OUR LAST DAYS IN SAVANNAH!

These are just some pictures of the kids on the last 2 days before leaving Savannah, GA.

This one at the right, MiaLuz had just woke up from a 3 hour nap and apparently was sleeping on her hand the whole time...poor thing, but I just had to get a shot for memories!




And then there's MiaLuz ...sucking on her big toe...it must be tasty cuz she does it often...lol



And then there's Chris. He has gotten in the habit of hiding everytime daddy is coming home from work. This is one of his favorite spots. It makes us laugh cuz Chris can see him immediately as he walks in the door but he has to pretend that he has no clue where lil Chris is so he can run out and suprise him. To the far right is what Chris loves to do everyday as soon as daddy's boots come off....He ALWAYS marches around the house, tracking the dirt from the boots everywhere, what a mess!!!

We took the kids one last time to our favorite park...it was soooo hot but we made the sacrifice for them. You can tell how hot it was by their red cheeks. One of my favorite pictures is MiaLuz playing with the grass...too cute.

It's funny cuz this time last year lil Chris couldn't climb these rails at this park; now it's no problem for him. Crazy how fast they grow!

JUST ANOTHER DAY HERE IN SAVANNAH!

JUST A COUPLE OF PICTURES OF US HANGING AROUND SAVANNAH FOR THE LAST TIME...WE SHOULD BE OUTTA HERE BY EARLY NEXT WEEK.

HERE ARE THE KIDS PLAYING AT THE SOFTPLAY AT THE MALL...THE BEST INVENTION BY FAR!!!
CHECK OUT HER CUTE LITTLE PINK JELLIES; I REMEMBER WHEN WE USED TO WEAR OURS...HOW FASHION REPEATS ITSELF...

I THOUGHT THIS PICTURE WAS SO COOL. I CAN DO SO MUCH TO IT IN THE FUTURE

SO MIA STARRED AT THIS DUCK FOR ABOUT 2 MINUTES BEFORE SHE LEANED IN A KISSED IT...OF COURSE BY THE TIME I GOT THE CAMERA OUT FROM UNDERNEATH THE STROLLER THE MOMENT WAS GONE, GO FIGURE....

MY BABY GIRL

AND MY ADVENTURER

CHRIS LOVES PLAYING WITH MIA AND SHE GOES ALONG WITH EVERYTHING HE WANTS TO DO OR PUT ON HER HEAD...THAT MEANS TROUBLE IN THE LONG RUN...

AND OF COURSE...DADDY HAS TO PLAY ALONG...DOESN'T HE LOOK SO HAPPY ABOUT IT...LOL

OK SO MOM MADE A CHOCO CAKE IN A LOAF PAN. CHRIS DIDN'T WANT TO WAIT UNTIL IT COOLED SO THIS WAS THE RESULT....SHE'S NOT GONNA LIVE THIS ONE DOWN!

AND CHRIS JR HAS TO HELP OR COURSE...

MIALUZ LOVES THE BABY DOLL MEEMAW GAVE TO HER. SHE'S ALWAYS KISSING IT...YES, THAT'S A KISS, OR A LICK RATHER!

Our new home!!!

TA-DA!!!!!

So as you know we have been planning to move to Columbia, SC the 1st week of Oct for Chris to go to the Captain's Career Course. Well, just 2 days ago he received a call and was offered the job as a Company Commander in the same city. This means he will be doing this for at least 12-18 months and then going to the school after that time. This is a great accomplishment for Chris. This job is usually not offered to officers until after they have completed the course so we are very excited and proud of our soldier....Not to mention the added bonus of not being deployed during this time....that's the best part of course! Well, there is always something that changes last minute for us. We originally were going to move into an apartment for the 6 months. It was a nice "cozy" place but definitely not a place we could handle for 2 years. SOOOOOOOOOO, once again, we took a trip to Columbia to find a HOME that would suit our needs. AND BOY did we find one....A wonderful neighborhood for the kids and close to the base. We fell in love with it immediately! We move in 2 weeks....super excited. Here are some pictures. We can't wait to get in and have everyone over....ALL IS WELCOME!!!!

View from front porch...fishing pond right across the street

This is the living room- Florida room to the right

Kitchen-obviously...with 2 walk-in pantries, like i cook sooo much

Breakfast nook, right in front of the kitchen

formal dining room

called a Florida Room: all windows, but with vent and fan; one of my favorites for the kids.

Overlooking the HUGE yard, it's 2 different levels

deck in the back yard where Gloria will be living...



upstairs


Master Bathroom

jacuzzi tub and stand up shower

upstairs guest bathroom

This will be mother's room

The Bronze Star Medal

This past deployment, Chris was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq. He decided that he would give it to his grandpa. Grandpa Flores was a veteran of the Korean War. For his service he was awarded several medals, including the prestigious Purple Heart. Grandpa Flores has always been so proud of Chris and all his accomplishments. Chris loved him very much and he really wanted to give him something that was very valuable to him. After Chris was awarded the Pelican Award at the Port of Corpus Christi, we headed to the cemetery. Chris wanted to formally present the award to grandpa. We took Grandma with us to share the experience.
An experience it was, the spirit was very strong and I know Grandpa was standing by smiling at his grandson and proudly accepting his award. We love you Grandpa!

BACK....AGAIN!

I know I know....I'm not doing a good job with keeping up with the blog. We've been running crazy ever since Chris got back. We left to Texas on block leave for the whole month of August. We had such a great time. We were able to visit some family in San Marcos and spent the day at the Comal River. The kids had a blast!!!! While in Corpus, Chris was also awarded The Pelican Award (a very prestigious award only given to less than a handful of people) for all the humanitarian service he did while in Iraq. It was awarded to him by Ruben Bonilla at the Commissioners meeting at the Port of Corpus Christi. He also came out in the news and even spoke spanish for Univision. He did a good job; it was just so hallarious to hear it! If you all want to see the articles that came out in the Caller Times just visit the website www.caller.com. In the search box type in Christopher Flores. It will bring you to a page with listings. He is numbers 5, 6, and 10-17...There's pictures and everything!
Update....MiaLuz is now 10 months! She has 2 teeth poking out and crawls everywhere....she's cruising on the furniture, will be walking in no time.
Chris is doing a great job keeping her safe. He is always on the floor with her and watches her every move. He gets so excited when he sees her teeth. He says, "Mommy, she's got teeth like me!" It's so cute to see them together. He is such an athlete. He already has a great arm, super powerful and has an incredible memory. He such a talented boy....but I guess every parent says that about their child...but it's true! lol....
Anyways, well we had a photo session; "STRICTLY COWBOYS" was the theme.
Lil Chris is a HUGE cowboy fan, as I've mentioned before and Mia was given some cute gear when we went to Texas so I decided to take some pictures of them....and this is in no way all of their Cowboy wardrobe. Grandma Vela has them both FULLY stocked! How bout them Cowboys!!!
We love you Gma Vela!!!
FYI: We took a trip to Columbia, SC this past weekend and found the apt. we will be staying in when we move in October. It is so nice and there's a park for Chris right outside out front door. We can't wait for the new move and all the exciting new adventures that are yet to come.....
Next trip to Texas.....XMAS!!!! Can't wait to see ya'll again. And you better be coming Jerm!!!! lol we miss you....