Back to School

Seems like it has been forever since the boys were in school- like summer break. School started again on Jan 4th & not a minute too soon. They were ready too. DJ received his report card- He got 4 A's & 1 B. We learned that Crispy Creme will give him a donut for every A. We will be capitalizing on that. January 18th is Hutchen's Honor Assembly. DJ will be recognized for his academic achievement, perfect attendance, citizenship & accelerated reading. He has also been making time for basketball every Thursday evening @ Christ United Methodist Church. So far, his team is undefeated, but we are not supposed to keep score, so you didn't hear that from me. His coaches are wonderful & they both live in our neighborhood. I am sure the boys will have many friends to play with this summer at the pool.
Jack has been working hard too. He is doing really well with all of his sight words. His handwriting is improving dramatically. Now that he is excited about it, he wants to keep practicing. He has also gotten interested in a series of books called the Magic Tree House. I have actually gotten into them too. They are fun. DJ enjoys them too, but he says he still prefers non-fiction. Both boys are getting signed up for T-ball for this Spring. I am glad that they will both be involved. I believe Jack is getting tired of sitting on the sidelines for DJ's basketball practices & games.

DJ's 1st Grade Field Trip- Hutchen's Elementary, Mobile, AL

I am so glad that I get to stay home with the boys, especially when I get to go on fun field trips. DJ’s school trip was downtown at the Exploreum, a science center/museum for children.
It’s hard to believe that it’s Feb 22nd & it was 77 degrees. I shouldn’t complain since back home they’re getting snow & ice, but I did find it a little too humid! I am sure anyone back home that is reading this is feeling bad for me right now, aren’t you?
The Exploreum is currently featuring a giant bug display as you will see in the following picures. DJ showed me all the bugs he liked and then posed for me as I took pictures of him with all of them. The children just finished learning about butterflies, so I got to hear all about them. I hope that DJ continues to be as excited about learning new things as he is right now!

DJ & his classmate then got to run around & explore the hands on science center. For lunch, we walked across the street to the bay to sit with our brown bags. It was great not only were there trains going by behind us, but we could look ahead & watch the boats on the water. They really do have some nicely planned out field trips. Everyone seemed to have a good time.
Jack also had a good time. He got to spend the morning & part of the afternoon with his friend Emily. I feel so fortunate that we have met so many nice people since we have moved down here!

There's More to do out in the Backyard

The weather has been warming up down here for the past week. We are now spending a lot more time outside in our backyard. With t-ball beginning next week, Mark felt the boys needed some work. He went out & bought a few things to help them practice.

Tomorrow DJ & I are going on a school field trip to the Exploreum. Jack is excited since he gets to go to Miss Lindy’s house & play with her daughters Emily & Kristin.

Can't Believe my Last Posting was in January

It's been cold & we have been pretty busy. I know I can't really complain about the weather while all of our friends & family are trying to get out from under all the ice & snow. We did get to see some sleet come down. While all the other children are indoors, my boys have no problems being outside playing. They are truly the only ones out there when the mercury drops below 40. The busy factor is no excuse, I am going to try harder to keep up this blog in a more timely fashion!
We all still sound like we're from the north. The boys haven’t picked up an accent as of yet, however, I have noticed little things. For instance, DJ now refers to me as mama. Mark finds this to be hysterical, especially since he knows I am not too fond of this term of endearment. Mark’s favorite phrase from the south is “fixin”. He loves to say we are or he is fixin’ to do something.
Now that I have vented about the words my boys use, I will continue to update you on our life down here. The weather is very unpredictable at best. We have been lucky for some really nice days. We went to the Senior Bowl on Jan 29^th & it was sunny & 70. The south won! DJ loved his first college game, unfortunately, Jack just wanted to know when it was time to go.
We went to Luke's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. We were not looking forward to it since our last experience at this establishment in Harrisburg was not very good. We were, however, pleasantly surprised to find the one down here was very clean & nicely kept and no security guards manning the door like in Harrisburg.
We finished up an undefeated basketball season for DJ. He had a great experience with a wonderful team & coaches. Now both boys are signed up for T-ball. I am glad that they will both be involved. I think poor Jack is tired of being a bystander and ready to play.
Mark and I were able to have a nice adult night out since we have found a sitter. Ally, the sitter, came highly recommended by our new friends- Jen & Gordon (Talus's parents). We had a nice evening at Cirque de Soleil & drinks out with friends afterwards- Lindy & Dave (Emily & Kristen's parents).

Happy 2011

We got to ring in the new year with our friends & their 2 boys across the way.
This was a really good week. Not only did we have Mark home, but we also got some decent weather to go out & do things around the area. Mark & DJ got some golfing in at their favorite spot- Magnolia Grove. DJ also beat his dad for the first time- DJ shot a 72 & Mark a 73. I don't know dad- this may be the start of something. Mark said DJ is really doing well with his new clubs.

swinging his new clubs

They are hoping that they will be able to get one more day of golf in tomorrow. Jan 2nd forecast- sunny with a high of 55. Not bad considering what we were used to. Today it is raining, but it's okay since it's in the 70's & Alabama is playing on TV.
The boys had a great time ringing in the new year with their buddies Chase & Luke. They were playing hard setting up all of their racecar tracks & train tracks. They took a break only to eat party snacks & drink wassal that their mom made for the first time. It came out pretty good. They also watched fireworks that Mr. Jason set-off in his driveway & walked around holding their first sparklers.

Jack & mommy in the Kitchen- December 28, 2010

One of the many Christmas gifts Jack received was a Deluxe Cooking Set. It is so cute with its mini spatula, wooden spoon, wisk, measuring cups & spoon, etc. Needless to say, he was very excited since he always want to help mommy in the kitchen- whether she needs it or not!
The first of our most recent endeavors was Best Rolled Sugar Cookies, one of my many favorites from Allrecipes.com.

Decorated Best Rolled Sugar Cookie

Best Rolled Sugar Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, softened

1- 1 1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

In a large bowl, cream together butter & sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs & vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder & salt. Cover & chill dough for @ least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shape with cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven.

We then made the icing. All we did was mix together 1 cup powdered sugar with a few teaspoons of milk, some corn syrup & a little almond extract.
Not sure if we had more fun making or eating. They are now gone. My diet starts after the New Year!
We also made mini pizzas & they turned out really good too. Maybe he will one day become a chef.

December 27, 2010

I decided to return to my blog after a year hiatus. I was actually prompted by our move to Alabama. I wanted to be able to give the boys something to look back at, as well as, to update my family members. Up until now, I have lived my entire life in Pennsylvania. In October, however, that all changed. Our family moved over 1000 miles away to Alabama so that Mark could further his career as a DM for Lowes. We are very proud of him, but it is a little bit of a change to say the least.

The Hikes Family's last picture in front of their 1st home.

There's our 1st house. The house where our babies were born. Mark hates it when I put it that way. He never liked our 1st house. He used to call it the box. He didn't think it had much character. It was the house that we made home with all of the changes & improvements. I think that is why I feel a little more attached to it. And of course, we had made many friends there too. We were situated between 2 great neighbors- the Mraziks (Miss Sue & Mr Bob) & the Smiths (Miss Lisa & Mr Max).

Like I said, we traveled many miles. I was supposed to capture every welcome sign for each state we entered. I failed, so here is what I meant to do for VA, TN, GA, and AL. You get the idea.

This happy little smile didn't last too long, unfortunately.

After just 20 minutes into our trip-"What state are we in now?" To his dismay, we were still in PA.

We were packed to the gills. Yes, we couldn't put anything more into our Acadia after Mark, DJ, Jack & myself, as well as, Cooper & Emma (our pooches) & Charlie (our kitty), and all of our stuff were finally in the car. I thought we might even lose stuff if we opened our doors. It was crazy & Mark will tell everyone that. I just didn't want him to travel that far by himself. Call me crazy, but we made it- together!
After some of the above mentioned, I meant to begin blogging a few months ago, however, didn't get the opportunity until now, so I have a little bit of catching up to do. I am hoping that as this goes on I will have pictures & a little more of an elaborate posting, so bear with me until then.
Below is a quick synopsis, but I will fill in with more detail in future blogs-
Let's just say that my husband & children did very well with the transition immediately. I am warming up to it, but at a much slower pace. The boys found playmates immediately. Jack can't seem to get enough of his new buddies Chase (6 yrs) & Luke (3 1/2 years). The neighborhood is filled with children. I suppose we will meet many more this summer when the development pool is open.
I am slowly learning where some of Jack's classmates live. His school is 20 minutes away, so I was surprised to learn that his classmate Emily is in the beginning of our neighborhood. I also was surprised to learn that they planned on getting married. We had a feeling Jack would go first because of his strong affinity toward the opposite sex, but not quite this early. He keeps asking when he can have her over to play. Her mom is very nice, so I guess this unity will be okay.

Emily & Jack posing for a picture after an afternoon of decorating cookies & meeting with Mrs. Claus

Jack had his 1st experience with the mean red ants from the south early on. He was standing on a hill & before you know it they were covering his sneakers & socks & moving upward & then the screams began. Once we got them off, there were some pretty nice welts on his legs. He has recovered fine & now has a new respect for them, as well as, DJ.
We were a little nervous about DJ & beginning a new school down south, but our fears soon disappeared. He is doing great & I am getting great updates from his teacher since I go in periodically to cover lunches for her. She said he is really getting it. I went to his Christmas party where his teacher announced that all of her students accomplished their AR (advanced reading) goals. She asked DJ & a few of his classmates to stand up so she could recognize them as not only good students, but also good people for helping some of their classmates accomplish their goals. She pulled me aside to let me know that DJ really had his work cut out for him & she was very proud of him. It made her cry.

Mimi & the boys- Dauphin Island, AL- November 26, 2010

We have definitely been able to adapt to the weather down here. It still can get really cold, but it doesn't last long. We had great weather for Thanksgiving. We were lucky enough to have Mimi here to celebrate with us. We could have had it outdoors this year.
It has been great for the boys since they love being outside. DJ has been outdoors a lot & has traded in his clubs on many occasions for a football or basketball. We are now lucky enough to have a basketball hoop & flat driveway. That's not saying he is no longer golfing but I guess his rounding himself a little. Golf is still his top sport, hence the new golf clubs for Christmas.
Unfortunately, mom & Charlie didn't have the same luck with the weather when they came down to visit us in the beginning of December. We welcome you to come back when the weather gets warmer.
I am adjusting, however, I do miss family & friends, especially over the holidays. I am still working on getting Costco's to put a store in near Mobile- the closest one is 3 hours away, which is not acceptable. I also miss my super Giant- with the kid's play area. The boys can't understand why they have to shop with me now. They keep asking to go play with the Wii in the play area.
They did, however, get an XBOX 360 Kinect for Christmas. Now we need to work on getting them away from the games. They love it and they are both, correction, all 3 so competitive. I feel like I'm playing with Mike with the Atari all over again. Even my little Jack is beating me & saying "take that mommy." I am doomed. I will have to practice at night when everyone is sleeping.