Saying goodbye SUCKS!

Family Pic (side note...I was not planning on being in the mood to be in any pictures this day since Chris was not suppose to be there with us! So just a little disclaimer of why it looks like I haven't showered. ;-)



The Welch and Katz kids

Brothers from another Mutha, Chris and Andy

Me and my good friend and deployment buddy, Marlene. (Marlene, good thing it's fall because they're taking our pool hats with us!)

Well, yesterday was the dreaded day. Had to say goodbye to Chris. We don't normally take him to work to say goodbye. It has always worked out that he can leave early in the morning before the kids get up so it isn't so emotional. But this time his flight was later in the day so we had a plan to take him ourselves and then have the squadron pumpkin patch day to head to as a good distraction for the kids. Something to look forward to. But right as we were getting ready to leave the house he got a call that their flight was delayed a few hours. Good news was that he got to come to the pumpkin patch with us! Bad news was, no more distraction after having to say goodbye. So we headed to the pumpkin patch and then went to lunch with our friends that husband was also leaving with Chris. We dropped Chris off with lots of tears. Ellie cried all the way home which just broke my heart. Easton so far is okay. I imagine issues with him will come later once Chris has been gone longer. But hopefully everything will go smoothly. Kids both have school this time which will help with all of us. Here are some pics from the pumpkin patch!

Apple Hill

Eating Apple Donuts! YUM!!!



Nature hike

Apple Pickin'






We've been preparing for Chris' deployment and thought we'd explore somewhere we haven't been yet before he left. Apple Hill is about 50 miles on the other side of Sacramento. It's been one of those places we've been meaning to visit! It's a beautiful area with many different farms. We stopped and got apple donuts first. We then hit up a place that we were were able to go on a nature hike, pick out a pumpkin and see some animals. We then went to a different place to grab some lunch and there the kids got to go on a pony ride. I think this was the most exciting part of the day! Easton said he wanted to go on one but Chris and I knew better, we thought, and assumed he'd freak out as soon as he got close. But oh no! He surprised the heck out of us when he just climbed right on the pony and shooed Chris away and stayed on for the whole 10 minute pony ride waving and giving us thumbs up every time he passed! Ellie of course enjoyed too. This helped fulfill her dream of becoming a cowgirl! We then went to yet another farm and got to go out in the orchard and picked our own apples. The kids loved this part too. It was a gorgeous, sunny California day and yet another great family outing.

The Moores Visit California!

Inside a tree at Muir Woods
Missing the Schects. (We did this pose at their wedding too!)
The whole gang and some bridge.
Welchs at Muir Woods
Giving 2 C-17 pilots a tour of the KC-10
Chris and Rob were in the seats so long I think Rob is now qualified to fly the KC-10

At a winery
Ellie taking our picture
Playing with the kids out in the vineyards while the guys had a turn at wine tasting.

Cheers!


Our good friends Rob (aka Hogdor) and Jen Moore came to visit us a few weeks ago! We got to meet their newest additon, Miss Gabby! We met Rob in pilot training and Jen was at another pilot training base at the same time. I distinctly remember the first time I met Rob. Chris had just started UPT and brought Rob over to the house. He called me Ma'am. (You know, because Chris was a big 1Lt then and rob was a mere 2Lt.) I promptly scolded him for doing so! We were there the night Rob proposed to Jen in Oklahoma City after a rockin' Bon Jovi concert. We then traveled all the way to NY for their wedding on Long Island when Easton was about 6 months old. Ellie and Chris were both in their wedding. One of the most beautiful weddings I've ever seen! We even accompanied them on their honeymoon when we met them in Hawaii to visit some other good friends from pilot training. Of course the Air Force gods had to station us across the country from each other. They lived in Charleston, SC. They are now on their way to their next adventure in Del Rio, TX.

They came for a whirlwind visit. We saw as much of NorCal as we could with 3 small kids and just a couple of days. We hit Muir Woods, San Francisco and Napa. It was great to see them and see them as parents now! Miss you Hogdors!!

Saying Goodbye to Summer

Some random pics of the last part of Summer.


We have a little Elton John on our hands!

Went to a baseball game in Sacramento last weekend. Not sure why we haven't done this before, it was so much fun!!

Me and the Ricks.

Yum! Cotton candy!

Feeding Daddy sunflower seeds.

Ellie and her swim lesson partner, Andrew.

Me and my gal pal, Erin. I believe this was the night we (and by "we" I mean Chris) gave Easton caffeine for the first time and we (and by "we" I mean Chris) were up with him until the wee hours of the morning.

Mr. Easton Head

Easton and preschool

Playing in his classroom

My handsome baby!

2 kids in school, 5 1/2 years in the making!!! Thank goodness for half days, Mama needs to ease into this.

Our little Buster started preschool at the same school Ellie has been attending the last 2 years. We hesitated starting him this year but at this school they have the best 2-3 yr old class teacher and we couldn't pass up the opportunity for Easton to be in her class. Ms. Tami was absolutely put on this earth to be a preschool teacher. Her compassion and ability to work with such little kids purely a blessing to those who are lucky enough to have this opportunity. Easton had a hard time the first week of school when it was time to say goodbye. We expected this and worried if he'd ever be able to adjust. A worry, I'm sure, many parents go through. It only took a week before we dropped him off with barely a kiss goodbye before he ran off to join his friends to play. The first day he didn't cry was the first day I cried! Such a relief to see him do so well and adjust so fast. He is the youngest in the class and even though he is potty trained we feared too many accidents would force us to take him out. But even that hasn't been an issue! He is a little behind the other kids in his speech but we have already seen an improvement and hopefully with more exposure to the other kids, he'll be picking it up quicker.

First day of Kindergarten

Our baby girl had her first day of Kindergarten today! She did so well. Much better than mommy did! Daddy was able to take the morning off and enjoy the special day with us. We had a parent orientation that we got to stay for which I think helped for everyone. We didn't just have to drop her off and go, we got to stay for a little bit and see what their days would be like. Her teacher seems great. I've heard nothing but good things about her so I'm sure Ellie will do good with her. She didn't know anyone in her class but she has always been good at making friends so I think after a couple of days it'll be easier for her.

Easton has his first day of Preschool on Monday! Now, this one should be interesting. I imagine way more tears coming from him and not me on this day. Ellie is our social one and Easton is our amazingly shy one. It will be a new experience but I really feel we will see big changes in him after this year is over. His teacher is a gift from God and I am glad we have this opportunity for her to be his teacher.

I think the biggest challenge we are faced with is shuttling both kids that have to be at two different places, across town, at the same time. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only mom with this problem so pray I find a good carpool buddy soon!!

Lake Tahoe with the 'Rents

Easton enjoying some pre-smore marshmellows

The Welchs at the Lake. (I had to sprint very fast through the sand to finally get a good shot! Since we were taking it on the self timer)

Up at Northstar Ski Resort on the 4th of July enjoying the beautiful scenery.

More Northstar

Waiting for fireworks on the beach

Little Buster Man

My first official golf outing since declaring myself a "golfer". Tee time 6:45 am! But it was awesome!

Golfing with my dad.

Playing with the kids at the cabin

My parents drove down from Washington around the 4th of July. We booked a few days in a cabin in Kings Beach, Lake Tahoe. It was nice to do something different with them. You can only see the sights of Norcal so many times with the same people before it starts getting old! When I was very young my family lived in Reno, NV and my parents say we went to Lake Tahoe when I was a wee one. Funny enough, Chris' parents were stationed at Travis when Chris was born and also visited Tahoe around the same time my family lived in Reno. We often wonder if our paths ever crossed way back when...

Anyway, we spent a lot of time on the beach which was great. The weather couldn't have been any more perfect. The kids had a great time visiting with Nana and Papa and being up in the woods and playing endlessly on the beach. It's our last planned vacation for awhile now that Ellie is starting school. I can't believe summer is over already!