Tuesday, December 30, 2008

All I want for Christmas is a Garbage Man!



If you know my Casey then you know that he is OBSESSED with trash trucks and garbage men. He saw a huge trash truck from Tonka at Sams Club back in Novemeber and ever since then that is all he talks about. The number one thing on his Christmas list was the garbage truck. He would tell me that if he could only have one thing it would be the garbage truck. Well good ole Santa came through! He was so excited to see it there under the fireplace. You see Grandmas house has two fireplaces and Santa left his gifts by the fireplace in the kitchen. The other gifts were in the living room by the other fireplace. When I asked Casey if he was happy, the only thing he said was "Where is the airplane I asked for?" Man I thought Santa had done good...Thank goodness Mommy and Daddy had the airplane covered. LOL!

Monday, December 29, 2008

New Christmas PJ's



Well we have survived yet another Christmas. This year we traveled to my mother's house in Mississippi. It is harder to be away at Christmas, especially when it comes to packing up the car and trying to fit everything in. The kids had a great Christmas. Every year my mother makes them pajamas to wear on Christmas Eve. This years batch were my favorite yet.
After attending Christmas Eve mass (where we were literally sitting on top of one another in the pew)LOL! We came home and had a great dinner with one of my parents friends. The kiddos didnt get to bed until after 10pm Christmas eve. Needless to say, Santa didnt get to bed before midnight. I have more stories to tell and photos so I will leave you with this story today and more for tomorrow.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Oh it never stops in this household


that is the bickering and fighting between Emily and Casey. Casey even got a note from Santa (via Timmy the elf on the shelf)telling him that he was being a bad boy. It seems like Casey and his sister are just in that "week before Christmas lets bug the crap out of Mommy and Daddy" mood. I never had a sibling when I was growing up so this is all new to me. Chris tells me that it is normal but I cant see how the tormenting and fighting is normal between these two. Hopefully once Christmas is over and the holidays have come and gone, then things will get better. Until then, my hair is getting grey just listening to these two. LOL!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

This time of year I miss this alot...



SNOW! Even though I am hesitant about moving to Utah, I am very excited about seeing snow again. I never thought when I was walking across the mall at UMO, freezing my butt off, trying to get to an 8am class that I would say that I miss Snow and the cold weather. LOL! I just hope that we havent been in the south for so long that our blood has thinned. I can only imagine what Casey will think of the white stuff.
Emily and I were talking on the way to school and she said that she has come up with some important rules for Snow and that she will teach them to Casey. The number one rules was NEVER EAT YELLOW SNOW! LOL!! She is such a funny kid and comes up with some great things on her own.
I will leave you with these amazing photos that my Aunt Paula's friend, Pat took last New Years in Maine. I have these framed and hung in our home so we have a little piece of home with us.

Monday, December 15, 2008

His Favorite new thing


A few Christmas things have started to arrive at our house already. The kids opened some boxes from my dad. I was thinking they were going to be wrapped so I let them open the boxes. The gifts werent wrapped so they got there gifts right then and there. As you can see they both got "headlights" from LLBean. Casey Loves this thing. He marched around the living room telling me that this is just what I wanted for Christmas and that it was PERFECT! The light is harmless and doesnt make any noise but the one draw back is that it is BRIGHT!! It has LED lights in it and when Casey shines it at you, Watch out! You could go blind looking at that darn thing. Last night, (by chance) we realized that it can blink too. He looks like a little coal miner with this contraption on his head. So thanks Grampy Bryce for not sending a loud toy but we all may go blind before New Years. LOL!!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

We have a visitor



IT seems that we have a visitor from the northpole in our house. He arrived in the mail the day before Thanksgiving and has been here since. He is an elf on the shelf. If you havent heard of this before, it is quite a cute idea. It is a little elf and a book. It seems that the elf was sent here from Santa to watch Casey. Everynight he flies back to the North Pole to tell Santa how good or how bad Casey was that day. The next morning he returns in a different place in the house. He has rules too. He cant be touched and he doesnt talk. You can talk to him and tell him things to tell Santa. When he first arrived we had to name him so Casey chose the name Timmy. For some of you that already know, Timmy is the name of his buddy who happens to be one of my friend's husband. They have quite a bond and he loves him to pieces.
Well back to the elf Timmy. He has shown up in some unusual places. The kids love trying to find him every morning before Emily leaves for school. Of course, Emily knows that it is me that is moving him and always tries to get out of me where he is but I dont budge. One morning he was hanging upside down from the ceiling fan in the living room. Another morning he was on a shelf in Casey's room. Yesterday he was in the bathroom. Which Casey didnt like because he didnt want Timmy watching him when he did his business. LOL! This morning he is in our Christmas tree.
This is such a cute little tradition to start with your kids if you havent already. I thank my aunt Popo who sent this to Casey and Emily.

Monday, December 8, 2008

I Have been a busy little bee....


I have been crafting lately. I think it take my mind off of all that I have to do with the move and the holidays. Today I finished my cookie sheet calendar. I have been wanting to do one of these for a couple of years now and had never gotten around to making one. I found a really cute one on pink paislee's blog and pretty much followed the directions but I chose to do mine in Making Memories Fa La La line. I wont say that it was a quick project because I have been working on it a little bit here and a little bit there. I finally pushed myself to finish it today. I am happy with how it turned out and now I can mark that off of my things to do list. I guess I better scrap some of my photos for the mini sketch course I am taking right now.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Boy has he grown


My brother was just two weeks old when Chris and I were married so there is quite an age difference between us two. As he has grown I have enjoyed our time together more and more. Just this Thanksgiving, Chris and I got to double date with him and his girlfriend. It was quite amazing to me to see what a nice young man he has turned into. He is such a great uncle to my kids. Emily loves to go into his room and rock out to the music on Uncle Ryan's computer. Casey just loves hanging out with him. I think Ryan is concerned that Casey wont learn sports because Chris is more of a fix it guy, car lover than a jock type. I will have to instill a love of sports.
So back to the photo. This was taken last night at his friends house. The girl in the photo is his good friend Kate who took him under her wing when they moved up to Mississippi. His girlfriend met him later at the dance. Doesnt he look so CUTE!!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

These are ones that didnt make the cut...





It is that time a year...Christmas card photo time. My friend Kim and I decided to go to Moss Point MS for a little photo shoot. This is the same place that I went with Casey during Halloween. They had the park decorated so nice with loads of pumpkins. Well we werent disappointed with the Christmas decorations either. They were preparing for their boat parade and the park was filled with gingerbread men, candy canes and gifts. We arrived just before sunset so we had to speed along to take photos. It was very cold out there and I had two kids that would not cooperate. Do you think that you can get two kids to look good in one photo? No! I tried so hard but that little Casey will not look at the camera and when he does his eyes are squinting so tight that they look closed. After arriving back home, I downloaded my photos and realized that there wasnt one good one among them. I was so upset. I ended up putting the kiddos in their pajamas and taking a photo under our Christmas tree. It wasnt perfect and it took me a good 30 minutes for Casey to look at the camera and not act goofy. The photo isnt my favorite but it will have to do for this year. I wont post that one since alot of you should receive it in the mail soon but here are some of my other photos from Moss Point. Promise me that you wont laugh : )

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

A Trip to the Firestation





When we went to my mother's house for Thanksgiving, Casey got to go to the Fire Station. His Papa had promised him that he would take him down to the local station so he could meet some real firemen and see a real firetruck. Casey was so excited. He wore his hat from his Halloween costume along with his boots. Grandma had made some candy to give the firemen for Thanksgiving. It was an all men event so I couldnt go along and take pictures (that would just embarass them). So Papa, Uncle Ryan, Uncle Adam, Daddy and Casey went off in Papa's truck for their adventure. Daddy came back with some good pictures but not too many (if I had been there we would have gotten at least 10 LOL!) I guess they showed up when the men were eating their Thanksgiving meal. There were firemen, policemen and paramedics. Chris told me that Casey's eyes got as big as saucers when they took him to the truck. He was very scared and shaking but overcame it with coaxing from Daddy and the firemen. What a treat it was to be able to sit in a firetruck and meet all the firefighters!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Fully Bellies!!





We got back from visiting my parents on Saturday night. It was a quick little trip, going up on Thursday morning and returning Saturday evening. When we got to their house, we were greated by all kinds of good things to eat and lots of work to do in the kitchen. Emily loves to help in the kitchen lately. She chopped squash, basted the turkey with grandma's help. Casey even helped too by setting the table. We had a wonderful, relaxing day. The next day we headed to Oxford to do some Christmas shopping. It wasnt the best of times with Casey complaining about wanting to go home and Emily begging to find a Starbucks (she has a new thing for their peppermint hot chocolate). I was very tired once we returned home but I got to go on a date with Hubby. It was our 16th anniversary and we went out to eat and to see a movie. It was nice to have some grown up time for once. LOL! Then it was out shopping again Saturday morning before our trip home. My mother wanted help with decorating her tree so we went to get some ornaments and decorations. Overall, we had a good weekend away. I am going to miss being able to just get in the car and visit my mom in less than 5 hours : (

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Ha Ha Ha

Send your own ElfYourself eCards


Got this idea from my friend Lisa's blog and thought I would use it too. Go down to the bottom of this page and turn my music off before you start the DANCE OF THE KIMBALLS.

Monday, November 24, 2008

The info you have all been waiting for....

All I am saying is....Salt Lake City Utah....Feb 2009. For those of you that dont understand what I am talking about then disreguard. Most of you will understand. More to follow when I am not so tired and stressed out (hopefully that will be soon!)

Sunday, November 23, 2008

The man in red


Yesterday I thought it would be a great idea if we visited Santa when we went to the mall. We had to get Emily a coat and Limited Too was having an unbelievable sale (I'll get back to that in a minute). Last year when Casey visited Santa, he was very scared and literally shaking in his shoes. What is it with kids and santa?! Well we talked about seeing Santa before we got to the mall and Casey told me, "I dont like laps, I need a chair to sit by santa." What a little ham! I told him it would be alright and that it would only be for a minute so he could tell him what he wanted and remind him that we will be at Grandma's house and not ours on Christmas. We lucked out since their was no line and we walked right up to the front of the line. Well the shaking began immediately and he wanted Emily to join him on Santa's lap. Emily didnt want to since she had been to the International Festival and had an Indian Bedie(Sp?)in the middle of her forehead that she refused to take off for the photo. So Casey managed all by himself. I was so proud of him! He sat on Santa's lap and told him about the things he wanted (firetrucks, trashtrucks and bikes). Then came the photo...he wouldnt smile for nothing. We made faces at him and acted like fools but all we got was a fake smile without teeth showing. But we did get the picture!!
So now onto Emily's coat. We went to Limited Too which was having a buy one get one free plus 30 percent off sale. It was unreal! But we didnt find anything since they were all down lined and she is allergic. We did manage to find a great coat at Justice and they were having the same sale there. She got a coat, sweater, shirt and socks and it only came to 55.00! I think these stores are in bad shape financially if they are running sales like this. I must go back to Justice this week and get some stocking stuffers and filler gifts for my girl. SHH dont tell her! LOL

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Still Waiting....

Things are happening behind the scenes but no real news to report to yall. I think I can say now that we wont be going to Kentucky so now the balls up in the air. Here are a few places that have been mentioned...New Mexico, Utah, Mississippi, and Vermont. I have my favorites but I will not share because I dont want to jinx the process. I will keep yall posted.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Waiting on Pins and Needles

Well this might be it. I am really feeling like it is this time. I believe that Chris finally has orders for us to move. That means no kicking him out, no more seperation of our family and a new state to reside in. I dont want to jinx it but something in my gut is telling me that this is it. We will be having to move quick too. We should have a new place to call our own as of 2009. As for where we are going I cant tell yet because I might jinx it. I am planning on going to a state that begins with K but may end up in a state that starts with N. I will keep yall posted.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

I'm Back!



What a fun weekend I had with my sistahs! It was nice to be around my friends and do something I love, SCRAPBOOKING. We were at Orange Beach and it was beautiful. We never did get to the beach and take the photos we wanted to. I got to eat out a few times, run around in comfy clothes to wee hours of the night and act like a fool. I managed to get 19 pages done, about 7 hours of sleep and won a page contest. I will post the page in a later entry. Now I am trying to pick up a messy house, stock the fridge with food,get some Christmas shopping done for the kiddos and put away all my scrapbooking stuff. I think I am finally back to normal with two good nights worth of sleep. Oh and Debby, Kim and Carolyn, please send me whatever photos of the weekend you can share. Thanks!

Friday, November 14, 2008

See Ya!

Well I am packed and ready to leave for my girls weekend. I will be scrapping all weekend long with my sistahs in Orange Beach, AL. We do this twice a year and it is really fun. When I get back on Sunday I will be sleep deprived and my house will be a mess from Chris and the kids. But this is so worth it. Talk to yall on the flip side.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Thank You Vets!



Today is Veteran's day and I just want to take a moment to reflect and thank all those men and women who have served and are serving this country. I remember when September 11th happened and how I couldnt sleep at night. I was so worried that we were going to be attacked again. The military has given me peace at night because I know that we are being protected by the best military in the world. It isnt the easiest job for these people but they do it without question. After 17+ years of being a military wife, I dont take these people for granted anymore. So many of them have lost their lives in battle or have been wounded. So today I thank each and everyone of those amazing people.
The two photos are of my husband coming aboard the USS Constitution and my maternal grandfather( one without the mustache) during his stint in the US Marines. He has now passed away but I have many memories of war stories he would tell me.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Honor Roll Ceremony

Last week was the honor roll ceremony at school for Emily. They honor children that have made AB honor roll, A honor roll and perfect attendence. Emily received A honor roll. She missed out on perfect attendence because we left during Hurricane Gustaf and they had one day of school before we came home. This little ceremony is quite a "mess" for lack of a better word. All parents of 3,4 and 5th graders sit in the gym while all the kids are lead in and sit on the gym floor. Needless to say, there are too many people in such a small space and not enough seating for all the parents. Casey complained half way through 3rd grade honors and we still had 4th and 5th to go. It was getting hot and he wanted out. Thank goodness for my friend Kim who has children at the same school. She saved us a seat and brought her camera to take pictures. Emily would not smile for us at all. She later told me that she doesnt like to smile in front of so many people. So the photo isnt a great one but I am thankful that Kim took one of her. To top it all off, it was spirit week and she was wearing her sports jersey (Maine Hockey). She didnt want an Alabama or Auburn shirt, she wanted good ole Maine Black Bears GO BLUE!!

****IHAD A PHOTO BUT IT WONT UPLOAD SORRY****

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Run Like the Wind





Emily has been talking to us alot about wanting to run track in middle school. We walk around the neighborhood and she tends to run and get tired. Well she ran her first race this weekend. It was charity race that included a 10k, 5k and a 1 mile fun run. We thought a mile would be a good starting point for her. She and Chris would run while Casey and I watched from the sidelines. What a beautiful day for a race. The temps were in the 60's at race time and the two of them were pumped up from the music the dj was playing. Once the race started they walked past me and I thought "ok, they will walk the whole race, no big deal." Casey and I ran over to the next block so we could get a photo of them coming down to the finish line. We waited and watched and finally they jogged by waving for the camera. Chris later told me that she saw the finish line and took off on him, leaving him in the dust. LOL! Maybe she is going to be a sprinter and not a long distance runner. I was so proud of them and we are looking forward to the next race in January.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Got Candy?





We sure do! Last night was the big night for my two kiddos. We went trick-or-treating with some of our neighbors and got loads of candy. We had a couple of mishaps.

1. Emily's candy bucket broke in the middle of trick-or-treating so we were trying to pick up candy in the dark. She didnt want to go with a plain walmart bag and put up a stink. Candy is candy and it shouldnt matter what you are using for a trick-or-treat bag. LOL!
2. Casey was so excited that he was running way ahead of us and almost got hit by a car. Thank goodness for one of my neighbors grabbing him from the street.

Other than that, they had a blast. We ended the evening sorting out our candy into catergories. This seems to be a tradition of sorts. We put all the twix together, hershey bars, reeses and so on. Then I split it evenly between the two kids and anything left over goes to the chapel on base. Hope you had a Happy Halloween too!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Not Guts..No Glory...




We have had our pumpkin now for two weeks. I finally decided it was time to carve the big "ball" (as Casey would call it). It was such a beautiful day yesterday and the kids loved being outside so we spent the afternoon carving, or should I say, I spent the afternoon carving and scooping GUTS. The kids thought it was fun at first but they got bored quickly and started playing with all the pieces of pumpkin I was cutting out. Neither one of them liked the Guts and Casey wouldnt touch them for anything. I think this years Jack-o-lantern turned out quite well.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Baby It's COLD outside!

This morning we woke up to temps in the 30's and 40's. Back when we were living in Maine that would be MILD for us and I would have no problem walking outside in just a long sleeved shirt. I guess my blood is thinning or I am getting old because this morning I was bundled up and still freezing! Emily is definately not able to handle the cold. She went with gloves, sweatshirt and fleece jacket. She is in a portable class room so I dont think it is as warm as being inside the school building. The bad thing is, by the end of the day she wont need any of it because it will be in the 70's. Dont be surprised when I blog that we are all sick from these drastic changes in weather. LOL! Just made muffins for Casey so I will open the oven to let it cool down and maybe heat the house a little. LOL! Stay warm my friends!!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Fun Fall Day


Before I start let me tell you that I had a problem with blogger this morning and could only get it to take one photo at a time so I have several posts today withjust one photo.
Friday Casey and I got to do one of my favorite things...Hang out with the girls. I have some wonderful friends and we like to go shopping and do lunch when we can. Friday was one of those days when we got to go to Mississippi to visit our friend Jennifer at her scrapbook store and do lunch. Kim, Janie, Casey and I drove over to MS and stopped in Moss Point to run an errand for Kim. Kim had told me about the town's park and how they decorate it for fall and Christmas. They havent done it the last couple of years because of Hurricane damage. The park is right on the water and flooded during Katrina. Well we didnt know if it would be decorated or not but we were pleasantly surprised. Both sides of the street were decorated with pumpkins, wagons, scarecrows and all kinds or fall decorations. Dumb me didnt have a camera but Kim saved the day with hers. Casey had an impromptu photo session. Kim took some wonderful shots of him while Janie and I tried to get Casey to smile and look at the camera. I have included a few of the photos. I have many more but simply couldnt load all these onto blogger. Kim doesnt realize how much I appreciate these photos. When you give a scrapbooker photos it is like giving her a winning lottery ticket. The one thing that disappoints me is that Emily wasnt there but I will have to go and take some of her when the Christmas stuff is up. Needless to say, we are now in the fall mood!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Halloween Decorating 101






I love to decorate for the holidays especially Halloween. The kids love seeing all the spooky, funny and colorful things I have made and collected through the years. This year I have made some little ghost spoons thanks to my friend Lisa's blog. I have also painted some "fake" pumpkins. It has been fun to do these things. I guess it is the crafty side of me that comes out this time of year. The outside of the house has been a little tougher but Mr. Bones and our ghost tree have made another appearance this year. Also my Cats Meow houses and the pumpkins that I made last year are out on display. Hope you are having fun decorating for the big BOO day!