A Needed Change

We had such a great time on our vacation, it was really hard to leave. Here are Matthew and Thomas enjoying a visit to the outdoor kiddie pool. We were a bunch of water bugs all week.

We took a road trip one day to the Eighth Air Force Museum in Savannah. Papa likes to get his history fix and we all enjoyed seeing some of the local attractions. The outlet mall was on route back, too!

We had an unplanned stop on the second leg of our flight home. There was a noticeable smell of something burning inside the plane and a slight smoky haze. The crew made a very quick emergency landing in Raleigh-Durham, NC. Thankfully, we landed safely and everyone did a pretty good job of keeping their cool - especially Thomas, who slept through the whole emergency landing. Matthew thought it was really neat that there were so many firetrucks stationed on the runway, and they followed our plane to the gate! This photo is of a soldier returning from Baghdad, who befriended the boys in the new airport. He gave them each a Kinderegg from Germany. They are chocolate eggs with a toy inside. We send him our good wishes on his wedding this week and will remember him, along with all our troops, this Thanksgiving.

We arrived home about 5 hours later than planned, due to the airplane situation. The boys were troopers through the whole thing, though. Despite a pretty late night for them, they got up and ready for school the next day without a problem. When I picked them up that afternoon, Thomas' teacher said he had had "his best day ever". I guess he really needed to get away. I guess we all did.

Vacation!

Well, we swore we would never fly with them again until they were 21. Never say never. We took off on our first family vacation together last Sunday to spend a week in Hilton Head, SC. Airline travel with Matthew and Thomas still presents some challenges, but the trip was nothing like the nightmarish flight from Kyiv last February. Using our frequent flyer miles and some promotional offers, we ended up flying first class on this trip. They've come a long way...8 months ago, the boys were eating gruel in an orphanage, and now they're flying first class to their timeshare. Ain't America great?!

Believe it or not, vacation seems to be working on the boys as well as us. Pre-K and Kindergarten must be more stressful than the coloring and graham crackers suggest. Their swimming has progressed visibly and they're calming down in restaurant situations and stores.

The week started with Uncle Tim, Joseph and Rosaleen joining us for a couple of days and the cousins got to know each other better and enjoyed their time in the pool. The four kids shared the second bedroom. Thomas, always the early riser, had his roommates up at about 4 a.m. As the week has moved on, we've been able to get him to sleep in to close to his normal 6 a.m. schedule.

We've been to the beach every day, although the ocean is too cold for swimming this time of year. Matthew brings the football along for a game of catch, and Thomas likes to go for a run on the beach.

We eat most of our meals at the condo, but treat ourselves by going out once in a while. Like most kids, the boys like "Old McDonald's" (they think the golden arches were named for the song), but anyplace that serves chicken nuggets, french fries and hot dogs gets the thumbs-up.

Trick or Treat

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

We got together with our neighbors for a pre-Halloween Pumpkin-carving party. From left are Thomas, Matthew, Michael, Tyler, Ashley, Kelly and Connor.

Two little goblins pay our next-door neighbors a visit.

Superman and Tigger hooked up with their friends from our street for the trick-or-treating and the gang made a stop at our house.

Thomas loved being able to wear his costume to school.