Armageddon...

Some say that eventually California will suffer a tremendous earthquake, fall into the Pacific Ocean and cease to exist. From the weather here recently, I have to disagree. If California were to meet its demise, it will certain be from the raging wild fires that plague this State from year to year.

Today, there are several wild fires that are burning out of control throughout the state - one of which is just over the mountains on the way to Los Angeles. Kolya and I were out running errands and the ash was literally falling out of the sky and covering our truck. We took some pictures because, quite frankly, its interesting to see but we hope to never see it again. Keep in mind that we took the pictures at about 3:30-4:00 in the afternoon, and that this is NOT cloud cover...it's ALL smoke!

Please say some prayers for the firefighters who are battling these blazes day and night. They rarely get any rest, and are doing everything in their power to keep people and property safe. God bless and protect them!

The picture below is take to the south. That's where this particular fire originates.

It was really odd to see the sun glowing red instead of its usual color.

This was the view out our kitchen window. The people to the north still had some sunshine.

Again, this picture was taken in the afternoon. Even with all the curtains open, it still looked like dusk outside.

We'll never go hungry!

This is the second year that Mykola tried planting a "garden." I use the term very loosely as we have no soil to grow anything in, and the "garden" looked more like a newly dug grave site rather than a source of nourishment. Kolya decided to help this year, and took it upon himself to monitor its progress very closely.

Considering the garden was only a foot wide by two feet long, there was not much variety in our crops. Mykola planted pumpkins, carrots, corn and peppers. The peppers never came up, the sun killed the seedling pumpkins, the corn never grew beyond 4 inches tall. By default, the overall winners were the carrots! The boys went outside and harvested them today. Kolya was so excited! He refused to throw away the smallest carrot, even though a rabbit would have certainly passed it up! Here are some pictures from the Future Farmers of America - Rowdy Rozsa style!

Funny home movies!

Just thought I'd share these cute movies I made of the kids the other day. People said that when they got a little older they would entertain themselves. Apparently, they were right! Enjoy!

The kids have learned that if they cover their heads with something and then try to walk around, things get very interesting. I thought they'd be brilliant children....now, I'm not so sure!

Getting on the floor with the kids is like being a fresh piece of meat in a lion's den. You are mauled within seconds - especially if you have the camera with you!

New play toys....

Since the weather has started to cool off a bit, I thought it was time for me to get the kids some "new" outdoor play toys. The plan is to get outside in the morning, after our walk and before it starts getting too warm. With a little research, I found some play cubes just south of where we live - all I had to do was go and get them. I washed them down and, voila, a whole new learning environment for the kiddos!

We took them outside on Sunday morning to see what they would do. As usual, Olivia had a meltdown when we put her in the grass. For some unknown reason, she HATES feeling the grass on her feet/legs. So, instead of playing with her brothers on their new toys, she pouted and sniffled all by herself on the mini picnic table. What a drama queen! As for the boys, they loved it! It'll take them a while to figure out how to climb on, in and over everything, but I'm sure it won't take long. Overall, I think they had a good time their first time out!

Sleeping Beauty!

There are no words to tell you how cute this little girl is! Olivia rarely complains and pretty much finds a solution to every problem she encounters. I'm guessing that she was tired and we didn't attend to her needs fast enough, so she decided to take matters into her own hands. God love her for being able to fall asleep anywhere!

Soccer season is here!

Last year, because the babies were brand new, Mykola and I had no time for anything "extra"- imagine that! One of the first things to be cut off the "extra" list was Nicholas' soccer season. Although there were plenty of people that volunteered to drag our child along to games and practices, we didn't want to be freeloaders and dump him on whomever was driving slow enough past our driveway!

So this year, because we have SO much extra time, we find ourselves back in the soccer grind. We've got practice two nights a week, games TBD, and a new energetic coach. Here are some pictures for their first practice.

Comfortable?

Matthew is the first climber of the group. His favorite place to go is in between the cushion and the back of the big, comfy chair. Today, he was getting himself ready to watch Sesame Street. Take a look...

Finger in a light socket...

Mykola was giving Daniel a bath the other day, and he decided to give the child a new hairdo. What do you think?

Kolya the Second Grader!

Here are some pictures from Nicholas' first day of second grade!! He has Mrs. Davis, a new teacher to Branch Elementary. She seems to be very nice and motivated. If Nicholas' excitement is any indication of what to expect, he is going to have a GREAT year!

HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY, KOLYA!!

Today is my baby's 7th birthday! Instead of having something here at the house, Mykola and I decided that he needed a day to himself, with his friends, doing something only for him. He's been such a great big brother, but we thought it would be nice to get him away from the babies and do some big boy stuff.

So, I loaded up Kolya and four of his closest friends and out on the town we went! First, all the boys got to open up their gift bags that were full of "top secret agent" goodies. They all got funny glasses, dog tags, a Super Police badge, a flying paratrooper, and a mini video game. Next, it was on to the local movie theater in Lancaster to see "G-Force," a movie about a top secret group of guinea pigs that work for the FBI. After that, we stopped at McDonald's for lunch, and then on to the house for cake and ice cream.

The boys had a really great time and so did I! They were very well-behaved and entertaining. In fact, I wrote down some of my favorite quotes of the day. Here's what comes out of the mouths of babes:

"Do you know how many germs are on the counters at McDonald's?" - Cameron

"Why did you HAVE to say my last name?" - Gabriel (called him by his full name after the second time I told him to get away from the drive-thru lane)
"Yes, I get to date your mom!" - Hunter (We were matching ourselves to characters in the movie. By default, I got to be the only girl in the movie and Hunter's character wanted to date her.)
"Be quiet, royalty is sleeping!" - Joey
"G-Force 1 - out of the stall!" - Nicholas (All the boys were assigned a G-Force number which they felt compelled to yell out when they finished in the potty!)

Tonight, we're having a quiet family dinner. Kolya wanted to have noodles with shrimp and crab. So, a yummy seafood medley for his birthday dinner it will be!

Kolya starts second grade on Monday so I'm sure he'll be enjoying some more time with his friends over the weekend. We are so proud of him, and still can't believe that seven years flew by so quickly! WE LOVE YOU, BABY! You're the bestest boy in the WHOLE world!

First day at daycare...

For everyone's sanity, Mykola and I decided that the triplets needed to get some time away from the house. So, yesterday was their first day at daycare! They will be going two days a week for only a few hours a day, but it will give me a much needed break. Plus, because they'll be going in the morning while Kolya is at school, I'll be able to run errands, clean my house, volunteer in Kolya's classroom or, my favorite, just sit in peace and quiet!

The kids really enjoyed their first day! They played will all new toys and got to take a walk with the class. The immediately took to the classroom setting, and there was no drama when I left. Daniel had an interesting time....not only was he bitten by another child but he took quite a big tumble down a mini-baby slide. Oh, well...we've been telling him "what goes around, comes around." So, the next time he tries to bully his brother or sister, he might thing twice about jinxing his karma!!

The pictures are not very good because I was trying to stay hidden and snap the photos through the window! Enjoy!

Olivia relaxing on the floor and keeping herself occupied.

The picture below is one of our favorites - not because of the bite mark (which is already 4 hours old!) but because it looks like Daniel is showing off his new "bad boy" tattoo!!

AFRL Family Day

Last Thursday, the company grade officers put together a fantastic family day for everyone that works at the Air Force Research Lab here at Edwards. They had such great displays and stuff for everyone to do. They even had rocket launching, fencing and Security Forces police dog demonstrations. We got to see a lot of our long lost friends and meet some new folks, too! Here are some pictures from the day....