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.