The Costumes

JANE - THE WITCH OF THE EAST

LINDA - THE LITTLE MERMAID

CLAIRE - MY LITTLE LAMB

BRUCE - DARTH VADER

Baby Steps back to California

- Paperwork has begun in order to fill Robert's current position.

- Paperwork has begun to make Robert an employee of Santa Ana, CA. He'll be an employee of Santa Ana, but stationed in DC for now.

- There has been talk that we may be moving a little earlier than expected...but it's just talk for now.

We'll keep you posted!

By Request - Robert's Chili

For Robert it’s meat, root, peppers, beans, tomatoes, seasoning. Measurements are unknown.

Meat:
Usually a pound of ground beef and a pound of sausage. Sometimes just the cheapest available because meat can be so expensive. This last time he used pork boneless rib but it turned into a pulled-pork. One of his favorite things to do is cutting up all-beef hotdogs into little cubes, then browning them. (He keep most of the grease in the Chili)

Root:
White Onion, Garlic cloves, Leaks. Just brown these up with some olive oil. Sometimes throws in a little sage seasoning while browning.

Peppers:
Your choice. Poblanos are popular right now. Fresh jalapeños are good. Stay away from Habaneros unless you want some extra kick.

Beans:
Dark Kidney Bean, Light Kidney Bean, Black Bean. Garbanzo beans are also an option.

Tomatoes:
Tomato paste is a must for the thickness and taste. Mix with a combination of tomato soup, tomato juice, tomato sauce, puree, even ketchup. He always has diced tomatoes at my request.

Seasoning:
Chili Powder
Cumin
Paprika
Beef Bouillon Cubes (This is important) Or Ramen Seasoning

Additional Seasoning Options:
Cayenne Pepper
Brown Sugar
Molasses
Sweet Baby Rays
Worcester sauce
Horseradish
Wasabi
Rice Vinegar
Onion powder
Garlic salt
Celery salt

SPEECH please!

Bruce used to have a difficult time pronouncing his words correctly. It was very frustrating for him and I felt terrible that every time he said something to someone, the person would look at me for a translation(including Robert). He had a hard time communicating with his teacher and friends at school. Luckily he had a great Kindergarten teacher who was very patient and never made Bruce feel uncomfortable. After quite a process I got him in to a Speech program at his elementary school at the beginning of Kindergarten. The report was: "He distorts the v, sh, ch, th, r, and omits l at the end of words." Well, what a difference a year makes. I just had a meeting with his 1st grade teacher and his Speech teachers and they could not believe what an improvement Bruce has made over last year and especially this summer. The report now is: "Bruce is now able to produce the v, sh, ch, th correctly in sentences and conversational speech." Now all he has to work on is the final l and the r, though the r is considered "age appropriate".
Anyway, we're so proud of Bruce and the progress he's made. He is such a bright kid...and excellent reader, well behaved, top of his class, and VERY social. He'll talk your ear off...AND YOU'LL UNDERSTAND EVERY WORD. :)

Claire's 15 Month Stats

Height: 30 1/2" (50th percentile)

Weight: 22lbs. (35th percentile)
Head: 47 1/2" (75th percentile)

Here you go Robert.
This last pic is Claire eating daddy's chili. Robert is so proud.(a mild batch of course)

Primary Program

Once a year at our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, they have the primary program where children ages 3-11yrs. old sing and do talking parts in sacrament meeting(our main meeting of worship). Today we had our primary program. This is the 3rd primary program that I've been primary president for. The kids did such a great job. I was so proud of how reverent the children were and how they tried their best to sing all of the songs. During the program I had to keep wiping tears from my eyes as I could feel the Spirit so strong. I could feel the love our Heavenly Father has for these children and the faith these children have put in their church leaders and parents to teach them what Heavenly Father would have them know. I am so grateful for the primary organization in our church. It is truly inspired. The world does not expect much out of these young children, but we know that Heavenly Father has prepared a way for them to be righteous examples in this sometimes scary world. I am happy to serve them and love them so much.

Linda's Part:
"Heavenly Father gave us parents to love and care for us."
Bruce's Part:
"I will also be confirmed and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost will guide me and help keep me safe."

Fall In Fairfax

Well, it's that time of year again here in Northern Virginia. Time to put away the flip flops and bring out the socks & shoes, jackets, umbrellas and sweaters. The weather has been in the 40's & 50's all week, with rain. California is looking better and better all the time! Don't get me wrong, I love Fall. It's just the knowledge that Winter follows it that is a downer. :) It is looking beautiful around here with all the changing leaves. I'll try to get some pictures of the beautiful trees if we get a break in the rain. I'm always sad when the leaves all fall to the ground because you lose all the green that is usually surrounding us here. On the upside, I'll be able to see Bruce playing at recess across the street. It's fun to see him from a distance in the days.

Linda Started School!

Linda had her first day of preschool today!! She's an Eagle View Eagle! Her classroom is 5 doors down from Bruce's.

We walked Linda to school this morning. The 3 amigos are no more. It was a quiet afternoon with just me and my blondes. :) Jane really missed Linda. They are good friends.

Linda and her teacher, Miss Denise.

My little girl has grown up so fast! :( She loved every second of school today. She will be going 5 days a week.
Some things she did at school today:
ATE LUNCH,READ BOOKS,
WAS THE LINE LEADER,
WRITING CENTER,PLAY AREA,
DECORATED CUPCAKES FOR THE JANITORS

(apparently it is Custodian Appreciation week),
SNACK,
SANG SONGS, PLAYED INSTRUMENTS
In notes about her day her teacher said:

"Great First Day!"

our mini vacation - hotel in New Jersey

We started our mini vacation on Friday. We drove to New Jersey and got a hotel there. The kids LOVE staying at hotels. The 1st pic is all the kids under the covers. The 2nd is a little "how to" on how to fit 3kids in a full size hotel bed. Bruce is holding up his newly lost tooth. He was excited to leave it under his pillow for the Tooth Fairy. Linda is convinced that Bruce's tooth is now in heaven, the Tooth Fairy took it there. :)
On Saturday morning we headed to...

New York City!!

(above) Me and the kids at Battery Park

(below) Robert, Bruce, Linda and Jane downtown New York City
Empire State Building

Bruce and Jane on Liberty Island (is was very WINDY!!)

Bruce. Linda, and Jane on the ferry heading over to Liberty Island

Robert and I went on our honeymoon to New York City 7 1/2yrs. ago. We finally made it back, this time with 4 kids! :) We spent Saturday there and had a good time. I love the energy in NYC. I'm pretty sure we were the only ones walking the streets of New York with a double stroller. :)

*Click on the pictures if you want to see them larger.*

The Big Change...what we know so far

(Oceanside Pier)

This week Robert got verbal approval for a transfer with the SBA to the Santa Ana, California(Orange County) office. This is Big news for us and means that we may be making another move across the country. We have not been given a exact time frame so we'll keep you posted as we learn more details. We're guessing it will be early next year.

Right now the plan is for us to move to Oceanside, California(near San Diego) and Robert would take the Coaster train to commute in. His commute will be 30min. shorter each way than it is here in DC. I was living in Oceanside when Robert and I met and Robert and I lived in Oceanside when we were first married. Bruce was born there. We love it and we love the beach. We will live close to most of both of our families which will be really nice.

It will be sad to leave behind our life here in Virginia and all of our wonderful friends and our good ward. Overall, we are so happy and know this is where the Lord would have our family live.

Claire Bear

Claire's favorite pastime, climbing! During this post I've gotten her off of my kitchen chairs 3 times! Her big fall a while back did not deter her. She is non-stop.
I was helping Jane get her undies on and Claire sees me and runs over in front of me and lifts her leg up for me to put them on her. She was sooo proud to be wearing big kid underwear. :) This gives me hope for easy potty training in the not too distant future.

She really is such a happy girl...

but she does have her sad moments.

Other Claire Facts:

Claire says: Dada, Mama, Linda, Bruce, Uh-uh(while shaking her head no), Ya!, Ni-night, Pampa(grandpa), RaMa(grandma), juice, all done...and tries many others.

She is very cuddly with all of us.

She is just shy of 15months.

Pumpkin Cobbler Recipe - Award Winning ;)

1 - 1q. Can Pumpkin
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 can evaporated milk
2 cups sugar

4 eggs
1 - Yellow Cake Mix
1 cube of margarine (real butter makes it soggy, I made that mistake this last time.)

Mix pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, evaporated milk, sugar, and eggs. Pour in to a 9X13 baking pan. Pour dry cake mix evenly over the top of the batter. Cut margarine in to small squares and place all over the top of the cake mix.

Bake 350 for 50-60 min

I prefer to eat it after it's cooled down. Don't worry if there is some dry cake mix on top. It's yummy! I keep the leftovers in the refrigerator. It's really good cold too. Mmm, I'm making this for Thanksgiving. You're all invited!!