Getting back on the plane

Hello everyone. I had intended to write a thank you blog to everyone I saw over R&R to thank them for a great time. I had a blast over R&R seeing all of you and I wish I could have spent more time with you.

I am sure many of you have heard the rumor already. I am redeploying to the states next week. I just got back to Iraq on Wednesday and as son as I got back I was told to start outprocessing and pack up because I am going with the first group of people from our office back to Ft. Lewis. I will provide more information about my return as I receive it, but for now, I will be spending every waking minute trying to complete all of the outprocessing requirements and packing. Hope all is well with everyone.

Who needs movie rentals?

After two whole weeks of R&R in Boston, New Jersey, and New York City, Hayden and I are back in DuPont, WA while Patrick is currently airborne somewhere (at least I think so since it's been about 24 hours since we've heard from him).   Guaranteed the question on all of your minds is, "What did you do?".  

Lots of things, but most amusing was Trivial Pursuit.  Not often a competitive game thanks to Michael's wealth of useless trivia, but one particular round stood out largely because of Hayden's participation.  He certainly didn't want to be left out of putting colorful triangles into a pie, so he would randomly pick up a card and "read" to us.  Here are some of his questions:

 

What do ghosts do in the morning?

They disappear!

What do ghosts do at night?

They come out, say "Boo", scare people. fly around....

Who is in Iraq? (We all guessed: Daddy)

Nope.  The Army!

What is gray and has a trunk? (We all guessed: a mouse on vacation)

Nah.  An elephant!

I know I'm forgetting some and they were probably a lot funnier at the time.  Oh well, that's motherhood I guess!

I don't feel old enough to have a four year old child.

I can't believe it, but Hayden turned 4 on Saturday.  He's no dummy either... he's milking it for all it's worth.  He had a birthday dinner (pirate cake and all) while we were in Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving, a "special day" at preschool, a birthday Skype date with Daddy to open presents, dinner at a restaurant of his choice (he picked the one that gives balloons and milkshakes), and keeps asking if he can have a cake in Boston over our Christmas trip so the Regans can celebrate too.  Definitely milking it.  

He has been asking for a bike since before Patrick deployed and, as you can tell from the pictures below, is beyond happy that he finally got it.   Luckily, I was able to distract Hayden with waffles until we could set-up Skype with Patrick so Mommy and Daddy could see him open presents. 

A Different Perspective

I by no means wish for this blog to turn political, but I recently read this article from a Ft Bragg JAG wife and it brought tears to my eyes. During holiday discussions with family and friends in Pittsburgh, I was desperately searching for the words to express my opinion on the Afghanistan issue and was relieved to finally hear them in Rebekah Sanderlin's article. Her blog, Operation Marriage, for the Fayetteville Observer is well-known to military spouses and consistently hits the nail on the head.

"Army wife: Our sacrifice could be worth the cost" is definitely worth reading.

On a different note, I will have holiday pictures to upload once I get my film developed (yes, I still use old-fashioned film in my camera).

October was a busy (and highly entertaining) month for us!  

   Hayden's preschool took a field trip to a local family-owned farm.  They have about 6 different pumpkin patches and are already setting up for Christmas tree season.  Parents were invited to come along, so about 8 SUVs followed the little church bus packed full of carseats to Shilter Family Farm.  

   We all took a tractor ride to the pumpkin patch.  Of course Hayden was one of the only kids who didn't want to sit with Mommy, but rather wanted to ride up front to watch the tractor slosh through the mud.  

   Once we got to the pumpkin patch, the kids were told they could pick out any pumpkin they wanted, as long as they could carry it.  Hayden took forever looking for the perfect pumpkin; when he finally found "the one" he realized he couldn't carry it, much to his chagrin.  We eventually settled on a nice 3 pounder. 

   After another tractor ride back to the main grounds, the kids got to wander through the barn and pet any animal they wanted.  Of course, they all went for the kittens or the calf.  Most parents were please their son or daughter avoided the chickens.  The other side of the barn was filled with bales of hay arranged in a maze for kids.  The Shilter Family Farm is known for their corn mazes.  Here are some of their past mazes... for adults only!  Hayden loved the hay maze so much, he decided to try it again by himself without telling anyone.  It took 4 adults to track him down.  I'm so proud.  

 To my surprise, it was much easier to control eleven 3 & 4 year olds.  The hardest part was getting them all to stand still for a class picture!  

And of course, an October blog post wouldn't be complete without a picture of Hayden in his costume.  He continued the superhero trend and dressed as Wolverine this year. 

Next up, Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh!!  

The Camp David of Iraq

Hello again from the desert! I am now on the day shift and enjoying the non-nocturnal world, even if it is in Iraq. Here are some pictures I took about a month ago when I went to a few more places. They are of the Victory over America and Victory over Iran palaces. I am located on the Victory Base Complex which basically includes the Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) and Saddam's version of Camp David. These picture are of an area of the complex where I do not work, but are still considered on VBC.

Generally, Saddam considered it a victory when he wasn't killed during a war. While there is no debate as to who won the Iraq-Iraq war, as evidenced by the Iranian helmets in previous photos, Saddam had a way of re-writing the history books in his country. He never actually completed the Victory over America palace, in fact, we bombed it just as the initial Shock and Awe campaign started even though no one was in it, just to make a point. One thing you will notice in many of these pictures is that many of the buildings are still standing and not as demolished as you would think based on the amount of bombs we dropped. I have come to realize that Hollywood has given us a very warped view of war. Artillery shells and grenades don't cause explosions or fire unless they hit something that will explode, ie gas tank. So when we dropped bombs on these buildings we were just taking out their structural supports so they would collapse on their own or the bombs would send shrapnel flying. There is an exception to this in one of the photos below (I'll explain later).

This first picture is of the grounds near the two palaces. Walking around you really get a sense of what this place was like during Saddam's reign. Speed boats zipped around the lake, Uday and Qusay had their own mansions. Saddam would have massive state dinners. Then you see other things to remind you what horrible people they were. The sons' houses had slave chambers for their women. They even had a building which acted as a brothel when they wanted to trade out for new ones. The artwork is above the fireplace for one of the son's mansions. The writing on the wall is outside of the Victory over Iran palace. The words are from the Koran, but the gaps are where Saddam had placed his own name into the text. The Iraqi's removed it once he was gone. His name and initials are all over every structure he had built. Serious egomaniac.

This first picture is of me covering Saddam's eyes on one of his murals. I thought he was staring at me and I didn't like it. Notice he is in a military uniform with medals, yet was never in the Iraqi military. That would be like President Obama, who also never served in the military, having his portrait taken in uniform. Odd. The second photo is from the balcony of the Victory over America palace looking out on neighboring farm lands. Many Iraqis have toured the grounds since the US invasion and were astonished at the amenities Saddam had built for himself. Next door, the farmers had said they often lost crops due to drought, yet Saddam always made sure his man made lakes were full for fishing and water sports. He also would air condition outside balconies and patios. Chalk this genius right up there with the man who put screen doors on submarines. The two photos below are of the Victory over America palace.

The picture above is of the first building that was bombed. Some 200 of Saddam's Ba'ath Party members were meeting here, waiting for him to arrive. Bush had gone on air saying we were going to bomb in 48 hours, but when we found out they were all meeting in one place they bombed earlier. Unfortunately, Saddam had not yet arrived, but it did kill almost everyone else that was there. The picture below is of the conference room in that building. The one below that is of the room where all of the Ba'ath Party members were meeting and were ultimately killed. Supposedly, when ground forces were finally able to get to the site they found a tv projector and VCR playing "Pretty Woman" in the room where the bodies were found. Believe it, don't, either way it is a funny story.

This next photo is also in the same building. It looks like a pool, but it was never filled in because this is where they would torture dissidents. Blood stains could be found all over the room. That is me standing behind it.

And finally, this picture is of the tower where SFC Paul Smith fought off many Iraqi soldiers during the initial invasion of this area. Not only was this area the "Camp David" of Iraq, it was all home to the Iraqi Army. When US and Coalition soldiers stormed the gates, Iraqi soldiers came pouring out of the barracks. SFC Paul Smith held them off almost single handedly while reinforcements moved to support. He was killed in action and awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously. More about his story can be read at this site: http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/smith/

Happy October!

Many of you may already know, but I love Halloween.  I'm the girl who wears a cat ear headband in public just because I think it's fun and because I don't get as many stares as I normally would any other day of the year.   Not that I would wear a cat ear headband any other day of the year, but I digress.  

In honor of the season, Hayden and I made some "Funny Bones", ghoulish goodies with enough gross-factor to entertain Hayden.  Okay okay, so it's basically a chocolate-covered pretzel.  

I found this idea on epicurious.com, but they make it sound more complicated then it needs to be.  All you need is pretzel rods, marshmallows, and some white chocolate chips for melting.  

Put marshmallows on either end of the pretzel.

  

Slowly melt the white chocolate chips in a bowl large enough to roll the pretzels around and coat with chocolate.

I tried using scissors to clip the very end of the marshmallow to give that dimpled look but the gobs of chocolate cover it up anyway.  In other words, don't get too fancy.

And yes, that is a 3 Marshmallow: 2 Pretzel combination waiting in the wings next to Hayden.  Maybe it's a femur and tibia?  Maybe Hayden is meant to be a doctor? Maybe he just got a little carried away and really likes marshmallows.  

My big lesson: lower your standards.  It's not all going to look perfect, but if it entertains Hayden for a least 30 minutes, mission accomplished. 

Coming Soon: pictures of Hayden as Wolverine for Halloween.  We were planning on getting a puppy costume, but he saw the claws that came with Wolverine and he was sold.  

Bend It Like Beckham....or maybe just run around really fast

Micro soccer is a rite of passage. At least, it should be.

Hayden is currently playing in the Ft. Lewis Bumblebee Soccer League, practicing every Tuesday and Thursday night with games on Saturday morning. Mind you, it's not as involved as it seems since the practices involve chasing the coach around the field and ignoring their parents, but it's mighty entertaining nonetheless.

Karen and Michael were able to see a practice and a game during their visit to the Pacific Northwest this week. Below is a clip from Hayden's game on Saturday (he's the one in the black shirt and gray pants).

The two boys he's following around are his "best soccer friends" Kayden and Aiden. Also notice the little boy collecting a pile of leaves, completely oblivious to the game going on around him. At one point, Karen stepped on the field to get a better video and accidentally stepped on the sacred pile. The boy yelled at Karen, then was yelled at by his parents. Fun all around!

Baghdad, International Zone, aka Green Zone

Well, I finally made it out of my quarter mile square prison and did something interesting. I took a convoy ride out to the IZ. No legitimate reason for going other than wanting to get out and see things that just about every other soldier here has gotten a chance to go see. Basically I was a tourist in Baghdad-ish. Here are some photos.

This first one is of me at the base of one of the crossed swords. The metal things all around are Iranian helmets. Saddam had Iranian prisoners executed during their dedication of the Victory over Iran plaza and then built the monument with the helmets. Nice guy. The next one is of the viewing stand where he would watch his beloved army parade by and he would shoot off his gold plated AK-47. Something a sane person would do.

These are the crossed swords. The hands holding them were cast from molds of Saddam's hands. No ego issues there.

The "stay focused" sign is right outside a building (edge of the picture) where Saddam executed all of his rivals. He invited them all over for a big feast with their families and then had them executed. Its sort of like an election. The new looking buildings in the other picture are part of the New Embassy Complex. The US basically made a giant compound in the middle of Baghdad for all of our State Department folk. For those of you who know Monica Cooney, she lives nearby here.

The balcony here is where Saddam was held during his trial. He would smoke out on this balcony in those white benches. So I'm told anyway. The other picture is of the crossed swords and tomb of the unknown soldier. When I first heard of it I was confused too. But apparently the Iraqi's have the same thing. The tomb is the giant stadium looking thing just to the left of the swords.

And finally this is me in front of the MRAP after we got back to the base. I had to go to work two hours later, which meant I didn't sleep that day. It was worth the trip, but now I don't need to go again.

A Visit from Richmond!

As a distraction, I have strategically planned visits for every month until Patrick gets home.  August brought my college friend, Lizzie, and her father!  We did a little of everything (mountains, gardens, water, whales, etc).  Below are some pictures of just one day's festivities.

Point Defiance Park is 702 acres of forest trails, rose and dahlia gardens, beaches, and even a zoo/ aquarium.  

We spent an afternoon playing hide and seek in the rose/dahlia garden before chasing a few ducks and geese (then subsequently wiping goose poo from our shoes).

Typical Hayden comment: "Lizzie, here's a pretty flower for a pretty girl". 

Owen Beach on the edge of Point Defiance is not exactly the kind of beach I'm used to (yes, I'm spoiled by white sand), but it's always a great spot to watch for sailboats, rent a kayak, or swim in the refreshing 52 degree water.  We didn't do so much swimming.

If you know me (and Lizzie), you know we love our food.  It's not unusual for us to take a picture of a meal.  On our way home, we picked up some fresh halibut to grill with the veggies we bought that morning at a local farmers market.  Hayden probably ate as much as we did!

If the cuisine alone isn't enough to entice visitors, remember Hayden can always provide entertainment in the form of scurvy pirate.

What's a pirate's favorite letter?

RRrrrrr!

As most of you know, Hayden loves the cartoon "The Backyardigans".   He recently saw an episode where they sing a version of the old "Drunken Sailor" sea shanty and hasn't been able to stop singing it since.  We played around with iMovie to make a video for Patrick but decided it was just too cute to not share it with everyone.

At least there is a glimmer of his mother's musical talent.

Palace and Baghdad

More pictures.  These are of Al Faw Palace, where I work and my walk to work.  The hallway is where the Operational Law Office is located, but I don't work there.  I work in the JOC in a different location.  The wall with the chicken wire behind it is just an example of the shoddy work done by the people who built the place.  The large chandelier is the main entrance of the palace.  I never walk under it or any other chandeliers in this place.  They all look like they are about to fall.

And this is the front of the palace at night.  Looks nice, but remember it is still 95 degrees outside.

These are pictures of the lake that the palace is on.  The tower in the distance is a Mosque.  And past that is the Abu Gharib district of Baghdad.

The rest is of Baghdad in the distance.

Random Pics

Random sandstorm above and below.

Getting off the plane at Baghdad International.