Day One Hundred and Sixteen

So, I know it's been a long time.  Three weeks of Mitch being here, then school finals, holiday programs, work, sick kids, blahblahblah.  Being a single parent is way more work than I ever thought it would be.  My God, the driving.  Why do kids need to go to so many different places?

Okay, so here is a little glimpse of Mitch's time home in photos.  We planned very little while he was home, and just mostly hung out doing normal stuff in reverse from the olden days.  I went to work and he stayed home and cooked and drove kids and poured me a glass of wine when I walked in the door. Which RULED.

The dog did not leave his side the entire time he was home. He cried for days after he left again.

This happened.  A lot.

I put on some eyelashes and we went to the Marine Ball

The kids received medals from the Ambassador for sharing their Dad with the State Department

Thanksgiving with our besties.

On Mitch's last weekend home, we went with a group of friends to an adventure park.  I know.  Ew.  But, we stayed in pousadas, which are like little rustic apartments.  There was a campground there, too, but like I said, ew.  We had a great time.  The kids all signed up for rapelling down the waterfall cliffs, and I signed up for a change of underwear, but as luck would have it, it rained too much and it was too dangerous, so YAY! Rapelling was cancelled.  The kids still got to go ziplining.

On the way to Salto Corumba, the adventure camp, we saw this overturned truck.  Driving in Brazil is dangerous, yo.

Outside our pousada.  Not a leaf!

There were two waterslides at the place.  As you can see, the kids had a terrible time.  Also, rules about how many kids can go on the slide at a time aren't a big deal.

Jack

Grace

Olivia

Henry

Not shown: Me throwing up as my babies ziplined across a waterfall with a flooded river below.

There was an ice cream bar at Salto Corumba where you could build your own sundae, so THAT didn't suck.

On the way home, there was another overturned truck.  Apparently that's a thing here.

And then the inevitable hard goodbye.

That part DID suck.

Day Ninety Three

He's here, it's 95% awesome, I'll update later.  Very busy drinking champagne and watching him decorate my birthday cake (45, bitches!).  Afghanistan, you can suck it, he's not coming back.

Day Eighty Five

Yeah, yeah, it's been awhile. Turns out, this single parenting gig is more work than I thought, despite my kids amazing skills at making cereal. Also, I've added exercise to my routine. I know!  Like at a gym with weights and stuff. My friend Katie makes me go with her, otherwise my many excuses would get in the way.  I don't hate it, which comes as a huge surprise.

Anyway, the big news is that I will have a date for the Marine Ball on Saturday. Mitch is headed home for his first R&R.  Woot!  That's all I got for now, I am way behind on my work blog, and I gotta get cracking on that, because I'm going to be far too busy following my love around, petting him and sitting on his lap to write.

Day Sixty Five

We're cruising along pretty well.  Only three weeks until he comes home for his first R&R.  The girls had a Halloween party at school over the weekend.  Jack's class put on a haunted house and everyone had a relatively good time.  My little ladies looked very precious:

Olivia had wanted to go as Alice in Wonderland, but she just wasn't loving it when she tried the costume on.  She played around a bit and was very happy with her new costume:  Malice in Wonderland.  Grace is the ethereal Corpse Bride.

Olivia ate a bunch of junk at the Halloween party. An entire bag of candy, filled with color dye and all kinds of chemicals and gross crap.  She was sick for three days and missed a bit of school.  I missed work, but we had a great time laying in my bed watching old episodes of Little House on the Prairie.

She is on the mend and went back to school today.  Our little compound is hosting a Trunk or Treat on Friday and the embassy Trick or Treat is on Thursday, so I hope my darling girl will make it through the next week without getting too sick.

Oh, and I wrote this little piece about the critters we live with down here for work:
http://papagaiobrasilia.wordpress.com/2013/10/18/brushes-with-nature-horrible-horrible-nature/

Day Fifty Seven

Fifty seven days, yo!  Only 299 to go. It's been a disappointing week for Jack, who was supposed to go to Ecuador with Global Issues Network, a volunteer group he leads at school.  We didn't have the proper paperwork from both parents and it was impossible to make it happen in the short amount of time we were given.  I wasn't about to chance just sending him and having him get stuck in Panama or Ecuador with no parents and a government shutdown, so I made the difficult decision to cancel his ticket.  On the bright side, I took him out for shwarmas, and I'm pretty sure savory meat wrapped in flatbread was just as good as going to Ecuador.

The girls went to an insane birthday party for one of their classmates on Sunday.  Seven-piece band plus a deejay for during the breaks, a bar manned by four bartenders for blended concoctions, full dinner set-up, and dessert bar.  Then, there were massage tables lined up and the girls all got massages by professional masseuses.  Swimming, dancing, a photo booth with a bunch of zany props, and personalized Havaianas (Brazilian flip flops) for each girl.  And puppies to play with.  Nope, I am totally not kidding.  I love that my kids get to go to these over-the-top Brazilian parties and still seem happy with the lame-ass American style parties I throw.

Henry is still a vegetarian.

I helped my friend Katie throw a cowgirl ladies' party on Saturday night.  I think we had a really good time, judging by the way I felt the next day.

Day Fifty

"Henry, did Jack help you figure out your math problems?"

"Yeah, he's a really good teacher.  If I miss a problem, he punches me, so I'm really motivated to learn."

Day Forty Eight

I'm happy to report that Henry returned from the Amazon alive and in one piece.  He seems different. Older, I guess.  He brought gifts back for everyone and showed us an impressive new skill: the natives taught the kids how to make blow dart guns (I KNOW!) and Henry blew a dart right into our concrete wall with his gun.  He also went to a meat market in Manaus and came back a total vegetarian.  Will not even consume fish.  Here's a few pics the school sent:

Swimming with pink dolphins.  You may need sunglasses to pick out which child is mine.

According to Henry, these guys taught them some dances and the women wore coconuts so the seventh graders "wouldn't have to see their boobs".

There appears to be a monkey on my kid

Jack returned from Sao Paulo Model UN in one piece as well.  He and his partner won "Best Delegation", representing Syria.  So proud of my blow dart-wielding, argument-winning boys!

Day Thirty Six

 I just got this email update from the seventh grade Amazon field trip:

'After our two preparation meetings yesterday, we left the hotel for the forest around 15:30.  As we walked towards our camp our guides (called the Jaguars) taught us how to trap animals and to direct ourselves using the sun or small rivers in the forest.  Then after 2 hours of walking through the heat and humidity, we arrived at our camp.   

At the camp, each student went to see his or her hammock and then our guides taught us what fruits from the Amazon forest are eatable.  We ate many fruits and among them were maracuja, castanha do Pará,and many other that I can't write or even pronounce because they are words from the Tupi Guarani language.  We ate fruits rich in vitamin C and other vitamins and also rich in fiber.  

We came back to our meeting place at the camp and our guides taught us how to make fire with gun powder and Bom Brill and batteries.  After that we ate chicken, beef with farinha and fruits.  Our plates were leaves of Palmeiras and we ate with our hands.  We then reflected on our journey so far in the Amazon and then went to sleep in our hammock in the middle of the forest.

We woke this morning with the sunrise at 5:30am and came straight to the hotel where students took showers and are enjoying a little bit of free time.  We will go fishing for Piranha soon and this afternoon we will visit a native family from the Amazon. Tonight we will go with canoes to see the alligators in the river.'

Fishing for piranha and going in canoes to see the alligators in the river.   Learning to make fire with gun powder and batteries.  Sounds effing awesome!

I still have zero desire to do any of that stuff, except for the eating part, but, you know, with utensils and plates and a glass of wine and not in the jungle.

Day Thirty Five

Today my baby boy swam with pink dolphins and swam in the Amazon river, and is currently on a two-hour hike into the jungle where he will sleep OUTSIDE in a hammock.  I'm writing this from inside my 500 thread count sheets and I can honestly say I'm not jealous in the least.

Day Thirty Four

Henry left for a week in the Amazon with his class this morning.  Jack is leaving for São Paulo later this week for Model UN, and then it will be just the ladies.  Field trips in the Foreign Service are definitely no trip to the waste treatment plant like they were back in my day.

Day Thirty-Two

Yesterday was dumb.  I only had to run in to work to hit 'publish' on the embassy newsletter and then I was done for the day.  I threw on my frayed jeans, flip flops, and a tank top. My office is separate from the main embassy building, and right by the parking lot, so I was confident I wouldn't even be seen.  As soon as I was settled in I got a call at my desk. "Hi Kate, can you come up to the front office to interview the new Ambassador for the newsletter in about an hour?"  I looked down at my classy outfit.  "Of course, I would love to!"  Fortunately, I live 25 minutes from the embassy, so I rushed home and changed, forming questions in my head as I drove.  The new Ambassador was so easy to talk to that the interview itself was a piece of cake.

Last night was the elementary school talent show.  All I'm going to say is that it was 745 hours long.  I brought the girls, because several of their friends were performing and they begged to go.  As soon as we got there, Grace headed off with her posse of girls and boys and they spent the night laughing and moving around the auditorium.  Olivia refused to leave my side all night.  "Don't you want to go hang out with your friends?" I kept asking.

"No, I'm fine right here."

Fifth graders kept coming up to Olivia and asking her to join them, but she refused.  Finally her very good friend came and sat down on the other side of her.  "Olivia, why aren't you hanging out with us?"

And now for your daily sad:

Olivia whispered to her friend, glancing my way to make sure I couldn't hear (I could), "I don't want my mom to be lonely because my dad isn't here with her."

Day Thirty

Day thirty! That's a month. The longest we've gone being apart before this is a week, so yay, us. I've been sick this week, but as usual the kids have rallied and helped a lot around the house. The big news is that last night I finally slept through the night, seven straight hours (drug free, I might add). That is all.

Day Twenty Four

I usually wake up several times a night and check my messages.  Mitch knows I'm a little psycho about the danger he's in every day, and he's very good about leaving me frequent updates so I know he's okay, then I usually can go back to sleep.  My 3:45 am message was this:

"All is well here. Consulate Herat is being evacuated to Kabul. No Americans were harmed. 2 Afghan consulate security and 1 police were killed. Undetermined number of Taliban were all killed. (All of them). I'm fine. No activity here."

Today is not one of the days I was able to go back to sleep. I turned on the news and hit the internet. After I read everything I could about the attack on the US Consulate in Herat this morning, I spent the next few hours lying wide awake in bed with my thoughts. Is bringing diplomacy to parts of the world where your life is constantly on t he line worth it? Is there any Xanax in the house? Did I remember to bring the dog in last night? What if Kabul is next? What if they go for a 'soft target' and hit Brasilia? Will the gardener get the hint of a bucket and sponge left by my car and wash it for me before I go to work? I need to remember to pick up lightbulbs at the commissary. Why hasn't Mitch called me so I can hear his voice? Why is level 29 in Candy Crush so flipping unbeatable? Did we make the biggest mistake of our lives?

Finally, the alarm went off and I tried to pull my shit together to wake up the kids. I had to tell them what had happened and reassure them that all was okay, that their Dad wasn't even involved. As tempting as it is to pretend nothing happened, I know that they go to a school full of diplomat kids, all of whom know their dad is in Afghanistan, and chances were high that they would hear of a "US attack in Afghanistan". Also, I had to do it without bursting into tears. I put on my big girl panties and was casual and quick about it. And they were fine. Mitch finally called, and everyone got to talk to him before the bus arrived. The gardener showed up and he did get the hint about washing the car.

I am doing okay. Turns out, there was Xanax in the house.

Day Twenty One

It's been mostly crappy.  On Friday our embassy was the scene of a protest of several hundred people. They threw paint bombs and spray painted anti-American slogans on our exterior wall.  Arrests were made, and everything ended peacefully. This sort of thing has never happened while we've been here. I left work as soon as I heard the protesters were headed our way.  Mitch and I always had a rule that one of us is outside the embassy during any kind of protest in case we get locked in and can't leave.  Somebody has to be home to open those boxes of cereal for the kids. I should add that I definitely feel safe here, I just didn't want to be locked in without mah baybees.

The time difference between Kabul and Brasilia is 7.5 hours, so it's hard to find time to talk to each other.  Mitch is working 13 days on, one day off, and living in a box smaller than my master bathroom.  So, obviously, I can't complain to him when I can't answer the phone before the machine picks up because the house is so big.

Still, I'm doing okay.  The kids and I have slipped into a routine that works for us.  I've quit buying/preparing meat, and no one's really noticed that we're vegetarians now.  I think they're just surprised that I'm still cooking meals every night. And I've been working on the same bottle of wine for a week now.  It's more like salad dressing than wine at this point.  I'm considering opening a new bottle tonight, though, to celebrate making it through three weeks apart.  Only forty nine to go!

Today is 3.5 stars out of 5, because my hair didn't do that half-curly thing it always does.

Day Seventeen

Today was a reasonably good day.  I went out to lunch with the girls from the office, the kids had a half day of school, and Mitch sent me an iPad, which arrived in the DPO this afternoon.  Pretty sure it's just so he can Facetime with my boobs, but I'll take what I can get.  I wrote about porn on my work blog and didn't get fired, so almost nothing bad happened.

Day Sixteen

Today was a fail.  Henry broke his retainer and his orthodontist is no longer practicing, so I have to find a new one who, a) speaks English, and b) has parking.  I guess if he/she is a good orthodontist with credentials that would be on my list, too, but it's not nearly as important as the English and parking.

I woke everyone up at the usual time, 6:30 am, for a bus pick-up time of 7:20.  I packed lunches and then hopped in the shower.  At 7:10, I started counting heads and telling the kids to get their shoes on--the bus company hates it when we are late.

"Where's Olivia?"  No one had seen her (okay, this house is way bigger and more compartmentalized than our other one).  Luckily, we found her.  Still sound asleep in her bed.

Womp womp.

2 out of 5 stars today.

Day Fifteen

Sick day. Reading while all of our windows get covered in bars.

Now I can't be rescued from my tower.

Also, I worked from home today due to sick kids.  It's hard, working from home, what with all the interruptions and whatnot.

Day Twelve

I finally got to see my man's face and talk to him with my mouth instead of my fingers after twelve days today.  I didn't hear any gunfire in the background, which is kind of how I imagined it would be, because I've seen how it is on TV.  Related: don't watch Homeland if you can't sleep because your husband is in Afghanistan when he should be snoring next to you, especially a Homeland marathon. I just learned that.

Yesterday the girls went to another set of twin girls' house for a sleepover.  Around nine o'clock I got a call from Olivia.  "Mom, I need to be at home."  I hopped in the car and picked her up. Nothing happened, but she has been sticking to me like glue since Mitch left, and just didn't want to sleep anywhere but her own bed.  We went grocery shopping on the way home, because who takes their kids grocery shopping at 9:30 on a Saturday night?  Single moms, that's who.  Grace stayed at the sleepover and was fine.  In the morning, Olivia tried to FaceTime with Mitch, but her iPod was not linking to his iPad and she burst into tears.  Finally, Jack fixed the problem and she spent most of the morning FaceTiming with him.  I LOVE YOU, APPLE.

While I was off grocery shopping with Olivia, Jack invited five friends over for a card night.  I told him it was fine.  We actually prefer him to have kids at our house than have him off in a cab to some party, and even though we now live in a gated compound full of little kids, I figured some teenagers playing cards would be no problem at all.  They were just arriving when Olivia and I went to bed around 10:30, because: Brazil.  Around midnight, I woke to a full-blown party with a ton of kids in my yard.  Jack was all, "I can't get anyone to leave.  They all just showed up! I didn't invite them!"  Now, Jack's parties have gotten a little out of control with the noise before, but that was when we lived in a party neighborhood and no one cared.  Mitch and I would just put in earplugs and try to bear it, occasionally sneaking peeks out the window to make sure everyone was behaving. I even read him the riot act about our new neighborhood before I agreed to a card night.  Alas, something had to be done before my neighbors showed up at my door with pitchforks, so I had to kick all the kids out in my pajamas and no bra on.  HAHAHAHA!  Sorry, Jack.

Anyway, back to today.   My neighbor and bestie from a block over walked Henry home from his sleepover at her house with her family and two dogs just when I was making a huge batch of strawberry waffles.  She washed my dishes while I made waffles for everyone and her husband put together a shelf and our gas grill for me.  It really made my cold, black heart kind of warm.  They also showed me how to use the tivo thingie on our tv (which is all in portuguese) and I didn't even have to watch porn while they set it up.

I give today 4 out of 5 stars because I still got about six hours of sleep after I busted up the party with my jiggly old boobs, I unpacked almost all my boxes, and I love my new neighborhood, even if they all hate me after last night.  

Day Nine

Today started off with pretty much everything going wrong, but since it wasn't me in the smashed car on the JK Bridge that caused me to be stuck in traffic for an hour, it could definitely have been worse. Anyway, I am finally getting sort of caught up at work and can now walk by Mitch's office without wanting to cry (but I ain't going in there). There was no money in the cash machine at the embassy (again), and we were having a craft fair, but I had to save all my cash for gas, so I was sad for a minute.

The day turned around for me when the money truck pulled up.  I bought two paintings, two dozen empanadas for the kids' lunch boxes, and another one of the hand-carved wooden bowls I love.  I used up all the money in the money truck!  But it cheered me up, and I'm crazy about my paintings.  Then, I drove home without the GPS, which is a pretty big deal for me, and I even stopped at the nursery on the way home.  I have two giant planters that have dead plants in them, and I wanted to get something for the gardener to put in them tomorrow.  You guys, I asked for help and I'm pretty sure I walked away with good stuff!  I think I asked the lady, "I need some large shade plants or grasses for my pots that are on my patio and don't receive much sun."

Here is what I think the lady heard: "Big grass. No sun. Vase."   But still, I got the plants AND filled up the car with gas, so yay me!  I got home in time to meet the RSO (regional security officer) to talk about my alarm situation.  The situation being that the alarm goes off every hour during the night and I run downstairs to find Jack prowling around in his underwear with a knife, half asleep, but taking his job as man of the house quite seriously.  It's a good thing the alarm didn't wake up our valuable watch dog, because he would have been pissed.

Today is 3.5 stars, because I didn't have to do any Mitch jobs and I love my new paintings very much.  My friend Katie said to me (after I told her what I bought), "paintings are the new shoes!"  I hope not, because the money truck doesn't come that often to the embassy.

Day Eight

Holy heck, how did we make it to day eight?  I have lots to tell you about the last week, but I have a ton to do, so this will just be a quick update. The move lasted six days and included two hour naps on the lawn by the movers. Every day.  But no fear, they spread out flattened boxes for themselves to lay on. Everything sucked hard.  The car died and I had to jump-start the battery.  You guys, I barely know how to put gas in my car, let alone jump a battery, so there I was, standing out in the carport with a youtube video on my laptop, hoping I didn't blow myself up.  Amazingly, IT WORKED.  The car started right up.  I'm surprised I didn't feel awesome and accomplished about the whole thing, because everyone keeps telling me how good this will be for me, taking care of everything by myself.  All it made me feel was sad and irritated, but I WAS in the middle of watching the movers take naps on the lawn, so that may have had something to do it.

As of Monday, everything was moved into the house.  Graca, my awesome helper, came and spent eight hours unpacking with me.  God, I love her (even though she hangs my stainless steel measuring cups out of order).  I also baked bread and made homemade chicken noodle soup on Monday, because we all needed one meal that didn't come out of a bag.  The kids even had soup for breakfast the next day. Maybe they were worried there wouldn't be many home-cooked meals coming their way any more, and wanted to get it while the gettin' was good?  I don't know.

Yesterday, I ASSEMBLED FURNITURE WITH TOOLS.  I EVEN HAD TO USE A LEVEL.  I'll just let that sink in for a minute.......









Today we got cable and the World's Slowest Internet hooked up.  I have yet to connect my international phone, but I'll get it going by this weekend.  The internet guy showed me how to block porn while a porno was playing, so that was awesome.

I have hives, eczema, and pinkeye.  Basically, I'm  a walking pustule. Now that the move is over, I think/hope my skin will calm down. I haven't heard Mitch's voice since he left last Monday, but I have really good friends here that have been amazing and supportive, so we are really very lucky.   I have one room completely unpacked.  It's essentially a closet with a massage table set up in it, so my sense of accomplishment is minimal at best.  On that note, Karol will be here to give me a much-needed massage in about ten minutes, so I'm going to sign off. 

I'm going to give today three out of five stars, because I'm happy to be moved in and I got to watch some porn with a stranger. 

Day Two

This is the one in which I have to start doing husband jobs now that Mitch is gone, like disconnecting the computers and tvs and ohmygodwhyaretheresomanycords?  Today is moving day, and the movers arrived just before 9:00 am and started tearing through my stuff.  Things seemed to be going fairly well. I had the kids translate for me before they left for school (thank gah it was late start Wednesday), and I am a pretty good at charades, so I was able to convey what I wanted them to pack.  I had hidden the espresso machine, a mug, coffee, and milk in the refrigerator before they got here.  If there's one thing that I can't cope with, it's not having coffee when I wake up. "This is so awesome! At this rate we might be able to move in to the new house tomorrow!" thought I. Sometimes I can be pretty adorable with my cute way of thinking. Any time a mover found anything of possible value, he would bring it to me for safekeeping.  That is why my cargo pants are filled with broken cell phones right now.  And a Nintendo Gameboy, from like, the '90s. Meanwhile, I was trying to figure out how to make the wifi work without the desktop's involvement, and you can bet I did a fair amount of cursing of the State Department, my husband, Brazil, the Taliban, and Al Gore for inventing the internet in the first place.  Anyway, you guys, I conquered my first Mitch job and I have internet for one more day!  I have leapt into the new millenium with both feet and did a computer thingie all by myself.

Around 11:30 or so, all the movers disappeared. My friend Katie came to visit and keep me company, so I made us both lattes from my hidden, refrigerated espresso maker.  You might not be surprised to know that the coffee came out of the machine COLD.  So, that was a disappointment. I finally found the movers napping in the backyard on flattened out boxes.  Around 1:30, they came back inside so they could pack my empty boxes in their boxes.  Really. I had placed all my appliance boxes in front of the appliances they belonged to, and they packed the boxes and the appliances SEPARATELY. Then, they packed maybe one box each until they went home at 4:00.  They have yet to pack half the downstairs and none of the upstairs has been touched.  They assured me (via Henry the Middle Child-who knew he could understand portuguese so well?) they would be done by tomorrow night, but I have my doubts.

The other Mitch job I have is to try and set up internet/cable at the new house, but the company in that neighborhood won't accept anything less than a newborn baby and a unicorn, and even though I offered them a ten year old and a Wheaten Terrier with a detachable gold-plated horn, they refuse to let me have their services, so I'm pretty sure I'm going to fail.

I give today about  three out of five stars, because I didn't cry and because my friend Jen reminded me to grab the wine bottle opener before they packed it.

Update: two out of five stars.  The car won't start.

Day One

I played hooky from work (don't worry, taxpayers, I didn't get paid!) yesterday so Mitch and I could celebrate eighteen years of wedded bliss:

We had a great day together and I felt pretty relaxed, which, for me, is a big deal lately.  We had a fancy-shmancy dinner date on Saturday, but our anniversary dinner was spent with the kids at our favorite restaurant last night. I had the worst caipirinha of my life. It was basically a bowl of grain alcohol. I drank the whole thing, because I'm not one to waste, you know?

Anyhoodle, we got up this morning and Mitch hauled his suitcases downstairs.  The kids were all brave and calm and gave him tearless hugs goodbye and hopped on the school bus.  I was doing a pretty good job of keeping my shit together, too (pharmaceuticals), until the maid came and I tried to tell her in my crappy portuguese that today is our last day living in this house and here is our new address. Oh! Also that my husband is going to Afghanistan for a year.  

Here is what I think she understands: 

I was crying.

My husband is leaving with a lot of suitcases.

We are leaving our home.

The awesome part is that my house was freaking IMMACULATE when I got home today, so I probably won't set her straight too soon. You guys, she cleaned the bottoms of my shoes. 

I told my friends not to be nice to me or give me sad looks today, but they did anyway. LUCKILY, I have a tear duct infection, and I'm pretty sure I flushed that fucker out. The kids are amazing. The school nurse did call today because Grace was inconsolable about losing a tooth. I explained that the tooth had nothing to do with it, spoke to Grace on the phone and told her I'd buy her some forbidden Lucky Charms at the commissary (desperate times), and she seemed fine after that.

The girls set five plates at the dinner table tonight.

One out of five stars for today. The one star was for my kids and friends being awesome.

The Lamest Update I Could Come Up With

What's going on around here: I'm working almost full time, which is killing me because I hate being out of my house. Also, it's hard to wear a bra all day like that. We're moving next week, to a house that doesn't have poisonous black mold seeping down the walls AND has a window in the kitchen.  It's also in a gated, guarded compound.  Mitch is packing for Kabul. He leaves next week. The girls are rolling around in the bedding he's taking so he can have the "love" they are rubbing into his blankie for him.

Suckage. I haven't even had time to properly shop for the rewards I'll be needing for getting through this crappy time period.  Kidding.  I picked up a few things.

24 Days in America

'Hey, Boo....I didn't see you standing behind the door like that.'  That's what I say when I forget about stuff. To Kill a Mockingbird reference.  Get it? Because I forgot about this blog? We've been on R & R in the States.  I wrote about it here.  Anyway, we are cramming every last bit of loving in on the man of the house before he heads to Kabul, so I'm just going to leave you with a few pics from our R&R. We're also doing a lot of stress bickering.  I've heard that's common just before an Unaccompanied Tour. After he leaves, I hope to update the blog so often that y'all will be more bored of me than you are now, so I can keep the old man updated with tales of our misadventures as a single parent household.  Beijos!

Priest Lake, Idaho:

I never like to put pictures of people other than my own family on here lest they get
offended, but I did take a photo of this awesome sandwich made by my sister.

I'm on a boat.

Spokane:

Henry and my sister's awesome husband.

College Tours:

Go Huskies!

Seattle:

Why you so cold in July, Seattle?

Mini bacon maple donuts. I KNOW!

Seattle Gum Wall

Salt Lake City:

Utah wedding

Tired girl, good big brother

Girl that just wants to dance, good big brother. Mom who can't figure out
her new flash gizmo.