Backpack Update!

Our little guy is now 7 months. Yesterday he cut his two upper front teeth (for a total of 4 teeth). They just sat there bleeding and waiting to break through. He hasn't been too fussy either. A real trooper! He is sitting all by himself and clapping. He is all smiles and giggles. Backpack is definitely the best smiler of the bunch, but when he is upset he is the loudest. He never just cries or whimpers, its an all out scream!

Today he actually reached out for something I had and made a 'I want it/gimme' gesture. At church I was talking and he grabbed my face and turned it toward him. He cries if I hold one of the other kids or I walk out of the room. He's been known to kick if Trouble or Dynomite come near while I'm holding him. I love it! I wanted a Mommy's baby. The other two, I think, love Daddy more...this one is mine!!! The only problem is that he never lets me put him down. Oh well!! (I did confuse Trouble because I kept saying, "This is Mommy's baby". So Trouble asked Travis, "Daddy, when are you going to have a baby?")


He's also our best eater. He quickly eats meals with us in his Bumbo on the table without a fight (plus snacks and nursing). He even enjoys eating by clapping or smiling after most bites. Trouble had to be coaxed with a Cheerio on top of every spoonful and Dynomite is still very slow.

This is the age when they start to become really fun. Travis likes to throw the babies up in the air and rough them up a bit just to get the smiles. They also get ticklish.

I will post pictures later!!

Minot House

I just wanted to show that Travis did get the bathroom finished before we left. I should have posted this ages ago. So he cut the roof, then raised it (remember he did this the night before Backpack was born) and put in the glass blocks and mini windows (to match the other side, see below). Then he took out the rest of the lath and plaster and put in new fixtures. It gave the bathroom more head room and light.

This is a picture of his very first project at the house. He cut the roof and raised it, then added the glass and windows. This enabled him to add a shower. So now it is a full bathroom, not 3/4.

The very last project he did was the hardwood floor. Friday, one week before we left for Ohio, we decided to replace the carpet. When we pulled it up we discovered a nice hardwood floor. So Travis sanded it down, put down a wood border and varnished it. We wished we would've discovered this earlier!!!

I don't think I ever posted picture of the inside of the garage, so here it is. I know he really wanted to finish mud and taping the sheet rock, but there was simply no time.

Anyway, the house hasn't sold yet. We're patiently waiting. Somewhere out there is a family that will love this house as much as we do.

Monster Trucks

We are lucky to have a university down the street from us. At the Nutter Center (the auditorium) they have plenty of entertainment that pass through. Last Saturday we went to see Monster trucks. It was loud, but the kids loved it! Backpack actually slept through some it. The Thursday before the kids got to meet Black Stallion, one of the competing trucks. It ended up to be the one that won the Monster competition. There were 4 events: Wheelies, Racing, Spinning, and Freestyle. There were also quad races, but it seemed staged, and motorcycle stunts.

Here is a video clip of the highlight of the show during wheelies:

Here they are fipping it back over:

Racing:

Spinning:

Free Style:

Ohio!

We're here and all moved in!

We left Minot and travelled 12 hours to my dad's house in Wisconsin. We stayed the weekend and left for Ohio Monday morning. The kids were excellent in the car, even without the DVD player. Travis' car had some problems with the pulley system, but 4 hours on the side of road and a couple of trips to a nearby car parts place and we were good to go. We picked up our keys to our house on Tuesday and the movers came on Wednesday. Now we're just about done unpacking. Travis starts school at the local university next Monday. We have Trouble enrolled in pre-school starting in Fall.

The housing is about 10 mins from base and 5 mins from AFIT and 10-15 mins from Church. Our first Sunday we attended the ward that the building is just down the street only to find out that we live within the boundaries of the ward that is a little further away. In our little section of town we have everything we need (plus more) within a 10 minute drive.

Our house is great. Although we had too much stuff and Travis had to buy a portable storage unit to house a lot of it. The street we're on is swarming with kids. Trouble has already made friends with the little blond girl next door, but they're moving out this week. There are 3 other Mormon families just on our block.

It was 76F our first day here and its been above 50F everyday. That is very excited for us. The kids just play and play outside. Its so nice. Everyone is really friendly and eager to help.

Anyway, we just wanted to let everyone know that we're back up and running. I'll be blogging about our adventures more often now that we're settled. If you would like our contact info, then e-mail us at TubbsTribune@live.com.

Bye Minot!!

Our last day is Friday..snif...snif...

We've had a wonderful 5 years here. (March 21st, will be 5 years exactly) We've made wonderful friends that have supported us through Travis' crazy work schedule, home improvements, child birth/raising, and hectic church callings. We are grateful for our church, Air Force, MOPS, and Girl Scout friends. Thank you everyone for making Minot a great place to live. I wish I could name you one by one and write what made you so special to us. We believe you know who you are.

We were blessed to come to Minot with a handful of people that we knew from Travis' training class in CA, some of them even members of the church. It is amazing how the the congregation took us in and made us feel like family. We could call on them for anything. Many of them became our greatest friends. It is wonderful to know that the church is true wherever you go and that it teaches the same doctrine and principals worldwide. No matter where we go we find comfort in the fact that we can always find a LDS church. We are grateful to have the gospel in our lives. We are excited for a new ward and sad to leave our old ward. Minot 1st: You'll always have a special place in our hearts. Thank you for everything!!!

While in Minot we've experienced:

The Weather:
Crazy freezing temperatures: -40F without windchill
Windchill (which we didn't know what that was before)
A lot of snow
Insanely hot summer days

A Home:
Our first purchased home
Added a garage and deck to it, vinyl sided, finished hardwood floor, added laminate flooring,
updated one half bathroom to a full, painted lots, made and fixed lots of holes, and put in raised
flower beds.
Made a lovely, non-productive garden!

Family:
Added three kids!! And a Chinchilla and Beta fish.
The Orange Tree that didn't survive...it was like family!!
A Second Wife - Just kidding, Kelly (and Pat)! However, they really are like family.

Community:
Girl Scouts
MOPS
Starbase / introducing to Celestia to schools
Black belt in Hapkido for Travis
Worked for Minot's New Neighbors
Sold Creative Memories
Went to all the great things around here: Zoo, State Fair, Host Fest, Arts and Crafts Fair,
Christmas Train, kiddie walks downtown, parades, MSU outdoor theater, WP Opera, Mystery
Dinner Theaters, Bishop Ryan Carnival, Rodeo, saw Bill Cosby, etc...

Church:
Primary teachers
Clerk
YW Councilor
YW President
Assistant Stake Camp director
Cub Scout Den Leader
Lots of missionary dinners and discussions
Helped convert our neighbor

Travels:
To CO for Travis' eye surgery (no more glasses!!)
Winnipeg CANADA
Peace Gardens
Lots of MAF sites, even went in the capsule (well, not that exciting for Travis)
Mt. Rushmore
Medora to see the famous play
Bismarck
Williston
Many other small towns near by
Minneapolis for Star Trek convention and Mall of America!!
To CA and OR on plane and back home on train, twice
Rugby, geographical center of North America

Visitors or people that stayed with us:
Moon Family
Elsmore Family
Travis' brother's in-laws and family
Kanae - our Japanese student from California...twice!!
Yaya, Papa, Grammy, Grandpa and Emily
Kyle and Monica
Aunt Donna and Denay's cousin Aaron
That guy that Trouble thew up on at the airport

Thank you Minot!! Its been fabulous!!