Snow Time!

Standing up in a snow suit is sad business...
Sadness overcomes Lena as daddy pulls Holden on a sled ride.

Everyone's better after we figure two monsters can fit on a sled.

Joseph shovelled snow for the better part of an hour.

Chirstmas Tree Decorating

Lena plays pin the snowflake on the tree.
Joseph is just tall enough to place the angel on top!

A bit of snow

Lena confirmed it this morning; you can see snow from every window in
the house. She announced it like it was a surprise every time.
Joseph took the snow as a sign that it is Christmas. He isn't
convinced that there is still a month to go.

It's snowing!

Just as we walked out the door to go to school, it started to snow.
This is the first time Lena has seen it snow. She twirled around and
said, "Isn't it pretty!"

Joseph's Birthday Bonanza

The birthday masterpiece!

Joseph makes his birthday wish.

Holden sports his engineer hat party favor.

Lena doubles production of party trains with the two brush technique.

Joseph's Birthday Presents

Happy Birthday!

Halloween!

Tada... a cowwwww!
A happy leopard.
Some serious pumpkin work.

Joseph hard at work deconstructing hay bale.

Lena's Birthday Cake

Heroes next door

We went to the annual bbq fundraiser at the fire department downtown
today. All the trucks were out so that the kids could climb around,
and the firefighters were very nice about answering their questions.
While we were loading up to go home, we asked Joseph if he had a good
time. He said, "yeah, those are the heroes next door." (catch phrase
from a firefighter cartoon he likes)

Budding Artists 2

Joseph branched out a bit more. He was fascinated by the wheel and
made himself a little pot.

Happy Birthday, Holden! 6

Holden is ready to keep up with Joseph and Lena on the new bike Nana
and Grandad got him. Happy Birthday, Holden!

Happy Birthday, Holden! 5

And opening presents...

Happy Birthday, Holden! 4

Holden seemed to like his cake.

Happy Birthday, Holden! 3

Happy Birthday, Holden! 2

When asked what kind of cake we should have for Holden's birthday,
Joseph said a "baby cake." So, Mommy made Holden a baby cake.

Happy Birthday, Holden!

GranDebbie and Grandpa Joe came up to help Holden celebrate his first
birthday. He's a big boy now!

Budding Artists 3

Holden was kept far enough away that he didn't eat any clay. He still
had a good time, though.

Budding Artists

A few weekends ago, we went to a music and art festival downtown. The
local potter set up a station where kids to play with clay. Lena was
content to stack her pieces and roll them out.

Sneak peak

Get a sneak peak of the kids' annual pictures at
http://www.wix.com/achapmanphoto/gallery#!portfolio/vstc2=child-and-baby

Girlfriend!

Apparently, Joseph has found his first girlfriend (really, just a
friend).  Her name is Sabina.  He says that "she holds my hand."  His
teachers say that the two are together at school most of the time.
They even found a caterpillar together and put it in a container for
Sabina to take home.  Unfortunately, Sabina is an older woman and will
be going to the elementary school next month.

Maybe they can still get together for play dates.

Our new home!

Joseph took this wonderful picture of our new home. We are right in
the center of a quite little village and can walk to almost everywhere
we want to go. We think we are really going to enjoy our time here
(at least until it snows).

Which one is Daddy?

Soon after we arrived in Rome, Robert marched with the other Air Force
guys in an Honor America parade. Joseph and Lena were able to pick
him out with a bit of help. Lena waved at everyone that went by,
Joseph was pretty impressed by the Shriners' cars, and Holden clapped
with the music. It was a classic small town America parade.

Arrr!

After exploring the ships, we all went on a pirate boat ride. Lena
was the most vicious pirate of all. She helped hoist the flag before
we sailed off. Joseph wanted to know what all the ropes did. Holden
slept through the whole thing. Mommy and Daddy tried not to get
seasick.

Buffalo, NY

Daddy, Joseph, and Lena explored the ships and submarine docked in
Buffalo while Holden took a nap with Mommy. After reading the sign
about the sub sinking if certain buttons or levers were touched, Daddy
kept a closer eye on them.

Moonlight Smile

As you can see, Holden enjoyed his first trip to Moonlight Bar-b-que
in Owensboro.

Our engineer

While we were visiting Nana and Grandad in Kentucky, we went to the
Children's Museum in Evansville. Joseph worked really hard to put
together a bridge like the one that goes across the Ohio River. All
he needs is someone willing to test it out.

First Haircut

Heather took Lena to get her first haircut before the move since
anyone who has ever moved knows one of the hardest things is finding a
new stylist. Lena enjoyed the pampering quite a bit.

Texas Beach

Before we left Texas, we took a trip to the beach. We probably
brought home enough sand to make our own beach.

Puffy Tacos

Holden fits in one last San Antonio adventure: a meal at Henry's Puffy Tacos

Baby down-dog

Holden gets his daily yoga practice in.

Swim Lessons

Heather signed up all three kids for swim lessons this summer. For some reason, this picture reminds me of A Christmas Story.

Dad got to help out today...

Ahhh!!!

The last sight you see before being hugged to death.

Camping Adventures

I took Joseph camping at the zoo a few weekends ago. Joseph hiked up ready to go with backpack, bedroll and teddy bear (we paired down from about four stuffed animals). Joseph impressed the other parents and the zoo guides with his preparedness.

He helped setup the tent and roll out the sleeping bags. He used the bag I bought for myself as a replacement. In the afternoon, the zoo guides announced an animal exhibition forthcoming, but spent a lot of time explaining the rules and jumping around leading the kids in a silly elephant dance. Midway through the rules discussion, Joseph heckled the guides with, "Where are the animals!" I admit I had the same question.







Then we moved on to roasting hot dogs for dinner. Joseph pounded down three hot dogs with buns and drained four cups of lemonade. That was enough to sustain him through a nighttime zoo tour. We returned to camp around 9:00pm--2 hrs past Joseph's bedtime. The guides pumped the kids full of s'mores and announced that parents should take charge of their kids for bed time.




Joseph begged me to "go camping", by which he meant go to sleep in the tent. We changed clothes, brushed teeth, used the potty and settled our gear. We zipped the tent up at 9:30 and laid down, just as Joseph decided it was time to go back outside. I decided otherwise. Joseph responded that it was time to go home. I informed him that a locked, gated parking lot prevented our return. He informed me from 9:30 to 12:30, on intervals of 30 seconds, that it was still time to return home. At 12:3o he passed out. I drowsed in and out of consciousness, trying to detect sounds of a tent door unzipping.

By breakfast time, Joseph felt camping was awesome again and put together his own adventure in a bamboo grove behind our tent. Since returning home, Joseph keeps the sleeping bag on his bed and a ready backpack in his room, complete with 2 flashlights and a teddy bear.

Look at me!

Holden takes another step towards being a big boy.

Easter treats

Master Easter Egg Hunter

Okay, they weren't hidden that well. Joseph and Lena still did a good
job finding them, though.

Texas in spring

Holden helps make the Texas Bluebonnets even prettier during our trip
to the Hill Country.

Parade

Joseph waits for his turn to go around the parade path. His float is
an interpretation of Thomas the Tank Engine. Notice the smokestack
made out of a wrapping paper roll.

Fiesta!

Lena shows off her carefully constructed tissue flower float during
the Fiesta parade at school.

Doggy on my head!

Lena shows off her favorite towel. Every time she uses it, she
announces that she has a "doggy on my head!"