Jacob learned to ride his bike!

We've been working with Jacob since the beginning of summer to learn how to ride his bike without training wheels. He was very resistant to the idea of learning to ride on his own, but we kept encouraging him and he continued to be willing to try. After moving here he said he wanted to ride his bike like the other kids in the neighborhood, so Doug worked with him yesterday and that's when he took off on his own. I got him on video yesterday and took pictures of him today. We are so proud of him for not giving up!!

$10 Shopping Spree

The kids got money from Grandma Rapp for Halloween and Thanksgiving, so Doug took them to Toys 'R Us on Friday to find something to buy for $10. Ethan and Jacob stayed within their budget, but Audrey got Doug to spend a little bit more. Audrey loves her Hello Kitty set that included fake nails, lip gloss and nail polish. Ethan has been asking for Zurg from Toy Story II for over a month and was thrilled to find one. Jacob picked out a Star Wars Lego and immediately put it together when he got home.

Thanksgiving

We had an awesome Thanksgiving. Doug and I thought it was going to be just the five of us, then we found out that some friends moving here from Washington were arriving on Monday. So, we invited the Jones' over for Thanksgiving. Jeremy's parents were here too, so we got to entertain four more adults. It made all the cooking much more enjoyable knowing that Doug and I wouldn't be the only ones eating everything. The kids were also very excited that they were going to have a new friend to play with. They had a blast playing with Alex all afternoon. For our Thanksgiving feast I made two pumpkin pies, an apple pie, "my" famous cranberry sauce and sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes and an apple shallot dressing, which is going to be a new addition to my Thanksgiving menu. The one thing I made that didn't turn out well were the green beans. We used fresh ones and there was definitely something wrong with them. I take a lot of pride in the fact that my green beans always turn out great, so it was disappointing that the one thing I make all the time didn't turn out well. However, no one seemed to mind that there was one thing that didn't taste all that great. Doug used a high temperature cooking method for the turkey and it couldn't have been more perfect. It was the moistest turkey we've ever had. His sausage stuffing was also a big hit and they couldn't get enough of the gravy I made. They actually said it was the best gravy they've ever had...and their big time gravy people. We had a great time with lots of good memories. We're also very happy that Jeremy, Jen and Alex are here. It's nice having more friends at Scott AFB that were also in Washington with us.

Our Backyard

The kids LOVE their backyard. The swingset is perfect and they also have a blast running and rolling down the hill. It should be interesting when we get some snow. I think some sleds might be in our future. One thing we like about the backyards here are that there are no fences. As you can see in the picture, our neighbor's swingset is right behind ours. We really enjoy not having fences because it allows the kids to go wherever they want to. When all the neighborhood kids are out they have fun going from house to house and playing in the court.

AUDREY'S ATTEMPT TO BE LIKE THE BIG KIDS: The second or third day we were in the house I was unpacking the kitchen and looked out the window. Audrey was hanging from the monkey bars which are very high off the ground. It was going to be a long fall when she let go. I immediately panicked and quickly tried to figure out the fastest way to get to her. I thought that this house had a door off the garage, but quickly remember that it was our old house that had a door. So, I knew at that point my only option was the sliding glass door which had boxes piled in front of it. I squeezed past them and ran to her, thinking I was just in time. However, she seemed to have a pretty good grip, which surprised me, but I told her she can't ever do that again without mommy or daddy there. I think she realized that it wasn't a good idea either because she hasn't tried it since.

Star Wars or Toy Story II

Doug and I were sitting at the kitchen table talking and there was a moment of silence when we heard Ethan very passionately say "You killed my father" then Jacob said with just as much passion "No, I am your father". Doug and I looked at each other bewildered as to how they would know that line from Star Wars. We realized later that it is also a line in Toy Story II between Zurg and the new Buzz Lightyear!!

The Kitchen

I unpacked the kitchen the first day, but it seemed to be a dumping ground for all the other stuff in the house that didn't have a place yet. We are happy with the kitchen and it thankfully has just enough cabinets for all my stuff. However, the sliding glass door and kitchen window do not have any blinds, which means I'll be making curtains soon. The good thing is that our house backs up to a field so no one is looking into our house, but it would be still be nice to have something covering the slider at night.

Pictures of Our Basement

The basement has turned out better than I thought it would. The finished part is split into two sides by the staircase. One side is for school,craft and computer time and the other is for play.

TIME TO LEARN & EXPLORE
TIME TO PLAY

The back half of the basement is unfinished, but as you can see we have more toys then we have room. I also have three boxes of toys I haven't unpacked. I'm pretty sure you could say that my kids are spoiled. However, this side of the unfinished part has worked out well. We laid down foam pads so they can't feel the cold of the concrete and they enjoy setting up their train tracks and Lightening McQueen tracks. The best thing for me is that ALL of their toys are in the basement. Doug and I have already talked about how it's going to be tough going back to a house without a basement.

Ethan having fun!!

I went out shopping and Doug was home with the kids and five neighborhood kids. During the chaos Ethan decided that instead of painting a picture he would paint himself. He was very proud of his work!!

We finished the Family Room and Dinning Room Today!

We opened our last box!

It was a week of unrelenting work. We wanted to get the house set up as quickly as possible, but it turned out to be tougher than we remembered. I opened and unpacked the boxes and Doug broke them down and stuffed as much paper into as few boxes as he could.

Doug's Act of Heroism

On the second day of our four day drive from Washington to Illinois we came upon an accident that had just happened. Doug and I were talking on the phone driving separate cars and I was in the lead when I saw a car that was badly banged up. Glass was covering both lanes and as I passed the car I could see someone in there. I initially thought there were two people, but Doug quickly learned that there was only one person. I was a bit confused because the car was obviously in a single-car accident, but there was also another car behind that car that was just sitting there. As soon as I told Doug there was an accident and he saw for himself what had happened he told me to pull over and call 911. He jumped out and when I looked in my rear view mirror I saw flames coming out of the hood of the car. I quickly realized that Doug was putting himself in danger to try and save this person's life and I panicked for a second thinking that the car could blow up while he was trying to help. Then, I realized that there was nothing I could do except pray, so I turned to the kids in the car and told them we needed to pray. They immediately folded their hands and closed their eyes and I prayed for Doug's safety, the person that was stuck in the car and that Doug would get the help he needed to get this person out. Other cars stopped as they came upon the accident and my view of what was taking place was beginning to be obstructed. From what I could see there were people standing around, but no one seemed to be helping Doug. Then, I saw the person being carried and laid on the ground. At that point the flames were getting bigger and bigger and the car was completely on fire when the paramedics arrived. A person walking back to their car told me that three guys somehow pulled the door open. I knew that one of those three guys was my husband. After the paramedics left Doug walked over to us and I could tell something was wrong because of the way he was holding his hands and moving his arms. I realized once he got to me that it was because he had blood all over his hands. He told me that there were two guys that came from the other side of the median to help him. They somehow pried the door open and Doug pulled the lady from the car. He said he could see the dashboard starting to bubble from the heat and it was only minutes from being too late. After everything started to sink in, Doug called the state trooper for more information. He learned the first 911 call, which was not mine, was only 7 minutes before trooper arrived. In that short 7 minutes, we pulled over from the freeway, Doug rescued the women from the car and the entire car was engulfed in flames according to the trooper. Also, the lady in the car was a 72 year old women who had 8 children, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was on her way to the airport to go see her newest great-grandchild. She had fallen asleep at the wheel, hit the median, jerked the car back to the road and flipped it from front to back. She had no broken bones and was able to leave the hospital within days after it happen. Doug had a chance to talk to her son and he was pretty emotional about the whole thing. He told Doug he had no idea who he saved and that she is one of those people who has a bigger than life personality. The next few days of our drive was consumed with thoughts about what had happen. Doug was amazed that he was put in that place at that time for that event. The odds of having us being the first ones on the scene of that accident was definitely an act of God. Also, we never found out what happen with the other car we saw when we pulled up. Our guess is that he was in shock because he saw what happen and was unable to respond.

Ready, Set, Drive

Day 1: Lacey, WA to Boise, ID - We had fog throughout most of Washington and Oregon
Day 2: Boise, ID to Cheyenne, WY - Doug saves a women's life. It was our longest day of driving and we were thankful to make it Cheyenne. It was interesting to see the red rocks in Utah. I've seen them before, but it never gets old. As night fell we hit thick fog close to Cheyenne, so it was slow going for the last hour.
Day 3: Cheyenne, WY to Topeka, KS - After being on the road for a few hours a car zoomed pass me. I moved back into his lane and within minutes I saw the hood of his car flying through the air towards me. I didn't have to make any drastic maneuvers because it hit the road about 15-20 yards in front of me, but it was a bit unnerving nonetheless. Driving through Denver was breathtaking. I didn't want to take my eyes off of the Rocky Mountains. I'm not sure there is anything more amazing to see. At one point, when we were heading east, I looked in my rear view mirror and could see the mountains in all their glory. I knew that would be the last glorious thing I would see because the rest of the day was flat and boring.
Day 4: Topeka, KS to Belleville, IL - The further we drove east the prettier it got. We were so excited once we crossed the Mississippi River and arrived to our new home. We were more than ready to get out of the car even though it was our shortest day of driving. The only thing we did that day was unpack the cars and made the beds so we could sleep there that night.