Cody is almost home :)

     As you know, my oldest son Cody is a US Marine, and he was on a Military Expeditionary Unit (MEU) since January. He has visited all over the world, and he has incredible experiences.
     But the good news...he's home in the US, and even better, he will be here this Saturday! I can hardly contain myself. I am overwhelmed!!! Everyone here is THRILLED for the homecoming!!!!!
     Also, some other good news, he asked his girlfriend to marry him. Of course, he did it such a romantic way (I've raised him well), when he returned home, on the parade deck and in uniform, he bent down on his knee and asked SP (short for Esperanza) to marry him! I hope to post that video sometime soon. Jordan was there in San Diego, and he taped it for me!

This is a pic of them when he left back in January.

     We have talked to SP, exchanged gifts, Facebooked, etc, but this will be the first time we meet her in person, and we are thrilled!
     And, SP has never been to Washington, so we have a TON of fun things planned for their visit!
     Stay tuned!

Roller coaster of a day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Jordan Donald Bradley!!!!

      Today we are celebrating the birth of Jordan seventeen years ago!! So, hard to believe. BOY IT GOES BY TOO FAST!!!
      We have had fun celebrating in all sorts of ways today! Including a yummy waffle breakfast, homemade double fudge and a double batch of brownies (with chocolate frosting) a la mode, a cupcake cake, presents, friends, family. GOOD TIMES! I love birthdays, and we always make a HUGE deal out of them!
     We have had all of the festivities going on, which will also continue this Saturday when CODY comes home!!!! YEAH! I will have all my kiddos here together :)
      So, the sad note today is that our goat Albert passed away. He truly is a part of our family, and the loss has devastated EVERYONE. All the kids were sad today.
      I know it's part of living on a farm, but it's the part that REALLY sucks!
      Albert seriously thought he was a dog, and he would follow you everywhere. He was such a silly goat!
      We have lots of smiles and laughter because of him! I remember times that he would houdini out of his pasture, and just be hanging out by my car when I walked out to go somewhere. Or, he loved this old trailer, and he would go in and lay on the couch to sleep!
      Albert will be missed :(


     Today we have experience the celebration of life and the heartbreak of death. What a day!

Gimme a break!

     For REAL...who in the heck TRULY cares that Michelle Obama is wearing shorts? OMGawsh, she was on vacation, it was hot, she was at the Grand Canyon. Puhhhleaze!
     I can't believe it's even an issue. It cracks me up all the headlines about eyebrow raising because of the shorts. Who's eyebrows are raising, and more importantly WHO CARES?!
     I LOVE that our first lady is a MOM. I love that she is grounded and real, and what she wore, I would wear. Am I the first lady? NOPE. But, she is a MOM first, and they were on a family vacay.
     Would I raise my eyebrows if she was wearing shorts to a formal meeting of some kind...mabye?
     Anyhoot, all this fashion drama just tells me that people don't have much to do, and too much ado about nothing.

A place to visit!

      We just had an incredible family trip to Montana! We went to visit Rick's brother and his family. I love going on vacations!!! Our next one is being planned right now (Disney Land, here we come!)
      What a beautiful state, Montana is!!
      We had soooo much fun exploring many places. My favorite was the Lewis and Clark Caverns.
      First off, I LOVE the history of the place. Did you know that Lewis and Clark never even went into the caverns? Crazy, huh?! But, they did pass the area nearby and down below at the Jefferson River.
     Anyhow, President Roosevelt named the caverns after Lewis and Clark, and it was the first national monument ever named after the two explorers. Cool, HUH?!
     When my boys were younger, we went on a road trip to Texas, and we did stop off at the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. Those were super cool, too, but it was a totally different experience, as it was less "hiking" and more just a walking tour. If I remember right, it was even wheelchair accessible. THIS IS NOT HOW THE LEWIS AND CLARK CAVERNS ARE!!! Our experience was way more like an adventure :)

For our PRIVATE family pics, head over to our other blog...

This is the road in and out of the caverns. We had around a 30-minute hike one way.


Cool formations!










They call this one the Empire State Building


The tunnel out of there:

Just finished

a fantastic book!! Yellow Raft in Blue Water by Michael Dorris. I LOVED it! The book has three parts, and the first one is told from Rayona, the second from her mother Christine, and the third from her grandmother Ida. WOW! Excellent read, clever way to tell the story!!!
     I have done a LOT of reading this summer!! I will post up the other books when I get home :)
     I also have a gi-normous list of books that I want to read! I hope to finish another book on this vacation :)

So many pics!

     My cord on my camera is not working properly, but I do have another little gizmo that will read my camera card, so when we return home from vacation, I have TONS of pics to share :)