Updating this blog...

I just got an Iphone... & once I have something set up to upload my pictures & videos from the phone to the computer, I will be able to update this blog again.  How frequently, I really can't say! 

May God bless you & keep you this joyous holiday season...

From Recently Updated

So it's time to put up the x-mas lights, set up the tree, break out the advent wreath, & decorate the house with our festive tchotchkes.  Of course, the most important thing for the children is that list to Santa Claus!!  You are welcome to use the link below to peruse just exactly what the kids are asking for this year...

http://www.amazon.com/wishlist/3236ST0DPSQJZ/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go

From X-mas 2009

HSP Open House

The girls showed off some of their talents at HSP Open House last Sunday.

Finally.....

Okay, okay... I know I've been very bad about keeping the blog updated.  I don't really have any excuses... other than 'My dog ate my computer'.  Except I don't have a dog, and dogs don't really eat computers.  I suppose they could chew on the cables.  Or piddle on the hard drive....
Anyways!  Liesl's birthday was at the beginning of October and she YEARNED for a horse themed birthday party.  We were able to make it happen.  Reserved a party at the stables on base and rented 2 ponies for an hour.  The girls had a lot of fun!

At the end of October was.... Halloween!  The family went to a festival at a local museum, and they also went trick or treating in the neighborhood.  I think that this year, people must have drove in and 'shopped' for candy.  We ran out of candy in the first hour and Ray said he noticed a plethora of cars parked all over our neighborhood that are not normally there.  So we ended the evening turning off all the lights and hiding!!

And finally, the one thing you're really here for....  pictures of Daigh!  His first year album has been updated and there are additional pictures for you to peruse.  Enjoy.

On Wtih the Year

 Daigh John-Paul was born August 22, 2010 and I'm beginning a year long photo-album that will become his baby book. 

My First Year DJPM

Our Fun Family Ultrasound Trip....

Today we headed over to Hampton for a fun family ultrasound trip... the kids got to 'see' their brother for the first time... yes, it IS a boy!!  Ray says he has (or rather, we have) broken the fighter pilot curse at last...  I am posting the pictures from the visit... maybe I'll post the video later... it's a little bit better because some of the pictures move around a bit so you can see baby's face from different angles... and you get to see more of baby, it's torso & legs... anyway, enjoy!

Easter Video

Enjoy....

Happy Easter!

It was a lovely & warm weekend.  We had a busy weekend full of egg decorating, baking cookies, prepping for an Easter tea party, doing a family activity involving resurrection cookies, watching movies, & hunting for eggs.  We even found time to go to church. 

I am posting two albums here.... one from our amazing snow weekend back in February!  We got a LOT of snow and the kids had fun breaking out their snow clothes to play in the snow all weekend...



We also had fun just staying home for Christmas.  It was nice to relax while the kids played with their new toys...

Colum's Beach Album

Talent Show

As promised, I am uploading lots of pictures this month. Today, I am posting two videos. There was a talent show yesterday at the older kids' home school co-op and both Joella and Liesl signed up to perform in it. First up is a video of Joella performing what she has learned in Irish dance so far. She really enjoys it. The 2nd video is of Liesl performing with her worship dance class. Isn't she too cute? Look how little she is compared to the other girls!

Squadron Children's Party @Hunt Club Farm

This past Sunday, the family went to a Squadron children's party that was held at Hunt Club Farm. It is a place here in Virginia Beach that has a goat pen & a chicken coop that children can go in & interact with the animals. The kids always have a ball with that. There are also various other animals, like a Cebu & Shetland ponies, to look at. Sometimes they offer hay rides (but not on Sunday). As part of their Winter Wonderland theme during the holiday season, they also convert one of their barns into a cheesy walk-through of outdoor scenes & elves' workshop scenes... mushrooms made out of cotton candy w/signs that says 'Do Not Eat.'. Anyway, I took some pictures of the kids with the animals. The kids had a wonderful time at the party in spite of the freezing temperature... we were all wearing long underwears, sweaters, jackets, & winter boots with our clothes. Brrrr!! If only they had fake snow at the farm, it would have been very 'wintery' indeed!!

Two Months?!?!

Holey Moley! Has it been that long already? Time for me to crack my knuckles and tackle the blog. See why it's appropriately named The Slogging Blog?? Anyway, the Advent Season is upon us and I, for one, am looking forward to Christmas and the Twelve Days leading up to Epiphany. In the interest of keeping it simple, so that we can truly appreciate what we have, I have pared back on the craziness that sometimes accompanies the holiday season. I am trying to teach my kids that 'tis better to give than to receive... and make the shopping/creating a fun adventure in itself. I promise there will be oodles and oodles of pictures on the blog in the next few weeks as we make the rounds of holiday parties and fun.... for now, you can just enjoy the few pictures I have put up of Liesl's birthday, Ray's squadron dining out, and random sunny day pictures....

New pets

New Pets

Our household has expanded to include two animals: one bearded dragon named Sydney and a beagle mix named Sally. The bearded dragon belongs to Colum (thanks to Grandma Timi's b-day $$) and the beagle mix 'belongs' to Joella as she earned it by taking care of a hamster for over a year. The promise was that we would get a dog when the hamster died... well... it died. We couldn't be happier with both pets so far... I must say I did a dang good job of picking Sally out at a Super Adoptathon that a local Petsmart was hosting... as for the names, they already had 'em and to the children, that's just their names... so, Sydney & Sally, it is!

Papa Richard visits

With Papa Richard

Liesl's Glasses

Liesl's 1st Glasses

One beautiful girl in glasses. She LOVES them. Thinks they're really cool. It's been about two weeks and she is doing great with the glasses, as far as wearing them all the time and taking care of them.

Norfolk Botanical Gardens

Norfolk Botanical Garden

Colum got some free passes to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens as a reward for helping with a service project, so we took this opportunity to check it out. We had a great day walking the trails and feasting our eyes on all the pretty flowers. The kids loved the WOW! Garden for Children (obviously) and I really enjoyed the butterfly pavilion... I think we'll have to get an annual membership pass soon.

Strike-Fighter Ball 2009

Hornet Ball 2009

Played dress-up twice in one evening. Ate fancy food. Ignored the speeches. Enjoyed the 'patriotic' video...

Virginia Zoo

My Favorite Animal Exhibit

Every time we go to the Virginia Zoo, I have to stop by the Prairie Dog exhibit. They are always amusing to watch as they go about their business. I couldn't get over a particular specimen...