9/11

Kids are in bed and I finally have a few minutes to sit and think about 9/11.  I’ve been reading everyone’s posts and video memorials of that day, until I just couldn’t stand to watch anymore.  I’m sure I look “a hot mess” as a friend of mine would say. I am glad to see that everyone is remembering in their own way, but I still worry that many are only remembering because it is the anniversary of 9/11.  I wonder if it still lives in everyone’s daily lives as it did in those days following that horrific day.  It does mine.  I’m not sure anyone really even cares, but I feel compelled to put attempt to put into words what I felt that day and the days that followed.

I was sitting in my cubicle, listening to Bon and Sheri as I did most days back then.  I remember them breaking into their normal joking banter to say that a plane had just crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center.  A few minutes later, they stated that another plane had crashed into the other tower and at that point everyone was certain it wasn’t an accident.  I slowly stood up at my cubicle and looked around to see if anyone else was hearing what I was hearing, only to see almost everyone in the room standing, looking around in disbelief.  It was almost like we were all checking to make sure we weren’t imagining what we were hearing.   I’d only been married for 5 ½ weeks on 9/11 and my first thought to myself was, “Our lives just changed forever.”  At that point, it was a selfish thought about me and my husband.  I had married a U.S. Army soldier, never dreaming that less than 6-weeks later we would be looking at him going to war.  Pre 9/11 that just wasn’t a thought that ever entered into my head. Even though that initial thought was selfish, I don’t know that there could be a truer thought.  For so many, our lives were forever changed that horrific day.

For me, I now lived with the knowledge that one day soon; I would be sending my husband off to war.  It was never a thought of “if” he would go, but when.  I remember feeling as my confidence and security in my own country were gone.  I didn’t feel “safe” anymore.  Even though we hadn’t planned to have kids, yet, I started wondering if the post 9/11 world was even one I would want to bring kids into.  However, the coming days brought new hope.  I saw our wonderful nation come together in a way I had never seen.  It was inspirational!  I looked around at the people I interacted with and those on the news as they put together medical supply drives, fundraising drives and so many other fantastic things and I thought to myself that maybe, just maybe this was going to be a start to sending this country down the right road.

It saddens me that for many of us, that coming together as one nation, was a fleeting moment in time.  All too soon, 9/11 was no longer in the forefront of our mind.   I won’t say we forgot, but we certainly didn’t stay that close knit family that our nation seemed to be there for a while.  I guess maybe that is the reason for my cynicism around this anniversary of 9/11.  Are we all remembering because it is the anniversary, especially because it is the 10-year anniversary? I only wish that we would all remember every day, not so much the fear and sadness we felt on that horrific day, but how we felt on the days after as we truly came together as a nation and loved our neighbor as we did our family.  That is what I wish we could truly hold onto from 9/11, that love of our country, that feeling of unity and that spirit of wanting to help our fellow man. 

A Story About a Boy and a Girl

Once upon a time a boy met a girl (in a bar of all places).  The girl was not impressed.  Something about the fact that the first words the guy said to the girl were, “… is that you real name?”  Fast forward several months, a series of misunderstandings and misinformation provided by friends and the girl and guy finally carry on a conversation and set up a date. Girl tells guy, “I’m not looking for a relationship.”  Boy tells girl, “Good, neither am I.”  Fast forward 9-months and the girl and guy are saying “I Do.”

Ten years later and I think God every day that I am that girl and that the boy is my husband, only we’re not a boy and girl anymore.  It has been an amazing, wonderful, sometimes rocky, love filled ten years since we said “I do.”  When I look back at those years, I am both amazed and melancholy.  They have been filled with the birth of our children, but also loss of both family and friends; separations due to deployments and glorious reunions; the excitement of journeys to new places, along with the sadness of missing our family and friends at home.  Most of all, those years have been filled with love…love of family, our children, each other and God. 

In a sermon once, Dr. Hal Brady told us that the best thing a man can do for his children is love their mother and vice-versa.  I am so blessed that our children get to grow up seeing two parents that love each other. They will see our imperfections I am sure, but I just hope that we show them every day, how to love and treat each other.  I never doubt that Lila will grow up knowing how a man should treat a woman, because Cory shows her in both the way he treats me and her…every single day. Collis will know how a man should treat a woman…he has the best example set for him by his Daddy. For that, I am immensely grateful.  I think that as parents, one of the greatest things I can hope for is that our love for each other can be an example for our children.

My dearest husband, I love you and happy 10^th Anniversary.  You are my best friend, my rock, the person I want to see first thing every morning, the one I want to kiss good night and so much more.   I am so blessed that once upon a time, you met a girl who had some growing up to do and were willing to stick it out while she did.  I see the sacrifices you make all the time to ensure we are taken care of and I want you to know how much I appreciate you.  I could say that you are the husband I always dreamed of, but that wouldn’t be true, because you are so much more than anything my imagination every conjured up.  I love you and look forward to the next ten years and the rest of our lives together.  Happy Anniversary!

WHEW...It's been busy, but FUN!

It has been a busy month to say the least, but that is a good thing!  With the husband being gone, I am glad to keep busy.  At the end of June, my mom came up for about 5 days and spent some time with us.  It was great to have her here with us and we spent the entire time driving and showing her the sights.  Lila flew back to Georgia with her to spend the week and then I flew home the first weekend of July for my college roommate, Lenna’s wedding.  I was so excited to be able to be there for her wedding to Mike and she was absolutely stunning.  Lila was the flower girl and she was so beautiful!  Of course, I am more than a little bit biased.  The only negative of the trip was that it was quick and I didn’t have time to see anyone other than family and friends at the wedding.  For those of you that I didn’t get to see, I hate it and hope that next time we come, we will have more time to visit and catch up.

On Saturday, Lila and I had to leave the wedding reception to catch our flight back home.  Luckily for us, we got to fly back to Washington with our friends Kat, Keary and their kids.  I’m sure the stewardesses flight attendants were scared when they saw us coming. I think everyone near Kat and Keary got a kick out of their girls yelling “WHEEEEE” as the plane took off and talking about how cool it was that Washington kept their Christmas lights on all the time!  J  We had a few days to spend all together before Cory had to leave to go to Australia for a month.  I was happy to have them here after he left to keep my mind off of it for a couple of days, though.  It made him leaving a little easier on everyone, Lila and Collis included. 

While they were here, we fit in anything and everything we could.  It was a hectic, busy, crazy, fun week.  While Cory was still at home, we fit in Mt. St. Helens and a trip to the coast, including the famed Oysterville.  It was everything the brochure said it was…unfortunately, there wasn’t anything else.  J  We did spend a little time on the beach, but Abby took a dive into the freezing cold water, so our beach trip got cut a little short. Of course, we also had to drive down to Portland, just for VooDoo donuts.  Although, somehow, despite the fact that we bought abundance, I never did get my Maple Bacon Bar.   After Cory left, we spent a full day driving around Mt. Rainier.  All the roads were finally open so it was BEAUTIFUL!  We also bought a city pass for Seattle and spent 3-days up there.  I definitely recommend the City Pass for anyone that wants to spend a couple of days checking out Seattle.  We went to the Woodland Park Zoo, Aquarium, took a harbor cruise, Experience Music Project/Sci-Fi Museum, Pacific Science Museum and Space needle, all for $60 per adult and $40 per kid.  It was definitely worth the money! I have to say that after all those days of parking in Seattle, I think I have finally figured out how to get the cheapest parking and have found at least one parking garage, I will never ever attempt again.  I wasn’t sure I was going to make it out of there without hitting a wall.  UGH! We all had a great time and were sad to see them go at the end of the week, although by that time, I was exhausted.  I think all I did was lay on the couch for a week afterwards, trying to get my energy back. 

Now, we’re just counting down the days until Cory comes home from Australia.  I have to say that I am ready for him to come home.  I really miss him!  A LOT!  A little over a week, though and he will be back…one day before our 10-year anniversary.  Man, time sure does fly! 

Let's Get Physical, Physical

As the title suggests, I am working to get physical. I did two triathlons last summer and thought I was well on my way to being a healthier individual and I was PROUD! Then, along came a ectopic pregnancy that required surgery, a cross country move and a miscarriage shortly after said move and I am sad to say, I am back to being a part-time couch potato. Other than walking home with my daughter from school every afternoon, I haven’t been doing much.

In the past, I have tried just about every exercise program known to man and haven’t stuck with any of them. Pilates, Hip Hop Abs, The Firm have all been at my house at some point in time and all got stuck in the DVD case and left there. I have learned that I’m just not good with videos and not coordinated enough for aerobics. I did enjoy the tri-training last summer, though. Well, I enjoyed all of it except the running, which I pretty much just ignored. HA HA. I HATE, HATE, HATE running. It is definitely not my strong point and never has been. So, I have decided to tackle running. I figure that since I hate it so much, I should just tackle it. Maybe if I turn working out into a huge challenge that I have to win, maybe I will stick with it and maybe, just maybe, I will get a little healthier in the process.

So, I downloaded the Couch to 5K app on my phone and started doing it officially on Sunday. Today was workout day two which consisted of walk 90 seconds, run 60 seconds for 20 minutes with a 5 minute warm up and cool down. So, the first four 90 second runs KILL ME! I don’t know if I’m just not warmed up or if it is mental or what, but it is excruciating. I do them slow, like at a 15 minute mile pace, which I’m not even sure counts a jog. I think I can probably walk that fast. After the first four, I do manage to speed up a little, but not much. UGH!

I am also working on being physical in other ways as well. I have been taking the dogs to the dog park the past couple of days and walked with my neighbor last night for a little over an hour. We’re planning on doing it again tonight. I guess that is something! Every little bit is supposed to count, right?

I guess at the end of this journey, one of two things can happen. Either I will learn to love running or I will be able to say that despite my hate, I did it.

Checking In...

Okay, I guess I’m overdue for an update. Things here are pretty good! Lila is still doing great in school and Cory’s job is going pretty good. It is busy, busy for him which means a lot of early mornings and late nights. We’re adjusting, though and I’ve made some friends with my neighbors which is nice. It looks like we’re all in the same boat as far as the hours our spouses are working. We all stay home with our kids; so on sunny days we are all usually hanging out in our front yards, watching our kids play in the cul-de-sac. Lucky for us, we had almost an entire week of sunshine last week. Unluckily, the rain is back in force this week.



The past couple of weeks have been extremely busy. As some of you know, I was asked to co-lead our FRG (Family Readiness Group) and agreed. Luckily for me, the lady that is co-leading with me is turning out to be a good friend and I think we work well together. I’m looking forward to where we are going to take the group and I hope we have a lot of ladies that get involved. I have been a part of some great FRGs in the past that supported me during some very difficult times. I hope that I can give back and we can do that for someone else.


Easter was a busy time for us as well. We had our Battalion Easter Event on Palm Sunday, which required some of us ladies to stuff 200 eggs and our company to supply a game or activity. Luckily, our tailgating/Steeplechase days paid off as we already had a bean bag toss game and ladder golf, as well as folding tables/chairs. We had a great time and the weather was fantastic. Everyone was talking about Lila all day as she climbed a tree in her cowboy boots to get the prize egg. I also hosted the Easter Event at the Fisher House on Good Friday. For those of you not familiar with the Fisher House, it is a place where military families can stay while they or family members are undergoing treatment at a military facility. I became familiar with the Fisher House in It is an awesome organization and I was super-excited to be a part of the Easter Event. The Fisher House really strives to make the families feel at home as much as possible. When I first volunteered to host the event, I had a little freak out moment as I realized how much was involved. Luckily for me, several ladies from our FRG stepped up and helped me out. I can’t explain how much I appreciate their help, especially since I hadn’t even met several of them when they volunteered. We supplied snacks for the families, treat bags for the kids, colored Easter eggs and even had an Easter Egg Hunt. There was only one child staying at the house so we brought our kids with us to hunt eggs with him. It was such a fun and special day. I am looking forward to staying involved with this organization in the future.


My friend Buffy visited with us last week and I loved it. It was so nice to see a familiar face. We stayed up entirely too late at night chatting and laughing hysterically, which made for very tired mornings when that alarm went off. Her brother who lives north of Seattle invited us up for Easter Sunday, so after church we headed up to his house. We had a great time, fantastic food and they had an egg hunt for the kids. I think I might get to see her again this Saturday before she heads back home. She has been sharing her time between our house and her brother’s house.


I guess that is about it for now. We are praying for everyone back home with the thunderstorms and tornados. I hope that y’all stay safe. We love you guys!

Praying on Paper

I’m not comfortable praying out loud. There. I said it. I hear others pray over dinner and family gatherings like our Uncle John and my brother-in-law Brian and I wish that I could be as eloquent at prayers and blessings as them. I’m not. It’s weird for me because public speaking doesn’t bother me at all. I have given speeches in front of huge groups, spoken on TV, performed in plays, given presentations in front of executives at my job, but still, when I try to pray out loud, I clam up. I am sure it is one of those things where practice makes perfect, but I feel inadequate. I know this is ridiculous and there is no such thing as a bad prayer. However, it doesn’t change the way I feel. I don’t even pray out loud when I am by myself.

Instead, I pray on paper. I’ve always been a writer and I do use that term loosely. I love keeping journals, writing stories, even making up stories on demand for my kids. I’ve always like writing things down; jotting down feelings and things that were good about my day. While I have never been a dedicated journal keeper, I do write down my feelings and thoughts, often on scraps of paper that end up getting stuck in a book somewhere or tossed away. This is also how I pray. I write down my prayers…prayers for my family, friends, myself; prayers for people I’ve never met. I’m comfortable there, expressing myself silently on a piece of paper. Someday, I hope I find my voice. I’m working on it.

Playing Catch Up

I guess I am seriously behind in my blogging. It has been a busy time to say the least. We got to Ft. Lewis January 20th and Cory immediately had to sign in to post in order for us to be able to get on post housing. For some of you, I’m sure it is quite the shock that I decided to live on post as it is something I have always been hesitant to do. However, after only one evening of rush hour traffic on I-5, right off post, it was a pretty easy decision. So far, it has been a pretty good one. Lila’s school is only a couple of a block walk and there is a huge lake within walking distance as well which is pretty awesome, or at least it will be when the weather warms up.


So, when we got to Ft. Lewis we had to stay in guest housing for a little over a week, which basically amounted to living in a one bedroom studio apartment with 4 of us. It was a little crazy to say the least, but we consider ourselves lucky that it was such a short time. We have friends who have spent months living in guest housing or hotel rooms with their families while they waited for on post housing.

Our house on post is pretty nice. It is actually bigger than our old house square footage wise and has a garage which is nice, although I have yet to be able to park in the garage since our belongings were delivered. We’ve been in our house for over a month and unfortunately, the garage has been the overflow space or the “we don’t need that immediately and will get to it later” space. We finally started working on getting it organized this weekend and hopefully, I will actually be able to use it before too much longer. So, while our house is technically bigger than our old one, it is smaller as far as living space because it has TONS of storage. I think I could turn my laundry room into another room if needed. Plus, there is this HUGE storage room off the laundry with shelves all the way up one wall. It is super-nice; along with my walk in closet which I LOVE.

We moved into our house on January 31st and Cory left a week later to go back to Georgia to pick up his truck, the dogs and his Uncle John who made the trip back here with him. It was a long and tiring trip for them, but I think they enjoyed spending so much time with each other. However, I think 4 days in the truck with the stinky dogs may have been a little much for them. I have to put huge thanks out here to our friends Katherine and Keary in Athens who watched our dogs for us until we got settled and Cory got back to get them, which ended up being about a month. It is rare in life to find such wonderful friends who will put up with you, much less your pain in the butt dogs, who pee’ed on everything in their yard repeatedly (I hope they don’t send me a bill for dead plants) and who repeatedly dug under their fence to escape. Kat and Keary, we love you guys and can’t wait to see you this summer when you come visit us.

Since we have been here we have done quite a bit of exploring. After our trip across the country, it doesn’t seem like much to jump in the car for a couple hour jaunt. We have visited Seattle where we visited Pike’s Place Market which attacks your senses as soon as you walk into the place. It is a combination Farmer’s and Fish Market, completed with fish throwing and tons of vendors selling everything from clothing and toys to handmade crafts. It was wild to say the least. We HAD to stop by Beeker’s Handmade Cheese, home of Oprah’s favorite mac and cheese. We didn’t try the mac and cheese, but their Flagship Cheese, is fantastic.

We also visited Portland and made a trip to VooDoo donuts thanks to a recommendation to my very dear (and not forgotten) friend Jennifer. I can honestly say she is the best friend I ever forgot and the donuts were delish. I know that the idea of bacon on a donut may sound weird, but the maple bacon bar was phenomenal. We also visited Powell’s City of Books which is a multiple story bookstore that covers an entire city block. It was spectacular and is full of both new and used books. They have a children’s section that is the size of your average bookstore, so Lila was in heaven. For those of you who know of my fondness for reading, you can only imagine how excited I got…kid in a candy store excited doesn’t even get close to how I felt. We spent several hours perusing books ranging from Ferdinand the Bull to Furniture Building for Dummies. The bookstore is organized just like a library, so everything is easy to find.

There is also Point Defiance Park in Tacoma. It is beautiful and has a beach right on Puget Sound where you can picnic. They also have a 5-mile drive through old growth forest which is beautiful and on Saturday morning they close the road to auto traffic and it is just open for pedestrians and bicyclists. I definitely have it on my to-do list to ride there at sunrise. It’s not a long ride, but gorgeous and I think you can make it longer by driving through other parts of the park. There is also a zoo and aquarium in the park. We are considering getting annual passes for both as they are fairly reasonable.

I have to say that the Pacific Northwest is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, even if it does rain A LOT. We are surrounded by mountains on pretty much all sides and when the sky is clear, you are constantly surprised when suddenly you see these majestic mountain ranges in the distance. The view of Mt. Rainier or Rain-ier is spectacular, especially when the sun is setting. Due to the clouds and distance, it seems to be constantly changing shape and color, depending on the time of day. Lila has been studying it in school and has told us we will be in big trouble if it ever erupts, not from the lava, but from the melting glaciers that will basically flood everything with mud. Good times!!! Apparently, not only do we have to worry about volcanoes (Mt. St. Helens and Rainier), but also earthquakes, although it has been years since either happened. On a good note, we hardly ever have thunderstorms or tornados.

So, I’ve tried to put a lot in one blog, so hopefully I haven’t rambled too much. To all our family and friends, we love and miss you.

Day 11, 12 and 13

The last 3 days have been spent driving from San Fran to Ft. Lewis, Washington. Once we started getting close, I found myself getting a little sad. I think this was for two reasons, one being the end of our incredible journey across this fabulous nation of ours, but also because I realized I was in this foreign, gray and dreary place to stay, not just to visit. I am sure I will be very happy once I get settled in, but it makes being away from family and friends real to me.

Northern California with the coastal redwoods and ocean and then Oregon was breathtaking. The journey through the Redwoods was spiritual. It was as if it put me in touch with my Native American ancestors. It gave me some feeling of how/why they may have worshipped the earth and nature. Being surrounded by that beauty and entire sensory experience, I was aware of something so much greater than myself. For me, that is God.The grandeur is something that can never be captured in a picture because it impacts all of your senses, bombards them. In the middle of the forests, the trees cover you in a canopy, the light just barely filtering through the branches. The air smells of damp earth and is so clean. The air is damp and a gentle mist constantly falls. There is a deep silence...and the burls feel like velvet, they are so soft. It is something I cannot properly describe in words

The drive up the coast was beautiful as well. Hwy 101 curved back and forth between the forest/mountains and the wild Pacific Ocean. You would be riding through deep trees when suddenly the view would open up and you would be driving along a cliff above the raging ocean. The waves were huge. We stopped in one place to take pictures of a lighthouse on a cliff and when we looked down the cliff to the ocean below, there were hundreds of sea lions on the rocks. They were so unexpected and you could here their barking and growling faintly over the crashing waves. I have also determined that people in Oregon are the nicest people i have ever met. They were so sweet, giving us ideas for which routes to take and even giving us weather updates. The people at the hotel this morning even made the kids cups of snacks to go for the road. Small I know, but still such a kind gesture. Oregon also completely changed my mind about Best Western Hotels as I spent the past two nights in two of the nicest Best Westerns I have ever seen.
A funny thing happened on this trip. On our first or second day of our trip, I got a small chip and resulting crack in my windshield. It was at the very bottom of my windshield on the driver's side and probably 7 inches long when we first noticed it. It took us a while because it was too low to be visible from inside the car. With each stop, it got a little bigger and by the time we stopped last night it was a little over half way across the window. By the end of the day today, it has almost completely made it across the windshield.I expect that by morning, it will be completely across. I guess for a lot of people, it would be a major bummer to have a cracked windshield and I have to admit I was a little bummed when it first happened, but now I have a strange kinship with my crack. I look at the twists and turns it makes across my windshield and it is much like the twisting journey we took across the country. I look at each change in direction and known what city we were in when it happened. I think it only fitting that the crack finish it's journey as we complete ours, or at least this leg of it. A new part of our journey begins tomorrow...

I apologize for all my spelling and grammar mistakes. Typing on the iPad is torture. Can't wait to find my laptop cord. I love you and miss you all.

Day 9/10

Rice-a-roni, the San Francisco treat! We had a very nice time in San Francisco. It was a long drive from Vegas, but we finally made it. We drove by NTC(National Training Center) near Barstow, CA and I was reminded why I am glad that we are not stationed there. It is in the middle of the desert with no trees or greenery in sight. Ick! It is definitely not my kind of place at all. It was kind of crazy, though. It was like I blinked and suddenly we were out of the desert and surrounded by these beautiful lush green mountains. Shortly after we got into the mountains, this heavy fog set in that was both beautiful and eerie at the same time. It was foggy off and on from there to San Fran which was blanketed in heavy, thick fog. We passed this cattle farm on I-5 and it was the single most horrendous smell I have ever smelled in my life. There were thousand of cattle crammed into this small muddy area and it stunk for miles and miles. From what I gathered on the Internet it is always a horrid stench. It was definitely enough to make me not crave a steak for a while. Cory still insists that his steaks comes from happy cows on the hill, not that nastiness.

We spent the day yesterday exploring San Francisco. We walked around the city the entire day. We took the train into town from our hotel and walked from the station all around. We went to the Ferry Building which had homemade bread and a cheese store, then down to pier 39 where we did some shopping and got to see Sea Lions in the bay. Fan-freaking-tastic! They were sunning themselves and wrestling. It was a very cool thing to see. After that, we went down to Fisherman's Wharf and had the best fish sandwich I have ever has at Sally's Famous Fishwich. I definitely what that place is famous. We walked around the Cannery and Ghirardelli Square. It smelled so yummy, but I managed to abstain, although I probably could have indulged with all the walking we did. We also, walked up to the top of Lombard Street, which is reputed to be the crookedest street in the world. Only we walked up the straight part and it seemed straight up. My legs and lungs were burning when we reached the top and my heart felt like it would beat out of my chest. It was very worth the view from the top, although it would have been easier to just take the cable car up. Walking down was even more fun, while trying not to let Collis and his stroller run away.

After more walking back to Pier 39 and a dinner at Hard Rock, we caught a street car that we thought would take us back to the BART(train station). Only, it went out of service 3 blocks from our stop, so we walked the last 3 blocks before hopping our train and then shuttle to our hotel. I have to say that San Fran has the best transportation system I have ever seen. I wondered if staying as far out at the airport as we did would be a mistake, but the transportation system was easy to navigate and fast, once we learned to ask for assistance. Ha ha.

Now, we are headed north on 101 to the Redwood Forest. We will probably stop in Eureka tonight depending on how the day goes. We miss and love everyone.

Day7/8

After leaving the Grand Canyon, we headed to the Hoover Dam. It was pretty cool. Lila was super excited because she recognized it from Transformers. It was huge! We got to see some Rams grazing below the dam which was an unexpected surprise. I tried to get some pics, but i am not sure how good they are, as it was a long way to the bottom.

We spent the last 2 nights in Las Vegas and we had a blast. It isn't necessarily the most family oriented place around, but we made it work. We all had a blast. We stayed at Excalibur and Lila loved staying in a castle. It was a very nice resort. When we first walked in and through the casino, Lila was like, " Wow, I see lots of games to play!" she was disappointed when she found out they were adult games. Luckily, there was a huge arcade downstairs so she did get to play some games.

We drove into Vegas in the dark and you could see the strip from miles away. You came around the mountain and then all of a sudden there were lights for as far as you could see and in the middle was the strip. I could not believe how bright all the lights were. The traffic was crazy, of course and when I first walked into the casino of the hotel, the lights and activity left me feeling lightly overstimulated and disoriented.

We fit as much as possible into our day and a half, including so much food that I barely fit into my pants. Someone should have warned me about all you can eat all day buffets! WHOA! It was delicious, though. After breakfast yesterday, we went to see the Bodies Exhibit, Lila has been wanting to see for a while, now. It was very interesting and didn't even faze that kid of mine. After that, we spent some time exploring the Strip. I was honestly glad I was traveling with a girl and a baby boy as opposed to the other way around. We'll just say that prostitution is alive and well in Vegas. The escort services were passing out "business cards" complete with pictures of naked women with stars over their girlie parts. Luckily, Lila didn't seem overly interested other than, "gosh mom, more naked women, really?" I have a feeling a little boy might have paid more attention. We did make sure to see the fountains at Bellagio which were stunning. Both of the kids loved them.

Now, we're back on the road headed to San Francisco. We're over half way to our destination. We will probably spend two nights and then up 101 to the Redwood Forest and Oregon Coast.

To all of our family and friends we miss and love you.

Day 6/7

It's the morning of Day 7 and we're headed to Vegas. Yesterday, we went to the Grand Canyon and I was awestruck!!! It was possibly one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. It was overwhelming. We walked a portion of the canyon rim and around every turn was another beautiful view. I think I was most surprised by how huge it was. I expected it to be big, but never in my wildest dreams did I expect it to be that huge. It was miles and miles of beauty. There was snow all over the place. The kids had fun playing in the snow that was all around the park. Heck, who am I kidding? I had a blast playing in it, too. The weather was beautiful. We were comfortable in just sweatshirts all day until the sun started setting and then the temperature dropped fast. It was 17 degrees when we woke up this morning, but was back up to 45 by 9 am.

Day 5

It's officially near the end of Day 5 of our travel. There wasn't much to report yesterday except for a very long drive across western Texas and a fantastic dinner at State Line BBQ in El Paso. It was phenomenal. We continued to drive for several more hours after dinner all the way through New Mexico and ending up in Willcox, AZ. It was a very long drive with the highlight being going through a border control checkpoint where we got asked if we were American citizens and were all related. I guess they decided we weren't smuggling any illegal aliens as they didn't make us open up the haul trailer.

Last night, we realized that we were only about an hour from Tombstone so we decided to put off driving and make a quick stop which ended up being an almost all day stop. I am so glad we decided to make the detour as it ended up being a blast for both us and the kids. We got to see a gunfight, take a stage coach ride and learn more about the way brothels and ladies of the night operated than I ever needed to know. Perhaps the most interesting part of the day was a tour of the Bird Cage Theater. It is one of e few buildings to survive both of the major Tombstone fires and is completely original. When it was closed down, they literally just boarded it up with everything still inside, so when they reopened it as a museum, everything is still original, including bullet holes from shootouts. The last show posters are still on the wall. It was like walking back 130 years in time. They haven't done any restorations so it is pretty much like it was left, right down to the whiskey barrels in the basement. It was a combination theater, casino and brothel. Talk about a multi-purpose facility. We even got to see Wyatt Earp's house, but not Virgil's since some hoodlum kids burned it down while playing with matches on the lot in 1998. I can't even begin to describe how excited I was about going to Tombstone. I was like a kid in a candy store. The people that live and work there even dress up in old western garb. It was well worth the lost time on our trip.

Now, we are on our way to Phoenix for the night. Our original goal was to make it to Flagstaff, but we've decided to make it an early night and then on to the Grand Canyon in the morning. We are thinking about staying at a lodge in the park overlooking the canyon, but haven't completely made up our mind.

To our family and friends, we love and miss you guys.

Random thoughts

As we drive across the country with our kids in the back seat and a small trailer of our most important possessions being pulled behind us, I can't help but think how few people have really had an opportunity to see this great country of ours through the window of a car and on foot. So many times, we hop on a plane to hit the big tourist destinations and miss the best parts of the country, those small places in between that you don't see on the travel channel. What an experience it is for us to be able to do this as a family. Not only to we get to explore our country from Georgia to Washington, but we get to do it as family, spending over two weeks together. I know for some people two weeks in a car with two little ones would seem like a special kind of torture, but what an adventure of a lifetime. It's such a great thing to have nowhere in particular to go and to pick the next destination and route as we go. Like this morning, we knew we wanted to eventually make our way to the Grand Canyon, but didn't decide until we hit the road to stay on a southern route through El Paso or head up toward Albuquerque. We chose El Paso and the drive down the interstate is beautiful. Right now, we are surrounded by beautiful rocky hills and scrub brush and beautiful cloudless sky for as far as the eye can see. There isn't an exit or building in sight, nothing to disturb the natural beauty of this place. Every once in a while, we come up a hill and it looks like the world is going to drop off when we reach the top, but when you get there the view opens up to even more beauty.

I only hope that our lives continue to give us the opportunity to share this country with our children. I can't imagine raising children in a city of concrete and metal and them never experiencing all the natural wonders of this country. For now, I get to thank God and the U.S. Army for this fantastic opportunity for our family. I pray that I can instill a sense of adventure and a desire to explore the world around them in my children. There is so much out there that can't be found in a video game or behind a computer screen, if you are willing to go out and find it.

Day 3

Here is the day 3 update, but on the morning of day 4. We spent the entire day in San Antonio and had a fantastic time. Spending more time there just made me love it that much more. We were tempted to spend another day, but decided it would be a wiser decision to get back on the road. So, we are now headed down I-10 toward El Paso. Hopefully, we will make it past El Paso to the border with New Mexico before dinner time. It has been recommended that we eat at the County Line.

Yesterday, we took our time getting up and out on the town. It was nice to semi sleep in for a change. Once we got up, we hit the River Center mall for breakfast and some shopping. The mall is awesome! Cory and I both bought new cowboy boots. We did a lot of walking around and just seeing the stops. The Alamo was only a couple of blocks away so we spent some time walking around there. It is almost overwhelming to stand in the middle of the Alamo and think of the sacrifices that were made there. I was surprised by how small it is, but very little of the original walls still stand. A huge portion of the original foundation is under buildings across the street. The gardens on the grounds of the Alamo are beautiful. They have a museum that has all kinds of treasures from people who were there, including a locket with a piece of David Crockett's hair which I found odd. The day ended with dinner at Fogo de Chao. YUMMO!

We are currently driving through the middle of Texas and I am amazed at what a beautiful state it is. We've seen so many different types of land in this state, from wetlands to beautiful prairies to the rolling, rocky hills of west Texas. It is so very different from Georgia. I can also tell you that the people of Texas love George Bush.

To our family and friends in Georgia, we hops y'all survived the winter storm. We love you guys and miss you.

Day 2

Today was a day filled mostly with driving. We all slept late this morning, or later than lately which meant 7 am. I slept great last night for the first time in probably a week so it was awesome. We hit the road around 8:30 and stopped for breakfast about an hour later. Other than a quick stop for gas and to fix sandwiches it was driving the rest of the time. The kids have done really great with all the riding. I have been pleasantly surprised. Collis has his moments, but has been good for the most part. Lila hasn't complained a second about all the riding and has been documenting all the states we are going through in her journal. She is excited about traveling to so many new places. We finally got to San Antonio about 4 pm and after some minor issues with construction we got checked into our hotel which is right on the Riverwalk.

For the record, I LOVE San Antonio. Immediately upon getting here, I fell completely in love. The atmosphere and history here is just amazing. I think it will definitely make it on my short list of retirement possibilities. We spent some time this afternoon walking on the Riverwalk and had an awesome dinner at this Mexican restaurant. It was amazing! Now we are settled into our hotel room, the kids are bathed and I am considering a cup of coffee on the balcony(without the kids). Tomorrow our plans include a trip to the Alamo, more exploring on the Riverwalk and maybe a stop at some of the missions. I am sure my camera will be working overtime.

Day 1 Part 2

Day one of our cross country adventure is coming to a close. We sent the afternoon in New Orleans and are now settled into our hotel in Lafayette, LA which leaves about 7 hours until we get to San Antonio. We will be in San Antonio for a couple of days.

I really enjoyed New Orleans this afternoon even though it was a very short stop. We spent some time walking around the French Quarter which I loved, especially the street performers. They were awesome. I wish we would have had more time to peruse the antique and art shops, but with small children and limited time, we avoided then for the most part. I have to admit that I was a little shocked about how dirty it was, especially canal street. ICK

I was also very sad to are how much of the devastation from Katrina is still evident. There are so many homes that are still destroyed and entire areas that are deserted. I guess I was expecting it to be so much better since it has been 5 years. It was heart breaking.

I wil try to post pics as soon as possible and hopefully write a longer post, but my laptop cord is missing, so I am relying on the ipad for now and the virtual keyboard is giving me fits. For our family and friends who are reading this, we love you and miss you.

Day 1

It's day one and we are officially on our way. We are a couple days later than we planned, but bumps in the road are expected. Thank goodness for fabulous friends and family that helped us finally get through packing and loading and on the road. It is hard to believe we have left Columbus and are headed to Washington to live for the next three years. Saying goodbye to friends and family was hard. Saying goodbye to my mom was gut wrenching. However, I am very excited for the adventure in front of us. First stop is New Orleans and from there San Antonio.

We hit the road at 0-dark-30 this morning with a quick goodbye to Cory's Dad and Step-Mom. Luckily for us, the kids slept until breakfast time. We pulled off at an exit that boasted a Waffle House and ended up at a little family restaurant with a country breakfast buffet that was awesome and cheap which made it even better. So, if you ever stop in Defuniak Springs off I-10, try McLain's Family Steakhouse. Now, the kids are watching dvd's quietly in the back seat and we are about 2.5 hours from New Orleans. The weather is beautiful and traffic is fairly light so far which is good.