Town Tinker Tubing

On Sunday a group of us ventured out to go tubing down the Esopus River in Phoenicia, NY about an hour and twenty minutes from West Point.  Thank you Tim and Kathleen for the idea and getting us out to explore!  For those of you Georgia folks, its a lot like "Shootin the Hooch" except they don't call this a lazy river - its a little bitter faster moving with a little bigger rapids. So they don't recommend coolers of beer...darn!  Trent's brother, Phil, and sister, Stephanie came along for the adventure as well!! 

We didn't have a waterproof bag or anything, so I didn't want to chance it with my camera - but here is a picture I stole off the internet of what we looked like floating down the river!

 

Isabel visits West Point!!!!!

We were so very excited to get to have Isabel for a week here at West Point!  We knew she would have an absolute blast...and that she did!  The neighborhoods of West Point are a kids dream - there's literally a playground on every corner and kids running around all over the place.  Needless to say, Isabel made tons of new friends and some great quality time was spent with this sweet little girl!

Also, Trent's mom, Sharon, was able to come into town as well!  She soaked up every minute possible with her oldest granddaughter!

Dress-up time!  The neighbor girls LOVE dress up, so this was one of many times dress-up and costumes were put on!  And YES...these are my high school cheerleading pom-poms!! (yes I still have them!)

Isabel and I made Cake Pops!  Per Isabel's request...I think we all know that I wouldn't voluntarily make these on my own!  And I must say, Isabel was quite the Sous Chef!!  She was a great help, and had her hand in every step of the way!  She even got to crack 3 eggs all by herself - her first time ever cracking eggs!

We purchased some new books for bedtime and also went to the library to check some out as well.  Isabel loved them all so much, they weren't just for bedtime.  Grandma got in LOTS of reading time with Isabel!

Here are a bunch more from the trip...

Mr. Bear Bear

For those of you that keep asking "How is Bear doing?"  Well, I think these pictures speak for themselves that Bear is doing just fine!!!  He gets lots of love from neighborhood!

This one was taken when Isabel, Trent's daughter, was in town visiting for the week!  We practically lived at the playground, so Bear loved all the constant attention!

And this one was texted to me when we needed asked the Mitrokas to let Bear out one afternoon we were away!

A-Day: March Back 2013

I am slowly, bit by bit, learning the ways of West Point!  Since Trent was once a cadet here at West Point, it makes it even more interesting to take part in some of the activities/happenings involving the cadets here on West Point.  It helps me get to know him better and what he went through in his four years as a cadet.  One of the traditions we witnessed this week was the "March Back"

To signify the end of their six weeks of Cadet Basic Training, the "new cadets" (i.e. incoming freshman) march 12 miles from Camp Buckner to the steps of Washington Hall where they lose the name New Cadets and officially become Cadets!  In tradition, there is a parade as they enter the gates of West Point and march to the steps of Washington Hall in which spectators are encouraged to come out and cheer them on!!  You can read more about it here if you are interested:
Back from Beast

This March Back took place during the week Isabel was in town, so since we live on post, and all the kids were so excited, we of course had to take part in the festivities!!  (You can get a quick glimpse of Trent in uniform!)

Official Engagement Photos

Our engagement photos are up!!  

And I couldn't be happier with the amazing work and talent from my dear friend Caroline.  Caroline has a way of making you feel so warm, welcomed and loved in every little thing that she does.  She is gifted with not only her words in writing, but her artistic eye and skill with photography.  I am one lucky girl! 

http://fullmeasurearts.com/alicia--trent.html