Happy Halloween

It is hard to believe it is already Halloween! We've been very busy with baking and decorating our "special" cupcakes (Steve and the kids made these together) and cookies, painting pumpkins (since poor Jake is allergic to pumpkins carving was out) and of course Trick or Treating. The kids had parties at school today, so I made some spider cupcakes and Abby was very excited because her teacher made the same kind (except with eggs) so that was neat. It was pretty cold tonight, but we had a great time trick or treating. Abby and Jacob had a blast running from house to house and ringing the doorbells. They had it down to a science that if the light was out we would skip that house. They made out pretty well and our neighbor made them great goody bags full of fun stuff. I also bought them some "safe" candy from Vermont Nut Free chocolates and some other non-candy stuff. So, they had a great evening as the Princess and the Knight. Blake went to a football game with some friends and Steve stayed home to give out the candy.

Our egg-free spider cupcake!


Abby contemplating how she is going to paint her pumpkin!

Jacob used all the colors on his!

Our beautiful princess!

The Knight, Sir Jacob!

So sweet!
After the goody collecting (Steve found these really cool bags that light up).

Abby all bundled up with her goodies (notice the nice bag from our neighbor).

Blake and Kristine

As promised... pics of Blake and Kristine. Don't they look nice?

Blake's Homecoming Dance

Blake went to the Homecoming Dance last night with Kristine. He had a wonderful time and has been resting all day. Here are a few pictures of him. I will post more of him and Kristine soon.

Princess Abby is Six

One of Abby's favorite expressions is "Oh my" and that is what I think when I think that she is now six years old. It really is amazing how quickly time has gone by. Abby has had some behavioral issues lately and she did not get a big party like she was hoping for. We started the day with breakfast in bed and a few gifts (new clothes for her big day). They don't allow parties at school but the teachers made Abby a birthday crown and sent her home with some little birthday goodies. They even remembered to send home "safe" treats. We had a small party with the five of us here at the house. Jacob had been home sick all day (Abby had been sick the week before and then I caught it after Jacob) so Steve, Blake and Abby went out to eat at Abby's favorite place Ruby Tuesday's. I made an egg-free cake that turned out great and Abby opened her presents. Overall, it was a very special day for all of us to celebrate the Princess!

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

I went with Jacob and his class to the "Pumpkin Patch" which is run by a local church. They had volunteers who painted their faces, played bean bag bingo with them and read them a fun Halloween story. The kids had a picnic lunch and each got to pick a little pumpkin to take home with them. The hay seemed to make poor Jacob itchy. Other than that I had a great time and Jacob is still at that age where it is cool to have your mom with you on field trips.

A Few Pictures

I guess because I had the video my last post would not let me post any pics... so here you go...

Steve and Amy at the luau.

Amy and Dylan waiting for the go-karts. Blake, Abby and Jacob eating cake and graham crackers at Traci's.

Mid-October Already...

Time is just flying by and I can't believe that Abby will be six next week and Dylan fourteen. I really can't remember everything that has gone on over the last month, but we've been super busy. I met with Abby's teacher the other day to get her report card. She is doing very well in Kindergarten. Jacob is doing great in pre-K, too! Both of them love to rhyme and play "Raise your hand if you know what word starts with the letter ___!" It is so fun to watch them grow and learn. Jacob is always coming up with new phrases that crack us up. Unfortunately, Princess Abby has gotten into a little trouble with forgetting her "listening ears" and has had her birthday party taken away. Steve and I hated to do that, but she has to learn to be a good listener and follow our directions.

Last Monday we took Abby & Jacob to the Georgia National Fair. They had fun riding the rides and looking at the animals. They loved holding the baby chicks that had only been hatched two days prior. Even Princess held one which shocked us. I forgot my camera (go figure). Wednesday Patrick, Blake's step-dad, drove down here and picked Blake up so he could spend some of his fall break in S.C. That night Steve and I had a luau to go to for our Commander who is leaving for Hawaii. So, Abby & Jacob had their first evening baby sitter who was not in our family. They had a great time and we think we will use her again.

Steve, Abby, Jacob & I headed up to S.C. for the weekend so we could spend some time with Dylan before his birthday. Saturday we hung out and watched "Iron Man" and swam in the pool at the hotel. Sunday we went to Frankie's Fun Park and the kids had a blast. The highlight of the day for Abby & Jacob was they got to drive their own go-karts (See the video below). They did great. At the end Abby crashed into the parked go-karts when it was time to park and Jacob went past the parking area and was yelling "How do you stop this thing?" It was very funny.

After Frankie's we went to Traci and Patrick's and celebrated Dylan's birthday (and Abby's too). Abby loves seeing Logan and Hampton and Jacob really loves the dogs! Then, we picked up Blake and headed home. It was great to be able to live close enough to spend some time with Dylan.

A Trip to S.C.

We took a quick trip up to S.C. so Blake (and we) could meet his newest little brother, Hampton. Blake, Abby, Jacob and I all drove up yesterday morning. Steve stayed home to do some work and get a little rest because he has been very busy at work lately. It is exactly four hours from our doorstep to theirs. When we go there we visited for a while. Hampton is so cute! Jacob had a blast playing with all of Logan's toys. I think his favorite thing was the stairs in Patrick and Traci's house. Abby loved playing with Logan and her favorite thing was petting his head.

Traci gave us tickets to the zoo, so Dylan, Abby, Jacob and I went to the zoo. Jacob decided he was the boss and we had to follow him around the zoo. He looked at each animal for about 30 seconds and he was ready to move on. He kept saying "Let's see what animal is next." He finally slowed down when it came time to look at the snakes (which is the place I could have done without). They actually were pretty fascinating.

After the zoo we headed back to Traci's, after a quick stop at Target, and spent some more time visiting. It was fun to watch all the kids play together and of course hold baby Hampton. Patrick took all the little kids on a ride on their golf cart, with Dylan's assistance. They had a really great time and were not ready to leave for our hotel.

Dyl in front of the elephants!
Princess and Master Dylan
Mommy and the "Boss"

We were up bright and early today to head back home. We did have a quick trip, but it was nice for everyone to get to visit and for Blake to see Hampton while he was still tiny! Traci took some good pics of the kids that I'll post later!

Abby, Dylan (is he awake?) and Logan

The Constitution

I don't have any pictures, but Abby's been learning about America this week as it is Constitution Week at school. She now knows that the stripes on the flag are for the first col-tonies (colonies) and the stars are for the fifty states. She also learned the song "Grand Ol' Flag" which just so happened to be one of my favorites as a child! So, all week we've been singing that, "The National Anthem" and reciting the "Pledge of Allegiance." It is so fun to watch her learn things and this week has been especially fun because I sure love the American flag and all it stands for!

A Visit with the Parker's

Abby and Ethan playing in the sprinklers

Princess, Nik and Ethan on Steve's 4-wheeler
Ethan and Princess Abigail... they are getting soooo tall!
Crazy Jacob dancing!
Ab dancing like an airplane.
Abby and Nik (who just woke up).

Last weekend Travis, Kara, Ethan and Nik came to visit us. We had a wonderful time even though the visit was just too short. We are very excited that they are only about five hours from here and we look forward to more visits with them. Abby & Jacob especially loved seeing their old friends from Texas. They got to show them their favorite spot Monkey Joe's, ride the 4-wheelers, dance around the living room and their favorite backyard activity... playing in the sprinklers. We sure miss the Parker's and can't wait to plan our next trip!

Long Weekend!

Well, we are coming to the end of a long weekend and it is back to the grind tomorrow. We had a nice, relaxing weekend. Steve and I took Abby & Jacob to Monkey Joe's yesterday. They had a great time running around and bouncing all of their energy out. Blake stayed home and did homework. He really does have a lot of homework all the time, but he is very good about getting it done. Saturday, Blake and Steve did a lot of yard work. Our yard looked like a jungle because of all the rain we've been getting. Poor Blake's allergies started acting up. The biggest news of the weekend is Abby lost her second tooth (and she did not swallow it). Grandma made her a tooth pillow, she was able to put her tooth in that last night for the Tooth Fairy to leave her some money. She was very excited to wake up this morning.
Princess Abby with her tooth pillow made by Grandma!
Abby showing off her "lost" tooth!

Blake will probably kill me for posting this, but he looks so serious, I love this picture!

Blake is doing well. As I've mentioned before he has a ton of homework and we feel terrible for him because it takes up all of his free time. He has joined the Spanish Club, the National Senior Beta Club and one other club that the name escapes me. The Beta Club will be really good for him and it will help him become active in the community. We are very proud of him.

Two weeks ago we had about seven days straight of rain. The last day included a small tornado (which of course I was freaked out) but luckily everyone was ok. The rest of the days it just rained and rained and rained. It rained those big, fat, splashing raindrops and there wasn't any thunder or lightning so Blake took Abby & Jacob out to play in the rain. They both wore one of his t-shirts and played so long the shirts were stretched out. They had a blast!






A typical Jacob face!

Jacob's favorite new thing to do is the laundry. The other night I was working on my homework and here he comes through the living room taking all of Blake's dry clothes to Blake's room. It was very funny. He sure comes up with some funny stuff. He really is crazy. His favorite thing to do is scream and throw things (not fun). He is doing very well in school and has been learning a lot of new things. Friday they had a "Hollywood" party at school where the kids dressed up as a make believe character to reinforce the lesson they had learned about the difference between reality and pretend. Jacob was a pirate and had a great time.

Abby loves Kindergarten. Her teachers are awesome with her food allergies and I appreciate that so much. The other day she brought home a picture of a beautiful purple flower which she made at school by putting paint on the paper, folding it and pushing down on the paper. She asked me if I knew what kind of shape it was and I told her a flower. "No," she says "it is an organic shape." "What is an organic shape?" I ask. "A shape that is not like a circle or square... you know not regular shapes." I had never heard of an organic shape so I looked it up and the definition is: Organic shapes are shapes with a natural look and a flowing and curving appearance. I guess our smart girl learned this in art class. She is also stretching out words. This is a way kids learn to read. For instance, the teacher would say "mmm-i-lll-k" and then the children say the word the correct way. They do this so children become aware of the individual sounds in speech and learn that words are made up of sounds. It is very cool to watch her learn. Friday Steve and I were off of work so I took Abby to school (she could not wait to be a car rider). I walked her to the front door of the school. She gave me a kiss and off she went down the hall. She looked so big and independent I had a tear in my eye!

Dylan had to have a tooth pulled last week, but he got through it with the help of lots of laughing gas and sedatives. The Saturday prior to that he had a belt test for Tae Kwon Do and he did a great job and passed his test. That is really great considering he did not get to practice while he was visiting us. We asked him if he wanted to continue to go here, but he did not want to do it because he is used to his classes in S.C. Here are a few pictures and if you want to see more check out Traci's blog. Dylan and Blake are about to become big brothers for the last time. Traci will be having her last addition to her family this week (Hampton) and we wish her a quick, healthy delivery!

August Update

All four kids getting ready to play softball!

I can't believe so much time has passed since my last blog. Things here have been moving right along. The kids are all settled in school. Abby, of course, loves school and comes home each night and wants to play school. She had a great week and was able to choose a toy from the treasure box for good behavior (Unfortunately, I had to take it away because her behavior at home was not good at ALL!). I love picking her up from after school care each day because she is sitting with a group of girls "socializing" with them. It is very cute. Jacob enjoys school and they've been learning all about families and making new friends. Blake has been busy every night with homework. I think kids today just have too much homework... they go to school all day and then work on homework all night. Blake does a great job juggling everything and we know he is going to have a great year.

Yesterday, Blake and I went and bought him new glasses (he needs them for seeing things in the distance). He drove everywhere and is becoming pretty good. Then, we went to Books-A-Million where he had to choose a book for American Literature. He chose "Snow Falling on Cedars" by David Guterson. I bought a copy too and we are going to read it together. It seems like a pretty good book and it will be fun to do this with Blake.

Dylan left on Thursday and the house seems a little more quiet without him. He starts school this week and we are anxious to hear about his first day. It is nice that we live so much closer to him because we get to see him more frequently.

First Day of School

Abby ready to go into school!
Abby in her classroom standing by the "reading loft"

I cannot believe Abby began Kindergarten today. She was such a big girl as I walked her into class. She helped Mrs. Hunter pass out paper to each of the desks. Abby was very excited to begin her day. The teachers seem to be very understanding of Abby's allergies, so that eases my mind a little. Today, Abby will ride the van to after-school care. I am nervous but she wants to be a big girl so that is what I will let her do!


Jacob (still sleeping, I think)

Jacob began pre-K with Ms. Stephanie again. He was very tired this morning and did not want to wake up. Once we got to school he sat down on his spot and waited for his day to begin.


Blake wishing I would not take his picture.

Blake, who did not want his picture taken, rode the bus, too! I offered him a ride but I guess he just wanted to get into the routine. He's off to the 10th grade...