Paper

Our new house is two stories. There is a nice size storage closet under the stairs. We haven't decided what to do with it yet, or what to store in there. How ever... The movers told us that they would be back to pick up the boxes and paper from the move when we called them. We just needed to flatten the boxes and put all the paper into the wardrobe boxes. Sounded like a good plan to us, until we found out we have more paper then wardrobe boxes. So I started putting the paper the the closet under the stairs.


It didn't take the girls long to decide that all the paper in there was like a ball pit. They have so much fun going in there and falling on the paper, throwing it and getting buried in it. I guess it is a lot like jumping in the leaves was for me. Awww, to be a kid again.

November in a Nut Shell

I would like to apologize for not posting an update in so long. Things have been very crazy around here the last month. Jamie had surgery on his stomach the first week of November. At the end of his two weeks off from work to recover, we moved into base housing. And we just finished Thanksgiving.

Jamie has almost fully recovered from his surgery now. He had a full stomach wrap, in which they take the stomach and wrap it around the bottom of the esophagus. This also corrected a hernia he had where his stomach was coming through the diaphragm. They did the surgery with 5 small incisions that have practically healed. You wouldn't know they where there except they are still a bit red. He now gets the hiccups often when eating, but that is the only lingering problem.

We decided that since Jamie will most likely stay in the Air Force the remainder of his enlistment (September/October 2009) that we needed to move on base. First we were offered a house that was a couple years old and had three bedrooms. It was smaller then what we had, but we were willing to make it work. A week later they called Jamie and said that they had some brand new houses that just came open early and they had a four bedroom for us if we were interested. Jamie had inspected these houses and jumped at the oppertunity for one. Not only does it have an extra bedroom, but the rooms are bigger too. We are happy with this house and are excited to be here. Of course, like any house, there are those things that you wish were different, but over all, it's a great house.

This year we had Thanksgiving at home. It was a bit weird since we have had so many at the station over the last few years. Jamie's step-brother is working in Nampa, so we invited him down for the weekend. We all had a blast and were glad we could visit. The girls wouldn't let him leave thier sight and we can't wait for him to visit again.
And in the middle of all this craziness, we took JJ to get his forst hair cut. We figured that since he is a year old, it was about time. It came out a bit shorter then we were expecting and took a little getting used to, but now I look back at pictures before it was cut and think those look odd. We were so proud of JJ while he was getting his hair cut. He sat mostly still and didn't seem to mind it. Even the people who worked there couldn't believe how well he did. He did get a ample supply of M&M's while his hair was cut. And he only seemed to mind when she switched clippers and he wanted to see what was making the different sound. So here is a picture of JJ about 15 minutes after he got his hair cut.
Soon I hope to have pictures of the house to post, once some more stuff is put away, and pictures of the kids.

Congratulations Bradley and Christy!

My brother and sister-in-law announced the arrival of a little boy to join there family in March or April. We are so excited for them.

Halloween

Pumpkin carving was something else this year. Andi seemed to enjoy it, but took care to try and keep her hands clean. Sammi didn't really want to have much to do with carving pumpkins except overseeing the event. Andrea picked out a small pumpkin this year. She liked it because it had a face painted on it. She asked for a sad face with teeth on her pumpkin. Samantha wanted a mad face on her pumpkin complete with eyebrows. Then is my pumpkin. It is what it is, a toothy grin.

Andrea and Samantha where princesses this year. Andrea chose to dress up as Belle and Samantha went as Aurora. Sammi had a half day of school this year because of parent-teacher conferences so she was able to wear her costume to school. She loved it. She said she felt so pretty, and she was. These past few Halloweens here have been on the cold side, so I dressed the girls in layers. It was actually a bit on the warm side when we went out and they may have been fine without the layers. Sometimes I just can't win.

JJ was Tigger this year. We couldn't get him to wear the hat, but he still looked cute with out it. Last year he stayed home with dad because it was so cold and he was so little. I took him up to the door at a couple house, but I quickly noticed that he would rather sit in the stroller and watch everyone then hold his pumpkin for candy. Next year he will be ready.

Riley got to dress up, thanks to Aunt Katy. What a cute pumpkin he made. Riley stayed home this year and helped Jamie hand out candy this year. I guess we ran out of candy quickly. It's really our first year handing out candy. We have gotten candy to hand out in years past, but being outside of town, no one came to our house. Now we know for next year.

Fire Prevention Week

The first week of October is fire prevention week. Even though Jamie is a fire fighter, this week usually passes like any other. This year, since Jamie is in prevention, he was a little more involved. He had a very busy week. On base, they started the week with a parade and open house. Jamie drove the "pilot" car for the parade and was on hand to answer questions at the open house. The next day he spent in the elementary school on base talking to all the classes about fire safety.

In town, the city department had an open house on Thursday, complete with a truck from the base, Sparky, and fire truck rides. I took the girls down to the station. The girls let me take pictures and we got to ride on the fire truck. And I do mean ON the fire truck. They had a ramp set up that everyone walked up and we rode on the hose beds on top. The ride was probably a couple miles and they even turned on the lights and sirens. We all had a blast. It was a bit cold and windy though.

This is what I call the "Parade Truck." It's a beautiful, restored, old fire truck. It only comes out for parades and displays.

Andrea and Samantha in an ambulance. Sam climbed up and through before I could get Andi up there for the picture. So Sam went through twice.

Samantha and Andrea waiting for everyone to get on for the ride.

The Characters of Fire Prevention Week

Samantha with Smokey the Bear. Andrea didn't want anything to do with Smokey. It was a little bit funny actually. Once we rode on the fire truck, you walked through the bay (the area where the trucks park) and they handed out pencils, stickers, and papers from the fire department, police, and BLM. They had stickers of Smokey the bear at the BLM table. Andrea LOVES stickers so I asked her if she wanted any. She said no. She disliked Smokey or was afraid of him that much that she wouldn't even take stickers of him. I guess there is a first for everything.

Andrea and Samantha with Sparky. The girls got their picture taken with Sparky while we waited in line to ride the fire truck. I took the boys to the commissary on base the next day to get their pictures with Sparky. It was a bit colder and windier then I thought when we left, can you tell?



JJ with Sparky. I don't think that JJ was afraid of Sparky, but he wasn't sure about him either. He didn't mind Jamie handing him to Sparky. I think JJ was a little more interested in watching every one else at the commissary.

Riley with Sparky. Riley fell asleep on the way to the base and stayed asleep till we got home. He didn't even know he got his picture taken with Sparky.

Our Four Little Ones

I know it's been a little while, but I have been busy, as you all can imagine. I can't say I love every minute of it, but I do love almost every minute of it. Here are some pictures of the kids over the last few weeks.

Sometimes I find myself looking at Riley and thinking he is getting so big. Other times, especially after holding JJ, I think Riley is so small. Riley is starting to be awake a lot more and sleeping longer periods of the night (thank goodness).

JJ seems to like Riley too. Some of the jealousness seems to be going away. When JJ isn’t stealing Riley’s binky, or rocking him in the swing, he enjoys strolling around the house and checking on everyone. I call him our little supervisor. I almost got a good picture of JJ snuggled up with Riley, but of course, by the time I grabbed the camera, JJ had moved.

The girls love having a baby around again. The are always asking to help. Andrea likes to be the "mommy" to the boys, but loves playing with JJ and sharing whatever she is eating with him.


Samantha likes first grade, but not getting up every morning. She is doing well in school and loves to come home and tell me all about it.

Happy Birthday JJ!

JJ is now a year old. It seems like so much has happened in his first year of life. We moved, he had his first trip to Oregon and Washington, his first camping experience, and he became a big brother.


JJ enjoyed the frosting on his cake. I don't know what kid doesn't. It was fun to watch him eat it too.



It took some coaxing and showing to get JJ to open his presents. And of course, he was more interested in the paper then what was inside.

After he study everything and gave it some though, he seemed to love everything he got. He seems to be suck a thinker. He got several different little trucks, it's not often we see him with out one now.

Viking of the Week

Samantha is the Viking of the week!!

Samantha's school is the East Elementary Vikings. This is what the other parents and I have been able to gather from our first graders. When a student is caught helping some one, or doing something nice, or doing an exceptional job of following the rules, they are given a viking. This slip of paper put in a drawing and at the end of the week, they draw a name out. Sam said she had her name entered twice this week. She is very excited about winning. She won a little pack of skittles, a toy, and a certificate for a free hamburger at Burger King. We are so proud of her!!

Rock, Rock

"When Grandmother sits in her big chair she goes
Rock, Rock, Rock, Rock.
But when she sits in her little chair she goes
Rock-ity, Rock-ity, Rock, Rock Rock."

This has been a favorite song of our kids since we started singing it to them while rocking, granted we weren't trying to put them to sleep at the time. Over the years, I have adapted the song to each of them (their name instead of grandmother) and changed the worlds a bit so they don't rock fast when they are small.

When Grandma came to visit when Riley was born, she sat in the rocking recliner many times with JJ (and the girls too) and sang this song to him. He loved it. He would even sing along, singing the "rock, rock" part. He still hasn't forgotten this song. Every time I get in the recliner with Riley, JJ is quick to want to join us, and stands at my legs saying "rock, rock." We even have the baby swig out and JJ walks over to the swing and starts pushing it while singing "rock, rock."

Despite thier faces, the girls still love this song too. There have been several times that I sit in the recliner and two or all of them want to rock with us. What a fun thing that the three of them can share and do together. The girls love it when JJ plays "thier" way and he actually does what they want him to.

Gunfighter Skies 2008

This past weekend Mountain Home Air Force base put on Gunfighter Skies, an even that has an air show and military equipment for civilians and military members and families to come see. It ends with a demonstration from the Air Force Thunderbirds. The last one was in 2005, just a couple weeks after Jamie got back from Iraq. This year, Jamie was had to work the event since he is now in fire prevention. He had to walk around and make sure there were no fire hazards. I was hoping that I would be able to take the kids out there to see the planes flying. I know they would have liked it. But since Jamie had to work the whole weekend, I decided that this was not the best time to get used to wrangling four kids on my own. Also, I thought that Riley wasn't ready for the noise of the planes. So I charged Jamie with the task of taking pictures for me. Here are a few of the pictures he took. He said that the air show was a bit disapointing compared to the one in 2005, not as many things to see and the air demonstartion even had fewer participants. So in all, I am a little glad I didn't go, but would have still liked to have taken the kids.

So here is Jamie standing next to a plane. I want to say it's a C-130, but it has been so ling since we have been at a "heavy" base, that I am forgetting them.


I think this is an Apache.








I think this is the plane that Jamie was is standing next to in the first picture.







The rest of the pictures that Jamie took are of a bunch of older, WWII type planes.

Introducing...

Riley Andrew Mason
10:26 am, September 2, 2008
8lbs 15oz, 21.5 inches

Here's our little guy at the hospital.
Just barely 2 days old. He is trying out his bed and seems to be liking it. You can see the blanket Grandma Roberts made for him, behind him.
Riley had to go in for a weight check the day after we were released. And of course, no matter how hard you try, they always adjust their feeding time to when the appointment is. So after he was weighed, we sat in the waiting room while he ate. He doesn't seem to mind his car seat.
Here's our little guy one day home from the hospital.

Now for our story. Riley was no different from his brother and sisters. No matter how hard we tried, he did not want to come on his own. I was admitted to the clinic (the hospital on base) at 6:30 am, on Sept. 2 to be induced. At 7:30 I was ready to go and they started the IV. Riley must have been waiting on the "OK" from the doctor, because things went fast from there. They uped the meds every half hour and by about 9:15, I was ready for the epidural. They said they would call him in 15 minutes. My water broke a few minutes later. By about 10 I had received my epidural and we were waiting for it to fully take affect, and they were watching my vitals. They asked me if I wanted to lay on my side to be more comfortable. I rolled to my left side and the nurse was trying to find Riley's heartbeat with the monitor. After several minutes of trying we decided to try rolling to my right side to see if we had any better luck. I had just rolled to my side when I got a contraction. I announced that something felt funny, then we heard a "popping" sound. The nurse said sound like some more water, and lifted the sheet to check, and Riley started crying at us. That's right, Riley popped out all on his own!! The doctor was down the hall on her way to checking my progress when she was told Riley had just arrived. We all couldn't believe Riley's entrance and that neither of us had any problems, big or small, from it.

We are both doing well and happy to be home. The girls are very excited to help take care of Riley, maybe a little to excited. I am still trying to figure out what JJ thinks of Riley. He shows a bit of interest in him when he's making noise or when Riley is at his level. And JJ gets very jealous of Riley when I give Riley a bottle.

He's here!!

Riley Andrew Mason arrived to our family at 10:26 am on September 2, 2008. He weighed in at 8lbs 15oz and 21.5 inches long. We are both doing well and are home now. I have a great story to share, and will post it, and pictures soon. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers as we waited his arrival.

Baby news

No, the baby still has not come, we haven't forgotten to tell any one. If you have been watching the baby ticker on the side, it is now counting up, *sigh* to remind me how late this baby is I guess. I have an appointment in a little bit, so every one cross your fingers for news a baby joining us soon.

First Day of School

Another year of school is under way. Samantha started first grade Monday and couldn't be more excited. Once again, Samantha is excited about every thing that has to do with school, besides getting up in the mornings.


Here's Samantha sitting at her desk waiting for school to start, (well, waiting for all the parents to clear out so class can start). I can tell she is nervous and excited all at once. She had a very good first day of school. Every day has been a good day. She comes home so excited and can't wait to tell us what she did that day.




Samantha after her first day of school.

Swimming

Friday we went to a swimming birthday party. All the kids got to go swimming. This is the girls in the "big kid" pool. They had a blast. It didn't take long till they were sliding down on their tummies, then "swimming" around to the stairs. It was a great day for swimming. It was hot enough that they didn't freeze, and cool enough that I was comfortable to be outside watching them.
This was JJ's first time in a swimming pool. I wasn't sure how or if he would enjoy it, but thought that he might since he really enjoys bath time. It took him a little time for him to get used to wet shorts on his legs, but once he got passed that, he was a little fish. He likes to sit up, then lay down and splash, then sit up, then lay down again. He also had fun chasing the balls around the pool.

All by Myself

JJ is growing up so fast. It seems he is always pushing himself to reach farther and higher, and always trying to reach something. Most of the time when I am done feeding him, I set his bowl of food on the table while I get a wash cloth to clean him up, then put it in the sink. I for got to do that the other day, and while I was in the other room, JJ realized that he could reach his breakfast. This is the sight that met me when I came back in the kitchen to check on him. He was already covered, so what else could I do? I started taking pictures.






JJ seemed to really enjoy the mess he was making, or he was just trying to get the cereal in his mouth. It was interesting to watch him. He would reach into the cereal with his right hand, but then but then feed himself with his left.

Walking

JJ has been pulling himself up and scaling furniture for a while now. We have been trying to get him to let go and walk, but you can't rush a baby. A couple weeks ago he started taking steps on his own. Just two. He knew that he could do two, so that is all he would do. Then he added a third step. Same thing, he knew he could do three, and that was all he would do. He would take his three steps, give you a big grin and dive for you. Over the last couple days he has moved up to about a dozen or so steps. It depends on how excited he gets. Some times it seems he realizes what he is doing and gets so excited about how many steps he's taking, his feet start to move to fast. It's fun to catch him walking when he doesn't know he's doing it. It's almost like you can see the thought process, that he is here and wants to get there, so he just lets go and starts walking. It is so much fun to watch these little kids grow and learn, except teething, that is no fun. I can't believe that within a couple weeks, we will be starting all over again, so soon.

Books

One of JJ's new favorite pass times is pulling books off the shelf. He's been doing this for a couple weeks now. It is a funny sight to watch as JJ searches for just the right book. He grabs hold of a book and pulls it down. But because of his height and how he stands at the book case, just about every book seems to bonk him right on the forehead. Part of what makes it so funny is that when he knows that I am watching, he turns and looks at me with a look that almost seems to say "What just happened?" He doesn't cry, it rarely knocks him over, he just gets this look like he can't believe it happened, again, and keeps pulling more books down.









JJ continues to pull books down until he finds just the right book, and this seems to be JJ's favorite book right now. When it hits the ground, he stops pulling books off the shelf. Hopefully you can see why he likes it so much. It has five little dogs on the front made out of fabric that he likes to tug at.

A Tribute to Valerie

Aunt Valerie took a couple semesters in ballet this past year. She was very excited to show some of her new dancing skills with her nieces, and her nieces couldn't have been more excited to "learn," or copy, Valerie. When Valerie and my mom stopped by our house for a couple days on their way home from Snow College, Valerie gave Samantha and Andrea their first "lesson." They gave us many little shows to various Disney songs. It was very fun to watch.

Well, for Samantha's Birthday a couple weeks ago, both Valerie and Grandma each got her a cd with Disney music. So Samantha and Andrea have been prancing around our house for a couple days now, whenever they can agree to listen to the music instead of watch tv. I think the greatest tribute to Valerie though, is that yesterday while we were cleaning house, I thought that it might go faster if we had some music on. It usually helps me, but it didn't help the girls. I turned on one of the cds and Sam and Andi promptly started dancing while they were cleaning. It was funny to see, but frustrating at how much it slowed them down. If I knew the proper terms I could tell you exactly what Sam was doing, but since I don't you will have to use your imagination. She would bend her knees out to pick something up, and then lean over on one foot with the other sticking up to put something down. She would hop and turn here and there, and leap small distances. She is quiet the character when she wants to be. Andrea did her own little ballet moves, most of which were falling on the floor. I am not sure why, but that is how she dances.

So thank you to Valerie for teaching my girls the love of dancing and Disney music. I mean it, there are worse things that they could be doing. We can't wait to move closer so you can teach them more. They really look forward to seeing you.

Happy Birthday Samantha!

Samantha had several ideas about what we needed for her birthday. A party hat, balloons, cake, presents, and at grandma's house. We managed to get every thing on her list except the party hat, but lucky for her, her uncle Reese got her one. She couldn't have been more excited. She even let JJ try it out before he fell asleep.We had Samantha's party at Papa's Pizza in Eugene this year. The kids had so much fun playing on the toys and burning off their energy. One of Andrea's favorite playground toys is the slide, if there are no swings around.
Samantha asked for a guitar for her birthday and Christmas last year, but the asking only lasted a couple of weeks. This year, she again wanted a guitar. Only this year she never changed her mind. It took a couple minutes for her to realize what it was, and she was didn't know what to say. She enjoys playing it now, and copying the moves she sees on tv and movies. I think Jamie keeps on hoping that she will suddenly have a break through and master the guitar over night.
I love this picture of Samantha. Sometimes my kids make the funniest facial expressions. She could not wait until we got home so that I could open it this up for her. Sam and Andrea went through a lot of the sticker quickly, but are still working on the coloring books and stamps. I think Sam had a great birthday this year, she loves all her gifts and plays with all of them. She was so excited to have another birthday at grandma's again.
Samantha insisted on a dinosaur cake for her birthday this year. She has been talking about it for a couple of months. So we got her a dinosaur cake, and the bakery put a volcano on the cake and, of course, Sam insisted on that being her piece of the cake. You can't see it to well from this picture because she put the trees back on the cake. I think she had about three bites of the volcano (frosting) and that was it. At least we didn't leave much cake for grandma to have to eat after we left.