Christmas

We are heading back to Missouri today. Home is where your heart is, they say. That makes Pensacola home because everyone we love is there. We were very sad to leave, especially Caden with his tender heart. Once those tears started, he couldn't get them turned off. Thankfully, ten miles on the road and a movie to distract him did the trick.

Our visit was bittersweet. We started by saying goodbye to Nana. She was so ready to go to Heaven. Several people told me about her frustration over it taking so long to get there. The service itself was very nice. Nana's baby brother spoke and two nephews sang songs Nana had chosen. Nana loved hummingbirds. Joan had the florist include artificial hummingbirds in the main floral arrangement. It was a really sweet touch that she would have liked. Nana was such a kind and caring woman. She left behind a legacy for us all to strive to live up to as we remember her. She will be missed.

We stayed with my parents and had lots of visits to Dan's parents. Since we came early, we were able to go to Biloxi to visit my brother's family. I can honestly say that I enjoyed it. I wasn't sure that we'd get to see my nephews and I loved having a little fun with them. Nick got a bottle full of pennies that he was thrilled with (I had cash to trade but he wasn't interested) and Jared got an empty card and a note with an inside joke that he didn't get right away. I laughed and laughed as he rereading the card and looked in the envelop for his money. It was awesome!

Santa can to our house before we left for Florida. Jaelyn got her very own sewing machine. I want to make new grocery bags. I can't wait to put her machine beside mine to let her help me. It'll be a fun project. Allie got an American Girl doll. Rebecca actually looks like Allie with her light brown curly hair and green eyes. I love that Allie still likes playing with her dolls. Santa might have been a little crazy with Caden's present, but he is almost 8. He got a fancy Swiss Army knife that has about 15 things in it. Dan dulled the knife blades down. Caden is looking forward to our next outdoor adventure so he can put it to use.

We did quite a bit of shopping and eating out in Pensacola. I think I visited all of my favorite places except Target....Sad that I never made it there.

We normally have lots of things we "do" on every visit: the Navy museum, the beach...we didn't do any of those things. Our only outing was the day we went with my friend Jen's family to the Explorium in Mobile. That was fun. They had a 600 lb grizzly bear show. All that stood between us and him with a thin wire fence. The trainer got Tonks when he was 6 weeks old and trained him like I train Gracie. Who knew you could get a bear to do what you wanted with a handful of marshmallows and a 2 liter of Mountain Dew? Don't try that in the wild though!

We spent our last day in pensacola celebrating Caden's 8th birthday. My mom planned a lunch party with hot dogs and hamburgers. Uncle Nathan, Caleb and Jen's family came. Little Man had a great time.

There's lots more to tell...but not today :).

The Excitement Never Ends

Caden started draining a few weeks ago. We stepped up his saline nasal rinse and paid more attention to his breathing. I remember checking him out of school one day for an upset stomach and I'm sure it was from drainage. He started coughing about 3 days ago. It's gotten worse even though we've added cough medicine to his pharmacy he already takes. We decided to bring him to the ER at the Navy base tonight. I can't tell you how many nights he and I spent out here for the exact same thing when he was a baby when we lived here while Dan was deployed. Thankfully his lungs are clear. He's having trouble exhaling...all asthma related. We are doing a breathing treatment now.

Allie's After

I think she's adorable.

The Krispy Kreme Rule

There's a rule at our house. To eat a Krispy Kreme donut, you must wear the hat! If you look back at any family donut photos, there are always hats. My mom had a doctors appointment early this morning that took her right past KK. She brought us back donuts and the obligatory hats :). Gracie tried her luck, but she was denied. Poor Gracie. She's a sad puppy.

Allie's Before

Allie has been growing her hair out for about a year and a half.  It's gotten really thick and wavy, but it also tangles easily.  Brushing out Allie's hair has become a chore she cannot stand.  She's decided to cut it off to a short bob and today is the day!  More pictures later. :)

 

We Will Miss You, Luria Alice

Dan's Nana passed away yesterday afternoon. She's been ready to go home and be with the Lord for weeks and weeks. Nana was an amazing woman and she will be missed by so many people. My first memory of her is her spaghetti. She put bell peppers in the sauce. I love bell peppers. It's the first of many meals she cooked for me when Dan and I started dating. I don't think I'll ever be able to look at a mail order catalog without thinking of her. She was always ordering stuff she didn't need and driving Joan nuts. She would have been dangerous if she'd ever discovered the Internet. I can still hear her saying "Now Kelly..." when she wanted to ask me a question.

She was much more than a Nana "in-law" to me and I will miss her dearly. Please pray for Dan's family, especially his mom who spent the night in the hospital Tuesday night with heart issues related to stress. She was released and home in time to be with Nana when she passed. Thank you.

I'm Sick

Again!!! Enough said. The end.

Puppy Consequences

I know I didn't want a tree, but I sure am enjoying it.  Gracie was even being good...until we put presents under it.  It was too much temptation.

 

Zac likes the baby gate.

 

Foiled again!

 

Tactile Defensiveness

 

I've always dreaded fall and winter with Jaelyn.  Her explosive issues seem to ramp up and we have new issues related to clothes.  If she could wear shorts and flip flops all year long, we'd be golden.  Unfortunately, she can't.  Pants have always been a major issue with her.  It's so hard to find pants that fit in the waist and length.  Her pickiness has increased and now she only wants skinny jeans that taper down to her ankles.  It's a challenge and has caused many morning meltdowns.  She had one this week.  According to her, she has no pants.  She does have pants, but none of them fit her exactly how she wants.  She is totally inflexible in how things feel and fit.  She wants them to be at her waist, not too tight in the crotch, taper through the leg and to NOT touch her ankles.  It's all part of her tactile defensiveness.  Shopping around here is hard.  I decided to start with the exchange before we made a trip to Springfield.  We already tried Rolla a month ago.  I bought her two pairs of jeans she refuses to wear because "they don't feel right."  Anyway, I found three different pair of skinny jeans.  I bought two sizes of each and had them waiting for her when she got home from school on Friday.  Hallelujah...she liked not one, not two, but three of the pairs of jeans!  Now, whether she'll actually wear all three pair is still up in the air, but I do know she was very happy to wear her Levi jeggings today even though they are too long and touch her ankle!

Gotcha Day

Nine years ago yesterday, we petitioned a Russian judge to be able to adopt Jaelyn and Allie.  I honestly can't believe it's been that long.  We started out our morning with the Christmas tree and then headed out to lunch.  We chose the Cave Restaurant.  It's exactly what it sounds like...a restaurant in a cave.  It was an experience; although I'm not sure it's an experience we should take visitors to :).

 

You start out in the waiting area.  Eventually a 1980s era mini-van shows up to take us up the mountain.  It didn't feel like the safest of vehicles or drives, but we made it in one piece.

 

 

After climbing up two flights of stairs, we were rewarded with The Cave.

 

The kids had fun exploring while we waited for our food.

 

There are actually cabins that you can rent, but they weren't someplace I'd wish on my worst enemy.  There were a few building that looked like they were going to fall into the river below.

 

After our lunch outing, we decorated our gingerbread house and trees.  This was the first year I had no involvement other than setting everything up.  They did the icing all by themselves.  I'm not sure how long they'll last on the table.  Icing and candy is disappearing at an alarming rate.

 

The Christmas Tree

We travel for Christmas every year.  Some years I put up a tree, some I don't.  I enjoy the tree, but it's a lot of work to put it up and take it down.  Dan wanted a tree this year, so up it went.  Everyone participated in the decorating.  It was a fun morning with christmas music and silly santa hats.

Even Gracie helped

 

Only 2 of our Rudolph noses still work....must find another one

 

Reach...

 

Our tree would be much straighter if Dan got the 3 sections in the right order ;)

 

My favorite picture of the day...Gracie wanted those reindeer ears in the worst way and she finally managed to snag her a pair!

 

 

And our finished Christmas tree...being guarded as usual by Santa and his Elves made by my Grandparents when I was little.

 

 

Thanksgiving a Day Late

Since we usually stay at home without company, we like to do something away from our house on Thanksgiving day.  This year, we planned on going to Silver Dollar City, but then the dog got sick (she's better now) and it was supposed to rain and they had shorter hours.  In the end, we sat home on Thanksgiving day.  The kids spent most of the day playing outside with friends.  Then, on the day AFTER Thanksgiving, we headed to Silver Dollar City. 

 

 

 

We got there at lunchtime and treated the kids to a Thanksgiving Buffet lunch (normally, they eat corn-dogs).  After that we headed to the rides and shows.  Our first stop with A Christmas Carol.  There was supposed to be a long line, but the park wasn't busy yet.  We walked right into the show.  We loved it.  Jaelyn is still imitating the Ghost of Christmas Present.  Next up, 2/5s of us got to ride the Powerkeg.  Allie, Caden and I were sitting on the car when they announced the seat bars weren't working properly.  I'm glad they figured it out before they hit go, but still...We were given raincheck passes that got us to the front of the line for Wildfire.  Allie was thrilled.

 

We didn't actually see Santa, but we did go into Kringle Krossing to fill out our Santa form letters.  Jaelyn wants a sewing machine, Allie wants an American Girl doll and Caden wants a robot (Santa's already shopped - 2 out of 3 ain't bad)

 

We didn't ride too many rides.  The day was mainly about the shows, but we couldn't resist the Barn Swing when we couldn't get into the Saloon Show.

 

A trip to SDC isn't complete with a funnel cake.  Can you believe Jaelyn doesn't like them???

 

One of the best things about going to SDC at Thanksgiving was that I knew one of my friends and her family would be there.  Becky is such an amazing person.  I love getting to spend time with her...

 

...and her 2 kids, which my kids absolutely adore!

 

A highlight of the night was the light parade.  A toy soldier led the parade.  The kids saluted him when he marched by.  He stopped, pivoted and saluted them right back.  It was awesome!

 

It's always fun to play in the shops (aka getting warm!)  We really enjoyed the $1.59 hot chocolate refills of our huge souvenir mugs.  It was a cold night.

 

The kids got to spend some time playing in Geyser Gulch while the grown-ups visited.  The park has over 4 million Christmas light.  All the building looked like the ones behind Allie.

 

 

It was  a spectacular day after Thanksgiving.  If you haven't been to SDC at Christmastime, you should go!

Another Negative to the Middle of Nowhere

There are 4 vets in the towns near us. There's CC that we switched from because we could never get in when we had a sick pet. There's BF that we switched to because at least they have an after hours emergency vet (instead of driving to Springfield). There's the base vet, but they seem to always be booked way out. Ugh. Gracie has been sick since Saturday evening. She was actually eating again yesterday so I thought she was on the mend. Today, she has yucky, runny, reddish BMs (sorry tmi). She needs to be seen by a vet. My vet has no sick appts till Friday. Seriously! I called my friend at the base clinic. It's surgery day, but she suggested a vet I've never heard of....Vet #4. They have no sick appts, but have a walk-in clinic for two hours this afternoon. Gracie and I will be getting there early to get her name at the top of the list and a friend will be picking up the kids encase I can't get back in time.

Doesn't she look sad? I haven't seen her smile or chase the cat in days :(.

Zac is trying to get a UTI. I took away his dry food and am giving him only wet food. His pee clumps are getting bigger so hopefully we won't have to go trough finding him a sick appt over a holiday weekend!

Did I mention Dan is flying home today? Praise The Lord. I am DONE!

Survived the Week

Dan left on Tuesday morning to go to Pennsylvania.  The last TDY he had scheduled was canceled due to Superstorm Sandy thankfully.  I wasn't so lucky with this one.  We've had an okay week, I guess.  We weren't as booked with dentist and doctors appointment which has helped.  I don't think I've eaten grown-up food a single day (well, there was the day I skipped mac n cheese and hot dogs and had Arbys while the kids were at Karate). 

~And on a tangent, if you haven't tried Arbys peppermint milkshake, you are missing out.~

Homework is becoming the bane of my existence again.  One night, Jaelyn had a sheet of maybe 30 long division, checking with multiplication, problems.  Her homeroom teacher sat with her at lunch and did them all.  Half of the problems where written in Jaelyn's handwriting on a separate piece of paper.  She decided it HAD to be written on the worksheet.  The other half of the problems were written by Mrs. A so Jaelyn had to copy them onto her paper.  I'm not lying or exaggerating when I say it took her 2 HOURS to simple COPY (not work) the problems.  Can you say FRUSTRATING???  They missed karate because she wasn't finish and I was DONE.  Mr. K, can we move on to logic??? Jaelyn is super good at it and does her work with no fuss.  Long division just stinks.  I clearly remember struggling with it.  The stupid thing is she wasn't working the problems, she just had to rewrite half of them. 

We did make it to gymnastics twice and karate once.  Miss T let Allie participate in Jae's class and then Jae participated in Allie's class last night.  Everyone got fed and our house is not a total disaster area.  Last night, I told the kids we had to clean up before we did anything else this morning.  I woke up with no energy so no cleaning has happened.  It's going to be a lazy day.  I might take them swimming this afternoon.  Maybe we'll fold laundry, clean the bathrooms and vacuum tomorrow.

Dan will be home Monday night.  I'm glad for a shortened school week next week.  We knocked around a couple ideas for Thanksgiving.  With no one coming to see us, we wanted to do something instead of being at home.  We will be spending the day at Silver Dollar City, seeing shows, looking at lights, singing carols on their train and maybe riding a few rides if they are running.  SDC is a Christian park.  It's very evident throughout the year; so, I can't wait to be there for the Christmas season.

Consequences and Creativity

Decapitated Bunny???

This used to be known simply as Bunny.  Then an extremity was amputated and all of its stuffing had to be removed (or swallowed).  It was renamed Dead Bunny or sometimes Flat Bunny.  Yesterday, during a very fateful game of tug of war, Dead Bunny lost his head and had to be renamed Decapitated Bunny.  Oh my!  I think we'd better put a new Bunny on Gracie's Christmas list!

The Engineer Trail

We are usually pretty good at getting out and discovering fun things to do in our area.  I don't know why we didn't learn about the engineer trail in the last year, but we didn't.  About 5 minutes from our house is a 2.7 mile hiking trail.  Who knew!?!  It's the perfect place for when we want to get out and move, but don't want to drive 45 minutes to a trail head.  There are stops along the way designed for different exercises.  Dan has been walking it the last few weekends, taking whatever children wanted to go.  Gracie and I tagged along with them yesterday.

 

Jaelyn demonstrating her pull-up skills.  She's currently tied for pull-up record at school.

Pull-ups are harder when daddy is hitting you in the stomach with an axe :).

Gracie is just one of the kids!

Monkeys

 



Creative Writing and Report Cards

We had student led conferences at school yesterday afternoon.  The kids tell you how they are doing, share some of the assignments and complete a few activities for you.  There's also an opportunity to talk with the teachers and of course see their report cards.

 

I am impressed with some of the writing assignments I read.

 

Here's my favorite of Caden's.  This is his version of a true story, but he got the people confused.  It's based on Grandma Molly going into labor with Baba.  I cracked up at the first line...of course, Grandma Molly was much younger and not a grandma yet :).

 

I remember Jaelyn doing this assignment last year.  I think Allie is a great writer.  I love her descriptive word choices.

 

I helped Jaelyn when she was writing this story.  I think it turned out great!

 

I wish we had a Krispy Kreme close because we'd have about 3 dozen free donuts :).

 

Caden's report card is skills based.  E stands for exceeds standards.  M stands for meets standards.  He has tested at third grade level for reading and math (he's in second grade).  He's been independently reading Magic Tree house books lately.  He's zipping through them in 2 nights. 

 

Here's Allie's report card.  She's doing really well and tested at a sixth grade level recently in reading.  The computer test was multiple choice, testing comprehension and vocabulary.  She tested at a fourth grade level the month before.  The teacher wasn't sure why she had such a big jump and expected the next test to come down some...or maybe not.  Time will tell.  She does have a great memory.  The M in art stands for mastered.

 

Here's Jaelyn's report card.  She actually ended up with a 102 average in reading.  I make her read 6 nights a week.  She's only required to read 4 nights so she ended up with 70 out of 50 nights when her reading log was averaged in.  She's still struggling in math.  She just can't seem to memorize her multiplication facts.  Her teacher tells me she's not alone.  I think if she could master that, math would get much much easier for her.  The SA in art stands for satisfactory due to the owl without the contour lines I mentioned in another post :).