Happy Halloween!!

Halloween was lots of fun for us.  We were very happy to be done with our recent bout with the flu.  It was a rough one...high temps, puking, couging, the whole nine yards.  We all recovered just in time for the Halloween activities.

Kids got to wear their costumes and party at school on Thursday.  Kysar was one of 3 Optimus Primes in his classroom.  I think little boys are into Transformers. 

On Saturday, we went to a Halloween Carnival at the Cowley Log Gym.  There were games to play and candy and toys to win.  The Jolley kids loved it!

Then we went trick-or-treating in Lovell and Cowley, with a few stops to see grandparents included.  Lacey and Lauren came along with us, making it even more fun.  We didn't stop trick or treating until the kids' complained their legs were too tired and they just couldn't do another house.  Thankfully that was at 7:30 pm.  :)  I love it when we're home early and to bed early. 

HighTech Pumpkin Carving

Everyone was too excited to wait another day to carve pumpkins.  Grandma and Grandpa Jolley offered to come and help after Spencer's insistence (from Kuwait) that I would cut off a finger trying to carve pumpkins.   I guess he's aware that I'm not that skilled with a knife. 

First off, Grandma Jolley tried to coax the kids into helping scoop out the pumpkins' "guts."  As you can probably guess by their faces, she was not successful.

After GRANDMA scooped out all the guts herself, the kids practiced drawing their faces, deciding what they wanted them to look like.

Grandma and I helped the kids draw their faces on with a marker.

 Now here's where it gets pretty fancy.  Grandpa fired up his skill saw and expertly cut out the faces we had drawn.  The girls, of course, had to leave the room because of the noise.  It worked really well though.

And after some candles were added, everyone was happy with the results!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Our Lady Lauren

There are very few things the kids get as excited for as seeing their cousing Lauren.  Lacey let us watch her the other night and the kids were in heaven.  They kept her entertained (probably more so than she wanted to be) throughout the evening.  This first game was "Ready, Set,....GO!" and spin Lauren around.   After countless times, Lauren was even saying "Ready, Set, Go."

Next was dress up and putting on a show.  Lauren, you're dressed up whether you like it or not.  :)

Um...I don't think she's so sure about it.

Even Kysar got to get dressed up for the show (sorry Spencer). 

Life Is Good

We had Spencer home on leave for two weeks in September. To sum up how things went when he was here, I'll repeat what Kysar said driving away from the airport immediately after picking Spencer up..."Life is good." The four-year old summed up what we were all feeling.
While he was here we put work, school, and everything else on the back-burner
As you can see from the pictures below, Kysar wouldn't let his Dad out of his sight.


The girls reported to my friend Kirsten that Kysar was "hogging Dad so our mom doesn't even get a chance." That was pretty much true. Spencer got lots of kisses from all of us, and I have to admit that I sometimes had to wriggle between Kysar and Spencer to get my share :)

We spent 4 nights up in the camper over Labor Day. The weather was beautiful and my parents and Spencer's family camped with us. It was lots of fun (except for the part when Kaya, my dad, and I got the stomach flu...yuck!). Spencer was in heaven with the cool weather. He was not missing the 130 degree weather he'd left behind!

Spencer was able to eat lunch at the school with the girls one day. Surprisingly he was met with two giggly, shy girls in the cafeteria. He said all the girls' friends wanted to talk to him, but the girls were quiet. Later on the week, we were told by many staff at the school that the girls were in heaven about lunch with Dad and bounced through the rest of the day telling everyone about it.

The girls also got to go on a "date" with Dad one morning. They skipped school and he took them to McDonald's for breakfast, then the park to play, Linton's for a toy, and Chinese for lunch. Quite a date, huh!!

I also got a dinner and a movie date and lots of time just hanging out with my favorite guy.

It was hard to say goodbye again.

Daddy Dolls

We got a very special surprise package in the mail the other day. We opened up a box to find three "Daddy Dolls." Right before Spencer deployed, some wonderful people at the Worland armory took pictures of the soldiers and made these dolls out of them! Wow! I just about cried (well maybe I did cry). Ever since the Daddy Dolls arrived they have been the toy of choice to snuggle with at bedtime. Often, I am frantically searching for all three around bedtime, hoping they can be found.

Kysar carries his around even when it isn't bedtime. Lately though, he looks at the doll and cries, saying "I wish I had the real Daddy." That's enough to break my heart. :(

All in all, the Daddy Dolls were a very special gift that we are lucky to have, tears and all.

I'm back...finally

Was hoping that summer would give me more time to do blogging, but I guess we've just been having too much fun. We've been spending lots of time at the Cowley pool, riding bikes, and playing in the sand.

After 3 months in Texas, Spencer was able to come home to us for 4 days before deploying to Kuwait. We spent most of that time at his favorite place in the world...Bighorn Mtns.

We rode 4 wheelers in. Spencer's parents, my parents, Chad, Jake, and Jaxon all came with. What a great crew! After a picnic at the bottom of the canyon, the boys all fished till their hearts were content. Other than Kaya getting a fish hook in the ear, all was well. :)

Spencer went wild taking scenic photos to last him through his year away.

The next day we drove to the top of the mountain so he could "breathe the cool air." He's not too excited about the 120 degree temps in Kuwait. Poor guy.

Wild Things

Digital Scrapbooking

I've been experimenting with digital scrapbooking. Hoping to kill two birds with one stone...post my pages to my blog and print them out for the scrapbooks. We'll see how this works. The process to get these pages made and figure out how to upload them only took me 6 hours or so! How efficient, huh? Well, we'll see if it's worth it.

Spring Fun

If you looked out in my lilac bushes today, this is what you'd see.....


Simba & Nala, along with other favorite stuffed animals having a ball in the "trees."
The girls love to make up stories and adventures for their soft animals. Kysar isn't lucky enough to be included in this one...sometimes he is though.

Wish I Had a Picture!

I wish I had taken a picture of these before I mailed them....The kids were making cards to send to Dad the other day. All three worked quietly until they handed the finished product to me. Kysar made a nice bunch of K's and X's, the only letters he currently knows how to make, with a cute stick figure added in here and there. The girls cards surprised me the most. Even though they didn't talk or even sit by eachother, the message in the cards was nearly identical:
Dear Dad,
I miss you. I hope you come back soon! I hope you win the war. Are you going to win?
Love,
Kynlee/Kaya
Wow! Hadn't ever thought about the winning or losing thing? Kaya also completed her card with a picture of a mouse holding an American flag with his tail. The bubble above his head read, "Long Live the USA"!! I love it.

Dog Tags

Kysar has been wearing his dog tags every day. Spencer got them last time in Iraq.

He says that he has to wear them "every day like Dad." Kids have been doing pretty well with Dad leaving. They talk about him a lot and sometimes get sad, but I think they are used to him being gone a lot. Also don't think they realize how long a year is.

Spencer's doing well in Texas. They're doing a lot of training and preparation. Also fun stuff like vaccinations- assembly line style. They've been getting to play football for P.T. I'm so glad he gets to do fun stuff!

The Deployment

The Deployment Ceremony in Worland was nice, then they had an even bigger one in Casper. I enjoyed them, but the kids just thought it was too much sitting!

Spencer's parents were there to support him- they are the best! My parents and his sisters were there too.

Oh, and we can't forget Lauren. She was so good. After the ceremony we all went to A&W for a treat.

There were so many amazing things done by community organizations and citizens. This flag was flown from the top of a fire truck ladder in Worland. There were lots of other touching things people did for us....but- I was in too much of a fog to take very many pics. Now I wish I would have.

Spencer will go to Fort Hood, TX for a few months, and then to Kuwait. We will get him back in one year. Ready or not, the year has begun.