Middle School

Rachel reached another milestone today. She started Middle School. I felt like she was starting kindergarten all over again. She didn't want me to help her anymore today than she did back then. It was all I could do to keep myself from jumping out of the car and walking her to her class to make sure she found her room with no problem. I did offer, but I got that tween eye roll and a "Mom, I've got this." She had a great day. She is in all advanced classes. No surprise there. She is P.K.'s kid.

Back to School

Hannah started first grade and Aaron started fourth grade today. They were both excited to get back to school and see their friends. Aaron came home and announced, "I figured I out I actually like school. I just don't like paperwork."

Here's a picture of all three of them. Rachel hadn't fixed her hair yet. She is getting her own special post today.

Six Flags 2010

We had a family day at Six Flags while we were visiting P.K. This was our third trip to Six Flags with the kids. We went last summer and about three years ago. This was the best trip by far. Hannah was tall enough to ride almost everything she wanted to ride and Aaron wasn't afraid to ride anything. Those two facts made for happy kids and thus happy parents.

Rachel has loved "high and fast" rides since her first trip to Disneyland at age 4. That child will ride just about anything. I, on the other hand, am generally happy to hold stuff and people watch. Anything that combines fast and spinny makes me sick to my stomach and I am terrified of heights. So to keep Mommy happy and to make me feel apart of the fun everyone agreed to that we should ride the carousel first.

P.K. and me enjoying the carousel. Yes. This was a no make-up day.

This is me posing with the kids before the ride started.

This was my favorite ride. It was called the Buccaneer something-or-other. It was a leisurely ride on pirate boats that had four water cannons mounted on each side. As you floated past people watching from the sidewalk you could squirt them with the cannons, but they could also squirt you.

Hannah was so excited to finally be tall enough to ride the swings.

This was one of P.K.'s favorite spots. He talked about it for days before we went just like the kids do.

This was one of the coolest activities ever! We had to pay separately from the regular admission price, but it was well worth it. We being P.K. and the kids...note the aforementioned fear of heights...spent over an hour climbing around.

It took Aaron a while to decide it was safe, but once he felt secure he had a blast.

The girl in the light blue shirt in these two shots is Rachel. She went all over all by herself. No fear.

All the kids, big and little, got harnessed up.

Hannah wouldn't get too far from P.K. or the man working, but she wasn't about to quit.

I rode the equivalent of the Teacups at Disney with the girls. You sit in a car that spins independently while the ride spins. You can turn a wheel in the middle to make your individual car spin faster. I am not afraid to ride this particular ride, but I remembered afterward that those kind of rides make me feel sick.

The kids love to watch Scooby Doo so they were thrilled to have their picture taken with Shaggy. I know our days of having Rachel pose with characters willingly are very numbered. I was surprised she jumped in this one without any pleas or threats from the parental units.

Rachel wanted to stop for a picture with these Tasmanian Devil statues on the way out. Oh! Wait a minute. The one in pink is just Hannah. Sometimes it is hard to tell.

One of the joys of having a digital camera is you can waste shots. P.K. took this one on the way in so we could easily remember where we parked. What a smart man!

We had such a great time that P.K. said we should get season passes next year. We have a Six Flags not too far from where we live.

Hair Today...Gone Tomorrow

While we were on our road trip the girls got haircuts. Rachel's is at her shoulders and has layers. It is how she had it cut before so really no new changes there. However, Hannah wanted a drastic change.

I did call P.K. before I let her go through with it. Then I texted him pictures as we progressed. I didn't take an immediate after picture with my camera, but I did text P.K. His response, "I changed my mind."

My cousin set next to me saying, "Don't do it" over and over again.

Hannah did come out of it with straight hair. All those curls are gone. I knew she didn't have as much curl as Rachel, but I thought once some of the weight was off they would bounce back.

Stay tuned for back to school pictures to see the finished product.

Road Trip I Spy

I spied with my little eye (and maybe my heart)...

...a follower of Changing Seasons, former backyard neighbor and the lady who is responsible for my coffee addiction, Jen. It was so good to catch up with you. I love ya to pieces!

...Jen's daughter and one of Rachel's best friends, Anna. Rachel is friends with a few of my friends' daughters. I always wonder if those relationships are because Rachel and the other girl really click or just because the moms have engineered the friendship. Rachel and Anna picked up where they left off. The next day Rachel told me out of nowhere, "I really miss Anna." That is a friendship of choice.

...another former neighbor and her husband who is still stationed at Naval Station Great Lakes.

...the former neighbor's seven children and Jen's three.

...a very surpised girl who opened her front door to find a long lost friend. Her mom may be just as responsible for my coffee addiction and the one who started this blogging craze. That visit was way too fast. Here's to next year.

...my dear friend Theresa. She and her hubby were gracious enough to meet us after lunch at Red Robin. Red Robin was one of our favorite restaurants in Indiana. Theresa is a very loyal blog follower and she will NOT be happy to see herself on here. Theresa...I'm so glad we got to visit for a while! I miss you!

...cousins

...more cousins and a couple friends

...this ol' house...so full of memories. It looks so much smaller than I remember.

...my friend Becizzle, her husband Matt and their baby. We saw their daughter Allison, too. However I don't have any pictures of her. It was a quick visit. They made me a delicious pizza using olive oil, ricotta cheese and mozzarella. Yummy!

I also spied my friend Candace and her two sweet kids. I just didn't spy them with my camera.

I love playing I Spy!

We Love Our Sailor

We made the trek up to Great Lakes the end of last weekend to spend some time with P.K. We arrived in the early afternoon in time to get a new base sticker for my car. I took a rock to my windshield a while back and had to have it replaced. I don't have a need to go on a base very often, but it is nice to be back in the club. We also took Rachel to get her first military i.d. Turning 10 is a huge milestone for military kids because they too get to have a military i.d. However, at least in this family, the 10 year old is not going to carry her own i.d.

I caught this group hug when P.K. arrived in the parking lot.

After we got the stickers and i.d.s out of the way, P.K. took us around the recruit side of the base. When we were stationed here, that area was a huge mystery. It is where new recruits go for boot camp. The area is pretty heavily restricted. Since P.K. was a chaplain for the recruits he didn't even have access to that part of the base. But now, he is over on that side. This is a monument outside of the recruit chapel.

P.K. and the kids outside the recruit chapel.

I'll have to take and post some pictures of the main base. There are some beautiful historic brick buildings there. Our time there was before I started the blog, so it would be nice to have them on here.

After our tour, we jumped right into more family time. There is a nice outlet mall nearby with a little reptile zoo. We had to take our snake lover through.

Aaron with an anaconda.

P.K. was taken with this huge Burmese python. This one is actually larger than what would typically be found in the wild because she is fed regularly and can laze around. In the wild she would have to search large areas for food and would only be able to eat when she found prey.

P.K. and me with an albino Nile crocodile.

The kids with an alligator. Notice their matching Navy shirts. It was their idea to wear them when they got to see Daddy. I have one too, but I declined the invitation to match my kiddos.

Is God Fat and Daddy Loves Crosses

My niece, Bethanie, is visiting us for the summer. She is 9. At church on Sunday Rachel was sitting on my right and Bethanie was on the other side of her. The visiting speaker was talking about the idols we have in our lives. He mentioned a portion of scripture in the Bible that says if all the nations were gathered and placed on a scale with God on the other side of the scale, the nations would weigh as dust compared to God. I don't remember the scripture reference. The speaker was basically telling us that God is greater than anything we could imagine. All four of the kids were coloring so I didn't even think they were paying attention. Bethanie leans across Rachel and in a very offended less than quiet church tone asks me, "Is he calling God fat?" I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing out loud.

The last couple of days Hannah has been drawing her dream house which will include a personalized guest room for each of us. Today she was showing me what the room she has designed for PK and me will look like. It has a sign that reads, "Navy King and Queen" and a window all the way across the top so we can lay in bed and look at the stars. Then the bed has a big cross on it. I asked her, "Is that because we love Jesus?" She said, "Well, Daddy loves crosses, but you love Jesus."