A Visit from Josh and Krista

It was so nice to have Josh and Krista home for the long Veteran's Day weekend. 

Krista is finally looking pregnant and she looks beautiful. We had hoped they would be able to join us for Thanksgiving but the Army is giving Josh Wed and Thurs off instead of Thurs and Friday.  His schooling is so intense he cannot afford to miss any class.  So far he seems to enjoy it and is keeping up his grades. It was interesting to see him speak and read Persian Farsi.  He tried to do a little homework while they were here. 

They are so excited about their baby boy, due March 7.

We had a fun weekend: we did a little baby shopping at Carter's, saw Skyfall - the new James Bond movie, (which was great) and then we went out to dinner at Cafe Rio in Redlands.  To top off the evening, Krista and I were victorious, as always when we played Sequence, boys against the girls.  Craig and Josh wanted a rematch the next night and once again, the girls triumphed.  Jamie would have been so proud of us!

Before we knew Josh and Krista were coming, we had planned to watch the boys for Melissa on Friday while she was at her Ragnar Race in Las Vegas. They were a little shy at first but Aunt Krista won them over in no time. The boys all love the old Marble Works (that our kids loved) and let our expert Josh set it up. 

It didn't take long for the wrestling to begin. . .

 

Austin was so happy to have a turn

The face of this child is so darling! He is such a sweet boy!

Greg & Melissa came over for Sunday dinner.  It was so nice to have the chairs filled around our table. Craig and I miss those glory days before eveyone moved to all parts of the country.  We like the show "Blue Bloods" with Tom Selleck.  In every show they have a big Sunday dinner with the entire family and we always look at each other with a heavy sigh -  missing those sweet days. 

Ben, Rebecca and Nick all have firstborn daughters.  Josh and Melissa are the only two who will have firstborn sons. 

 

So Cute It's Scary

Our daughters are so sweet to send us pictures of the kids that live so far away in Star, Idaho and DeRidder, Louisiana. We appreciate it more than they will ever know.  It is always such a treat to find a picture on my phone or in an email.   Here they are in this years Halloween costumes:

Paige is almost 8. She is Merida from the movie, BRAVE.

(It was Rebecca's first attempt at sewing a costume and it turned out so darling).

 

Claire is in kindergarten and she is Rapunzel - wedding dress version.

 

Little Miss 3 1/2 year old Reese is Jessie from Toy Story.

 

This Karen Sterling creation was Paige's originally, and all 3 girls have worn it now. It is a family heirloom!

 

Here they are all ready for tricks and treats.  I love the expressions on those cute faces.  Doesn't Paige's hair look great?  Rebecca had her sleep on sponge curlers and by the end of the day the curls had loosened to perfection.  Then Rebecca just used a red hair spray to get that Merida look.
 

 

 

This isn't from Halloween, but how darling is the sleeping Skye? She looks so grown up with her hair like this. She will be 2 in January.

 

Skye has the sweetest, cutest cheesey smile.  I got this outfit for her on sale and I had a coupon on top of that so I could not resist. Thank you Carter's. Her little pony tails are so fun. 

 

 

 Of course, Nick and Renee always have the cutest, thematic costumes. They are so creative! This year they were characters from Heman. Nick is Heman, of course. Renee was the Sorceress and Skye was Orko the ghost. ( I just noticed poor Nick had to buy those purple and gold shoes, oh dear)



Our Louisiana grandkids, Kaylee and Blake were Batgirl and Batman.  Blake wanted to be Batman and when Kaylee saw the matching Batgirl costume she joined in the fun.  These are fitting costumes because their Dad has always loved Batman.

6 year old Kaylee is Batgirl.

3 1/2 year old Blake is Batman.  Look at that darling smile. 

Last but not least are the darling neighbor boys, our super heroes.  6 1/2 year old Luke, 5 year old Dylan and 3 year old Austin stopped by to show us their costumes before they went Trick or Treating.

Luke is a Red Ninja, Dylan is Batman and Austin is Buzz Lightyear.  Austin had an attack of shyness and he would not wear his costume to our preschool party the day before.  No amount of bribery and/or threats would work.  Funny boys.