Second PA visit

Uncle Dave and Sarah. March 2010.



Stephen in the coveted plastic car!



Grammy and Timothy inspecting some bugs in the garden.


Bee on white crocus.


Rachel, A.K.A. "Curly Shirley", eating a banana at grammy and grampy's in PA.



Grampy and Tim. Timothy is tired, note the fingers in the mouth and the hair rubbing...




The family hanging out in the "front room".

Base Christmas Party

Shortly before we left, the squadron held a Christmas party in a hangar for the children, complete with Santa arriving in an F-15! I will let Stephen be the voice of what my kids were thinking about that: "I am NOT going to sit on that man's lap!!" 'Nough said...

Inside the hangar, there were several stations where the kids could go and make cookies, get their faces painted (another no-go for my boys!), make crafts, etc. There were also inflatable things to jump around on like bouncy tents and a huge train with lots of little compartments (not fun to try to find your kids in, but a barrel of laughs for THEM!).

Needless to say, the cookie making area and the bouncy thingamabobs were the hits of the day for my kids.

Did I mention I brought them there, all five of them, by myself, since Dave was at survival school? I should've gotten a couple cookies for that! :)






Creating their cookies:




The kids and their cookie creations:








Rachel, by far, enjoyed her cookie experience the most! First, she examined all that was to be had:


Then, she "decorated" her cookie with 3/4 of a jar of red sprinkles:


Then, she indulged in her work of art:


Yum! Yum! :)

Kids All in a Row...

I will be the first to admit, I would rather stab myself in the eyes with redhot pokers than be a Sears child photographer. How on earth do they get them all to behave and look at the camera at the same time?! Thank the Lord for digital cameras. I would've had to buy stock in film, otherwise!

This is what I USUALLY get most of the time:




Every once in a while, I get a "keeper", though!





Here are some more group photos that are deemed suitable! :)





For this last one, we hustled everyone outside at a picnic table near the side of our house. We didn't know it was so COLD (don't laugh, you northerners!). Notice the look on Stephen's face...

Long Time, No See!

It has been ages since I have posted anything to this blog. I have excuses, though-GOOD ones! :) I had a baby, Dave graduated his school in Florida and went to survival school for three weeks, Thanksgiving, and... we moved. All in the course of a little over a month. I am still reeling!

Since I never did a formal announcement here, without further ado:

Here is our newest little one, Sarah Therese! She was born Friday, October 23rd, at 1:47 p.m. She weighed 8lbs. 14oz, and was 21 1/4" long. I ended up being induced, as I had a bit too much amniotic fluid and she was a week overdue. Also, Dave was leaving for survival school two weeks after her original due date. :/






Those were all photos of her shortly after she was born. Since I've been such a slacker, here are some more recent photos of her:

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.