Half-Time Hoopla!

Quick break from doing dishes! Ok Kids, hold still, say cheese.......Alrighty, that one was a keeper!

Splish Splash I was taking a ............Swim!

It's mid-April and the temperatures are getting to ninety on some days, so we figured that we'd better get CJ a pool. He took to it pretty quick and has been having lots of fun splashing around and playing with his toy boats.

Easter Time

Well, it's been a successful Easter, although it doesn't compare with the infamous egg hunts at Granny Wards house! CJ was able to participate in three different egg hunts; one at base housing, one with the Milton ward, and one here at home. It was a lot of fun and CJ got pretty good at finding the eggs and especially opening them to see what he won. With one of his eggs, he decided he would open it right in the middle of the ward egg hunt, and then must not have been too impressed with the contents. He put the egg back together and put it into the neighbor boys (Hunter's) basket. The next day at church Jed and Erin politely gave back to CJ the egg with his half-eaten candy inside.

King of Bunker Hill

For the past few weeks CJ has been climbing on everything he possibly can. He's gotten quite good at it, and usually puts on a little show when he gets to the tops of whatever he is climbing on, i.e. the file box, the upside-down cloths hamper, utility boxes, you name it. He likes to do a little Irish jig when he gets on top and makes sure that we know that he 'Lives For Danger'.

CJ Wants to be a Fire Fighter Too!!

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It seems as though CJ has been taking notes from Bryce and Kathy and wants to become a firefighter; at any rate he is quite skilled with the use of a garden hose.
As we were washing the car and pickup on Friday afternoon, Laura was having a lot of fun giving CJ the hose and letting him splash around with it. It was quite entertaining watching him, and he was obviously quite entertained, as well as soaked to the bone.

"Red Knight 163 Solo, Outbound"

Well, it's been an exciting week for flight training. Clay passed his checkride on Wednesday and then headed off into the wild blue.....by himself. And yes, he cheated death once again and came back in one piece. He's now started aerobatics and will fly an aerobatics solo on Monday.
It was a stressful time getting to this point in training, but with the help and encouragement of a hot hunny and a cute little boy (Laura and CJ), the Ward family was able to get there.

There Was once a Wise Man With A Stick......

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This weekend we went camping overnight with the Baileys (the couple with the boy CJ's age) in order to get the 'roughing it' experience, Southern Style. It was fun, even though it wasn't quite like camping back West. Here, everything is on a slightly smaller scale, i.e. the molehills are the mountains, and the ponds are the lakes. No Matter. It was fun to get outdoors and enjoy the atmosphere. We've heard that the place to go camping in Florida is on the beach, so we'll have to try that for our next venture.


CJ and Hunter had a lot of fun running around and playing in the pine needle piles. They were also mesmerized by the camp fire, which meant we had to do everything short of putting a leash on them in order to save from going on a trip to the hospital.

Sunday Morning

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Well, sorry it's been a few weeks since we've updated the blogger. It's definitely been a busy few weeks, and we've not been taking as many pictures as we would have liked. Training has kicked into high gear and Clay is flying every day (except for bad weather days) and somedays he's flying two times a day (a.k.a.double-pumped). Laura has been busy with Young Womens and the play group, and just keeping up with CJ during the day is very demanding at times. But never fear, the Ward crew is alive and kickin' and doing great.
These pictures were just taken this morning out in the back yard when CJ was exploring the dirt, bugs, water, and wood chips. You might notice CJ is a little bit shorter, but don't worry, he didn't shrink in the wash, he just got a hair cut.

CJ's First Birthday!!!

It's amazing how fast the time goes by. Who would have thought that it has been a whole year since CJ was born. It seems like we just got him, but also he's grown up so much this past year that it's hard to imagine what it was like when CJ just layed around with little booties on his hands. He's brought so much joy and Entertainment into our lives, it would be hard to even imagine what our lives would be like without him.
He had a lot of fun on his birthday with a big piece of chocolate cake. He's not a stranger to chocolate, so that was probably why he had lots of fun 'playing' with his cake, but not too much of it actually got eaten.



CJ also had a lot of fun opening some ofthe gifts that he got, like the forward facing car seat which he Loves, compared to always ridingin the car while facing backwards. He got quite a kick out of opening the package from Grandma and Grandpa Smith with all of the paper confetti inside, as well as the toys and books that he received.

Our Little Superhero!

We made an attempt to go to Pensacola beach yesterday. When we left Milton it was nice and warm and sunny, but of course when we got close to the beach the clouds came in and it was a little colder and cloudier than expected. We didn't bring our jackets, so that's why Laura is wearing a towel and CJ is wearing a blanket a.k.a. superhero cape. Though it was cold, it was a lot of fun hangin' out on the beach with the Bailey's for a bit, and helping Jed build a sand castle. CJ and Hunter also had fun "helping" their parents with the finer details of the castle.

Books and Bronco

CJ has developed a love for his books. Now that we have trained him not to rip the pages, but to turn them... we feel comfortable letting him "read" by himself. He often goes and reads the stories on his own- we sometimes spy on him and can't help but smile as we listen to his cute narratives. Every now and again we can contain his energy (usually when he is tired and ready for bed!) and he will sit and read with mom and dad.








In between his flights, Clay needs to stay physically fit. So.. while doing push ups the other night, CJ decided to "help" Daddy by giving him a little extra resistance and getting a free ride in the process!! The good news is.. he only got bucked off twice! Ride 'em cowboy!

Checkin' Out the T-34C 'Turbomentor'

Last weekend we, along with our friends Jed, Erin, and little Hunter Bailey, decided to go see the planes that Clay and Jed fly for training. It was a lot of fun for the boys to show Laura and Erin the controls and they had fun showing the boys how to look good in a plane! CJ and Hunter also had a blast sitting in the cockpits and playing with all of the buttons, knobs, and controls.
Clay has started flying! He flew two flights a little over a week ago and is steadily improving in his abilities, at least the second flight was a lot better than the first flight. He wasn't able to go flying all this past week because of bad weather. He was scheduled three different days and struck out.
Laura has been quite busy these past two weeks with Young Womens as well as taking command of the community play group. At the beginning of this last week she and her counselors took the girls on a five mile hike through the wilds of Florida, then the next day she assisted her counselor, Tina, in putting together an excellent ettiquette dinner/ fashion show for mutual. It was really good. Also this week she was given the responsibility over the community play group which meets every week and is an excellent time for the kids, and the moms, to socialize.