Clipboards and Base Ten Blocks

I just downloaded a bunch of pictures from the camera a couple of days ago and thought I would share a few craft things we have done that I managed to remember to take pictures of.  I am going to be intentional about taking more pictures and documenting our adventures better.  We'll see how that actually goes.  :)  The first set of pictures are just the kids decorating clipboards with stickers about a month ago on another really rainy day.  We had 5 days of any sun whatsoever in a very rainy 2 and a half months.  You can see where their different interests lie based on the stickers they chose.  Love Ryan's "can't see me" eye.

I mentioned in the last post that Kaitlyn officially started school last week.  In this little activity we reviewed place value (hundreds, tens, and ones) and made some fun base ten blocks with popsicle sticks and black beans.  After making the hundreds block and seeing that it was definitely not square, I wished I had smaller sticks, but we used what we had and it was still a lot of fun for us all.  We also added a little painting with glue to our morning before heading to Splish and Splash (the super fun pool at Camp Humphreys).  How many kids do you know that get to do school in their bathing suits.  Makes for a much easier clean up, for sure!

First Day of School - Fall 2011

Kaitlyn officially started second grade last week as we continued our adventures in homeschooling.  We've made some major changes in how we are running our little school and after a challenging year in first grade trying to figure it out, we are going back to the style we used in Kinder.  Relaxed!  I learned a lot about myself as a home educator last year and about how my daughter learns best and about how best to be her teacher.  That's another post for another day...if I get around to it.  She has an amazing love of learning and reading and I am so blessed to be her teacher.  I am learning a lot with her as well and am finding true joy in being a homeschooling momma. I am sure we will still have some speed bumps along the way, but I just know it's going to be an awesome year!

Ryan started his first day back at Mission Baptist Academy as a big pre-K-4 student.  We can't believe how much he grew this summer!  He was so excited to start school with Ms. O'Hara as his teacher and spend 4 mornings a week with his little 4 year old buddies.  Here are some first day of school pictures for you to enjoy.

Kaitlyn's school day started with handwriting/letter formation practice in the shower with shaving cream and continued with some spelling practice as we played Appletters at Starbucks over a fancy coffee drink for me, a strawberry milk for her, and a doughnut for each of us.  I can assure you that the treats at Starbucks are not part of our everyday homeschooling routine, though the creative learning is.  ;)  Next we headed over to Sophie's for some independent work and our last hair appointments before our awesome stylist takes a couple of months off to have a baby.  Here's a picture of our spelling...taking and posting pictures of our handwriting would have been wildly inappropriate! ;)

4th of July - AKA Ryan's Birthday

What's that?  A blog post the same WEEK the event actually occurs?  Holy smokes!  Can you believe your eyes?  I know, I know, but it turns out that taking (and uploading) pictures, keeping a blog, a house, two kids, and a husband actually take time.  A lot of time.  Throw in my work and Kaitlyn's school, it just isn't an immediate priority.  It is officially summer here, although the kids will still have some school stuff, and I expect to have a bit more time on my hands.  Hopefully I will catch up on some blogs and also chat with friends and family every now and then instead of rushing to get the little guy to school and doing school work with the little gal.  One day, I may just find the balance of life I am searching for.  Until then, it is the computer that gets the boot first, and unfortunately that means sharing pictures, blogging, and social networking.  Definitely a bummer for me now, but at least our family is having fun and (mostly) enjoying each other and in twenty years when our house is empty I will know that we made the right decision.  So please bear with us when it seems as though we dropped off the face of the earth.  We're just on the other side of it, which complicates communications a bit! :)

I digress.  Monday was Ryan's birthday and we had a great day!  We started the day out with a special breakfast, presents, and playtime with new toys.  Daddy took the kids to the gym while Mommy sewed some 4th of July outfits for the kids and after no nap for the birthday boy (not for a lack of trying though) we headed out for a birthday dinner, song and shake at Chili's.  

Red, White and Blue Birthday Breakfast

 Planes from G'ma and G'pa to go with his aircraft carrier from them.

 Gifts Kaitlyn picked out on her own for Ry.

 A McQueen card from Nana and G'daddy.  He loved that Mater's hook was holding a cake!

His gift from Mom and Dad - this was the one thing he really wanted and kept asking for (besides the aircraft carrier).

After filling our tummies, we headed over to the flight line where the base was having a HUGE celebration for Ryan's America's birthday.  There were bouncy castles galore, lots of freebies, face painting, a special presentation from Korea's Drum Cats, and of course, fireworks.  Oh, and there was one of Daddy's jets there, so you know he we had to take pictures. ;)  

Can you believe this guy is 4 already?!

 

 

I asked Kaitlyn if she could give Ryan a kiss on the cheek, but while I was saying, "on the cheek," they gave each other a sweet little kiss.  One day, I am sure this will embarrass them, but I hope they always love each other this much and couldn't help but capture it and share it.

Here's the picture I was aiming for.

Racing around the "track" by Chili's.  I love how Kaitlyn is letting Ryan win here. 

 Round two declares Kaitlyn the winner.

Best seat at the party.  I love these guys!

The Drum Cats.  These ladies were pretty awesome.  Almost as awesome as their red pleather pants. ;)  All joking aside, they put on quite a show...in a good way!

Sometimes Korea can be very pretty and the weather on Monday was perfect!

We had a fabulous day!  And only one meltdown (you would have thought it was about yogurt sauce and chicken on a turkish kabob making lunch super yucky, but after a little bit of prying we discovered it was because someone gets fireworks on his birthday and someone doesn't), which was great considering we didn't get to bed until after 10:00.  We weren't quite that lucky on Tuesday.  Well slept kids are happy kids, and ours weren't well slept or terribly happy the next morning.  It took a lot less to set them off on a whining spree and reminded me of what I have to deal with when we make our next trip back to the States.  :)  Needless to say, we stayed home and had a great day chilling out as a family.  Four day weekends ROCK!!!

Funny Kid Things

Our kids say some pretty funny things, but unfortunately I am not very good about writing them down and then I can't remember them.  So, as I am reading Kaitlyn a story before bed, Ryan comes into her room and and announces, "I saw a black bee and Daddy killed it."  "You mean a fly, Buddy?"  "Yup, a fly," he replies and walks out of her room.  I wish I could remember all the funny things he says.  He also frequently says, "Are you kiddin' me guys?"  Tonight he said, "Are you kiddin' me, Girl?  You silly goosey!"

Kaitlyn's latest thing makes me laugh too, though it gets a little less funny after the twentieth time in 7 minutes.  Sung to the tune of the ABC's.

A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
Gummy bears are after me.
One is red, one is blue,
one is trying to steal my shoe.
Now I'm running for my life,
because the red one has a knife!"

Ryan's version...

A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
Gummy bears are after me.
One is red, one is blue,
One is trying to steal my shoe.
Now I'm running for my life,
because the red one has a WIFE!

I think Bill may have taught him that version. ;)  Totally kidding!

Gotta run, Ryan is trying to sell my white watch to a lovely customer for 20 bucks.  Wait, just went to $1,000.  It just jumped from $6,000 bucks to $7,000 bucks.  Gotta go grab that watch and report the store owner to the BBB.  The watch only cost $12, plus he keeps telling the customer to give him more money before he lets him out the door.  Actually, I may be safe...he just came out and said his shop was closed.  And Prince Charming just brought me a fantastic white watch!

Our First Night in Koh Samui, Thailand

Oh where to begin....  There are so many wonderful things to share.  In fact, our whole trip was simply fantastic. So much so that Kaitlyn wants to move there and none of us wanted to come home.  After a very early wake up call and a 12 hour trip, we arrived in Koh Samui, Thailand to fresh air, fresh fruit, and endless opportunities for family fun.  Bill has had a very stressful past several months with work and was in desperate need for a vacation with the family off the ROK.  We've had some pretty amazing trips, but I think this one took the cake.  Simply fantastic.

We arrived at the Koh Samui Airport, which is a darling little airport.  Samui is a self claimed boutique island and the open air airport exemplified that.  It was small and welcoming and I'll post pictures from that when I get them off the phone.  The skies were blue, the trees were green, and everything but the drinking water was clean.  It felt so good to breathe the tropical air.  It's bittersweet to remember being there as I am writing this from the bowling alley where my kids are unhappily playing indoors by themselves instead of outdoors with friends (though the weather outside is perfect) because the yellow sand particles in the air are at critical levels and it is unsafe for them to be running around outside.  It was definitely hot in Samui, though when you know you are surrounded by water and beautiful beaches, somehow temps in the 90s and 100% humidity seem not only bearable, but enjoyable.

A driver from our villa picked us up and delivered us to our villa around 6:00 (8:00 our time) and after a quick tour and some photography we jumped in the pool to cool off and expend some energy before bed.  We debated quite a while about whether or not to spend the extra money on a place with our own pool and, in the end, we decided that this would probably be the only time we could afford a villa with our own pool, so we went for it.  The cost of our place was about what one room at a nice hotel would have cost in the States.  It turned out to be a great decision.  The kids were in the pool at least twice a day and it was a great place for us to relax after the kids were in bed.  The pool had a quiet waterfall, wonderful lighting, and a great view of the stars.  Stars you can't see in Korea.  It's one of the things we miss most.  It was just a perfect, peaceful place to relax and reconnect.  It was just what our family (and Bill specifically) needed.  We came back refreshed and relaxed.    Did I mention it was hard to leave?  Check out the pictures of our little slice of paradise living in the slideshow below and in upcoming blogs.  You'd have a hard time leaving too! :)

Best of Friends

and worst of enemies!  What is it about siblings?  I know it's not just mine, as all my friends with multiple children tell me that it's basically the same story, different house.  Before dinner there was whining, crying, yelling, screaming, and no getting along whatsoever.  Once dinner was on the table, the story changed, as quick as the flip of a coin.  Ryan was the daddy and Kaity was the baby.  He is trying to feed her dinner via the train method. They finish up and move on.  Roll reversal.  Now Kaitlyn is the mommy and Ryan is the baby.  She carries him to the bathroom, brushes his teeth, and gets him ready for bed.  She tucks him in and gets him a book.  When I ask if I can read to him or if he wants Kaitlyn to, he choses her.  I sit in the quiet living room surrounded by laundry I am trying to ignore until they are asleep and enjoy a glass of wine and the sound of my children playing pretend and giving me a "night off."  It warms my heart when Kaitlyn is so sweet and kind to him.  And I know it makes him feel so special too, as he wants to be just like her.

As I sit here typing this, they start getting silly, as Ryan isn't into his pjs yet, even though I thought he was.  She is changing his "stinky diaper" and putting pjs on him.  I am thinking I may have to intervene, but just as I start to think about putting the computer down and getting up, she tucks him back in bed and starts reading him another book.  So sweet.  This often happens right before bed, when they are supposed to be going to sleep or during quiet time.  It makes it so hard for me to split them up when they are playing so nicely together.  I think it might be a kid conspiracy.  :)  Gotta run and smooch on my kids.  They're saying prayers together and there is NO WAY I'm gonna let them make me miss out on snuggle time and kisses.  :)

Her Daddy's Girl

It's 50* and raining here today and Kaitlyn is at the table doing her schoolwork, singing praises about spring.  She is dressed in a short sleeved dress and flip flops, declaring through song that she will be wearing short sleeves and flip flops until fall.  Who can argue with that?  I told her it may be cold when we left the house and she might want to grab a sweater just in case.  She told me she didn't need one, it was spring and she was wearing short sleeves.  We walked out of the apartment and she said her arms were cold.  When asked if she wanted to go back in and grab a sweater she refused.  Even though she was cold in the elevator and the car, she refused to put anything on over her short sleeves and there was NO WAY she was going to trade in those flops, no matter how cold her little piggies got!  Just out of principle.  Sound like anyone you know?  I'll give you a hint...he's tall, dark, and handsome and is in shorts and flops as long as the temperature is above 49*.

Lady Gaga and Show Tunes

A couple of cute Ryanisms for ya.  Yesterday, we were at the table finishing up dinner and the kids were talking about ways they can show kindness.  One of the ways was by sharing their toys.  Ryan said he would share his toys with boys and his sister.  She asked about girls that he knew.  He said he would share with them too.  Kaity asked for him to name the girls he knew that he would want to share his toys with.  He named, Aspen, Caroline, Ms. Brooke (his babysitter), and Lady Gaga.  Bill was getting something out of the refrigerator and turned around to ask who he named last.  He repeated Lady Gaga and Bill asked him, with an unique expression on his face, if he said Lady Gaga.  He replied yes and threw his head back laughing.  Silly guy!

Today, we were driving in the car on the way to Girl Scouts practicing Kaitlyn's spelling words and Ryan's speech words.  It was Kaitlyn's turn to spell a word from her spelling list and I asked her to spell tomorrow.  She starts spelling, and Ryan proceeds to bust into song.  "Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow..." and then, because he couldn't remember the rest of the lyrics, he closed with a few lines from Jesus Loves Me.  After we dropped Kaity off at Girl Scouts, Ryan got into her lip gloss.  Lip gloss and show tunes...should we be concerned?  ;}

Long Time No Post

Wow!  As I went to the blog today to pull up a recipe, I realized it has been MUCH longer than I thought since my last post.  Wow...there is still a Christmas background up for goodness sake!  Unacceptable, I know.  We have had a busy few months with an adventurous trip back home, lots of time with extended family, lots of work from Bill, a bit of work for me doing a little tutoring, school, and some crafting, and some new adventures on the RoK.  Ryan started preschool last week and is loving it.  Kaitlyn and I are using the time in the morning to do school, so we can play in the afternoon.  Wednesdays are our no (or little) school days, as Ryan has Wednesdays off, so expect some more adventures as the weather warms.  Kaitlyn is enjoying dance, Girl Scouts, and will start T-Ball for about 6 weeks in April.  Both kids are doing AWANA and really enjoy the interaction with other kids their age.  Last weekend Bill and I went on a trip to the DMZ and actually stepped foot into North Korea!  This weekend I am going to a Women's Retreat in Seoul with the ladies of the base chapel, so be on the lookout for a few posts (hopefully in the near future) about our trip to America and our trips around the RoK.  Here are a few pictures from Ryan's first day of preschool.  

Ryan and Kaitlyn outside the school.

 Saying goodbye.  She really did miss him while he was gone.

 Our very excited big boy.

Ryan with his class waiting to have his picture taken for picture day.

Sledding

While we didn't have a white Christmas, we did start getting snow the day after Christmas.  Is has been a very light snow, more on than off, for the past couple of days.  Plus it has been bitterly cold (lows in the single digits, highs in the mid-upper 20s), so the snow is sticking.  As you can see from the pictures, there isn't much, but it was enough to take a few rides on the sled.  

The kids and I went over to the golf course today and got to sled on some fresh snow.  Apparently, we chose a great spot, as the other spot we scoped out turned out to be a muddy mess.  As we were hanging out at the lake, wrapping things up and getting ready for lunch, the teenagers were just heading out, so our timing was great too.  Ryan wanted to bring his dump truck and had a ton of fun with that.  Kaity really wanted to see if the lake was all ice, but I am no fun and made her stay pretty far back.  It was beautifully covered with snow and a sight like that was a first for all three of us.  If you have a couple minutes, please check out the pictures in the slideshow below.  There are some pretty cute ones in there.  It is forecast to snow this light off and on snow for the next few days, so hopefully there will be more sledding fun in our near future.

What's Your Name?

Kaitlyn has been really into ballet again after a 2 year hiatus and was having an open rehearsal before her 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 performances.  She walked over to her "audience" and started a conversation with a stunningly handsome blue-eyed boy who caught her eye.

Kaitlyn the Ballerina:  What's your name?
Ryan:  Ryan
Kaitlyn:  What's your in trouble name?
Ryan:  Ryan Travis Maclin

Obviously, this got a giggle from us and we thought you would get one too.  :)

Feeling the Love

This morning I was helping Kaity condition her hair and she wanted me to dry her off and do her lotion. We were talking through this process about nothing in particular, and this is where the conversation went.

Kaitlyn (who keeps asking for Hello Kitty panties b/c they are her favorite, though she has a lot): I don't need any more Hello Kitty panties Mommy.

Me: Why is that?

Kaitlyn: Because I have enough already.

Me: True

Kaitlyn: I don't need any more love either, because I have enough of that already too. You give me so much I already have all I need.

Talk about warming my heart. Oh, and just so ya know, I'm not gonna stop givin' the love sister. It's the gift that keeps on giving. Gosh I love this girl!

The First Snow of the Season

Last night I looked up the weather forecast and discovered it was "currently snowing." I didn't even know snow was in the forcast! We were just outside riding bikes right before dinner. It was COLD, but didn't seem like it was going to snow anytime soon. I knew there was rain in the forecast a couple of days this week, so imagine my surprise when I got out of bed and looked out the window. The snow was really coming down and there was quite a layer already built up! I was almost too excited to sleep! I had already decided we were going outside to play as soon as the kids woke up and had breakfast. Well, they both decided to sleep until 8:45 (on the one day I wanted them up!) and Kaity came to my room first. She walked to the window and looked down, noticing that it looked different, but not really registering anything yet. I asked her what she saw. She broke into a huge grin and said SNOW! Then she told me she almost didn't recognize it. Silly girl! We went to the kitchen and started breakfast and as soon as Ryan heard Kaitlyn, he ran out of his room and said, "I didn't know Kaity was awake!" I think they just didn't want to get out of their warm beds. Can you blame them? He looked out the window in the living room and started hopping around the living room yelling, SNOW! After gearing up we headed downstairs to play.


Kaitlyn getting her amunition.

Ryan ready to fire.

Kaity's wicked look waiting for me to safeguard the camera so she can fire.

They had a blast sliding faster and farther on slide and bed of snow at the base.

One of the great things about homeschooling is the flexibility it provides. Today, we had a three hour snow delay. It was awesome! We played outside for a long time, was joined by a friend, and then went upstairs for a warm playdate with coffee and pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. Now that's how I like to start school! It was a great day both in the "classroom" and outside.

Liver and Onions

I am sick and my husband has quarantined me to my bed.  Mostly because he is supposed to fly twice on Monday and doesn't want to miss out by getting sick himself.  Plus, he wants me to get better as soon as possible.  Uh huh, sure. ;)  So, I am making the menu for the week and sending him to the commissary to do my dirty work.  I have come up with a few things and asked him what he wanted.  He said he didn't care (pretty standard response for him, as he is pretty easy to please.  I really wanted some direction, so I told him, "fine, liver and onions it is."  He laughed and told me I wouldn't eat that.  I told him that I was sick so I wouldn't be eating in general.  Kaitlyn quickly responded, "The people that are not sick will not eat that either."  I guess they called my bluff.  All Recipes, here I come!

So This is Fall....

Growing up in Florida and never having lived north of the Mason Dixon Line, I have never really experienced fall. I mean really experienced fall. The bright, vivid colors of the trees, the cold (okay maybe cool, remember I am from Florida) temperatures, spending the day outside with pink noses, and coming home to warm up with a bowl of hot soup. Today was my day! Today was the day where I got to experience fall. To be able to see all of the shades of fall on one tree. Sure, I had a slight taste of fall on our newly planted maple in South Carolina, but this year was the first year I got to watch the leaves on the trees change color. Fall was just starting to arrive while we were in Japan, and I was loving it! Over the past couple of weeks, the temperatures and humidity have been dropping and the leaves have been changing. Today was one of the most beautiful days I have spent in nature. It was certainly the most colorful and I just have to share the many pictures I took. While the day itself wasn't remarkable, it was cold and hazy, the Garden of Morning Calm was a place I will always remember and will make plans to return to. Last week a friend of mine sent me a link to a place about 2 hours away and asked if I was up for a road trip. Of course...I am almost always up for a road trip! So, we packed our lunches, packed in her car, and headed northeast of Seoul. Two hours and one missed turn later we found ourselves walking through the Garden of Morning Calm. While it was still morning, it was not at all calm. We had 2 boys ages 2 and 3 and a 6 year old girl and were in Korea, where there are always people around, no matter when you go. After all, Seoul's population is over 10 million people! While it wasn't calm, it was fun and a great way to spend the day. Here are some pictures of our day.  They are in no order (they uploaded randomly and I don't have time to figure it out) and there are a lot.  I narrowed them down the best I could (there were A TON!), but I'm outta time....  Enjoy and HAPPY FALL!!!