The day after Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving 2010

This was our second Thanksgiving in Sicily.

Last year we lived out in town. Last year we thought we were going away for Thanksgiving, and then we ended up staying home. At the last minute, we went to a supermarket in town to look for a turkey. We brought home something that we thought might be turkey, but we had forgotten our translation book so we weren't sure. It ended up not being a turkey. We're not sure what it was.

This year we're living in base housing. We planned ahead and bought our turkey early from the Commissary. We learned our lesson. We shared this Thanksgiving with our friends and neighbors. It's pretty cheap to rent a bounce house so we thought that would be a fun memory for the kids. Tom made a turkey, and it turned out great! We made a few other dishes to share too. Everyone brought a few things, and we ended up with too much food. It brought us closer to our neighbors, and we created a few fun new memories with our family.

Making olive oil

Last weekend we caravanned with about six other families to an olive oil farm. It was about an hour and a half away. It was fun for all of us to learn about the process of making olive oil.

DJ turns nine!

Happy birthday, DJ! You were born 9 years ago today. It's hard to believe. How are you growing up so quickly?

You are such a special young man with a big heart. You almost always have a smile on your face. You are quick to forgive. We appreciate those things about you.

You're in the 3rd grade in Italy this year. Science and Math are your favorites. Your teacher loves your enthusiastic spirit for learning. We hope you'll stay that way forever. She says you also talk a little too much. We're not surprised. You've always enjoyed chatting. You have a good work ethic. Isaac, Eddie, and Slater are a few of your close friends.

You still want to be a pilot when you grow up. You'd like to go to West Point, just like dad. You can do anything you want. You have such great potential. Don't ever give up.

This year you're doing a Bible study with dad. You guys eat Freeze Pops together and study the Bible. It's a special time that you both look forward to. You're planning on being baptized soon. We hope you will follow Jesus for the rest of your life. We want nothing more.

We hope we can fill this year with lots of wonderful memories for you. We love you!

Love,

Mom and Dad

Max's milestones

Why is it easier for me to write on this blog than write in a baby book? My baby books are way behind. I figured I can keep track of some of our kids' milestones on the blog and then when I have more time, I can put them in their baby books.

Over the weekend, Max started rolling over! He's 3 1/2 months. Now he won't stay in one spot for more than a few minutes. He also started grabbing his toys, holding them, and putting them to his mouth.

In some ways it's exciting, but I know it means crawling and walking will be here before I know it. I like these little guys best when you put them in one spot and they stay.

Cub Scouts

It's my turn to do a post (Tom).

DJ joined cub scouts this past week. It's something we've been wanting to do for a while. I have some great memories of doing Cub Scouts with my dad. Friday we had a camping trip at a working farm and Arabian horse farm. Only could take DJ and Noah on this trip, because Lincoln and Max were too little.

We arrived at the camping site at dusk. Nothing like putting up a tent in the dark. After putting up the tent, we had "dump chili". Every scout brought one can of anything they wanted to add to the chili and that is what we had for dinner! DJ brought Spaghetti O's. After dinner, came the campfire. We sang lots of songs and DJ's "bear" group did two skits.

We retired a torn/worn American flag. The scout leader did a great job of talking about what the American flag means to us and honoring those who have defended this country throughout history, both at home and abroad.

I (along with 12 other dads) awarded DJ his bobcat badge and official entry into the scouts. What a great program. I am excited for all my sons to be a part of the boy scouts.

Can not forget smores and marshmallows. Then off to bed. Reveille was at 0600. DJ and I had a fun time in the morning laughing and smiling as the roosters "cockadoodle doo'd" about every minute. The camp leaders cooked breakfast and then we broke down our tents and cleaned up.

Then it was time for four 45 minute stations. Map/Compass, Fitness, Geography, and Horses. DJ and Noah learned about the horse farm, how to approach and walk around a horse, how to clean and brush a horse, and how to mount/dismount a horse. They breed Arabian horses here. At the fitness station, DJ learned how to take his pulse, learned about resting heartrate, target heartrate, maximum heart rate. He learned how about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. They also did some pullups, situps, standing long jump, and running. At the geography station, they looked at a globe and discussed how many continents there are, how many oceans, and discussed longitude and latitude lines. At the map/compass station, they learned some basic orienteering skills and drew a map of the campground.

After all the stations were complete, we did a cleanup of the entire area and then sang the national anthem to end the trip.