McKenzie's school put on a Jungle Book performance tonight. The drama club members had speaking parts and solos, but all the classes participated by each doing a dance!
I have never seen such a well organized performance put on that included all the ages groups! The choreography was amazing. The actors (students) were more impressive than most high school plays I've seen.
It started at 6:30 and was about 90 minutes long. The cafeteria was packed. We went early and still only had standing room left. The kids and I stood against the wall and a gal offered me one of her chairs. (Perk of being pregnant I guess) I set the chair against the side wall so Trevor stood on the back of the chair, I sat on it, and Addison stood on my lap and we had one of the best seats in the house!
The songs were so upbeat and the performers were so fun, that I didn't hear a single peep out of Trevor. Addison danced on my lap and got the attention of all the parents surrounding us. She put on quite a performance of her own! There were so many people that I could let her down every once in a while and let her dance around. With no chance of exit.
McKenzie's class did a dance to the song "Fire". She has been practicing for weeks and was really nervous about getting up in front of everyone, but afterwards, she said, "You know, I wasn't really that nervous, and I had so much fun!!!!" Her class did an awesome job! I was so proud!
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Fun in the Sun & My Little Monkey
It's been HOT and MUGGY here the past couple days. I broke down and decided to go buy the kids a little pool for the backyard. There hasn't been much of a breeze, so the house is sometimes hotter then it is outside... downside of no A/C in the summer. So when it's nearing 90 outside.... you can only imagine what it feels like in the house, even with the windows and doors open.
So after I picked up Trevor from pre-school, we went to get a pool. I had it aired up in just a couple minutes thanks to the air compressor, and filled with water while the kids had lunch.
Not only has she become a pill in the climbing department, she also has a new skill of annoying Molly. Here, Molly was TRYING to nap on the couch....until Addison came up and laid her head down next to hers and rolled over her... again, screeching! Doesn't Molly look thrilled to have a playmate?!
Terrible two's huh? Wonderful!!! I can't wait.
So after I picked up Trevor from pre-school, we went to get a pool. I had it aired up in just a couple minutes thanks to the air compressor, and filled with water while the kids had lunch.
Addison LOVED being independent in the water.
And Trevor was enjoying being a normal big brother...
squirting water with the squirt shark.
Caught in the act
"Oh, look at me!"
She also has a proud scream (more like a screech) that she lets out once she is up... and she KNOWS she is not supposed to be up there. You can tell by the look on her face! You are lucky this picture doesn't come with sound.
squirting water with the squirt shark.
Now that Addison has discovered the skill of climbing on furniture... she has become quite the monkey. And it wouldn't be so bad if she didn't think she had to jump and flop around once she got up there!!!
Caught in the act
"Oh, look at me!"
She also has a proud scream (more like a screech) that she lets out once she is up... and she KNOWS she is not supposed to be up there. You can tell by the look on her face! You are lucky this picture doesn't come with sound.
Not only has she become a pill in the climbing department, she also has a new skill of annoying Molly. Here, Molly was TRYING to nap on the couch....until Addison came up and laid her head down next to hers and rolled over her... again, screeching! Doesn't Molly look thrilled to have a playmate?!
Terrible two's huh? Wonderful!!! I can't wait.
HALFWAY!!!
Today marks the halfway point of the deployment! 3 1/2 months down!!! 3 1/2 months to go! I feel like I should be more excited, but when I think about it, it seems like the homecoming should be so much closer than this!
Unfortunately, I feel like the worst part of the deployment is yet to come. Since their move to Afghanistan from Iraq, we haven't been able to communicate with Nick as often. I guess when you are used to getting daily emails and frequent phone calls, or even Skype calls, it helps pass the time and put you at ease.
Now I get an email every few days, sometimes just simple one liners stating he's been busy but wanted to check in. And I'm lucky to get a phone call once a week. Reality check. He's at war.
Nothing new to report since my last "Nick Update" but I'll have some news to share in the near future. Continue to pray for Nick and his squadron. Let's hope the 2nd half of their deployment goes as good as the first half!
Unfortunately, I feel like the worst part of the deployment is yet to come. Since their move to Afghanistan from Iraq, we haven't been able to communicate with Nick as often. I guess when you are used to getting daily emails and frequent phone calls, or even Skype calls, it helps pass the time and put you at ease.
Now I get an email every few days, sometimes just simple one liners stating he's been busy but wanted to check in. And I'm lucky to get a phone call once a week. Reality check. He's at war.
Nothing new to report since my last "Nick Update" but I'll have some news to share in the near future. Continue to pray for Nick and his squadron. Let's hope the 2nd half of their deployment goes as good as the first half!
It's Official.... I'm a Soccer Mom
I've got the van, and now I've got the soccer player! Do I really need the soccer ball decal in my back window, though? NAH....
Trevor has his soccer skills practice tonight. He was so excited! They divided the kids up by age, so all the 4 year olds were in one group. So cute!
They had 4 different stations where they did different skills, dribbling, passing, stopping the ball and kicking it back and then the big GOAL KICK!
There was a young Marine in charge of the passing station. He obviously had no kids and wasn't understanding the attention span of a 4 year old. He was explaining all the steps they needed to do for the station, and there were seriously like a dozen.
There are two lines.
You will pass the ball to the opposite person.
They will kick a few feet, then pass it back.
You will continue passing back and forth until you get to the goal.
When one of you gets close enough to the goal, kick it in the goal.
Then the other will carry the ball back to the front of the line to the next person.
Then you will go to the end of the end of the opposite line and go again.
Right. Even I had trouble remembering what they were supposed to do!
The moms were all laughing because most of the kids were watching birds, picking their nose, or playing around in the line and not even listening. It was just funny to listen to him instruct these kids like a group of recruits! Oh we laughed!
Needless to say he had to walk each pair through the entire station, because even if they DID pay attention, it was too much to remember! But, they ran out of time, so Trevor didn't get a chance to do it anyways. Oh well. That's what happens when you waist all that time trying to explain things to 4 year olds...
Here are a couple videos I took with my cell phone. They are not great quality, but you can kind of get an idea of what they did.
Running the Ball to the Goal.
Trevor is the little red shirted man... He carried the ball back and then did a heartfelt "HI MOM" as he ran by me!
Goal Kick
This was the last station. He rocks!
Practice starts in June!!!
Trevor has his soccer skills practice tonight. He was so excited! They divided the kids up by age, so all the 4 year olds were in one group. So cute!
They had 4 different stations where they did different skills, dribbling, passing, stopping the ball and kicking it back and then the big GOAL KICK!
There was a young Marine in charge of the passing station. He obviously had no kids and wasn't understanding the attention span of a 4 year old. He was explaining all the steps they needed to do for the station, and there were seriously like a dozen.
There are two lines.
You will pass the ball to the opposite person.
They will kick a few feet, then pass it back.
You will continue passing back and forth until you get to the goal.
When one of you gets close enough to the goal, kick it in the goal.
Then the other will carry the ball back to the front of the line to the next person.
Then you will go to the end of the end of the opposite line and go again.
Right. Even I had trouble remembering what they were supposed to do!
The moms were all laughing because most of the kids were watching birds, picking their nose, or playing around in the line and not even listening. It was just funny to listen to him instruct these kids like a group of recruits! Oh we laughed!
Needless to say he had to walk each pair through the entire station, because even if they DID pay attention, it was too much to remember! But, they ran out of time, so Trevor didn't get a chance to do it anyways. Oh well. That's what happens when you waist all that time trying to explain things to 4 year olds...
Here are a couple videos I took with my cell phone. They are not great quality, but you can kind of get an idea of what they did.
Running the Ball to the Goal.
Trevor is the little red shirted man... He carried the ball back and then did a heartfelt "HI MOM" as he ran by me!
Goal Kick
This was the last station. He rocks!
Practice starts in June!!!
Monday, May 4, 2009
UGLY MOTOMAIL
I spoke with Nick tonight on the phone for a while since he was ODO (duty officer). And although the connection was crackled and cutting out, we were able to get lots of conversing in.
He has been very busy flying and testing the past few days. They had a pretty huge storm come through yesterday with lots of rain. He was testing an aircraft and had to taxi over a mile back to the hangar on the runway because the rain was so bad.
One big thing he mentioned, was the nice emails he had been getting via MOTO MAIL. Since they are working out of tents, and only share one computer between all of them, the time to actually access their own work email is very limited. He encouraged me to tell others to feel free to use the MOTO MAIL. They get printed out and hand delivered to him, even when he doesn't have time to check his own email. The letter below explains what to do:
In a letter from the Commanding Officer:
I appreciate everyone's patience during the transition from Iraq to Afghanistan. As you have noticed, we now have less access to computers with which to conduct personal correspondence. We fully understand the morale impact this can have for both you and your Ugly Angel. In order to increase the communications available given these more limited means, we have established the "Ugly Mail" service. "Ugly Mail" is a common Email address that we all share, but it is for incoming mail only. Here is how it works:
1. You send an Email to your favorite Ugly Angel at this address Ugly.Mail@afghan.usmc.mil. Please place their rank and name (Capt. Turner, Nicholas A.) in the subject line. Unfortunately we will not be able to print any attachments.
2. Our Family Readiness team in Afghanistan prints the Email and gives the hard copy to your Ugly Angel.
Please note that we cannot assure total privacy so please consider that fact when deciding to send messages.
Sincerely,
Lt Col Hagan, Commanding Officer
HMH-362, Ugly Angels
So, as a quick recap, instead of emailing to Nick's personal email.... send emails to Ugly.Mail@afghan.usmc.mil and be sure to type CAPT. NICHOLAS A. TURNER in the subject line. The email will be printed out and delivered to him! That way he will still receive your notes when he is unable to access the computer!
He has been very busy flying and testing the past few days. They had a pretty huge storm come through yesterday with lots of rain. He was testing an aircraft and had to taxi over a mile back to the hangar on the runway because the rain was so bad.
One big thing he mentioned, was the nice emails he had been getting via MOTO MAIL. Since they are working out of tents, and only share one computer between all of them, the time to actually access their own work email is very limited. He encouraged me to tell others to feel free to use the MOTO MAIL. They get printed out and hand delivered to him, even when he doesn't have time to check his own email. The letter below explains what to do:
In a letter from the Commanding Officer:
I appreciate everyone's patience during the transition from Iraq to Afghanistan. As you have noticed, we now have less access to computers with which to conduct personal correspondence. We fully understand the morale impact this can have for both you and your Ugly Angel. In order to increase the communications available given these more limited means, we have established the "Ugly Mail" service. "Ugly Mail" is a common Email address that we all share, but it is for incoming mail only. Here is how it works:
1. You send an Email to your favorite Ugly Angel at this address Ugly.Mail@afghan.usmc.mil. Please place their rank and name (Capt. Turner, Nicholas A.) in the subject line. Unfortunately we will not be able to print any attachments.
2. Our Family Readiness team in Afghanistan prints the Email and gives the hard copy to your Ugly Angel.
Please note that we cannot assure total privacy so please consider that fact when deciding to send messages.
Sincerely,
Lt Col Hagan, Commanding Officer
HMH-362, Ugly Angels
So, as a quick recap, instead of emailing to Nick's personal email.... send emails to Ugly.Mail@afghan.usmc.mil and be sure to type CAPT. NICHOLAS A. TURNER in the subject line. The email will be printed out and delivered to him! That way he will still receive your notes when he is unable to access the computer!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Heard From Nick (sort of)
i was playing around with the background on the blog, and in doing so, lost all my sidebar gadgets. So, I am slowly trying to add them back on! Sorry! I did just post some ideas for Nick's care packages....the ones I could remember.
This week I haven't heard much from Nick. They had their outgoing communications shut down for a couple days after an incident that happened in the country. Nothing to do with the Uglies. He is still able to receive emails, but can not get anything OUT. No phone, email or internet. It's just protocol until families can be notified when something happens to the troops out there.
I did get a quick email last night saying he was "still alive" and just really busy. He has been flying a lot lately, and mentioned the temps were extremely hot! The other day he said the thermometer outside the tent (where he works) was 130 degrees. He said, "Now I am sure it really wasn't THAT hot, but it had to have been close!!!!" Can you imagine? But he's been so busy, he said he hasn't had any trouble falling asleep. So that is good. I always worry he isn't sleeping good enough on those "oh so comfortable" cots!
He is on duty tomorrow so he should be able to catch up on some emails and hopefully call! If he does, I'll be sure to throw out another update to you all!
Thanks for all your emails, thoughts and prayers! Nick said to keep the emails coming. Although he may not always be able to email you back right away, nothing makes his day like getting emails from friends and family!!!! He said when he DOES have the time to sit at the computer, he enjoys hearing from you all!
This week I haven't heard much from Nick. They had their outgoing communications shut down for a couple days after an incident that happened in the country. Nothing to do with the Uglies. He is still able to receive emails, but can not get anything OUT. No phone, email or internet. It's just protocol until families can be notified when something happens to the troops out there.
I did get a quick email last night saying he was "still alive" and just really busy. He has been flying a lot lately, and mentioned the temps were extremely hot! The other day he said the thermometer outside the tent (where he works) was 130 degrees. He said, "Now I am sure it really wasn't THAT hot, but it had to have been close!!!!" Can you imagine? But he's been so busy, he said he hasn't had any trouble falling asleep. So that is good. I always worry he isn't sleeping good enough on those "oh so comfortable" cots!
He is on duty tomorrow so he should be able to catch up on some emails and hopefully call! If he does, I'll be sure to throw out another update to you all!
Thanks for all your emails, thoughts and prayers! Nick said to keep the emails coming. Although he may not always be able to email you back right away, nothing makes his day like getting emails from friends and family!!!! He said when he DOES have the time to sit at the computer, he enjoys hearing from you all!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Hale Koa Pool ~ Aloha Trammells'
Our good friends, the Trammells have been spending their last few days here on the island at the Hale Koa Hotel down in Waikiki, and as I type this, they are just starting their long flight back to Pensacola, Florida.
Yesterday, the kids and I met them down at the pool behind the Hale Koa to let the kids spend a little time together, ok, and so us girls could hang out too before they left the island! Julie came down too. It was a gorgeous day and perfect to be at the pool!
Addison and I even dipped in the pool for a while. She was so tired, and lounged around most of the time.
Julie, Me & Addi, and Sherree
(the boys are in the background and kenzie was taking the picture)
Trevor did great with the water wings. He immediately floated out into the deep water and found a little stick and threw it all over and swam after it.
Me & Addison posing for a quick picture!
Hudson & Trevor playing in the kiddie pool during the break session at the big pool.
Best Buddies
Enjoying their post pool snack back in the hotel room.
What happens in the car after a long day at the pool with your best buddy!
He had a run in with a bat the other day (hence the black eye) and THEN that morning before we went to the Hale Koa, the preschool called me and said he ran into the bookshelf and scratched his face next to his black eye. Poor guy looks a little rough right now!
Yesterday, the kids and I met them down at the pool behind the Hale Koa to let the kids spend a little time together, ok, and so us girls could hang out too before they left the island! Julie came down too. It was a gorgeous day and perfect to be at the pool!
Hudson & Trevor having a mid afternoon snack in the sun, trying not to feed the birds.
Addison and I even dipped in the pool for a while. She was so tired, and lounged around most of the time.
Julie, Me & Addi, and Sherree
(the boys are in the background and kenzie was taking the picture)
Trevor did great with the water wings. He immediately floated out into the deep water and found a little stick and threw it all over and swam after it.
Me & Addison posing for a quick picture!
Addison slammin' down some milk after a long afternoon in the water.
Hudson & Trevor playing in the kiddie pool during the break session at the big pool.
Best Buddies
Enjoying their post pool snack back in the hotel room.
What happens in the car after a long day at the pool with your best buddy!
He had a run in with a bat the other day (hence the black eye) and THEN that morning before we went to the Hale Koa, the preschool called me and said he ran into the bookshelf and scratched his face next to his black eye. Poor guy looks a little rough right now!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)