C by the Sea

Quite pleased.

All the little boys love to ride on the tractor with their Poppy. All of them except Race. Until today, when he said, "I want to wide on the twactaw." Who can turn down a request like that? He seemed quite pleased... 

The vest.

Sean was the original owner of this cute little vest and he passed it down to Heath. Over the years, it has been passed along to several of the boys and now  Joshua is wearing it (and will soon be passing it along to Race. ;)) It's hard to believe it's still being worn, but it's even harder to believe that my sons were ever that little. 

Boot Camp, here he comes! 9.20.2011

Today the much anticipated, more than a little dreaded, day arrived. Sean left for Basic Training at Ft. Jackson, SC. He will be there for 9 weeks and then will head off to Ft. Eustis, VA  for helicopter repair school for 15 weeks. He decided to join the National Guard back in April and was able to plan his departure for after the summer. He spent a lot of time with his family, avoided the hot summer in SC and now it was time to "get the show on the road!" ;)

Always lots of last minute details to take care of.

 

Proud father and brother.

 

And, of course, very proud mother!

 

No caption necessary.

 

It would have been nice to have Reed here for pictures, but he was in school. Ultimately, I think that was for the best for both him and Sean. 

 

Race, however, was home from school in time to be there when Sean left. But, being only 2 1/2, it was just another day to him. He provided the comic relief. ;)

 

Instead of "High Fives" with his hand, Race decided to use his foot. ;)

 

Sean is going to miss his little guys so very much. 

 

Time to say goodbye.  (Love Race's little hand peeking out from between them.)

 

"They also serve who stand and wait." (And, Lisha herself serves as a member of the Air National Guard. They are a real military family now!)

 

Godspeed, Sean. Stay safe, try to have fun ;), keep learning and always remember your family loves you and we are all very proud of you. We've got your back, son!

 

Family Day at the ANG

Lisha invited us all to come out to the base on Sunday for the Guard's annual Family Day. The boys always have a good time with the different activities and the weather was beautiful, so we had a great time.

There was a giant bouncy slide (which makes me so nervous, I can't watch the kids on it). 

 

And, of course there was the bouncy house that they all love. There was also a bouncy jousting platform that was way too hard for the little guys to do.

 

Jenn wasn't feeling too well, but Heath brought Caleb and Joshua out.

 

A very popular booth was the Home Depot one. The kids were all given little work aprons and could pick a project to make. They all seemed to really enjoy it.

 

Race had this cute little hat with fake hair...

and all the kids thought David should try it on since "Poppy has no hair!" 

 

Discussing important matters.

 

Caleb was so sweet offering some of his popcorn to everyone.

 

David spent the longest time trying to get Race to look at the camera, but to no avail. I think the sun was too bright for the little guy, even with two hats and sunglasses!

 

Whenever Joshua is in a place with lots of people, he turns into a silent observer, studying everything around him very carefully. Quite different from his usual outgoing self. ;)

 

Lisha made sure she was the highest bidder, winning the right to throw a whipped cream pie into the face of her commanding officer. ;)

All in good fun, right, Sir? Sir??

 

When we all sat down to grab a bite to eat, I attempted the impossible by uttering, "You boys all get together and smile. I want to take a picture of you."

Another full and fun day. Then, we all headed to our house for birthday cake and to sing "Happy Birthday" to Heath ;)

(Carolyn and Rachael were there also, but sadly I didn't get any pictures of them. But, I'm pretty sure they had a good time, too!)

Long Island Steamers

On Sunday, David and I met Sean and his boys up at Long Island Steamers. This is a fun little place up near Southaven Park that has miniature trains to ride on. The tracks go all around in the woods and the kids really enjoyed it. We were glad we got there early because by the time we left the line for the rides reminded me of waiting on line at Disney. And, even though we had a fun time, I'm not 100% sure I would want to wait on a big line to ride again. ;)

There were two different lines, the red and the blue. The red was at ground level and anyone was able to ride on it. The blue line was elevated a few feet and the children had to be at least 4 years old and there was a slightly stricter weight limit. 

Sean took Race and Reed on the red line for the first ride of the day.

Hi, guys!

After a bit of discussion it was decided that I would take Reed on the blue line. David and Sean were both afraid they wouldn't make the weight limit and Race, of course, was too young. ;)

David manned the camera and got this shot of Reed and me as we passed by.

And, this really cute one of Race...

When the woman who was driving the train saw David and Sean, she said they were certainly not too heavy to ride, so they took Reed for a second ride while I waited with Race.

Since it was September 11, some of the trains were dressed in patriotic colors. I spotted this one (which was a model train and not one to be ridden on) as they were getting it ready.

It was an enjoyable outing and a fun way to spend some time outdoors with family on a beautiful day.

Two little boys and the first day of Kindergarten

The first day of school dawned bright and sunny gray, windy and rainy. Reed and Caleb both started kindergarten and David and I headed out to witness the events. First stop, Reed's house where Vanessa, Diane, Race, Sean, Lisha, David and I waited out in the rain for the bus to arrive at 8:10. And, we waited, and waited, and waited. Finally the bus rounded the corner, Reed hopped aboard and off he went! 

I'm sure Reed will grow into that backpack eventually. ;)

Mommy getting that last bit of breakfast off Reeds's face. 

Race (still wearing his breakfast) was wondering if his bus was coming after Reed's.

The traditional "First Day of Kindergarten" interview.

Rain? What rain? Race had the best time stomping through the puddles in his frog boots!

Proud Daddy.

Is that the bus? I think I hear the bus!

The big moment is here. Bye, Mom! See you later!

It made it! Finally!

Good luck, Reed! You're going to do great. We love you!

 

 

By the time Reed's bus picked him up it was too late for us to get up to see Caleb leave for school, so we went to see him get off the bus at the end of the day. Heath, Jenn, Joshua, David and I waited in still more rain for the big arrival...

Little fellow, big umbrella.

Joshua was quite eager to see Caleb. He was also very keen on going back home and getting some juice. ;)

Here comes the bus! Here comes Caleb!

That nervous moment when all the kids except the one you're waiting for have gotten off the bus.

Okay, that's a good sign. Caleb's backpack.

He was there the whole time. Welcome home, Caleb!

There really is no way to get off a school bus when you're five except to jump. Those steps are huge for a little boy!

Mother and child reunion... all is right with the world. ;)

After a very long, and a little bit scary, first day at Kindergarten, the very best place to be is snuggled in Mommy and Daddy's bed.

After Caleb had been home for a while, he wanted to show me his soccer uniform. (He starts soccer on Sunday.) So, he went and changed and also showed me his Kindergarten schedule.

 

Some things never change. :)

We love you, buddy!

Another year, another baby shower ;)

Last Saturday we got together at Sean and Lisha's house for a baby shower! It was a great time with friends, family and food -- our three party essentials! Everyone enjoyed the lunch buffet and it was great fun watching all the little kids play. And, we all got to see the preparations Lisha and Sean have made for the (home)birth. Very exciting stuff! The best part was celebrating the greatly anticipated arrival of Lisha and Sean's second son in just a few weeks. We can't wait to meet the precious little guy!

As usual, there are too many pictures to post in the blog, so please visit HERE to see all the fun!

Christmas Eve morning

This year we decided to have our Christmas celebration on Christmas Eve morning. After a nice breakfast, we commenced with the opening of gifts. We had lots of fun watching the little boys, each with their own unwrapping style! Wonderful presents were exchanged all around and then we made our vain attempt at a group photo. Check HERE for all the pictures of the festivities.

Caleb's birthday party

(I have been meaning to post these pictures for more than a week! Sorry to be so tardy! Be sure to check out the rest of them HERE.)

Caleb celebrated his third birthday with a fun party at Sean and Lisha's house. Both sides of his family were well represented and all had a great time. It was a cold, windy day, but some of us even ventured down to the beach. However, it was a brief stay because, well, there is nothing too much colder than a wintry, windy day at the beach! We enjoyed some delicious lunch (Thank you to all the great cooks in the family for your contributions!) and then dove into a yummy ice cream cake. All the kids LOVE ice cream cake! Presents were opened accompanied by the usual "present-opening chaos". Caleb received so many great gifts, but I think his favorite part was celebrating with his family. He had a wonderful time! Happy Birthday, Caleb!

Another oldie...

Came across this picture of my father and his parents. My father was born in 1918, so I'm guessing this was taken about 1923. He looks about five years old or so to me. I think it's funny that my grandmother is holding five birds of some type or the other. Who knows why? And, how about that striped skirt she's wearing? 

Anyone see any family resemblances?