Fabulous Army Life

When my oldest started Kindergarten in 2005, my wonderful neighbor Catty introduced us to her family tradition of making a first-day-of-school cake in the shape of a school bus. We met after school and the kids decorated the cake, including faces on mini Nilla wafers to represent each of them. We loved the tradition and added it to our own family from that day forward. Now, 12 years later, we're still at it. We invite friends and neighbors to join us. It's always a fun time and I'm proud of our longevity in at least this one tradition. :)

We couldn't spend a year in Pennsylvania without visiting the famous city of Hershey and I'm so glad we spent today at Hershey's Chocolate World. One highlight of the day was creating our own Hershey bar and watching our creation being made from start to finish. Fascinating and delicious! We also enjoyed a trolley tour of the city, focusing primarily on the life of Milton Hershey (my new favorite person!) and the amazing philanthropic contributions he made (and continues to make, long after his passing) to this amazing little city. He and his wife were faithful Christians and spent their time, energy, and money giving back to others. We were able to see the Milton Hershey School , founded in 1909 to better the lives of children in need. It has grown to an impressive array of homes, educational buildings, and various facilities to offer top-notch education. From the school website: For more than 100 years, Milton Hershey School has helped children to realize their full...

Gather a bunch of Army Colonels and their spouses in one place ... and you might be surprised at how very young and spry they are. When we first entered the Army long, long ago, COLs were really old. Wise, but really, really old. By some miracle, that is no longer the case. My husband and his colleagues are so very young yet retain the wisdom so graciously granted their predecessors. It's quite amazing. So the week we spent together at Fort Leavenworth felt a lot like high school at times. Our boyfriends were all in one class while we were in another. I was oh-so-tempted to pass him a note in the hallway, all folded up with the "Open Here" tab ...  I did sneak by and take a photo of him on my iPhone and text it to him (which I really think is the new note-passing anyway) ... and he proceeded to return the favor the next day. So yes, we're basically a bunch of kids learning new stuff together.  

Flowers from a friend brought a smile! I've long subscribed to the theory that it's often the little things in life that mean the most ... a handwritten note, a fresh bouquet of flowers, a piping hot cup of coffee ... these are the 'little' things that can make such a huge impact.  Getting a note in the mail ~ written for  me ... from a real person ~ is a nice surprise among the endless stacks of bills, catalogs, and credit card offers.  And, last night, opening my front door to find a friend on my doorstep with a fresh bouquet of flowers just to say "I'm here for you" ... it was one of the nicest things I could have imagined.  {Thank you, Debbie!} Which leads me to that piping hot cup of coffee ... I am so blessed and happy to have a husband who (a) shares my love of java and (b) gets up early each morning and makes a fresh pot of coffee for us both.  It's one of those 'little' things that makes my morning and warms my heart eac...

Because our Organizational Day was in August, we did everything we could to ensure that all participants weathered the Texas heat.  From Army water 'buffaloes' to sno cones to fun water play, we provided lots of opportunity for cooling off.  Enjoy these cute pics of our unit kiddos cooling off in the water play area ... Setting up targets for the water guns.  Water guns are always a hit with kids.  Super soakers and water guns ... Camo soakers are a great way to cool off. Beach balls and lots of pouring cups kept kids cool and happy. A whole lot a splashin' going on! My favorite photo of the day ... the tub being used as a pool! Fun times were had by all!

My boys and our neighbor's two kids enrolled in Central Texas College's "College for Kids" this summer and enjoyed a week of experiments and activities focused on science and weather. They had a fabulous time and loved spending the time together, too. The kids enjoyed some fun games before and after class.  This one is a version of "Hot Potato" but used a water-bottle tornado and was called "Tornado Toss." We found a family of ducks on the way home from class.  Most of the conversation focused on how cute they were until my youngest child jumped in with, "We should hunt the ducks!  No, it's not the right season ... I know!  We could just knock out the mom with our water bottles and steal the babies!"  Yikes.  Who raised this child? Four cute kids by the CTC Fountain after a fun week in class!

As a Mom, I've tried all the tricks to encourage my kids to choose healthy foods. A couple of things that I've discovered in the process are: ONE:  They are more enthusiastic when they take part in the planning and/or preparing process. TWO:  A little creativity goes a long way in making food fun to eat! Here are a couple of fun and easy breakfast ideas that my kids really enjoy. SMILEY FACE BREAKFAST This super-simple breakfast is a slice of turkey bacon as the smile, two small crescent rolls as eyes, and two gummy vitamins as pupils in the eyes. Variations in our house include a boiled egg or strawberry nose, blueberry 'pupils,'  and shredded cheddar hair. GREEN EGGS AND HAM This super-fun breakfast was inspired by Dr. Seuss' "Green Eggs and Ham." This could be a simple way to introduce the book or, as we did, a really fun St. Patrick's Day breakfast! The breakfast consists of a slice of ham and scrambled eggs (both tinted green with food...

I guess you're officially old when you start thinking things like "Kids these days ..." but really! Kids these days! I am amazed at the world they are growing up in. A few weeks ago, our family is sitting down to dinner when my first grader turns to me and says, "Mommy, have I told you about my blog?" Really!?! I just figured out blogging (sort of) myself! He does indeed have a blog (along with his entire 1st grade class) and it's wonderful. Today, my eldest son and I travelled with my brother-in-law and his family (including my fabulous sister-in-law and their three beautiful girls, a six year-old and twin four-year-olds) to Dallas for another cousin's birthday party. The party was wonderful and we had a super time rollerskating, opening gifts, and visiting with family. On the three-hour ride back, we had more fun entertaining each other in the car. At one point, one of the twins asks me, "Aunt Traci, Can I use your iPhone to text Uncle Na...

Does anybody else have one child who is a near carbon-copy of themselves? My little mini-me is my almost-ten-year-old son. Since he was a baby, he has physically resembled me ... except his gender, of course, and his eye color (I share that with my youngest). In most other ways, though, my eldest child and I are very much alike. I taught at a junior high school parttime when this child was three and four years old. Even then, our resemblances were striking. The custodian at this school would always ask me, "Where's your twin?" talking about my toddler boy. I also learned early on that we shared an emotional tie as well. His personality, quirks, and tendency to have overwhelming emotional moments ... that's all me. Isn't that crazy? Who knew the DNA strands that would replicate in our offspring? We are both book addicts (to the point that it's sometimes debilitating), highly emotional, forgetful, and math-phobic. In fact, it is eerie to me to watch this male ch...

I'm excited to visit family this weekend for the 4th Annual Halloween Hayride hosted by my my mom's side of the family. It's a great time and my boys are always thrilled to attend. In the crazy way of the Army, my husband has never been able to attend. Two of the past three years, he was in Iraq, and the other was spent at NTC. So I'm really excited to share this fun event with him this year, too! It seems that Halloween is a little taboo in some circles, but we enjoy the holiday for its fun ... costumes and candy; what's not to love? Because my parents live in Texas, I am able to attend and participate in many family events that would not otherwise be possible. One of these is my mom's annual Halloween Hayride and Cookout. My mother and stepfather live in a wooded area in north Texas. They have created a trail through the woods in the backyard, just big enough for their John Deere "Gator" to get through. For this event, my family gathers to dec...