Universal Studios and Christmas with the Girls

Filling in the Gaps & Catching Up

Harry Potter Land (Dec 16-21)

Scott, Cami and Ash got to go to Harry Potter Land to celebrate their graduations.  According to Scott it was so much fun that at the end of each day they were all super exhausted. When I asked him to write out a little summary he said, “Ask Cam or Ash I bet they already have one.”  Of course Cami did-- thanks for being such an awesome sister!

  

Harry Potter Land 

highlights from Cam:

-first seeing the castle while hearing the hp theme playing in the distance as we walked towards the [magical] wizarding world of harry potter.

-luna lovegood in the bathroom.

-butterbeer (i need to find the real recipe).

-dragon challenge ride, shortest lines always and for sure one of the best rides in the whole park.

-looking in all the window shops, they had so much detail i just wish they had more shops open to walk around in.

-seeing magic happen as the wand choose the wizard at ollivander's shop.

-trying to guess which movie the song that was currently playing was from.

-eating at the three broomsticks.

-hearing harry potter music all of the time.

-honeydukes.

-feeling like i was only a few feet away from dumbledore, harry, ron and hermione. love holograms.

-purchasing my own wand (a replica of luna lovegoods) and one for dies (a replica of viktor krums because he's the most manly man in harry potter).

-getting a picture in front of the hogwarts express.

-purchasing far too many souvenirs: 2 wands, a jacket, a hat, a necklace, a key chain, a griffindor quidditch jersey...

-seeing our friends from Beauxbatons academy and Durmstrang perform. 

-sending postcards to our muggle families back home.

-drooling over the sweet robes, a legit marauders map, and other attire at the stores (one robe=100 big ones $$).

-i could go on and on. basically it was a wonderfully enchanting weekend at the wizarding world of harry potter. oh yeah and at universal studios. we had a lot of fun there too. the three of us definitely got in all the rides we could handle for those three days.

Christmas 

Cami and Ash stayed with us for Christmas (until the 29th), which we were all excited about.   The day after they arrived Cam and Ash volunteered to watch AZ while we went to the long awaited neuromuscular doctor, Dr. Fequiere.  The visit was exactly what we hoped it would be.  Dr Fequiere was exactly as wonderful as everyone had told us.  He took his time with letting Adi feel comfortable, she laughed and happily did anything he asked of her, he knew her history, we spent 3 hours asking questions and getting answers from him.  The orthopedic surgeons we had seen in Birmingham and Pensacola both negated Adi’s lose diagnosis of arthogryposis.  When we asked him for a diagnosis so we can continue getting the services and supplies we need for her, he said he felt comfortable saying it was CP.  Then on the 27th he called me to say that as he was typing up his notes on Adi he kept thinking about Segawa disease.  I smiled feeling grateful for his dedication and listened intently as he described the disease and his plan on what we needed to do.  He then told me to talk to Scott about it and do our own research and then call him back to let him know if we wanted to start the discovery process.  After talking to Scott and a prayer we decided to go with the Doc’s gut feeling.  We started Adi on dopamine and within a few days saw a big difference in her walking and endurance.  A few days later Scott discovers we had been medically denied to go to Warner Robins.  I had been looking at different foreclosured homes around Robins AFB that would have been idyllic for our family.  We had been planning on going out to see if we could start the house hunting process, looking into schools, hospitals, doctors, etc but it all got put on hold to start the appeal process.  When we finally found out we had won the appeal, Scott was to report to SERE training in two days and to be gone until our window would open to move.  I was a little overwhelmed knowing what I had to accomplish before Scott returned.  I needed to go find a home, which we did by leaving for GA the day after Scott left. We stayed there for 3 days and saw 32 properties, the girls did very well.  When we returned to FL we packed up our house on our own in hope that we could make some extra cash on this move like we had on the last which later proved to have not been worth it.  I needed to make sure I had all the medical paperwork nicely organized to make the medical transition as easy as possible, get a new DME company, taking Adi to all her appointments before moving (since it would possibly be months before we could get things arranged to have her meet with the new specialists at our new home. Hindsight being what it is I should have just had a packing company move us and distracted myself and the girls by playing with friends and not with packing.  Since I am thinking about it I just want to take a second and thank all the men and women and their families who serve our country.   My heart goes out especially to those who have endured loved ones going MIA or being captured behind enemy lines.  I can’t thank you all enough for the sacrifice you have all made for our country and our freedoms. 

Filling you in on Jan- Mar:

*  Just as things were finally calming down with all the medical appointments (4 hour car trips to Birmingham) it is now time to move and start all over again.  I cringe at the thought of having to get all the referrals for all the many doctors, equipment, schooling, etc done all over again.  I know GA is where we need to be and we are looking forward to living there for several years so if all goes as planned I won’t be having to do all this again for a while.   

*  Scott was home a lot during Jan & Feb while he waited for SERE.  While he is around he is the only person Adi wants to be with so by default he puts her to bed and deals with meds.  I am grateful for the time I have alone when he is around.  My favorite thing about him recently has been going to look for him and hearing from several feet away the sounds of Dad playing with two laughing girls.  When I am heard coming the three hide, normally under the covers and giggle until they are found.
*  We have tried everything to to get Az to stop sucking her thumb.   We bought awful tasting nail polish, tried dipping her thumb in hot sauce, and taped it.  Nothing worked.  When her thumb wouldn't taste good she would just walk over to her bathroom and wash her hands until the taste was gone.  I am often reminded she is not my baby anymore she is my big girl.  One day I finally got the idea to reason with her.  One night I explained to her only babies suck their thumbs and since she's not a baby she shouldn't suck the thumb.  She took out the thumb and just looked at it with longing.  Finally she put her thumb as close as she could to her lips and asked is this ok?  Smiling I hugged her and told her it was.  By the time she fell asleep the thumb was back in her mouth.  When I see her sucking her thumb I remind her she's a big girl to which she responds by quickly taking her thumb out of her mouth and then turning around or hiding so she can continue with her thumb in her mouth.  What's a mom to do?  
*  I can’t start to explain how awful it is to know your husband is being tortured, even if it is by friendlies.  Everyday the girls and I pray for his ability to endure and have his burdens made light.  They say what doesn’t kill you just makes you stronger and I am starting to understand the meaning of that phrase a little better.  What doesn’t kill you teaches you lessons about what is most important in life.  It makes us more willing to turn to higher powers for help and teaches us how to turn to our Father in Heaven for true strength and peace.  When Scott was leaving for this first part of training he called and we said a prayer together to which we both ended crying.  When asked why I was crying by the girls I answered I am just crying because daddy is going to be very cold (blizzard conditions) on his training.  Az came over kissed me and said “no worry mommy daddy got a jacket.”  For the next couple of days she would just remind me at random “daddy got a jacket.”  I knew Scott would make it out ok but when I would allow my mind to wonder my girls were always there with unsolicited hugs and smiles.  Oh how I love those moments.

As you can see Cam and Ash were asked to 

provide cute hair and nails

Cute matching outfits from Ash and Cam

Easter Celebrations

We have loved how welcoming the ward has been in this area.  We can't wait to get to know everyone better.  We were invited to a little Easter egg hunt at the church which the girls had so much fun at.  Then Saturday Dad took us all to Monkey Joe's which has several bouncy houses.  In Pensacola there weren't any places like this close by but the girls would beg to go to any activities that would have one.  The girls were in heaven there having Dad chase them around and taking them through all the obstacle courses and down the slides.  Az was fearless wanting to do almost everything alone.  She scaled the walls with great determination and had the cutest smiles of accomplishment when she would achieve her goal.   The girls both got pretty tired after just a couple of hours so we went over to Mama Mia's to have amazingly tasty Italian food.  We made a last minute run to the store and went home and attacked egg coloring.  This year is the first year where the girls have shown excitement for all these fun activities which makes all these activities so much more enjoyable.

Easter morning the girls woke up and loved their Easter presents (swim suit, dress, coloring books, glow sticks, candy, etc.) and a final Easter egg hunt.  We just love all this quality family time.

Winging Ceremony Dec 5th

Mom and Dad Whitaker came to celebrate Scott’s winging along with Jordan and Rachel Smith.  We had a wonderful time showing them around Pensacola with visits to the beach, museum, lighthouse, Joe Patties, McGuire’s, and toured the buildings, simulators, and planes Scott used during training.  

Drop Night

WE ARE GOING TO GEORGIA!!!!  SCOTT WILL BE FLYING IN AN E-8 JSTARS.

The following is a letter Scott wrote to family about his/our experience.  

I just wanted to let you all know about my/our experience over the last couple of weeks leading up to our assignment night last night.  I will start by telling you that as a family we had decided that we would put the E-8 JSTARS plane as our first choice.  This plane is not a very popular choice among students but it is still relatively hard to get because there are only 5 openings per year.  Three weeks ago a kid in the class ahead of me got one of them so there were only four left for the year (they go by fiscal year and we are only the third class of the year).  I didn't know how much they would want to space out the training slots so I started to get a little nervous that I might not get that airplane.  They are stationed at Warner RobinsAFB near Macon, GA and there is a really good children's hospital in Atlanta that we were hoping to get Adi into.  There are also many other factors that led us to make that plane our first choice, but as always, Adi's health is the primary reason.  Anyway, two weeks ago we had to rank all of the planes possible from 1 to 18 and turn that into our flight commander.  A few days later he told us which planes would be available and how many of each.  Sadly there were no JSTARS on the list.  I was pretty disappointed but he told me he would talk to the commander and see if he could trade out one of the planes.  He told me to get any facts about why Adi would need to be in Georgia over another place.  Of course Adi's doctor was scheduled to be out of the office the whole next week but Anna somehow managed to get her to sign a letter stating all of the specialists Adi would need to see etc... Anna also wrote a letter and then I turned those into my flight commander. The next week I got an email from my flight commander telling me that he tried to get the plane for me and that no matter what the Air Force would try to help us out in our circumstances.  From the email I really got the feeling that they weren't able to make the switch and it looked like we would be going to Louisiana where the B-52's are stationed.  We decided that there must be a reason for us to go there and we were okay with that and started preparing for Shreveport, LA.  A couple days before our assignment night I got another email from my flight commander to fill out a preference sheet for what position I wanted on the B-52 and which base we would prefer (they also have a base in Minot, ND).  I was then 99% sure that we were going to get a B-52.  I still held on to a sliver of hope in the very back of my mind that maybe they had gotten a JSTARS for me and were just messing with me, but it was a very small sliver.  Well, last night our class got our assignments. The theme our class had was an awards ceremony like the Emmy's.  For everyone of my classmates, a picture of an airplane was projected onto a big screen and then the commander would say a little bit describing the person and their 'starring role' in a movie and then the slide would change and the person who was getting that plane had their face photoshopped as the lead a movie poster.  I'll attach mine so you can get a visual.  I was the 2nd to last to get my plane and instead of putting up a picture of the plane, my flight commander called me up and had me come to the front and face the crowd.  He then described how this last year has been challenging for me because of external factors and how I've worked really hard and some other stuff that I really can't remember (I was having a really hard time focusing because I was getting really emotional thinking about what was about to happen).  Then he switched the slide and my whole class and all of my other friends here jumped out of their seats and went crazy.  I didn't have to turn around to see what had happened and I just teared up and looked at Anna and the girls.  My classmates knew how much it meant to our family to go to Georgia so they were almost as excited as I was when that flashed on the screen.  In fact, I'm almost positive no one will ever be that excited to get a JSTARS ever again (usually it is seen as one of the assignments that no one wants).  It was unbelievable and I still get emotional thinking about that moment.  I don't know the circumstances behind the story but somehow in the last couple weeks they were able to pull some strings and get me my JSTARS.  I know that during this last year Heavenly Father has led us every step of the way and has continually opened door after door for us to be in this position now.  We have been so blessed and we are so grateful for all of the love and prayers that we have felt from across the nation.  I will graduate on Dec 2nd and then we will start to get orders that will determine when we move to Georgia and we'll be sure to keep you all in the loop.  Sorry this was so long, but it was such an amazing experience for us that I wanted to share in detail how it came about.  We love you all and will miss you all this holiday season, but we will be thinking of you.     

They turned off all the lights a few guys before Scott so you can't see much.  If you want to skip to Scott go to the minute 23.

Baby Shower for the Allred's

Loved making this diaper bike

My first fondant cake...
thanks Megan for helping me with my
CRAZINESS

Halloween festivities

Look at the fairies!!!  We are big fans of the Tinkerbell movies and so putting on our costumes each time we got to dress up was a treat.  We started our Halloween festivities the 22nd at the squadron trunk or treat. The following Friday we went to the Pearl Nelson Center for their Octoberfest. Saturday we went to the ward trunk or treat.  Monday we went to the Tuttle's for a little more Halloween celebration.  4 parties and several buckets of candy later we are now setting up dentist appointments. :) 

the girls with Ms. Amy (ST)

totally made me think of Aunt Kathy

sensory room

this is the real reason we went
couldn't miss the BOUNCY HOUSE

@ the ward trunk or treat

Dreaded Hair Cut Oct 26

 Scott found a clip in the bathroom sink with a curl in it.  He figured it was Ayzie so he gave her a little talk about how we don't cut our own hair.  He went downstairs to help Adi get dressed and saw the following.

there were about 3 of these 

how can you be mad at this face