Possession is 9/10ths of the Law...

Or so my son thinks. Actually, in his mind it doesn't matter who something belongs to- if he gets it first, too bad.

Welcome to the joys of my life.

Nothing is safe.

Sidenote for those maybe a little confused: Candy is not allowed in this house, at least not where Aidan is concerned. However, at our last meeting, I was given a bag of lollipops in a ziploc bag. I put it in Aidan's zippered diaper bag and forgot about it.

A day later, I see that my son has opened his bag, opened the ziploc bag, taken off the lollipop wrapper, and tasted the fruit of his efforts. And I'm supposed to say no to this face?

Myrtle Beach Mini Vacay :)

Happy spring, friends!

Thanks to the Army's support and encouragement for united couples and families, every few months it provides funds for a weekend away to focus on couples and their families (on their dime to boot!). It is specifically intended to be a marriage retreat, but the couples with children are invited and there is plenty of time for play with your kids. Not every couple in the squadron takes advantage (their loss in our opinion), but we Ruffs have been given the opportunity three times now.

This time we went to Myrtle Beach, SC- a new trip location for us. Thankfully, the weather warmed up the days prior to our trip and we woke up to this view Saturday morning:

Our morning was spent in session while Aidan played with tons of kids. He had a blast, and duly impressed the workers with his cheery attitude, his friendliness, and his ever energetic spirit to throw, catch and follow a ball. As if need a reminder of that! But it brings such joy to us to know others see just how wonderful our little man is. And when picking him up after a few hours of sitting in session, his huge smile, giggle and immediate dropping of whatever he was doing in order to run to us just does our hearts good :)

Following our session, we all had lunch, which was super exciting for Aidan. Maybe it was the food, maybe it was the time to finally see Mama and Papa, maybe it was the view out the restaurant window, maybe it was the friend he was playing with (cough, cough, the GIRL playing with him)...

Naptime came for three very tired Ruffs after lunch, and it ended all too soon. But the beach was calling us! The day was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. There was a slight breeze, the humidity was low, the sun was high in the sky. We got in our swimsuits, gathered our towels and beachtoys, and looked for some friends to enjoy the opportunity to hit the sand. This was not Aidan's first time visiting the beach, but the first time, he was a bit young and ended up pretty scared. The second time was in the winter, meaning his time there was not long due to the cold temperature. This time, though, he was ready to go. The first few steps were an experience, bringing some confusion and dislike. Gradually, it became a fun time...especially once he had some friends (again, girls) and toys to play with...

After our family afternoon, Eric and I had a date night. In fact, a double date night with some good friends of ours. We traveled (quite speedily due to being late) to Medieval Times, where we cheered on the Yellow Knight for all we were worth. Correction: our husbands cheered and booed and caused enough noise for every other person in the arena while Ashley and I sat together and just laughed at them. And occasionally pretended that we were not with them. Thanks to our overgrown officers for a night full of laughter and fun. We traveled to the boardwalk following that entertainment and met up with a few other couples to people watch (ie- find the people partying St Patty's Day a bit much, the cheerleaders grouped together practicing their cheers for the competition the next day, the weird outfits that people tend to find attractive, etc), to laugh at the man eating fish, and to eat some bad custard. No joke- it was gross.

All in all, a fantastic weekend. It was full of so much fun and laughter and great memories. The Lord has blessed us with some great opportunities to learn and live with some awesome people here in Ft Bragg. This weekend gave Eric and I a renewed spirit of uniting our family with a purpose and goal while most importantly, making our marriage most important in life.

This past week and weekend showed us how fantastic the weather is right now. So while the calendar says happy spring, we Ruffs wish you a happy summer. We plan on taking advantage of it this time around: weekend trips here and there, outdoor games, walks with friends, and whatever we can do to enjoy our time together as a family here in Fayetteville.

My (Little) Big Helper

I have the joy of declaring that I officially have a great little helper.

I don't have to put dirty clothes on the floor into the basket; they are put away for me. Of course, they aren't organized the way I like or anything, but they are picked up.

When hanging up shirts, I don't have to reach for hangars as they are handed to me. Granted, I tend to hang shirts up a bit slower than my helper deems right.

Once dirty diapers are put into their trash bags, I don't have to get up and put them into the trash bag because my little helper does it for me.

Toys are regularly picked up from wherever they are lying around. Small problem- they are simply moved to lay in another location, not in its intended "put away" spot.

As soon as I begin to prepare us all to go out, Aidan's shoes and mine are gathered and given to me. Sadly, the shoes picked tend to be the shoes I was not planning on wearing because they just don't match :/

I don't have to bend to put clothes from the washer into the dryer. I need to simply gather the clothes from the washer and hand them to my helper, who then places them into the dryer and closes the door.

But, again, small problem: I simply want to dry my clothes, not my son. What happens when my little helper puts himself in the dryer along with the wet clothes???

Oh Lord, thank you for the many blessings that you have given me in this life.