A week in review

Here are a few pictures from the Air Show. The guys were resting in the troop seats until we were able to head to the cockpit of the C-130.
The guys pose for me in front of a C-17 that is stationed here at Dover. The crew of the C-17 put on a great show with all of their tactical maneuvers.

Supporting the Air Force the boys pose with the USAF Recruiting SUV.
We also were able to see the USAF Thunderbirds perform. They put on an amazing show. Those guys are extremely talented and courageous to do some of the stunts that they do.

Hubby showed the boys all the particulars on this F-15 Strike Eagle. He flew in one in Denmark when he won Maintaince Professional of the Year for the USAFE. He was in all his glory telling the boys all about his experience.

The next morning we were off to drop J off at camp. This was his first time staying overnight for an entire week. He was totally excited. We were able to snap just a few shots before he ran off to make new friends. This is a picture of J in his cabin. He chose the top bunk.

This is one of his camp counselors Chris.
We wished him good luck with wrangling up 8 boys each week.

Final pose outside of the cabin. This year he was in Kingfisher. All the cabins are named after birds. He has previously stayed in Paradise & Robin. He was so excited to be in a brand new cabin. We were able to get this final shot and just like that he ran off and we were literally trying to figure out if he went left or right. Hubby and I walked back to the car and off in the distance J shouted a final goodbye. We will pick him up Saturday morning. A has really missed him. He even saved his bag of chips and cookies for J for the long car ride home.

We have tried to keep A busy this week though. Our church had it's Vacation Bible School(VBS) this week during the day and I helped teach the 2nd grade class. Then we were off to the VBS that the Base Chapel was offering at night. I typically work both but since they both landed on the same week I chose to work only at our home church. This gave me time in the evenings to run errands, shop, get a haircut and go on a peaceful dinner with hubby. Life is good! :-)




*** Here's a peek at a wicked storm that blew through on Monday. You could actually see the rain coming down from the clouds.

Conversations from the backseat

Here are two conversations I overheard today between the boys


A: Hey J I know something. The more you drink means the more you have to pee, and the more you eat like me means the more you poop.

J: Where did you learn that?

A: I just thought it up in my head...and it makes sense.


Later that day again in the car:

J: Hey Mom, so if a girl asks me out next year what am I suppose to say?
(before I can answer A pipes in)

A: J you just smile at them and tell them funny jokes. That's how you make a girl wanna go out with you. That's what I do.

Mom: Um, there will be no "going out" with anyone till your 16...got it?

I am so much trouble when A gets bigger. He's already a bit of a Casanova.

Fun Summer Days

Here's a picture of my baby brother sitting pretty and checking out my family's latest addition(gerbils). Once they drew his attention he was mesmerized by them. He even danced around on his hind legs to get a better look.

We took the little guys to the base's Children's Mobility Line today. Here they went through and collected items to keep and tried on various "real-life" gear. They each were given an Air Force backpack and filled them with loads of other free give-aways.

Here are my two Beetle Bailey's!

J decked out in a flak jacket and Kevlar helmet.

A showing off some chemical gear

J on an USAF ATV. He totally wishes he had one of these at home.

J checking out the scope on this firearm.

Good old McGruff was there for photo ops.

A with his chance on the ATV.

A was a super cute fireman on & off the engine.

All in all we had a great day. It was a bit chilly.... but fun. We are looking forward to more summer surprises. We took in a juggling act last night at the local library and ice cream cones for the trip home. We are just hoping to be able to hit the base pool soon. It is summer after all!

Graduations

Here's a pic of my little guy doing the "Boot Scoot Boogie" line dance. He was all smiles while dancing and singing. His Kindergarten celebration was a cowboy theme. All of the kids had matching t-shirt, sheriff badges, bandannas & cowboy hats. They sang songs like "Long Tall Texan", "Yellow Rose of Texas" & "Grand Old Flag". They were then each individually called down to receive a Memory book and promotion certificate. Yes we sat through all 118 graduates. To boot hubby was sick. Once we made it home he threw up and was in bed for the rest of the day. Yuck!

Today was "J's" graduation day. They hosted a Hawaiian theme and received awards of all kinds. He was voted the "Most Artistic" from his classmates. He received an award for the highest average in spelling ( 100% average). He also received an award for the "Most Improved" and he was on Honor Roll again. Yeah for "J"! J & A will not be in the same school again till "J" is a Senior and "A" will be a freshman.

This was a picture taken during the award ceremony by "A's" request. The boy has a super long tongue. Watch out Gene Simmons!

Finally, "K" was promoted with High Honors. His was able to manage a pretty tough set of classes this year. His schedule is even busier next year. He's prepping himself for college soon. I can't believe I'm a momma to a high school Senior. Yikes!

The Game of Life

This picture accurately describes my life. 1 minivan (I want a white Honda Odyssey), a Hubby & 3 boys. Take notice that I'm in the driver's seat. Hubby scares me with his erratic driving skills. Anyways, like the game of "Life" I have had many peaks and pitfalls. However last night I had to show some young whipper snappers how to play the game and be successful at winning. I choose to go to college first instead of starting a career. I then married and purchased a moderately priced home. I snuck through the game with no stock purchases and no children. I retired in Millionaire Estates and was proclaimed the winner with a cash value of 1.4 million. While money isn't everything, I could easily become extra happy with assets like that.

I can see clearly now the rain is gone.....

"J" had a class trip yesterday to Rehoboth Beach. It was pouring down rain and aside from the arcade there was really nothing to do. We did briefly braved the elements and went on the beach in search of sea shells. That was short lived due to the 2 inches of rain we received yesterday. We were all soaked to the bone. We then went for a treat at the TCBY at the outlets. Combined with this ice cream shoppe was a "Pretzel Time". The lady making the pretzels was phenomenal. She gave each boy a piece of dough and taught them to twist their own pretzels. They had more fun there than at the beach.

This morning brought "K" and I to the optometrist office for our yearly visit. Here's a picture of "K" monkeying around.

When I came home hubby was hard at work getting my garden started. We have been a little behind schedule due to hubby's job change and the weather here. The rest of our activities are also about to end. School ends Friday and soccer ends Saturday. I'm looking forward to a bit of a break in our schedule.

Last but not least.... a picture of "A" scooping poop (not literally, it's mushroom soil w/poop :-)

Where did I leave off?

Well, we were spared from the wicked storms that blew through our area last night. I could hear them coming in a distance and we received loads of rain but no damaging winds, lightening strikes or hail. I was glad because I really wasn't ready for bed and a power outage would have forced me to bed early. I did however get my bedroom cleaned up and the rest of my clothes washed from my trip.

I am supposed to go on a field trip with "J" tomorrow to the beach. They're only calling for a 90% chance of rain/thunderstorms and it's a rain or shine event. YEAH! I'm so looking forward to chaperoning 4-5 kids in the pouring rain at the beach. Why couldn't we have gone somewhere fun like the Franklin Institute or something. I shouldn't complain. He really wanted me to go on this trip and I know that there will come a day soon when I will be the last person he will want chaperoning a class trip.

Our school days are winding down and all 3 boys will be out for summer break come the 12th. I am looking forward to sleeping in and relaxing by the pool. It just needs to warm up a bit here. The weather has been a bit off here this past Spring season. We have warm days coupled with cold rainy days. There seems to be no consistency. Story of my life. :-)

Fun times

I made it home in one piece. Ladies LYFE (Living your Faith Everyday) was phenomenal. They had great food, entertainment and amazing workshops. The campus was beautiful and of course I forgot my charger and my camera was on it's last few drops of juice. I was able to squeeze in a picture of me and Sarah at the Friday night dinner banquet. It was a tropical island theme with 3 yummy entrees : Hawaiian chicken kabobs, teriyaki beef & tilapia with a mango sauce. I hurried home Saturday night due to the Nascar race being Sunday. I didn't want to get caught up in a traffic.

This week is full of field trips for the little guys. Here's a pic of "A" loving up an otter statue. They were one of his favorite animals at the zoo. I will write more tomorrow due to a huge storm coming my way.