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).