Hi Dad!

So now that the breakdown fiasco at the end of Spring Break is behind me, I am  able to look back and ignore it and not be traumatized, and I can continue on with my vacation photos and not cry. 

Really I can. 

 Until I walk outside and see the gigantic black driveway ornament with custom wheels and new tires that I still owe money on staring at me with lifeless headlights that is most likely going to cost more than it is worth to fix...  THEN I cry.

Annnnyway...

When we were in CA, and having fun and oblivious to the crap that we were about to go through getting home,  we went to the USS Midway museum.

Holy holy, they didn't have this when we were stationed in San Diego in the dark ages (1995-1997), and how I wished my Dad could have been there for THIS tour.

He is a lover, and enthusiast, and a gigantic kid when it comes to WWII and vintage aircraft.

He would have been in heaven and we would have all had to have just rotted and died waiting on him before he would have been done exploring every inch of the place.

The only thing that would be better would be if it was combined with oh....

ALASKA, where he served an L.D.S. mission

and he LOVES...

Wow!  That is just uncanny.  How fun would that be!?  I wanna go.  Wait I can't.  We just RE joined the world of active duty military families and are going to be moving...  but Mom and Dad can go!? 

Well maybe just Dad.

How fun would this be in stadium seating in a media room!?

 Chris didn't want his pic in the brig... ?  But it was appealing to Braden.  Ummmm.....

 Hi Jenny!  And can I say that Olivia and Jenny can get Chris to do ANYTHING they want him to that normally he would be a grump poo over?  And he likes it!?  Girl power!

 I do have pictures of me.  As much as I detest them. Just not so photogenic.  Bleh.  I will stop there.

Sorry, I don't know a single name of any of those aircraft, and am not going to even attempt to recall them.  It was awesome.  There were a LOT of them, and we didn't see everything. 

over n out....

Hooooah! Orders are here! Now what do they mean?

Yesterday I decided I was giving up on the Army coming through for me.

I was just gonna have to accept that I losing my husband for a good amount of time was par for the course, and I was going to have to stay behind and hope that I could at some time try to meet up with him... somewhere.

Today?

• I sit with a hard copy of orders in my lap. ( LIKE YAY!)

We are moving.

However the catch is that since his orders address LDAC and BOLCB that his orders also say that our family is authorized to move with, and in the same breath that moving is not authorized.  Phone calls begin tomorrow.  For now I put out some feelers on FB about how to find a good school district.  Ideas?

• I also sit with a hard copy of the parents information for cheer try outs for this summer and fall.

We are moving?

Such angst.  Savannah was so excited.  We are scheduled to make hair bows for try outs with some other girls on Saturday.  She is pumped.  If she makes the team should I tell them we are or might be moving or would it keep her off the team?  They do camps and stuff all summer, and she could participate riiiight up 'til when school starts.  Then would she have "stolen" someone's opportunity?  Would being on the team help her get on a squad in Georgia?

Why do things have to be so hard?

I am not really looking for the answer.  Just whining.

But man this month has been a dooozie.

But there it is.

23days,18 hours,33 min...and commissioning will have begun.  The Army was a week late from the "promised" time we would see orders.  And I am a dollar short.  Good fit no?

 GO TEAM!

or cough cough

HOOOOAH!

Blind sided...

I thought kindergarden registration was going to be held tommorrow.  Which was plenty soon for me.  But noooooo.... it was today.  I figured that out about thirty min. before we were supposed to be there.  It put me into a dither.

And then we were almost late for our appointment that apparently half of Kuna shared with me.  Olivia would not be hurried though.  Not until: 

• she brushed her hair
• put on  lip gloss
• found her sunglasses
• grabbed her best friend to go with her (Jenny of course)

It almost sounds like I was taking her in to register for her freshman year in highschool not kindergarden!

 I got Olivia's info gathered, and then got all the papers, but then forgot a house bill so I had to run by the house and then go back.  Oi.  It is done.  Well, almost, Olivia needs (da da dun) two shots.  She is not happy.  She says it hurts her skin.

Old Town San Diego

 





Family picture courtesy of the Mormon Battalion Visitor's Center in Old Town San Diego.



Ton's of fun, and another thing that has changed (surprise surprise) since we lived here (14 years ago).



Lots of interactive stuff, and Colton dressed up as an Army volunteer and I got a pic, although not a great one, with my cell phone. The kids got to pan for "gold", and see how bricks were made.



Really a good thing for anyone interested in LDS Church history or US History.

Braden and his new Oakley's that he loooves.

 Olivia up in the "bell tower" in the visitor's center.  I forgot how much I love that red Spanish tile.

 Savannah and her new nemisis ... humidity... her hair was wild (and cute)

The kids got to pose in a covered wagon out front. Don't pay much attention to Savannah and her weird face, it's a thing she is going through, she thinks she needs to make that face at the camera...every time.

Oliva makes faces too.  But her faces are more of a "I am a star and I know it" variety.

Ha ha!  I lied and got one of her smiling.  I cannot remember what dorky thing I had to do to get that out of her...

Colton in his new hat and shades.  He loves them.  His Dad took him shopping and picked them out.  Just the two of them.  A definite memory.

 So we got to Old Town as all the museums were open and there were tons of shops and restaurants open for the evening, but we ended up taking a nice stroll, and commenting a lot about how much things change.

 Poor Old Kawlijah ( ask Hank how ya spell it, that is how Chris says to spell it) ...Braden couldn't keep a straight face!

A moment when they didn't realize I was watching.

I HAD to take a picture of this.  I KNOW I have a pic of Braden as a little tiny boy standing on that scale.  One thing that is STILL there that I remember.  So for old times sake he humored his Mom (he does that a lot) and we got a pic...

 and the other kids wanted a pic too...

Except Savannah.  You would have to bind and gag her to get her picture taken while stepping on a scale!

Orders schmorders...

So Chris checked his AKO account today (Army Knowledge Online), and behold! ORDERS...

Oh wait.  The orders don't really say anything.

They say he is going to ABLOC (ok, got it, that's old info)

and that he is going to have to do a recon course for four weeks after ABLOC  ...  it didn't state if it was immediately or not.

And that he is currently a cadet (dur) and isn't gonna be one (double dur)...

and that if he needs housing he better get on that...

and that his "official" orders actually have the information in them....

And Chris didn't want to go onto campus cuz today is Tuesday.  And on Tuesday's cadets have to wear uniforms on campus and he don wanna.  So I let it go.  Apparently I managed to silently guilt trip him into it, because he put on his uniform and we went to go see what Mr. Rossi had for him....and get his fancy pants picked up from the tailor.
Mr. Rossi told us that the "orders" we got today are ACTUALLY a REQUEST for orders...and that we should see the REAL ones "any time now"...
shaaaaa right!  That's what they said two months ago. 
For now, have stopped holding breath...it makes my head hurt.

You Dig?

 When we asked the kids what they wanted to do in California..

 Olivia wanted to go to the beach...

 and dig a hole.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!