Long Time Since I Last Posted!!! Family Update!!

So, it has been a really long time since I have blogged. I am really going to try to start blogging more, just because there is always so much going on and so much I want to say. Now, where do I start. I guess I will start with school. Kaylin did great in school. She got A's and B's all year again. I am so proud of her and working so hard. She loved the third grade and we both really love her school. The teachers, principal, and students are amazing. All of the staff is great. I finished my first year at Chowan. I got straight A's for both fall and spring semesters. I am so proud of myself and I know that I am where I belong. I love the school and all of the people that I have met. The holidays were good, except for Pete not being here. We had Christmas here at the house with just us, which was great. Then Kaylin and I went to Pennsylvania and Delaware to see Pete's family. I am so lucky to have such a great relationship with his family. It is good for Kaylin to be able to see them and if I didn't have a good relationship, then I would probably not go without Pete. We missed Pete so much. The beginning of this year, I joined the local fire department. I am now a volunteer fire-fighter with the Colerain Volunteer Fire Department. It feels great to be doing something like this. I haven't had many calls, but the ones that I have gone on were not too bad. I was sized for new turnout gear, which I should get soon. I know, it is hard to picture me in a fire fighters uniform, but I like it. Now, updates on Kaylin. She started taking Martial Arts last year and she loves it. She is really growing and becoming a strong person. She has her yellow belt and next week she will start a 4-week camp. It is going to be a hard camp, but I know she will do great. She should have her orange belt by the time the camp is over. She looks so cute in her uniform. So, now about Pete. He is doing good. He made it home safe from Afghanistan and back in Alaska. He was home for the whole month of June, which was absolutely great. We were pretty much on the go the entire time he was home, but it was the best. We took our first real family vacation. We went to Massanutten, which is in the Virginia Shenandoah mountains. We had a blast there. We did so much, we went to the caverns, hiked up a 2,970 foot mountain (not all the way, we took a chairlift most of the way), we did a bunch of crafts, went swimming, and we all did the zip-line. Kaylin loved the zip-line and can't wait till she can do it again. After our vacation in the mountains, we went to see Pete's mom and family, then to see his dad in Delaware. It was a lot of traveling, but worth it. Pete had to leave June 23rd, which was hard and stunk. We miss him so much. It is so hard to not have him here. I miss him so much. I am very thankful that I have a great support system here. Here are some pictures from our vacation.

Well, that is about it for now, but I will update more often. I will also post more pictures soon from the past few months. Goodbye for now.

New Happenings!!!

Well, it has been a really long time since I have posted. So much has happened that I do not know where to begin. Well, we started school in August. I still can't believe that Kaylin is in the 3rd grade. The funny part is that she has the same teacher, who is awesome, and she is in the same classroom. She is loving school, as usual and she is doing great. She is getting A's and B's, and she is raising her penmanship grade, which is great. I started my classes also. I have a full load, but it is going really well. I am taking Discovering America, a computer class, critical thinking (which I found out yesterday that I was exempt from taking), health, and Calculus. Calculus is the hardest class that I have, but it really isn't that bad. It is a lot of work, but I am enjoying it, which is good because I am getting my teaching license in High School math. I got my mid-term grades and I have 4 A's and 1 B. I was so excited to see my grades, and it is just making me more excited to continue. Next semester, I will be taking more math classes, so I am looking forward to that. So, we are both staying really busy with school.

At the end of August, we had Hurricane Irene hit. It wasn't too bad, but still very windy. We had a tree limb fall on the power lines over our house, which was scary for a little bit, but thankfully it finally blew the transformer, so no fire. We had a lot of limbs down, but nothing too major. Here are some pics.

In the beginning of September, we all went to Richmond, for the races. It was a blast, of course. Kaylin always enjoys herself, actually we all do. We love just camping out and relaxing for a few days, not worrying about anything. We always eat good food and love spending time as a family. The only thing that would make it perfect is if Pete was there. They did an awesome tribute to 9-11 though. They had the fire trucks and a memorial. During laps 9 through 11, the entire track was silent, except for the cars, and we all waved our flags. It was pretty amazing.

On September 27th, Kaylin turned 8 years old. Where does the time go, they grow up way too fast. She had a great birthday though. We had a big party for her at the community building next door. We had a bounce house, crafts, and lots of food. Almost all of her class came, plus her friends outside of school. Nikki, TJ, and Ella also came down which was great (it was her first birthday they have been to). I had the place decorated so cool. I also had a friend make her birthday cake. She is a very talented person and the cake was amazing. Here are some pics from her birthday.

Kaylin also started playing soccer again. She is playing on a U11 team, which is kids from 8 to 11. She is the second smallest on her team and almost all the other kids are older. They play on a big field now, which is different, but she is doing really well. The older kids on her team really help her. I would think that the older kids would not want to help the younger kids, but they are great with her. One of the moms told me that all of the kids love Kaylin. She said that all they talk about is Kaylin when they leave practice or the games. She has a game tomorrow, so I am excited. I love to watch her out there and having fun, especially since she is missing Daddy so much.

We went to the Chowan fair a few weeks ago. It was so much fun. Kaylin is allowed to ride almost all of the big and scary rides, which she did do. She rode the gravitron (the one that nothing is holding you in and spins really fast). She loved that ride so much that we went on it a few times. We went into the fun house and Kaylin loved that. We also played lots of games and came home with about 10 stuffed animals, which she doesn't need. Here are some pics of our trip to the fair.

So, Pete came home on the 4th. He was on his R&R for two weeks. It was so nice to have him home. Kaylin loved him being here and hates that he had to leave again. Me and Pete went down to Nags Head for a night. We stayed at a place right on the ocean. We could here the ocean from our bed. It was so relaxing. We also took Kaylin to the Pitt County Fair, which she rode the gravitron again a few times. Last weekend we went up to Delaware to see Pete's family. It was a short trip, but good to see everyone. Pete left on Thursday and it really stinks that he had to leave. I hate this so much and so does he. Kaylin did okay at the airport, it really didn't hit her until we got home that night. She had a complete meltdown, so she is now sleeping with his pillow and wears his shirt. I just want for him to be home all of the time and never leave again. We miss him so much and I know that it is even harder on him. We have my mom and dad and his family, he doesn't really have anyone for support over there. I just hope that he can come home safe and soon.

Well, that is about it for now. I knwo that this is long enough. I will really try to post more often. Thanks everyone for reading my blog.

Update On The Dimitri's

Hello everyone, it has been a while since I last posted an update. So here is what has been going on with us here in North Carolina. Kaylin is doing great, she has been staying pretty busy this summer, so it has made the summer fly by. Kaylin has been spending time with her friend from school, which has been great. They have a lot of fun together and they never fight or argue, which is a relief. I also have been to her house and watched her baby brother who is about 4 months old. He is so adorable and it really makes me want to give Kaylin a baby brother or sister. I miss when Kaylin was a baby, time goes by too fast. About a month ago, my dad had a horrible accident. He was helping a guy fix his boat and they were sucking out all of the old gas to clean the tank. The boat would not run right because there was so much junk in the tank. Well, all of the sudden, the boat exploded. My dad was on the boat when it happen and was either thrown off the boat or jumped off. Thank goodness, he walked away with a burn on his arm and his hair was burnt a little bit. It could have been so much worse. When we went to look at the boat, so I could take pictures, I could not believe that he walked away from it. Here are some pictures of the boat.

A few days after the boat accident, we all went to Deadwood. It is a little theme park near us that is actually really cool. It has a train ride, a mini roller coaster, a restaurant, and a mini golf course. They also have a playground. We had a good time going there. Kaylin had fun, so that is all that matters. Then I treated my mom and dad to dinner at the restaurant. We all got steak for dinner and it was sooooo good. Not as good as my dad's steak, but really good. Here are some pics from that trip.

Me and Kaylin just got back from Florida yesterday. I took Kaylin to Universal Studios for the first time and we had a blast. We went on almost everything, except Jaws, it was broken all day. Kaylin was smiling and laughing all day, so was I. It was so good to see her so happy. It was so funny during the Beetlejuice concert. Beetlejuice is a crazy character and he was picking his wedgie, then he went up to Kaylin and asked her to smell his hand. Kaylin didn't know what to do. But we laughed so hard when it happened. After Universal, we went back down to my home town to my best friend Jeanne's house. It was her daughter's first birthday and I was so glad that I was able to be there for it. We had so much fun with them. We went shopping, swimming, had the party, and spent time together. Kaylin loved the baby so much, I know she would be an awesome big sister. Overall, it was an awesome vacation. The fun never stopped and I wish it didn't have to. I miss my friend so much, we have been friends for 15 years. There is no one else that I can talk to like I can with her. Well, that is about it for now. We are now getting things together for school to start again. I can't believe that school starts in 3 weeks. And I am starting school also. I am finishing my degree with the local University. I am nervous, but excited at the same time. I will post again soon after school starts to keep everyone informed about how everything is going. Here are some pics of our awesome vacation.