I never know what to use for a title!

Well, Noah and I have settled into a little routine here in WA. On days it's sunny we go for long walks and to a nearby park with baby swings. He loves those things - and he gets to stare in amazement at all the bigger kids. There are a ton of parks on McChord. We haven't really checked any out on Lewis yet. We had almost two weeks of really nice, sunny weather here but the past few days have been back to boring rain - that's the thing with the rain here, it's so boring; just a depressing, steady drizzle. I've always said I like rain and now I know why people from this part of the country acted like I was nuts. Actually, what I like is Arizona rain. The big thunderstorms and smell of wet dirt, even the big dust storms (haboobs!). Anyways...

Last month my dad and Linda came to visit and we had a nice time just hanging out. I always love having family visit but I definitely value that time much more now that I'm away from anything familiar. We went to Point Defiance zoo one day that it wasn't really raining and I got a membership for the year. Noah loved the aquarium there! I went back a couple of weeks ago with a some other mamas and their babies. I met them through a "natural moms" group here and we've had a few playdates and get-togethers. They're really sweet ladies and I'm bummed they're moving home when their husbands deploy sometime this fall.

What else... My mom, Bob, and Andrea are coming to visit next week and I'm excited about that. Hopefully the weather is decent! My cousin, Hunter, may drive over, from Spokane, for the weekend too. Noah and I had a quick visit with my Uncle Billy last month and hopefully we can make it to that side of the state sometime this summer to visit. It's such a pain having a dog - Kelly is sweet but she's a pain in my ass and is unpredictable with other dogs and people she doesn't know so boarding her scares me a bit.

Noah's birthday falls on a Saturday and I was getting so excited about planning his first birthday party but guess what? As usual, the army has other plans. Ryan gets back the first week in June, will be home for a week, then leaves again for 3 weeks - missing Noah's birthday. Then home a week and away for another 3. Yes, at least he's stateside but gone is gone... I know it could be worse and he could be away for much longer but it's almost worse having him come and go all the time. I constantly have to adjust my routine and go through the crappy "he's gone again" first few days. He was gone a bit while I was pregnant, then for the better part of 5 months after Noah was born, home for a month, gone for two months, back together for 2 weeks, gone for 2 months... Now this. I know all this training will just lead up to a deployment too. Long story - but we're going to have his party the weekend after his birthday so at least Ryan can be home to help with that. We have some friends from recruiting that will be up here by then and some nice neighbors so I think we'll have a good little crowd.

Here's a few photos... I'm updating on my phone so it won't let me put them in any order or write captions. For any friends or family that are still following this blog - sorry we're not more entertaining!