First Day of School

Can you even believe that I have 2 more in high school?? (The PC answer is, "absolutely not, Alesia, there is no way you are old enough to have kids that old!")

Well, thanks for the compliment, but I do, in fact, have 2 more in high school this year. And quite the crazy lot they are, too!

The twins were up an at 'em, ready to go bright an early Thursday morning. Keegan was loving his green shoes and Connor felt cool that his friends and he had all decided to wear black shirts and khaki pants. Silly boys. Their friends came to meet up with them and off they skipped to the bus stop. Don't tell them I told you about the skipping, they'll deny it, but I promise I saw skipping. Oh, wait. Maybe that was me!

Samantha is in 7th grade this year. Geez. Such a fabulous little teenager. Not technically but she will be at the end of September and she's practicing to be perfect at it now. She's excited to be alone in middle school without her brothers there to overshadow her. It's so great to see the kids become their own people and make their own reputation.

John started 4th grade this year. Or maybe that was Cili but John sure looked lovely in the pink backpack...Cili was excited and really loves her teacher.

The kids came home from school and we spent about 2 hours listening as one-by-one they told their stories of the day. It's funny because Cili will tell us all the great things about her class and the stuff her teacher did last year and will hopefully do this year. Sammi talks about how her teachers look. Keegan can't even tell me some of his classes, he's apparently happy he stayed awake. He remembered every silly, stupid thing that his PE coach said, though. Oh, and he got put in one of his alternate classes, piano, and seriously hates it. Something about his mom playing and teaching piano (but not my own kids!) should make him want to learn a bit but he doesn't want to. I told him he had signed up for his alternates and I wanted him to stay in the class. He is also looking forward to JROTC.

Connor has a very social school year starting. One of his teachers said (according to him, anyway) that she was glad to have him in her class because he'd bring a lot of interesting arguments. Does that tell you how he started that class? Yeah, me too. But really, he told more stories of people than school so hopefully everything went well.

Samantha went on about which of her girlfriends were in her class and which teachers are fruitcakes and how much her teachers from last year were happy to see her. She's fabulous. She can't believe that I am not substituting her Geography class because she hates the long-term sub in that class. She said since I love geography so much I should go threaten to punch them in the face if they don't let me teach it. Silly girl. Love her.

Cili is the lucky one (in my opinion) who gets to have her mom and dad take her in to class. I guess I only get to do that for a couple more years and then they won't need me anymore for that. Boo. But it's fun to go in and watch her interact with the kids in class as she's getting settled. I know a lot of the kids in her class from teaching at the school for the last couple of years. It's great. She is looking forward to the year and she has a great teacher!

After we got the kids dropped off we went to eat and then, well, the car fire blog explains it all.

Have a great year kiddoes!!!

One HOTTTT August!

Today was the first day of school for the kids. I'll post pics of that later. The craziness that happened today was 3 short hours after I got Cili off to start 4th grade.

My friend, Marie, and her baby Preston, and I went to breakfast at IHOP to celebrate all the kids going to school. It was lovely. I miss IHOP. That was mine and Jenn's spot to eat and study...sigh...OK, enough of memory lane.

I took our van in to get a tune up last week. It was sputtering and I wanted to know why. Also it had a squealing sound and we wanted that looked at, too. The shop called me the following day to say the squeal was a belt and they'd replaced it. They then called back and said the squeal was the A/C compressor and it neeed replacing. Cost for replacing that and the receiver dryer (dunno, just a part that they need for the A/C) was going to be about $729. After I choked and regained my composure (and John told me to just suck it up and let them do the work that needed to be done) we gave them the authorization. That was like...Wednesday the 29th. On Friday the 31st I called them and asked for an update. I was on my way to Kansas (pics of that to follow later...cut me some slack) with a friend and needed to know if I'd have a car when I got back. He said they got the A/C fixed up and it was charging and should be done Monday morning. Then they'd drive it and see if they could figure out the sputtering. He said it hadn't done it at all since they'd had it there. I found that hard to believe since it was doing it all the time, dying at stops and everything. But, OK, I will trust the mechanics.

Well, Monday came and went with nothing. Same with Tuesday. Finally, I called them on Wednesday, August 5th first thing in the morning and asked for an update. They said they thought it just needed a tune-up. I asked how much. They said the total was going to be $1100!!! I asked them what the hell they could be doing with a tune-up for $400. I let John talk to them. They told him that it was getting all new stuff because the parts in the car were original and it's 10 years old. Rotor, distributor cap, wires, etc. John was satisfied with their answer and we really thought if we put the money into it we'd be able to drive the car for a couple more years. John told them that we needed the car back by the end of the day because we had kids starting school and we needed to drive them. They called him at 4:20 and told him he could pick up the car.

We left the auto shop about 4:45 PM on Wednesday $1100 lighter. As soon as John got to the house and the car was idling it started to sputter and it died. I was already really mad about the pricing for some of the work they did ($89.70 for spark plugs and $56.25 for labor!!) so I was pretty torqued that they hadn't even fixed what we took it in for! John said he'd call in the morning. He called me while I was having breakfast with my friend to tell me that he'd called the shop and said he wanted the fuel injectors cleaned and asked how much it would cost and they said just to bring the car in.

That would have been lovely. The problem is that the car was choking so bad that after I put gas in it (filled it up, $40) I couldn't go faster than 20 mph and she died at every traffic signal. By the time we got to the entry gate nearest our home there was smoke pouring in the car. I called John and said I was just going straight home and he could sort it out when he got home. I told him about the smoke and he agreed that I just needed to try to get home.

We coasted to my little parking spot in front of my house. I tried to get into the driveway but my car wouldn't have it, she kept dying as I tried to drive. Marie told me it wasn't gonna happen so we just let her coast into her regular spot. I popped the hood to see if I could see where the smoke was coming from and I couldn't tell. The engine looked ok! Then I shut the hood and the mailman walked by. He asked where the smoke was coming from and I told him I didn't know. He asked me to pop the hood again.

Once the mailman looked under the hood the first thing he said is, "This is coming from your A/C!" I couldn't believe what he had just said! He didn't know what work I'd just had done! Then he said, "Ma'am you need to call the fire department, this car is on fire." Very calm. Me? Not so much. I called 911 and told them what was up. It seemed to take forever for them to get to our house. Within a few minutes the whole car was engulfed in flames. We hadn't been out of that car for 10 minutes when it was totally engulfed. Within a few minutes the windows were exploding and I was freaking out!

I called John and told him the car was on fire and he said he was on his way home. When he got there the whole street was blocked off.

Crazy!!

Meanwhile, the car was burnt to a crisp and John called the shop that had done the work and told them. He told them to come pick up the car. After I called the insurance company I called the shop to say that the insurance company would be picking up the vehicle. John got on the phone and asked if we would have to pay for towing. The auto shop advised John we owed them $50 for towing the burnt up car! Yes! Can you believe this?!?!?

Here's what the car looked like when it was all over...this is my seat! Notice no steering wheel? Yeah, my iPod is melted in somewhere too....Looking in from the rear you see the bench seat frame, the captain's chairs in the middle...and the front dash.

So, while the kids were having a lovely day at school I was darkening the skies of Fort Campbell with smoke from my burning vehicle. The auto shop will not be off the hook. I will not back down from this fight. But...for this moment, what's done is done. I have a rental, everyone in the car was safe, our home is safe. It could have been worse and I'm thankful for the miracles that saved us from that!

Needless to say, it was super HOT at our house today!!

Beautiful scenery

So I finally gave in and went to the lake where John has been taking the kids fishing for the last 6 weeks or so. I was so glad I did. It's really beautiful! I don't know why I am so stubborn...I usually find out after that I have been missing out...argh! First they go to a little pond and catch a bunch of very small bass that they then run to the Jeep, put in a bucket of water, and rush to Kyle Lake on Fort Campbell to stock it with bass. John is thinking that if he stocks it with nice small bass now, when he returns from his next deployment he'll have a lake full of whoppers! The first pic is bye Kyle Lake and the other 2 are the little pond. I wish you could see how beautiful it really was with the sun setting. The water was like glass. I sat listening to (and reading to follow along) the audiobook version of Les Miserables and could hear Cili and John as they made their way around the pond - stopping to fish for a few minutes and then moving to another spot. Cecilia, of course, is adorable as she hollers from the opposite side, "Mom! This is my lucky spot! I have caught 3 already here!" John had not had his hook in the water 3 minutes when he pulled out his first fish. This is something the two of them enjoy doing together and I felt privileged to be able to witness that bond they share.

This video is Cili running up with the string of fish. She is bringing them from the last spot they fished and wants to put them in the water really quick while John gets the bucket ready for them.


The absolute joys of motherhood!!

Family visit! Yay!

I have to admit, we don't get much family up this way. We aren't too far away, but it's just far enough that it's kind of a pain in the rump to get anyone here. Well, that all changed this weekend! John's nephew, Brian, lives near Knoxville. His wife, Lori, emailed one day and said she thought it would be neat if we could surprise the guys and get Brian and John together before everyone went back to school in August.

It was really the coolest thing to have John FINALLY not know about a surprise!! Brian and Lori showed up at the barn and I said, "Hey, there are some people here I think you should meet." John looked over and it took him about a second and a half to realize who he was looking at.

Brian is, seriously, like John's twin. It's amazing how much they look alike.

Well, anyway, they came with their beautiful son, Aidan, who is 21 months old. It's been fun to have a baby in the house, but he talks like a 6 year old! What a smart little guy he is! He repeats every word and has a vocabulary that rivals my kids! What does that say for our school system? Eek!

Brian used to have horses so I got Ellie saddled first thing so Brian could ride. He rode Aidan around on her in the arena at the barn. Aidan was having so much fun. It was fun to watch.







Brian and John took the horses out to ride at Kyle Lake on Fort Campbell. It was the first time John had Charlie out on the trail and I was looking forward to him going with his nephew. We haven't seen Brian since 2003, this was quite a treat.

While the guys were gone, Lori, the girls, and I walked Aidan to the little playground by our house. He had a blast going down the slide and swinging!



The guys came back and drove by the playground. Aidan was so excited to see his daddy, and almost just as excited to get to ride in the "Jeepers!"

We grilled out and then had a lovely visit. It has been so nice to have them here! I suppose I need to get pictures of John and Brian posted here...more to follow!

The ultimate sacrifice and the love of friends

On a sad note...I traveled to Georgia last week for a quick overnight trip to pay my respects to a soldier who was killed in Afghanistan. This was the husband of a good friend of mine during John's first deployment. These kinds of things make the war a very real thing and I struggle with it on a regular basis. My love and support to Donna and to 1SG John D. Blair, thank you for your sacrifice and may you rest in peace.

I was able, while I was there, to connect with some friends that shared John's last deployment with me. Cathey, Michelle, Rhonda, Dee, Larry...it was so good to see them all. The Georgia Guard is in Afghanistan now and I know they are missing their soldiers. Everyone was so supportive of our guys during that first trip to Iraq, but I miss being able to share that sisterhood with these women this time around. Thank you for all that you have done for me and given me, I cannot express my love enough.

I was also able to see Lynn, Mark, and Claire Patterson, Nancy Bauer, and my sister-at-heart Jenn and her three girls, Morgan, Sophia, and Kate. I miss you guys so much!! Honestly it makes me cry to think about you all and how much I miss you!

I've posted a couple of pics to share these very important people in my life.

Ketchup, Catsup, no...Catch-Up!

Yep, I'm a slacker!!! As if you didn't know...ha!

I will just have to give a quick update and then I promise to be much more consistent.

For starters, Cili was baptized on the 26th of June. That is such a great moment for me but also a little sad. Every first thing, major milestone, or learned thing for Cili will be the last first time for our family. Someday my kids will have kids of their own and they'll get to have those "firsts" too, but for now it's the end of an era. It's sad for me. Honestly, she is such a good girl that I have really enjoyed every moment of her and I hate to see those fleeting moments pass. They don't realize what the moments mean, how important they really are, but I sure do!

John had a little surprise from his head injury in March. He apparently suffered a couple of small seizures! We didn't know that's what they were, he was having some issues with his face going numb so we went to the ER. There they found that he had a subdural hematoma (bleeding on his brain) and the pressure of the fluid there was causing these seizures. They rushed him to the CCU at Skyline Medical Center and he stayed for a couple of days. As you can tell by this picture, he was really not concerned about his health! He felt fine! They let him go but we went back for a CT a week later and were relieved to hear the hematoma was absorbing and had gotten smaller. We head back to the neurosurgeon tomorrow to have another look.

It was very scary for me, though, they had him hooked up to every monitor imaginable. My dumb brain kept thinking "what if" instead of "whew we caught it" so I was really distracted by the whole mess. We are all glad he's on the mend!


I have been enjoying taking Ellie out to ride. My friend Carol and I recently went to Land Between the Lakes (www.lbl.org) to ride our horses and just had a great time.

It's so beautiful and peaceful. I let Ellie stop to get a little drink and she walked right in the lake. If I hadn't pulled on her rope I swear she'd have kept going! She was pawing at the water and finally buckled both front knees to lay down!! I had to pull her back up since she was saddled and I still needed to get back on her to ride the last 2 miles of the trail back to the truck!

John and the kids painted the trailer we bought. It's bright (as one person said it looks liked Rainbow Brite exploded all over it) but they love it. We are happy to have our own trailer and maybe someday I'll actually be able to back the Jeep up to it and hook it up...

Why I love spring!

Aside from the obvious reasons of warmer climate, I love to be able to get outside and enjoy the day. Summer gets so hot and humid that it's impossible to enjoy yourself unless you are at a pool or by a lake. Winter is just cold and icky. Spring is the most amazing thing. The grass goes from a miserable brownish tinged, crunchy, tundra-like wasteland to - and this is especially amazing in Kentucky - a beautiful, bright, fresh, aromatic green. Here the green is nearly flourescent. It's like neon green and just grows so quickly. It's fabulous!

I watch for the robins. There are some birds that stick around all winter. You know it's springtime, however, when you see robins. The red-breasted birds come out as the weather turns warmer and you know it's going to continue with that trend. I get excited, giddy even!

Another bonus is the time change. I hate losing an hour when it first gets snatched away, but the sunset at 7:30 PM is wonderful! It's allowed us to spend more time actually working with the horses. I have been training Ellie and every nice day (that is sans rain or snow or, as in this past Saturday, hail and tornadoes!) I spend a couple of hours in the round pen giving her some lessons and tuning her so she's easier to control and ride. I've added some pictures here of us tonight. The girl on Ellie is Morgan Bailey. Morgan is Cili's friend. Her mom, Merideth, and I are close friends and Morgan comes over every morning when Merideth goes to work. She and Cili walk to school together or I drive them if I'm working. She comes after school until her mom gets home from work so she spends lots of afternoons at the barn with us. In one photo is John leaning on Lady. It's hard because she's too young to ride so she just needs ground training, but when the pen is muddy it's difficult. There's been a lot of rain this week so the ground is just muck and yuck right now!!