Thursday morning

We get to see Allen today! Last night, Cael and I went on base and found Allen's barracks. We didn't explore too far, but at least we found that, and can make our way there and back. Allen can show us the rest later. Then we went to Food Lion to get some groceries. Eating out for every meal is expensive, so we got some groceries so we could eat in our room. We have a microwave and a mini fridge, so the possibilities are endless! Got some fried chicken (for Cael) a rotisserie chicken, a pasta dish to heat up, some roast beef, some lettuce salad, watermelon, breakfast stuff, plates, and a couple other items. I can do a lot with that stuff. Gotta be flexible and creative. My dad would be proud!

Are you serious?

Day 1 of traveling is in the books. Phew! It was pretty uneventful, but there was a lot of internal freaking out. Not because of the driving. That was pretty easy. I even made it through KC without GPS. I-70 East. Follow it. Not hard. I had to go to York and south to I-70, though because of the flooding in the eastern part of the state by I-29. No biggie. I was on the interstate when a sheriff pulls out of the median and screams up behind me. He stayed there for 6 or 7 miles without doing anything. I was going 72 in a 70, so I really wasn't worried, just a little peeved. THAT'S when I realized that I DID NOT put the registration and proof of insurance in the new car. I bought, registered, and plated it last Tuesday. Why didn't I just put those very necessary documents in the car right when I got them? I have nooooooo idea. My brain was mush by then, though, so who knows what I was thinking. I cleaned out the car last night and put the folders in the house. The sheriff did a nice job of reminding me that I needed what I didn't have. Sooooooooo, I called Dan Wing (Cael and I are staying at the Wing house tonight) to get his church's fax number. Then I tried to call Brent and Kass (the only other ones who have our house key) to go over and get the said documents so they could fax them to me. No answer. Allen called, so I spilled my guts and apologized for being so dense. He called his mom, who I walked through getting a proof of insurance online, then she went to the courthouse, got another registration, faxed it to Dan's church, and then priority mailed the registration to Allen in Georgia. (sigh) I'm praying that's the worst of this trip. If I didn't have that stuff, and the MP's decided to randomly stop me at the gate, I totally would have been SOL. SO, THANK YOU to Allen and Lynda. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!

Getting ready

Cael and I leave tomorrow for Georgia. We'll stay tomorrow night at the Wings' house in Sweet Springs, MO. They'll be at Six Flags, but said we can use their house as a stop-over point. Thanks! :) Tuesday night we'll be staying in Nashville, then Wednesday we'll finally be in Georgia. We're going to stay at a Holiday Inn off-base, since Allen can't really be in any on-base lodging. He has his weekend pass, and is working on getting weekend passes for the rest of the time we're there. We're getting pretty excited to go see him. It's only been a little over a month since his graduation, but we really need some extended time with him. Hopefully I'll have plenty of pics soon. We have to go to Topeka and across on I-70, since I-29 is flooded right where we need to go. I hope we also get some good news tomorrow from our realtor, since our house is being shown at 4:15 tomorrow. Hopefully things go well. I've got a lot to do between now and leaving in the morning!

Good news

Allen had a PT test this morning. Thank you for all of your prayers! He passed! Well, he wasn't told he didn't pass, and in the Army, no news is good news. He has uniform inspection next week, then he'll be phased up (Phase 5 - he can go off-post), and he'll have a weekend pass for the 4th of July weekend, so he can spend 3 nights with us! Yea! I got on-base housing for at least the first 6 days, and the lady that I talked to this morning is helping to figure out accomodations for the rest of the time we're there. We'll probably have to move around a little bit, but that's ok with me. Our house was shown this morning, and I'm just waiting to hear back from the realtor. God is good. I just have to remember that. The house will sell when it's supposed to, God will help Allen with what he needs to get done, and I need to hand all of my worries and stress over to Him. Easier said than done, but I'm doing my best. And God likes our best.

Dirt

We had a t-ball game tonight. The coaches decided to play all 3 innings, although I'm not really sure why. The kids were playing in the dirt, and not paying attention at all. Of course my son was playing in the dirt in the first inning, so not much changed. He's just funny. The bath water was a little muddy tonight.

Iowa Trip 2011

This year I went, once again, with my cousin Cathy Callan to Des Moines to run the Dam to Dam. Cathy's sister and her daughters, as well as her nephew live there. Cathy's parents, sister and her family live about an hour away from there, so I get to see lots of family while I'm there. Cathy, Cael, and I left on Friday around noon. It's usually a 4.5 hour trip, but due to an accident on the interstate, then an accident on the detour, it was a 6.5 hour trip. Luckily, Cael is an excellent traveler, and was very patient through the whole traffic jam. We ate at Panera with Karen and the girls for supper that night. Cael loves their house because they have a trampoline and a dog that chases a big blue ball everywhere. He plays with both of them constantly when we're there. Saturday, we headed downtown Des Moines. Uncle Kenny came with us to watch Cael while all of us ran. Cael ate 2 bags of popcorn during our race. Here's Cael stretching before his race. Here we are after the 5k. Emily, Sarah, Me, Cael (didn't want his picture taken) Alison, Cathy, Uncle Kenny. Cael lined up for the 5 yr.old race. He ran so well! He got a ribbon! Uncle Kenny got some toys out and was playing with Cael. This was at their house in Marshalltown. It's been quite a while since I was there. It was fun watching the two play. I'm sure my dad would've been right in the mix. Saturday night we went to Doug and Cheryl's house for a bbq. Aunt Shirley's cousins were in town for a visit, so I got to meet them. Cael, Caleb, and Zoey were busy playing together blowing bubbles, and lots of other stuff. Cael thought he'd have a bubble for dessert. Cheryl had a farm set. Cael had to show those city girls how to wrangle some horses. Sunday, we went back to Des Moines to drop the girls off, and headed home. It was only a 5 hour trip, since we stopped to eat lunch at Council Bluffs. We got home around 5pm. It was a fun weekend!

More leadership

Last night, Allen, in his infinite wisdom, pointed out that the room commander's schedule was inefficient, and then showed him a better way of doing things. Apparently, the other guys in the room liked it so much, that when Allen came back from the bathroom, his name was on the door as the room commander. There was a vote when he was gone. Ah, democracy. He's pretty good at making schedules, and that's one of his duties now, but of course he had lots of practice at the bakery. His managerial skills are coming out, and he's having a hard time keeping his mouth shut. But, he's getting chances to be in charge and lead the way, and that's what he likes to do and what he's good at, so, Go Allen, Go!