The Happy Campers

...and More Pumpkins!

2009-11-17T06:35:00.000-08:00

Here is a glimpse of Savannahs pre-school trip to the pumpkin patch. The children all had to have a parent there and some had two so there were quite a few people there. They got to go on a hayride, take a tour and see how the apples are harvested, cleaned and sorted and of course they got to pick a pumpkin!
My little Monster posing on the pumpkins

Savannah consoling Jett on the hayride

Watching the apples on the conveyer belt

Savannah and her buddy Tinlee posing with their pumpkins

Ejoying somes sweets from the store!

Pumpkins...

2009-11-17T06:05:00.000-08:00

These are some pictures of Skylers 1st grade trip to the pumpkin patch. There were 3 classes there so not too many kids to keep track of. Sadly, I was the only parent from Skylers class to show up. I know many parents have to work and I feel very blessed to be able to stay home with the kids and participate in school activities. I'm hoping it will get easier as I have at least one more in school full time so I'm not dragging along too many "extras" to events :)

Skylers class on the hayride

Skyler and a classmate (she just wanted to be in the picture)

Pumpkin patch lady explaining how pumpkins grow

Skyler hauling the class loot back to the front

Class picture

Jett getting a ride!

Daddy's Home!

2009-11-16T12:36:00.000-08:00

... Okay so Daddy got home Oct. 4... I'm still (always) behind on things! We got to watch his plane come in with all the other families and greeted him with a sign and a painted car. He liked it :)

Then we went to Red Robin (the same place we went the day he left) and were treated to a free meal by the manager. That was such a thoughful gesture by him. His dad had been in the service too and he said he just wanted us to have a nice reunion. Again, very thoughtful.

Pictures at home....Yes, daddy had a new addition to his face, but that didn't last long...

And as they say.. "all good things must come to an end." It just happened to be Dylans "back"end that went through the wall. Boys will be boys!

I'll slowly get everyone up to date. I've got lots of pictures to share and just don't like being at the computer long enough to do it!

Our Crazy Life.....

2009-09-25T16:52:00.000-07:00

So sorry... it's been almost 3 months since I posted. I'm so far behind I just keep putting it off because there's so much to catch up on! I guess I'll start with our trip to Disney World the end of August. That was skipping a bit of time, but I can't remember what happened in between!

My mom and dad took Dylan and Skyler a week ahead to show them some sites and spend time swimming at the resort. Skyler was a pro by the time Jerr, Vannah and I got down there. It was Savannah's first plane ride and she did great! She fell asleep part way through the flight each time so her ears didn't bother her. We went to Magic Kingdom twice, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Epcot and Sea World. I'll try to minimize the pictures... I think I took 300. Needless to say Jerr and I were ready for a vacation FROM our vacation!

We're on our way to Disney World!

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!

Epcot

Animal Kingdom (it was very bright that day!)

Sea World

The gang getting ready to take off in a hot air balloon!

Ariel is Savannahs favorite!

....and Cinderella!

We took Vannah to Cocoa Beach on the last day. Jerrs message got washed away about 5 seconds later...

The boys started school the day after we got back on August 13. Skyler is now a 1st grader and Dylan a 5th grader. They are growing so fast!

Before Jerr deployed we celebrated Dylan's 11th birthday at Dave & Buster's (a grown up Chuck E. Cheese). It's hard to say who played more games... the kids or adults! Everybody walked away with prizes so that's the fun part! Dylan loves video games and would rather play them than eat or sleep... well, sleep anyway. I suprised him with a PSP cake. He liked it and it tasted great!

Dylans cousins he hadn't seen in 18 months. They had grown! The girl on the left is 14 months older than Dylan and she's now 2 1/2 inches taller than me!

We got a dog on the 5th. My SIL aquired a dog that someone dumped so she got him all "fixed" up and brought him to us. He is such a sweet dog. I know he's good when Jett can hang on him and tackle him and the dog doesn't mind. He also loves to get up on the trampoline with the kids!
Boomer the Austrailian Shepard resting on the kids picnic table

Savannah started pre-school on Sept. 11. She goes MWF in the mornings. I wish it were longer, but it's a start! I feel so free with just 1 kid part of the time.

The fire truck came to visit

They got to take their bikes to school to ride

While they were riding this beauty flew over and Jett yells "DADDY!" (I wish)

Skyler and Dylan are playing soccer. I'm coaching Skylers team again. It's a little different than this summer, but we're getting the hang of it. We had our first game last week and we won... (they don't really keep score, but we won). Dylan had two games and was worn out! He's not used to running that much (remember the video games?) We're supposed to have team pictures and games tomorrow if the rain goes away. I feel bad I don't have pics of soccer, but that's hard when I'm coaching and Dylan plays at the same time. Maybe I can get someone else to take them for me.

We went to family day at the base. Would have been much more fun if our whole family was there. The highlight of the day was the boys getting to see Star Wars characters!

Skyler is in Cub Scouts and Dylan is a Boy Scout now! They are having a great time already and I expect to see a lot of changes in them this year.

The cake I made today for my neighbor

Waiting for pics at Wal-Mart... he's too cute!

As of today Jerr has 9 days till he gets back. I'm sure ready.. the kids are getting tired of me! Hope this wasn't too many pictures. I tried to consolidate! Thanks for checking in on us!

This takes the cake!

2009-07-01T06:03:00.000-07:00

This is my latest creation for my neighbor girl's 6th birthday. It was too pretty to cut... and would you believe they made ME cut it, ugh! I did get a call last night from a local small business (a build-a-bear sort of place) that would like to use me for their birthday parties. I'm meeting with the owner today so I hope all goes well!

This was all that was left...

It's too hot!...

2009-06-25T12:35:00.000-07:00

... so I'm inside today and decided I should probably update the blog. I try to peek in and check on all my blogger friends and they're all so good about keeping things up to date. I know summer keeps some way busier than they'd like to be (that's me!) and I seldom have time to sit at the computer. Hope you enjoy the pics. They go back a ways and I know I don't have all the events in here, but I didn't want to overwhelm you! Browse through as you like and let me know what you think!

I love me some chocit i keem!

The kids at Great Wolf Lodge... (I didn't take pictures in the water park because I was too afraid to get my camera wet!)

I love frogs!

I don't!

Skyler's birthday treats for school (yes, they're the same as last year... what can I say, the kid loves frogs!)

Skyler and Savannah at sky's kindergarten Fun Day

Just wanted to show how much they've grown....
First day of school

Last day!

My cute little guys! Skyler 6 and Jett 2. It's kind of fun having two bdays on the same day, but I'm sure that fun will wear off in future years :)

Skyler's alien cake

Jett's lala cake (that's Elmo if you couldn't tell!)

The boys got an awesome airplane teeter totter that is now the neighborhood hang out!

This is a cake I made for our neighbor the weekend after the boys bday... I just wanted to show off my mad skills ;)

We got the kids bunnies for Easter and this is Caramel (the other, not pictured, is Chief and he's a black Lionhead... picture to come)

My little girl looks so big here... I have to constantly remind myself sh'e only 3 1/2!

Skyler up to bat and Savannah on deck

Skyler whackin' the ball

T-ball team photo

Savanah had just crammed a cookie in her mouth, hence the no smile

I'm coaching the kids soccer team (with Jerr's help when he can be there). Savannah doesn't like to play (or practice), but I wanted to get her introduced to the sport. Skyler does pretty good... he's just afraid to get too aggressive. We'll have team photos in a couple weeks.

Thanks for taking the time to look through all of these!
Upcoming events...
Jerr goes to Armania in a few weeks and then we're off to Disney World before school starts. Savannah is going this time so I'm sure I'll have a crazy amount of photos. It was fun taking the boys last year, but I'm so looking forward to taking my "little princess" this time! Jerr leaves for the desert for 30some days then life can maybe get back to normal (whatever that is) after that!

Sorry to leave you hangin'

2009-05-11T19:45:00.000-07:00

So I haven't posted in forever! We've been super busy with yard work. There was no landscaping in the back of the house and we've had some bad water problems (sump pump and drainage from neighbors) so we've been busy getting sunburnt and dirty! I promise to have some pics on here soon (it'll be the kids of course!) Hope everyone had a Happy Mothers Day!

The last month...

2009-03-18T12:16:00.000-07:00

You know.... I seem to be busy all day, every day, and I still have no idea what I do. I'm so behind on posting and I really don't have an excuse. I think last was Jerr's b-day so this is what's been going on since...
Valentine's Day...

My little "lovebug"

Rub a Dub... 3 kids in tubs

Snow day... my little "angels"

Skyler was so excited he found an "S" on his chocolate chip cookie!

Feeding the geese and seagulls (yes, we have seagulls in Topeka)

My birthday... Jerr got me a DQ ice cream cake and the neighbors came over for cupcake and strawberry cheesecake... yum! Oh, funny story... Jerr brought the cake home on friday (my birthday the next day) and the boys went to an overnight that night so us others decided to taste the cake while they were gone. When we got it out the next day they noticed there was a piece missing. I told them "they come that way so you can see what kind of ice cream is inside..." I really had them going for a minute!

Happy St.Patrick's Day!! We had green eggs and pancakes with green milk for breakfast then had fun at the parade downtown. The kids had fun getting green. Dylan still doesn't like to put anything in his hair so he wouldn't play along...

So that's all for now. I'll try to post again sooner than 6 weeks, but no promises!

Playing catch up....

2009-01-26T12:34:00.000-08:00

So I haven't posted in a bit... I'm sure everyone is crazy curious what we've been up to, right? Well... Jerr and I went to see Rascal Flatts on the 17th. That was an anniversary present. We had a great time, just us, for a few hours.

We've been super busy painting the house. We've done the kitchen/dining room, living room that included super high over the stairs, the hallway and main bath. I painted the boys room and Vannah's room a few months ago. So now we still have our bedroom/bath, a bathroom and bedroom downstairs then we're done! Sorry no pictures of the house yet, maybe I'll get to it soon.

We went to Red Robin last Monday as a pre-birthday for Jerr and because the balloon lady was there. The kids love getting sickly full on steak fries and all enjoyed watching the balloon lady work her magic. They all now want to go to clown school. In case you can't tell what the balloons are... Skyler got a frog, Dylan a sword and belt, Savannah a butterfly and Jett a plane.

Friday was Jerrs 30th birthday so we had the house appraised. That's why we were so busy painting and cleaning... happy birthday, huh? We went to Chili's for dinner and then back home for some chocolate cupcakes, yum!

Saturday was a year since Jerr's dad passed away. Not a day goes by that we don't think of him. One thing the kids did was sit down and record him with an interview of his life. We watched it at Christmas time and it's fun to listen to all the mischeif he got into. I hope none of our kids inherit that gene!

Sunday we were supposed to go to Great Wolf Lodge, but about 2am Skyler woke up and couldn't breath very well so I gave him a breathing treatment and then spent the next 3 1/2 hours in the ER. He's better now, but I hope we don't have anymore of those episodes. So we had to postpone our visit till March. The kids were a little upset, but they realize we are still going so that's okay. Plus they get to save up more money to spend till then.

And the post just wouldn't be complete without a Vannah story. So... she comes walking into the kitchen in just her panties. It appeared to me that she had on a few pairs. So I told her to go take some off and get some clothes on. She came back in the kitchen later and told me she had peed her pants. I guess it was too much effort to pull down more than one pair of underwear. So as I started stripping and panties off one by one I ended up counting 11 pair!!! That was every pair in the drawer! She's such a stinker!

I think that's about it for now... Thanks for checking in on us!

The last jump...

2009-01-10T06:13:00.000-08:00

Before we took the trampoline down last night the kiddos had a last jump. Jett loves jumping and being bounced around. It had been about 60 yesterday, but by the time Jerr got home it was a little chilly, but the kids didn't seem to care! Dylan came out later, but I had already taken the camera in and brought out jackets for everyone. I can't wait till it warms up and we get to put it back up and get the waterslide out again!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T05:55:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it's here already?! It definately seems like the years go by faster the older you get. I guess that has something to do with how busy we are. We had some neighbors over and chatted and played games. We got several new games for Christmas, but got stuck on Pictionary Man. Quite a fun game... we did boys vs. girls... the girls won :) Skyler made it till 11:30. Savannah woke back up about 11:40 so she got to see the new year. Dylan wanted to watch a movie after the neighbors left (he's such a night owl!) I didn't let him... he didn't need to sleep all day today. Jerr went into work today because we'll be gone this weekend. We're spending a weekend in Branson (for our anniversary) with no kiddos... yeah. I just hope the weather is nice. By nice I mean no ice/snow/rain and temps above 32... that's not asking too much, is it?

We hope everyone has a great 2009 and may all your resolutions come true!

Happy Anniversary to us

2008-12-28T12:10:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to tell my hubby Happy Anniversary today!
It seems so much has happened in these 6 years. We've had three kids, moved like 5 times, experienced so much together (good and bad). I love him more everyday and there is no one else I'd want to spend eternity with. I just wanted to share a couple pictures for those of you that've never seen a little Dilly or Jerr with hair!

Update....

2008-12-20T14:34:00.000-08:00

So I fixed the quilt and it's finished! It's Skylers "Bug Jar" quilt... since he's most definately my bug boy. He scares me sometimes at the things he picks up. I'm afraid he's going to get stung or bitten (and he has a few times). I actually started this quilt for Dylan when he was a baby and then it got lost for some years. It actually was a good thing I guess because Dylan doesn't like bugs anyway!

Close up of the spider (he's my favorite)

Today we went to see Santa at the mall and to my suprise you don't get the pictures then... I have to go back Monday and pick it up (which is better than the one here... they were all smiling).

And... best news is Jerr gets back tonight. He's only been gone a week, but we can't stand it when he's gone. The house just doesn't feel right without him.

Girl... what am going to do with you?!

2008-12-18T16:26:00.000-08:00

Okay... so it's probably clear to everyone by now that Savannah likes to get into things.. make messes... try my patience whenever possible. So the other night I was making pizza and I opened the mushrooms and the olives. While I was cutting the olives Dylan walks in the kitchen and says "missing anything mom?" while holding an empty mushroom can. I didn't even see her take them and she ate the whole thing! The next day I was on the computer (my only outlet to the outside world) and I heard silence (a bad thing) so I went to check it out and this is what I found...

...500 legos all over the floor.

So then tonight she strikes again. I was upstairs getting supper started and she had gone downstairs with the boys to play video games. I finally realized she probably wasn't playing games and had a bad feeling. I had been downstairs most all day working on a quilt I am making for Skyler for Christmas. It's almost done... I am just finishing quilting the borders and then have to bind it. So in all the horror this is what I found...

I'm trying to figure out just exactly how I"m going to fix this problem. I've asked some quilting friends and am anxiously awaiting their answers. I do love this little princess so much, but she is nothing like my boys! They would never have given me this much grey hair :) I only hope she grows out of some of this!

(Oh, I did catch her trying to cut her hair with some kiddie scissors. She had cut a little bit, but I stopped her before she whacked off the big hunk she ws holding!) And yes... she did use my big super sharp scissors on the quilt.

Miss you....

2008-12-17T05:27:00.000-08:00

Jerr is really roughing it in Hawaii right now:) I know I give him a hard time about getting to go to all these places... places I'll probably never see....but, I appreciate the sacrifice he makes for our family and this country. I know it's not easy being away so much and I just wanted him to know we are very proud of him and miss him bunches!
Taking off out of Honolulu and flying over Diamond Head

Happy birthday Savannah!

2008-11-25T13:53:00.000-08:00

I can't believe she's already 3...although other days she seems more like 6! She is growing up so fast. She's a big help to me. She knows where everything is, where everything should be, and how to get into something without me seeing. We had a party for our friends on our street Saturday and then a family party that evening. She wore her halloween costume princess dress for her party. The girls made princess wands, ate lunch and then cake and ice cream. She opened presents and had fun playing before her friends left. That evening she got a Princess easy bake oven that cooks with ice. We had to try that out...and it worked! It was a little on the gooey side, but they ate it. We are off to eat at Red Robin tonight (one of our favorites!) If you didn't know...you can go online several places to register for their free birthday things... Red Robin is one of them... you get a free burger! So we're cheap... Jerr and I share and the boys share and then fill up on fries :) We also do Dairy Queen, Baskin Robins... I can't think of the any others. So make sure you get your free stuff!

Savannahs 2nd b-day

Savannah this year!

"Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess..."

Our little "prince"ess

Savannah's balloon...

The whole french fried crew...

Now for some trickin' and treatin'

2008-11-02T05:25:00.000-08:00

I made three different postings so scroll on down to see all the Halloween stuff!

Skyler is such a ham! This was afterwards so Savannah and Jett were ready for bed... Sadly I forgot to take the camera with us so I didn't get very many pictures that night.

King and Queen Camper

Trying to pass the time before going out we stuck Jett in the big "playpen"

I made Dylans costume, part of Vannahs, part of Skylers and Jerrs cape. That's all I had time for this year... so now I'm trying to plan ahead for next year and I think we will do Alice in Wonderland. I will be Queen of Hearts (hopeing I can reuse this years), Vannah is Alice, Jett is the white rabbit, Jerr is the Madd Hatter... and I need to figure out Dyl and Sky. Maybe a card?... I need to watch the movie again. Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween and thanks for checking in on us!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-11-02T05:12:00.000-08:00

A couple neighbors went with us to the pumpkin patch. They played in the hay stack, went through a hay tunnel, went on a hay ride, and played in the bouncy castle. It was such a gorgeous day! This weather has been so awesome!

Halloween treats....

2008-11-02T04:39:00.000-08:00

I love making treats for halloween!

We had mini caramel apples...

Chocolate skeletons...

Chocolate ghosts and pumpkins...

...and ghostly cupcakes!

I also made orange rice krispie treats with candy toppers and chocolate pumpkin pops for Dylans class, but didn't get a photo.

School parties

2008-11-02T04:12:00.000-08:00

I had to spread myself between two parties this year. Both boys had a fun time. The whole school had a parade through the school... out the front doors... a couple times around the playground and back to the classrooms. They were ready to eat by then. The weather has been unseasonably warm. It was about 70... I think norm is in the 50's. Today will be about 77! I think mother nature is giving me a chance to get the garage cleaned out so I can get my car in before it snows!

Mummified Dylan.... they did the toilet paper game

Savannah was quite content in Skylers room.... she is so ready for school!

Savannahs true colors...

Skylers class...

Always playing catch up

2008-10-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

So I'm a little behind... again. It seeme like their is always so much going on and I don't take the time to sit down and make note of it. I wish I was better about that. Not only do I like sharing with you all the things the kids do, but it's also on here for me to look back on and remember what they did.

So, first topic... football. Jerreme wound up coaching Dylans football team because the other coach just happened to not know a thing about football. I guess they just needed a body so there could be a team. As it turned out... I don't think the boys knew anything either. He had fun helping them though and would do it all again next year.
This game was a double header and it was pouring!

The boys had fun playing in the rain...

My neighbor and I had been going on morning walks and one morning it was a little drizzly, but it wasn't going to stop us. We got about 4 blocks away and it started in a little harder so I commented... then it started pouring and I commented again... then it started hailing and my neighbor said "don't say anything!" So we're trying to run back to the house with kids in the strollers and looking like drowned rats. It was definately something to look back on and laugh about.

Neewollah...(that's Halloween spelled backwards) In the town we recently moved from they have a huge week long festival... carnival rides, street vendors, entertainment... this year Terri Clark was there. We got to go back on Friday and participate in the kiddie parade. The kids had a great time and got to see some friends. Skyler was sad the spectators weren't throwing candy at us!

Sunday we drove two hours to watch my dad skydive! He's 66 and I guess got the idea from Bucket List. It was very exciting to watch and Jerr and I are ready to save up and go!

Last night we carved pumpkins. Savannah really liked digging in and getting dirty. The boys had a double sided pumpkin and Vannah and I worked on a girly one. Jerr and I wound up staying up late finishing them. We had much fun though!
The girly Little Mermaid pumpkin...

Skylers pumpkin (he had the idea and dad had to pull it off)

Dylans pumpkin

Everybody getting dirty...

Tonight was parent/teacher conference night... oh boy! Both boys are doing very well. Skyler wrote a little book and took it into school at the beginning of the year and I guess it set off a spark and all the kids are making books and wanting to share them with the class. The teacher said she is running out of paper!

Tomorrow we have class parties and a parade in the school. Then no school Thurs. and Fri. and we can't wait till Trick or Treating!! I was practicing with Savannah on what to say when you go out. She said trick-or-treat so I took it a step more and held up my imaginary door for her to knock on. She knocked and I told her what a pretty costume she had and then I whispered "what do you say?" and she said "...give me some candy!" So maybe we need to work on that a little more!

Sorry....

2008-10-04T18:37:00.001-07:00

Sorry to leave you all hanging. I know you were all on pins and needles wondering what we were up to! Well, Jerr made it back on time and we made it to the wedding. I picked him up at the base and told him we were leaving that night. He looked at me with blood shot eyes and said "I just flew 10 1/2 hours...." and with the time change it was about 1am for him still. I told him he could sleep while I drove and we made it there about midnight. My friends wedding was very unique. It was in the theater at the the University we went to. It was fun singing in the theater and I'm glad I was able to share in his memorable day.

The next week I was getting ready for a garage sale. We had it on a Thurs., Fri. Sat. I have never been in a town where a Thurs. sale is so popular! Shouldn't all these people be at work? I'm glad they weren't though... over the 3 days we made almost $900! Does that tell you how much stuff we had to get rid of? Plus, I hauled off 3 car loads of stuff to the thrift store. So now that the 3rd bay is empty we need to get the stuff from the other side of the garage and shove it over there so we can get the cars in before it frosts... at least that's the goal for the week! Then on Sunday we went to the neighbors birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese... always mass chaos!

Jett and Chuck

Today we had a soccer game (Dylan's team won!) The kids and I took a walk to Sonic to get a 1/2 price drink and play in the play area. They are re-paving our road so it will be nice for it to open again and have sidewalks. The road closed 3 days after we moved here (July 6)and it's kind of a pain to go weaving around the neighborhood to get to a main road when you're the second house from the road you can't use! I must say the upside is we pretty much live on a cul de sac now with the barricades up so it's a street party every night with the kids playing. Jerr has drill this weekend (a guard thing) so after he got back we got the waterslide out and let the kids play. They were complaining they were hot and that definately cooled them off! Savannah didn't want to get in the water so she jumped on the trampoline and Jett occupied himself with a mud puddle :) Jerr and I decided to go down the slide too. I don't know if it is really meant for two adults, but at least it didn't collapse on us! Thanks for checking on us and I'll try not to be so long with the next post!

My June bugs playing in the rocks

Jett and Dylans puppy (this one is for you Mandy!)

Blackmail photo of Jett in his sisters tutu

Dylan on the slide

Skyler hanging out in the pool

Jett playing in the mud. That thing in his hand was his white sock! He was slapping it in the mud... that's why he's all splattered!

A better shot of the mud splatters

Savannah and Jett on the trampoline

Me and Jerr on the way down the slide!

Update

2008-09-18T18:01:00.000-07:00

So I guess there was a leak in the forward fuel tank and it's not supposed to leak. I think it's okay for the others to but not that one? Anyway, there was a crew working 24 hours a day for 2 or 3 days trying to get it fixed so they could get back to Germany on time. Germany has a quiet curfew or something and they can't fly after a certain time and also can't fly out of there on the weekends, so it was important to get back there so they could get back home... otherwise it would be next week. So...good news! They made it back to Germany! He will be home tomorrow about 5pm! Can you tell I'm excited?! This means I don't have to travel this weekend by myself. It wasn't the being at the wedding alone as much as it was the 8 hours in the car by myself (4 hrs. there/4 hrs. back). I don't think I've spent that much time by myself since before Dylan... that's been a while! I may be awake by myself most of the time till he gets his sleep schedule back to US time. That's always a hard adjustment when he gets back from overseas. So that's all I have for today... thanks for checking on us!

Lost...

2008-09-17T10:09:00.000-07:00

So sadly I wait for the phone to ring each day to hear from Jerr. I'm not used to not being able to talk to him whenever I want. He left on his Germany trip on the 7th and is supposed to be back on the 19th. They flew to the UK yesterday and I guess the plane is broke now. So depending on when they can get it fixed will determine whether they get back on time or next Mon/Tues. I guess they can't fly out of Germany on the weekend. So they have to get it fixed, and get back to Germany in time to leave Friday or they have to wait till next week. So I'm hoping they get it fixed soon! We are supposed to go to a wedding this weekend. I don't want to have to be the goober that shows up by myself when I have a handsome husband stuck half-way around the world. I haven't seen some of these people in 10 years and feel silly by myself when I have such a beautiful family I can't show off. So check back on me and I'll let you know if I'm the goober by myself or if I get a weekend with my hubby and no kids!

The icing on the cake...

2008-09-07T14:24:00.000-07:00

We had the family birthday party last night. We had a yummy supper follwed by cake, ice cream and presents. Dylan likes to play Guitar Hero and decided he would like a guitar cake... so this is what we came up with!

Making a wish...

yummy...

I've been tagged

2008-09-07T14:23:00.001-07:00

I've been randomly tagged.

Marie (my friend from Del Rio...now in Dover) tagged me, so here goes...The "Random Thing" Tag Rules...1. You link back to the person who tagged you. 2. Post these rules on your blog. 3. Share six random things about yourself. 4. Tag six random people at the end of your entry. 5. Let the tagged people know by leaving a comment on their blogs 6. Enjoy the results.

1. I really like our new neighborhood. The neighbors are all really nice! I'd hate to have to move again... more on that later :)

2. I'm so sick of unpacking, but we're almost through all the junk. This is the first time in 5 years we've completely unpacked!

3. I twirled in the high school marching band. I wanted to do it in college, but the director said it would be too distracting so I was in the color guard.

4. I would love to move somewhere not too hot... not too cold... no floods... no tornadoes... no hurricanes... maybe a bubble?

5. I think I'm going to start a website to sell personalized baby blankets and quilts. Once our new room is finished in the basement and I get organized. I may be asking you friends and family to forward this to all your friends when I get it going!

6. My friend that tagged me left this as one of her comments... "I have a friend who will remain nameless that can sing better than anyone I know personally, and a lot of you know her but she's never told you. She even sent me a CD for my birthday of her singing so I could hear it for the FIRST time!!! Maybe she will if I tag her."... Well that was me. Yes I had dreams at one time of being famous (I think my parents did too), but life got in the way and nothing ever came of it. I do still love singing and always imagine myself singing for people. My next "gig" is a friends wedding in a couple weeks.

So who to tag now? I don't have a whole lot of blog friends, so if you've filled out many of these, sorry!

I'm picking... Michelle Bradbury, Mandy Kostman, Aja Shoup, Amy Coomes, Sarah Williams, and Vera Sager. Hope to see your answers ladies!!! :)

The 10 year old Dill Pickle!

2008-09-04T17:19:00.000-07:00

One of Dylans most favorite nick names :) I can hardly believe my little man is 10 years old. He is growing so much physically, emotionally, spiritually. I've had a hard time letting him do some things because I want to keep him my baby. He is playing the viola now in 4th grade orchestra. He'll be starting soccer next week and football in a few weeks. I took snacks up to school today and he didn't seem too embarrassed that I was there. I'm always thinking that he thinks "oh man, I can't believe my mom is in my classroom!" He did well though... even through the Happy Birthday song :) I visited Skyler while I was there and he was a very different story. All hugs and clinging to me. He wanted me to go to recess with him and stay for the rest of the day. Where does that innocence go? Anyway, Dylan had a very good day. He got a new bike from us... with gears so he can get up the hills now on our bike trecks. We'll have the family birthday party on Saturday so watch for the next cake creation!

Dylans "birthday" with Great-grandma Knight

Dylan sporting his new bike

Jett man...

2008-09-02T11:13:00.000-07:00

Well, life will never be the same again. Jett is finally walking! He's 15 months old today. He definately took the longest. He really got going yesterday. The other kids think it's really neat (for now... until he starts getting into their stuff!) We have those easy door handles that just pull down so we have to keep all the doors locked now too (that also aids in Vannah not getting into too much trouble.) This picture is Dylan reading Skylers library book to him. I was busy so I suggested Dylan read it. He commented on how there were only 3-4 words on a page so the next book Skyler brought home had lots of words!

Jett showing off the cowboy hat

Savannah gladly shared a peach with Jett. I had now idea that he'd suck down the whole thing. He wound up eating most of hers too! Love them peaches!

Oh mama... you're in trouble....

2008-08-22T18:05:00.000-07:00

So...as you know Savannah likes to get into things when I'm not paying attention. Her latest was getting into a tube of Desitin. I came in the bathroom to find her scrubbing her arms with Desitin with her toothbrush! Let me tell you... that stuff doesn't come off so easy. I guess that's a good thing, right? That's what you buy it for. So with some hefty scrubbing and whining (partly from me) we got her cleaned off. This was after we caught her a few days before sticking it in the carpet (again, hard to get out.) I hope this phase of getting into everything goes away soon. I fear for the new couch...

Caught in the act

the new sofa...we've been sitting on the floor for 6 weeks

First day of school!

2008-08-12T14:30:00.000-07:00

Well, today was the first day of school for my boys. Dylan started 4th grade and Skyler started Kindergarten. Last year Dylan got on the bus at 6:45 for school at 8am because we lived so far out in the country. It was like that in Kansas City too. This year school doesn't start until 8:40 and they get on the bus at 8am!! I'm so excited, but Jerreme still wakes me up early getting ready for work. He got to go into work late this morning so he could see the boys get on the bus. I got a little teary last night putting Skyler to bed, but I did good this morning and didn't cry (I tend to tear easily if you didn't know that about me). They were both pretty excited getting off the bus to tell me about their day. Dylan has a locker and he said his teacher is very nice... this is her first year teaching. Skylers room is decorated in frogs... he's very excited about that and he has rest time and snacks. I'm suprised that Savannah didn't talk about them more today. I thought she would really be bothered by their absence. I did however have a much more pleasant trip to the grocery store with only two kids. They fell asleep before I got out of the parking lot and I had quiet time at home for a while too. I'm looking forward to that everyday!!

The boys eating pancakes for breakfast

Daddy with all the kids

Skyler getting on the bus (Dylan wouldn't let me take his picture)

Skyler after school

We found the camera!

2008-08-05T07:37:00.001-07:00

It wasn't too lost... under the seat in the car. I guess we all thought the other one had looked there already and it just got overlooked. I'm glad nothing happened to it because I have soooo many pictures on it. Maybe this will make me burn them to cd so I don't lose all those memories.

We got the playset together... I think I may have mentioned that. We also got the trampoline together. We have had loads of fun on that. Everyone enjoys bouncing around... even Jett. It's almost like a HUGE playpen to him. It's been so hot out that we've been staying inside till almost dark then we go out and jump or ride bikes. Jerr and I bought bikes and we got a cart for mine (for Vannah and Jett) and he got a trainer bike for Skyler that attaches to Jerrs bike. There is no way Sky would be able to keep up with us on his own. Dylan does pretty good, but he needs a bike with gears so he can conquer those hills. We're trying to wait till his birthday... only a month away. He'll be double digits! We've decided we need headlights and cooshy seat covers for us also. We get home it's a toss up on what hurts more... my legs or my behind! We all like our new hobby... great exercise by the way. I'll be glad when the weather cools a bit so we're not so hot riding.

We went to KC last night and got back pretty late. The kids were asleep in the car so we woke them up to come in. I sent Vannah to her room for bed and went back to the car to get Jett. When I came back I noticed she didn't quite make it to her room.

Skyler did make it to his room, just not to the bed.

My kids have the ability to fall asleep wherever when they're tired. Remember Dylan under the table? Savannah fell asleep at the bar one day too. I hurried and took the picture so I could move her. I was afraid she'd fall off!

Skyler tonight at dinner..

And this is Vannah showing off her hat/ears?

So that's all for now... School starts in one week!!
ps... scratch the home phone. We decided not to keep it so we have our cell phones.
Me 816-935-5829 and Jerr 816-365-7341

The latest...

2008-07-28T07:11:00.000-07:00

Well... without naming names (because I really don't know who it was) someone has misplaced the camera, so until I find it posts will be picture free. We bought the kids a new swing set/fort thing that took about three days to put together. They LOVE it. It's nice to have something in the backyard for them to do finally. Thank you to Joe and Jamie for helping us with that! So we still have a trampoline to put together and a shed to build. That should be fun. I'm staying inside for a couple days because I got a little too much sun the last few days and am hurting a bit. The tan will look good once all the skin peels off, right? We're supposed to have a heat index of 105 today, but it decided to rain this morning and it feels quite nice out now. Jerreme recently spent a week in Alaska and says we'll live there in the summers someday and somewhere warm for the winters. Sounds good to me! I really don't like the extreme temps. So that's about all for now until I find the camera and you can see our smiling faces again!

ps... our new phone# 785-408-5463 I still haven't unpacked a phone. We haven't used a land line since we lived in Texas. Hopefully this week I'll find one.. until then we still have the same cell phones.

The Lake

2008-07-17T18:02:00.000-07:00

We have a beautiful lake near our house and the kids and I have gone over there the last couple mornings. I take Jett and Savannah in the stroller and Dylan and Skyler walk. Well, yesterday Skyler tried to ride his bike and he almost didn't make it back to the car. He was whining saying it was the desert and he was going to die if he didn't get a drink (he's my drama queen). Today we didn't take the bike and it went much better. We figured that from where we parked to the gardens and back was a little over 2 1/2 miles. We were definately tired and ready for a nap when we got home so that was a plus! The garden area is very pretty and Dylan had the camera so we got a picture of every flower in there. The geese and ducks were quite plentiful as well and today we came prepared with bread so they were swarming us. It is slow going with 4 kids and the walk takes us 2-3 hours by the time we stop and play and swing and feed the birds and smell the flowers. We're taking the walk around the other side of the lake tomorrow...wish us luck that we make it back to the car! There are 7 miles of trail around the lake and someday I'll make it all the way around. I don't know if it would be any easier pulling them on a bike? There are lots of flowers pics and it may take a few minutes to load!

Lions and Tigers and Bears!

2008-07-17T15:57:00.001-07:00

Not really.... but I did happen to find a nest of baby bunnies in the back yard. Lucky for them the lawn mower did no damage. I knew the kids (especially Skyler) would be so excited to see some wild life at our new house. So we had to show them off to the neighbor kids and all were impressed, even some parents. I'm sure that helps the boys win brownie points with the kids... whatever helps. (This is now 2 days after I found the bunnies) and they are still doing good and we moved them to a box in the garage. We have a noisey bunny. We named him Stripe from Gremlins. He is very active and makes this very load EEEEP EEEEEP sound when he doesn't want to be touched. It scares us everytime. I think we'll just keep them till daddy gets home and then we'll call the animal rescue center to come get them. So this is taking the place of the dog the kids have been begging for... for now.

Getting settled

2008-07-13T19:05:00.000-07:00

Well, we're finaly here (I guess we've been here a few days). It will take a while to get unpacked of course. I was really amazed at how fast the kids adjusted. They all slept in their own beds the first night. Savannah may have ended up in our floor at some point during the night, but Dylan did good staying in his room... didn't seem to mind at all (his room's in the basement... all by himself now.)

So let's go back to July 1st. Thank you to all the guys that volunteered to come over and get all sweaty loading a U-Haul for me. It was loaded to the door... I don't think we could have possibly stuck anything else in there! And we couldn't... that's why I had to go rent another truck the next day. I severely underestimated the amount of stuff we have. Dad and I filled the second 26 foot truck on wednesday (taking longer than I wanted... because we have so much junk) and we didn't get pulled out of the drive until 7pm. We got about half way and Jerr called to say he had landed (8:45pm). Unfortunately I had to tell him I wasn't in town yet so he had one of the guys take him to the hotel. By the time we got to the house to drop off the two mongo trucks and unload the car (we had to pull Jerr's car behind a truck) and my mom was following in my car with the kids... it was about 11:30 before I got to the hotel. I was so tired and stinky. Not the conditions I had in mind seeing my hubby for the first time in 35 days. I was soooo tired because I had less than 4 hours sleep with all this. I couldn't sleep so I was over at the house at 3am cleaning and packing up a few last things. Anyway... we got here in one piece. My parents had my car so they took the kids to KC and Jerr and I had the 3rd without kids. We closed on our new house and ran some errands (picked up the cable box, because I think life would stop if there were no tv in the house). The kids were delivered the 4th and the help came to unload all this great stuff into the house. Jerr I got started early and unloaded one of the trucks before the help came. If that wasn't enough we had another enclosed car trailer of stuff delivered sunday that was from my parents house. I'm sure the neighbors think we're nuts or something. We had a couple days to unpack about 6 boxes (yeah me!) then we went to KC wed. night. We left Vannah and Jett with Jerr's mom and took Dylan and Sky to Dylans grandma down by Springfield and Jerr and I enjoyed a couple days (with no kids!) in Branson. We got back last night and we sadly had to go take daddy to the base so he could leave for Alaska this morning. He's only gone for a week this time, so I'm hoping to get a few boxes unpacked and a little decorating done.

Thank you again to all that helped during the moving process whether it was manual labor or prayers and good thoughts to get it all done. We really appreciate it and I couldn't have gotten it all done without you! The pics are of the old house... we'll really miss it and the last two are Skyler and his snake he caught on our last day in Independence. You can imagine my surprise when I saw him walking towards me holding that thing. It was no little pencil thin snake. Savannah had her nose stuck right in there. She's not afraid of all the critters either. It's name... Snakey McSnakester.... we also had that day Froggy McFrogster, Toady McToadster and Granny the turtle (from Franklin on Noggin if you're familiar). It was hard for him to leave them all behind, but I assured him there would be critters in Topeka. I'll stop there for tonight, because if you've gotten this far you're probably tired of reading! I've got a couple funny stories, but I'll save them for another day. Thanks for checking on us!

Finally!

2008-06-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

I got on the blog to check it and my song had changed. Jerr said he would change it when he left Guam so I'd know he's on his way to Hawaii...finally! This will be 5 weeks gone, but it seems like it's been so much longer. We're very ready to have our family back together again. He will be in late wednesday night then we close on our house thurs. morning. We've been awaiting this time so long and it's hard to believe it's finally here. It seems to sneak up fast at the end. I will miss all my friends here, but luckily were're not too far to come visit. We may be back for the Halloween festival here... the kids had so much fun last year. The kids are excited to have a fenced back yard (so are we) and Dylan feels pretty big to finally have his own room. And among all my busy time packing and everything... I still made time to make a couple baby blankets. One is for a baby here at church and the other is for a girl I used to work with in KC. I was glad to get them done because I don't know when I'll get settled enough to start sewing again. So I think that's all for today. I'll try to post tomorrow with a picture of Dylan's baseball team before the internet gets shut off. I guess I could probably go sit in the hotel parking lot and borrow their service? We'll see how energetic I'm feeling!

We're Expecting!!

2008-06-26T21:06:00.000-07:00

... to move next Wednesday (hehe... did I scare anyone?) We should be closing next wed. on this house and thurs. on our new house. I'm excited about getting there and finally getting to see Jerr. It's been A LOT of packing. I'll have packed well over 200 boxes. Definately a big garage sale in store for us in Topeka!

So here are the pictures from the wedding, a friends birthday party the next day, a couple pics at home and Skylers last t-ball game tonight. At the wedding I didn't get any of Dylan (jr. usher) because he was playing with kids most of the time. I didn't get better ones of Sky (ring bear... I think that's what most kids say) and Vannah (flowergirl) because I was busy making sure I didn't miss my que to go sing. Skyler was one of two ring barers. He was upset he wasn't the one carrying the rings. He said, "I wasn't a ring bear... I was just a stupid bear!" I had a little laugh at that :) Tonight was Skyler's last t-ball game. The little guys did quite well. It's so much fun watching them. They can do some silly stuff. Dylans last game is Monday so I should have a picture of him then. My internet gets shut off that night so I'll have to post as soon as I get home! That's all for now I think. Thanks for checking in on us! (The movie works much better the second time through)

Our New House

2008-06-16T19:13:00.000-07:00

These are a couple shots of the new house. I'll get better ones on here once we get moved. The outside view is cut off a little. It's a 3 car garage and has a nice white fence in front that you can't see. The kitchen will be decorated in, of course, purple... I know that's hard to believe. We should be moving somewhere between the 1st and 5th of July...still need to work on those little details.

Our new address:
3519 SE 25th Street
Topeka, KS 66605

You can always look on here for the address and I'm sure I'll be sending out postcards you can refer to. So wish me luck on getting the house packed in time. I've gotten quite a bit done in the last couple days, but we have so much stuff! We definately have to have a huge sale when we get moved!

The kids and I are in a wedding on Friday so check back this weekend for pictures!

You butter not!

2008-06-12T14:21:00.000-07:00

As a rule... if you don't see or hear Savannah... you better find her and see what she's into. So today, like every other day, she was quiet and I had to go investigate. I have recently put a lock on the refrigerator because she can get it open and helps herself to the fruit drawer. She ate 3 peaches the other night before I knew what was going on. I had left it unlocked because I was going to fix myself a sandwich and then got side tracked doing laundry or something. So, today she didn't pick the healthiest thing in the frig. As you can see she loves butter. I quickly stuck the tub in the frig, but by the time I turned around she had already eaten the big glob on her hand. (yuck!) This is just a normal day with this girl. She definately keeps me hopping!

Rip van Winkle

2008-06-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

He'll probably get mad at me for this, but it was too funny not to put on here. Dylan was sitting at the table reading while I was sewing. I looked over and didn't see him for a minute then noticed something under the table. I guess when you're tired... you're just tired!

A year in the life....

2008-06-08T22:00:00.000-07:00

As we approach moving to a new house I'm kind of sad to leave this great house and all the fun we've had in the last year. Looking back at these pictures, it's amazing how the kids have grown... physically, socially, emotionally, spiritually. I'm sad that Jett won't remember this house. I know the other 3 have had bunches of fun running around here. These are pictures from last summer up to the time I started the blog in December and maybe a couple pictures since then. There are 30 pictures so it may take a couple minutes to load. Hope you enjoy!
(There have been some troubles viewing the slideshow...so if you don't get all the pics..it's been showing only 5 or 6... and want to see them just click on the view all images and it will take you to Photobucket website with our original slideshow.)

Just another day at the park....

2008-06-07T18:19:00.000-07:00

We had a fairly uneventful day today. We did have someone look at the house so we had to leave of course and we went to the park. It was kind of muddy still from the rains so that was fun trying to go down the slides and not land in a puddle. I don't know if I've mentioned before, but we have a really nice park area in this little town. There's a water park, play park, carosel, little train, and zoo. We have yet to venture to the water park. The kids keep begging, but I told them they had to wait till dad got back to help keep track of everyone.

I have a couple funny things that Savannah said today... there was a third, but I already forgot it. The first was about tornados. We had some storms come through the other night and the chance for severe tornados. Luckily, the storms weakened before they got here and we didn't have to worry about that (good thing because I was dreading going to the basement..it's creapy). So today she was talking about the tomatoes coming to suck her up. The second was we've had a couple stray dogs roaming around here for a few days. I was over talking to the neighbor lady and she said she shot at them with her BB gun to keep them away from her dog. Savannah then lifts up her shirt and points saying "I have one too...booby". The neighbor got a kick out of it. I'll have to remember to tell Vannah that one in a few years. So, here are a few pictures of the kids at the park. It's so hard to get them all looking at the camera and smiling at the same time. I think they're pretty cute though.

Another haircut...

2008-06-04T19:06:00.000-07:00

The happenings of today were much the same as any other day... I'm trying to keep daddy updated if I don't get to talk to him daily. I'm hoping he can check in on us on the blog. Typical laundry, dishes, pick up after the kids... mowed to grass...caught a toad for Skyler...cut Jett's hair...cut Vannah's hair...got my own hair done (highlighted) and you'll never guess who did it!... Dylan helped. I showed him what to do and he was very helpful and careful. Now I know where to go! I wish he could cut it too, but I'm not brave enough for him to have shears near my head :) Anyway... I thought Savannah's hair turned out cute. I think this is the length I wanted last time I cut it, but was afraid to cut that much off at the time. It was half-way down her back this time as you can maybe tell from how long her braids are. It was about as easy as cutting a bobble head. She doesn't stand still at all!

Before:

After:

Jett after his hair trim...

Skyler and his toad...

Another b-day boy post....

2008-06-03T11:54:00.000-07:00

Okay...just love my little june bugs! I wanted to share a picture of the birthday treats we took for baseball last night. Both boys had games so I brought enough for both teams. The picture of Jett is at the game and Skyler is at home after the game with his birthday kiwi...he's my little nerd :) We had a long day at the ball park leaving the house at 5pm and not getting home till 10pm! Luckily that was the only day where both boys had a game the same day. The rest of the time it's one boy...every night of the week...for 3 weeks. And before baseball is over swimming starts so be looking forward to those pictures too!

Happy Birthday Boys!

2008-06-02T11:02:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to wish my little boys a very happy birthday today. Jett is 1 today and Skyler is 5! I can't believe how much they've grown in the last year. Skyler had his kindergarten check up today so he's all ready for the fall. Jett is getting around pretty good now, jabbering a lot, and saying a few bitty words. My children are all so very different and I love them so much. It's amazing watching them grow day to day and year to year. I am excited to see what the next year has in store for them!! (Sorry this a picture of a picture so not too clear.)

We'll miss you daddy!!

2008-05-28T17:22:00.000-07:00

Jerreme left for Guam today for 35 days. That's not as long as some of our AF daddy friends are gone for, but it's long enough for me! When I have 2 boys in baseball and games every night of the week... and they don't start till 8pm! We'll see how that goes with the other two tired babies. School's out so I have all the kids home now. I'm sure they will be quite helpful during the days. Oh, the picture is us getting ready to go to the pool. We drove him to Topeka so his car wouldn't be sitting the whole time. We got to go swimming and played and had a good last day with daddy. We love you and miss you already daddy/Jerr. Savannah was confused when we got back and his car was in the driveway. That took some explaining!

A little info on the house... We put our house on the market a month or so ago and two weeks later we had it sold...the first couple that looked at it!! It is contingent on their house being sold though. We found a house in Topeka and signed the papers on it...contingent on our house being sold. Houses are selling pretty good down here so we're hoping everything goes smoothly and we're planning on a July move. The only picture we have of it is on Jerr's camera (in Guam) so I'll have to see if he can e-mail it to me so I can get it on here. So with all of that... I will be packing the month of June. It's our first move that we'll have to do ourselves. We've always had companies move us so this should be a fun thing. Like most people we have an over abundance of stuff that despirately needs to be weeded out...garage sale maybe? So wish me luck and I'll get a house pic on when I can!

Happy Birthday Little June Bugs!

2008-05-26T16:44:00.000-07:00

My grandma always called Skyler a little June bug, so now I have two little bugs! How exciting it was last year for Skyler to get a baby brother on his birthday. This year was very crazy busy. It is handy to do one party for two kids, but the age difference might require to do two different parties in years to come. This year we had a beach birthday! I made sandcastle cakes for both boys. Jett got a mini-castle, while Skyer got a grande castle both decorated with chocolate rocks. There were a couple people that panicked when Jett stuck a rock in his mouth. I had to assure them they were edible and that I wouldn't put real rocks on the cake. We had gobs of presents and then moved outside for some water fun on the water slide. All the kids had a grand time time getting wet although it was a little chilly. The sun never fully came out after the rain, but that didn't slow them down any! I think there were about 11 kids on the slide... it definately got a work out. After all the partying Jett fell asleep in his high chair. I didn't take another picture of the big square indention on his forehead from the hole he was laying on! We had the party before their actual birthday... it's not till June 2. That will be quite an exciting day as well because my good friend Aja is having a baby boy that day and her girls are staying with us. One more June bug to add to the collection!! (Picture of sleeping Jett to come soon.. I couldn't get it to load.!

Dylans Baptism

2008-05-26T15:52:00.000-07:00

Well, this weekend was very event"full" to say the least! Saturday morning Dylan was supposed to have ball practice, but of course it had to pour down rain. It did, however, stop just in time for us to go the church for Dylan's baptism. We had many family members and friends there to witness this wonderful event. We feel very blessed that Jerreme was able to perform this special ordinance. Savannah had mixed emotions over this. She was partly scared that daddy and Dylan were in this strange "pool", but I think she partly wanted to jump in too!

Camper kids

2008-05-15T07:11:00.000-07:00

I thought I would give a little update on the kids. Savannah is 2 1/2 now... hard to believe some days and others she seems soooo much older. She is definately our little glamour girl. She's into princesses and baby dolls and taking care of everything that needs taken care of. She helps with laundry, the dishes even changing Jetts diapers... Jerr caught her one day (I was gone for the weekend) with his diaper off... a poopy one... and she had the wipes trying to clean him up. Didn't seem to bother her at all!

Jett is growing so much. He is 11 1/2 months and has 7 teeth now and loves chomping on anything he can get in his mouth. He is almost crawling... yes, should be doing that already, but his spent most of his time in a bouncy seat, jumper or high chair to keep his very helpful sister from smashing, choking or mauling him. It really was for the good of the child. So... he's finally down in the floor more and is catching on to the getting aroung thing pretty quick. I give him a week to crawl. Jerr will be gone to Guam for 35 days and he's sure Jett will be walking when he gets back. Jett loves his brothers and sister making him laugh and giving him treats and toys and waiting on him... what a rough life!

Skyler is almost 5 and getting into stuff everyday. He is such a boy! He's outside in the mud and bugs and whatever else he can capture. We had a turtle for a couple days and it finally tipped the box over and ran away. Oh my... that was a sad moment. Skyler is looking forward to starting Kindergarten in the fall. He's missed school since we moved from Kansas City. There just isn't much to choose from in this little town until they are actually school age. He is also anxiously awaiting his birthday (which he has to share with his little brother if you remember.) Should be a very big day. We're having the party on May 24th because it worked out better for everyone, but their birthday isn't until June 2. So check back for birthday pics in a couple weeks. He finished soccer up with a great little trophy and is starting t-ball this week. They are so funny at that age to watch. It is all so animated.

Dylan is 9 3/4 and finishing up 3rd grade. The last day of school is May 22nd. I can't believe he's going to be a 4th grader! Enjoy them... they grow so fast! Dylan finished soccer and has started baseball practice with his first game on May 28th. Between him and Skyler we will be very busy for June. We're looking forward to the water park this summer. We may get to enjoy it this year now that Jett is older. I didn't venture there last summer because I had a newborn and 3 others by myself and that didn't sound like much fun to me. At least now Jett can sit in tne water and Savannah can play. We have a great tree house outside that the kids will enjoy this summer (anything outside is great for me!!) So that's it I think for the kids. We'll keep you updated with anymore big events coming soon... and there will be some!

Disney Vacation

2008-05-15T06:48:00.000-07:00

Okay.. we have to go back in time a little...
We had the opportunity to finally take a family vacation in March to Disney World in Florida. We just took the two big boys and my parents watched the little ones. After seeing how many families had little ones there I am so glad we didn't take them. We wouldn't have gotten to ride much! The boys had a great time (so did Jerr and I). We got to visit The Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios (MGM), and Sea World. That was a lot to see in 5 days!! We had two days travel also, so it was a very nice vacation!!

We were out so late every night... the boys would fall asleep on the way back to the resort.

We had such a great time and the boys are already planning their next trip back!

Jett's 1st haircut....

2008-04-01T12:41:00.000-07:00

Well, it was sad cutting off Jett's hair too. He looks like such a big boy now though! I'm so glad I have a big boy (Dylan) at home to help with the littler ones. He was a good holder while I cut hair.

Savannahs haircut

2008-03-31T09:03:00.000-07:00

I decided Saturday that Savannah needed a haircut. It's always getting in her face and she's brushing it away all the time. I've trimmed her hair several times, but never cut any length off. I hated to cut it because I knew all her baby curls would be gone. It was a little sad watching them fall on the floor as I cut, but her hair seems thicker now and she still has some curl around her face. It may not look like I cut much off, but it was about 2 1/2 inches. I saved a couple curls for her scrapbook... if I can ever get it caught up!!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-27T13:47:00.000-07:00

We made a quick Easter weekend trip to Kansas City. The kids enjoyed 2 egg hunts and lots of candy! We've been on a crazy sugar high ever since!! (I tried to put in a movie, but I couldn't get it to work.)

We're Snow Happy!

2008-02-06T20:14:00.001-08:00

We love you grandpa John....

2008-02-06T19:02:00.001-08:00

Jett Robert

2008-02-06T13:05:00.000-08:00

"

Jett is the happiest little guy! He's showing off his two new teeth. The first one on Jan 16 and the second on the 25th.

Happy Halloween

2008-02-06T12:49:00.001-08:00

Happy belated Halloween

2008-02-06T12:43:00.001-08:00

Okay, this text is for the above pictures because I was having problems.

Once again, I have to go back a bit. I never got a chance to share Halloween pictures. I made all of our costumes this year. We got to wear them 3 times, so I feel like it was worth it. We have a big Halloween festival here called Neewollah (spelled backwards). It's a week long... parades, street vendors, concerts, carnival rides, the works. They really know how to suck the money out of you. We all had great fun. Jerreme made it home for the kiddi parade that we were all in. He had to drive back to Topeka the next morning to do the fly over for the Grand Parade so I got to see him for 20 seconds and then had to wait till later that afternoon for him to drive back home. We all went trick-or-treating and got lots of mouth rotting candy. There were a couple really scary houses, but Savannah didn't seem to be bothered much. Jett just slept the whole time while he was wheeled around. So Happy belated Halloween to everyone and hope you enjoy the costumes! If it's not obvious we had a Wizard of Oz theme :)

Happy New Year?

2008-01-02T06:25:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a very happy and safe 'ringing in the new year.' Jerr was in Guam so his new year was 8am on the 31st for me. Our new year was very uneventful as I didn't even attempt to stay up till midnight because I knew that the kids would be up early and wanted all the sleep I could get. So I missed Jerr's call at my midnight because my phone died in the night. So he called again about 11:30am (3:30am the next day for him) and wished me Happy New Year and said "don't freak out" so automatically I get a little worried. Well, seems as though he was in the hospital very sick and they think it is his gallbladder. So I get to talk to him a few times and he finally he had surgery last night to have it removed. The surgeon called me about 3am to tell me everything was good and he was recovering. Then Jerr call this morning to tell me he was going to bed (11pm for him). The time thing is hard for me to adjust to. So he's stuck in Guam recovering for another week and a half when he was supposed to be back tomorrow. And remember the Christmas gift for the kids? So that means we won't be going to Disney World right now. Which is fine for me, but the boys are disappointed and it's hard to understand for them. I'm just glad Jerr is fine now. I guess it's better than it happening on vacation, right? Well, we hope all the best to everyone for a wonderful 2008! God Bless!

Savannah's 2nd Birthday

2007-12-31T12:24:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I have to go back in time a bit. Savannah turned 2 November 25th. We were in Kansas City for Thanksgiving so we celebrated her birthday there. Because of being out of town and weather we opted to go to McDonald's. She fully enjoyed it and the other kids had fun playing. She got a few baby dolls that she takes all over the house in her stroller. She is very good about taking care of them. Then, we had a couple friends over when we got home. They decorated cupcakes and ate tacos. Just wanted to share that and a couple pictures!

What a Merry Christmas!

2007-12-26T19:33:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's already over!! We went to Kansas City to celebrate Christmas. Our gift to the kids was a night stay at Great Wolf Lodge. This has an indoor water park, arcade, restaurants, ice cream shop, spa.... you wouldn't have to leave for days!! We all had a great time playing in the water and on the slides. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures inside the park because I was swimming. They had story time at 8pm. and it started snowing (I think it was soap)... Savannah was so excited! The boys were playing a wizard game somewhere so I don't think they saw it. Then, more swimming the next morning before check-out. We sure didn't want to leave. (Jett was with grandma, that's why he's not in the picture.)Christmas Eve was spent with my family. We ate, played games, made cookies and pretzels. Santa had to take it easy on the cookies made here... they had a pound of frosting on them!

Christmas morning we opened stockings. It's nice that no one has spilled the beans about Santa yet... even for Dylan! Santa, with the help of us, surprised the boys with a trip to Disney World in January. They were really excited, but I think it will all soak in better once we get there. The rest of Christmas day we spent with the Campers. More food and gifts... you can never have too much of that! On the down side... Jerreme left for Guam the morning of the 26th. It stinks b/c he's missing our anniversary and New Years. Two events you don't like to be alone for. We'll see him again the day we leave for Florida (Jan 6th). Then, when we get back, he'll actually be home for a few weeks!! It will be great to have him home again! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! and have a very safe New Year!

Our First Blog Post

2007-12-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I finally broke down and started a blog site for us. Hopefully this will help to keep everyone up to date on the happenings of the Camper Family. The latest is the kids and I are trying to stay warm after we ran out of propane this weekend. I didn't check it till Friday and they don't deliver in weekends, so we're hoping we're on the list today! We're staying in a bedroom with an electric heater (it's quite comfortable, until I have to leave to get something for the kids!) Enough on that... I did finally get our Christmas cards out so you can look forward to recieving those in the mail! In case I didn't have an address for you here is our letter and picture. Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season!

Seasons Greetings to All!
Well, this year has brought many exciting new chapters to the Camper family album. In January we moved to Independence, Kansas and bought a house. Being a homeowner has definitely been a big eye opener. Especially, when we bought a house that needed work. It seems like we constantly have homework to do with little fix-its around the house. No complaints though. We love living in the country. We have 2.5 acres for the kids to play (and to mow) but, I’m only 3.5 miles from Wal-Mart!
Jerreme went back to Cessna as an Instructor Pilot. He loves his job. Being able to fly everyday doesn’t really seem like work to him. He would love to get the opportunity to work at the Wichita plant, so he’s not flying single engine aircraft. When your engine goes out… yeah, not good. It would be nice to have a back up. He’s been keeping quite busy with the Guard unit, too. He’s been active duty about half the year. He’s been to Equador, Germany, Afganistan, Hawaii, back to Germany, and leaves for Guam the day after Christmas. He always has interesting stories and pictures and the kids love the presents he brings back.
Our most nervous trip was to Equador in May. I was due June 17th and was afraid I’d have the baby without him. As it turned out he came home June 1st to celebrate Skyler’s 4th birthday on the 2nd. But, as all great plans go, we had to move the party to the hospital, because I went into labor about midnight and Skyler got a baby brother for his birthday. Jett Robert is such a good baby. Always happy and loves to laugh at the kids. They get into arguments over who can make him laugh the hardest.
Jett was born the night of the first baseball game…I had two days to rest and then back to the games with new baby in tow. The boys both played ball this summer. Dylan had spring and fall soccer and looks forward to basketball in January. He’s enjoys 3rd grade and is doing very well in school. Skyler stays home with me for now. He will start kindergarten next fall and we are all anxious for that! Savannah helps me around the house and with Jett. The kids are very good about helping with each other. It sure helps me out. Between house work, working on the house and kids with no husband I stay plenty busy. We are all looking forward to the new year that finds Jerreme home about mid-March. We miss him so much when he’s gone, but are very proud of the sacrifices he makes for our family and for our country.
We hope this letter finds all well and catches you up on our past year. Have a safe and Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Love,
The Camper Family
Jerreme, Deanna
Dylan 9, Skyler 4 ½, Savannah 2, and Jett 6 mths.
December 2007