Family Fun Day

Today's Birth-o-ween activity was a Fall Festival at Brandon's battalion headquarters.  Yesterday one of his Sergeants had been briefing the soldiers on the activity and told them, "tomorrow is a family fun day, but it's the Army so it's not going to be fun.  So it's just a family day."  In some ways that was kind of true.  It was a little disorganized, but overall it was nice to have a break from the routine.  

I told the girls that it was a party and later Lydia told me, "That was a fun party."  So I'd call that a success.  Here are some pictures from the day.   

We started out eating barbecue hamburgers and hot dogs.  I thought my hamburger was so good!  It's been a while since I had a good barbecue hamburger with all the trimmings - big tomatoes and onions, sliced American cheese.  The hamburger alone made the activity worth it for me.  

The kids ate mostly chips, but they also ate their hot dogs (but not the buns).  

The activity took place under the awning.  They had tables and chairs set up, but most of them were taken.  There was also some really loud music playing.  We ended up eating next to the barracks where we could hear a little bit better.  Here's a picture of the people under the awning.

Derrick's Dash costume was so fitting.  He ate in a crouching position so he could run around whenever he felt like it.

But he did sit down and watch some of the soldiers toss a football around.  Right before I took this picture he looked back at me and grinned.  It was like he was saying, "This is the most amazing thing ever.  I want to do it one day Mom."  We are pretty certain that Derrick might turn us into an organised sports type of family.

Veronica needed to eat and I'd completely spaced bringing a bottle for her.  So we went inside the Bravo Company area so I could nurse her in private.  We went up to the balcony and the kids had a lot of fun running around up there.  This was the first time I've been to the headquarters since the battalion moved in there during the summer.  It's a brand new building and a lot nicer than the old one they were in.

After Veronica was fed I put her into the baby front pack.  We stashed her carseat and the diaper bag in Brandon's giant locker and took the kids to the Alpha Company area  to check out the games.  

They had face painting available, but there was a really long wait, kids kept butting in front of us, the face paint "artist" was just using stencils, and the paint was grease paint that smeared.  So the girls got temporary tattoos instead.  They picked out the same ones.

The games seemed to be mostly over by the time we got to them.  No one was running the rubber ducky pond so we let the kids play in it.  They instantly came up with some sort of game involving the "Mommy and Baby Duckies."  They played with the Ducks and the water for a while.  Later the girls told me that this was their favorite part of the party.

There was a trunk or treat for the kids, but we decided not to participate in that.  The kids have already had plenty of sugar this week - with plenty more to come.  Plus Derrick had his 18 month checkup and shots in the morning and he was getting upset.  So it was time to go.

Overall it had been a good activity.  I was able to meet a lot of Brandon's co-workers and leaders.  Many of them complemented the girls on their dresses.  

We put the kids in the car and I drove home. Brandon followed in the jeep a few minutes later.  The girls fell asleep on the way home and then stayed asleep even after I brought them inside.  I thought it was funny that they were both in the same position in this picture.