Reenlist on ICE: Get Paid

The Air Force got another 6 years of my life as of 2 days ago.  The commander of Joint Task Forces Antarctica, Col Doll, was kind enough to do the honors as he was observing the C-17 in action.  This was my 11th trip down to the continent and it seems they are only getting better every time I visit. 

Chocolate Picasos

We have been trying to find ways to incorporate the kids in the kitchen activities, as they really seem to enjoy helping.  As such, I decided to let the children help me make chocolate cups as part of a dinner we were having the next day.  Combining delicious treats with arts and craft time?  Brilliant!  We used mini silicone baking cups, the best tempering chocolate we could find, and a couple of paint brushes.  It's quite a bit of work, but when doing it for the right people, and with two helpers like these - I'd do it again in a heartbeat.  It wasn't until after we finished painting all 24 cups that I allowed the children to paint their own tongues.

Grace really concentrated on getting the chocolate perfectly even over the entire surface.

Working Man

Children take notice of what you do, even if you don't.  They especially take notice of things you do repeatedly.  Mommy goes to work repeatedly.  These kids love their Mom.  Like most of us, on work days, Mom has a morning routine.  Sarah's includes putting on her white coat and laying her stethoscope across her neck just before picking up a cup of coffee, grabbing the car keys, giving everyone hugs and kisses, and walking out the door.  As such, after dressing for the day, Samuel promptly marched out to the toy bin, found the toy stethoscope, placed it on his ears, and announced to everyone, "I'm going to wuk." You are working on melting my heart buddy, melting my heart. 

Sleeping Giants

 

 About a year ago I caught a great picture of Sarah and Grace napping, squished against one side of the bed, and of course, completely heart melting.  Sarah graciously decided to include that when she blogged about Grace's 3rd birthday.  She has been patiently waiting for payback.  I recently received this text from her. 

This post was initially inspired by the photo of Samuel I placed in the post "Why I Quit Blogging".  I chose that photo because it was the only one I could find showing my old phone.  Alternatively, here we have Grace taking a car snooze, and a peek at my new phone.  Grace consistently likes a more relaxed pose for catching Z's. 

Sometimes, on mornings Sarah works and I don't, if the kids are still sleeping after Sarah departs, I'll crawl back into bed until the kids decide to wake.  That scenario usually ends with us wrestling and sending a pajama selfie to Mom.

Movie time; probably Frozen.

Late last summer we went camping at Millersylvania Sate park.  The kids were enjoying play time with their friends so much that nap time essentially was canceled.  They still needed rest, so, cramped into the bike trailer they somehow didn't get cramps in their necks. 

    

Sam began climbing out of his crib a couple of months ago, after Grace taught him how to climb into it.  Now he sleeps in the toddler bed.  Grace doesn't mind also showing Sam the ropes of how to sleep in a bed that's not a cage. 

Sam finds a quite moment to nap between rides at Disney World in December

     

A few precious moments from the cruise.  On the left, bright and ready the morning we prep to board the boat.  On the right, morning sunshine wakes Grace before Sam in the stateroom. 

Sam was sick and didn't have the effort to climb into our bed.  Grace showed up a few minutes later, found Sam sleeping on the pillows, and decided to join him. 

Another one of those lazy mornings we were enjoying sleeping in.  Also, alternatively, this blog post could be titled: The Most You've Ever Seen of Scott's Nipples.

CAPITAL 1

To be smarter than a 5th grader, you not only need to be able to name all 50 states, but their capitals too. My smarts probably lie somewhere near mid 4th grade. I do enjoy visiting capital cities and buildings when the opportunity arises.  My visit list (in order of what I can remember and with * if I got to the capital building): Atlanta, Denver*, Sacramento, Tallahassee*, Montgomery, Phoenix*, Honolulu, Lincoln*, Raleigh, Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City, Nashville, Charleston, Cheyenne, Dover, Boise, and now Olympia*. 

Last week Grace, accompanied by her buddy Joey, visited her first, the Washington State capital in Olympia. It was a pleasant unplanned adventure.  We intended to visit Lakefair (at the bottom of the hill in the photo) but the booths didn't open until 11.  We had time to kill and Grace was excited to explore and hike up the hill to the big building. 

Knife Skills

Grace always wants to help in the kitchen.  We generally want to encourage her participation, however, if bubbling bacon grease, razor sharp utensils, or chocolate are involved we consistently say "No."  The first two, because as her parents, we do nothing but imagine all the horrible things that could go wrong.  The third, because no chocolate would ever make it's way into the final product.  Grandmas are a little more experienced in these realms, and as such, with gentle instruction, close supervision, and encouraging words, Grandmuhie and Grace prepared a pint of strawberries for the evening's desert.

Grace's grip needs some adjustment, but she patiently worked the blade like a culinary natural. 

 

Why I Quit Blogging...

It wasn't like I planned it this way or intended to stop sharing.  The blog was always about sharing.

As I reflect on the past several months of blogless life (Ok, Sarah has posted a coulple, but I've been silent for some time), it occurred to me that a not so unique set of circumstances came into alignment, and I will enumerate them now: 

1) Sara's Phone gets Stolen.

Yeah - while she was at work, and in an area only accessable to employees.  One might suspect that because her phone was stolen, we stopped blogging because she was now unable to easily take photos and post them here.  WRONG!  When the stores opened the next day, we had a new phone, and within minutes, the new phone was, as they say, the same as the old phone.  This is no accident.  Apple had lost/broke/stolen phones in mind when they designed the iCloud.  Apple also makes it ridiculously easy to share across devices.  Sarah's new phone was but one in a cascade of new Apple devices that propegated into our immediate and extended familites.  I even upgraded to a newer iPhone.  (Remember when I got Sarah's old iPhone?  "Ever Since I Got an iPhone)  With iMessage and unlimited texting we started sharing more than ever, just not on the blog.

As a side note, I distinctly remember the first time I saw a commercial for a camera phone thinking, "That is a total waste of money.  You can only send photos to other people who have a camera phone - and that's nobody!  What a joke.  No one will buy one of those."  It's not the only time I've been wrong. 

2)  We Got Happy

Almost exactly a year ago today I graduated from an Air Force "leadership" school.  As it turns out, I wan not fond of the curriculum.  I was not quiet about this displeasure, and unfortunately, not professional about it either.  This landed me in some administrative hot water, but I did manage to graduate.  There was one lesson I really latched onto - it was about personality types, and how we can work WITH them, instead of AGAINST them.  This is really difficult for my personality.

 Vegas renewing of vows - that's a whole other blog post...

As it turned out, Sarah and I had been going through a bit of a rough patch for several months before I departed for school.  Time away from my family not fixing the situation combined with my frustration with what I saw as a mostly impotent curriculum wasn't helping.  Time alone to reflect with this personality tool was.  I knew I had to share this with Sarah, but I also knew Sarah would enjoy Air Force curriculum about as much as I did, so, when I returned home from the course, I found another way.  (Book HERE)

The real ah-ha moment came one day while I was reading the section on interaction of different spousal personality types.  There was a write up on each of the paired types.  Sarah and I already had discussed what type we thought the other was, and had come to a strong consensus in this regard.  So I quickly flipped to the page describing interactions of our two types.  I don't remember where I was, but I do remember Sarah and I were apart that day.  I took photos of the two pages (new phones, remember?) and emailed them to Sarah.  I immediately called her and told her to read the attachment in the email I just sent, while I was on the phone. Helarious laughter quickly ensued from both ends of the line.  It felt as though the authors had been sitting in our living room for the past 6 years documenting our every move and distilling it into 2 pages of observations. It did not take long for us to adopt a more understanding and supporting role as spouses and permanent roommates.    Don't get me wrong - we still have our tiffs, but life is better now than I've ever experienced before. 

Thanks to all those who helped make Vegas even more of a special surprise.

3) We Got Bussy

When you love and support someone, hanging out with them is tons of fun.  Who knew!?  Throw in a couple of hell raising life forms which you are suppose to be "nurturing" and the days melt away quickly.  By the time you are done with the fun, then do those other important things like feeding, clothing, bathing, and cleaning the kids, and then you do the same for yourself, there isn't much energy left to do anything other than crawl into bed so you can do it all again tomorrow.  Because, I'll be honest, I'd rather (insert random awesome life event) than write the blog.

Denver Cruisers - Soul Train Ride

Resolution?

Although the need to easily share stories of life with those we care about is being fulfilled via other mechanisms, that was not the only purpose for the blog.  Reflection upon events allows me/us to catalog, add context, and in a quasi-diary way, document our thoughts and perspectives of events near the time of their occurrence.  I often rummage through the archives and reread posts several years old, or conversly remember an event and wonder why I didn't write about it.  I hope my children, when they are growing, will read these stories and it will prompt them to prod their parents for more details.  But not until after they say something to the effect of, "Look at these old photos Mom & Dad took with their so called "smart phones."  They aren't even holographic!  You guys are so old!" 

 High on life - atop Mt Si.