Katie had to get a tooth pulled today. She was such a trooper. Tommy and I were hoping the wacky gas would make her act really silly and we could put it on Youtube. She was just mellow though, but I videoed her later anyway. Here you go:

I love Fall!

Here are some pictures from our trip to Utah for Fall break and then Halloween. This was Tommy's first Halloween since the Diabetes diagnosis. I wasn't sure how things would go. He was excited to get a costume but he did tell Mike that he wasn't sure if he wanted to go trick-or-treating. What would be the point? Mike and I told him we would buy his candy. That got him really excited. Mike took both kids trick-or treating and they had a great time. Our neighbors on both sides were amazing. One family gave Katie and Tommy toys instead of candy. So thoughtful! The other family gave Tommy a bag of sugar free candy- all his favorites like jolly ranchers and ring pops. I thought it was so kind.
Some other neighbors down the street made a haunted house in their garage. It was so good! I hate scary stuff because I am a huge wimp. I change the channel if a preview for a scary movie comes on. So Mike made me go to the haunted house anyway. At first he shut the door and made me think I would have to go through it alone. Then, as I was leaving, a guy with a chainsaw was in the backyard. I was trying to get out and Mike held onto me so I couldn't run. My hero. I made it though and Mike said I was only slightly more hesitant and scared than the kids.
Our neighbor girl went trick-or treating with them and came over afterward to buy some of Tommy's candy. His prices were a bit outrageous but was willing to negotiate.
The Fall pictures are from our drive through Butterfield canyon in Utah. So beautiful!
I am so excited for Tommy to be a cub scout! He loves it too. Doesn't he look cute?
The snow pictures are from a storm last week. We are having another one today. I love snow days!
By the way, the eggs never hatched. I guess we'll just color them for Easter.

And then there were four...

Four eggs and counting. Stay tuned...

End of Summer- birthdays, school, fair, etc.

Here is Katie's first day of Kindergarten. She woke up early that morning and excitedly told me it was the first day of school. She couldn't wait to get there. You can see how her excitement faded a little when she actually got there. I think she was intimidated by the large class. She is really enjoying it now though. She told me one day, "Cindy said we could bring our guitars". I asked who Cindy was. She said her teacher. I just laughed- I don't even call her teacher by her first name. I'm scared for parent teacher conference.

Reality is setting in... We're homeschooling Tommy this year. Mike teaches him history and science. So far it has gone pretty well. I was nervous at first but it's pretty fun. There are days when I have to threaten to send him to the Principal's office but he knows I'm bluffing. I was scared to tell his diabetes nurse because she really wants him to live the same life he lived before his diagnosis. Tommy really wanted to do home school and I think diabetes was only a small factor. The thing I need to be more proactive about is having his friends over to play. If I could just make them promise not to tell their mothers how messy my house is, it would be a lot easier. He does stay active in karate, scouts and piano lessons.

The kids had their own birthday parties this year. Katie's was at Chuck E. Cheeses and Tommy's was at our house. They were both really fun and I was so happy the weather held out for Tommy's. My mom came out to visit us the past couple of weeks so I could work. She was such a wonderful help that I didn't want her to leave. Mike and I are very lucky to have great mothers who are willing to come out and help with the kids. Mike's mom comes out once a month so Mike and I can work our reserve weekends. They are awesome! My mom took the kids to Home Depot to make helicopters. They had a blast. There are also some pictures from my wing family day that we have every year. The Velcro bouncy was our favorite. We also took the kids to the fair. The next time we consider that I think I'll just eat a stick of butter and flush $100 down the toilet.

Here's Katie dunking one of our Security Forces troops. She wasn't scared.

Tommy and Katie's Karate class has a tradition called "birthday torture". On your birthday, the different colors of belts get to have you do different exercises. You do one repetition for each year. Katie was so excited for this. She told her instructors it was her birthday so she could do it. Here are some videos of the push-ups she did. It's pretty impressive. I am so proud of my tough little girl. She and Tommy both do very well in Karate.


We got parakeets back in April. They are a bonded pair but want nothing to do with us. I guess all that food in their cage just magically appears and I am a terrible person. Seriously, it's a bit annoying. Anyway, the girl recently laid three eggs. We're hoping their babies like us more than the parents do. By the way, we gave her plenty of nesting material, she chose to push it all aside and lay them on the wood. I'm sure she know what she's doing.

Summertime

Just a few more inches and she can touch the pedals.

Our neighbors invited us to go camping with them at a Lake near Denver for the 4th of July. I wanted to make sure the kids could swim so they took lessons early this summer. They had a great time and can't wait to take their next class.
Gooshy knows how to spend a long drive...

Love those camping breakfasts!

Words cannot express...

We caught three frogs and a tiny fish. I'm glad we didn't catch any of the giant carp that were here. We saw them jumping and everything but I'm not sure what we would have done with them. I loved just walking to the edge of our campsite to fish each morning.

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No frogs were harmed in the making of this photo (the one that was accidentally killed is not pictured here).

They loved riding on the boat and the tube!

And the moral of the story is...I really need a new camera.