In no particular order...

Our photo card reader is broken, hence the lack of pictures and posts. We now have one that semi works so here are a bunch of posts in no particular chronological/importance order. Katherine and Kailey are here visiting and everyone but me is napping, so as hard as it is for me to do, I'll be brief.

Gluing stuff.

(cottage) Cheeeeeeeeeeeeese!

More visitors

John, Ilka, Dylan and Morgan came to visit, bearing gifts from their travels through DC, Rochester, and elsewhere. John read about Tim's sadness at his inability to get Two Buck Chuck here in MD, so he came with a whole case just for him that he got from a TJs in VA. John almost got lucky that day (Tim was super happy about the 2BC).

We all went to eat at a Greek restaurant that Tim and I had been wanting to try, and we also went to the park one day when it was bitter cold. Mostly we hung out and the kids played. Then on Saturday morning we received the other gift they brought us, a stomach bug-they thought it was long gone but there must have been some sneaky viral particles hanging around on their person or possessions. I got it first, then Gus. It was Gus's first real barfing illnesss and it really wasn't that bad. As he was telling me he wanted another blueberry blintze he was barfing, so apparantly he didn't feel that bad. From their description, I think John and Ilka had it worse than we all did, so it must have mutated on it's way to Maryland. So Dylan and John left to drive home on Saturday as scheduled and instead of Ilka and I getting to hang out and shop until she flew out on Sunday, I slept the day away and poor Ilka cooked us dinner and chicken soup. Overall, the bug wasn't that bad at all and really only lasted a day and a half for us. No biggie but it really blew that we didn't get to hang out more.

Dylan and Gus hard at work cooking. Gus is in his pjs...as always. But at least he has clothes on!

Cooking on the oven that Bre and I built. I was going to buy one but the ones I found in stores and online were 1) expensive 2) short yet huge 3) plastic 4) fug and tacky 5) pink, so Brandi and I made this simple oven for under $40. Before now the kids would use our antique pie safe as an oven.

Dylan, John, Ilka and Morgan at the park when it was cold.

This is where Gus likes to throw rocks into the water (for hours). This day his hands got cold because he wouldn't wear his gloves (of course) so he melted down because his hands began hurting and so we went home. I think he was still tired from Bre's visit. He took a nap, then we had a successful dinner at the Greek restaurant. Morgan was like the little brother in A Christmas Story and couldn't walk well because of all the layers of clothes.

Aunt Bre visited

Painting with Tim.

Bre and Gus painting - and Gus in PJs yet again. It's about 5 PM and he's still in PJs. Getting him to change into clothes (and leave them on) is an ordeal and an exercise in futility. The second I turn my back he's in his underwear again. Hanna Andersson makes a fortune off of us in sleepwear because he wears it all day like regular clothes. And I'm in big trouble because there's an actual HA store at the mall 5 minutes from me. Must ...resist...buying ...Gus clothes... (not that he'd wear them anyway).

Painting a treasure chest for Kailey.


The finished product. Ta daaaaaaaaaa!

We're here...

and pretty much unpacked. The move went fine though Gus has had some not unexpected adjustment issues (like he's stuck to me like white on rice as in I can't even leave the room without him, though that's slowly improving).

We went trick or treating with a neighbor and her son and Gus had big fun. I couldn't get him to wear a costume though he did wear clothes with long sleeves and long pants so I was glad about that (another issue, I can barely get him into clothes much less cool weather ones, he just wants to run around in PJs or underwear all day and not leave the house, though that's getting better, too).

We have friends coming for visits which is very exciting! We have people practically back to back starting on the 15th; first Brandy, then Ilka and her family, then Katherine and Kailey, then my mom for Christmas. We haven't done any of the interesting things there are to do here and I expect we'll get to do lots of it when these folks come for a visit. I think it will make Gus feel much better to see familiar people. I know I'm super excited to have them all come.

We have been to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's and that has been great. We've really missed being able to shop there since we left California. But Tim was royally PO'd that all the TJs in Maryland don't sell Two Buck Chuck because they can't sell alcohol. It was almost ugly. So we're going to see if the ones in Virginia sell it.

When Tim and I got here we voted by absentee ballot in Florida so we won't be voting Tuesday. I put in my vote for Obama and if you want to know who Tim voted for then you'll just have to ask him. This article in Rolling Stone about McCain is interesting (not to try to sway anyone's vote ;)).

Also, those of you in Florida, make sure to vote NO on proposition 2.

Still spinning our wheels...

...in Huntsville.

Goodbye PC

Gus and I are officially out of Panama City. We're in Huntsville staying at Janie's house. Tim and the dogs will follow at the beginning of next week.

Gus's birthday Redux

Last Sunday we had a pinata party at the park since I forgot both the pinata and the gift bags at Gus's party. I felt *so bad* after realizing that I forgot it, but both Linda and Bre told me they had done the same thing at one of their kid's parties so I felt less like an idiot after hearing that. Children's birthday parties can be mindblowing in their chaos. The kids played for about an hour then we busted the pinata- which didn't so much break open as bust at the top then get shaken out on the ground by me. I have yet to see a pinata that busts the way it's supposed to.

Gus, Desmond, Jordon, Dylan, Colton and Elizabeth. They ran up the slide more than they slid down it. Those annoying slides aren't very slippery and sliding down is nearly impossible, so they all run up it.

Gus gets first swing.

Olivia takes a big whack at it.

Last Supper

We (me, Kat, Georgia and Linda) had the yard sale today and sold just about everything. Even though we were totally exhausted we decided to go out to one last family dinner tonight before we left for MD. It was chaotic but fun.

This picture totally epitomizes Katherine's personality.

"How can I figure out a way to make him turn me loose?"

Georgia, Katherine, me, Linda

To contrast tonight with our last night in LA before we PCSd to Panama City... In LA (pre Gussie), we went out at 9:00 and got home at who-knows-when. Tonight (post Gussie), we were out of the house at 5:30 and back home by 9. I'm sure I'll appreciate that come tomorrow.

For Cara

Since you didn't get to visit Ono this year because you're a slave to viewers like me...



Is it your local neighborhood hibachi restaurant? NO! It's....


Shangri- Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa (aka the most architecturally inappropriate house on Ono Island and possibly even in all of Lower Alabama).


Maybe next year.

The Zoo

Our last morning in in Orange Beach, we went to the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo, a small but nifty little zoo in Gulf Shores. It's small but has a variety of animals and many of them you can pet and feed. They currently have 2- 11 week old tiger cubs on loan and we actually got to see them up close and pet them. The recent activities had really caught up to Gus and me and we were both tired and grumpy. It was also hot as Hades which didn't help matters. I'm so done with the heat and humidity. Really.


There is also currently a tiger show that was mega cheap ($2) so we got tickets for it. I had doubts about Gus's interest in seeing it since he doesn't like that type of show- crowds and loud music over speakers- but I though I'd try it anyway. This is us watching the beginning of the show. The finagling I had to do to get us to this point was extensive, and even though it looks like we're all enthralled, things deteriorated quickly after this point. Gus took off his shoe and dropped it under the bleachers. Then he decided he was over the show, then I talked him into staying, then I decided I was over the show, then we were both over it, so we left and walked around and sweated and waited for Katherine and Kailey to finish the show.

Finally, we got to feed some animals and Gus was moderately happy with the situation. Kailey is too scared to feed them so she hands the food to Gus and he feeds them. Except it wasn't really food since Kat and I are cheap, it was leaves off the ground but the deer or whatever it was didn't seem to care so it was all good.

The Beach (the bugs)

After the train museum we decided to hit the beach. The kids love the beach. They can play in the sand and water for hours and as long as they don't start dumping sand on each other's heads (Gus!) then Kat and I can have an actual conversation and relax. For much of the summer it's too hot to go to the beach- the water isn't even refreshing, it's like lukewarm bathwater- so now that it's a little cooler we were looking forward to this trip especially since it had been awhile since we'd gone.

Little did we know that...

it was lovebug season. I mean, we knew lovebugs were plentiful as my front fender was covered in their little, fornicating carcasses, but we didn't know how bad they would be.

Looks picturesque, no? It only looks that way, because picturesque it was not. Katherine and I were avoiding the flies that were biting us while the kids played. We were not having conversation and we definitely were not relaxed. Gus and K ignored the bugs for awhile but eventually we all couldn't take it so we had to head back to the car. We'd already had to run to avoid the lovebugs when going to the beach and when we got back to the car it was even worse, like Hitchcock's The Birds, but with lovebugs.

It was so gross. We decided to open one back door- the door least covered in lovebugs- and all pile in that way then sort out the seating when the door closed and we were safe. Tons of bugs still got in the car with us- Kailey screamed at them and Gus tried to catch them and keep them as pets. FYI, lovebugs stink when they get mushed.

So we went down to the dock for a little while. No bugs.

Kailey makes things so much easier. A trip to the grocery store with Gus can be an exercise in near insanity, but having K along makes it sooooo much easier. She entertains Gus endlessly (I again lament our move).

Ono Island- one last trip

Katherine and I took the kids to mom's house at Ono one last time before we move. The first place we went was the Foley Train Museum in Foley, AL. They have a huge room full of model trains and a small train outside and 2 real rail cars and a caboose. The kids had big fun.

The model trains have remote controls and the conductor let the kids press the horn button so they got Junior Conductor Certificates.

Gus, Katherine and Kailey on the train's engine.

On the way home. They were seriously wiped out.

Gus turns 3

Here's the cake I made for the party. All I could find at the grocery were Thomas train cakes and while Gus likes Thomas well enough it's not totally his thing so I just wanted a generic train cake. It turned out not-half-bad considering it was maybe the 2 second cake I'd made in my entire life and I had no clue what I was doing. Tips from Janie helped me - thanks Janie! She's the cake making queen. I had to call her like 4 times to ask her questions. It's supposed to be a train though it looks sorta like a truck.

Katherine's husband JR's work has this inflatable bouncy thing so that was the main attraction at the party- though half the kids spent a lot of time digging in the sand and playing in the water table which is usually what they do when they come over. I guess when we move to Maryland I'll have to buy or build a sand box.

When we move, I'm really going to miss our huge back yard. All our friends, too :(

Three candles (plus one to grow on). All Gus wanted all day long was cake. Period.

Here are Gus and Kailey playing with all the presents Gus received. He got the absolute greatest things from everyone. We had gift bags for everyone and a pinata to fill the bags with candy, but I'm an airhead so we totally forgot about them both until after everyone had left. Der! So this Sunday we're all going to meet in the park and bust up the pinata and all play together one last time before we move. Katherine and I are at mom's now with the kids then we have the yard sale on Saturday, then the park on Sunday, then I think the packers come to pack us on Monday. That's the plan so far and as I know it. I think. For now.

Disneyworld

You may ask yourself why Disney keeps that annoying It's a Small World ride around (pictured above). In case you've forgotten, the song is so horrendous it makes you want to drive an icepick through your eardrums- and since the ride is 11 minutes long you get to have a lot of icepick fantasies. One almost-teen that sat behind us with his family once reviewed "The next time you need to punish me just send me on this ride". Well, the reason they keep this ride around is because children like Gussie love it. I mean love it. He could ride it a million times (and we almost did). So the days we went to the Magic Kingdom this was always the first thing Gus wanted to do, and Tim and I went on it because we love our son. I mean, we must love him a lot. So to avoid going insane we entertained ourselves by just having the same conversations ad nauseam, spinning them out day after day and adding to them, sort of like the ride itself...."Do you think that CM's arm gets tired waving goodbye like that all day long?" "Do you think they clean that change up periodically? How much money do you think is in there?" "Sure looks like a lot, they must not clean it up very often" "Oh, look, there's a restaurant up there, we should eat there sometime so Gus can watch the ride go by" "Ahhhh...that air conditioning sure feels good" "The egg that duck is holding was on the ground yesterday, I guess they fixed it last night" "I bet this ride takes a ton of maintanance" "I bet they come in every night and work on a portion of it" "Oh look Gus it's a big sun" etc etc ecetera ecetera blah blah blah.

The thing I really don't get is why there were adults on the ride with no children. I mean, they clearly went on the ride uncoerced and voluntarily. I think nostalgia is great and all but it can only take me so far.

Also, that huge dark spot on Tim's shirt is from him wiping the sweat off of his forehead because it was hot. Luckily, it was also very dead there so barely any lines for rides. The one good thing Small World has going for it is the a/c.

Lunch at Kona's at the Polynesian to detox from said Small World ride. Cocktails for me and Tim and a big cookie for Gus. Yep, a cookie for lunch. Go Mom!

Cheers!

This is Pooh's Playground. Water squirts up from the ground unexpectedly and the kids love it. Gus puts his mouth directly to the holes and let's the water squirt on his face. Good times (gross).

This is on the train that goes all around the Magic Kingdom.

This is taken from our room at Shades of Green. This time we got a poolside room which was worth the extra $10 because we spent almost every afternoon swimming after parks in the morning then a nap. We love SOG and I advise anyone that's in the military/retired mil to take full advantage of this perk. Our room was $119/night plus the extra ten for the pool room. That's the price we pay year round, whether it's off or on season (a comparable room at another hotel would be at least $250/night). The rooms are all about 455 sf which are some of the biggest on Disney property- except for suites- and they sleep 5, have 2 queen beds, one pull out sofabed and a table and 4 chairs. SOG used to be the Disney Hotel and is rated a deluxe property, the grounds are beautiful and it's very peaceful. We spend most of our Disney time at the Magic Kingdom and SOG is one of the MK hotels and it's super easy and quick to ride the monorail over to the park, then drive or take a SOG bus to any of the other parks.

Yet another cookie for a midmorning snack at Epcot. Gus is wearing his birthday pin on his Chebeague hat since he wouldn't wear it on his shirt, and the cookie was a freebie for his birthday (though his birthday wasn't really until the next day, but he wouldn't wear his pin that day so it all evened out).

Requisite "Photo In Shark's Mouth". I forget the shark's name but he was the guy from Nemo. Gus liked all the sea life in Epcot but since we spent a prior day at Sea World- for free, yet another military perk- it sort of paled in comparison.

Gus loves the monorail as much as anything else in Disneyworld, but he won't sit, he loves to stand, and spends the whole time we're riding pretending to almost fall and driving me crazy. Even when we remind him that he's hit his head twice on the bar already he won't quit, and the most I can get for all my pleading is that he'll hold on with one hand...maybe with two if he's feeling generous.