Sunday, June 27, 2010
I was wrong
I like to think that I can admit when I'm wrong, so here it is--I was wrong. My upcoming deployment is pretty much destroying me and my motherly sensibilities. I am really proud of all those men and women who can leave their families for months to a year and do so well. I just don't think I'm part of that crew. As Trent cried out "Mommy! Mommy!" last night in his sleep I was consumed by the guilt of knowing that he will cry that out and I won't be able to comfort him. That kills me. I am "mommy" and that should always be job #1. In hindsight, though I love my job and have a lot of satisfaction in what I do, I think I probably should have left the Navy prior to this tour. This one tour I fear is going to scar me for a very, very long time. I think our family will make it and I'll go on to finish out a fine career, but these feelings will not leave me easily.
Another great family visit
Ok, a little catch-up post here and with any luck I'll get some pics in!
Had an AWESOME visit with my family over the past week! My sister Amy, her hubby, her 3 kids, and my sister Brandi all arrived Saturday after a very early morning flight. As luck would have it, there was a concert right outside their hotel that night, but they did manage to get a little sleep. Sunday we had a photo shoot with Kristin Harris and it was way more fun that I ever thought possible! The day was a little dreary, so we grabbed lunch, hit the farmer's market, then took to the seas for an afternoon sail. It was cold, but everyone got to see a whale and get acquainted with the boat.
Monday was another kind of dreary day, so I took the whole crew to the ABE for a tour and lunch. After all that walking, we headed up the road to Deception Pass. We had some fun on the beach there, then drove down Whidbey to take a ferry trip back to the east side of the sound. Busy day! We kept that pace up Tuesday, heading down to Seattle to check out the eclectic scene of Pike Place Market before hitting Seattle Center and the Space Needle. I had a blast! The skies cleared enough for us to get a good view of Mt. Rainier, too.
Wednesday we slowed things down a bit and got the whole gang underway for a cruise to Poulsbo. That was awesome! My nephew Jason and my niece Jenny took a turn driving the boat, we saw seals, we saw sea lions, we had great weather...fun day! We hit Poulsbo in time to burn off some energy in the waterfront park, get some yummy ice cream, and do a little shopping. To keep it simple we grilled on the boat, then played in town a little more. Of course we hit Sluys' Bakery before heading out Thursday! Another nice day on the water and we returned to Everett for a family night out at Alfy's pizza and some dancing to the free concert at the marina.
After those calm days on the water, we stepped it up again Friday! Just the out-of-towners and I headed out for a great, Class III white-water rafting trip on the Skykomish! Everyone seemed to have a great time--I know I sure did! We stopped by the cabin while we were out there, just long enough to see that it had been broken into again. Ugh. Frank was out racing a sailboat that night, so the rest of us headed onto base to eat at the galley there. I think we were pretty tired after that!
Today was their last day here and it was a nice, laid back day. We hit Kate's for a hearty lunch (because everyone visiting Everett should check out Kate's!), then just hung out at the boat. We dropped the kayaks and all took turns paddling around the marina. The highlight was when Sarah and I were in the tandem and Frank and Katreina were in the other one and we had a seal totally playing with us! It grabbed our rudder a few times, kept coming to the surface right be Sarah's paddle, and would rub up against the bottom of our boat! It followed us all the way around the marina!
Sadly that was the end of the fun. We headed to the SeaTac area for dinner and to drop everyone off at a hotel for the night. It was great to see everyone and see the kids playing together. It was one of the best vacations I've had in a very long time and I'm going to miss all of this fun!
Had an AWESOME visit with my family over the past week! My sister Amy, her hubby, her 3 kids, and my sister Brandi all arrived Saturday after a very early morning flight. As luck would have it, there was a concert right outside their hotel that night, but they did manage to get a little sleep. Sunday we had a photo shoot with Kristin Harris and it was way more fun that I ever thought possible! The day was a little dreary, so we grabbed lunch, hit the farmer's market, then took to the seas for an afternoon sail. It was cold, but everyone got to see a whale and get acquainted with the boat.
Monday was another kind of dreary day, so I took the whole crew to the ABE for a tour and lunch. After all that walking, we headed up the road to Deception Pass. We had some fun on the beach there, then drove down Whidbey to take a ferry trip back to the east side of the sound. Busy day! We kept that pace up Tuesday, heading down to Seattle to check out the eclectic scene of Pike Place Market before hitting Seattle Center and the Space Needle. I had a blast! The skies cleared enough for us to get a good view of Mt. Rainier, too.
Wednesday we slowed things down a bit and got the whole gang underway for a cruise to Poulsbo. That was awesome! My nephew Jason and my niece Jenny took a turn driving the boat, we saw seals, we saw sea lions, we had great weather...fun day! We hit Poulsbo in time to burn off some energy in the waterfront park, get some yummy ice cream, and do a little shopping. To keep it simple we grilled on the boat, then played in town a little more. Of course we hit Sluys' Bakery before heading out Thursday! Another nice day on the water and we returned to Everett for a family night out at Alfy's pizza and some dancing to the free concert at the marina.
After those calm days on the water, we stepped it up again Friday! Just the out-of-towners and I headed out for a great, Class III white-water rafting trip on the Skykomish! Everyone seemed to have a great time--I know I sure did! We stopped by the cabin while we were out there, just long enough to see that it had been broken into again. Ugh. Frank was out racing a sailboat that night, so the rest of us headed onto base to eat at the galley there. I think we were pretty tired after that!
Today was their last day here and it was a nice, laid back day. We hit Kate's for a hearty lunch (because everyone visiting Everett should check out Kate's!), then just hung out at the boat. We dropped the kayaks and all took turns paddling around the marina. The highlight was when Sarah and I were in the tandem and Frank and Katreina were in the other one and we had a seal totally playing with us! It grabbed our rudder a few times, kept coming to the surface right be Sarah's paddle, and would rub up against the bottom of our boat! It followed us all the way around the marina!
Sadly that was the end of the fun. We headed to the SeaTac area for dinner and to drop everyone off at a hotel for the night. It was great to see everyone and see the kids playing together. It was one of the best vacations I've had in a very long time and I'm going to miss all of this fun!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Visitors!
VERY excited that my sisters and the entire Webb family will be here in just 2 days! Already have a few awesome events planned, including family photos on Sunday and white water rafting on Friday. Now I'm looking at a little lunch at the Space Needle, perhaps.... CAN NOT WAIT!!!!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
CA Vacation!
This is a quick recap of our last week, a family vacation to San Diego. The kids were awesome for the flight--this one was pretty short compared to their cross-country jaunts!
As soon as we got in to CA, we all piled into the rental car, loaded up on food at Santana's, and headed east for 6hrs to get to Phoenix. A few days before the trip we decided we should take this opportunity to see Frank's Grandma Roegene. Monday morning we had a nice visit with her for a couple of hours. She looked wonderful and though her memory isn't what it used to be, we had a great time chatting away. We were also surprised as Uncle Tom stopped by, too! It was really great to see them both, but around noon we took our leave, hit In-and-Out, and headed back west to visit the rest of the family.
Tuesday Frank's sister Fawn retired from the Navy after 20 years of service. Great ceremony, and great "adults only" reception that night! After that it was a little rough...both kids had been coughy really bad during the trip and weren't sleeping well so we took them to the ER at Balboa to get checked out. Katreina had just finished medicine for strep so we wanted to be sure they were ok. Despite the fact that Trent threw up right in the ER waiting room, they checked out ok. Trent got a heavy-duty cough suppressant and we headed to the hotel to try to get some sleep. That day was a rehearsal for Fawn's wedding in a cute little park on Coronado followed by a bbq at a park that some of her friends put together. It was all a ton of fun, but Trent was a little tired and as he was tossing about during a fit he managed to get nursemaid's elbow again so we were off to the ER for the second time that day! It was a quick fix, and we were all completely spent after that!
Thursday we had a pretty low-key morning before the afternoon wedding! It was a great ceremony and the kids had fun, especially during the butterfly release. The reception was a great dinner party and the kids had their own little area with 2 of the greatest babysitters I've ever met! Trent was still pretty needy, but we had a great time. He fell asleep the second we left the reception, but Katreina and I ran to Nado Gelato for a treat and she made a MESS of herself eating in the car!
By Friday we were all pretty healthy and had a great time playing at the beach with the whole family, including new cousin Alexa. She is such a sweety! I took Trent back a little early to get cleaned up, but I hear that Katreina had a great time splashing around in the ocean with "Uncle" Stephan. The whole big group went out to dinner at Miguelito's. It was great, but Trent and Laurel CRASHED at dinner, and Katreina snoozed for a few minutes. The beach was definitely fun! We said goodbye to the Baranko family and headed off to get lots of sleep!
Saturday we had great weather, reasonably good health, and a fantastic time at Sea World with Grandma, Logan, and Laurel! I will admit the Shamu show "Believe" caused me to tear up because it reminded me of how I felt when I was a littke girl seeing all of that for the first time. I loved seeing the kids' faces light up. Finally we grabbed a sushi feast and headed back to Coronado to hang out with the g-parents and cousins for one last time.
Ok, so maybe that wasn't such a quick recap! Fun, exhausting trip. It was really great to see everyone and celebrate all of Fawn's big life changes!
As soon as we got in to CA, we all piled into the rental car, loaded up on food at Santana's, and headed east for 6hrs to get to Phoenix. A few days before the trip we decided we should take this opportunity to see Frank's Grandma Roegene. Monday morning we had a nice visit with her for a couple of hours. She looked wonderful and though her memory isn't what it used to be, we had a great time chatting away. We were also surprised as Uncle Tom stopped by, too! It was really great to see them both, but around noon we took our leave, hit In-and-Out, and headed back west to visit the rest of the family.
Tuesday Frank's sister Fawn retired from the Navy after 20 years of service. Great ceremony, and great "adults only" reception that night! After that it was a little rough...both kids had been coughy really bad during the trip and weren't sleeping well so we took them to the ER at Balboa to get checked out. Katreina had just finished medicine for strep so we wanted to be sure they were ok. Despite the fact that Trent threw up right in the ER waiting room, they checked out ok. Trent got a heavy-duty cough suppressant and we headed to the hotel to try to get some sleep. That day was a rehearsal for Fawn's wedding in a cute little park on Coronado followed by a bbq at a park that some of her friends put together. It was all a ton of fun, but Trent was a little tired and as he was tossing about during a fit he managed to get nursemaid's elbow again so we were off to the ER for the second time that day! It was a quick fix, and we were all completely spent after that!
Thursday we had a pretty low-key morning before the afternoon wedding! It was a great ceremony and the kids had fun, especially during the butterfly release. The reception was a great dinner party and the kids had their own little area with 2 of the greatest babysitters I've ever met! Trent was still pretty needy, but we had a great time. He fell asleep the second we left the reception, but Katreina and I ran to Nado Gelato for a treat and she made a MESS of herself eating in the car!
By Friday we were all pretty healthy and had a great time playing at the beach with the whole family, including new cousin Alexa. She is such a sweety! I took Trent back a little early to get cleaned up, but I hear that Katreina had a great time splashing around in the ocean with "Uncle" Stephan. The whole big group went out to dinner at Miguelito's. It was great, but Trent and Laurel CRASHED at dinner, and Katreina snoozed for a few minutes. The beach was definitely fun! We said goodbye to the Baranko family and headed off to get lots of sleep!
Saturday we had great weather, reasonably good health, and a fantastic time at Sea World with Grandma, Logan, and Laurel! I will admit the Shamu show "Believe" caused me to tear up because it reminded me of how I felt when I was a littke girl seeing all of that for the first time. I loved seeing the kids' faces light up. Finally we grabbed a sushi feast and headed back to Coronado to hang out with the g-parents and cousins for one last time.
Ok, so maybe that wasn't such a quick recap! Fun, exhausting trip. It was really great to see everyone and celebrate all of Fawn's big life changes!
Friday, June 4, 2010
DhjaakshhshydgjzkjjhxhdhdjxkzlLhhcljchkkfsg
And this is what happens when you let a 4-yr old hold your iphone and "practice letters." Too funny to delete!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)