On Our Way

We left Klamath Falls on May 4, bound for Gulfport, Mississippi. Johan took over as Communications Commander so some training at Keesler AFB is in order. Unfortunately the last 5 week training course that the Air Force will ever offer is right now, just as baby A is due to arrive. So we all headed south together. After this final 5 week course the training turns into a 6 month course! 5 weeks sounds much better.

We weren't very ambitious in planning our drive. Most days we only spent about 8 hours on the road. The boys were great! But, this was a 2010 style road trip. Many mornings they were asking, "Can we get in the car yet?" There were movies, audio books, and Nintendo DS waiting. Johan and I reminded them a few times that we didn't have movies or audio books for our road trips. The boys would marvel, "What did you do?" We fondly remembered making up games and singing. So we would try that with the boys for a while, until we all realized it wasn't as great as we remembered it.

Our Day 1 goal had originally been to make it to Reno, a short 4 hour drive. But we didn't make our planned Monday departure, so we had to get to Salt Lake City in order to play a little catch up. Here we are at our day one lunch stop in South Eastern Oregon. We pulled off at Warner Canyon Ski Resort which was closed for the season. I had made plenty of chicken curry for chicken sandwiches (thank you for the excellent recipe Andrea). The boys ate and wandered doing their best to adhere to my request to not get muddy.

I had lofty plans to stop and take a picture at every state line... and to do lots of blogging about our trip. But at the time it seemed like too much trouble to stop and unload. So many, many valuable photo ops were skipped. I regret it now, but at the time making more miles seemed the better option. Consequently what I had intended to have as a well documented cross-country trip is little more than a collection of a few random pictures.

For day 2 we left Salt Lake City (after enjoying the hotel pool) and headed for Colorado Springs. Johan and I had forgotten how incredibly dramatic the Rocky Mountains are. Interstate 70 from Salt Lake City to Denver took us through an absolutely amazing canyon in western Colorado. After leaving Rifle, Colorado the interstate winds through incredible terrain, not to mention the impressive engineering of the interstate itself. Sadly...no pictures.

We didn't get to Denver until it was already dark, but we were stunned by the growth. Although it seems like yesterday that we lived in Colorado, we realized that over 12 years have passed. From Denver we headed south on I-25 and could not believe how much has changed. If you are familiar with that part of the country you may remember that not so long ago Denver and Castle Rock were completely separate cities. Castle Rock being the sleepy little town between Denver and Colorado Springs. Not so anymore, the two are practically suburbs of one another. An eight lane freeway now connects Denver to Castle Rock and there are not more than 10 miles of undeveloped land on the outskirts of Castle Rock. Colorado Springs too has stretched north.

We decided to spend day 3 in Colorado Springs. We took the boys to visit the Air Force Academy and checked out the town. The boys were excited to see where Papa went to school. We felt our age however, as we realized that the kids attending the Air Force Academy today were born the year Johan graduated from high school. Post 9-11 security has reached the Air Force Academy so a lot of the areas that Johan wanted to share with the boys were off limits. We did visit the chapel, and hike around a bit. The static aircraft displays were exciting for the boys.

I was most impressed with how this picture, taken with a new lens and filter for our camera, turned out. The image is so crisp, it looks like a cartoon to me.

We were back on the road for day 4. This time we stopped at another of Johan's former schools. Wichita Falls, Texas is home to Sheppard Air Force Base, where Johan went to pilot training. We skipped the base, but did drive through some beautiful neighborhoods. We pulled a few real-estate fliers from what in Klamath Falls would be million dollar homes, selling in Texas for just under $400,000. How is that even possible????

A favorite rest stop activity for the boys was playing football with Johan. Here they are at a Texas rest stop. Unfortunately I did not get any pictures of the actual football.

On day 5 we stopped in Fort Worth for lunch at this local treasure.

The only thing on the menu is fried chicken or chicken fried steak. Everything is served family style and your fried chicken comes with all the salad, corn, mashed potatoes, gravy and biscuits you can eat. I've already gained 50 pounds...so there was nothing to stop me. The chicken was delicious, the salad, and corn, well above average, the mashed potatoes were heavenly, but the biscuits! It should be illegal to offer a pregnant woman unlimited biscuits fresh from the oven with warm butter and honey. And mashed potatoes, really!?! Whoever first decided to mash up some roots, add in butter and cream, and top them with the fat drippings of chicken really was a genius. If you are ever in the Fort Worth area and have several thousand calories to spare please stop in at Babe's.

We spent the night in Shreveport, Louisiana. Our hotel was right on this newly constructed Riverwalk with a mall and quite a few restaurants. Here are the boys in front of the Mississippi river. Any mention of Mississippi the state or the river will now throw K into a lively sing-song spelling of M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I.

After Shreveport it was a short six hour drive to our condo in Gulfport. We made it in time to catch the evening mass on Sunday!

To the Bone Yard

Johan's jet was sent to the bone yard in Arizona last month. It is being replaced by a newer jet, newer is relative as this "new" jet is still circa 1980. The jet's tail number ends in 40, playing on that, and the fact that Johan's crew chief is one of the oldest, the jet was painted with an "Over the Hill" theme. Unlike the active duty Air Force, at Kingsley Field the jets get custom painted. Johan's crew chief designed this one when the jet was repainted for Johan. It is difficult to see in the picture, but the jet is painted with a skeleton riding a heater missile.

Spring Soccer

Our spring soccer season was unexpectedly cut short. We had to head south on our Mississippi expedition halfway through the season. Johan coached for the first time this year. Both boys were thrilled with this arrangement.

C loved the opportunity to play goal keeper, but he is really a great scorer, so we tried to gently steer him toward playing forward. C was a leading scorer for the team every game. K did a great job keeping up. As a first grader playing on a 3rd and 4th grade team, he was excellent.

Here are some shots from the boys' spring soccer season.

T-O-A-S-T

A lot has happened since my last post. I am going to try to play catch up this week. But first, a little anecdote from this evening. At dinner, Johan delighted the boys with this childhood gem... He asked C to spell bread. "B-R-E-A-D," C proudly responded. Then Johan asked him to spell toast. Again, C proudly spelled toast. Johan then asked C to spell it two more times. To which C accurately responded. Finally, Johan queried, "What do you put in a toaster?" To which C promptly and proudly answered, "Toast!" And then, immediately both boys erupted in nearly uncontainable laughter. C in the midst of his uproarious laughter, marvelled at Johan with genuine admiration, "How do you do that?" He was truly appalled.

Poetry, Prompts, and Pizza

Last night the boys and I went to the library for "Poetry, Prompts, and Pizza." Once again I am pleasantly surprised at the events offered in our small community. When I first mentioned the event to the boys, their response was a reminder of the truth in the adage, "...the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." C wanted to know what he could win, and K wanted to know how they pick the winners. I had to inform them that, gasp, the event was just for fun and that it wasn't a competition. After quietly reflecting on why anyone would offer an event that showcases talent without naming a victor, both boys decided they would still like to attend.

It wasn't necessarily an event for kids. There were about 5 or 6 high school students and 2 or 3 kids C and K's age. We missed the first part of the event because the boys had soccer practice. But from what I could gather we missed a talk about poetry, its various forms, and a fun group effort at making a poem. We arrived for the writing portion. There were about 30 people in attendance, all were busy writing their poems. The boys wandered around the room looking at the various poetry writing prompts before they started writing. C announced that he didn't want to use a prompt as he had his own ideas. K started with a poetry outline that was something like a "Madlib." There were no words built in, but there were blanks that were labeled, "noun," "adverb," etc. K soon gained confidence. After K deemed my many topic suggestions to be unworthy, he chose his own topic and started writing.

The librarian wandered by as the boys were writing and informed them that they would have an opportunity to read their poetry for the group at the end of the event if they would like. Without even thinking about it, C knew he wanted to read his poem, and confidently announced that he would be reading. K was more hesitant. He said, "I think I have stage-fright, it bothers my stomach." K wasn't sure if he wanted to read in front of everyone. I told him he definitely did not have to read, but that he would not regret taking on the challenge and that it would be good for him put himself in an uncomfortable situation. After a few minutes of thought K said, "I think I would like to challenge myself." Any remaining doubt was erased when the librarian walked by again and mentioned that anyone who reads his/her poem will receive a piece of candy. "I am going to read," K quickly nodded with confidence. It is amazing what kids will do for a fun-size chocolate bar. Candy as a reward for kids is a personal pet-peeve, but that is another post.

I wasn't aloud to even peek at C's poem as he was developing it, so I can not take credit/responsibility for the content. I did however lend a hand with some spelling when called upon. K was initially less secretive, but after noticing C's covert writing, he too decided I should not be permitted to read as he wrote. When the time to read the poems came, C's hand shot up, and he was very quick to remind K that he wanted to raise his hand too. When at last C's turn came I was so incredibly proud to hear him read out loud, very well, and with confidence. I confess, I had tears in my eyes by the time he read the second line.

C's poem:

Sound
Sound is loud or soft.
Or, sound could be just your mom saying I love you
Or, just the tweet of a bird
Or, just the sound of the breeze
Or, the smoosh of you stepping on a banana
Or, the occasional mating call from a robin

I was equally impressed with K when he read his poem. Moments before he read he couldn't even decide if he wanted to read, but when the librarian pointed to "the boy in the red shirt," he stood up, pushed his chair back, and read loudly, clearly, and with confidence that would never betray his stage fright.

K's poem:

Birds
Did you know the bird's curved wing help propel him through the air?
So he can fly through the air?
So he can find food?
Owl
The owl can hear a twig snap some feet away
Which make the owl find food easier

Emboldened by his initial success and thoroughly pleased with the audience's response, C quickly set to work writing another poem. As the others continued to present their work, C continued to write. He wrote four more poems, and was heartily disappointed when there was only time for each person to present a single poem.

Chasing Them Down

Yesterday C and K had their first soccer practice. Johan is coaching them this year, I think I'm just a little too pregnant to coach. Both boys were very excited to practice AND it was a glorious sunny and warm day (the first in weeks), so the boys ran down to the park a few minutes before me. They took a walkie talkie with strict instructions not to talk to strangers. They radioed me twice asking for permission to say "hello" to adult friends that they encountered on their trip, and then again to let me know that they were at the park and were going to practice taking shots on each other. I drove down with all the equipment within 10 minutes.

When I arrived at the park a group of about 6 kids, the oldest of which was about 12 and the youngest of which was about 4, were walking towards C and K with a bit of a tough looking strut. I decided to watch to see what would unfold. C and K were practicing on the baseball diamond, using the backstop to catch their shots. These kids were a little rough looking and had a baseball and one glove. The kids approached C and K and (as I was later informed) said, "I just want to warn you that we are going to play baseball here so if you get hit don't come crying to us." At the time I was too far away to hear what was being said but I could tell the kids were trying to push C and K away. We weren't going to practice on that part of the field, so I asked C and K to come with me and we could practice near where we wanted the other kids to arrive.

We moved ourselves across the field. We were about 300 yards away from the baseball diamond when I saw that the kids who had so badly wanted the field were leaving. I was thinking that I should talk to C and K about how the kids were only enjoying the field because they were bugging/bullying C and K and that when we didn't express any anger and didn't show that we were at all upset by them it was no longer fun and they were leaving. But then it hit me that C and K no longer were holding their walkie talkie. I asked them where it was and they said they left it on the bench behind the baseball backstop. K ran over to get it. C and I could see him holding up his hands to demonstrate that it was no longer there. I was completely shocked, those kids left not because we were passive to their bullying, but because they were STEALING!

I told C and K to keep practicing and I would see if I could catch up to the kids. The group had moved away quickly but I thought I could see them down by the playground. I walked quickly (I haven't run in a long time) but as soon as they saw me (I'm hard to miss eight months pregnant and wearing a bright billowy red top) they scattered and ran. Something in my brain snapped and I was off, running as if I wasn't pregnant at all. Although I do think I could have caught them a lot faster if I weren't eight months pregnant. In my defense, I knew that Johan was on his way and that the boys would only be alone at the park for a few more minutes. A little more than a quarter mile (it felt like many miles) later I caught up to a little boy, about C's age. I didn't say anything to him when I caught him, but he turned to me, exasperated and insisted, "I don't have it!" Hmmmmmm....guilty much?

I asked the boy his name and told "J" to take me to his house. We arrived at his house where his parents and 5/6 of their friends were on the porch smoking. J announced "'M' took her walkie talkie." The parents were horrified and the man who was probably the father of the offender jumped in his truck to track him down. The mom proceded to tell me how bad this was, and that it was even worse because yesterday M stole a bike! M can't be more than 12 years old, and he was off at the park about a half-mile away with 4 or 5 siblings/friends who are all considerably younger than he, and just yesterday he stole a bike?!?! This happens on our planet? How is this okay? And why steal 1/2 of a walkie talkie?

Within minutes the dad had returned with the walkie talkie and the perpetrator, who even then announced to the crowd on the porch, "I didn't take it!" The parents/adults shouted some choice words and told him to get in the car. I was relieved to be walking away with C and K's walkie talkie and a reminder of what it feels like to run so hard your lungs burn. I was more than a little proud to stride confidently back into the park waving the walkie talkie triumphantly to C and K and to boldly recount my heroic tale for Johan, who lamented missing the opportunity to chase them down.

Whoa!

Tonight I showed C and K my ever expanding belly and my belly button. Sadly, my formerly "innie" belly button is now nearly flush with the surrounding skin. K's response, "Whoa! That's a lot of stretch marks!" C concurred, but in a more analytic manner, I could almost see him scratching his chin, "Yeah Mama, that is a lot of stretch marks." Later as the boys were wrestling around with Johan, Johan cautioned them, "Careful, you're close to mama." K was quick to move away, but mumbled, "Yeah, I have to get away from her enormous body."

Another quotable quote from K this evening:

"Mama, do you want me to show you how to do 'Bird Beaks?'" Not sure what to expect, I watched as K launched into a series of "Burpees." Burpees are the fitness training move that is sort of a jumping jack/push-up. The boys do burpees at Tae Kwon Do every week, and apparently K, for over a year now, has been hearing "Bird Beaks," not "Burpee." Even as I corrected him, K insisted, "No, bird beaks!" He demonstrated with his hands how at the top of the jumping jack move his hands come together in a peak that arguably does resemble a bird beak.