Fabulous Army Life

Joshua decided on a "Capture the Flag" theme for his birthday party and really wanted to host his party before we left Texas. We were happy to find an area we could reserve at Belton Lake Outdoor Recreation Center so we squeezed it in between the battalion change of command, packing, and loading our house. It turned out to be a really great time.  BIG hugs and thanks to my sisters-in-law, who insisted (based on the total panic on my face as I deliberated how to make this happen, I'm sure) on providing the cupcakes, napkins, food, drinks, decorations, and bandanas for the 'Capture the Flag' teams. You guys are the BEST!

So Plan A was to spend the afternoon at the Killeen Aquatics Center ... one of my boys' favorite places on earth. Even more fun was the fact we were meeting some fun friends there to share the day.  However, on this first day of summer ... they were CLOSED for a private event!  Bummer! So a quickly assembled Plan B sent us to Lake Belton for some water fun there.  It turned out to be a great afternoon ... swimming at the swim beach and trying out the water slides and Auto Kid Car Wash.  A great day one of Summer 2011! Trey runs through the Auto Kid Wash. Joshua comes down the water slide.  So fun!

Joshua and his cousin, Elizabeth, planned a very fun joint celebration for their 8th birthdays. We hosted it at BLORA in the Live Oak pavilion, which turned out to be a perfect location: lots of room, shade, restrooms, full kitchen, and a stage! We had 8 different games set out on various picnic tables for the kids to play when they arrived. We covered each table with a plastic tablecover then taped the instructions onto the table and set out all the materials needed for that game. We played two whole group games (Hanky Panky and Junk in the Trunk) then moved to the cupcake station where all the kids chose their cupcake and icing flavors, then had one minute to decorate their cupcakes with a variety of toppings. After that, we all cheered on the dads in the group as they competed in "Paper Dragon." Gift opening and goody bags followed. Goody bags were colored paper bags decorated with stickers that held a "Googly" watch, bubble wand, and balloon punch-ball for eac...

Saturdays are so nice.  I love having my whole family together and spending an entire day doing ... well, whatever we want.  I love the unrushed, relaxed atmosphere of a good Saturday. Today our HHB battery hosted a pre-deployment party at Belton Lake.  It was a really fun time with a cookout and activities for the kids.  My boys loved meeting all the dogs of the battery and now know them all by name. They also enjoyed the mechanical bull on site and spent a good part of our time there taking turns to see who could last the longest. Nate and I enjoyed visiting with some amazing families while the boys played.  When I asked one Soldier if he planned on riding the mechanical bull, he replied, "Ma'am, I've worked too hard to get myself ready for this deployment, I'm not chancing an injury on a mechanical bull to keep me from going!" I met lots of wonderful spouses, too, and loved talking with them and seeing their kids have a fun afternoon.  It is alwa...