Happy FALL!!!

I have been remiss in my blog updating duties.  Many apologies!  I am still busy busy busy with school--but there are only 5 weeks left or something crazy like that and I cannot believe how fast the time has flown.  My classes are going great and I love learning about Psychology.  Of course my FAVORITE class is Arabic :)  And, tadaa, I can read and write!  We are getting to some big-time sentence structures now and it is a little intimidating.  I met with my prof the other day and we discussed the class--strangely enough, or maybe not so strange, most of the class has dropped out.  There used to be close to 40 of us and now there are 22.  I guess not everyone shares the same passion for learning Arabic.  Anyway, hay mucho plans regarding Arabic but I cannot put them on here yet.  I will let you know when I can :)

My family is good.  All are busy.  Kaelan turns 7 on the 8th of November.  Can you believe that??  I cannot.  Kameron is in preschool--he goes to the Deer room and is loving it.  I think he mostly loves the miniature toilets and sinks that are just his size.  And my other two nephews are also good.  Weston is getting big.  I will post a good picture.  Will is getting used to being a big brother and it is cute.

Big Brother!

I have to do an oral presentation in Arabic today.  It will be easy because it is about me and at least is in first person.  :)

Baby Weston!

So precious!

He's here!!!  His C-section was scheduled for the 26th but apparently coming early is just his MO because Ashlie went into labor on the 22nd early in the morning and rather than wait they just took him C-section that morning, at about 8:20 AM.  He was 7.4 pounds and was 19 inches long.  And I will say one thing for C-sections--they don't make the baby look all squished!  Weston is perfect :)

I went to Helena on Friday after class and stayed the night with Will so that Brandt could stay at the hospital with Ashlie and Wes.  Will and I had some good bonding time--we ate cookies and played the X-box.  It was a mini-vacation for both of us :)  Man Will can talk!  Sure, half of what he says he is just repeating but it is impressive all the same.  I think if he was taking Arabic class with me he would kick my butt at it!

Taking Me Back

I love school!!!  I am in my official 3rd week of classes and I am going strong.  And despite having 19 credits I am not overworked a bit.  Not much homework.  Granted I am tired but that could be because I haven't been sleeping very well--I wake up in the middle of the night and speak Arabic to myself.  Then I get the itch to get up and start writing words--in Arabic, of course--but I make myself stay in bed and eventually I fall back asleep again. 

I am practicing Arabic on a daily basis and I already can feel myself getting better.  I can read and write 13 letters in the alphabet thus far--but I definitely need improvement.  My writing looks like a 4-year old!  I bet those little Arab Kindergarteners could show me a thing for two.  But I love it and I am excited to be getting a little better.

As far as the rest of my classes go, I am learning so much about Psych already.  I think my favorite class just might be Development Psych, but then again we are learning cool things in Research Methods right now too.  I am a bit disappointed in my Abnormal Psych class but that is just because the instructor seems a little uncomfortable teaching it and we haven't gotten to anything good yet.  I also like my Psych 100 class, despite having to go be a guinea pig for the grad students on Wednesday--I just hope their experiments have nothing to do with The Jersey Shore!

My Babies

Playing at Sandy Beach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I went to Casper before school started so I could see my boys.  We hung out all week and had tons of fun!  Here are some pictures of the merriment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So Cold!!!

I will miss my Kameron

Firepower!

Playing in the water

Crazy Thing Called Life

So I did go to Bryn Mawr this summer--for my 6th.  I did not, alas, write about it!  I was crazy-busy--I moved from Junior Camp to Senior Camp.  I loved my kiddos though--for those of you reading this, you know who you are and I miss you!!!  Basically I can never go back down to Junior Camp after the hectic-fun-wonderful-insane thing that is Senior Camp.

And now?  I am back in Montana, at the University of Montana as a post-baccalaureate student, getting my degree in Psychology.  I will be here until May.  It is only the 2nd full week of classes but I already LOVE all that I am doing.  I am taking Abnormal Psych, Developmental Psych, Arabic, Research Methods, and Psych 100.  Even though I have 19 credits my schedule isn't too busy.  Arabic is my hardest class and the one that I love the most, it is true.  Everyday I go and everyday I feel slightly uncomfortable to be there but that is how I know I am learning!

In other news, Brandt and Ashlie's baby is due soon.  His name will be Weston Brandt and they will call him Wes for short.  His due date wasn't until the beginning of October but Ashlie went into labor with him a few weeks ago and his little lungs weren't fully developed yet.  That and because he is breach made for a scary time until they got it stopped.  They initially put her on bed rest but then took her off and now they are deciding whether to schedule a C-section or see if they can get him turned naturally.

In Soldier news, two of mine went home.  You may have heard that I had just adopted a 4th Soldier right before I went to camp.  He went home mid-summer due to a family emergency--:(  I worried about him and still worry about him but I don't want to bother him now that he is home.  And my SMSgt got to go home because he was all finished!  And then my SSG was promoted to SFC--yay!!!--and he went home for this month only on leave.  That left me with only 1 Soldier to support so I am going to adopt another one!

Fun in the Sun--Finally!

It has been RAINING nonstop for the past couple of days.  I would say that we get 3 days out of the week that are sunny.  Boo!!!  And so yesterday it was beautiful, but a bit cold, so we went to the park in Fairfield to watch a parade.  Brandt and Ashlie came down with Will so we all went together and hung out.  Here are some pictures of that.

At the parade!  Will wants Kam's candy

Wrestling in the park

A new work out for Aunt Jessie

Kameron riding the miniature pony

Then today it was 86 and so hot out that we broke out the Slip-n-Slide!  It took about an hour and 20 minutes to set the thing up but once we did it was so worth it!  The boys had a great time.  Even little Will played in the cold water.

Holy Buckets that is cold!

Uncle Bubba giving a boost

Kameron

Kaelan got the hang of it finally

Then after the heat went down a little bit the boys and I went slacklining.  I had sunburned the backs of my legs and boy could I feel that when I was walking on my slackline!  Ouch!

Hammock time!

Kaelan is a natural!

Yes he has no pants on

Firetrucks and Motorcycles

We are in Montana for some vacation--Kurt couldn't make it due to work so Kat and the boys and I hopped in my Highlander and headed down yesterday.  The roads have been closed for a week due to flooding but we only crossed over one section that had water covering the road.  Today we woke up and made the jaunt to Helena to visit Brandt, Will, and Ashlie.  We got to play in the firetrucks at Brandt's fire station and took lots of pictures.  We also got to ride on his Harley Davidson Road King.

Here are some highlights of the day!

We all got rides!

Kaelan riding the Harley

Kameron riding that Harley!

Whoa--cool toys!

Kaelan and Auntie Jessie

Cousins!

Kaelan climbing trees