SpookTacular Halloween

Clearly I did not partake in this year's costume purchases. What happened to wearing super heroes and zoo animals?

Keagan as Haunted Scarecrow

Evan as the Troll

A woman stopped Evan on the sidewalk and asked, "What you is? A troll on meth?"

Point taken.

Boys Try to Scare Mom

We were down to the wire, though, when Evan told us Sunday at 2030 that he wanted to go trick or treating this year. Of course there was nothing in our costume bin that would come close to fitting the Man Child so I did the next best thing. I sent Wes to Wal Mart on a mission, and I told him to do whatever it took to secure the very last XL costume he could find. I warned him to be ready to battle. However, there was little I could say to prepare him for the reality of a trip to Wal Mart two days before a holiday.
He will find a way to pay me back.

I'm hoping his night of trick-or-treating with these two guys will help him forget all about his shopping experience.

We hope your Halloween was filled with tricks and treats and lots of spooks!

Good Googley Goo!

Oh, Mom! Who knew these would be such a hit? 

If they ever find out I posted this, I'm dead.

Family Day

For all of you experiencing snow and horrible storms, I'm so sorry, but this is how we spent our first day at home with Wes. St. Simons is even more beautiful in October when you are the only family on the beach. 

The boys played football on the beach, until Wes realized that after wearing combat boots for almost 48 hours, his feet were covered in blisters.

The boys and I returned home sunkissed; Wes came home beet red.

Welcome Home

Last October, Evan agreed to take on Wes's weekly chore of taking out the trash while Wes was deployed. For nine months we counted down the trash days, celebrating each Tuesday night as we got closer and closer to no more trash days and thus Wes's return. That is until we reached zero and Wes was still living the high life in Camp Beuhring. It was on this day that Evan declared that he had served his time; his trash days were over. Since then I have been taking out the trash, and I am happy to announce that I am done with trash days. Late last night, Wes finally made it home. The other travelers pulled out their phones and started taking pictures when they saw Keagan running down the tunnel with his arms opened wide. 

Wes asked this morning,"What happened? Evan's like a teenager now?"

A year is a long time, and yet it seems like just yesterday he left.

What Time Is It?

This can only mean one thing....our excitement is overwhelming!

A Little Competition is Healthy, Right?

I think my older son has a psychomotor overexcitability, and if he really doesn't, then I am going to claim it's true anyway. The first person who will hear my excuse is the Sunday school teacher because on Sunday my boys were kicked out of Sunday school for being too competitive. I told the teacher of the week that playing racing games wasn't a good idea. I told her she might want to stick to something a little more traditional, like I don't know, maybe the Bible. But no one listened to me. Instead, she had to create some fun running game that caused both my boys, but especially my older son, to run like the wind and then throw taunts in the direction of the preschool girls as he lapped them for the third time. Because this behavior is not Christ like, my boys were sent to the corner to pray and ponder their behaviors.

What in the world would that gentle soul have done if she had seen me on the sidelines of Saturday's soccer games? She probably wouldn't have appreciated that yell to Keagan that went something like, "Push him back, Keagan!" and Get on him, Baby!" She probably would have required I light some prayer candles when Evan headed the corner kick into the goal for a point and I yelled so loudly I went dizzy.

Light your candles and pray all you want. I am the one who gets to experience a tiny slice of heaven every Saturday while sitting on the sidelines of the soccer field. The psychomotor overexcitability is just the fluff in the clouds of heaven.

A Star is Born

Another school play today. I truly believe they get worse with time, or maybe I have just become less tolerant of lip syncing and missed cues. On the bright side, though, no one lost his pants in the middle of the show in front of 350 people. You might recall that is exactly what happened at last year's performance.

At today's Cars 2 production, Keagan played the role of Lightening McQueen.

Keagan Jammin' with Mater's Band

He received all kinds of congratulations with his performance, and to his credit, he did nail all of his lines. However, he was on quite a power trip with that mic tied around his ear. After the show, he walked around the gym thanking the production crew for a job well done AND shaking their hands; all of this while wearing the mic. Then he walked around the gym patting the backs of his back up singers; all while wearing the mic. He even shook a couple of hands with audience members; all while wearing the mic. Needless to say, he had a hard time letting go of the mic.

There was this moment when he was jamming on stage with his Paper Jams guitar, and I think he had a quick inclination to be on "Shake it Up." I say quick only because I hope it was a quick desire.

Mater and McQueen

While we were leaving the stage, he told the computer teacher, "I remembered all of my lines, but I was so good that I even got a few laughs."

Humble he is not;especially while wearing the mic.

Keagan and Cameron

But I'll take a power trip over lost pants any day.

Congratulations, Keagan! You were one awesome Lightning McQueen!

Time for the End

The time to leave Kuwait is drawing even closer. Today was the change in command ceremony. Hopefully someone has some better pictures than this, but for now, this is all I have.

Wes was awarded the Order of the Marechaussee; it was a complete surprise for him! What an honor!

Very good.

Living at the Beach

Guess what we did this weekend?

I guess it goes without saying that we played soccer! I remember when I used to write that we actually did more than just play soccer, but that is no longer true. In fact, at last weekend's tournament I almost bought a soccer mom t-shirt that bemoaned the smell of dirty cleats and lauded the invention of air fresheners, something I find myself doing every single day of my life. I realized I had hit an all time low coveting the cheap apparel stand; it took all I had to say no to the shirt.

However, this weekend our fields had a view of the ocean that was to die for. I commented,  "It is going to be a sad day when we have to leave Georgia."

And then I said, "Sweet MaryJosephJesus, did I just say that I hate to leave Georgia?"
Yes. Yes, I did.  Truth be told, I could totally live in Georgia, sand gnats, fire ants, and all, if we were living on the coast. Evan could too. He told me Saturday night, as we drove along the coast, "Mom, this is where I want to live!" Oh, how we are cut from the same cloth!

By the way, Evan's team tied all three weekend games: 1-1, 1-1, and 1-1. Evan had a header in game three that just bounced off the cross bar. I almost died and found my way to soccer heaven.

We won't even talk about Keagan's team. I almost died at one of his games, too, but it was for completely different reasons. 

We do it all over again next weekend.

'02 Boys Wear Pink Socks in honor of cancer awareness

Calculator Fun

Evan: "MOM, I DID IT! I actually figured it out!"

Me: "What's that, honey?"

Evan: "I learned how to spell boobies on the calculator!"

Never have I been prouder! Until he said, "Can I take this calculator to school tomorrow?"

So many possible scenarios are running through my head right now, and not a one of them ends well.

Thanks to Columbus I Ate Very Well This Weekend

My parents spent the long holiday weekend with us. Thank you Christopher Columbus for sailing the mighty blue; there's nothing I like more than having a day off. I think we just spent four days, though, doing nothing but eating and watching sports. In other words, it was near perfection. Evan told me this morning, "You know, Mom, Opa really gets into the soccer games. I could hear him yelling my name all weekend. Now I know where you get it."

He has no idea. He should have been around when Opa coached softball. There was a whole lot more than just yelling my name taking place while he stood propped up against the dugout. I think I still have the scar to prove it.

Slim Jim Magic

Either the soccer Gods were on our side today or beef jerkey has some magical powers because after Evan had five Slim Jim sticks for breakfast, he had one good game.

You wouldn't know that he just had two assists looking at this picture, but I think this is his I'm-coming-back-for-more face. He was fierce today, tongue and all. Thanks to Mr. Columbus we get to spend the day at home tomorrow reliving the win, and I have the opportunity to restore my supply of beef jerky.

The Habits of Soccer Greats

Another weekend spent on the soccer field. The only way life could get better is if we actually won a game.  

  Evan loves soccer, but he can take a habit of a basketball great and make it his own. 

We are hoping for a win today. With the help of the tongue, we might just have a chance.