Pumpkin Carving

Dave came home from Lowe's with a gigantic pumpkin last weekend and was very excited to carve it with the boys.
The boys, of course, were excited to help as well.

They were very intrigued by what was inside the pumpkin. However, neither one would reach inside to get the seeds out. I figured Calvin would be that way because he has never wanted to feel the inside of the pumpkin, but I was sure Luke would give it a try. Nope.

Okay, so really, the boys just watched as we de-pulped the pumpkin and Dave drew the face on. After that they were off to play while Dave painstakingly finished his intricate design. The finished product.

Now, had Dave asked, I would have told him it was very silly to carve a pumpkin 3 weeks before Halloween. But he was set on it and sure enough, after 6 days in the hot Texas sun (three days of a heat index in the 100's!), our pumpkin is sporting some fabulous mold. Oh well, we did enjoy some roasted pumpkin seeds. I guess we get to do this all over again!

Sea World Trip

Once again, thanks to the military, we enjoyed a nice weekend in San Antonio last weekend on one of Dave's cross country's. The boys and I drove up to San Antonio on Friday evening, picked Dave up at the airport, then headed to our hotel on the Riverwalk. We were kind of late getting in, so we checked in to the hotel and headed right out to eat. We took the boys to the Rainforest Cafe (Calvin's suggestion - he actually remembered it from last year when we were here). They enjoyed it, but Luke clung to me whenever the thunder started.

Saturday morning we got up and headed to Sea World early. Here is our before the park picture. I read somewhere to take a picture of your kids before going to a place like this - that way if they get lost, you have a photo of them in the clothes they are wearing.

I felt like the boys were at a great age to really enjoy all of the things Sea World had to offer. Our first stop was feeding the dolphins. This was probably my favorite part of the day. You buy a tray of fish, and the dolphins come right up to you to eat. You can touch them as you feed them. I had never felt a dolphin before and I thought it was really neat. I probably could have stayed there an hour and not got tired of it. Calvin, on the other hand, was too scared and wouldn't try feeding them.

That's me, with the boys watching.

After feeding the dolphins and seeing the shark tanks, we headed to the water park portion of Sea World. We lucked out, as this was the last weekend the water park was open. A cold front came through the week before, but temperatures were back up in the 90's by Saturday. Some of the water was really cold, but the boys didn't seem to mind. There was a splash park with lots of squirters and dump buckets, a wave pool, a lazy river, and several water slides. Calvin got to go down two different slides, but Luke was too little for those. Dave and I took turns watching the boys so we could have a chance to go down the slides as well. I am scared of and will not go on roller coasters, but I really like water slides, so this was alot of fun.

After snacktime and getting changed, we headed to the Shamu show. Both of the boys were pretty impressed with this one.

Next we picked up some frozen lemonades, then went to see the penguins. They have an exhibit with a conveyer belt going by that you ride on as you watch the penguins (we rode several times). It was even snowing in the penguin exhibit. After the penguins we went to the Sea Lion show - a "mystery" featuring three sea lions and a gigantic walrus, then went to feed the sea lions.

Calvin actually gave this one a try, since the sea lions were far below us and he just had to drop the food down to them. Next we hit the kids area, which has games and rides just for the little ones. Calvin and I rode the Shamu Express, a kiddie roller coaster that he had been dying to go on all day. Then the boys (and Dave) went and crawled all around on this giant rope play area (I am really lacking in pictures).

Our final stop of the day was the "Viva" show. This was a really neat performance combining divers, synchronized swimmers, beluga whales, and dolphins. Its almost like a circus in the pool. We all liked this one as well, but were worn out after a long day.

We got to Sea World at 10 in the morning and left at 6:30. After grabbing some dinner at Pizza

Hut, we headed back to our room, where I expected the boys to crash out. Instead, they were up for some playtime and a late night snack. Notice their red cheeks and noses. They had on sunscreen, but I guess I didn't get that area too well.

And a video recap of the day. As you can see, Calvin liked everything and Luke, well...

First Soccer Game

Calvin has started playing on the soccer league on base. He's only had one game and three practices, but he really seems to be enjoying it. He's excited to get out there and play. I can't believe we are finally getting started with sports! I'm sure it is just the beginning of many years of shuttling to practices and games... He had his first game two weeks ago. Here's the team, getting ready to start.
Ready for the kickoff. It was really hilarious to watch this game. Every single child on that team cried at one point or another and walked off the field. All you can do is just laugh.

Here's what Luke thinks of the game.

Actually, some people on the other team had little flags that they were waving, and Luke was watching them and saying "I wish I had that flag."

Taking a turn in the goal. Calvin loves playing goalie and we have to practice it all the time at home.

After the game team shot. I just think they are all so darn cute at this age!