Ok, ok...I can take a hint!

Thanks for caring enough to bug me about my blog! I just have been struggling to conjure up just about any mojo lately. Things are a bit crazy here. After being told for quite awhile that we would be staying here and that Mark would be able to ride out the rest of his military career here (which was awesome since we'd like to retire here) the Army has done what it does best - they've reassigned him! And I have to say it is my fault for allowing myself to take the mental leap to civilian life. I know better. I know that when it looks like you're going one way you will inevitably go the other - especially if things are working out exactly the way you want them to. Now, things are certainly not as bad as they could be. If he has to move this is probably the absolute best way to do it. He's moving to a job at Ft. Monroe which is near Norfolk, VA. That's about 3-4 hours from here. As far as we know it is not a deployable position and our other choices were Japan (which I would take in a heart beat if Spence were a little older and Mark wasn't so close to retiring - not that easy to job hunt from Japan!) or Ft. Riley, KS. which would mean an immediate deployment to Iraq. So all in all I'm really not complaining, just a little in shock.

So now we are trying to figure out whether or not he moves down there and comes home on weekends or if he goes down and then Spence and I move down there next summer. We just don't know. Kind of tempting to move as the cost of living is lower and we'd be so close to the beach. I've never lived that close to the beach before...very tempting. And as much as I can't stand to leave here and leave our friends and neighbors, the old military nomad part of me kicks in and starts to get a little excited about something new. And then there's just dealing with being apart and Mark and I are definitely "tag team" parents and question why we'd spend so much time apart if we really don't have to. We told Spence about it on Saturday. I think it's a lot for a little dude to process. I asked him how he felt about it and he started to cry and said he didn't want to move. I have a whole new respect for military families because we've moved twice with Spence but he was so young he doesn't remember. This would be the first that would really register with him. So I think Mark wanted to jump off a tall building but you also have to consider that Spence is five and was also pretty stoked about being near the beach, aircraft carriers and Busch Gardens. I think he's still young enough that he'll pretty much go with the flow regardless of what we decide. So we really need to figure out what is best for us and it's a bit much to wrap my little head around sometimes!

How glad are we that we didn't just buy a new house? Guess that would have made this decision easier! So that's what's doing here. Now to some fun stuff...

About an hour west of us are a bunch of vineyards and we finally took advantage of a beautiful Sunday afternoon, packed a picnic and headed out. We stopped at one of Virginia's must-see attractions (there's a fair amount of sarcasm there) - Dinosaur Land! This place is a riot. It's about an acre of land with huge paper mache dinos that are in pretty bad shape! There's also a 40 foot tall King Kong and a giant praying mantis. What more could you ask for? So we checked out the dinos and then hit the winery.


I love the pic of Mark and Spence with the vines behind them and the dinos on the table. That's just what it's all about for me. I'll miss the day that dinos aren't a part of my life.
I think I was having a Katie wine moment!













That's it for now! I will strive to be a better blogger!