Packing Day One

The first day of packing has finally arrived! Part of me is feeling like, ok finally this is happening. And then the other part of me is thinking, how in the world is it already time to move again? I have been sorting, purging, organizing in preparation for the movers to come. This morning they arrived and have started packing up the house. So far, so good. I am hoping that things go smoothly and as planned. If so, they should finish packing tomorrow and then start loading my things into crates. Wednesday the last of the loading should be all done and I will just be left with a big empty house to clean.

Hawaii, Here We Come!

I thought that you might find this article about the North Carolina's final departure from Groton.


http://www.public.navy.mil/usff/csg2/Pages/USSNorthCarolinaDepartsGrotonforNewHomeportatPearlHarbor.aspx

Happy 18th Birthday, Levi

I wanted to send special birthday wishes to my youngest brother, Levi, who turns 18 today! I can hardly believe he is already 18! I hope you have a great birthday and I wish I could be there.

James Patterson

For the last few weeks I have been on a James Patterson kick. I had picked up 1st To Die, the first novel in his Women's Murder Club Series, a few months ago but hadn't read it until my flight back to Portland in June. I couldn't put the book down and finished it with several hours left of my flight. Since then I have finished 2-8 as well. They are all page turners in my opinion. With my big drive coming up, I decided to order number 9 on audio so that I can listen to it while I drive. If you are interested in thrillers/mysteries then I highly recommend Patterson's books.

Article on Doug's Submarine

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-20010868-52.html?tag=rtcol%3Btxt

I thought that some of you may be really interested to this article with videos and pictures of Doug's submarine. His Captain is speaking in most of the videos. It is really neat and you can learn a lot.

Buttonwoood Farm Sunflowers

Doug and I had a great Sunday together. We spent the morning and early afternoon at a free Lobster Dinner put on by the Grossman Seafood Company in Groton. They had a raw bar for appetizers and then for lunch we had whole lobsters, plates of mussels, corn, potatoes, rolls, and cole slaw. The entire event was in honor of past and present military members to thank them for their service to the country. It was really touching to be a part of the event and see the gratitude that people have for military members. I was so proud of my husband! In addition to great food and a live band there were several "special guests" present including the Governor of Connecticut as well as several state representatives.
When lunch was over Doug and I headed out to Buttonwood Farm in Griswold, CT for their annual Sunflowers for Wishes event. They grow thousands of Sunflowers and during the week-long event they sell flowers, t shirts, their homemade ice cream (they even have sunflower flavored ice cream), and tours of the sunflower fields. The flowers were gorgeous and it was so fun to see them all. All of the proceeds from the event go to the Make A Wish Foundation. What a great cause!

Block Island

On Saturday Doug and I spent the day on Block Island with our good friends Jill and Joe. We took the high-speed ferry out of New London (it takes about an hour) and made it over to the Island a little after 9AM. We had a nice breakfast before going and finding a 4-door Jeep Wrangler to rent for a few hours to drive around the island. We had a lot of fun exploring the island. We walked on the beach for a bit, saw two different light houses, ate, shopped a bit, ate some more, shopped some more, and ate some more! We had a really long day on the island but it was very nice weather and great company.

Spoiled Doggy

Well, it is official: I have one very spoiled puppy. Beatrice will be spending the 26th at the pet groomer, getting pampered and ready for a long car drive to Washington. Normally I bathe Beatrice myself but with the movers coming I thought this was the perfect way to not only get Beatrice out of the house for the day (and out of the way of the movers) and also to get her monthly bath taken care of. I will be sure to post pictures of my poofy pup post spa trip.

Dolphin Store Volunteering

Today was my final day volunteering at the Dolphin Store. Joy and I volunteered together which turned out to be really nice because it was a very slow day in the store. We had only one sale! I have really enjoyed my time volunteering at the D.S. and hope to get involved with the Dolphin Store in Pearl Harbor.

Excited, Nervous, Anxious

So many emotions going on in this household lately!! With the month FLYING by, we have so much going on. We are preparing for the big move. Still waiting on the movers to let me know for sure what days they will be here - apparently they have up until 5 days in advance. However, I have some paperwork that provided me with three dates so I am hoping those are accurate. I feel so odd, like I really need to prepare for the movers to come but I actually don't have a ton to do. I need to gather all important documents + any clothes/personal items I want for my extended West Coast Tour (good to have a fun name right). I have been slowly working on doing all this and hopefully it will be done in the next few days. After that I can focus on tossing a few things out, maybe going through some random paperwork we have around, and then spackle/paint a few spots on our walls. Once the movers come I get to clean the house - it will be my first time cleaning the ENTIRE house, floor to ceiling, on my own. As much as I am not looking forward to this, I still stand by my decision to get a much larger house than our last place. Doug has a lot going on at work and his own preparations to make. He gets a lot less space than me and has to decide what all is important to take along.

Doug keeps reminding me to take this all one step at a time. I am really anxious for the movers and the packing. I am hoping things go great and then I can focus on the cross-country drive. At this point, I feel like I need the next few months to be a whirlwind and really fly by so that before I know it we can be laying on the beach as a family. Wish us both luck!

Patriotic Puppy

Beatrice & Elizabeth, July 4th, 2010

Fourth of July Weekend

The weather was absolutely gorgeous in Connecticut this weekend which made for a great Fourth of July. Doug had a four day weekend and we had all sorts of adventures in the new car. We drove around the area quite a bit and saw a lot of beautiful places in CT and the surrounding states. The Navy Base here has "Sub Fest" every year for the 4th. It is a four day long carnival on the base with rides, vendors, and fair food. On Saturday evening they had a spectacular fireworks show and we enjoyed an evening of fun on the base with our good friend Jill and her cousin Lauren. On Sunday the four of us headed over to "Cousin Molly's" house for a BBQ. The weather was gorgeous and we enjoyed sitting outside with good company, great food, and fun yard games. In addition to all of that we also took Beatrice on a few outings around the area. We tried to take her to a doggy beach but she wasn't too excited about the idea so it was short lived. I will try again when I am back on the west coast visiting. Things are great and our little family of three is doing well. Happy Fourth of July!

Bye, Bye Hummer

Doug sold his H2 two weeks ago to a couple in CT. He had listed the Hummer for sale a few months ago and thought it would be nice to sell the car before Hawaii due to the extra height from the lift. Since we sold that car we were looking for something new. Just this weekend we went and traded in the Jetta for a 2004 Land Rover Discovery. We are really happy with the new car. It is fun to drive, doesn't have any issues (the Jetta was starting to have some mechanical issues), Beatrice has a large space in the back, and it will be great for my cross-country drive. Some features that we really love are the dual sun roofs as well as two fold-up jump seats in the back, seating up to 7 people if needed.

Luke Jaspers & Jennifer Johnson June 25, 2010

Luke and I at his Wedding

Luke & Jennifer Johnson

This past week I had a whirlwind trip back to the NW for Luke's wedding to Jennifer Johnson. The week was wonderful and full of all sorts of events and family time. Luke and Jenny got married at the Fairgate Inn in Camas, WA and the event was beautiful. The weather was gorgeous and both Luke and Jenny looked fantastic. It was so nice to see family and friends, as well as take a visit back to the NW.