Halloween

Now, normally on Halloween James takes the kids around. He and some of the other dads get together and drive the kids around. Remember, we are in Colorado, and usually Halloween is the coldest day of the season which means the kids are in their coats, hats, and mittens, and are freezing by the time they get back. James usually takes the seats out of the van, opens the van door at the clusters, has the kids jump out to go trick-or-treating, and then they drive to the next cluster. Since James is the greatest husband ever, last year most of my friend's husbands were deployed, so he took 8 kids trick-or-treating. I had to laugh this year when the weather turned out to be in the 60's at night, and the kids could actually walk around instead of being driven as well as not having to wear their coats over their costumes! James would have enjoyed this Halloween! Here are pictures of the girls in their costumes. Alysse was Samantha (the American Girl doll), and Ashlea was a kitty cat. Austin went as Austin. He was never big into dressing up, and now that he is in middle school he is "too old" for that. Our cadets, Mikey and Kat, were super sweet and called to see if they could take the kids trick-or-treating. While they went around, I went to my friend Danielle's to pass out candy. One of our other traditions on Halloween is that I make gumbo. My friends look forward to it as much as my family does. Around here, gumbo really warms you up as we sit outside in the cold to pass out candy. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it! Enjoy the pictures!

Pumpkin Carving Party

Every year we have a pumpkin carving party the Sunday before Halloween. We carve our pumpkins, roast pumpkin seeds, make caramel apples, eat chili, and watch Charlie Brown's "The Great Pumpkin". We always have a great time! For the past couple of years I have invited our friends whose spouse was deployed. This year my friend Sharalie and her family came since her husband is in Korea for a year. Our cadets came down to give me a hand with the carving, and I am so glad they did! Here they are carving away!
Austin carved his own and did such a great job!

Here he is with his finished product!

Ahslea wanted this very detailed haunted house that took our cadet, Mike, around an hour to carve. Thank you Mike!!!! As you can see it turned out great! Mike had Ashlea decorate it, so you put a lot of rain drops on it and balloons that say boo!

Alysse chose a kitty cat for hers which our cadet, Kat, was gracious enough to carve. The funny thing is by the time Halloween got here the cat was pretty shriveled up, so he added to the Halloween ambience.

We had a great time, but we sure missed James! As we watched Charlie Brown, I got a little emotional knowing this was the first of the holiday season, and he wouldn't be here. I sent him pictures of their pumpkins and costumes, but I can't wait for next year when he will be home with us!

Rocky Mountain National Park

I am way behind on my blogging, so I will try to do a quick catch up. A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine (whose husband is also deployed), her kids, my kids, and I took a trip to Estes Park while the kids were out of school for a few days. We stayed at the YMCA and headed into Rocky Mountain National Park for a day of hiking, picnicking, and elk watching. We had a great time! We still didn't hear the elk bugling which was our main purpose, but the important thing was we had fun! Here are a few pictures of the park, the Y, and the kids enjoying board games and legos!Hopefully, you can tell the kids are spelling YMCA in the first picture.


This next picture is of the Aspens. There were just a few Aspens left that had color. I hope you can see how pretty they are!

Tooth Fairy is a-coming!

Ashlea has had a loose tooth on the bottom for a while, and last night at church during children's choir not one but two teeth came out!!! Now, we were not able to locate both teeth, and I don't even want to think about where it might have ended up if you catch my drift. Here she is in all her new toothless glory!

Have no fear! The tooth fairy was very good to her! :)

Mom's visit

OK, this entry is a little late due to technical difficulties. Also, you will notice that the pictures are small and can't be enlarged. Sorry about that! I got these photos from Mom's camera via Snapfish, so when I copied them this is what happened. Last weekend my mom came for a short visit. While I certainly wish she could have stayed longer, I enjoyed the time I had with her. We surprised the kids on Thursday because we had told them she was coming in on Friday. It was really funny to watch their faces as they realized who was with me when I picked them up. On Friday, while Mom and I were enjoying our day of fun, we drove up on this scene in the photo. If any of you know my mom, we stopped in the middle of the road so that she could take pictures.

While she was here, she had lunch with the girls which is always a huge treat for them - especially when someone brings them Subway!


That night we relaxed at home and watched "Peter Pan". We got up on Saturday morning to head out to Dunkin Donuts which turned into quite an adventure. We were almost to the store when we came upon a part of the road that had road closed signs and cones put up so that there was no possible way to get around them. We made a u-turn in hopes of finding another route that would get us there. Well, we eventually ended up back where we started, but this time a cop was pulling up the sign and cones. We are excited because we are close to donuts! As we get closer to Dunkin, we notice that 8 condos were completely burned out - 1 all the way to the ground. It was a horrific scene! There were cops, fireman, EMTs everywhere. We later found out that one person died in the fire. Please pray for these families as they try to rebuild their lives after losing everything! On to a happier note now, we did make it to Dunkin and enjoyed our donuts!

After we got through eating our fattening donuts, we headed to the art and farmer's market that was close by. We had a great time looking, sampling, and buying all the wonderful fruits, veggies, breads, homemade soaps (my favorite), kettle corn, and all the other great things we found there! I love a good farmer's market!

We had a great time with Mom/Nana and are looking forward to Thanksgiving when we'll get to visit with her, my dad, and my cousin, Jeanne! It sure was nice to have another adult around for a while!

Air Force Football!!

If you are patriotic and love football, then Academy football games are for you! Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE football. Now, I grew up on Saints football and am still a huge fan, but I didn't really have a college team to root for. My college didn't have football when I was there, and while I am from Louisiana and enjoy LSU winning, I never was really "into" LSU football. Since we have been at the Academy, I have thoroughly enjoyed the college football atmosphere. These games are so fun! First, we have the Wings of Blue which is the Academy jump team. The first picture is of them as they have just jumped out of the plane. These pictures are ones that you probably want to click on to enlarge and see the full details.
This is the guy landing who is holding the American flag.

This is one of my favorite parts - when The Bird comes parachuting in.

I took a picture of the cadets just because I think they are cool, and if you've never been to a game, then you need to see how awesome they look.

One of my other favorite things is seeing the flyby. Today we had a C-17 that was hooked up to a C-5. Now, I could be totally wrong about the planes, but I do know that a C-17 is a refueler that refuels a C-5. So, this picture shows what it would like like when two planes refuel in the air. Now, keep in mind how dangerous refueling is. These planes are still flying while gas is leaving one plane going into another. Not a simple feet! Thank you to all our pilots out there who take on this risky job in order to promote freedom around the world!

This is Alysse and one of our cadets that we consider as one of our children - Alicia. Alicia is a cheerleader, so Alysse was ecstatic to see here this weekend!

These next few are Alysse cheering and dancing. She is hard to spot, but she is in the very front. She is wearing black shorts and to the left of the AFA cheerleader in white. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can spot her more easily.



Here she is coming up the tunnel on Alicia's shoulders.

P.S. Air Force lost today in the last minute of the game, but I was so proud of them for hanging in there against Utah!!! Go Falcons!

What a week!

I unfortunately do not have any pictures for this post. I was going to bring my camera to field day. However, I worked yesterday, and I was supposed to work with a child that runs. Therefore, I thought better of brining my camera because I knew I couldn't run with a camera hanging around my without me, the child, or the camera getting hurt. Anyway, yesterday was field day at the girls' school. They had a great time, and the rain held off until after school was over! I ended up working with a child in Ashlea's class, so I got to walk around with her class during field day. It was so fun to watch her! She does not like the potato sack race, by the way. I had to leave to pick Austin up from school (will explain later in post), so I wasn't able to see Alysse enjoy her field day.

Austin spent most of his week at High Trails which is a camp atmosphere where they learn about the settlers, native americans, cowboys, etc. They stayed in cabins and apparently did lots of hiking! When I asked him what they did, he said, "We hiked, and the we hiked some more, and then we hiked again." Eventually he got around to telling me that they made homemade biscuits and applesauce, dipped candles, made a quilting square, had a hoedown, and lots of fun things. They had a journal they wrote in, and I will treasure it always because of the different things he wrote about.

Also, this week we had Math and Science Night at the girls' school. It was the chemistry show night which is always a hit! The girls loved watching the explosions, frozen eggs and bananas, color changes, and things going from liquid to solids and vice versa in an instant.

Ashlea has her first loose tooth, and Austin has two loose molars! I hope the tooth fairy has enough money! :)

Update on James - He is exhausted from working long hours, dealing with lots of death and mental illness cases that happen from the stress of war. His colonel gets back next week, so he his hoping that he can get a little more rest after that. Of course, he will also be going outside the wire more, too. Pray, pray, pray!

A Big Step and Parent's Weekend

Today was a huge accomplishment for Ashlea!!! She learned to ride her bike with no training wheels!!! She was very proud of herself as she should be! I sent James these pictures so that he could see her big day! The first picture is of her getting ready to take off. Then, there she is in all her glory riding without training wheels! The last picture is too cute. She is saying, "Ta da!"


This weekend was parent's weekend at the Academy. This is the time for parents to come and visit with their cadets, and it is also the start of a little (very little) bit of freedom for the four degrees (academy language for freshmen). The kids and I were so excited to see our cadets since we hadn't been able to see them due to Basic Training and the start of school. This picture is of all of us at our favorite Chinese restaurant - Tsing Tao. It was the first time the kids and I had been there since James left, and we sure missed him!

These are our cadets who are a part of our family! I am so proud of them! In this group there are 2 fence team members, a debate team member, a cheerleader, and a rugby team member. Congratulations to all of them! We are so looking forward to having them hang out at the house when they can!

First day of school!

At our house the first day of school is a BIG deal! We go shopping for first day of school clothes during the summer, I make shaped pancakes for breakfast, I take a million pictures of which my girls kept asking me to stop this year, then we go for ice cream afterwards. This year was a different for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, James is deployed. Then, Austin started middle school!! He was very nervous, and after school was over, he said he was nervous all day long. Unfortunately, he was nervous again today. Yesterday was only the 6th grade, and they did fun things all day. Today is when the 7th and 8th graders join them, and they go to all their classes. We prayed alot these last few days for him to make it to class on time, get his locker open, and make new friends that love Jesus. He rides the bus which just adds to my anxiety. It was very difficult for me to watch him walk to the bus. I really wanted to wait for the bus with him, but I knew I would totally embarrass him. I think I am more nervous about the bus than school because he has a great locker location and a great schedule! I am so proud of him and know he will be successful!

The next couple of pictures are of the girls, and their first day outfits. Notice the difference. Alysse is a beautiful dress, and Ash in shorts and a shirt. I let them pick, and their choices so reflect their personalities!!! If you look closely at Ashlea's shorts, you will have a flashback to the 70s. They are adorable! Alysse, of course, always chooses a gorgeous dress with all the accessories. I should have taken a picture of her shoes. They are Roxys, and I really want a pair!!


I just added this one because I wanted to show off how beautiful our daughters are!

This is them in front of our school sign! This will be our last first day of school at Douglass Valley. :(

Alysse is very excited about her teacher, Miss Boedigheimer! Miss B. (which is what the kids call her) was a student teacher in Alysse's class last year and the daughter of the school secretary. She and Alysse really hit it off last year, so this should be a great year for Alysse!

Ashlea has Mrs. Smith who is a remarkable teacher! I had the privilege of working with her last year when I subbed. She taught at the other elementary school on base that was closed this past summer, and I am so excited that she is at DVE and teaching Ashlea!

I wish I could have snuck into the middle school and taken pictures of Austin, but I am smart enough to know we are getting into the parent embarrasses me stage. All the kids had a wonderful day, and I think this year is going to be a great one!

James update - I have been able to talk to him twice. He called from Turkey yesterday and from Kyrkyzstan (I am sure I spelled that wrong). He had a welcoming party in Germany. I e-mailed our friends who just moved there, and they e-mailed back and said not only were they there but also 2 other chaplains that James knows. He is very tired and still not to his destination. He will be leaving soon for Bagram, and then he will wait there until they can find some form of transportation to Kabul. Pray that it is not a convoy!!!

Leavin' on a jet plane

James left yesterday for Afghanistan. I took what I thought was a wonderful picture of him at the airport with the kids, but when I went to upload it for the blog I noticed you can't even see James' face because it is too dark. Oh well, I tried! This picture is at the hotel we stayed at in Denver the last few days before he left. We had a great time! We went to the aquarium and just hung out at the hotel by going swimming, playing games, putting models together, and watching movies and the Olympics. It made the days we got to see him very special. James has a very long 2 days ahead of him as he flies to Afghanistan. He is flying to Germany as I type this. Then he hits 3 other countries in route. Please continue to pray for his safety and for peace in Afghanistan. Thanks to all who have called me to check on me while he has been gone! It is so nice to know I have friends across the country who care about us and are concerned about my welfare!

On a more sentimental note, there is nothing like saying good-bye to the love of your life knowing he will be gone half a year and in a war zone. I got home today to read about the humanitarian workers who were killed in Afghanistan where James will be. I am so proud of him and what he does, but that doesn't make it easy to watch him leave us at the airport. When he is gone, my best friend is gone. The other half of me is missing, and I just don't feel like myself until his return. The song on my playlist today pretty much sums up my feelings. I love you, James!

Bring it on!!!

We military wives always know as soon as our husband deploys or goes TDY(for my non-military friends that means temporary duty when they must go somewhere for a short period of time) something always happens! Let me share with you a little bit about my life since James has left for training. Austin has gotten a virus in his eyes causing his eyes to be very red and itchy, Dagger was stung by something that caused major swelling and redness right under his nose (trying putting baking soda paste in that area - you put it on, he licks it off, you put it on again, he licks it off again), a fish died (not my fault, they really were fed, but of course they wait for James to leave to die), the water company did not listen to our instructions about not bringing water to us this month which means I now have four 5 gallon bottles sitting in my carport waiting for some muscular man to come along and bring them inside for me since I will not be attemping such, Austin's best briend (Austin) left which caused some waterworks(as soon as my kids start crying, you might as well hand me the box of tissues because I'm a goner), the t-shirts for our school came in and let's just say they were not what I was expecting - I have come to see they are not as bad as I initially thought but that first day I wanted to cry (I was "blessed" by being voted PTO president for our school so you can see why this might upset me as it did), last but not least the van got a flat tire. I was not phased by this because it looked like a simple hole patch was all that was needed. My friend, Danielle, was sweet enough to have her husband come change my tire. I drive to Firestone happy that I would get this fixed for free. My neighbor, Sharalie, follows me and all is well as I drop off the van. We drive home still abliss with the fact that this will cost me nothing. I decide I should probably have the car aligned while it's in the shop since my steering wheel has been shaking so badly that I am sure some fat is now gone off my arms. I call Firestone (happy with myself that I am so smart to think of getting an alignment and knowing what alignment means). Patrick answers and is super nice as he informs me that my alignment was so off that I will need my back tires replaced. Oh, and by the way, my air filter needs replacing, too. Ahhhhh - I just looked at my friend Sharalie and laughed! This is while James is still in the States - just wait until he gets to Afghanistan!

Stubbs' Birthday Party

On Wednesday we attended Stubbs' birthday party here on base. Stubbs is a horse who lives at the stables on base, and he celebrated his 46th birthday on Wednesday! I don't know much about horses (frankly, they scare me), but I am told most horses do not even come close to being in their 40s which makes Stubbs a very special horse. As you can see in this picture, the girls had the privilege of riding on Stubbs as he made his grand entrance. Stubbs had a birthday cake that consisted of apples and carrots, but we humans were not left out. We had three real cakes to choose from. I, of course, chose the white cake with white buttercream frosting. Umm, Umm, Good!

Laser Tag!

I had coupons for Laser Quest that expired today, so we took a drive to the local Laser Quest and had a great time tagging each other. Alysse is quite proud of herself in this picture because she won first place on the last game. If you can see Austin's expression, it says it all for where he placed. You have to understand that Austin is quite the marksman normally, so these two games today were very much a disappointment to him. I'd like you all to know I came in dead last. I am terrible at laser tag, but it was fun to watch the kids.

I am sure you noticed I had extra children with me. Alysse had her friend Sasha over, and Vivian, Alysse's other friend, was in town from Georgia. We miss the Ramos kids and are glad to be able to spend time with them this week.

Austin is best friends with Austin who is moving back to Texas this summer which is of great sadness to my Austin. Jacob, Vivien's brother, was able to join in our festivities of the day, too!

This next picture is so cute! Ashlea and David were best buddies when David still lived here, and David couldn't wait to see Ashlea. Of course, being who Ash is she was playing her timid self at first, but then a few minutes later they were chatting up a storm!

One thing I love about being in the military is getting to see our friends who have moved away or have stayed (and we moved)! Now that my kids are older they are experiencing it, too!

Update on James: He is doing great out in the desert heat. He is in class from 6 to 6 everyday in a room with no air conditioning! He gets the joy of eating an MRE for lunch each day, too! Does it get any better than that!