Summertime

Soon after Carl left for his TDY to Mauritania, the kids and I made a trip over to Florida to visit Mimi and Poppaw.  While we have lots of friends in Texas, it’s still nice to see some of our friends in Florida too.  We visited our former church in Cantonment and then made our way over to Navarre Beach to spend some time building sandcastles, swimming, and looking for shells (one of our favorite pastimes).  Although it rained the first couple of days we were there, the sun eventually came out and we were able to enjoy the sand and sea.

Navarre Beach

We were able to spend some time visiting with some friends that I had not seen since moving to Texas. Overall, we had a great time and found a ton of awesome shells, caught crabs, and even a few small fish. Katelynn already talks about returning to the beach.  After a week or so at the beach, the kids returned to Pensacola with Mimi and Poppaw to attend VBS while I got some much needed relaxing time alone.  I will admit it did get a little quiet… amazing how quickly you miss the chaos once it’s gone!

We traveled to Brevard, NC on July 19 for a trip to the mountains with Mimi and Poppaw.  This is Todd's third time and Katelynn’s second time visiting the area and its one of Todd’s favorite places.  We rented a house in Brevard and enjoyed catching fireflies at night.  Brevard is located in Transylvania County, NC and area known as "the land of waterfalls."  We hiked to 7 different waterfalls and were able to get fairly close to all of them.  Katelynn was a trooper and hiked to all of the waterfalls with hardly any help.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous and cool.  We picnicked everyday and played in the streams and hunted for rocks.  The area had received a good amount of rain recently, so the waterfalls were full and rushing.

Moore's Cove Falls

Daniel's Ridge Falls

Slick Rock Falls

We spent most of our time in Pisgah National Forest and a portion of our time on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Sliding Rock is a natural water slide well known in the area.  The temperature of the water at Siding Rock is a cool 54 degrees.  Todd and Poppaw braved the temperatures and went down Sliding Rock one time.  They are nuts!

Todd and Poppaw going down Sliding Rock!!

One of the days, we went mining for gems at a place called Gem Mountain.  We started out with a 5 gallon bucket of rocks and sifted through them and found many gems including garnets, rubies, amethysts, sapphires, emeralds, sodalite, quartz, citrine, and amazonite.  The kids had a blast!  On our last full day, we strolled around the quaint town of Brevard, NC.  We went to an old fashioned soda shop and had an awesome chocolate malt (yum!).  We’ve been sending pictures to Carl of all the yummy food we’re enjoying, but realized it was a little mean since he’s limited on what’s available in Mauritania.  We also visited the famous O.P. Taylor's Toy Store.  This toy store has every kind of toy imaginable.

O.P. Taylor's toy store

Our last stop was Ernie's Rock Shop where Todd picked out a geode and helped the rock man cut the geode.  Todd was the first person to see what was inside his geode and he is quite proud of it.

Todd helping the rock man cut his geode

Todd's geode with quartz inside

As I write this, we are heading back to Pensacola and already miss our daily hikes to waterfalls.  We will be driving back to Texas on Thursday where Mimi will be riding with us and keeping the kids while I go a MOPs leadership retreat at Lake Conroe – supposed to be really pretty out there.

Countdown to when Carl comes home:  25 days!!!

Happy Fourth of July... from Mauritania!

OK… so I can see many of you already shaking your heads wondering, “Where are you, Carl?”… and the other question everyone asked before I got out here, “Where’s Mauritania?”.  Well, the answers are (1) I’m in Nouakchott, Mauritania this summer for a long term TDY assignment and (2) Mauritania – officially known as the Islamic Republic of Mauritania – is a country located in the Sahara Desert in Western Africa.

I arrived a few weeks ago and started getting settled into my new assignment, albeit temporary.  This place definitely took some getting used to (given the fact I don’t speak French and typically obey traffic laws) but the American Embassy community has been very welcoming.  Although the days here can be long, the weeks are flying by.  And despite the long hours, I’ve had the chance to see some pretty beautiful sights while I’ve been here (although you should be warned – the pictures below are the only beautiful sights in Mauritania – there’s little else here besides more sand… along with donkeys and camels).

Sunset in the Sahara

See how natural and untouched this looks

It's quite relaxing to sit and enjoy the sound of the waves

I was working (hence all the gear under my shirt) but stopped for a quick picture... Tough day at work!

Fast forward to today… the Fourth of July.  Although I’ve been celebrating the Fourth of July earlier than most of you in the United States (since there’s a 5 hour time difference here in Nouakchott compared to Texas), I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Fourth of July!  I’m celebrating the holiday by working all day (and most of the night) getting ready for American Embassy Nouakchott’s Annual Fourth of July Celebration.  It’s typically the “big event of the year” so everyone is putting on their best suit or dress (the one they try to keep pristine since there’s no dry cleaning here) and coming in for the event.

So… while I’ll be celebrating the Fourth of July a little differently than most of you (hopefully without any fireworks… in my line of work, fireworks aren’t a good thing), I hope all of you are enjoying your summer and particularly the Fourth of July!

Big Events

So, the problem with being super busy with fun things is that there’s no time to write about them.  But with a little down time comes an update.

We left off our adventure with Todd’s 3^rd place win at the pinewood derby.  Well, Carl came home after 5 weeks of training to three people VERY happy to see him.  It was great to spend time together as a family before he had to leave again.  This time, we knew well in advance about this trip, which was only one week long.  A week seems like a short trip after coming back from a 5-week trip, right?

Sometimes, my husband has the coolest job in the world; even if takes him away from us too often.  He traveled to Louisville, Kentucky to provide protection to the Dalai Lama.  Carl got to be the limo driver, which was pretty neat!  He said it was really surreal to look in his rearview mirror and see the Dalai Lama.  Of course, he also said he felt a little guilty skipping out on church to drive the leader of the Buddhist religion.  He got a really cool picture with him too…

Sometimes my husband has the COOLEST job in the world!

While Carl was gone, Mimi and Pawpaw came to town for the barrage of big events lining up.  It was great to hang out with them.  Carl made it back Wednesday afternoon just in time for Big Event #1 on Thursday… Todd’s Kindergarten Graduation (it doesn’t hurt that I’ve been threatening him within an inch of his life if he missed this big event for months now).  Can you believe it??? Our little man graduated kindergarten.  We’re so proud of him and how well he’s done in school.  Todd loves to read chapter books now does so whenever he can.  At graduation, the teacher picked a character trait that best described the child and spoke about it.  Todd’s trait was Respectfulness.  She couldn’t be more right!

It took 100+ pictures to finally find one where he was smiling (and not picking his nose)

The Graduate

Family Picture

With Daddy

With Mommy

Saturday brought another big event… Katelynn’s 3^rd “bur-tee” party.  In years past, it hasn’t been such a big deal, but this year, you’d think it was going to be covered by all the major news outlets the way Katelynn was excited.  We tried to keep it low-key so we reserved a pavilion at a local park and grilled hot dogs.  It was great to let the kids run around and play while the adults spent time together.  Katelynn had a blast with her friends and definitely enjoyed her “bur-tee” party.

Ready for the party!!!

The "bur-tee" cake

A very pretty princess

(Look at Katelynn's handful of gummy worms - right before cake!)

Ready for cake!

Although Katelynn’s birthday was actually Monday, it was a fairly quiet day with everyone trying to recuperate from the busy weekend.  Tuesday, Carl took the day off for my birthday, surprising me with a nice quiet dinner just the two of us at one of my favorite restaurants – Maggianno’s Little Italy.  We used to go all the time in Dallas, but there aren’t any close by in Houston.  It was really nice enjoying a nice meal with the man I love. 

Todd also got to experience a “first” on my birthday… Carl took Todd (along with Pawpaw and me) shooting for his first time.  Before he was allowed to go, Carl made Todd memorize the 4 Rules of Gun Safety, which he can still recite.  Carl’s reinforced gun safety with the kids from an early age, and it was great to watch Carl as he introduced Todd to one of his favorite hobbies.  Overall, it definitely ranked up there on the “best birthdays” list!

Todd shooting (and Carl making sure the rifle is pointed in the right direction!)

Wednesday, Carl had to go back to work and Todd left with Mimi and Pawpaw for a special trip to Colorado… Rocky Mountain National Park and a family cabin.  Todd’s been fascinated by the outdoors and nature for as long as I can remember, so he had a blast.  The pictures say it all…

Don't worry... Todd can run faster than Mimi!

Now that he knows how to read, he loves to read ANYWHERE!

Panning for gold

Future Scientist??

While Todd was out of town, we learned that life is exponentially easier with just one kid as opposed to two.  Katelynn was so calm and tame while Todd was out of town we thought she was a different person!  Over the weekend, we went to Galveston to check out the beach.  It’s a trip that’s been on our Houston “Bucket List” (i.e. things to do before we leave) and we had a great time… especially Katelynn.  The beach was nice, but I figured out I’m totally spoiled having grown up with the beautiful white sands of the Northwest Florida coast.

Lookout Pamela Anderson... here's the next future star of "Baywatch"!!!
(over Daddy's dead body!)

Not to waiver from the craziness of our life (especially the craziness of Carl’s job), Carl got pulled for a last-minute trip to California and had to leave right before Todd got home.  Carl’s flight left 6 hours before Todd’s landed… so they just missed each other.  Carl hated missing all the excitement and Todd’s stories, but bent over backwards – taking a red-eye flight Saturday night/Sunday morning – to get home sooner so he could hear all about his trip.  Carl may have to travel a lot for his job, but he really tries hard to minimize the time away from our family… even if he literally has to lose sleep to do so!  And in true DS fashion… Carl was gone again 48 hours later on another short trip.  He returned home just in time to spend five days with us, pack, and leave us for the summer to work at one of the U.S. Embassies in West Africa.  Come to think of it, we’ll have made at least one trip to the airport each week since the beginning of May.  At least we get to have dinner at Rudy’s BBQ every time we drive by (YUMM!!!)

It’ll be a rough summer without our guy, but we’ll make due… as we spend lots of time at the beach in Florida! 

Third Place

I wasn't there to join in the excitement, but I wanted to share with all of you the results of the Pinewood Derby.  The "Todd-mobile" came in third place out of 52 different cars.  There was a very excited little boy who called me to share the news with me yesterday... and I wanted to share it with all of you!

Speed Racer with his certificate and "trophy" (it's a holder for the car)

I hate that I missed it, but on the bright side, I have 364 more days to think and design next year's car!

Being Daddy

Todd's been learning about fitness in kindergarten gym class lately. His gym teacher encouraged the kids to go running after school as a means to stay in shape. Not having been home much, I just learned about this last Friday when Todd asked me to go running with him.

For those I'd you who know me well, you know running and I have never really gotten along. By God's grace, I've survived (and even barely passed) every running test I've ever taken both in the military and for work. So imagine my anguish when Todd asked me to run with him. Guiltily, I told him the usual Dad response "We'll see... maybe later."

But last night, as I was putting Todd to bed for the last time before another prolonged work-related absence, Todd said, "Aww man, I never got to run with you while you were home." The sheer look of disappointment on his face could have crushed an army.

So this morning, in a scene almost plucked straight out of the movie Courageous, my son got me to go running with him when we woke up. He was so excited when I told him what we were going to do before breakfast and church. We ran around the block, to the small lake down the road where the ducks hang out, around the playground, and back to the house. We ran .9 miles in all but as excited as he was, you'd think we just completed a marathon together!

I also had fun hanging out with my little man Monday. Since I was gone in the Valley for so long, I decided to take the day off since Todd didn't have school. We spent the day doing things he wanted to do... going to breakfast at Denny's and building a Pinewood Derby car for the upcoming race in May (which I'll be gone for). Since no one would give Daddy any input on a theme for the car, I got creative and made the "Todd-mobile"! I'm not a carpenter, but I think it tuned out pretty well!

It looks cool, but does it go fast?

And not to be left out, I took "my girls" out too while I was home. I was lucky to pull off 2 separate date nights with Karen and a lunch at Rudy's with Katelynn. She loved spending the day with Daddy!

Don't pay attention to the fork... any place where you're
told it's OK to eat with your hands it fine by us!

For those of you considering this line of work, be warned!!!... It's not easy, but if your priorities are right and you're intentional at it, you can still be a great Daddy without too much guilt!

Spring Break 2013

(NOTE:  Lots of pictures and even a video, so give it a moment to load)

For the last few months, we’ve been planning an exciting trip to Orlando, Florida for Spring Break 2013.  Between Katelynn’s fascination with Disney Princesses  and “her castle” at the Magic Kingdom, and Todd’s & Carl’s desire to finally go to Legoland Florida… it’s been a trip we’ve all been looking forward to for quite sometime.

It started back in January when we told the kids we were going….

Unfortunately, as is almost always the case with Carl’s job, travel plans were tentative until the last minute – at least for Carl.  Since Carl was working away from Houston, it took a little coordination to get us all together.  On Saturday, the kids and I took off to drive halfway to Orlando, conveniently located at my parents’ house.  The 8-hour trip ended up taking 11 hours thanks to construction traffic in Louisiana.  At the same time, Carl drove the 6+ hours from the Valley to our house since he couldn’t leave work earlier.  Since the timing worked out, he attended the Chris Tomlin/Louie Giglio concert at the Cynthia Woods Pavilion.  He said the concert was awesome and Louie’s message was amazing, but it was weird to be there by himself.  Carl’s been going to listen to Louie Giglio since the Passion 2000 event 13 years ago.  Both Louie and Carl have gotten a little older since then!

Sunday, Carl flew from Houston to Orlando while my parents and I drove the rest of the way to Orlando.  There was definitely a lot of energy in the car on the way down.  Once we all got together, we settled into the vacation house we rented for the week (much cheaper than a hotel) and rested up for the long week.  Monday, we got to go to “Carl’s Disney World”… otherwise known as Legoland Florida.  There was a ton of stuff to do there and you didn’t have to be a Lego fan to have fun (but it helped).  Todd even went on his first real roller coaster ever (the ones at the county fair don’t really count).  After a full day of fun, we headed back to the house and met up with Carl’s sister and her family.  They were planning on coming to Disney for a few days anyway so they stayed with us so we could multiply the fun.  It’s hilarious when all the kids get together! 

US Capitol

Sitting in the Pirates' Treasure Chest

Iwo Jima

Welcome to Las Vegas

Ready to enjoy the day!!

Panoramic of the Kennedy Space Center

Statue of Liberty

DC Highlights

Lego Imperial Soldiers

Pedal, Pedal, Pedal!!!

Ready to Drive

Not looking where he's going

Florida State Capitol Building

Inside the shark's mouth

Riding the second floor of the doubler-decker carrousel

Mommy is actually letting him drive

Getting ready for Todd's first real roller coaster ride

Tuesday was the Magic Kingdom – Part 1.  Although Todd had been to the Magic Kingdom three times before, Katelynn’s expression upon seeing “her castle” for the first time was priceless.  The sheer emotion of excitement on her face couldn’t have been more genuine.  First order of business was to get Katelynn’s silhouette cut out by Jim.  Those of you who have been to Disney World know there is a place where someone will cut out your portrait on black paper and paste it onto a white background.  Jim, who has worked at Disney for 26 years, cut out Carl’s silhouette when he was a little boy and cut out Todd’s a few years ago.  Now it was Katelynn’s turn… and Jim did an amazing job as always!  We spent much of the day traversing Main Street, Frontierland, Adventureland, Liberty Square, and Tomorrowland.  We competed against each other on the Buzz Lightyear ride, braved the dangers of a jungle boat ride, and road a magic carpet.  Katelynn got to meet a bunch of the characters and lit up each time she got to get an autograph – truly adorable!  At the end of the day, we connected back up with Rachel’s family, had dinner and watched the electric parade from a distance.  Then we found a place that wasn’t too crowded to watch the fireworks over the Magic Kingdom.  We found out why it wasn’t too crowded when the trees blocked our view, but it didn’t seem to faze the kids any.

Hanging out with Poppaw

"My Castle"

Meeting Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty)

Meeting Cinderella 

Meeting Rosetta the Fairy

Talking with Tinker Bell

Meeting Tinker Bell

Meeting Rapunzel 

New night time laser show

Night time Electric Parade

Wednesday, we went to Epcot and saw “the big golf ball”.  There aren’t as many rides there, but we still had fun.  Now that Todd is taller than 44 inches, he can ride all of the rides as long as one of us rides with him.  We went on Mission:Space where we simulate a trip to Mars… and my daredevil son chose to go on the rougher ride (there are two options for that ride – a smooth ride – which really isn’t exciting, and a rough ride where you get spun around and feel the force of gravity).  Todd loved every minute of it!  We also got to see more characters and enjoyed some chocolate mouse from the French Bakery in “France.” 

Meeting Belle 

Family picture with "The Boss"

Loving the chocolate mousse  

Wearing the chocolate mousse

The "Big Golf Ball"

Meeting Minnie

Meeting Pluto

Epcot at night after a long day

Thursday was a very early day, leaving the house at 7AM in order to make a breakfast reservation with some very important friends!  Katelynn and Todd had a blast!

Ready for breakfast

Excited!!!

The view from our table

Waiting for friends 

Meeting Chef Mickey

Meeting Chef Goofy

Meeting Chef Donald

Giving Minnie lots of hugs

Even Mommy got in on the fun!

After breakfast, we went to Disney Hollywood Studios and while there aren’t too many rides and attractions for little ones, the ones they have are amazing!  Katelynn loved the Beauty and the Beast show and the Little Mermaid show (where they cram a 2 hour movie into a 20 minute performance).  She also had a blast at the Disney Junior show where you get to dance around with the characters from Disney Junior.  Todd loved the new Toy Story ride… and so did the rest of us!  The Buzz Lightyear ride at the Magic Kingdom used to be our favorite, but this one was much more fun! 

Beauty and the Beast

The Grand Finale

Waiting for a show to start with Daddy

Princess Sofia

I like to call this "Katelynn takes on the world"

Under the Magic Hat

We finished up early, which was good because the kids (and my parents) were exhausted and needed their rest for Friday.  And even though we were tired, Carl and I decided to spend some time together Thursday night.  We were planning on doing Downtown Disney until it clicked with us that we already paid for parking at Disney and had “park hopper” passes… so why not do “Date Night” at the Magic Kingdom.  Talk about an awesome date – completely with castles and fireworks.  It was nice to be there without any distractions (i.e. kids) and we reminisced about how nice it was 7 years ago when we were there together before kids.

Friday was the Magic Kingdom – Part 2.  We knew the kids would have a lot of things to do in Fantasyland, so we spent the majority of our time there.  Luckily, the FastPass system at Disney World made it possible for us to do all of the rides in Fantasyland, as well as Space Mountain in Tomorrowland, with little or no wait.  Todd got to watch the Captain Jack Sparrow show and was called up on stage to learn how to become a Junior Pirate!  And since Katelynn was asleep during the nighttime electric parade the first time and we had bad seats for the fireworks show, we got do it all over again.  Katelynn loved the electric parade, bouncing up and down to the music on Carl’s shoulders the whole 30 minutes.  And we were able to find a spot right in the middle of Disney to see the fireworks, which Todd loved watching from Carl’s shoulders.

Amazing what they can do with PhotoShop these days!

Family picture in front of Cinderella's Castle

Learning how to be a Pirate from Captain Jack Sparrow

Getting his Junior Pirate certificate

Todd with Pooh and Tigger

Katelynn meeting Pooh and Tigger

Riding "it's a small world"

Riding on the Regal Carrousel

Saturday, we packed up, dropped Carl off at the airport (since he had to get back to work down in the Valley) and headed back to Pensacola.  Of course, the ride back had a lot less energy, having expended much of it in Orlando.  It was definitely a Spring Break to remember!!!