Austin's 6th Birthday

I was really trying to stay on top of things and post fairly regularly and then our computer decided to stop working last week. So...I have been basically computerless for a week (I did have my work laptop but it blocks so many sites, it's not even worth using). So.....here is what you missed in our exciting world :)

We had our first "snow" last week. I think we got a whopping 1/2 inch of snow.....of course the schools were delayed here....you know it could be treacherous :).

Luckily Austin's school is a charter school and doesn't have buses, so they went to school on time. When I drove him to school, the sidewalk wasn't even wet. The boys kept asking me...."how come there isn't any snow on the roads?" They are so used to seeing snow in Colorado.

When Austin was younger, he would constantly ask when his birthday is. So, we started telling him that his birthday would be after it snowed since it always snowed a time or two before his birthday when we lived in Colorado. When Austin saw the snow, he said "It must be my birthday."

His birthday was two days later. Austin had his first real friends birthday. We have had birthday parties for him in the past but it was basically friends of ours, relatives, etc.

He invited 9 kids from his kindergarten class and he had a cosmic bowling party. It was a blast! The kids were hilarious bowling. One of the kids told me "I have never bowled in real life.....just on the Wii." Then we had a family party at my parents' house on Sunday (his actual birthday).

He got a lot of fun gifts. One of his favorite gifts is the police uniform that my parents gave him. Austin started telling us this summer that he was going to be a police officer when he grows up. He usually flits from thing to thing, so I figured it was the "thing of the week" but he seems to really be into the whole police officer thing.

It is fun (and a little sad) to see how much our little guy has grown up.

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Car Trip to (Near Nashville) Murfreesboro

The boys and I made a quick (ha!) 7.5 hour car trip to see our friends Kim and David and their 2 boys, Noah and Josh. We officially met Kim and David during our second trip to Russia to pick up our boys although we had seen them several times during our first trip to Russia but didn't realize that they were Americans. It was great getting to know them and hang out with them during our three (long) weeks in Russia. Jacob and Noah are a couple of months apart in age and were in the same class in the orphanage so it is fun to reminisce about our experience. We have made an effort to make the cross country trek to see each other once or twice a year since our adoptions in 2005. We, of course, moved to North Carolina in January and then Kim and David moved from Connecticut to Tennessee this summer, so we are now within driving distance of one another which is great.

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The Polar Express

This weekend we took the boys to The Polar Express train ride in Bryson City, NC. Our kids LOVE this movie and have probably seen it 30 times. It is a staple during the Christmas season. So, when we heard about this train ride we knew we had to take the boys.

According to the owner of the bed and breakfast where we stayed, approximately 40,000 people ride this train between Nov. 7 and Christmas. Basically you ride on a train for about an hour and a half. All the kids where their pajamas. They read the Polar Express story, sing Christmas carols, drink hot chocolate, and make a stop at the North Pole where Santa gets on and hands out bells (if you have watched the movie, you will know the significance of the bells). The kids had a blast!

On a funny note....we stayed at a fun little bed and breakfast. We had the t.v. on in the room and they were talking about Obama.

Austin said " Obama? What did they say about Obama?"

John remarked that they were talking about him moving into the White House since he is going to be out next president.

Austin replied with "Oh, man! I want to turn him into stone."

I assumed he was mad because they had a little voting thing at Austin's school and he informed us that he voted for McCain and McCain won first before Obama won, (McCain was going to win).

Contrary to what some of you may think, we hadn't ever really talked about the presidential campaign with our kids, so it was funny to hear him say he voted for McCain. I assumed he was mad at the outcome of the election.

At any rate....I said "Turn him into stone....you don't like him?"

Austin replied "No....I mean I want to make him into stone....make a statue of him."

Apparently they have been talking about past presidents, like Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, in his kindergarten class and they have talked about statue replications of the presidents, so he figured Obama should have one too since he is going to be the next president. :)

Austin is trying out his new "knife". Purchased at the "As Seen on TV" Cherokee Indian store.

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Dixie Classic Fair/Halloween 2008/Visit from Nana and Papa

OK...so I just realized that I haven't posted in 2 months, so some of these pics may be a little old. I always have good intentions to post more regularly but I know people don't want to read my blabbering.....they want to see good pics of the kids....and since I don't take near as many pics as I used to........well, that's my excuse :)
Anyway....we have had a busy past couple of months. Austin continues to love kindergarten. He is doing really well and is such a hard worker! We just had parent/teacher conferences after receiving his first report card. His teacher thinks he is doing great. She says that he gets along well with everyone in the class, is so emphathetic towards others, and is "just so sweet." Of course, I was beaming.....especially since some of the difficulties he has had in the past. Jacob likes his preschool as well. His teacher is very structured which is proving to be a bit of a challenge for both he and his teacher :).
In October, we took the kids to the Dixie Classic Fair which is in Winston-Salem, about 30 minutes away from where we live. The kids had a blast feeding the animals and riding the rides. John's parents (aka Nana and Papa) came out to visit over Halloween. Jacob had been asking "When is Halloween?" since the middle of September, so it was definitely a much anticipated holiday. Austin was Optimus Prime (for those of you who aren't familiar with this character....it is a Transformer). Jacob was Incredible Hulk....although he wanted me to refer to him as Smash ( I think that might be some other superhero??). Jacob's preschool class got to wear their costumes to school on Halloween. There is a girl in his class that he apparently doesn't like....according to him "she doesn't like me and I wasn't mean to her." So, on the day he wore his costume he said....we can't wear our mask because this particular girl would be scared. Then he went on to say...."if she is mean to me, I will smash her." Great.....already resorting to violence :). We spent some time at a Pumpkin Bash at our church and then went trick or treating in my parents' neighborhood.
We had a great time with John's parents. They got to see the beautiful colors of fall and we got some great pics of them at the park with the kids.

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