St. Paddy's Day Skiing

Okay, so it was one of the warmest winters in history. That didn't stop me from teaching the kids how to ski this year.  It was perfect, they didn't complain about it being cold. It wasn't crowded, and the slopes weren't icy. 

Story of my life, Ryan was working, but that didn't stop me from planning a trip with my mother-in-law.  It was both her and my birthday weekend, and more importantly she hadn't had a chance to meet Gabriel yet.  I brought along my good friend Siusan to help balance out the adult to child ratio.  I owe her a huge debt of gratitude. I am sure it was not sure idea of dream ski vacation, but she was huge help to me and the kids.

 

Motley crew of skiers

We checked out Winterplace, WV.  It was a good halfway point and just off the main highway.  I got a great deal on a slope side condo. Which would have been even better if there would have been enough snow on the ground to ski-in and ski-out.  Winterplace provided daycare for Gabe and ski school starting at Age 4, so we convinced Casey to day say that he was 4. That will probably come around to bite me in the butt next month on his actual birthday. 

Ski darts



So graceful

Getting the hang of it

He loved skiing between my legs and going faster.

This guy was all about "ice skating" and the "roller coaster" (skiing and the chair lift).

Lizzy and Ava were cleared to ride the lift solo

All three kids completed two half days of ski school.  Much like swimming, I couldn't get Lizzy off the slopes. Both Ava and Casey enjoyed it and did really well, but were tired by early afternoon and preferred to hang out with Gina-Mom and eat cookies and drink chocolate milk.

Crazy Katie-skiing in shorts!

 It was such a great trip, that when I came back I told Ryan we should buy a ski condo to go along with our beach condo.  This is definitely a family trip to repeat next year.

February Birthdays

Oma and Opa made the trip to North Carolina to celebrate the birthdays of the first and the (currently) last of their great grand babies.   They saw Elizabeth the day after she was born, but this was their first opportunity to meet Gabriel, and we were so happy to have them with us to celebrate.  Ryan was training for part of the week in VA, but at least we had plenty of cake to save him a piece.



The big number 7 for this Valentine's baby.  Once again, I threw the Valentine's Day party at school in lieu of big party for her and her friends.  One of these day, she might complain that she is getting ripped off, but in the meantime this works really well for me. We did a nice family dinner at home and had a mangled cake. Usually, I leave the baking to Ryan.

Four days later, we celebrated this little guy's first birthday.  Taking after his oldest sister, Gabriel started walking before his 1st birthday. Like his brother, he doesn't have a lot to say at this age. He is adorable when he is not crying, and is a true mama's boy.   He eventually warmed up to the strange folks in the house, but refused to eat his birthday cake.  He missed out, because it was the one cake I can bake flawlessly.  I always use my Grandmother's Angle Food cake pan and it has never failed me. 

The whole week was enjoyable. With a special lunch with the girls at school, a trip to the museum, and swimming lessons. Lots of book reading, Lego building, bracelet making, and car racing. I am so glad that they had this special time to spend with the kids, and that my children have this time to build a relationship with their Great Grandparents.

Yearly Wrap Up

I recently got hooked on the TV show Dirty Jobs, which has made me reflect on the different jobs I have held in life. One of the worst I’ve had to endure was what we facetiously referred to as the Al Doura 400. As the Iraqi parliament was signing their Interim Constitution I had to do continuous patrolling until all VIPs left the Green Zone. Politicians are politicians regardless of the country and this was predictably longer than we were told to plan. During this 30+ hour span I drove in circles on one of the most IED’d roads in the world with the goal of making an easy target to draw fire and save the VIPs from being targeted. It was essentially a NASCAR race, “Go fast, turn left, go faster, don’t crash (or get blown up)!”

This year the green flag dropped as we awaited the arrival of #4. Kristin held hope that this one would not be 41+ weeks and she’d give birth “early.” Labor started in earnest just in time to have our 2nd Valentine’s Day baby but abruptly stopped. In true Kristin fashion she was determined to shape things her way. When we got back from the hospital after walking all night she diligently went about raking and bagging leaves trying to get labor started again. After 2 hours of watching my 41 week pregnant wife rake and bag leaves I reluctantly decided to help. In our 3rd year in TX, it was the first time she’d picked up a rake and part of me just wanted to take advantage of her motivation to work. Still, no baby, but one tired, dusty, frustrated wife/mother convinced she would begin labor that night when she was exhausted from all her work and wouldn’t sleep for a 2nd night. He eventually joined us 4 days later, on his schedule, in his own way, with his own drama – welcome Gabriel Victor.

Go fast – Less than 2 weeks after Gabe’s birth I took off for 3 weeks in North Carolina to learn about my new job. While I was playing Army and out of touch, Kristin was left trying to figure out the routine of 3 kids plus a new baby. I came home for 2 days then left again for 3 weeks to New York City on a residency rotation. I got to visit some friends at West Point and just missed getting a chance to visit with my sister at Marist just up the road. This was followed by a week in Las Vegas for a conference. A brief 1 day stop at home was followed by a month in Austin, a month home, and a 2nd month in Austin. When I finally returned home I was carefully scanning for IEDs everywhere I turned. A glancing blow came in May when we took the girls to try Mutton Bustin’. Ava was thrilled to get a new pair of fashionable skinny jeans and a cowgirl shirt and Lizzy was just ready to ride a sheep. Lizzy fell off after making a great 6 second ride and immediately started crying. I was the embarrassed dad that had the crying girl so I angrily told her to stop. When she wouldn’t use her right arm to eat ice cream I knew something was wrong. After a few attempts at moving her arm in the stands I knew we’d be going to the ER. Lizzy wanted to see the bull riding so we waited till the end. She had said the day before she wanted to break her arm and got her wish – a broken humerus (upper arm) was the result. She handled it like a champ and was back to throwing a ball with that arm in under a month.

Turn left – I was closing the chapter of Residency and our family was packing to leave Texas after 3 wonderful years. Like our last move, we decided to vacation in conjunction with moving. This time we headed to Colorado with the Zielinski family to stomp around the mountains, tour a microbrew, and celebrate the 4th of July. The kids did a fantastic job hiking the mountains – they continue to amaze me with how far they are capable of walking. Our welcome home was the packers arriving the next day. Have you ever wondered how you accumulate so much stuff? We said our goodbye to some wonderful neighbors, fantastic friends, and our Texas family and started the cross country trek with 4 kids and a dog. Our new home in NC was utterly filthy when we arrived. I spent 2 whole days cleaning before I could stand to move on to other chores. I am still mystified by the filth that the previous owners were content to live in. Have you ever painted a room only to notice the 2nd can of paint was a shade lighter and had to throw it out and start over? Boom, yeah I hit that IED! Thankfully some local friends, Siusan and Lee put up with our family, entertained the kids, and housed us while we got the house livable.

Go faster – I hadn’t even finished inprocessing the hospital when I packed my gear to go away for my first time. This one only lasted 3 weeks but I returned only to start working in the ER unsupervised (yeah, scary) for the first time. Now it was Kristin’s time to say goodbye. Her work contract was wrapping up which meant she had to travel to DC. This was followed by a stint with the Marine Corps in Romania and Germany – Did you know Oktoberfest goes on in Munich in September? Also, congratulate her on her promotion to Major! In addition to visiting her sister, Kay, and going to Oktoberfest she also got to tour Romania including Dracula’s castle. Meanwhile I was left with our fast paced life of left turns – school, swim lessons, house repairs, homework, dinners, backyard catching on fire, multiple episodes of vomiting, and a flat tire. Kristin did come back, and then left again the next day. We did manage a getaway together, again, thanks to Siusan and Lee. They both displayed extreme bravery agreeing to watch our 4 monsters as we ventured back to West Point for our 10 year reunion – yeah, it’s been that long.

As the Al Doura 400 winds down the last phrase comes to mind, “Don’t crash or get blown up!” November was filled with renovations as we ripped out our kitchen, main bath, and deck all at once. Kristin’s uncle, Neil, came to lead the project and he got to see firsthand the chaos of the Knight family and the business side of his niece. Together, Kristin and Uncle Neil demolished our home, then piece by piece, put it back together. Kristin got to learn tile work, electric, plumbing, cabinetry, and design. Although not 100% complete, it is nice to be able to wash dishes, not eat off of paper plates, and cook a meal. I christened the kitchen by cooking Thanksgiving dinner including a 20lb turkey. About the time you get this the kids will be finished eating the leftovers and will swear off turkey until next Thanksgiving. December comes and I will close the year at another Army school away from the family. Although full of “easy” left turns, this year has been fast paced, and full of separation and change. We managed to not hit the big one but are left with more left turns ahead. Lizzy is expanding her artistic talents and constantly creating unique drawings. Ava has grown leaps and bounds since starting Kindergarten – she has started reading and learned to ride a bike. Casey is still a ball of energy and does everything to keep up with the girls. Gabey Baby is crawling, exploring, and growing. I’m trying to learn how to be a doctor and a soldier – one day I’ll be able to fake my way through one of them. Kristin is the glue that holds this chaos together and is trying to figure out where her career will go.

Construction Paper Queen

 

I have been meaning to bring this up for awhile. This girl can make anything out of construction paper. Give her some construction paper, crayons, and tape, her imagination will do the rest.  I wish I had some more pictures of the things that she has done. They are truly amazing.

Here are some examples: 

(Remember, these are all created with nothing more than construction  paper, crayons, and tape)

• Big screen t.v. with a football game drawn inside. Go Bengals!
• A football (stuffed for a 3D effect)
• Campfire with wood logs, tri-colored flames.  Sticks and marshmallows to roast
• Dark Vader mask and cape
• Princess crowns and Indian head dresses
• Seascape backdrop with ocean, sun, palm tree and umbrella.  Coconuts with straws for drinking
• Skateboard w/ wheels
• Money and a wallet for storage
• Disguise for spying
• Glasses (b/c her friend wears them)
• Super hero capes

I am sure I am forgetting a bunch.  Ryan and I are astounded with her artistic ability and imagination.  We love it when she says "I can just make that."  Those are great words to hear instead of "Can you buy me that?" We will gladly keep her stocked with construction paper and tape.  It is a small price to pay to see the gems that she creates.

Happy Halloween

What do to an elf, a candy corn, a pirate, and a lamb have in common? Not much other than they are easy costumes to create the night before Halloween. I believe the kids originally wanted to be a vampire, a princess, and a tractor, but they kindly scaled back their ideas this year given that I didn't have a lot of time to work on costumes this year due to all my travels.

Gabe didn't have an opinion, so I just recycled Elizabeth's first Halloween costume. One key difference was Elizabeth was standing without support. Gabe isn't there yet.

Elizabeth, 9 months, 2005

Despite being born on Valentine's Day, Elizabeth's favorite holidays are Halloween and Christmas, so she decided to combine the two for her costume. She came up with the idea of stripes and pom pom buttons. I suggested candy corn to Ava. She wasn't sure about it, but willing to go along with it because I said short dress and tights.

Casey has had a thing for pirates lately and I figured that I could whip up some pants and a vest real quick. Knowing that we had some accessories in our dress up box. Ryan really enjoys Halloween but had to work, which left me trying to figure out how to take the kids trick-or-treating and pass out candy. My solution was to take the kids downtown to trick-or-treat at the local shop from 4-6pm, and then be then be home to hand out candy. Only I didn't bet on two things: 1)Rain 2) Gabriel getting sick.

The rain started in the morning, and around lunch time I got a call from daycare that Gabriel was running a fever of 102 and that I had to pick him up. He was a miserable little kid all afternoon. However, the older ones were just as miserable when I mentioned that we probably shouldn't go trick or treating because Gabriel was sick and it was pouring. I tried to get their mind off trick or treating by offering to make Halloween cupcakes or have a candy hunt around the house. They really didn't buy my ideas, so at 5: 45pm we packed up the car and drove the couple of miles to downtown Fayetteville. There the kids trick or treated the three blocks of shops. It worked out perfectly. Pedestrian traffic was light because of the rain and the shops were getting ready to close, so store owners were passing out a ton of candy. The kids had small bags, to they filled them up quickly. Within 30 minutes they had amassed a full bag of candy and were cold and wet and ready to go home. Our last store we stopped at was make you own jewelry store, they were passing out goodies bags and invited us in to warm up and partake in cupcakes that had been donated by the bakery across the street that had closed at 5pm. I love small towns. 

By 6:30pm we were home. I got Gabe off to bed, and worked on homework and dinner with the kids. Casey took on the role of candy distributor to the souls who braved the cold, dark, and rain to collect their loot. Please excuse the pictures they were taken after the kids wore their Halloween costumes all day at school, and trick or treated in the rain.

Another Milestone

Ava is on a roll. 
1^st Day of School 
Learning to ride a two wheeler 
Losing her 1^st tooth!

Look Mom!

While I was away in Romania. Ava learned to ride a two wheeler. She was very proud to show off when I got home. Ryan had been taking the kids to the playground a couple of nights a week and working on bike riding with Ava. It is fantastic to have an elementary school right behind our house. Starting is still a bit of an issue for her, but overall she's got it down pat.

Oktoberfest

I swear I didn't book the tickets, I just made the best of the situation. The Marine Corps Reserves uses a travel agency that is known for coming up with the most complex, idiotic, and inconvenient travel itineraries. While is it completely possible to fly from Romania back to North Carolina in one day, they had me spend the night in Munich, Germany. My layover just happened to coincide with the last weekend of Oktoberfest, and my sister happens to live in Germany an 1 ½ away from Munich. So I told her to get her butt in the car and drive down to visit with me. She brought the dirndls and mastery of the German language and off we went to the mother of all beer fests. There we finagled our way into a beer tent, made some new friends so that we could find a table, and enjoyed and evening of big beers, giant pretzels, and dancing on tables. One fact that I couldn't get over was that the band played more America songs, than German polka music.

Romania

Romanian Summer Palace: Actually built in the early 1900 complete with central vacuum system and movie theater

Dracula’s Castle

Vlad the Impaler’s burial place, small monastery on an island

Bucharest: Old Inn 

Bucharest: Parliament Building it rivals the Pentagon in size

While my job was to ensure that 120 Marines and their equipment got home safe and sound from Romania, my real goal was to explore Romania.  For most of my stint in Romania, I lived and worked on a small U.S. military base next to an airport, but I did get two days at the end to explore a bit. I really liked what I saw.

As far as cities go, I liked Tallinn, Estonia better, but Bucharest has its charm. Most of the medieval city (1500's) has been destroyed, but the old (1800's) part of the city is lovely and they are doing a lot to revitalize the area.  However, you don't need to walk far to see the marks that communism left on this capital city.  The communists built lots of huge buildings but none of it is pretty by normal conventions. Still, there is a beautiful city park and a lake, and lots of tree lined boulevards.

Once you get of of Bucharest and away from the traffic you will still find Romanian who drive mule carts.  As you move towards the mountains you will find gypsy communities, citadels and castles high on the hills.  Towns like Brasov are much more quaint and charming with their old town square, city walls, and cobble stone streets.  The small mountain communities remind me of pictures of the Swiss Alp villages.  I wish I could have explored farther north and west. Romania has a lot to offer in terms of history, hiking, caving, birdwatching, and boating.

The make claims about great beaches on the Black Sea. I wasn't impressed with where I went to put my toes in the sand, but I think exploring the Danube Delta would have been interesting site in eastern Romania.

Overall, this would be a country that I wouldn't mind coming back with Ryan to explore for a week.

Labor Day

After Ryan watched the kids all week, I thought I would give him a break for the weekend, so the kids and I took off for a long weekend at the beach. Actually, Ryan just wasn't allowed to leave Fayetteville. The family time would have been nice, but we didn't want to pass up a nice weekend at the beach, since we won't be going down again until the end of October.

Gabe spent most of his days, snoozing on the beach. I wish I could have joined him, but someone had to keep a watchful eye on the other kids. The beach didn't disappoint. We were out from sun up to sun down every day. The kids played individually as well as together, and even met some old and new friends.

On Saturday night, we headed across the street to the local Tiki Bar for some free hot dogs and music. The kids then proceeded to steal all the bean bags from some folks playing corn hole.

Fighting and arguing were minimal, and they feel asleep each night as soon as their heads hit the pillow. Just the way I like it!

I can parent 4 kids, no problem. If only every day was a day at the beach.

Oh, and Elizabeth lost a tooth at the beach, but it turns out the tooth fairy doesn't stop by our beach house. The other side of the story is that I used up the last of my cash, buying a beer at the Sand Bar.

P.S. We had breakfast the last morning at the pier. While we were strolling out over the water, the kids managed to guilt two fishermen into letting them throw their catches back into the water. The kids have no problem eating fish, but they were a bit concerned about the fish flopping around on the deck gasping for breath. Lizzy was the only one brave enough to pick up the fish and toss them back, but they all felt better about letting the fish live another day.

Look what I can do

I leave for a week long business trip, and when I come back my baby boy can do all sorts of new tricks. Gabriel can now sit all by himself. He can almost transition between sitting and laying down and back again. He get up on all fours and rocks. He can definitely roll. If you leave him alone for 2 minutes he will be halfway across the room.

He can hold his own bottle. This a huge deal for me. I can pump and give him a bottle, so that I can get dinner ready. Half the time, the kids would get bored feeding him, and would run off to play, leaving me with a screaming baby and burning food.

Another big plus is that he is now sleeping 12 hours at night.

**Except for when I go on business trips, and he gets sick which leaves Ryan waking up every two hours. Not cool when you just finish working the 3pm-midnight shift.

Now for the stats, Gabriel is 6 months old. Weighing in at 15lbs. (15th %tile) and 25.5 inches (10th %tile). He seem so much bigger to me, than Casey was at this age, but I guess he is still a small fry.

First Day of School

Here we go, another school year. Now there are two in school.

My mom always made me wear a dress the first day of school to make a good impression. I suggested that to my daughters, but they didn't agree with my recommendation. They wanted to wear their new t-shirts. They said that they looked nice and they were comfortable. I couldn't fault them on their second point. Being able to play on the playground is very important, so I figured as long as they brushed their hair and teeth it really wasn't important what they wore. In typical Ava fashion, she opted for color coordinated t-shirt, leggings and sparkle shoes. Elizabeth still prefers eclectic fashions and went for cowboy boots, a skort, and a tie shirt. It says formal, yet fun. Sometimes, I can't believe these two are sisters. Ava will weary very few of Elizabeth's hand me downs, and they only have one identical outfit. My little girls are growing up, and I fun to watch their sense of style emerge, but sad that I can't dress them up anymore. Baby boys aren't that much fun to dress.

Elizabeth was a bit reserved about her first day of school. You do have to cut her some slack because she changed schools. She found school shopping boring, other than picking out a new backpack and outfit. Last year she carried a Transformer backpack all year. This year, she picked out a WWE backpack with John Cena on it. I asked her how she knew who John Cena was and her response it that she watched wrestling with daddy. A claim that Ryan denies.

Ava couldn't have been more excited. She talked about this day for a month straight. She was in heaven during school shopping, picking out a backpack (Princesses), crayons, folders, pencils, and a new outfit for school. While she was little reserved at meet the teacher, she had no fear when I dropped her off the first day. She is the child who will show you every worksheet she completed, every picture she colored, what she did, and what everyone one else did also. The hard part isn't getting her to tell you about her day, it is getting her to stop.

I hope the girls have a good school year. I have heard great things about Ava's teacher. The school is small, 170 kids with just Kinder and 1^st. Every teacher has a full time teacher's assistant, which is great when there are about 20 in each class. They have music, art, computer, library, and gym on a weekly basis, plus lots of field trips.

Ava's 5th Birthday

Ava said she wanted a surprise party this year for her birthday. She didn't want anyone to tell her when it was her birthday. Ava has a general concept of months and days of the week, but she doesn't understand dates yet, so surprising her on her birthday wasn't too difficult. No one talked about her birthday the week prior, and we didn't wish her happy birthday day when she woke up the day of her birthday. We just sent the kids off to daycare as usual while we worked. Ryan made a crown cake this year and decorated it with berries and candy for our little princess. She secretly wishes that she could have been born into nobility.

When I picked the kids up in the afternoon, I sent the others inside and asked Ava to help me with the garbage cans. Then we came in and when she walked up the stairs everyone one yelled surprise. She was surprised and very happy. We just had a small family celebration, and Ava was quite content with cake and some presents. Little things can make her so happy.

Goodbye Old House

We are out of here. Last morning in our old house. It is sold and destined for another family now. We are off to North Carolina for an at least a couple of years. We came to this house with 2 and a babe, and we leave with 3 and a babe. I promise we will not be adding any more kids after this move. Our fish, Pinky and Sharky, went to live with some friends. Sam the dog is coming with us. Texas has been wonderful to us. Good jobs, great schools and childcare, awesome friends, fantastic weather, and gracious family nearby. We can only hope that North Carolina can match at least half the list.

Colorado Vacation

Ryan's best friend, Mark, invited us to join him and his family on a vacation in Colorado for a week in July. In addition, his wife invited her cousin and her family out as well. The result was 9 kids, 6 adults, and pure chaos for the week. Someone was always hungry, tired, in tears, whining, fighting, or upset. Alcohol for the grown-ups and snacks for the kids made it all bearable.

Despite the amount of time it took to get everyone out the door, we did get to see and do a lot on our trip.

• The kids got to play in the snow and go sledding in JULY. We reaffirmed that Elizabeth loves the snow, and Casey hates being cold.

• We took some beautiful hikes and saw lots of waterfalls. The kids even did a six miler, which is not easy at 10K ft, and the first half of the hike is all up hill. Casey was a real trooper and completed every hike under his own power.

• We saw mountain goats. Elizabeth can climb like one. She and Ryan did a little bouldering adventure.
• We took in the Breckenridge 4th of July parade and fireworks. The fireworks were pretty weak, but the kids enjoy them and all the candy they got at the parade.
• The boys toured the New Belgium Brewery.
• We also took a tour of an old mine and learned about how to pan for gold. Ava found all sorts of pretty stones, but alas no gold. We also dropped in on "Old Town Days" in Frisco to learn more about the gold rush and the mining culture.

Run, and jump, and sled and play, while Gaby Baby slept the day away. Ten week old Gabriel spent most of his vacation in the back pack or in bed, so his adorable little face was not captured in any photos.