Back to Normal

We're back to normal, if that exist. I took my sister to the airport this morning in Frankfurt. Matt is back home and it is just the 5 of us again, after about 2 months. It's cold and rainy outside and the kids and I are in our pj's at 4:00pm. Tonight I am going to enjoy watching tv with my husband after the kids go to bed. We have LOTS of shows on the DVR to catch up on. Thank goodness for DVR's!

Terri and I had a fantastic time in Paris and I got to do some new things that I haven't done before. I have tons of pictures to sort through and share, so I'll have several new posts coming up. We went to the Palace of Versailles, inside the Louvre and ate at a few cafe's on the Champs Elysee. It was so nice to slow down and enjoy it a little, even though our backs and feet hurt from all the walking. Stay tuned....

Jordyn had her first day at the babysitter's today, as well. Matt had to take her because I was well on my way to Frankfurt. He called and told me she was crying and screaming his name when he left her. But, when I picked her up Ms. Allison said she cried for about 2 minutes and was perfectly happy after that. It seems like all went well and she will head back on Thursday. Yeah for both of us, and Matt. lol!

Terri, I will miss you and I had a fantastic time with you. Thanks for all the entertainment, peanut brittle and playing with the kids. We love you and hope your trip back home was uneventful!!

In Memory of Uncle Glenn

It is with sadness that I remember my Uncle Glenn Brown today. He went to be with the Lord in the wee hours of the morning. He suffered from ALS and has had a difficult journey over the past couple of years. Please pray for my cousins: Fanya, Ryan, Ginger and Crystal and my Aunt Donna as they get through this week and the many weeks to come. I wish that I could be there to give you all a hug. He was a great man and will always be cherished by our family.

Ouch!

Yep. It hurt. She tripped over a bag that was next to the bleachers at soccer practice last night. Of course, she went chin first into the bleacher that was missing its safety guard on the end of it. I would say this is her first BIG boo boo. Ouch!

Travel With Terri

Can you tell school has begun and I am actually busy for a change?? Breakfast, school, tour guide, lunch, housework, homework, soccer, dinner, bed. That's about it, to sum our days. It's been a welcome change from the summer. The boys are slowly adjusting to their new routines after a long and lazy summer and so am I.

Terri has been here two full weeks now and we have managed to travel to a few more places. She's seen the majority of what I "know" to show her around this area. We've been to Cochem, Bernkastle, Bitburg, Trier, Ramstein/Kaiserslautern, several castles, Luxembourg, and Koln. We are going to venture into the corner of Belgium tomorrow and see what we can find. I would love to take her to Holland and spend a few days, but it just won't work out with the kids being in school and Matt being gone. We will get to end on a high note to Paris, just the two of us. We are really looking forward to that! Check out Terri's blog on my sidebar for more pictures of our travels. She will be updating it soon.

I'm posting a few pictures of the last week. Jordyn has been fairly good at most of the places, with the exception of Cochem. That was just NOT a fun day for any of us, thanks to her. A toddler will be a toddler. I will try and get some soccer pictures of the boys this weekend.

Only 4 more sleeps until Daddy comes home! The 6 weeks have gone pretty smoothly and a lot has happened since he left. We can't wait to give him a big ole' hug and actually talk to him in person. The kids have barely been phased by his absence with the exception of the first week or two. Once we got in our routine, they hit their stride and have been so busy they don't have time to think about him being gone too often. It's amazing to me how much military kids have to endure, adapt and overcome. I never had to face anything that hard as a child myself, so I have much admiration for them.

Oh, yeah. I got pooped on. That's always a nice way to start out the day. :-)

Luxembourg

Here are a couple of pictures of us in Luxembourg. Yes, it was chilly. Yes, it rained. However, we had fun anyway and that is Terri's favorite place so far! I wish we could have stayed a little longer, but the weather just wasn't cooperating.

I know I've posted pictures of Luxembourg before, but here are a few more of new views we found. It's about 50 minutes from our house. We still haven't gotten to the American Cemetery in Luxembourg, but its on my list of things to do. Somehow, that list keeps growing and growing.



School is still going good, despite Hayden already having to miss a day of kindergarten. To make a long story short, he went to the doctor yesterday and has a double ear infection. He's on antibiotics and getting better. Here are a few extra pictures from earlier. The first one is of Landen with his teacher at open house.



This one is of Hayden riding the bus for the first time to school today. Boy, that was hard letting him get on that BIG bus and drive away from me. He's just so little. Thankfully, I trust Landen to look after him. He's a good big brother (when they aren't fighting, lol).

This Is Better

I think I'm sticking to this one for a while. I'll post some pictures of our quick trip to Luxembourg in the rain, tomorrow. Here's a picture of Jordyn licking her spoon clean of cookie dough that Aunt Terri made. Yum! (I've decided that the black shirt fits her personality right now.)

Be Patient

I'm playing with my background and really don't like this at all. I'll get it adjusted one day... :)

You're Gonna Miss This...

Well, the BIG day finally arrived. Kindergarten! Hayden was so excited over the weekend and couldn't wait. He was so giddy and excited and so cute. My alarm went off this morning and I jumped in the shower before waking the boys up. Before I knew it, we were off to school. He is going to ride the bus with Landen starting next week, but I wanted to take and pick him up until he is comfortable. The pictures show our morning...

Getting ready:



Waiting patiently until time to go:



A picture with mommy before we go:



It's finally time to go:



In front of school:



In line (that's his teacher - Mrs. Tovar):



Waving Bye:



Crying Mommy on the way home:



You would have thought it was a funeral after the kids went in. Mommies were crying everywhere. I mean BOO HOOING!!!! Yes, of course tears rolled down my face, but I held it 1/2 way together until I got to the car. Then, I lost it and cried the entire way home. I turned the radio on to get my mind off of it and guess what it plays? A country song (we only have one English speaking channel geared to Americans so we get a variety) called You're Gonna Miss This. I don't even know who sings it, but this made it 10 times worse for me! If you know the song I am talking about, you know what I mean. For those of you that don't, its about a daddy talking to his little girl about slowing down and enjoying life. Life goes by fast, you're gonna miss these moments of dropping your kids at school and screaming children while you're talking on the phone. Before you know it, you're kids are 30 years old, etc... You get the idea.

I can't wait to pick him up and see how his day went. :-) Thank goodness Terri is here to occupy me today!!

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I picked him up and he had a big smile on his face. He can' t wait to go back tomorrow. It must have been a good day!

She's here!

Ok. So, we'll work on some more centered and exciting pictures later. At least she's here! We're just hanging out at the house today, but will do some more sightseeing this week while the boys are in school.





Hayden is very excited about tomorrow, and I'm sure I'll be posting a few more pictures of him on his first day of school.