Christmas 2008

This was such a BUSY Christmas season!

It all started with a TON of choir performances. Skye was AWESOME. The choir is doing really well this year. I think there are 156 kids in it and they do look sharp! They do very well on three part harmonies. Then of course were the school "Winter" parties. Unfortunately, Jaxon did not make it to his. He came down with the stomach flu on Wednesday that week and ended up home for the rest of the week.

That weekend, Josh went and picked up Mimi. They had an awesome drive down making really good time. We went to Mom's for a pre Christmas dinner on the Tuesday before Christmas. Josh and I decided to dress in some clothes he was given while in Iraq. His friend Hussain hooked him up and gave him traditional Iraqi clothes. Josh said it was probably the only time he could wear a "Man Dress" out in semi-public. It was a really nice, HUGE dinner. Mom really out did herself.

We did Christmas at our house this year. When you have kids, it seems to be easier. We had an awesome time. As tradition demands, we had a scavenger hunt for one lucky person. This year it was ME! I have to say that it was a little harder than I though it would be. Skye really got into making the clues and setting up the arrangements and hiding places. She followed me every step of the way and even had to help me figure out a couple of the clues! It all ended in some really beautiful sapphire jewelry. (I so wanted it to!)

Jared came over after Christmas this year. He stayed with us for almost a week and that always makes Skye and Jax happy.( it makes us parents happy too!) Jared is SUPER busy this year. It is really hard to believe that he is halfway through his senior year!

Mimi went home with Mom and H and we wrapped up our Christmas season with a visit to the theater for the "Broadway Across America" production of CATS. I have to say, I could have done a little research and prepared the kids better. They did really enjoy it though. I think Jax's comment was, "kinda really psycho, but I like it". You can't ask for much more than that.

Here's hoping that you all had a wonderful holiday season!

How time flies

Here it is, almost half way through January and I am just getting the chance to post about Christmas! It seems like it has been a whirlwind since Josh came home. We had an awesome Christmas doubly so because Josh was here and so was Mimi. I hope you enjoy our pictures!

My Latest Cake

Our neighbors, Patty and Jose', are expecting a baby girl in January. I did the cake for the shower. Here is the picture..........
I wanted to say I did get the idea from a baby shower cake from Patrice who did a shower cake for my friend Erinn. Patrice is a marvel with cake and I want to pick her brain on fondant some day soon!

Daddy's Home

Well, all I can say is we have been waiting for this day for a while. I knew for about two weeks that Josh would be coming home on the 11th. I didn't really want to tell the kids because the military has a bad habit of changing things up and delaying homecomings. So, I didn't tell Skye and Jaxon that their Dad was coming home on a specific day. I gave them a 5 day window. I told their teachers, I told the neighbors but I never told the kids.

I met Josh at the airport at noon. He had been traveling almost nonstop for about 48 hours. He went from Kuwait to Germany to Baltimore (with a super short visit to his Mom. --Sorry it was so short) When he came to the waiting room there were some tears but mostly it was all happiness and light. We went out to lunch and then went home to get ready to get the kids from school. I had an elaborate plan for picking them up. Josh was going to walk in from the back of the school so that Skye and Jax didn't see him. Skye, being a patrol, stands in car line and runs to get other children for their parents. I figured if Josh came up from the back, Skye wouldn't see him. Then Josh could get Jax and we would wait inside the school to suprise Skye. It didn't go quite that way..........

Skye has some super vision because she spotted him and did her best impression of an NFL tackle. Then Jax realized something was going on too!

There were tears from the kids, tears from the wife, tears from the Ms. Goldstein -- Jax's teacher, and tears from some random Mom's that were picking up their kids. All happy of course.00/Daddy+Homecoming+008.JPG" border=0>

Skye had chior practice after school so we all attended. Unfortunatly, she had to sit out for half of it because she couldn't stop crying. It is really interesting to see how differently the kids reacted. Jaxon was very excited and goofy. All he wanted to do was rub Josh's bald head and crack jokes. Skye cried non-stop and only wanted to sit in his lap. Both reactions were precious!
After school we drove to Jourdonton for a play at the high school. Jared was playing the part of the foil - Blifil. It was a comedy and he did an excellent job. We are hoping to have him this weekend and maybe throw an impromptu homecoming party for Josh so all the neighbors can come around.

Thanksgiving

The kiddos and I spent Thanksgiving at my Moms. The kids had a blast. Jax made a new friend and played for a couple of hours before dinner. After we ate, we all enjoyed fireworks. It was an awesome time.