November 24, 2008

Our Babies

Jim is back and we've just been trying to catch up and relax this week so I don't have much that is interesting to gab about. Thanksgiving looms this week. We will have a houseful and I hope to have more that's interesting to post about then. It snowed here for the past three days. I don't mind it so much because it is rained away almost immediately. Maybe I did miss the snow a teensy bit while we were in Florida. For now, here are just a few shots of the kids. I know they will hate me someday for dressing them alike but I swear that right now they both love it!

November 8, 2008

Rhiannon's Kindergarten Class Trick or Treating on Base

Pee Wee's Play Place and Potential Death Trap

So this week it was Rhiannon's turn to maim her face. We spent the day with our friends the Horrocks family who are just joining us from Florida. After a morning of boring the kids at the Geilenkirchen Foggy Fields Bazaar we decided to take them to a place where they could burn off some energy. Pee Wee's is a giant indoor ball pit complete with bouncy castles, inflatable slides, zip lines and climbing ropes and playhouses. Unfortunately it does not have an inflatable floor. There is one particular slide that one can gather just enough momentum on, that it propells you about 5 feet across the rug, heating up the seat of your pants and almost singing the precious little hairs that grace our behinds. Rhiannon's momentum created a sommersault style ending that banged and scraped her face on the carpet creating a combination rug burn and bruise that ripped several eyelashes out. It's graphic I know but it is my attempt to make light of a situation that seems all too common lately; one of my children narrowly escaping a trip to the emergency room. After extensive analysis by myself and Sara and numerous explanations to Rhi that she was indeed going to live albeit with a nice "shiner" for a few days, she was deemed fit to continue jostling her brain on the bouncy equipment. Oh well, at least it happened after the Santa photos were taken.

Rhiannon Sporting her Shiner with a Drawing of Pee Wee's

Rhiannon is very happy to have her friend Hallie back in playing distance. They have been hanging out and exhausting each other all week. I am very happy to have Sara (and the whole family of course) back in playing distance too. It looks like they will be living close to us and I am looking forward to all the things we'll get to do together over the next few years. It has just hit me again that we are living in Germany and we are so lucky to have a few of our Florida friends here to share in the experience!!

Halloween was a little different this year. The Army garrison does something called Trunk or Treat. People can reserve spaces and set up their cars and hand candy out from the trunks. It has evolved to where many trunks and tables become scary graveyards and pumpkin carving displays. Anyway, it is a big circle around the base complete with a haunted house. It seems that the candy nowadays is not what it used to be though. I threw away most of the little tootsie rolls and laffy taffys and was left with a precious few M&M's and Hersey bars. I would have thrown away the lolly pops too but lately Brad is addicted to those. He yells out "Lolly!" when he is upset and laughs like a madman when I give him one. He has also learned how to say candy this week. I keep a few pieces in a little jar on the dining room table for treats after dinner. The other night I was in the office and he brought me the jar to open. He must have climbed up on a chair and then crawled across the table to get it! He is a man of few words but many thoughts and actions.

A Whittled Pumpkin
(It's not very often I get to use the word whittle)

Other than the usual chaos, we are hanging in there day to day anticipating Jim's arrival home next week. We have officially been in Germany longer without him than we have been with him! Luckily for him I know how to keep myself busy with online shopping! Don't forget to send him a Happy 30th! shout out on the 11th. I wish we could spend it together but it is not the Air Force way. He gets to avoid the endless teasing from me about being old, although it doesn't seem to bother him like it did me. Anyway, til next time, one last thought...thank you to all the people who voted for change. It is worth noting the historical events that have taken place in our country and how happy we are about it as this blog is also a book for our kids to look back on and learn about their lives. Right now, they have no idea the magnitude of what has just occurred. Here's to hoping that their futures can be better and brighter than what the world is right now...