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!



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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!!

Wanna see an animal or two?

Well with the summer break quickly coming to an end, and the kids getting tired of doing things at home I thought we better utilize our time wisely. So a gal at church had told me about this fun little children's farmstead in Overland Park Kansas. The best part was that it was FREE, so I figured that would justify the short half hour drive there. We got there right as it opened and so we got to see the cow milking demonstration. They even had a big cow statue with working utters and so the kids could see what it was like to milk a cow. The kids wouldn't pose for a picture while doing that!! Darn it. They really enjoyed feeding bottles to the goats, and Luke has not had a bottle in 3 months so I wasn't sure how he was going to react to the sight of one!! Luckily he didn't even recognize it.


Funny I don't remember them being so delighted to feed their little brother a bottle...guess a goat is a little different??!! We packed a lunch and had a picnic lunch and then headed home. I was quite surprised at how fun this little farmstead was and how much there was to do and look at! The boys all had a blast....and on any outing with kids that makes for a successful outing.

VBS

Well this week was a very fun filled BUSY week. Since I wasn't sure about our summer plans I wasn't sure if one or both of the boys would be out of town for the event so I didn't volunteer to help out until the last minute when I knew both my boys were going to be attending VBS at Summit Woods. Therefor workers were needed in the toddler and baby rooms. So naturally I was put in with the 2 year olds, but God was working on my side this past week because all 16 YES 16 two year olds were very well behaved (for the most part) and were a very great bunch of kids!! I went home a little frazzled and looking like I had just been through a tornado, but hey I had fun and I think they did too. Although as the week grew on you could tell they were getting tired of coming to the same 4 workers and seeing the same room and the same toys....it is hard being 2!!

Kaleb and Mason had a W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L time and were so wide awake are rearing to go in the mornings!! By noon when it was time to go they were so pumped and loving all the stuff they did that it was the topic of each and every conversation the rest of the day!! I think Mason wasn't to into the singing and dancing aspect of it but he loved playing outside and going to different stations! His favorite part of VBS was of course snack! I always love to see how powerful VBS can be and how it gets them so excited about the word of God...

They ended the week with a program for the parents!! I of course was told that night I would be standing on stage with the two year olds trying to get them to stay in a line and perform their songs!!! YIKES. Nice pictures huh...I think I was more entertainment for the parents than the kids were!!
PRAISE GOD FOR A WODERFUL GOD FILLED WEEK!!

Home Away From Home!

This past week we went on vacation to San Antonio, our home away from home. After being in the south for almost 7 years, we just can't wait to get back there for good. We stayed the week with Clark's parents and the boys soaked up all the Papa and Grandma time they could soak up. We also made sure that we were there for at least one Sunday so we could attend our church (I say OUR church since we are still members there.) It was so nice being back there and seeing all the friends we left behind. It felt like we never left and were welcomed with such warm and loving arms. That is quite possibly the reason I had such a bad case of the "HOME SICKNESS" when we returned. After church we were invited to go to lunch with the Eppersons and the Penaluna's and all our kiddos!!! It was so nice talking and getting caught up on what has been going on in each others lives over the last year.

That evening we had a photo shoot with our family and Papa and Grandma. You know how
I LOVE pictures and so I was jumping all over the opportunity.


The rest of the week was spent swimming, visiting Sea World and Six Flags, and relaxing.








Our week in San Antonio seemed to go by a little to fast....sniff sniff. However we all had a really good time and are glad that we made it back for the visit. Our week was closed out by celebrating the 4Th of July with the Epperson's and the Hufty's watching fireworks at La Cantera. It was the perfect evening and the kids were really great! We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends in our lives!

2 Families Together as 1!!

With my dear friend and her families visit coming to a close (sniff sniff) we decided to use the last day to get pictures taken together. Roseann and I have been friends for seventeen years now and have been through lots together. Even though we live a couple thousand miles away, we have managed over the years to maintain a strong bond and friendship. The past three years we have been blessed to be able to see each other at least once each year. We are hoping to be able to continue that and make a visit to Montana next summer. She and her husband have three girls...Eryn is 9, Kaelyn is 7 and Jadyn is almost 6. It is pretty cool how after the 18Th of July we have kids ages 9 (Eryn), 8 (Kaleb), 7 (Kaelyn), 6 (Jadyn), 5 (Mason) and if I wouldn't have waited so long to have Luke we could have had a 4 but we have a 1 (Luke). Just a fun tidbit.



We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends in our lives, and are always amazed at how God places the right kind of people in our paths. Don't know what we would do without them in our lives. Thanks Frahms for a wonderful time during your visit to Missouri....we love and miss you all dearly.