Very Cool Video

This is an amazing bit of linguistic art!



H/T: Daryl

Triplets Play in the Snow

We had our first real playtime in deep snow yesterday! The snow here is roughly 10 inches (almost thigh high on them!!) and nicely powdered for play! They have never seen anything more than light dustings before.

Detached...

I have said my last goodbyes to those on LABOON, and now head off into the unknown... But first - Christmas!!

Silent Monks Singing Halleluia

Hilarious and Blasphemous all at the same time!!!

h/t: Bostonmaggie

Wrapping Presents with Daddy

Probably not my smartest idea, but one I’m glad to have had – especially after the fact. These are those roses I keep being told to “stop and smell” along the way…

I got the house!!

Yesterday evening I signed the lease on the fantastic home in Charleston that we will be renting while I'm down there. Two days of house hunting down there and I found the location of the YMCA, the Walmart, Barnes and Noble, Indoor Gun Range (no word yet on if they rent guns or not), and the Lowes. I'm very happy with the house and the location just 10 minutes from work!! Here are a couple of photos:

Deployment Summary

I'm back from deployment and would love to post pictures of it but my laptop died before I could backup the photos. I have a couple options to get them back, but it'll take some time. Anyway, it was a busy 7.5 months with both diplomatic support and Counter-Piracy Operations as a part of Standing NATO Maritime Group TWO. Laboon visited
Sigonella, IT
Alexandria, EG
Haifa, IS
Thessaloniki, GR
Lisbon, PO
Malaga, SP
Souda Bay, GR (at least 10 times; it's a logistics hub)
Taranto, IT
Split, CR
Muscat, OM
Djibouti, DJ

I'd recommend any of them except Djibouti; that's a hellhole. The counter-piracy stuff was fascinating, as we were among the first on station, so we were developing the tactics as we learned. Very interesting interactions with many other nations, including a conversation with a Russian task group that would not have occurred if we were operating as a US ship rather than NATO.

I'm glad to be back!! And even more glad to be on vacation! I'll post some pics if I get my laptop harddrive back up and running.

We're Surviving...

It's been a week and a half, but we're surviving. Much of the time has been so busy I don't have much time to think about John, but I know we all miss him. Daycare twice a week has helped immensely. The time off doesn't always mean I'm sitting at home doing nothing, but it means I am getting things done in a day that would normally take me a week to get done.

Our sitter is a lovely Scottish woman, and she loves the kids. They stay well fed, and have a few other kids their age to play with. It has really helped all of us, not just me...but I think I like it just little more then they do. : )

Heather is being much more girlie every day, John is as "helpful" as ever, and William is as happy as ever. We are doing surprisingly well. We hope you are all doing well too. Cheers.

Heather

Heather is slightly below the growth chart, but I have to keep reminding myself that she has always been small, and will probably always be small. She is able to push my buttons, but not as much as John can. She has found that she likes to be in front of the camera, and is as much of a drama queen as ever.

John

John is growing right on schedule, and driving Mommy crazy. He's aggressive, stubborn, and hates to listen to me....I don't know any family like that. : ) But, I couldn't think of ever not having him. Although sometimes... : )

William

William is growing right on schedule, and his speech therapist says we may be able to ween him out of the program soon. He's very...very expressive now, even if his words aren't always there. What makes it all good, is that he is still able to go and play by himself, while his sibilings fight in the other corner. : )