Ratliff Ruckus

I'm baaaaaa aaaack.

2011-08-21T00:26:00.003-05:00

Wow. I had no idea it had been so long since I'd even looked at the blog, much less posted anything to it. But, I am suddenly motivated to get back to it, because I love making note of what my family is up to! Now if I can figure out how to get the pictures from the iphone to the computer without crashing it everytime.

In the meantime, The latest on us is that the kids and I (Darla) have moved into a lovely family owned cabin in Pinetop, Arizona while Casey is finishing his assignment in Del Rio. Frankly, Del Rio was not treating us so well, so we opted to go where the temperatures are cool, the scenery is breath-taking, and the spirit could heal. So here we are.

Birthday Bike

2010-04-29T10:40:00.002-05:00

Ethan is now 5 years old. He got a spiderman bike and had a spiderman birthday party.

Lemon merengue pie! I'm so domestic!

2010-04-29T10:34:00.003-05:00

I baked my first lemon merengue pie and was awfully proud of it. My crust technique can obviously use some work, but it tasted yummy! Caitlyn requested another one for her birthday (so I made 2 this time, and they were much prettier)

Then yesterday, I made my first cheesecake that didn't start in a box. We sampled it this morning and it was also scrumptious.

Now, where's that Pilates video????

babies, babies, everywhere!

2010-04-29T09:28:00.009-05:00

What was it the neighbor said when he stopped by? "You must be feeling very motherly!" I GUESS! On April 14, 5 baby Rhode Island Red Chicks arrived to the delight of our children. They are Fluffy (Ethan's), Ginger (Ali's), Kyzl (Caitlyn's), Nora (Casey's) and Popcorn (mine and Sophia's technically, but Caitlyn's friend CHrista has adopted and named) They were originally housed inside a filing cabinet drawer in the garage. Now they hang out in a huge dog kennel until the coop is finished in the backyard. We'll be in for it if any of them are not the laying type!

Then, for Caitlyn's birthday, and after years of her begging and pleading, we gave in and got her a Yorkie puppy for her birthday. She named him Xanthos, which is actually a Greek city, but she liked the way it sounded. He's adorable and we have all fallen in love with him.

Then of course there is our sweet baby Sophia who has discovered her thumb!! She's such a great baby, and at the risk of jinxing it, has been sleeping between 7 and 10 hours at night for a couple of weeks now.

Future Hall of Famer

2010-04-11T19:24:00.000-05:00

Ethan's first time up to bat!

Caitlyn

2010-04-05T10:10:00.000-05:00

Hard to believe she's still just 13! What a beauty!

Ethan and Ali

2010-04-05T10:07:00.000-05:00

I Love This Picture!

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T17:21:00.002-05:00

I had too many good pictures to post separately so enjoy the new slideshow.

The kids have enjoyed 3 separate Easter egg hunts, two parties, and lots of fun. They even got to try their hands at fishing from the golf course pond. Hope everyone has had a wonderful Easter.

Oh - Ethan finished his first book in the series of Readers. We celebrated with cake and an official ceremony. The cake looked prettier than it tasted! I should have watched the YouTube video about "folding in" whipped egg white BEFORE I made it. That was a triple layer cake! Yah, I know, you all have to look closely at the picture again.

Sophia weighed in at 11 lbs. 8 ozs. at her 2 month well-baby! We love our sweet tempered little munchkin!

Creme Brulee

2010-03-31T21:08:00.003-05:00

I made some. It was easy! Thanks Nancy (mom) for the cool kitchen torch. I've had so much fun trying new recipes lately. There are so many yummy ways to serve a chicken, for example!

Sophia is growing like a weed, and I need to post new pics soon!

My birthday

2010-02-28T15:46:00.003-06:00

I forgot to mention in my last post that Casey's birthday gift for me this year was a cookbook stand (I LOVE) and have wanted for ages, and a Le Crueset dutch oven which I used for the beef bourgignon. Good stuff! If only I didn't have to add that extra year to the tally.

Eating Right

2010-02-28T15:14:00.003-06:00

In recent months, the Ratliff family has been making a valient effort to be more healthy - in particular, in the food we eat. Casey has spearheaded this effort and admittedly with much resistance on the part of his wife and teenage daughter who, let's face it, Really like spaghettios and toaster strudel! However, he did not throw up his hands and say forget it; he kept pushing and we have gradually gotten used to the idea.
The hardest part for me is not buying the cheapest brand at the grocery store, but choosing the organic version which is always WAY more expensive, and reading the labels for the least processed, nitrite free, high fructose corn syrup free versions of everything, the grass-fed meat, the fresh veggie and fruits, etc. You ever notice the cheap processed food is much more affordable. No wonder America struggles with weight gain! Anyway - we are working at it, and I am on board. (We do have occassional treats and hot chocolate in the mornings - made from the finest ingredients and sugar substitutes of course!)
Last night, I made beef bourgignon from scratch, and it was amazing. We have fresh bread several times a week, etc. The most exciting thing is, I haven't had a soft drink since Jan 31, and have almost completely eliminated the fast food stops!!! Here's to a healthier life!

Did I say Extremely quiet

2010-02-19T18:48:00.001-06:00

Sophia Grace is here!

2010-02-10T17:14:00.005-06:00

Our new bundle of joy arrived on Monday, February 1, 2010. She weighed in at 8 lbs, 1.2 ozs. and was 20 1/2 inches long.

Quick birth story - I was scheduled for induction on the 1st because we live almost 3 hours from the hospital and I was having my 4th. Didn't want a roadside delivery! Casey's mom Nancy was due on the 31st to help us with the other monkeys, so after 2 weeks of false labor we were happy to make it to that point! I was supposed to call at 0430 to confirm they had space, but got a call at midnight that a bed was available and to come on in. At 1:30, I was checked and already at 4 centimeters so she was on her way anyway. They monitored my contractions for about 2 hours, and then started pit to help me get into a pattern, which I immediately did. Another hour later, doc broke my water, still at 4. I got an epi at 6ish, which didn't start working till 6:30 or so. Sophia was born in one contraction (2 little pushes) at 7:39 am. They logged my active labor at 2:39. I'm thinking "thank goodness I didn't have to drive to San Antonio in labor!" She came into the world screaming, but has been an extremely quiet baby from that point on.

Her siblings all love her dearly. My biggest job so far is protecting Sophia from the "lovin" of her 2 year old big sister!

More to follow.

Update and hopefully we're back in business

2009-12-07T21:55:00.003-06:00

It's been a crazy last 6 months or so - and I sadly neglected our blog but for anyone still interested, I intend to get my act together and keep it updated again. So
quick recap -
Darla's now 31 weeks prego. Baby Sophia is doing well (most definitely a girl)- and may be a "big" baby they tell me. Yikes. The pregnancy has not been particularly fun - more sickness, and probably experienced every one of those discomforts of pregnancy you read about with this one. I've also had to travel 2 1/2 hours 2-3 times a month to San Antonio for OB care with that number increasing now towards the end, so We'll be happy when she's here and healthy. I did have some fun at Halloween and turned my belly into a ball. It was a big hit.

Casey is always busy. He bought a Cherokee 140 this summer and has been instructing his first student pilot in it. He's like a little boy with a new toy.

Caitlyn is an 8th grader and involved in choir and academic meets (UIL. It got crazy so she has temporarily left the swim team till next spring. She's almost as tall as me (mom) (her only goal in life right now seems to be overtaking me) but is not quite there. That does not stop her from regular invasions of my closet! Lately it's "You can't fit into it anyway right now". gee, thanks for the reminder.

Ethan is always our sweet little boy. HE's so smart and fun. He's into legos and transformers and for some reason is hooked on Bionicles although his only exposure was a McDonald's happy meal toy. He's great at looking after his little sister most of the time and I love having him home with me. He's very excited about his new little sister on the way and is learning to read so he can read books to her.

Alisea is our little spitfire. She's got more energy than the rest of us put together and keeps me going all day long. She potty trained herself, picks out her own clothes, etc. and is very independent. She too is excited about baby "totilla". We laugh because she still pronounces Caitlyn like chicken so we'll have chicken and tortilla.

We did lots of camping this summer and I'll put much of it in the slide show.

Just in case anyone still looks at this thing

2009-08-11T14:48:00.002-05:00

I know it's been forever. I intend to do a long catch up summer post, and get back into the swing of things soon - I promise. In the mean time, here's a tasty tid-bit to tide you over. For those who already know - well - the catch up's coming.

OKAY..... The Ratliff family is adding one more little person to the mix on or around Feb. 08, 2009. Yup, Darla is having a baby. It's quite crazy really, but a happy thing nonetheless. I really can't figure what God had in mind, but it would seem any fertility issues I had in my twenties have done an about face and I have now become fertile myrtle. Here, in writing is my proclamation that there will be NO MORE after this one. We do have a built in baby-sitter, at least for a few more years.

For any of you wondering if we planned this, the answer is Kinda but not really. Since we do know how babies are made, we can't say we were "preventing", but that litle window of opportunity was awfully small, so I am tinking God wanted to send this litte one our way pretty bad. And I think Santa may have had something to do with it.

Early ultrasound indicates probably a boy - I don't really like the name Casey's getting set in his head, so if you have some good ones, throw em my way while I can still change his mind. The kids are all excited. Ali likes to blow on my stomach and points to the general area when I ask her where the baby is. Ethan wants to share his room with the baby. He may have to. And Caitlyn, while wishing for another sister, is excited too. I wonder if she'll want to cut the cord again?

Okay then. Till next time.

RODEO

2009-05-08T17:36:00.003-05:00

I almost forgot to mention that we took the whole fam to the Rodeo - Bull-riding this weekend too. I'd never actually been to the bull riding and no rodeos since my Safford days. It was super fun - at least it was once the sun dropped behind the bleachers - No cover for us in the cheap seats! I loved getting decked out in my wranglers and boots - Casey didn't have any - but he does now. hmmmmm. Now we'll have to go dancing so can wear em.

PARTY PARTY

2009-05-08T17:27:00.003-05:00

Don't even remember where I left off, but in a nutshell. Caitlyn turned 13 on the 22nd. Her b-day party was right after Ethan's with water fun and pizza being the theme.

Casey's BIG dining out was on the 26th. It was a huge success, after five months of planning and condiderable stressing. The Chief of Staff, General Schwartz, seemed impressed, as he should have. It was amazing how he and his team of voluntolds transformed the Del Rio civic center into a beautiful banquet hall. The standard Dining Out protocol and meal made for a great evening. I'll post pictures when I get them uploaded.

May 2nd Darla's much smaller branch activity went off well - and was followed by yet another celebration BBQ by the folks who had made it through the dining out in one piece. Casey mastered the art of making sushi - and I even tried some with raw tuna in it and it wasn't bad. Still like the veggie ones better though. We joined our neighbors across the street for a poolside steak party the following night. I think that pretty much has us up to date.

April

2009-04-23T17:41:00.004-05:00

I didn't even realize it had been a whole month. Where does the time go? Mainly - I figured it wasn't much fun to read stuff without any pictures to look at but I finally found the usb cord for my camera!!

April is a busy month for the Ratliff clan. Casey's mom and Denny came out for a long weekend and Easter. We always enjoy when they visit. Got to spend a night in a fancy hotel on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, which we've wanted to do at least once before we leave here, so that's done! After a quick stop at the Alamo, we headed to Del Rio. We enjoyed a night at the local theater for a Hispanic comedy show. Good stuff. Then the base had some fun Easter activities planned for the kids. It's always fun to watch the kids plow down the field for the thousands of Easter eggs scattered all over - this time, the golf course. The pond was open for kids to fish, and there were activities for all.>

Easter Sunday meant more food - a buffet at the base club and a rack of lamb for dinner - our first attemt at lamb - not too bad, if I do say so myself. the weekend didn't do much for the waistline!

Monday was Ethan's birthday. We took a trip to SA to return Grams and Gramps and then visited Chuck-E-Cheeses for lunch. The gods were with me, as Ali fell asleep just as we arrived - I tucked her in her stroller and got to play with Ethan for a bit, and eat my sandwich. She woke up just before we left, rode a couple of motion toys and we were off.

We celebrated Ethan's 4th birthday the following Sat. in a combined party with his buddy. We had a carnival complete with bouncy castle,snow cones, pinata, games, cotton candy, prizes and more. It was a great time. My friend made the cake for this one, and as an awesome touch, made "popcorn" cupcakes that were so awesome.

I'll do more on the month later - kid meltdown in progress.

Answered Prayers

2009-03-26T14:52:00.002-05:00

Brief recap; My (Darla's) dad has a rare form of cancer that he's been battling for 6 ish years now. This cancer grows in his abdomen, randomly and as they get large, do damage to his insides. He's had surgery to remove the masses and this has been successful in keeping him with us. Recently, they came back, much more quickly than before, and his doctors in California (he was on his mission) said they could not operate because of the location of the largest one and that he wasn't expected to live more than a year. I won't go into details except to say that he returned to AZ, his docs there weren't ready to throw in the towell just yet, operated on him this morning, and got the big bugger out that was going to kill him. I don't know what all else this entailed yet, but I'm so so so so so happy and thankful that we've been given more time with him!!! He will have to deal with the recovery, again, but he is such a strong man and I know he'll be alright!! I have some pictures of him from his visit last week, but my darn computer won't accept the card they're on so I am still figuring that one out. He and Fran spent a week here in Del Rio and we loved it!

Alisea's big bed

2009-03-05T21:48:00.002-06:00

We moved Alisea into her "big girl" bed a few days ago. I know it's a bit early (20 months) but we want to use her room as the "guest" room so we got her a daybed with the pop up trundle which makes into a king size bed. She's actually doing quite well, I say that, and she's in her crib tonight (It's temporarily still up as a "threat") which worked till tonight. SHe was being mischevious and kept sneaking out tonight. It was actually very funny, but I had to be "mean mommy" and put her in the crib after the 3rd time. She looks so tiny on the bed, and I can't help feeling sad that she's getting to be such a big girl already.

On another note: Caitlyn got the part of Rooster in Annie. I remember so well the need to cast girls in the boy roles. She's taken to singing in the shower, and I can hear her trying to sound more "manly". Too cute.

we've been telling Ethan he can only turn four next month if he stays in his bed with the lights off (he's taken to getting up in the middle of the night and coming into our room) and drink his milk. It's funny how he stopped instantly. I guess he really wants to be a big boy. Are we bad????

I'm a victim of facebook

2009-03-02T15:34:00.002-06:00

I have seriously neglected my dear little blog because what little computer time I have has been eaten up by facebook. I can't believe how many people have come out of the woodwork of my past in just a few short months. Holy Moley!! It's been fun, but I realize that a good number of my facebook "friends" are merely acquaintances and I don't need to read up on their daily thoughts or conversations. Anyway - here's what's been going on lately....

My computer CRASHED. I'm so sad, and angry that I didn't back it up when I kept having a feeling I should. So now, many pictures are lost, unless my dear brother-in-law Tim can save them. The rest of it isn't so important. In the meantime, I've been fighting with the internet and wireless connections and finally got the darn thing to work on Caseys laptop. My digital card doesn't work in his, so I'll have to figure out how to get my pictures on here.

Caitlyn placed fourth at the tournemant of Champions in her Oration. We are so proud of her. She's just beginning practice for Annie in her school play. More on that when I know it. SHe's also going to start swimming again with the base/community team.

Ethan and Alisea are my little monkeys. We are working to get Ali into her "big girl" bed. She's doing so-so in that category. She's had some boughts of illness, ear-infection, possible UTI, stomach bug, bad cold - so we're ready for her to feel better.

I'm off to pick up Caitlyn now. More to come - soon.

Hugs and Kisses

2009-02-11T10:29:00.002-06:00

For several weeks now, Ethan has let us know, regularly, that he's "mad at us" for various things. Usually, it's because he doesn't get something he wants right away. Anyway, at first, he wouldn't give me a hug or kiss after he said he was mad. I would act very sad over this. Then the other day, instead of the usual "I'm mad at you, and I'm not giving you hugs and kisses" - he changes the last part and hugs and kisses me. "But I'm still mad at you" he says. Now he always says, "I'm mad at you, but I'll still give you hugs and kisses!" I know, he always seems to be mad at me for something these days, but at least I'm still getting my hugs and kisses.
Casey laughs and says I hold out on the hugs and kisses too, when I'm mad. No way.

Ethan is our snuggle bug. He gives and gets hugs and kisses all day long. He tells me he loves me all the time - at random moments. I love it. I was at my friends house the other day, and Ethan was running around with her son on a playdate. He comes running after Derek around the corner, sees me and stops to say, "Mom, I love you." and off he went again. She thought it was the sweetest thing. I agree. In fact, he just walked over from his movie to put his arms around me, for no apparent reason. How lucky can a mom be?

Skinny Winnie

2009-02-04T21:01:00.003-06:00

If only I could have a doctors orders to add fat, butter, cream, mucho calories to everything I eat because I was too skinny. Alas, it's not MY doctors orders, it's for Alisea. She's just a skinny winnie. She has had some craziness on the growth chart, so off to the nutritionist we went. I think she's just gonna be skinny, because even with all the added fat, she's still just getting taller, but not fatter. We have a weight check tomorrow - so we'll see if what we've done so far has made any difference. If our home scale is somewhat accurate, it's not gonna be pretty. I wish I had a good picture of her Uncle Darin - then they'd shut up and let her just be skinny - it's in the genes! Needless to say, we were off to Old Navy for pants with elastic waist cincher thingys!

So that was our news.

The Gift of Gab

2009-01-24T18:32:00.003-06:00

We have known Caitlyn had "the gift" since she was a little munchkin. She can talk, and talk, and then talk and talk. Her kindergarten teacher told us - and I paraphrase part of this, that she was such a mature little girl, and very intellegent, yada, yada but she sure is, and I quote "a chatty Cathy"! Nothing changed over the years - always the same thing - she's so smart, so intelligent, but she sure likes to talk! Well, it paid off!!!

Caitlyn got first place in the Oration competition at the UIL (University Interscholastic League) meet. I wish I could have been there to congratulate her on the spot, but we celebrated to make it up to her. She got a chocolate cake with green frosting and Christmas tree sprinkles (it was cheap!, and Ethan picked it) We're so proud of our "orator". Maybe she'll be the first female president -Good speeking ability seems to play a pretty big roll in who gets elected ????

The competition invoved choosing from a list of topics, researching and writing the speech, memorizing it, and delivering it to a panel of judges. She has worked very hard on it and we're super proud!!! Now she will be in the tournament of champions in February against winners in the other tournemants across the state!!!

I don't have time for a picture now, but stay tuned.

We're paci free! and other stuff.

2009-01-24T12:01:00.004-06:00

It has actually been 2 weeks, but we are completely pacifier free in the Ratliff house! We went cold turkey (that always seems to work best for my clan) and just stopped giving it to her. I figured it was best to do it before she was old enough to really ask for it. She did fine. Other than laying in her bed a little longer to fall asleep, she hardly seemed to notice. I also managed to get two little pony-tails in her hair this morning. It was pushing it, but she looked so darn cute. I also caught her trying to give her "baby" a drink of her water. I love this age!

Caitlyn is at her first UIL competition. I wanted to go so badly, but it was almost 5 hours away, and too much for the little munchkins to sit through. Anyway, she just finished her oration competition and is anxiously awaiting the awards ceremony later this afternoon. We're keeping our fingers crossed. She also got all A's on her semester report card. We're very proud of her!

Is it Really Jan 6 already?

2009-01-06T15:05:00.001-06:00

I can't believe the whole month of December is gone already. We stayed very busy!

I hope we aren't taken off anybody's Christmas card list for not sending one out this year. I don't know what happened - it just never got done.

We got to go home for Christmas this year. It was great to see all of my mom's family - aunts, uncles, cousins and oodles of new kids for the first time in 4 years. Then we enjoyed our Hancock family party where Santa visited once again, and we got to try our hands at chimes. Big success, I would say! Then we were off to Sierra Vista where we dwarfed Grams and Gramps tree under way too many gifts and enjoyed waking up Christmas morning and watching the joy in our children's faces. Then we were off to Bisbee for still more family reunions. Back in SV, we got to see old friends who were also home for the holidays. It was quite a treat.

After returning home, we got it all put away, and hosted a game night with some of our friends here. A barbecue with the neighbors and lots of yard work on our 82 degree jan. day rounded things out. Whew!

I hope everyone had a joyous Christmas season, remembering our Saviour and being with the ones you love.

Casey's back to work, Caitlyn in school, appointments abound, and life is back to normal after a wonderful 3 week break. Stay tuned.

Turn off the playlist to hear the video!

2008-12-07T22:17:00.000-06:00

My handsome man

2008-12-05T22:01:00.003-06:00

He did the funniest thing today. I was working at the computer and he came up to me and said "Do I look handsome?" Well, of course, I said yes (he was still in jammies and he'd taken a handfull of lotion off the counter and used it to smooth his hair down. It was so funny. We washed his hair and got ready for the Christmas party, and lo and behold, here he comes again, with his hair matted to the top of his head. Obviously I didn't explain the difference in lotion and hair products well enough! He had greasy feeling hair all night, but he did look so handsome!
This coat was one of our hot bargains at Mervyn's. Isn't he handsome!

Ethan was so excited to see Santa arrive in the T-38 tonight! Oh, to be young again! Ali even showed a little excitement (for her, this is somewhat rare - our serious little monkey). She was terrified of the big guy when he actually got wihin 10 feet of her!

Good Stuff!!! Good stuff.

2008-12-05T21:10:00.002-06:00

It has been crazy, but life is great!
we finally saw the urologist in San Antonio and learned absolutely nothing new, but at least we know we are on the right track. She'll be re-tested in March for signs of improvement with the reflux. Thankfully, she now sees her medicine as a good thing and takes it happily - since she could be on it for many years!

On our trip, we spent an insane amount of money - Christmas shopping and hitting going-out-of-business sales. I have a sense of guilt about taking advantage of poor stores who are practically giving stuff away - but who can pass up 80 percent off at Mervyn's? Not me!!!! It was a fun trip - with a trip to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Park and a return to the zoo (we have a season pass, you see!). Casey and I had dinner and a romantic walk on the River Walk one evening. I love, love, love that Caitlyn is old enough to watch her siblings! Did I say I love it!

We returned home and had a wonderful visit with Pops and Granny Dannie. The kids loved calling her that, and I think she came to like it. Maybe she was just being polite? They drove all the way from Louisiana to spend Thanksgiving with us. We hope next time, we can get more time with them. Alisea really took to Pops and I know they loved getting to know them both better!

I got most of the Christmas stuff up, but never seem to have the time to put the boxes away. I took over the reins for the branch Christmas party on Tues, for a party that is tomorrow! Think simple! And I was in charge of crafts for the squadron Christmas party tonight. Did I mention I don't know how to say No? It's probably pretty obvious.

So that pretty much catches things up.

lots of info and pictures coming soon

2008-12-03T14:18:00.002-06:00

It's been crazy busy around our house, so I have lots to mention - but no time just yet. Stay tuned! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Activities Chairperson? Me??

2008-11-21T12:48:00.002-06:00

Calling number 2 - Branch Activities Chair. It seems that dressing up and being one of two who decorated my trunk for Halloween, and helping Caitlyn go all out with her cooking display has somehow landed me in this new calling. Now I get to plan the branch Christmas party which is in 2 1/2 weeks. Ideas??? Anyone???? It will be a morning event. Will I ever learn to say NO??????? Probably not.

The end of a loooooong week!

2008-11-16T21:48:00.003-06:00

If I ever volunteer to host two events for a bunch of women in the same week again, just shoot me. I hosted a game night for the squadron, complet with dinner for 13 ladies on Thursday, and turned around and hosted a baby shower for a friend in the squadron on Sat. morning, complete with brunch and the rest of the hoopla. I am not very good at asking for help (except from Caitlyn, who was ready to run away till it was all over by the end). Both went very well, by the way.
On the plus side, my house has been clean all week (the kids were scared for their lives to get anything out). Casey - bless his heart - made a comment on Friday night that became a great conversation piece at the shower. He said "It's so nice to go into the weekend with the house clean!" My female overworked brain is screaming - "what's that supposed to mean? Are you implying that it is usually a pig sty? and so on" and I'm relatively sure he was sincerely trying to give me a compliment on how nice the house looked. Since I needed him to keep the kids out of my hair Saturday I kept quiet in the interest of harmony. We're such great communicators! To his credit, the house almost always needs attention, somewhere!!!

Ali takes a bath

2008-11-14T15:25:00.003-06:00

The other day, I was gettig the bathtub ready to give the kids a bath. I had put the water in and the phone rang or something so I left to get it. Then Ethan yells, "MOM, Ali got in the tu-ub" in his tattle tale voice. Here's what I found when I returned - I swear, this all happened in about a minute.

To make matters even more interesting - She REALLY needed her diaper changed. She has been in the habit, lately, of sticking her hand in her diaper to "show" us when she's ready to be changed - I know - gross - and she did that in the tub while wearing a 15 pound wet and poopy diaper. Well, now I have a soaking wet, poop filled diaper, floaties, in her clothes, in the tub wearing Ethan's backpack full of his toys, and his hat, and Casey's running the opposite direction as fast as he can go.

Needless to say - bathtime was a long process! We'll let you use the other bathroom if you come visit!

Dental report!

2008-11-14T14:56:00.003-06:00

The kids and I all had our first dental visits in over a year (Ali's first ever) and I was a little nervous about what the results might be having gone that long! Overseas, they only allow once a year visits. It was not too bad!

Ethan went first, and I swear that kid did everything perfectly! I was so proud of my little man. He just got a reminder to brush twice a day (which he is adamant about doing now) and otherwise clean bill of health. The pediatric dentist was so good with both kids - and bonus - he knew where Safford, AZ was!!!!

Alisea was not happy about being tortured by the toothbrush. She's still anxious anytime she's held in place for anything - who can blame her after the reflux stuff she had to do? Anyway, we got her teeth clean and she got a new purple polka dot toothbrush - so she left happy. She loves to wander around the house sucking on it.

Two days later, Caitlyn and I had our visits. I am happy to report NO CAVITIES!!!!! I do have to have a preventive little filling where there is a pretty deep groove in one of my teeth, but no biggie. Caitlyn was cavity free too, but unfortunatly - the x-ray showed that all of her wisdom teeth are already formed and growing in sideways! BAD STUFF. I waw the x-ray and couldn't believe it! Needless to say, she'll be going in for a panoramic x-ray to evaluate how far along they are and a dental surgeon will look at it to determine how soon to cut them out. Yuck!

Here's a picture of my little man - he's the only one I got a shot of.

Help! Blog addresses needed

2008-11-05T20:30:00.002-06:00

I was trying to be fancy and accidentaly deleted my blogger buddy list so I have lost almost all of the addresses for your blogs. Please, if you have one and you read this, would you post it for me?????? I'm so sad because I love reading all of your blogs. I'll have to learn to be more careful!

More Halloween pictures

2008-11-05T18:02:00.000-06:00

Our Little Spanish Dancer

Caitlyn's "other" costume

Caitlyn and Ali in their dresses from Spain

Ethan and Ali are off to trick-or-treat

Halloween Pics - finally

2008-11-05T17:37:00.003-06:00

Okay, so I'm a little slow

Ali loved this stray chihuahua!

My futile attempt to get a picture of all three kids at the same time

Handing out candy after making the rounds

Is this what having a teenager will be like? Missing in Action? We're at the fall festival pumpkin patch
So I'm a little slow!

Tim is my hero!

2008-11-01T21:11:00.002-05:00

I just have to say thank you AGAIN to my brother-in-law, Tim for fixing my internet problem. Casey's laptop has not connected to the internet in months - and I'd tried every thing imaginable (well, obviously not everything, since there was one thing that worked) to fix it. My BIL is a computer genious, seriously, but I know he gets called on all the time to fix people's stuff, and I was determined I would not need to bother him. Well, after months of futile attempts, and most recently losing all of my internet time to Casey - I broke down and called him. He was fixing my computer from Mesa - so cool. Anyway - it took all of maybe 15 minutes tops to figure out the problem and get it fixed. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It's very handy to have smart relatives!

2008-10-25T12:11:00.000-05:00

Chauffer Daddy

Batman and Little Witch - Ethan's friend LuLu

Batman is ready to save the day

The storybook Parade

The "pickle shooting thing"

2008-10-20T22:07:00.008-05:00

Ethan learns at an early age to "shoot down" the bad guys. Watch Casey's head as he follows the movement of the jets in the game. They're playing ACE Combat 4 on Playstation.

Fall Festival and Stuff

2008-10-19T21:55:00.002-05:00

We took the kids to the Fall Festival on base. They had a good time riding the ponies, painting pumpkins, making smores, and much more. Caitlyn has come to realize she's "outgrown" most of the fun stuff, so she was a little bored! We almost got a good family picture, but Caitlyn ditched us for awhile and missed the photo op.

Casey finished the fence, officially. He put the last of the Thomsons Water Seal on and called it good!!! Yeah!!!! Now, what's next on the honey do list???? He's also had the opportunity to take a couple of rides in his buddies' airplanes and has got a serious case of "I want a plane-itis".

I just added a few more pics to the slideshow. I'll start a new one for all the end of October hoopla coming up!

T-38 Spouse Taxi

2008-10-10T20:06:00.003-05:00

Today was so much fun! The squadron had a spouse taxi day where we got to go through the motions of flying a T-38, and then taxi'd at 90-100 knots down the runway. Trying to make the coms at the right time was the hardest part for me! We toured the tower and other facilities, practiced flying in the simulator, which I landed on the first attempt, I might add! got fitted for the proper gear, had pictures taken at the jet, and finished with a great meal. Even babysitting was provided by the student pilots and IP's who weren't participating in the taxi's. I have never been able to participate in the past for various reasons (being pregu, for example) so this was lots of fun for me. I have a new appreciation for the whole process, and enjoyed being in the jet with Casey.

2008-10-09T17:41:00.005-05:00

Caitlyn's volleyball season has ended. She had a good time, and, of course, it's exciting for me to see her playing my favorite sport! Now she's preparing for a program called UIL which is Texas's version of academic decathalon. She is a very bright student, and all that talking she does, combined with her insanely excessive reading addiction, which makes her well versed and mature sounding, has got her speech teacher getting goosebumps about her in class (I talked to her at open house last night), so she'll be participating in oration at the competitions. I think she'll do very well. She's also going to try pantomime (between you and me, I don't know that she'll do as well- CAITLYN not being able to talk??????)

She also got 6 A's and a B on her first report card. She's in all advanced classes, except electives, so we are really happy with her. Tomorrow, she'll have her first "official" babysitting job (one that doesn't involve Ethan and/or Ali) and at someone else's house. She's very excited! My little baby is sure growing up. I can't wait till everyone ses her - you'll be amazed at how "grown up" she's become.

Ethan loves helping me put gas in the car. He's also very good about holding the door for me and other "gentlemanly" tasks. He makes everyone laugh when I tell him what a good gentleman he is and he responds with "I'm not a gentleman, I'm a BOY!"

Alisea had her well-baby check today. She's terrified of doctors offices right now, after the tests she's had done recently, so that was no fun. She is finally putting on a little weight - almost a pound since last month and is finally officially fat enough to face forward in her carseat. She's in the 90th percentile for her height - up from 50th last time, and is at 10 percent for weight. Basically - she's tall and skinny like Uncle Darin.

I keep adding to the slideshow. Here's some more of the monkeys' doings.

Okay - It only took me 6 months...

2008-10-06T22:20:00.003-05:00

To realize, thanks to my sister-in-law, that I am still on Italian time (wishful thinking maybe??) So if you were thinking I'm a serious night owl or something - this is about as late as I get, and then, only when Casey is night flying (guess where he is tonight??)

He really has a pretty cool job. Tonight, he flew with a group of guys to Austin, will have a nice dinner in an actual restaurant without kids, and fly back to go to bed. It's the without kids part I think I'm most envious of. We haven't dared going out to eat as a family unless it involves a play area and a seat with an Ali proof seat-belt. Have you noticed they are always broken???

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2008-10-05T16:27:00.004-05:00

Casey turned a whoppin 35 on Friday (I know, I shouldn't talk!). Time doesn't slow down for anyone! We celebrated Friday by leaving the kids home and going to the movies. Caitlyn baked and frosted a cake and surprised him with it when we got home. She really has a loving side and enjoys doing things for others! Then on Sat. we had a bbq with friends and enjoyed some good company.

This morning, Casey decided to try planting some acorns from our little trees. The kids enjoyed "helping" him.

On a side note: I am back in business with my cell phone and things are good again!

My baby has reflux!

2008-09-26T22:15:00.005-05:00

We just got the results from some tests on Alisea that confirmed that she has viscoureteral reflux. Basically, urine backs up toward the kidney on her left side and it's not supposed to. The problem with it is that it can lead to kidney infection and possible scarring and other problems over time. The tests were ordered initially because she had a bladder infection and the VCUG test is recommended because she was so little to be getting one. Anyway - its a level 3 out of 5 - she'll be on an antiobiotic in a low dose to prevent infection, and probably be evaluated again in a year to see if it has improved any (it can correct as she grows). We don't think, and surely pray, that she won't need surgery to correct it. We haven't actually met with the urologist yet - so I'll update that if he changes the plan.

I am so sad that my baby has to have this in her sweet little body. On a positive note - she gained almost a pound and a half in the past 5 weeks! She was still under 20 pounds at 14 months and not gaining. She is by far our most active little bugger, but it was a concern. Anyway - she has been getting pediasure and it seems to be doing the trick in helping her put on a little weight. While these are the negatives going on with her, she is really very healthy otherwise. If I moved around even a fraction of what she does, I'd lose some weight too!! The monkey figured out, after just a couple of days, how to get herself onto the trampoline and through the net after watching Ethan climb up on a chair. She gets on, and off of chairs, tables, couches, out of the van, over any obstacle, really, and it is absolutely amazing! Ethan's bed has a slide, and we worried about her getting hurt, but she crawls up, and slides down backward, forward, on her belly, just about any way, just fine. She's fearless. I'm scared to death.

I need a phone!

2008-09-24T19:22:00.002-05:00

I can't believe how lost I feel without my phone! The good news is I am getting it replaced (long story) but it won't happen till Friday. In the meantime, it's driving me nuts. We didn't get a home phone, so I'm totally disconnected except through email so if you happen to have tried calling, I really didn't ignore you! It doesn't seem that long ago that we didn't have cell phones, and I thought nothing of it. Then we did the car phone thing (like 12 years ago) and thought we were up to speed. Now, I don't know anyone who doesn't have a cell. Things change so quickly! I was picking up Caitlyn from volleyball practice today, and saw at least 10 different girls talking on theirs. These are 7th graders, mind you!! The rest probably had one in their backpacks (except Caitlyn- big grimace).

Ahhhhhh ALI!!!!!!

2008-09-22T13:34:00.002-05:00

Well, I not only need to replace Caitlyn's cell phone, but now, I get to shop for a new one for me too. I love mine! However, "little miss into everything and then some" managed to dip mine in the toilet yesterday. Thank heaven it was flushed! I couldn't tell for sure, but I don't think she fully submerged it - but it probably won't matter. Ethan rarely remembers to flush, so for that, I'm grateful! I have little hope that it will work again. I already know all of my schedule and contact info has been wiped out. It powered on, but then acted all wacky, so there you go. We just got these in April! Now I feel Uncle Mark's pain - although I think he's the one who dropped his in the toilet (hee-hee)

I guess I should have known better. A few days prior, she was stirring toilet paper with a brush. It's hard to limit her access to it since Ethan uses it all day, and doesn't close the door behind him. It's a good thing I love her so much. GRRRRRRR.

Stay tuned. I'm sure she'll do something else of note before long!!

OUCH!!

2008-09-18T22:51:00.003-05:00

Ethan took a nasty tumble out of the back of a wagon at preschool on Monday. His nose took the brunt of his fall! He's been a trooper - and his teacher, Miss Sally, said he was very strong and other than some tight lipped whimpering, he didn't even cry. Thata Boy!

Alisea is becoming a screamer! Help. I was mortified at Wal-mart (it really is the only place to buy anything around here!) when she started screaming at the top of her lungs every time we tried to move away from whatever had her interest. And trying to leave - oh boy. Then Ethan got going (no nap today!) and if you could have seen the looks of disgust, sympathy, amusement, etc. depending on who was around at the time. These aren't little screams, they are the kind that leave your ears ringing! We'll be stepping up the "you need to learn to talk" lessons pronto!

Caitlyn lost her cell phone last week. It took her a couple of days to "fess up"- but it's gone. Our dilemma now is that we really liked having her on an electronic "leash". Since she hasn't had one, it's been a pain. How do we teach her to be more responsible, though, if we replace it? We intend to have her pay for a new one, but she really doesn't do anything much to make money. If we wait till she has the money, it could be a long time! hmmmmmm.

Casey left for Las Vegas today for a mini practice "deployment". To Las Vegas???? Whose idea was that?? Seems someone important from base is Carrot Top's brother (you know, the comedian) and they are all going to his show and actually plan to hang out with the guy. That could be interesting. He'll be back Sunday.

We finished the fence!! Well, we do still have to put the pickets on the big gate when Casey gets back, but it would be done if the guy who welded it for us had shown up the six different times he was supposed to. No Kidding, are we in Italy or something??? We seriously waited around for this guy day after day - and he didn't even call to say he'd not be coming. Casey would drive to his workshop, get a new time, and then nothing. He just didn't show. The gate, however, is awesome. Casey designed it with some input from Caitlyn. We know the design was a lot harder than the guy anticipated, so we didn't want to make too big a deal of it, but it looks great! He put it up today - and Casey missed it.

What we've been up to.

2008-09-05T14:41:00.004-05:00

It's been a little while, but we've been busy.

We are currently working on our privacy fence. It's been a little slow-gowing, but is coming along and soon, I'll post a finished project photo. It's truly been a family project! Every free moment is spent out there working on it. We don't get much accomplished when the kids are awake (Ali mainly) so we get about 3 hours of good work time, as long as the battery on the drill doesn't die too quickly.

We bought 2 fairly big trees for the backyard. They were delivered and planted yesterday. It's amazing what a difference they make. We got pretty big ones so we could actually enjoy them before we have to sell our house to someone else. I was sad that Ethan was at school when they brought them. He missed the bulldozer in the back yard

Caitlyn is in school, full swing. She lugs around 50 pounds of books and stuff which can't be good for her back! She is on the 7th grade volleyball team and loves that. It's a HUGE team, subdivided into 3 teams.

Ethan loves preschool. Ali loves me!! and Life is good!

What's there to say about Del Rio

2008-08-22T22:31:00.002-05:00

Sadly, now that we are settled in here, I'm finding that life is pretty, well, dull. How do you beat an assignment like Aviano (Italy)? Every post was about the new and exciting things we were seeing and doing, the awesome new places we visited, and so on. Then we arrive in Del Rio. The highlight of our week was seventh grade orientation!
Okay - so it's not really that dull. We have met a great family from Jordan who treated the kids and I to a lovely afternoon on a boat at Lake Amistad. I'm sure that will be mentioned repeatedly during our stay here, as it is the main attraction. Maybe I'll take up fishing, and perhaps even get a tan. That's just wishful thinking on my part.
Ethan did make us laugh till I was almost in tears on the way out to the lake. Caitlyn had a little gas in the car and we were driving along and I hear Ethan say "ewwww. That's a disgusting toot!" In the middle of his movie. Caitlyn, didn't even try to deny it. We laughed so hard at the way he said it that Alisea started doing this funny little fake laugh to mimic us. It was a funny moment!
We are finding that the house we bought is literally surrounded by other military members, mostly from Casey's squadron. It's like off base, base housing! The house across the street was just bought by a family with two boys. They are 11 and 13. Caitlyn is 12. And..... they have a pool. Need I say more. More grey hair, that's for sure.
Well, I'll get the camera dug out for some updates soon.

Whew!!

2008-08-15T15:05:00.002-05:00

I think we set a record for getting moved in. Every box was unpacked in a week. This never happens! I have to say having Casey home to help with it all was a tremendous help and the kids were pretty cooperative, considering. Granted, we did get a shipment on Wed. from our storage in Phoenix with about 15 more boxes, mostly tools, that I haven't bothered with yet, but I'm not counting that! Except for putting up a few more pictures the house is ready for game night! Now if only we had someone to invite!! We sure miss all of our friends and family.
We are slowly meeting people, but haven't been outside of the house socially enough yet.
Caitlyn is participating in the Missoula Children's theater - presenting The Little Mermaid, tonight and tomorrow. I'll take pics and post that later. She's anxious to start the 7th grade on the 25th and make some new friends.
Ethan started preschool two weeks ago. It's been good for him. The only program around here that was only part day was on base, so I drive him 20 min. each way for that, but everywhere else had long days - 7:30 to 3 ish. I'm not trying to get rid of him all day, just a few hours (hee-hee). He's meeting lots of friends.
Alisea is getting bigger and starting to say more words. She loves to point out all the dogs on our evening walks, but freaks out when we get close to one. She is learning to be pretty tough, having big brother Ethan to fend off all day, so we are having some minor (so far) issues with her biting and hitting. She's getting a little more hair, which is much lighter than I expected!
Life is good.

Celery?

2008-07-30T10:34:00.005-05:00

Yep, the paint Caitlyn chose was called Celery. I must say, I am so proud of us for starting and FINISHING the paint project we planned for Caitlyn's room, and in one day! Oh to be young, and bold again. We did that faux painting technique with a lighter color that toned it down a bit, thankfully.
Ethan enjoyed putting some paint on the walls. We kinda had to include him. Who doesn't love to paint when they are little??? It was fun, and tiring, and we didn't get any on the floor!

SOLD!

2008-07-28T21:54:00.005-05:00

Whoo Hoo!!! We closed on our house on Friday!! I'm so relieved that when we actually got the keys I still really liked the house. I was so worried that after seeing so many and having to choose between them, that I'd wonder if I should have picked a different one. Anyway - We had a mix-up with our household goods delivery date, so we won't have anything for yet another week! So now, instead of camping out in San Antonio, we are camping here. We've had a good first few days back in Del Rio and are looking forward to making the most of our time here.Ali tripped over the door jam on day 2 and now has a doozy of a fat lip. She's otherwise really enjoyed all the wide open space to run around in. She opens the empty cabinets and puts things in, crawls in, etc. Ethan is just anxious to get his garbage truck back, and Caitlyn is going to paint her room while we wait. I'll do a before and after pic. of that.

"I'm your son!"

2008-07-23T15:00:00.002-05:00

A couple evenings ago, we were babysitting for our neighbors kids. During dinner, Casey turned to the little boy and said, "Son, you need to eat if you want to get strong....." or something like that. And Ethan pipes up immediately with - "He's not your son, I'm your son!" Casey was caught a little off guard, but we had a good laugh about it. I guess Casey will have to use names.

The Movies and more.

2008-07-21T14:46:00.003-05:00

We saw "Hancock" this weekend. I kinda had to, since that is my maiden name. We'd heard it wasn't very good, but I must say I was entertained. The next day I went to "Journey to the Center of the Earth" with Caitlyn and that was fun. We don't get to spend nearly enough time together without the monkeys along, so it was very nice. I am not too picky with movies, and I liked it, even as far fetched as it all was. Caitlyn loved it. Then, we were off to Cold Stone for some very yummy, and very very expensive ice-cream. We plan to make our mother-daughter time a more regular, once a month, and probably standard movie night. The options for a m/d date in Del Rio are seriously limited, so this should work out great! She's starting to like the more chick flicky stuff, so Casey gets off the hook this way!

We also spent a few hours at the zoo, and I am happy to report super behavior from the kids, and my foot and knee problems did not slow me down (well, not very much). The darn lions were sleeping again. The coolest thing was the hippo exhibit. They have a little pond that is visible through a glass enclosure. Both hippos were underwater, and we could see all of them. It was cool to see them swimming and floating around. Ethan's favorite thing was the black goat he got to feed. Alisea freaked out when they got anywhere near her. She cracked me up when she locked her little legs around my torso when I tried to stoop over for her to see them up close! The camera battery was dead, so I have to get the pictures from my phone. I'll add them later.

Grrrrrrrrr! Need to vent.

2008-07-15T13:12:00.002-05:00

Just got back from the doctor- again - with news that explains why my foot has been hurting so badly for the past 5 weeks. Apparently - I have a stress fracture on the calcaneous (heel) that is in the healing stage (thankfully, I'm past the most painful part) AND I apparently have another stress fracture in the 3-4 metatarsals which are currently causing me much pain and swelling. I probably should have been in a boot, and definitely not using my foot so much. I now have to wait a week so another x-ray can determine whether the metatarsals are in fact fractured. This is all very irratating, since I did absolutely nothing to injure them but walk. It seems that because I was completely non weight bearing for so long, that the bones thinned and weakened (a common side effect), and I just happened to fracture mine in multiple places. These usually occur after a fall off of something high (a roof or bleachers) or after hard running with pounding - neither of which I came anywhere close to. Grrrrrrr!!! I almost cried when he recommended I use the crutches for a couple of weeks, at least partially. Knee is doing pretty darn good though, considering. It's also good to have verification that I wasn't just being a baby!

I just hope it doesn't get any worse and that I can walk somewhat normally when we get to move into the house. Okay - thanks for listening.

Just 2 more weeks and....

2008-07-14T10:14:00.002-05:00

We'll all get to sleep in our own beds, and not on air mattresses and foam cushions.
We'll all fit around the table together when we eat.
The kids can watch a movie at the same time I'm on the internet.
We can park in a garage - and the inside of the car won't be 110 when we get in.
I can cook a meal that requires more than one pan, or a casserole dish.
I can do laundry more than once every two weeks, and in my own house!
Our clothes will be in drawers instead of in piles and suitcases all over the floor.
Caitlyn can make some new friends.
Our "coffee" table won't be 2 stacked rubbermaid bins.
I won't have to drive 8 miles to check out a vacuum cleaner I only get to keep one day at a time.
We'll have pictures on the walls
We'll have shelves for books, bins for toys, drawers for loose items, etc
Etc. Etc.

We are getting so excited to move into our new house.

Lots of goings on

2008-07-07T08:59:00.003-05:00

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Independence Day. We enjoyed festivities at Randolph Air Force Base. Our kids were so tired by the time the fireworks started they could hardly keep their eyes open, but they still enjoyed them.

Yesterday we took the kids to the San Antonio Zoo. We ended up getting a membership so I can take the kids whenever we want. There were some fun things for the kids there. Ethan got the most excited about an aquarium full of turtles. We've been getting rain, and we enjoyed a cloudy day with a few light showers while we were there. Not bad for a Texas July day!

I am officially off the crutches and cane. Caitlyn teased me that crutches were for hurt people and canes were for old people so I developed a complex about using the cane! Aside from some soreness in my foot, and weakness in my leg, I'm doing pretty good. It feels good to be able to walk normally - well almost.

I miss my Caitlyn

2008-07-01T09:13:00.002-05:00

I am now realizing just how much Caitlyn was helping me this summer. She has been on her vacation for a week now, and life at home is so different, and so much harder for me with my bum knee and ankle problems. I don't JUST miss her for her slave labor, although I admit that is nice, but she's fun just to have around too. I can't wait for her to get back.

Where is Ali's hair?????

2008-07-01T09:06:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, we were eating pizza on base and a little girl (like 7 ish) got excited about Ali's earrings being so pretty to her mom. We could hear her very clearly since she was sitting right behind us. Then she asks us, "is she a girl?"! That was kinda the whole point of getting the earrings. We thought it was pretty funny, especially since Ali was wearing all pink, and had pink earrings and still got questioned. She looks very much like a girl. Oh, to have hair! Someday. Till then, I'll just have to relish not having to comb anything during her "I can't sit still" stage!

Some cute kid stuff

2008-06-29T22:59:00.004-05:00

We were in Del Rio, AGAIN, this weekend and the kids and I were at the TLF room doing laundry and hanging out while we waited for Casey. Ali decided to explore the cabinets in the kitchen, and found one she could fit into. Then she discovered the pots and pans were in there too, and she had such a good time banging that stuff around!!!
Then she decided to wear my shirt. She actually put her head in intentionally, and got very upset when I tried to remove it. She put it right back on. She has figured out that the camera means to smile, and even at barely a year old, she's a little ham! This is very fun for us because she normally seems so serious and contemplative.
Ethan was hanging out in his stroller to watch Scooby Doo, instead of using the couches and chairs in the room. Doesn't he look handsome?! Notice the band-aid on yellow bear's head. I think it's going to be permanent. He's also got two others!!
The monkeys enjoying the ride home. We just turned Ali around and she loves facing forward. She and Ethan are good buddies and keep each other pretty well entertained. The rest of the time, it's the rear entertainment system. What did parents do before portable movie watching??? I am thankfully never going to find out! We'll see how they do when we drive all the way to Arizona in August!

Caitlyn isn't in any of these because she's in Idaho with her friend Sam for a bit. She got to see her friend Nash in Salt Lake for a few days too. We miss her and hope she's having a good time. I'm sure she'll post to tell you all about it!

Did we buy a house?

2008-06-26T20:31:00.004-05:00

We Finally bought a house - well, technically it's not ours yet, but we did get a contract signed. After Countless hours on the internet, four trips to Del Rio, 50+ home visits (some of those were 2nd looks), multiple offers and negotiations, lots of gas (the expensive kind) 6 nights in TLF, and all this with our 3 munchkins in tow, we did it. Keep in mind we found out we were headed to Del Rio in December, and have been on the internet looking at these houses since then! After all that, it was kinda anti-climatic. I guess it was such a long time coming, and then took several days to "negotiate" and contracts were faxed back and forth, etc. etc. that it just sorta happened without much fanfare. I intend to make Casey take us out for dinner when we close! Needless to say, we're headed back, AGAIN, this weekend for the inspection. Are home buying expenses tax deductible???

This picture is from the realtors site, I'll post more when it's actually ours.

My baby is 1!!

2008-06-24T21:29:00.002-05:00

I can't believe my little peanut is a year old already. She's been such a joy in our lives. I can't imagine life where she isn't in it! She's practically running, and loves to play with her big brother. She has gotten a little more attached, and hangs on so tight to my neck when she wants to keep being held. She has a smile that lights up our home, with her four little teeth showing proudly. I am truly blessed! Now I have to figure out how to get her to drink her milk.
We celebrated with a cake at the home of our realtor in Del Rio, where we had gone to play in the pool. She made a serious mess on the patio, and then we just took the hose and sprayed it all off! I'll have to post pictures later because I am an idiot and left the camera in San Antonio and the only shots we got were from Casey's phone. I'll figure out how to put them on here soon.
Happy Birthday Ali!

2008-06-16T12:19:00.000-05:00

A Happy Father's Day

2008-06-16T11:24:00.004-05:00

I think Casey, aka Daddy, had a good Father's Day. He wanted to take the kids to SeaWorld for the day, so that's what we did. We arrived at about 10 in the morning, and left at 9 pm. Whew!! Our kids are troopers, I tell ya! We were able to take advantage of their program that allows military members and up to 3 dependents free admission, so that was awesome. Between the shows, roller coasters, and water attractions, there was never a dull moment! Casey spent the day filling and refilling water bottles and Darla applied everybody's sunscreen at least 4 times. We rented me a wheelchair, and Caitlyn got to push me around while Casey pushed the stoller. If you have to be stuck in a wheelchair, take advantage of the little things. We got to go straight up to the front of the lines through the wheelchair access to get on the rides. Ethan's favorite thing was the blue pirate boat (Shamu's happy harbor). I have always been partial to the sealion and otter show!

Hope everyone had an awesome Father's Day!

Crutches - Be Gone!!!! Sorta

2008-06-13T16:26:00.004-05:00

It figures that I get the go ahead to lose the crutches, and I find that I still need them, at least partially, because I have apparently developed some sort of tendonitis or something in my ankle and foot. The doc. was a little stumped but the fact is, every step I take feels like I'm walking on a bed of sharp pointy rocks (like it feels when you walk barefoot in a riverbed with lots of jagged edges) and I get shooting pain through my ankle. Anyway - it's a wait and see if it subsides or not thing. Here's hoping it goes away SOON! Poor Casey wants me to be better so bad! He's been getting up for the baby during the night, and early morning since this injury occurred and can't wait to hand that duty back to me!

The knee is doing great! I have 135 degrees flexion back. That isn't expected till much later, so that's awesome.

Looking forward to the weekend.

We're Going on a House Hunt...

2008-06-09T14:33:00.002-05:00

We just spent the weekend in Del Rio where we explored 29 different houses, 27 in one day. In case you have forgotten, I'm on crutches! That's another story.

Anyway, This was our third trip, and we have probably seen close to 50 houses, and the Ratliffs could be happy in half of them. We made an offer on one, which was a really low offer on a great, but over our budget house, that has been on the market almost a year. We had a pretty good shot at getting it, but they countered with more than we want to spend and we are moving on to the next one. I don't know what's going on there, but who the heck do they keep building houses for??? Del Rio's not a big place.

So - Caitlyn did a great job babysitting for us all day Saturday. (At least, the kids were alive and happy when we got home) She's getting lots of practice for when we get settled in and she can sit for the neighbors.

I was pretty exhausted by the end of the day. I could see my foot swelling throughout the day - stopped wearing a shoe about halfway through, and then by the time I got to sit down for the night, and took off the brace my knee was the size of a cantaloupe and my calf looked like Popeye's forearms after he gets his spinach! The brace kept the areas under the straps compressed so the swelling went into the open areas. It was actually pretty funny. It is back to normal now, thankfully. I am supposed to lose the crutches Friday. Yippee!!

Casey's a major....

2008-06-01T12:41:00.002-05:00

Pain in the behind! Not really - he's finally a Major in the United States Air Force. Way to go Casey!!! Now, what to do with the extra money??? I'm sure I'll think of something.

Alisea is walking!

2008-05-30T16:11:00.002-05:00

It's official. She is walking. Still not very far, but I think we can definitely say she is walking. Yippee, and Oh Noooo!! It's funny how much you look forward to these little milestones, and then wish you could still look forward to them at the same time! She is growing up too fast.

Alisea gets her ears pierced and Ethan outsmarts dad

2008-05-26T19:24:00.003-05:00

We decided to go ahead and get Ali's ears pierced. I think if she had any hair, we'd have waited awhile, but the poor kid still doesn't even have enough for a little bow. She only cried for a second (okay, maybe more like 4 minutes) but she seems to be no worse off for it. Anyway, they look so cute and pretty. Now, if she's not wearing pink ruffles, maybe admirers will guess she's a girl. She's still not really walking. She teases us with 2-3 steps, but then goes right back to crawling. I think it's a patience thing, which we are discovering she doesn't have. Wobbling steps just take too long.

Kids are so funny. Ethan has a way of getting the best of his daddy. Today, we had a little picnic at the park and Ethan wasn't eating his sandwich. He wanted the chocolate teddy grahams instead. So, Casey says to him after much argument.. "Ethan, I will give you the world, but first you have to eat your sandwich." Referring to the food we had around, And Ethan replies, as serious as can be, "but I don't want to eat the world." We got a good laugh over that one.

Hope everyone had a pleasant Memorial Day, and had a chance to reflect on what the many men and women service members over the years have sacrificed so that we can enjoy our wonderful freedoms.

Caitlyn gets glasses

2008-05-24T15:30:00.003-05:00

Caitlyn is now a fellow "four eyes". She's needed glasses for awhile now, and we finally got her some. Wal-mart was super quick. We were told 7-10 working days, and she had them in 3! I think she looks very grown up and Italian now, and as beautiful as ever. She's in awe at the clarity and detail she can finally see.

I can't help but think about my first pair of glasses. My mom really liked this red-rimmed pair that were HUGE. I had a second pair that were just as big and Owl like. Casey still laughs at just the mention of those things. Caitlyn's are so petite!

Caitlyn goes Dancing

2008-05-18T21:56:00.002-05:00

I can't believe my little baby is 12 and going to dances! The church had a youth dance Saturday night, and Caitlyn wanted to go. She rolled her pants and put her hair in the side ponytail to go out and boogie to the 80's music of my day! She commented that lots of dances have 80's themes, and I agreed since we had the best music and "coolest" dress styles then (you all know I'm kidding, right?) She just rolled her eyes at me. It went pretty much as I expected for her. Everyone just stood around talking, and since she didn't know anyone much, she ended up calling for us to come pick her up. Yeah for her new cell-phone (NOT). I wonder if anyone ever uses the phones in the building anymore??? So, Casey picked her up and took her on a date instead to see Caspian. Don't know how many more dates Casey will get with her before she's too "old" for that kinda thing.

Happy Mother's Day and Lellow Bear

2008-05-12T10:37:00.003-05:00

Mother's Day is always so nice. It's way better than my birthday, mostly because I don't have to add another year to my already rapidly increasing age, but also because somehow, my family is extra, extra good to me. I must say, though, that I've been waited on hand and foot for 10 days now, so it's been like Mother's Day over and over, but there was definitely more chipperness!!! I am truly blessed.

I have to tell you how funny Ethan has been lately. A couple of days ago, he asked me if I'd use an extra ace wrap I had to wrap his "broken" leg, so I did. A few minutes later, he comes hobbling in with a pillow and asked me if he could sit by me and prop up his leg like me. It was so precious. Then yesterday, his favorite bear, lello Bear (very inventive name for his Yellow Bear, I know) had a broken leg. We put one of Alisea's socks on it, and he made a bed for him in the corner out of his special blanket and propped his leg up too. It is so darn cute.

On another note. I think Alisea will be walking any day. She's taken a step or two forward and then sits down, so it's definitely going to be soon. We got some cute video of her and Ethan in the pool Saturday. Now - how to put it on here.?? If it's on here somewhere later, that means I figured it out.

Come here Ali, Come on!!!

2008-05-10T11:43:00.004-05:00

It has been an interesting morning. Caitlyn and Casey are taking a cpr course together (I had planned to do it, but the knee, you know, so Casey took my place so we wouldn't lose the money) which is five hours long plus travel time. As a result, I am holding down (or up) the fort with Ethan and Ali ALONE. Whew! It took me almost an hour to get them both fed, and settled in for a movie. Ali got into Ethan's cereal bowl and that was another 2o minute clean up. I had to coax Ali up near her bed so I could lift her up and in for her nap. She may think twice next time I call her. I must look like quite a sight, scooting along on my rear along the floor in order to get from place to place while carrying anything. I never want to do this crutch thing again! So far so good, though, only 3 more hours and my big helpers get home!!!

Right now, I'm listening to Ethan sing along and interact with Diego. What a precious sound. Those spanish words will come in handy in Del Rio!

Had the stitches removed yesterday and my second Physical Therapy session. Looks good so far. I can fully extend it, which is really important, and have about 85 degrees of flexion so far. Each day gets a little better. I'm amazed at how hard 10 leg lifts are though. Problem is that my legs were both puny and underexercized before this, so now it's coming back to bite me! Dr. emphasized that I should not put any weight on it for the 6 weeks though, and showed me the pictures they took during the surgery. Amazing! I saw the stitches in the meniscus, which were many, and it was a very large tear, so that's the reason for the non weight bearing. I was glad he could repair it, instead of just cutting it away (will be grateful for that in ten years, I'm sure). I now have screws in both knees, holding my new and hopefully improved ACL's in place. Wonder how many metal detectors I can set off!

Darla has surgery!

2008-05-05T15:09:00.003-05:00

It's been a little while, mainly because we have hit and miss internet access (we are actually "borrowing" the wireless signal from somewhere around here - I know - that's terrible, but it's only because we are only here a few months, and would have to buy a new modem and a bunch of stuff we already have in our shipment. It's a very bad signal anyway, and only works about 1 in 5 tries. Everyone else has secured networks which is good (but not for us at the moment) The apartment has internet in a little business center we would use, but I'm a gimp and can't get to it at the moment.)

So...

As I mentioned in an earlier post - I had a fall/buckled knee at the airport on our trip from Italy on the 6th. The MRI was sone on the 26th and I saw the Orthopedic doc on Wed. the 30th. Up until then, I had tried to regain normal use of my knee, as I had been able to in the past, but it was not improving. I could not get it fully extended and it still hurt terribly. Anyway, the MRI showed a complete tear of the ACL and a large bucket-handle tear of the medial meniscus. The meniscus was the main problem, since it had flipped up and was keeping my leg from extending. The doc says to wait while he checks with the surgeon for best course of action, and not five minutes later, he walks in with Dr. Brown who tells me he has a cancellation for tomorrow (May 1) and would I be able to fill it? Timing is everything, since normally, it would be more like 4 weeks out, assuming they can get me in at all. I have to check with Casey, of course, but it all works out and I'm back that afternoon doing all the pre-op stuff. By 9:00 the next morning, I'm in the operating room. Recovery has been hard. I had to ween Alisea cold turkey - which was it's own kind of pain, and it's been hard on the family - esp. Caitlyn who is having to do so much to help with the little ones. She's been a sport about it though. The nerve block I had was supposed to work for up to 24 hours to keep me pain free (or at least comfortable) before needing pain meds. Mine started wearing off during the surgery, so they had to knock me out a little deeper and redo it right after the surgery to give me some relief. That didn't last long either. The anesthesiologist said my liver metabolized it too fast - so I'm an unlucky one. Needless to say, the Percocet wears off pretty quick too, and started making me itch, so I stopped taking it and am dealing with just ibuprophen. Thankfully, the pain is mostly subsiding, and the swelling continues to improve.

So there you have it. I'll give updates when I have one.

Caitlyn's 12 Today!

2008-04-22T20:29:00.003-05:00

We celebrated Caitlyn's 12th birthday today. She is quite a young woman! Seems like we've been celebrating it for a month though, since we had the bowling party before we left Italy, gave her the cell phone early, and Grams came for a surprise visit for the weekend, which was filled with fun. Today was pretty uneventful. She helped me do laundry, got Arby's for lunch, per request, and we had a giant birthday cookie with our friends who live nearby. She is now officially old enough to babysit!!!! Gotta love that.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ETHAN!

2008-04-15T21:52:00.004-05:00

Our big boy turned 3 on Sunday. He was very excited to be so big. Since we don't know any other little people around here, we spent the day doing fun things for him. We started with a trip to a park, then to Horton Hears a Who at the theater, and Chuck E Cheese's finished out the night. He loved that, I'll tell you. He picked out his cupcakes with the Backyardigan things on the top at Wal-mart, and we got another one anyway at CEC cause it was close to closing time and they were getting rid of them for a dollar! He also got free cotton candy. I think he had fun!

I can't believe he's already 3.

We made it to Texas, barely

2008-04-15T21:15:00.003-05:00

I have to go back a little cause there has been much going on for the Ratliff clan. Hopefully, no one will get bored -

I'll begin with our adventerous trip. For those of you who aren't familiar with European travel patterns, they don't really carry much luggage. In fact, many airlines charge for bags after the first one, or all bags on some carriers. Needless to say, when the Ratliff's rolled in at 6:00 am to the Venice airport with 11 suitcases at max capacity, a pack and play, 3 carry-on's, 3 stuffed backpacks, 2 laptop computers, a huge double stroller, and 2 carseats, an extra bag of munchies, and Caitlyn's purse, we were the object of much attention! (You should have seen us in Chicago with customs!)

The flight's were fairly good - although we did have some pretty long layovers, but relatively few meltdowns amongst us. To make matters more exciting, since they weren't already, Darla decided to completely blow out her left knee just as we were preparing to board our last segment to San Antonio, thus requiring a wheelchair to get to the plane. I'll worry about details later. Anyway, I asked for ice, and was told I would have to wait until after the drink service (they didn't want to run out of ice for the passengers!!!!!!) Upon arriving in San Antonio, at 12:15, I was wheeled to baggage, where Casey proceeded to gather up all of our stuff, while I looked on. We couldn't resist the picture opp!! We required 2 van taxi's to get to Randolph TLF at 1:15 am. Total travel time from TLF to TLF - 30 hours!

I spent the first morning (5 hours) in the emergency room. I'm hobbling some now, but not before getting blisters on my palm, and aching all over from the crutches. I still need them but not totally. Looks like surgery - but I haven't seen the orthopedic docs. yet.

Then we had to find a place to live cause the TLF was kicking us out! Ended up in a nice, though pricey, apartment. Since Casey's TDY here, we don't have any of our stuff other than what we carried, so that's been interesting. Air mattresses are the only furniture we had, till the airmen and family readiness centere loaned us a card table and chairs! Our nightstands are a couple of carry-on suitcases with a pillow case thrown over them!

On to more fun things:::: We went minivan shopping the next two days, and I came away with an awesome, 2008 Honda Odyssey touring. I got really spoiled, and am required to state to the world that I have officially graduated to the High Maintenance category. There, I did it.

Maybe being a gimp helped. It is so cool, though, with navigation, power doors and tailgate, backup camera, etc, etc. It's light blue. I don't have it here to take a pic. cause the dealer has it to tint the front windows (we are in Texas!). I'll send a pic. soon.

We spent the next 2 days in Del Rio, looking at probably 30-40 houses. There are lots! No decision on that yet, but looks like we'll be able to find something we really like. I like a couple really well, but both were new, with no landscaping, so we aren't sure we want to deal with that??? We also got new cellphones, and yes, we got one for Caitlyn (many of you are already feeling the pain of that, I'm sure) with unlimited texting for her birthday coming up. If you want that number, email me, since I don't want to post that here.

Then we were home for Ethan's 3rd birthday. That was lots of fun. I will post that separately, so it should show up above this and you probably already read it.

And yesterday, we had to drive 10 hours to pick up the Subaru in Dallas (total driving time). Than heaven we were in a gucci van with rear entertainment system! The kids are royally sick of going places! Today - we just dropped off the van, and stayed home most of the day - FINALLY. So there you have it.

Buzzard's Rule

2008-04-03T09:23:00.004-05:00

These are from last week, when Casey had his last F-16 flight for this tour. He was intercepted, taped up, and sprayed down. It was pretty fun to watch him get clobbered by the guys. Ethan got in on the action with the sprayer and loved it! I was happy to see the beautiful mountains in the background. We will definitely miss the scenery around here.

Ugggghhhhh! I remember Now why I REALLY dislike moving!

2008-03-30T15:54:00.002-05:00

Would someone please convince my husband that there are women (and men too, probably) who like to clean houses and need the money. I seriously spent 9 hours scrubbing our house today, trying to get ready to out-process, and didn't even get to the bottom floor. Have you ever done a move-out clean with a 9 month old???? Oh, and an almost 3 year old who suffered serious meltdown when he came into his empty house. Casey was a huge help with the kids, to the extent he could be, but that meant we weren't both working on the house. Okay, Can't type anymore, my fingers are literally worked to the bone, and are too tired to type anymore. More later.

Oh, a quick note, we have some awesome friends! Megan and Mark threw us a farewell party with a bunch of our church friends and it was so great. I'll post pics when I'm not so tired.

Moving Update

2008-03-28T15:54:00.002-05:00

We spent the past 3 days having our stuff packed up and crated. We had a whopping 17,yes, 17 crates full of crap (there really isn't any better word to use here!) When we got here, we had 13. What does that tell you????

It feels good to have that hurdle out of the way. Now we just have to clean the house, which is so much easier when it's empty, and meet with the landlords on Tuesday. The weekend will be busy. We are the guests of honor at a squadron farewell BBQ tomorrow at noon, a church open house and game night at 5, and on Monday, another BBQ for the other squadron Casey is attached to. It's crazy times here, I tell ya! We'll be in the TLF (temporary living facility for you non military folk) for 10 days - leaving here the 6th. We'll miss Aviano, for sure, but it's time to move on!

I'm looking forward to single handedly boost the American economy in the next few weeks, buying a van, a house, washer and dryer, bed for Ethan, and lots more I'm sure. It is exciting to look forward to house hunting. We've been renting or on base for the past 10 years, and we're ready to get into something we can call our own!

No pictures here, but I should take a pic. of the aftermath of the moving company. It amazes me that no matter how clean it may appear when they get there, there is always so much dirt and junk hiding everywhere it's downright embarrassing!

More later.......

More awesome pictures.

2008-03-17T16:01:00.002-05:00

Our friend had her awesome camera out at the Carnivale Parade in February and sent these first two to me.

This one is Alisea's favorite toy. We spend a fortune on all the latest toys and gadgets, and the thing she loves most is a .99 cent ball. Go

Figure!

Croatia

2008-03-17T07:35:00.005-05:00

We just returned from a wonderful trip to Croatia. It is such a beautiful country, and the people were so friendly. We did a ton of driving, and the little munchkins were very good about it. Caitlyn didn't go with us because she couldn't afford to miss school, which was very weird and sad. I was surprised at how much I missed having her along. Anyway, we visited a national park full of waterfalls and lakes, although we only got to see a small part due to the weather. Then we traveled to Dubrovnik for a couple of days, then Split. It was interesting when the landlord of the apartment we rented in Dubrovnik took us to the top of the mountain and showed us where the Bosnians were launching their attack in the war. It was a really neat city!

The craziest thing was this detour we were forced to take. There is really only one road leading to Dubrovnik, and it even has to cross the Bosnian border (for about 10 kilometers) which was weird. Anyway, there was a little section of the main road under construction so we were directed to take this detour. Now, detours are usually a little extra driving, a few miles maybe, and then you get back on your route and you're on you way. Well... This route took us deep into these crazy mountains, where at times two cars barely fit (we shared the road with diesels and all), and at times, we thought we must have really missed something. The thing was, there was no other way. Needless to say, it was 80 kilometers long, and took over an hour. On top of that, it had construction going on it in three different places!! It was the craziest thing. And to top it all off, I had to use the potty so bad, and there was no place to even pull over for a bush. What memories!

In Split, we decided to take a little time out and head to the zoo (10 min walk according to the map). We hauled out the strollers and set off. It turned out to be on the top of a mountain, literally, up a zillion stairs, and more like 45 minutes later, we finally reached this little bitty "zoo" where the animals were in some crazy little enclosures. We could have easily reached in to pet the tiger, for instance, if we'd wanted. Memories of the tiger attack much better epuiped Zoos had us a little pensive. It was fun for Ethan anyway, and great exercise for us since we had to pretty much carry the strollers up the mountain, kids and all, and all over the zoo.

We're back home now, and getting organized for the packers to come next week. It won't be long now and we'll be calling Texas home.

Alisea is crawling!

2008-03-08T16:51:00.002-06:00

Yippee! and OH NO! Alisea is officially crawling. The whole family got to witness her first true crawling across the living room floor. I'll post pics later. We're heading to Croatia for a week in the morning.

Nove and Caitlyn has another ear infection

2008-03-04T14:18:00.003-06:00

I took my last trip to Nove today. Bought some awesome Tiffany baskets to go with the rest of my stuff. I can't wait to show it all off. The whole Tiffany collection I've accumulated is probably worth $1000 or more, if I had purchased it in a stateside store (which I would NEVER have done), and I spent, probably grand total, $150-200 Euro for it all (over three years, mind you). I got a few other things too. Now I just need to have some people over to use the stuff with me.

Casey took Caitlyn to the doc. today for ear pain, and her infection is back. She fought taking the other med. because it tasted so bad, and now she's learning mom and dad were right, just cause she felt better, it wasn't gone. Needless to say, now we have to worry about her and ear pain on the flight because her eardrum is so irritated. Urrrrrrrghhhh! Like it's not going to be fun enough keeping track of all of them and our incredible amount of stuff. But that's for another post.

Till next time....

Clarification

2008-02-26T06:22:00.002-06:00

Casey thought I should clarify that Ethan was touching Juliet's "boob" on her statue in Verona because it is supposed to be good luck. The picture is all blurry, because Caitlyn was taking it and couldn't stop laughing.

Facelift

2008-02-25T13:05:00.005-06:00

I'm learning how to give the blog a facelift, thanks to my SIL McKaye and http://www.matiekay.blogspot.com/

hopefully, I'll get to where I can do it a little more on my own. In the meantime, enjoy the changes I'm sure I'll be experimenting with.

And, since I had my 36th birthday yesterday, I know..... 36, I could use a facelift of my own. Birthdays really do get less and less exciting as time goes on.
It was awesome to hear my 2 year old sing happy birthday, my 11 year old made me a cake, and My husband made me breakfast, lunch and dinner, with Caitlyn's help. I really do have a good life!

My Valentine weekend (a little belated)

2008-02-23T14:03:00.005-06:00

I never mentioned that Casey took me (and the kids, of course) to Verona to see Juliet's house for Valentine's Day. I was starting to worry that I would miss that, which would be the pits, since it turned out to be only 2 hours away! As someone who taught Romeo and Juliet to scores of Freshman for many years, it would have been a sin not to get a picture of her house (even if it isn't REALLY her house) and a picture of Ethan touching the "boob" of her statue. It was pretty cool. The streets leading up to her house from both directions were hung with hearts to mark the path.
On that same weekend, we drove to Slovenia (again) to the indoor water park. I'm finally almost normal in a bathing suit. Alisea had a ball in the water for her first time. Ethan was so much more comfortable in it and loved heading down the slide head first.

And finally, we spent President's day at Piancavallo, 25 min. from our house, where Caitlyn and Casey skiied and I played in the snow with the munchkins. Great weekend. We're definitely trying to squeeze in all we can.

AND..... Ethan has gone 2 days with no accidents. He's even telling us when he has to "go". It's so exciting! and yes, that is what our marble floor looks like. Not gonna miss that.

We'll miss you Nana!

2008-02-23T13:21:00.003-06:00

Marzetta Ball, our Nana, passed away on Feb. 21. She had suffered a severe stroke this summer, and wasn't able to recover . We'll always remember her for her will to live. She told me the last time I saw her that the doctors kept thinking it was her time over the years, but that she just kept "showing them!" I know my mother, who preceded her in death, was waiting to welcome her home. We can't be there for her funeral, but we will be in spirit. Rest in Peace, Nana. We love you!

It's potty time! and other News

2008-02-13T06:57:00.003-06:00

We've begun the dreaded toilet learning (the newest fancy lingo for what we all know as potty training) with Ethan. He's been at it about 2 weeks now, and is doing awesome! He FINALLY pooped in the potty yesterday, which meant he got a garbage truck he had picked out at the BX. It's amazing how something so "normal" and mundane can be so exciting at the same time! Anyone who's been there knows what I mean!! Now we have to get him to tell us when he needs to go, instead of being ushered in there every so often by us. Any ideas??? I figured a picture of this particular thing might not be the best thing to post on the internet, just in case he runs for president some day. We don't want someone digging up this ol post and showing the whole world, now do we??

In other news, we are shiping the car to Texas today. The PCS (move) officially begins!

Caitlyn made the honor roll. She only had one B+ for the semester, with the rest A's, which was amazing to me, since she missed 3 weeks of school and had to get everything made up in just a week. We're very proud of her hard work. She's having lots of fun this week with "Spirit Week". My darn camera is on the blitz, or I'd have pictures of her craziness!

And Finally..... Alisea just had the first pointy little tip of her first tooth come through. We didn't even realize she was teething, and last night, she was knawing on my finger and I felt it. She is such an easy baby, it never ceases to amaze me.

Stay tuned for more exciting news from our little bunch!

Showing off the Baby

2008-02-03T10:50:00.000-06:00

Sometimes, I just can't help wanting to share the pictures that are just so darn cute. Enjoy

The Strombergs came for a visit

2008-02-03T08:43:00.000-06:00

Our very awesome friends visited us here for a little over a week. We finally went to the Venetian Island of Murano while they were here, and took them to Trieste. They enjoyed a trip to Rome and Florence before having to go back to Utah. It was so nice to see them, and the kids loved the company. I have to wait for Natalie to send me the pictures she took, cause I didn't really take very many I realized! I do have these of Caitlyn and Nash, and the boys, Ethan and Jace after a long morning walking around in Venice. I think they'll be our last group of visitors while here in Italy since our stuff gets packed up in a month. Sadly, Del Rio won't be quite the "tourist" draw, so we hope to see family and friends in the next 3 years! maybe we'll rendeavous in San Antonio!

I can't believe I have 3 kids!!!

2008-02-03T08:08:00.000-06:00

Sometimes, I see a picture like this one and I'm reminded just how lucky I am to have 3 beautiful children! It wasn't very long ago that I had given up on having more than 1!

Then I ask myself, "what on earth were you thinkin?? What was wrong with just 1???" (Just kidding)

What Big Feet you have! and other stuff

2008-01-19T05:52:00.000-06:00

It's official.

Caitlyn is wearing the same size shoe as I am. I have a feeling she hasn't reached her full potential yet. Maybe she won't be able to steel my shoes forever afterall!

Casey likes to have Caitlyn imitate the local artwork wherever possible. She happens to be wearing my shoes in this picture.

and on a side note - you might have noticed that Caitlyn got her hair cut.

It's sad, but not (if you ever had to comb it out, you'd relate) She looks really cute with the new cut (this pic. doesn't really do it justice).

Cruisin' It's the Way to Go!!!

2008-01-19T04:04:00.000-06:00

11 days of royal treatment can go a long way to spoiling a person!! Wow. I think we may take all of our vacations on cruise ships from now on. It was so much fun to get on the giant boat, be waited on hand and foot, fed extremely well, all day long, entertained at all hours, and get to see so many cool parts of the world in the same trip. I never made a bed, did a dish, or washed a towel (I'm definitely making up for it with 11 days worth of laundry times 5 people now).

We boarded the Costa Serena on Jan 7 with the Lazenby family of four (our friends)and cruised to Barcelona (Spain), Casablanca (Morocco), Funchal (Portugal), Tenerife and Arrecife (Canary Islands) and Malaga (Spain) before returning to Savona Italy on Jan 18. Our favorite stops were Funchal with some amazing tropical gardens and views and Tenerife where we spent the day at a marine park. Had we had more time, we'd have spent some time at the beach too. That's probably the main downside to the cruise - limited time before it sets sail, with or without you!

We survived having all 5 of us sharing a little cabin (We got special permission because Alisea is still so little). We lost count of who bumped their heads the most often on the kids bunks. We got some pretty funny looks from people who would see all five of us file into the room. I'm sure some of them felt cramped with just two of them. Thankfully, there was so much to do on the boat that we didn't spend too much time in the room at the same time! We actually feel like we are a little closer as a family after this adventure!

Now we turn our attention toward a visit from our good friends, the Strombergs, and then to getting ready to move to Texas in the first week of April.

Hanging out

2008-01-03T05:27:00.000-06:00

I caught Ethan kicking Alisea off her pillow. I thought it was cute how they were laying side by side in the same positions.

Happy New Year

2008-01-02T04:22:00.000-06:00

Hope everyone brought in the New Year with a bang! We hosted a game night at our house and filled it with good friends! What could be better? I will really miss the awesome people we have met here! I have a huge list of resolutions this year - mostly menial stuff I should have mastered years ago, like not leaving dirty dishes overnight, but this year, I won't give up on them just cause I slip (there are dirty dishes from last night-what can I say??)

The kids are all sick with colds, Ethan especially. He's really been under the weather. I think he has slept 30 of the last 33 hours. Has a fever, etc. I hate when my children feel bad and I can't help them get better fast enough! He seems to finally be on the upswing, but We're off to the doc for him this afternoon since he's been fighting this for over a week! Alisea has a cough and runny nose. I sure hope they all recover before Monday when we leave on our cruise to the Canary Islands!!!

WHOO HOOOO!!! Never been on a cruise! We are heading off for 11 days - hitting Casa Blanca, Barcelona, Gibralter, the Canaries, and several others I can't think of right now. I have been so spoiled here.

Alisea is eating solids like a champ. Gotta love mushed up peas! maybe I waited too long, cause she devours the stuff. She weighed in at 15 lbs 8 ozs. at her 6 month well baby check and 26 inches.

Once again

God Bless you all in this NEW YEAR!

our Anniversary

2007-12-26T13:10:00.001-06:00

2007-12-26T13:06:00.000-06:00