Ladies Roadtrip 2012 from CA to KS

I can't think of a better Mother's Day than to be flanked by my Mom and daughter as we began a road trip from California to Kansas.

Our first day was filled with Central Cali desserts and heat, but once we emerged from the Mojave dessert, we saw the Vegas lights and stayed at Nellis AFB.

eating dinner after our first day on the road

telling Grandma a story

After Nellis, we were off to explore some National Parks!
Zion

stretch break at Zion

Bryce Canyon

Inspiration Point lookout

Piper is so excited to walk that she doesn't notice the view!

Piper loves being with her Grandma

an Arch in Bryce

My favorite spot in Bryce Canyon

Lastly, we stayed in Moab to visit the Arches National Park the next day. The Arches were beautiful and both my Mom and I were amazed at the red terrain.  May was a perfect time to be here - any later and we would have been roasting hot.

dramatic landscape

 FISH FACE! :)

the most famous arch in the arches park

Next up, we continued our adventures traveling East into Colorado.  Due to our time at the parks in Utah, we stayed on the western side of CO in Glenwood Springs.  After we stayed a night, we ate a wonderful breakfast in a small café and then soaked in the hot springs.  Piper was a little weary at first and refused to let go of me in the warm water, but after about an hour, she finally went to her floaty toy.  It was the most relaxing morning!

not only relaxing, but surrounded by beautiful views

Once we got on the road, we started approaching the CO KS border.  You'd think this is what the whole point was in driving...however, My mom and I refused to believe that our trip was approaching the final destination so quickly.  So, once we hit Denver, we traveled north to Boulder.  We shopped, ate, drank and were quite merry in this college town flanked by the Rockies.

Yayyyy - sleeping baby

CO snow!

"Drink up, Piper..." Walnut Brewery in Boulder :)

Once we left Boulder the next day, we knew there weren't any parks or sites in western KS that we wanted to see, so we huffed on back to KC.


What a marvelous trip across the western U.S.A.  Our country is so beautiful - I hope everyone has the chance to see this beauty!

goofball played with my phone and unintentionally took a pic of herself

Patching to....

Congratulations, Brian! VFA-102 Diamondbacks. YAYY!!! Wait, what does this mean?

It means that gone are the days of the navy flight training in the FRS - Fleet Replacement Squadron in Lemoore, CA.  (I like to refer to it as the "honeymoon" stage because the realities of the marriage to the navy hasn't really set in yet...deployments, work-ups, etc.)  But now we'll actually stay put somewhere for 3 years! That somewhere happens to be a land "somewhere over the rainbow...er, pacific..." Konnichiwa! We're moving to Japan, people.

Truth be told, we were kinda thinking that we'd end up stateside, however once again, the navy knew better.
Holy Guacomole. Or, Holy Sushi Role-y.

Part of the reason we got Japan is because Brian did pretty darn good at the boat and got Priority A status - meaning that he scored well and went above and beyond the amount of traps that were required while he was landing on the carrier.  Priority A not only means "Hey, ya did a good job" but it more so means, "you did a good job so we need you in the fleet NOW." Japan was gearing up for a deployment so off he went!

Some stressful feelings had less to do with Japan and more with the fact that we had reams of paperwork to complete; packing up with a small child is no thrill either.  Let's just say that I tried organizing my things with colored stickers and every evening I'd noticed Piper with a random sticker that she pulled off from somewhere!  I ended up giving up the sticker technique. Amidst all the moving stuff, we got to run back to KC to see family around Easter weekend.

We returned to Cali and then it was Sayonara for the Bri-guy.

After Brian left, Piper and I welcomed the week's worth of movers -  ya see, there are 3 moves for the International haul: (hence, my failed sticker technique for organization)
1)stuff that goes in storage and stays in CA
2) stuff that goes to Japan, and
3) the stuff that goes to Japan quickly so you can function upon your arrival
These movers seemed good so I think/hope we'll have a better turnout of our things than in our last move!  How you lose a king bed is still beyond me...

Yet, overall, I can't believe it. I've spent a good portion of my life being addicted to Europe and namely the French language and culture.  I've studied political processes, history, and those crazy francophones in order to feel prepared to be enveloped in a lifestyle unlike the one I had grown accustomed.  Then, that glorious day arrived when I caught my flight to Paris and spent an academic year abroad in a small French town called, Angers.
So, when I heard that we got Japan, I felt so unprepared - it was like receiving an educational grant for which I didn't even know I applied!   And the educational metaphor is well-applied in this situation because Lord knows, you gain a lot of knowledge by living in a different culture.  I am thrilled and blessed by the opportunity of it all.  Gonna miss the states like crazy but let's do this!!!

Happy Birthday, Juneau!

My little (Big) Junie Dog is 4 years old - Happy Birthday, Juneau!

February Shtuff

February has come and gone and Lord knows what's happened to THAT month!
Coaching basketball and teaching piano lessons have been in full swing, Brian's job has been CRAMMED FULL of events, and we've hosted a couple quick visitors! 
My Dad came for a day; I'll never forget the conversations we shared concerning life with children in your 20's and keeping your sights on long-term goals.  That man is a bon vivant and an amazing intellectual - he always seems to have fun and also challenges everyone around him to be better without pressuring anyone to do so.  I hope I have that attribute when I teach and parent!

Most recently, Carter, Brian's stepbrother, stopped in while he was on his way to a conference in Las Vegas.  It was awesome to hear Brian and Carter walk down memory lane and all the psycho things they did when they were little - yikes, it makes me afraid if I ever have to raise a boy....

And speaking of raising a kid...This Piper girl is amazing - do you know that?  Really.  I'm not kidding - she's so stinking cool that I can't get over it. We make silly noises, crawl and walk around the house, squirt water at each other with her bath toys, and we even watch a little yo gabba gabba which is a show that condones having a dance party 24/7.  If I have it my way, Piper will be break-dancing by the time she's 2 years old.

Just Another Day in Paradise

"Well, it's ok. It's so nice.
It's just another day in paradise.
Well, there's no place that
I'd rather be
Two hearts
And one dream
I wouldn't trade it for anything
And I ask the Lord every night
For just another day in paradise"
-Phil Vassar

One of the best things about central Cali is that they have AWESOME country music stations here.  The best.  Here I am, having lived in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Now, California, and this of all places has the best country!? Go figure.

Another awesome aspect about the Valley is that this is where we live.  This is where Brian is receiving training, Piper has been growing up, and I've found an amazing group of military wife friends amidst being able to work from home.  I'm quite content and I'm embracing it now before things change...again...and I find myself surrounded by boxes.  Wherever we'll end up, we know we'll be moving this next year - into a home in the area OR across the country OR across the ocean.  Who knows.  Until then, I cherish moments like these....

Walking?

Caught it on camera - slowly but surely, this little lady is learning to walk!
Look at her go!?

Coastal and Midwestal in January

We're nearly two months into the year and it's time for me to conjure an update!
Yes, conjure; I may or may not have watched Harry Potter yesterday....

On the cusp of 2011 and 2012,
Brian's Aunt and Uncle ventured west from Kansas City to roam the vineyards and play with our dogs on the beach - our favorite past time.

First off, we tried out a couple new vineyards called, Le Cuvier, which offered crazy wine pairings (my personal fav was the bacon chipotle brownie paired with a dessert zin...mmm) and Daou offered amazing sites and complex whites.  All of the wines were distinct and flavorful - I don't think we've met a wine we didn't enjoy on our many Paso trips....wellll, except for Justin wine -  mostly because the taste of their wines don't match their insane prices or the fame they've received.  Fact is, they're owned by Fiji water and they have publicity that gets them into semi-valid wine-loving publications....but their proof is not in their puddin'....imao
Lastly, we went to Opolo for our home run wine tastings paired with wood-fired pizza.

the view from Le Cuvier

inside Daou Winery

the view from Daou

New Year's Eve: we watched the sunset on the beach in Cayucos (one of our favorite places to walk the beach with our dogs) and then we drove back home to the valley.

 - and on the way home, we brought our Apple, Bottle of Water, Cooler for beer, Didn't bring an ID, Elephant, F.....  that car game made the 2.5 hrs go fast :)
We then had some fondue for Din Din!

The rest of January was filled with Brian's detachment in Key West, and for part of the time he was gone, Piper and I traveled over to the Midwest to hang out with family for a week.  It was much needed and filled with amazing theological conversations, shopping, showing off Piper, and quality time...with all - That seldom happens but it SO did.  I came back to California missing everyone but not regretting time NOT spent with someone or doing something...  LOVE Kansas :)

More about the little P-diddly-do-wop-a-doobie-do to come..... :D
She merits a blog post all to her little self these days. 
In the meantime, here are some pics from our return flight.

An Ode to Church Shopping

Christmas Eve Church Service 2011:
Brian's first, and sadly, perfect comment for the evening when we walked through the church doors was, "Is it Halloween?" 

The church lobby was dark but "decorated" with fake snow (which was the same sorta cotton used to make spiderwebs on Halloween), multi-colored lights, props of Christmas (like presents and christmas trees), and a person in a Grinch outfit.  All the kids cringed when they saw the green monster standing front and center. It felt like I walked into a mall...or a haunted house?  I was so confused...we were in church, right?  ...where one learns about Jesus?

My inner monologue consisted of "just get in the auditorium...just make it to worship...you're almost there..."
And of course, the auditorium was FULL of those "Christers" (the people that only attend church on Christmas and Easter).  The first fifteen minutes of church were met with in-house announcements and handing out toys in a loud crinkly plastic wrapper for kids to play with during the service.  For those fifteen minutes, Piper was a little angel...after that, the church service finally got into the nitty gritty, and by then, Piper was ready to leave.  The timing did NOT work.

So in a nutshell, I missed a lot of the Christmas service, but I felt like I gained a lot of knowledge about how churches like to worship...and how the attendees of the church like to worship...(where I fall into the attendee category)

For example: In a church's quest to be a part of common culture, does the church have to incorporate society into church?
Like, why was the Grinch in the entryway?
Why do people make an effort to fill up the seats on Christmas and Easter?
tradition? or guilt?
OR gasp...how close am I to turning into a "Christer" when I get so easily annoyed and judgemental with how some preachers preach or how many things can distract me from talking to God at church?  And if I'm so distracted at church from God, and that's the overall purpose why I'm there, why should I go?  And if I don't go, I run the risk of defining my own Christianity - and doesn't THAT sound like an enticing snare!?
I could go on but I'll spare you the magnitude of my endless questions...

All of these questions make it even more important for me to embark upon a PROJECT this next year.  With it being 2012, I think it's time I sit down and research THE CHURCH.  What its purpose was Then and what its purpose is Now in my life...especially because our military life of moving is So non-traditional - and yet, Jesus was soooo non-traditional.  Just like Jesus, sometimes we have no place to lay our heads (either because the movers lost our bed or because we are in between locations and we haven't found a home yet...)

So my project will be an Ode to Church Shopping - I have so many thoughts, and not a lot of conclusions - so I look forward to the research.

A Chill Christmas 2011

This past Christmas, we decided it was best to stay put in Califor-NI-YAY. As much as we missed family back in the midwest, I can't deny that enjoying mimosas all day long and being no where at no time made our Christmas quite relaxing. But let me back up a smidge...

Christmas ain't Christmas without Jesus So Christmas Eve we got all gussied up for our church's eve service!  (Did I mention that we sorta found a church?)  Piper was in her Christmas dress, I in my GORG suede skirt and blouse and my handsome man in his civies (military lingo for civilian garb - biz casual - because when you wear flight suits all week, everything else seem to get that all-encompassing "Civi" title...)

A half hour after a couple praise songs and dealing with a little jumping Piper, we had to get outta church - I like to say that it's not the amount of time we spend at church, but moreso, the volume we like to exude in worship.  I sang my heart out for "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and Piper offered a little heralding of her own.

We came home to a beautiful tree, presents, dinner and then it was bath and bed time for the little one.  Afterall, Santa has to visit when we're all sleeping and we must be rested to celebrate Jesus!

Christmas Morning, Brian and I got out the Christmas coffee cake, made some coffee, heard Piper starting to stir and then began some present opening!

Good Morning, Christmas!

Piper has her presents and she's ready to begin

little does she know, Tommy is just as excited about present-opening...

getting the 101 about how to open presents, meanwhile, she's content just to hold them...

Santa brought her a highchair!

"So I would contend that these cheerios are sphere-like yet...delightful"

Santa got Juneau a Frisbee...and some warm weather

ahhhh, relaxing

 a little confused about whose bed belongs to whom

After opening presents, we began calling all of our family, and cooking up our Surf and Turf dinner.  It was a quiet, beautiful and warm California Christmas, which allowed us to count our blessings and begin building our traditions. We hope your Christmas was just as "chill" whether snow made it white or the people you love made it warm.

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord," Luke 2:11.