Thanksgiving Fun

For Thanksgiving this year, we went up to Arkansas to visit some of my family that we haven't seen in a long time. My Mom and Mark were also able to be there. We had a really good time catching up with everyone but Brandon, Jacob, and I also got pretty sick. Let me tell you, driving 8 hours while 3 out 4 of you are sick, isn't fun. I felt so bad for Zoe on that car ride. I think all she ate that day was peanut crackers and water. Anyway, we had a really good time up in Arkansas. It was great to be around family again. Here are some pictures from our trip.

Around the Table

My Grandaddy and I

Four Generations

As you can see, the good times far out weighed the sick days!

Horray Texas!!

We are here! We got here on Saturday evening and have been frantically trying to make our apartment livable for the past few days. We went out to eat for a true Texan dinner at Logan's. We had steak, big portions and our waitress even said, "y'all." I was so excited to hear someone else say y'all it was hilarious. We are so happy to be back in Texas. Brandon reports tomorrow morning and we will find out what is in store for us for the next few months.

Leaving California

Last Thursday we had our final inspection on our house and hit the road for San Angelo, Texas. While Brandon and I were preparing to leave I got a bit sentimental. We have been looking forward to moving back to Texas for so long that I didn't really stop to think about leaving California. As Brandon and I talked about the memories we made in Monterey, we realized that it was our first real home. I know that we lived other places but this was the first time that we really had a home. We have worked in restaurants for so long that we never knew what it was like to sit down for dinner together every night of the week. This is the first time we have lived far enough away from family that we really had to go out and make new friends. We were lucky to have made such good friends. We made so many memories in our home in Monterey that we will never forget. I am so glad that our first military experience was a good one. I can honestly say that I will miss Monterey.

Here is a picture of the kids "helping" us load the U-haul.

Found It

I found the piece of glass we were afraid Zoe swallowed...with my foot. Ouch!

Worried Mom

Usually I am not the kind of Mom to freak out and rush her child to the ER, but today I was. We are getting ready to move this week so, of course, our house is chaotic. Zoe was playing with a plastic hour glass from a board game...at least we thought it was plastic. Being the curious child Zoe is, somehow she pulled the plastic apart and got to the piece on the inside. That piece was glass. When we found her, some of the glass had been broken and a piece was missing. Also, the sand on the inside was wet from her sucking on it. I decided that the possibility of Zoe swallowing glass was a good reason for the ER. Zoe had x-rays and she is fine. They wanted her in a gown for the doctor to examine her and I just thought she looked so cute.

Veteran's Day Hike

Today we went on a hike in Big Sur. It was a 4 mile hike and Jacob only rode on my shoulders the last 1/2 mile.

Zoe loved riding in her new hiking backpack. (We got it on craigslist for $25!!)


Here are some of the beautiful views.



Jacob had to have a stick to "go fishing" in all of the puddles.

I just love this picture!

Trick-or-Treat

This year trick-or-treating was really fun because Jacob understood the concept. He put on his costume the second I told him there was candy involved...that was at 10 this morning. Both of the kids did really well going door to door. At the end, Jacob wanted me to hold his bucket because it was too heavy. I think that is a good problem. The whole night went really well, we only had to strip Jacob down and let him pee in the grass once!! Happy Halloween everybody.

Pumpkin Painting

We painted a pumpkin earlier this evening to get in the Halloween Spirit. Look how clean everything started out (especially Zoe).

Also, look at Zoe's toes. My Mom and I curl our toes when we are concentrating on something, and it looks like Zoe does it too.

Jacob did such a good job. I don't think he got any paint on himself. I was going to let him finger paint but he went to the craft drawer and got a paint brush himself. Zoe didn't really know what to do. She was just happy that she was on top of the table!
Zoe was more interested in painting herself than the pumpkin. Brandon didn't want her to feel left out so he painted a pumpkin on her.
Both of the kids had a great time! Thank you Jen for the pumpkin painting idea. It was a really great way to involve the whole family!

Fun Times

I just wanted to post some fun pictures.

Zoe decide to put her dinner on her head a couple of nights ago. While cleaning up, Brandon gave her a mohawk. She loved it!

Hide and Seek at our house gets pretty interesting as you can see.

How to Loose 5 Pounds in 1 Hour

Okay, maybe not exactly 5 pounds. This past Friday I had my gallbladder removed. It was a very simple day surgery but still isn't very much fun. The worst part is not being able to pick up the kids. Brandon has been able to stay home with us, thank goodness. On Friday, our kids went to a friend's house for the day so that Brandon could be at the hospital with me. I'm really glad he was there because I was a wreck when I woke up. Brandon goes back to work on Wednesday so I still have another day before I have the kids by myself. I feel like I am healing very quickly and am very thankful for that. Thank you to everyone who kept me in their thoughts and prayers.

My Crazy Little Girl

Zoe is a very high energy child! I was putting the laundry away and came around the corner to find this. Of course I had to go get the camera. She got in there all by herself! If you look at the floor you can see the top of Jacob's stool.

When she realized I had the camera, she stood up to clap for herself.

This is Zoe right after her bath. Brandon told me,"Zoe said a bad word." That is soap on her chin...haha. By the way, she has a lot of teeth now. A few weeks ago we count 7 breaking the skin at once.

This our Halloween fitting. I just wanted to make sure everything fit and I couldn't resist taking pictures. She is so cute it kills me.

Happy Birthday Brandon

Today is Brandon's 26th birthday! Today is also Columbus Day, which means Brandon had the day off. Brandon had a great weekend because Texas beat OU and are now ranked #1 in the nation!! Just wanted to rub that in to all of our Aggie family. We had a nice family day today and had some friends over for dinner and cake. Jacob helped me make the cake while Zoe was sleeping.

On a side note. All last week Jacob was begging to go to school. The closest thing he has to school right now is nursery on Sunday (basically a two hour Sunday School). Sunday morning he woke up in such a good mood and helped us all get ready to go to church. This past Sunday was also Zoe's first time in nursery all by herself. I was worried that she wasn't going to want me to leave. Yeah right! She saw toys and other little people and turned around and waved bye to me. After two hours, I went to pick her up and she just said hi and kept playing.

Creative Kids

Lately, I have been trying to adjust our television habits during the day. I used to leave the TV on for background noise but I noticed that all Jacob wanted to do was watch movies. So, we now turn off the TV and listen to music and I am so impressed with the difference in myself and the kids. The kids play with each other more and are much more creative in how they play. Zoe and Jacob emptied out their toy bins and played in them. Jacob pretended they were in the car and would make sure Zoe was "strapped in" before he would look at me and say, "Mommy, I'm driving!" Zoe loves getting in and out of the bins, then flipping them over and standing on top of them.

Jacob loves to play with his play-doh, but we have to wait until Zoe takes a nap (she likes to eat it). Today Jacob made a snake for each person in our family. He was very particular about the length of the snake being a good comparison to the person. In the first picture you can see there are four snakes all varied in size. In the second picture there is an extra small or "baby" snake. I asked Jacob to tell me who the snakes were. He pointed at all of them in turn and said, "Daddy snake, Mommy snake, Jacob snake, Zoe snake, and baby snake." I asked him if he thinks Mommy should have another baby and he replied, "Yeah, Mommy have nother baby!"

I had to laugh. Jacob will just have to do with his baby sister Zoe for a while longer.

Zoe's Sleeping Habits

Last night, while Brandon and I were watching movies, Zoe started crying in her bed. It was about 11:00 and it isn't normal for Zoe to wake up. I went to check on her and couldn't see her in her crib. I just thought my eyes hadn't adjusted to the darkness of her room yet. It looked like she was laying on her back and holding her pillow over her. When I reached in to pull the pillow off of her I realized she was in the pillow. Some how she had wiggled herself inside the pillow case head first and couldn't get out. I have no idea how she got in there in her sleep, all I know is that it was hilarious!! I wanted to take a picture but I just couldn't let her keep crying and squirming to get out. As soon as I picked her up she fell back asleep on my shoulder.

Salinas Air Show

Today we went to the Salinas Air Show. We went last year and had such a good time, we had to go again. This morning Jacob woke me up by pulling the covers off of me and saying, "I wanna see airplane. Get dressed!" Then he opened my closet door and repeated himself. Brandon started telling Jacob about the airshow on Wednesday. Every night he had to tell Jacob how many times he had to sleep before we were going to see the airplanes. We got to go into a C-130 and walk around. Jacob loooooooved that. Both Jacob and Zoe got to sit in an emergency helicopter. The only thing Jacob didn't like was how loud some of the planes were, especially when they would come out of nowhere.

Great News!

Brandon took his big test again this past Tues and Wed. We found out this morning that he passed (2+2+)!!!! Now we have to just hang out here for a while before we go to Texas. The next class in TX doesn't start until Dec 3. We leave here on Nov 20. Then we will report to Fort Meade, Maryland no later than April 30. We are really excited that we now have a plan! We wish we didn't have to wait here for so long, but it could be worse. Brandon is going to try to take some leave so we can have a bit of a vacation here before we leave. Thank you everybody for keeping us in your prayers! I am so happy!!!

Raccoon Attack

Yesterday, some of Brandon's classmates and their families came over for fajitas and fun. All of them are in a fantasy football league together and watched football all afternoon. Jacob and Zoe had fun playing with their new friends. All in all, it was a very fun day.

After everyone went home and the kids were in bed, we had a raccoon attack. Brandon and I were watching TV when we heard a bang by the trashcan. We found a raccoon sitting on one trashcan and lifting the lid of the next one. He was enjoying himself thoroughly. Raccoons are actually really cute, but I definitely wouldn't want to get to close to them.

Red Wood Forest

For Labor Day, we drove up to Santa Cruz and went to the Henry Cowell State Park. It has beautiful hiking trails and a great place to have a picnic. Jacob loved running on the trail and Zoe loved leaning back as far as she could to look at the trees. Here are some pictures. I hope everyone had a great holiday.

Blowing Bubbles

This is Zoe's newest trick. I hope you enjoy!

Lunch at the Park

Today we went to have lunch with Brandon and took the kids to the park. Swings are their favorite part! When I was a kid, I loved it when my Mom did "the underdog." For those of you who don't know how to do it, here are step by step instructions.

Step One: Get hold of child and swing

Step Two: Run under child and while keeping a firm grip.

Step Three: Revel in your child's screams of delight.