Where do I start?

So Mike got home what feels like yesterday but has been over 2 weeks ago now. The kids haven't been able to get enough of him, well neither have I for that matter. The warming up period was minimal at worst, the kids took to Mike right away. I have to pat myself on the back for that as I worked hard to keep Mike as a daily part of the kids' lives. Annabelle needed some convincing to go to sleep at night fearful that Mike would be gone in the morning. For about 5 nights we'd have to say "Bye bye!" to the boat, and talk about how Daddy is home so she'd calm down and let Mike leave her room. It's actually kind of sad because it just shows how large the hole in her heart was in Mike's absence. MJ has been enjoying having someone to wrestle with too!

At homecoming we had the blessing of having a photographer volunteer her time to take pictures for us. It was especially nice to participate in homecoming rather than see it through the lens which undoubtedly I would have done. Here is one of my favorite images, one I had imagined the entire time Mike was gone, and Shannon was able to capture it for us.

As we were walking back to the car from the pier, Annabelle had found a comfy space in a place she'd missed for 6 long months. She was like this for a while.

Mike's leave has been a whirlwind of activity. I posted a lot of the scenery pictures on my photography blog, a link to which is on the right side of this page. I'll post more of the people pictures here for Kristi especially!

So, our first family outing was a trip to the zoo. We are members so it was nice to be able to take advantage of that membership one more time before we move. Oh, did I not mention that? Yes, we are moving back to Virginia Beach late this month early next. Anyway, back to the zoo. I had such a good time being together as a family and watching Mike try to round up the kids. I got not so secret pleasure out of seeing him be as ineffective at controlling them as I am! As a team we're getting it together...but the kids still challenge us very much in the "stay with Mommy and Daddy!" department.

It's nice to be in pictures without having to ask a stranger to take them.
I don't normally post pics of myself but I loved this one. It was neat to see how Mike sees me. I was just enjoying watching the kids. Some of my friends say I look so at peace and relieved here. I think they are right. It's so much easier to enjoy them when I'm not 100% responsible for them. Ok, I'm still 100% responsible for them but so is Mike so it helps.
She can't get enough of her Daddy!
And a family picture.

I think we missed Mike the most when we were just doing day to day unplanned fun things. I know I often found myself thinking about how much more fun it would be to play outside if he was there. So it has been especially nice to just enjoy those moments as a family.

We washed the car and played in the sprinkler.

We got to show our new cool bubble toy.

And the kids finally got to take the lid off the sandbox. I hate them and the mess they make so I was a total scrooge and didn't let them play in it while Mike was gone.

Water play turns into water gun fights.
More Daddy lovin'.
Some pouty moments that are so darn cute.
Daddy playing house!
Annabelle showing off her newest ability!

Daddy sticking close by.

MJ, knowing the camera was facing his direction trying to ruin the shot actually made it!

For the 4th of July we decided to stay in and enjoy each other. We started the day with a promised trip to see "Ducky and Coon" at the playground. Then we blew up the pool and let the kids play. In the evening we did some fireworks in the yard and called it a night. The kids had a blast and I was happy not to have to go to a large display.

Mike brought the "guitars" home from Hawaii for the kids. MJ was being a rockstar.

Ok, this blog post is getting out of control. That brings us to right before we left for our trip. I'm going to end this one here and post a new one with our people pictures from the trip. Like I said before, I've already posted mostly scenery pics on my photography blog if you are interested.