spend time with family and friends

Jeff and I went to a memorial service on base for the two pilots who were killed last week here at the training base. It was very moving and both wives spoke eloquently about their husbands and what they would want for us to do as their legacy. It was a good (but very sad!!) reminder to appreciate what we have and live for each day, celebrating famiy and friends and religon (as one wife encouraged)because you never know what might happen or what is to come. The strength of the two women in the face of tragedy was amazing and I think I shed more tears than I saw them shed. So in light of the sadness here please remember that no one ever wished they spent more time working...

busy weekend

We had a busy weekend full of friends and fun which was a nice change of pace. We got an extra kid for about 20 hours which worked out really well, had a cookout after Jeff's office moved one of his airmen from her dorm to a house, attended a birthday party for my friend (with plenty of kids to play with) and that was all Saturday! The kids friend spent the night Saturday while her parents enjoyed a night to themselves. They all fell asleep watching Peter Pan after a busy day. Sunday we just took it kind of easy, Jeff built the kids a big tent in the living room, took a nap with Charlie and they all played in the rain together. Showers, movie, and bed just might top off the night before we have two more kids for the day tomorrow!!

plane crash

Things are very solmn around here following the crash of a T-38 plane and the deaths of the two pilots involved. The names have not yet been released although I know of both families and their situations make the deaths even more tragic. Lots of people are asking for prayers for the men and their families as it is too soon to really provide help. We're all taking time to think about them and the sacrifice they made in their dedication to the air force.

Our kids are kind of working through the fact that there was a crash. Heather asked if someone fell asleep and that's why the plane crashed. We haven't really gotten past the plane crashing with the kids and at this point there's no need to go further. Jeff was very busy yesterday making sure that the CE groups were doing what they were supposed to be doing and helping to man the control center.

Tonight we get to have our first "pubic school" parents meeting as Heather's school is having an open house and registration for new students...whew that must mean we're old ;-)

last soccer update

Since soccer seems to be going well I'll chill on the soccer posts. Heather finally seems to be enjoying herself although she says that she needs dad to 'tell her where to go'. He's been coaching the goalie/defense area so when she's on defense he tells her when she should go get it and when she should wait in her position. Yesterday was hilarious b/c Heather and another little girl were playing center and the first two goals the other team scored one of the girls kicked off and then the ball wizzed past them. For whatever reason they didn't chase it and were still in the circle to kick the next two balls off ;-). At one point one little girl turned to her friend and said, "we're beating you so bad. it's like 9-0!" In this league they don't keep score officially but obviously the kids do although I'm pretty sure that most of the kids on Heather's team don't get that it's not good when the other team scores it's not a good thing.

During the whole game Charlie wanted to play soccer--pass for a while then I kicked it and both of us ran after it...He played really hard and one guy thought he played better than some of the kids on the field!!

Duper the 13th reindeer

I have no idea why we were ready a christmas story but that's what one of the kids picked out a few days ago. When reading the story we were naming the reindeer and Heather called out her new favorite reindeer "Duper" I think he came after Donder. It is now our favorite word and will evoke peals of laughter even in the grumpiest situation. They laugh so hard that it makes me laugh and it just keeps on going--maybe you have to be there...anyway "super duper" is a hit too...

We had a great weekend full of sun and playing outside! The kids each had a birthday party and Jeff and I enjoyed a wedding shower on our own Saturday night. Yesterday we rode our bikes out to a lake to throw rocks in. On the way we passed a HUGE snake slithering across the road and also saw one in the lake slithering across--UGH!! I guess there aren't supposed to be snakes in the Azores so I'm pretty excited about that!!

soccer part 5

Success!! Heather ran out to stretch with her team and played defense, offense, and goalie! She kicked the ball a bunch of times, ran around a lot and although she was a bit intimidated by running right up to kids and kicking she really did great! She paid attention to the coach and Jeff (he helped out this time since one of the coaches was gone). She had big smiles on her face when she came to the sidelines and chattered all about the game the last quarter when she sat out.The stellar performance almost ended when Heather reached down and stopped the ball with her hand...

Charlie and I had a good morning while Heather was at school--we played 3 games, did 1 puzzle, and went grocery shopping. He watched Heather's game impatiently because he wanted to kick the soccer ball himself. He loves it and would probably do better than some of the kids on Heathers team at paying attention and kicking the ball! He's not afraid of anything and will just bounce back up if he falls down trying to stop or kick the ball!!

early to bed...soccer part 4

So last night the kids fell asleep on the way home from dinner around 6:30. They've been refusing to take naps and are dead dog tired by 7 and showing signs of it well before that. They actually slept until 7:30 this morning and we had a nice easy morning at home only interrupted by charlie's screams of "tissue" to wipe his poor runny nose. From trying to do it himself his nose is chapped red and he's not a happy camper ;-( I guess it matches the sunburn that he got a few days ago when he wore a sleevless shirt and I wasn't paying attention to how strong the sun was. That's the first sunburn either of them has had ever so I felt pretty bad...

The day was great until I tried to put heather's shin guards on for soccer and that started a huge fit of not wanting to go, it hurt her leg...we got to practice and I stretched with the other kids while Heather stood behind me and refused to participate. I almost left but we went to sit on the bench and Jeff pulled up (in his full military cammo from work). After charlie kicked with him for a few minutes he got Heather to participate and they even ventured onto the field to kick the way the other kids were. then they did passing in front of the goal and a kick to the goal but she was not into it so they watched. The last half hour they were to scrimmage and Jeff played goalie and at first Heather just stood in front of him. the ball came to her and she actually kicked it. Then she took a few steps forward, and a few more, and by the end of about 15 minutes of playing she ran all the way down the the other side of the field and also did a throw in!! She was so excited when she was done and said that it was the "best soccer ever!!" She's gung ho to play in the game and wore her shin guards to the park after dinner. Yeah!!!