Chesapeake Friends

Over the past two years, we've come to love living here. Aside from being so far from extended family, we've met some wonderful friends who have been there for us, made memories with us, and and made us glad that we had the opportunity to cross paths with them. We had a Memorial Day BBQ with some of our best friends and it was a blast.

There were SO many kids in the pool!

This is Jackson's best friend Trevor. Trevor moved here last summer, and their family is about to move to Germany. Trevor is in Pete's class that he teaches at church and every week, Trevor is the one that takes care of Jackson. He is so good with him and will often bring him toys to play with. We adore Trevor and I'm so thankful that he's been kind of enough to help us out at church. We're going to miss the whole Coyle family! They are salt of the earth people and their attitude about moving and making friends and serving, has shaped how I want to be going forward with each move I make.



Us, Cheryl Alsop, Connie and Keven Coyle (moving to Germany), Shelley and Steve Detton, and Heather and Matt Dudley (Bishop and one of the families I would most like mine to be like).

Soccer days and the museum

We headed back to the children's museum and it was so fun. Love that place for the ages my kids are at.

Parker lost tooth #2 on the bottom. His top tooth is now slightly wiggly.

Soccer is now done. He had a total of 23 goals and had a blast. The other kids didn't take it quite as seriously so we are looking forward to something more competitive in the fall. We are also getting him in this summer long soccer camp which should really hone his skills. He loves soccer.

And Jackson loves cheering him on!

And so does Austin.


I gave Aussie a dollar to go the snack shack and said pick something "healthy." He came back proudly stating, "I GOT CHOCOLATE DONUTS!!!!" It was so hot that they were already melty in the package. No thanks. I asked if he'd rather exchange them for something less messy, unless he was really passionate about them. "I'm really passionate about them," he said. STill, he exchanged for... Cheetos. I guess that's better than melted chocolate.

Matchy Matchy at church. Matching isn't just for sisters or mother/daughter duos. They looked so cute!

Beachy beach

We tried out a new beach last week and it was great. It's a beach on one of the Bases, so it's far less crowded than public ones around here. There's a parking lot and convenient bathroom. Win win. The boys had a blast, and Austin and Parker loved chasing the waves. Jackson just liked taking it all in. While I am there I thought, "This is the best. We should do this every day this summer." And then as we were packing up the car and the sand mess started and the changing out of wet closed commenced, I started rethinking that plan. And then when we actually got home and I had an hour of car cleanup, I swore I'd never return. haha. It was fun while it lasted.

Constant wrestling

The boys are in a constant state of wrestling. All the time... not just sometimes... all the time! Someone is always on the verge of being tackled. And now Jackson is in on it.





Parker wanted to show Austin how his pants had split down the middle...

11 months old!

I don't even know how many teeth he has, because they are popping up all over the place. He is crawling like a maniac and into everything. He is learning to be a comedian and loves to get our attention. He is FINALLY figuring out how to chew and swallow food. But he's still only eating baby food, cheerios, broken up graham crackers, yogurt melts, etc... He's getting more of a wild streak in him, so we'll see what his budding personality holds for us! He's simply the cutest and I get stopped EVERYWHERE about his eyes!





And he ADORES his brothers. He wants to be in on all the action.

Dining Out

One of the driving factors for joining the military for Pete... was the uniforms! I am kind of kidding, but kind of not. As a guy that always took any free swag and his wardrobe quickly became entirely consumed with college or work apparel, it's no wonder that a full closet of uniforms swayed him into the Navy:)

That being said, we have no pics of him with us in his uniform. But last Friday, he and I got the chance to attend Dining Out, which is a formal event for the Navy. It was a Black Tie affair, and he got to wear his dressiest whites and I got to wear a long dress. We got a babysitter and had a great time. His colleagues are so fun and we've come to love them after the past two years of Sunday dinners getting to know them all.







The dinner was great and they gave toasts and awards throughout the evening. They brought Pete and George up front and talked about how when they first arrived, they couldn't tell them apart. So now they are just known as Pete/George.



George has been such a big part of our life over the past two years. They met at ODS, arrived a Norfolk together, went back up to Rhode Island for NJS, and have worked side by side ever since. He's been there for Sunday dinners, he's been our babysitter when we need a night out, he brought us dinner that he had made the first night Jackson came home after being born... George is so great and Norfolk would not have been the same without him. I sure hope our paths cross in the future.

Pete, Dennis and George. Dennis is one of the guys responsible for making Pete into a runner. At NJS, a group of them started training for a marathon, and that camaraderie was so great for Pete while he was in Rhode Island. Dennis is a hard worker and a great dad to three little ones as well. His wife Jessica and I have also become great friends.

Pete, Bob, George, and Dennis. Bob has also become a staple at Sunday dinners (always bringing Oreos). He too has been a reliable babysitter when an emergency came up and he's so great with our boys. He's fun and funny and we are really going to miss him!

Apparently you need to be named Jessica to be a Navy JAG wife. Three Jessica's in a row. Jessica (on the left) had her third baby within a week of me having Jackson last summer, and Jessica (in the middle) had her third baby a few months ago. While many of Pete's colleagues are young and single (or at least don't have kids), it's really nice to have other families that we can get together with.

Family Pic

Too bad this wasn't taken with a pretty backdrop... but here we are before church. All dressed... all looking at the camera... success!

My little guy is 11 months old! What?!?!!?

And the podcast is going really well. He had been plateued at the number of downloads, but made it back to #7 on the iTunes rankings thanks to my touching interview with Food Network Star Kelsey Nixon. Check it out if you haven't already: www.extraordinarymomspodcast.com/episode43