Jealous.....

I seem to spend more time than I'd care to admit

on Facebook these days.

However, it's truly a great place to catch up with old friends

and when you're a military family, to keep in touch

with ones all over the world.

Last week I was a little jealous of

all my friends and family in Texas

who got between 6-12 inches of snow!

I know right?!?!

Snow! In TEXAS! It's unheard of!

None the less it happened and it made me sooo

miss the snows we were able to enjoy in

Washington the past 3 years.

Pictures after pictures were posted.

For some of my friends it was the first time

they had ever seen snow,

even more so this much!!!

It made me think back on the first time I saw the

gorgeous white flakes.

It hurt my eyes, so bright and pure!

To be totally honest

I'm not sure if it was the actual snow I was jealous of

or the family time we spent with one another

after all the hustle and bustle of the world halts.

When 1-2 feet of snow happen everything stops...

school, dance, gymnastics, scouting,

my volunteer obligations, all of it.

The road leading into our little subdivision would be closed

due to the sharp incline leaving it impossible to pass.

We would be stuck in our little cul-de-sac for hours and hours

of vehicle-less play...not a sound you would hear

but the giggles of kids playing.

We would all bundle up and play

as long as we could humanly handle the snow...

head in to warm up and then go out again!

I miss seeing the rows of wet clothes hanging from the stair's banister,

the piles of wet socks,

gloves and hats at the front door.

I miss the hot chocolate rings all over the counter

and the reiminants of the cocoa powder

from where the kids have missed their mugs.

I miss the time we had to pat down little trails in the snow,

the kids following me like little baby ducks

in order for us to make ways for the pups to go to the bathroom.

I miss the snowball fights in the dark

just because

we didn't want the day to end.

I've missed this part of the winter when the world stops

and it's all about time with the family....

it's all about giggles and no bedtime curfews....

yep, that's all it was...totally jealous of their snow...totally.

It's Girl Scout COOKIE time!!!

If you haven't already had the pleasure of a cute little girl knocking at your door with cookie pre-sales yet I'm sure it's only time! I think I love cookie sales just as much as Celeste does! She's such a go getter and oh how I enjoy watching her confidence soar as she walks up to doors and people within our community; to see her eyes light up as she introduces herself and "sells" the real meaning of Girl Scout cookies. Yep, there's ALOT more to it than just a box of cookies from a girl...

The Cookie sales are more than just a fundraiser, it's a fun way for girls of all ages to earn the money that fuels their dreams and troop activities throughout the entire year. It's also a powerful, hands-on leadership and entrepreneurial program. Celeste will learn to inspire change with donations made through this season, DISCOVER how her sister Girl Scouts can make a difference right now in our ever changing world, CONNECT with people in her community, and TAKE ACTION not only in her own neighborhood but far beyond with the amazing donations made by our friends, family and community! She will learn responsibility, communication skills, financial and math skills, self-confidence, teamwork, honesty and integrity through the next couple of months and will spill over into the rest of her life. Celeste has set her personal goal of 500 boxes in lieu of a week of Girl Scout summer camp as well as $50 to spend at the Girl Scout store. Last year her troop donated almost 500 boxes of cookies to Operation Cookie Drop a Gift of Caring to our military troops overseas. This year our Troop (#871) will be donating cookies to the Ronald McDonald House of Pensacola, FL http://www.rmhpensacola.org/.The general population may not know that with one box of Girl Scout cookies ONLY 28% goes to the cost of the cookie...the other 72% ALL goes back to the Girl Scouts through camps and out of this world programs! No one is getting a pay check out of cookie sales, no money is going to anything BUT the girls!! So, if you get that knock at the door or you see those cute little girls at their colorful table in all sorts of weather....support our Girl Scouts...our future girls with courage, confidence, and character, who are striving to make the world a better place. http://www.girlscoutcookies.org/

Pensacola Beach

Today the family was able to venture down to the beach. It was in the high 30's but with the wind...WOW...you could say COLD! That didn't stop our fun! The kids were still able to fill their buckets with shells...we have brilliant white shells and a sink full of sand to prove it! We chased the birds and they did some serious dive bombing us for food at times..and we didn't even have any! Guess even the birds can hope! We walked the super long, very windy, unbelievably cold pier. Celeste loved that she was "in the water" and Lance thought it was scary...course he did find something interesting at the end...

The best part of the afternoon was that we were all together....and it didn't cost a dime!! Even FREE can be fun when you're with the most important things in life! Now I have my moments of "ugghh" due to the military but oh how lucky are we that the Navy takes us places with amazing views like these!