The School year has OFFICIALLY started

Gabriel and JoJo on the first day of 4th grade and Pre K

Charlene on the first day of 1st grade

JoJo with his "daddy" smile :)

Gabriel ready to GO!

Gabriel, Charlene and Joseph on their first day of school August 18, 2009

So this year is the first year that all 4 of my kiddos are in school.

Cooper is living with his dad for highschool, so I didnt get to embarrass him with a first day of school picture...But he is enjoying highschool so far and one of the highlights for him, besides FOOTBALL, is that he can eat and drink IN CLASS hehe Thats a big NoNo in Middle School, so its exciting :)

Gabriel started 4th grade this year. It is still hard for me to accept he is growing up! He loves his teacher. It is his first male teacher. He is a young guy and has a lot of fun ideas for teaching, so its just what Gabe needs!

Charlene started 1st grade, and that just seems impossible...She loves school just like Gabe, and is lucky to have her best friend (Coopers sister, Taylor) in her class this year. She is so excited to get to school each day and tell us all about it each night!

Joseph started PRESCHOOL this year and MOMMY is loving it...err I mean, JoJo is loving it. He doesnt ever want to go to school in the mornings, but when I pick him up after lunch, he seems to have had a good time. Its hard for him because its been me and him for so long :) Ok ok..its hard for mommy too!! Haha But we are both adjusting and he is really learning a lot...He can already write JoJo and is learning to write Joey...and he can type both with noooo help! Smart lil man :)

Well there ya have it...my kids are all growing up and I cant make it stop!

So Another month has passed...

Another month has come and gone, but hey, at least it wasnt TWO months :)

Michael left the first part of July to go to WOCS...HE SURVIVED and graduated July 17th. He had a "great" time LoL As great a time you can when youre 35 and in bootcamp like circumstances :) But he did great, like I knew he would...

I was SO proud of him. It was a great accomplishment for him, and worth all the sacrifices we have made :)

He got to come home for two weeks and hang out with us...it was GREAT to have him here. We went to the Rockstar Energy Mayhem concert to see one of our FAVORITE bands, Bullet for my Valentine, and OMGOSH it was the BEST! We had a GREAT time there :)

three of the guys from BFMV

The two weeks with Michael went by way tooo fast for all of us, but we enjoyed every moment. He is now in Maryland for more school, and we are officially on the housing list for Fort Polk. Hopefully we will hear something SOON!

I got the kids school supplies bought, new school clothes, Gabe and Charly are registered for soccer and we enroll in school tomorrow! So we are keeping busy while he is gone, and I suspect we will stay busy with school, soccer and church. Then, just when things start to slow down, we will be moving!!

Everyone is doing great and we are all just ready to be together again in our own home once again. I am hoping to have Michael home for at LEAST a year before he has to leave again, but dont worry, Im not holding my breath!! haha

I suck...quick update of the past 2 months

Michael and his new Truck

The FUNNY ostrich who came to say HELLO

The kids with their "loot" from Circus Circus

All of us in Oregon:)

So I havent updated this since we left Hawaii...

Well, we left Hawaii LOL  We flew into Seattle, WA and stayed the night.  Got to go see the Space Needle and the Experience Music Project museum where we made a music video "The Rockin Woodleys".  It was a BLAST!  We also got to meet up with one of Michaels old friends from youth.  It was great meeting her and enjoying some yummy dinner with her!

We then headed down to Oregon where we stayed for a week visiting Michael's family which is always FUN!  We also got to meet another of Michaels friends from youth, Jennifer, and her husband and kids and enjoyed some SUPER YUMMY Pizza at Abby's Pizza :)  The pattern of eating out with everyone we met up with didnt stop either LOL  

Once we said our GoodBye's in Oregon, we headed to Kansas with a stop at the WildLife Safari Park in Winston, Oregon I think.  A stop over in a lil town in California with a GREAT burger joint...a stop in Reno at Circus Circus where the kids won a TON of toys LoL  

From there, we drove and drove and drove until we were FINALLY in Kansas :)  We had about a week or so before Michael had to leave us to head to WOCS and in that week we went to World's of Fun, and did other fun family stuff, which included Michael getting his new truck he has been wanting for YEARS.  It is a pretty one! 

The kids and I are in Ottawa, surviving :)  

Michael is in Alabama doing GREAT, and will be a Warrant Officer 1 in 16 days!!  CONGRATS MICHAEL!!

I will try to start my weekly postings again, but no promises :)

We have been BUSY

Here are a few of our pictures from the last few weeks

Charlene at the Shoppette Easter Egg Hunt

JoJo at the Shoppette Easter Egg Hunt..I love this pic

Cooper, Gabriel, Charlene, and JoJo Easter Morning

Michael and I before the 8th TSC military ball

So I havent posted a blog in a while.  We are preparing for our move back to the mainland.  We enjoyed our time in Hawaii, and I thought I was ready to leave... But as the time draws nearer for our flight in 4 weeks, I am finding myself a little sad.  I will miss Hawaii, but I will always wish it was closer to the  mainland LoL

Kids are all very excited to leave.  They miss all the family back home.  Our car has been shipped, so we are just that  much closer to leaving.  Michael is ready for WOCS (as ready as he can be) and we are just excited for this next leg in the adventure we call LIFE.

Gabriel's Birthday

Things got so busy we forgot to share Gabe's birthday pictures.

He wanted to do Chuck E Cheese one last year before he is way too old LoL  So that is where we went.  He had a good time and he is really growing up.  

He is 9 now going on 19.  He got a cell phone (finally, those were his words) and will be starting on the road to responsibility!  WooHoo! 

HaHaHa

I think we're insane, but we shall see :) 

Our latest VISITOR

We were getting ready for dinner last Friday night, and I was at the sink, when Michael walked by, and I moved...when I turned around, there was a HUGE centipede laying on its back right by where I was standing...I screamed a good four or five yelps, and then we decided since it was on its back, we needed a few pictures.  I am sharing my favorite picture that Michael took.  This lil guy was almost 5 inches long.  Im just thankful it wasnt full grown, because they can get up to 10 inches in length!!  I just might have had a heart attack if that was the case LOL

March is here!

Well, March is here.  Michael has been home for a few weeks now and we are all getting back into a routine.  I think we are all hoping May gets here quickly so we can MOVE!!  February was good to us, obviously, Michael came home from Afghanistan and we couldnt have been happier about that.  Charlene had a field trip to the Hawaii Plantation Village and it was so fun.  The picture of the butterfly was taken there.  She loves butterflies, and one landed on a beautiful plant and sat still so I could take its picture :)   How sweet.  Things are busy here as always.  Kids are in school, JoJo and I are taking care of the house, and Michael is taking care of us all :)  Gabe will be 9 on Saturday!!  I will be sure to take pictures and post a few for you all.

God Bless

Sarah

FINALLY

Well, this week started out GREAT.  Sunday I spent the day totally nervous and anxious waiting to hear from Michael.  By bed that night it had been 48 hours since I talked to him.  Monday morning I woke up to a sound I hadnt heard in 6 months.  Jason Mraz singing "I'm Yours" on my phone.  The ringtone for when Michael calls me!  He was in Georgia!  He will be home tonight!  I have been waiting for this day for 6 months and its finally here!  I am so excited.  The kids don't know he will be home tonight (after they are in bed) so they will be surprised when daddy wakes them up in the morning to get them ready for school!  YAY!  This weeks blog is a short one.  Hope everyone is doing great!

Eric's Visit

Well, Coopers dad got here on the 2nd of Feb.  Today is his last day here.  I think he had a good week.  Him and Cooper did a lot of things that Michael and I have yet to do, and some things we have no desire to do (like swimming with sharks!!)  Everyone has had a nice time this past week.  Gabriel and I went with Eric to Diamond Head and decided to hike up for the great view.  It was worth it!!  

What a great place we live in!!  I cant wait for Michael to get home (in about 10 days!!!) so we can go to Diamond Head together!

Hooray for living somewhere where people want to come visit! haha  Lets see how many visitors we get in Louisiana!  LOL

February 2009 is here!

Well February is here and with it a lot of happy things!

First, Cooper's dad is going to be here to visit.  The 

kids are all very excited.  Michael and I are both happy that we got to live in Hawaii and let our family and friends come visit!  Its not everyday that you get to visit Hawaii and stay at the Woodley Bed and Breakfast :D  About a week after Cooper's dad leaves, Michael will be home, and OMGOSH we cannot WAIT to see him!  Six months has gone by quickly even though at times it seemed as though time was standing still.  Those are a few things we have to look forward to in February!  It's going to be a good month!

God Bless you all!