Mount Rainier

Me and the kids at Paradise.

Gabby and Gram at Christine Falls

Sam and Gram at the creek.

Sam loves the water.

Playing in the rain - something we haven't seen in a while out here.

We tried to escape the city heat on Wednesday by heading for the hills (like all good Tennessee people should do). We went up to Mount Rainier National Park, something we had not yet done since we moved here. We did visit it in 2005 when Gabby was about Sam's age. We drove the road along the south up to Paradise and back. We couldn't make the whole loop because a section of road was closed due to the flooding back in January. We ate a picnic, stopped at a couple of falls, and spent a good long while at Paradise due to the rain shower that started just as we got there. When we pulled into the lot it was still 80 degrees. It rained and the wind blew and the thunder and lightning flashed (fairly rare here at our house) and by the time we left it had cooled down to 65. It was heavenly. We should have put the blanket out in the back of the van and just spent the night there since it was 104 by the time we got home. And then that was the night with no power. At least the day was good!

How was your night last night?

"DuPont Power Restored

July 30, 2009 -- Approximately 2,100 DuPont residents spent the night with out power during one of the hottest weather events in Western Washington history. According to Puget Sound Energy, an underground cable failed at approximately 9pm on Wednesday, July 29, shutting down fans and air conditioning units that were helping keep DuPont residents cool. Record highs that day were recorded from 103 degrees at Sea Tac Airport to 107 degrees in Vancouver, Washington. Power was finally restored by 9am the following morning."

http://www.hometownclipper.com/id8.html

We got home from Rainier (pics coming) at 6:30 PM. My van read 104 degrees outside. It was 90 degrees downstairs in my house, more upstairs. A little after 8 PM, the power went out and didn't come back on until after 9 AM this morning. One of the most miserable nights I have ever spent. The excuse? Buried power lines. Really? We had buried power lines in North Carolina and never lost power for 13 hours when the temps were over 100. They bury the lines in Florida. I'm sure we're not the only neighborhood in WA with buried power lines. But we had the worst power outage. Sure seems like something isn't right.

Oh, and that 103 at SeaTac was the highest EVER recorded there. Previous record? 100. Yesterday's previous record? 89. Average for yesterday? 77. The high yesterday in Baghdad? 102.2. Had you beat yesterday, dear. Plus you have an air conditioner. And no guests. And no kids.

Thankfully today was cooler and tonight is very nice. I even already shut my windows because I was cool.

Edited to add: Robert tried to make me feel better by saying his air conditioner froze up on him that same night. Not sure it makes me feel better. I'd like to think someone had it ok.

H-O-T-HOT

It's hot here. And it won't stop any time soon. Just for reference, the average temp for Seattle today is 77. My van read 99. And my poor mother is here. And for those of you who have never lived out west or up north, no, we don't have air conditioning.

"To put the heat into a bit of perspective: Portlanders could have found cooler weather in Abu Dhabi (104 degrees), Houston (95 degrees) and Miami (90 degrees) - to name just a few possible escapes." Only 12 degrees cooler than Baghdad. Right now it is 83 here (at 11PM) and 92 in Baghdad (at 9 AM).

Story

More things I freeze

I thought of a couple more: Pancakes. Seems like now with Robert gone we always have 1 left when we make pancakes. I pop the extra in the freezer and after a while we have enough to thaw and eat instead of having to make them. We did that not too long ago and it was fun since we had different flavors in there. Sometimes I make chocolate chip and sometimes blueberry.

Pasta and sauce. We are notorious for making too much pasta. Again, I freeze the little leftover bits and either put into soup when we make that or when we have enough I just heat it up and add sauce. I've also frozen bits of sauce that were leftover and, again, when there's enough, thaw it out and heat it up.

Splash Park

We went to one of the nearby splash parks on Friday with some friends. The splash part was very fun but the water was cold. Thankfully there was a playground also so the kids would play in the water a while and then on the playground for a while. We had a picnic and enjoyed a nice day in the sun. Sammy wore himself out and napped right there on the blanket.

Breakfast in Bed Day

Beware, when they get to be six, they are sneaky. On Sunday the 19th Gabby asked me, "What day is tomorrow?" When I told her it was the 20th she said, "It's Breakfast in Bed Day." When I asked where she got that she said her teacher told her that before school was out. I was a little skeptical that she remembered the date. Then on Monday morning when I got up she was waiting. "We have to have breakfast in bed today!" So I agreed and we took Pop Tarts up to my bed and ate them. Afterward she said, "This isn't Breakfast in Bed Day. I made that up so we could do it!" I suspected her but to admit it so quickly was funny! Tell your friends, July 20th is Breakfast in Bed Day!

VBS 2009

Gabby went to VBS a few weeks ago. I mentioned it in my Four Months post but here is the video from the closing night program. They sure look like they had a fun week and I'm glad Gabby got to go. Thanks to all the great people who made it happen this year!

Quilt Blocks

I finished another set of blocks this week. That's ten. Two more sets, the single block and then putting it all together. It will probably be a while before I get the next ones done. My mom's coming and I have a few baby gifts to make up in the next few weeks.

Freezing Milk

Since my Facebook comment about freezing milk started off questions, thought I would try to answer them all at once. I started out freezing milk years ago. My family didn't do it - we weren't big milk drinkers - but a friend in college once commented that his mom (an Army wife, by the way) froze milk just to keep up with how much they drank.

Fast forward a few years and we're living in Germany and Robert is either in the field or deployed all the time. I am still not a milk drinker but like cereal and always need some to cook with. I got tired of throwing half of the half gallon away because I couldn't drink it before it went bad. My mind recalled that comment about freezing and I thought I would try it. When I would open a new half-gallon, I would pour half of it into old water bottles (before we knew this was unsafe!), leaving room at the top for expansion, and freeze them. It worked and I rarely threw out bad milk again but always had some on hand when I needed it. I kept doing this as long as we didn't have kids.

Fast forward to Gabby, my milk monger. That kid would have lived off of milk until she was three. I finally had to cut her back to 2% when she turned three just so she would eat a little. Milk all the time. Couldn't leave the house without it. That kid loved milk. So we started going through 2-3 gallons a week. That was when I started freezing whole gallons. Since then, we have added Sam, another milk drinker, and our little evening latte habit (Robert likes coffee, I like chai). So now we consume 3-4 gallons a week. That barely fits in my side-by-side fridge and I do NOT like to have to make an emergency trip to the commissary. Plus I like to buy the milk at Costco. It's cheaper. But Costco is far away.

I have frozen whole, 2% and skim. Skim has the most water, of course, so it expands more. It also melts faster. If you ever wondered what those circles on the side the milk jugs are for - it's for expansion when they freeze. Only a couple times have I had a jug crack on me and have never had them come out the top or anything. The new Costco jugs have more space in them so they barely expand at all. They do take a while to thaw. A couple of days in the fridge so you do have to be planning ahead. In a pinch I thaw them on the counter for a day. We do start using it before it is completely thawed but you do want a good bit of it thawed to taste right - the sugar and fat thaw first and the water last. Just give the jug a good shake and that will help break up the ice and mix it back up.

Even if you don't need to freeze lots of milk to keep up with your family, you can still take that half gallon left when you leave for vacation and pop it in the freezer (if it hasn't already been frozen, of course). Then put it back in the fridge when you get home and it doesn't go to waste. We have also put a frozen gallon in our cooler when going on a roadtrip and it will thaw along the way, keep the cooler cooler, and last throughout the trip.

This saves a good part of the little sanity I have left since we never run out of milk. I do have a small chest deep freezer, which is the only way I could keep a bunch on hand. But I wouldn't dream of going without my stash of milk. We might run out of other things, but never milk!

BTW - I also freeze cheese. I buy the big bags of shredded cheese at Costco, split them up into small ziploc bags (about 2 cups' worth) and freeze. Unlike milk, cheese takes hardly any time to thaw and we always have cheese for whatever we need. Already shredded! I started out grating it myself but did the math on it at that time and found buying the shredded at Costco was cheaper than buying the block and doing it myself. I haven't checked the math in a while but I'll bet it's close and worth the time it saves me.

I've heard you can also freeze chopped onions and peppers but I haven't tried that yet. I freeze bananas, blueberries and strawberries that are about to go bad for smoothies.

So, what do you freeze? Always interested in ways to save money, waste less, and keep more food on hand!

THE QUILT

Yes, some of you recognize this quilt (or should). This is the Civil War quilt I started in 2003 with friends and neighbors at Fort Riley. It was a block of the month - do two blocks a month for 12 months and then piece it together the 13th. Sounds simple, right? We started pretty well and then faded. Then we moved. I think I had about five sets done then. I managed to do three more between then and the last week. That top picture is the eight sets I had completed. I did vow to finish this during this deployment but so far hadn't gotten anything done on it. Then Connie posted this week that hers was heading off to the quilter. Always a little competitive, I gathered mine together and got to work. Another set finished today. So three more pairs of blocks and one single block to go. And then the piecing and quilting. Six years down - stay tuned sometime in 2015 to see the completed project :)

Four months

I was just thinking the other day that I meant to post as each month of the deployment passed about how it was going on my end and how I hadn't done it since the first month. I was thinking I could still go back and do the third month when it hit me that it was the 21st already and we had made it four months! That was a nice surprise.

To say we have been busy would be an understatement. We have hardly had a dull moment. Robert left March 21st. We had a great first week. Everyone stayed well and slept and nothing major happened. I couldn't believe it! Something usually goes wrong before the plane is off the ground! But then, at the end of week one, we got the stomach bug. Sam puked all over me for a week and I didn't feel so great either. Then we proceeded into The Month of No Sleep. This lasted through Easter and Sam's second birthday, all the way to Mother's Day. Sam would wake up coughing and be awake for 4-5 hours, before falling into a good sleep about the time I needed to get up and get Gabby ready for breakfast. By the week of Mother's Day, I was so sleep deprived I wasn't sure I could go much further.

About the time we finally started sleeping, we were deeply entrenched in T-ball, Daisy Scouts, the last month of school, and working on my grandparents' 70th Anniversary party. We ran day and night. School finished up June 11 and we left for Tennessee less than a week later. We had a wedding, family reunion and said 70th Anniversary party, and a visit to all the families on the agenda and spent three weeks taking care of all that. Father's Day and Independence Day passed while we were traveling.

We got back home two weeks ago. The trip back was not easy and it wore me out. Then three days later we went to see Thomas the Tank Engine - a great day but tiring. Gabby launched into VBS the next week and enjoyed. I have to say I am glad I didn't volunteer this year. I felt guilty about it but I just felt like I was being called to stay home. It was a great VBS but I really needed that week to recover and rest.

So now that July is almost over I feel like we are finally getting to start our summer. Days of doing things we want to do in nice weather. Taking it easy every now and then. For a few hours at least. And having a little time to be spontaneous. I'm getting to scrapbook for us again. And I worked on a quilt (more on that later), which I haven't done in a long time. I have gotten some areas of my house cleaned out and organized. Still working on that. And the fourth month sneaked past me. Amazing.

We have had our share of trouble, as is required of any deployment. I had to fix the weedwacker - not a machine I am familiar with. Sam broke my glasses, which I am still in the process of replacing (7-10 more days of wearing my sunglasses all the time!) I am still trying to fix the piece that is falling off the couch - my first attempt was not successful. The puke virus.

So, on to the fifth month. My mom is coming to visit next week so I'm looking forward to doing some of the more far-reaching things with help. After that, we still have a few more weeks before school starts here to do some things we still want to do. Here's with the constant hope that it all goes well and that we can have some fun!

More Bike Riding

Here's a pic and another video of Gabby on her bike. I know, I know, redundant. Daddy's deployed, remember?

What's Missing?

Something is missing from this video? Can you tell what it is? Gabby started riding her bike without the training wheels tonight. My wonderful neighbor helped talk her into it and then helped her do it. It was pushed along by the fact that the training wheels are starting to bend under her weight and use. I knew she could do it but she has been scared to try. It helped to have someone else there so she couldn't get so mad at me. Cheryl was more patient than I probably would have been too! She's still working on turning and steering and keeping it going but she was doing pretty good for a first timer!

My Mickey Kids

The kids spent a day roaming around in their Mickey hats. They were so stinkin' cute!

A Day out with Thomas

Gabby got to call up to Thomas to see if he was ready to turn around.

We went to Snoqualmie, Washington on July 10 to spend a Day out with Thomas. The kids both love Thomas so it was a good trip for both of them. I think we did everything there was to do - tattoos, play tent, videos, coloring and stamping, Sir Topham Hatt, bounce house, puppet show, musicians, the small work train, and of course, we rode Thomas. It was a beautiful day and we all had a good time.

Hundreds of Dollars' Worth of Toys...

...and they play in the box. We had a box of clothes from Aunt Laura waiting on us when we got home. I unloaded it. The kids played in it. Silly kids.

Fourth of July

We were busy on the Fourth! We took the older kids to Home Depot to do their Kid's Workshop. Then we took them bowling and to lunch. In the afternoon they painted their creations and played a while. Then we went to the pool to swim and to Aunt Harriette's house for supper (we were going to eat at the pool but the gnats were too bad). After we got back to the Hilliards' house we decided to ride back to a spot to see the fireworks from town. We watched for a little while and then went to bed. Gabby had Sam saying "amazing" and "awesome" during the fireworks. It was so cute!

Diving Board

Here's Sam going off the diving board in Camilla. He would have jumped on his own but Grandmama couldn't stand that. He wasn't going to let Sissy do anything he couldn't do, though.

Fun in Camilla

Sam and Gabby had fun riding in the golf cart and swimming at the pool in Camilla. Sam did NOT have fun with the gnats. You can see him rubbing is face in the golf cart photo. He called them "buggies" and they made him cry. They were really bad this trip and I can't say that I blamed him.

More Lake Seminole

Things that make Sam happy.

Seminole at sunrise.

We spent the night at Seminole and spent a little time there in the morning before heading back to Camilla.

Lake Seminole

Riding on the lake!

Our last stop on our vacation was a visit to Robert's parents in South Georgia. We went to Lake Seminole and spent a night in the lake house that they are finishing the remodel on. It was a really hot day but we had fun riding in the boat they rented. Late in the day we went to the beach at the state park and swam.

The last picture is of our new little friend that lives in the cove where the house is. He's cute and little now, in a few years he won't be so cute. He got used to the crowd being there and would come out and see us when we would go down to the dock. He got a little TOO interested in Sam, turning and watching him whenever Sam moved around. I think he thought Sam was the only one small enough for him to take!

The Next Lost Tooth

And so, six days later at breakfast on June 29th, Gabby lost her fourth tooth. This was the front right that had been loose since Robert left over three months ago and had been hanging by a thread for two weeks. This was the one we were watching when the other popped out on us. Notice the two missing teeth in this pic. She has two more loose ones, the other front tooth and the lower second right. She'll be opposite this soon.

Lost Tooth

Gabby lost tooth number three on June 23rd. She woke up in the middle of the night and it had come out. I didn't even realize this one was loose! If you look closely you can see it on the lower left. Also note the front right is leaning precariously. That was the one we were watching.

Fun with a Two Year Old

Stick a swim diaper on a two-year-old's head with a bunch of cousins around and see what kind of fun ensues. Everyone laughed until they cried and Sam thought he was the funniest thing ever.

Latest Quilt

Here is the most recent quilt I have made. Actually the only one I have made in the last two years or so. It was a gift for my cousin's baby. And I joke that this was one that could be made in a weekend since I pieced it in a day and quilted it in a day. Only problem is those days were four months apart! I vowed to sew more when Robert left but so far all I seem to have done is sew patches on Gabby's Daisy smock and am still two behind. Maybe I will find time soon - sigh.

Peabody Hotel

Sam and his cousin Ben in the lobby of the Peabody.

Sam pushing Gabby in the stroller on the roof of the Peabody.

Watching the ducks in the fountain of the Peabody.

We took the kids to the Peabody Hotel to see the ducks march in. We went to the roof and saw where they live (boy have they upgraded it in recent years!) and Gram got the kids a drink in the lobby. Afterward, we went to Beale Street and had lunch at the Blues City Cafe. We walked around a little and then took the trolley around and down by the river. It was a very hot day but we enjoyed it.

Pink Palace

Here are the kids enjoying the circus at the Pink Palace Museum in Memphis. We used to go here when we were kids and see it. It is a miniature circus carved from wood that can be put into motion. It's very fun!

Gabby's last day of school

Here's Gabby on the last day of school back on June 11. I made her stand in front of the house and car since we have a different house and car from the first day way back on August 11 in Kansas! Sam was not to be left out.