Almost the end of VACATION!!

Lisa & Kyle are leaving tomorrow morning to go home to Nevada. We are really lucky that they extended their stay and were with us for a whole month!! This month FLEW by. Now we have to get back to regular school days, chores, and RESPONSIBILITIES!! UGH! It was so nice having Lisa & Kyle here with us. We had Lots of fun!! Lisa and I made lots of projects and came up with some great ideas for Christmas Gifts for everyone!! I really enjoyed our latest adventure... we decided to Dye our hair the same color!! It was around 10-11pm and Lisa found a coupon for $4 off hair dye!! She decided to run the Walgreens (thank God for 24 hr stores) and pick up dye for both of us. It was a surprise to me what color she would come back with, but I'm pretty much game for anything. I like dyeing my hair, so BRING IT!! She came home with a really pretty dark auburn color!! We started dyeing our hair around 11:30pm and finished around 12:30am!! It was lots of fun. We were so tired that we were giggling ALOT!! Here are the results!!

We also got to do Halloween Together!! We took the kids to the Hallowed King Festival in Fruitland Park!! The kids were so cute. They played games, ate hot dogs, popcorn & candy, and we all rode on the Hayride! It was ALOT of fun! Stephen and Alyssa really liked seeing all of their friends from Leesburg First that they haven't seen since summer camp!!

Then we came home and went trick-or-treating around our circle!! The kids liked it alot! It was nice to see so many kids out! I didn't realize how many kids their were in our neighborhood!! The best part was when the kids got home and dumped their bags of candy to sort and organizing it! They are so cute!!

Overall we had a GREAT Month! It really helped that Lisa and Kyle came and stayed with us to get us over the first part of our time away from Detto. I got to talk to Detto on the phone on Sunday for 17 Whole Minutes!! It was great! The kids got their time first and each got to

talk to Daddy and share what they have been doing!! It really helped! Alyssa had just had a HUGE Daddy meltdown on Saturday night! I let her sleep with the Daddy Doll and that helped! Detto said he is doing GREAT! We only have 37 more days and a wake up till we get to see him!! He is all healed up! His shins are better, they gave him stretching exercises and they have really helped! He has passed every test so far. There are 70 men and women in his platoon and only 20 have passed everything - Detto is one of the 20! He has already passed his PT test and qualified with all of his numbers he needs to graduate! He passed his First Aid test. He passed his Rifle qualification test. And he passed something else, but I cant remember what it is! They are on White Phase now and he will (Hopefully) get to call home every Sunday! They are getting more privileges! He said that it is easier now. They are doing less PT and more hiking - they have to carry 109 lbs. on their back everywhere they go. I think that is crazy, but it makes me have FLASHBACKS!! I found a facebook site that has pictures of him and his platoon! Its really nice to SEE what he is doing!

This is a rainbow that went over Alyssa's ball field during her game. It was so pretty!

Lots of SEWING & Creating!

Lisa and I have been staying up late sewing!! It has been so great to have my bestest friend here! I love sewing and making stuff with her!! She is always buying great patterns, but she has a hard time reading them.... So, that is where I come in! There is no point in me buying patterns... I can make them with her!

Here are some of the purses and bags we have made this week....

My NEW Purse that I made Sunday Afternoon!

The appliqued flower!!

Messenger Bags...
Lisa's Bag!

My Bag!
I appliqued a flower on it and added the lace on the flap!!

Also she showed me how to make a rag top quilt!! I love it! It was so fast and easy!

Stephen Held it up for me!! Isn't he sweet?

Then we make reusable baggies... This is craft Vinyl fabric!! It was GIVEN to Lisa and I by a lady at a quilt shop... She said it wasn't selling! And so we took it! I know we can make lots of stuff out of it!!

We also made QUILTED book covers! These are sooo cute! I love mine!!
I love that the ladies have flowers as hats!!

Lisa made this one!

We also made pillow cases! I am going to make some of these for the kids for Christmas presents!

This is one Lisa made...

Here is one that I made!
I love sewing!! This has been so much fun!

I am missing Detto something crazy! I feel like I have served my time and now he needs to bet his butt home!!! I am glad to get several letters from him week and I have gotten a hand full of calls!! He is doing good! He said he is really enjoying it!! I am Very Proud of Detto! Please keep him in your prayers!! He has been suffering with shin splints, from running in boots!! He went to the Physical Therapist and was told "You shouldn't be running this much with the condition of your shins, why don't you try riding a BIKE!!" Detto said, "Should I tell my Drill Sgt. that? I am in boot camp still!" I was crackin' up!! A bike? Are you serious?

Keeping Busy!

The kids and I have been keeping busy!! My best friend Lisa has kept us constantly moving!! She is so much fun!! I Love spending time with her! The kids have loved playing with Kyle... and not just because we aren't doing school while they are here!! We are still going on field trips though!! We went to the Orlando Science Center together and we went to the BEACH!! I haven't been to the beach ALL SUMMER!! So that was a treat!! We grilled hot dogs and rode HUGE WAVES!! I haven't seen waves this big.... maybe - Ever!! It was pretty eventful... Stephen got stung by a jelly fish and Alyssa got pulled out by the Rip Current - Lisa was nearby and pulled her back in safely!! Other than that it was a LOT Of Fun!! We rode wave after wave!!

My brother and sis-in-law Samantha had their BEAUTIFUL Baby Girl!! Her name is Anaia Patricia.... When we went to see them in the hospital, I was so overwhelmed at how much Anaia didn't look like a newborn! Her cheeks are so chubby. She made an even "20 nieces and nephews!! Yeah!!

Stephen and Alyssa and I went to BUSCH GARDENS - Homeschool Zoo School!! It was a blast! We got to go behind the scene's... They divided us up into groups of aprox. 30!! We had a personal guide who took each group around the park and told us about the animals, and their habitats, etc. We were able to ask questions and they had lots of hands on stuff for the kids to touch and learn!! It was an incredible field trip!! One of my favorites!!

I am so proud of the kids ball playing!! They are getting so much better every game! Alyssa played first base tonight and made an incredible play. She caught a pop-fly and got the runner going from first to second base!! She made a double play!! She also hit and eventually made it all the way home!! She got the GAME-BALL tonight!! It was signed by the whole team!!

This is her and her Coach!!

This is a Army Doll that one of my quilting friends sent me from Washington!! I was thrilled! Isn't it cute?

These are the quilting projects I have been working on!! These are my finished blocks from the quilt-a-long Lisa and I started at the beginning of the year!!

This is my Pumpkin Table runner!! I had so much fun quilting this! I cant put pictures of my other projects, because they are Christmas Presents!!