Home Again: Fobbits and Shadows

Trent is back home, and we are all so very happy. He is still dealing with some Jet Lag, but that should be done with soon.

It is fun going through his pictures and actually hearing more about his time over there. I feel like his stories are his to tell. I hope he will have time to blog a bit, but he is already busy with some work things that have a time issue, and we have all that moving in a month and a half involves, so I don't know if he will get time.

The kids have been so thrilled to have dad home, and it has been funny to watch them all react. Sammy went with me to the airport to pick up Trent. She was very quiet for a while but only wanted to hold Dad's hand and walk with Daddy and be in the same room with Daddy. The quiet is gone now. The shadowing isn't over though. We stopped on our way home to run a couple of errands since they were conveniently on our way home from Richmond. Sammy wasn't about to let dad out of her sight if she could help it. Jon raced into the house as fast as he could along with Ashley when they got home from school that day. Ashley started talking a mile a minute and very loudly as she is wont to do about everything she could think of. Jon, on the other hand, was as excited if not nearly as loud. Jon has taken to being a bit of a minny me. We took Trent out to dinner that night to celebrate, and we had just shown Jon the new shorts we bought for him while we were out (it has been in the 90's here since Saturday until today, and Jon didn't have that many shorts that still fit from last summer). Jon went through all shorts and held them up against his dad until he found the pair that was closest in color. He then found the shirt that was closest in color to what Trent was wearing. He insisted on a belt, because Trent had a belt on and insisted that he wear his sandals, because Trent had on teevas. Last night, when we were laying out clothes for school the next day, Jon only gave the o.k. for the shirt I had after verifying with Trent that Trent would also be wearing a dark blue shirt today.

We have learned that Trent's experience makes him a fobbit. My compliments to you if you do not think that involves the incorporation of a dirty word. If this did not occur to you, you are better than I am, and you are correct. Trent never left the FOB (Foreign Operating Base) he was stationed on while in country. He was going to go down to the oil wells, but it didn't end up happening. Those who don't leave the FOB are referred to as fobbits, because like the hobbits in Lord of the Rings who don't tend to venture out of the shire, they don't leave the FOB. I think it is a rather clever analogy actually.

I'll try and come up with a few stories to post soon perhaps. It isn't the same coming from me, but I know some of you would like to hear anyhow. In the mean time, we are all very happy but busy, and Trent is suffering a bit of jet lag and a lot of pollen exposure but is glad to be home.

Fun things

I friend of mine recently started selling the hair bows she makes at one of the local craft stores in Castro Valley. They truly are adorable. If you looking for something super cute for your little girls, check out S&S bows.

Also, I happen to be a stationary junkie. When I see note cards in particular that I like, I will often get them and hang onto them. You never know when they come in handy (thank you cards, notes to teachers or speech therapists :) ). Though I use e-mail with regularity and am on facebook and blog and all of that, I still believe there is nothing like a hand written note. Anyhow, a friend recently put me onto this site. She does really cute work and custom makes things as well. Some of my Army friends have used her to make family cards where each member of the family is represented by various hats or shoes etc. I have many many very creative friends. However, check it out just for fun (or ideas).

More Pictures - The Trent Report

Trent sent another set of pictures, and though I have been posting a lot lately, I had to add these to share. The first three are from when he was training before deploying. The rest are from Iraq.

Trent qualified sharp shooter (on the 9mm) before leaving but had to requalify when he went for pre-deployment training at the CRC. There, he qualified expert, I believe. I wonder which qualification he gets to wear since one is from the Coast Guard and one is from the Army.

Trent's "CHU"

Easter

We had a quiet but really nice Easter this year, and though they tend to be very cheesy, I wanted to share pictures of how nice the kids all looked in their Easter finery. They all had so much fun dressing up. Jon loves wearing his ties. It is cute.

And All I Got Was......

I am sure you have all heard a version that ends in, and all I got was this lousy t-shirt. Well, those t-shirts aren't always lousy.

Phil Keoghan, the host of The Amazing Race, is doing a cross country bike ride to raise funds for MS. You can check out his site right here. Last week, one of his stops was in the town my dad and step mom live in. Check out his video blog on day 11 for an example of how awesome a little town it is.

Anyhow, they sent me a t-shirt from his ride, and I am so excited. I am wearing it to our Amazing Race Charlottesville coffee later this month. I won't be in any of Phil's stops, but if you are nearby, you might want to consider going out or checking out his site and his cause. He will be in Columbus at the end of April. Hint hint Megan. :)

EDIT: Day 10 blog has Phil's arrival in Pagosa Springs. Check that one out as well.

Thoughts on 24

AS ALWAYS, DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE EPISODE AND DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED.



First of all, I have seen a lot of twists coming, but I did not see Tony doing some freelance bad guy thing coming AT ALL! Also, what was up with the slow suffocating? Couldn't he let the other guy shoot him and be done with it? I am not sure I get that at all. I am still so surprised that I don't know whether to applaud the show for some genius or to consider not watching it anymore because Tony is bad.

This leads me to three questions. The first is whether or not Tony really is bad. I guess he has to be. He killed Larry Moss and took a canister of the stuff. The second is are Seaton and Tony working together. Seaton broke Tony out of Starkwood and made it look like he was working against Hodges. It seems to me that Hodges did not plan this with Seaton ahead of time but praised him for it later. Could Tony and Seaton have planned this before? My last question is: will Tony Almeida go the way of Nina Myers when Jack figures it all out?

On another tack. I know Larry Moss was just starting to be almost likable, but I had to laugh at his speech to Tony about how taking him into custody was poor payment for all he had done that day even though Tony had confessed to doing some pretty bad stuff. He spent better than half of this season hating Jack, not trusting Jack, and working against Jack because of what he had done previously. Ironic that the guy he felt so badly about is the one that MURDERED him. It was also kind of ironic that he was o.k. with a covert op against Starkwood all of a sudden though he fought against any and all rule breaking up until now.

Final comment: Where the heck is Chloe? Janice is driving me nuts. I want Chloe back.

Book Worm

Ashley really enjoys reading. So do I of course. Part of the bedtime routine is stories, but for Ashley it more specifically involves grabbing whatever it is she is reading at that moment and climbing into bed. She lays in bed and reads before going to sleep. Before Spring Break, I was wondering if I was going to have to go in and tell her to stop. She was staying up for an hour on more than one occasion just to read. I understand how that is though. I go through times when I just read and read some more. I am afraid I have little self-discipline at times. It would seem that Ashley too wants to finish the story. Some, of course, are more popular than others, and I thought I would share a few favorites around here.

First are the Mercy Watson books. They are chapter books but not difficult. Ashley often reads one straight through in a 40 minute period or breaks it into two nights if she has to. The author is Kate DiCamillo, who Ashley was initially introduced to when she read Because of Winn Dixie. More recently, we have also read The Tale of Desperaux also by Kate DiCamillo. The Mercy Watson books are silly quite frankly. They are about a pig who lives more like a person than a pig. The thing about them though, is that all my kids love them. Ashley will often read them out loud to Jon and Sammy, and both of them can tell you even weeks later what Mercy Watson was for Halloween and that her favorite snack is buttered toast. These books are repeatedly requested and read often, so though they may be silly, they are great around here.



Recently, Ashley has been reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. She has now read the first two and received the third in her Easter basket. She will take these books with her to read on the bus, something she doesn't do that often. She will re-read her favorite parts and laugh out loud while she reads. She also reads some of these books to Jon, who thinks they are funny as well. I have to say that I think some of the jokes are over her head, but she absolutely loves these books and was so grateful each time she received one. Like the Mercy Watson books, she will sit and read these for some time. Unlike the Mercy Watson books, these take her a few days of reading to get through. They are longer and more involved.


The last new series she is interested in lately is the Pirate School books. We purchased the first Pirate School book at a book fair some time back for Jon. I thought we could read it to him and as his reading later developed, he might like to have this one as well as the many Magic Treehouse books. Ashley pulled this out a couple of weeks ago to read to Jon. He listened to the first few chapters and went to sleep. She stayed up and read the entire thing, brought it out to me and told me I should read it because it was really good and then told me she wanted to read the next one in the series. I don't think I realized that it was a series until then. She received the second book in her Easter basket. We will see if she still likes it as well. I still hope Jon might like these books later, but it is always fun to see what Ashley picks up on.

Finally, I have had the book light pictured here for some years. It is called the Fliplite, and I love it. You can buy replacement bulbs for it at Barnes and Noble, but there is no reason, because the little flashlight bulbs work perfectly in it. It is simple and sturdy and travels really well. Ashley commandeered this from me over a year ago, and it is now referred to as hers. I haven't needed to use a book light for some time. I either go out in the living room if I am reading after Trent is asleep or, more recently, just turn on my lamp whenever I need to. Ashley goes to sleep with this nearly every night to just read away. Samantha falls asleep easily with the lights still on now, and lately has requested to fall asleep with them on, so Ashley needs this a little less. She still likes to use it though, and I can't blame her. If you need a book light. I do highly recommend this one.

We keep track of what we are reading on our blog. I am fairly good about keeping it updated, though I am not always as fast as Ashley. We love recommendations for good books as well, so if you have some you love, pass them on.

EDIT:

Samantha likes all kinds of books right now, but she wanted me to put the book she has most recently enjoyed on this post. So, here it is. I am now off to read Priscilla and the Pink Planet to Sammy again. Happy reading.

The Trent Report - Home Soon

Trent is due home very soon. We are looking forward to seeing him again. In the mean time, I am posting some pictures he e-mailed us. We love pictures. I hope you do as well.

Nothing Gold Can Stay - Musings on Change

The following is one of my favorite Robert Frost poems and, actually, one of my all time favorites.


"Nothing Gold Can Stay"

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leafs a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

I was thinking of this yesterday as Sammy and I were driving the 53 into town to run some errands. Looking up on the hills near Monticello, I could see the yellowish green sign of the trees getting their leaves. The forsythia is out, and the trees here that blossom purple first are all purple. I can't remember what they are called. It occurred to me that it will really only be days until this has all changed much more. I love Spring. I love the sunshine AND the rain. I love that it is both warm and cool. I really like to go out and see everything coming to life and enjoying the warm before it becomes hot. I also look at Spring as the shortest of the seasons both literally and figuratively.

Spring is literally short, because it doesn't take that long for the trees to be in full leaves and the grass to go green and for the sun to get well warm enough for the kids to be in shorts and sandals. If it gets above 70 degrees, my crazy children think about going swimming. I find it figuratively short, I think, because of the life I live. In 1993, 1994, and 1996-1998, I worked at scout camp during this summer. This generally meant moving in late spring and then moving back in somewhere in the late summer, which let's face it, is more like early fall with the start of school. In 1999, Trent moved up to Spokane to start law school. I stayed in Utah until late that year to finish the first semester of my student teaching program. In college, law school for Trent, and now for my kids, school starts back up in August, which feels like the end of summer even if the weather disagrees. Furthermore, Coast Guard life generally brings with it moving duty stations in the early summer. Once again, summer is when things change. Between schools starting anew in the fall and that being when we really get settled into a new location when we move, I tend to personally view Fall as the time for new beginnings even though that is generally associated with Spring. As much as I love Spring, it seems to figuratively go by so quickly because there is always the rush to the end; the rush to get ready for the change. I am as busy as ever this Spring with our upcoming move. In some ways I am more so. I am trying really hard to enjoy the "gold" this time, because like the poems says, nothing gold can stay. Spring used to be my very favorite season. I still like spring clothes and colors the best. :)

One of the less literal interpretations of that poem is the idea that the change occurring is not a bad thing. In each line, the second element is actually a value. It is part of the natural process by which the cycle of fuller life is completed. I have reminded myself of this a lot over the last few weeks as well. Fairly early in March, we received word that we would be going to the Washington D.C. area this summer as Trent would be PCSing (Permanent Change of Station) to Coast Guard Headquarters. We were happy with the job he was going to and started making all the vague outlines of plans. On Sunday the 15th, I got a call at the house and forwarded the message to Trent. It was to verify that job for him so that orders could be cut that next week. On Tuesday the 17th, Trent called. He was wanted for another job. When he called to tell me and to talk about it, I admit that I, who am no stranger to change, did not react well. I ranted and was suspicious. It is fortunate for me that I have a good Coast Guard friend I could call and talk this through with. She was able to understand but also to remind me that I was just reacting to having my mind wrapped around something. It took me at least 24 hours to calm down. I was near tears for that entire evening. I realized later how silly that is. There is every possibility that this is an opportunity we simply haven't had yet. Is it possible that it will be miserable? Sure, I suppose so. That would require our help in being miserable though. We are still going to DC. Trent is simply going to a different job. (For any who read this who I haven't told, Trent will be working at the Department of State in the Office of Polar Affairs for 2 years.) There is no reason to believe that there isn't the possibility for a real opportunity here. There is no reason to assume that the gold isn't subsiding to green and to a fuller part of this adventure we are living. Now, if things are awful in a few months or in a year, someone PLEASE remind me of this. :)