Week 41

Bonnie came into town for the weekend and we tackled remodelling Mom and Dad's laundry. Whew - what a lot of work! We spent all day pulling down wallpaper and ripping up the floor that had been damaged by multiple washing machine accidents. It was a huge task and very slow progress.
The kids loved helping and were suprsingly good helpers - and not just at picking up nails we removed from the floor. Kaitlyn taught herself how to use the hammer and crowbar. And by Saturday morning Tyler was using the power drill ALL BY HIMSELF to pull screws out of the floor. Sadly, the demo was the end of our progress on the laundry room thus far. The wallpaper is off, we re-textured the walls, and all the icky subfloor is up. Now I just need to find some energy and pin Dad down so we can get the new floor in. Maybe after Halloween...
The other big activity of the weekend was playing the Zombie vs Flowers game on Bon's Ipad. On Sunday, the kids went with me to Alisha's house and we got to me baby Sophia. She's such a cutie! Kaitlyn couldn't get enough of her. And Tyler eventually decided he wanted a turn holding her too.

We also got the first snowstorm of the season. Ick Ick Ick. As you can see, it bothered me more than it bothered the kids. They were happy to suit up and go shovel.

Wednesday we took the time to carve pumpkins. The night before we all sat around the computer and looked at pumkin templates. Kaitlyn of course was excited to find Hello Kitty.

And Tyler chose Lightning McQueen. I have to say, my first REAL attempt at carving anything other than the quick and easy silly face pumpkin, while overly ambitious (did you see Lightning?!? Yeah, I had to get tricky with that one and actually peel some of the skin off! geesh! and do you all remember that it's me and the kids here? 2 kids, both hyper as anything, both wanting my help...it was intense), did turn out really well. Especially after I got the pumkins hollowed out and the kids could quit having to say "gross!" every 10 seconds. Tyler thought the slimy guts were so nasty he only pulled out 2 single seeds with a spoon before refusing to help with that part. Kaitlyn gamely dug at hers until I finished with Ty's and could tackle it myself.
In fact, Ty was a great little cheerleader while I did pretty much everything on his. Kaitlyn was happy to help as much as she could and did most of the pinholes for the pattern transfer herself during the half hour? hour maybe? it took me to get old Lightning finished. But gosh, aren't they cute?!

Next year I'm totally making Sam scoop out pumpkin guts no matter how much he hates it... :)

Also of note: 2 steps forward, one step back on the whole house selling/moving stuff. We extended the contract on the sale of our house because the paperwork is of course taking longer than they predicted. But Ty and I did make the trek down to the base for our pre-move briefing (one more thing I can cross off the list!). They were gearing up for an inspection at the base and the jets were out and flying all over the place - as Ty would say, "it was awe-some!"

Week 40

Busy week. Can't tell you what I did, but I know I got plenty done for the move and everything else that is going on.
The photo is Kaitlyn and Tyler taking pictures of themselves with the Hello Kitty camera Kaitlyn got for her birthday. (I should add a photo of what they ended up with when I figure out how to upload the photos from that camer)

Week 39

Birthday week! This one is (almost) all about Miss Kaitlyn.

Friday was my birthday and thanks to great family and friends I felt very special all day long. I got all kinds of notes, emails, phone calls and cards. Dari came over to work on projects and brought pie for a special treat. Rhonda took me out to lunch and surprised me with cheesecake for dessert. And our house went under contract - happy birthday to me!

Wyatt turned 30 on Saturday and the weekend was devoted to throwing together a party for him - not something that worked out all that well since the guest were invited last minute and most didn't make it. Saturday was party prep, broken up a bit by Mom and Dad taking me to dinner to celebrate my birthday. Sunday was Wyatt's party - very small, very casual. Kaitlyn got in plenty of time cuddling and teasing him.

Then it was time for the main event. Monday was once again party prep, this time for Kaitlyn. We had her friends' party on Tuesday because they had a crazy schedule at school this week. They also celebrated Kaitlyn's birthday at school that day too. She and her friend Bailey have birthdays one day apart and were excited to share the celebration at school, and Kaitlyn made very sure that Bailey was also recognized at Kate's party here at home. We even sang Happy Birthday and blew out the candle twice. The kids were VERY hyper and excited during the whole party, so there was very little doubt that they all had a fantastic time. Kaitlyn and Hello Kitty got matching outfits for the party - a must since it was Hello Kitty themed, right?

Tuesday was also parent teacher conference. The kids had early out at school so we had the the party in the afternoon, then parent/teacher in the evening. I think I must be in the minority among parents, but I like parent/teacher. Kaitlyn always gets such glowing reports. Her teacher says she is a great listener and is of course, above grade level on most things. She was placed in the upper level Power Hour group (Power Hour is new at the school this year - they divide them up by ability and get more specialized time on the core subjects) and will be more challenged than she's used to, especially with spelling. (I did notice that last week's list was a lot harder and that it took more work for Kaitlyn to grasp it but she wasn't complaining and she still got 98% on the test). And her teacher went on and on about how much she'll miss Kaitlyn when we move and promised to write if Kaitlyn wrote to her.

Wednesday was my only breather from Party Stuff. I finally managed to take the time to winterize/prepare the outside stuff for the move. I did everything from winterizing the lawn mower to scrubbing down the grill and the fire pit, draining hoses and sweeping out the garage. Kaitlyn continued her fun at school with another early out day (teacher prep I think) and the few hours they did spend at school they were having fun at the rec center playing games and swimming. Then after lunch she got to go shopping with Grandma Jackson to pick out her own birthday present.

Thursday was Kaitlyn's official 7th birthday! She's growing up so fast.

I decorated her door while she was asleep and she could hardly wait for Tyler to wake up so she could open her presents. Kaitlyn wanted to spend her birthday playing with her friend Aaliyah (since Thurs and Friday are fall break from school), so that's what she did. All 4 kids got to play together all day. And of course we finished up Kaitlyn's birthday with our traditional cake and ice cream party with the grown-ups.

Whew what a week! I need a nap.

Week 38

We've been trying to enjoy the beautiful fall weather while it lasts. As you can see, the kids still won't give up the flip flops :)
Some of the neighbor kids helped Kate and Ty completely cover the driveway with hopskotch boards. I think this one had spaces up to the number 30.

Kaitlyn loves horses and almost never passes up the chance to go for a ride with Wyatt. This time it turned into a family outing - yes even I got on a horse! I can't remember the last time I did that and now I'm not sure why I don't do it more often. The whole experience was great.
And look how pretty it was! Gorgeous. (That's Wyatt, and Tyler with Dad)

One final one taken by Wyatt. I'm the one on the right, Kaitlyn and Mom on the left. I had the honor of riding Kasey, one of his younger and less docile horses that he usually reserves for himself - go me!

Week 37

Most of this week has been consumed with getting everything ready for Sam to get on the road - a couple of trips to the base for briefings, Power of Attorney, etc. Taking the truck in for way more fixin' that we would like (thankfully mostly under warranty). Packing. Errands. Errands. More errands and details.

A final get together (and photos) with Sam's family.

And now Sam's on his way (need to add one of his photos from the drive - he's taking one of each new Welcome to ____ sign he passes). Wow. This move is real and starting now...oh boy. Hopefully the house sells quickly and the kids and I can solidify our own plans for moving soon...