Our last full day in Paris...

The next morning found us at the same bakery as the previous morning getting breakfast to go before making our way to Invalides and the Musee d’Armee.  Stretch was made very happy between the military history and the HUGE amount of artillery on display!  We were awed by the intricate armor and weaponry.  The attention to detail was incredible.

After getting our fill of military history, we made our way to the opposite end of the complex of Invalides to the Eglise du Dome, where Napolean’s tomb is located.  Big Sis wondered why such a small statured person had such a large tomb.

Across the street, we found Musee Rodin where the girls posed with The Thinker and we wandered the gardens enjoying more of the scupture’s works.  I had intended for us to follow this with Musee du Moyen Age so we could see the tombstone of Nicholas Flamel and the 6 Lady and Unicorn tapestries.  However, the general consensus was that we should move on to the river cruise with Bateaux Parisiens, an hour-long boat tour that began at the foot of the Eiffel Tower , passed under a number of bridges including Pont Alexandre III and Pont Neuf, floating past the Ile de Cite before returning.

It had been a rainy, gloomy day until that point, so after disembarking from the boat, we thought we’d check the line at Tour Eiffel since we were so close.  Once there, Stretch, Big Sis and Devil Pup decided to take the stairs up the Tower.  I decided to stay behind and people watch.  They ended up climbing all the way to the 2^nd stage!  Clearly, they all enjoyed it as they returned to the ground happy and excited.

By then, we were all getting hungry and decided to try to find a family friendly chain restaurant just off the Avenue du Champs Elysees called hippopotamus.  The first location was no longer there but we accidentally found another location.  It was wonderful!  And the kids’ meals came with enormous ice cream desserts.

After dinner, we strolled up the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe.  After taking note of the arches, plaques on the ground and the eternal flame at the grave of the unknown soldier (from the First World War), we climbed circular stairs to enjoy the view from the terrace on top.  The lights of the streets radiating from the Arc de Triomphe were pretty but the piece de resistance had to be the Tour Eiffel lit up at night.  Just when we thought we were enjoying a spectacular view, the Tower’s lighting changed and it began to sparkle!

 What a perfect last night in the City of Light!

The Louvre, Notre Dame, Musee D'Orsay, and Musee Grevin ... Oh, my!

The next day, we wanted to get to the Louvre just before opening.  We didn't quite make it, but were still early enough that the crowd in front of the Mona Lisa wasn't too bad.  Our strategy for this stop was to hit the highlights.  After all, there is just no way to see all of it in one day, especially with kids in tow.  Big Sis was able to see her Greek Antiquities and Devil Pup saw her Egyptian Antiquities, or at least some of them. 

After an hour or so, the girls were done with the museum.  It was time for a snack and our next stop.  We caught the Cars Rouge (a double decker hop-on, hop-off bus tour that is included in the Paris Pass) and went to the Cathedrale du Notre Dame on Ile de Cite.  The line to get into the cathedral was ridiculous.  And the main reason we were there was to go up the towers so we got in line for Tours du Notre Dame.  It was a long line.  And it was cold.  We ate lunch in that line.  Stretch found a vendor across the street and brought us hot dogs in baguettes with cheese. 
Eventually, we made it inside and started climbing the first tower.  Gargoyles and chimera on a gray day – perfect!  We also found ourselves inside the wooden bell tower after passing through a small door that the girls said looked like a Hobbit door.

Then it was back on the Cars Rouge to make our way to Musee d’Orsay.  Although renovations were underway and areas were closed, we were still able to see a number of works including those of  Paul Gauguin and Vincent Van Gogh, a favorite of Devil Pup’s. 
After that we reboarded the Cars Rouge.  We passed La Place du Concorde and the Egyptian Obelisk.  Then we passed the Opera and disembarked to make our way to Musee Grevin, a wax museum.  The girls had a great time posing with wax figures such as Jackie Chan, Naomi Campbell, Elvis Presley, Spiderman and Frankenstein’s Monster.

After dinner at an Irish pub nearby, it was back to our hotel.  We all slept well that night!

Bonjour, Paris!

For this trip, I purchased BahnCards when I bought our train tickets.  They paid for themselves in the first trip!  It was less expensive to buy the cards and get the 25% discount on the tickets than to simply buy the tickets without the discount.  I wish I'd known to do this for our earlier Berlin trip!

After a 4-hour ride on the TGV, we arrived at Paris' Gare L'Est in the early afternoon.  We bought day passes for the Metro and made our way to our hotel, Hotel Residence Foch.  After dropping our bags in our room, we set out to find lunch and the Hard Rock Cafe to pick up our 2-day Paris Passes.  Lunch was bought at a street-side stand on the Avenue la Grande Armee which was lined on one side with white tents occupied by antique and art vendors.  We ate while walking toward the Arc de Triomphe.

After taking a few pictures, we descended into the Metro and made our way to the Hard Rock (Metro line 9, exit at Grands Boulevards).  The hardest part of picking up the passes was getting thru the crowd of tourists in the store.  Nearby were covered alleys with interesting little shops.  One had a pink beret that had Devil Pup written all over it.  Since she'd been asking for one, she got the first souvenir of the trip.

After a bit of wandering in a drizzle, we wandered and saw the Eiffel Tower, L'Ecole Militaire and went back toward the hotel, looking for a place to eat dinner.  We ended up in a brasserie where we enjoyed our first dinner in the City of Lights.  When our meals arrived, Devil Pup, exclaimed, "Bon Appetit!"  After finishing hers, Devil Pup leaned back in her chair, rubbed her tummy and announced, "That was quite a meal...  A good meal, I tell you."  She'd had a hamburger (no bun) and rice.

Berlin After Action: Exploring Part 1

North and South Korea

Belgium

 When we checked into the pension, the owner had mentioned something about bears and that it was fun for the kids to keep an eye out for them.  I wasn't really paying attention, but then we started walking around and found them.  Wow!  The kids loved them!  It was fun to see how each was decorated to represent a different country.  Big Sis wanted to find Greece and Devil Pup had to find Egypt.  For more info on the Buddy Bears, click here.

 We saw a number of street performers, but Big Sis was quite taken with this troupe of breakdancers (I was more taken with their advanced age -- one looked older than me and I'm sure that's way too old to be breakdancing or doing tricks on skateboards -- brittle bones and all that, y'know).  Of course, I found the way they ended the show to be the best part:  ABBA's "Money, Money, Money" blaring as they held out caps for their audience to place money.

After our first night's dinner of sushi (YUM! and the girls liked it, too), we wandered around a bit and ended up going down a sidestreet we later decided wasn't quite in the right direction.  However, if we hadn't gone down that street, we might never have seen this.  And what is it?  Well, it seems to be a restaurant suspended by a crane:  Dinner in the Sky!  Neither of the girls thought this was a good idea.
DP:  "What if you fall?" 
me:  "There are probably seatbelts."
BS:  "What if the crane breaks?"
me:  "Hopefully, that wouldn't happen."


Our first night in Berlin, we really didn't have time to do any of the tourist sites so we spent the evening wandering the main thoroughfare near our hotel-pension.  It was fun and relaxing, despite getting rained on at the end.  Oh, well, that was a good excuse to get back to our room and get everyone showered up and ready to really see Berlin the next day!

Berlin After Action: Train and Pension

 Stretch had a 3-day weekend, so we decided to test out the rail system and go to Berlin.  The weekend before I booked our rail tickets via the Deutches Bahn webite.  I played around with it a bit to see how much tickets would cost using different configurations, i.e. with or without the various BahnCards which provide discounts of 25-50%.  In the end, we decided to forego the BahnCard for this trip, using it as a test trip instead.  For 2 adults and 2 children in a 2nd Class compartment with reserved seating, I paid 457 euro (including the extra 5 euro for the reserved seating).  I may have been able to find better deals if I'd planned a bit further in advance, but didn't think it was too bad for last minute.  It was certainly far cheaper than flying and much more comfortable than driving!

I also booked us on the ICE train (fast train) that had no connections and would get us to Berlin in roughly 6 hours.  The first picture shows a 2nd class car and the second picture is the area with compartments and WC (toilets) where we were seated.  Each compartment had 6 seats, small table and places to hang jackets and a place to put luggage overhead.  We could control the lighting and temperature inside the compartments as well.   Once we got to Berlin (the Hauptbahnhof there is HUGE!), it was a matter of finding a bite to eat and then finding the local public transportation to take us out to Charlottenburg (the neighborhood where our accommodations were located).  We took a U-Bahn (making only 1 connection) to Adenauerplatz and then walked a few blocks to the Hotel-Pension Bregenz.

When we checked in, one of the owners immediately gave us a map with suggestions of things to do with the kids.  She marked routes for us and showed us the bus and U-Bahn routes.

 Then, she showed us to our room.  It was spacious, clean and had an ensuite bathroom.  While the shower was a bit tight sizewise, it perfectly suited our needs.  Everyone had their own bed and none of us felt cramped.

The breakfast the next day was also lovely.  Each table in the breakfast room was set with blue and white china.  The buffet was more than ample, offering cereals, yogurts, breads, meats, cheeses, fruit, and coffee cakes.  Tea, coffee, milk, orange juice and water were also available.  I was finally able to get fresh brotchen and liverwurst with fresh coffee for breakfast ... so good!  If we get a chance to go back to Berlin (there was so much we didn't get to see or do!), I'd definitely stay here again!

Also, we could buy the tickets for public transportation at the hotel.  A family pass for the day was 15 euro.

Schloss Ludwigsburg

We wanted to go and do something on Saturday but it couldn't be too far a drive.  And it had to be something the kids would be interested in as well.  So we chose Schloss Ludwigsburg.  It should have been about a 30 minute drive but I managed to mess up the GPS directions and then parking was, um, interesting until we found a parking garage about a block from the palace.

Once there, we realized there was a small fest of some sort taking place that day.  Which worked out fine for us as it meant there were people in period costume, performances on a stage in the courtyard and, most importantly, food and beverages available! 

Our first stop was the Kinderreich, or Children's Realm.  For 2 hours, children (of all ages!) could dress up and get a taste of what life in the palace might have been like.  It all began in the ulitmate dress-up closet room:  Lots of clothes for boys and girls, wigs, hats, jewelry.  Big Sis chose not to dress up (being too old and cool for that sort of thing now she'll be starting middle school) but Devil Pup had a grand time of it.  She loved sitting on the throne, looking regal.  She learned to curtsy and had to approach the "king" (one of the dads was recruited for the role), curtsy and make a request.  Then we were shown a miniature theatre where the kids were shown how to change the scenery, change the lighting (including making lightning), use a wind machine (to make the sound of wind), and make thunder.  Then they got to get up on stage and put the skills to use.  After that, we were taken into a dining room, set with real china.  There the kids were taught about royal dining etiquette.  Since Devil Pup had seated herself at the end of the table, she was the "queen."  She quite enjoyed making everyone else pick up their glasses to "drink" everytime she did!  Then it was time to return the dress up clothes.

Afterward, the families were given a tour of the king's and queen's chambers of the palace.  Due to the fact that all of this took a little over 3 hours, we made a huge tactical error in not feeding everyone before-hand.  As soon as the tour was over, we made a bee-line for the food stalls!  There we found bratwurst in brochen and Big Sis found heaven in meat on a stick.  While we ate, we watched a sword fight between some Musketeers and villains followed by various little girls performing on the stage.  By the time we were done eating and ready to explore the gardens, there was a pirate act performing. 

 Then it was time to explore the Marchengarten, or Fairy Tale Garden.  The Frog Prince, Hansel and Gretel, the Magic Mirror from Snow White, Ali Baba, and more were to be found here.  And of course, as you can see by this picture, one had only to shout, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel,... Let down your hair!" and down came the tresses from this tower that overlooked a baroque garden.

We spent almost 7 hours at the palace and in its garden and I'm sure we didn't come close to seeing it all.   Even though I know we'll be living here for the foreseeable future, I can't help feeling that there's so much to see and do and so little time!

Tourism: The Eagle's Nest

Today's adventure took us to Kehlstein, otherwise known as the Eagle's Nest.  We boarded the USO bus a little before 5 a.m. -- yes, that was a wee bit painful!

We had a large group so we split into 2 smaller groups with one going up to the Eagle's Nest first while the other group toured the Dokumentation center.  After lunch, we switched places.

We were lucky enough to be in the first group to ascend the mountain via bus to the tunnel that led to the elevator that took us to the Eagle's Nest perched on top of the mountain.  The skies were pretty clear and the views were amazing!  I was particularly grateful for this since the forecast had called for a 70% chance of rain!  I'm not sure how much of the history the girls absorbed but Stretch and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

It was clear enough that we could see Salzburg, Austria, in the distance.

Later, we toured the Dokumentation center with audio guides in English.  While familiar with World War II and the atrocities committed by the Nazis, it was still a horrifying and sobering reminder of what occurred.  The tour also included exploration of a bunker system under the center.  Frankly, the place gave me the heebie-jeebies.

Our adventure continued after we left the area.  Clouds began to move in and it finally began to rain as our bus made it's way homeward.  And we got to experience our first stau, or German traffic jam.  I was particularly grateful that neither of us were driving and we could sleep through it!  As a result, our return was later than planned but it was still a great trip.

1st Week in Country... Come On, Weekend!

It's Friday!  And what a full week it's been!  Since arriving on Sunday we've managed to check off the following items from our to-do list:

• Check in with Housing
• Procure Housing
• Entered our IDs into the local system so that we can enter US installations here 
• Unlocked Stretch's phone and have a local number with prepaid minutes
• Start the check-in process (Stretch), which has included a lot of classes for Stretch
• Register kids with Child and Youth Services (CYS)
• Sign kids up for School Age Services (SAS) for 2 days next week so I can attend Stuttgart Newcomers Orientation (SNO)
• Enroll kids in school (this involved going to 2 schools at 2 installations), including the eldest at middle school for the first time.  This mama is still having a issues with that one!
• Stretch passed his drivers' test (I'll take mine next week)
• We have our vehicle!  Albeit with temporary registration but that will be rectified next week.
• Attended a local festival downtown Monday night with our sponsors
• Spent an afternoon moving rooms (while Stretch was in class, of course) because our first had sprung a leak, while simultaneously doing laundry.  Of course the laundry rooms were not on the same floors as either our first or second rooms.  But while my gremlins have struck again, I got the last laugh.  They moved us to larger accommodations allowing the girls to sleep in a bed instead of a sofa-bed and also giving us 2 bathrooms (hey, this is important for a family of 4!)



Water on the floor of our room from the leaking A/C unit




• Ventured out to a local Italian restaurant (it's German serving Italian fare and was the only one we'd heard of within walking distance of our hotel!) where we practiced our non-existent German and enjoyed a lovely meal that was NOT fast food!

(at right) Big Sis peruses the phrasebook while Devil Pup decides whether to try Dad's sparkling water or Mom's spezi first.  She tried both and decided the spezi was tastier.  Mom agrees!  It tasted just as good as I remembered from my childhood time in Germany (when my dad was stationed in Bavaria).


I'm tired... bring on the weekend!  And our tour of the Eagles Nest on Sunday!

Dragonfly has landed in Deutchland!

We arrived Sunday morning and have tried to hit the ground running.  Well, as much as possible while still jet-lagged!

Our first stop Monday morning was the housing office, where we updated our status and were given the possibility of an apartment on Patch Barracks, our first choice!  We were given keys to look at a similar apartment in the same building but the one we were offered is still occupied and will be until the end of the month, so we'll be in the hotel for at least a month.  Stretch started his check-in process and we got all 3 ID card holders entered into the system here. 

In the afternoon, we took the bus to Patch to check out the new neighborhood. The kids fell in love with the apartment (we kept reminding them that it was NOT the one we'd be in!), the neighborhood and the post.  And we kind of liked it, too!  Afterward, we wandered the post a bit before meeting our sponsor who took us to downtown Stuttgart for the Fish Fest.  While fun, it made for a late night (well, late for those dragging with jet lag!). 

That was just our first day and a half in country!  We are already signed up to take our first USO tour this weekend and hope to have at least one licensed driver and our car by next week.

My record with housing difficulties continues to hold (and I'm not even in housing yet!).  We had a leak in our room due to issues with the A/C unit and its drip pan.  Stretch is finally a believer in my gremlins!  I'm not complaining, though, as it led to us being moved to a larger room!

A day at the beach...

We took the kids to a beach today. It was so hot that the sand was burning our feet as we made our way across the sand to find a spot to lay out our beach blanket and the stuff we'd lugged from the car. But once we were in the water, it felt pretty good. L'il Sis was having a grand time collecting a bucket full of seashells. Stretch had his snorkel gear and showed Big Sis how to use it. The mask was a bit big for her so she held it to her face while she snorkeled. (I guess we'll be looking at getting her one of her own.) She had a blast following fish around.

At one point, as Stretch tells it, she was watching a school of fish and he was following her in case she got into trouble. Suddenly, without ever coming out of the water, she did a one-eighty and started stroking for shore as fast as she could. Stretch said he'd never seen her perform such great freestyle strokes. Apparently, the fish she'd been following turned and started coming toward her which she found odd because usually they swam away from her. But then she saw why. A large fish, 2-3 feet in length, with teeth she could see. Or as she put it, "It was this big (holding out her hands) and it had TEETH!" I thought it was a bit funny that she'd left Stretch behind but as he pointed out she probably had the mindset of "I don't have to outswim the fish, just YOU!" and when I asked if it was a case of every person for himself, she said, "That's right!"

The fish she saw might have been a barracuda. An adult snorkeler had said he spotted one earlier in the same area. At the time, I was more concerned with the stingray he'd also spotted and which I'd also seen, heading toward Stretch and Big Sis. I think it passed them by and they never saw it. When I saw it, I was thinking, "Please be a sea turtle" until I heard the snorkeler say it was a stingray.

I think I may have reached my quota of wildlife this week. Earlier in the week, I'd taken my friend and her kids to a National Wildlife Refuge where we saw a huge alligator. It's head alone was easily 2-1/2 to 3 feet long. Since it remained mostly submerged, we never saw exactly how long it was. Oh, and we were on a dock with our feet only about 4 or 5 feet above the gator.

The Girls Night Out that wasn't

Following the kids' and my month-long trek across the southeastern corner of the U.S., I convinced our hostess at our last stop to follow us home. Her husband is gone for the summer and it kept our kids busy with each other. Plus, I selfishly wanted to spend more time with my friend whom I hadn't seen in almost 5 years.

On her last day here, Stretch called home in the morning and offered a Girls' Night Out (GNO) to us and promised to be home early enough to make it happen. I was ecstatic and looked forward to it all day. Since he would be clearly outnumbered by the 5 kids, I had dinner ready for them when he came home. Everything was set for us to get out of Dodge.

Because Stretch was parked behind me (and my vehicle was in the garage), we drove his vehicle. We drove away without a care in the world, trying to decide what we should do. We were positively giddy with the freedom of it all.

Then we made our first stop. It should have been a quick one. But when we returned to the car, it wouldn't start. Now this car is only 2-1/2 years old. We just replaced all 4 tires. And now it refused to start. We pulled out the owner's manual, trying to figure out what the problem was. We tried suggestions multiple times, in case we were doing something wrong. Nothing. Finally, we called Stretch. He and the kids were just finishing dinner. So he loaded them all up and drove to us. (We weren't far.)

After trying to jump the thing, we decided that I'd take the kids and my friend back to our house while Stretch continued to work on the car. Now, my friend and I hadn't eaten yet. So I started to heat up the remnants of dinner when we returned to the house. Before I'd gotten very far, Stretch called and wanted me to return with my car so we could try to jump his again.

Just before I pulled up, Stretch had dropped a tool in the engine. And it was stuck somewhere under the battery. That's about how the evening was going. After another jump attempt, Stretch decided to remove the battery and take it somewhere to test it. That's when he lost part of another tool. This time in the back of his car.

He took me back to the house, picked up more tools and returned to pry the battery out of his car. About an hour later, Stretch called again to say he was on his way to pick me up so we could retrieve his car. Apparently, the battery had to be replaced.

So Stretch got kudos for wanting to give us a GNO. But the gremlins got the last laugh (Hello! He's not even gone this time!)

Pics from the Plains

We're getting ready to depart for Part Two of our mega-road trip. We've been at my mom's for about 2 weeks. I thought I'd take advantage of the internet access to post some highlight pics.


While I spent a day catching up with 2 of my best friends, Stretch and the girls spent some quality time together before he flew home. They went bowling before visiting both the new Artillery Museum (L'il Sis and Stretch loved it, Big Sis not so much) and the Fort Sill Museum. The girls picked out the sunbonnets as their souvenir. They liked them so much, they wore them to church the next day. Yes, and wore them throughout the service.



After Stretch was gone, the girls continued to take swim lessons (that Grandma had arranged) in the mornings. One afternoon, we went bowling again with my college room-mate and her kids, who were kind enough to drive up after their own long day at nature camp to spend time with us.








The final 2 pictures show that Big Sis discovered not just the diving board this last week, but the BIG diving board. We took them swimming again
after the lessons were over and she spent the entire time going off these boards. I can't believe she wasn't either exhausted or had a permanent wedgie or both!

weekend wrap-up

Saturday was L'il Sis' birthday bash. The one I've spent the past 2 weeks stressing over. The only major task that I delegated to Stretch was to come up with a game or activity of some sort for the kids. As I was getting ready to drop off food at the clubhouse's refrigerator, an unshowered Stretch was sitting at the computer looking for ideas. Mere hours before the party. Way to give me a stroke, big guy!

But wouldn't you know it? He got the job done. And he totally rocked it! He came up with three games for the kids to play and another game for the presents (a variation of spin the bottle, except the kid the pointer lands on gets to give L'il Sis his or her present). The kids had a blast and I didn't even need to pull out my wimpy little craft (yes! something that gets to be returned to the store!).

Sunday (today) was a crazy day. After church in the morning, we raced home to divide up the kids and go in separate directions. Stretch took L'il Sis and attended a function for one of his Marines about an hour away. I took Big Sis to lunch and a production of The Magic Tree House: The Musical. Afterwards, we met at Stretch's office so I could retrieve L'il Sis and take him to the airport. I was done at that point (so were the kids -- both were whiny) but still had to make it thru dinner and bedtime!

I think we'll all sleep well tonight!

Harvest Fest

The church we've been attending here had a Harvest Fest today. It turned out to be a much bigger deal than I realized. I thought we'd be there for half an hour tops. Try a little over 2 hours.

We stopped off at the pumpkin patch first but I guess I'd left it a bit late. The pickings were pretty slim. We still got a pumpkin to carve but there weren't any little ones left for Big Sis (L'il Sis got hers earlier this week during her preschool trip to the patch).

The craft fair area was pretty small and didn't have much that I could browse with my 2 girls in tow. But then we went to the rummage sale area and Big Sis found a toy stable for her

horses. The best part was it was only $2. She could afford that.

Then we went out to the parking lot area where there was a stage set up, food booths, a firefighter static display, games and rides, and facepainting. Big Sis immediately wanted her face done. After getting tickets, that was our first stop. L'il Sis was more leery of the whole thing but soon decided she wanted a bunny on her hand. (The child is obsessed with her bunnies!)

Then we hung out waiting for the pony rides. It was hot out there and there wasn't much in the way of shade. Isn't it October?!

After pony rides, Big Sis wanted to try out the bungee-trampoline-jumping thing. L'il Sis wanted to go down an inflatable slide and then a jumpee-obstacle course. By this time, I was seriously starting to wilt from the heat and sun. Fortunately, it was almost time for the puppet show. So I herded them toward the blessedly air conditioned area for that.

I took some pictures with my camera-phone while we were there and sent them to Stretch. But it would've be so much nicer if he'd been there in person instead. One more week!

Mission Impossible

I honestly thought it would be a simple and quick errand. After school, Friday we would head over to C Creamery and order Big Sis' ice cream birthday cake for Monday. (That's what she asked for this year.) They were supposed to open at 1 p.m. but there was a sign on the door apologizing for the inconvenience and stating they would be open tomorrow. Hmm, now what? Oh, wait, there's a BR across the street and they have ice cream cakes! L'il Sis falls asleep just as we pull into the parking lot. No problem, I'll just have to carry her. In we go and peruse their cake book. Jackpot! They have a Spirit cake (the Disney horse) and Big Sis wants a horse on her cake because she is turning 8 and is completely horse crazy. But wait! You have to order these cakes a WEEK in advance. Well, that won't work since we need it in 3 days. Hmm.

I keep a small phonebook in my car and start looking through it frantically after we're in the car again. A DQ! But where is it? I think I can find it and we go looking for it. We can order a cake and they can draw a horse on it. Big Sis doesn't look thrilled but says she wants it. We order it but as soon as we're out the door (not even in the parking lot yet) she admits she really wants the Spirit horse figurines on her cake. So we go back in and cancel the order.

Then we have a little discussion that maybe she'll have to settle for a regular cake and not an ice cream cake. She is fine with this as long as Spirit and his companion are on the cake. So we try P grocery store (#1). No horse cakes. We go another grocery chain. Again, no horse cakes. How is this possible? We live in horse country!

We give up for the day and decide to try again on Saturday. The monsoon moves in before dawn on Saturday. And stays all day. By 11 a.m. I've decided, there's nothing else for it but we're going to have to go out in it. The girls don their raincoats while I take the closest thing I have (a windbreaker that's not quite up to the task). Our first stop is Wally World. I think we've hit paydirt. There is a cake with horses on it. It's not exactly Spirit but pretty darn close. But we celebrate too soon. They are out of that cake topper. Of course they are!

So then I change my paradigm once more. Maybe I can find the cake topper at a party or craft store and mommy will just make the cake. It wouldn't be the first time. I'm even willing to try drawing a horse on a cake at this point but she's not happy with that option. So we go to a party store. Half the store is taken over by Halloween costumes and paraphernalia. No luck with Spirit or any horse related items, unless you want to count My Little Pony, which Big Sis didn't. So we tried the craft store. Again, no luck.

At this point, I need sustenance. So we stop for lunch. By the way, it has been raining steadily the whole time. Occasionally it slows, but never stops.

After lunch, we try the creamery that we started with yesterday because they are supposed to be open today. False advertising. They are still closed. They still promise to be open tomorrow. But another super discount store is nearby so we go there. By now, the rain really is at monsoon strength. It is pouring and there is no such thing as a close parking spot. I park and grab the kids and the umbrella and make our way inside. We slip and slide our way to the bakery section but find no joy. On the way out, there is certain ubiquitous coffee shop. I'm sorely tempted to get a latte or machiatto or something. But I can't figure out how to hold onto L'il Sis, my car keys, the umbrella and a hot beverage while battling the monsoon back out to the car. Oh, well, I didn't need the calories anyway. By the time, we make it back into the car, the back of my pants are soaked. It's oh-so-comfortable.

We are across the street from BR so I think, "Well, maybe I can simply buy the cake topper from them. Although probably not b/c I don't think the cakes are made on site, but whatever, I'm desperate so let's try." The almost-human teenage boy working the counter didn't think it was possible. At least, that's what I think his grunts meant. I was too irritated to think about asking for a manager at this point. We pile back into the car. Have I mentioned that I'm now sitting in wet denim?

We go to P grocery store (#2). Still no horses but Big Sis decides she can live without them (she hopes for better luck next year) and decides on another design. The good news? It will be an ice cream cake, after all.

The worst part about the whole ordeal was that Big Sis kept apologizing, saying it was her fault that she'd picked such a hard cake to find. I felt bad enough as it was without her feeling bad, too. I kept trying to tell her it wasn't her fault at all. If it was anyone's fault, it was mine for waiting to place an order. But I honestly didn't think it would be such an ordeal. From a simple errand to practically the quest for the holy grail! Who knew it would take 12 stops and 2 days to accomplish the mission of ordering a cake?

catching up

Wow, it seems I have some catching up to do. Last week was L'il Sis first real week of preschool here. The week before she was only in the classroom for an hour and a half without me while I attended a parents' meeting. But last Tuesday she attended preschool and Lunch Bunch. So this picture is from her first real day.

Last weekend, we decided to take a trip to the Space Coast. We went

to Kennedy Space Center on Saturday. Although it was a bit warm, it was a great day for it.

There weren't too

many people there so there were no long lines for anything. It's

hard to see in the picture, but there was a space shuttle on one of the launch pads, prepared for a mission scheduled in a few weeks.

Stretch rounded off the weekend by giving me a belated anniversary gift: an Atta Girl! bracelet! I'm wearing it as I type. I'm not a huge jewelry person (I'm definitely accessory-challenged!) but I like the bracelet for a couple of reasons. It is unique. It tells a story. And I love the thought that went into it. It is more than a piece of jewelry. It has meaning behind it, reminding me that Stretch really does appreciate me and what I do.

UPDATE: Someone asked what an Atta Girl! is. So here is my attempt at an explanation. Our service members receive various awards during the course of their service. Often these awards take the form of ribbons that are worn on dress uniforms. Atta Girl! charms use crystals on Italian charms to approximate the look of ribbons and are meant to represent different achievements of family members of service members.

My Atta Girl! bracelet tells my particular story: I'm a military wife, specifically a Marine wife. My husband awarded me both a hazardous duty and a deployment Atta Girl! (both with one star) for surviving his 2 deployments to Iraq with small children, the second one being a year long. I also wear a PCS charm with 5 stars and an overseas duty charm.

Read all about it!

It's here!

HOUSEHOLD BAGGAGE HANDLERS: 56 Stories From the Hearts and Lives of Military Wives

As the editor, Marna Krajeski writes on her website: "...48 wives share their total embarrassments, tragic experiences, and tender emotions as they tackle the daily dramas of military life. By turns touching and hilarious, Household Baggage Handlers opens the door on an often overlooked world, one requiring the independence and survival skills to:

• Move overseas while six months pregnant
• Manage labor, delivery, and a newborn … without a spouse
• Nurse a critically injured husband back to health
• Confront the sight of someone in uniform at the front door
• Shelter five children alone during a tornado
• Cope with bats, blizzards, and broken cars during long deployments

Read all about it in their own words. With anecdotes from WWII to the present, these compelling stories capture a sisterhood forged by extraordinary circumstances. "

Within the covers are stories written by a variety of women such as syndicated columnists Sarah Smiley and Jacey Eckhart, SpouseBuzz contributors Andi Hurley and Ruthie Alekseyev (a.k.a. airforcewife), and ME! Who knows? One of the contributors could be your neighbor! Get a copy now!

reunions, weddings, and fun with the "friendly skies"...

You may recall that we've just moved. Or maybe you just thought I'd fallen off the planet. At any rate, we managed to accept our household goods one day and then the next day we flew to another state to retrieve our children and second vehicle. We visited with my sister for a few days (she took care of our girls for us that week we were getting the house ready and trying to move in). Then we went on to yet another state to visit Stretch's family (which included a side trip to yet another state -- we're up to 3 now if you are counting, not including the one we started from).


We left family and started our drive back to our new home 3 states away. On the way, we stopped in Myrtle Beach for a night so we could have dinner with one of Stretch's Naval Academy room-mates and his family. It was the first chance I had to meet them. We've been married 10 years and we finally proved to them that I actually exist (and so do the kids!). I still heard his ex-roomie remark, "I still say Stretch was on the beach this afternoon with his wallet saying, 'I need a mom and 2 kids!'"

After a grueling 3 days in the car, we finally make it to our new Maison Dragonfly. Then the serious unpacking had to begin. But there was a catch. Isn't there always? In the midst of all of the unpacking, I also had to start packing. Because we were off on yet another trip! My cousin was getting married and the girls were going to be flower girls in her wedding.

In true military family fashion, no one from this part of my family had met L'il Sis yet and she turned FOUR in May. Big Sis hadn't seen any of them since she was 2, so didn't remember anyone and kept asking who "these people" were and how were we related. But they were excited about the wedding and their princess dresses. My sister's daughter was the third flower girl so they were even more excited.



But the real fun was yet to come. We had an evening flight to return home. Which would have been fine except there was heavy weather at the airport of our connecting flight. We were delayed. Then delayed again. Eventually, they boarded us onto the flight. Only to tell us that all flights had again been grounded and they were looking for another update in 50 minutes. So we just sat in the plane at the gate. Fun! The next time the control tower lifted the ban on taking off, our pilot did so as quickly as possible.

Of course, there weren't 4 seats together. Stretch sat with the kids. I was in a window seat next to a stranger. Who went to sleep. Which wouldn't have been a problem, except I developed a need for the restroom. But we were almost to the next airport so I thought I'd try to hold it. When the plane landed, I was one of the first people in the aisle. Stretch knew I was in pain and told me to just go and get to the nearest one and he'd follow with the kids. We're still standing in the aisle. Then the pilot announces that they are waiting on the guy to drive the jet way to the plane. He takes his merry little time getting there. Or at least that's how it felt. He finally arrives. Still no jet way. The pilot announces there is a mechanical problem with the jet way but mechanics are on their way and will get it fixed in no time. At this point, I would have been happy with a ladder! Finally, the jet way was in place and the door was open. I made my way out as quickly as a woman with a full bladder can. Thankfully, there was restroom just across the hall from the gate. I ducked in. ALL the stalls were full! I was beginning to think there was a conspiracy!

Finally, mission accomplished, I reached for my cell phone to call Stretch to find out which gate they were at for the connecting flight. It went straight to voicemail. I started to panic a little. I called back but then my phone was ringing to let me know I had a voicemail. I pulled it up and heard, not a message, but my husband talking to whoever was manning the gate at his end, "our flight just landed...my wife is in the head...no, she couldn't wait..." I hung up and dialed Stretch again. He answered this time. He told me which gate to go to and then added, "Run. They've already closed the door." Just peachy.

I get there and find I am not alone. There is a man waiting to board and someone in a flight uniform who turns out to be the co-pilot. The door is unlocked and the 3 of us head down the jet way. My family is waiting for me at the end of it. Big Sis' eyes has been crying. She grabs my arm and doesn't let go. Of course, our seats are near the back of the plane. When we finally get to them, an announcement comes on that the XO has arrived and he will be nice enough to turn on the A/C. Apparently, these people had been sitting on this plane for a long time. Without A/C. But we were still waiting. On the pilot. Yeah, I could have been spared the slight coronary that I'd been given exiting the ladies' room.

We finally made it home just after 2 a.m. Big Sis (who didn't sleep the entire trip) kept saying how tired she was and that we would all need to go to bed as soon as we got into the house. No arguments here!

Back to the land of boxes...
Now, I've heard of mil-spouses who tackle the unpacking and get it done in less than a week. These are super-women. I don't understand how they do it. I actually know one from our last duty station. While her husband was deployed, she moved onto base, had her house unpacked within two weeks, AND hosted an event in her new home. Yeah, let me tell you, that is so NOT happening here. And not for lack of trying. The boxes just seem to multiply. Well, since I'm still knee-deep in the unpacking of it all, I guess I'd better get back to it...