Beach Boy

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Retreat Recap

This past weekend our family attended the Strong Bonds Marriage retreat sponsored by Mike's unit. We've heard about these retreats before but this was the first time that we were able to attend. The retreat was at Myrtle Beach (about 2 and a half hours from our house) and almost all of our expenses were paid. They had childcare at the retreat but since Olivia cannot be with other children that wasn't an option for us. Mike spoke with the Chaplain to see if we could work something out and we were able to make arrangements that worked for our family. The cost of our room was covered (as it was for the other retreat participants) but they were able to put us in a large 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom suite with a kitchen. We brought our regular babysitter (the one we found on care.com), the babysitter brought her husband so she had help with the kids. We all stayed together in our spacious suite. We were responsible for paying the sitter but that was our only expense for the weekend. The sessions were good, we had some great conversations. The kids had fun and we got to spend some nice quality time together. The resort had a beautiful pool and Olivia enjoyed floating around the lazy river with me while Peter loved the water slides. It was a great experience and I would absolutely recommend it! Peter loved the beach and I'll try and post some pictures from his first beach experience soon.

After the rain

It's rained here for the last 3 days. This evening the rain stopped and the sun peeked out for a bit. The kids went to bed a little early tonight, 7 for Peter and 7:30 for Olivia. Mike got home and I decided to go for a walk. It's been a really long time since I've gone for a walk without pushing a stroller. I was able to follow my walking program and alternate between a moderate and a brisk pace. When you're pushing a 30 lb stroller with 60 adorable pounds of passangers it's difficult to enjoy the simple act of alternating your pace. I was able to complete my walk in record time too! It was beautiful outside, everything was fresh and new after the rain. I realized that the entire time we lived in Washington I missed that fresh, after the rain feeling. It rained in Washington all the time but it was a constant mist, there was a constant dampness in the air. We never got to experience that freshness that comes after the rain. It's nice to be back in the South!

Hunker Down

On the news this morning they announced that today marks the beginning of Hurricane Preparedness Week in preparation for the official start of Hurricane season on June 1st. Both Mike and I grew up along the Gulf Coast but it's been 6 years since we've lived anywhere where we've had to worry about Hurricane season. There were a couple of typhoon warnings for the Puget Sound when we were living in Washington state but that wasn't really a big cause for concern. I'm not saying typhoons are not cause for concern just the possibility that it would have actually reached the Puget Sound. I'm trying to resist the urge to go stock up on bottled water and canned goods.

In other news we are all doing well. Peter is saying new words everyday, it's amazing to see how quickly he picks up on new things. He knows exactly which plants to water in the garden all by himself. I need to schedule his 18 month well baby visit, he was 18 months old earlier this month, I'm a little behind. Olivia is doing really well. She has been quite the giggly girl lately and it's nice to see her so happy. She's starting to use a few more words again, "goat" was a favorite this weekend, but she's not really communicating verbally. She does ask for pepperoni, she calls it "roni" and she never touched the stuff before her transplant. She loved pizza but would always pick off the pepperoni. Now she can't get enough of the stuff and pepperoni has become a weekly staple on our grocery list.

On tap for this week are the usual therapy sessions, an IEP meeting, and the All American Games. The All American Games are the 82nd Airborne Division's annual field day competition. Each brigade forms their own team and they compete against each other in baseball, football, tug-of-war, etc. The FRG is selling hot dogs as a fundraiser at the games so we'll be busy with that. This weekend Mike and I are going on a marriage retreat sponsored by the army. We've heard great things about these retreats and are looking forward to going but I'm nervous about the kids. They have childcare provided at the retreat location but since Olivia (because of her immune system) and Peter (because he hasn't had any of his shots because of Olivia's immune system) cannot be with other kids we are bringing our babysitter with us. I'm nervous but I know that Mike and I are both looking forward to spending some time together. Did I mention that the retreat is in Myrtle Beach? That's some serious motivation to get through this week!