What's COOKing

2012-01-09T11:11:00.001-06:00

1 week down!!!
{ 7 entire days behind us }

the first few days were....well awful! i couldn't even make dinner without crying. we ate dinner in front of the TV, which NEVER happens in this household. EVER. then skype came to the rescue. seeing him made all the diference in the world. the tears seemed to fade away, dinner was eaten at our kitchen table with the tv off...kinda back to "normal"

and my Colorado bestie came to the rescue. by form of kidnapping me. we were supposed to grab lunch and see a movie. the night before a text came and said..new plan, be ready at 9, i'm kidnapping you. what a perfect idea at a perfect time. we headed to denver and i was about to be foushee'd. kinda of an inside joke. we pulled up to the spa (which was called spa foushee) and she told me, you are about to get foushee'd. I wondered where my foushee was? and what they were going to do to my foushee? we giggled. it's what we do best. She had planned for us to have a cloud 9 -by the beach-weightless pedicure. Oh Em Ge!! We sat in this perfect chair, covered with this perfect white feather down comforter, and it began. they tipped the chair back to perfect weightlessness and i was off to heaven. it was amazing and just what i needed. she knew that. Pam, i'm thankful i was foushee'd!! I will never forget it.

this week we 'as in my fellas and i' had our first coming to jesus talk. hated to have this...but i figured we would probaly have to at some point. they know Grammy as a fun, we get to do whatever we want, get whatever we want, rules optional, vacation Grammy. i'm glad to get it out of the way the first week. she enjoys that vacation Grammy role too. but that is just not reality for the year. she knows that. they had spend some of their day, while i was at work, jumping over the couch, eating oranges at the coffee table, playing around in grammy's room, telling her 'no' a lot. they are lucky i didn't completely loose my sh*t. well, i kinda did. that's ok. it made an impact. i hope. We will see. crossing my fingers.

i want to remember.....

that i am thankful for Skype, being foushee'd, coffee with friends (or chai tea), kiddos getting to skype, eating breakfast with daddy, no tears since wednesday, text messages that make me smile, so many huge hugs from my work buddies, and the trifecta of k9 getting along

that is all for now!! more later.

It’s 2012

2012-01-03T02:05:00.001-06:00

{a new year}

most people start their first BLOG of the new year with resolutions, maybe a reflection of the last year…I’m starting with neither. we started the New Year with a good bye. i thought i was prepared. we knew this day was coming. we talked about it. prepared the kids. i prepared myself. but not enough. it was pure torture saying good-bye to him. it was worse watching him say good-bye to our boys.
the countdown is torture in and of itself. it is like time is in slow motion, but speeds by at the same time. emotions run high. how can they not? having conversations about his wishes if ‘something were to happen to me’ is necessary, but too awful to imagine.
i’m not a writer. i prefer to tell my story and remember moments with photos. this way of documenting somehow seems necessary to me. to reflect. to keep record of my thoughts. a place for him to read about our day to day routine in more detail than i care to share on my favorite social network. for our family to look back and remember the good, bad and all the ‘in between’ moments.

i am proud.

i am in love.

i am lucky.

i am thankful.

i am strong.

i am sad.

and

i am scared.

but, we will do this. my plan…stay busy…stay focused…and stay positive. i’m not a person who spends time worrying. i hoping that works in my favor. we are calling ourselves the D team. My mother-in-law, the fellas and I …..the deployment team. I hugged her the night he left and thanked her for being here with me to do this.

so, here we go. day #2 down….a lot more to go…our daddy jar of kisses will help us count down the days until mid-tour. the boys loved that they were able to eat their kiss from daddy after they brushed their teeth tonight. we will try to not make that a new habit. i haven’t found the perfect place to keep our jars of kisses. still looking for that spot. maybe i should take down Christmas and that would help me find that “perfect” place!!
~and to brent….home is just not home without you. I love you. and look forward to the next time i hear your voice. and davis much rather play plants vs. zombies with you. i suck.

2011-01-12T21:09:00.002-06:00

Does this count as catch up???? A year in review video slide show???? I'm thinking, YES!!

This is us. Our Family. Our memories. The people we love. The things we love. All the memories that makes us US.

2010-08-21T00:23:00.006-05:00

Right here....

....posting some pictures of the people who make a difficult time better!

~most of the time~

Davis....

MItchell....

I hung my life on a coat rack 9 months ago. After my sister's horrible motorcycle accident...Brent and I have been helping her and her family put their life back together. This post is the start...I went back to that coat rack...and picked my life back up.....

Question....why is it so hard

2009-09-21T23:59:00.002-05:00

for me to find the time to update my BLOG??

answer....I have no idea!!

But.....I will make a better effort

I promise

My life is still full of brown boxes....

2009-06-04T23:17:00.001-05:00

{But, we made it!!}

I am seated on a pop-up, $1, garage sale find, chair "thing" as I am typing this. My computer is on the ground , my keyboard in my lap and the screen sitting on the shelf of my scrapbook table turned on it's side....but, we made it. Arriving the night before I start work has been a bummer on my plan to ""get the house unpacked in 1 week."" Thank goodness my Aunt is arriving this weekend to help. Plan B= I hope eventually we get unpacked. Plan C= we have a huge basement that has a perfect spot for a bunch of brown boxes.

Road Trip- The boys did wonderful. 3 straight 12 hour driving days...PERFECTION. I wish our rented moving equipment did that good.

Colorado- Wonderful. I love it here. Where has Colorado Springs been all my life. I hope the Army forgets we're here.

Altitude- Not so wonderful....but getting used to it. Being 7,000 feet above sea level takes a little getting used to.

Home improvements- Should be unpacking. Instead, Kitchen painted, dining room paint selected, deck...almost complete. Still need sod, rocks, sand for playground in backyard.

So here is my plan. 1) get up out off this seat "thing" and put my computer desk together and computer on it. 2) Go to bed so I can be on time for my last day of computer training tomorrow 3) unpack some boxes tomorrow 4) upload some pics of our road trip, house and such to my BLOG this weekend.

Bye

Hired!

2009-04-24T23:01:00.001-05:00

Finally, I have a job. I was getting nervous...really nervous about the hiring freeze that was happening in Colorado Springs. I am happy to report that I will be getting a paycheck from here.

St. Frances, located 9.5 miles from our house. That is really close compared to my drive here in Alabama. I'm going to have to really work hard to get used to the view....

2 WHEELS

2009-04-24T22:51:00.001-05:00

{And it was so easy}

Two words = BALANCE BIKE

I am a true believer in the balance bike. I don't know why I didn't think of it. If you are wondering what a balance bike is, Click here.

This is Mitchell and his friend Blake on their balance bikes going a million miles an hour down our neighbors driveway. That's safe, right?

Mitchell was the first to give his 2 wheel bike a try. Brent held the back of his seat....and off he went. It was that simple.

Davis waited a few days before he decided he was ready. Same thing...we held the back of the seat and off he went. That simple.

We bought bikes for the boys two Christmas' ago and they didn't ride them as much as I thought they would. Davis and Mitchell are outside boys...they love the outside so much that I have used it as punishment. Time out inside is pure torture for them. Anyway, I got wind of this thing called a balance bike and knew that we had to get two. I read that people had their 2 year olds riding two wheel bikes after they got them a balance bike. I went bargain shopping and found someone on eBay that made knock-offs for about $25 each. All I can say, is that I wish I had found out about these long ago. I would recommend them to anyone. Teaching a child the art of balance is the key to learning to ride a bike. Training wheels are simply counterproductive and make learning to ride a bike harder. Well, I can say for sure that the boys had an easy time learning to ride a bike. They got on and rode it.

HOME SWEET HOME

2009-04-19T13:20:00.001-05:00

{our new Colorado pad}

We found the perfect house! 2500 sq.ft Ranch style house (that means 1 story on Colorado language) 4 bedroom + office, 2 bath, 3 car garage on 1/2 acre culd-de-sac lot with park across the street. BONUS...2500 square foot unfinished basement! PERFECT....SOLD!

Here is a closer look.

someone else's furniture..but you get the idea

The best part....the basement....I have visions of perfectly organized storage that I don't have to climb up to the attack to get. I have visions of little boys riding their bikes in the winter and painting. I have visions of some construction...bonus family room, bedroom and bathroom for all of our friends and family.

Closing is scheduled for the end of April! I will keep everyone posted.

We went to see the mouse

2009-04-18T23:23:00.001-05:00

{Walt Disney World}

Should we call it spring break...or Brent had the week "off"...or neither? NEITHER!

Brent was off the flight schedule because they thought he had started his Instrument Evaluator class. His IE class thought he was finishing his last week of flying. Sounds like spring vacation to me! Is that bad? No, it's perfect....so we took off for a last minute trip to see Mickey.

We had a blast! A little trouble checking in to the resort since our military travel agent booked us for the month of April instead of March. That was not so good showing up at the front desk to check in at 10pm, with 2 tired and hungry 4 year olds....and hear, "ma'am, your reservations are for next month and we are completely full." I just laughed. I had visions of us sleeping in our little gas efficient Honda Civic for the week. We almost drove the Tahoe, but thought we would save a buck and drive the little car that was probably going to be our hotel for the week. But, in good Disney fashion they worked it out and handed us a key to our room. We put the car keys away and ran to the room before they could change their mind.

Isn't it weird they sleep exactly alike?

Anyway.

we had a blast at the Magic Kingdom. Seeing Disney through the eyes of your children is the best view. My Mom always told me that...she was right. I found myself in tears the first 30 minutes as I watched my boys take it all in. If I could capture that feeling in a bottle, I would. It was pure magic.

Is it bad that I didn't tell them there is a huge drop on Splash Mountain? This picture was taken just before going over that big drop. I have never laughed so hard in my life. PRICELESS. We rode this ride several more times that day....They loved it!

We did some souvenir shopping at the end of the night and this is what the boys picked out. Davis picked a hat from one of the characters in the Toy Story. Mitchell picked pirate goofy ears. They wear these ALL the time...EVERYWHERE we go...all over town...EVERYDAY!

I love that!

Sea World was next. This park honors those who serve in the Military...free admission to soldiers and their families! PERFECT....we'll take 4 tickets, please. We all had a blast!

Picture speaks for itself! They sat in the soak zone...and loved it. That smile is etched in my mind forever.

He was not ready for it to be over....

They were able to find something else....another soak zone....

We also visited Disney Hollywood studios...

and we were a roller coaster ridin' family. The boys rode this ride....The Tower of Terror. How awesome is that?

Our last day was our favorite! Brent and I loved the wild Animal Kingdom. It was by far the highlight of our trip. Disney out did themselves with this park...it was amazing. I spent the entire day like this.....

camera in my face, taking pictures. The safari ride was so fun, the boys loved it. The Lion King show brought back so many memories of my days working at Disney. I am so glad that we ended our first "real" family vacation here.

We are still in Alabama and guess what??

2009-03-10T22:23:00.001-05:00

{ It's snowing }

This was a shocker...I didn't think I would ever see this in Alabama. What a treat. How unexpected! We all had a great time in the snow...while it lasted. It never did stick on the ground...but I'm not complaining. I was happy for what we got. I love the snow....I really do.

3 Weeks....

2009-03-10T22:03:00.001-05:00

Our house was on the market only 3 weeks....I guess you can say I am happy?? Well, more relieved. It is one major item checked off our TO-DO list. The best part of the contract is the new owners don't want to move in until after school is out. PERFECT. We will live in our own house until the day we drive away...no temporary housing for us. But, I am still not over that this will not be our house. Can you say "DENIAL"....I can.

We went out to Colorado and found a whole lot of nothing. Well, we did find a few houses that we liked....but no deals to be found. Isn't it a buyers market? I thought so. No one is budging on their asking price...which seem to be much higher than we both thought. I don't mind having to step up our price range. I know that we are going to a much more desirable location. I get that. I am excited about that....but in order for me to feel good about paying ( I can't even really say the number it hurts me too much) I have to love the house. We haven't found that yet. Found lots of houses that we liked bits a pieces of. We love that every house has a basement...love that we can see the breath taking view of mountains from almost everywhere...Don't love that we can't find an open floor plan. Does everyone want a formal living room and formal dining room? I would prefer neither....but I do have that dining room thanks to my big win on The Price Is Right. So, I can live with one formal room. I still want to take my house there! So, as of right now...we are still searching. We are searching for a house (doesn't have to be perfect) that house an open feel...nice kitchen that over looks a great room. A place to call a playroom to house the million little pieces otherwise known as toys. I love toys to have their own place to live, not in my living room. Wish us luck...and may the constantly heard phrase..."It's a buyers market" really be the truth.

for no other reason....

2009-01-28T22:25:00.001-06:00

{ than just pure cute }

Mitchell, feeling lucky to play with Davis' tools. Isn't the hat my sister made for him cute?

What if I'm not ready...

2009-01-28T11:19:00.001-06:00

{to let go of my house}

Can I take it with me? Why can't we put our cul-de-sac and our perfect house in the moving truck with us?

My eyes filled with tears when we were signing papers yesterday with the realtor. It is so strange to be so excited about something and sad all at the same time.

I am so excited to call Colorado, home. I can get in my car and drive 2 hours and see my sister, Kelly, Kyle and Chelsey. We can meet each other for lunch in Denver, craft together on days off. There will be an airport in town and an hour away. I can drive 1 hour up the road and be in Denver where there is culture, concerts, a children's museum, kid activity galore. We can teach the boys how to ski, go sledding and build snowmen. The summers won't suffocate me with the humidity, the bugs won't fly me away to wherever they go. There will be seasons, snow, mountains, hiking, skiing.... I will experience new adventure, new friends, new places, new scrapbooking stores, and new places to photograph.

There will not be our house, the one we watched being built from the dirt up. The house that my Mom helped me make curtains and valances for. The house where she knew I was. The only home my kids have known. A place where we never have to lock our door, ever. There will not be the great friends I have here, my job. (I love the girls I work with) Brent's family will not be close by who we spend so much time with. All of our get-together's, crazy trips to Biloxi, long holiday weekends, and New Years Eve. There will not be the cul-de sac that we have spent hours watching our kids ride bikes and playing ball with Hunter. The 3 acres in our backyard that we can watch nature at it's best. All the hummingbirds that we feed in the summer...I mean more than you can imagine...30 little birds at any given time. There will not be the security of Brent being home every night with no fear of a deployment breathing down our back.

Our life in the military...hard to say good-bye to all that we knew, but so exciting to say hello to all the new things that await us. I have loved the last 3 years here in Alabama (hard to imagine that) and I will love the next 4 years in Colorado.

Guess What??

2009-01-18T23:13:00.001-06:00

{We are headed West}

Ft Carson, Colorado (Colorado Springs) is where we will be calling home for the next 4 years.

Move date....May 2009.

You think we can build our home here??

Our Christmas Holiday

2009-01-18T22:47:00.001-06:00

{ In Picture Re-cap}

We are now more then midway through Jan. and I have already not met my [partial] New Year's resolution...(partial, because I knew that it probably would never happen)

New Year partial resolution... "TRY" not procrastinating. Whatever...it's overrated.

So, in true Debbie form, it is Jan 18th and I am posting a photo recap of our Christmas holiday.

My New Year's Resolution will be back on tomorrow.

Christmas Eve.

I had to work until 3PM. (Why do people have babies on Christmas Eve anyway?)

The boys made a Gingerbread house...(correction) They ate a lot of candy and made a gingerbread house with what was left.

Everyone tucked into bed....fast asleep. Mom and Dad were going to be tired in the morning. We said goodnight at 2AM.

Mitchell checking out his stocking. Davis trying out his new tools

The perfect Christmas mess. What is Christmas without everything everywhere. Grammy and Carl spent Christmas morning with us.

That afternoon, I drove to Pensacola and picked up the Tucker's. The Day after Christmas we started to prepare for our New Years Eve bash. We needed firewood for our bon-fire...so we started with some of our own trees that needed to be cut down.

...and Mitchell who dressed himself for the day of yard work. How can you not love this?

We fit in some time for a little friendly game of miniature golf. Kyle and Brent had a "serious" game of golf. Brent and Chelsey tied for first, Kyle with second. Best putt of the day....hole-in-1 on #16. We all jumped up and down for him.

Almost every night, we played games.

My brother and his family came from California for New Year's

Lauren and Alexa were so much fun to have here.

Since New Year's, the boys have told me over and over "I like those cousins"

We surprised the kids with a huge bounce house in the backyard. The kids had a blast. We had it for 4 days...it was worth every cent.

Look at these happy little faces. They all spent hours in there..laughing and giggling. Davis and Mitchell thought that we needed to have a bounce house like this all the time. I wish.

Then it was finally time to prepare for the big night. All the guys were itching to do their traditional firework preparation.

...this thing pops for 30 minutes straight...loud, loud, loud...did I mention how LOUD it is.

My brother said, "it's so stupid it's funny."

This is always very entertaining to watch.

The Bon-fire... essential part of the evening!

Shannon and Amy

My sister and Amy trying to stay warm around the fire. Kyle laughing with my brother.

This is the photographic proof that I am a loser. The first New Years that I was going to let the boys stay up until midnight. I had it all planned out....Play in the bounce house all day...get all energy out...late nap around 3-4 pm. Perfect plan to help the boys stay up, right? Well, it would have been the perfect plan if I would have not lost track of time. It was dinner time the next time I looked at my watch...no nap. BUMMER. By 10:30, Mitchell could not stand it another minute. When I put him in bed, he said to me, " Mommy it is going to be a long time till the next New Years...till I can see all the pretty fireworks. Can you take a picture of it for me so I can remember?" I am a loser....I have failed as the cool, let your kid stay up till midnight Mom!

Picture ..so he can remember. I feel so bad.

We all had a blast New Year's Eve. All the people we love the most in the world, together to bring in 2009. (note to self...get pictures of everyone next time)

One last thing we wanted to do is get pictures of all the cousins together on my side of the family. We all live so far apart, we had to take advantage of the opportunity.

We have 2 new babies at our house

2009-01-07T00:04:00.001-06:00

{you can call them.....Canon 24-70 2.8 and Cannon 17-40 4.0}

I was going to send out announcements...

Brent out did himself this Christmas...I had no idea...never even asked for these..only secretly dreamed about them. Aren't they pretty?

I think they are! I actually shed a tear when I tore the wrapping paper off. I love you Brent...you are the best.

Happy New Year!!

2009-01-06T23:41:00.001-06:00

{good-bye 2008...Hello 2009}

I can't believe that a year went by so fast. I can't believe the Holidays have come and gone. I can't believe all my Christmas decorations are still up!! Imagine Christmas music playing in the background, reminiscing about the stories behind all the ornaments I hung on the tree, the boys smiling while decorating their tree, hanging our new stocking that my sister made for us, putting twinkle lights all over the house...can you feel the Christmas spirit? Almost like a Hallmark commercial, right?

Now the tree is in my way, not lit... and I know it is a pain in the *** to take down. There are a million little ornaments to wrap up and cram in a box, hoping they all fit because I don't want to go buy another ornament container. All the twinkle lights get tangled coming off the tree and the mantel. Do I wrap them around something to keep them from tangling for next year...or is that too much work and toss them in the box and I will untangle the ball of mess next year? I don't want to take down my stockings and wait another year to put them up....why can't they be year round decorations? There is no take down all my Christmas stuff music to get me in the spirit. So, there it sits.

Plan = take it down Thursday....I'd rather scrapbook....but I won't
After Christmas breakdown....update my BLOG.

So, until then...Happy New Year! I hope it's a good one for us all. I will leave you with a few pictures of my niece, nephew and Bro-in-law practicing for our firework show.

Pretty pictures from my new Canon baby. I love you Canon 24-70 2.8

problem solved

2008-12-20T20:34:00.001-06:00

Some technical difficulties with the video clips....I think I worked out the bugs. I'm home from work...off to wrap presents. night!

We are practicing...little boy style

2008-12-19T14:01:00.001-06:00

{Mommy, you wanna hear something?}

Me - Of course I wanna hear something. What am I going to hear?

Mitchell - Our singin' for tomorrow on stage....here it goes.

Davis - Ya, our singin'.

Me - can I take a picture of you?

Boys -K

First is Davis....then, Mitchell (I got a little more to listen too than planned....but I'm the mother of boys...we laugh at these kind of things around here.)

PS....you can pause the music to the right side bar when playing video.

Can I upload video???

2008-12-19T01:48:00.001-06:00

{I think I can}

This is a trial....to see if I can....I think it worked. This video has nothing to do with anything. It just makes me giggle. A little singing, a little coughing, a little something that flew out of Mitchell's mouth, a little Spiderman from Davis. This was taped just a few days before Halloween. I will post more clips later.

It's almost Christmas and....

2008-12-19T01:02:00.001-06:00

{The worst virus EVER hit}

I am just now coming out of what I will say is tied for first place(next to the MD virus) the worst virus ever. Those of you who were affected by this virus...I know you remember. During the first 6 months we lived here in Alabama, we were hit by the MD virus. Named after Davis and Mitchell, of course. This was barfing combined with other toilet events, that was passed to EVERY person we came in contact with. It started with my entire playgroup, one by one, mothers and children hit with sickness. Mitchell one night, then the next night Davis, then Brent and last me! The next weekend, we shared it with every member of Brent's innocent family. I think Brent's brother Shannon gave "The Virus" it's proper name. I was lucky enough to re-live something very similar. I feel so lucky =) I am crossing my fingers that I am the only one to re-live it. I almost emptied the Clorox bleach bottle out trying to keep it to myself.

Other than that, we have been busy around here getting ready for Christmas. The boys have so many questions about Santa. "Is he going to get bugs on him when he goes down the chimney? How does he fit? What about people who have no chimney's?" I have even been pulled over to our fireplace (gas) and shown that there is a trap door and how is he going to get through there.

We are also on our Tucker/Thayer count down. My sister (T as the boys call her) and Kelly, Chelsey and Kyle will be Christmas day. My brother Eric, Missy, Lauren and Alexa will be here for New Years. The days can't go fast enough for us.

I wanted to share a few other pictures....

Mitchell ....

Davis...

Tomorrow, the boys have the Christmas performance. I will share some pictures of that. Until then....I am off to bed.

What we did

2008-12-01T01:01:00.001-06:00

{ this weekend }

We spent Thanksgiving weekend with Brent's family. This year was the year Amy (my sister-in-law) and I were committed to Black Friday. Usually we get up and eventually make our way out shopping mid-morning and hit maybe 1-2 stores. Not this year! Alarm went off at 3am (we were up before the alarm even sounded???) and were in the car at 3:25 am headed for Kohl's. I am not a shopper, unless we are talking electronics or scrapbooking....that is a different story. But, on this day I was among the serious folks. We hit kohl's, Walmart, Target, Michael's, Hobby Lobby, JC Penny, Gap, Old Navy, Children's Place and Toys-R-Us. There was nothing either of us "needed" only looking for some great deals if we came across them. Some stores we came out with more bags than we could carry and others, nothing at all.

After 12 hours, 1 full minivan and lots of laughs, we were done. I had a blast and got some great deals along the way.

Today, we (the boys and I) headed home. Brent is bonding with nature for the next week (hunting) with his brother. The boys and I enjoyed making our first batch of Christmas cookies. I rolled out the dough and they did all the rest. They took lots of time getting everything just right. I think they would have decorated a million if I would have let them. We read some Christmas stories and off to bed they went.

I have a million things to get done this week. ~please let me be productive this week~

On my list for tomorrow- wash Libby, laundry, unpack and put away, empty dishwasher, post office, vacuum, sweep and mop, more laundry, pick up and craft after boys bedtime. We'll see....

Goodnight!

November 27, 2008

2008-11-27T01:34:00.001-06:00

{ I am }

Thankful for many things....

~My wonderful husband who supports me always...keeps me laughing...and never allows there to be a dull moment

~My 2 healthy, sweet boys. How lucky I am to have the opportunity to raise identical twin boys. I wouldn't have it any other way.

~The most wonderful mother who I miss so much it hurts.

~Family...my own and my in-laws. If I was able to pick who they would be, I would pick them.

~Our army life. It has lead me to many great things and taught me so much.

~Friends. My friends that I have had forever. My friends that I will have forever.

~And all the little things I can't live without..my computer, camera, scrapbooks, scrapbooking stuff, blue bell, reality TV, cell phone.

{Why}

2008-11-21T00:20:00.001-06:00

are there days when Davis and Mitchell are So perfect. What button did I push or switch did I flip? Yesterday....was perfect. "OK Mommy" the first time I asked them to do anything. I need to put that button or switch in a special place so I always know where it is.

Random things...Random thoughts....

I wish I had a house keeper that was showing up tomorrow.
I can't wait to see the boys in there fall performance tomorrow.
When will I love doing laundry?
Facebook is my new crack.
How do I get gum out of my carpet?
I am so proud of Davis for being a great line leader today.
Is it really almost December...seriously?
Why am I still awake?
Goodnight.

J-Crew..you're OUT- Davis...you're IN

2008-11-12T21:31:00.002-06:00

This makes me smile!

The boys are not fussy at all getting dressed for Preschool. At night before I go to bed, I pick out the their clothes and lay them on the floor next to their bed. In the morning (at the crack of dawn) the boys get dressed and come to my room to wake me up. We also have the occasional "let's see what we can get away with in the morning if we are quiet and we think Mom can't hear us" Yes, the baby monitor had to be dug out of our baby storage and secretly placed in their room.

Most mornings, they make it in my room first thing and are both dressed for Preschool. On the weekends...it's their pick. Anything goes as long as they pick it out of their "play clothes drawer" It is always interesting what combos they can come up with.

Davis wore this outfit proudly all day. I think it is fabulous...the socks are my favorite. He calls these his "wedding socks." I might have to frame this picture...I LOVE IT!

Chili 5K cook-off

2008-11-03T22:57:00.002-06:00

For the second year in a row, Brent has run a large event at Ft Rucker called the Chili 5K cook-off. It is a fundraiser to raise money for local scholarships. 21 booths all competed to have the best chili....over 6,000 cups of chili were sold. It really consumes our lives for the weeks prior to the event. Thank goodness, the event ran smoothly and everyone had a great time. Along with good chili, there were tons of fun things to do with the kids. Bounce houses, fire truck rides, helicopters to climb in, and Warrant Officer Candidate School obstacle course.

It is so important to me to teach the boys to try to do things even if they are a little scared. Confidence is a key ingredient in life. The boys were so excited to do the obstacle course....but when they got on the first wall climb, were a bit nervous. First was Mitchell...he got on the wall, climbed a bit and then decided "no, I no want to do this." All the WOC guys and I cheered him on and he got the courage to do it. He climbed, cried a bit at the very top when he had to swing his leg over, but DID IT. The look on his face when he climbed down on the other side was priceless. He was so proud...I was proud...it was a proud moment.

It was then Davis' turn to attempt the wall climb. He was just as nervous once he got up fairly high. We all cheered him on, yelling in support, "come on Davis, you can do it...your almost there" and he did. He was determined. Once on the other side, he looked around at everyone, pulled his shirt down and walked to the next obstacle with his chest a little puffed out and head held high. It was a great moment.

The boys loved crawling around in the helicopters. Yes, this one happens to be a blackhawk...but in my defense, the apache was locked up.

Davis (L) Mitchell (below)

Trick or Treat

2008-11-01T00:19:00.002-05:00

I have no words....Ok, maybe I do. There is nothing cuter than this!!

THE FUN PARTS ACCORDING TO THE BOYS~Painting our face, wearing silly colored hair, wearing goofy hats, going door to door, getting lots of candy, eating lots of candy.

THE NOT SO FUN PARTS ACCORDING TO THE BOYS~Our legs hurt when trick or treating was over that we couldn't hardly walk home, taking our make-up off, getting the candy put away for the night, going to bed on a sugar high. ACCORDING TO MOM~ Taking the make-up off, experiencing the sugar high, strep throat x2.

But, it was so worth it!

Mitchell

Davis

The way we see it.

2008-11-01T00:03:00.004-05:00

I always think about what my Mom taught me, "It is their art" I think the way a 4 year old see's things is much better anyway.

You may have in your mind what a Jack-O-Lantern looks like. I guarantee you didn't think they could look like this....and I think they are the best looking Jack-O-Lanterns I have ever seen.

This one is Davis'. I know that it is obvious.... but this one is complete with eyes, top hat and teeth. It is just as Davis saw it.

Mitchell, he had a vision. I'm not sure I can explain it, but isn't it great.

Davis had a blast. He loved taking the top off to see how many seeds were inside. He made faces and giggled the entire time.

Watching Mitchell with a knife....a little scary. Watching him draw his Jack-O Lantern's face...Wonderful. We told him draw whatever you want and Dad will cut it out for you.

Picking the perfect pumpkin

2008-10-31T23:28:00.003-05:00

We have a great little place called Aplin Farms where we go every year to hand pick our pumpkins. We open the back of the car and the boys and I hop in the back with our feet dangling and the hatch wide open as Brent drives us down these little dirt roads to the pumpkin patch. The boys might be have been just as excited to ride in the back of the car with our feet dangling as they were about picking out our pumpkins. We spend a good amount of time picking out just the perfect one. This year, the boys picked about 8....and were shocked to find out that they all were not coming home with us. We had to line them up, discuss the positive and negative qualities about each of them. 3 made it home with us.

Davis, moving some of the "perfect" pumpkins to our pile.

Mitchell...doing the same.

I love to see them help each other.

Final decision.

My sparkles

2008-10-21T21:32:00.001-05:00

Bath time is part of our everyday routine. It is a time to relax, slow down, sometimes sing and have some good ole' conversation. After bathing the boys, me feet were terribly dirty from the day at the park. I put me feet in the bath for them to wash right before getting out. Is that bad? It doesn't sound like such a nice moment written out....anyway. Conversations went like this.

Mitchell- Mommy, you have very nice sparkles.

Me- I do

Mitchell- You have them everywhere, on your eye lids, your forehead, your arms, your legs. They are very nice sparkles Mommy.

Me- Thank you Mitchell. I think I like my sparkles too. (thinking to myself...I have never thought of my freckles as sparkles before.)

Mitchell- Your feet are shinny now Mommy.

Bath over and time to get our PJ's on.

My Tuxedo Guys

2008-10-21T09:52:00.005-05:00

Over the summer, Brent's older brother was married in Nabraska. I cried when Davis and Mitchell put on their tuxedo's. They looked so old...not like my little boys anymore. The wedding was wonderful and fun was had by all.

2008-10-20T23:55:00.000-05:00

I waited 4 years.

2008-10-20T23:35:00.001-05:00

I waited 4 years for my little boys to play soccer and it was worth the wait. The boys had a blast playing this fall, but think I had more fun watching them. Davis scored some goals ( most of them in the other teams goal ) I cheered him all the way to the other goal. Brent and I had to tell the boys that if the other team had the ball it was OK to get it from them. That was the entire object of the game. I think Mitchell was shocked about that. It was a perfect season...we can't

wait for the spring.

God Bless America

2008-10-20T23:16:00.000-05:00

The moment has arrived. We can wear JEANS. The air has a chill...We can celebrate. I love you FALL....good bye summer.