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November 01 October FunWell October came and went FAST! Both Brielle and Lainey love school and are loving dancing too. We went to the pumpkin patch in Paragonah and got our pumpkins this year. The girls always love that. On the 25th, our elementary had their annual Halloween Carnival. I've added pics of the girls getting their fortune told there by a fortune teller. They thought it was way cool. And Halloween was a blast too. They dressed up as cheerleaders and if you've seen "High School Musical", you'll notice that Brielle and Lainey are dressed in "Wildcat" colors. We went trick or treating with our friends and had a great time. Check out the pics. And there are two pictures of Lainey half on the bed and half off. She fell asleep in my bed. I went to take her to her bed and when I walked in, that is how she was. Didn't look to comfy to me!! October 02 FallWow, it's hard to believe that it is October. I've posted some pics so check them out. Soccer is finally done. Both Brielle and Lainey had fun this season. Now they can focus on dancing. Brielle is going to play Jr Jazz basketball though. It think it starts in December. Oh, we are going to High School Musical on Ice in November up at the Energy Solutions Center. I'm really looking forward to it. It's going to be a "Girls Only Weekend". My mom, my friend Chari and her daughter Jayde, my girls and me are going. September 13 School's StartedWell, it's official! Both of my girls are in school. Brielle is in 2nd grade. Her teacher is Mrs Griffiths and she has really enjoyed it so far. Lainey is in Kindergarten. She has Mrs Vasi and is also having fun so far. It's hard to believe they are growing up so fast!! They have been playing soccer and love it. Lainey's last game was on Wednesday. Brielle still has 3 games left. They also started dancing and they seem to like that. Travis went hunting last week for 4 days. He didn't get anything (THANK GOODNESS), but he had fun. I went and played Bunco tonight. I got the prize for "Most Buncos". It was a really cute clock and candle. Well, I'll post some pics soon of the girls. August 10 It's Been Too Long...Well, it's been a year since I've written anything here. A lot has happened so here it goes:
TRAVIS: Finally graduated with his Bachelors degree in May. He also got accepted into Westminster College in SLC for their Family Nurse Practitioner program. We put our house up for sale in March and had all the intentions in the world to move up to SLC. But after a lot of thought and prayer, we decided that the best thing for our family was to stay put in Cedar City. Travis can do his graduate degree online and that means he can still work. We feel really good about our decision. Travis works at the hospital here in Cedar and changed departments in January and he loves his new job. He is excited that he finally will be able to hunt this year. He love the outdoors.
JILLYNNE: I bought a vinyl machine last September and have had a pretty good little home business because of it. I volunteered a lot at Brielle's school and I love doing that. In December, I had a tubal pregnancy. I dealt with that until June when I had surgery and had my right tube and overy removed. Since I've gone through this whole experience, Travis and I have talked a lot about adoption. I've talked to Val a little about it and I have a good friend here in Cedar whose adopted too. We have some of the paperwork and have filled some of it out. We're still not sure if this is what we want to do, but like I've said we've really been thinking about it A LOT!! Oh, I've just been invited to play BUNCO. The group I'm in plays once a month. I went this past Wednesday and had a good time. It will be good to be able to get out of the house once a month and be able to chat with other ladies!! And I'm the secretary for the Iron County PTA. Umm, I've never even been to a school PTA meeting, so I have NO IDEA what I'm doing! I guess it will come to me huh?!??!
BRIELLE: Brielle will be in second grade! She had a fabulous first grade year and was sad to have the school year end. She loves soccer, softball and dance. She just got done playing coach pitch and is now playing soccer. She is doing so awesome. She's scored in every game. She actually got asked to play on a spring soccer team and she really enjoyed that. She took swimming lessons this summer (2 sessions) and has really excelled. At first she wouldn't even take her hands off of the side of the pool and by the end she was swimming quite well. Her and Lainey are BEST FRIENDS. 99% of the time they play very good together. Brielle has an easel in her room and loves to play school with Lainey and her other friends.
LAINEY: Lainey will be in kindergarten and is very excited. She loves to make us laugh. She is very tender-hearted. She loves dance, soccer and t-ball. The other night at her soccer game she scored 11 goals. I wasn't there of course so I didn't see her, but Travis said he couldn't believe how awesome she did. Lainey also took swimming lessons and I have to say she was a lot more daring that Brielle. She loves the water!! Lainey loves to play and ride her bike!
OTHER: We had a very fun summer. We went to Disneyland right after school got out. It was a lot of fun. The girls took swimming lessons, we went on a fun 4-wheeler ride on the 4th of July, we went to the park a lot with our friends, went to the PTA sponsored movies and went to "Cinderella" at the Tuachan in St George. That's about all. I'm going to try and write more than just once a year!! August 07 Long Time, No Blog Well, it has been a while since I have written. A lot has gone on. July flew by. Not sure where it went. Brielle and Lainey both took swimming lessons. They had a great time. Brielle also finished up with t-ball. She did really well this season. Travis started back to work at the hospital and started school at SUU. He's been pretty stressed. For the 24th of July, we went to the parade in Cedar City. Afterwards, we loaded up our 4-wheeler and went on Cedar Mountain to have a picnic and to go 4-wheelin. It was fun. Afterwards, we came back home and went to the parade in Enoch. It was a fun holiday. Both Lainey and Brielle have started soccer. So far they've had a blast.
Okay, so Travis has been telling the girls for about 7 months that when he got back from Iraq he would get them a dog. So to make a long story short, he bought a dog (BUG which is a Boston Terrier/Pug mix) and now we are selling him. I just couldn't handle an "inside" dog. The kids got bored with him about 2 days after we got him. He is a really cute dog, but right now we just aren't ready for one. So someone is coming on Wednesday to buy him. I think the kids will be fine with it. I really wish I was more of an animal lover, but I just can't do it right now.
On Saturday, August 5, Travis and I met up with Jason and Amy and went to the Tim McGraw/Faith Hill concert at the Delta Center in SLC. It was a GREAT concert. The concert was about 3 hours long. The stage was so neat!! I loved it all. We saw Val and Dave there too. It was a fun time.
Well, that's all for now. Check out my pics I've added! July 09 4th of July/Cedar City 222 Celebration We spent the 4th of July in Cedar City. We went to the parade and then the Lions Club of Cedar City gave tickets out to 222 families so they could do the games at the park free of charge. Later that evening we did fireworks with our neighbors and then we were able to watch the fireworks right from our front yard.
On July 8th, Cedar City had a celebration to welcome home the 222 troops. It started off with a picnic at Main Street Park. Afterwards we walked about a block to the new Rotary Centennial Veterans Park for its dedication. The whole programs was really nice. General Tarbet spoke along with LTC Miller and a few other people. They had the Heritage Singers perform 2 songs. They gave a brick to each soldier along with a flag that was flown over the Capital. After they raised the flag at the park. It was a fun time talking to other families and seeing friends like the Ropers. Later that evening they closed off part of Main Street for the July Jamboree. It was fun just walking along that. They had a lot of older cars, booths and bands playing. We drove by the Veterans Park after the Jamboree and it was really neat at night when it was all lit up. I'll have to go by one night and take a picture and post it here on my blog. The support of the troops along with their families by the people of Cedar City has been so AWESOME!! So check out the pictures I've added!!
Just a side note. Although the 222 soldiers are safe at home, there are some more soldiers from Cedar City who have left with I-CORE. They are training right now at Camp Shelby and will deploy to Afghanastan in August. I know some of the families with soldiers in I-CORE. As always, please keep them and their families and the rest of the brave men and women in the US Armed Forces in your prayers daily.
Thanks,
Jillynne
July 03 What's been going on...Well, like I said in my last post, MY SOLDIER IS HOME!!! He arrived on June 21st. It was a great day. The night before, the Roper family came and stayed at our house. We didn't do much, but it was really fun. On the 21st, we got up early and got to the airport at about 8:45 am. We were allowed on the tarmac at about 9:10 am. At about 10:25 am the plane finally arrived. They had some yellow police tape up that we were not suppose to cross, but as soon as I saw Travis walking towards us, I grabbed Brielle and Lainey and we started towards him. It was a really great moment. After the airport, we came home and had a nice family luncheon with all of the family that had come to the airport to see Travis. After the luncheon, we went up and walked in a parade with Travis. It was GREAT. A lot of people came and lined the streets to show their support for the 222. It was really nice later that evening when we (Travis, myself, Brielle and Lainey) just relaxed by ourselves at our home. The next few days were spent going to swimming lessons, t-ball games and just reaquainiting ourselves with each other again. On Monday, June 26th, VVMC had a 'Welcome Home" party for Travis. I've posted pics of that. On Tuesday, June 27th, we went to California. We (our family along with my parents) drove to Vegas and then flew into LAX. The plane ride was about 40 minutes. We spent Wednesday and Thursday at Disneyland. On Thursday, Lainey had a high fever, so Travis spent the afternoon and evening at the hotel with Travis while Brielle, my mom and I spent the day at Disneyland. On Friday, we drove to San Diego and went on a Harbor Excursion Tour. It was fun to be on a boat. After we went and found our hotel. We stayed at Miramar Marine Base. It was really nice. Later that evening we went to the beach. The kids had fun finding sea shells. On Saturday, we went to Sea World. We saw a few shows. At the Shamu show, they had all of the military personnel in the audience stand up. It was really great. We came home on Sunday. It was a great trip. Travis is now trying to get back into the civilian life. Today (Monday) he went to VVMC to get some training on the new equipment there that he will be using and he also was working on getting everything squared away for him to begin school. He seems kind of stressed, but I just keep telling him it will all work out. Funny thing is that before this deployment, I was usually the one all stressed out about things not going like I wanted them too and he was the one telling me to calm down. Guess one thing I learned during the deployement PATIENCE!!!!! Check out my pics of our vacations!!
June 21 My Soldier Is Home!!Well, today was the day. Travis finally got home. It was a GREAT day. I will post more later, but check out the pics I added!! June 13 Home to the USATravis called me this morning around 9 am to tell me that he had made it to Maine. He sounded really good and was glad to be back to the Good Ole USA!! He had flown from Kuwait to Shannen, Ireland and then to Maine. Later he called me around 2 pm to tell me he had landed in Mississippi and was in line to turn back in his weapon. Seems hard to believe that in about a week he should be home in Cedar City. Yeah!! June 08 Finally..... Travis called me this afternoon around 2:45 pm to let me know that he is now in TQ. I'm not sure when he will be leaving for Kuwait but the sooner the better. It is still not sinking in that he is coming home and that the deployment is over.
So many feelings and emotions right now. It is such a relief that Travis is on his way home and that I won't have to worry about him in Iraq. 17 months ago I wasn't sure I could make it through this whole thing and I was actually more worried about Travis. In 2004 he had gotten a promotion which meant he had to transfer to HHB from SVC. He had been in SVC for 13 year and that was where all his buddies were. He knew a few soldiers in HHB but I was still worried wondering who he would room with and who he would hang around with on down time. When he got to Iraq, his buddy, Mike Franklin, had found a room for them to call home for the next year. There was also another soldier that was going to be rooming with them, Jason Roper. I have been so thankful for that. Jason and Travis got a long really well and have become great friends. Because of that, Amy (Jason's wife) and I have also become friends. Things that probably would not have happened without this deployment. I look forward to staying close with the Ropers after this is all over. I've also have become close friends with Hollie Henrie. She has really helped me out through this whole thing and I hope she can say the same thing about me. We've done a lot of things together and she is someone I hope to be friends with for a long time. I've also met some awesome ladies through the 222 YAHOO's. Thanks ladies for making me laugh and cry, for giving me strength to make it through this. I kind of have feelings like when I graduated from high school. I was very excited for what lay ahead, but I was sad because people who had been a big part of my life were moving on to other things and I had to say goodbye knowing things would never be the same.
I've grown so much because of this. I've had to do things for myself because Travis was not here to do them and I have gained much respect for Travis and for what he means to me. He is so good to me. He is a great dad to our girls. I'm sure I'll have a little trouble handing some of the responsiblities back to him, but he is such a patient man that he will give me time and let me go at my own pace. I've had 17 months to do my own thing and to get a routine. Now, I'll have to change some of the routine I have set for myself and my girls, but that is just fine with me because I will have my husband back. I have also learned that prayers are answered and Heavenly Father wants to help us. I'm a person that has always thought I can do things on my own without help. I have learned that is not the case and if we ask Heavenly Father for help, he is more than willing to show us the way.
Travis and I have talked and we both agree that this activation was a positive thing and probably wouldn't change a thing. I mean sending my husband half way around the world to a country like Iraq was the hardest thing I've ever done but the change in both of us has been awesome. So within the next 2 weeks, my husband should be back home in good ole' Utah. We are going on a long overdue vacation just to try and get reaquainted again. I am so looking forward to that.
Oh, and I had better say something about my parents. They have been my biggest support to me. Wow, how lucky can I be to have a mom and dad who not only love me, but also my husband and kids so much. What a relief to know that if I ever need anything, they are there. There have been times that I have called my dad for help and he is at my house in 5 minutes. My mom and I are really close, but this has made us even closer. They are so awesome and supportive. Thanks Mom & Dad!! I LOVE YOU!!
I hope this makes sense. I haven't slept much the past couple of days because of the anticipation of Travis finally getting out of Iraq. Thanks for the support and love and GOD BLESS THE 222!! June 01 Military TraditionTravis' Grandma Mitchell has 4 grandsons serving in the Triple Deuce. The family has a strong tradition in the US Armed Forces. Trav's Grandpa Elmo Mitchell, like so many other young men, joined the Navy during WWII. He actually got to Pearl Harbor a few days after the actual attack there and saw the aftermath of it. He even wore his hat tipped on his head (like they do in the Navy) until the day he died. He probably watched "Midway" 10 zillion times!! Travis' uncles (Elmo's sons) also enlisted in the military. Each served in the 2/222 FA. Bruce served for a few years, Steven served for 20+ years and Danny served for 20+ years and at one time was the First Sergeant of HHB. Now the next generation is following in their shoes. Travis and his cousins Luke, Kam and Kaden are now serving with the Triple Deuce. When they left last January, Kaden was still doing some training somewhere else so I didn't get a picture of him with the other's. I was so happy when I checked my e-mail today and Travis had sent me a pic of him with his cousin's. I love the picture and am so proud of each one of them. Danny (Kam & Kaden's Dad) passed away in May, 1996 and Grandpa Elmo passed away in September, 2003 (right after the Deuce got back from Ft Lewis) and I often wonder what they would be saying right now and how they would feel having 4 great men from their family serving our great country right now! God Bless the 222!!! May 28 Fullmer HappeningsA lot happened last week at our home. Brielle had a fun last week of school. They had "Hat Day" and "Field Day" on Tuesday and she had a great time. On Wednesday, both Brielle and Lainey had to go to their dance review practice. Thursday was Brielle's last day of school. She came home with some awards and she was very proud of those. Hard to believe that she will be in first grade next school year and will be at school ALL DAY!! Friday was Brielle and Lainey's dance review. They both did really well. I felt bad because on Lainey's second dance the music got stuck and it just stayed in one place. The girls kept doing their dance and did well. I wish they could have been able to re-do the dance, but oh well it was still cute. Early Saturday morning, Brielle woke up with the stomach flu, YUCK!! She threw up all day, but was finally able to keep things down Saturday evening. I am keeping my fingers crossed that Lainey and I don't get it. Also on Saturday, me and my friend Hollie had a yard sale at my house. It was so dang windy, but we still did okay and got rid of our junk. Today (Sunday) I had to teach primary and do Sharing Time. It was okay. Tonight we went out and ate at my parent's house. My kids are sleeping there tonight so I am just hanging out by myself. This Wednesday, we will have another FRG meeting and try to finalize a few things for the 222 Homecoming. It should be a fun meeting!! In about 3 weeks, Travis along with the rest of the 222 should be home. I really can't comprehend that yet. Probably won't hit me until he is actually walking off of the plane. It will be weird to think that when he brings all his Army gear home that he can actually put it away and not have to worry about it for a while. Friday, my mom and I are going up to SLC to do some shopping. I am looking forward to that and my mother-in-law is taking my girls so hopefully I can get a lot of good shopping in! I need to get my hiney in gear and get the house cleaned up for when Travis gets home. Hopefully, I will get motivated so I can get it done. I just keep putting it off because like I said before, it really isn't sinking in that Travis will be home in less than a month. WOOOHOOO!!
Oh, I forgot to tell about our trip we took up Cedar Mountain last Saturday. My brother has a lot of GOATS and found a place on the Mountain to keep them. He took them up last weekend. On the way up, he saw a Coral Snake in the road took a shovel and cut its head off. I HATE SNAKES so I was kind of reluctant to even get near it but I did get a pic of him with the snake. We made it up to where he is leaving the goats and Brielle and Lainey had fun. I've added some pics of that little adventure as well as pics of my girls dancing. May 19 Anniversary & Lainey's Graduation Well, today was me and Travis' 11th Anniversary. I told him not to get me anything because we are going to a concert in August and that is our anniversary present. Of course he didn't do what I said. I got a dozen roses. They are light pink, light orange and white in color and are beautiful. Then my mom gave me a little gift and said it was from Travis. I opened it up and it was a DVD. So I came home and put it in my computer and it was a DVD that he had made for me. He had set up the camcorder in his room in Ramadi and just set in front of it and told me how he felt about me and our marriage. Then at the end he turned on a song on his laptop and showed some different pictures of us together. It was so sweet!! WOW, I was so surprised!! He is the best husband and I love him so much.
Lainey "Graduated" from preschool tonight. They had a little program and sang about 6 songs. She knew every song and it was cute to watch her. At the end, Mrs Woolsey (teacher) put a graduation cap on each of the students and then presented them with a certificate. Lainey did not like the cap. I did get one picture of her in it though! After I let her choose where she wanted to eat and out of all the places to eat at in Cedar City, she chose WENDY'S!! Oh well, it was still good. The girls are sleeping out at my parent's house tonight! YEAHH!! May 18 Busy Week!Well, this past week has gone by very fast. Brielle had "Crazy Hair" day in her Kindergarten class on Tuesday. I was surprised she wanted to do it, but she did. I've posted pics of her "Crazy Hair". She enjoyed her hair so much that she kept it that way until she decided she wanted to swim in my neighbors pool! I also got my hair weaved and trimmed on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Brielle had her "Kindergarten Program". It was really cute. This school year has flown by! Wow, I can't believe Brielle will be in 1st Grade next year! Lainey and Brielle swam ALL afternoon on Wednesday!! Today (Thursday) was Lainey's last day of Pre-School for the year. She has really learned a lot this year and looks forward to going back to the same Pre-School next year! She's having a "Pre-School Graduation" on Friday night so I will post pics of that. Today for lunch I went to HHB's monthly "Ladies Lunch". We ate at A Tast of Hawaii. It was very good. We are going to have one more Ladies Lunch on June 15th. That will be really close to our soldiers coming home so hopefully there will be a few more ladies in town who will want to join us! Tonight we went and had dinner at my neighbor's house. There were 4 families (including mine) there. It was really fun. 2 of the 4 families that were there are moving this summer. It makes me want to cry because I get along really good with both families! Tomorrow, May 19th, is my 11th anniversary. WOW! Hard to believe we've been married for 11 years. It has gone by very fast. Travis missed our 10th and now is missing our 11th, but will be home in about a month so it is okay! I am very proud of Travis and have learned so much this past year!! It has been for the most part a positive experience to have Travis deployed. Our marriage is excellent, we have 2 beautiful girls, a nice home, good health, strong faith & testimony in Jesus Christ and we live in the greatest country in the world and my husband is one of those people who took the oath to defend it!! I am very proud of him! I LOVE YOU TRAV!! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! May 13 Grandpa's 80th B-day CelebrationToday, we celebrated my Grandpa Keith's 80th B-day. He actually turned 80 on Wednesday. We had a family BBQ at the Canyon Park in Cedar. The weather was a little breezy, but it was nice. It is always fun to get together with my family. I've posted some pics so check them out!
May 08 Jayden's BaptismMy nephew, Jayden, got baptized on Saturday, May 6. He was very excited. My dad, Grandpa Jeff, baptized and confirmed Jayden. My mom, Grandma Bonnie, gave the "Baptism" talk in the program. After we went down to Kannaraville, where Jayden lives with his mom and step-dad, and had a nice dinner that his Granny Yolanda had prepared. It was a great day. I am very proud of Jayden! May 03 Mother's Day DinnerTonight, HHB sponsored a "Mother's Day Dinner". It was held at The Heritage Center in Cedar City. The Garden House catered it and the meal included green salad, potatoes, fresh green beans, chicken or beef and rolls plus a really good piece of carrot cake for dessert. SUU's Acclamation preformed for us and did a great job. I posted some pics so check them out. It's amazing how many great ladies I have met because of this activation!! It feels so good to tell people when they ask, that Travis is going to be home next month!! WOW, so close!! April 26 Spring PicturesToday I took my girls down to St George to get their pictures taken. They turned out pretty good. I must have trained Brielle from an early age because she knows how to smile good for pictures. Lainey is a different story. She does not like to smile for pictures. The girl who was taking the pictures asked me if Lainey liked candy and I told her yes. So, she tried to bribe Lainey with candy so she would smile. Still, no smile from Lainey. Finally I told Lainey that if she would smile, we would go to Target and try on shoes after. That did it. She finally started to smile (a little). What can I say, the girl loves shoes!!! Check out the pictures the I've added to my photo album!!
Ta Ta for now!! April 16 Easter 2006Easter 2006 is over. We had a great Easter. All together, my kids participated in 5 egg hunts. They had a really fun time. At the Sigma Nu egg hunt in Cedar, Lainey won a cute butterfly easter basket. On Saturday, we went to St George and had a family picnic at my Aunt Sue Ellen's house. It was really fun. After the picnic my mom, my girls and I went shopping at got home at 10 pm. On Sunday, the girls got their Easter Baskets which had a Ty Beanie Baby, kite, bracelet, bubbles and way too much candy! We went to church and the girls looked really cute in their new dresses. Later that afternoon, we went to my parent's house and had dinner. We then went to my grandparents house and my grandpa gave each of the girls an egg with $1 in it. Then we came home and I was hoping that they would forget about coloring eggs, but I wasn't that lucky so we ended up coloring eggs on Sunday night. They had fun. It was a great Easter!! Check out the pictures I added to my album!! April 12 April FunWell, nothing too exciting happening at the Fullmer House. I did get tickets for the Faith Hill/Tim McGraw concert in August so Travis had better be home by then. Any day now, I am hoping for that call from Travis telling me that he knows for sure the date that he will be home! But until then, I will just be patient I guess. What other choice do I have?!?!? I've added some pics of the kids. Check them out!! |
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