Anatomy of a Homecoming

So Clayton actually came home yesterday... as scheduled, no delays. In fact, he was 15 minutes early!? I do believe we've used up all our good luck on this one TDY return, but we'll take it. I'm still smarting from my spar with the volcano last year :) Obviously, this month-ish TDY was broken up nicely by our time in AZ, but it is always nice to have Daddy home. We actually got to meet him at the jet yesterday afternoon (after thinking we were going to miss it since they were ahead of schedule). I had my camera but, naturally, the batteries were nearly kaput and I only got this one picture:

However, it's better than nothing and the kids were stoked to be right next to the jet while Clayton was shutting it down and unloading.

You may be wondering (well, I'm sure you aren't.. but you know I'm going to tell you anyway) how we get ready on the homefront end for a Daddy Return?! Well, this time was pretty typical. The last days are always the slowest so we scramble for things to keep us busy. I try to get the house clean (fruitless) and keep it clean (pointless). We had a full weekend leading up to The Return. On Friday night, Kamdon and the kids came over to watch movies and play. Just minutes before they arrived, I was putting some garbage in the garbage can and I sliced one of my fingers WIDE OPEN on a green chili can lid (at least chilies are acidic, therefore naturally antibiotic). I swear to you I saw the fascia underneath my skin. I couldn't get Jackie or Karen (my personal oncall surgeons) so I had to call Kamdon to stop at Walmart for some Liquid Stitch. OUCH! The cut is right above my knuckle so I knew there weren't going to be any stitches. Karen called later and confirmed my care plan. All's well that ends well :) Saturday was cleaning day and that night, Kamdon and I met a friend at the movie tavern. GOOD TIMES! Sunday, the longest day of all, we ended up spending some QT at McDonald's. We were the only loser moms there on a Sunday morning so I have no interesting observations for you :) We got the kids home in time for a short rest before jetting off to Elmendorf to find Daddy. I don't know why the last 2 days are the longest but they are!!! When you're on vacation, it's the opposite, the last 2 days FLY BY! Anyway, the blessings of safe flying and another safe homecoming are not lost on us and we thank God for the grace of safe returns once again.

I'll close with an action shot of Clay at his ice skating lessons.. He is thoroughly enjoying himself although I'm not sure how much actual progress is being made. He does seem to be spending less time on his hiney so I'll call that progress for now.

(that's Clay, in the upper left hand corner, on his hiney...)

We're currently taking reservations for the summer. Act now!!

To Arizona and Back...

Since we last chatted here on the family blog, we've been to Arizona and are back in the great state of Alaska once again. The kids and I met Clayton in Arizona for another fast and fabulous visit with the family. As my kids get bigger, they enjoy their cousins, aunts/uncles and grandparents more and more! This visit was no exception. My kids revel in their time with their cousins. That is no exaggeration. It doesn't matter if we're at PPP, the park or jumping on a trampoline, they're in hog heaven. Believe it or not, there is very little bickering. In fact, it's a regular love-fest most of the time. I love watching Kara with her cousins. She's a little bit of a celebrity with them and instead of capitalizing on it, she tries to find things that each cousin enjoys while spending a little one-on-one with them. It's really quite amazing to me as a mom.

Here are some bullet point highlights from this trip:

*Hiking South Mountain with the group. Clayton and I got engaged on South Mountain and we used to hike it all the time when we lived in AZ pre-AF days. It was fun to be back in that element with our own kids plus the cousins.

*Valentine's Day party. It is fun to watch the kids be creative and make messes. What I REALLY love is watching them gift one another. I think they kind of get how it's actually fun to give and receive.

*Visiting the Great Grandmothers in Duncan. Both of my grandmothers are still living and are in good health. My kids LOVE going to visit. They have their own Duncan Expectations like I did growing up... they want quarters from Great Grandma Jeanette at Gi'Mee's and they want pancakes from Gram Boyd.

*Sleepovers at the Filleman and Johnson cousin's casas. There was not an overabundance of sleep happening, early rising but good times (on my kids' end, at least..... may have to break out the kid Ambien for the next time).

*For Mommy: happy hours, Bachelor watching, Super Mario Bros. playing, shopping, almond tequila margarita drinking, ice cream eating, sitting-round-the-table-talking, and the Paisley Violin top the charts.

*For Daddy: seeing Mommy (ha ha, not really), bromances with his brother and brothers-in-law, gun shooting and eating decent Mexican food. (These are conjectures, but I'm pretty sure I'm spot-on here)

Naturally, I forgot my camera and I wasn't very diligent using my dad's this time. With all the Arizona highs, there are the "saying good-bye lows". This gets exponentially harder every time as well. It is especially hard for Kara. She was WAILING when she said good-bye to her aunts, uncles and cousins on Saturday night. It was heartbreaking, really. She and Eli were two sad little messes and it got the rest of us tearing up as well. SO HARD! But very sweet to see how much they love eachother.

Big thanks going out to the Arizona contingent. You guys put your lives on hold for us when we visit and I know it isn't always easy or convenient. Needless to say, it's not lost on us! We know how much work and time you put in pre-, during, and post-visit. Thank you!!! Thank you for loving on us and the kids. To our friends that we missed (once again) while in AZ, I continue to ask for forgiveness. I swear to you, our time in AZ is over before it begins, especially when it's for a week-long visit.

Our trip home was blissfully uneventful. The kids did great. The only glitch was me not thinking to medicate Kara before the flight.. her ears were REALLY hurting on both descents. Our flights were on time. Kamdon and the kids picked us up at the airport and we hit up Moose's Tooth for lunch. Two of our favorite Alaska things within an hour of being home! Can't do much better than that :)