Firefighter Appreciation Day

The place where I work held a Firefighter Appreciation Day the beginning of June.  They had lots of activities for the entire family.  Corey was at work so the girls and I went and enjoyed some of the fun things they had to offer. 

Audrey loved visiting with Sparky the Fire Dog.

Addison was a little apprehensive.  We did get her to sit "near" Sparky.  But when we left and got home, Sparky was all Addison talked about for days.

They had several inflatables for the kids to enjoy.  Audrey and Addison went from one to another for most of the time we were there.  They jumped and went sliding so much they were exhausted by the time we got home.  (Yay for good naps that day!!)

Life Saver Helicopter made a visit and allowed the girls to sit inside and check it out.

Three Sweet Friends (or Partners-in-Crime may be a better description).  My best friend's little girl Zoe Kate came to enjoy the day, too.  Audrey and Addison got some playtime with one of their best buds.

The 3 stooges visiting Smokey the Bear.

We had a great day! The weather was amazing, the activities were fun, and the friends were fantastic.  The free lunch helped make it even better :)

Happy Father's Day 2012

Happy Father's Day to the most amazing Daddy!!  He is such a wonderful father to our girls.  Corey works so hard to provide for us and to make it possible for me to stay home with Audrey and Addison.  No matter how many long hours he has put in, he still has time for piggy back rides, tickles, reading and snuggles with his girls.

It is so apparent that these two girls absolutely adore their daddy. 

I'm so thankful to have him as my partner in raising these two beautiful children.  They are so blessed to have such a wonderful father.  Happy Father's Day, Corey.  We love you!

Heroes

A few weeks ago Audrey, Addison and I had the pleasure of attending a fire department awards ceremony where Corey was honored and received a Unit Commendation award.  It was for a rescue that was performed last year, April 27, 2011, the day of the horrific tornadoes.

In true selfless, hero fashion, Corey couldn't see why in the world he was getting this award.  Because in his words he was "just doing his job".  Well, certainly he was doing his job, but most people I know wouldn't voluntarily risk their lives on a daily basis to save another. 

I'm not just saying this because my husband in a firefighter, but I think that our firefighters, police officers, and military should be recognized, awarded and commended much more than they receive now.  However, if one was to ask them, I'm sure their response would be that similar to the one Corey gave- "I was just doing my job". 

I'm very proud of my husband and his fellow firefighters who don't think twice about taking the risk to help another person.

Congratulations, Corey! Your award is well deserved! I'm so proud of you!

This is Patrick one of Corey's co-workers and good friend. (and partner-in-crime, if truth be told!)

The girls were, as always, so proud of their daddy.  They were thrilled to get to see him receive such an honor. 

Congratulations, Keith!

We are so proud of my brother, Keith!

Yesterday, he graduated firefighter recruit school at the Alabama Fire College. He spent 10 long and grueling weeks learning physically and mentally how to become a firefighter. This has been a dream of his for many, many years and we are so excited to watch him achieve his dream.

It is terribly difficult to find dresses with firetrucks on them, so I had a friend of ours make these adorable dresses for this special occasion.

The girls have been super-duper excited about watching Keith graduate. We have had to keep this quiet for 10 weeks. Since I work at the Alabama Fire College, we didn't want anyone to know that he was my brother to avoid any claims of favoritism. We just wanted to make sure he was treated as fairly as the other candidates. We weren't sure we would be able to keep the secret because I am there often, but we pulled it off and even pulled off a prank on one of his instructors with our identity. Everyone at work was very shocked to find out that we were related.

Keith asked for Audrey to pin his badge on him at graduation. So a few days prior to the ceremony I began explaining to her what would happen and what to expect. Addison made it very clear that she would be going up on stage to pin him too.

At the very start of the ceremony, the chair folded up with Addison and she fell out backwards and hit her head hard on the concrete floor. It scared me horribly. I just knew a trip to the ER would be inevitable, but she recovered quickly and we were able to carry on as planned.

When Keith received his certificate, we went on stage to pin him. Audrey helped me pin him (I insisted on helping because I was afraid that she would pierce him!) Addison threw her little arms around Keith and gave him a gigantic hug. It brought tears to my eyes.

Afterwards, the girls had to give "Uncle Keif" more love.

Mom and Dad are very proud of his hard work.

Doesn't he look so professional in his uniform??

I had to get a photo with him, too, because I am thrilled that he followed his dream. Plus, I was the big sister that stayed on him about studying for his tests, made trips to the school to secretly check up on him, fed and housed him when needed, bought goodies on those hard days and left them for him in his truck, and made sure his uniform was up to par for graduation. :)

I am happy to have this picture. It is rare to have all 5 of us in the same place at the same time for a photo.

Showing off his certificate he worked so hard to get.

Aunt Carolyn came to celebrate with us.

Aunt Carol and Uncle Jim joined us for Keith's graduation.

Here is most of Keith's cheering squad.

Congratulations, Keif!! We are all so proud of you!!