Our poor neighbor has about a gazillion dandelions growing in his front yard. I'm sorry to say, it's probably from my boys blowing on these every chance they get. I have a tough time not letting them though when I hear them make wishes like, "I wish that mom will be my best friend forever". Love my boys :)

Yesterday we put the bunk bed together (see story below). Devan and I started on it, while Chad kept Tristan from driving me crazy. Lately Devan has liked using big words. It's really cute because sometimes he knows the meaning and uses it in the right context, and others he doesn't. As we put things together, he said, "Santa making a mess in my room makes me feel so inceptive". I asked him where he got that word from and he said, "from me" (as in, he learned it from himself). Then I felt a little foolish as I typed "define inceptive" into my iphone.

After a fun Christmas Eve with some friends we headed home and got the kids to bed. I figured we would be up super late because we had got the boys bikes and bunk beds that needed to be set up. While Chad brought the bunk bed upstairs piece by piece (it was SUPER heavy!!), I put the bikes together, and then we both headed up to get the bed put together. Well, we got all the pieces sorted out, and then realized they didn't put the instruction manual in! So we tried to find one online for about an hour and it was no existent. We finally decided to print off a picture of the bunk bed and tell the boys Santa forgot the instructions, but he would get it to us by Monday. I was SO disappointed because this was the only thing Devan really wanted. When we had talked about presents before he told me he really wanted a bunk bed. I told him if he got one, Santa probably wouldn't be able to get him very many toys. His reply was, "That's ok, I have enough toys." That coming out of a 4 year old boys mouth affirmed to me that a bunk bed was the way to go this year! So we ended up leaving all the wood pieces out in the bedroom (the boys slept in the guest room) because there was no way we were hauling them around again.

I woke up at about 6 today to anxious to go back to sleep. Devan was the next one up. When he saw me, he said, "Is it Christmas??!!" I told him yes and he got pretty excited. I didn't realize he was headed for his room to change out of his p.j.'s until I heard, "HOLY MOLY, Santa left a MESS in my room! Mom... Santa left me a bunch of wood to make a bunk bed!" HAHA! I could not keep from cracking up. I love that boy. I was so happy to see he was still super excited about the bed.

Awhile later Chad and Tristan woke up and the boys made it downstairs to find their stockings, bikes, and other presents. I just love Christmas with kids. It was so much fun watching them get excited over everything.

After gifts we had breakfast, nothing to fancy, but definitely more than I've done for breakfast in about the last year I'm sure, hehe. The boys enjoyed playing with their new toys while I prepped things for our dinner. When I finally got that all out of the way, Chad and I took the boys out on their new bikes. Devan especially enjoyed his. It was pretty cool out (for San Antonio), so Tristan didn't last to long, but Devan and I made a loop around our neighborhood. I had a hard time keeping up with Dev. My waddle is definitely getting slower! (Speaking of... only 2 1/2 more weeks to go!!)

Dinner was a success. I made prime rib for the first time, twice baked potatoes, cucumber/tomato/mozzarella salad, fresh fruit and dip, rosemary garlic bread, and Sparkling Cider. I think we'll definitely be making prime rib a tradition! We have left overs galore, and I'm so glad I won't be cooking again for a couple days. It was fun and all, but I'm all cooked out. I made an apple pie for dessert as well, but everyone went to bed before it cooled. I could have been nice and waited until tomorrow for everyone to have a piece together, but nope, I am eating it as I write this post :)

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas! Here's a couple pictures from this holiday season...
This is Devan's new camera look, AKA "Blue Steel"


Daddy and Tris
The boys... and some more "blue steel"
handsome Tristan
K Dev, enough with the Blue Steel!
Christmas Eve pajama's
Anyone want some gingerbread??
Gingerbread men

The boys got these really cute stuffed animals as an early Christmas present from Grandma. They have both been keeping them close since they opened them. Tristan was laying by the monkey and needed a diaper change. I started changing him and he got a very serious look on his face and said, "He's not giving me my privacy". At first I thought Devan must be around, and then I realized he was talking about the monkey, who was looking right at him. I told him to turn the monkey the other way. He faced him in the opposite direction and felt much better about the rest of his diaper change. hehe. Silly boy.

Chad's Home!

Chad made it home! It's been so nice to have him back. He got home Thursday evening and has been transitioning from the 12 hour time change. The boys have loved having their Dad back. I had forgot what it was like to be able to sleep in on Sunday, and have extra help getting the boys ready. He spoiled us all with treats from Singapore, Tokyo, and India, and lots of other neat things. Trains, puzzles, books, and traditional Indian clothes for the boys. Shoes, a shawl, jewelry box, and bangles for me. I figured he would have spoiled himself as well, but he only bought 1 shirt. He took a lot of neat pictures, and we've enjoyed seeing and hearing about the culture in India.

Chad's friends
Work Building
Forgot what these are called, but a lot of people drive them around
Some houses
Some old technology mixed in with the new
Sites
Crowded bus ride
What a cute girl! And I love how traditional Grandma looks

Lots of people get around on motorbikes
The hotel

Visitors

Grandma Iwalani and Papa Bruce came to visit over the weekend. It was a great visit and the boys were digging all the extra attention. We went to the zoo and train ride, to the park (while mom got a much needed haircut), out to ice cream, Devan's football game, out to dinner, played lots of games of hide and seek with grandpa, put together lots of puzzles, and made homemade ice cream. It was so nice having all the extra help. I felt like I had a live in maid over the weekend. The boys were so sad to see them leave to the airport. When it was time to leave the house Devan asked them why they couldn't live in Texas forever. And after lots of "goodbye's" and "love you grandma and grandpa" we dropped them off at the airport. The boys had the most heartbreaking looks on their faces, and as I pulled the car away, Devan said in a sad whisper, "I love you too grandma and grandpa". It broke my heart! What lucky boys to have such great grandparents though.

Lackland Airshow 2010

Kudos to my friend Michelle for introducing us to the Lackland Airshow, it was awesome. Every year Lackland Airforce Base puts on this airshow. My boys LOVED LOVED LOVED it. Days later, Devan is still talking about the airshow and asking when we can go to it next. Oh and did I mention, it was free! When Devan talks about it, he reminisces about how the planes flew right over his head, how loud they were, and how he got his very own airplane to take home. Not only were there planes to watch in the air, but they also had lots of planes and helicopters on the ground to look at and tour. There were many booths with food and souvenirs set up. All of the airmen and women helping out there were so nice to the boys and seemed to really enjoy making them happy. I sure do appreciate these people and the service they give to our country. One of the things I really liked about the airshow was the sense of patriotism and pride it made me feel for this country. God Bless the USA :)

There were so many neat planes displayed
Devan piloting a helicopter
"Spooky" A plane flown in Vietnam. The boys got to go in and tour this plane. They thought it was pretty neat.
Devan loves "Airwolves" AKA helicopters
Tristan was hypnotized by this. It caught his eye and he just walked up and stared at it for awhile.
Devan in another helicopter, trying out the machine gun.
Tora! Tora! Tora! Pearl Harbor reenactment. This was really neat. They had fires going off on the ground and lots of planes and smoke!

What boy wouldn't love this?
Or this?

As we were leaving, this plane was doing some cool tricks. To bad I can't capture the motion, but he was twisting, flipping, and stopping in mid air.

Interesting

The other day my neighbor told me my boys are always dressed "interesting". What would make her say such a thing???




Anyhow... an update on our sick bug. It has now passed through all of us. I caught the last of it Saturday night. My boys must be a lot tougher than me because they handled it SO much better than I did. I was totally miserable. Luckily I was feeling quite a bit better by Sunday evening, and today I'm feeling almost back to normal other than this head cold. I can deal with that though.

Saturday morning we went to an airshow that was totally awesome. The boys loved it. I'll make a post about it soon!

Good News!

Tristan is so much better today!! It was a nasty bug, but at least it has a short life!

Bummer

We've got a bug going through our house.

Saturday the boys both got bad colds, and Sunday we missed church because of their snotty noses. They got over the colds pretty quick, but Wednesday evening Devan got a stomach bug and was throwing up like crazy. The poor kid couldn't even hold down water. I thought it was food poisoning because we had ate lunch out that day and there was no fever with it. Thursday he was back to his normal self. He was perfectly fine all day so by this time I was about positive it was food poisoning. Thursday/Friday I woke up through the night and could feel a sore throat coming on. I felt better after a hot bath Friday morning. Friday afternoon I could tell I was getting a BAD cold. Friday night I put Tristan down to bed and he said his tummy hurt. About an hour later when I was checking on him he started throwing up (guess it wasn't food poisoning with Devan after all). I'm really really really hoping I don't get this stomach bug. The cold/sore throat I can handle, it stinks, but I can deal with it. I don't know how I'll be able to take care of the boys and myself if I get the flu though :-( Crossing my fingers and saying my prayers!

As much as I hate seeing my boys sick. They are so sweet when they are sick!

Devan after throwing up... "I'm so sorry Mom" Me, "It's ok Dev, I'll never be mad at you for being sick, I'm sorry you're sick" Dev "It's ok Mom" Later I told him to try to make it into the bathroom if he threw up again. Dev "Mom, I did it in the bathroom because I'm a BIG boy now!" Me "Can I get you anything Devan?" Dev, "Can you get me some medicine" Me, "What kind of medicine" Devan, "The kind that makes me not throw up anymore" (Me wanting to cry, because I don't have the only thing he wants) After taking care of Devan and cuddling with him, Dev, "You're the very best Mom EVER"

Tristan after getting him cleaned up and into bed, "Will you sing to me mom" Me, "What do you want me to sing?" Tristan, "lead me guide me walk beside me" After singing it once, Tristan, "Will you sing Lead me guide me walk beside me again?" I sang again and then he said, "Will you sing another song" Me, "What song do you want now" Tristan, "One about Jesus".

I don't give justice at all to the cuteness and sweetness of my boys, but they really are sweet. I love those two so much.

Halloween

I would have posted a picture of me in my Halloween costume, but unfortunately, I won't be dressing up this year. When I asked my boys if I should dress up for Halloween, they both laughed at me, and Tristan informed me, "You're to old."

While Chad's been out...

We've tried to stay busy this last week with...
(in no particular order)
Football games,
Parks,
Preschool,
Playdates,
Playgroups,
Library,
Pumpkin Painting,
Table Painting,
Doctor Appointments,
Walks,
Shopping,
House Projects,
Trunk or Treat,
making cookies,
staying up late,
sleeping in late,
and taking lots of long naps.

I can't believe a week has already gone by since Chad has left. It's really helped keeping busy. Although, we still miss him! One night Tristan woke up crying for his dad, and Devan has mentioned a number of times that he misses him. They have done pretty well though, and I'm not as crazy as I thought I would be at this point. We hear from Chad usually a couple of times a day and it helps to be able to talk with him. It sounds like he's really enjoying the experience of being in such a different place.

Devan's football game went well last week. It was strange for us to go to church without Chad on Sunday, and a little lonely at dinner time. I had planned to barbque on the grill Sunday in his honor (a Sunday tradition he has started), but the matchless charcoal wouldn't light! So I broiled chicken instead (and it turned out pretty dang good!)

We've filled our time with the usual weekly things like preschool (which I'll be teaching for the next two weeks), trips to the library and park, walks, and playgroup. Wednesday we had a special playgroup and I brought things for painting pumpkins. We all brought healthy halloween snacks to share, knowing that our kids would get PLENTY of treats later in the week. We've met a few more of our neighbors over the past couple of weeks and the kids played together a couple of different days. Devan really enjoys spending time with one of the boys his age, and before we went to bed one night he told me, "I love Alexander, he's a really nice boy." It's nice for him to meet more boys, it seems like all of my friends have little girls. There is only one other boy in his church class (and he is VERY shy), and he is the only boy in his preschool group! Tristan had a friend over today, and had a lot of fun.

One day while we were at home I covered the table with butcher paper and gave the boys plates full of finger paints. They had a blast smearing paint all over the table. I'm glad I remembered to take off their shirts before they started because it was quite the mess!

I've had a few late nights getting some projects in the house done. Awhile ago I framed the mirror in our downstairs bathroom, and this week I finally painted the cabinets to match. It looks a lot better! I also painted the baseboards. I painted the guest room, which is now actually the boys bedroom. I'm going to be decorating it soon too! I painted a desk that I had painted awhile back, but it always looked blotchy to me and drove me crazy. AND I fixed my oven!!! I'm quite proud of the last one. I ordered one part awhile ago and installed it and it got part of it working again, but "bake" still wasn't working, so I ordered another part and by golly it works now. So after I fixed the oven of course I had to bake some cookies, and I've been eating WAY to many. That's what happens when you deprive yourself of homemade cookies for so long I guess.

Yesterday I had a doctor's appointment and everything looked good. I had to take that icky glucouse test though... I HATE those drinks. As much as I hate needles, I'm getting pretty use to having my blood drawn and shots.

Tonight was our ward Trunk or Treat. They always make it alot of fun, and my boys had a blast. Devan dressed as "a knight in shining armor" and Tristan dressed as an "astronaut". They both picked out their costumes themselves and have been super excited to wear them. I really enjoy Halloween and it was alot of fun seeing the boys have so much fun. The part I don't like so much however is ALL the candy. Devan does pretty good about it, but Tristan turns into a little monster with it. Last year we gave Devan the option of leaving his candy out for the candy fairy and in return, the fairy would give him money for a new toy. He decided that was a pretty good idea. I think we'll try that again this year. Hopefully Tristan will agree to it.

Tomorrow I have Super Saturday at the church, and luckily they will have a nursery there so I'll be able to go. After that we have Devan's football game. And I'm trying to decide if I'm up for taking the boys to "Boo at the Zoo". I guess we'll see how tired we are by that point.

It seems like every day we've worn ourselves out. Luckily the boys have been good about taking naps with me. It's been fun having some late nights with them and sleeping in. And I feel pretty darn lucky that they have been sleeping in!

So now we've got over a week down, and only 3 left to go. I think we can do this! Oh and I have some help coming in on November 10th. Chad's Mom and Stepdad will be here. We're looking forward to the company :)

Our little kitty died yesterday. I was so sad. It was doing so well, and getting a nice big belly. I thought it was going to make it for sure. Wednesday night she wasn't eating very well and I thought it was just because she had ate a lot earlier. Thursday morning she didn't have much of an appetite either. We took Chad to the airport around noon and when we got home the poor little thing was having a really hard time breathing. I picked her up and she was really weak and wouldn't eat at all. I held on to her for awhile not really knowing what to do and she died soon after in my hands. I felt awful.

I didn't know what to tell the boys, especially Devan, because he was so excited to have a pet. I considered telling him it's mom came and got her, but then I thought I better just tell him the truth. He was pretty sad. A few days earlier when I was considering whether or not we would keep the cat, I had asked Devan if he would feel ok about giving the cat to someone who had other cat's so she wouldn't be lonely and we could get a fish instead. He had agreed to this and so when he asked if we could get a pet fish last night, I couldn't turn him down.

Today we went to the pet store and picked out a fish for Devan (named spiderman) and a fish for Tristan (named Ponyo). They've enjoyed watching them and feeding them.



Oh and my boys are kind of obsessed with wearing hats

Sucker

Yep, I'm a sucker...

It all happened yesterday when I heard a knock on the door. My neighbors were out of town for the weekend and his mom had come to check on his house. When she checked on it she heard crying in the backyard, so she went to see what it was. It was a tiny kitten that "she couldn't bring home because she has 2 dogs". I made the mistake of going back to look at it with her. It was just so tiny and helpless I couldn't help myself. I mean, the poor thing still had it's umbilical cord in! So... to keep a long story short, I brought it home with me.

I'm now waking up every 4 hours in the night to feed it, it's $16 a can kitty formula, out of it's kitty bottle. Did I mention how I've never really ever cared much for cats. Sooooo....

I've got a dilemma now. The lady at the pet store told me it was a 50/50 chance it would even survive being this young without it's mom. The longer I help it survive, the more I get attached to the dang thing. And then there is Devan. He tells EVERYONE, how we have a new pet now, and how it's going to grow SO big. And he asks me, "Do we get to keep it forever?" How the heck do I say no to that.

But then I think... I REALLY don't want a house pet. Maybe, if we had hardwood floors, but the thought of cat hair everywhere creeps me out. So I think of it as an outdoor pet, and then I think of all the crap I'd have to clean up off of the lawn, ugh, and who knows what kind of gross stuff it would get into.

And then I go back to thinking about Devan, and how excited he is to finally have a pet, and I end up keeping the kitty for another day because I can't figure out how to tell him without breaking his heart :-( What to do, what to do...

TOUCHDOWN!

Devan made his first touchdown today! He played 100X better than last week and pulled more flags than any of his teammates. I was a proud mama. We're now off to Sea World for Chad's work celebration. They were named the #1 IT company to work for by a popular computer magazine, so they are treating everyone to dinner and Sea World. Busy Fun Day :)

Here's some pictures of Tristan being a cheeseball. Chad got him a trick or treat bucket that he asks to take everywhere with him. And the hat he got from the dollar store.

football 2010

Devan had his first game today. It was quite entertaining watching a team of 3 & 4 year olds run (or forget to run) the ball around. Even though they didn't all know quite what to do, it looked like they all had a great time. Chad is the assistant coach and it's fun to have him be involved with the team. Here's a few pictures from the 1st game.

Devan's turn to run the ball.
Waiting for the play.
Tristan showing off his new boots
Devan looking good in his jersey.

water fun

We've spent most of the last week recovering from our trip, but we've still found time for some water fun. Chad's work is having a pinewood derby competition that he entered into. While he was cutting out the boys car, he let them go in the sprinkler with their clothes. Dad's are great for that sort of thing, I would have made them go in and change into swimming suits :) Since our vaca, we've been trying to do what we can to beat this Texas heat. Trips to the pool, sprinklers, pretty much anything to do with water is perfect.