Recently....

...we have done many many things!!!

We enjoyed some delicious ice cream with great friends at a wonderful ice cream parlor in Pasadena. Look at how big this sundae is, it was really so good!

While there we saw a real railroad crossing with the lights flashing and everything!!

Sarah's hair has been growing, I have been testing out new things in her hair just trying to get her used to wearing something in her hair!

She also had a double ear infection and was very dizzy because of it, she had a run in with the concrete wall on our patio...SAD SAD DAY!

Cousin TUCKER finally came to visit us and it was a terrific time!

We went to a Tongan Party with pig roasting and everything...it was great to hang out with Derick's family and the food was really really good! We were glad to have Devin back for a bit before he is deployed, we will miss you and love you Devin!

What's Up Doc???

Just to let you know what we've been up to lately; Kurtis is taking an in-line skating class because it his first step in learning how to play hockey(the street variety). He is learning really fast and his balance is pretty good. He is has definitely had a growth spurt, he is doing well in school, and loves to play with friends when his school work is done.

Sarah's sign language videos have helped her build her vocabulary, especially of late. We love to see her sign car because she gets so excited and shakes. We also love when she tells us the noises animals make especially a duck because she says it like her Daddy when he does a Donald Duck impression. She can say a lot of words some of our favorites are bird, dog, crayon, Pops, Gigi, grandpa, juice, cracker, and water. She talks all the time and the signing comes in handy at church or other places where we should be keeping our volume down. Some of her favorite things to do are to read with Kurtis when he gets home, get her toe nails painted, and color or paint.

Last Christmas Post

I forgot to post our experience visiting Santa...so here it is!!!

Kurtis has never cried, he has been a little scared but never cried...so this was a fun new experience for us this year!! Aunt Jackie captured the video of her saying Mommy, and looking around like who is going to save me.

OUR Christmas Miracle

Tonight I was surfing the web and started reading this story

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20110116/us_time/httpnewsfeedtimecom20110113pilotwhocaresthemostheartwarmingairlinestoryof2011xidrssfullnationyahoo

(go ahead and read, I will wait...)

Ok, now this brings me to a personal story. For Christmas we normally try to go and visit my family on the East Coast so I purchased tickets way in advance for the kids and I because Derick had to work on Friday but it was cheaper to go on the Friday. Anyways, I had checked in and paid for my bags which made everything so super easy when I arrived to drop off the bags in a separate line with no wait, I had a terrific driver (THANK YOU ANNE) that waited with the children while I ran in and turned in the bags and we flew through security, finally we arrived at the gate and had an hour delay. In my mind I thought thats ok I can still make it to my lay over. Then that hour turned into an hour and a half....now I was cutting it a little close, I only had a two hour layover. I loaded up on food for the kids to eat on the plane, boarded as soon as the plane was ready and prayed that I would make it. Then the taxi time took another twenty minutes...cue the stress!! My son was an angel on the flight...Sarah had slept waiting for the plane (which would not had happened if the plane was on time) so she was awake and screaming for most of the flight. We land, they say the local time, and then I realize I literally have two YES I SAID TWO minutes to get to the gate. Now with just me this might be possible but me ALONE with two children, my five year old walking and my one year old in a stroller not as possible that I am going to make it. Needless to say, I find out what gate I need to be at and I tell Kurtis we must run...does he complain...No he just starts to run and we fly threw the airport. I am sure people are looking at me thinking I am crazy but I am trying to make it home to my family and spend Christmas with them...did I mention this is the last flight out of Cleveland so if I do not make this flight it is me in the airport sleeping with my two children??? Back to the story: we make it to the gate but there is no one there I run to the counter next to it and explain the flight I am trying to make and the lady says oh that is the flight that is taxing out right now....then she sees the tears starting to flow from my eyes. She used the phone and called the pilot and what seemed like hours but was only a few seconds quickly came to an end when the pilot decided to taxi back to the gate and pick us up. Which leads me to why I am typing this...THANK YOU pilot, thank you for coming back for me and my two children to be sure that I made it to my family and did not have to sleep in the airport with my two children. Thank you to the other passengers on the plane who didn't say anything to me and make me even more upset.

Thank you all, I know my story is not as emotional as the story I linked to but it meant something to me that the pilot came back and I wanted to express that!

VACATION!!!!

I hope that everyone has had a wonderful holiday season!!

We have needed a vacation for a while now and finally we got one. We have been loving our time in VA with my family (even though we miss Derick's family), the children have enjoyed getting to know their other cousins, we finally took some good family photos, it snowed on Christmas, and we RELAXED!

We hope everyone had a peaceful and safe holiday season. We are so blessed and thankful for all that we have, especially for our family and friends.

Happy New Year!

Sorry for not blogging

I know it has been a while we have been very busy with everything going on at the end of the year.

We went to the store and got the children matching Christmas Outfits...Thank you Grandma Pikula for Sarah's dress she wears it whenever she can because she loves to dress up!We celebrated Damon's birthday with a Carvel ICE CREAM CAKE!! It was triple chocolate, I could have (but didn't) eaten the entire cake.Kurtis' had his last soccer game!!Daddy did not have to go away for a weekend with the Army in December so we did fun family things every weekend...most of the time the children were attached to him like this.

We did a fun gingerbread man kit that Kurtis got at school, and that is where the fun stops because Sarah is sick now!! Here she is taking her own temperature...saying CHEESE!We are just hoping she is all better and has no fever by the end of the week because we jump on a plane to head for GG and POPS house!! We are very very very excited to see my side of the family it has been a while and to play in the snow!!!

Birthday Celebration!!

On Saturday we celebrated Kurtis' 5th Birthday with a party at the church. We had a lot of fun, and are so grateful for such great friends and family! Thank you all for your love, support and help with throwing a great party for our little man! With Sarah being born last year we kind of neglected his birthday, so this year we made up for it. He requested a bouncer, pinata and pizza; and we aim to please. Amy made an awesome tank birthday cake, as it is her tradition of making a birthday cake to match the party theme. She has outdone herself this year! Here are some pics from the occasion:

Our Recent Events...

Here are some photos that I found on the camera and forgot to blog about.

We went trick or treating a little bit on Halloween with our friends the McDowell's. One of their neighbors had a statue of THE PREDATOR. Sarah was terrified when Derick got close to it...it was funny.Here is Kurtis at his school Halloween parade.

When Sarah gets too tired she constantly lays her head on the couch its too cute and funny.
Kurtis' class has a pet bunny named Gus that we took a turn and brought home...yes he is a stuffed animal. We had fun and took him on all of our errands, and then we made cookies but some how the oven jumped from 350 to 425....and we burnt some. Oh well, over all it was a great night with Gus!!Sarah loves her bath time, she kicks, splashes, and just has a great time. When ever she splashes people she laughs so hard...