USS ENTERPRISE

It's that time again. The Navy says we've been in one spot long enough. We enjoyed our 4 years in Saratoga Springs, NY so much! We will cherish all the memories and friends we made. This has been the most enjoyable duty station yet. I absolutely love the state of NY, the people, the weather...just everything! We completed our family here, by having our third and final child. Brooke started school here and Peyton started preschool and so much more!

TJ has orders to the USS Enterprise and will catch up to them sometime in June. The Enterprise is on their last deployment and will decommission when it comes back. We are extremely proud and excited for TJ to embark on his first deployment. We will miss him terribly but I will do my best to keep him updated while he's gone. I will strive to update this blog daily with photos and activities so he can read through it when he has time.

As sad as we are to leave NY, we are just as excited to move back to VA. Brooke is excited to see the state she was born in. I am excited to reunite with my family on my maternal grandmother's side. We couldn't be happier about living near a beach and not to mention all of the things there are to do in the Hampton Roads Area. We will also be much closer to my family and TJ's family so there's lots of positives! We rented a beautiful home in VA Beach, it's centrally located about 20 minutes to the beach and about 20 minutes to Naval Station Norfolk. I already checked out the elementary school and I love it! Our new home has 4 bedrooms so each child can have their own room plus lots of space for company. We have a nice fenced in back yard and a garage - all musts on our list! We move in on April 2nd and TJ leaves 2 weeks later for a month long school in TX.


Now onto the kids...
Brooke is upset about leaving her friends, her teacher and her school. She seems somewhat excited about moving into a new house though. When you ask her how she feels she says "Bad and happy. I'm happy about living near the beach, it being warmer in VA and having my own room. I'm sad because I will miss my friends - especially Hannah and Luz. So I guess I'm mostly happy about moving but still sad." She will be going to Glenwood Elementary School in VA Beach and finish up 2nd grade. She's doing MUCH better in reading and math. She will be going to CA for a month during the summer, probably the whole month of July, right around the time TJ leaves so Peyton will be a mess during that time =( Brooke wants to get involved in karate and girl scouts once we get to VA so hopefully we have ease getting her into both.


Peyton is also upset about leaving her friends, teacher and school. When asked how she feels she says "I don't want to move because I will miss my teachers and Elizabeth and Abigail. I will miss NY. I'm excited to move to VA for a bigger house. I do not want my own room but I have to. At least when Brooke gets into trouble in her room, I wont get into trouble too." Peyton absolutely LOVES her preschool and has formed a wonderful bond with the teachers. My heart is broken that we have to move during the school year for both girls. I keep telling Peyton that she will just have an extra long summer vacation and we will have tons of fun. Peyton will start kindergarten in the fall but it is only half day which is another bummer for her but at least she'll get to ride the bus with her sister in the mornings! Peyton is also interested in doing karate and girl scouts once we move. Peyton is very upset about TJ deploying and cries whenever we bring it up. She also gets very emotional when Brooke leaves for the summer so this move/deployment will be the toughest on her. I plan on doing whatever I can to cheer her up and keep her going over the summer and plan lots of sleepovers with mommy!


Tyler really has no idea what's going on and I think he will do just fine adjusting. When asked how he feels about us moving he says "yeah". After we move I plan on working harder on potty training since he is still showing no interest at all! I hope he's fully potty trained by the time TJ gets back! Tyler will turn 3 in August (I just can't believe this!) and I am hoping to throw him a birthday party at our home in VA with both sets of grandparents and his great grandparents. I'm excited for this since it will be the first time most of the family members will meet!


As for me I plan to focus on things we can do as a family to make this time easier for the kids. I figure the more I plan and research and stay busy I wont have time to dwell on the fact that TJ will be gone so long. I want to get involved in as many activities as we can and attend lots of playdates. I will also focus on my two businesses/hobbies - my crafts and miche (purses). I'm excited to update this blog daily for TJ and hope that I'm able to keep up with it. He loves the idea. That's all for now!