The Benefits of Being 10!!!

It's now official. McKenzie is 10. She has her own dependant military ID and now she can stay at home alone. Granted, mom won't leave her long or while I'm off base, but she is allowed to stay there for a little while. I had TONS of paperwork to take care of today....thanks to the AF and their mess ups and my husband being deployed. I was able to leave Kenzie and take Miranda to run errands several times today. I only had to tote one and they weren't fighting!!!

Dance Recital

Miranda had her end of the year recital last night. Miss. Tonya, Mirnada's teacher, was so excited that Miranda's "dad" could be there, she wanted pictures and even kissed him!

Summer Has Arrived!

The temperature has been in the 90s most of this week. The humidity isn't too bad yet, but maybe I am used to it. I am sure all of you from the Northwest would say that it was really muggy, but we haven't seen the worst of it yet.


The girls had their final day of school yesterday. I am excited, but very apprehensive! They are completely excited!!!!! I have been "bribing" them in hopes of good behavior and helping around the house. (It worked) They earned their reward the last day of school.....new scooters! (good planning mom :) I wanted them to have a new little entertainment for summer. It has worked for a day! Hopefully it will continue.

Thank You Starbucks!

Our buddy Blake from Starbucks has donated coffee supplies for the troops in Baghdad. I will be trying to ship these through the Air Force in the next couple of days. Dave, more coffee syrup is on it's way.
He tried to buy a bottle from somebody in Iraq and they offered to sell it to him per shot. It figured up to be $60 a bottle....he didn't need it that bad :)

Thanks Blake!

Tooth Fairy is Loosing Money Fast!

McKenzie lost a tooth yesterday and now Miranda lost a tooth today. We have nicknamed Miranda...Gummy Bear. We normally call her Randa Panda or Panda Bear, but now she is going to be Gummy Bear for a few weeks!

American Idol Tour Stops at Maxwell

McKenzie's 10th Birthday party was this Friday. This year, I put together a party that all the girls will be talking about for some time! We had a fabulous time. I booked several special guests. We sang Karaoke and had a wonderful time!

Our very own Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell (our neighbors Dallas & KC)









I was even able to have Dad home for the night. He wouldn't miss Kenzie's 10th birthday party...OK, it wasn't quite dad, but it fooled the cat!

We sang Karaoke and played dress-up. The real dad is going to have quite the competition to come home to. This one is pretty fun!

Dave has arrived.

I talked to Dave on the phone for a few minutes today. He has arrived in Baghdad safely to his camp. He said that things there are "nice." He is excited that milk is accessible....lattes :)

Chappy's Bike

Look who's riding! McKenzie and Miranda got a surprise visitor today. It is our fellow Foursquare Chaplain "Chappy" Watties. The girls adore Mr. Chappy and Ms. Anna. He was playing in a baseball game on base and knew that one of the girls would love to go. The only problem was deciding who. McKenzie went and Miranda and I went shopping, played a game, rode bikes and painted in her watercolor book. Chappy promised that he will be back before he moves and let Miranda have a ride too!

Abe & George

Miranda brought these pictures home and I couldn't stop laughing. I absolutely LOVED them! I get a giggle every time I see them.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was a great day. The girls were very thoughtful. Dave had taken them shopping before he left and McKenzie had it all planned out. She picked up a card when we were at the store the day before and hid in her room and wrapped up the gift. She had it waiting for me on Sunday morning in the living room. They couldn't wait for me to open it. It was scrapbooking stapler! I always need more "tools." We went to church and out to lunch and then to the craft store, where else would we go? We took a bike ride and made Kenzie's birthday inviations for this Friday. The girls made it a great day for me!

Crazy Picture Day

We had a great Saturday. It rained and changed some of our plans. When it wasn't raining we played with friends and after it was dark, I did pedicures for the girls. I couldn't find the white fingernail polish for their french manicures. They were disappointed. I'll have to stop by the store tomorrow for some.



We stopped by Walmart to get cards for Mothers. Sorry! They are going to be late. I am guessing that you can excuse them being late, considering the week that we have had. It's a good excuse this year, not that it would be any different. I never give myself enough mailing time. After Walmart, we stopped at the Dollar Tree and purchased the teeth in McKenzie's photos. The girls have had several hours of enjoyment out of the little prank kit they got. Miranda picked up another Care Bear puzzle. She LOVES games....anything to do together with another family member.

This is the famous surviving egg from the 50-60 foot drop.....it didn't survive 5 minutes at home after school. I am not sure how it survived the rest of the day of school. McKenzie wanted to commemorate the occasion with a picture.

Dave called around 4:30 this afternoon. He has checked in at the staging point in "Theater." He should be flying out to his duty station in a few days. He was tired because of the time changes and all of the travel. He was very excited. He was able to stop over in Ireland. That was a true treat for him. He has always wanted to go. Unfortunately, it was just in the airport.

McKenzie's Egg Drop a Success!

McKenzie's 4th grade class performed an egg drop from the aircraft control tower on base. After a little research on the internet....oh the power of the > internet.....she discovered that marshmallows are a great cushion. She packaged her egg tightly surrounded by marshmallows in an empty large soup can. We closed it tight with duct tape and attached an umbrella. The umbrella didn't work as a chute, but turned upside down and carried the tin can to the ground.
There were three drops from the tower. The first was from the lower level, the second was from the higher level and the third was from the higher level without a chute and removing some of the packing. It was a lot of fun and her egg was safe after all three drops. It worked! Great job McKenzie!

Chaplain Leonard off to Iraq

Dave is off.....We said good bye to him at the airport this morning. The travel should take him around three-four days to arrive.

The girls did exceptionally well. We warned them that there were several people deploying and that making a scene could be distracting to the others. We were afraid that they may hang on Dave and not let him go. They did great. They were a little tired of waiting. I stopped by the store and let them pick out their favorite lunch for school and dropped them off to eat with their friends. I think I will try to plan a special dinner. McKenzie has already requested fondue.....TONS of calories, but lots of fun! Of course she doesn't really care about the cheese fondue or the vegetables, it's the chocolate that she likes! You can tell that she is my girl :)We will miss him, but we won't let it stop us from having some fun.

Dance Photos

Miranda received her dance photos today. She is part of a tap/ballet class in Montgomery. She is on the bottom row in the middle. McKenzie danced the first part of the year, but her school work was getting to be too much, so she had to resign. She is looking forward to cheerleading next year.

Big News!

I received big news last night! My brother called and said that Krystal is expecting their first little one. I am going to be a new Auntie! The girls are very excited about the news too! Their reaction was "cool, cousins!" Note, the plural version of their excitement! (Brian and Krystal are pictured in the "countdown" blog standing in the Gulf of Mexico.)

We had dinner with some friends here at Maxwell last night and they had the same exciting news! Please pray for both of the new little lives and that the pregnancies go smoothly and the babies will be perfect and healthy!

This all sounds like a good excuse to fly back to Oregon! I say that now, but we'll see how it works out in January.