Wishing you were here . . .

So you don't feel so far away - catching up on the last few days:

Look at that water - I think a storm's brewing somewhere out there. Dadi misses us. . . . .. . . .And we miss you.

You mean some people don't have passports? *

* A direct quote from Madi, age 7

Living this military lifestyle is so far off from anything I could have imagined while growing up.
I still struggle with with many aspects of it.
The constant changes are the most difficult for me.

But it's also given me so much more than I ever dreamed. I have friends (that I consider family) from every background imaginable - from every part of the country (and world, for that matter)
It has made this world such a smaller place.

In a recent email conversation with a dear friend, she asked:
"Ok I just have to ask - how the heck* do you afford to take all these exotic trips around the world? Do you get a special discount or get to go free with Dave being in the Navy?"

*Bonus points if you can guess where "the heck" this friend lives.

I have to answer the exotic trip query. . . .(and yes - it gave me a little chuckle)
The secret is POINTS/Frequent flier miles.
Because we're so close to these exotic locales - it's only 25,000 points/ticket.

Another dear friend on FB chimed in:
"marry a Navy man and see the world - I've done Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, China, Palau, Australia, Cambodia, Thailand, Bali and maybe more (can't remember) in the 5 years we've been this side of the world!"

Between our AmEx points and David's travel - our miles add up pretty quick.
I have to take advantage!
Once we move to Colorado that same 25,000 will get me to Kentucky or something. (no offense to the continental US or Brandi - but . . . .)

No military freebies to be found - Darn IT!

Gramma Hart

After we got home from Australia last week - we got word that my Gramma Hart had been moved to an assisted living home.

I haven't seen Gramma since last summer, but I know it's been a difficult few months over at the Lambourne Compound. So I can't say I was completely surprised at hearing the news.

Still, it makes me sad not knowing what to expect when we visit in a month or so.

No matter what - I LOVE, LOVE. LOVE! Gramma Hart stories. Whether it's memories that are shared with cousins, laughing about toasted tuna with Dave, or hearing her say "Channy' or 'Dear" in my memory.

My cousin Liz has given me permission to share some of her memories she posted last year. Thanks Biz!

Enjoy:

life with gramma

so from the ages of 8-18 i lived with my grandparents. and then moved back in after college, during my 22nd and 23rd years of life.

living with grandpa was a dream. when we {my cousins and i} were kids he'd play hide and go seek with us.

he was always the seeker.

one time i hid behind the velvet orange living room curtain and after an hour or so he gave up looking for me. so i came out and he named me "the best hider he'd ever played with."

i loved that.

now living with gramma was a different story.

she has the exact personality that drove me insane. she was interested, concerned, accommodating, kind, worried, and a questioner.

sounds like the perfect grandma right?

well i, especially as a teenager, just wanted to be left alone.there were many a night when i would go to bed, the lights would be out, my door closed and then a knock, the door would open and there she was "lizzie, is there something wrong?"

then sheilding my eyes from the lighted hallway, "no gramma, i'm fine. just tired."

"okay dear." the door closes only to be opened again 5 minutes later {this time without a knock} "are you sure there's nothing wrong?"

"yes, gramma. i just want to go to sleep."

"alright dear."

a few minutes later the door opens once again, i beat her to the punch and say "please, can i just go to sleep? i have to wake up in 5 hours."

"yes, dear."

and then one last time, for good measure... "if you ever want to talk about what's bothering you, you can."

"alright. thanks gramma. goodnight."

"goodnight"

one thing about gramma though, she's funny. sometimes on purpose, sometimes on accident. here are a few of my favorite examples:

my grandpa, being a composer, had an article written about him in the newspaper when he turned 100 years old. well i came home that day and gramma had a slight cold at the time so her voice was a little raspy when she held up the paper and exclaimed "in the paper, your grandpa is." she sounded just like yoda. hehe.

another time a bunch of my cousins and i were playing a card game around the kitchen table. we had the tv on and gramma was doing dishes while watching the tv when a commerical came on. i think it was for some local car dealership. anyway for some reason it had a midget dancing on a table. gramma looked up from the dishes just in time to see it and said in a very matter-of-fact tone "ha, look at that little guy."

this last one just happened a few weeks ago and goes with the picture above.

so my gramma starts yelling for my dad. "Richard! Richard! Richard!" he comes running into the kitchen. "What is it?!" "Someone's taken my little girl." my dad thinking she's talking about the grandkids replies "No, mom they live across the street."

now with more frustration in her voice "No, my little girl that I had in this" as she holds up the lid of the utensil crate from the dishwasher {the blue thing pictured above}. then she says "Someone took my cute little girl and i want her back."

well my dad confessed that he had seen the display {pictured above} and thought one of the grandkids had done that and left it on the counter so he went and retrieved the little girl out of the toy box and now gramma's display greets everyone who comes to visit.

Please help Dave....

Do you want to keep this from coming to your city...?

Go here and vote for Honolulu (use zipcode 96818) so they come to ours - we move there in two short months.

The KISS ARMY will dictate the North American leg of "Alive 35"!

Yes - I know I'm a freak.

And by the way....Madison is a closet KISS fan.