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| Busted....he's got rocks in his mouth. Not goldfish! |
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
We love hanging in our backyard.
The bushes and trees may be overgrown and the lawn may have large patches without grass. The fence may be falling down in few places and the bushes may be dead that shield us from the alley. BUT we love spending time in our backyard!
A lot of the summer it was way way too hot to play outside and we are approaching winter that will bring days of cold and bitter, gusty wind. However, this time of year has become the perfect time to play outside! We often go out as soon as naps are over and don't come in until it's time to eat dinner or Andy comes home. The trampoline is no longer here as the friends who own it are back from their 4 month trip to Colorado, but we still have a lot to keep us occupied!
Yesterday, Olivia painted pumpkins for over an hour (incredible, right?!!) while I tried to keep Carter busy and out of the paint!
Another afternoon of outdoor fun is in the books!
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Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Princess Aurora and her Martian.
All week we had plans to go to the Fall Fest at the chapel on base. The flyer mentioned horseback riding, bouncy houses, face painting, a clown, and several other fun activities. It also mentioned having trunk or treat for the kids, which sounded great too! About and hour before we left it hit me that the kids should dress up! I'm not sure why it hadn't crossed my mind before then.
Olivia wants to be Princess Aurora for Halloween this year. No problem! We already have that dress and crown in the dress up chest. (no money spent....I like it!) She then requested that Carter be her prince, Prince Phillip to be exact! I have consulted my dear friend Mandy and she has given me several ideas to transform Carter into Olivia's prince, but I haven't done any of them. Therefore, on Sunday Carter got to wear the Toy Story costume that my sister Cathy had thrown into my arms ass leaving her house Saturday night. Thank goodness for that or Carter would have been the only child at the festival without a costume (I probably could have put him in a princess or fairy dress; we have lots of those!)
He wasn't too happy about his hat at first, but Daddy then got some smiles out of him!
At the festival the horseback riding was a huge hit. Olivia waited in the long line twice so she could ride both horses. She also wore her cowgirl boots, "because I need them if I'm going to ride a horse!" she informed us as we left the house! Oh, that girl makes us laugh!
To cap off our fun afternoon, Andy won a door prize! A Wilmes Chevrolet hat and bag. Lucky him....
Olivia wants to be Princess Aurora for Halloween this year. No problem! We already have that dress and crown in the dress up chest. (no money spent....I like it!) She then requested that Carter be her prince, Prince Phillip to be exact! I have consulted my dear friend Mandy and she has given me several ideas to transform Carter into Olivia's prince, but I haven't done any of them. Therefore, on Sunday Carter got to wear the Toy Story costume that my sister Cathy had thrown into my arms ass leaving her house Saturday night. Thank goodness for that or Carter would have been the only child at the festival without a costume (I probably could have put him in a princess or fairy dress; we have lots of those!)
He wasn't too happy about his hat at first, but Daddy then got some smiles out of him!
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| Carter zoned out with a lollipop! |
As we walked to the car, Olivia said "Mommy, that was SO much fun!". Success!
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Hurry on in, Fall! We've been waiting for you!
Yesterday we provided Fall with its proper rite of passage. We raked up all the leaves we could find so we could jump in them. We threw them in the air and felt them crunch under out feet. We cut open a pumpkin and laughed at how slimy and stringy its insides were. We talked and talked about what face we should have daddy carve, so that we could light up our front step with a scary jack-o-lantern!
We may have been in shorts and tank tops, our leaf pile may have been the smallest in history, and we just may have had to light the pumpkin using a jarred scented Yankee candle (also known as an unprepared mother), BUT we had a great time! There were squeals of delight and shrieks of laughter! There were many great photo opportunities!
Family memories were made. Traditions imprinted into our children's hearts that will circle back around next Fall when they ask to do it all over again. (or today, if your name is Olivia:) That makes my own heart smile to even think about.
AND today the temperatures have dropped out of the 80's; down into the chilly 50's in fact! We need sweatshirts and pants to go outside, and I will ensure the children are in snuggly footed pjs tonight. I made a hot breakfast this morning and enjoyed the steam of my coffee. I turned the AC to its off position and hope to be able to leave it there.
Therefore, I am taking all of the credit for the arrival of Fall!
She was simply waiting on us to welcome her with open arms. Usher her in, if you will. Be completely prepared to enjoy all the glory she has to offer.
Happily, we got the memo! We are prepared and ready!
Happy Fall Y'all! (and to all of southwest Oklahoma, you are welcome:)
AND today the temperatures have dropped out of the 80's; down into the chilly 50's in fact! We need sweatshirts and pants to go outside, and I will ensure the children are in snuggly footed pjs tonight. I made a hot breakfast this morning and enjoyed the steam of my coffee. I turned the AC to its off position and hope to be able to leave it there.
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| Olivia decided to go for scary! |
| Olivia decided to go for scary! |
She was simply waiting on us to welcome her with open arms. Usher her in, if you will. Be completely prepared to enjoy all the glory she has to offer.
Happily, we got the memo! We are prepared and ready!
Happy Fall Y'all! (and to all of southwest Oklahoma, you are welcome:)
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Sunday, October 21, 2012
The freedom to dress yourself....
A dress, a tutu, doggie leggings, and a sweater.
I tried to tell her it was hot today and the sweater and leggings were unnecessary (never mind that the leggings didn't match!), but she is head strong. Picking my battles and choosing to let her express herself through her clothes is humbling to me, but I think it's the right thing to do.
Hence here is the snapshot of what Olivia looked like on our way out the door to church this morning, with the temp climbing quickly to the projected high of 97.....
Happy Sunday!!
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Vacation picture deluge - part 3. The beach is our happy place.
Early Sunday morning we rolled out of bed and packed up our suitcases. Well, in reality my mom, dad, and sister swooped into our room and packed up our suitcases, woke our kids and dressed them, and hurried us downstairs for a bite to eat (and some coffee!!) because we never would have made it out the door in time if they hadn't!
Olivia was nearly asleep on our drive to the airport, even though she had just woken up...
We arrived at Philadelphia International Airport feeling like we were doing great on time. We had about and hour and a half. Well, we were wrong because by the time we returned our rental car and checked our luggage, the woman at the computer says "you need to go through security and then catch a shuttle to terminal F. You might make it.". Hmmm, Upon hearing that I raced to the security line with the kids to get us a spot. Andy eventually joined us and we were just starting to feel discouraged/concerned that we may, indeed, miss our fight when I overheard a TSA agent send two men to the front of the line because they were military (out of uniform). Feeling desperate I got the woman's attention and said "we are military"! She looked at me and the kids with a skeptical look and about that time Andy stepped forward and flashed his ID. We were ushered to the front of a very long security line while she hollered "we love our military! if you are military you will NEVER have to wait in line in Philadelphia!". Thank goodness for her because even with the star treatment trough security we still only made it to our plane about ten minutes before they closed boarding!
Through all the chaos of the morning, we all took a deep breath and smiled because we knew this was waiting...
We joined Andy's parents for a week at Topsail Beach, North Carolina in this spectacular house. Six bedrooms, a hot tub, heated pool, elevator, and ocean front view. It was amazing!
Olivia was in a terrible mood upon our arrival and spent most of that day being unkind and sassy towards everyone. Every.Single.Thing. made her cry and throw a fit that afternoon and evening! However, she recovered nicely after a good nights sleep and had a fantastic time playing at the beach and swimming in the pool and hot tub. She chose a top bunk in a bedroom of two bunk beds as her bed for the week. We went along with it, hoping for the best, and it was a success! Luckily the one she chose had the biggest rail (that was fairly tall and went the length of the bed) so she slept up there and felt like a big girl! Just another reminder that she is quickly growing up!
The week had lots of excitement....like time in the hot tub: (we used it as our pool on the chilly days!)
....morning walks on the beach....
...fun in the pool....Grandpa even joined in one day!
SAND!!!!!! And water fun!!!
Special memories were made and we are so thankful for our week with Grandma and Grandpa!
Next up, a quick run down of our special ride home....
We arrived at Philadelphia International Airport feeling like we were doing great on time. We had about and hour and a half. Well, we were wrong because by the time we returned our rental car and checked our luggage, the woman at the computer says "you need to go through security and then catch a shuttle to terminal F. You might make it.". Hmmm, Upon hearing that I raced to the security line with the kids to get us a spot. Andy eventually joined us and we were just starting to feel discouraged/concerned that we may, indeed, miss our fight when I overheard a TSA agent send two men to the front of the line because they were military (out of uniform). Feeling desperate I got the woman's attention and said "we are military"! She looked at me and the kids with a skeptical look and about that time Andy stepped forward and flashed his ID. We were ushered to the front of a very long security line while she hollered "we love our military! if you are military you will NEVER have to wait in line in Philadelphia!". Thank goodness for her because even with the star treatment trough security we still only made it to our plane about ten minutes before they closed boarding!
Through all the chaos of the morning, we all took a deep breath and smiled because we knew this was waiting...
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| View from our bedroom |
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| Andy and the kids with a shrimp boat in the background |
We joined Andy's parents for a week at Topsail Beach, North Carolina in this spectacular house. Six bedrooms, a hot tub, heated pool, elevator, and ocean front view. It was amazing!
The week had lots of excitement....like time in the hot tub: (we used it as our pool on the chilly days!)
SAND!!!!!! And water fun!!!
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| My view from the deck of Andy, Olivia, & Deb |
....family fun!
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| Doing some school work |
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