Fabulous Army Life

Celebrating 45 (!!) was amazing with my handsome man! We decided to stop in Dallas on our way back from dropping kids off in Waco. My guy was so good to me, making reservations at the (ah-mazing) Trulucks restaurant after a day of shopping the Galleria, then spending a luxurious night at the Lincoln Centre Hilton. I feel special and blessed ... and not at ALL forty-five. =)

My theater-loving teen is thrilled with our relative proximity to New York City and, more specifically, the Theater District on Broadway. In his fifteen years, he has seen four Broadway shows already ... "Wicked" for his thirteenth birthday, "Cinderella" and "Aladdin" as part of a Fairfax County school field trip to Broadway for his 8th grade theater class (including an acting class with one of the actors in Cinderella!), and now "Phantom of the Opera" for his fifteenth birthday. For his fourteenth birthday, we saw "Peter and the Star Catchers" at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Quite a resume of experiences for someone who can't yet even drive. I am grateful that we live close enough to make the drive and back in one day. We want to take advantage of our location while we're here and our kids have definitely reaped the benefits of that. This trip was a lot of fun, starting with a delicious Italian dinner at Orso, then ...

Remembering my brother on his birthday ...   Randal Brant Paclik October 22, 1980 - August 24, 2001 Randal This smile.  My heart. Randal and me at my high school "Senior Night"

I have such cool office-mates ... here is my little cubicle all blinged out for my birthday. July Birthdays in AW2 My first attempt at a panoramic shot on my new iPhone 5!  My boys entertaining themselves while I pick out iPhone 5 accessories. :)

Joshua added the Army men to his camo cake. The target practice area included paper plates stapled to trees, balloons with tanks on them, and the camo boxes. Welcome to the All-Out Nerf War Zone! All the kids received dog tags, arm bands, and camo or black neckerchiefs to prepare for the battles. Army themed tattoos and camo face paint for the warriors. Camo face paint from a local party store was available to help our warriors take cover when needed. Joshua greets his guests from behind a camo barrier.

Joshua decided on a "Capture the Flag" theme for his birthday party and really wanted to host his party before we left Texas. We were happy to find an area we could reserve at Belton Lake Outdoor Recreation Center so we squeezed it in between the battalion change of command, packing, and loading our house. It turned out to be a really great time.  BIG hugs and thanks to my sisters-in-law, who insisted (based on the total panic on my face as I deliberated how to make this happen, I'm sure) on providing the cupcakes, napkins, food, drinks, decorations, and bandanas for the 'Capture the Flag' teams. You guys are the BEST!