December It List 2010

Owen: Adam West as Batman, playing Batman, putting oil on his chest to look like a real luchador, silly bands, snacks, asking for snacks, counting down to Christmas and saying only the first letter of words. Examples: "Mom, I'm the F-word.....Firsty!" or "You are being an S-word....Stinker" or "Is it time for the L-word? You know, lunch." This is really awesome in public.

Lucy: Christmas movies, turning 7, painting nails, 'whipping her hair back and forth', singing karaoke, practicing her guitar with Kevin, going to Oregon and American Girls (real and generic versions).

Jenny: Getting ready to go to Oregon, b&w Christmas movies, Tuesday night Zumba, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (don't judge), crossword apps, soup, putting up my decorations (especially all the ornaments we were given by our Abilene friends) and staying at home.

Kevin: Getting some time off work (rough month), Florida State's improved football season, playing the guitar with Lucy, playing Legos with Owen, Cut the Rope and going to Oregon.

Here is our favorite SNL sketch of the season:

October It List

O: going to school, Franklin, running "100 fast", punching balloons, Nacho Libre masks and talking about animals that may become 'distinct'.

L: running through checklists ("check"), wearing sunglasses to look cool, writing and illustrating her own book, doing tricks on her bike and spending every possible moment with her friends in the hood.

J: iced coffee, Friday Night Lights, word puzzles, Sister Wives, avocados, cooler weather and Quizzy's Word Challenge on Webkinz.

K: surviving Twentynine Palms for two weeks, a so far good season by Florida St., Angry Birds and getting ready for his brother to get here for a visit.

L: avocados, not using her harness for walking and not responding to the command "come".

5 Brainbusters by Owen

1) A beach party is a party that's at the beach.

2) Birthday money is money that you get for your Birthday.

3) If you give me $1, I will also get $4.

4) I could run faster than everything if I didn't have shots today. Now I can only run faster than bikes.

5) Helicopters are electric.

September It List

Owen: Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire, money, Popeye, boogie boards (owning, not riding), starting school this week, saluting, Pictureka!, Rice Krispie Treats, belts, sharing every ounce of his knowledge with his mom while driving in the car and skateboards.

Lucy: Bieber Fever, reading, doing chores, having a boyfriend (although she's not sure if he knows that she's his girlfriend), hot lunch, Pictureka!, sleepovers, riding the bus, accessorizing, riding a bike with no training wheels and dreaming of having her own ipod touch.

Jenny: Dreaming of having my own ipod touch, laying on my couch watching tv (keeping it real), Fall magazines, having friends visit, golfing with Owen, walking my neighborhood with Lola and chinese food.

Kevin: Football season, getting ready for an operation that I could tell you about but then I'd have to kill you*, surfing, playing with his new iphone, mastering the grill, playing soccer with Owen and Bieber Fever. ;)**

Lola: Barking at scarecrows, making friends at the dog park, duck breast jerky treats and sleeping.

* Joking- sort of
**As always, written by Jenny

The Sounds I Heard While Walking Lola Last Night

80's rock and tools in an open garage
Other dogs barking
Kids crying because they don't want to go to bed
Kids laughing because they are getting tickled by their dad
A mom yelling at their kids to go pick up their bikes and scooters (that might have been me)
Bunnies jumping out of some shrubs
Lola snorting
Garage doors closing
Coyotes yipping and howling not to far away
Skateboards
College Football
Lola panting
Water filling up a bathtub
Horses neighing from the stables
More coyotes
A mom chasing her kid on the playground
A church small group laughing
Giggles
Someone asking for ice cream
My kids yelling "it's Lola!" like we'd been gone for weeks

I love my neighborhood. I love that it's safe enough for everyone to leave their windows open. I love that I immediately shut all mine when I got home. :)

Full Circle

Four and a half months ago Kevin was there to help send off a group of Marines to Afghanistan. At the end of July he had to be there while someone told a wife of one of those Marines that her husband had died. I remember that I saw it on the news in Oregon and Kevin was at her house. Strange feeling. The rest of the group came home very early Thursday morning. Every story of troops coming home is emotional. I can't even watch those videos of the returning parents surprising their kids at school. I know for Kevin it was a little different because they were people he's been working with, talking to and praying for. It was hard to keep my tears in check while he was telling me of the ceremonial part of the morning. Then he added that the widow was there. She's only 23. Today, as I drove across base, I kept picturing her with his sweatshirt on, standing there with a group of friends that were all welcoming their Marines home. Hers was the only one not there. Breaks my heart. At the same time, I'm so happy I could cry for all those families that are back together again.
It's funny though, as I was tearing up in the car, I passed by some Marines dancing to get customers for their car wash fundraiser. I looked up and saw a sky with five giant helicopters that looked like a scene from an action movie. I pulled onto my street and saw that the landscapers were mowing today and my thoughts went immediately back to whether or not I pulled the soccer goal from the back yard and if I cleaned up all of Lola's poop. Life goes on. I just hope we don't forget about the people out there who have sacrificed to make that possible for the rest of us.

What a strange, fun, sad and exciting world I live in.

ZUMBA!!!

I realize my excitement could fizzle at any moment, but I love the Zumba class at the gym! My first class made me feel like I had finally come close to fulfilling my dream of becoming a Fly Girl.


Unfortunately, class number two was a smaller crowd so I was able to see myself in the mirror. I actually resembled Baby's sister in Dirty Dancing while the instructor resembled J.Lo.

I was looking up Zumba videos to put on here and this one kept cracking me up. I guess that the key would be to work on my facial expressions.

A Little Northern Exposure

This August included a trip to Oregon. My parents flew down and rode up with the kids, Lola and me. I'm thankful for that because it is a long drive. We hit the ground running with a visit from Priscilla and kids, combined with a visit to the Myrtle Creek Summer Festival. A few hours after she left, Uncle Brandon and Roscoe the WonderDog came down and we basically spent the weekend watching the dogs play. We had great family time with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. I finally got to see a live music show at the Douglas Co. Fair. I didn't know many Miranda Lambert songs before the concert but I was a fan about three songs in. We rounded out the visit with a free trip to Wild Life Safari (thank you Aunt Nancy) and a wedding. My sister-in-law flew to Oregon to visit some college friends so she rode back down to Oceanside with me and we spent the rest of the week playing in the pool, the ocean and L.A. I am still recovering, needless to say.

August It List (2010)

Owen: Nacho Libre, cleats, adding numbers (we call him Rain Man Jr.), Jawas, soccer, running and 'double shots'(when anything comes in twos).

Lucy: American Girl catalogs, losing teeth, naming all the girls on the street she's going to walk with to the bus stop, jumping in and swimming across the pool and mouthwash.

Jenny: Committing to read the entire Bible, the gym (more of a theory right now), podcasts, visiting Oregon, Summer shows (The Closer, Covert Affairs, The Glades) and figuring out what I want to be when I grow up.

Kevin: Upcoming football season, switching providers to get the most amount of channels to watch football games, reading about football teams, bookmarking websites about football....you get the idea.


*Written by Jenny

Butterfly Effect

I just read this book. I had to take a few days after I finished it to decide wether or not I liked it (and to stop crying). There was one line in the there that made it worth all my tears. She's describes a conversation between a mother and her 17 year old daughter about the Butterfly Effect*. As her daughter is explaining this phenomenon, the mother is admiring the woman her daughter is becoming but also thinking about the little girl she's been.
And here is the quote I can't stop thinking about:

"We flapped our wings in our kitchens, and a wind blew through their futures."

I don't know if the quote makes sense on its own but I think about it multiple times a day. I honestly have to credit it this week for making me a better parent. It makes me want to do more because I know that what I do now has such a great impact on who my children will become. In the end I just want my kids to be good at loving people. So, we'll work on loving each other today.


*(physics) In a chaotic system, the ability of miniscule changes in initial conditions (such as the flap of a butterfly's wings) to have far-reaching, large-scale effects on the development of the system (such as the course of weather a continent away).

June It List

O-Running super fast, soccer in the back yard, "check" clothes (nike), Subway, jumping in the pool, going fishing and being the King of Barbie.

L-Doing tricks on her scooter, singing with the karaoke channel, swimming, her bride and groom paper dolls, dreaming about doing tricks like gymnastics or something, reading and doing math.

J-Laying out by the pool, taking lessons on base (starting with golf, then horseback riding, then sailing), the harbors, watching Bones reruns (obsession?) and dreaming of feeding Lola to the neighborhood coyote.....joking....sort of.

K-His job, grilling, playing soccer with the kids, bodyboarding and singing this song with Lucy. :)

3 Things

I went in to tell Lucy goodnight. She said she wanted to have a talk. I could see that it could easily be an hour of her thinking up stuff so I said that she could ask me one question. She said, "Actually I have three questions...here it goes...One: Where do lizards live?" I answer. "Okay question number two...how do the babies get in the momma's bellies?" I answer-ish. "Okay, mom, last one...will you give me a math quiz?" So, I gave her a math quiz. All of those things were in her head when she started the conversation. I've found that fascinating.

Also, she is missing two front teeth. She could not look or sound any cuter.

At the Movies.

Last night I had my first experience at the base theater. It's a multifunctional building used for both entertainment and training sessions. I can't complain about the lack of seat cushions because the movie was FREE (on Sundays). I can't complain about the popcorn machine being broken because it gave me the chance to finally eat nachos at a theater. I can't complain about the moms that brought their small children to a PG-13 movie because I figured their husbands were probably deployed and I could suck it up for a change. And finally, I can't complain about the quality of the picture (did I mention it was free?) because before each showing, everyone stands and they play The Star Spangled Banner. This puts a few things into perspective. Can you imagine watching these little 2 and 3 year olds standing for the anthem, assuming their dads are in Afghanastan? Add that to the fact that my friend I was with has a husband over there. I was pretty close to train wreck material. The movie played on and it was an odd transition from patriotism to romantic-comedy. This seems like something I would try to avoid but I actually have the opposite feeling. I felt more honored than anything else to be in that theater, with those people. I'll be back.

Reality.

I just posted about how great it is to live here. It is. But there is a certain reality that we are adjusting to. Kevin LOVES his job. He's never been so excited about going to work or getting up in the 5 o'clock hour. But there are days like today when all the reality starts to sink in a little. He's leading a short devotional this morning for a group deploying soon. The devotional is voluntary (as is all spiritual matters) but the last couple have had around a 75% turnout. This also means that we read headlines different now. This morning there was a Taliban attack that killed 5 troops. We have to care about that now. We can no longer ignore the headlines and push our uncomfortableness to the side. I'm ashamed that I've been doing that for so long now. We are not here because we love being in a war. We are here because we want to love the troops. These people are going through some of the most serious of things and I feel honored to be here and be a part of caring for them. There are some amazing sacrifices made each day, not only by the troops, but also their families. So, all of that to say, please keep Kevin in your prayers so he'll have the perfect words to say to these Marines as they face some of their most difficult challenges.

Settled In.

Minus a few decorative items, we are pretty much settled in. I love my house. It's an older house but it was completely remodeled a couple of years ago. I'm excited to have a garage again and two bathrooms. I feel spoiled most of the time. We live on a cul-de-sac and so there's not much traffic. That is also because there are only half of the houses on this street occupied. There's been a lot of switching around the neighborhoods because they are building so many new houses here. Our street used to be occupied by the officers that moved to the newer homes in the neighborhood. There are a lot of status issues tied into all of this. I'm just happy to be here. :)

In some ways our neighborhood feels like we went back in time. Kids are able to go house to house and playground to playground without any supervision. My kids just stay in the cul-de-sac. This is life-changing for me though. I could not imagine my kids growing up the way I did. I spent all day outside playing with neighbors or just riding my bike around. Now they are able to be outside most of the time while I get to stay inside and do whatever I need to do. Does this mean I'll take up watching Days of Our Lives again? I have a feeling that it's just a matter of time. The funny thing about my peace of mind is that I have it even with the threat of rattlesnakes (that have been seen on our street) and what sounds like bombs going off at some part of the base throughout the day. This leads me to question if it's a feeling of peace or just desperation to have my kids out of the house. Something to ponder....

For anyone that has been to any of my houses, you would know that housekeeping is not one of my gifts. I don't know if it's the love of the house or because I've been stuck at the house most of the time, but I am a cleaning fool. I will probably have to have some sort of therapy for my vacuuming addiction. That is easily explained though by me getting a Dyson for Mother's Day. Still, it's a little creepy for me.

The picture above is our office area of the kitchen/dining room. This is where I sit when I am typing all of these words of wisdom. Maybe I'll have some other house pictures soon.

Freedom

This will not be nearly as profound as what the title might lead you to believe. Last night we bought a second car. That means that today is my first day (in five years) of vehicle freedom. Sure, I've had the occasional day here and there but it usually came with me having to get everyone up at the crack of dawn to drive Kevin to work. Today I can do what I want and when I want to do it. It doesn't have to depend on when I have to pick him up or cost me an extra $20 each time.*

Another way that this counts as vehicle freedom is that we own two cars with no car payments. I never really thought that was possible and somehow we pulled it off. It's a good feeling and we'll give Dave Ramsey some props for that one.

Now, we'll see how long it takes for Kevin to get the Tinkerbell decal off the back window. I wish I could be there this morning when he pulls in to the parking lot with all the Marines heading into the gym.






*Most of that money went to Chik-Fil-A so it was totally worth it.

Lola

You know how they give high school students the fake babies so they can learn what having a baby is 'really' like? I'm going to start a program like that for people that think they want puppies. Good grief. I've had puppies before but not since having kids. I'm cleaning up after 3 babies now. All the sudden nobody knows where to pee. Seriously. Except Kevin and me, of course. She's very lucky that she's ridiculously adorable. It takes about 30 seconds after she has an accident that I'm baby-talking her. I'm a little odd that way. I'm sure the neighbors behind me think I am straight crazy. They are also a little crazy (with power-another story) so I'm letting it go. So, we are loving our new baby and glad that we aren't responsible for replacing the carpets.

One of the reasons we wanted to get a dog is because Lucy has had an extreme fear of dogs. She would start shaking and just about make herself sick when we would go to someone's house that had a dog. It was crazy. But it was a true fear. She decided that all she wanted was a pug and after some research it ended up being the best choice for us. We got a great deal on her and it's been well worth it. Lucy has been going to the neighbor's house and letting their shepherd/lab mix lick her and be in the room with her. I never thought that would happen. Ever. So, even though I'm doing a lot of extra work right now, it's all worth it.

April It List

Owen: Pirates, jumping in the ocean, speaking Nacho Libre-style Spanish, his new sandbox, pugs and Pocky.

Lucy: New friends, talking about getting a pug, playing that Owen is a pug, riding her bike and accessorizing.

Jenny: Camp Pendleton Yard Sales (like Craigslist), meeting new friends and catching up with old ones, having to shop (sigh) and my sweet little dvr friend.

Kevin: Phineas and Ferb, his new job, chasing mice (amirite?), encouraging his wife spend money and getting to watch ESPN.

This was the costume result of letting the kids watch Nacho Libre. It's not quite up to the shirtless representation their dear friends committed to but impressive none the less.

So Far So Good

We've been at Camp Pendleton for just over a week now. Kevin hasn't officially started working and our stuff is not here yet. Our cute little house is full of air mattresses and what's been riding around in our van since December. I love this house. It's perfect for us. The only downsides are that we've been warned of rattlesnake problems and that there was most likely some type of arms storage in this area in the 1940's so if we dig up any metal objects we should probably leave them alone and give someone a call. It's a good thing I've watched almost every episode of NCIS so I can be prepared for such things.

Recreationally speaking, we could not have asked for a better location. We are next to the stables and just minutes away from the marina and beach. I think I may end up taking sailing lessons while we are here. I've always wanted to learn that lingo. There is also a lake here on the base that offers camping, fishing, paddle boats, miniature golf, etc. We could be fully entertained here so it's just a bonus that we are less than an hour away from some other pretty amazing places that usually end in 'world' or 'land'.

Kevin's office is down by the beach. He's working with the 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion. It sounds like an exciting group to work with (they have the fun tanks that go in the water). The other bonus with this assignment is that it doesn't look like he'll be deployed very soon. Once he gets in the swing of things next week, Kevin will have to get on here and explain his job. It's pretty interesting so far and he hasn't even started. As for me, I have my own training this weekend. I have much to learn for sure. I probably need to work on my military lingo before my sailing lingo. I can't get away with using terms like 'fun tanks' for very much longer.

On Base

We are stationed at a Marine Base. Every time Owen sees someone in a uniform he says, "There's another Marine!" You could see how this could become time consuming. After seeing 10 Marines come out of a uniform shop Lucy said, "The Marines are like Barack Obama - they're everywhere." Hopefully this will phase out soon.
We have a house! It's perfect except there was a huge lizard in the garage when we went to look at it. This has traumatized Lucy so we'll see how many times we'll explain how to capture a lizard this week. We will hopefully get our stuff moved in on Thursday. The housing here is great. There wasn't really a bad choice.
Today we are going to Seaworld. I assume that will be the title of the next post.

Moving On...Maybe

It's graduation day! Kevin finished Chaplain School this morning. He's official. This is the day we've been waiting three long months for. It's not really what we expected. His ceremony was in S. Carolina this morning. His parents were able to be there and I know it was a special time for all of them. We are very proud of all the things he's done there.

Usually when you make plans you go as far as having a plan B. Over the past 3 weeks we've made it down to Plan G. The kids and I are driving down Friday and staying the night in Sacramento. On Saturday we will head down for our big family of four reunion which we are very excited about. Kevin will hopefully be there for that. So far they don't have a plane ticket for him to leave S. Carolina. That's why we are on Plan G. That plan includes us moving into our house in a few days and getting it all set up. You have no idea how excited I am about that first grocery shopping trip. Plan H will go into effect if we aren't able to get into our house until next week. That will include being lazy around a beach and maybe catching up with some friends.

I've so enjoyed being here in Oregon for the past three months. When I left Abilene I told the kids how fun it would be to go up in the snow and play. We had snow in Abilene but it was only a couple of inches and left as quick as it came. Of course it's snowed 4 times in Abilene since we left and now that we are two days away from leaving Oregon there is finally snow on the mountains. Oh well. It's been fun catching up with friends, spending time with my family and enjoying all the great scenery.

February It List

Owen: Clone Wars, any type of weaponry, telling jokes, playing with my Ric Flair action figure, not peeing in or on his pants, Alvin and the Chipmunks (the cartoon), looking for buckets to take to the beach, speaking french (as seen on Tom and Jerry) and sweat pants.

Lucy: 'Working' at Grandma's shop, riding the tractor on the great-grandparents' tree farm, school and everything about it (including the boys that chase her on the playground), wanting to carry one of our cell phones so people will think she has a cell phone and is 'just, like, calling people or something', discovering that other people sing songs other than Taylor Swift and learning the books of the Bible.

Jenny: Patty Griffin, Dave Ramsey-cut up all credit cards and paid off quite a bit of debt this year already-woohoo (I guess the third time's the charm), spending time with my family and friends here, being able to video-chat with Kevin, singing Indigo Girls' songs with Lucy, getting to experience how hilarious Owen is most of the time, green smoothies and pouting about missing my Abilene friends.

Kevin: Wearing 'awesome outfits' (Owen's description), visiting with his parents and brother, being able to video chat with us now, doing the Marine's physical training and IHOP all-you-can-eat pancakes.

My songs.

One thing that has helped us through all this transition we've had the past two months is music. I think our playlist is interesting and so I thought I would share the essentials on here or at least document it for us to look back on.

1. Little Fire - Patty Griffin: Amazing song and a great one for getting through a tough time. A good friend song.

2. What Can I Say - Carrie Underwood and Sons of Sylvia: It's a pretty song and Lucy and I can (sort of) bust it out in the car.

3. Need You Now - Lady Antebellum: I really like this group and hadn't really heard of them until we drove down Music Row in Nashville.

4. Run This Town - Jay-Z/Drop it Like it's Hot - Snoop Dogg: Fact. All rap sounds better in a minivan.

5. Hometown Glory - Adele: Lovin' my hometown right now.

6. The Story - Brandi Carlile: It reminds me that all the junkie stuff we go through is what makes us who we are (hopefully better).

7. Fleet of Hope - Indigo Girls: Probably my favorite song by them ever. That's saying a lot.

8. Case of You - Joni Mitchell: I never get sick of this song.

9. Paparazzi - Lady Gaga: This reminds me that no matter how tough my day is, a celebrity's is probably worse. :)

10. Party in the U.S.A. - Miley Cyrus: This song actually helps Lucy right now with feeling out of place and having a 'tummy ache' all the time. I never saw that coming.

11. You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift: The amount of joy it brings Lucy to sing this song makes it worth hearing over and over.

12. Is This Love - Thomas Anderson: It's the theme song to season one of Army Wives. So now it's our military love song.

13. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa - Vampire Weekend: You can't help but dance to it.

14. Into the Mystic - Van Morrison: This is one of our favorites. Reminds us of the beach in Bandon. I guess it's 'our' song.

15. You are the Best Thing - Ray LaMontagne: Love him.

16. California - Rufus Wainwright: Mostly because it has a shout out to Bea Arthur. And it reminds me of my Golden Girls.

17. Heavenly Day - Patty Griffin: I can listen to it over and over again. It reminds me of Mandy and the hope we all have for Tatum being healed. I also like it for the reminder to put my hope in that Heavenly Day instead of our days here on earth.

Here’s the latest update on my training at Officer Development School in Newport, Rhode Island…

First of all, it feels really good to have completed three weeks. I only have two more to go at this station, then I fly down to South Carolina for the Chaplain School at Fort Jackson (which will be another seven weeks). Since my original update, I’ve passed some requirements and tests:

1) I’ve survived a few uniform and room inspections. Meaning, tighten those bed sheets and bounce a quarter off the bed. Get out that lint roller everyday. Lock up your personal items (wallet, cell phone, papers, clothes, etc.) in your closet, or else they’ll magically end up scattered in the main hallway because your instructor found your room "not properly stowed away." Stand at attention for a solid hour while my superior gets within a foot of my face, scanning for any trace of a 5 o’clock shadow. Clean the room like Cinderella. Polish those shoes. Polish those shoes again. And again. Basically, our instructors have drilled home the point that presentation and perception are everything. If I look sloppy or not “squared away”, then why would anyone in uniform take me seriously? I guess cleanliness is next to godliness…or something like that. Just last week on the day before our most recent uniform inspection, I spent four hours into the late night prepping my dress blues uniform. Jenny, this is your cue to laugh.

2) I’ve also passed my physical fitness and book knowledge exams this last week. That was a relief because anyone who fails must do additional remedial work during the evenings, and sometimes on the weekend. Also, I feel up-to-speed (for the most part) on Navy customs and history, Chain-of-Command, international diplomacy, and protocol between enlisted and officers. We have had many more classes/briefs in the last week and a half. It’s a real fire hydrant mentality (death by Powerpoint) and only so much seems to stick. I think the biggest challenge is just trying to stay awake in class when you’ve only had about four hours of sleep on average. However, that part has gotten a little better in the last few days. Getting six hours of sleep last night was like a slice of heaven.

3) Our class/company finally received some off-base liberty this past weekend. Meaning, we finally got to step outside the base gates. I’ve discovered that Newport, Rhode Island is a very nice, quaint city. It’s loaded with steak and seafood restaurants and small village shopping. Twice I’ve been able to visit the historic downtown district for dinner, although only for about two hours. I think the most memorable moment was accidentally stumbling upon St. Mary's Catholic Church, where John and Jacqueline Kennedy got married. While our group is out in town in packs of four or five, our instructors have required us to wear our dress blues uniform (hat/cover included). It’s taking some time to interact with people and try to make sense of the distinction between civilian and military. A few times I’ve felt like an alien or “the other”, sticking out like a sore thumb. After all, it’s not too often you see groups of Naval officers strolling the street looking like blatant tourists. Needless to say, I’ve received both weird glances and genuine greetings.

4) I got to participate in my first “colors” ceremony this past week, where we raise the American flag at 8 AM everyday. Saluting at attention in uniform, guiding the flag to the top, hearing the national anthem, on a military base...it was something that I'll not soon forget. Later that day, I got my official military portrait taken. Again, a surreal experience. Growing up I remember seeing people in military portraits and thinking how different that must be. Now, as a 33 year-old, I guess about anything is possible.

Well, that's enough for now. I hope you are well and I look forward to talking with you again at some point. Please remember our family in this time of transition. I know we are all in good hands now, but we look forward to being with each other again later in the spring.

Kevin

Kevin's Update

Hello from Newport, Rhode Island!

It’s been about a week and a half since I said a three-month-goodbye to my family and boarded a plane for my training to become a Navy Chaplain. I’m currently at Officer Development School (ODS), a five-week training school that will basically get me up to speed on how to quickly become an officer with the Navy. When I finish in early February, I’ll be flown to Fort Jackson, South Carolina. I’ll be there for another seven weeks learning how to effectively minister as a Chaplain in the Navy. Then, I’ll be meeting up with the family around April 1st in Camp Pendleton, California to work with the 1st Marine Division.

Here’s an update on how things have been going…

First week at ODS was exhausting. Basically, here was my daily routine. Wake up at 4 AM and immediately start physical training until breakfast. After about the second day, my body was already sore and very worn out. I think I had to do 220 pushups alone on one day. I found out the hard way that one of my instructors (sort of like a drill sergeant) does not like to be called “sir”. Point taken. During the day, our class does a lot of marching across base for various appointments. One day was for getting my entire medical and shots squared away. I had five yesterday, and three more still for tomorrow. I got my official haircut early last week, but it wasn’t quite the classic “Boot Camp” version.

Also, late last week, our class went to get fitted for officer uniforms. That was pretty cool to think that I would start wearing them so early on. Already I have various uniforms: one brown, one blue, one camouflage, and one white. I still have to purchase another two sets of Marine uniforms, since I’ll need them whenever I’m working with the Marines. Recently, our class has gone to several officer classes and learned about things like: Military Law, Pre-deployment Readiness, or National Security and Defense. Basically, many back-to-back classes with a bunch of notes and PowerPoint. Also, there’s a lot of snow here. After all, it is New England in January. I’m pretty sure the temperature has not even gone above 35 degrees and usually stays around 20 degrees (and a wind chill of about 5 degrees) during the day. We walk/march everywhere, which takes about ten minutes each time. So, after awhile, I’m ready to find a heater.

My class is about sixty people who have also recently been commissioned as a Naval Officer. There are about fifteen other Chaplains here. But, there are also about twenty nurses or medical corps. A few doctors, dentists, and a psychiatrist too. There are even a few nuclear warfare individuals here. They’re from all over the country. We occasionally talk about where we’ve all been assigned and what might be coming next. This past Sunday, several of the Chaplains and I attended one of the base chapel services. It was a nice service and a good reminder of why I’m doing all of this.

In the evenings, our class has been busy with studying, cleaning our rooms, and preparing for the next day. I’ve had to do a lot of shoe shining and uniform ironing too. There’s been important pieces of information for me to quickly learn, like: “The Sailor’s Creed”, “The Six Articles of Conduct”, and of course, “Anchors Aweigh!” to name a few. So, by nighttime, I usually get to sleep about midnight. I think I hit the wall this past Saturday after living off of adrenaline for so much this first week. This week things are going a little smoother. Our class is coming together as a team, we’re doing less pushups (my personal favorite), and we all seem to be getting along well.

Finally, and it obviously goes without saying, but I miss my family. I’ve only been allowed one hour total of phone conversation last weekend. I think hearing their voice for the first time was a pretty unexpected emotional experience. I’m very thankful for Jenny’s brother, Brandon, doing so much to help them drive across the country to Oregon. And, I’m very grateful that my family is now getting so much grandparent time with Steve and Belinda during my absence. This journey, although seemingly isolated and occasionally lonely, reminds me that we’re all sacrificing and growing together.

Kevin


***For now Kevin can't check facebook or really any website. I can email him a copy/paste if anyone wants to send something on to him.

The Trip Across America (almost)

So I guess God didn't agree with our plans to move out of Texas.

We had a great time celebrating Christmas and the New Year in Nashville with Kevin's family. About 30 minutes after toasting and confiscating noisemakers we headed out for Abilene. Yes. Abilene. There was some miscommunication between the Navy folks and Kevin ended up having to fly out of Abilene this morning. My brother flew into Nashville to drive to Oregon with the kids and me. All of this caused a slight problem because we have our van packed pretty tight so an extra person and their baggage had us looking like a Griswold situation.

Road Trip.(I'll just continue to update on this same post)
Day One. January 1st, 2010
Driving through the night on New Year's was a bad idea. Just east of Memphis we dodged someone driving the wrong way on the freeway. It sent us in between the roads and into a panic attack. No one was hurt and the van held together until East Texas where one of our tires blew out. Shredded is actually a better word to describe it. I wish that I had a picture of us driving to Wal Mart with Kevin holding that tire on his lap. We bought two new tires and made it to Abilene. After all the goodbyes I couldn't really take seeing anyone again. We had to focus on saying goodbye to Kevin for 3 months. So at 4:30 this morning the kids, Kevin and I shared some tears and parted ways until April. Too many goodbyes this month.

Day Two. January 2nd, 2010
We went back to the hotel and slept until 9am. We left around 11 with the plan of getting to Albuquerque tonight. Ha. About an hour before Lubbock we had a flat tire. We put the spare on and slowly made our way to another Wal Mart since everything else was closed. By the time we got there it was a two hour wait and so we got the kids some haircuts and a new sword for Owen (looking back that wasn't a great idea). We are now in a not-so-great hotel and realized the dvd player is broken. Awesome. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. We have four new tires and a positive attitudes. Well, all but Owen. Let's hope he doesn't try to sheath his sword down his pants again.

Day Three. January 3rd, 2010
Long day. We got another late start because we have been so tired. No trips to Wal Mart, so that was good. I don't think I was cut out for life on the road. The good news today was that the dvd player started working and we hooked the kids up with headphones. (yes!) The other bonus was that I was able to get a military discount at our hotel for the first time. Thanks Kevin.

Day Four. January 4th, 2010
The drive through Arizona was beautiful. I want to go back there sometime when I am not loaded down with a bajillion suitcases. The snow faded away as we got closer to Hoover Dam. The magic of that place was lost on my children but we enjoyed it. The last time Brandon and I were there he was 5 and I was 12. When we were leaving the dam Brandon said "Where is that dam dog anyways?" So it was fun to go back there with him and listen to him not only repeat the phrase a few times but also do his uncle duty of teaching my kids to say it. I won't even go into all the things he taught my kids but hopefully they will forget most of it by next week.
After we left the dam and its dog we headed to the city that never sleeps (much like us on this trip). If you ask Lucy what her favorite town is, she will now say Las Vegas. They didn't even see any of the fun stuff and they were sucked in to the magic. We stayed at Treasure Island because pirates are rocking Owen's world right now. Brandon was probably pushed to some limits by the time we got settled in the room but he redeemed the night by winning a few hundred dollars. Me, not so lucky but I didn't put much effort into it either. It was quick and anyone that has spent time in Vegas would be disappointed by our experience but it was just a taste. I had never been to the strip and we needed to have one fun day of just seeing something we hadn't seen before. It was worth it. Next time I go back I will not be taking the children and I know better what I want to do.

Day Five. January 5th, 2010
Leaving Las Vegas made the children sad. I was ready to get going and Boy was on a high from his winnings so we headed out hoping to make it to Weed, CA by 11pm. We were only an hour and a half late. Not too shabby. The highlight of this day was a well-deserved trip to In-n-Out Burger. "Hello old friend."
Auntie Dawn was waiting patiently for us in Weed. I guess I should have listened to Owen three hours earlier when he woke up just to say "Something bad just happened", but I shrugged it off when he immediately went back to sleep only to find that he soaked, I mean s.o.a.k.e.d. his pants (like left multiple puddles) while sleeping in the van.

Day Six. January 6th, 2010
As we finished up a load of pee-soaked laundry and slowly got ready for our big 3 hour drive to Tri City, we enjoyed visiting with Toby and Dawn. Of course we couldn't leave without Auntie Dawn reading the kids a Pete and Penny story. To Dawn's credit the kids were still talking about it after dinner tonight. Oh the life lessons from Pete and Penny. Maybe one of them will stick.
So now we are here in Myrtle Creek/Tri City, When we pulled off the freeway I asked Lucy if she could guess the town we were in and she said "Murder Creek". We'll work on that.



Uncle Brandon was the hero of the trip. He changed 3 flat tires, drove most of the way and gave the kids a 'patience high-5' every time they started to lose it. We definitely appreciate him and had more fun with him in the van. Thanks Boy!