What Month Is It Again?

Despite the fact that we cut down our (very tiny) Christmas tree today, I am going to post Halloween photos. Because apparently I have no idea what month it is anymore.

And on top of that, I'm going to post a bunch of photos in random order. This way when I look back in a few years and see this blog post, I'll be completely confused about what happened and when it happened. I plan these things, can't you tell?
We actually picked our pumpkins in Washington and they rode in the van with us all the way to Colorado. Then the kids insisted that I carve a goomba pumpkin. I wasn't sure that I could, but I did!
Our costume choices this year were also pretty random. We had planned to do a Mario Bros. theme, but after the movers packed up our costumes we had to go buy new ones. (Again, the planning thing! See a pattern here?)
We ended up with Matthew as a skeleton, Joshua as Toad, Leila as Cinderella, Sarah as Snow White, Nathan as a monster, and Ryan as a pirate (complete with one-eye glare.) The kids actually picked out their own costumes and I did not offer any input this year, which felt odd.
Our pumpkins came from Roloff Farms again. We really like their farm! The little ones felt even littler in the tall chair.
We saw giant pumpkins.
Matthew even gave birth to a pumpkin in the field, unassisted. Just kidding. Leila helped!
Hey, look! There's me! Now my children will remember I existed when they look back at old photos one day and see the (rather creepy) picture of Mommy in the eye of the pumpkin. (Am I the only mom who never gets in the pictures because I'm always taking them?)

One thing I love/hate about Washington... moss. It's so pretty but it grows on just about everything! We even had it growing on the roof of our house! But it's especially pretty when it's growing on an old stone wall.
Leila, Sarah, and I trekked up to the bridge at Multnomah Falls. It was so beautiful! All of the boys waited down below and the girls were so proud that they were brave enough to go look out over the edge of the bridge with water crashing down below.
See those people on the bridge? That's where we were.
We saw several other waterfalls that day as we visited the Columbia Gorge. It's so beautiful there!
Kids are so fascinated by water!
We found several frogs at the base of the waterfall. All six kids scrambled to be the one person hovering right over the poor, terrified frog. Well, I imagine that the frog was terrified but it didn't move, so maybe it was sleeping. Or maybe it has a half dozen froggy kids of its own and it just ignores the chaos.


It's hard to believe that we are leaving Washington next week...

...leaving the rain behind and taking some fun memories with us.

So Very Thankful

He's home!

Jason is back after what felt like the longest month. How could a month feel so long after spending many months apart? Well, I am pretty sure that being in the middle of a big move has something to do with it. We are just so happy to have him home, just in time for Thanksgiving!

When we picked Jason up at the airport, the kids were all excited. We pulled up to the curb and I jumped out to run and tackle him. We shared a long embrace and kissed like a couple of teenagers. Then I opened the van door and Jason was greeted with a chorus of "DADDY!" Even Delmar (our sweet dog) was excited to see him. Just as Jason was climbing into the van, a stranger came up to the door, slipped some money into Jason's hand, and thanked him, wishing us a happy Thanksgiving. In that moment, we both felt so grateful that someone else was grateful. Military families sacrifice a lot and there are thousands of service members that won't be home for the holidays this year. For a perfect stranger to acknowledge that... it was a beautiful moment.
(The picture above is an example of how creative kids can be when they are left to use their imagination. Leila made a princess out of rocks and seashells!)
We've been spending a lot of time at the beach again lately. The kids and I discovered a new secret spot and we've been there almost every day, combing the shore for sea glass, pottery, and pretty shells. The beach has a perfect view of the Olympic mountains, which are covered with snow right now. The leaves are changing and the sea lions play in the water near the island. The kids like to watch the ferry boats and trains pass by and I am just happy to get out of the RV park.
We have been on a lot of adventures in the last few weeks. There have been new parks discovered and we have a little list of the things we want to see before we leave here. There are only days left now before we head out.
When Jason was gone, I took the kids on a lot of adventures. The picture above wasn't taken in Colorado, or even Montana. This was when we got back home to Washington! We took a day trip up to Mt. Rainier again and got to drive through a fantastic snowstorm.
It was really coming down! The kids wanted to stay up there forever, but after I watched a pickup truck drive off the road I decided we should probably head back down the mountain.
This little guy was obviously looking for food. He came right up to our van and watched me as I took pictures of him. The kids were thrilled!
And in between the snow and rain, we even had some sunshine! We hit the park behind our old house and burnt off some energy.



Of course, sometimes we just need to get out and go somewhere. Target is a favorite stop for us and Matthew had a few birthday gift cards to spend, so we have been there a lot lately. The other day we were stopped by a couple that just adopted their seventh child and have four toddlers. We chatted for awhile, right there in the housewares aisle. Sometimes adult conversation is such a blessing and this husband and wife had no idea how much they made my day. After we left, I wished that I'd gotten their names so I could contact them. It's not often that I come across other big families around here!
(Can you believe the size of this leaf? Matthew was finding leaves bigger than his head!)
It feels strange that this week is already Thanksgiving. We've been so focused on the move, the TDY assignment, and handling the houses, that we almost forgot to pause and be thankful. As I watch things work themselves out, the way they always do, I am very thankful. I let myself worry too much about things I can't control and when I just finally relax and give it up to God, it always works out better than I could have planned.

2012 is going to bring some big changes for us, and I'm going to do my best to write more, worry less, and just enjoy life.

To anyone who is still reading my neglected little blog, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that you spend the day with those that you love and that you are able to count your blessings. To my friends with loved ones serving overseas, I'm praying for you.

Well, That Was Fun

1,400+ more miles later... we are home. Home, of course, being not so much a home and more of a camper.

We had a great trip and really enjoyed spending some time with my dad. It was a great distraction from Jason's notable absence.

Back in the RV park, we returned to discover that fall had arrived and left soggy, wet leaves in a 2-foot pile all around our camper. And then there was the tiny matter of cleaning up my van. After any road trip, cleaning the van becomes a monumental task. This trip was no exception. Needless to say, I've had my work cut out for me.

Did I mention that Ryan is potty training? He is... mostly. I don't know why these little boys are determined to be 100 times more difficult than their 4 older siblings combined, but they are definitely not making it easy for me. Ryan is peeing in the potty with 95% accuracy but still poops in his pants 100% of the time. And since he refuses to wear diapers during the day, I'm usually cleaning up poop at night. Nathan still has no interest in the potty... except to flush things down it.

We are down to our final days in Washington. With less than a month left here, I'm getting more and more anxious about what happens next. Probably because I don't know what happens next. A blog post I read recently really hit home. It sums up our situation pretty well, too. There are a lot of military families being forced to make tough decisions when it comes time to move to the next duty station and they can't sell (or rent) their home. Sometimes a stationary life seems so much easier.

A few thousand miles down, a few thousand miles left to go...

The Second Great Road Trip of 2011

What we've been up to...

...1,400 miles of driving in 2 days

...4 times across the Great Continental Divide

...647 potty stops

...1 (long) night in a hotel

...6 rambunctious kids excited about another road trip

...2 time zones

...5 pumpkin spice lattes

...2 major snowstorms

...122,655 miles on my van

...3 wonderful morning runs in complete silence

...8,000 foot elevation change

...2 hours of trick-or-treating with GDWNH (Granddad With No Hair)

...1 Goomba jack o' lantern

...6 hastily purchased costumes

...4 weeks until our big move

...1 almost potty-trained little guy (won't poop in the potty yet!)

...9 years since I became a mom

...1 missed birthday

...9 years of nursing babies

...2 homemade birthday cakes (one made entirely by two 5-year old girls!)

...8 years of Army life

...2 1/2 weeks until Jason comes home

...2,638 times I have worried about what will happen when we leave WA

...2,638 times I have realized that whatever will be, will be