more pictures on facebook

i posted more pictures on facebook because it's easier to upload. If anyone who reads this is not on facebook (i will be shocked!!) let me know if you want more pics and I'll get them to you ;-)

charlie's haircut

whew! Between Heather's birthday fun I forgot that Charlie got his hair cut (a lot!) I told Jeff when he left and kept saying "short" that I might cry when he came back but Charlie looks pretty cute with his new look. Different but cute!!

Heather's birthday party

Heather invited 15 of her closest friends and neighbors over for a party. Ideally the weather would have been nice and they would have played outside lots and lots, however it was not great so we started out inside. Filled with "ocean" activities we managed to keep the kids entertained and then let them out after cake to run around and get some of that sugar out of their system. The kids worked on some picture frame crafts, creating creatures from under the sea, pinning the tail on the dolphin and smashing a piniata. Oh yeah and dinner and cake were served also ;-). Jeff and the kids worked hard on a dolphin piniata which turned out REALLY cute and very sturdy. The kids all had lots of chances to break it before our friend helped it with some scissors and serious shaking. He also drew a nice dolphin for pinning the tail on (it was amazing how almost EVERY child was able to find that dolphin tail spot!! The cake was cute--dolphin that jeff drew and some birthday lingo (Really I did stuff for the party as well ;-). All the kids seemed to have a good time and Heather was allowed to have 3 girls spend the night. We borrowed a projector from a friend and the girls are watching a movie on the wall in the garage.

heather's birthday--the day after

Whew--Heather had a day full of picking what she wanted to do all day long and it wore us out (and her as she took her first 20 minute nap in the middle of the day!!). She got up at 6 and decided she wanted to open presents immediately. I told her she had to wait until everyone was up and she was not allowed to wake anyone up so it was a long 2 hours until charlie rolled out of bed. She opened her presents and Jeff made crepes for a special b-day breakfast. After that she took her scooter out to scoot around and did so successfully for quite a while before falling and running into the house with a scraped knee and hands. Once she calmed down we headed to the arts and crafts center to paint a ceramic cat (heather) and butterfly (charlie) which was what she's wanted to do for her birthday for a while. Then off to the chinese restaraunt for lunch with friends and a garden park nearby to play. Whew!! On the drive back Heather and Cameron fell asleep but upon her waking up we skyped grandma and grandpa mick so they could see her open presents. Then she out back to play with friends. When we made it to dinner more friends came over for Heather's chicken leg, green beans, and mashed potato dinner followed by cake and candles. Finally our neighbors fired up their firepit and had s'mores (doesn't get much better than that to end a b-day). A campout and a movie in the family room with dad ended a seemingly perfect (minus scratches on the knee and an Ohio loss in the round of 32) day! Happy birthday to our little girl!!

Happy Birthday Heather!!

Seven years ago at 2 am Heather joined us and has been a presence ever since! She started out baby HAH (which she hates us to mention) then turned into a curly haired toddler with lots of energy and smiles for everyone. When we moved to MS she got a little bit shyer but still loved her friends, preschool and playing outside. Now she's a big 7 year old filled with her own ideas and attitudes.

Dad's back!!

Yeah! About two weeks ago Jeff called to say he would be coming back a week early. I was very excited but didn't want to get the kids hopes up in case flights got cancelled as they often do so we continued to count down to the 19th. Finally Jeff was almost to his last leg so last Friday when Charlie got home from school I asked him what was the best surprise he could think of: "going to Disney" no "going to grandma's" no we're not going somewhere. "grandma's coming here" no not grandma. "daddy? We already know daddy's coming" but daddy's coming today. "TODAY" then lots of excited jabbering and celebrating in his seat, "oh yeah, daddy's coming today. oh yea" Same question to Heather, "dolphin stuff" no "pet shop stuff" no it's not a thing--Charlie--we might be going to Disney. No it's not going somewhere. "Daddy's coming home" TODAY. Heather then jumped from the couch to the floor and ran in circles until I finally told her she needed to settle down and stop. We went out to the base food place for dinner and headed for the airport to find out Jeff's flight was delayed 2o minutes--ugh--45 minutes to kill in the airport!! When Jeff finally walked through the doors the kids ran over to give him hugs and Cameron walked right over after Heather and Charlie gave him room. He gave Jeff a hug and stayed with him and they've been best buddies since. Thank goodness for Skype and phone calls to keep them connected!! We got home and Jeff enjoyed the sings and decorations we had put up in addition to his favorite yummy treats. Everyone enjoyed the weekend together and things have fallen right into place like he never left. He had to go into work a bit on Monday and Tuesday but has the rest of the week and next week off. We spent the week doing fun things like playgroup, lunch with Heather, and taking Charlie to and from school. Fun fun, fun. We're sooo glad to have him back!