Water Day @ Alexys school

At the end of the school year the kids get to have a fun water day! They had 3 rotating stations of various water activities and 3 stations that they did together as a class.

They played with a parachute that had a nerf ball soaked in water.

Water balloon toss.

Musical chairs.



Wet, Wet, Dry is a game like duck, duck, goose.

After all the activities were done the kids got to have a picnic on their towels.

USS Bonhomme Richard LHD6

Our friend and neighbor Louie Gasca is a Lieutenant in the US Navy. He invited us to go with him, his family and a few other of our neighbors onboard his ship for a Friends and Family Cruise Day. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity for us "Civilians" we were so honored to be there. We boarded at 8:30 am and were sailing out to sea by 10:30 am.

Our group

Louie's room. He shares this room with one other officer. Even as small as this room is it is quite large compared to the 3 rack bunks that most of the military get to sleep in.

Us going out to sea.

Lieutenant Gasca, his wife Tina and The LaDue's on the flight deck.



The boys-Brian, Tom and little Louie. They had a blast running all over the ship. They pretty much did their own thing all day.

Coronado Bridge

The ship barely clears the bridge.






The tug boats that get us out of the harbor.

This was quite a site. They have naval security boats that keep all other vessels away from the ship. Going out to sea we had two on each side. During our cruise there were one on each side until we redocked.







During our time onboard and out to sea they showed us several things that they do everyday. Taking off and landing their helicopters, a water rescue, shooting their weapons out to sea, an LCAC Hovercraft demonstration and fire rescue. This was all amazing. There were a few times that my emotions got to me. I can't even begin to explain how I felt. These men and women risk their lives for us everyday.

Louie works down in the boiler room as an Engineer. One of the very cool things that they do is convert sea water to electricity for the ship.











Alexys driving the ship. We also got to go inside the control room. We didn't take any pictures inside there. It was so cool though.

Going back home. We didn't get to spot any dolphins or whales but we did see some seals resting on top of buoys.

Thank you Louie for inviting us to share this experience with you and your family. We truly appreciate it. It was amazing!

In a couple more months Louie and another neighbor of ours Shannon who is a Sargent Major in the Marines will be shipping out for a few months together onboard the USS Bonhomme Richard.

Samantha @ 18 months

She is turning into a little toddler before our eyes.

Loves to climb on everything.

Loves to sing and dance. She does a chicken like dance which is hilarious!

Loves to swim.

Loves to play with her babies and carry a purse.

Loves to eat fruit. She really is a great eater.

She weighs 20 lbs. A little peanut not even on the charts.

She is 32" tall. In the 75th percentile for height. hmm tall and skinny! A supermodel in the making!

Alexys' 6th Birthday Party

Today we had Alexys' 6th birthday party. This year we decided to invite her kindergarten class. I had 20 kids show up. It was crazy but they had the best time. I served hotdogs, mac n cheese, fruit and fruit dip for lunch. After lunch all the kids got to decorate their own cupcakes. Masterpieces as some of them called them. My wonderful friend Christina was kind enough to come over and do face painting for me. They lined up for 2 hours! Thank you Christina! It was a huge hit.

The Guests!

Happy Birthday Daddy and Alexys

I can't believe you are 6 already. Where has the time gone. Soon you will be graduating Kindergarten! Daddy says he will be 28 forever! (keep dreaming honey) the years are adding up! Happy Birthday!

CJ's High School Graduation!

Woo Hoo he did it! I am so proud of CJ. He was so excited too! I can't believe this day has come and gone. My first born is now a grown man heading off to college. Way to go CJ!

1st Field Trip

Alexys' class has been learning about their community the past couple weeks. For their field trip the teacher took them to our local Fire Station and Stater Bros grocery store. They were so excited to ride the bus. For Alexys and for many of them this was the first time getting to do so. They all looked so tiny sitting on those big seats. We had a blast!