O-Day

Another fun outing in July was to O-Day at Globe Creek Campground.  We had a lot of fun playing around and being together.  It was a gorgeous day up in the mountains.  The food was good and the people were nice.  It was a great time!

Libby had fun kicking the ball down the hill, carrying it up, and kicking it down again.

Some of the kids found a way across the creek.  Kim had fun with this.  Another little guy wasn't so lucky and fell in!  Oops!

It was kind of funny to see all the kids getting wet, either a little wet or a lot!

Kicking back eating lunch!

Globe Creek Camp!

After the adults got done with cornhole, the kids gave it a go!

There was a great playground with lots of rope toys.  One of the favorites was this giant rope swing.  The kids played with it for a LONG time!

Libby wasn't quite big enough for the swing, so she trekked across the logs instead!

Way Up North

Well, sorry for the delay in posting. We've made it up to Fairbanks. It was a long week of getting moved, cleaning and traveling, but it wasn't too horrible. Thank goodness for Army perks (they pay professional movers). We rode the ferry up here and that was pretty fun. The drive wasn't too horrible. Now we are just living in the hotel on post and looking for housing. To buy or not to buy, that is the question. Any thoughts are appreciated. I will get some pictures of our trip and more details up soon.

Graduation

Ryan's AEGD Program ended this last week and they had graduation on Friday. It was an enjoyable day. We spent a few hours at the Ft. Lewis Museum.



Then went and changed for the ceremony. The graduates each got a medal and Ryan even got an extra one that he wasn't expecting for being MC at the Birthday Ball.


Ryan's class of AEGD Residents.


He got to give a short speech since he was the class president. It was a nice event with cake afterward. Kimberly enjoyed the frosting flowers a lot.



After the ceremony we went to the Varsity Grill in downtown Tacoma and had dinner and a little reception.

Glade didn't make it all the way there in the car and actually slept for about an hour after we got there.


The seats were very comfortable.


The residents made a movie that we enjoyed watching. There was a fun fountain outside the restaurant that the kids enjoyed playing around.

The Week

This week seems to have gone by pretty fast. It has been a little crazy and VERY hot, at least for a 7-month pregnant lady. I am soooo glad it cooled down today.

I can't believe we will have a new baby in about 7 weeks or so! The time seems to have gone by very quickly.

I have spent quite a bit of time this week thinking about and working on our move. Several phone calls to Ft. Wainwright in Alaska have been made to figure out what we should be doing. We also got one big step completed. I made a reservation for our family on the ferry. We are actually really excited about this. We will take our car and drive it onto the ferry. We got a cabin booked for our little family for the date we wanted, so that was a relief. Then we will ride for 2 1/2 days through beautiful scenery and arrive in the Skagway, AK area (goldrush). Our plan is to see the sites in that area for a few days before making the 650 mile drive to Fairbanks. Maybe we'll see some other things on the way. If any of you have suggestions, let me know.

Here is the website for the ferry. The videos are fun to watch and make me really excited about this move. Hope our things don't take too long with the movers!

Now if only the last few things will fall into place (including amended orders making this an accompanied tour of duty so Ryan isn't traveling alone), we will be all set. Can't wait!

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a really great weekend. Ryan had Friday and Monday off, so it was great to have him around more, well, sorta. He spent Friday getting ready to climb Mt. St. Helen's and left about 3:00 to get there. He camped with a group and hiked up on Saturday. You can read about his experiences here and here. He was the first one to the top for the whole day and seemed to have a good time. I would like to go there sometime before we move also. We'll have to see if that actually happens or not. Looks like a neat place.

Since he went up and down so fast, he got home pretty early on Saturday, so that was nice. We had a normal Sunday with church and family time.

Monday was Memorial Day and we decided to go on-post to the service to celebrate it.

We attended the ceremony at the cemetery. It was a nice program, not too long, just about right for two children to sit through. I really enjoyed it. They had an Army band and a tomb of the unknown solder. I never really knew before that the flag flied at half-mast until noon on Memorial Day and then gets raised to the top. The 21-gun salute really added also. The guns were pretty close by and so they were pretty loud. Our kids did pretty well though. Some others were crying. Kim just covered her ears and Glade didn't start whimpering until about the 18th shot or so. After I gave him a hug, he was all right. Very impressive.

Ryan and Glade in the peaceful cemetery.



Flags were on every grave.


The soldiers that shot off the guns. You can see the guns in the background.


Kim being her patriotic self.



We decided to stop by Burger King for lunch and then go to the lake on post. Too bad we didn't plan enough ahead. Kimberly didn't have her swimsuit, but managed to get wet and have fun anyway. Where was Glade during this time? Fast asleep in his carseat, which Dad kindly carried to the beach.



When we got home, we decided to try to make dinner in the sun oven, but it turned out to be too late in the afternoon, so we will have to finish the ribs up today. I have done a few things in there and it really works. Once when I made bread I baked 2 loaves in the sun oven and 3 in the regular oven and couldn't really tell the difference. I also baked brownies in there once. I will keep experimenting, when I have time. Washington's admittedly not the best place for this appliance because of all the clouds and rain.

Birthday Ball

Okay, here's another big something that we've been up to.

The DENTAC (Dental Activities) Birthday Ball was last weekend. Let me tell you, it was an adventure trying to fill all of the requirements (modest gown, high-waisted to allow for and hide an expanding belly, not too expensive, etc.). We bought a new uniform for Ryan, Dress Blues, nice, but expensive. After looking around quite a bit I decided on a dress with a matching wrap that I made into sleeves, a front piece and a back piece. It actually turned out pretty well.



Ryan was on-call for the weekend and ended up getting called in and helping three patients in the ER right before, but I just picked him up at the hospital and we were only 30 minutes late, which isn't too bad since the first hour is socializing.


Ryan was supposed to have another job, but due to an error in printing, ended up being the Master of Ceremonies. Turned out to be a pretty big job, but a good experience. They were taking "prom" pictures and we got some taken, but haven't gotten them back yet. I'll post one when we do.



It was a nice evening. Thanks Peterson's for keeping our kids!

Preliminary Assignment

How would you like to see any of these things?







Well, if our luck holds, you may be able to buy a plane ticket to Fairbanks, AK, see it while staying with us! The assigning officer said to be flexible, so it definitely isn't for sure yet, but we can hope. If all goes well, we will be going in August sometime probably.


Ryan received his preliminary assignment this past week and we are really excited about it. It will definitely be an adventure to go to Ft. Wainwright.

Alone

Well, not really alone, since I have these two . . .



But not this one. I miss him.



What a week this has been! Ryan ended up going a day earlier than we thought on his training trip to Ft. Sam. He left super early this morning. I didn't sleep very well last night, knowing he was getting up before the crack of dawn. Then I got up with him to spend some time and had a hard time getting back to sleep. Needless to say, I'm a little short in the sleep department. So why, do you ask, am I still up at 11 p.m.? I really am not looking forward to going to bed alone. I suppose I better head there though. Sigh. Next Thursday can't come fast enough for me.

In a few days, we will have a visitor though!


No, not the brown, furry one! Ryan's mom is coming to stay with us on Saturday though, so that will break it up. Yipee! We are really looking forward to her visit and hope to do lots of fun things.

O-Day

Apparently, in the Army they have what is called Organization Day (O-day for short). It is basically a company party with mandatory attendance for all servicemen and women. We decided to check it out. They had it on base at a park by the Sound. It was a little cold, but nice most of the time. We waited in a VERY long line for lunch of hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, etc. etc. picnic food. They had some races and other things. Kim did a cake walk that they had for the kids.

Still in the game and things are good!

She took this very seriously and got really upset when she got out. She was pacified when they gave her a gigantic cupcake though, so it turned out OK.

Ryan and Kim went out on the Sound on a ride-on kayak. Then we all went out on a paddleboat.

It rained a little, but not too bad. All in all it was a fun day and great to be together as a family.

Hard Times

Glade and Kim have had a little bit of a hard time. We have been living in a little hotel room for about 2 1/2 weeks and will live here until about the 18th. Hopefully by then our house will be ready. That's right, we found a house to rent at an unbelievable price so we decided it was worth the wait.

Glade has had a little bit of a hard time with falling in his new surroundings. You can see here the great scrape he got on his nose. That has healed now and he has a new one on his forehead.



Kim has a little bit of a hard time with being cooped up. We have tried to get out, but don't do it enough, apparently. Fortunately, our room has a sliding glass door that goes out onto a patio area that people use for smoking, Kim and the other kids like to go out there and play though.



It has been nice here. They have an indoor pool with waterslides close by. I discovered a gym with free child care. There is a park for lodging guests. The PX and Commisary (Department and Grocery stores) are closeby. I can see why people like to live on base. It is just a lot more expensive for us. Last night we went to the French Theater and watched Prince Caspian for only $2.50 total. I couldn't believe it! Anyway, we are enjoying it here, but are anxious to get into our new home.

Captain Abbott

The day after graduation, Ryan was made a Captain in the United States Army. Then we were off for Ft. Lewis, WA. By the way, we really liked having our things packed for us and look forward to having them unpacked also.

Clarification

For those who don't know. Yes, Ryan is in the Army, AND Yes, he is in dental school. He has been on an Army scholarship in dental school. Now that he is graduating, we will be moving to Ft. Lewis, close to Tacoma, WA, for a one year AEGD (Advanced General Dentistry) program and then owe the Army 4 years of dental service. Hope that clears things up!

Captain

Well, this week Ryan and I drove down to Rickenbacker (a small base closeby) to pick up some new uniforms for reporting in Ft. Lewis. Here's some pictures of Ryan in his new duds! See those two little bars on his beret and jacket? Those mean he's now a captain. Well, he's not a captain yet, but will be upon graduation (which is only about 3 weeks away, but who's counting?). It will take a while to learn all the ins and outs of the military and what things stand for. But now I know the captain symbol. Thanks, Natalie, for watching the kids! It would have been crazy with them in the store!




We sure are proud of him. I also thought this one of Kim was cute. She was trying on a pair of his pants.