More of Andy's TDY

Andy is doing really well and he sent us some more picture tonight. All Ashleigh could say is "My Daddy is on the puter!" Alexus and Shelby were amazed with how big the Statue of Liberty is. He was glad they got to get out of the hotel, but he wasn't happy with the poison oak he got from Central Park. I will keep you all updated with how things are going for him. Right now they are thinking they are going to be later getting home than they expected. He may not get home til after the 4th of July. :( I hate this because we MISS him so much and are ready to see him. Well, hope you all are having a great week.
We love and miss you all.

This first picture was of him in Grand Central Station......

Of course this is of him with the Statue of Liberty.. So pretty...

Isn't she huge?! The girls were amazed at how small their daddy was compared to it. All Ashleigh could say was "My Daddy is so small!"

This is the castle that is in the middle of Central Park. Looks so pretty doesn't it?

Here he is on the side rail in front of the Hudson river. Such a pretty scene behind him.

And to end my post..... A picture of Andy well being Andy.... He said it looked like a HUGE toilet so why not get a funny picture....

Andy's Grandad

As many of you know Andy's Grandad passed away on Saturday night. His family night will be Thursday and the funeral will be Friday. He and Andy's Grannie were on the base in Montana as camp ground hosts. They loved to go there, and would stay there 6 months out of the year. He was in the Air Force for a lil over 20years, and was a great man. We will miss him so much. Alexus, Shelby, Ashleigh and Alissa loved their visits with their Grandad. He got Ashleigh to sit beside their dogs even though she has always been scared to death of dogs. Alexus and Shelby have always loved it when they got to come visit us because they would get to roam around their camper at the camp ground on base and Grandad would try to keep up with them. Alissa would just smile at him. She was still too small to go to him the last time she saw him. He got her to let him hold her for a couple minutes and he was thrilled as can be. Everytime I think of him I will remember how excited he was to see his family, and how much he loved everyone.
We love you Grandad and will miss you.

GT update....

Yeah I know what you all are thinking... Took long enough for you to find out, but we found out the other day that Alexus wasn't choosen for GT. When we got the results I was a bit upset because she is so smart and can do so many things that someone her age shouldn't be able to. She is reading at an average of 100 words a minute, takes a second grade reading class, does 2nd grade math work, and is always wanting to do more school work than they give her. She LOVES school. I called the number they gave me to find out why she wasn't choosen and when I did I actually got GREAT news. After the lady reviewed why she wasn't accepted she decided that she would partly put her in GT. There is a program they do here is San Antonio where if you excell in an area they will give you that part of the GT. So she will be getting the reading part of it and if her teacher thinks that she needs the math part next year they will re-evaluate her and see if they also think she is ready for it. If they do she will be all the way in. If she is still in it when she makes it to third grade they do a summer school for GT students.

Alexus is so hard on herself and was very upset when she found out she didn't get in, but when I gave her the good news yesterday she was ecstatic. Also she has made it through 2 school years with ALL A's.

A lil update on Shelby as well. She made it ALL the way through kindergarten with ALL A's. Her class is having an icecream sundae party next Friday, and of course she is SO looking forward to it. She is starting to read all by herself and isn't having to have near as much help. If she has to have help it is on some of the harder words. She HATES homework.... She didn't want to do her last homework assignment yesterday, which of course does not fly in this house. You WILL do your homework or get a butt busting hehe.

Well, I need to get ready to go to Alexus's awards ceremony. Love and miss everyone. Hope you all have a great weekend.

Andy TDY in NY

Well as everyone knows Andy is TDY in New York, and I thought I would share some pictures he sent to the girls and I. He took lots more than this but he sent us just a few so we could see him...

This first one is of him sitting at Paul Sr.'s desk....

The next one if of him with the FDNY bike.

The next one is of the PoW bike.

This last picture is something that Andy is really proud of. It is an autographed picture of Paul Sr., Paul Jr., and Mikey.

Field trips

Today the girls had their school field trips. Shelby went to see the new movie Earth, which she did not like. I figured she wouldn't like it. I myself don't like documantaries, and she doesn't have the attention span to watch a movie like that.

Alexus went to SeaWorld so I let Andy take our camera. I figured he would be able to get more pictures than I would at a movie. Alissa went with me and Ashleigh went with him. She had such a good time getting to feed all the animals with her big sis. To bad they both didn't get to go to the same place. I missed Ashleigh's first park visit. Atleast she had a great time with her daddy and her Lexus.

Andy took some really good pictures but some reason it won't load them. I will try again later tonight or tomorrow.

Tennis

On Sunday I took the girls over to the park and they got to play with their new tennis rackets. Of course I forgot my camera. Later Andy and I are going to take them on base and let them play on the tennis courts. They didn't have any at this park, but they didn't care. They just wanted to get out of the house for a bit. Andy and I had been talking about getting us all racket for a while but never went and got them. Well, I went and got them and the kids didn't want to wait another weekend to use them. This weekend my parents are going to try and come up, and you know the girls are going to want to show them their tennis skills hehe. My dad doesn't get much time off here lately, and so this will be a great break for him. NO STRESS. I will definately take some picture while my mom and dad are here and get them posted asap.

More Pics

Here are a few more pictures we got made.

Spring Break visit back home

Just thought I would post the pictures my sister and I had made of all the kiddos while I went to visit her. After we visited her we went to Paris for a bit.

District Spelling Bee

Alexus had her District Spelling Bee yesterday, and she placed 20th out of 45. She did really well. She missed the word Eagle. She was so disappointed because she knows that word, but got nervous and reversed the e and l. She spelled it Eagel. I was so proud of her. There was only one of her classmates left after her. ALSO the other day her teacher nominated her for Gifted and Talented. At Sun Valley they normally don't do it til 2nd grade. She is already taking 2nd grade reading. She reads at 74 words a minute, and they want them at that level at the end of 2nd. She is taking after her Daddy because he is to smart for his own good at times.


Shelby says that school is boring and looses interest fast. I think she is going to be like Andy and Bubba were and always need something to keep her interest. She is VERY smart, but if she doesn't have anything to keep her busy she gets into trouble. So far she hasn't gotten into trouble at school. Which I don't know how because at home the girl is into EVERYTHING. Her teacher is a really good teaher, she makes them mind and if they don't she is doing what needs done to make sure they don't do it again.


Well just thought I would update you all on what has been going on here. We LOVE ans MISS you all very much and wish we were closer so we could spend more time together.

Christmas 08

This year we got to go to Fort Worth to see my Sister, Richard, Adrian and Jacob, and then to Kansas to see Larry, Tina, Dusty and Jordan. The girls had so much fun playing in the snow with their Poppie and Granny-T. Alexus tried to make a snowman but it didn't work so she made a snow blob. It had eyes, nose and a mouth made out of leaves. Christmas Day we took them to a park. We took a walk up to the top and got to look at the frozen lake. The scenery was so beautiful. They got to play in the snow again there. Ashleigh was having fun til she took a face plant in the road. Poor Alissa got to cold so we put her in the van while eveyone played in the snow for a few minutes. After we visited them we went to Paris where we got to see their Nanna, Papa, Uncle Bubba, Nana, Steven, Aunt Chelle, Uncle Rodney, Hunter, Haley, Carissa, Ryan, GeeGee, Grandad, GranGran, Papa Beshirs, and everyone else. We even got to see our friends JD, Adriane, and their three beautiful daughters. It has been a couple years since we have been able to visit with them. I will post some pictures as soon as possible. My camera quit working on me and so I didn't get to take any. I am going to see if my Father-in-law can send them to me.

Spelling Bee BuZzZzZz

Alexus got 5th place at her spelling bee. She now gets to study over the holiday in order to get ready for the district one. Wish us luck on getting her ready while traveling.

Spelling Bee

Alexus has her first spelling bee in a few days. She has been working so hard. She doen't know all of the words that they gave her, but omg at the list. I think she will do good. Most of the time if she takes her time she can pronounce them out, and then spell them correctly. She is just too smart. I am so proud of her and Shelby. They are both doing really good in school this year.
I will try and update this before we leave for the Holidays.

In case I don't get to I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Christmas Ornaments

So this year the girls and I made homemade candy cane ornaments. I am not sure if they are going to work out. They have been setting almost 24 hours and the are still looking brittle as heck. I may have to end up finding something else for them to give out. I thought they would be really cute because they are red and white twirled. We were supposed to be anyways. They are mostly pink. This has become a tradition for me and the girls to make our families homemade ornaments every year. It started out with us making simple construction paper ones to now making ceramic ones. They have turned out really good every year except this year. Oh well guess I will try and find something else to make in case.

Thanksgiving

Hope you all have a Great Thanksgiving. I just want to take a minute and say what I am thankful this year.

Family: No matter what you all have been here for Andy and I and for that I am so grateful. We LOVE you all so much.

Friends: Our friends back home and the new ones we have made in each state we have lived in. Without you all it would have been a lot harder to move away from our home town.

Our Kids: I know they can be pain in the butts, but they can be the sweetest lil things I have ever seen. They see me or one of their sisters cry and run to find out what is wrong.

Texas: Wow I never thought Andy and I would live back in Texas as long as we were military, but we are back in the sweet state.

The Military: Most and formost without the Military we wouldn't have our 4 beautiful daughters. The Military has given Andy the job he has and the schooling he has received. He loves what he does and for that I am SO thankful.

The girls wanted to say what they are thankful for also.

Alexus: I am thankful for my pets, my family, my school, the Air Force, and my friends.

Shelby: I am thankful for flowers, friends, the whole world, our house, family, and my parents.

Science Fair

I thought I had updated this but I hadn't :(

Shelby received 4th place at her District Science Fair. :) There was about 20 or so other kids that participated. I am so proud of Alexus and Shelby this year. They both are really enjoying school.

Science Fair

Shelby won her grade level school science fair, and now she is moving to district. I have to pick up her project today and take it to the other school. Tomorrow she gets to go on her first field trip to it. She is so excited.

Alexus did a project as well, but she didn't place, but she did her best and that is all I ever ask of them. She was so sad and swore she nenver wins anything, but she was one of only a few people in her class to be a *Self Manager* which means she does what is expected of her, and is responsible. She gets other things like 5 minutes on the computer, leaveing for lunch early, extra recess, and a few other things.

Well, I hope everyone is doing good!

We love and miss you all.
XOXOXO

Awards

Last Thursday and Friday I had Alexus's and Shelby's awards ceremonies for school. Alexus made All "A" Honor Roll and got the character award for responsability. Shelby made the All "A" Honor Roll. I am really proud of them. They make sure their homework is done and turned in on time.

Here are the few I got of Alissa. She was busy playing with Mike hehe so she looked off a lot.

Halloween

I took the girls Trick-or-Treating last night and they had a good time, but there wasn't as many people handing out candy this year. They still had almost a bucket full! Here are the pictures I took. The little girls with them are our naighbors Chloe and Makailyn. Chloe is the Southern Belle, and Makailyn is Spider Man.

Charlotte and Trevor Update!

I talked to Charlotte yesterday and Trevor got to come home Tuesday. He is doing really good, and doesn't seem to be having any problems. Yes, this is Charlotte Baker from high school, and she is doing really good. She is enjoying her time with the baby, and says she doesn't want to put him down. Here is a picture she e-mailed me. Isn't he just adorable. I love his camoflage.

Charlotte and Trevor

Charlotte had Trevor and he isn't doing to well. He was only born a week early but his lungs weren't fully developed and his right one keeps colapsing. Please keep her and her family in your prayers. They are a wonderful couple and have been through so much. She said it will be another week before she can try to hold him, and they don't know when he will be able to come home.

Love you all,

Steph

First school bus ride

Here are some pictures of our kitchen since we painted it. I LOVE the way it looks. It changed the look so much. I can't wait to get the rest of the house painted.

Here are the pictures of the girls after their first school bus ride. They were so excited to get to, and were made when we thought that I was going to drop them off this morning. They have been riding it all week.

First Day of School

Well Alexus and Shelby started school this morning and they were all excited. They picked out their clothes last night before they went to bed. Didn't go to bed until like 9:30 and were supposed to go to bed at 8:00. Yeah they didn't listen too well, but they paid for it this morning. They both didn't want to get up. Alexus is growing up way too fast. She helped Shelby on her first morning at school. She took her to the cafeteria and told her what to do and who to give her lunch money, and where to go afterwards. Shelby will hopefully realize she doesn't know everything and it is ok to ask for help. She is such an independant. Here are the pictures I took this morning. I will try to take some this afternoon.

Painting

Today Andy and I decided to paint the girls rooms. We got Ashleigh's and Alexus's painted tonight. Ashleigh picked out Spongebob yellow and Lexi picked out Cinderela pink. We are going to paint Shelby's room tommorow and she picked Tinker Bell purple. I will post some pictures asap.

School

Yay Alexus and Shelby start school in 1 week. I am so ready to get some quietness. We don't get much of that around here. Shelby is SOOOO loud. I am hoping that school will teach her that she doesn't have to yell to get her point across.
Yay for school!

Backyard pictures...

Here are the ones from the backyard. Hope you all enjoy them.

Visit with Lona, and other pictures.....

Some of the pictures are from when Lona came to visit us, and some are of the girls playing in the backyard. We had a really nice visit with Lona, Adrian and Jacob this last weekend. We took the kids to the park, and let them all play while Andy was asleep. Hopefully I will get to take the girls to see them for a few days before school starts. I wanted to post a few new pictures of the girls so everyone could see how big they have gotten.

Well will have to make another post to fit them all on here.

Love You All.....

Steph...

Girls

Alexus and Shelby are coming home tomorrow. They have been at my mom's and dad's. When I talk to them on the phone they are always talking about the horses, getting to feed them, and getting to brush the baby colt. They LOVE being in the country. It is too bad we live in the city at times, but then I remeber the 30minute drive to Paris and am glad we are just a few minutes away from wherever we need to go. A 30minute drive would kill us in gas hehe. I can't wait to see them. They have only been gone a lil over a week, but that is a long time when they normally are only gone for a day. Andy misses them too. I can tell. He was asking sbout them last night because they didn't call. I talked to them while I was grocery shopping but they didn't call that night like they normally do. Well, I will post some new pictures of the kids when I get some. I need to get some taken, it has been a while.

<3 you, and miss you all!

Father's day

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all you father's. Hope you all had a great day. I know Andy sure was busy. We put up 4 ceiling fans and some blinds for our sliding glass door. Alexus wanted a pink fan so we painted hers, and Shelby wanted hers purple so hers was painted also. They look so cute. I think we did a great job. I will get some pictures of them and post them later. Well, hope you all have a great day. We love you all.

Summer begins

Today I took the girls outside for a bit. It was so HOT. We didn't stay out there too long. Lexi, Shelby and Ashleigh wanted to play til they got hot then it was time to go in. Alissa said it was too hot the whole time. She doesn't like the heat as you can tell be the face she is making. She sweats so bad. I think they all had a good time though. Here are a few pictures of their art work and them playing.