Benny's Birthday Weekend

Last Thursday was Benny's 5th Birthday! I can hardly believe it, the time just seems to be flying by. We had a bit of a bumpy start on his birthday, but the end of the day, Benny stated that it was his 'best day ever'! Late Wednesday, he complained that his eye was bothering him. On his birthday, he awoke with it almost completely swollen closed. I was pretty sure it wasn't pink eye but I still kept a close eye on it. By mid-morning, I had to make the call that he couldn't go to school and have his birthday celebration as planned. Instead, we headed to the doctor. Poor kid, he took it like a trooper. Nick met us at the hospital, and it was a good thing, because we were there nearly four hours. The family doc decided that it looked like a scratch and not an infection. So, they irrigated his eye, and then put in glow in the dark drops to look for damage to the cornea. In case you were wondering, this did not go well! Eventually, we ended up with an eye patch and instructions to go see the eye doctor upstairs right away. The process was pretty much repeated upstairs with much better success this time. The eye doc decided that he really only had a small scratch, but was having some type of allergic reaction to something. We still don't know what caused it, but his eye is pretty much back to normal now. After an afternoon at the hospital, we headed home, ordered pizza (Ben's favorite!) and opened presents.

Here is Ben holding up both hands, showing he is the big 5! This year he is really into 'boy' things. He loves action figures, Star Wars, super heroes, and is still really into Playmobiles and Legos.


The next day we were able to celebrate his birthday with him at preschool. He had a Spiderman cupcake cake that the bakery graciously held for us an extra day. The cake was a hit, as the kids loved the black frosting (I swear it was red in the picture). Sophie had a great time at preschool too!

This year instead of having a big birthday party we decided to take a family trip. We tossed around a few options and ended up heading to Kansas City for a Renaissance Festival that we read about on the internet. It was supposed to be a beautiful weekend-80 and sunny. It turned out to be about 65 and slightly rainy instead. We had a good time though. It was a huge festival, and seemed to go on forever. There were so many cool costumes (and weird ones too), and much to see and do. We actually ran into some neighbors from Germany in the parking lot-the Army is so small!

Here is Ben posing as St. George, one of his favorite knights!

Nick and Ben decided to try out a little archery. Benny had so much fun shooting the arrows. I think he could have done that all day. First he needed a little instruction from Daddy.

Now, he was ready to try it out himself!

After we had enough of the dreary weather at the Festival we headed to our hotel for the night. We stopped and had dinner at the outdoor mall first. We ate at the Saddle Ranch Chop House, which is a Hollywood take on an old western restaurant. The portions were huge. I think we probably could have shared two dinners instead of the four we ordered. In the middle of the restaurant there is a huge bull ring with a mechanical bull. Benny got a huge kick out of watching a group of middle aged men (and one woman) try to ride the bull. All but the woman were thrown off eventually. It was great entertainment! After dinner, we headed to the hotel and finished the night off swimming in the pool. The next day we did some much needed shopping for fall clothes for the kids and then headed home.

Benny had a great birthday weekend. It's just so hard to believe that 5 years have gone by since he came into the world! I think tomorrow I will do another post recapping his first 5 years! I have to get caught up, because Nick is having hip surgery on Wednesday and I know I will be busy taking care of him!

Bubbles, Bubbles, Everywhere!

This summer we purchased a bubble machine, and I tell you, it was the best $10 ever spent. Both of the kids love it, and so does our four legged friend, Smokey. I'm sure that if you have ever visited us, we have showed you Smokey's bubble trick. He LOVES to chase bubbles. I think it the best exercise he can get. He has considerably calmed down in his bubble chasing lately, and is really careful around the kids, but it is still one of his favorite activities. The bubble machine never fails to entertain!




I took several videos, but I think this one was the best!

After about 15 minutes we had to retire the bubble machine, as Sophie's eyes were all red from getting too close to the bubbles, and Smokey was foaming at the mouth from ingesting so many. Fun, fun, fun!

A Week of Firsts

I have been on a bit of a blogging break. We had a few non-eventful first few weeks of August, and then suddenly, we were busier than we have been all summer. Like most sports loving people in the World, we have been glued to the Olympics every night. We joke that Sophie will be the next Shawn Johnson, with her small, powerful body. Ben has trouble pronouncing Olympics, and instead calls them the Olymfics. He isn't super interested in the sporting events, but he did check out an 'Olymfics' book from the library that he and Nick read every night.

So, I am going to do my best and play catch up for the past ten days or so.

We have had a lot of 'firsts' here in the last few weeks. I recently signed Sophie up at the Armed Forces YMCA, which is an hourly watch care place for military kids. She has been twice now, and has a great time playing with all the other one year olds. I was worried that she would cry when I left, but both times she has been so busy checking out the toys and kids that she hasn't even noticed that I am leaving. It has allowed me to have a few hours of free time and do some things that aren't easy to do with a child in tow.

You all know that Nick has a new job, and with that comes lots of changes for both Nick and I. Last Sunday we attended our first Hail and Farewell with his new unit. This is a time where the unit says goodbye to departing families and hello to the new ones. The only difference this time is that we are among just a handful of Captains (four I think!), and nearly everyone else is either a Colonel or General. I was very intimidated to attend, but we had a nice time. This week I also attended my first Ladie's Coffee for Nick's new unit. This is the group that consists of just the wives of the soldier's who work with Nick. Again, I was scared, but it all turned out ok. And finally, for the first time here at Fort Riley, I decided to join the Officer Spouses Club on post. I have done it at other posts in the past, but never here at Riley. Most of my friends have moved or are moving, and this will be a way for me to meet some new people.


Last weekend we had the pleasure of having the Murray family visit a few times. Many of you know that they stayed with us for a few weeks last fall, but this was the first visit for Alexis, now almost 10 months old. The kids had a ball playing, especially Ian. Ian was nearly beside himself with excitement at how many cars Benny has to play with. At one point, I think we were all a little worried that he might hyperventiate saying "Cars, cars, baby car, truck, cars, cars, cars!" He was especially thrilled with a magnetic car that Ben has that will race up the fridge or metal doors. I tried to get a video of him, but he was just too excited to hold still. He kept saying "Car, door, car door, door car, car, car, car!" Needless to say, Ian slept well that night after playing with Ben's cars, and sure enough Julie said he woke up saying "Car, car, car!"



A few days later, Julie brought the kids over to play again while Brian was at work. Ian was sad to find out that most the cars were "Night, night", as Ben was sleeping in an abnormally long time that morning. Luckily, Ben woke up a little bit before they had to go pick up Brian, and Ian was able to get some car time. Meanwhile, Ian and Sophie played, and Sophie showed Ian one of her favorite spots to hang out-inside our leather ottoman. We had a great time visiting with the Murray's, and we look forward to seeing them again in November when Brian comes home from Iraq for good!

Last Wednesday was the much anticipated first day of preschool for Benny. He wore his favorite camo shorts and new tennis shoes and was so proud to carry his new red backpack. He is really into the color red lately, which is a nice change from brown. (What other four year old loves brown?) However, he decided to wear his favorite brown polo shirt, a compromise since I wouldn't let him wear a t-shirt on the first day. He is making lots of new friends, and I am having a hard time keeping them staight. He goes to school every afternoon, so there are different kids on MWF than there are on TTh. So far he is friends with a boy named Bryce who also goes everyday, Nicky Hogan and another 'new' Emma. We know four Emma's now, and Ben has a different name for each of them to keep them straight. On Tuesday's and Thursday's Ben is friends with "the twin in the purple striped shirt". I will have to learn what his name is tomorrow when we see him again. Funnily enough, Bryce told his mom that Ben was his twin and his new best friend. It looks like they are going to have a lot of fun this year.

Here are Benny and Nicky Hogan. They know each other well, but this is the first year they have been in the same preschool class.

Finally, to finish up this week, Benny had his first sleepover! In a previous blog I had mentioned that our neighbors John and Wendy had moved, and that Ben really misses their kids, Jordan and Anna. On Saturday they came back for a visit! John and Wendy had a wedding to attend, so we volunteered to take the kids for the night. Benny was so excited to have his favorite friends spend the night. They all insisted on sleeping together on the floor-with Benny in the middle. We kept them up late with the idea that they would be really tired and crash and hopefully sleep well. Luckily, we were right! At 10 we laid them down, read a story and said goodnight. There was about 5 minutes of chatter, and then silence until 7:30 the next morning. All the kids had a really great time and look forward to doing it again.

More first moments to come!

Bad in Plaid

We have been wanting to have a 'Bad in Plaid' party for ages, and this past weekend we finally did it! Some of you may remember this event from our days in Germany, when the Scatinni family hosted it. For years we have been wanting to throw our own version. So, we sent out the invites, and went on a search for bad plaid. It is actually much harder than you may think to find that ugly retro bad plaid. After countless trips to the thrift stores, we finally had some good items to choose from.

Nick's brother Matt and his girlfriend Jackie joined us from Michigan for the occasion. Luckily, Matt brought his own bad plaid and even an extra pair of bad plaid shorts for Nick. Nick's shorts are tan and white, so it is hard to see the plaid, but trust me, they were horribly bad and polyester plaid. (Did I mention short?)

All of the guests were told to wear bad plaid, and come prepared for a cut-throat match of croquet. First we had a BBQ and waited inside for the weather to cool down. Unfortunately, the weather never cooled much. It was about 102 when the party started, and by the time we moved the event outside it was still in the high 90's. Some of the guys braved the hot weather while Nick grilled the food.

You may have noticed that two of the guys came dressed alike. Funnily enough, they say it was a complete accident. They both went to the Dillard's clearance rack and picked out the same outfit! They were the first guests to arrive, along with their wives. They all made a beer stop on the way, and I can only imagine the funny looks they must have received in the store.

We awarded a prize to the best male and female best (or really worst) dressed. Here are the finalists. There was a lot of plaid at the party, but since it is popular again, not much of it was really 'bad plaid'.

Benny couldn't wait to play croquet, and he finally convinced two guests to play a practice round with him.

Finally, we decided to head outside and play croquet. Nick and Matt had set up the course the night before. Nick also had brackets set up, and we were all assigned teams. There were 6 teams competing, and everyone joined in on the fun. It took so long for all six teams to play that by the end, we were using flashlights to see the balls and wickets.

Here is the home team-myself, Matt and our neighbor Danny. This photo was taken before the last round when we won the tournament! It must have been that home field good luck. The last game took forever, and it was nearly 11 pm before it finished. Danny's wife Casey was on the opposing team, and she really gave us a run for our money. Apparently she plays croquet at her mom's house, and she was really good. She finished before the rest of us were half way through.

All in all, everyone had a great time. It was hilarious to see everyone's bad plaid. Maybe next year we will host Bad in Plaid 2! Hopefully it won't be so hot!

Ice Treasures

I saw the greatest idea on a friend's blog the other day. You can see the 'whole story' on Paula's blog http://www.mylittleschoolhouse.blogspot.com/ You freeze 'treasures' in a large bowl of water. Once frozen, your child can dig them out. We just had to try it. I froze all kinds of Ben's little toys-legos, marbles, plastic animals, coins and a key. The next day, I emptied the bowl into a large plastic bin and set him to work out on the deck. I gave him a bowl of Kosher salt, a spray bottle, a lemon zester, and a plastic orange peeler to help him dig out the goodies. The Kosher salt worked great, because it was easy for him to pick up, and melted the ice really well. All in all, it took Ben over an hour. It was great fun on a hot day!

Later, even the neighbor boys helped out!

We have another ice treasure waiting for us in the freezer when Benny is ready!

Farewell Friends

Summertime is often a big time for military moves, and this summer is no exception. Nearly everyone we know here has already moved, or will soon. Since we decided to stay here an extra year, that means most everyone that came in at the same with us is due to leave. Even our next door neighbors who are not military decided to move! Needless to say, this has been a big adjustment for Benny. He doesn't remember our other moves, so this is new to him. He doesn't understand why all of his friends (and ours) are leaving. So, we wanted to bid a fond farewell, to some of our favorite friends!

Jordan and Anna from next door were Benny's first friends here in Kansas. Jordan is three years older, and Anna one year older than Ben, but they always played so well together. We will miss them terribly, and our summer days have not been the same since they left. The kids could usually be found outside riding bikes, playing baseball or pretending to be pirates. Poor Anna is the only girl on the block (besides Sophie), as there are 11 boys within 5 houses. However, she was the closest in age to Benny, so they were great friends. Have I mentioned that we will miss them? (We miss you too, John and Wendy!)

Ella is an Army friend. Her Daddy worked with Nick, and our families were in the same big group of friends. Benny and Ella survived the deployment together, and both became older siblings while their Daddy's were gone. Lately, we have enjoyed meeting Ella at the pool, and attending General's baseball games together. And there have also been all of those Army parties together! Ben misses Ella already, and she just left yesterday!

Benny starts school in three weeks, and I am anxious for him to go so he can meet some new friends. I believe he is the only returning student. All of the other kids either moved away, or have moved on to kindergarten. He should be just fine though, he is a really outgoing little boy!

Singing in the Shower

Last night Benny decided he wanted to take a shower. This is a rare event in our house, as he usually prefers baths. I was working on the computer when I heard him singing. It was so funny I had to get him to do it again. This is actually take three, because at the end he kept opening the curtain and I didn't think anyone cared to see Benny fully nude. Enjoy!