Good times?

The birthday was a success and Junior is happy again. He is out of the tub and screeching as he runs around naked "Eeek!!! Don't look at me!!!". Sisters teach him wonderful things.

The German food was good, the beer was great.

I of course had to check email while I was there and found this:

June 26, 2009

Week Five To Continue As Planned Dear Camper Families, We know that you have entrusted your child to us, and we take that responsibility very seriously. With that in mind, we want to update you on some recent events that have occurred here at Pine Cove. We want to inform you that we suspended camp a few days early at the Towers Week 4 because of a widespread illness campers had picked up. Some of the campers have been diagnosed with having a common stomach bug and others have tested positive for Type A Influenza. Regarding Novel H1N1 (Swine Flu) we have no confirmed reports at this time from the Department of Public Health Services; however we have had two parents inform us that their child was confirmed by their family physician as testing positive for H1N1. I have had personal follow-up with one of the parents, and he has confirmed that his child is already symptom free and feeling better. Please click here to watch a video of our Medical Director's comments on H1N1. At this time, all camp activities are running as planned for Week 5. To minimize any future incidences we are undertaking an aggressive cleaning and sanitizing routine at all of our camps. This routine includes but is not limited to: - Deep cleaning every cabin and cabin bathroom. This will entail using an EPA approved anti-microbial cleaning product on all floors, countertops, faucets, light switches, door knobs, etc. (Even the thermostats!) - Cleaning and disinfecting the Dining Hall and Kitchen. All carpets at the Towers are being professionally steam cleaned. We are also cleaning all table tops, counters, door knobs, windows, etc with an EPA approved disinfectant. Each hand washing station is being cleaned, including the surface of the soap dispensers and the water knobs. - Cleaning every activity area. This includes disinfecting all ropes equipment (harnesses, carabiners, helmets, etc.), all sporting equipment, all rocks on the climbing wall, all lifejackets, all inflatables, and all saddles and helmets used for horseback riding. - Quarantining staff that present with symptoms in our health clinic and treating them by either our RN or one of our Physicians or Physicians Assistants. For more information on our cleaning efforts, watch our summer staff sanitizing the Towers Camp. If your child has been sick we are asking that you not send them to camp until they are symptom free for at least 24 hours. We do not want to run the risk of spreading illness to others. We will gladly reschedule your child for another week of camp for later this summer. Our deepest desire is to provide a healthy, safe, and fun camp experience for all of our campers. We appreciate you choosing Pine Cove and look forward to sharing the love of Jesus with your family.

So should I be worried? Of course I am germaphobic, but at least Em doesn't bite her nails like Abs. (Side note, does that fingernail polish that tastes bad really exist, and most of all, does it work?) I told her I was sending her with little bottles of sanitizer. I'm not worried about swine flu or anything, just that she misses out on camp if she gets sick.

The camp is great, and during the hurricane last time--boy, do we know how to pick the week to go to camp!--and the broken hand the first day while she was riding horses, Em had the time of her life. So I called my friend to let her know what the deal was, and she got a little panicky, but I assured her that the girls would be fine. Plus, I just spent the rest of today getting last minute things together for camp, so I am glad that they aren't canceling camp!

Tomorrow brings another long workout, my nephew's play, pack for camp, and hopefully I can crank out some homework too!

I'm missing Abs terribly, but Junior more than keeps me on my toes. I was exchanging emails with The Mrs. about boys, and she totally gets it. After he emptied a tube of toothpaste and then dumped a bottle of Hershey's chocolate syrup in a cup to make his own chocolate milk, we were off and running.

I better get a run in tomorrow morning so I can keep in shape to keep up with him!

Hmmmm....

If I stay till the end of August, I think I can fit in two more triathlons after the next one I am doing. Sounds like fun!

I biked 14 miles this morning at the crack of dawn.

We went shopping and got the final things Em needed for camp.

We are going out for German food for Junior's birthday.

Speaking of the birthday boy, he took a long nap and is now even crankier than he was before. Nothing is making him happy. I am hoping when Em gets here that he will be happy again and distracted.

Pictures later of his cupcake cake (it's cute!) and hopefully a happy boy.

Stories about Ab's adventures can be found here.

Happy Birthday

Three years ago....



Today:

Still those same big blue eyes, but a mischievous smile to go along with it. I can't believe he is three! Happy Birthday Junior, we love you!

New Plan

Creating a new plan is exactly why I needed a good mind clearing workout this morning on my bike. (My bike is the weakest of the three sports, so I am trying to work more on that)

Anyway, I started thinking about why I wanted to be in Colorado, and whether or not the kids would really need to be in school. I'm a teacher, if I thought they needed to be in school, I could do something about it. If we stayed here they wouldn't even be starting till the end of August.

Gunner is going to school from mid July till the end of August, so I decided that we are not going to Colorado.

At least not yet.

We will wait till Gunner gets back from Knox, and then he can get a house and we can move out there. He doesn't have to race out there now, and can spend time on leave with the kids. He can stay in the barracks, and we can spend August relaxing.

I wonder if there are any triathlons in August....

I heart PCSing

Not really, right now.

Housing will be available at the end of the summer. Not a problem, we want to live in it and not be bothered with fixing things or being tied down to a house, etc. I love simplicity...sort of.

Gunner leaves less than a week after we get there. He'll be back at the end of the summer. School starts there at the beginning of August, so I feel like I need to be there. Apparently, after teaching for a year, I have learned that I am one of the few people at the "great place" that believes their children should go to school every.single.day. So I could keep them out, but I won't.

School starts here at the end of August. So if we stayed here (don't worry mom, I know there is a 30 day limit) then we would miss the start of school anyway. If we go, do we stay in a hotel for a 6-7 weeks?

I found one that would work, but it wasn't exactly in an area or had reviews that appealed to me. There is a military one that we could do, but they only book for three days at a time and then after our three days, we could renew, but there is a chance that someone of a higher priority would come along and we would have to leave. Move out of a hotel we have been living in with three kids and a husband gone? Not appealing. I guess we could rent an apartment, get no phone or internet (I love my iPhone) and live with the bare necessities for a few months and hope that they let us out of the lease to move on post.

Gunner wants to head out there next week and scout out the situation. Maybe he should wait till I get there on the 15th and then we can look. He has to be there on the 10th, so I guess he could live in the barracks for a few days or so. Wonder if we can all live in the barracks? Surely it would be easy to hide three small children and a spouse?

And how come the Army guest house is $80 a night with no kitchen? At Lewis we stayed there for weeks and it was less than $30 a night and had a kitchen....and a maid!

I'm not too stressed yet, since I aced my test today (I think) and finished my hour long presentation, which wasn't an hour but he said it was great. I had a great workout this morning and have hit the gym every day this week, and I get to sleep in tomorrow.

I'll save the worrying for another day, I have pushups and crunches to do before bed!

Still PCSing

Gunner finally got clearing papers on Friday and we hit the road to spend the weekend with my brother and his family.

Saturday morning my brother and I ran 3 miles on a great track in the Memorial area. Talk about great people watching. Of course I had to pass the skinny husband and wife that were running with their cute (maybe 6 or 7 month old) triplets twice, so I felt kind of blubbery. It's all good.

We swam all afternoon Saturday and had a picnic. Had a neighborhood movie party and my kids tested out the playset my brother built. He assured me that he jumped all over it before turning the girls and Junior loose. Whew.

Spent time with my SIL and their absolutely perfect little baby boy. He's so good!!!

Sunday morning my brother and I swam.

I met up with old friends from my sailing days at Casa Mare, Karen and Kari and their families. We finally experienced guitar hero. I was not good at all, but Em was a pretty good drummer.

We drove home and I studied.

I'm halfway through my class and have been busy preparing my presentation and working on reading our book on poverty. Scary stuff.

Abs leaves tomorrow morning with my mom on her big dinosaur adventure. I can't wait to hear all about it!!! She will go on an excavation, meet with a paleontologist, and lots, lots, more. For my dino-loving daughter, it will be the perfect trip to Utah.

I hit the gym this morning to run, and went out riding tonight. I am trying to cut 10 minutes off of my bike time. Probably a bit ambitious to cut 10 minutes off, but I'll give it 110% trying! It's amazing how dead the streets are in the evening in my mom's retirement community. They must all be inside watching tv and getting ready for bed. I didn't feel like I was going to be run over.

Our stuff has arrived in Colorado, and eventually Gunner will make his way there so that he can find a place for us to stay. We apparently got deposit waivers for water and at our apartment that we lived in for 4 months 6 1/2 years ago. The apartment complex has changed management numerous times, and we never had to pay water, so we are trying to iron out all the details. Gunner got a letter from the apartment complex and we are hoping that it will take care of both problems.

We are enjoying our last few weeks in Texas, and Em will head to Camp PineCove this Sunday. They have military scholarships available, and she had such a great experience last time that we are sure she will this time, and hopefully not break her arm the first day!

Back to the books....

Fun with Velcro

-- Post From My iPhone

Tomorrow?

They assure Gunner that tomorrow he will definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, double pinky promise, that he will have his clearing papers tomorrow.

We can hope!

He's already cleared his unit, housing, and a few other things, so the list of things on his list of things, should be minimal. He can't start leave until the magical clearing papers are found, completed, and he signs out of "The Great Place".

We are living with my mom, which is interesting in itself. She doesn't like noise or chaos, so try keeping three noisy children on their best behavior all the time is a recipe for disaster. Add in my two nephews that my mom is babysitting while their mom is on a business trip, and you have even more chaos. I hate being homeless.

We are going to my brother's house this weekend to get away from it all. He only has one kid, one dog, and 2 cats. It will also be the first time Gunner meets his newest nephew that is now almost a year old. Last deployment it was his son he had to meet. We will also be telling them goodbye until they come to vacation in Colorado and become ski bums with me.

I suck at skiing. We went once in the Alps, and I just never got the hang of it. I now blame it on the fact that I was pregnant with Em and didn't know it! I am determined to learn in CO and get good at it--okay, I will settle for just being able to get down a hill in one piece and off the bunny slopes!

I'm trying to crank out school work left and right, plus train for the triathlon on July 12th.

Gunner went swimming and running with me Tuesday night. It was wonderful!!! Unfortunately, the kids didn't stay in bed, so it won't be happening again. Togetherness must be overrated somewhere, so we will settle for splitting up the workouts till they are grown, it's all good.

I'm off to another fun-filled day of class....

Decisions, Decisions

Since my class gets out on the 9th, what's a few extra days in Texas? My friend T and I signed up to do another triathlon July 12th!!! I can't wait! These things are addicting, it's all I have thought about--ways to improve my time, etc. I ran Sat, biked Sunday, and swam today. Now I just need to up my amounts and get back in the grove.

I need to find my goggles before I swim again since my computer screen is a huge blur from all the chlorine in the pool.

Gunner still does not have clearing papers. Apparently they were doing everyone at once, and are now overwhelmed and extremely far behind. Gunner was supposed to have cleared and been on leave for 4 days by now. He's still waiting on clearing papers, but they assured everyone today that they would have them tomorrow. Famous last words? Let's hope not!

Junior is back at daycare and so far they haven't called us. (knock on wood)

Abs and Em have made it through the first week and today of summer camp with no mishaps--minus the boy Abs pinched because he was being annoying. She was not happy that she lost tv over that, but she sat in her room and read quietly that evening.

Houston this weekend to hang out with my brother and his family. I've got tons of studying and training to do before then!

The Vocabulary Acquisition Model

Sounds exciting right?

I wish I could figure out how to make an hour presentation on the subject. It's so dry, I've never heard of it, and I don't want to speak for an hour in front of a class with my peers.

Two article reviews completed, one more to go.

Need to update my resume and scan my transcripts for Colorado.

I have the forms to get fingerprinted.

I ran 3 miles at the gym yesterday and felt super fast....granted my mom lives in a retirement community. Let's hope I am that active at their age!

I ran 3 miles last night too. I should have held off since I had taken 5 days off while we were moving. I'm sore today. Tonight I see a date with the trainer in front of the tv to watch Army Wives. I hate the whole Denise story.

Gunner and the kids and I desperately need to sort through everything that we brought and get organized, or I will lose my mind.

I found out that my classes go till June 9th, which means I am here an additional day.

I am glued to FB today as my triathlon trainer is doing the Escape from Alcatraz!

......I finished the third article. Started on my powerpoint presentation, visited with my sister and nephews, my trainer escaped from Alcatraz, and we are drinking wine so that we don't have to hand carry the bottles with us. Gunner and I don't know the difference between good or bad wine, so this should be interesting.

Better post this before we get too far into the experimentation.

We made it

With just minutes to spare, we (I mean Gunner) finished cleaning the house and were ready for the inspection. Abs and I returned from her appointment in just enough time to use the bathroom one last time. At least I know my bathroom is clean!

The driver with the full truck showed up this morning to do paperwork and make sure that the rest of our shipment got picked up. Who knows if they will be reunited anytime soon, but I suppose that will make it more fun. My vote is for the flat screen to be delivered first.

We hung out all day at the outlaws where Junior's eyes swelled up and we couldn't locate the benadryl. He was tired and miserable so I left in the middle of dinner with Junior and went to my mom's. I asked Gunner to bring me a dessert, thinking that a nice chocolate brownie or piece of cheesecake would hit the spot after this week of moving.

Gunner showed up several hours later, after switching out cars with his parents. I couldn't wait to get my hands on that dessert. I found two boxes of leftovers and no dessert.

I asked Gunner and he opened the box with the steak and pointed to a brownie size bite of a brownie. I was devastated. You know that feeling where your mouth is watering thinking about what is to come? Sigh.......

I'll just get a good long run in tomorrow morning and know that I can skip a mile because I didn't eat that brownie. I never liked chocolate until I was pregnant with Em, so I can't be missing much, right?

I think I remember my parents having a similar incident early in their marriage. They ordered dessert, my mom took out a screaming kid, and my dad ate both pieces of pie and didn't get hers to go.

I wonder if he ever did it again?

I heart PCSing?

The packers came and packed us.

The driver came this morning. The loaders never showed. Team 2 was called in.

The estimator thought the driver could fit our load on.....after he picked up three other ones.

We don't fit. So now they are trying to decide what to do. It's 4:37 pm. I hope they don't quit at 5.

During all this daycare calls me in class and tell me that they think Junior has impetigo and needs to be picked up immediately.

Oma comes and stays with the house. Gunner gets Junior to the er. I'm in class

Gunner still isn't home, but the doctors don't know what is wrong with him. They are putting him on antibiotics.

So I am here at home. Opa went to get Abs. Gunner and Junior are at the hospital still.

Half our stuff is outside and it's about to storm. All I can do is laugh!
-- Post From My iPhone

Junior

This was taken at our hotel room. Don't you love the cowlick? Next time I think we will take the kids so that they can see me compete. At the Danskin, a lot of people picked up their children and ran across the finish line with them. Gunner said that listening to all the husbands, dads, sons, and boyfriends talk about how proud they were of their racer, was inspiring. They had cancer survivors, some undergoing treatment, and everyone had a story about why they were doing this. I signed up on a whim, but it was probably the best decision I have made, and I am hooked! I plan on doing a lot more, and can't wait to sign up for the next one! I'm sad that we are leaving because there are a lot coming up in this area that my friends are now going to do. Some are starting out as part of a relay, and that's a great way to begin!! I'm just proud of all of them for giving it their best shot and training to do something that they didn't think was possible.

More After

Sign the my teacher friends made for me!

Three teachers from our school surprised us by coming to cheer us on!

Swim, bike, run, then walk your bike over a mile back to your car.

Uphill....

I'm done!!!

A picture of my medal.

My medal and my unofficial time. My official time was 1:34.09

T completed the race.

T & I after the race. We did it!

12 mile bike

Leaving T1. I had to wait for the pro that was coming in from the bike.

T leaving on the bike.

Coming in from the bike. My chain popped off on a hill, but I flipped my bike, repaired it, and hit the road again.

Headed into T2.

Tomorrow

The movers come tomorrow, bright and early at 7:30.

We have NOTHING packed.

We are not ready at all.

I am not panicking yet, as it is only 7:20 p.m. Why worry yet?

I'm madly trying to print articles for my article reviews this semester.

I do not think we will be sleeping tonight.

We borrowed the outlaws pressure washer to do the lawnmower and the grill. The swingset needs to be taken down and thrown away.

I still have bags that need to go to certain people. Ugh.

I hope they don't charge too much for being over our weight limit.

Run 3.1 miles

Coming into the finish.

Getting ready to cross the finish line. That's not my time!

I did it!

With my medal. :)

Swim 800 meters

I used to be a swimmer, so I wasn't worried about the swim at all. I was just nervous about the whole darn thing!

Trying to convince myself that I was good to go.

There we go, can you find me?

Hint--I caught up with the 3rd or 4th wave in front of me.

Still preparing

Gunner and I after I warmed up in the lake. Isn't he cute?

Swim start. There were 1,976 participants.

Me, being super nervous. Big surprise!

T & I once I finally found her! Her tire blew overnight.