A New Heart

A good friend from college just got the best gift ever. His 3 year old daughter received a beautiful new strong heart. They have known this was a likely possibility since she was born. But they have been in the hospital for for 204 days waiting. If you want to read the great story, check out his blog on the side of mine, title "Tim Living Out Loud."

Summer of Fun

This summer we have seen a ton of friends. I am putting in all the posts...it may take a while. But, I just put in the posts from Our visit to the Shore, Anthony's Early Birthday, and our last visit with friends in WA.

It Ain't Easy Being Green...

At least in Kansas, it isn't. In Washington, we had a bin for comingled recycling (everything but glass) and separate glass containers that were picked up at my curb. Every grocery store had a drop off for plastic bags. Every store sold the reusable bags and gave a discount for using them. Not so much in KS.

If I want to recycle, I have to take it myself. They only take clear glass...nevermind that most beers (including Coors and Bud) use brown bottles. I have to separate all my recyclables, and there is a huge list of don'ts. GRRR!

So, that is the legacy WA had. I am now an avid recycler. While I am not a convert to global warming as the evil that humans inflict on the earth. I also don't want my kids to be able to power their home from the methane gas emitted from the landfill under their home.

Back to painting and cleaning!

Visiting Jersey

So we went to Jersey to visit family. Here are a few pics. Harriette and the boys picking tomatoes. At Aunt Angela and Uncle Ron's cabin fishing. And at Bob's. Yes, that is Anthony sleeping on the deck with a fly swatter. I still have more from the Intrepid, Central Park with Robyn, and Space Farm Zoo to post.

The Shore with Friends

We were so lucky to see Nara and the family this year at the Jersey shore. We were already scheduled to go to New Jersey to visit Rob's family. As it turns out, Nara and her family were there visiting her parents. So, of course we drove down to see them.

We spent two great days with them...and it wasn't nearly enough.

As I grow older, I am more grateful for my female friends. Most of my life, I had guy friends. But now, my female friends are what keep me going. Nara and I know each other from Alaska...and we couldn't be more opposite and more alike. But, the best part is that no matter how much time has passed, it is like we saw each other yesterday.

Her kids Ky (2 mo younger than Anthony...but due the same day) and Kenna (exactly 1 year younger than Gabe) got along great with my boys. The 4 of them floated around each other playing as if they have always been together.

It was fantastic! So, I know this is what everyone wants to see...here are the pics of the kids :-)

Family

After Wyoming, we headed to Colorado Springs. It was a quick morning drive. Fortunately we had a home to stay in with my cousin Ben and his wife Erin and their two kids Ty and Cole. I am so glad they were willing to put up with our explosion of stuff. We desperately needed to do laundry after camping in Yellowstone, and the car was a mess.

While there we toured nothing! And it was great. We let the boys play. Ty is 7, and was mostly uninterested in the little ones; but Cole is 3 and fit in great with my two. There is a 6 year difference in age between Ben and I which seemed large as kids, but now doesn't seem so insurmountable. It was wonderful to visit with them.

Wyoming

I have a list of states I can sleep through. It includes: the Dakotas, Montana (eastern), Iowa, Kansas, and now Wyoming. With the exception of Yellowstone, this state is a desolate dessert located over 1 mile above sea level. We drove for hours and saw nothing but antelope. When the boys wanted to put in a movie, I couldn't object, becasue there was nothing for them to see.

However, there was one highlight. We got to see Tammy and the kids. Tammy watched Anthony for the first 18M while I worked. It was always such a relief to have him be with someone who loved him as her own. He was totally babied at her house. She is the reason I could work and feel so comfortable about it.

We took all the kids swimming at the hotel pool. Rob had his underwater housing for his camera so here are the pics.

Gavin

Barrett

Me with the boys

Alanna

Gabe and Anthony jumping on the bed

Anthony's Yellowstone

I always love to see Anthony's perspective when we are traveling. Here are a few pics he took while we were in Yellowstone.

Yellowstone

For the vacation part of our PCS, we camped in Yellowstone. I know many of you are thinking, "Heather camping...really." But we had a great time. The boys had a blast. They spent the days running around and climbing hills. We cooked on a fire which they collected sticks for. We even roasted marshmallows for smores. I must admit that there are things we will do differently for camping the next time, but we all had a great time.

Yellowstone was a photographers dream. I saw a ton of buffalo. They were so close to the car on the way out that you could touch them...don't worry, we didn't. We saw Old Faithful as well. There were also elk, a coyote (which the kids still think is a fox), and a bunch of hot springs. And I can't even describe the landscapes.

Below are the pictures.

Did you know?

A Toyota 4Runner gas tank holds exactly 18.5 gallons? Did you know that if you are towing a trailer, you cannot make it from Missoula to Bozeman on one tank? We didn't, but now we do!

It is the journey...

not the destination. Today is the day we leave for KS. Washington is probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever lived (remember, I lived in Hawaii and Alaska too). Best of all, this is the first place I could see raising my family. The schools are good, they work to take care of the environment, and the weather is mostly temperate. I hate to leave the friends we made and the life we created...but in the Army, all is temporary.

We have been talking with the boys about KS for months now and they can hardly wait. In the past week, we saw:
- mover pack our stuff (and give us boxes to play in)
- the mustangs get loaded on a car carrier
- friends who just came for one last minute

The boys were troopers through it all. Their resiliance amazes me.

Along the journey, we will see friends in Bozeman MT (Gen and Paul), Yellowstone, friends in Cheyenne (Tammy and kids), family in C Springs (Ben and Erin), and friends in Manhattan KS (Hobe and Amanda). I think we are really lucky to be able to take this trip and get the gov't to pay for most of it. When I think of all the crummy parts of the military, I try to remember these moments where we are getting far more than we deserve.

We were scheduled to leave at 0700...when we finally pulled out at 1630, oh well. No plan ever survives first contact. More from the road to include pictures.

Moving Days

The boys have been great about moving. They spent the last 3 days watching all of our stuff get packed. They even got to watch the cars get loaded onto a car carrier...just like Mac.

Rob's Adventurous Day

Today started out great. Rob and I got up at the crack of dawn and packed for 1.5 hours until the kids woke up. We had breakfast and went right back to it. By 10am we had already packed for about 3 hours and gotten a shower.

We went to the park for Anthony's early B-day party with friends (I'll put that post up next with pictures). The kids had hot dogs, cake, and a piniata. Anthony got a ton of cool gifts and cards .

After we came home and started back to sorting and packing. Rob began disassembling shelves. Seems easy enough right? Rob has the uncanny ability to make even simple jobs look difficult. As he was pulling up on one of the shelf legs, it came up and hit him on the bottom of the chin. With enough force to send him to the hospital for stiches. 4 hours later he is home again. Ugh!

Anthony's Early Birthday

Because Anthony's Birthday falls the weekend after he starts his new school in Kansas, we decided to throw him a party in Jun with his school friends. We even had a pinata that looked like a shark. Yes, we let 3 and 4 year olds swing a bat with other people in near proximity. He had a great time! My neighbors even remembered to bring Gabe a little gift so he wouldn't feel left out.

And yes, I am in a sweatshirt in mid-jun during the middle of the day. Washington is great!