309th Squadron Christmas Party

We went to the squadron Christmas party this last Saturday, and actually got to see Santa in a jet??? Sydney argued with me all the way to the party and said he would be arriving by sled. I had to tell her that sometimes he makes special appearances before the big day! The kids had a great time, you can tell by Luke's face, that says it all! Sydney is starting to get a little suspicious about the whole Santa thing, but Luke is still in the wonderment stage!!!!

Kindergarten Snow Show

Sydney had her little Christmas program at school this last week. They were so cute singing their songs, and Luke was equally as cute cheering his big sister on in the crowd! He was extremely loud with his clapping and cheering for her, everyone could hear him!

Christmas picture outtakes!

Every year I stress about getting that "just right" picture for our Christmas card. Anyone with kids knows how stressful it is! This year, I just tried to keep it low key and it actually didn't go half bad. The winner for the card (if you didn't get a card from us), was the top picture. Sydney was in quite the posing mood that day, and Luke was just being himself!!!

Luke, pre-school, and the bus!!!

Luke is now attending pre-school here in Arizona. Fortunately for us, they start pre-school at 3 here in the public schools. The best part, it's free!!! He loves it, but I think his favorite part is riding the bus everyday! I never in a million years would have thought, that I would put my 3 year old on a bus?? Of course with Sydney, it was an absolute "no!" But, with both schools starting at 9:00AM, and the opposite end of town, it really made sense for me to do it. He rides by himself on the way to school, and has a few other pre-schoolers on the way home. There's an aide on the bus, as well as the driver, and they have seat belts. So, Luke rides the bus! Just to see him jump up and down every morning and smile from ear to ear, is worth it!

A Pink Tree???????

Okay people, this is not really what I expected to get for our tree this year, but when you're TDY, you do what you gotta do! I really wanted the white one, but only the pink ones were on sale, of course! So, I figure Sydney will get to have her pink tree in her room every year. Ugh!!

Fred made it to Arizona!!!!

We are so glad that Fred found his way to Arizona this year! Sydney always gets a little worried when we travel, so she always draws us a little map of where we are going. This year since we traveled so far and she was worried Fred wouldn't find her, she started in Texas, then Oklahoma, Arizona, and she even drew Korea on there too. Kinda even looks like the shape of Korea if you look close?? Anyway, our tradition continues with Fred the elf in Arizona! I'm so glad that mommy and daddy didn't forget to pack Fred for the trip!!

We are Thankful!!!!

I just wanted to share a few more pics of the kids for the family, and my friends that take the time to read my crazy blog! The picture of Luke on the toilet, can I just say, "Like father, like son!" Enough said! Sydney is growing like a weed, and talking like a teenager??!!! She just recently was released from speech services at her school out here. She seems to be doing so well according to her teacher, that she now corrects the other students in her class?? UGH!!! We must have a future teacher on our hands!!

We've been talking about all the things we're thankful for this week. Sydney: toys, school, and her friends. Luke: trains, and he would probably say doughnuts or french fries!!!

David and I are just thankful we have 2 healthy beautiful children, and that we get to be together this Thanksgiving and Christmas. We have a cute little apartment to reside while he's training, and we are so thankful for our family and friends. We wish we could be with our families this year, but you are in our thoughts and prayers! Happy Thanksgiving everybody!!! Love and miss you all!!!

The sound of Freedom!!!

Justin and Jamie came down from Oregon a few weeks ago to see us. It just so happened that David was going to be flying when they came in, so they got to see him take off. We lucked out and had some really nice crew chief let us go right down by the plane while he was parked before take-off. We finally go to meet baby David, that was named after David. He is such a cutie!
David would kill me if he knew I posted these pictures, but I knew Justin and my brother would be dying to see them!!!

Happy Halloween!

Sydney is into Tinkerbell and fairies, and Luke is crazy about trains. The costumes worked out great this year. We took the kids to get their candy stash for the year. I swear it seems that candy lasts forever!!!

Visiting the Gross'

After we left Gulf Shores, we headed to the Woodlands to see our great friends Dan and Tiffany. We had such an amazing time, it went way too fast. If there is any place I would like to settle down and raise my family, it would be here. We got to go out on the lake in their boat. Who can say they went water skiing in October?? David can now! Luke was dying to get in the water the whole day, as the picture below shows. So, we stripped him down, put a life jacket on him and let him in the water finally. I have some very incriminating photos to show him someday, that he may kill me someday for. But it's payback for all the grief I get from him now, right???
Sorry about the picture Tiffany, I know you hated it, but it was the only one we took that weekend! Miss ya!

1st stop after Columbus...Gulf Shores

After we packed out and left Columbus, we decided to stop in Gulf Shores and let the kids play on the beach. We probably won't get to see many white beaches in Korea! Gulf Shores was nice, but I have to admit I like Destin just a little bit better. For my family that has seen the dreaded pictures of David riding the dragon at Destin a few years back, I'm happy to say I did not have to get any incriminating photos this year!!

Sydney and her buddy Keion!

Per request, I'm posting the other pictures I have of Keion and Sydney. This was her little buddy. I'm so glad that Sydney had the opportunity to experience the things she did while at Cooke. She still talks about her Kindergarten class in Mississippi and misses her teachers, I do too!

Sydney's ballet class!

This was Sydney's little ballet class in Columbus. Ms. Leigh is such a wonderful teacher, and such a great Christian influence on these little girls. Stephanie, I know you read my blog, so I wanted to put this cute picture of Sophie on here for you to see. I thought it was really cute. By the way, Sydney still talks about "snophie" !!! She still wants to come to her house. I've tried to explain, but it just hasn't sunk in that we will not be going back to Columbus. Miss you guys!