May?! Are You Kidding me?!

Wow, last post was in MAY!! That's an indicator of the pace of our lives. I'm hoping things slow down a little - they just have to! I am entering my 3rd trimester this week! The pregnancy hasn't been without its complications, but all is going well now. I'm reducing my hours at work after Thanksgiving, which I am very much looking forward to. We're having a boy who is due around Valentines Day. We are VERY excited! Haley and Jake talk about him and to him all the time.

So - summer. What did we do? Lots of work. Once Ryan graduated, he had 2 weeks off, then immediately started work as a TAC Officer. That's basically a mentor for a company of cadets here at the Academy. In the summers they have training programs for the cadets (Beast and Buckner) that is like them being out in the field and doing ranges. There are also competitions (Sandhurst, etc.) between the cadet companies. Ryan was very busy and I'm pleased to mention that his company won Sandhurst and other awards for the summer activities. The kids and I were busy, too. I was working and Haley and Jake were having a ball at the CDC/SAS summer camps. They took lots of day trips to see the sights around here. I still can't get over how beautiful it is. Our big trip during Ryan's summer leave was to TX to see my folks. We all headed down to Galveston to spend a few days at the beach. It was heaven! Ryan got some fishing time in with his Dad in OK, too. Oh, and I went to visit my best good friend in Germany before our TX trip. That was much fun! But it did give me some closure on leaving Europe when we did. Things seem so different in Graf/Vil now. And the dollar to euro rate - OUCH!! Plus, my BFF is now here at WP, too, so I'm good with not living there for a while. Doesn't stop the occasional itch to visit.

We have had a beautiful, unseasonably warm Fall here. It's breathtaking when the leaves change! Haley is in 3rd grade and is doing very well. She seems to be enjoying her schoolwork more and more, especially reading. She is continuing Gymnastics and has taken up piano, too. Jake is going to a full-day Pre-K program at the Catholic School in town. He loves it and so do we!! The academics is very good and it's so cute that he comes home wanting to say his own prayers at the table. Love what all he's learning. Wish money grew on trees. I'd send both kids to that school next year. Jake just ended his football season. To see him in full pads was adorable! He was in the Mighty Mites league for the Junior Black Knights. They played against other Mites in the surrounding towns. It was fun to visit these places for his games and get to see more of the area. We're only an hour from the Big Apple, but it's very rural around here. Gorgeous. The league had their championship game, The Mighty Bowl, here at Michie Stadium where the big Black Knights play. Our Jr. BK's won the championship!!! It was VERY exciting!

What else? We have explored the local farms, doing some apple picking, getting pumpkins, sampling the cider and fresh produce. We enjoyed "Blaze" this year, which is an annual display of thousands of ornate Jack-o-lanterns. Words don't do it justice. If you're curious, check it out on www.hudsonvalley.org. They do it where the Legend of Sleepy Hollow originated. It was really neat! Ryan had his 10-yr USMA reunion, which was all kinds of fun! He got to see alot of his buddies and it was fun for me to meet some folks I've heard stories of. Suz and Jud stayed with us that weekend, which was great. We won a very exciting football game in OT that weekend, too! There were lots of class reunions going on that weekend, so we got to see the Todds, who were here for their 20th. JP and Bullocks from Germany were also here for the festivities. So fun to see everybody! We're excited for JP - his girlfriend is wonderful (and very pretty)!

Ryan took me to Broadway to see Wicked for my bday. Can't leave out the dinner at Ruth Christ's prior to the show. Both were amazing!

Ryan's company won the Brigade Sprint Football Championship last week. They also made it to the Championship game for Frisbee Football, but didn't clench it. Very heavy theme of football this time of year for the Keatings.

I'll have to come back and edit this post to include a slideshow of all this. Out of time for now. I won't bother to guess when I'll be able to post again. ;-)

Hope all is well for all of you!