Ft. Sill, Oklahoma

On our cross-country adventure, we stopped to see my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew at Ft. Sill/Lawton, Oklahoma. Clay recently took a break from active duty with a government job at Ft. Sill. They moved into their rental home just a few days before we arrived. Our visit with Clay was short, as we arrived Sunday evening, and he had to fly to D.C. for work on Monday morning. That was okay because we spent Monday hanging out with Karen and Wes, along with doing a ton of our laundry! Thanks, Karen, for the use of your machine! During the day, we visited this castle park, and it was a huge hit with the kids.

Castle Park in Lawton

They loved this tire swing. They have been asking for a tire swing forever, and unknown to them, we had already ordered one with their new swingset.

Even Edward joined in on the action.

Wes was very tired and very hot. The temps were 102 that day.

Aunt Karen with Luke, Alex, Madison, and Cousin Wes

The kids thought the built in obstacle course was awesome.

Thanks for showing us Lawton! I can say we'd like to not be stationed there. It was interesting. The post looked great, but the town...well, not a retirement location for us. We are so glad we got to see some family on the trip. It was also really nice to have a day's rest from driving. Edward and I both enjoy driving, but we needed a break for a day!

Saying Good-Bye to Yuma

It's always hard moving away. We made some wonderful friends in Yuma and have many great memories. Here are a few of the last of the Yuma pictures.

These are just a few of the wonderful ladies I knew in Yuma. They were great friends, and this was taken the night of Edward's promotion party. I really appreciated the help and support they lent that night. I'll miss them greatly (as I already do!). This was right outside the chapel, around 7PM, and it was still over 100 degrees. Just in this picture, we have 26 kids between all of us.

Good-bye to our cool house. The kids are trying to understand why houses here don't have the nameplates on them. I tried to explain it's not North Carolina; it is just that we aren't on a base anymore. Good-bye house, and good-bye CPT! Edward left as a Captain and arrived in NC as a Major.

Madison wanted one last picture in her room. It's empty except for her mattress, which was boxed.

My brother and sister-in-law happened to mail Alex's birthday present here, and it arrived the day the movers loaded the truck. They have no idea what a life saver the blocks were! The kids had a hard time seeing the house empty out, and the blocks were a good distraction.

And, the final good-bye to Yuma. This was the day we pulled out, June 3. We had just checked out of our house. Both cars are packed, loaded, and ready to leave. We traveled with the bag on top of the minivan with our night's stuff in it. We ended up carrying 1300 lbs between the two cars (we had to get the cars weighed empty and full as to get paid by the Army to move that stuff). We mainly moved stuff they won't (candles, batteries, and such), along with our "essentials" such as clothing and a computer. The kids have already said they miss our huge cactus you can see at the back of the house. I DON'T miss the rock yard! I definitely miss my neighbors.

Good-bye Yuma. Thanks for a great three years.

The Last Day of School

Madison had her last day of school on Friday, June 3. She had a great kindergarten year. The year ended with an early release and then off we were on our cross-country adventure. I hope she will always remember the great year she had in Yuma. I'm very glad she had a wonderful experience here. The staff was great, and I loved the smallness of the school. I had asked a week prior if they could have her records ready to transfer to North Carolina. When I picked her up on the last day of school, I stopped by the office, and they had already put all of her records in her backpack! She's all set to register at her new school.

Madison and her teacher, Mrs. Irwin. She was a fantastic kindergarten teacher.

Her elementary school, complete with this painting. One of the soldiers on post just did it, and it's a very good illustration of what Yuma Proving Ground really does.

The school got its first marquee. The PTO worked forever to get this!! I'm so glad it was put in before the year ended. It might not seem like much, but for those of us who wanted it, it is a huge deal.

James D. Price Elementary School, Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona

Madison's reading buddy from the fifth grade class stopped by one last time to say good-bye before we pulled out. Madison learned so much reading with her, and they became sweet friends.

10 Years!

Edward and I were married ten years ago today. We've had a great life so far. We've moved from South Carolina to Florida, from Florida to North Carolina, from North Carolina to Arizona, and from Arizona back to North Carolina. Whew. We've owned three houses and have three kids. Oh, and we have a cool cat too, who is also 10. We have a great life, and I'm so grateful God put us together for our life here on Earth. Happy Anniversary, Edward. Love you.

The Big Truck Finally Came

The day finally came...moving day. Luke had been talking about the "big truck" coming for days. We pulled up to our house at 7:45 after coming from the hotel, and the moving truck turned onto our street at 7:46. The crew was great, and they did the best they could, but it was obvious not everything would fit onto the truck. For the second time, we were the fourth family loaded onto the moving truck, and for the second time, not everything fit. 2300 pounds of our stuff STILL remains in Yuma. It is crated and ready to be picked up by a truck. So, if you are a moving truck driver, I would love it if you would pick up my stuff. Key things are missing including the Dyson, steam vac, grill, ALL the kids' bedding, my computer monitor, and many other countless things. I'd love it if that stuff shows up sometime soon.

Luke with the "big truck."

Garage...it doesn't look too bad.

No, this isn't all of it by any means, but they started pulling everything out of the house and organizing it here. Madison had to get a picture after she came home from kindergarten.

The crew was at our house until 6PM. A second, smaller and local truck, came out at 7:45 to get the remaining stuff. We just hope to see it again.

A Promotion Party for Doc

As if life wasn't crazy enough with two kids' birthdays, a 2600 mile cross-country move, the Army decided Edward's promotion date would fall at the same time. Actually, his promotion date fell as we were en route to Ft. Bragg. We joked that what were we supposed to do? Stop by Ft. Campbell or something on the way and find someone to swear him in? Actually, that would have been cool if his cousin, who was already promoted, wasn't deployed, but it didn't happen that way.

So, I decided to throw Edward a promotion party in Yuma, and we had it the last Tuesday we were there, May 31. We had packers at our house that day until 4:30, and the party was at 5:00. I planned on 75-100, and we were right about at that. I served lasagna, garlic bread, salad, and a cake. What a blessing it is to have such wonderful friends! I miss them already, as some really helped me with the food. A special thanks to all of them for their help with cooking lasagnas, helping with the cleanup, and helping overall in anyway!

I decided to have the party at the Post Chapel Fellowhip Hall. Our neighbor and friend is the chaplain, so getting the room was no problem. Plus, he setup a lot of it. It was really the only room big enough on post to accommodate all of us too, and it had a nice kitchen.

So, Tuesday afternoon, I took a break from packing patrol to take the kids over and setup for the party.

Here's how the room turned out! I used the colors garnet and gold, NOT because we are Florida State fans (we aren't, even though I got my master's degree there)! Gold is for Major, and garnet is his branch color (medical corps).

My little assistant placed herself right by the cake.

Besides the cake, I setup this picture display to show Edward's different military milestones. Included were pictures form Airborne School, ROTC graduation at Clemson, medical school graduation, first day as a resident, graduation from residency, and graduation from HALO school.

Here's the cake! I had our friend from church, Sherri, make it. She owns a bakery in Yuma. I left all of it up to her, only asking she put the Freefall and the medical symbols on it.

The cake simply says, "Congratulations Doc!" as that is what everyone, even little kids, on post call him.

Freefall School (HALO School-High Altitude Low Open) Symbol-That is the unit in Yuma, the combat skydivers Edward has been taking care of for the last three years. He loves these guys and is so grateful he got to go through the course to become one too.

Medical Symbol, and yes, both were edible.

The food line to feed 100. We cooked eight lasagnas, three trays of stuffed shells, three huge salads, and nine loaves of garlic bread. Thankfully, six of the lasagnas I had help with! The rest I took care of.

A great party and a great time to say good-bye. We are so thankful for our time in Yuma. We had a great turnout and thank everyone who came to support Edward. Looking at these pictures, I didn't get one of Edward, except his back right here. It was a busy night!

You Know You Live on a Military Base When...

your street looks like this:

THREE different moving trucks for three families in ONE day on one little street!

To start to the left of our house, the post commander's stuff was being packed up and later that day, loaded into crates. He came as a Geographical Bachelor, meaning his family didn't come with him, so that's why he was in a smaller house.

In front of our house, this is the packers' truck. We had two days of packers and then a day of loading with a different company. Behind the packers' truck, you can see a semi-truck for the next door neighbors. They moved in from Ft. Bragg as we are getting ready to head there. The house next door has been vacant a good chunk of the time we lived there, and then a seven-year-old girl moved in. Madison was disappointed, but hopefully, we'll have some girls here for her to play with.

So, that was one morning on our little street! Too funny with so many moving trucks!

Alex's Birthday

Our sweet boy turned two on Memorial Day. It was a very busy day at our house with 2/3 of the house already packed to move. On top of that, we had already moved over to the post hotel since our kitchen, toys, and some of the bedrooms had already been packed. Alex had a great birthday, in spite of all that. We were invited to a BBQ with friends from church, and we took a big birthday cake for Alex. Between cake, the pool, and yummy food, it was a good day. We ended the day with him opening his presents in the hotel room. Sadly, we had to take the presents to the house the next morning for the packers to pack. He still had a blast opening them.

He loved this truck from Aunt Mer, Uncle Harry, and Cousin Alaina. It's on the load still in Yuma, so I'm sure he'll enjoy it when, or should I say if, it gets here.

Trains! Those compliment the train table that was waiting for him at our new house. Those got to go in the car with Alex. He loves trains.

A picture with my birthday boy who is all ready for bed.

A preschool lunchbox for Alex from Grandma and Grandpa. He and Luke were excited to have matching shark lunchboxes, and they love the workbench that was also waiting for them at the new house.

Yes, it is crazy to move when it is your birthday, but we hope you had a great day little guy!

Kindergarten Graduation

Madison's school had an award ceremony and kindergarten graduation a few days before school ended. She had a really great year, complete with an awesome teacher. 17 kids in her class was a plus too. Her teacher said it was the best class she had had in years, and she ended the year retiring. The kids were all a great group and had known each other all through preschool too. I am very thankful Madison had such a great experience in Yuma. She's so excited for first grade.

Madison and her kindergarten class

Madison and her pal, Samantha, enjoyed singing their class song. Both girls moved the last day of school. Madison (as will we all) will really miss Samantha (and the rest of her family, who was in our Bible Study). They arrived the same time we did, and they are off to Germany.

Madison received her kindergartern graduation certificate from her teacher, Mrs. Irwin.

MAJOR Dad

On top of everthing with our move, two kids celebrated birthdays, and Edward was promoted en route. He's now a Major, and we are very proud of him. The kids have been asking about saluting, as it wasn't done in Yuma. They are very excited to see soldiers salute, crazy Army kids. Oh the little things that get them so excited!

Unpacking

We arrived safely at our new house last Friday afternoon. We are so blessed to have had a safe drive across the country...check that, safe drives. Yes, we both drove all 2600 miles. The only casualty was a broken windshield Edward received from a rock off a truck in Oklahoma.

We are in the midst of unpacking, so we have boxes everywhere. Things are going pretty well, with the exceptions that when we arrived, our A/C is out, so the repair guy is coming tomorrow evening. We're glad to have had record highs here over the weekend to go with the no a/c. I also discovered our dishwasher isn't working. Both worked fine when we had the inspection. That guy is supposed to come tomorrow too, so it's been interesting. On the plus side, we discovered our yard has sprinklers in the front and backyards. The owners never once turned them on, so it looked like they were only in the front, but when we ran the system, the backyard ones popped up under layers of dirt and grass. Edward and I have made countless trips to Home Depot and have been painting until the wee hours of the morning.

We took the kids to Wilmington on Sunday after trying a church (not a winner). They are still there with my parents until Wednesday and loving every minute. They haven't seen our East Coast family in a year, and in a week's time, they saw both sets of grandparents on the drive, an aunt, uncle, and cousin, along with their second cousins. It has been great seeing everyone.

Back to the packing...pictures soon, I promise.

Making Progress...

Well, we are making progress in many areas. Our travels across the United States continue. We are currently at Ft. Sill/Lawton, Oklahoma, where my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew live. We rolled in last night after a VERY long day of driving mainly across New Mexico. We spent the day here visiting with Karen and Wes. Clay had to fly out for work, so that was a bummer, but we enjoyed our visit here. It was a good break from day after day of driving. We all needed it, especially since Edward and I are each driving. Driving all day, after day, after day by yourself with the conversation of a six-year-old and a two-year-old is interesting. Luke is riding with Edward. So, tomorrow, we hit the road again.

On another front, our household goods arrived in North Carolina today! Yea for that, and a MAJOR thanks to my parents for sitting there all day, checking off number after number on the moving packing list of our things that came into the house. Our driver was Speedy Gonzalez, flying across the U.S., but the stuff is there. Well, I should say MOST of the stuff is there. 2300 pounds of our things still remain in Yuma (see previous post). On that front, Edward talked with the military travel office, who had not been notified our stuff remained in Yuma from the movers there. So, after a full day, we learned that our stuff should be, I say should be, crated tomorrow to put on a truck at the end of the week bound for Ft. Bragg. For whatever reason, it has to be sent there, as it's coming in a crate, and then who knows when we will get it. Saga to be continued...

Please continue to keep us in prayer. Our drive has gone well thus far. The kids are doing well considering all things, and they've been really good in the car.

On the Road

Well, we are on the road. I'd like to say our moving experience in Yuma went smoothly...like to say. It didn't.

So, to start, our packers came last Friday for four hours and did a great job. They knocked out about 2/3 of the house. Then, with Memorial Day, they didn't come back until Tuesday. That was really annoying because what they DID pack on Friday was the kitchen, living room, playroom (including all toys), master bedroom, master bath, and the tvs. Fun, fun over a long weekend. What they didn't pack that Friday was the formal dining room, guest rooms, garage, and the kids' bedrooms. So, they said they would be back first thing Tues morning. I sat at the house all morning, and they finally came around 11. Ahhh. Then, around 2:30, they started to be pulled one by one (there were four) to go down the street and pack the colonel's house. Now, this wasn't his fault. He was scheduled to be packed, but because the packers were three hours late, they didn't finish at our house on time. So, they left one guy to finish, and he finally did at 3:30. However, none of the boxes had been tagged. By 4:20, the foreman hadn't tagged them, so Edward walked down the street and told them we had to be at his promotion party (later post). We had told them that on Friday, and we had even reminded them of that Tues morning. So, the crew said they would come back Wed. to tag. They never came and when Edward called, the company said they weren't coming and the driver could do it.

Thursday at 7:45 our "big truck" moving truck turned down our street. What a praise for a driver being on time! His crew worked very well and efficiently. They did a good job, but there was one MAJOR problem. The estimator lady that was sent out to inventory the house and put an estimate in for the amount of room we would need on the truck was WAY off! The exact same thing happened to us when we moved from NC to AZ! Both times, we were the last load, the fourth family on the truck, and both times, they completely ran out of room!!!! Who gets the short end of that stick??? We do. By lunchtime, Edward and I knew it wouldn't fit, as we've been through this before. By 2:30, the driver admitted it and called dispatch and called dispatch and called dispatch. The driver completely filled his truck, cleaned up, and left at 5:30 with a garage full of boxes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Edward and I were taking bets that our stuff wouldn't get picked up. At 7:00, a smaller truck showed up. It was the same packer crew that we'd had earlier! They had been packing our friends, the Trimbles, all day, which is funny because they live at the Marine Base in town, 45 min away. We go to church with them, and they are leaving after us, but apparently somehow the connection was made we were friends (see how small the military is?). So, they loaded the rest of the boxes, the picnic table, the grill, my DYSON, and they said it would go to storage in Yuma until "a driver going to NC has room on his truck." Hmmm, sounds SUPER sketchy. Now, we are taking bets if that stuff will get there. They said it was about six hundred pounds of stuff (clearly they didn't estimate that correctly, as the picnic table was the one my dad made us, and I think it alone weighs 600 lbs, haha). So, we'll see if and when we get that load. Oh, and what was in those boxes? Edward and I had time to read the boxes with the hour and a half no one showed. It was all master bedroom clothing (awesome), boy toys (double awesome because if my little boy doesn't get his Batcave on this first shipment, he's going to really lose it. I PROMISED it would come to NC, and no replacement can fix a broken promise to him), and a box of canned goods. Great. No clothing for us, no boy toys, no vacuum, and no grill...hmmm.

Now, the last hiccup of the day was actually early on. The driver was doing his paperwork when he got there and said to me, "So, is this stuff going to storage?" I replied that I hoped not because we had a house and were hoping for door-to-door. What is the difference, you might ask? Well, if you aren't there to meet the truck, it goes to storage. They take it on base, unload the truck at the storage center, and they have to unwrap everything. The driver needs his stuff back. Then, when you get there, they load it in crates, drive it to you on flatbed trucks, and unload. See the potential for breakage??? It's a nightmare. We missed the driver by a couple of days moving to Yuma, and SO MUCH was broken!!!! The movers were bringing our patio table off in pieces just to give you a mental picture. Not good. So, when I asked about door-to-door, he said he would be there Monday. THIS MONDAY! Our good friends and now former neighbors, do the cross-country drive straight through often, and they can't do it much under 40 hours with their three kids. That driver is moving to get there by 8:00 AM Monday. So, thankfully, my parents can be added on as able to receive the household goods, and they are going to meet the truck on Monday. Thanks Mom and Dad!

We cleaned, and cleaned, and cleaned, to check out of housing today. Then, we had to book it to Phoenix because the minivan needed new tires. Now, that wasn't planned either. We had the van in for an oil change and tire rotation last week. You know, 2500 miles, good idea. They called us and said the 60,000 mile tires were totally shot after 32,000 miles. The manufacturer was willing to give a discount on a new set. NO THANKS!!! If they wore out early once... So, if you know Yuma, you know that nowhere ever has anything in stock. It's quite comical. Nowhere. So, of course, any tires, would have to be special ordered because it is apparently odd to have a common minivan to find tires. At that, we decided to call Sears near our hotel in Phoenix, and welcome back to the modern world to us!!! Sears, not only had several in stock, they put an order number on them, and said to just come in, and it would be done in less than two hours. So, we booked it to Phoenix today (two cars I mind you, as we both get to drive cross country) to get new tires and as it turns out, new brake pads. Whatever. To quote friends of ours, "Sometimes you have to throw money at it and make it go away." This was one such occasion. Can I tell you how much we aren't going to miss the dealership and the Sears in Yuma!!! Thanks Sears here in Phoenix for such great service. I'm loving my new tires, and I feel much safer with the over 2000 miles we still have to go.

As I sit here tonight, the kids and Edward are fast asleep. House Hunters is on, so I'll sign off, but the moving trip continues in the morning.

Yuma Top 10

We've spent three years here in Yuma. I remember Edward receiving the call for this job offer, and our first comment being, "Where? They have an Army Post there?" So, after three years in the bleak desert, we've come up with our "Top 10" likes and dislikes of this area. Sure, this isn't our pick as a location to retire, but we have really loved the last three years here. For all of our family and friends who never got to visit, you really did miss an interesting part of the country. I'm glad we got to know it. And, for the family that said they wouldn't come to the desert in the summer, well, having Alex in the summer brought about the summer heat experience for you. We hope you enjoyed it :) Here's our "Top 10"

Top 10 Dislikes

10. Rock yards...our kids don't understand your yard is supposed to be grass.

9. P.O. Boxes-They are awful. So many companies have issues shipping to them, and we have to have one on post. Our kids one main request for a new house was a mailbox, not realizing that houses are supposed to have a mailbox!

8. Border patrol checkpoints in every direction

7. 180 miles of desert in every direction with no signs of towns or civilization (or gas stations for that matter)

6. Rattlesnakes and other dangerous creatures such as the mountain lions in the housing area

5. Sandstorms and sand in every inch of my car all the time (even though it is kept in the garage!)

4. Hauling my cooler everywhere for groceries, even the commissary less than a mile away because of the extreme heat

3. Snowbirds... 500,000 plus invade Yuma from October until May

2. July at 123 degrees

1. August at 125 degrees

Top 10 Likes

10. Imperial Sand Dunes in California. These are 20 miles west of Yuma and is the location for the filming of much of the Star Wars movies.

9. Fresh California fruit year-round!

8. 75mph legal speed limits for hundreds of miles

7. 18 kids in Madison's kindergarten class...the post has an elementary school with small class sizes. Her teacher has been awesome too.

6. Walking everywhere, and all major services being less than a half mile away to include the health clinic, elementary school, preschool, pool, commissary, post office, gas station, community center, and library.

5. Knowing everyone on the base, along with their jobs, kids, etc. It's going to be really sad to leave our little community. We're a close group. We area also known to "stalk" new people, as we usually all know about new families before they arrive. And, when they arrive, we know their job, number of kids, etc. We've all been a little taken aback when it happens to us, but it is that small here.

4. Our "gated community" where we know all the gate guards because the base is so small. Plus, the kids really are trying to grasp the idea of not living on a base where we have to show ID etc. just to go home everyday.

3. San Diego

2. San Diego...no typo. San Diego is that great.

1. Amazing Family Time. Edward came home for lunch everyday, mainly because the base was too small to even have a dining facility, etc. It was awesome. He might have had that phone of his ring through lunch everyday, but the kids and I really enjoyed having him stop in during the day. Going from one extreme to the other is going to be hard.

I will say we have a love/hate relationship with the "Sunniest City in the U.S." at our 360 or so days of sun. While the bright, sunny sky without a cloud in sight is awesome, we really miss rain. Luke begged to buy an umbrella today for NC and then didn't know how to use it. My kids need to see some rain, and well, they need to see seasons for that matter!

I think if you asked the post the one thing they'd miss, they'd say Edward's "Concierge" Medical Service. Yes, we're like Mayberry. He makes house calls all the time, and we've been known to watch kids overnight when families have to take sick loved ones to the ER. We were also known to have people stop by the house looking for medical treatment :)

Yuma...it's been a great place for our family. We leave here with a fond memory of this post. Alex was born here. We came as four and leave as a family of five.

A Belated Happy Birthday to Alex

Our sweet boy turned two on Monday. No, we didn't forget. We are in the middle of moving, and besides my home computer dying, I haven't had access to the Internet anywhere.

Alex had a great day. We were invited to a BBQ with some friends from church. We were asked to bring dessert, and everyone was more than happy to wish our little guy a Happy Birthday with cake. Thanks, Sams Club, for having a quick and easy cake on hand for our party.

Alex finished the night opening presents at the hotel room. We were able to have him open a few there and then take them back to the house Tuesday for the packers to pack.

No pictures at the moment because things are crazy, and well, I have no computer to upload them.

It's hard to believe this little guy and I were so sickly two years ago, and now he's thriving. From 5 lbs. 8 oz. to over 25 lbs, I think Alex is a happy, healthy, two-year-old. He certainly has the "terrible two-year-old" tantrums down pat!

Favorite Foods-Pretty much anything. He LOVES mashed potatoes, but even that, he really enjoys licking the beaters after I mash them. He also loves cheese of any kind, and his favorite is Colby Jack. He has a sweet tooth, with a passion for cookies. The last two days, he's been obsessed with lasagna, asking for it at snack time. He loves to drink milk and eats a lot of blueberry yogurt. Any kind of grain is a hit with Alex, with his very favorites being banana bread and blueberry muffins.

Favorite Toy-Fur Real Kitty and the new Fur Real puppy we got him for his birthday. He also really likes trains and trucks.

Pasttimes-Following around his older brother and sister. He wants to do anything and everything they do. He's really wanting a bike to ride like them and gets his trike going pretty well. Alex is very much of a daredevil, so any sort of park/outside activity is right up his alley.

Dislikes-Anytime Edward walks out the door. This little guy loves his daddy, and the deployment is going to be REALLY hard on him. He usually throws a big fit and/or runs after his car everytime he goes to work. He also hates it when Madison, or Madi as he calls her, goes to school. Any sort of separation bothers Alex, but he eventually settles down and does well. Alex also hates it when Luke takes his toys, even if they really are Luke's toys. These boys are best buds but are going to go rounds at times!!! They are both so rough and tough!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALEX!!! We love you!