TWENTY-TEN

Yeppers here I am at the end of March writing a "new year" blog. Certainly not the way I wanted to conduct my blogging this year, but what can I say....the boys are keeping me busy. So our first born son Kaleb turned the big "DOUBLE DIGITS" in Feburary. Makes me tear up just thinking about how close he is to being a TEENAGER! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Makes me want to stop time, mainly because it just means I am getting older too. I passed that time where getting older was fun a LLLLLOOOOONNNNGGGG time ago! Anyway Kaleb had a long celebration starting with a weekend at the Great Wolf Lodge with his family and his bestie Morgan.





Want to send a big thanks out to those who remembered Kaleb on his special day!

Twas a Long Time Between Blogs!

Dear Far-Flung Family and Friends, December 2009
Are you kidding me, didn’t we just put away the last box of Christmas decorations and now it’s time to get them out again? Once again another year has come to an end, and I am still wondering where it went. Seems with each passing year my mind moves slower and slower and the kids grow faster and faster. I hope that this annual Gilleo letter finds you all doing well this Christmas season. 2009 has been a year of accomplishments, struggles, changes and blessings. We are SO looking forward to what 2010 has in store for our family, with big changes for sure this summer.
I guess I will start with the youngest member of our family….our little Lukers. This little spitfire turned two in May. In so many ways it just doesn’t seem right that our baby is ‘2’. However we have come to the conclusion that this little boy did not come from his daddy and I, but rather some other planet. He is so different from his brothers and has us in awe over his behavior 99% of the time. He is just now starting to use his vocabulary that he has all along been able to understand, but refused to let it all out. Have no idea where the translation came from but he says ‘BONG’ for bread and ‘LONG’ for water. Just wonder how many times he has asked for ‘BONG’ and ‘LONG’ at church!!! He is constantly into EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING. Forget using child safety items in the house because he knows how to remove them. The plug protectors, come out with the teeth, the door knob protectors which are put on door knobs to keep him out of the rooms are simply removed and he easily gains access to rooms he shouldn’t be in, and the cabinet locks, yeah well you get the point!! I have gone so far as envisioning him in a cage just to keep him out of things just for 5 minutes. Whew if I only had a fraction of his energy this house would never have a dust bunny present. Our house is pretty bare just to keep me from having to clean this up or that up or keep him out of this or that. Since the child safety products don’t work in our household I must take my own drastic measures to keep him out of things. Duct tape works wonders! LOL Potty training has been another challenge and since my other two were fairly easy, I figured Luke would be a cinch. WRONG….he is so stubborn and it has been a hair pulling experience. I feel like a new mom potty training her first born child. UGH….the last time he number 2’d in his undies I was at my wits end and had to bite my tongue, but still express my disappointment. I said “This is friggen gross Luke” and his response was “Yes this is friggen gross!” Oh man all I could do was laugh. He is a ball of fun and I love watching him grow and continue to learn new things all the time. Except we just can’t seem to get the concept of sleep…especially sleeping thru the night. Yep he is my 2 ½ year old that still wakes sometimes several times a night. Good thing I don’t have a job I need to be rested for in the mornings. Luke’s obsession for the time being is tools…he has gotten quite attached to Handy Manny from the Disney channel. I think Luke has collected more tools than his daddy has. However, he would rather play with daddy’s REAL tools verses his toy tools any day. I had just bought him a little power drill, and we were in the drive thru at Taco Bell and the guy laughed at Luke and said “Looks like you have a little tool man back there.” I replied by saying “that is one two year old that is all work and no play!” Seriously he mows the lawn (with his toy mower of course) more than a landscaping company! Anyhow we are very blessed by having Luke in our lives, and just love his little perm-a-smile, and the love and laughter he brings to us each day.
Our little (well not so little) Mason in the middle turned 6 in June and is in the 1st grade. He is enjoying school and other than being a little chatty at times he shouldn’t be he is doing excellent in school. He picks things up quickly so reading, spelling and math have been easy concepts for him! PHEW….he likes to remind me often how much FUN preschool was and that he wishes he was still there! I do too sometimes, just to have him stay young a little longer. LOL He is the little jokester of the family and comes up with some quirky and funny things to say all the time. He enjoyed playing baseball this past spring and now is starting the basketball season off with a bang. Mason is the little artist in the family and loves to draw and color. Although his frustration sometimes gets the best of him when he sees something in his head that he wants to draw but it doesn’t come out on the paper the way he wanted it to. Bless his little heart I love everything he draws but one little line out of place or a head drawn to big will cause the paper to become a wad to be thrown in the garbage. Sometimes our kitchen table resembles an office of a writer with wads and wads of paper all over. He loves playing outside and lately all the boys on the street (7) of them have been getting together to play football with the neighbors’ dad. Between three households we almost have a football team of our own!! Mason is getting more and more into playing with his little brother now that he doesn’t just eat, sleep and poop! Mason is such a joy to us all and we are very blessed to call him our son or “Mason in the middle!”
Then there is Kaleb who is in the 4th grade and in his last year of being a single digit. He will be the big 10 in February. So hard to think of being parents of a pre-teen and a boy who is so close to entering junior high. Do we really have to grow old so fast? Kaleb knows it all and is dying to have his independence. I on the other hand am not so eager to admit to myself that he is old enough to do a lot more on his own! Clark on the other hand is counting down the years till he can kick him out on his own! Just joking of course he won’t literally KICK him out. Anyway Kaleb played baseball again this past spring and their team went undefeated! He is also now starting basketball and is enjoying his long 2 hour practices. He was on the honor roll last quarter which is wonderful after having such a hard time in 3rd grade. He has an awesome teacher, which is all around a blessing. It is so much easier for me to send them off to school each day knowing they are going to be in great hands. We have been very blessed with the school district here and will be so sad to have to leave it after this school year. Kaleb has been dying to play football but the league here has been really pricey so hopefully next fall he will be able to play on base. He goes over to the neighbors’ house and asks if the ‘DAD’ can come out and play football. It is quite comical, but he enjoys roughing up the boys and playing catch with them. When I think back to our lives 9 years ago I would never have imagined Kaleb growing up to be the young man he is today. God is good that is for sure!
Clark has had one VERY successful year not only in his job but in his education as well. He once again reached his recruiting goal several months early and was awarded several top awards again this year for his performance. I am so proud of his hard work and all that he does for his family. I am blessed that he loves to go to work each day so I can stay home with the kids. He also graduated from Wayland Baptist University in June with his Dual Bachelors in Education in Training and Construction Management. The big thing this year was Clark’s promotion to Master Sergeant. WOOHOO! In June since we had to be in San Antonio for Clark’s graduation we booked a cruise for our 10th anniversary. It was our first cruise and my first time away from all the kids! YIKES. It was a blast though and the boys were in great hands at Papa and Grandma Susan’s house, so we were able to really relax and enjoy our time away. The cruise was amazing and we really loved being “at sea.” Clark is plugging away at another year of recruiting and trying to make it another successful year. He put in for Italy this summer so we are hoping to go overseas May/June time frame. Hope to find out after the 1st of the year! Will keep you posted on that exciting news!
Finally there is me….I have been a busy mom and wife. Awe heck why should I be modest, I am after all writing this letter?! I have 3 full-time jobs and work many overtime hours all of which are pro-bono! Yep, I know that is so wrong. However the government still doesn’t see us “stay at home moms” as paycheck worthy! I am a cook and although I don’t see myself as “The Top Chef” I don’t understand why my kids don’t like my meals. I do make edible somewhat nutritious food, but yet time and time again I get my two year olds plate shoved back to me and told “I don’t like that!” I have spent more time at the doctor’s office this year than normal. I am still waiting for my own personal parking spot! Needless to say I know so much more about poison ivy, sinus infections, strep, ear infections, strained necks, that I am pleading for someone to give me a PHD already! I mean come on I must know something in order to keep 5 family members PIG FLU FREE! Oh no I probably just jinxed it. I have also become a pro at removing wads of gum out of the shag carpets, which I am wondering if I could sell my secret to Stanley Steamer for a small oh heck a large fee! If they really were to see my carpet they would probably laugh their butts off at the array of colors in it. I am growing quite fond of the splatters of color throughout the living room that I am thinking of marketing my own swatches of colorful carpet. Plus it has a nice aroma to it too from the spilt RED juice, chewed up and spit out Skittles, dog and cat barf, oh and that one spot where oh never mind TMI! I have also removed several masterpieces off of the walls, and tried so hard to encourage Luke to draw them on paper so that mommy could sell them…hey drastic times call for drastic measures, so I blame it on the economy. I was going to attempt to go back to school this winter but as you can see with all my jobs there simply isn’t any time left over. Oh well I know you all envy my fabulous lifestyle, and wish you could clean pooh out of underwear on a daily basis. Hang in there, many of you will be there soon enough. To those who have already been there and are laughing at the thought of me doing it, there is always the next generation. However if that too is in the past we always have old age to look forward to and we will be back in diapers ourselves! Oh to be the one that invented the diaper! The joys of motherhood….who would have thunk they would be so glamorous! Now if only I could get the government to pay me the $134,121.00 they owe me each year for the last nine years I would be a happy pooper cleaner outer! In all honesty I am just joking and would not trade my life for the world. I am so blessed to be able to stay home and raise my boys, and know that when I am old and gray that they will take care of me (at least they better) I have lots of blackmail pictures that they wouldn’t want me to have to use! This is where and what I was meant to do at this time in my life. Nothing beats those nice big bear hugs and wet little kisses from my boys at the end of those long days. The words “I LOVE YOU” make my heart melt every time I hear them from my boys. So no matter how much money I am worth on paper, the real payoff is the love I get from my family. There is nothing more rewarding than motherhood and more wonderful than a child’s love! So in closing all I am asking for this year for Christmas is a RIDING VACCUM! Blessings to you all this wonderful CHRISTmas season, and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

"I'm gonna catch one of those little green men"

Those are the words of Mason my five year old middle child. Lets just say that St. Patricks day was quite the event this year at the Gilleo household. You would have thought we were counting down the days to Christmas, with such anticipation as the big day grew closer and closer. The week before Mason came home one day from school so excited about a book that was read in class. It was about these little green guys that LOVED gold and hid it at the ends of rainbows. I don't recall the exact amount of times he asked me what the little green guys were called, but I am guessing a good 20 or so times (A DAY)! So when he finally remembered the green guys were called LEPRECHAUNS, his new goal was to catch one on the night of the 16th. Somehow he got the idea that they were like the Easter Bunny or Santa, and would come visit your house. So he went through the house asking everyone for gold that he could lure the Leprechaun with so he could capture it and keep it for ONE day. Thanks to grandma he was able to get a stash of gold that he carefully placed around the window seal in hopes of having a successful capture. The poor little guy just didn't have it in him to stay up around the clock waiting, he was out by 8:30pm! So instead I became a Leprechaun for the night, and collected the gold pieces and left a nice little box of treats with a nice note! I just didn't have it in my heart to crush his little imagination! So he woke to a box of candy and a note, which pleased him just as well. So now he is looking forward to another capture on March 17th, 2010!

Going south...yeah right.

So since my husband is a very driven individual especially when it come to his job, it is hard for me to get him to take "EXTRA" time off. What made it easy this time was that he has already made his goal for the year (YEP 7 MONTHS EARLY)! So we planned a trip to San Antonio for Spring Break. We were so looking forward to warmer weather...since it had snowed several inches the last week in Feb. So we (I) packed for three boys, a husband and myself and only managed to forget shaving cream, oh and WINTER CLOTHES. You would think that after being a resident of the great state of Texas for almost 7 years that I would know better than to rely on the weather forecast. Yep the day before we left the week looked perfect in the upper 70's lower 80's with overcast skies some days. With weather like that what is the sense in packing extra clothes that won't get used....mmmm

The boys did okay on the trip down there...with Luke napping a total of 1 1/2 hours on the 12 hour journey! YIKES....the last hour to two hours were HARD. Doing anything and everything to entertain.



Finally we made it all in one piece. The first three days of the trip were beautiful outside weather. We played at the park quite a bit, and did a lot of shopping outdoors.



The last two days of the week were very cold and we thanks to me froze our butts off. We had to break down and buy sweatshirts and pants. Man what a terrible mother I am. HA Anyway we had a great time and enjoyed visiting our church and old friends. We always feel like we are HOME when we go back to First Baptist Church San Antonio and so miss all the friendly faces. Can't wait to get back there...in June!

Not Enough Time

Okay so I have come to the conclusion that there is really not enough time in a day, days in a week, and weeks in a year. Here I am once again writing a catch up blog. MMMMM does anyone really read this blog anyway? Well lets see the last time I was on here was the beginning of February, and I was blogging about Halloween and events before that. ~WOW~ Here it is the end of March and I am blogging about stuff in February. Hang in there one of these days I hope to have more time to blog regularly and keep it up to date, but don't hold your breath. Well Kaleb turned 9 yes NINE on the 28th of February. It is a bittersweet age since it is the last year he will be in the single digits...now that is scary. It is also so sad because he is half-way to adulthood. As a mommy you hate to see your kids grow up so fast, but then again you love to see the young adults that they are growing up to be.

A bonus for Kaleb on his birthday was we got SEVERAL inches of snow...the most snow we had gotten all winter, the bad news was that we were so busy with basketball games, birthday party prep, and family lunch out that there wasn't anytime to spend outside in the snow! Kaleb wanted to have another bowling party so that is what we did. Hey you are not going to hear any complaining from this mom...no decorating, or clean up ! YIPPEE



Hard to believe that my first born is now 9!

Where have I been?

Wow I haven't been on here since October, what have I been doing for the last 3 months? Oh yeah we all have been sick off and on since November...grrrrr. Anyway this is a big catch-up blog. First pictures of Halloween, it was a beautiful and perfect night for a jaunt around the neighborhood (well a friends neighborhood.)


Fall in the Midwest always is fun when there are lots and lots of leaves to gather up and jump into. This of course is not so much fun for the person raking the leaves, but to see the boys have so much fun with them is oh so worth it! Luke once again DID NOT enjoy the leaves.


Christmas was nice and quiet well it was just us and my mom so there wasn't the hustle and bustle of going here and there. The boys had a blast opening and playing with all their new toys. Luke even got into the unwrapping of gifts, but wasn't doing it fast enough so his brothers pitched in to help.


Hard to believe that yet another year has come and gone....

USAFRRC in Florida

So every other year the Air Force Reserve squadron holds a bi-annual conference and allows the recruiters to bring their families along. This year in was in Orlando Florida. So we got to leave the cold fall Missouri weather behind for a whole week to enjoy the sunny perfect 80 degree weather in Florida. The bad news is that since Kaleb and Mason were in school, they had to be left at home. The good news is that since Kaleb and Mason were in school they had to be left at home! LOL No it would have been nice to make a little family vaca out of it, but I just hated for them to get pulled out of school for a whole week. So Luke, Clark, and myself ventured on a plane together for Lukes first plane ride while Papa from San Antonio came to stay with the boys for the week. It was a long, busy, and eventful week for us all (especially Luke). Many late late nights, early mornings, and little (very little) nap times. We got there on Sunday and that evening we had an icebreaker dinner to get to know fellow recruiters and their spouses (late night #1 especially since being up since 3:30 in the morning.)

Clark was in classes most of the days and only had a couple of evenings and one afternoon to spend with the family, so Luke and I made ourselves quite comfortable at the pool. I started to get a nice tan color, and well Luke got a kick out of learning to blow bubbles in the water. The bad thing is that it was so hard to get him OUT of the pool, but it really wore him out.


Tuesday evening was a free one for Clark so we went to the Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom (late night # 2). Luke was really in awe of all the stuff, but since it was night time he got a little spooked at times. However for the most part he got to enjoy some rides, see some of the characters, and enjoy some expensive Disney World food....what more could a 17 month old ask for? Except maybe some sleep...I think it was almost 1:00 in the morning before we made it back to the resort!



Wenesday afternoon was a free afternoon so we ventured off to Universal Studios for the day. Luke's favorite part was getting his picture taken with all the characters. We would wait in line and then when it was his turn he would walk right up and pose for his big photo opp. Except he was a bit leary of Shrek...but who could blame him!

However with Dora he went back for second and third hugs!!



Thursday evening was the BIG award banquet (late night # 3.) It was such an honor to be there to see Clark accept his awards and to witness just how successful he has been at his job this past year. He was awarded Top Rookie of the year, an award that you only have one chance to recieve. He was also awarded Century club for getting 292% of his goal for the year (this award was given earlier in the week.) Team Whiteman won Top OL (operation location) for the year. So all in all it was an amaizing night for the guys at Whiteman AFB! I am so proud of his hard work and drive to do his job to the best of his ability!



It was a great trip all around...but man I need a vacation from my vacation!! Now the only question I have is "Where are we going in 2010?"

Pumpkin Patch

If there is one thing (well you know that there's more than one) that we miss about San Antonio it is all the wonderful pumpkin patches. After searching several different so called pumpkin patches in the Kansas City and surrounding areas we finally found a really good one. One that offered 1/2 off to military members and their families!! WOO HOO

The boys all found a pumpkin of their liking and it was another successful family outing! YIPPEE

Waxing can cause bodily harm!!

Okay so Clark left yesterday for a week of training in Colorado...these little boys of mine like to see how far they can push me when they know their daddy in not in the immediate vicinity! So I got this email this morning and I was cracking up laughing OUT LOUD!! I guess I needed a good laugh because I am having a wonderful day!

For those of you who wax, you will understand fully and those who don't will never make this mistake. Better go pee before you read this. This by far is one of the funniest things I have ever read. ~ This is why I shave!! Hope to put a smile on your face: Hair Removal..

(I don't have a clue who wrote this, but WHAT A RIOT!)

All hair removal methods have tricked women with thei r promises of easy, painless removal - the Epilady, scissors, razors, Nair and now...the wax. Read on..

My night began as any other normal weeknight. Come home, fix dinner, and play with the kids. I then had the thought that would ring painfully in my mind for the next few hours:

'Maybe I should pull the waxing kit out of the medicine cabinet.' So I headed to the site of my demise: the bathroom.

It was one of those 'cold wax' kits. No melting a clump of hot wax, you just rub the strips together in your hand, they get warm and you peel them apart and press them to your leg (or wherever else) and you pull the hair right off.

No muss, no fuss. How hard can it be? I mean, I'm not a genius, but I am mechanically inclined enough to figure this out. (YA THINK!?!)

So I pull one of the thin strips out. Its two strips facing each other stuck together. Instead of rubbing them together, my genius kicks in so I get out the hair dryer and heat it to 1000 degrees.

('Cold wax,' yeah.. Right!) I lay the strip across my thigh. Hold the skin around it tight and pull. IT WORKS!

Ok, so it wasn't the best feeling, but it wasn't too bad. I can do this! Hair removal no longer eludes me! I am She-rah, fighter of all wayward body hair and maker of smooth skin extraordinaire.

With my next wax strip I move north. After checking on the kids, I sneak back into the bathroom, for the ultimate hair fighting championship. I drop my panties and place one foot on the toilet. Using the same procedure, I apply the wax strip across the right side of my bikini line, covering the right half of my hoo-ha and stretching down the inside of my butt cheek (it *was* a long strip) I inhale deeply and brace myself.... RRRRRRIIIIIIPPPPPP!

I'm blind!!! Blinded from pain!!!!!.....OH MY GAWD!!!!!!!!!!

Vision returning, I notice that I've only managed to pull off half the strip. CRAP! Another deep breath and RIPP! Everything is spinning and spotted. I think I may pass out..must stay conscious.. must stay conscious.

Do I hear crashing drums???? Breathe, breathe .OK, back to normal. I want to see my trophy - a wax covered strip, the one that has caused me so much pain, with my hairy pelt sticking to it. I want to revel in the glory that is my triumph over body hair. I hold up the strip. There's no hair on it. Where is the hair??? WHERE IS THE WAX????

Slyly I ease my head down, foot still perched on the toilet. I see the hair. The hair that should be on the strip.. It's not!! I touch. I am touching wax.

I run my fingers over the most sensitive part of my body, which is now covered in cold wax and matted hair. Then I make the next BIG mistake... remember my foot is still propped upon the toilet? I know I need to do something. So I put my foot down.

Sealed shut! My butt is sealed shut. Sealed shut!

I penguin walk around the bathroom trying to figure out what to do next and think to myself 'Please don't let me get the urge to poop. My head may pop off!' What can I do to melt the wax?

Hot water!! Hot water melts wax!!!! I'll run the hottest water I can stand into the bathtub, get in, immerse the wax-covered bits and the wax should melt and I can gently wipe it off, right???? *WRONG!!!!!!!*

I get in the tub - the water is slightly hotter than that used to torture prisoners of war or sterilize surgical equipment - I sit.

Now, the only thing worse than having your nether regions glued together, is having them glued together and then glued to the bottom of the tub..in scalding hot water. Which, by the way, doesn't melt cold wax.

So, now I'm stuck to the bottom of t he tub as though I had cemented myself to the porcelain!!! God bless the man who had convinced me a few months ago to have a phone put in the bathroom!!!!!

I call my friend, thinking surely she has waxed before and has some secret of how to get me undone. It's a very good conversation starter 'So, my butt and hoo-ha are glued together to the bottom of the tub!'

There is a slight pause. She doesn't know any secret tricks for removal but she does try to hide her laughte r from me. She wants to know exactly where the wax is located, 'are we talking cheeks or hole or hoo-ha?'

She's laughing out loud by now... I can hear her. I give her the rundown and she suggests I call the number on the side of the box.

YEAH!!!! RIGHT!!!! I should be the joke of someone else's night.

While we go through the various solutions, I resort to trying to scrape the wax off with a razor. Nothing feels better than having your girlie goodies covered in hot wax, glued shut, stuck to the tub in super hot water and then dry-shaving the sticky wax off!!!!

By now the brain is not working, dignity has taken a major hike and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need Post-Traumatic Stress counseling for this event.

My friend is still talking with me when I finally see my saving grace..the lotion they give you to remove the excess wax. What do I really have to lose at this point? I rub some on and OH MY GAWD!!!!!!!!

The scream probably woke the kids and scared the dickens out of my friend. Its sooo painful, but I really don't care. 'IT WORKS!!!! It works!!!!'

I get a hearty congratulation from my friend and she hangs up. I successful ly remove the remainder of the wax and then notice to my grief and despair..THE HAIR IS STILL THERE..ALL OF IT!

So I recklessly shave it off. Heck, I'm numb by now. Nothing hurts. I could have amputated my own leg at this point.

Next week I'm going to try hair color!



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Airplanes, Jets, B52 Bombers....& Horses???

Today my mother and I took the boys to the heart of Kansas to the Kansas City Air Show. Clark was of course working a booth there so we thought it would be fun for the boys to see daddy in a fun environment. Plus it would be the perfect opportunity for a family photo (apparently Clark wasn't having it...all work and no play that man!!)

Oh well anyway he was glad the boys got to see him doing something other than sitting behind a desk. This job isn't any fun for the boys...as they really enjoyed going to work with daddy when he was a TI. No wonder they are all yellers! HEE HEE They got to tour many military planes and vehicles and Mason's favorite was the one they use to jump out of. (Sorry don't know my planes.)

Or the one as he said will fit in our garage!!

Luke was not really enjoying his time at the airshow, and the noise was freaking him out. He did however enjoy the Clydesdale's and that seemed to make his day. Good thing they were there, but have no idea what horses have to do with airplanes!!

Kaleb's favorite part was Airman Andy...he wants one of those for the house!

A good time was had by all and in our household that makes for a successful family outing!!

Time to let another one go...

I think the following poem says it all:

First Day Of Kindergarten School Poem

~Author Unknown~

He started school this morning,
And he seemed so very small.
As I walked there beside him
In the Kindergarten hall.

And as he took his place beside
the others in the class,
I realized how all too soon
Those first few years can pass.

Remembering, I saw him as
He first learned how to walk.
The words that we alone made out
When he began to talk.

This little boy so much absorbed
In learning how to write.
It seems as though he must have grown
To boyhood overnight.

My eyes were blurred by hastily
I brushed the tears away
Lest by some word or sign of mine
I mar his first big day.

Oh how I longed to stay with him
And keep him by the hand
To lead him through the places
That he couldn't understand.

And something closely kin to fear
Was mingled with my pride.
I knew he would no longer be
A baby by my side.

But he must have his chance to live,
To work his problems out,
The privilege to grow and learn
What life is all about.

And I must share my little boy
With friends and work and play;
He's not a baby anymore --
He's in Kindergarten today.


I knew five years ago that this day would soon be upon us...just didn't know it would happen so fast. As much as I tried to hold back the tears and not cry...I couldn't when I saw him get on the bus for the first time and leave me behind! Wasn't ready for that to be the last good bye for the morning so Clark and I got in the car and drove to the school to see him off the bus and to his classroom for the first day. I think that Clark was thinking he was going to have to remove me from the classroom (or call security!)


Kaleb obviously is a BIG BOY now that he is in 3rd grade, as he blew right past me as he got off the bus to go into the school! To bad I wasn't going to let him off that easy. After dropping off Mason to his class, drying the tears, and blowing my nose...I made my way down to Kaleb's class and of course embarrassed him with a couple of snapshots. HMMMM maybe next time he will acknowledge me! Is that a sign of what is to come?

MO State Fair

Okay so one of the things I have always missed since moving away from Montana was being able to go to the State Fair every summer in August. Oh alright so it is the only thing I miss about Montana. The yummy food, booths, food, crafts, food, arts, food, and when I was younger the rides. So when we moved to Missouri last year they were having their state fair, and I really wanted to go. However with all the things to do with the move like finding a house to live in kind of didn't allow us to get to the fair. So this year I was so excited when I convinced Clark that we should take the boys. We walked around taking it all in and the boys enjoyed the little petting zoo.

We got to watch a lady shoot out of a cannon and land on a net in the air, the boys got to play in a fire truck and pet a couple dozen bunnies. Then we got to go to my favorite part...the food vendors. The boys enjoyed their HUGE corn dogs (which I think Mason was a little scared of), and well even though my hamburger was a little disappointing the funnel cake made up for it! We topped the day off with some yummy Bucks ice cream. Now I better hit the elliptical!!