Monday, October 31, 2005

New Posts and Pictures of House!

If you click on the title above you can see many pictures of our house that we took in our recent trip to Derby. There are also some cute pictures of JB and Gloria. Enjoy!

Monday, October 24, 2005

The Zephyr Experience

JB and I were playing with his new plastic bat and ball out in the common area in front of our apartment and we experienced a zephyr. This was a wind that started from the ground and spun up some leaves (it's finally starting to be fall here) looking like a mini tornado. It looked like it was about 15 ft high and 10 feet long. JB and I stood watching it because it actually had the leaves spinning around and around in a tornado shape. It was coming our way and we just stood there getting blasted with wind and leaves.

It was only windy for about 5 seconds, but it didn't feel like a gust of wind, it felt like we were in the middle of a zephyr. I know, I'm a Boston girl, and little things in nature amuse me. I thought it was so cool. It started out in the lower thirties this morning and is now beautiful, in the mid- sixties. This is your weather girl reporting live from Altus, Oklahoma.

Sorry if you were expecting a story about a long brown doggy with a lot of energy...that's why she's a Zephyr!

Friday, October 21, 2005

JB with his combat boots...

...and Gloria nearly in her birthday suit.

She's always trying to do whatever her big brother is doing...and is wondering, "where's my flight suit?"

JB AF Portrait


His rank is "bird" in case you were wondering...

Flight Suit Buds

Don't you smile JB!

JB didn't want to take the time to put on his combat boots this morning and of course an Air Force Pilot wouldn't wear his hat indoors, so this is the body part of the flight suit that his "Gramma Shell" made for him. It's a little big now because he's also going to wear it next year. Thanks Gramma Shell!

Do you like my makeup?

Gloria has started WALKING and trying on "makeup" in the same week! I think she has seen Mommy putting on lipstick or chapstick (more likely) one too many times. I'm kinda concerned as to what I might see her or JB do after watching me apply mascara.

Shortly after this photo was taken Gloria was not smiling anymore because I took away the marker. I just had to take the picture though because our little girl is WALKING full-time now. She decided about two days ago, after about a month of practicing here and there, that she was just going to do it! She prefers walking all of the time now over crawling. She is so cute as she waddles down the hallway and in and out of rooms. She tries to keep up with her brother on the tennis court or the park and usually ends up falling on her face too many times.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

New Posts on Househunting Blog!

Check out new posts by clicking on title above.

Monday, October 17, 2005

A Couch Story


Here's me and our two little munchkins, all big milk drinkers (especially of Braum's milk, yum!), sitting on our couch that you may have seen in other pictures on this blog.

After Max had been here for a couple weeks and the kids and I had come from CO, I decided we needed a couch to all sit on, snuggle together, read books, take naps, and watch movies on, but that we also wouldn't mind chucking at the end of our time here. I looked for about a week in thrift stores and furniture rental places (too expensive). Unfortunately, I did not think to look in the used furniture stores here in Altus until after we had bought this couch at Salvation Army. It actually doesn't look too bad and we sure don't mind helping out the Salvation Army, but it's not really us and it is missing one leg and is incredibly heavy to move because it is an older sofa-bed (which feels like it might fall out of the bottom as one is carrying it).

Anyway, ever since we were presented with the possibility of buying a big house (almost 3000 ft of finished living space) with five bedrooms, Max has said we should keep the Salvation Army couch (ugh!) to fill in the extra space. The couch has been a blessing since we've been here and God has blessed us with the strong possibility of a really nice, big house with a huge backyard and garage for the right price, so maybe they will go nicely together.

However, if I had known it was going to be a permanent fixture in our lives and that we would have to move it, I think I would've searched longer for a more "intact" couch that fit our style. I suppose I'm a bit spoiled now; I remember the couches with which I grew up and I don't remember my mom complaining.

Just thought I'd share the story of the SA couch that has graced so many photos here in our Altus, OK apartment.

Enough rambling....God bless!

Sunday, October 16, 2005

Gloria's Last Word


"But wait! I don't drool as much as they say."

"Notice I have my brother's sandles on."
Studious. What else can I say? You don't have to say it...what a cutie pie!
Gloria seems to like guys, especially our friend Jeremy who is here at Altus with us going through "Initial Qual" for the KC-135. His wife, Kristin, is the one working on the quilt...sorry you can't see her face. They are a young couple fresh out of pilot training going to McConnell AFB in Wichita like us. They just took the plunge also and bought a house there.

The funny thing about Gloria's attatchment to Jeremy is that Jeremy is not all that comfortable around kids and when we first met him, had no idea what to do with them. He seems to be getting better though being around JB and Gloria. His expression in this picture says "I don't know what this chubby chick wants from me."

Gloria loves to snuggle...more with her Daddy than with me...the wrapping around the finger has started...

This face has a little bit of concern in it because her brother is right there touching his chair that she is sitting in..."I'd better brace myself if he's going to tip me over." (He has before but he didn't this time probably because he got punished for the last time). She can climb into these little "Tot Spot" seats all by herself. She likes to recline in them sometimes, looking like she's either eaten too much or that she has a little "beer belly."

The Different Faces of our Little Girl

...drooley, messy, snotty, pretty, etc...

We'll start with pretty. She has on her "you can't find me" face. She loves to wear shoes so she is always bringing me her white, pink, or brown shoes to put on...or sometimes her brother's shoes. She hands one to me and says "eh eh eh eh" until I catch on and put them on her chubby little feet.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Cowboy and Rudolf?

These are a couple of really cute pictures of JB and Gloria. JB loves wearing his cowboy boots and can put them on himself, which he thinks is even cooler. Gloria was being very cute in this swing at the Fishs' house in Derby, KS. It was in the 50s this day so her nose started to match her outfit.

We had a good visit to the house on which we have a contract. Pictures of this house are linked to this page if you would like to see it.

JB and Gloria have their best smiles on, so enjoy!



Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Like Mother, Like Daughter


Can you guess which one is Tamsey as a baby and which one is Gloria now? We didn't take a perfect picture of Gloria to match the one of me as a baby/toddler, but this is as close as we could get.

When we first found this baby picture of me, at first glance we thought it was Gloria. Then we looked closer and saw that it was an older picture and we don't have a striped blanket like that...now you know which is which!

Sunday, October 02, 2005

I'm here!

Max, the kids, and I went on a hike in the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma. Max took JB on his back and I took Gloria on my back...or maybe that's just an extra arm growing out of my neck. To the left of me in the picture there was a big canyon (actually very very small compared to the Grand Canyon) with a stream in it that was very beautiful.

I'm kinda hoping there are more hot days this fall so that we can go back to this place and wade in the stream and play in the little waterfalls with the kids...although we would have to figure out how to climb down the steep slope to the stream with two young 'uns.

You can view more pictures of this adventure on both of Max's blogs, and maybe even see the alien on my back. I think she was sticking out her arm like this because my hair was blowing in her face.

Still hot enough for popsicles...


It is now October and it is 95 degrees out today! The other day it got up to 105 degrees! To tell you the truth, although winter sounds appealing in this heat, I'd rather have a long summer than a long winter.