Birthday Party!

On September 20th, we had a birthday party for Julia. She turned 4 on the 22nd. We thought a Saturday party would be best because of Rick's busy schedule. I even tried to invite our neighbors over for it. I ended up having to cancel having them over. All of us came down with some kind of bug. I took party favors and treats over to their house and told them I had to cancel.

We still had our little family party. My sister-in-law Jessica decorated, while I sat out in the garage wrapping gifts. Julia wanted a Dora party this year. I didn't know how popular that stuff is. It was hard to find a cake topper. I finally bought a little jar of play dough that had a Dora stamper on the top. It was just perfect.

The party was a success. Julia loved all of her gifts. She loves cake and ice cream. Chris was so funny! He didn't know what to think of the icing on his cake. Rick tried to feed some to him and he just held it on his tongue and started to cry. He got some on his fingers and couldn't stand it.

For some reason, blogger won't allow me to upload pictures today. I'll have to try again tomorrow.

My Little Preschooler

Julia was supposed to start preschool on Monday, September 8. She came down with a fever, and had to stay home on her first day. She was so disappointed. Anyway, her first day was Wednesday. She's so excited about making new friends and learning new things.

I had parent helper day on Julia's first day. So we were both learning our way around at the same time. First, I helped get the kids out of the cars when they got to school. Then, I sat at the end of the hall at the helper table and cut stuff out of construction paper, labeled library books and just waited for a teacher to call me to help out in their class. I only had to help once. Mrs. Cole needed me to help her kids(one of which is Julia)wash red ink off of their hands. That wasn't too hard. I also had to go to the lunch room and unlock the cabinet for the teachers and then clean up after the kids were done eating. At the end of the day, I helped the kids get back into their parents' cars. I really enjoyed my day.

After everything was done for the day, I remembered that I hadn't taken a picture of Julia with her teacher. I got my camera and asked Mrs. Cole if she would mind having her picture taken with Julia. Mrs. Cole picked out a monkey from the class collection and I took their picture. I guess I did forget to mention that Mrs. Cole's class is the "monkey" class. Everything is decorated with monkeys! Julia fits in perfectly.

Anyway, our busy life has begun. Julia goes to Chestnut Memorial Preschool three days a week. She's in the afternoon program, so she's only gone for a couple hours. I always feel a little mournful when my kids reach another mile stone. Not because I don't want them to grow up, but because I know life will never be the same again. They grow up so fast!














Julia with Mrs. Cole.

Fun With Friends

Tuesday, Rick got all the title work for the van. We went over to the Boardman's house to pick it up. We are now officially a two-car family. It still feels a little strange, but I'm sure I'll get used to it fast.

Lisa and I arranged a meeting over at the Virginia Living Museum with our kids. We took the kids to see the crabs and the fish. We walked over to the education center to see some animals(a hissing cockroach, a millipede, a black rat snake, a turtle and an alligator). Then we went to see the dinosaur exhibit. That was the biggest reason why we went there this week. It was the last week for the dinosaur exhibit. Christopher loved the dino robot. The roar was his favorite. Julia's favorite thing was the box of bones. There were bones buried under "dirt" and you used a brush to clean off the bones. It was really neat.

We went out on the animal walk next. We saw wolves, coyotes, a bobcat, deer, turkeys, eagles, a fox, a skunk and all kinds of birds. There may have been more animals, but I can't remember them all. We had a really great time. Thanks for suggesting that trip to me Lisa.

Well, I need to stop for this time. I have to finish packing for our trip to West Virginia. It's going to be a fast trip. It's always crazy, but totally worth it. Hopefully, we will get to see everyone while we are there.

Normal Life

Well, our new schedule has begun! Rick is in school, and working. The kids and I are home most of the time. That will be changing soon. We are buying a mini van from the Boardmans this week. Then we won't be trapped at home all the time.

Julia will be starting preschool in another week. Children grow up so fast, don't they? She is excited about going.

About a month ago, some new neighbors moved in across the street. There are 3 children. They like to come over and play in our yard. We have a big driveway to ride bikes on and a tree-house and a dirt pile to dig in. Julia just loves the little girl Zoe. All the kids' names start with Z. Zachery, Zoe, and Zander.

Not much has been happening around here. After Julia goes to school, I'm sure things will be just hopping. So, I think I'll just enjoy what remains of this quiet life.

Here are a few new pictures of the kids.

Happy Birthday Rick

We celebrated Rick's birthday on Wednesday, August 13. I spent most of the day decorating and writing in cards and getting dinner ready. I helped Julia get a picture drawn on the back of her color picture. Then I helped her sign her name in the card from the kids. She also drew a picture inside the card. It's called personalizing a card.

I decided to make "Alice Chicken" for supper. I love to order it when we go out to Outback steakhouse. I came across the recipe on-line and decided to try it out. I really enjoyed cooking it. But silly me, I had forgotten one of the ingredients. I had to run to the store across the street before I could finish it. I am not too good at broiling meats, but for once, the food didn't get burnt.

I fixed up the table fancy. We had a lace tablecloth, a centerpiece and cloth napkins. We all had fun.

After we were done, we had cheesecake for dessert. Rick isn't much of a cake-eater, and he didn't want me to make the whole recipe of Buster Bar because we eat at it for several days. So, I did the next best thing. We even put candles on it for Julia's benefit. She said that it isn't a birthday without candles.

Here are a couple pictures of Rick's party.

Missionary Friends

When Rick was deployed to Japan last year, he came in contact with a very special missionary family. They encouraged him so much, that when he got home, we started sending them boxes of encouragement. They are so sweet. After we sent them a Christmas box, they found out we were having a hard time. They sent us a box. Imagine that! I'd never heard of any missionary giving back like that. I've never met them, but I love them.

Please remember the Aaron Miller family when you pray.

Our Favorite Dog

Not much has been going on around here. That's why I haven't posted for a little while. Rick has been out of school for two weeks now. We have one more week of "normal" life left before the whole thing goes crazy again. What I mean by "normal" is that Rick goes to work around 6 a.m. and comes home between 4 and 6 p.m.

I thought that I would post a picture of my parent's dog. His name is Jack. When we go to West Virginia to visit, Julia loves to pet him. She has known Jack all of her little life. Jack used to come up and sniff the baby carrier when I was taking her into the house.

Jack can be a little rambunctious at times. He jumps over the gate and onto my grandma's back deck. There are cats up there. I guess he likes a little excitement. LOL. Jack also loves to take long walks with the family. He runs excitedly, and hopefully, up the hill, when anyone comes outside. He's ready to go!















Here's our favorite dog.