very soon after, the vet came running out of the office with tears in her eyes. She said "He's gone! He's gone! Whatever you said to him, it must have released him and he just went on his own." She was about to give him the shot to put him down, but he had already deceased. He was just waiting for my mom to say that it was OK to go. 

Weeg, you were a great friend. I will truly miss your snuggles and how you would bump your head into me to show your love. You always had lots of purrs to share with us. You are unforgettable and will forever remain in our hearts. We know now you are free of all your pain and suffering. You are joined by Snuggles. Together you will run in the garden and probably fight over food (LOL) because that's who you are and WE LOVE YOU SOOO MUCH FOR BEING YOU.

  

Extra Extra

For all you NCIS fans out there, here's some exciting news for you. Today on Steve's ship, the USS Enterprise, there was video taken specifically for the show. The video was taken by Steve's department, and it was of Sailors watching a fake news event. In the video the Sailors have their backs turned towards the camera so you just see the backs of their heads. Steve was one of them, however he said we may not be able to see him because he was towards the back and he said he needs a haircut. LOL While, I'm not a huge fan of NCIS (too many dead bodies), I am a huge fan of my husband, so I'll definitely be watching. More details will follow as soon as we know more.

It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Seaweed Boy!!!

Honor Roll Student and Principal's List Recipient

Steve and I are super proud to announce that our son has made the Honor Roll at school. And not only did he achieve that status, but he also made the Principal's List for making top marks in every subject and even got an outstanding grade for math. I was told that teachers rarely give an outstanding grade, so I was extremely pleased over this. The school also awarded him a certificate for a free kid's meal at Salsarita's. Tyler you are on your way to a very bright future. Keep up the fantastic work!!!

Tyler's class went on their very first field trip yesterday. And Tyler got to ride on the school bus for the first time. The class went to the Hunt Club Farm (the location of Tyler's 5th birthday party) to learn about life cycles. Today in class the teacher asked the children to draw and write about their favorite thing about the trip. Tyler drew and wrote about the pigs.

Steve took some recent photos of his office space, including the little cafe spot he set up to enjoy some good cappuccinos and espressos. It's not hard to tell this is his office space; it's probably the cleanest on the entire ship.

Fun at Fun Forest

It was our last officially day of Spring Break. We had planned on going to the beach because it was 94 degrees and sunny, but our plans fell through. So, instead Tyler was just as happy to go to his favorite park. I'm glad I decided to take my camera along because he was in a fantastic posing mood. Enjoy some photos from our shoot today.

B6, I15, N34, G45, O52

Our apartment complex usually tries to have some kind of fun activity for their tenants every couple of months. This month we all got together for some BINGO. The manager, Renee, and the girls in the office really spoil us good. They not only provided over an hour full of games, but they had a full spread of delicious food and drinks for us. Though Tyler and I didn't win, we still had a fantastic time. Tyler was a great help locating and coloring in the spaces for me. We already can't wait for next year's game and we're hoping Dad can join us too. Steve Update: They are officially in the Persian Gulf now. So please, please, please pray for their safety.

A Day at the Museum

Where can you have a ton of fun with lots of hands-on exhibits and activities for children? The answer to this question for us yesterday was 'The Children's Museum'! This was the very first visit for both Tyler and I. We've heard many great things about the museum in the past and we were lucky to share our first experience with our good friends, Heather, Dawn, Rachael, Tina, Casey, Kristin and Shaun. We were only in the museum for a short time until it was confirmed that this was the perfect place to bring some 6 year olds during Spring Break.

The first room we went in was filled with train sets; some of the trains were antique. This room lead into a huge room with a gigantic train layout. Of course, kid's eyes were in awe the whole time as the watched several trains run the tracks.

The hands-on activities were endless. The museum was set up similar to a community there you could walk through and you literally had access to everything. There was a fire station, veterinarian hospital, grocery store, dentist office, bank, transit systems, and shipyard.

The kids could pretend they were firemen by putting out fires, do dental checkups, go grocery shopping and be the cashier, look after injured animals, go to the bank and make withdrawals, go fishing off a tugboat or be the tugboat's captain, and drive a bus with a busload full of real passengers.

Tyler favorite part of the museum was the bubble room where you could make all kinds of bubbles, including a giant bubble that completely surrounds you and your friends. The children learned that you pretty much can make bubbles out of just about anything including tubes and even coat hangers. We ended up spending most of our time in this room. However, before long we all agreed that it was time to take a break and go have a snack at the cafe nearby. The museum was overcrowded due it being Spring Break. So, we grabbed a small snack and drink and then headed back inside where we checked out the upper level of the museum.

The top floor was mostly hands-on science exhibits which really sparked Tyler's interest. There was a big eye of the storm that the kids had fun with that reminded me of the one my brother used to have when we were growing up.

After we left the science area, we ventured into the art room where the kids viewed the gallery, learned about making films, and even participated in their own play by dressing up and going on 'stage' while another kid controlled the lighting and background scenes.

Our tour of the museum ended with some artwork made by our sweetie pies. They made us moms and grandmas some beautiful pictures. It was the perfect ending to a great day at the museum. Here are some more photos from our visit.