Gators and Kayaks

I was treated to a visit from my brother Doug, and his wife Heather this week. Spencer became very attached to his uncle he affectionately calls "Dougie". Doug is amazing with kids, and mine all love he and Heather to pieces.
We had a blast playing and they were super helpful at helping me work through my to-do list....plus most of the cooking, cleaning, and entertaining of kids. I am so grateful! (I am still trying to figure out what it is I did all week.) It was a nice break. And I enjoyed the adult conversation and a few good games of nertz=)
We took the kids up to Toledo Bend and did some kayaking and canoeing.

Amanda wanted to learn how to kayak, so Doug patiently practiced with her a few times until he thought she could handle it, then followed her back and forth along the shore line while she showed off her skills. She was so excited about it, and handled the kayak very well for a beginner.

We also visited an alligator farm and saw...

well alligators...and turtles, goats, emu's, snakes, raccoons, etc. The highlight was watching the feeding show, and the guy who was supposed to be the actor smoking away and baiting the gators with chicken.



(We opted to not experiment with this one)

Sand, Sand Everywhere

The kids were off of school last week for Spring Break, so we took advantage of the the cheap rates in Galveston TX (if you remember a major hurricane blew through there last fall) and stayed for a few nights last week. My sister-in-law, Annette, and her little guy Jackson (10 months) joined us for the fun, along with the O'Gwin crew. We spent most of the time at the pool, had one great morning at the beach, and just relaxed at the hotel. It was a perfect vacation for 3 moms and 7 kids . The beach reminded me a lot of Myrtle beach, except the crazy road they have going between the hotels and the beach in Galveston. (I realize the logic of this as the sea wall the road is built on helps protect the city, when hurricanes like Ike blow in.) The waves were just perfect for Maren to ride for the first time. She loved it!



As you can see Amanda was just happy to be out of school for a week and have time to play, swim and goof off.

The funniest part was watching Spencer try to get the sand off of him, (I think he is going through a stage where he does not like to be dirty), so he spent a lot of the time on my lap. He really liked the pool and loved to lay on his back while while I motored him around.

Speaking of Sand, Dave sent a few pictures of a sand storm they had Iraq last week as well. It looks pretty surreal.


I asked if he was worried about the sand ruining his camera and he said that it is so fine that you couldn't even feel it. Since then it sounds like they have had a lot of rain, leaving a lot of mud...fun for him! He has settled in now and is seeing clinic and trying not to eat all the good food they give him...luckily he has access to a very nice gym over there=)
We are still working out the glitches of webcamming and communicating across such a time zone change, but it has been wonderful to see him and it has really been a blessing for the kids to be able to see him as well as talk with him. Spencer now looks for Dave on the computer almost daily.

A Southern Easter

So one of the things I love about living in the south, is that it is actually spring when Easter arrives, and not just the first inklings of it that I grew up with in Utah. I love that the girls can dress up in Easter dresses without thick leggings and jackets (reminiscent of our Milwaukee years). And I love the flowers of this time of year. The air is thick with scents of wysteria, azalea's, jasmine and pine. (The pine pollen is another story, but I won't go there, as I am not mentioning those less pleasant things today)

Other southern favorites include...

Popsickles, flip flops and sunshine practically year round

Elephant ears, canna lillies, and ginger that grow like weeds

Cypress trees in the fall

Hiking through a pine straw forest

Not so dry skin (not to mention few of those pesky cold sores)

Bluejays, cardinals, and white egrets

New Orleans style snow cones (ok.. that's a Louisiana thing)

Huge puddles to for the kids to jump in

Wild blueberries, huckleberries, and blackberries

Turtles sunning themselves on random logs

The little things

I heard from Dave this morning, he has arrived safely in Kuwait, and will be there for a few days awaiting travel to Iraq. He flew from Georgia to Ireland, and then on Kuwait. The travel was long, so he was glad to be on the ground and had had a good nights sleep.

Here are a few pictures of our last weekend with Dave.

Yesterday the kids were able to collect Easter Eggs at an acitivity hosted by the housing here on base...Spencer was so funny to watch, as he got one egg, then was done. Until he saw the other kids picking one up, then he wanted only the one they had...not the hundred still on the ground.

My neighbors surprised myself and two other expectant mothers on our street with a surprise baby shower on Monday afternoon. It was a good lift, after such a hard weekend, and I was glad for the distraction among the laundry and other chores that day.
I was also able to leave the kids for an evening to teach another gardening class, it was nice to get away, and great to find a good babysitter that I will use again.

Besides the obvious it has been the little things that have gotten us through this last week. A kind sister who offered to sit behind me at church and help with the kids, the neighborhood kids playing with Spencer so I can sit down for a few minutes, meals and cookies just dropped by to give me a break, e-cards to make us smile, phone calls to lift my spirit, and Amanda offering me one of her missing daddy presents when she knew I was having a hard night. I am so blessed, and I now know that we can get though this.