Saying Good-bye

After 11 short months, we are packed up and leaving beautiful Rhode Island. It really seems like we just arrived.
Our last week in Newport was very busy.  On Friday, June 10, Nick graduated from the Naval War College. 

That day was the last day I was with both the two women I’ve become so close to over the last year.  It was definitely bittersweet.

Cindy and Debra have definitely come to be two of my very best friends. We have spent many days chatting, shopping, lunching and having coffee.  We shared stories about the Army, our kids, our husbands and solved problems of the world. I will miss these two ladies so much!
That night we hit our favorite watering hole, Pour Judgment with Deb and her husband, Jim for one of our last orders of their delicious house fries. (they have a smoked gouda cheese sauce…YUM)

Deb and Jim left town early the next morning and we started the chore of getting ready for the packers/movers to start a few days later.
Our packers and movers were fantastic. I don’t have photos, but they very quickly and professionally packed and loaded all our worldly possessions into a big truck.  As I type (and ride as a passenger on our road trip) that truck is on it’s way to the Ft. Lewis, Washington area. We will meet up with it in a few weeks.
We are currently on our second day of driving across country. We will take a few days detour to Texas to get JD married off to Meghan on Saturday. I’m very excited about the wedding and seeing all our family. While we’re there, we’ll move Callie into her very first apartment and do a whirlwind visit with some old friends. I’m exhausted just thinking about it.
So far, we’ve had 5 days in two different hotels with a teenage boy, a 20 year old girl and two dogs. A trip that has the potential of becoming a logistical nightmare is going very smoothly, mostly because I’m married to an uber organized Soldier who has everything mapped and planned out for every day. It sure makes my life easy!
I will continue to write about our cross country adventures! I’m so excited to see the Pacific northwest. It’s an area I’ve never even visited and I’m anxious to see experience it!

So Little Time…

I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve blogged. I haven’t even taken time to read any of my favorite blogs lately. That’s so not like me.. I’m really a huge geek.
We have been busy cramming all the things we love to do into a short time before we leave. We’ve also been wrapped up in end of school activities, Nick’s graduation and just the busy work that goes into moving.
We bought a new camera several weeks ago and it takes awesome photos. I thought, for this post, I’d show what we’ve been doing in some of those pictures.

On May 31st, Alex had his 16th birthday. How can our youngest be that old already? He was only 8 when I met Nick. Time surely is flying.

We’ve been talking lots of walks down to our favorite sea glass beach. I have a big glass jar I’m trying to fill before we leave.  Here’s a great photo of Alex enjoying the sun while I dig for glass.

The dogs enjoy our walks to the beach too.

We went back to NYC last weekend so Callie could experience it. It was her first trip there. She’s always wanted to see Phantom of the Opera, so she and I got to do that. We had a great visit.

Some of my favorite people on the ferry out to Liberty Island.

We had our friends over last week as they were packing out to move. One of the hardest things about the military is that you’re always saying good-bye to friends. This photo was taken in our back yard. We had drinks and dinner sitting out there just like this. It was a beautiful night.

Nick’s graduation was Friday morning. I’m very proud of his accomplishments and I know he’s glad to be finished! 
Tomorrow is our last day to get ready for the movers who arrive on Tuesday morning.  I hate this part. I hate trying to separate the things I’m going to need for the next few weeks from the stuff the movers can pack and take away. I’ve been taking curtains down and all the pictures off the wall. Tomorrow, I’m going to tackle Alex’s bedroom. I instructed him to do it today, but I fear he’s failed at this task. I will have to finish it for him.
I hope everyone is doing well and hangs in there with me as we transition. I’ll try to be better at blogging!

Fun times

We are trying to cram as much fun as we can during our last few weeks  here in Rhode Island.  Now that the weather is mostly nice, we are trying to do more and more.
Friday night we drove up the road a little to see a minor league baseball game. I do love watching baseball (at the park, not so much on TV) but even more so, I love having the beer and hot dogs. This ball park had margaritas too. You know I had to have one .. or two.

Here we are enjoying their ball park food. Alex got a hamburger, a hot dog, fries, soda and then later went back for ice cream. Holy Cow!

You have to love a boy scout troop color guard. It’s so home town.

Saturday we played tourist and went to see the last of the two Newport Mansions we hadn’t seen previously. I absolutely love walking through these “cottages”.  It’s amazing how they lived in the gilded age.
Sunday we hosted friends for a lobster boil. It was awesome. Nick cooked lobster in our turkey fryer on the back patio. My friends Cindy and Deb both brought side dishes and I provided the third side and made homemade ice cream.  We haven’t had homemade ice cream in sooo long. It was delicious and everyone raved about it.  Later that evening we cranked up the fire pit and let the kids make s’mores.  We spent the last few hours of the evening sitting by the fire chatting and enjoying our adult beverages. It was AWESOME. I’m SO going to miss my buddies here.  I was just tickled that we got to get together one more time before we all get crazy with moving.
On Monday, Nick, Callie and I took the water taxi over into town and just walked around. We had a delicious lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, The Red Parrot, where we enjoyed raw oysters and lobster nachos.  I can not describe how amazing these nachos are. The lobster meat on top is in big lumps.. no skimpy wimpy lobster there. The sauce is so stinkin’ rich and then it has melted cheese over the top. I just gained five pounds typing about it.
Here are a few photos of us taking the water taxi. It was such a beautiful weekend. I’m thrilled to have had such a nice four day weekend with friends and family.

Have I mentioned how much I’m going to miss this beautiful place??