Happy Halloween 2015

Bryan made it home in time for halloween! We carved pumpkins, visited with neighbors, trick or treated, passed out candy, and had a great day.

Pumpkin guts!

Flying bats, a car designed by calvin, and the space shuttle with saturn

Our little astronaut with neighborhood friends, Presley, Mia, and Maddie

Trick or treating with friend Astronaut Max and his parents

Team Hoke Reunited!

The countdown finally came to an end and Bryan is now thankfully, happily, wonderfully home. There was much preparation for the big day, and the weekend before Bryan returned to the U.S., Calvin and I spent many hours making signs to hang at the house and to take with us to the airport.

Flags, balloons, signs, and a few little gifts - we were ready!

Calvin and I drove to the Baltimore airport Thursday evening after dinner.  We got there pretty early (a little more than an hour before his flight was supposed to arrive) because we didn't really know where we would need to go to find him, or even if it was possible that the flight might be early.  This wasn't a commercial flight in a main terminal.  It was a flight with all military personnel, some returning from deployment like Bryan, some traveling for work or personal reasons from overseas. We asked around and found where we needed to be, and waited and waited for the minutes to creep along.

Finally we had news that the plane had landed.  Woo hoo!!!

And we waited and waited, tired and eager and ready to put an end to this deployment.  Calvin sat on the floor as other people trickled in: the flight crew, some random space-available (standby) military travelers, another deployed service member...

About an hour after the plane landed, nearly 2 hours after Calvin's bedtime, over 3 hours since leaving home that evening, and 194 days since we dropped Bryan off in Norfolk, VA, Bryan finally walked through the doors and we were reunited.

Wonderful volunteers were there to take some pictures and cheer everyone home, hand out goodie bags with bottled water and snacks and cards, hang signs and decorations, and join us in welcoming our loved ones home.  A cheerleading group, a nursing school, retired veterans, and other generous people were there and I am so thankful for them.

Go Team Hoke!

Time passes slowly while apart

Even though we try to stay busy, time still seems to creep along...

There is a lot of waiting in our lives right now, even though we try not to think of it that way.  Many conversations have "When daddy gets back...".  I've tried to make sure that we talk about Bryan every day, either what he is doing or what he would think of our adventures or how we miss him or what we can't wait to do with him when he gets back.  We keep Bryan in our daily thoughts and conversation, but always with a sense of patient waiting.  Patience that we have to wait to say/do/see/go/be/know... with him.

So much has happened, so many stories to tell, in this our time apart.  Too many to remember, actually (but I have been keeping a separate blog between Bryan and I with lots of stories and updates, which has helped).  Raccoons in the attic, car maintenance and DMV issues, Pedro passing away, friends moving away, illness and cavities and swimmers ear, learning to swim and balance on a scooter and play baseball, beautiful days and seasons and places, a new old dog, new friends, new school, new paintings, new favorite foods, new toys and clothes and giant shoes for a growing boy. And Bryan has been having his own many experiences and adventures on his end.  Too many to remember and share, them all I am sure. But not all.

I've tried hard to not put our lives on hold.  To have fun when we can, see things and visit with people and explore what is around us. I think that is key. To miss him and think about him but not wait to live life, not put that on the shoulders of this deployment.  It is difficult to do, though; I don't want Bryan to miss out.  But staying busy helps the time go by faster.  Or at least less depressingly slow. And makes the separation less bitter.

Ah, but this waiting is almost over.  The extra-super-slow, must have gotten behind the wrong car in the slow lane, are we there yet???, why-is-this-taking-so-long!?!? motion of the Earth's orbit around the sun is nearing the end of our 6-month long stretch.  Just two weeks to go.  

Summer Road Trip 2015

With school out for the summer and an empty house (all pets had sadly passed away), Calvin and I packed up the car, locked the front door, and left for five weeks on a cross-country road trip that put 4935 miles on my car, brought us to multiple friends and family reunions, included a very important family wedding, and eventually saw us return exhausted but happy for having gone.  Here are some highlights and revelations, in sort-of chronological order:

1)  Children's chewable Dramamine, a front passenger seat with the headrest removed to allow a clear view out the front window from the back seat, no movies or video games or coloring books or anything to distract the kid from looking out the window, and lots and lots of patience while listening to the same freaking music CD over and over and over while your 5 year old memorizes the words to the Kids Bop Kids version of "Shake it Off" and "All about that Base" and other songs on disks 26 and 27 - it all works wonders to prevent car sickness. Calvin only got sick once in the car.  Not bad for nearly 5000 miles.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar needed some exercise at a rest stop on our second day of driving.

2) West Virginia is really, really beautiful!  Anyone who has driven through the state, even if they don't wander onto the smaller roads probably knows that - the view from the highway is beautiful with the mountains and the forest reaching right up to the asphalt.  But finding ourselves driving for hours on small winding roads through ancient mountains, overflowing with green and life and wilderness, was truly awesome.  The first night of our trip was spent with the Sizemores (Hanna and Dane and boys Tristin and Duncan) in their house in the middle of West Virginia wilderness.  You can't walk ten steps from their door without finding yourself approaching a stream that just beacons to be crossed by 5 year old legs, and rocky shallow creeks that rush cold water over your toes, and the sound of cicadas and frogs and birds singing all around, and deer and flowers filling the meadows.  West Virginia definitely made it to the top few of Most Beautiful Magical Places on our trip.  We had a great visit with the Sizemores!

With Hanna's help, the boys created a bridge and dock over a stream with scrap wood from their home remodeling project.  This was so exciting for Calvin - something he doesn't get to do as a city boy!

Gathered on the "dock", Tristin, Duncan, and Calvin pose for a picture.

Good thing Calvin is holding his shorts up in the ankle deep water as he crosses this creek, haha.

Hanna is pointing to tadpoles (I think) with the boys. Nature lessons in the neighbor's yard.

Crossing back though the gate completes the evening adventure.

3) My limit of driving when it is just Calvin and I (see conditions in #1 above) is about four hours.  Three is awesome, easy.  Five is pretty tough. Now I know.

4) We had really nice visits both at the beginning and end of our trip with my Aunt Ginny and cousin Janel, and her son Zade in Louisville, Kentucky.  My Aunt Ginny's garden of dozens of different varieties of lillies is really impressive and beautiful (and surprisingly toddler and 5-year-old tough).  Deer visit her back fence from the field and forest behind her house, which is often covered in dewey mist in the mornings (or has my memory just painted that in?).  Zade fills the house with busy 1.5 year old discoveries and explorations and giggles.  We had a lot of fun and a really nice time catching up with family on those stops.

Cuddle time on the couch with cousin Janel

Tickle time for Janel and her full-of-energy toddler son, Zade

Aunt Ginny and Calvin in the backyard

6) St Louis has a ton of great places to visit, including my friend from high school, Tracy, and her family.  They completely welcomed us into their family; the kids (both older than Calvin) including him in their fun, which Calvin LOVED.  Our overnight stay in the St Louis was made more exciting and memorable with not one but two tornado warnings that send us all to the basement.  Calvin, who remembered the tornado drill in preschool the year before, hurried to the basement with the rest of us and immediately got down on his knees, tucked his head under his interlaced hands and was ready for the house to come down over him.  Good thing they had some games and activities ready to distract kiddos (and to get Calvin out of his tornado-safety posture).  No damage to the house or surrounding area, thankfully.  But with all the rain Missouri had been experiencing this summer, we unfortunately weren't able to do the riverboat cruise on the Mississippi near the Gateway Arch due to flooding.  But we did end up visiting a few children's museums and hearing about a lot of other places to explore on future trips through this city.  I've driven through St Louis so many times, why have I not stopped before?

High School friend, Tracy, and me outside the St Louis Science Center

Pretty greusome details on the T-Rex-kills-a-Triceratops display.  It moved too, and roared, and the dying Triceratops breathed.  Pretty cool.

Building an arch - perfect for the city where you can see the Gateway Arch from almost anywhere.

Elena, Calvin, and Christian with their completed arch.  I love it!

Watching cars go under the bridge that crosses I-70 (part of the museum).

Measuring the speed of vehicles on I-70.  So fun!

7) The 4th of July at home in Missouri was small this year with fewer people coming in town.  The smaller group allowed for more relaxing time to visit with family in Missouri and family visiting from Florida and Texas, and for a fireworks display that night that was geared completely for the kids.  Snaps, smoke bombs, parachutes (which the kids ran after into the fields to catch as they floated back to the ground), Chinese lanterns (the kind that send sparks out and spin rapidly before popping open), and sparklers.  Fun and memorable and easy(-ish).

Pasture golf with cousin Denton and aunt Debbie

A new (awesome) game, Kubb, that my brother-in-law Dan and his friends introduced this year

Mom and I in her herb garden

Kiddos returning after chasing parachutes into the field

Calvin spent most of the 4th of July with his favorite cousin Kelsey. Here he is sitting on her lap, next to Dan, watching fireworks.

Chinese lanterns, one for each kid.

Dad and me on the 4th of July

Michelle and me, pausing for a picture while playing pasture golf on the 5th

We greatly missed all of the family that often joins us in our yearly reunion - we reminisced and toasted to you.  Those of us who were there this year wrote letters to Bryan, thanking him for his service to our country and letting him know we missed him.  Calvin and I missed Bryan especially bad those days - it just isn't the same at the 4th of July without him!

8) We took a short trip up to Omaha (less than 3 hours from my parent's place, who knew!) to visit Kelly Veit and family - friends we made in Alabama during Bryan's last assignment.  It was so great catching up with them and seeing their new home and exploring/discovering Omaha.  The zoo really is awesome, though we hardly saw any of it (limited time before needing to head back to MO).  The Veits were gracious and welcoming to both Calvin and me - Calvin loved the play time with kids his age, and I loved catching up and visiting with someone who could relate to what this summer is like for me (with a spouse deployed).

Me and Kelly at the Omaha Zoo

Calvin, Sam, and Mathew - finding pygmy hippos and bats and exotic birds and other interesting creatures at one of the many awesome indoor exhibits at the Omaha zoo

9) We spent nearly two weeks in Colorado in July: two nights camping with family at Fourmile campground near Fairplay and two nights camping at Mueller State Park just west of Pikes Peak, two nights in Monument to gather with family for my sister Michelle and her fiance Dan's wedding at Rocksborough State Park in Denver, two nights visiting with friends in the Denver/Boulder/Nederland area, plus a few days driving back and forth.  We hiked in the Rocky Mountains and learned the signs of wildlife (elk chew marks on aspen trees, squirrel middens, moose skat, tracks, etc), saw abundant mountain flowers everywhere we went, breathed wonderful mountain air, and remembered that (at least for me) home is in Colorado.  It was really neat being able to show Calvin (and to experience it myself) the difference between the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia.

Me, Michelle, and Kelsey with Calvin in the background, stubbornly not wanting to be in any pictures, while waiting for Casa Bonita in Denver to open for lunch

Calvin had no problem sleeping in sleeping bags in a tent. This was his first time camping and he loved it!

Calvin is ready for a hike, 4 mile campground near Fairplay, CO

Dad, being silly and walking backwards on the hike.

Mom, stacking rocks on a hike near Fairplay, CO

Calvin and I pause on the hike for a water break.

Group picture

Awesome views from a trail at Mueller State Park

Calvin is taking the Jr Ranger oath at Mueller State Park in Colorado. He took it very seriously, learned a lot in the steps that led to this moment, and is quite proud to now be a Jr Ranger.

Kelsey, Michelle, and Dan enjoy the wedding celebration surrounded by immediate family

Mom and Aunt Debbie at a grassland prairie overlook in Kansas, taking in the beautiful view and rich smells, and reminiscing about childhood roadtrips.

10)  Friends Alicia, Luke, and Maddie came to visit us in Missouri during their move this summer from Virginia to Nebraska.  It was so great seeing them again - catching up on their move frustrations and adventures, sharing our summer roadtrip story, getting a chance to say hello/welcome to the Midwest while also having to say goodbye as near-neighbors in Virginia, all in one trip.  Calvin loved having young kids (and especially his buddy Luke) to play with again (he had been stuck all summer with grown ups and a super-awesome cousin Kelsey, who is 12 and really great with Calvin).  Alicia and I talked and caught up on life.  We visited with my family, found the cows in the back field, swam in the pool, scared frogs at the pond, rode the zipline in my parents backyard, and explored Crown Center in Kansas City.  It was fun playing host while on vacation, and really great getting a chance to share my childhood home and family with a friend - a rare experience these days.

Calvin and Luke reumite!

Luke and Maddie (shown) ride with Calvin, Alicia, and me in the back of the truck while dad drives us through the back field in search of the cows.  What an experience for these three city kids!

Sunflowers grow tall on the farm!

11)  I really love that we have friends and family all over the country, which makes the constant cycle of saying goodbye to new friends a little easier.  The last four years have been tough with three moves, three homes, three rounds of starting over.  We have made many new friends in the last few years, some from unexpected opportunities, some out of necessity, but all important and loved.  Visits like those we made this summer remind me of how important and unforgotten we all are in each other's lives.  We may not live near each other, I may not see you often or talk with you as much as I would like (or at all, unfortunately), but you are a part of my life.  Visits like these remind me of the importance of saying:

"Until next time, friends.  Happy adventures to you all; good luck to you where ever your lives bring you.  May our paths cross again!"