Quiet Stephen

On a rainy, lazy Saturday afternoon while half the kids are down for naps and Dave and Matthew are playing Axis and Allies Europe, here is what Stephen is doing:








(Yes, that is cabbage in the bowl by Stephen. Yes, he asked for it for a snack!)

Raisin Fun!

The kids have a DVD that comes along with their science curriculum from Sonlight which they LOVE. It features a silly young man who performs the experiments listed in their book. One such experiment was to use raisins and clear soda to illustrate how the carbonation bubbles will stick to the raisins and make them rise and fall repeatedly. The kids loved it!

Here is Stephen carefully watching the raisins:





Rachel decided to join in, trying to fish out the raisins:



...and another photo, just because they are cute!

Slippin' and Slidin'

One day after taking the kids to the park in the early morning hours and coming back drenched in sweat, I decided to set up the Slip 'n Slide in the backyard. Boy, we miss the days of having a well where you didn't have to pay for water!

The kids had a blast, and Rachel, as usual, had to sample the water...

31 Weeks

Happy Birthday, Rachel!

Rachel had a great 2nd birthday party. I attempted to make a "doll cake" for her, with the cake being the dress. I purchased a Barbie doll and noticed that she was way too tall for the bundt cake that I was going to make, which meant I had to make a double batch of homemade carrot cake as well as cream cheese frosting! It still was...interesting, but no one gave a hoot, as everyone wanted to EAT it, not stare at it. I will keep this in mind when I feel that Martha Stewart guilt creeping in for not making things "just so"! :)

She got several gifts in the mail, and we also bought her a Little Tykes shopping cart that all of the kids (with exception of Matthew) fight for turns over.

Dave brought the rest of the cake into work a few days later, as there was so much. However, now as I am typing this, I really wish I had a thick slice of it before me!! :P

Student Driver

Caught on camera! :)

Just Beachy

Here are some random shots of our latest trip to Mexico Beach...




Rachel collecting shells...



A typical Timothy photo (on the move)...



Mr. Tim....



Stephen collecting shells...



Preparing for incoming waves (I love all the palm trees in the background!)...



Cheesy pose...



Relaxing in the sand...



Stephen with his collection of peanut shells he found on the beach.



Silly Seaweed Matthew.



Rachel "talking" to the waves.

Stephen, Wave Rider

Stephen used to be very afraid of going in the water, until he discovered the fun of riding on Dave's back in the waves. Now, he requests to go to the beach and that is the first thing he wants to do!

Rachel the Mermaid

Rachel loves to ride in the waves with daddy. :)

Timothy's Trials...

I have about 20 photos of Timothy in the ocean with da, and they ALL look like this... He was NOT happy to be in, and it sure didn't last long. He wanted to go in because he saw Matthew and Stephen having so much fun. Even Rachel loved it. Oh, well!

Bedtime

Ships Ahoy!

One of the science experiments the boys and I did was to make a boat out of a styrofoam plate, with a knitting needle mast and construction paper sail. At first, we were to see how far the styrofoam boat went withOUT a sail. It didn't go that far, of course... Then, we added the sail- what great fun! The boys spent 15 or so minutes blowing the boat across the tub. They loved it, and even had to find a Lego man to ride along. Arr!

Game Time!

Dave received an email at work telling him that the 5-time AF chess champion was on base, taking some classes and that he was going to play a sort of tournament for a week with whomever wanted to show up. Well, that is all Dave needed to hear! He and Matthew showed up all week, and got to play various people. Matthew beat the two guys in the top photos. The bottom photo shows the "chess guy", as Timothy called him, helping Matthew learn some moves. We also invited him over to our house one night, and he helped Matti some more. It was great fun for Matthew and we got some good tips. We were encouraged to look for a chess club when we get to our new assignment, and get Matthew to play in tournaments.