My Favorite Flower

A bloom from my hibiscus tree, which is somewhere in the ballpark of ten years old (I am the third owner) and approximately 6ft tall. Did I mention this tree is in my bedroom? I don't think I could get the thing out the door again if I tried!
This tree was handed down to me by my mother-in-law about two years ago, because she knew that the hibiscus is my favoritest flower in the world! Aren't they beautiful? The blooms only last about 2 days, but I am fortunate that my tree blooms like crazy, even all winter long!

The Cousins

Here are my cousins & I (most of them, anyway) in a picture taken in 1997 and a pic taken at the family dinner we had last night for my cousin Adrienne who was home visiting from Phoenix. My little sister is sitting on my lap in both pictures, so that shows how long ago 1997 really was! I am very fortunate to have such a close-knit group of cousins, all of them are like siblings (ok, two of them really are). Family is such a blessing, I thank God for them. No matter how many miles or months seperate us, we are still the same goofballs as soon as we get together again.

FINAL FOUR, BABY!

Yeeeeaaaah! Gators defeat Villanova to make it into the Final Four! George Mason, I hope you enjoyed your historic trip through the NCAA Tournament because it's coming to an end this weekend! Everyone's saying how crazy the brackets are and what a surprise these final four teams are, but I picked TWO of them! (Florida & LSU...gotta pick the SEC!)

GO GATORS!!!!

Hey, Cool Helmet!

I sent the hubby some red, white and blue paint & look what he did! Sgt Wally and Spc Howes's artfully decorated helmets are propped on display in their bradley. And he thinks I'm the artistic one.

Grandpa & Boombie

Well, it's been 3 weeks and a day since Sgt Wally has gone back to Iraq. Still don't know for sure when he's coming home...May? June? Ever? Just booked a 5 day Carnival cruise for us to Key West & Nassau at the end of July, so he better be home by then! Neither one of us have ever cruised before, so we're very excited. We're also going to drive down to Florida (our cruise departs from Jacksonville) so we can visit with my Grandpa. Haven't seen him in almost two years, since Sgt Wally got back from Kosovo. He'll be so thrilled to see his Boombie! (He's called me that my whole life and no one knows where it came from) He lives right on a big lake and loves to fish, so Sgt Wally and I are going to bring our poles down with us and do a little fishing with him. I still remember him crying when I told him that I was moving to PA almost 4 years ago. He'll be 76 next month, so I know time is precious. It terrifies me to think that one day he will be gone and I will have this regret that I didn't see him enough.

Disney World! Wally's Wife (with uncle Dave) circa 1982 on left, little sister Kayla circa 1997 on right. Guess I'll have to claim her afterall... :)

I LOVE MY SOLDIER

A Weekend With Wimpy

My Dad, my sister Kayla & I had a blast this weekend with my nephew Alex, who is now 21 months old! We took Alex on his first trip to Chuck E. Cheese...he loved it!
Unfortunately, it was my first trip to Chuck E. Cheese in about 8 years and I have to say that I was a little disheartened, it seemed so much cooler when I was a kid! Dave & Busters is so much better! Oh well, it was worth it to see that smile on the lil "Wimpy's" face (as Sgt Wally calls him). Can't wait til our next sleepover.

Beware the Wolves

Heard of the movie, "Vally of the Wolves: Iraq"? I just saw a snippet about this Turkish film on TV and thought I'd look more into it online. Apparently it stars Billy Zane and Gary Busey and tells a story about evil bloodthirsty American soldiers ruthlessly killing innocent Iraqis to get their organs. Basically a slap in the face to my husband and all the other soldiers that put their lives on the line every day. I think these two "American" actors just commited career suicide.

Here's a link to Variety's review of the movie:
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117929689?categoryid=31&cs=1&nid=2562

Another month closer to the end of this deployment!