Controlled Chaos

Gene has sketchy internet access at best so I am going to seize the opportunity to hijack the blog. Sorry, I don’t have any pictures but all the pretty girls are still in Albuquerque and I am here alone in Altus. Pictures of me just wouldn’t measure up to your expectations so this is TEXT only.

I can’t even begin to tell you how incredible Gene is. She is more incredible than the Incredible Hulk and more Iron Woman than Iron Man. I haven’t seen either of those movies so if they were bad please forgive the reference.

I was able to land at 0200 Thursday morning, debrief my flight and head out of Altus around 0400. That’s 4:00 am. That put me pulling into ABQ around 11:00 after driving all night so I was pretty much useless Thursday while the packers were at our house. Friday the 4^th, I was pretty useless too. But Gene got the packers going on Thursday and they got about 60% of the house packed. Friday, we had a wonderful dinner over at our friends’, the Browns’, house. They didn’t want us to miss out on the 4^th so they had us over for a cook-out. A big thank you goes to them for upholding the tradition of the “military family”. Saturday, we continued cleaning and organizing getting ready for Monday and the return of the packers. Well, guess what? Sunday Mary, Paige and I got sick with a stomach bug. Well that’s pretty crummy but you know those things don’t stop until they have made their rounds to everyone in the house! So, Monday morning Ava wakes up at 0600 screaming. And she screams and screams and screams. Guess who is the only person she wants to hold her? Yep, she’s sick and she only wants mommy. I was able to pry her away for a couple of hours to get her to take a nap with me but when she woke up and realized again that mom wasn’t there…SCREAMING! So it’s 10:00 am on Monday and the packers are showing up and Ava will only be held by mommy and I have to leave to go back to Altus. So superhero mom takes over and spends the next 6 hours with a 20 pound 2-year old clutched around her neck packing up our house…BY HERSELF! Thanks again to Mary and Paige who took care of Emma and to wonderful, beautiful, Emma who is the best kid in the world for not making this any more painful. During this packing day (Monday), Gene also had to marshal the troops from our former house into temporary housing where they will stay until Friday morning when they pull out of Albuquerque. That by itself took 4 or 5 trips back and forth between the two houses getting food out of the refrigerators and clothes and bedding, etc. transferred to the temporary house. That gets us to Tuesday; remember I said those stomach bugs have got to make their rounds? Yep, now Gene has got it. So she spends Tuesday sick with the packers trying to finish off packing our house. Today, Wednesday, the movers showed up (3 hours late) and started loading. Gene is still sick so she is fighting nausea and muscle aches all day while working with the movers. Then the movers leave at 6:30 pm and Gene still has to clean the garage and house. She finally got to a stopping point around 7:45 pm. There is still more work to do tomorrow. She has to move some stuff like propane tanks, etc. that the movers won’t move and clean out the refrigerator. Finally, she has to let the cleaners in at 0800 tomorrow (she keeps such a clean house they probably won’t know what to clean) and then do the final house inspection tomorrow at 2:30 pm. It’s time to rest right? NOPE! Friday morning, she will load the car and the girls and drive 10 hours to Wichita. I will meet them Friday in Wichita where Gene and I will attempt to paint the entire inside of our 2200 sqft house in 2.5 days before the movers show up with our stuff. When the movers show up, guess what? It’s time for me to leave again. I still have a couple of weeks of training left at Altus so I will be there during the week and (hopefully) home for the weekend if the weather holds out and I don’t have to fly on the weekends.

I can’t even begin to tell you how strong and resilient Gene has been through this whole process and our whole marriage for that matter. I always seem to be off “flying” or trying to get ahead (or caught up) at work while Gene is packing, moving, un-packing and getting ready to pack again. I have to thank God because he gave me the most incredible woman on the planet.

I just have one last person to thank:

Bekah (Gene) thanks for being my wife!

Getting Ready for the Move

First, my Mom and Paige are helping me through this move thing and I couldn't be doing this without their help--THANK YOU!!!! Well, we have our pre-move inspection for base housing today and the packers start this Thursday. We haven't seen Scott since Father's Day, but he's off for the 4th, so he gets to come home this weekend :). Of course, he gets to help me take down the storage shed and do a little organizing for the packers who will show back up on Monday. We are closing on the new house in Kansas through the mail and things will be final on the 8th. Scott will go back to Oklahoma on Sunday. The packers continue on Monday and will finish on Wednesday and load the truck on Thursday. Our final inspection in base housing is Friday, the 11th and then we are on the road to Kansas. We hope to meet the moving truck in Wichita at our new house so we can do a "door-to-door" move. If things go as planned--bonus--very rare, but it could happen :)!

We have been having a few "last" playdates with Emma and her friends. She seems to be doing okay with the move. Ava of course, doesn't have a clue what is coming over the next week or so! She is pretty flexible so far, so hopefully it will not be too hard on her.

We will be staying in temporary base housing here in Albuquerque and in Wichita while the movers do their thing. The internet is scetchy at best in both places, so I will do my best to post and check email during the chaos. Here are a few photos of recent activities with the girls.

Happy Birthday Ava!

Our Ava turned 2 years old today! We celebrated her birthday at her favorite place for french fries--yes, McDonalds! Fancy, I know, but she LOVES french fries. I made her a cake and we had a small family party at the McD's on the base. Her favorite thing was the card that Emma picked out for her--it was one of those music cards and it sang Happy Birthday to her when she opened it. I bet she listened to it 100 times tonight. Please enjoy a few photos of the big day.

Summer Fun

Hi Everyone! We have been keeping busy with moving plans and summer activities. My mom and Paige have been here for 10 days now and it is so nice to have their help and company while Scott is gone. We are trying to keep the girls entertained and keep up with the move schedule too. Ava and Emma are becoming quite good friends and developing a great relationship as sisters. Please enjoy the photos, I will write more later.

Meme and the girls playing with the sled in the back yard.

Ava LOVES to get wet if there is water any where near her!

Hiding under the covers with Meme!

Playing in the bird bath with Emma.

Emma enjoying lunch in her make shift cabin.

Emma's New Passion

During the last month of Kindergarten, Emma and her class enjoyed reading a chapter book about a young New Mexican girl named Josephina. There is an American Girl doll that is modeled after Josephina. Scott and I got Emma this doll for her kindergarten graduation. Josephina grew up at El Rancho De Las Golondrinas--the living museum we just toured over the weekend. Emma picked out a Josephina skirt and sash at the gift shop and has been obsessed about it ever since. Here are some photos of Emma as Josephina.

More Photos from the Field Trip

Daddy and Ava enjoying a snow cone.

El Rancho De Las Golondrinas, the living museum we went to with Emma's class, had an old school house with a volunteer that conducted a mock class for the kids. They loved it!

Ava couldn't stand it, she had to join the class. Let's hope she still feels that way when it's time to start pre-school in a couple of years!

Ava joining her big sister, Emma, for school.

Hey, is anyone up there? I sure am digging this lolly pop thing!

Suprise Visit By Daddy!

Hi everyone. Scott called us last Friday night around 7:00 to tell us he was an hour and a half from home! We didn't expect to see him for several weeks because of his Saturday class and simulator schedule. Altus Air Force Base lost power during a severe storm last Thursday night, so his Saturday schedule was canceled and the base didn't expect to get power for several days. Lucky for us, Scott decided to come home instead of sticking around the base with no power.

Emma was so excited to see her dad, especially since she didn't expect it. Saturday, we went to a living history museum with Emma's former kindergarten class. They usually have their end of the year field trip a couple of weeks after graduation to coincide with the children's festival at this museum near Santa Fe. We had a great time and enjoyed having Scott there with us. We didn't like having to say good-bye to Emma's teachers and friends. She has blossomed so much at her Montessori school over the past 3 years. The teachers and staff there are so caring and professional. We love you all and will miss you so much.

On the down side, Emma was devastated when Scott had to leave on Sunday afternoon to go back to Altus. She cried for an hour and I couldn't console her--it was heart breaking. She LOVES her daddy so much. Ava was so sweet and was very concerned about Emma's tears. She just hugged Emma and looked at her, like "it's okay". These occasional weekend visits from dad are bitter sweet!

Emma (pink hat), Ms Robin, Emma's teacher (beige hat), Emma's classmate Eric (orange hat) and his mom Kristy. They were checking out the white arctic wolf. He was huge!

Ava and Daddy checking out the wolf.

Snow Cone goodness!!!