Hello blog readers! I hope you are all well and getting into the Halloween spirit! We are decked out here at the house with spider webbing, scarecrows, spiders and plenty of pumpkins. I have to admit, the spider webbing worked great, far better than past years. Annabelle goes between wanting to be a princess to a ghost to a witch to a ghostly princess to a cat (we got that one tonight?!?!) but she will be a princess.. Addison has a costume but I am not sure what it is actually, photos will come. No worry.

Recently Addison has gotten really good at maneuvering around the house. She goes from the couch to the ottoman and from toy to toy. Really getting around, that little one... But she is nothing compared to her buddy Gavin. He is 5 houses down and 5 days older than Addison. He has been walking like crazy and is totally on the run now with Addison crawling behind!! haha... That is until tonight!!! YES SHE TOOK HER FIRST STEPS!!! We were over at the Braman's house for dinner and Addison took six steps! Daddy missed the first one step but then she took a few more for him to see! I plan to try to video tomorrow as it really is the very beginning of her walking (and we have Annabelle's first steps on video, gotta be fair).

We have a lot coming up in the next few months.. Halloween, I turn 40 and of course Addison's first birthday!! I can't believe she will be 1 in less than a month. Where did the time go? Annabelle turning three in January isn't nearly as hard to believe as Addison turning one. She is my big girl now and every day she is more and more adorable. Oh now I love my girls.

Gotta sip some tea and relax now.. as always please keep all our soldiers both at home and over seas in your prayers and remember the families left behind as well.

Love to you all
Carolyn

Here he is!! John in all his glory... 25 years older but it still fits!! haha

The first thing I must say is thank you to all of John's class mates. Going to a spouses reunion can be a daunting task... especially when you are not typically a social person. I personally would rather stay home with my family than go out with a bunch of, for lack of a better word, strangers. I do think the military has changed my ability and desire to adapt in such situations but for me it is still a challenge. Every one was so warm and welcoming to me that it really felt as if I was a part of this group of friends though none had ever met me. To be honest, I felt more comfortable at John's reunion than I was at my own last year. I really had a great time! No kidding..

We left Annabelle with Grammy and Papa and headed to the airport. We arrived that afternoon and was met by Gran and Odie at the airport. They swiftly took Addison and we were child free for the weekend!! That afternoon I was suffering day 5 of a headache so we didn't do much but nap and watch some TV. After a good nap though, I was feeling much better and we headed out to Jam's deli to meet a group of John's classmates for dinner prior to attending the Homecoming game and Western Guilford. It was fun meeting everyone and listening to the stories of misbehaviour my now straight laced husband got into back in the day.. haha... And to top it off that night one of John's friends walked in with a letter jacket, handed it to John and said he has had it in is closet for 25 years and mistakenly took it home after a party!! It was John's and it still fit!

Saturday we woke late, actually got to sleep until 8:30 for John and 9:00 for me and headed out for our Race for the Cure! Honestly we only ran part of it as I still had a headache but we walked around the airport and sported our shirts in support of the cause!! It was good to get out and even though we were not in Nashville with the rest of you we were with you in spirit!! After our run/walk we headed out for some local Greensboro spots, Looney's for lunch and Yum-Yum's for ice cream!! Looney's is a sports bar so I got to see my Vols for a little bit and later got to hear they actually won?!?! and Yum-Yum's is a little ice cream shop that John used to go to with his grandfather as a child.. It was yummy and fun to see a part of his childhood. We then headed to visit Granny and Papa, John's grand parents, for a little while. Gran and Odie too Addison over on Friday so we were really Happy to get to spend some time with the two of them... They are amazing to me, especially papa who is 88, or 89 and is quick as a whip!! I hope I am like that when I am in my 80s.. After seeing them we headed back to the hotel and watched some football in bed! There really isn't any other way to watch TV in a hotel but in bed! needless to say, I fell asleep!! but woke refreshed and ready for the big event! We headed down to the reunion. Everyone looked great!! no kidding.. So friendly and sweet.. I really enjoyed myself and truly felt as if I was a part of this group though I have only heard stories about most and have seen a few comments from some on facebook. Let me tell you, facebook is the way to go. Not to toot the facebook horn but the fact that 90% of those in attendance are facebook(ers) and having such an outlet most knew what the other was up to, what they looked like, knew their spouses (me) and all about their children! It certainly took the 100 questions out of a typical reunion and left more of a social gathering with having fun as the primary objective. There were a few non facebook(ers) who had to "catch-up" but for the most part it was just like a weekend get together.

I really had a great time.

We arrived back home Sunday, after Gran and Odie delivered Addison back to us at the airport to Annabelle who, apparently, had a blast with Grammy and Papa as well Craven and Aunt Sharelle. It seems she didn't really miss us at all. She and Craven are thick as thieves and play so well together.. We stayed for dinner and drove home with two sleepyheads in the back.. Annabelle is still sleeping as I type (7:30a) but Addison, of course was up at 6:00... We are thankful for the extra 30 minutes as she is normally a 5:30 riser...

John is off today so we are going to hang out, get my new $1200 tires for my car and enjoy the day.... I hope you do too.


God bless you all and love from us to you!
Carolyn

We are currently in the middle of our Evans' family vacation to Myrtle Beach, SC. The weather is unbelievable and the water warm as the sun.
WHen we arived, Addison was sick as many of you know.. Running a temp between 100-102.7. We medicated her with Tylenol and Motrin and kept it down for the most part but it was still there even with the medication. Tuesday I decided to take her to the hospital if she was still running a fever but when I got home from shopping, I checked her temp and she was normal! She has now been fever free with no medication for two days now and she is back to her normal happy self. She wasn't unhappy when running a temp but you could tell she wasn't herself. We are all thankful that she is well, that it didn't get worse and for all your prayers.

Annabelle is a different child from last year. She LOVES the ocean... (all the more reason we hope and pray we go to the Naval War College next year) She plays in the surf getting nocked down and loving every second! She loves the pool and the "couzy" (her way of saying Jacuzzy) too though both are more like bath tubs than pool/hot tubs.

*this was written over several days*

Though Annabelle loved the water and the ocean she too got sick running a 103 temp and feeling lathargic. While talking about illness on our vacation, both Haley and Jackson got sick as well! 4 of 6 children ended up with some sort of illness but thankfully no one got really sick and recovered fairly quickly..

We are home now (finishing this entry) but heading out once again tomorrow, back to the Carolina's for John's 25th high school reunion! Yes, John is that old!!

I will post some photos soon... maybe a slideshow of our beach trip..

Love to you all
Carolyn