Doing The Deid For Thanksgiving

I thought my family would like to know about my Thanksgiving this year so I took some pictures at the chow hall.  Despite being 9000 miles away from my family, it turned out to be a pretty enjoyable day.

 

The chow hall was completely transformed into a Thanksgiving theme.

 

 There were all kinds of displays with vegetables,

 Fruits,

 and nuts!

 Even a real turkey as a decoration!

 

It's kind of odd eating a big Thanksgiving dinner at 1AM, but it was pretty tasty.  The turkey was okay but I'm not a huge fan of turkey.  I also had beef tenderloin, peas, mashed potatoes and pecan pie which were all very good.  We even had sparkling grape juice to drink. 

This is the crew I work with.  The guy to my left is British and he enjoyed our American holiday a lot.  He was especially excited about the pumpkin pie because he had only eaten it once before in his life and loved it.

 

 I hope all my family spread across the USA had a great holiday.  I miss you and can't wait to come home!

Funderland with Grandpa

The weekend before Allison's 2nd birthday we took a trip down to Sac to visit Grandpa.  Allison was big enough to ride almost all the rides this time, before she could only ride about 3 of them.  Here we are all smashed into the little train that goes around the park.

It was a good thing that Allison was big enough for more rides because one of the smaller rides that she could go on before was suddenly terrifying to her.  The Fish ride.  Funny, Jessica found this same ride absolutely enthralling and rode it several times.

Fish Ride

 Even more funny, Allison was not afraid of the Dragon Roller Coaster.  She was probably confident in her safety because I was sitting right next to her.

Dragon Coaster with Alli

Allison, being a big two year old, was now able to ride the dragon roller coaster, the airplanes, the log ride, and the teacups.

Alli in the Airplane

Teacups

Log Ride

But, you have to be a big three year old to ride the stage coach ride.

Stage Coach Ride

They also got to do three laps around on the ponies and a couple spins on the nice carousel at the zoo.  It was another fun filled day with Grandpa.

The Rest of Our Visit with Daddy

We pretty much kept the rest of Joe's visit low key.  Of course, we went to parks and played but we enjoyed staying home as much as possible too.  Here are a few pictures of the girls playing with their daddy at some parks.

Bird Cage at Caper Acres

The girls took turns climbing in bed with us in the mornings.  Jessica liked sleeping at the foot of the bed like a puppy but Allison was all about stealing daddy's pillow.  I risked waking them both up with the flash for this pic, but it was worth it.

One night I caught Jessica rubbing her daddy's head gently with her foot while they watched TV together.  I ran and got the camera and managed to catch the tail end of it, they know when the camera comes out.

Foot Rub

Joe tried to be a calm presence during the bedtime routine but the girls would have none of that.  Daddy's are there to play!

Bed Time

Bed Time 2

Joe loves to bake.  So, I figured I would test his skills with two toddlers in tow.  Jessica is the right age to start helping out in the kitchen but Allison is still a wild card.  You can't let one help you and not the other.  The cookies were delicious.

Baking Cookies

Baking Cookies 2

Eating Cookies

After we dropped Daddy off at the airport in the early morning we went home to sleep a little while longer.  But I promised the girls some doughnuts to help with the sorrow.  They talked about daddy crying and being sad for a couple days after he left.

Doughnuts of Misery

Lady and Paw Paw

Midway through Joe's home visit we took a trip over to Georgia to spend some time with his side of the family.  I had been talking about it for weeks with the girls.  They were really excited to get on an airplane and go see Lady and Paw Paw.  I knew traveling across the country with two toddlers would have it's challenges, I didn't anticipate it giving Joe nightmares though.  We look happy in this picture and these videos but these were taken at the start of our journey.

Waiting to Board

On the Plane

When we got to Georgia Lady and Paw Paw were ready for us.  We got to sleep on a big King size bed and there were enough crayons to arm, well, an army.

Lady took us to the Children's Science Museum in downtown Atlanta.

There were so many cool hands on exhibits. Jessica has been asking to go back there.

We went trick or treating too.  Here's a video.

First Trick or Treat

Lady and Paw Paw's house filled with squeals of delight and laughter when Nathan and Kathryn showed up.

TV Box

TV Box 2

Dance Party

Playing in the Basement

Nathan had organized a family race for our visit.  I liked how they strung streamer across the finish line so we could break the ribbon.  

They had a birthday party for Allison and Kathryn, their birthdays are only six days apart.  Allison got a new baby doll and Kathryn got some play dough.  The cake was delicious.

Great Grandma Gerken got a picture with all her great grandchildren while we were there.

We got an updated family picture.  The girls are wearing dresses that Lady made for them.  The first two pictures are just cute and the third picture is our official favorite.

Lady and Paw Paw took us to a giant trampoline place called "Sky Zone".  I didn't realize how much bouncing practice Allison has been getting at preschool.  Last time I was on a trampoline with her she wasn't nearly this good at it.

Sky Zone

Lady got lots of good snuggle time with Jessica.

Bedtime Story with Lady

Snuggling with Lady

Nathan said, "Allison is so cute, I can't stop looking at her".

Couch Potatoes

Teeth Brushers

It was a tearful goodbye.  We miss you Lady and Paw Paw.

First Days with Daddy

After we spent a weekend up at Grandpa Jim's Lake House, I brought Joe home to spend some much needed time with his two little girls.  Jessica was so happy to see her daddy and she didn't want to share him with anyone.  In fact, Jess snubbed her little friend, Reema, that she always plays with at our playground because she was afraid she would have to share her daddy.  Having to compete for daddy's attention with a little sister is hard enough.

 We got a whole new playground since the last time daddy was here.

Joe used the same swing technique that I use (alternating), but he pushes them higher.

Daddy's Swing Technique

Jessia talked her daddy into hanging upside down while holding her.
Upside Down

Triple Slider

Playing with Daddy

This first bedtime story video was taken just moments before the second one.  Notice how quickly these girls can get themselves worked up.
Story Time

Story Time 2

Mommy's Shoes

Playing in the Car
Don't worry, I wasn't really driving. We were at a CVS drive up window waiting for a script fill.

Why Daddy Gained Five Pounds

Our first dinner out as a family was at Outback Steakhouse.  The girls were a whole lot easier at a restaurant than the last time their daddy was out to eat with them.

Joe shared a chocolate thunder from down under dessert with his girls.

Chocolate Thunder From Down Under

It was a sure way to earn cool points with Allison.

Jessica laid down outside the bathroom door and waited for her daddy to come out.  It was the first morning he was home and, luckily for her, he doesn't take very long showers.

Waiting Outside the Bathroom

We went to Kmart and let the girls pick out their own costumes this year.  Jessica was a Crescendo Dragon and Allison was a Gorilla.  The costume was one size too big for Allison but we couldn't get her to take it off once she put it on.

Buying Costumes

In fact, the clerk had to use the hand held scanner to check us out and we played with our little Dragon and Gorilla at the playground afterwards.

Playing in Costumes

This morning we had to take daddy back to the airport.  It's been a hard day.  Allison asked where daddy was a few times and Jessica has said she missed her daddy and was sad.  I hope this is our last deployment ever.  We love you daddy.