Things that have happened.

There are lots of things.
I will start my list with 0.5 mostly because I forgot that point, I want to be orderly, and also I don't want to go back and change my other numbers because laziness.

0.5) A long, long time ago, on the Fifteenth of August of the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Fourteen,  Derek turned 7.

I filled these water balloons. Crouching down by the water spout and tying these dreadful things was more painful than giving birth seven years before.
Water balloons are a labor of love.

I cannot comment on my baby turning seven. It's too much.


1) TGBIO2014

The Great Bike Incident of 2014.

This was a less-than-pleasant incident that occurred when I was riding my bike home from the housing office here on the base. Being a patriotic sort of person, I wanted to pick up a flag kit to display Old Glory on our front porch. Unfortunately, Old Glory slipped from my hands into my front wheel spokes as I was traveling at a good clip.
My bike came to a sudden stop.

I did not.

I did the flying squirrel right over the handlebars and used the friction of my skin against the sidewalk to stop myself. I learned that it is not the best way to stop yourself.

Thankfully I did not use my head, face, or teeth to stop myself so I suppose there is always a silver lining.

I am all healed up now. Except for some scars.

And my pride.

2) Teeth are falling out of my kids' heads.

Derek dined on his second front tooth, leaving him at that stage I just can't get enough of. Kids without their two front teeth are the cutest.

(

(Cowey got a new friend!)

He was relieved to find that if you leave a note under your pillow explaining that you swallowed your tooth, the Tooth Fairy will overlook the slight and still leave you some cash.
Alex lost her first molar and although she doubts the existence of the Tooth Fairy, she still placed the tooth under her pillow and accepted what was left behind. She is a doubter but she is no fool.

3) My husband has read more books in the last 3 months than he's ever read in his life. And not interesting books, either. At least not by my standards.
They call this course the Book-A-Day Club, and also "SAASS*: Where fun goes to die".
It is living up to the hype for him.

*School of Advanced Air and Space Studies

The poor chap doesn't get a whole lot of down time. So I enjoy mine on his behalf.

3) Soccer

Derek started playing soccer on the base team and he's been having a swell time. He's not particularly gifted in the athletic arena, but he doesn't know that so we'll just leave it as our secret.

He is awfully cute though.

4) 80's

Thank heavens we have finally dropped out of the everyday-is-in-the-90s which I thought might never happen. I was seeing people's photos on The Facebooks of things like Jackets and Long Sleeves and jealousy sprung up in my heart.
We are finally having some crisp mornings, and cooler evenings and so I can overlook the fact that the bike ride to collect the kids in the afternoon still makes me sweat.

I've never had to wash my bras as often as I do living here.
Under-boob sweat is no joke.

5) Routines

The kids started up with AWANA again and it's been a nice addition to our week. We found one that meets on Sunday evenings, which we prefer as the weekday after-school hours fly by with homework, playing outside, making lunches, etc.

I joined a Bible Study Fellowship group that meets on Wednesday mornings, and it's been great to be a part of a women's study again.

I was thrilled to find out that I could join a Spanish class that is offered to the Air Command and Staff College students here on base. They opened it up to spouses as well and I can't tell you how perfect it is for me! I was wondering how I was going to be able to keep up my Spanish and this basically fell into my lap. What a blessing! The class is super small because it is a higher level, and the instructor is from Spain so I can continue to hear and learn the Castellano dialect.

So basically everything's coming up Erin.

Except, of course, for TGBIO2014.

ps I have no pictures of my daughter because she is never home. She is much too busy to stop and allow me to take her photo. There is playing to be done. I shall try to do better.

Blog, what blog?

We are alive and well in Alabama. It's been a long time since I've posted because we were busy with all the busyness that results from moving into a new home a couple of days before school starts while one of the adults in the family is in the midst of a challenging course which leaves him with no free time to help unpack boxes, hang curtains, or write run-on sentences.

Then after we were settled-ish, I put off blogging because I had too much to catch y'all* up on and it felt overwhelming. So I didn't blog, and then more stuff happens, and it's a vicious cycle.

*Oh yeah, people. I'm all in.

So I guess it's time to just dive in and get started.

We are living on base and we're loving it. It's been ideal for this particular assignment for the following reasons:

1) We live on a circle with a playground in the middle. There are always kids outside to play with and the bicycle gang owns that circle. It's been so great to let the kids get a taste of what I had growing up-- being outside all the time, getting some freedom from mom and dad, and donating half of their blood supply to the mosquitoes. It's like Hades out there but they don't seem to care.

2) Bikes, baby. We ride 'em everywhere. The kids ride bikes to school, Josh rides to work, and we almost never have to put gas in the van.

(Aside-- I say van, instead of vehicles, because until very recently our car had not yet arrived from its Spanish voyage. This is due largely in part to the enormous cluster of the military changing contractors during PCS season ((Permanent Change of Station--moving time!)) and cars were being lost, damaged, and delayed. In our case, the Corolla Sport ((yes, it is imperative that you know it is a Sport edition)) made the transatlantic trip rather quickly, and then sat in a line at customs in Savannah for around 75 days. It was that last trip between Savannah and the pickup location of Atlanta, that was a bridge too far. Why, yes, astute reader, those two cities are in the same state. Fortunately for us we didn't really need the car, but we know lots of other people who are having to deal with this issue as well who truly do need their vehicles. I'm generally not one to complain much about the military moving process, as we've accepted that there is a certain amount of inconvenience involved in this lifestyle. It just seems this particular PCS season has been full of horror stories of moves gone bad and I do feel that the systems set in place should be running smoothly to take some of the burden off of the families. End of rant.)
ps- we're picking up the Corolla Sport tomorrow in Hotlanta.

This is our new house:

It is an old duplex, only the left side is ours. It is small and the bedrooms have old carpets. The laundry is in the creepy basement and I can't stand fully erect or I might knock myself out with the pipes that hang down overhead.
We're happy here :)
The lifestyle makes up for the rougher edges, and it's super quick to clean. I even think the living room space is cozy and not too shabby.

And I think time is going to fly by and before I know it there will be boxes again.
Like, 9 months from now.

Ugh.

Back to my list:

3) Neighbors!
Our friends hooked us up with the house next door. So we've got built-in friends. The kids are fast friends and it's so dang convenient to have people you can ask for help right next door. Or maybe not ask, and just take advantage of. Like me, today:

 

 

(Another Aside-- we got iPhones! It's like, we're totally hip now)


So there you have it. We've moved in, we like our 'hood, and we'll be out of here before we know it.

Next time I will regale you with the true story of THE GREAT BIKE INCIDENT OF 2014, in which I donate a good portion of my very own skin to a sidewalk in need.

I am always giving.