"One Armed Paper Hanger" Kinda Summer

Make no bones about it, this summer we have been busier than one armed paper hangers. 

As I sit down to write this blog for the first time in ages, I can barely figure out where to begin. 

That's what I get for waiting almost two months between postings. 

So, instead of dwelling on how many postings I've missed, I'll just race through the highlights that kept us jumping like cats on a hot tin roof.



End of May: 

* HS completes 3rd grade and the ringing of the final bell signifies the start to a busy summer.

* HH beings his final weeks of his original three year tour in "Paradise"

* LD twirls up a storm

* Cody is overjoyed that HS, LD, and I are all home to give him belly rubs.

June:


Boating with their
Grandparents
in Virginia Beach



* Beach days galore.  It will be a month without seeing the crystal blue Hawai'ian waters.

* Cub Scout Day Camp takes HS back to the days of the Wild Frontier.  After assisting for a day, HH feels like he is living in the Wild West.

* HS and HH test in Karate and make brown/black belt.  Next stop...black.

* Instead of moving to another location, HH walks across the street and checks-in to his new command...beginning the clock on another tour here in "Paradise".



* I refuse to call what we are doing in "Paradise" homesteading...I plan on leaving someday.

* We bid Hawai'i Aloha for a little while as we traverse the mainland and land on the east coast for the 1st time in three years.

* Cody and Kendo wonder if they have been abandoned.



Virginia Beach



* HH proves that he can still waterski, kneeboard, and boogie board like he could when he was 25...only he has to back it up with a little motrin now.

* HS attemps waterskiing and kneeboarding...he is one determined little fellow.

* LD wonders why the water is so dark, but doesn't let that stop her love of splashing and swimming.

* We sweat our brains out in humidity while loving our opportunity to catch up with family we haven't seen in a long time.

*  We enjoy a house full of family at HH's parents home and enjoy reconnecting and learning about our nieces and nephews that we don't get the opportunity to see much.



Dancing at The Homestead



Beginning of July:

* HH and I get to enjoy the Homestead for three days.  It was a 2nd Honeymoon, for sure!

* HS and LD relish time alone with Granma and PopPop while we are gone.

*  Cody and Kendo experience Camp Rodarte.  Thanfully, we have great neighbors that will pamper our four legged furry sons while while we adventure around the mainland.

*  We set off fireworks at the top of Branderwood and LD and HS enjoy sparklers and their own personal show.

* The Blue Ridge Mountains remind us of some of the beauty of Virginia we forget to remember.

* We fly to the middle of the country while HH flies back to "Paradise"



Which way should we Go?



* Cody and Kendo no longer wonder if we are coming home.  HH is greeted with slobbery kisses.  Now they just await the loudness to return.

*  HH begins his new job and is hailed without me.

*  I close my eyes and enjoy the sounds of the farm while the kids experience a little of my childhood and make their own on the beloved farm.

The Fairy's Pearl

LD enjoying a mornin' among the palms by our lanai
April 2011

The Fairy's Pearl

written

for my LD

after watching her delight

in the garden and in all the treasures hidden within.

In the palms looking so sweet,

while she prances on her twinkle toe feet.

A hiding green gecko

makes her squeak in delight;

which the wind responds with an echo.

The delight in her eyes

as she wanders the garden,

would give any bug pardon.

She is my garden girl.

But within the garden,

she is the fairy's pearl.

Warning: Wizards at Work

Waking up on the weekends is typically met with lots of noise in our house.  Some weekends, it is LD chatting loudly with Ms. Kitty, Mr. Moose, Pooh, and Sheep: the lovey's that surround her while she dreams sweet dreams and then keep her immersed in conversation when she awakes.  Other weekends, it is the sound of HS hustling down the stairs in hopes of reaching the remote before LD does (watching My Little Pony for the thousandth time isn't really high on his list of "must do's").  Finally, my favorite (insert my menacing laughter here) is the sound of the arguing or seeing who can shush the other the loudest:

"Shhhhhh...it's not 7 yet.  We've got to be quiet sis." 
A brief pause. 
"No."
 Another pause. 
"Seriously.  SHHHH!  We're going to wake her!" (like I'm some kind of predator who will devour them). 
A millisecond pause. 
"NOOOOO!!!"
 A blink of a pause and both are once again "Shhushing."
"Come on...I'll watch your show if you stop crying."
"OTay."

 So much for beauty sleep.

Sometimes though, they surprise the heck out of us.  Like this weekend. 
It was as silent as a tomb. 
As I rubbed my eyes and looked at the clock that read "7:30" I had that moment of pure panic. 
The sound of silence is extraordinary.  It rarely happens.
Something must be wrong.

I peered down the hallway to find their door wide open. 
OK.  Doors are open which means they are somewhere.
Then I heard them.

HS and LD enjoying his
Wizard experiments.

"Look...you say abra...then I'll  say cadabra. Ready..."

"Ava."

"No...abra."

"A bra."

Sucking of air from HS.

"Oh, whatever.  Abra...ca...dabra!"

Silence.

"Look!  It worked! It worked!!!"

"WOW!!!  It big bubble!"

"It is!  Look...now I can make that disappear with the potion!"

"That's cooool!" 

"Let's move on to the next potion."

Oh good grief.  What are they doing?

I rushed down the stairs ready to descend upon my prey.

As I glanced down, I saw them. 

Sitting so nicely. 

Together.

Smiling.

Happy.

Some days, like today, I'm so grateful of the age difference of our kids. 

HS took LD under his wizarding cape and had a fine Wizard's apprentice this morning. 

No shushing necessary.

Five Thousand Four Hundred and Seventy Five

My Darlin' and Me
The Beginning of our Journey
May 1996

One of my favorite songs from the Broadway show Rent is Seasons of Love.  I can't listen to that song without taking a look at my own life.  As many of you know, I'm a sentimental person.  I have been know to cry in theaters, in classrooms, at mass, while watching piano recitals, at command farewells, while watching change of commands, and just about any place you can imagine.  I am a sensitive soul.  I always have been.  Today, HH and I hit another milestone in our marriage.   It seems just like yesterday that I walked down the aisle to my darlin' in a classic Gothic style church with the candles flickering as I shook like a leaf while clasping my papa's arm in a death grip.  It would be one of the happiest moments of my life and one that I have never regretted.

At the time, neither one of us knew what life held for us.  We were young (23 and 21), crazy in love, and ready to be husband and wife in the eyes of God and man.   He was studying law and I was ready to start my teaching career.   We knew one thing for sure...we were going to enjoy the wild ride of life: together.

I remember many moments from that day.  The wink he gave me as I looked at him through my veil, the giggles we shared as he tried to lift me and the weight of my silk wedding dress over the threshold for the 1st time (he would find that I was much lighter when he carried me into the 1st home we lived in.), our 1st dance to Unforgettable (the same that we were dancing to when he whispered his marriage proposal into my ear a year earlier on the dance floor of the Homestead), squeezing our hands three times in a row (our secret "I love you" when we can't verbally say it) at moments that we were chatting with guests, but couldn't wait to chat with just each other. 

Then there the moments of our honeymoon to Bermuda.  HH's first of many to come during our 15 years being married to surprise the snot out of me (a task that is not easy for a snoop like me!) since I had no idea where we were going until I woke up the day after our wedding and opened the gift he was handing me.  How can I forget the horseback ride on the beach our last day?  The laughter we shared while we split a cheeseburger in a remote part of the island because the food prices were astronomical and we were poor newlyweds in Bermuda.  Our endless chatter as we sat waiting for the island bus that would never show up but thanks to a little old man who toddled out of his house, our wait would be no more as we raced to catch the last bus of the evening down the lane.  Admiring the view of Bermuda from the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse as we kissed and heard a little kid say, "mooommm...they're kissing...we can't go out there."  This would also be his first experience with my obsessive travel plans.  He'll tell you stories of that if you'd like to know more.  Suffice to say, we saw each  of the 9 parishes, hiked the old railroad, explored the nooks and crannies of the island, and marveled at the historic churches in each parish, and devoured the delish "Bermuda Fish Chowder."

My Darlin' and Me
after 15 Years of Growing Together
April 2011

That was 15 years ago.  If you've been reading my blog, kept up with us in person, or otherwise been a part of our lives over the past 15 years, you'll know way more than I could ever type here or that you would ever have time to read.  I adore this man.  I love him for every strength his has and every dream he holds.  I can't imagine me with anyone else.  He takes the best in me and loves me even when I'm being not so nice.  He's my shelter when I want to escape; my confidant when I'm sharing dreams of tomorrow or fears of today; the father of our children who are unique in every way; and the love of my life.

How do I measure 15 years? 

As any military wife does.

In numbers,

In pack-outs,

In address changes,

and duty stations.

and

In love. 

5, 475 days

1, 314,00 hours

7,884,00 minutes

1 wedding

1 wedding vow renewal at our 10th Anniversary

2 kids

4 godparents

4 furry kids

8 duty stations

2 mistress' (aka ships.  Not women.)

10 address changes

4 master's degrees

6 cars

infinite moments that are "unforgettable"

Oh you got to got to
Remember the love!

You know that love is a gift from up above

Share love, give love spread love

Measure measure your life in love.

Happy 15th Anniversary, my love!