Ben & Alex

Keeping Warm

2012-02-12T17:01:00.002-06:00

After a warm and spring-like January, the winter weather seems to have caught up with us in February. It's still been mild for winter so I can't complain but I'm ready for shorts weather already! We've been spending a lot of time around the fireplace this week.

I thought this was adorable - Ben wanted to take advantage of the photo op as well.

We made hot chocolate and played a few rounds of go fish this cold, cloudy afternoon. Ben and Matt went outside for about five minutes but came right back in when a few pieces of sleet came down.

Despite the chill in the air, there was no stopping a topless dinner (Mama politely excluded from the toplessness, of course). Alex was trying to show me how full his tummy was to make his case to leave the table.

Here's Mr. Rib's best try at making his gut stick out. Impressive try, but still not an ounce of fat there!

But, as is usually the case in Houston, the high is forecast to be 75 again in just a few days so we won't be cold for long!

100th Day of Kindergarten

2012-02-07T13:24:00.004-06:00

The century mark of kindergarten is apparently a really big deal. Kids make shirts with 100 things on them and count out snacks with 100 pieces. Ben was really excited about the day but then disappointed to find out there was a day 101 and 102 and so on... He made a shirt with 100 sticky letters on it but refused to put any of them into words except "stinky feet". Yes, that's my boy.

And never one to pass up a photo op, Alex wanted his picture taken in his new boots. We're also gearing up for our first Go-Texan day in a few weeks. Gotta turn these boys into Texans!

At school, Ben did all kinds of fun activities with his class including making special hats. His sweet teacher emailed the class picture of all the kids with their crazy shirts and hats.

Ben came home with this worksheet (click to enlarge). I had no idea he was so keen to go to the dollar store but we made a trip shortly after this. He came home with a new pen, glue, and a tiny fan but thought he'd won a million dollars. I see many trips there in our future.

Life has been pretty quiet at home lately, which has been nice. It feels like a break between the holidays and before spring and outdoor activities start up again, so I'm really enjoying the peaceful days. It also means I've barely taken any pictures but here are a few worth sharing. Nothing says fun like scary zombie teeth!

Matt brought back some little bagpipes from Scotland and the kids were excited to try them. It really does take a lot of work to blow into the mouthpiece but Alex was up for the task!

Reptile Party

2012-01-30T20:13:00.003-06:00

One of Ben's classmates had a birthday party over the weekend and since Matt is out of town I had to take Alex as well. It was a good thing because Ben was busy playing the entire time with his friends and politely declined (several times) any interaction with the snakes and lizards. Alex, on the other hand, spent most of his time playing with each of the snakes.

Didn't take long before he wanted this big guy all to himself.

He was so gentle with this little one.

"Mom, I like this pretty orange one!"

All smiles...

...and a few tickles!

And check out these two little girls. They each wore a snake belt through most of the party!

The group shot of all the reptile-loving kids. The rest of the group (including Ben) was all in the playhouse ignoring the snakes and lizards. I enjoyed the snakes, didn't touch any lizards, and left happy that none of them escaped!

Mail

2012-01-23T20:10:00.001-06:00

Ben loves to leave me "mail" outside his door each night. It's usually scribbles and drawings or his name. Tonight's edition was a keeper for sure. I'll be ending this day with a big smile thanks to my sweet boy!

Look, Mom!

2012-01-20T09:57:00.003-06:00

No training wheels!!

Ben has been doing great on his glide bike (with no pedals, so he uses his feet and balance to go along) so we decided to take off his training wheels on his real bike. Didn't make a big deal about it or give him a chance to object, then before we knew it he was gone down the street. Matt and I were so proud of our big boy!! He has never reached a milestone like that so easily or before his peers. He's the first kindergartner on the street cruising on two wheels. We still have a little work to do on stopping and starting, but the hard part has been accomplished. Way to go, Ben!

That doesn't mean other modes of transportation have been forgotten, though. Every afternoon our cul-de-sac is full of kids on bikes, motorized cars, scooters, and trikes. We're loving this street more and more every day. We've officially entered the age where the doorbell rings after school and the little gang is gathering outside to play. Doesn't hurt that the weather has been perfect lately, with unseasonably warm temperatures just right for playing outdoors.

This week's main attraction is the big pile of dirt in our neighbor's driveway. It's slowly working its way back to their new garden but doubles as a huge playground for the kids.

The trampoline is still loads of fun for everyone and good for more crazy hair pictures.

All this outdoor play has been lots of fun for everyone, but also means I'm outside watching the boys a lot and neglecting the things that need to get done indoors. I did get a chance to thoroughly clean out the inside of my car and even had a little helper.

Let's hope this "winter" weather sticks around! It's hard to beat shorts and popsicles in January.

Children's Museum

2012-01-13T14:58:00.002-06:00

Alex and I decided to check out the Houston Children's Museum and he even picked out his own outfit for the day. He's very into doubling the shirts these days and doesn't seem to mind how they match up. I know there is no use arguing with a 3-year old fashionista so we just go with it.

A lot of it was aimed towards older kids (and I know Ben would have loved it...shhhh...) but Alex found lots of fun things to explore.

The kiddy restaurant was pretty cool. It even had tables and chairs for the kids to serve their parents.

The grocery store was lots of fun. We got a list, did our shopping, then this helpful young man rang up my purchases.

We didn't discover the water area outside until well past lunchtime, so Alex didn't get nearly as much time as he would have liked. Next time we'll bring Ben and start here! And probably bring swimsuits as well.

A New Year

2012-01-05T20:01:00.006-06:00

We have enjoyed a great start to 2012. New Year's day was busy with cleaning and playing (who doesn't like to start the year with a nice, clean house?) and the next day we took advantage of Matt's holiday to swing by Texas Children's at the medical center and see Ben's primary nurse from his days there. She couldn't believe how much Ben had grown!

A lot has changed since these days...I can't believe it was almost 6 years ago. Linda was our lifesaver and our rock. She would call and check in on Ben during her off days just to make sure the nurse on shift was taking proper care of him. We can never thank her enough for all she did for our little Ben. It was so special watching Ben walk up to her and say thank you.

And back home we have been JUMPING!

Check out that crazy hair!

The kids are out there a lot and I've had a ton of fun jumping, too. Alex loves playing crack the egg.

Ben wanted his own video. Alex had trouble waiting for his turn, naturally...

So Ben had to make sure he was heard on Alex's video...

They love when Daddy gets in on the action and he even taught them how to build up the static and shock one another. Awesome.

We have five other kindergartners on our street so Ben has lots of little buddies and when the kids aren't out front playing, our doorbell has started ringing because the other kids want to join in the backyard fun. I think we're really going to enjoy santa's gift this year!

And of course real life set in and school sneaked back into our lives. Two little boys have had some trouble getting going early in the mornings again!

The break was much-needed for all of us but I'm happy to see the kids excited to go back to school and see their friends and teachers.

Winter Break

2012-01-01T14:08:00.004-06:00

Ben is officially a huge fan of the break from school (no longer Christmas holidays, now just a winter break). He's loved sleeping in, spending the night with the grandparents, and NOT going to school! And since Aunt Stacey was enjoying her break too, we headed north to spend a few days with her and her family. With three little boys in the house playground trips were a must every day.

This was a terrific playground in Frisco. Reid loved the slides!

Ben climbed in, out, and over everything. The boo boo on his face that required a bandaid was immediately forgotten until some kid asked about it and Ben pointed to Alex and said "That kid hurt me".

Alex was really intrigued by the tightrope and did it over and over.

This balance beam was a hit, too. Despite being so top-heavy, this kid has a great sense of balance!

Naturally, they found the sand. Wouldn't be a real trip to the park without sand in the laundry.

This cracked me up - a bunch of other boys gathered around and they all started filling the slide with sand. Ben and Alex were right in the thick of things.

This little girl showed up and started yelling at all the boys for getting the slide dirty! This mother of boys got a good laugh out of that.

Back home we said goodbye to 2011 with some sparklers outside with the neighbor boys.

Nothing says a good time like matches and fire!

We have had a wonderful 2011 and look forward to 2012. We wish all our family and friends and healthy, happy and joyous year ahead!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-26T20:57:00.006-06:00

We had such a wonderful Christmas! It was magical for the kids and filled with family time and laughter, so we couldn't ask for anything more. We spent a few days with my folks before just to play and enjoy some time together. The weather was cold and rainy and made for perfect days to play games and open presents.

We let the kids open one a day to keep them busy and interested in new toys.

The mini foosball table was a hit with kids AND adults. I see some good times happening on this whether the kids are around or not :)

On Christmas Eve, we stopped for a beautiful candlelight service at church to celebrate Jesus then came home to get ready for Santa. Ben had to inspect the fireplace to make sure it was sound and not too dirty.

Goodies by the fireplace, reindeer food and carrots out on the lawn (which I realized was poor planning because I had to hose it down later to make sure it looked "eaten"...I had no trouble helping Santa with his cookies!)

So excited!!

As soon as the kids finally passed out, Matt and I had to get to work. Santa was delivering a 14-foot trampoline only his magic doesn't get it assembled when it's 40F and raining outside. A couple of hours later, we had one huge gift and icy hands and feet.

But it was all worth it to see their faces Christmas morning. Ben kept pointing to things and saying "Alex, look, you got what you wanted!" Very sweet! And lucky for me, Alex didn't notice that Santa had to make a few small substitutions. Rockstar Mickey for $45? I don't think so. Let's go with the $10 dancing Mickey from Walgreens. Just as happy :)

We had to get pretty specific for Mr. Details. He noticed pretty quickly that one of the items on his list was missing, but we assured him he had many other presents under the tree. Mom and Dad had to get credit for at least a couple!

He was thrilled to get a little microwave. I'm not sure where he got the idea for it but he's been talking about it for weeks and has actually played with it. I thought sure he'd get it and never touch it again.

Alex was so happy to get a trike. He's not crazy about a bike with training wheels yet so this should be fun until he's a little bigger.

It was still cold and rainy outside so he got to ride it inside for a couple of days.

The boys were happy to see the trampoline and were so excited to get a big one. We did promise them that if we sold their little one in Australia they could get a new one in our bigger yard.

I didn't last long out there but after putting in all the work the night before, I wanted to share in the fun :) The boys made several trips outside during the day and didn't seem to notice the cold.

Later on, we had all the family from both sides over to the house for lunch. What fun! All four grandparents, Aunt Amanda, Aunt Stacey, Uncle Jason, and Reid all came to celebrate together and we had a wonderful afternoon eating and playing. Reid was in heaven with so many cars and diggers around. He took his time opening his presents, unlike his two cousins who blew through a load of presents like hurricanes.

Just his size!

Toys galore - Ben is outside on the walkie talkie and Alex is working the bubble machine. Reid got to watch the fun through the window. Probably a good thing because shortly after this the bubble machine went in the trampoline and the boys made a slip and slide in there.

We did get some great group shots on Stacey's camera so I'll share those once she passes them along. We still get to spend some more time together and play with Reid because one afternoon isn't enough!

Today the kids and I had a very lazy day of recovery from all the holiday excitement. They never got out of their pajamas, even to go to Target. I finally got dressed just to not be the crazy lady buying groceries in PJ pants at 4pm. Lazy didn't mean boring to these two...they discovered lots of toys that still needing exploring or assembling and enjoyed every minute.

What a blessing to spend Christmas in our own home and still be able to share it with those we love the most. Ben and Alex both agreed that it was a perfect day!

Counting the Days

2011-12-20T17:17:00.003-06:00

Even though we spent several Christmases here while we were overseas, I've still gotten overwhelmed with all of the holiday events and to-do lists. Our home leaves were always a whirlwind but living here and juggling the school activities, Christmas parties, shopping, and baking have left me feeling behind for weeks. I think I'll spend more time next year looking at the calendar and planning ahead! But at least we managed to finish almost everything and the boys and I are enjoying this week of school holidays with rest and play while Matt wraps up at the office.

We got our year-end stats on the boys (both at 37.5 lbs! B at 46in and A at 39in) and they wanted to look back at their baby books. Think they've grown a little? Ben's foot nearly covers the page!

Alex's foot

Alex's hands. The originals weren't great but we got an idea of the size of his hands. Since both kids were early we never got the pretty hospital prints.

Alex has been counting the days to Christmas and can tell you exactly how many are left every day! Now we're just trying to keep him busy to pass the time until the big day.

Ben is counting, too, but isn't quite as obsessed as Alex. He has so many animal friends to take care of it's a wonder he has time for anything. These guys all got their own blankets.

We've been playing with the neighbors a lot, too. Alex loves Michelle, another preschooler down the street, so her mom and I swapped some babysitting time to finish our Christmas shopping. These two had a wonderful lunch date.

We baked sugar cookies with sweet Sariah from next door and her brother. My first experience with four kids, icing and sprinkles.

They were so busy! I was busy with a wet rag and dustbuster to try and keep the mess contained.

Yum!

Uh, not exactly how I would have chosen to decorate them but the kids loved them. Nothing wrong with half a pound of sprinkles, right?

Alex enjoyed one last indian summer day in the sprinkler. Gotta love December in Houston when you still get 80 degree days!

Now we're ready to celebrate Christmas with our families and await the arrival of Santa. We're also hoping to take the kids to their first candlelight Christmas eve service so they can understand why we're celebrating in the first place.

Tis the Season!

2011-12-11T14:14:00.003-06:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! And these boys are all over it. Christmas in America sure beats Christmas down under (but we wouldn't mind a trip to the beach these days!) They were SO excited to go see Santa and both got really shy when they saw him. I know they still rattled off a list of things they're hoping to see under the tree but I loved seeing them awestruck with the big guy in red. We went really early so they had lots of time to talk and we took lots of pictures, and Alex looked like this in ALL of them!

At home we got a tall, pre-lit tree so I was pretty thrilled to save all the time stringing lights! The boys helped hang some of the ornaments but I didn't force the issue when they got bored because all of them would have ended up on one branch.

The fireplace is looking cozy and we've had lots of discussions about how Santa will get in. The best part of this picture is that the TV is no longer on the coffee table because we finally got a console!

The most fun we've had is with our Elf on the Shelf that the boys named Bart. For those new to this bribe, er, tradition, the story is that this little guy watches the kids all day then goes to the north pole at night to report to Santa. Awesome parenting tool.

Each day when he gets back from the north pole he shows up in a new spot so the kids have to find him in the morning.

We also went to the big Christmas pageant at our church in Houston and it was amazing! The kids loved parts of it but after the first 200 questions from Ben, I began to lose my patience and didn't get to enjoy it as much as I would have liked. I should have given him a limit on questions before the show started. Live and learn. Regardless, it was their first time to see the story of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus and I hope they'll remember it forever. That and angels all over the sanctuary and coming down from the ceiling, and even an elephant following the wise men. Really awesome.

Thanksgiving in Alabama

2011-12-02T13:39:00.006-06:00

We all enjoy a trip to Alabama to play, get dirty, and escape from the real world for a while. We met Grandpa and Grandma Kirkham there for Thanksgiving and had a great time. It was our first time to visit since a tornado came through in April and destroyed about 80 acres of woods and damaged Grandpa's house and cousin Jim's house across the street. Both houses have been repaired (Jim's was pretty severe and just finished up last month!) and the salvageable timber hauled off, but the rest of the debris and stumps still needed to be burned. Jim had already piled most of the debris with Grandpa's new bulldozer, but they still got a little help from two willing volunteers.

I didn't plan this, but Ben happened to be representing Caterpillar courtesy of our friend Mr. Scott, who works at the Cat headquarters.

Shortly after these pictures, I learned that rolling in dirt gets the grease off of clothes. Who knew? My little pigpen cleaned himself up by getting dirtier.

The boys loved riding with Jim!

I even did a little driving myself. I have to admit it was really fun. Log across the road? No problem. I wouldn't mind cruising down I-10 in Houston traffic in this one day.

The boys' favorite part was going back out to the fires after dinner and roasting marshmallows....or "camping" as Alex kept calling it.

It's hard to beat a warm, gooey marshmallow! We're a perfect fit - I want the crispy skin, the boys want the mushy insides.

Messy? Nah, just the sign of a yummy dessert.

The boys' other favorite activity was catching grasshoppers outside. Ben loves anything he can keep as a pet. This one was Cheeky, his favorite. (but shhhh.....don't tell him I quietly removed one of Cheeky's legs so he couldn't escape!)

And Alex loved Donald. Poor Donald lost both his legs in a catch gone wrong, but turns out it didn't matter because Alex loves with all his heart and all his fist.

Little Donald didn't exactly hop away when Alex was finished playing with him.

Happy boys out in the woods!

It was a great Thanksgiving and we were so happy to celebrate it with family this year. Now we're thrilled about Christmas and can't wait for Santa to come down the chimney!

Thankful

2011-11-21T14:17:00.003-06:00

We are so happy to be celebrating Thanksgiving in the land of turkey and pumpkin! Last year a very thoughtful friend sent us a can of pumpkin and I shared a big batch of pumpkin spice cupcakes with all our American friends because it was too precious to keep to ourselves. Aside from the ease of shopping here, we are thankful for a multitude of blessings this year - family, good health, happy kids, the list could go on and on. I love sharing this with the kids and hearing what they're thankful for as well.
(click on the pictures to enlarge)

Ben and Alex are also getting caught up in decorating for the holidays so yesterday we made hand turkeys and they spend the evening doing the "turkey tango" with them. Not sure where these ideas originate but they're fun to watch.

My little guys are getting very artistic these days, thanks in part to some of the kindergarten assignments Ben brings home and part due to longer attention spans, I think. The kitchen counter is such a great space for them to get creative while I cook on the other side.

They're also loving the laundry. I'm cheering for this one! They worked together to empty the dryer and move the clean clothes out of the washer....hooray!!

They're also enjoying the jeep again these days, thanks to cooler weather and a new battery that lasts a lot longer. Alex was driving and Ben was consulting the map.

Ben got himself dressed recently and came back with some extra clothes...

...and naturally Thing 2 had to follow suit about 12 seconds later.

Alex has some new moves these days. Loving the booty shake and the breakdancing on the floor.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Chalk and Puddles

2011-11-15T17:01:00.001-06:00

What happens after the first rain in weeks?

Fire Station Birthday Party

2011-11-13T21:23:00.003-06:00

On Saturday we got to take the kids to one of the best birthday parties ever. It was at the fire station where their friend Jackson was born two years ago! It's one of those amazing birth stories you'd see on TV, but the little guy was in such a hurry to get out his parents didn't make it to the hospital and pulled into this fire station just a few minutes before he was born. The firemen there have kept up with little Jackson and even offered to open the station for the first time to a birthday party so he could celebrate. Naturally, the boys were thrilled at the prospect of fire trucks and cupcakes. All my pictures came from my camera and I didn't even get one of the birthday boy, but I captured a lot of the fun.

I didn't realize this little boy's parents weren't there with him and couldn't figure out why he was in all our pictures!

The kids got to climb all over the trucks so it was little boy heaven.

Let's wait a few more years before you take that out for a spin, Ben...

We got to see the jaws of life and the hydraulic cutters for car accidents and lots of other cool equipment. Matt and I were just as excited as the kids to see a lot of the things.

The kids all got to take turns with the hose.

These guys were SERIOUS.

Matt was the lucky volunteer to put on all 80lbs of equipment. It's amazing what firemen can do with all that extra weight.

The kids were all enthralled.

Fireman Matt came to say hello once he was fully equipped.

Ben did a little demo of Stop, Drop, and Roll that he remembered from school. He must have learned it the day he came home to ask how long it had been since we checked the batteries in the smoke detectors. How is it he can remember that but not remember what he ate for lunch?

After all the fun in the firehouse, we went inside for pizza and cupcakes. What a great time! Too bad it's not a regular event there because I know Ben and Alex will probably be asking for that kind of party next summer.

Here and Now

2011-11-10T20:20:00.000-06:00

Wow...6 months already. Exactly half a year ago Monday we spent our last glorious day on Cottesloe beach, had our sweet babysitter watch the kids one last time, and Matt and I watched our last sunset over the Indian ocean. I can't believe how the time has flown by. I'd heard so many warnings about how hard it is to repatriate and readjust to life back home that I was pretty nervous about it but honestly, we've all been so happy back in Texas that there is no doubt it was the right move for our family at just the right time. A lot of prayer goes into each move we've made and God definitely opened the right doors for us each time. Singapore was a wonderful adventure and an exciting multi-cultural experience. Perth was a laid-back, peaceful time in a beautiful country. But Texas, well, Texas is HOME. It may not always be as exciting or breathtaking, but it's where our hearts have always been. Our families are here, our roots are here, and now our children are setting roots here as well.

The best part of this last move is that it was not an assignment, it was a permanent relocation. That is a huge difference mentally. Gone are the "when we get back we'll...." or "in the next house..." and even the "for our next move we should..." It's tough as an expat to enjoy life in the moment sometimes when you're thinking ahead to when "real" life will begin again. Now we're enjoying the real life and I'm finding so much peace and satisfaction in living in our own house again, washing my own car, putting nails in the wall for things to stay, going to a church we really love. Last Saturday we got to have lunch with Grammy and Grumpy and dinner with Grandpa, Grandma, and Aunt Amanda. Life is good.

I think a big bonus to our readjustment was settling in a new part of Houston, ironically something I was very against when the opportunity initially presented itself. We're almost an hour from our old house so we are learning all about a new community and making new friends, but we're still close enough to see old friends every once in a while. It may have been a lot harder had we gone back to our old neighborhood and tried to pick up life as we knew it four years ago since everyone's lives have gone on without us. Several families on our street have relocated from overseas or distant corners of the US so we're not alone in adjusting here.

I guess we'll always be a little different now, though. I'll want to say "air-con" forever because it's easier than air-conditioning. I still call trash cans "bins" because that's what Ben knows to call them. I have to remember at the seafood counter that it's okay to ask for "fil-lays" instead of "fil-lits" (a word I hated and usually refused to say in Australia). I still get confused occasionally about which side of the road I need to drive on or which stick controls the wipers or blinkers. Matt and I decide if we want take-away for dinner. I'm slowly resisting the urge to buy 6 cans of rotel every time I go down the aisle in the store because I remind myself I can get them anytime I need them. Our kids are learning about America's obsessive need to overdo every holiday and things like daylight savings time that they've never experienced. Boy, did Ben have a lot of questions about that! Not every 5-year old's drawings of airplanes always include inflight TV's. I'm growing more and more excited about the fact that our holidays this year won't include any marathon flights or jetlag, and we can buy freely without worrying about whether it will get back in our luggage.

It's wonderful to live life now. In the moment. And feel content. We thank God for a wonderful experience overseas and even more for a wonderful place to return home.

Trick or Treat!

2011-10-31T21:00:00.001-05:00

Field Trip

2011-10-31T14:00:00.005-05:00

Last week I was lucky enough to attend Ben's first field trip with him to Dewberry Farms. There were lots of other excited kids (and moms) on the trip so we both got to make some new friends. Moms weren't allowed on the bus so I packed Ben up and gave him a hug at school, then drove to the farm. I was a little less than pleased when he got off the bus there and had forgotten his jacket at school because it was a cold and windy day! Here Ben and his buddy Alexandra are waiting for the festivities.

Luckily, one of the other moms had an extra fleece pullover in her car so he borrowed hers and I didn't have to sacrifice mine. Our first excursion was a tractor ride with the class to the pumpkin patch where they all got to pick out baby pumpkins.

The proud kiddos lined up with their loot.

Afterward we checked out the farm animals and Ben was disappointed that we didn't get to pick up the chicks. I don't think the chicks were sad, though!

After lunch, we went with this group of precious little boys to enjoy the activities around the farm. They all wanted to do the corn maze first, which sounded fun until they all disappeared in different directions. Once they were rounded up we decided it would be better to stick together!

Ben and a few of his classmates stopped for a picture with his sweet teacher. I could not have asked for a better kindergarten teacher! I hope she's still there when Alex gets to school.

It was a great day, even if the weather didn't agree. The nice thing is that we got some rain with the cold weather and it stopped early that morning so the trip wasn't cancelled. And since it's Texas, the high the next day was almost 20 degrees warmer!

Pictures from my Phone

2011-10-28T21:21:00.002-05:00

I just found the app to post on blogger right from my phone. Thank you, Steve Jobs, for such an amazing invention that I can take pictures and blog with my iPhone! Here are some random cute pictures worth sharing. Sorry to my facebook friends that have already seen most of these!

We've wanted to take the boys to a football game (preferably Aggie football, but at $80 a ticket that may have to wait a while) so we hit the local high school game last weekend. Ben and Alex LOVED it!

With the game, bands, drill teams, and cheerleaders, we were all entertained for two quarters and halftime. We finally left when it got close to 9 and the boys still complained about having to go home.

Look, it's the Great Pumpkin, Alex!!

Alex prefers to do his housecleaning properly accessorized. (and boy am I glad to have a dust-buster again! They think it's a treat to use it)

Last week was Ben's first school store where the kids can buy little knick knacks. I sent him with two dollars and couldn't wait to see what he came home with. I should not have been surprised when he was thrilled to show me his new calculator. Definitely his Daddy's son.

Alex still misses Ben during the day and I realized I don't take him to play much on his own, so we finally checked out Monkey Joe's. He loved the big inflatable slides and bouncy houses and found some other kids to play with him and fill Ben's shoes.

We were way behind in seeing the dentist with the ridiculously slow scheduling in Perth and our move, so the kids were overdue for their checkups last week. Unfortunately Ben had 3 small cavities but the dentist was able to fill them right then, which was good news for a boy who would ask 1,000 questions and stress over it until it was done. I told him he'd like the laughing gas. About 10 seconds later he said "I'm not laughing yet." Glad to have that done! He's got a bad combination of preemie teeth and a very small jaw, making them crowded and hard to clean between so we're becoming much better flossers in our house to hopefully prevent any repeats.

Our first rainy cold front finally arrived yesterday and we were greeted with a beautiful sight first thing in the morning.

Pumpkins

2011-10-26T09:14:00.002-05:00

Our boys are learning all about Halloween this year. They've never really seen decorations and keep asking why people have skeletons in their yards and ghosts in their trees. We've done variations of trick or treating but the real deal will be a first for our kids next week. More important on their list last weekend was the carving of the pumpkins.

We went with one big and two little since Matt and I would be doing the bulk of the work.

Alex was NOT thrilled with the guts.

We made him get his hands dirty if he wanted to participate and he did so very reluctantly.

The boys picked a bat and a ghost for their pumpkins and were very pleased with the results.

Alex chose a candle for his but Ben used a toy red light to make his bat extra spooky.

Pumpkin carving is serious work. Apparently this one required power tools for precision drilling.

It turned out very nice and even got a few dowels for reinforcement. I always have to laugh at the differences between Matt's and my work. I free-handed the boys' designs so they turned out generally as requested but a bit crooked. You ask an engineer to create something and it will be exactly right!

Friends

2011-10-11T20:02:00.003-05:00

We've been fortunate enough to catch up with some of our close friends over the past week. We helped Haley celebrate her fourth birthday and although it doesn't look like it in the picture, the kids had a great time. By the end of the party they really just wanted me to crack open the big jar of M&M's. As though two cupcakes weren't enough!

It was a very exciting day when Brynn and Ansley came to visit! These sweet girls have just left Australia and are moving to Alabama soon. We're bummed that they won't be in Texas but excited we'll get to meet up in Alabama sometimes. Malcolm, our other buddy from Perth, joined in for some fun as well.

These two are still the sweetest pair. It was a quiet, shy reunion but after half an hour they were talking and playing like no time had passed. Ben is still quite convinced they'll get married one day but he promised to wait until he's 18. I'm encouraging at least 25.

Alex and Ansley have always been two peas in a pod as well, but still like to do their own things. We've sure missed those beautiful girls!

We've also had a little fun at Grammy and Grumpy's...

Ready to fly?

Lookin' good! For those that have asked about Ben's eyes post-surgery, they're doing great. We've been really pleased with the results, although we don't know yet if his vision has improved much. The redness is almost entirely gone and his stitches should be dissolved. He was never really in pain or uncomfortable so everything really was as easy as we could have hoped.

The best part for Ben is that he's finally able to go swimming again! Couldn't risk a public pool with open incisions in his eye muscles so now that he's all healed up we've made up some of his lessons. He was signalling me to take his picture.

I've never seen Ben so full of smiles! Probably 10% due to the fact he was back in the pool and 90% because this was about two hours before the long-awaited reunion with Brynn.

Weekend Away

2011-10-09T20:38:00.006-05:00

Matt's new position at work requires a lot of travel and we just learned that one of the perks is that occasionally it might work out for me to join him! He was in between meetings in London and Grandma K was available to watch the boys, so I hopped on the plane for a weekend with my hubby. It was wonderful!!

The best part for me - flying ALONE. Nine hours to do whatever I wanted, carrying only stuff for myself in my bag. I slept, I watched movies, I read an entire book, I went to the bathroom all by myself. That alone was worth the trip!

The next best part - Matt and I have each been to London before and only had a short list of things we absolutely had to do. The weekend filled up, but we slept in, relaxed in the parks in some gorgeous weather, and lingered over our meals. We were in no hurry and walked everywhere. Such a change from daily life. I'll share a few highlights.

First stop - Buckingham Palace. We happened to catch the last weekend the state rooms were open to the public while the queen was away for the summer.

Couldn't take pictures inside (boo!!!) but the best part for me was seeing Kate's wedding dress on display. I still remember Princess Di's dress as a kid and I was just as excited to watch the royal wedding earlier this year, so I thought it was pretty cool to see the dress and veil in person.

Had to see Big Ben, of course.

We enjoyed the passionate people at Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park.

Neither of us had been inside St. Paul's Cathedral and it was really beautiful.

Absolutely gorgeous ceilings...

...and incredible paintings inside the dome.

We took the staircase all the way to the very top of the dome and enjoyed the view all the way around London.

It was so nice to enjoy a sunset and savor the moment at a rooftop restaurant. The weather couldn't have been any nicer for us.

It was wonderful to get away for a few days and enjoy some time alone together. We love our kids but we also love being a couple every now and then, too. I flew out early Monday while Matt went back to work and I was pretty happy to see two little faces when I got home! Thank you, Grandma, for taking such wonderful care of them while we were gone!!

Priceless

2011-09-26T15:23:00.002-05:00

We love Alex so much. He is charming, funny, creative, and incredibly strong-willed. There are days he makes me want to pull out my hair. Here are a few more photos that are worth remembering:

(yes, he's just showing me his band-aid, but I'm sure we'll need this picture again one day!)

"Mama, I sad."

His self-designated time out area for times when life just doesn't go his way.

Ahh, never a dull moment with this one. But on the flip side, when he's happy he is SO happy! Check out his ABC song that somehow morphs into Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

Coldplay

2011-09-23T20:38:00.000-05:00

Matt and I were fortunate enough last week to win FREE tickets to a Coldplay concert in Austin. Not the Austin City Limits Music Festival (which I was tempted to try, until I saw the last minute 1-day passes were almost $200 each) but a taping at the ACL Live venue for a show that will air on new year's eve. We didn't care anything about the fact that it was being taped...to us it was an intimate concert with our favorite band in the world with an added bonus of watching in on TV in December!

This is not zoomed in at all. We were about 10 people back from the stage so only a handful of people were in between me and Chris Martin. I looked everywhere for Gwyneth but she was nowhere to be seen.

They said no taping or photography at the concert but everyone was doing it so I couldn't resist a few clips. I didn't want to spend too much time fiddling with my phone so they're not great but you get the idea. Here's my current favorite, their new single Paradise:

And my all-time favorite, Fix You. It was fun watching Chris dance around on such a small stage after seeing him in two huge arenas.

We got to hear several new unreleased songs from their album due out next month and even got to count down to 2012 for the TV event. What an amazing night! And for FREE!!

Ben's Surgery

2011-09-22T21:16:00.006-05:00

We've known for a while that Ben would require surgery to correct his lazy eye and the big week finally arrived. On Monday we went for the pre-op appointment. Looking at Ben in the chair, I was wondering exactly how much the surgery could improve his vision - enough to realize the outfit he picked was terrible? I didn't have the heart to tell him his silly socks and crocs were an eyesore so we just went with it. (but to my credit, he didn't go to school so only the doctor got to see this gem of an outfit)

Alex enjoys these appointments, too, because it's become a little bit of competition as to who can identify the letters first. Ben has the advantage of knowing his entire alphabet while Alex has the advantage of 20/20 vision and a chair much closer to the screen.

While we were waiting, Ben serenaded us with an original song. I had no idea how lovely it would be until I was already recording.

The doctor got all his measurements and answered all our questions, then at 6am Wednesday morning we were headed in for the procedure. This is the new West Campus that is less than half an hour from us.

We love Texas Children's so much! Each waiting area had toys, bikes, games, puzzles, and even Wii's for the kids.

Ben was pretty excited about his new pajamas but asked to be able to stay a dragon on the bottom.

When I broke the news that Mama and Daddy weren't going in the room with him Ben began to get pretty nervous. He mostly watched SpongeBob (a treat since it's a show we don't watch at home) and enjoyed himself but got pretty anxious during the commercials.

One last look at the turn in his left eye. After hugs and kisses, the anesthesiologist carried Ben with his Puppy and blankie into the OR with her. I was so glad they let him take his buddies with him for comfort and even more relieved to know the first thing he would get in there would be cotton candy flavored happy gas. Our little guy didn't feel or remember a thing. I'm not sure he even realized he had an IV.

About an hour later, the doctor told us everything went really well and he was pleased with the results. We'll go back next week for a follow-up to see if his vision has improved and if the eyes are working together. (There's a decent chance he may need another surgery or two to fine tune the alignment but we won't worry about that yet ) In recovery, our little rock star was waking up and enjoying a popsicle and gatorade. Once he had stabilized and the nurse was pleased, we were already headed home.
He cruised on the mini cooper to the car! We were all done a little after 10am.

Back home our little guy was worn out and slept most of the afternoon. When he was finally up and around to play with his new toy I finally got a good look at his eyes. Definitely puffy.

And definitely red! But they look much better when he's not making silly faces. He's really concerned about how red they are so hopefully it won't last too long.

Today he's completely back to normal and not in any pain but I'll keep him home through the weekend just to make sure he's not rubbing his eyes or going anywhere dusty or dirty. We are so happy that everything went well and Ben is already feeling fine. Thanks everyone for your prayers!

In the Groove

2011-09-19T13:00:00.004-05:00

Everyone has settled nicely into our school routine but I can't believe how fast the weeks fly past. Alex still misses Ben during the day but he's surviving because he gets me all to himself. No frowns on this face!

Ben loves school but complains that he doesn't get enough time to play at home. He really doesn't have more than a couple of hours each day (what happens when he starts getting homework??) so we try to make the most of them. We've had some really beautiful evenings lately, a little taste of fall, and Ben has loved riding his bike around. This is the park-to-be, just behind our house and two lots down. Can't wait to play here when it's all finished! And those are NOT clouds in the background - that is smoke coming from last week's wildfire in Magnolia, about 60 miles from here. Even from that distance we still got ash falling here and could smell the smoke. Thank goodness it's finally under control and we even got some rain to hopefully put it out completely.

The boys both go to swim lessons after school one day a week and they're both doing really well. The difference between May and today is incredible. But sometimes I wonder how they learn anything when they're constantly playing with each other over the ropes.

Matt got invited to a duck hunt last weekend and came home with four teal. Our boys were pretty interested in the loot, but our neighbor Thurman was even more excited.

No, they're not toys but these boys didn't seem to mind! Thurman's parents are not hunters so hopefully we didn't do any damage to our neighborly relations by exposing him to dead animals in our garage. No matter what, they sure tasted good!

I wouldn't be a good mom unless I had at least a few blackmail pictures of my kids, right? This one isn't too bad...Alex wanted to borrow Ben's glasses, only his head is a tiny bit bigger so they don't exactly fit.

This one has me almost in tears every time I look at it! Putting it in his senior yearbook for sure. As long as all his business is going in the potty, I really don't care what he's doing in there. Life is so wonderful without diapers :) I think I can actually downsize my purse again.

Poor Ben picked up some kind of stomach bug yesterday and spent the entire morning throwing up. Amazingly, it's the first time our kids have really had something like that so we considered ourselves very fortunate and were happy to see he perked right up after a nap on the couch. I still kept him home from school today just to be considerate to the other kids but we're enjoying a little "Ben holiday" together.

First order of business - dig out the rain coats and boots and enjoy the morning's rain! I bought these coats over a year ago and they've been worn just a handful of times. That is how much rain we've seen over the past couple of years. A record breaking 18-month dry spell in Perth (which usually has very dry summers anyway) and then this historic drought in Texas. I never thought I'd be so excited to hear thunder.

Now we're just enjoying a quiet afternoon together and then a visit to Ben's ophthalmologist. He's scheduled to have surgery to correct his lazy eye on Wednesday so please say a prayer for our little guy!

5 Years

2011-09-13T13:47:00.002-05:00

Even though Ben's birthday has long since passed this year, today marks the fifth anniversary of the day we truly became parents because we brought our little Ben home. This year I've been reliving a lot of the drama from that summer, maybe because it's our first summer in Texas since then or because Ben is in school and I'm still amazed at his start in this world. Just a few weeks before he was born my grandmother passed away, then we spent months juggling our jobs and hospital visits, and just a few days before Ben made it home my grandfather passed away, too. Not an easy summer.

But that all changed on September 13th, 2006 when Matt and I brought our son home for the first time. We became a family. What a wonderful day to celebrate! And tomorrow Matt and I will celebrate 10 years since he proposed and we decided to make this thing official. I am so blessed with a loving husband and healthy, beautiful boys!

Welcome home, Ben!

On my playlist this week - John Mayer's "Heart of Life"
Pain throws your heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
No, it won't all go the way it should
But I know the heart of life is good

Texas Road Trip

2011-09-04T15:40:00.006-05:00

Lots of people have asked us if we'll be visiting the beaches in Texas after being so spoiled to the pristine beaches in Australia. This past weekend with Tropical Storm Lee churning in the Gulf, we decided it was a great time to answer that question. There is no better time for a surfer to hit the waves than with a big storm around, so we decided on Friday afternoon to take a road trip. This was our boys' first time on a beach in the continental US!

Less than two hours away we found the tiny town of Surfside and had a great seafood dinner before checking out the waves.

The storm was well east of us but the waves and very high tide showed it was still close enough to influence the Texas coast. We heeded the sign and decided not to park on the beach.

The boys always love staying in a hotel and I let them pack their bags after I threw in the essentials. I think it's hilarious that they think a toaster, a popsicle, teddy bear hat, and box of fake macaroni were also necessary for a successful trip.

On Saturday the boys and I relaxed in the room while Matt enjoyed some waves, then a little later we all went out to Quintana beach together. Nothing says happy to these boys like sand and shovels!

I'm not going to say it was the prettiest place we've ever been but it was a lot better than I thought. It was fun avoiding Galveston because we had most of the beach to ourselves.

The shallow, gentle waves were perfect for the kids because Ben could swim around and boogie board.

Alex played on his board a little, too, and both kids had a few turns on Daddy's long surfboard in the shallows. I even took a turn myself a little farther out and caught a wave or two.

Ben's official opinion: Texas beaches are better than Australia beaches because they have sand AND mud.

It was a great little getaway for all of us and wonderful to know we didn't have to give up our fun beach days just because it's farther away now.

Back home, the boys have been getting some boxing lessons.

I have the feeling this won't be quite as much fun for Matt when Ben is a little bigger!

No idea what game was going on this day but the glasses were a big part of it. These guys are hilarious!

Alex's First Day of School

2011-08-30T15:38:00.003-05:00

After a failed attempt at school in Perth last year, we are excited to have started Alex in a local preschool here. It's basically a Mothers' Day Out program from 9:30-2:30 at a church down the road and just what this little guy needs. He has been talking about it for months and has been excitedly looking forward to this day. Last week we went to meet his teacher and see the classroom. The kids got half an hour with the teacher while parents had an orientation in the sanctuary and Alex was still all smiles when I got back. He didn't want to leave!

Today he woke up thrilled that the big day was finally here! Unfortunately he had to wait two hours after Ben got on the bus before going but he survived.

We found his cubby and put all of his things away and he started getting quiet, so I began to wonder if he was having second thoughts.

Uh, no. When we walked into the classroom he said "Hi everyone!" and parked himself with a puzzle. I sat down with him for a minute and he looked at me and said "Bye mom." I took that as my cue to leave. No tears, not a second glance. This guy was READY. He was still all smiles this afternoon when I picked him up and had a wonderful day. I'm so happy that my baby is going to love his school!

The kids enjoyed seeing some of their friends over the weekend. On Saturday we helped our friend Malcolm from Perth celebrate his birthday at the bowling alley.

I can't say they did a lot of bowling but everyone seemed to enjoy running around in the shoes.

Pizza and cupcakes were definitely a hit with my crowd.

Saturday night we had an ex-expat barbeque with families who'd lived in Beijing, Singapore, and Perth. I was a little worried about 10 kids in the house but it was a fantastic group of little ones, probably because seven of them were girls. Nothing like a good movie to keep the troops entertained!

It was a lot of fun hanging out with other people who have recently returned to the US. I've been preparing myself for the big letdown that people have warned about following the move home, but for Matt, myself, and the kids this is definitely the place we're supposed to be right now and we're all content. Life is good.

The First Day of School (Again)

2011-08-22T20:16:00.003-05:00

Except this time it's for REAL! This is the fifth school Ben has attended, so the whole first day of school thing has been done a lot at our house. The difference this time around is that we plan for him to attend this school for many years and have no intention of pulling him out for a month or more to travel around the world. And now he will ride the bus!

At 7:30 this morning he was packed up and ready to go.

We all walked to the end of the cul-de-sac to wait with the other kids and parents at the bus stop. Ben was getting nervous and very quietly told me, "Mama, I don't want to ride the bus!" (And yes, Alex is grabbing his crotch. What can I say...BOYS.)

When the bus pulled up I had to give Ben a gentle shove towards the steps because he was backing up. He went like a champ, though, and didn't look back. Alex, on the other hand, had to be pulled back because he didn't understand why he DIDN'T get to ride the bus!

After the bus pulled away, Alex and I hopped in the car and raced to school to get a parking spot and be there when Ben got off. I was glad to see things were really organized and each kid got a colored sticker to remind him what color bus sign to look for in the afternoon. This school has 1,400 kids already this year and is expected to top out around 1,800 with all the people moving into the neighborhoods so I really had to question whether it was worth sending him on the bus. Then I saw the 4-page dissertation on car-rider procedures and the mile-long line up and decided we'd make the bus work. Ben survived his first trip...no damage done! Although he didn't appreciate the fact that there is no air-conditioning. I guess some things haven't change in the 30 years since I was riding the bus and sweating.

We walked Ben into his class and got him settled at his little desk. The girl next to him, Alex, also lives on our street and will be riding the bus home with Ben each day. Ben said he had a lot of fun playing with her but is concerned about knowing more than one Alex. I like the teacher so far and I was very impressed with how quiet and happy all the kids were on their first day! Not sure if that's her doing or just a good group of kids, but either way, it wasn't hard to say goodbye to Ben in such a happy place.

Alex, not to be left out of all this attention of course, was busy entertaining the other Alex's dad in the hallway. He insisted on wearing his backpack all day. He also told me he had just turned four today, I think his way of working up to being old enough to ride the bus tomorrow!

At 4:15 this afternoon, my little man was back at home with me after surviving his second bus ride and maybe even enjoying it a little! He was hot and tired but nothing a popsicle couldn't help.

And then it was back to business as usual. The boys had to run around and play like they hadn't seen each other in weeks. I'm a little sad for them knowing they won't have as much time together anymore but Alex starts his preschool two days a week next week so both boys should have plenty of time to make new friends outside of the house.

I really can't believe our little Ben is fully school-aged now! The time has really flown. I'm so excited to see all the things in store for him this year. It's been an emotional time for me, probably mostly a culmination of all the changes we've been through in the past several months and allowing myself to put down roots again and really invest in a life here. We are all feeling blessed and content and especially grateful for the weeks we had to settle in and enjoy living in our home and really spend time with Ben before he started this new chapter in his life. I'm sure going to miss my little buddy all day but a little part of me is glad someone else is answering all the "why"s now :)

End of the Summer

2011-08-17T07:50:00.000-05:00

I really can't believe that the summer is almost over! Ben starts school next week and Alex will start preschool the following week. It's been a busy summer for sure but the past few weeks have been great because we're all settled in the house and have had time to enjoy friends, old and new, spend a lot of time at the pool (no pictures unfortunately...I need to get some before it's too late!), and just relax at home. We've been staying up later to enjoy the evenings outside and the kids are actually starting to sleep later these days. That will all change next week when Ben has to be on the bus at 7:30 but we'll enjoy it while we can!

Alex likes to relax by playing Office Jerk on my phone. What could be funnier than throwing cartoon office supplies at someone's head? Or if you listen carefully, he throws something in the guy's coffee cup. It amazes me that a 3-year old can work a phone like that.

Ben chooses to spend his downtime in his "house" these days. He converted part of his kitchen into a laundromat and used the table for folding clothes. I suppose the clothes off their backs were required for that activity, too.

We've also had a few tea parties at the table as well. Shhh...don't tell Matt! It's not exactly a masculine pasttime.

The real thrill pouring and drinking water in the little cups. Maybe if I served dinner on tiny plates they'd be so excited?

Ben wants to count to a hundred and has made some progress, but as you can tell still has a ways to go. And yes, that's an eleventeen in there somewhere.

After those busy days, the boys sleep well at night. I got a good laugh when I found Ben sacked out on his floor. Notice he put Puppy and Tiny on their own little pillow.

Alex shoplifted a pair of Ben's sleep shades and tried them out one night. Maybe he didn't understand exactly where they're supposed to go on one's head? Or maybe the child size is too small for his head :)

We have found a little bit of nature in our yard for the first time. A dove picked a nice place to build her nest so we're keeping an eye on these eggs and hoping they'll hatch. And also hoping no one around has a cat!

We visited my parents last week and saw a little more nature in their backyard - a doe and her fawn wandered up to get a drink and have a snack.

We had stopped by for a visit to see my Uncle Lindy, Aunt Nell, and my mom's cousin Cindy. It was great to catch up with them and have lunch together and the boys were in top form with such a great audience watching all their antics.

Road Trip

2011-08-15T20:44:00.007-05:00

Last week the boys and I took advantage of the last week of Aunt Stacey's summer break to make a quick visit before she started back at school. Ben and Alex are always excited to see Reid, and Alex was even generous with a few hugs.

You'd think they would be too old for baby toys, but not these guys! I was really getting a picture of Ben the amazon on the baby car but Alex looks pretty funny over there walking around with the play tunnel, too.

Ben decided to play under the tunnel like a baby and he sticks out a tiny bit now. (And yes, I realize the picture is supposed to be longways...anyone else have trouble with blogger doing this?)

All three boys actually played really well together sometimes, which was so sweet to watch.

And sometimes they did their own things. And I'm not sure if it was coincidence that the older boys wanted to play on the stairs where Reid was locked out or if they just miss having stairs.

We were looking for an air-conditioned excursion since it was 108F outside and we couldn't spend the entire day in the pool (and even it was as warm as a bath!) so we took all the kids to Build-a-Bear for the first time. Ben was a little slow to warm up to the idea.

Alex watched Ben for a while and finally settled on a big blue bear.

All kinds of cute animals in the store and my kids pick the two wildest patterns. Gotta wonder about these guys sometimes. They loved the air bath and Ben kept talking about how much Puppy would have loved to be there.

Reid didn't get in on the building action but seemed to enjoy all the scenery.

We let the big boys run some energy off in the mall's playground before heading home.

It was a great trip but pretty quick because we had to get home to see Daddy who was leaving on a long trip for work. But of course no trip along a Texas highway is complete without a stop at Buc-ees. I brought a t-shirt back for Ben years ago so they know who Buc-ee is and they were really excited to meet him and eat some beaver nuggets.

2011-08-10T21:31:00.002-05:00

More than five years ago, Matt and I were huddled together in the labor and delivery ward at St. Lukes listening to a neonatologist explain the possible outcomes of a baby born at 24 weeks gestation. He was thankfully very honest with us but the truth was overwhelmingly scary. I was on all kinds of drugs at the time trying to stop the contractions so most of the night was a blur, but I very clearly remember Dr. Hankins assuring us that "most children have caught up by kindergarten". Just on the verge of being parents, Matt and I couldn't possibly think five years into the future and wait and hope that long to have a normal child, if he survived at all. It was terrifying.

Fast-forward five years and we've made it, if you can say that. Lots of growing and developing on Ben's part and countless miracles. "Catching up" is less of an achievement and more of a blending into the range of development for his age. And we're there! I just filled out all of Ben's registration paperwork for kindergarten and there is no need to mention a premature birth or developmental delays. I will consider one of the greatest blessings of my life to be the ability to check the "no medical conditions" box on his forms. Our little miracle is ready to start school with nothing holding him back. And not only is Ben ready, he's actually starting a year earlier than he would have had he been born on his due date in September.

Thank you Lord for this precious boy and this major milestone in his life!

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Romans 8:28

How Are You Feeling Today?

2011-08-06T20:47:00.004-05:00

Mad?

Sad?

Excited?

Or just plain happy? (and yes, that's Ben's "happy" face)

We often run the gamut here on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. It was fun documenting all the moods and after each picture Alex came running around the camera saying "I see it!" Now they see what I see each day :)

Before and After

2011-08-01T20:23:00.003-05:00

How about some more before and after shots? Only this time they only involve the kids, not the house. We're over the major mountain of work in the house and just have some fine tuning to do, like hanging pictures on the wall. These things will just take a while so it's going to be a long time until we feel like our home is "finished".

These pictures are more about what happened when I took one picture and was requested to keep taking more.

Here's Ben with his strawberry tongue.

Alex couldn't be left out, of course.

And had to take it one step further.

Where did my boys go?

Oh look, they were there the whole time! They are having a blast finding so many new places to play and actually having room to run around and chase each other.

Let's play a game!

Except it will never just stop there. One leads to half a dozen and an hour later we'd gone through everything on the shelf. No one is into rules yet, just winning.

And one other cute pictures - both boys went to a VBS for preschoolers last week and loved every minute. The theme was Pandamania and they wanted a picture with the big panda. It was a great test for Alex being out of the house in undies and he passed with flying colors - looks like this little guy is ready for preschool in 4 weeks!

Playing Around

2011-07-19T09:33:00.000-05:00

I wish I would have gotten more pictures with Reid here, especially now that he's crawling everywhere, but of course I got busy and forgot. I did manage to catch the nudie bike ride, though!

I also caught two little guys playing a game with the door. Since my boys aren't exactly great around babies, this was a sweet moment. It's fun to be able to see Reid more often now and we're hoping to go visit him one more time before school starts.

Think we've been watching Alvin and the Chipmunks a bit much?

Alex is Three!!

2011-07-18T09:36:00.002-05:00

Just a few days after we moved in we got to celebrate the third anniversary of Alex's birth with our families. We also got to celebrate Grandpa's birthday but we didn't count out all of his candles! Alex's only request was a cookie cake (I think we've found a new addiction here) with a race car on it so he was thrilled.

The birthday boys blew out the candles together.

The whole gang over to our house for the first time in over four years!

Next up - presents! Alex got a little, well, um, a LOT of help opening them.

We hit the back yard to try out the bubble lawnmower and slip and slide.

The kids loved the idea of this but had absolutely no clue how to actually slip or slide, even with a demo from Daddy, so they ended up playing in the pool at the end. In the end, they had fun and the grass got watered so it was a win/win.

Since we celebrated on the 4th of July, we told Alex he got fireworks for his birthday and this little boy was thrilled. We recorded the Sydney fireworks at New Years and he watched them all the way until we moved in May because he's such a big fan. They usually go to bed well before dark so staying up until 9:30 was a big deal in itself. Both boys loved the fireworks but weren't crazy about the noise.

Happy birthday, Alex!! And happy birthday, America!! It sure was fun to celebrate over here.

Alex is a little firework himself sometimes and definitely keeps us on his toes with his great sense of humor and love of pushing every rule to its limit. He is so affectionate, loves to sing all the time, and idolizes his big brother. Because we've had a chance to spend some time together without Ben over the last few months, I've also realized that Alex talks a lot but just usually doesn't get a word in when Ben is home. I had a conversation with just him to remember all of his favorites at this age.

Color: pink

Food: chicken nuggets (but I'd venture a guess to say that watermelon and french fries are above them)

TV show: The Wiggles

Drink: apple juice

Movie: Alvin and the Chipmunks

Animal: penguins

Treat: M&Ms

Things: blankies

Toy: my car

Activities: riding in Ben's jeep, swimming at the pool

Story: A Wocket In My Pocket, Wacky Wednesday, and pretty much anything else by Dr. Suess

Song: Jesus Love Me

Dislikes: strawberries

Also worth remembering that he's almost completely potty trained now so after 5 years we're no longer keeping Huggies in business!

Moving In

2011-07-17T10:09:00.009-05:00

We had a beautiful sight two weeks ago...the container packed with all our worldly goods made it all the way across the globe and to the front door of our new house.

A crew of five men spent the better part of the day carrying all 274 boxes into the house and unpacking nearly everything. This was in the minutes just before the chaos began and everything started filling up the house. Thank goodness for the movers but it's crazy with them asking where things go (especially thanks to our lazy movers in Australia that didn't bother to label half the boxes and sent the rest to the guest bedroom) and me checking numbers off all the boxes to make sure they all arrived.

We had no major damage and everything fit in the house so it was a successful move! Several small things were broken or disappeared, which is always disappointing but par for the course, I suppose.

Ready for a tour of the house? We'll do some before and after shots to show how things have come together over the past few busy weeks.

Master bedroom

Feels like home again! It's a big room so we still have tons of space by the windows. It sure beats squeezing past the bed and dresser like we've been doing for the past two years.

Master bath

Loving the his and hers sinks! We also have a nice long bathtub that's big enough to stretch out in and relax and a great shower. And for the first time in four years it's air-conditioned!!

My closet before...it was a disaster until just a few days ago because I needed several uninterrupted hours to tackle the piles of clothes.

The kids spent a few days with Grammy and Grumpy and now I can not only walk into the closet but see everything inside! Matt and I have laughed about how different our clothes look because the light was broken in our closet for the past year.

Ben's room before

I love his bed! It's the front and back from his old crib and it looks great but freaked him out a little at first because it's so tall now. After a week of making midnight trips to say hello in our room, he's finally sleeping well in his own room again.

Alex's room before was just a mattress

Now he has his own bed! He was literally jumping up and down in excitement when he saw his room all decorated.

We'll get him some proper furniture one day but for now he's plenty happy with what's in there and has been completely content since the minute he walked in.

The living room and kitchen were pretty crazy at the end of moving day!

The living room came together pretty nicely although the TV console didn't fit and ended up in the game room. It's worked out really well but we still need a solution for the big TV in the living room.

The kitchen was a lot of work but with all those cabinets it wasn't too hard to get everything put away in a logical place. I LOVE this kitchen!! We'll get some stools around the island and have some great times there. I'm also loving having a full-sized dishwasher and a garbage disposal again.

The game room off the kitchen was one of the worst places. None of the boxes intended for the kids' rooms made it in there so I spent an entire day shuttling clothes, pictures, toys, and books to their correct rooms.

Now it's our favorite place to hang out! We'll be spending a lot of time in here for sure. It's great to have it off the kitchen because I can still talk to the kids and referee while I'm cooking.

The study

It's coming together for sure but we still have some boxes to sort out and have to get some grown-up desks. Until then we'll just ask people not to look this way when they walk in the front door!

The dining room will be empty for a while and is collecting some random things but the kids are playing in here quite a bit as well so at least it's being used right now. Please don't look this way either!

Stacey and Reid have already been down for a visit and it was great incentive to get the guest room in order.

One of my favorite rooms is the mudroom between the garage and kitchen!

I'm loving this laundry room as well. Lots of space for storage and even room for a drying rack so I don't have to bother with hanging delicate stuff to dry. Even better because the washer and dryer are big enough to hold more than four towels so I'm doing about half as many loads as before.

Our outdoor table and chairs fit well in the covered patio and we're loving the yard, although it's too hot to play outside much at the moment. We're still desperate for rain and it's not proving to be an ideal year to get a lawn started but thankfully the house already had a sprinkler system when we moved in. We're getting some help keeping the grass in good shape, too!
Our next step is to start hanging everything on the walls but we have lots of framing to be done and want to take our time and do it right.

We are all so, so happy to be in our own home again and thankful that God has provided us an ideal place to settle. I looked at 40-something houses in just two days when we were looking for a place and this was the one house that made my heart beat faster the minute I walked in the door. I just knew it would be perfect for our family and I can't believe everything worked out and we're moved in it. We're all excited to make some wonderful memories here!

Almost There

2011-06-30T07:49:00.002-05:00

No more of this kind of entertainment at our house:
After 8 weeks (8 VERY long weeks, if you ask Ben) we will be seeing our furniture today! The container is being hauled to our front door as we speak and should be completely unpacked today. We are one excited family! Not only does it mean we'll get to see all the things we've missed, we finally get to move out of the apartment and into the house we've been waiting to enjoy. The kids are with Grandma and Grandpa for several days so I can get ahead of the mess before they come and make an even bigger mess.

We have enjoyed a few things about our temporary apartment, like the king-sized bed. Every morning the kids would come pile in bed with me and we'd watch cartoons together before getting up. Some mornings they didn't leave.

With no other kids around to play with, these guys have been inseparable. Ben even started reading books to Alex!

Bedtime was always a challenge here because they boys will not go to sleep together in the same room. They just play and get in trouble until they finally pass out from exhaustion, so we'd split them up to fall asleep then move one from our bed back to his own bed. Only Alex always has to take things one step farther and he would usually sneak into our closet to sleep on the air mattress which was still there from the jetlag recovery days. This particular night he gave me an extra laugh because he also took all the pillows from our bed.

Ben is also good for a laugh at night because he insists on sleeping in his blinders now. Funny boys!

Ben also found Daddy's bluetooth headset and loved talking on it.

Alex prefers good ole cherry chapstick to all the technology. Think he got enough?

We've also had some fun times outside of the apartment, especially on the weekends because it was way too cramped to sit around inside. We got to celebrate Grandma and Grandpa Kirkham's 40th anniversary with them. Congratulations on 4 decades of life and love together!

The kids and I have taken advantage of all kinds of summer activities for kids in the area. Every week there is a new $1 kids movie at the theater, Ben went to a VBS, I started a women's Bible study, we found a great free indoor playground at a nearby church, and a fun playtime in the middle of the shops. This would have probably been more fun if it wasn't 95 degrees in the shade, but the kids still had a good time.

The highlight was the little leis the guys made and got to tear up at home. We are loving our Texas summer!

This morning is the quiet before the storm...we won't have internet at the house for 10 more days so my next post will be a while and hopefully be from our new home!

Happy Fathers Day

2011-06-19T05:43:00.001-05:00

Thank you, Matt, for being our rock during uncertain times.

Thank you for being there during the happiest times.

(and the, ahem, hardest times for some. No names will be disclosed)

Thank you for the fun and laughter.

Thank you for teaching us we can find adventures anywhere.

Thank you for enjoying the little moments together.

Thank you for making memories with us!

Thank you for being a loyal, hard-working, and loving father. We love you and celebrate you today and always.

And to my dad, thank you for always being there for me, either in the same house or across the world! I'm so blessed to have you for a father and a grandfather to my children. I love you!

Too Much Mary Poppins?

2011-06-16T14:26:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Reid!

2011-06-15T15:28:00.005-05:00

I guess the summers will always be busy with little boy birthdays from now on - Ben in May, Reid in June, Alex in July! We were so excited that cousin Reid came down from Dallas to celebrate his first birthday with all his grandparents.

We were all excited for the big moment - the eating of the cake.

Ummmm.....

....no thanks. We couldn't believe it but Reid had no interest in the cake or the icing, even by spoon.

These boys, on the other hand, were thrilled with the prospect of cake and helped celebrate with lots of enthusiasm.

After everyone's tummies were full, Ben said he was going to teach Reid how to crawl. (Reid has started crawling since last time we saw him, but let's let Ben think he did the teaching!)

Alex was just waiting impatiently behind the couch for the presents to come out.

Reid got to open his loot and scored some nice gifts for his birthday. He gave a wave of thanks to the paparazzi before he started playing with everything.

After the big celebration, we spent a couple days enjoying everyone's company. Alex always struggles not being the baby in the house and finds lots of things to do to get some attention. I think he's gotten a little big for the baby bath!

We tried (unsuccessfully) to get a picture of the cousins...guess who wasn't in the mood?

The kids and grandkids

Grammy and Grumpy and their grandsons. Oh, Alex, there is never a dull moment with you!

On The Home Front

2011-06-14T19:47:00.004-05:00

We have closed on our lovely new house and have keys to go and visit, but have nothing practical inside yet to make it livable. Our shipment was supposed to make landfall in the US on the west coast over the weekend and still has to make its way to Houston by rail, clear customs, and get trucked to our house. We're hoping to be reunited with our beds and toys in another couple of weeks. In the meantime, when we're over at the house the kids have to find entertainment any way possible. How did I ever live without an iphone? Here they are watching a show together in an empty bedroom.

And here they are fighting over it. Naturally.

We did get our 54 boxes out of storage and it was fun seeing what I thought was worth saving four years ago. Let's just say that I should have parted with ALL the winter clothes I packed away! It was exciting but also pretty emotional for me to go through everything from a time in my life that is gone, even though where we are now is so much better. Even running the vacuum and smelling the familiar scent of our old house brought tears to my eyes. Our lives have changed SO much since then! Anyway, now we have a twin bed, one old TV, lots of old books and vases, a vacuum, a loveseat, and a fridge in the garage. Not enough to live on just yet. While the movers were unpacking I fed the kids in the only seating area in the house - the bench in the mud room between the garage and kitchen. How much do I love this room already?!

We did go out to meet some of our new neighbors at an ice cream party at the neighborhood pool, even though we're not residents just yet. It's a fairly new development so no one has lived there more than four years, which makes it nice for people like us who are looking to make new friends. After ice cream sundaes, the kids got their arms painted and each got a balloon animal.

Alex is still asking to get another Elmo.

Ben settled on a red guitar.

They each got balloon puppies to take home, only Ben's didn't make it too far inside the door. I forgot the trauma of popping a balloon as a kid!

Alex is such a character...he always keeps us laughing. He decided to drink apple juice and milk at the same time at dinner. Sounds gross to me but he loved it, or at least loved the attention it drew to him.

And in our latest drama - Ben took a fall in the bathroom on Sunday and got a big goose egg on his forehead. It looked bad but didn't seem out of the ordinary until he threw up an hour later, then fell asleep on the couch for the first time ever (not counting jetlag or fever). I woke him up for dinner and he ate a little then threw up several more times. By that time Matt and I knew it was more serious than a bump, so I took him to an urgent care clinic and was immediately sent to the ER.

Thank goodness there is a new Texas Children's campus on the west side of Houston because we trust them completely and we had a great experience, as far as after-hours weekend emergencies go. The doctor ordered a CT scan on Ben before he even examined him because of the head injury/vomiting combination. It took a while for the radiologist to look at the results so we hung out in a room and lucky Ben got to watch TV and play on my iphone (again - how did I live without that??) for a couple of hours while we waited to see the doctor. He perked up with all the excitement and attention at the hospital and I think really enjoyed the whole thing, except for the throwing up and headache.

Our prayers were answered and we were so glad to find out it was just a mild concussion and nothing more serious internally. Ben managed to survive his traumatic birth and four months in the hospital without damaging his brain so we would sure hate to see a simple fall harm him! Praise God for keeping him safe yet again. But let's not make any more unplanned visits to Texas Children's or my hair may go completely gray.

Ben at 5

2011-06-05T14:41:00.003-05:00

I just had a little interview with Ben to remember his favorite things at five years old. As I asked him each of these questions his first response was "You know! You know what I like!" so his answers were a little short.

Color: yellow

Food: crackers, triangle cheese, strawberries, cookie cake, chocolate

Cartoon: Jake and the Neverland Pirates and everything else except Alex's shows

Drink: lemonade, orange juice

Movie: Mary Poppins

Animal: giraffes

Treat: skittles

Things: building blocks

Toy: my black truck

Activities: swimming

Story: A Wocket In My Pocket, Wacky Wednesday, and pretty much anything else by Dr. Suess

Song: supercalifragilsticexpialadocious (and he can really say it!)

Dislikes: watching Mickey Mouse because that's Alex's show. carrots.

The kids have figured out how to talk on the phone to one another in the apartment and don't seem bothered in the least by the dial tone. It's so much fun to watch!

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-05-31T15:23:00.004-05:00

This was our first time to celebrate Memorial Day in the US since 2006 and we made it a big one. Matt and I kicked off the long weekend by signing on the dotted line for a new house. Actually, lots of dotted lines and we ended up signing most of the papers twice since we used middle initials instead of names on the first go round. No matter what, we're all super excited about our new home!

It's a pretty new neighborhood and the neighbors we've met so far are all oilfield, so we should fit right in. As long as these faces don't scare the kids on the street! There will be a new kindergartener on each side of us so Ben ought to have some friends at school.

On Saturday we spent the day with our old neighbors in their new house and had a wonderful time catching up. Our little fish loved their pool and made us wish we'd found a house with a pool!

Cannonball!

They were both crazy about the diving board, too. We've missed the Varas for years and were so excited to hang out with them like the old days, only now with four extra little people in the gang.

Ben got a late birthday gift from Haley and Jackson that included a bug vacuum/catcher. He's had lots of fun with it but quit hunting after he fell in love with this grasshopper and named him Bubbles.

Bubbles comes to breakfast in his new habitat...

...and he even made a trip to the mall in his travel carrier to take a spin on the carousel.

Alex didn't have any insect friends tagging along but enjoyed it just the same.

Unfortunately, Bubbles is not indestructible! Ben told me he had an emergency and showed me how Bubbles seemed to have lost a leg. He then asked me to tape it back on. And continued to ask me for tape until I finally showed him that tape doesn't stick to grasshoppers. Good thing he's got 5 other legs to keep him kicking.

Our other milestone for the weekend was that Alex started wearing undies. He's not completely trained yet and I'd never trust him out of the house without a diaper, but the end is in sight! (and not just literally!) Since we're just hanging out at the apartment with not much else going on, it's a good time to train and I'm hoping this box of diapers will be the last this family ever buys.

Alex has also mastered a new method of eating his yogurt. As long as it's getting in his mouth I won't complain!

Ben is FIVE!!

2011-05-23T20:11:00.005-05:00

I cannot believe that it has been five years now since Ben scared us all to death and arrived at just 1lb 9oz. I'm grateful that the day of drama was May 21st and he was born after midnight, so I can reminisce about the trauma on one day and then celebrate my miracle on the 22nd. What an amazing boy God has given us!

Ben was lucky enough to stretch out the birthday celebration over an entire week because my parents were at a reunion on his real birthday, so he got his gift from them a bit early. First a cap, which was nice but not quite as exciting as he had hoped.

Then outside he found a tractor that goes along with the hat! What a happy, busy boy!

Midweek, he got a very exciting box from the sweet Dulaneys and he could barely wait to open it.

Whoa!! A HUGE digger!

And packing peanuts! I'm not sure which was more thrilling.

Once Alex realized there was fun to be had in the living room he couldn't wait to jump in himself.

My kids proved the point that gifts are lots of fun but boxes are just amazing. The next morning they were each sitting in their boxes watching cartoons.

On the day of his birthday, both Ben and Alex were awake and celebrating at 4:30am at Grandma and Grandpa's...a little early for the rest of the house! Alex never really did go back to sleep but Ben crashed and we finally had to wake him up.

Let the celebration begin! With a little love tap, of course.

Ben was happy to get some fun gifts but he was beside himself to find a Jeep that he and Alex could ride together. (and no, our kids are not really that spoiled - both cars were secondhand!)

Had to do a little offroading, with Alex following behind on garbage truck duty.

Inside later for some wonderful cookie cake. This was Ben's first time to eat it and I think he polished off about half of the cake on his own.

Later on we had some pinata fun and enjoyed even more treats. What a wonderful day and week for him! I know Ben missed celebrating with his friends in Perth but hopefully by the next time his birthday rolls around he'll have lots of local friends to invite over.

I can't believe how big my sweet boy has grown. He's still only about 32lbs (at last weigh-in, which was several weeks ago...the scale is in a box in a container somewhere in the Pacific at the moment) but growing like a weed.

Happy birthday, Ben!

Nomads

2011-05-20T14:14:00.003-05:00

Thank goodness Ben and Alex are comfortable living out of their suitcases because we're going to be doing it for a while! We are settled into a furnished apartment for the moment but we don't have a whole lot of stuff (or space) to keep them entertained. We'll stay until our shipment arrives and is unpacked, which is probably about 6 weeks away. In the meantime, the boys are finding lots of fun things to do at home. Pizza parties occur regularly and all fuzzy friends are invited.

These boys really do love one another. They're really their own best entertainment. And occasional worst enemy, but those moments are quickly forgotten.

Sweet boys are growing so fast! Maybe the next time we move these little feet will be big enough to help.

And I have to wonder about whoever furnished this apartment. He or she took the time to hang several paintings (nice, sure, but necessary?) yet didn't bother with things like toilet paper or even a pair of scissors in the kitchen. The broom is child sized and had to have come from the dollar store. We're the first people to live in this unit so I'm going to have to make a few suggestions when we leave.

Being Back

2011-05-17T20:51:00.009-05:00

We've been back in the US for 7 weeks now and it's beginning to sink in that we're actually staying. I just started sleeping really well a few weeks ago because I don't think my body trusted that we were going to stay in this time zone long enough to relax.

Already we miss a lot of things about Perth, like our dear friends, the beach, and the best coffee. Definitely miss the wine and Tim Tams (best cookies EVER...why didn't I pack a carton in our shipment?). Even miss the drains in the bathroom floors because the kids seem to love getting water all over the place. I miss how exciting every day things could be, like driving down a new road and finding a cool park or getting stuck in a line of cars because swans were busy eating in the middle of the road.

What DON'T we miss? Paying $4-5 dollars a cup for that wonderful coffee, flying 29 hours just to see our parents and then carrying back hundreds of pounds of loot we "couldn't live without", planning our mornings around catching said parents on Skype and hoping the kids would cooperate. I don't miss deciphering accents and foreign lingo over the phone, making insurance claims and following up with all the paperwork, constantly converting currencies and time zones in my head. I won't miss reading maps "backwards" because you have to consider the traffic is on the other side of the road.

The list of what we're excited to have in our everyday lives again could go on forever: Cheetos, Dr. Pepper (in every store and less than $2/can), Chick-fila, REAL Target and even Super-Targets(!), Wal-mart, barbeque, gas stations with pay at the pump technology (although the kids keep asking me to go inside and come back with M&Ms). The grocery store is almost overwhelming with all its choices and variety, and we can buy things in bulk again! Even better, the kids can sit in a cart and watch Disney TV shows while I shop. Doesn't mean they're perfectly behaved but I don't have to buy them a bribe at the bakery and run through the store before it's gone anymore. And you can buy wine right inside the store. We're excited to see the pediatrician again and have him chart our childrens' growth and not look at me funny for bringing my kids in while they're healthy. It's nice to be back in the Bible belt and see churches on every corner WITH kids programs and several options on service times. And connected to most of these churches is a cute little preschool, one of which Alex will start attending in August (yahoo!!!). We get to call people during the middle of the day and I can send my sister text messages any time the mood strikes. The best part is that we get to visit our parents any time we want!

It's still an adjustment and we're enjoying a new side of Houston, but until we see all our furniture and have the comforts of home the adjustment won't be complete. Our shipment has finally arrived in Houston and we should be unpacking sometime this week and finally living in our house. We're really looking forward to the last move!

The Final Trip HOME

2011-05-13T20:42:00.000-05:00

Our flight departed from Perth at 6am, so we were all up by 2:45am to get the car loaded and get to the airport in time. These two boys popped out of bed and were so excited to get back on the plane! They're such great travelers.

Good thing we were checking in at 4am because we got a brand spanking new agent and threw just about every challenge his way. I think he paled a little when he saw all our bags, carseats, surfboards, and stroller. But he must have done his job well because we made it to Houston, along with all 16 pieces of baggage.

This was a rare treat for us - we got to fly business class for the first time since our relocation trip to Singapore four years ago. The timing was funny because just two weeks ago Ben noticed that part of the cabin had bigger seats and asked to sit there. Lucky for him, it worked out on our last trip and this boy was thrilled!

Alex was a teensy bit excited, too.

We flew Emirates for the first time and it was a much easier trip because it was only two flights. Since we've always wanted to see Dubai, we scheduled the longest layover of 13 hours to relax a little in the complimentary hotel rooms, shower (whew! always a luxury on a long trip), and explore the amazing city.

There are skyscrapers all over the place but the Burj Dubai dwarfs everything. It's currently the tallest building in the world by a long shot.

It's over 2,000 feet tall! In comparison, Taipei 101 is 1,670 ft and the Empire State Building is 1,250 ft.

Even from a distance, the Burj is amazingly tall.

We also got to see the Burj Al Arab, the world's first 7-star hotel. Rooms start at over $1,000 USD per night but they include use of the Rolls Royce fleet. Still couldn't talk Matt into staying there! It's on a man-made island and I've heard you have to pay just to drive out to see the lobby (we didn't).

Next stop was another series of man-made islands called Palm Jumeirah. We saw a show about its creation on Discovery years ago and it was really an amazing feat, so Matt and I were both excited to see it in person.

We drove straight up the trunk, which ends in an underwater tunnel to connect it to the outer ring where the massive Atlantis resort stands.

I don't think they do anything small in Dubai...this resort was bigger than anything Las Vegas could possibly dream up!

Beyond the Palm was another slew of skyscrapers and if you look closely nearly every one still has a crane on top, so these things must be going up like crazy.

The crew in the taxi did well but weren't all quite as interested in the sights. Alex totally passed out in the back seat but Ben never did go to sleep. He held out until we were back at the hotel and then crashed. We woke everyone up later in the evening, had some dinner, then headed back to the airport for our 16-hour flight to Houston.

These seats were awesome. We all had room to stretch out and sleep and I didn't have little people touching me for two days straight. I love cuddling and having the boys sleep on me, but after 10-20 hours of it my need for personal space gets extreme! This trip was over 44 hours because of our long layover so the extra space was greatly appreciated. Alex learned how to use all the buttons for his seat and would raise and lower it frequently. Hey, why not?

The kids watched Mary Poppins about a hundred times, along with a bunch of other movies and shows. Ben even tried out his cute little sleep shades.

Can you believe this is how we left the US four years ago?

It's hard to believe we're done living overseas. Everything happened so quickly that I haven't had time to process anything yet but it's exciting to think about living in our own house again and putting down some roots. This will be Alex's first time to live in the US in his life!

Our Last Weekend Down Under

2011-05-13T13:11:00.005-05:00

Once all the moving craziness was done, we handed over the keys to the house and had two final days to enjoy Perth. We started off with one last $60 brekkie on Napoleon Street in Cottesloe. We would have loved more leisurely breakfasts at outdoor cafes but at that price (very average for Perth) it would have broken the Kirkham bank!

Of course we had to make one last trip to visit our favorite marsupials. I was probably just as excited as the kids!

We didn't get there until the end of the day but it was great because we just about had the kangaroo enclosure all to ourselves.

We quickly made lots of furry friends.

Ben loved this momma and joey!

On Sunday, we packed up and then made our final trip to the beach on a picture perfect day. Later the kids had their last evening with our sweet babysitter and Matt and I enjoyed one last dinner overlooking the Indian Ocean.

We will miss these beautiful sunsets!

What an amazing experience we had in Australia! It's hard to believe it's over but we'll have wonderful memories to take with us forever.

How Did We Get Here?

2011-05-06T23:41:00.009-05:00

We've been asked many times how this whole move came about and it's a simple answer - a few casual lunches in Houston ended up in an offer that we couldn't pass up, both for the family and for Matt's career. By the time it was official, Matt was already back in Perth so my last few weeks in Houston were spent dealing with relocation instead of catching up with friends. We will be moving to the Katy area, which is totally new to us, so I spent several days looking at neighborhoods and houses with a realtor and even bought a car before we left. It's exciting to be going somewhere new but sad that we won't be going right back near our families and old friends. That's probably a good thing, though, because after 4 years away we couldn't possibly to expect to pick right back up where we left off. Anyway, by the time the kids and I left to fly back to Perth, we knew it would be a short and very busy trip! We had exactly two weeks to pack up the house, sell our appliances, return the leased car, sell Matt's car, close out our utilities and accounts, say goodbye to friends, and enjoy our last days in Australia. With a lot of prayer, plenty of organization, major teamwork, a TON of work on Matt's part while I cared for the kids (thank goodness he wasn't working this week!), and help from our friends, we have wrapped up our lives here and will get on the plane early Monday morning with one-way tickets to Houston. I'm not going to say it's been easy, but it has gone amazingly well. Saying goodbye to all of our dear friends is definitely the hardest part but we have so much to look forward to on the other end! There are four grandparents with huge smiles on their faces at this very moment anticipating the return of their long-lost grandsons. And those two boys are looking forward to getting back in the new (to us...it's a couple of years old) gold car that they already love.

By the time it was clear we'd be moving back to Houston very quickly, I was dying to get back to Perth and enjoy my last few weeks here! Matt talked me into making the responsible decision to look for a house first (and we may have found one! have to wait and see how it all works out) so we only ended up coming back a few days earlier than planned. It was unfortunate that we lost Easter somewhere in transit, but the Easter bunny visited Grammy and Grumpy's house just before we left.

Once we were safely across the ocean again (and the boys did amazingly well again with the trip and the jetlag...whew!) we wasted no time in getting to the beach. We couldn't wait to get our toes in the sand and Matt didn't want to waste any last few precious surfing opportunites.

I'm pretty sure this is what he'll miss more than anything about Perth!

This is the kind of thing I'll miss - amazing birds everywhere! Cockatoos, parrots, black swans, emus (in the country), kookaburras, magpies, ibis, and these gorgeous rainbow lorikeets.

This is what the kids will miss:

They love nothing more than digging in the sand and playing in the waves.

We will also miss these sweet faces dearly! Brynn, Alex, Ben, Wilder, Austin, and Ansley, the Wednesday afternoon gang.

We moved into an apartment a few blocks away before the movers came to pack everything up and the boys were surprised to find everything in boxes when the packing was done.

It's hard to see all our stuff packed and know it will probably be two months until we see it all again. It's also hard to pack our suitcases with all the things we may want during that time. Thank goodness it will be easy to go to Target and Wal-Mart now for the things we'll need in the meantime! We are definitely going to miss our great view through the windows there.

So long, furniture! See you on the other end...

We are soaking up every last minute down under and really stopping to enjoy the moments. Last night we literally stopped on the way to our friends' house to see the sun go down.

It's been a great run in paradise!

Commencement

2011-04-28T03:33:00.003-05:00

When Matt and I first signed up for our overseas adventure it was to have a 4-year duration. Right from the start, I approached it with the mindset of going away to college again - the initial excitement and anxiety about the unknown, the loneliness of living somewhere unfamiliar, the intense and lifelong friendships forged over shared experiences and hardships, the unmatched opportunities to explore the world, the thrill of going back home for Christmas. The nice thing is that there were no exams at this school! But as we've made our way through our fourth year I've noticed that familiar senioritis feeling - restless, anxious to know what will happen next, wanting to enjoy every last minute yet looking forward to the next step. After several months of possibilities and uncertainty, we finally have our answer and it's right along our original plan. Almost exactly four years to the day after we sold our house and cars, closed accounts, packed up the house and set sail for Singapore, we will be making our final flight back to Houston and starting over again. It's time put an end to this chapter in our lives and set down some roots for our boys, who have spent the majority of their lives overseas.

It's exciting.

It's terrifying.

What an incredible journey this has been! It's bittersweet to see it come to an end but we can't wait to see what lies ahead.

How Have We Spent Our April?

2011-04-20T14:24:00.009-05:00

Digging in the dirt on an usually chilly morning...

Riding bikes around the pond...

Seeing some bluebonnets...(not exactly a banner year for them so this was the closest we got)

Catching up with old friends and celebrating their babies-to-be...(Patrick, Farah, Christina, me, Matt)

Cuddling up and reading books...

Eating lots of Blue Bell...

Visiting Reid and playing with all of his toys...(naturally, Alex tried this one out first thing but Reid is a bit more size-appropriate)

Using Uncle Jason as a ride-on toy....

Catching a ride with Reid...

Grilling fresh cookies for breakfast...

Suffering through bad hair days...

Making cupcakes and enjoying the spoils...

Drawing pictures of bikes (with training wheels, of course) to say thanks to the neighbor who passed down his bike...

Hiding in the new playhouse...

And hoarding a little in there as well...(do I sense a reality show in our future??)

Playing hopscotch...

And coloring in the hopscotch...

And just enjoying life...

Cousins

2011-04-16T14:28:00.001-05:00

We're having so much fun that I haven't spent any time downloading pictures! So I'm taking the lazy route and borrowing a post from my sister since we spent 4 days in Dallas with them last weekend. It was great fun for everyone and thanks to the French family for letting us take over the house for several days :) I can't wait until Reid is walking and all the boys are running around together!

Click here for cute pictures:
Cousins Post

Houston Zoo

2011-04-03T08:46:00.005-05:00

Grandma took the day off so we could all go explore the Houston Zoo. I hadn't been in years and this was the first trip for the boys, so we all enjoyed the day. Ben and Grandma got cozy with the komodo dragon.

There were two adorable juvenile elephants.

We got up close to a few of the chimps.

The kids went through the piranha river unscathed.

By far the best exhibit was the giraffes. We happened to be there when it was time to feed them and both boys got to offer a leafy snack to this beautiful animal.

Baby Miles, almost 2 months old, was absolutely adorable! He was nearly 6 feet tall at birth and weighed 100 lbs.

We saw him get some love from his mama from the cafe where we ate lunch.

While Grandma and I were fascinated watching the giraffes, the boys had their sights on a different attraction - the nearby carousel.

I'm pretty sure this was their favorite part of the day!

We rounded out the day at the kids' zoo and found a cute little prairie dog!

Thanks, Grandma, for a wonderful day! The weather was beautiful and the zoo was great fun.

More Fun in Texas

2011-04-02T08:39:00.003-05:00

The kids had a great time playing at a full-sized Toys R Us. Ben is already trying to figure out how to bring one of these cars back in his suitcase.

Next stop, Chuck E Cheese and more cars!

Check out our celebrities making faces on the big screen

We met up with the Hesters over a much-needed Freebirds and introduced the kids to the best burrito in the world. The three boys had a great time running around on the patio together while we tossed food their way. Alex couldn't even stand still long enough for this picture, which explains why he's blurry.

The whole gang together:

We've changed a lot since 2004 (at Haleiwa Joe's on Oahu). And added three little people to our lives, which makes it even more fun to get together these days!

Old Friends

2011-04-01T13:36:00.005-05:00

Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.

How much do I love these girls? We all met in the dorm at A&M in 1997 and have seen each other through ups and downs, weddings, funerals, babies, and lots of laughter and tears. It can be weeks or years since we saw each other last and it's like we haven't missed a day.

Amber, Laura, Stephanie, Lindy (circa 1999, I think...our old scanner makes it look older than that, though) in College Station

Lindy, Laura, Amber, Steph, and Stacey (who joined in the fun after the dorm and when we'd all moved on to apartments) in Gruene, Texas

Lindy lives in Washington state now so we were really fortunate to find a weekend when we were both in Texas at the same time. I hadn't seen Amber in years so it was wonderful catching up with these girls in person.

Now that Stacey lives in the Dallas area I don't get to see enough of her, either!

We had a quick reunion in Gruene filled with food and laughter and some wonderful Texas sights.

It wasn't quite warm enough to go tubing but I can't wait to show the boys how to float the river one day!

Stephanie and I rode together from Houston and made two stops in 24 hours at Buc-ees. God bless Texas and Texas-sized pit stops!

Enjoying the US of A

2011-03-25T13:28:00.005-05:00

We've had lots of fun in Texas and Alabama, so much in fact that I've been forgetting to take pictures and have gotten lazy about blogging. I usually keep up with the pictures and blog to make sure all the grandparents can see what the kids are doing so when we're all together in person I have a tendency to forget about documenting the fun. I need to make sure I get lots of pictures of the kids playing WITH their grandparents, too!

While Matt and Ben were in Alabama, Alex and I enjoyed a stormy morning in Houston and he was excited to wear his rain boots.

We were in Wal-mart (hallelujah! one of many trips) during a downpour and Alex was thrilled to find a massive "puddle" (more of a lake, if you ask me) to splash in afterward. Naturally he was soaked up to his hips but he loved every minute of it. He got to go Australian to the next store and run around barefoot since he boots were holding gallons of water.

Our prize buy at Wal-mart - a kid sized air mattress and sleeping bag combo. Alex was immediately in love. He even wanted to use it to watch TV.

We also had a playdate with Riley, who would have been our neighbor if we hadn't moved four years ago.

These boys had a great time at the park throwing sweetgum balls into the fountain and watching them float away. Surprisingly, only one of the boys ended up in the fountain himself. And for once it wasn't Alex!

Alex, Reid, Riley, and Mandy. It was so much fun to see one of my childhood friends and watch our kids play together!

Alex and I joined the rest of the Kirkhams in Alabama for several days of fun in the woods.

The boys had a great time playing and rocking on the porch.

We even got to see Matt's cousin's son John Wallace, who came down from Tuscaloosa with his grandmother one day. He's nine and despite the age difference the boys all played wonderfully together. I guess no matter their ages, all boys love to play with balls, run, and build rocketships.

By far the boys' favorite activity was riding on the 4-wheelers. Grandpa got a new once recently (not the one in the picture) and it's big enough for all 4 of us to ride together. The kids couldn't get enough of it!

Back in Texas, Ben found a new addiction - a bike! My parents' neighbor generously passed down this little bike years ago and we finally pulled it out of the attic to let Ben try it out and we haven't gotten him off it since. The helmet took a little convincing but I want him to get used to wearing it because it's the law in Australia.

Alex took one try at the bike and realized it was too tall for him, so he's happily scooting around Grandma and Grandpa's driveway on this trike instead.

The azaleas are in full bloom here and the spring weather has been gorgeous. It's absolutely the best time to be in Houston, with the exception of the pine pollen (which I'd forgotten, not having seen it in four years) but thankfully that's pretty much gone now and all our allergies have cleared up. The boys are riding outside every possible minute and we're all loving being outdoors.

But maybe someone should tell Ben it's okay to take his helmet off when he comes inside for breakfast!

We're all enjoying the family time and great food in Texas. I'm heading out for the weekend to meet up with some of my best college girlfriends since we managed to find a few days when we're all in the state together, so the happy reunions continue!

Practice Makes Perfect

2011-03-14T07:01:00.007-05:00

We've survived another trip halfway around the planet and I have to admit it's getting easier every time. A lot has to do with the age of the boys and how well they travel but I think we're all getting better at the marathon trips every year. An added bonus is that we've had minimal jetlag, which I still can't believe since we've flipped our nights and days again, but we've all slept through the night nearly every night.

Here's a glimpse of our trip, with the countdown starting the minute we left the house in a taxi.
+1 hour - we arrived at the airport and realized that the boys were already tired. I think Ben got so excited telling everyone at school he was heading to Texas that he just wore himself out.

+5 hours - well on our way on the 5 hours flight to Singapore, watching movies and eating the first of many, many airplane meals

+5.5 hours - halfway through a book of stickers (thanks Melanie, for that last minute addition!)

+8 hours - loving the Singapore airport and all its ways to keep kids entertained

It was great to let the boys run around a while because they were just about to crash.

+9 hours - CRASH!

+10 hours - my sweaty sleeper kept changing positions while I got sweaty over a steaming bowl of spicy laksa

+11 hours - this guy looked uncomfortable but stayed like this for hours

+15 hours - on the 11-hour flight to Moscow loving some Wiggles and cookies

+18 hours - Ben was crazy about all his juices and lemonades. Have to enjoy the little things in life while you're on a metal tube speeding through the air. His hair was beginning to go crazy.

+22 hours - after watching the sun rise over Afghanistan, we finally began seeing the frozen wonders of Russia

+23 hours - Ben (with more crazy hair) watching our approach into Moscow

Alex getting very excited to get off the plane.

+25 hours - playing in the lounge in Moscow during our transit time, just 1 1/2 hours to clear security then get back on the same plane.

+32 hours - well into the 12-hour flight to Houston and getting some great sleep. We were SO fortunate to have two rows of 3 seats all to ourselves. Matt and I each sat with a kid and got space to stretch out, freedom to go to the bathroom, and an extra TV to keep the kids entertained.

I could barely even find Ben under all his blankets!

+37 hours - We made it to Houston!! Happy faces all around! I watched 4 movies, an entire season of Modern Family, lots of sitcoms, two documentaries, finished a book, slept half a dozen times, and ate 8 meals, just to give you an idea of how much time passed.

Ben's hair went from crazy to flat, a good sign that it was time to get out of the air and walk around on real ground.

+39 hours - After some tearful hugs (joyful tears!) with Grammy and Grumpy at the airport (without pictures, unfortunately) we got our rental car, stopped by the bank, and headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Two little boys couldn't quite stay awake for the drive.

+40 hours - HOME. God bless Texas. We love this place and it always feels so good to be back. We had more hugs, great Mexican food, then flat beds for a wonderful night's sleep. I could do this more often if the trip always went so well!!

On Friday, we caught up with Grandpa before he and Grandma left for spring break in Alabama.

Matt and Ben left for Alabama on Saturday and Alex and I headed to Grammy and Grumpy's to catch up with Aunt Stacey and cousin Reid during their spring break before we leave for Alabama on Wednesday.

Playing with the boys at the park. Alex looks like a giant next to his cute little cousin!

Yep, you knew this was going to happen. He jumped the river several times then had to see what happened when he jumped in the middle.

It's so good to be home!