Halloween 2013

Halloween was pretty low-key for us this year, as usual.  T dressed up as Darth Vader and stayed here at the house to hand out candy.  Little R and I went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood, but after going down a couple of streets, he was done and ready to go back home!  Halloween is a bit creepy for a kid who doesn't like the dark or spiders or ghosts or skeletons...you get the idea! : )  He enjoyed spending the rest of the evening in the front yard handing out candy with T.

A was grounded, and spent the evening inside writing sentences.  But she survived it, even though she thought it was overly cruel punishment!

This was Hazel's first Halloween.  She freaks out when someone comes to the door, so we thought it would be best if T sat outside and handed out candy.  Hazel was not happy!!  She thought all those people were coming to her house to see HER...and she was not happy that she wasn't out there with them!  I finally had to take her on a walk...in the dark...to get some excited energy out of her system.

Cutest little astronaut...EVER!!

Who do you think won this battle?

Pumpkin Carving!

Okay, confession time.  I have been a mother for 16 years, and I've never once carved pumpkins with my kiddoes.  The whole process just doesn't appeal to me, especially the mess!  We have gone to a pumpkin patch almost every year of my kids' lives, and they always pick out a pumpkin, but we just set it up as part of our fall decorations...no carving!

But this year, Little R went on a field trip to a pumpkin patch with school.  He picked out his own little pumpkin.  And this happened to be the very same day R came home from Germany for a visit.  So when Little R got home with his pumpkin, he asked R if they could carve it, and R said yes!  I made them do it outside, but it was a great little activity for them to do together after being apart for so long.

Happy!

Digging out the seeds.  I can't believe our little guy did this part!  He usually doesn't like his hands to be wet or dirty in any way!

Workin' hard

The finished product!

T has wheels!!

We've been shopping for a car for T for a while now...looking for that perfect bargain.

Our budget was pretty low (cash only has a way of doing that)!  We saw several that were just horrible! 

Then we found this one.  A man had inherited it when his father died, and he just didn't have a need for it.  Low miles, been babied by an old man, and a great price!  JACKPOT!!!

I took T when we went and looked at it, and she really liked it.  But of course we had to discuss with Daddy before buying it.  In the next couple of days, I told her we were thinking about it, but it was a big purchase, so we weren't sure...all the while planning to pick it up while she was at school one day.

I parked it in the garage, then went to pick her up at school.  A was here with the video camera, ready to capture the moment.  The plan was to open the garage and A would be there to capture T's first surprised look at her new car.  Well...plans NEVER seem to go as planned...and when we pulled into the driveway, the garage door was already open!! 

But A did get video, even if it wasn't as dramatic as we had hoped! And on a side note, those of you who know T, know that she doesn't really get excited about much...or show much emotion about anything (other than anger toward her siblings..ha), so this response is a big one for her!

I can safely say she was VERY happy!!  And now she has to find a job because our deal is that she must pay for half of the car, along with her own gas and insurance.  Lots of life lessons tied up in this little car!!

Oh, and yes, we name all of our cars...and she has given him the name Morty, in honor of the old man on the Swiffer commercials! : )

Fall Break in Arkansas

For the kids' fall break at school, we loaded up and headed to Arkansas!  For our "city" kids, going to Mimi & PaPa's house is a treat.  They ride the go-kart, play in the dirt pile, drive the tractor, and all kinds of other exploring they just don't get here at home.  They LOVE it!  Little R loves walking down and checking on the shop...not sure why, but he has to do it several times each visit.  It was a great way to spend fall break!  And there's always LOTS of VERY dirty laundry to occupy my time when we return home!

Little R is loaded up and ready to go!

It didn't take the girls long to get the go-kart going.  A even drove it for the first time...which was a very scary experience for T, her passenger!

R's favorite...driving the tractor.  He likes to chase the girls on the go-kart.

We colored T's hair...deep, dark red!

Do you see the smile on little R's face???  Priceless!

Still smilin'

My kids...my heart!  All 3 of them are my greatest blessings and my greatest challenges...wouldn't want it any other way.

MiMi & PaPa with their favorite people in the whole wide world!!

My favorite activity...swinging in their new porch swing!  I love porch swings...but somehow I always live in houses with no porch...therefore, no porch swing!

Thanks for letting us spend our Fall Break with you guys MiMi & PaPa!  We enjoyed every minute of it!

Fall Decorating

Almost ten years ago, we started a tradition of decorating in front of our house for fall.  The first year was a scarecrow and a hay bale in front of our post housing in Virginia.  Each year we decorate, and each year I take a picture of the kids with the decorations.  Tradition.  I like traditions.  Maybe because our lives change so drastically so often, maybe not.  But I like traditions.

The last two years in Germany, I didn't get to do my Fall decorations.  R couldn't find a hay bale the first year, and then the second year I didn't even ask.  So what do you think was first on my list this fall???  Our tradition...reinstated!

The girls planted some pansies.

Hazel's first fall festivities!  She enjoyed being out in the front yard with us.

Finished product!

Losing our first tooth!

Little R lost his first tooth in October!  He was pretty nervous about it coming out, but once we got it out, he was so proud!

And isn't the snaggle-toothed grin just oh-so-cute???

Back to Blogging....R turns 6!!

Happy Birthday Little R!! 

On September 8, we celebrated Little R's 6th birthday.  We were only a couple of weeks into school and he didn't really know his classmates, so we decided not to do a class party.

Instead we chose a party at our neighborhood pool and clubhouse...and prayed the warm weather would stay around! 

Little R hadn't really reconnected with many of his old friends (he was 3 when we left for Germany), but I wanted him to be surrounded by people to celebrate his birthday, so it wouldn't be so obvious that Daddy wasn't there.  So, I sent out an invitation to our Sunday School class, asking them to make an appearance at his little party, to make him feel loved on his birthday. 

And boy, did people make an appearance!!  We had family members drive hours to make his party, and the Sunday School families showed up in huge numbers!  We had a GREAT turnout! He had kids of all ages, and tons of adults, too!  It was a party to remember!!

Little R requested a Ninjago cake from the very beginning, so I started looking for party items.  It didn't take long to discover there were no preprinted Ninjago party items, so we threw together a "do it yourself" Ninjago party!  We actually had fun searching Pinterest for ideas, and putting them all together.  We also had some super fun pool time, and then the Snow Cone truck came!  This was a huge hit for the kids and adults, too!

Ninjas everywhere!

I thought the cake turned out great!

Waiting for the fun to begin...

The snow cone truck...huge hit!

R got the first snow cone, a lei, and a Kona Ice t-shirt.

This was the look on his face most of the day...pure happiness!

Blowing out the candles!!  Whatever you wished for, Buddy, I hope all your wishes come true!

We also requested that the Sunday School friends didn't bring gifts.  Instead we requested donations for our World Vision sponsored child in Ethiopia.  Again, people showed up in a BIG way!  We were able to send an extra gift of $183.00 to Derege in Ethiopia after Little R's party.

Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate our little guy!  I say it every year, but he is just such a special part of our family...can't even begin to imagine life without him!

We have a driver!!

Also in August, T enrolled in Driver's Ed.  Oklahoma has some pretty strict standards for driving, and being in Germany has put T a bit behind on the long process of getting her license.

But the first step was Driver's Ed.  She had two full days of classroom instruction, then three 2-hour driving sessions.  Then a trip to DPS, and she has her permit!!  Woohoo!

Now she keeps her permit for 6 months, and on March 1st she will be a fully licensed driver (if she passes the driving test)!  She's a bit bummed that she turns 16 in November, and won't get her license until March, but there's nothing we can do about that.

Now she is car shopping and job hunting...oh, the joys of being a teenager!

About to go on her first driving lesson...she was a bit nervous!

The student driver sign...

She was so embarrassed that I came out to take these pictures!

Back to School

Another new chapter in our lives...

Obviously the move from Germany to Oklahoma meant new schools for the kids....

I'm pretty sure T is on her 9th school...if you don't count the year we homeschooled.  She's a junior this year, at her 9th school.  That says a lot.  But we have promised her...no matter what...she will never switch schools again.  Our family made big sacrifices to get her here, to this school, so that she can have the stability of the same school for her last 2 years of high school.  She hasn't been in one school for 2 straight years since second grade!  That's a lot for a girl to handle.  And she hasn't come out of it unaffected, for sure.  But she's a strong girl, and she is settling in to her last new school quite well.  We are very proud of her...she definitely hasn't enjoyed this nomadic lifestyle that the Army has provided for us...but she has adapted in her own way at each place we have taken her.

And A...starting middle school this year...6th grade...and her 6th school, I think.  Pretty sad when, as a parent, you aren't sure you can even remember exactly how many schools your child has attended.  But A always settles in quite nicely.  She doesn't have the same insecurities that T struggles with, so the transitions just don't seem to be quite as hard for her.  Middle school has been an adjustment though, lockers and switching classes...and middle schoolers just aren't very nice!!  But she's finding her way...

And Little R...starting kindergarten.  And on that day, I had to put on my happy face and send him off to school.  I don't know why...maybe it's because of the way he came into our family; maybe it's because I've been through this stage with the girls, and I know how life changes from this point; maybe it's because he truly is Mommy's boy...but whatever the reason, I was sad to see him go!  Little R just fits into my daily routine.  And now my routine revolves around dropping him off and picking him up from school.  Don't get me wrong...I want Little R to grow into a great man, and I realize in order to do that, he has to grow up.  But I'm just not so ready for this phase of our life.  Because of his September birthday, I got to have him at home for an extra year, and that was a blessing!  But he was so excited about starting kindergarten...and he really does love it!  When I ask him how his day was each day, he replies "Great" or "Awesome" every time.  So, I'm happy that he's happy.  But I sure do miss having my little guy around during the day.  And I will admit I have considered keeping him at home a couple of times, just so we can have the day together...but I haven't done it yet!

My pretty girls

How big are you, Ryan??

Standing at the flag pole.  This little guy LOVES the US flag!!  He used to point it out and get excited any time we would see one in Germany...now he gets to see them all the time!

Little R and his teacher.  A little bashful at first, but hoping he comes out of his shell throughout the school year.

A New Family Member...

It's been 3 long years since we lost Sable, the greatest dog ever!!  We have missed her terribly all of those 3 years...and still do sometimes.  But we knew we wanted Little R to know the joy of having a big 'ol lab love you more than life itself...

So on August 9, we brought home the newest member of our family....a 9-week old chocolate lab named Hazel.  She has the sweetest, cutest little face ever.  And we can't wait to watch her grow into the great dog she is meant to be!  And hopefully along the way she becomes Little R's very best friend. 

I think they are off to a good start!

And the girls and I are pretty crazy about her, too!!  And R can't wait to meet her!