It's a miracle.

My eldest child actually wore shoes. Not only did she wear shoes but she wore jeans and let me put her hair in a ponytail. Okay, I forced her and she only obeyed humored me until we got home from the park when she immediately ripped the rubberband from her hair and put on her plaid dress/uniform.


She prefers to dress like every day is Easter Sunday...in the tropics (as evidenced below - the picture was taken November 10th - 50 F). It is a struggle we have daily.


But Amy reminded me in a comment that it may merely be a case of "like mother, like daughter", in which I might just have to let her be who she is. An extremely warm-blooded creature with a penchant for flip-flops. I'm sure my choice of footwear (and wearing shorts when it snowed) was disappointing at times to my parents - although I don't recall it being a big deal. I know it displeased my grandmother (right gma?). But really, I wasn't cold. And maybe, just maybe, Abes isn't either.

Turkey Trot 10K

I entered the base's Turkey Trot and during a momentary lapse of judgement or perhaps overconfidence in my current level of fitness I checked the box next to the 10K instead of my usual 5K preference. I think I may have only ever done one other 10K, and now I remember why I don't usually run that far. It hurts. And although 6.2 miles doesn't sound all that long, it is. Especially if you are more of the sprinter variety and don't know a thing about pacing yourself. At about mile two I was regretting my decision. Instead of just kicking in that last mile, I had a whole nother 5K to run. :(

Like a real runner I was trying not to use my iPod but had it safely tucked into my sportsbra, along with my car key, in case I needed it. I eventually put it on but I was already so tired that I couldn't find a song that could pump me up (not even Eminem - who has helped me through the pain of two labors - could help me), but I had to leave it on because the alternative was to listen to myself sucking wind.

This was nothing like the turkey trots in middle school. Or maybe I'm just not the turkey trotter I once was.

On a positive note - the weather was a gorgeous 42 degrees - see Mt. Rainer below. And even though the race was free, they used the ChampionChip timing system, they had great finish line treats (thanks to REI and some other local sponsors), a goody bag with a t-shirt, cd, a koozie (you know - a can-insulator) with a caveman on it and some weird white towel thing that you might find in a hospital surgery room.

And thank you Melissa for watching my kids so I could punish myself.

-

-Time: 54:... (haven't seen an official time yet and was too tired to make note of the large clock at the finish line.

Friends.

One of the great things about the military sending you all over is making new friends and meeting up with old friends in new places. We really hit the old friends made new again jackpot with our latest move. It's fun to meet new additions to families and amazing to see those we knew as toddlers and itty bitty babies all grown up! Some of you may recongnize some of our friends below:

From Hawaii we were lucky to have Eden (left), Kinley and Mya (right) join us in the Pacific Northwest.

Those we last knew on the East Coast include:

Aubrey, Lincoln(left) and Baby Jace (below)

Olivia (right) and the twins - Tenison and Henry (below)

Addyson and Kaitlin.

Zoe, Fischer and Bronwyn (as a mummy, a very cute mummy).

I'm kicking myself for not getting a better picture of the Spackman kids - Lila (pink jacket) and Jude (red striped polo).

(Above) Damaris and Baby Sam.

Some of the gals - April, Sarah and Melissa.

Talking Points

As is generally the case when moving into (or out of) a ward, we were asked to speak in church this Sunday*. Most of the time the bishopric has a topic in mind for the meeting. This time we were given free reign. Considering they don't know us that well, that was pretty...surprising, foolish, kind? Armed with a litany of talks from the previous General Conference we searched for inspiration. Ben found his quickly and settled on exploring the virtue of charity - as in giving of what we have to others charity. He had his thoughts arranged and ready to be delivered in a matter of hours. Meanwhile I had worked all week to pull something together and for hours the night before and still had nothing cohesive. I set my alarm for 5am and thought I could use the peace and quiet of the morning (translation - my kids would be asleep) to focus. With a racing mind I couldn't sleep when it came to me - I could give a talk I had given before. I jumped up and searched for a file on the computer that might give me rest. Sure enough, I had two to choose from. I settled on a version of the final talk given in our ward in Maryland - I updated it with a few new quotes, tweaked it here and there and it was good to go.

We gave our talks and after church someone gave the obligatory "thanks for your talk today" compliment. She followed it up with a "as often as you move you should file that one away to give again"

(Smile, laugh)

I'll think about it.


---

*Avery gave a talk in Primary last week. Her topic - We are all children of our Heavenly Father. She drew a picture of the Earth, complete with outer-space, she sang "Jesus Loves the Little Children" (you know - the probably politically incorrect - "red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight"), and said a few words about how He wants us to be happy because he made us and that we should be kind to each other. It was a brilliant 45 seconds.

Tree Guy

Born and bred in the wilds of Alaska (okay, I'm not sure exactly where in Alaska, but it's all wild right?), this guy is about as rugged as they come. With nothing but spurs and a cable anchoring him to the tree, he cuts off substantial limbs and throws them down like nothing. Referring to his men on the ground as 'girls', he cut our trees down in thirds and as the top portion would come down he would be left swaying on what was remaining. Yikes.

I'm sorry, but I'm going to have a crush on anyone who can do what he does (you should see his forearms, really). No, you're not going to come to find one day that I've run off with the tree guy, but my respect runs deep. If you had seen him up in those giant 100ft+ fir trees working his chainsaw magic yours would too. As it turns out, he is afraid of heights.

--

Video posted here.

44th

October Recap.

Ben - Without a doubt the highlight of the month/year for him was a well-deserved trip to Aspen (which in my head is pronounced with a whisper and a dramatic wave of the hand As-pen - since it's such a fancy place. (I'm sure that aside doesn't go over very well in print...as is frequently a problem when trying to communicate my thoughts into written word. Bear with me.)) Back to As-pen. I don't think they ever made it into the actual town, but Carbondale just doesn't have the same ring to it. He met up with his dad and brother Kit for five days of fly-fishing. I guess it was fun.

I know this isn't the greatest picture, but I just noticed that the same sweater that Ben wears to church every week is the same one he was wearing while fishing. You gotta love that guy. Excuse me, while I go put that one through the wash.

I know some of you are still waiting for more info on his tanning escapades. I am still searching for an important piece of evidence regarding that, and he's not helping. In fact, he has erased some of what I had prepared. However, he was flattered that pictures were requested.

Miles - Spent most of the month singing Happy Birthday to himself and blowing out pretend candles. Since I realized he was really getting a kick out of the whole birthday party concept- presents, cake etc., I felt like I couldn't deny him the chance to have a party, even though I hadn't been planning on giving him one. I also realize how unfair this is considering his sister had quite a bash for her 1st and 3rd bdays. So some last minute scrambling and an awesome cake idea from here resulted in a fun gathering with a group of friends who had been East-coasters with us for a time. The best part is that now Miles has boy toys all his own. Hooray!

As for the discussion about when the terrible twos actually start, I would like to weigh in with them starting at 18 months. How long they last is another conversation altogether.


Avery - Is continuing her motivational speaking tour. Next stop - a playground near you. Taking a giant step toward televangelist missionary, A. has been overheard preaching the Gospel to misfits at the park. After a recent altercation where a little girl had slapped another girl and threatened to kick another in the stomach, she led the girl to a spot under the slide and proceeded to tell her about the great plan of happiness, including excerpts of the creation story and the good news of the birth of the Savior. I had to climb some playground equipment to try to get a good listen but I heard her telling her followers that Jesus was born as a tiny baby in a place like this (under the slide among the woodchips?) and that we are all God's children. After that they emerged as friends.

In the car I told A. how nice that was of her to work things out instead of retaliating. She told me, "well at first I told her I was going to punch her in the face, but then I had to show her love". Oh.

Me - I enjoyed my week alone with the kids while Ben was gone - it was pretty much like any other week except that I don't have to make dinner or do as much laundry. This left me time to watch a movie. It's been a long time since I've watched a movie and an even longer time since I have actually enjoyed one. But I really liked Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day with Amy Adams (who plays a naughty version of her Enchanted character in this film). Two thumbs up. The rest of my month was spent fretting about the state of the economy, reading up on politics and making lists. I don't suppose anyone is interested in my current stock picks, but I've identified some that I would snatch up if I had some discretionary funds.

In more interesting news, WE STARTED ON OUR HOUSE! Well, we started clearing trees anyhow. We had hoped to start in October and we were thinking early October but the 31st is October just the same. I have been trying to compile our experiences and am making a separate blog so that we can have a record of our adventure. Anyone is welcome to check it out but I'm going to make it private so that we don't have to spare any detail. Let me know if you want access, I'll just need your email address if I don't already have it. If you are a regular lurker on this blog and don't want to be left out of the fun, reveal yourself and once I perform a background check you can have access too ;) (as a part-time lurker myself, I know nothing is worse than being locked out of a blog).

Happy Halloween.

Did you know that you have six choices for president? Six candidates who made it on the ballot? I am proud to say that I only had to Wikipedia one of the presidential hopefuls, and only one got a smirk and a chuckle. One got an I like you but you're really running again sigh. (Another got an I don't care for your platform or your parrot skit, but you're really running again eyebrow raise. Sorry Nate.) So that either leaves us with two legitimate candidates, or a lot of research to do between now and next Tuesday.

One more week until history is made*. It will be age, race or gender that breaks new ground. And while what that will mean for us as a country may not be apparent for months, we only have but a few days until we find out who America has chosen! And then I for one, will be cheering the widespread removal of signs that litter our city streets and hateful, non-issue commercials that litter our airwaves...for another four years.



*Bob Barr probably does not break any new ground if elected. Unless, of course, previous presidents have not had a mustache. I will say however, that he made a fine choice in running mate Wayne Root, who is a professional sports handicapper and author of many books including "The Zen of Gambling" and "The Joy of Failure!: How to Turn Failure, Rejection, and Pain into Extraordinary Success". I suggest that he might want to dust off that last one...

Two.

It just wouldn't be two without a couple trips to timeout and a swat (not a celebratory one) on your big day. Two means being able to move large chairs around the house so you can reach and climb on whatever your little heart desires. Two means being able to tell on your sister in full sentances. Two means that, thanks to your friends and family, you finally have some boy toys and no longer have to watch Barbie and the Diamond Castle if you want to play with trains and cars instead (although you do sing that Connected song real good buddy). Two means you've only got a few more teeth left to come in and only a few more months left in diapers...except that you need them to keep your pants up. Two means that you can say repeated prayers but you can also throw in a "thank you for my Thomas train" at your own will.

We love you Miles and we're so glad that you are TWO!!

Note- More on the bday celebrations later...

Glittered Spiders

I've been dying for a reason to get some of Martha's glitter and she finally gave me one. Avery and I caught a few minutes of her show on Tuesday and decided that we would take on her Glittered Hurricanes project. Mostly we were enamored by the idea of transforming plastic spider rings into fabulous jewelery, but when Big M. (her prison nickname I'm sure) mentioned that her glitter line was 30% (until sat. 10/18) off we were loaded up and on our way to Michaels. We made the hurricanes (actually a round vase and a votive holder) and then glittered 100 spooky rings. Or should I say one of us glittered 100 spooky rings. A couple of us just enjoyed playing with the ultra-fine and now ubiquitous glitter itself. Boy are we sparkly.

Believe

Ben: Avery - would you please sit on my feet while I do sit-ups?

Avery: (starts to comply then changes mind) Dad, you can do it without me. I can do it, see. (displays ability)

Ben: Please Avery. I need your help.

Avery: Dad. (places her hand on his knee and looks him in the eye)
Dad, I want you to believe in your destiny. I want you to believe that you are strong enough. I want you to believe that you can do sit-ups without me sitting on your feet.

(Conversation over)

August/September Recap

This was shaping up to be a quarterly recap but I'm gonna squeeze in a dual month recap while I can still remember our goings on...


Ben - While the wife and kids are away, hubby will... go tanning? This really deserves a post all it's own but I have to do a little more investigative reporting on the subject. Those fresh tan lines appearing while nary a UV ray in the sky raised suspicion, among other evidence - at least he had the decency to tan so as to have tan lines. More on that later.

In other news, Ben has informed me that he will no longer be taking call at the hospital. This info is 50% 60% a relief and 40% a disappointment (it would be proportionately more of a relief if he had taken a lot of overnight call before but in Hawaii they had a good system to avoid it - a month of night float). I actually enjoyed the occasional evening alone and I think Ben actually got a better nights sleep at work. Now he will be subject to home call and the dreaded second pager - and nothing is hotter than a man with two pagers on his belt. I know I shouldn't be complaining because it makes him more available at home but it can also be quite disruptive. Now if they want to do something about those ultra-long work days, that's another story.

Miles - Besides giving us a warm-up to the terrible-twos, which for M. means saying all day and all night I hungry followed by go mommy go (who does he think I am - Diego?)and then refusing every morsel that is offered to him, actually he will say yes he wants a pb&j or whatever else and then once it's made he will refuse it. That's going to get old very quickly. He is learning how to string words together in sentences, especially if it to argue with his sister but he is following a more verb-subject-object or object-subject-verb sequence which makes him sound like he is a little Chinese boy learning English as a second language.

In more exciting escapades Miles has his first girlfriend (in WA at least). I always thought he would go for older women like his dad but apparently the youth of one pretty little lady has caught his eye. And perhaps her forwardness. If you have a few seconds (24 to be exact) you can check out our little man in "action" HERE. As Ben says, he's not allowed to sleep in our bed anymore.

Avery - She started AWANA cubbies again this month. She has also enjoyed getting started on a fall/winter wardrobe with a jacket and some new boots "like aunt Brittany's", which makes her feel very sassy. They are Ugg-like boots. Don't tell her they are knock-offs. She wears them well. And it's a good thing because her flip-flop days are quickly coming to an end.

Me - Besides our fun visit to California and the wedding in St. Louis I have just been trying to move our house building forward. Some days show promise of progress, others just promise delay. We wanted an education and we're getting one.

Perhaps the highlight of my month, however, was discovering the gym on base. I say "discovering" but really I have been led by fabulous friends who know the ropes and are willing to share (like Sarah for instance who clued me in the whole bus to the airport thing, among other tips). So to add yet another reason why I love being in the military (the only downside I think are those polyester pants) - there is a gym on base with free child care. Not only free but they have ample, trained staff who play with the kids, do artwork and they even change diapers! The only drawback is that they have a cap on how many kids can come in at a time so potentially you might have to wait till a spot opens up. But I go at off-peak times so I haven't had a problem yet. The classes they offer are good too and they play P90X and kettleball training videos in other areas of the gym which I am a big fan of. See ya later *unnamed gym* with your expensive childcare and caregivers who couldn't care less.

Remembering.

I couldn't decide what to title this post, my first inclination was "sad today" but although that describes the emotion it misses the point completely.

You won't find an obituary anywhere because he thought they were ridiculous, but you will find him in one of our national cemeteries because he served our country - over and over again. He flew in three major wars and countless other missions where I can only imagine how steady and decisive he was as a pilot. As a granddaughter, I remember the man who drove a semi and would park his truck across from our house on Wilson street and we thought it was pretty neat to look inside. That's when I learned that truckers actually had beds in their trucks. I can only imagine that he imagined he was still at the controls of a bomber when he was piloting a big rig down the freeways and highways. A very tall man with cool jumpsuits and even cooler cars. I remember that he drove a Porsche. I'm pretty sure it was green. I'm pretty sure he had had others like it. He could read your aura, but he probably wouldn't tell you about if he had. I can only imagine what mine might have looked like to him. At one time a stockbroker by trade, and always one to watch the markets closely I know that by the time I have gotten up and around to checking tickers he had been watching them for hours. He and Avery had their money game. I can only imagine what went on with all those coins in that egg-carton - perhaps she will let me in on the secret someday. Miles loved his plane. A model similar to the ones he flew that flies above his computer. I can only imagine what stories he would have shared with our little guy when he got old enough to listen. What he was old enough for however, was sharing his love of ice cream and Little Debbies.

I've only known him for a little over 30 years and can only imagine how much I missed the other five plus decades. I know what questions I'm going to ask him when I see him again though. Did you really see a UFO while flying for the Air Force and were you sworn to secrecy by the government? And what's the secret for your grilled flank steak and for growing tomatoes?

Stock-broker, truck driver, Lieutenant-Colonel, Chargers-fan, grandfather, great-grandfather, etc. Always the pilot and never the navigator.

We will miss you Big Al and we will always remember.

....

A princess gets her crown(s).

Due to neglect on her parents part, ultra-thin primary tooth enamel, lack of fluoride in the water, genetics and a love for all things chocolaty and candy coated, A. now has the makings of what is sure to be a fine looking grill someday.


Although she wasn't too keen on the tools they were using (note to dentist - they still hurt even when your assistants give them cutesy names) she is actually quite proud of her silver teeth. Although her mother is slightly embarrassed that her daughter now looks like a kid from the Ozarks who sipped soda through their bottle as a baby (must be those Missouri roots in us), she is proud to show them to anyone she meets. Especially adults who might have a silver tooth or two of their own - i.e. the checker at Walgreens, whom I'm pretty sure had diamonds in hers. I guess we'll have to ask for the fancy ones next time.


There will not be a next time.


However, I am kinda glad that until they fall out we don't have to spend all that much time brushing those silver beauties.

Seriously confused.

I'm not the greatest at keeping track of time (minutes and hours or weeks and months)- If I am writing a check I will for sure stare blankly at the date line until someone offers me the month for starters. And I don't have kids in school so I don't have a great gauge of seasons. Now, since we just went from endless summer to Autumn in July to a September heatwave I am really messed up - the Christmas decor popping up in the stores doesn't help either. But I really thought I had a handle on what day comes after Sunday. Today's Monday right? How come everytime I go to MSN.com it says Tuesday September 23 at the top. Did I sleep right through Monday? No wonder I got up so early today after being up so late (at least what I thought was) last night.

Oppressor no more.

With Ryan's selfless service to his country and having turned out to be an excellent husband and father, I think it is time to formally release him as an oppressor of women. Of course I am taking the liberty of speaking for a small group of liberated (yet anonymous) women but I think 12 years is sufficient time to have passed in order to do so...right ladies?

-

For some this bit of humorous nostalgia will need no explanation. If you need a little background - a few of us in high school started a feminist underground newspaper called "In Bloom". We claimed that the purpose of our publication was "not to say that women are superior" but rather our goal was "expression: beautiful, sincere, truthful EXPRESSION". Although I'm pretty sure that the article entitled Why Guys Suck doesn't fall into the latter category. It only lasted a few issues...but it may have contributed to my getting a scholarship from the National Organization of Women (NOW) (I'm sure they would be pleased with the choices I have made with my life - ha!) Anyhow, I'm glad I saved them because they are quite funny all these years later. I may release more writings but I'll probably have to censor some of it first.

Home sweet lot.

Today we became land owners. There is officially no turning back - we're building a house.

Latest Installment.

My newest nephew has made it into the world in record time. Well under two hours from initial contraction to very first breath. Introducing...

Jack River Westbrook

For details and more pictures go here.

Aloha from Sunny California.

It's way too sunny here, in fact the darn sun has caused multiple 100+ F days since we have been here. I was hoping for some warm weather in contrast to the fall-like days we had been seeing in Washington but this is ridiculous. A. said while we were driving the other day - "Mom, I know what this place is called - the desert". Good to know she's got her habitats straight. Anyhow, the word up north is that the days are perfect beautiful and sunny end of summer type days. I'm sure winter will have hit by the time we get back.

I've only got a week left but some of the things am really enjoying or looking forward to while being "home" (besides visiting friends and family - that's a given): Cuca's bean and cheese burritos, In-N-Out (grilled onion, extra tomato and pickles please), Mason's Sunday School class, Ziba eyebrow threading, being a soccer-aunt, rental cars, cool evenings....I'm sure there are more but time is short...gotta get on the road!

Here are some pics of the trip, including the bus ride - or rides - to the airport. Even though it added a few hours I was glad to know we can walk out of our front door and make it to the airport without needing a ride - what freedom! I gave Miles a pack of M&M's and told him he couldn't open them until he was on the plane and that little guy held onto them for 4 hours.

St Louis Wedding Weekend

I got to go to the Labor Day weekend union of Dr.'s Kwame Curtis and Christy Jayne in St. Louis and besides being a beautiful ceremony and reception (at the St. Louis zoo no less), it turned out to be a mini swim team reunion of sorts. There was certainly no doubt which bridesmaids were swimmers with shoulders and tan lines like that! Ben couldn't make it but I found a stand in for him (see far right photobooth strip). Congrats Christy and Kwame!!