Build-A-Bear

Wednesday evening, we took the kids to Build-A-Bear.  The last time he deployed, we did the same thing, and the kids loved their stuffed animals with his voice recording inside.  The kids wanted to do it again, and they were delighted with their picks.

 

 Luke picked this camo bear.

The bear is all stuffed and being cleaned up.

 Alex insisted on this green shamrock bear.  He was so happy with it.

 Madison picked a white cat that she ended up outfitting with a ski hat and a ski sweater to remind her of the fun ski trip we all had.

 Alex and Edward had to type up the bear's birth certificate.  Alex named his Lucky.  Luke named his Duke, and Madison named her cat Snowflake.

 

While it was a fun evening, it's a sad reminder of what is coming up all too soon.

Oak Island

Last weekend, Edward had to work in the ER.  I thought I would take the kids to the beach to enjoy the nice weather.  All weather reports said what a great day it would be. They failed to mention the ridicilious winds that would be present on the beach.  My parents had planned to tag along, but they ended up having to go to a funeral.  The kids and I got down to the beach, and wow, the wind was strong.  In fact, it made for a rather miserable beach day.  We were the only ones actually sitting on the beach.  A few passerbys were walking dogs and such, but we were it.  We managed to stay an hour before we just couldn't take it anymore.  It helped we had food to sustain us.

 

 Digging, digging, and more digging

 Lunch and just plain cold

 That's Luke under there.

 Madison

 It looks pretty, but the waves were very choppy.  The foam off the white caps was blowing across the sand.

This seagull just hovered over our blanket, knowing we were the only ones out there...with food.

 

Hopefully, our weather will warm up soon so we can enjoy a nice, warm day at the beach again.

Swimming Lessons

The kids are back in the pool for more swimming lessons.  They are all doing really well. I keep trying to snag some pictures, so hopefully I'll get better ones than these.  Madison is really working hard on mastering her techniques for all the strokes.  She is swimming well, and her favorite is the backstroke. She hates the freestyle, but that's because she hates to turn to breathe.  She also likes the breast stroke and is working hard on butterfly. 

 

 Madison, coming up to the wall completing two laps of freestyle

Here she's starting off two more laps of backstroke.

 Luke is a level behind Madison, also working hard on the strokes.  In his class, they are working on mastering the techniques for freestyle and backstroke, but they are also introducing breast stroke and butterfly.  He likes the backstroke, but he seems to have a natural ability with the butterfly. He is picking that one up quickly.

I didn't get any pictures this day of Alex's class, but I'll make sure to take my camera for more. He is in the Level 1 class, the youngest in his class by a couple of years.  He does really, really well, and I think the instructor is amazed he is so young. He has such an interest in swimming, some of which is to be like his older siblings.  He seems like a natural in the water, so I'm really glad they put him in that class, and he's doing so well.

Skiing

Edward and I love to ski. We both started skiing before we even started dating.  We haven't skiied in five years, and before that, it's been almost ten.  Three little people are the cause of our skiing hiatus.  Well, we all went skiing this past week at Winterplace in West Virginia.  The kids had a teacher workday, and the local school district has a "Deployment" policy to excuse family trips before and after deployments.  We had no idea how the kids would enjoy skiing.  Being of "Arizona blood" with not a huge tolerance for extreme cold, we really didn't know if they would enjoy it.  Thanks to the huge snowstorm last week, we had a ton of fresh powder.  We feel truly blessed for such a great trip.  Temps were in the upper 20's for our first day of skiing, and they were in the upper 30's for our second.  It made for great skiing weather, especially for kids learning.

 

 Madison is ready to hit the slopes.  She did Ski School the first morning.  We know she's a good athlete, but we weren't prepared for the superstar she was on the slopes!  The Ski School told us she didn't need to come back anymore; she was ready for the slopes.  She was very excited to wear her new helmet and goggles...all nice sale finds  :)

 Alex went to the daycare the first day.  The Ski School doesn't usually take kids under four...usually.  Well, Alex was so mad that everyone else was skiing and he wasn't, we asked about school for him. So, the second day, he went to Ski School and did surprisingly well for a three-year-old.  Edward is ready for the slopes after we dusted off our skis.  Yes, we have our own-we love it that much. They worked great for my skis being 12 years old and his being almost 20 years old.

 Alex's skiing adventure only would have been better if he'd brought his Flash cape for the slopes.

 That's me under all that clothing.

 Luke, all ready for his first skiing experience.  We were very proud of him.  He did well for a five-year-old. He is working on turning and couldn't understand why he couldn't go down the challenging hills.

 We did well for not skiing for five years.

Lunch

 Boy table

 We took some pictures of Alex at Ski School.  We didn't want him to see us.  He's in the orange (go figure).

 Girls on the ski lift

 BEAUTIFUL weather

 The crew

 Alex

 Ready for the top of the mountain

Alex

I'm so glad we were able to have such an enjoyable trip. It's definitely going to be an annual event now.  I just need Edward to realize the kids aren't ready for Whistler yet (in British Columbia).  Someday...

Camping

With Edward's days stateside getting fewer and fewer, he wanted to take the kids camping.  So, last weekend, they went to Carolina Beach State Park in Wilmington.  I rode along, but was dropped off at my parents' house to hang with them. Everyone had a great time. I was glad Edward had some time to spend with the kids, and they enjoyed the weekend very much. It was a bit cold, but hey, when Dad is getting ready to head out, you take what you can get!

 

 Alex found the campfire.

The kids took most of the pictures, so yes, they are interesting. 

 Alex seemed to bring "everything but the kitchen sink" in his backpack.

 

 

The kids called Saturday evening to say good-night. My mom and I were in the car, heading back to her house after dinner.  We couldn't stop laughing after Luke got on and said, "I'm so sorry I burned a hole in my fleece.  I didn't even know I was on fire until Daddy put the fire out."  Yeah.  Apparently, Luke brushed up against the fire, and while I envisioned the worst, it wasn't anything.  Luckily, it never touched any part of Luke's skin. 

 

I also was told that Alex doesn't like s'mores.  He likes to peel them apart and eat each part by itself.  Madison, while a tomboy, still likes a shower even when camping. 

 

I'm glad they had so much fun, and I know they are going to miss Edward.  They asked if they could camp in warmer weather when he gets back  :)