Lately...

Well, well, well... look who finally decided to show her face around here...

Erm, my face. Ish. Since it's a blog, and you can't actually see me.

Okay. We have been busy. Actually, that feels like a bit of an understatement. So excuse me if this post seems haphazard and flightly. And mostly sans pictures. Here are the basic highlights of the last three weeks:

1. Kindergarten and ballet. Being a 'soccer mom' is a little exhausting, once you mix in grocery shopping, attempting a playgroup with Little Sis, random errands like the library or recycle center, park time, and maybe, possibly a work out for me. Luckily, that slightly crazy shuffle to and from the minivan is mostly limited to 2 days a week. We are fortunate to be able to walk Big Sis to and from school daily; while hot and sunny, it's been a great time to talk about her day and connect. We are, however, contemplating switching Big Sis over to a once a week dance schedule when the winter semester of dance is finished, to allow more afternoons for free play.

2. We visited St. Louis, MO over Labor Day weekend! My beautiful cousin and her wonderful husband had a fabulous wedding. There was so much love in the church! What a privilege, to be in the presence of two people as they wholeheartedly commit to a life together.

That entire side of my family was in town to celebrate their nuptials, and it was great to see everyone and catch up. My family is pretty fantastic.
Here's a family-friendly game of touch football. Also, we are a family of card sharks. It is in our genetic make-up to whoop you at Gin Rummy and Blitz and take all your pennies.

3. Our personal agenda for our time in St. Louis included few tasks.
- St. Louis Zoo.... check!
- Wan Fu Chinese.... check! (the BEST Chinese food EVER!)
-Imo's Pizza.... check!

Much to my dismay, we were unable to visit the St. Louis Bread Co. Think delicious creamy chicken of wild rice soup in a sour dough bread bowl with the absolute best shortbread cookie on the planet for dessert. Next time, my friends. She will by mine, oh yes. She will be mine.

GrandMia, Papa and Big Sis at the reception.

4. Upon returning from Missouri, Hubby signed on the dotted line for an additional 5 years in the U.S. Army. Included in the contract is the precise date and location of our next duty station.
And the winner is... Fort Campbell, KY/TN! We will report June 10, 2011.

It was not in our top five, but timing is everything. Hubby is technically "needs of the Army," meaning they'll send you where they need you and you don't get a choice. But since he reenlisted a few months early he still got to choose from those "needs of the Army" stations. We are grateful for that.

Our pros: This station will provide Hubby with more leadership opportunities, as well as a deployment, which are both good bullets on his CRE (think Army style resume that's updated annually with your boss). Good bullets on the CRE leads to a promotion, etc. The deployment date is tentatively scheduled for April 2012, meaning we will have been established residents there for almost 2 years before Hubby ships out, and will have a strong support network already in place. When he returns, we will likely stay around a few more months before moving, putting our total time there at roughly 3.3 years. As our current average per duty station is 2.0 years or less, we are looking forward to a bit more stability for the girls.

From a wife stand-point, I've heard great things about this post. Being a large post it will provide multiple schools, parks, and activity centers, a public library, grocery store and PX (the military dept. store--it's the largest one on all the posts!). I may not be able to walk to everything, though, as I have been here. Boo. Might be time for me to get that Schwinn Cruiser! Also, the surrounding cities of Clarkesville, Nashville and Memphis, TN, will provide us with quite a bit of culture and leisure time activities. There are also 3, count 'em three, breweries within a 40 mile radius of Fort Campbell. Guess who's all excited about that?!

And lastly, Fort Campbell is a 4.5 hour drive from St. Louis, MO. Being closer to my Grammy now is more important than ever. They say everything happens for a reason. Be it fate, karma or a divine plan, I feel strongly that this is why Hubby didn't get the West Point gig; that we could move back to the Midwest and live closer to Grammy as her illness progresses.

Grammy and her four boys.

5. This past weekend was Grandpa's 61st birthday BBQ! Less than 48 hours after returning from Missouri we were in the van driving to Phoenix for a brief visit to Hubby's parents. Basically, the suit case threw up in the laundry room, and then all clean clothing was redeposited back into said suit case. We've logged quite a bit of time in a sitting/traveling position lately, but it's been well worth it to spend time with family. The girls have been incredibly adaptable and 90% pleasant and cheerful with all the craziness; I credit it completely to an early bedtime almost every night no matter what was going on. Never underestimate the power of a good night's sleep!

6. Big Sister has her first parent-teacher conference this Thursday afternoon! We expect to hear all good things. Despite our short-comings as parents, thus far she seems like a happy, smart, and kind individual.

That's mostly it. Laundry and quality time with silly Little Sister at the park are on the agenda for today!