Our Crazy Adventure

Helping me pack

With Meric heading to Texas for 2 ½ months, I took the opportunity to visit family and friends with Mel and the dogs. It turned out to be one long crazy adventure.

We started our tour of the USA by heading to Kentucky. We stayed with the Smith family and enjoyed being back home in Kentucky. I love the Smiths and think of them as family and we had a lot of fun on our visit. Mel loved cruising around the house in the walker they got for her. Mike tried to get her to start walking on her own but Mel wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of seeing her walk. (She is one stubborn kid and we are still trying to convince her she can walk.)

Mel loved seeing Emma every day when she got home from school and the two of them were best buddies. The time went too quickly and it was hard to say good bye.

My mom came down to Kentucky to help me drive up to Washington State. A three day drive with a one year old and three dogs was not something I was looking forward to doing, especially in the winter. We started our trip with it snowing in Kentucky. When I got to Indiana I discovered the joys of black ice and really started to question whether or not we should continue the trek. We pushed on and once we got to the Missouri border the weather had improved greatly. In fact it was sunny and nice most of the rest of the trip. We safely completed the 30+ hour drive to Spokane.

With the exception of Lissy, nobody in my family had been able to meet Mel until this trip. By making this trip Mel met aunts, uncles, and cousins galore. She especially loved Ella.

Mel also loved watching videos online with Gramma.

She continued to show her stubborn ornery streak with my dad. It took a little while before she would let him do anything with her but before our trip was over they had become friends, sort of.

It really was a great time for Mel to hang out and spend time with her momma’s side of the family.

We even had the chance to visit with Amanda (Meric’s sister) and her family a few times since she lives in Spokane too.

Mel playing with her cousin behind the couch

Next we headed to the other side of Washington to visit the rest of the Powell side of the family. We spent a few days at Nana and Papa’s house before heading up to Meric’s other sister’s house a couple hours away.

Mel and her cousin at the beach

Mel loved having even more cousins, aunts and uncles to play with. She especially warmed up to her uncles. (I think she was missing her daddy.)

After we got back to Spokane it was time to head down to Texas and join Meric for the last couple weeks of his training. This time Kelli got to spend 3 days in the truck with Mel, me and the 3 dogs. On the way down to Texas we stayed the night in Utah with AJ and his family. It was so nice to see my nieces and for them to meet Mel. Reagan especially loved Mel and I wished we had more time for them to play together.

After a couple more days we arrived in Texas. Mel was a little nervous at first seeing her daddy again but she quickly warmed up to him and really has become more of a daddy’s girl. To thank Kelli for driving with me, we took her to the zoo before her flight home.

The San Antonio zoo is pretty cool looking. Made in an old rock quarry the walls to the animal cages were rock in many places. It was very pretty.

Mel is #1!

Mel, Meric and I enjoyed our time in Texas. We took Mel to Sea World. She seemed to enjoy watching the different shows. We also took her to a park near the zoo. The park is huge and had a train ride. Mel seemed to enjoy the ride but was very serious while watching the scenery go by.

The park also had a Japanese Garden built in the same old rock quarry as the zoo. Walking into the garden felt like walking into another world.

Even though there were several other people there, the garden was very peaceful. The pictures really don’t do it justice.

It was nice to be able to spend those couple weeks in Texas.

Finally Meric’s training came to an end and it was time to head back to Georgia. I was so glad that the drive was only 2 days instead of 3. It was a little weird though coming back “home” but not having a place to live. We pulled the trailer out of storage and parked in the campground on Fort Gordon. It is a nice campground with a lake and peaceful surroundings but it isn’t home yet. We can only stay in this spot of a max of 60 days before we have to move for at least a week. So this is not a permeant home but we are looking and hope to find our home soon.

These are Meric's 3 bears from when he was a kid. His mom made them for him and Mel loved them.

This trip was a very crazy adventure. Mel, the dogs, and I drove through 18 states and spent 11 days in the truck. But Mel got to see 2 sets of grandparents, 10 uncles, 14 aunts, 22 cousins, and several family friends that might as well be related. It was an amazing chance to see everyone and let them get to know my funny little monkey.

Random Cuteness

Just chillin'

The sleep monster finally caught her...

Cupcake Cutie!

Getting ready for the race

1st spaghetti dinner

She loved the see-saw

Silly daddy is trying to take a nap

Winter Fun

Since Mel was born in February this is not her first winter. Of course being born in February she didn't really get out and enjoy her first winter much. On the day my mom came to visit us in Kentucky it snowed. A lot(for Kentucky). By the time I got back from the airport big flakes were falling from the sky and by morning we had 4.9 inches of snow on the ground. Everything looked so gorgeous covered in snow and of course we had to go play in it. Mike pulled Emma and Mel around on the sled. Mel had a blast!

The dogs also got a great workout chasing the sled. I just had to make sure Jasper didn't "save" the girls from the sled by pulling them off. Jasper can be a little overprotective some times.

Sweet as Honey: Happy Birthday Mel and Gramma!

When Mel was born on February 1st, she became Gramma's favorite birthday present. My mom and Mel will always be birthday buddies. So when we made the trip to Spokane and got there in time for their birthday it was extra special. Not only did Mel turn one but she got to celebrate the day with Gramma.


The morning of their birthday, Dany and her kids came over to celebrate and make us all breakfast. Yummy biscuits and pancakes! Mel especially loved the biscuits with jam on them.

They also brought presents. Mel got a pull-behind duck toy that quacks the alphabet. It is great for Mel because she loves the alphabet and she loves to quack. (Right now every animal quacks to her. Even the dogs.) She also got a great monkey book that chatters. That is also perfect because she loves books and is my little monkey.

That afternoon we headed over to Tiffany's house for another birthday party. Kelli got Mel a special birthday dress just for the occasion. They also had balloons, presents and cake for the celebration. We decided presents should be first since Mel would get really messy once we let her have cake. Mel received a couple of fun toys and some clothes. She loved her toys and I loved the clothes because Mel is starting to grow out of the ones we have now.

After presents it was time for the cake. It is tradition to get Mom/Gramma an ice cream cake. They had special candles on the cake for Mel and Gramma to blow out.

Mel wasn't too happy that I kept her from grabbing it. Kelli had made Mel a special monkey cake. She told Mel that she could have it all.

Stripping Mel down and setting her in her chair I was all prepared for a very messy kid.

Instead she touched the cake a couple of times and then started crying. Mel wouldn't even try a little bit.

Oh well guess Mel didn't want to mess up Kelli's beautiful cake.

Even though she didn't eat the cake. Mel had fun crawling around and getting to know some of her aunts, uncles and cousins a little better.

I can't believe it has been a full year since my baby was born. It is crazy how quickly times goes by. Mel is so much fun and is growing and learning every day. I love my little monkey!

Tweaking the Trailer: Baby Needs a Bath!

Some trailers have bathtubs. They are small and really only good for small children but at least they have one. Our trailer is NOT one with a bathtub. When we bought our trailer we never thought we would have to be giving a kid a bath on a regular basis. But now that Mel has come along bath time is a must.

I looked into a lot of different collapsible bathtubs and settled on this one. It is a Prince Lionheart Flexitub and I love it! When collapsed it fits perfectly in between the shower and the bathroom sink. Totally out of the way and yet still convenient to get when needed.

When expanded it fits nicely in our shower. One thing I like about this tub is that it sits flat. That means I don't have to worry about the legs collapsing as Mel get bigger. It is also a decent enough size that Mel will have enough room to splash and play for the next year at least.

With Mel sitting up and moving around, Meric and I added some skid proof duckies to the bottom of the tub. They work great and add a little more color to the tub. Mel loves bath time and loves to play in her tub.

Sweet as Honey: Mel's First Flight

I really should title this blog as The Unexpected Journey.

Meric is currently in San Antonio, TX for some training. He will be there until March. While he is in TX, Mel and I are visiting the Smiths in KY and plan to make a trek up to WA to visit family. (Fingers crossed we make it to WA!)

When Meric got to his training he was given his schedule of classes and homework. He discovered that he not only got MLK day off but he would have the Friday before it off as well. Unexpected 4 day weekends are the best! Since I am still reasonably close we decided to try and meet up for the weekend. 

Little Rock, AR was our first plan. We started looking at hotels and things to do in the area. Then we thought about how long of a trip that would be for me alone with Mel and decided to try somewhere closer for me. Memphis, TN was our next plan but that would be a very long drive for Meric. I looked for flights out of Louisville, KY (our closest airport) but they were very expensive. Lynn then suggested we look for flights out of Nashville, TN (a 2 hour drive). They were MUCH cheaper and we decided that me flying would end up costing as much as us driving and getting a hotel room so I booked a flight. 

Bright and early I drove down to Nashville and Mel and I started our adventure. I wanted to be sure I had no trouble with security or getting to our gate while carrying 2 bags, a car seat and a kid. So I, in true Mandy fashion, was very early for our flight. It worked out well because I was able to hang out in the USO and let Mel play before boarding our flight. 

Our first flight was a quick one to Charlotte, NC. (Yes that is the opposite direction from TX) We quickly found the USO again. I love being able to put my stuff down, let Mel sit and play, and eat in a nice comfortable area. I couldn't have done this trip without those USOs!

Playing and eating a doughnut, life is good!

Our next flight was 3 hours and I was sitting in the middle seat. Luckily I was seated next to 2 very nice and understanding people who were more than happy to hold Mel as she bounced from lap to lap. She is one very friendly kid.

Meric picked us up at the airport and Mel was very happy to see him. 

It has been a long time since I was in San Antonio and it was so nice to go back and hit some of our favorite spots. Of course we had to see the Alamo and the Riverwalk. We even took a riverboat tour.

We also went to one of the other missions in San Antonio.

There are 5 missions and a trail that connects them all. It would have been cool to do the mission trail but it is 16 miles round trip. They rent out bikes but I didn't think it would have been a good idea to put Mel in the basket.

The mission we went to was San Jose.

 We didn't get to see inside the chapel very well though because it is still used for mass. The mission and grounds were very beautiful and it was nice to see a piece of history still being used.

While visiting San Antonio the weather was absolutely beautiful and warm. We were able to take Mel to the park a couple of times.

She loved crawling around the play ground.

I took her down the slide a few times, which she loved.

And of course we let her do her favorite playground activity: swing.

(Check out that hair!)

Even though it was a long weekend, it was a very short visit. It was hard to leave Meric again. I wasn't really looking forward to flying again but this time our layover was in Dallas so we had 2 short flights and another USO to visit. Getting back to Kentucky after 2 am made for a very long day but I am very glad we went.

Seasoned flyer just waiting to board

Life has a funny way of changing lanes on you when you least expect it. I never expected to get this quick trip to TX but it was really fun. And now Mel has had her first airplane trip!

Sweet as Honey: Mel's 1st 1st Birthday Party

For New Years Meric, Mel and I headed to Kentucky to spend time at our old campground with the Smiths. Soon Meric will be heading to San Antonio for a training that will last 2 1/2 months. While Meric is in Texas Mel will have her 1st birthday. I really hated that Meric would miss Mel's birthday so we decided to celebrate it a little early.

One of the best parts of a first birthday is letting the kid get super messy and all sugared up with birthday cake. I figured cupcakes would be an easy option to share and get messy. When I saw the pink camo cupcake wrappers I just couldn't resist. We decided to make chocolate and strawberry cupcakes. (Mel loves both of those flavors.) Hannah and Emma helped me make and decorate all of the cupcakes. Hannah made Mel's cupcake especially messy.

We invited a few of our closest Kentucky friends came to share in the celebration. All I can say is I have one very spoiled kid. Mel loved all of her presents.

When it came time to give Mel her cupcake she was very excited. But when we took the time to sing Happy Birthday she started crying. She didn't want us to sing, she just wanted her cupcake. As you can see she really enjoyed her dessert.

Funny thing is with all of the presents and excitement, I forgot to give Mel the presents Meric and I got her. We got her a monkey pillow and a happy birthday balloon. Good thing she is only one and has no idea how forgetful her momma is!