Half Birthdays and First Days

Time CRAWLS when you are a child. I remember thinking that it took forever to reach my birthday or Christmas every year. Amazingly, time has sped up as I've gotten older to the point that I can no longer remember how old I am! My children ask all year long when their birthday is. They talk about their birthdays all the time and long for them to be sooner. I decided to help them out with a little half birthday celebration. It's just a family event with a special dinner and a half cake(which Maura insisted I write on, my to my chagrin!)

Maura's big half day fell on September 11, so it was nice to have something pure and precious to celebrate on that emotional day.

My big five and a half year old! She'll correct anyone who just calls her five years old! At five and a half, Maura is funny, opinionated and clever. She's really putting things together as far as reading, and if she applies herself can easily read an easy reader book. She loves sounding out words and she's always giving me notes that she's written. Everything looks like it's written in code, but if you squint your eyes, you can kind of figure out what she was trying to spell. I always congratulate her on her note and just smile to myself. The other day, she spelled "insects" like "insex." At least she's trying! Maura loves school and loves her teacher, so I feel like things must be going well there. She seems to be doing fine socially and has a "best friend" at school. She's a big help to me around the house(most of the time), but she does her share of complaining too. Her most frequently used phrase recently is "it's not fair!" That goes all through me! She has a bit of a persecution complex too. She misses her Daddy a lot and talks about him all the time. She misses her friends Sarah and Liam too and is always asking when they're going to move back. My girl is super creative and loves doing crafts more than just about anything. She brings so much fun and joy to my life and I love her so very much. Happy Half Birthday, sweet girl!

Not to forget my sweet boy. He started back to preschool in mid September and I went with him as his Cooking and Discovery teacher. It was the first day of school for both of us, accompanied by first day jitters, but we've both done well. Tristan LOVES school and often asks during the week if his school is the next day. I love that he's enjoying it and I hope he's learning more from his teachers than he does from me at home, because I've failed to teach him some of the basics! He must be learning something, because he's suddenly MUCH better at identifying letters. We're so blessed to have a preschool right at our church and I feel blessed to be a part of it and see my baby learning firsthand. Here's to a successful school year!

Great Wolf Lodge

I like to have fun...a lot. My husband accuses me of constantly looking for the next fun thing and planning fun things at all times. What can I say? I'm fun!! After we knew Brent would be deploying in October, I then began thinking of all the fun things we would have to pack into the month prior to his deployment. Our style was a bit cramped by the soccer games we had every Saturday morning, but I just knew we had to fit in a trip to Great Wolf Lodge. We had never been there due to the ridiculous room pricing, but I knew we had to go for a little mini vacation for a special treat. We didn't tell the kids where we were going til we left and after that I wished I hadn't told them til we got there. It was a long 1 1/2 hour drive!

They couldn't wait to get started! I didn't take my camera with me the first time we visited the park because I wasn't sure what to expect, but the kids had an absolute BLAST! The air and the water are both warm in the water park, so we were never really cold, even when waiting in line. They had an amazing kiddie pool with four fun slides that were never crowded. Bennett loved the water jets coming up from the floor. We splashed and swam til the kids were hungry then headed to a local restaurant for dinner.

LOVE these sweet kids!! Can you tell that Bennett was worn out?? I think he might have just gone to sleep if we had left him there!

Daddy took the kids to story time and the arcade while I attempted to put Bennett down for bed. I say attempted because every few minutes kids would run screaming down the halls. Seriously? Who lets their kids run screaming in the hallway of a hotel at night? Anyway, the kids LOVED the arcade and begged to go back the next day.

The Lodge does a good job having family friendly activities for the kids that don't involve water. We went to see the clock strike and stayed to meet raccoon. Even Bennett was impressed!

I did take my camera on Day 2 because Brent promised me that he'd take it straight out to the car once I took all the photos I wanted. The kids were having a ball. They loved this lily pad obstacle course. Maura was so good at it--much better than a lot of kids older than her. I think it probably has something to do with her strength to weight ratio. Tristan required a little assistance. He loved it, though!

The wave pool was another big hit with the kids. I think it brought back great memories of the ocean.

I couldn't believe Bennett. He was completely unfazed by the waves pounding him and breaking close to his face. He is a wild child!!

Only group shot of the day--you can tell that Tristan is none too happy about it. They were having WAY too much fun to stop for photos!

It was such a fun weekend! I would highly recommend it to families, if you can stomach the high prices. My kids are still talking about it and asking when we can go back. Tristan has an elaborate plan that has to do with Daddy's return, picking up Nan and Poppa and going to Great Wolf Lodge. Better start saving your pennies buddy!!!

Honoring our Hero

Prior to Brent's deployment, I received a call from his principal, saying that the school wanted to honor him in a ceremony. It was scheduled for his last day of school and it was a surprise. I wasn't sure what to expect of the outdoor ceremony, especially since the sky was grey and threatening, but we arrived to find a yard full of middle school students and a big firetruck parked in front of the school.
I asked Grammy to come along to the ceremony because I actually wanted to enjoy it and NOT run after Bennett! Maura was super excited to honor Daddy. We waited til Brent came out and then it was apparent that he was both surprised and embarrassed. He doesn't love being the center of attention. He lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, and then some of his football players came and said some really nice words about him. Then, it was time for the fire truck!

The school had hung a banner on the front of the school honoring Brent and had it covered with a big piece of paper. At one point during the ceremony Brent, Maura and Tristan actually got to ride up in the bucket of the truck and uncover the banner. I thought it would be the highlight of Tristan's life, but Brent said he was actually a little scared on the way up.

Tristan was crabby! Brent really rose to the occasion and gave a short address to the students. I am in awe of my husband's ability to deliver a coherent, touching and succinct speech on the spot. He really should try politics!

We were truly touched by the outpouring of support from his students and coworkers. The support we have received has truly made a difference during this difficult time in our lives.

Loving our middle school family! Thanks RSMS!!

NOT so organized sports

This fall marked a milestone for our family. It was our first foray into the world of organized sports. Up to this point, I've attempted to keep our lives a little less hectic by avoiding afternoon sports and activities. I figure that's family time and we have plenty of time in the future to be driving around town like chickens without heads picking up children from a vast array of activities. This year, though, Brent specifically asked that Maura be allowed to play soccer. I think he was concerned that we were squandering her hidden potential as a soccer star and if we didn't start her soon, there was no way she was going to be able to attain the Olympic level status that she was capable of.

Not so much. Now that a whole season of soccer is now under our belts, I think we can safely say that we'll have to work VERY hard to develop any potential! It's kind of amazing how the kids all travel in a little pack around the ball, yet so few of them ever kick it! Our coach wasn't the best and he failed to discuss much soccer rules or strategy with the kids. Hope they pick it up down the line!

Not to be outdone, Tristan participated in a PeeWee sports program that the Y puts on. It meant that we had to be at the soccer field at 9am on a Saturday morning. Yawn. The things I do for my kids! Tristan LOVED it and was so proud when he got his medal at the end of class!

Good game! Good game! I did love YMCA soccer! They don't keep score and no more than one practise was allowed per week! That's my kind of sports team! If she plays next year, hopefully we'll have an organized coach--perhaps even her daddy!

SO proud of that medal! She was thrilled that it was bigger than Tristan's and told him so. Tears ensued. I might add that I asked Maura if she'd like to sign up for winter soccer(I must be nuts) and she said, "No, I think I'd like to try a different sport now!" So much for that soccer career!

I'd like to take a moment to describe just how much fun it was to attend Maura's practices and games. So. Much. Fun...NOT! You see, my youngest has this all consuming ball obsession. He sees a ball, he much OWN the ball. This includes the ball on the field. I spent the majority of every game and practice sprinting after my son, who is oblivious to the threat of danger! Keep in mind that Brent attended very few practices and games thanks to football games and deployments and you have a recipe for a very tired and exasperated mother! That's all!

Brent's birthday

MUST catch up! Try as I might, I'm still two months behind. Perhaps I should stop taking photos so that I can actually blog the ones I have. Or perhaps I shouldn't blog EVERY SINGLE THING we do. Really, it is a bit obsessive! Just keep in mind that this IS my photo album. I no longer print out digital photos--nope, I just order the blog book at the end of the year. Makes life so much easier!!
These pictures are from a family party that we had on his actual birthday. We love to celebrate and saw no point in not celebrating twice. Micah and Lorie came over for dinner and we had all Brent's favorite foods.
What a crew! Bennett, Maura, Alex, Tristan, and Haylie.

We continued celebrating Brent's birthday back in September with a family picnic. I just love a good family picnic. Oh, and my mom made this one really memorable with all of our favorite foods. YUM. I've been in full pig out mode since I heard about Brent's deployment back in August. It's beginning to show...a lot. I'm attempting to rein it back in! I digress.

I can't think of too many places more pleasant than my parent's backyard on a lazy September afternoon. I'm so glad that Katie came to be lazy with us too!

Below: I just can't get over how cute this little girl is!

Or these guys!

Daddy might not have needed help blowing out those candles, but he certainly got it! Precious! We were so glad that we were able to celebrate Brent's birthday with him. He won't miss a single birthday while he's gone...just Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. New laptop...all ready to head off to the desert. Actually, I don't think he's used it at all over there. He's terrified that he'll get dust in it and ruin it. Oh well, I'm sure we'll put it to good use when he returns. Can't wait for that return! I'm missing him so much! Happy Birthday, my love! Guess that this is what it feels like to be middle aged!