Jellystone

Thomas has been wanting to see Fort Necessity since we moved here.  With no big trips on the horizon, it seemed like a good time to do a mini-vacation.  I found out there was a Jellystone Campground nearby and the plans all fell into place.  Thomas is going to do a blog focusing on the historical stuff, including a side trip to the United 93 Memorial.  So, I am going to write about the Jellystone.

Before our neighbors went last year, I had never heard of Jellystone.  And, even if I had, I probably would have assumed you needed a camper or tents at the minimum.  But, they took their family of 6 and stayed in a cabin and we did the same.

We left after breakfast on Friday and drove straight to Fort Necessity (with a brief stop at a Chick-Fil-A).  Fort Necessity and the other sites were about 40 minutes from Jellystone.  It was a mountainous road, which was fun and different.  We passed a lot of whitewater rafting places, one will let kids as young as 4 go (more rafting than whitewater), so I am hoping we can go back in 3 years and give it a try.  I have always wanted to try rafting.

Anyway, by the time we got to Jellystone Mill Run, it was around 4:30, we checked into our cabin, then went back out to get dinner.  The closest shopping area was about 30 minutes away, which we weren't expecting.  More mountain driving.  There was a Subway much closer, but we needed some stuff at Walmart.  We got back around 7 and did the "Snowless Snow Tubing" on their 400 foot hill. We also checked out the pools, which were packed!  The tubing was fun.  We all tried, even Luke, but he wasn't a fan and I learned I wasn't supposed to have gone with him on my lap anyway. I think the other kids went down 5 or 6 times.  Then, they played on the playground for a while before we decided to call it a night around 9pm.

The hill doesn't look too steep here, but it was (especially pulling multiple tubes behind you)

Everyone was exhausted, but it took us all a while to fall asleep.  Luke was not happy to be in the pack-n-play.  He was also overtired.  As a result, he cried for about 45 minutes and refused all attempts at consolation that didn't involve removing him from the bed.

Despite the rough night, everyone was up at 6am and ready to go the next morning.  The forecast called for rain in the afternoon, so our plan was to get to the pool as soon as it opened at 9.  We had breakfast on our screened-in porch and then went for a walk to see the other side of the campground. They had an upper and lower area, our cabin was on the upper, which had the bigger pool and splash area, restaurant and tubing hill.  The lower area had mini golf, a smaller pool, waterslides and a very small carousel (toddler sized).  We picked a busy weekend--there were very few empty campsites. I was also surprised to see that many of the campsites appeared permanent.  People had built stone walls and decorated around their campers.  I was very curious about the people who call it home, but I never got any answers.

Fun photo opportunity

At 9 I took the older 3 to the pool while Thomas stayed behind with Luke, to ensure he got his morning nap.  By 10, the place was packed!  I think everyone had the same idea we did, because it wasn't really pool weather.  I think it was barely 70 degrees. Jack was cold and left around 1045.  The slides and bounce houses opened at 11, so the girls and I stayed entertained. We finally left around 1230 to get lunch at Subway.  Then, we came home and all 6 of us went back to the pool until dinner. We had dinner at the campground's restaurant.

They loved this slide

Unfortunately, I didn't get one of Jack

Overview of the pool area.  You can't really see the pirate ship, which was Luke's favorite.  He would slowly climb the stairs, then go down one of the two little slides.  Over and over and over.

After dinner, we told the kids to decide if they wanted to do a firetruck ride before going back to the tubing hill. Only Kara wanted to go, so Thomas took her. Although, Jack and Anna had some definite regrets when they saw Kara and Thomas go riding by on the big firetruck. After a few slides down the hill, we decided to call it a night.  The girls had spent about 6 hours in the pool, Jack only a little less, and we wanted to make sure everyone got a good night's sleep and wasn't cranky on the drive home.

All in all, it was a good stay.  We wished we had done more "camping" type activities, like smores, or sitting around the campfire, but with all of Luke's stuff, and the requirement to bring your own bedding and towels, we didn't have room to pack camping gear.  We would definitely try another Jellystone.  The kids had a blast and are already asking when we can go back.  I hope that we are building lots of good memories for them.

Our little cabin

Bunkbeds filled the hallway right off the kitchen

There were two beds in the loft.  The ceiling was so low, only Luke could stand up.

The drive home was long.  We took the scenic route, so we could see the United 93 Memorial.  On the way, we saw a cute little covered bridge, originally built in 1802!  Of course, we needed to stop and take pictures.  We also enjoyed seeing the giant windmills.  It was funny to the kids how small they looked until we got close to them.  Those things are massive!

Thomas is going to write about the Memorial.  I just want to share a couple of my thoughts.  First, I was surprised at how sad it still makes me.  I couldn't even talk about it with the kids without crying. Second, I was glad to see that even 14 years after it happened, there were a lot of visitors.  The Memorial is not on the way to anything (that I know of), but there were dozens of cars in the parking lot with license plates representing many diverse states.  That made me happy to see. I was glad we had the opportunity to visit and to talk with our kids about that fateful day "when the world stopped turning."

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a very busy fun-filled weekend.  Saturday, we went to Mount Vernon.  We got there around 9:30 and watched the orientation film.  We saw it for the first time last year and Jack really wanted to see it again, but the girls were nervous about the war scene.  Fortunately for them, Luke only made it about 10 minutes, which actually isn't bad, before I had to take him out.  He is really loud.  He likes to hear the sound of his voice and the louder the better.  I guess he figures that his chances of being heard around here increases proportionally with his volume.

Because we have annual passes we don't feel the need to see everything on each visit, so this time we focused on the Pioneer Farm area.  The weather was perfect and everything looked lush and beautiful.  One of the historians told us that in May they focus on the sheep.  We were able to see them shearing the sheep and then the cleansing of the wool. After walking around outside for awhile, we went to the visitor's center. The kids still love the children's room. I will be sad on the day they outgrow it, which I fear is coming soon. Anna and Kara used to run right to the dresses and then play with the doll house (an amazing replica of Mount Vernon) for as long as we would let them, but on the last few visits they just weren't interested. I hate those signs that the older 3 kids are losing their status as "little." You go from baby, to toddler, to preschooler, to little kid, then kid, big kid, preteen, teen and finally adult (and, of course, all the stages of adulthood, but that's beyond my level of worry at this point). I really like where they are right now, but they are definitely growing rapidly.  Even my little baby is no longer a baby. Time just goes by too quickly.

One of our only Mt. Vernon pictures. How would you like this view from your back porch?  

Saturday night, we had dinner at the Darrow's house, one of my favorite Maryland traditions.  We have been alternating months at each other's house for about 4 years now.  Obviously, we have missed some months, but for the most part we have been pretty faithful.  It is something our family really enjoys. Alecia is a great cook and we just enjoy the company. 

Sunday, we were back at Kings Dominion.  We were braced for heavy crowds, but it was manageable.  We got there shortly after 10 and were able to walk on several rides, probably because we weren't going for the headliner type attractions.  Around 2, we decided to check out the water park.  It was far bigger than I expected and insanely crowded. We did not do any slides, but we let the kids play in both wave pools. They had multiple toddler areas, but Luke wasn't too impressed (I think he was pretty tired, his nap schedule was completely off track). It is definitely something we want to explore more.  After about 2 hours in there, we changed and went back to the park. We stopped for a snack and I lucked into a free funnel cake. I have been craving a loaded one (with strawberries and whipped cream) and the people in front of me ordered a plain one.  The staff misheard and made the loaded.  The workers were going to just throw it away, so they asked the line "does anyone want a free funnel cake?" I was the quickest to reply, so it was mine. I was nice and shared with everyone and didn't even begrudge doing so.

We walked around the dinosaur area and the kids spent probably a half an hour digging for bones. Jack was really funny, every time he found something new, he would call all the kids (mine and anyone else who would humor him) over to show them. He was really into it. I guess we have a bit longer of that "little kid status" left after all.  By now, it was about 6pm and we decided to get some dinner. Thomas and I figured we would probably leave after that,but we kept doing "just one more thing" until it was almost 9! I was actually the party-pooper who didn't want to shut the place down. I was so tired! Even Luke was wide-awake and cheerful. Of course, he was asleep before we even left the parking lot once he was in the comfort of his car seat. 

It was a really pleasant day. Everyone was cooperative and patient. It can be difficult because they all like different rides, especially Kara, so there can be a lot of standing around while someone else is riding. But, they were just so good that it was easy to stay and before we knew it, we had been there for 11 hours!

Anna is getting brave, she has now ridden all the wooden roller coasters there and some of them are pretty intense!  This is her riding solo on the kid's coaster, the Woodstock Express.

We ran into Sally, which was pretty cool...

until she tried to kidnap Luke!

It was a character-filled day

Luke loved climbing around on this gate.  I was taking a picture when he fell.

But, he just got right back up and wasn't the least bit upset (he didn't hit his head).

Monday, we had a more low-key day. We do understand the purpose of Memorial Day and we made sure our kids understood why they were out of school. That being said, we still think it is perfectly appropriate to enjoy family time, so as we've done in the past, we decided to visit Washington's birthplace and have a picnic. Our picnic tradition for Pope's Creek is to stop at the Walmart in King George and let the kid choose their lunch. They love Lunchables, but we only buy them on rare occasion. So, when we told them the picnic idea, all the girls could talk about was what they were going to choose for lunch. Jack asked me to pack him a traditional lunch, but the girls were all about the Lunchables. It was pretty funny how excited they were about that. 

Pope's Creek was nice and we enjoyed walking around.  However, the bugs were really bad and we didn't end up staying very long. It was still beautiful and fun and we took lots of pictures. I think it is one of the most beautiful places in the area and it is really fun to picture a little baby Washington taking his first steps there.

Anna started to sneeze right as Thomas was taking this picture

Our annual bench photo.  I wish I had asked them to take off their hats.

We just love this bridge.  So fun to walk, run and play on.

To complete our weekend, we had ice cream sundaes for dinner. The kids are all hoping that was the start of another Memorial Day tradition. We gave Luke a little bowl of ice cream (I did also give him some "real" food). He proceeded to hold his spoon in his left hand and eat the ice cream with his right. Thomas tried to help him out and Luke screamed at him and shoved his hand away. It was pretty funny how adamant he was about feeding himself, so we just let him at it. Jack, Anna and Kara all remarked that they can't wait to tell their class about how they had sundaes for dinner. They each have a circle time where they can share something from the weekend and that is what they are going to share. After all the amazing experiences we gave them this weekend, it is the ice cream for dinner that made the biggest impression.  We love our littles!

We had everyone in bed by 7:30 and hopefully they will be refreshed and ready for school in the morning!

A Scary Day at Kings Dominion, a Tantrum and Mother's Day

We recently bought annual passes to Kings Dominion.  We decided instead of doing our annual trip to Dutch Wonderland and having just 2 days of fun, the money would be better spent on a full season of fun at Kings Dominion.  We have currently been 3 times, including one awesome Friday where we took the kids out of school early.  Most recently we went yesterday.  Our friend and neighbor, Amanda, and her two children, came with us (her husband was working).

We left right after Jack's soccer game and go to the park around 12:30.  Because we bought a meal plan that includes two meals with each visit we had waited to have lunch until we got there.  After lunch, we got started on the rides. Around 3, we were heading to the children's area, when we realized Jack was not with us. Amanda took the other kids to one of the rides and Thomas and I began searching.  We had seen him probably a minute before, so we didn't think he could be far away.  However, we couldn't locate him.  After about 5 minutes, I reported him missing to an employee, who took me to the Family Care Center. They asked me his name and made a phone call. About 5 minutes later, I was told security had a little boy they were bringing over.  I went outside to wait.  Meanwhile, Thomas was visiting all of Jack's favorite rides. After about 10 minutes, I learned that the kid they had found was not Jack.  I was upset that we had lost so much time and began to get really worried.  I saw a security guard outside and she took me back in to do a more formal report.  I gave them a complete description of Jack and waited while she got permission to broadcast this info to all security in the park.  Then, she left me with another security guard who took down my phone number and said he would call when they found him.  

By this time it had been 40 minutes since we had seen Jack and I was extremely worried.  Anna was with me and she was crying and saying over and over how she just wanted Jack and how he was a great brother who was so nice to her.  A report of another missing child came over the radio, this one had been missing for 25 minutes and I had the (irrational, I suppose) thought that someone had kidnapped our children.  I was really upset with myself because while we talk about stranger-danger fairly often, and even role-play various scenarios, we hadn't talked about what to do if they got separated from us.  We also hadn't told them to never leave the park without us.  I was extremely afraid that someone had lured him into the parking lot by saying that we were out there, or something similar.  Every minute that ticked by increased my stress level exponentially.  

About 5 minutes after I had given the guard his description, the same guard walked in the door with him.  I started crying out of complete relief.  He had been missing for 45 very long minutes.  Jack had gone on a ride.  He said he thought we knew he was going on and when he got off and we weren't there, he just started wandering the park to find us. Finally, someone asked him if he was lost and then brought him to the security officer. I have never felt such immense relief in my life. 

We then waited outside for Thomas, who was still circling the park. I found out that he had the same progression of thoughts that I did and was also convinced that Jack must have left the park, because he was sure that he should have been found before that. Talking with Jack, we must have just missed him on several occasions because Thomas did look in all the places he said he was.  Of course, for all I know, he was off riding his favorite roller coaster and enjoying the unexpected freedom (I don't really think that, but it is funny to imagine).  It was an interesting experience, to feel so many emotions in such a short period of time.  From slight annoyance to extreme worry and finally immense relief all in less than 60 minutes.

Later that day, we all took a bathroom break and guess who wandered off again?!?!?! Fortunately, Amanda spotted him and dragged him back to us.  This time, I smacked his bottom and yelled at him in front of a very surprised crowd.  I think the emotions of the day had gotten to me and I was so mad that he could have walked away from us again. The stroller had never moved, so I felt like it was an intentional act.  I am sure the astonished parents watching just thought I was an awful mother abusing her poor, crying child.  It was a rough afternoon.  But, it spite of it all, we actually had a really good time. Poor Thomas had a headache and stayed with the littler kids while I got to do all the fun rides. I tried out another of the big coasters (my goal is one each trip until I do them all). The kids all got along really well and were very well-behaved (minus the Jack incidents, of course).  We ended up staying until 9pm and were close to staying for the fireworks at 10. We really love that place and I am looking forward to many more visits. Here is the photo dump, but I didn't take any pictures yesterday, so they are from our first two visits.

Luke was not impressed with the carousel.

Dino Dig area

Joe Cool's Driving School (I think this is the cutest ride, it has stoplights and I love watching the kids wait for the light to turn green.  Makes me laugh every time :)

Another of a non-thrilled Luke

Some decent Mexican food

Jack and Thomas are in the front car.  I love this ride.  Definitely one of my favorites.

Can you believe Thomas and I rode this?  It is the tallest coaster there, by far.  It is aptly named "The Intimidator".

The only "roller coaster" Kara likes. 

Hanging out with the Luke and the girls while Thomas and Jack were on the coaster behind us.

Taken by my friend from the top of the "Eiffel Tower" (1/3 to scale).  Look how huge the Intimidator is! It just dwarfs everything.

In other news, Jack is playing soccer, Kara is doing t-ball and Anna is still in dance. Guess when they have their practices?  Mondays.  It has been a nightmare in logistics. Actually, it's not really a nightmare, just a long miserable day. They only do one thing and they just happen to all be on the same night.  I do think each one of them is getting better at their chosen activity, although I have no idea if they will continue beyond this season.

Last Thursday, Jack and Anna were in a show at school.  As first graders, they were only eligible for the chorus, but they had been rehearsing for months and it was a very exciting time.  Unfortunately, during the show Kara decided to throw a tantrum so I missed the first half. Kara is generally well-behaved, but when she chooses to act up, she goes all out.  It was both embarrassing and infuriating. I really wanted to see the show!  Thomas had been sitting separately in the back with Luke, so I had to bear the initial brunt.  Then, he came out at intermission and took over.  She was upset because she wanted popcorn.  I told her if she was good I would get her some at intermission, then I realized I didn't have any money.  I could have borrowed the dollar from any number of people there, but I wasn't thinking when I said this and I made the incredibly stupid mistake of telling her this during a break in the show.  So, I have my share of the blame.  Of course, screaming, crying, kicking and acting like a fool is a pretty disproportionate response to being told no popcorn, so I am not taking full responsibility.

Today is Mother's Day.  We had donuts for breakfast, the kids made lots of thoughtful gifts and Thomas got me some beautiful flowers.  He also let me enjoy a nap, and, as mentioned went to Kings Dominion, despite having a terrible headache and being unable to ride the rides.  And, he did it all cheerfully!  I am very lucky in life!!!  

Spring Break, Easter, Catch-All

I haven't been blogging much lately.  I wanted this blog to be more introspective than it has been lately.  But, I also like the basic journaling of our lives.  And, I am way behind on the basics.

As is tradition, we went to Rita's for the first day of Spring.  We had dropped Thomas' car off for an oil change and planned to go to the Lexington Park Rita's.  The car took forever.  We were told it was done, but there was some issue with the computers, so it took around 30 minutes to pay and get out of there.  Then, we headed to Rita's, but it was closed.  Not one to be thwarted in my efforts for achieving free ice, I told Thomas I wanted to drive across the bridge.  He didn't say how insane he thought I was (I could just tell).  Despite it being the first day of Spring, it was cold!  And, not only was it cold, it was rainy.  But, we have a saying in our house, "nothing is free, except for Rita's on free ice day," and I was determined.  So, we got in line with the base traffic and headed across the bridge.  Thomas lost the bet and there was a line of people getting their free ices.  Totally worth it.

It was so cold, we even broke our "no eating in the car until it's fully paid for" rule

Luke enjoyed his first taste of Rita's

Marta and Elizabeth came up for Spring Break.  We are lucky that they have the same Spring Break that we do.  They got here on a Monday.  Tuesday, we went to D.C.  We parked at Arlington and visited the grave of one of Matt's friends.  I had never been and it was a very sobering experience. The rows and rows of white markers are an amazing site and I don't think there can be a more visual reminder of the cost of war.  Obviously, not everyone buried there died on active duty, but everyone there, and I purposefully include military spouses, made a sacrifice for our country.  As we were leaving a funeral was taking place for a young Marine.  There was a horse drawn carriage carrying his casket to be buried. The casket was draped with an American flag.  I was glad that the kids were able to see it.  They all felt sad, but it was a good conversation.  We did not do the tour, maybe when Luke is bigger and we don't have to the stroller to contend with.  I did not take any pictures, it seemed a little distasteful to me (no judgement here, just the feeling I had that day).

From there, we walked across the bridge toward the Lincoln Memorial.  We got some lunch and enjoyed the beautiful weather before going inside.  After that, we saw the Vietnam and World War II Memorials and the Washington Monument (although, we did not go inside).  We had hoped to see the Jefferson and to walk by the White House,  but it was getting late so we decided to take the metro back to Arlington.  

We drove past the White House and headed for home, stopping for dinner at Red Robin.  When the day was done, we had walked over 6 miles and were out for about 12 hours.  The kids did awesome!  Luke was happy the entire day.  The only time he cried was briefly on the drive home. The older three never really complained.  I did make Jack stay by my side after having to chase him down a few times, but overall it was a great experience.  And now, the photo dump for our DC day:

We actually read the entire speech.  Good stuff!

Standard shot from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  Unfortunately, the Reflecting Pond was empty.

Aren't they cute?!?!

We let Luke run around and he was thrilled!

WWII.  

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the Vietnam Wall.  I remember hearing about it and thinking it was kind of a boring idea for a memorial.  I am not sure memorials are supposed to be exciting, but so many of them are so elaborate and stately that a wall with a bunch of names seemed anticlimatic.  But, after seeing it, I can say I was totally wrong.  There was something so personal and powerful about walking by the names of the 58,000+ who died.  It was a beautiful idea.

Wednesday we visited the Mudd House.  As with our previous visit, we were impressed with the friendly staff and enjoyed the visit.  After that, we came home and made cupcakes.  Thursday, I took the kids to the Calvert Marine Museum while Marta and Elizabeth went back to the city.  Friday, we had planned to go to Fort Washington, but we decided to have a quiet day at home instead.  Then, Elizabeth got sick Friday night, so we ended up staying in Saturday as well.  Fortunately, she was feeling better in time to fly out on Sunday morning.  Unfortunately, Thomas had worked the rest of the week, so he didn't get to do any of outings with us.

The only picture I took at the Mudd House was one of Kara trying on the hat Anna chose as her souvenir.

Red velvet cupcakes.  The kids wanted to do monkeys, then just had fun with the decorations.

 Sunday was Easter.  We dyed our Easter eggs on either Friday or Saturday, which is a fun tradition. The kids did an Easter Egg hunt in the house (rainy outside) and we had a ham dinner.  It was a quiet day.  They were out of school on Monday as well, so we went to the base and had lunch with Thomas and then met some friends at the park.  Overall, I would say it was a pretty great Spring Break.

On an unrelated note, several months ago I wrote about Thomas hurting his ankle. I think I mentioned how I wanted him to see a doctor, but he didn't want to go.  Well, he finally went to the doctor, 4+ months after the injury, and it turns out he fractured his Talar Dome (something neither of us had ever heard of).  The doctor did say the injury isn't really visible on x-rays, so is often missed in the E.R., so he probably would have been misdiagnosed with a sprain if he had gone in.  Now, he has to wear a cast for 6 weeks and if it doesn't heal, he will have to have surgery. Never a dull moment!

Little Lukey is One!

On Tuesday, March 17th, Luke turned one.  The kids were all very excited about his birthday. Since March 17th is also St. Patrick's Day we got everyone new green shirts. Normally, I just make them find something green in their drawers, but the day has definitely taken on new meaning. They all looked so cute I decided I needed to take pictures before school.  Only, I hadn't gotten Luke dressed yet (he often goes to the bus stop in his pajamas).  I took a picture of the older 3, but it seemed wrong not to include Luke on his birthday.  I quickly got him dressed and snapped a few pictures.  We literally had to run to make the bus, but it was worth it.

As is our first birthday tradition, Thomas took the day off and we took Luke to Build-A-Bear.  Our first stop was lunch at Cafe Rio, where Luke got to experience chips and cheese quesadilla for the first time.  He was very happy, although a little less so when he realized I forgot his cup.  From there, it was on to the main attraction.  Thomas' mother sent us a gift card to Build-A-Bear when the twins turned one. We decided to take them on their actually birthday, so that their special animal would have the same birthday as them--just one year later.  We did the same with Kara.  They all still have their toys and they like knowing that it was something we made together on their first birthday.  Luke emphatically chose a "Camo Bear."  He actually did show a definite preference.  We would show him the options and see what he reached for.  I encouraged him to chose a cute elephant, but his mind was made up.

I am not sure what happened to his shoe, but here we are putting in the bear's heart 

We got home in plenty of time to greet the kids at the bus.  It was a beautiful day and lots of kids (I counted 13 at one point) ended up in our backyard.  Jack drove Luke around in his car for a while. And the older girls, as in the third-graders, decided to play house and asked if Luke could be their baby.  Kara helped him practice walking in the yard and many other kids came up to him to play peek-a-boo, or something similar.  He was definitely well-entertained and much loved.

He wasn't so happy in this picture, but he really did have a great time playing outside

Since Luke likes eggs so much, we decided to do breakfast for dinner. We had french toast, eggs, and sausage.  Then, we went for a walk around the neighborhood and came home to sing and eat cupcakes. His presents were a little tunnel, his bear, and a noise popper walking toy.

At his one year check-up, he was 21 pounds and 29 inches.  However, at his 9 month check-up, he was 29.3 inches, so something is definitely wrong.  (I measured him at home and got 30.5, so I think the 29 from this visit is off).  He was very cooperative, which is indicative of his personality.  For example, he was babbling away and then the doctor put her stethoscope on him and he instantly became quiet and curious.  Luke is still happiest when there is lots to look at and examine.  He cried for about 20 seconds with the shots.  I really hate that part, he looked up with me with the saddest, most betrayed eyes while I was forced to hold his little hands.  I was glad that it didn't last long.

He doesn't say very many words, just mama, dada and An-Na (which I think he uses for kids in general).  He understands many, many words.  He walks pretty well and has a great appetite. He really likes adult food and will no longer tolerate any baby food.  About a week ago, he started screaming when we tried to feed him from one of the leftover baby food dinner jars.  If he can't feed it to himself, he doesn't want it.  I was convinced he was allergic to milk.  Fortunately, I was either wrong or he outgrew it already. He got hives after eating yogurt around 6 months and then around 10 months, he got hives after eating macaroni and cheese, so it was reasonable for me to think he had an allergy.

As mentioned, he has an excellent temperament.  He is generally very easy-going.  Although, he did bite Kara the other day when she held him too long in a tight hug.  He still adores his brother and sisters.  I think the highlight of his day is going to the bus stop, he loves waving goodbye to all of the kids and is always happy when they come home after school.  He also loves it when Thomas gets home from work and will excitedly greet him. Right now, his favorite game is to knock over the towers I build. I stack a few toys, pretend to try and keep him away, then he invariably makes it to the tower, knocks it down and laughs hysterically as I dramatically cry "nooooooo" (repeat x50).  He also enjoys emptying out the kitchen cabinets and taking the shoes off the shoe rack.

He is just starting to sleep through the night (knock on wood!).  But, his wake up time is irregular which can be frustrating when I try to plan our day.  His nap schedule depends on what time he wakes up, which can be anywhere from 6-730.  He really likes to be out and is pretty patient when we go shopping or on other errands. He is a decent traveler, falling somewhere between Anna, who would simply fall asleep whenever she was in her carseat, and Kara who would simply scream anytime she was placed in her carseat. He loves people and being part of the action.  He is a very sweet and very cuddly baby.  I love him immensely and am so glad he is part of our family!

Major Catch-up

I always thought I wrote this blog for myself.  But when I made it private and realized no one could read it anymore, I stopped writing.  I am not sure if I am going to make it public again or not. Regardless, I need to write.

The biggest news is that Thomas' mother died of lung cancer on February 11th. I believe that she was only 64 (incidentally, the same age my mother was when she died). We got the news after the kids were asleep and debated on whether to tell them on the 12th, which was Kara's birthday.  I kind of wanted to hold off so that we didn't ruin her special day. Thomas felt it was important to tell them right away.  Ultimately, I realized that my line of thinking was selfish. So, we told the kids. Although they hadn't met her, she always remembered their birthdays and Christmas and they had spoken to her on the phone many times.  They all cried when they heard the news.  We still had Kara's birthday meal (lasagna), cake and gave her her gifts.  Her party wasn't until the 14th, so it was a small family affair, which was appropriate under the circumstances.  

My own mother died shortly after Jack and Anna were born, so now they have no Grandmother, which I find incredibly sad. I lost my last Grandma when I was in law school and Thomas lost his last Grandma in 2013.  So, we both had our Grandmothers growing up.  It seems wrong that our kids won't have the same experience.  Hopefully, nothing happens to their Grandfathers for a very long time.

As I mentioned, Kara turned 6 on February 12th.  I baked her a giant cupcake as her special cake. She got sick on the night of her birthday, so she missed her class Valentine's Day Party, which was on Friday, the 13th.  She was very upset about missing her party.  I think I was proclaimed a terrible, awful mom, because despite throwing up all night, she insisted she was completely fine.  We were worried she was going to be too sick for her party, but she made it.  Once again, it was at the gymnastics center.  She knows a good thing when she sees it.  She is taking gymnastics classes there right now so she was happy to show off all she is learning.  She got a bike from us and lots of her friends gave her money (I suggested $5 to anyone who asked me what to get her so that she could combine her money and get one big gift from her friends).  She ended up with over $50, but she still hasn't spent it.  

Her blurry "birthday girl" photo.  Same shirt as Anna got, just a size smaller.

She wouldn't tell us what she wished for  :)

Kara was a little grumpy because she wanted to be the one to hold Luke. 

It has been a very cold, dreary winter, at least since January.  In fact, as I write this there is freezing rain outside and icicles hanging from the deck.  The schools have used up all the built-in snow days, so we are hoping that the snow and ice is over.

I am so tired of the snow.  I think even the kids have had enough.

In other big news, Thomas and I submitted our paperwork to resign from the Reserves.  The main reason for me is that I don't want to be deployed and no one who isn't willing to deploy should be a reservist.  For Thomas, it was a combination of not wanting to deploy (again) and being sick of losing weekends with the family.  It is a significant source of income for us, but we believe it is worth it.  I will miss the occasional use of my law degree and feeling like I bring a financial contribution to the family.  Oh, and being able to shop at the commissary and use the base pool. But, none of that is worth having the possibility of being sent away for 6-12 months hanging over my head.  

I think that is it for the big news.  Well, Thomas applied to transfer to Orlando, but we are still waiting to hear back, so that is just the possibility of news.  And, obviously, there have been lots of changes with Luke.  But, with his first birthday just 2 weeks away, I will save his news for then.  I will end with a couple of bonus pictures.

Jack and Anna had their well-visit in January and were pretending the exam room table was a boat.  Jack is looking for land while Anna paddles.

Luke likes to "sing" too.  Karaoke is still a hit for the whole family.