Whoo Hooo!!!!!! Aaron's 30!

Yeah!!!!!! I am so excited that my husband now is the same age as me (in years anyway). Usually being older than him has it's advantages, but sometimes like this year when you hit a milestone birthday, like 30, one most people dread, it's tough. He's only 4 months and 11 days younger than me, so it's not a big difference, but still. We didn't have a big shindig like the one he threw for me, but I think it was exactly what he wanted. He's kind of a no fuss, stay at home, family party kind of guy. Don't get me wrong, he likes his birthday to be celebrated, he just prefers a more intimate setting. So this year, it was just us, mostly because of our new location, otherwise we would have had my parents and some cousins, and a few Aunts and Uncles come to help celebrate. I made his favorite things for dinner, Greek salad, steak (although he did the grilling), roasted potatoes and bread with the yummy dipping oils. And for his cake, I baked a chocolate fudge cake with raspberry filling, with Chocolate frosting. It was all very yummy. He got the grill for his birthday a few weeks early, and so we got him a few things to open up. We are Office fanatics so he got a new mouse pad that said "that's what she said" and a Dwight K. Shrute stress relieving head. We also got him a heart rate monitor watch for when he runs. So when my mom called and talked to the kids, she asked Ella what we got daddy for his birthday she said, " We got him a Gwill (she doesn't pronounce her r's), a watch heart checker and a squeezy head"....Aaron and I both got a good laugh out of that! Overall I think it was a pretty good day!

Georgia

Sorry, it's been a while since I've blogged...there is TONS to catch up on. We've moved...and I don't even think that was in the works the last time I blogged. Anyway, we are finally settled into our new home (for the next ten months or so) in Bogart, GA. Bogart is just right outside of Athens, where the University of Georgia is. It's football season, and it's cool to live in a college town during football season. You can't go into any store, or resturaunt without the place being draped in Red and Black.....or signs saying "Go Dawgs!" It's really cool since sports illustrated put the "dawgs" on the cover...those were everywhere too!

So far we love it! Traffic here is awesome because there really is none, except of course on game day. The people are extremely friendly. Our little neighborhood is awesome, just barely half a mile outside of the Athen's city limits, which puts us into Oconee county schools, which are the best in the area, but still close to dowtown Athens, the Navy base, the mall and of course TARGET! Target, for whatever reaason, is my familair comfort....I think I could live almost anywhere as long as there was a Target there. The neighborhood pool has been great! It's fun, outside and FREE!!!!!!

The kids are settling nicely. Caleb loves his school, but was in shock when he came home with his first weeks worth of graded papers and every sheet had an "E" on it. In Virginia, an "E" was failing, so naturally, my son, the academic perfectionist, was devistated, and burst into tears (and full on panic) upon opening his folder. I had to explain to him that "E" meant something different in Georgia. Well...we finally got all that straight and "E" means "exceeding" so that is great...he's doing wonderfully!

Ella is going to the child development center on the base. They have the Georgia lottery funded preschool there. I love this cause it's free! She goes from 8:30-3:00 everyday. It's a longer day than she's used to, but she takes a nap and that is good for her. It's been a bigger adjustment for me, because I am used to her being with me, even though she was in her own class, It was comforting to know she was just a coulple of classrooms down. I do miss my time with her.

Aaron had a pretty easy first month....having a pretty relaxed schedule. Then earlier this week he got a regular job assignment. He has to work real hours like 8-5. Something he hasn't had to do in quite some time. Don't get me wrong....He is a hard worker, very committed to any task or position he is given....and it was nice for him to have a few years of a relaxed schedule, because I still remember the days of deployment and they are soon returning, where I won't get to see him at all, and he won't get to see me or the kids at all. I can only imagine that is going to be really hard for him, and all of us, but especially him. He is a very involved father and loves family time. His supply corp class doesn't actually start January, so he will hold this new job until then.

And me...well, I have been endlessly looking for a job. It's tough here....I am either over qualified, or under qualified. So it's a little discouraging. With the kids both gone, I really need to find something, or I might go out of my mind. I have tried twice now to get signed up for the substitute teacher orientation class....but it always gets filled up before I can get in there....so October f1st, 8:00 am to be the 1st one on the list next time. Hopefully, I will find something, but until then, I am just trying to be invovled as I can with the kids schools. I have still been having some health issues....so doctor's appointments occupy some of my time too.

Well I think that's it for now....I'll write again soon!

And another one bites the dust...

Well, my gallbladder removal went relatively well. Actually it was a piece of cake compared to some of the other things I've been through. It's not something I would count as pleasant....any surgery has it's downfalls no matter how great the eventual outcome makes you feel. I do wonder, however, how many organs can you live without. I've had my spleen removed, which you can live without and now my galbladder. I know you can live without your appendix, tonsils, sinuses, adnoids, and most can live with out one of the their kidneys. I'm sure there are other organs I'm forgetting to include in this list....but a part of me wanted to tell the surgeon..."just go ahead, take out anything else that I can live without" cause each time they open me up.....it's 2-6 weeks of my life I lose just sitting in front of the TV "healing". I am honestly tired of feeling poorly. I don't think anyone really realizes on a day to day basis, how badly I've felt. I conceal it pretty well, I put on my happy face and do the best I can. Something tells me my medical troubles are not over. Usually I am an optomist. I hope that everything is "cool" now and I will be feeling much better...but I do have this gut feeling that it's not over yet. Or that could be the incisions in my gut talking right now....or the drugs....who knows....only time will tell. Well for the time being I have 4 new really cool scars, my brother Scott is going to love it!

My 30th Birthday!....The choice

Okay, so I turned 30 on April 28. We went out to dinner to the Olive Garden on that night...yum....and then my husband threw me a big party this past weekend. We rented a house at Sandbridge Beach and invited family and friends (Adults only) on Friday night for food and drinks and a DJ/Karaoke. It was a ton of fun, but later that night, or early Saturday morning I should say, it hit me......I'M 30! It was 2:30 am and instead of partying til dawn, or being passed out, I was wide awake cleaning up. Go figure? My realization was confirmed by the fact that spending time with my family, the rest of the weekend, was much more precious to me than a night of partying. But in all honesty, I am not as freaked out about my 30's as I thought I was going to be. I had some great times in my 20's, like meeting and marrying my husband, and giving birth to my two children, things I would never trade for anything in the world. BUT there were times that were tough on me medically, and therefore tough mentally also. Feeling physically weak, and physically awful can take a toll on you mentally. So I am thinking my 30's should be a breeze. And as a wise friend said to me..."you have a choice....you can get another year older, or you can die." Okay....well....that choice is so simple. Live until my time is up and let the numbers be numbers. My family, they are my life....and totally worth many more years!

My first blog...VAbeach4

Okay, so this is my first blog. I'm new to this..... but my brother has an awesome blog.... http://www.fairclothfive.blogspot.com/ , very witty and fun, and some of my cousins have blogs as well. I figured it was time to move on from myspace, where Aaron and I had accounts to keep up with our youth group kids, and while we were doing the youth ministry at our church it was a very useful tool, but now just seems a little juvenile. We used to occasionally send each other little love notes on it, but after the novelty wore off, that stopped....oh well it was fun while it lasted. Okay so our blog name is VAbeach4.....I'm sure you are thinking...pretty generic right (if anyone is even reading this)? Well , We do live in Virginia Beach, where I grew up and where we have raised our kids thus far...but that's not exactly why I chose the name.....a while back I realized our initials, when arranged correctly, spells "beach" - Beth, Ella, Aaron, Caleb, Huck (our last name), and since the geographic sense of the word works.....I thought it fitting or our Blog address. Okay, so about us....well you know our names now.....hmmm....okay I'm Beth, age 29 (for 1 more month), Aaron is my husband, age 29, Caleb is our 7 year old son, and Ella is our 4 year old daughter. Aaron and I have been married for nearly 8 years now, he is truly the love of my life, my best friend, and a wonderful father. Caleb is our cute and quirky kid. His mind amazes us, he loves a good challenge but hates to fail. Ella is our beautiful social butterfly. She is energetic and fun.....and is everyone's friend! She loves to sing and dance. I feel very blessed to have such a wonderful family.