New Jersey

We recently found out that our next assignment will be to... McGuire/Ft Dix in New Jersey! (Here's a map, in case you're wondering which of the little East Coast states that is). We're not moving yet - we'll get there in May of next year. It will be a short assignment; Phil will attend school with the Air Force there for a year and then we'll be off to yet another location.

Our days in lovely Oklahoma are numbered. Looking forward to some really good Philly cheesesteaks next year!

Jack o'Lanterns

Here's what we (OK, OK, what Phil and the girls) did last night:

Colin and I just watched and occasionally acted as creative consultants. Here are their final products - they were so proud:

He talks! Well, sort of...

Colin is talking, but we can't really understand what he's saying. Maybe you can?

Grandparents! Lots of 'em!

Phil's parents came for a visit -- AND they brought Phil's two grandmothers with them! As I'm sure you can imagine, there was a lot of spoiling going on in our house. We had a great visit with them and were so grateful for the opportunity to introduce Colin to two of his great-grandmothers. Claire had a great time playing card games with her grandparents and we all had a nice time visiting the wild animals at the wildlife refuge. Maddie had fun getting lots of stories read to her, and Colin enjoyed being held by everyone. Well... OK, after the first day he really enjoyed it. He surprised us with a little bit of stranger anxiety at first! He quickly warmed up to all of the attention, though, and was charming everyone with his smiles in no time.

And on to the gratuitous slide show:


Their visit here was wonderful, but the return trip has had some issues. Grandma Millie has been in the hospital with some health issues since returning to South Dakota, so please keep her in your prayers. Phil's parents hit a deer while driving to the hospital (in their beautiful new car!). Their car definitely didn't fare well, but fortunately they were not hurt.

baby update

Colin is really generous with his smiles; he always has one available for his big sisters or anyone else who looks him in the eye and says, "Do you have any smiles for me?" His whole little face just lights up with the most precious, pure smile. His sisters don't seem to ever get tired of making him smile and they love to play with him. Baby smiles really are very cute, aren't they?


Click on the photo to see more pics of the boy!

We're still here

So sorry for the lack of blog posts lately. We've all been battling some yucky illnesses. No one has grown a curly tail yet, but this was likely the dreaded Swine flu. Or H1N1. Or what I like to call The Worst Sickness EVER! Phil got it first but Claire was the obvious front-runner for "Most Sick". She had a very high fever for a week, accompanied by a lovely cough. I spent most of my day trying to get her to cover her coughs with her elbow while I shielded her brother and sister from any potential germies that were flying through the air. We are finally all feeling better (knock on wood) and Maddie and Colin may have avoided this flu!

Phil's parents and his grandmothers were just here for a visit, so we'll post some pictures soon!