Mahayla

Yesterday we had to say to our beloved pug dog Mahayla. It was very sad, but she had been in pain for a while. The kids and I went to the veterinarian to say good-bye then Oliver stayed and "helped Mahayla get to heaven" (Kate's words) Mahayla was 17 years old. She will be missed!

Up!

Last week we took BOTH kiddo's to the movie theatre to see the movie "Up". It was a matinee in the middle of the week, so there were only 2 other families in there. Kate of course LOVED the whole experience. Cole was great until he had had enough popcorn and wanted to explore. Cole and I had to go in the hall for about 15 minutes in the middle to run off some energy, but saw the majority of the movie.

Kate and Daddy before the movie started.Watching the previews... Cole standing but still watching. We will have to go out in the hall soon.All in all it was a lot of fun and Cole did pretty well for a 1 year old. He was a bit active, but stayed pretty quiet except for the occasional exclamation of "BLOON!!" (balloon) as he pointed at the screen.

Kate's first recital

Kate had her first recital yesterday. She had to be there by 10:30 am and we left at 8pm. It was a LONG day, but Kate LOVED it! There were 2 shows, and Kate was in both of them. The first one she just had tumbling, and the second one she did all of her dances. Kate did a great job, and was so excited to be on the BIG stage and have "a lot of audience" watch her (she definitely did not get that from me!)

Kate and Emily getting ready for the tumbling show...The finale of the first show...

Jazz...My little ballerina..."You Are My Sunshine" for tap...Tap...The finale of the second show...

After the show. A tired Kate with Daddy and her pretty flowers. Today Kate told me that she wants to do it AGAIN!! Thank goodness there is a whole year before we do it again!

Welcome Home Daddy!

We got the phone call on Sunday that Oliver would be home at 3:30 (or should I say 1530) on Monday. So we showed up at Cameron Field in front of the 4th ID headquarters at 3:30 to wait for the buses to bring our loved one back to us.

Oliver is Home! Here are a bunch of pictures from the homecoming.

Walking to the field...

Kate and Cole waiting... and waiting...and waiting...we are still waiting... Here come the buses!!! Fire trucks were spraying water. They drove the buses under it. They parked all of the buses in front of the field then all of the soldiers lined up behind the buses. In the last picture on this group you can see all the boots under the bus...

"When are they going to MOVE the buses?"
The buses finally moved... Then all the soldiers marched forward. There was a little talking then they were told to "Find Your Families!"

The kids greeting Daddy.We are all together again! The banner at home...
I plan on continuing to do this blog, but it would be GREAT if some of you could sign up so you could leave comments. I would LOVE to hear every one's thoughts...

Thank you to everyone for your support and prayers over the past year. It's OVER! Yay!

Texas Tumblers

Texas Tumblers is a big gym that offers classes, camps, cheerleading and a preschool, but a couple times a week they have an open gym and we like to go a couple times a month. Here are some pictures of one of our visits.

Cole on the trampoline runway.Kate on the trampoline runway.Cole "hanging around." So proud!Kate's first time hanging upside down. She is not very happy that I made her do this...

Her third time... So happy and VERY proud.

UPDATE: Oliver leaves Kuwait SOON! He should be home sometime Monday!!! Yay!!

Memorial Day Parade

The City of Harker Heights had a Memorial Day Parade on the Saturday before Memorial Day. There wasn't much of a turn out either with parade participants or spectators along the route but, the kids had a GREAT time. Kate keeps asking when she can see another parade. I wonder how she would react to a big parade. Here are a few pictures... Kate watching down the street waiting for the parade to start."Horse-neigh!"Kate stood and waved at everyone.afterward we went to the park and Kate chased the ducks...Just to update everyone...

Oliver is in Kuwait now and should be home EARLY next week! Yeah!!!!