The Ellis family

Throughout this deployment I'm not sure what we'd do without the LOVE & SUPPORT of Chad and Kristy! We've been instant friends with the Ellis family since we arrived in Germany. Chad and Scottie's R & R overlapped so we took the chance to drive and meet them in VA. We know its random but we've missed them!! This was Scottie's first time meeting his God Daughter Kamryn.
We didn't tell Kynsley where we were going we just had her to go knock on their hotel room door. When Kristy opened the door a HUGE smile came across Kynsley's face. She actually was very shy when she saw Chad. About an hour or so later we were eating breakfast at the Cracker Barrel and Kynsley leaned over and said, "Mommie, its Chad, its Chad"!!! She then got down from her seat and ran over to sit in his lap! I think she just needed a little bit of time to piece it all together. She often gets to wave to him on the web cam when we're talking to Scottie but I think in her little mind she couldn't believe it was really him.
We enjoyed getting to spend time with them and let the kids exchange Christmas gifts! We're so thankful that we have such wonderful friends in our lives!

Fun in the Pool

Visiting Granny at the Salon

While Scottie was with Papa Clip at the Barber Shop, Kynsley and I walked down town to see Granny Jo at her salon. They have a little salon play area and Kynsley went right to work getting the dolls hair fixed. After Granny's hair was rolled she let Kynsley sit with her under the dryer! What a fun afternoon for Kynsley!

Go Panthers!

I got a Blue Box!!!

I want " a little BLUE box". I guess its something every "romantic" has dreamed about since watching "Sweet Home Alabama"
Over the years I've given Scottie a hard time about it...its become a joke between the two of us. Down to, he would say, "I wonder how much they would charge me just for the box".
To my surprise, once we arrived in Charlotte he took me to the salon to get pampered. He told me he would pick me up later, he had shopping to do.
Once I was dressed and ready to go out to dinner, he surprised me by handing me "the Little Blue Box from Tiffany & Co.. My mouth dropped open and I don't even remember saying anything to him but, "are you kidding me"??
Inside were these beautiful Elsa Peretti drop Crystal earrings. I LOVE THEM!!! He has me a little spoiled don't you think! I'm so blessed to have such a romantic husband!!!

Our Romantic Weekend

Scottie and I escaped and went to Charlotte for our weekend getaway. We had reservations at the Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in South Park. The staff was amazing! We started off with the BBQ shrimp and let me just say I was sopping up the sauce with the bread! I know what you're thinking..is that okay in a fancy place? Yeah, it is, our waitress actually told me to do it. I'm glad she did it was so yummy, We enjoyed having a quiet, romantic dinner and getting the chance to just be together. A few of the staff came over to thank Scottie for his service and then served us a whole chocolate cake~although we were stuffed we still couldn't resist eating the strawberry topped, chocolate fudge filled masterpiece. What a wonderful night and we highly recommend this restaurant, its perfect for special occasions.

Kynsleyland

Everyone received an invitation that read, "Join King Kandy and the Candyland Gang to celebrate Kynsley's 3rd Birthday"!

When the guest arrived each child got to use stickers and crayons to decorate their own goody bag! From there we had 3 different rotations for the party. Beverly was in charge of Gloppy's chocolate fingerpainting. Who's idea was this mess?(HAHA) Beverly did a great job controlling the mess...unlike Scottie!! Which seemed to be all the kids favorite part of the party. Scottie was leading Grandma Nutt's peanut toss. Can we just say everyone was joking, "how can he control soldiers and not handle a few kids" but he enjoyed every minute of it. In the end, there were peanuts EVERYWHERE!!! Donna and I were at the last activity which was Lolly Lollipops musical chairs. At each spot the kids got to pick a prize which corresponded with that activity for their take-home goody bag. Which included, Gingerbread cookies, Peanut Butter crackers, Lollipops, and yes you guessed it...lots and lots of CANDY.
Kynsley is blessed with so many friends and she seemed to have a great time eating pizza, blowing out the candles on the cake Scottie and I decorated and opening her many presents. Thank you EVERYONE for a GREAT party it will be one we will never forget!

For the 1st time

This is going to sound really crazy~but this was the FIRST time our family has been all together~EVER!!! I couldn't pass up to capture this special moment on camera! It always seems that at family dinners, church, or just hanging out there is always someone missing. But not at Kynsley's 3rd birthday party...we were all together!

Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg

We adventured out and took Kynsley to the first part of her birthday surprise~she loves visiting zoos and aquariums. She was happy when we just let her walk around without a stroller. She thought she was such a big girl! The aquarium was so nice and HUGE!! We spent most of the morning walking around and exploring.

They say its your Birthday....

We let Kynsley open a few gifts before we left the cabin to celebrate her day! She is so loved by so many friends and family around the world!