Bostyn

This is Bostyn's 5th grade school picture. Absolutely beautiful if you ask me.

Graduation

Kyle graduated from AIT (Advanced Individual Training) on Tuesday morning. I took the kids down and we were able to spend almost the entire day with him. It was a really neat experience. I am really sad to not have him so close anymore, but I am really excited to see where his future will take him. He is an amazing man and he will go far in life. Congratulations and good luck Kyle! We love you!

Best Friends

PFC Nyland receiving his diploma from SFC Cochran

Hayden kept asking Kyle for kisses

Kyle with two of his biggest fans

This is where Kyle attended classes....Ordnance School

His barracks

Lapid, Young, Simmons, Kolpin and Nyland


HOOAH!!

Our nation's capital

Sunday we headed in to D.C. for a family day. We went to the Museum of Crime and Punishment first, then went down to the mall. All of the monuments were even more beautiful, with the fall leaves on the trees.

Washington Monument

Jefferson Memorial

Hayden found a few squirrels and had a blast chasing them around the steps. He got irritated when they would jump off the steps into the bushes.

Washington Monument at sunset

I love living so close to DC. There is so much to see and do. It is great to be a tourist in your own backyard.

Happy Veteran's Day

Happy Veteran's Day to the millions of servicemen and women around the world. There are a few people that I would like to personally thank.

Kyle Nyland - Army

Fred Smith - Army

Laurie Smith - Army

Brent Smith - Navy


Dave & Patti Johansen - Air Force
Charles Miller - Air Force

Charles Miller - Air Force

Luke & Jennifer Miller - Air Force

I feel very honored to have all of these brave and wonderful people in my family. Thank you all for the sacrifices you have made to keep our country safe.

Show Off

I would like to show off a little bit. I have been working on this project for over a year. I have finally finished it and I am so excited! Now I just have to fork over the dough to get it framed. It's almost 4 feet long! Yikes!

12 months with leaf border cross stitch on linen

Looking forward to my next project!

All good things must come to an end

This weekend was our last visit with Kyle. Next Tuesday he will graduate from AIT and be moving to his base in Oklahoma. I made a cake to honor and celebrate him. It wasn't perfect, but my heart was in the right place.

U.S. Army cake...with raspberry filling...yum!

We decided Sunday morning to go down to Fredericksburg and take the Old Town trolley tour. I'd wanted to do that when we lived in Virginia, but we never got the chance.

Kenmore Manor - George Washington's Sister's House - built in 1775

Kenmore Manor - see the black dot? It's a cannonball from the Revolutionary War!

More cannonballs in the Presbyterian Church

Lego Exhibit

Last Monday the kids were out of school. Bailee had read about a Lego exhibit that was in DC. We decided to ditch Hayden's nap and head in to the city to check it out.

Having fun on the Metro

Hayden went up the stairs, down the stairs....repeat...four dozen times.

Dearborn tower and the Sears tower all made out of Lego's

Future engineer

The kids really enjoyed the open play part.

Ditching Hayden's nap wasn't exactly the best idea. He was very restless on the Metro and did not want to sit still. I'm sure all the commuters loved Hayden running back and forth between me, Bailee and Bostyn. It was a fun day though, it's always nice to do something different.