Virginia Is For Hansons

Got a picture of Henry's "working man" gear before we left Knoxville  Maxwell and Jordi at the their first Rockies baseball game in Denver  Wicket found his place in the new house pretty easily... ...until the delivery truck showed up... It was just Viv and I for delivery and unpacking...thank goodness for this girl!  I think PCS'ing is like childbirth... you go into self preservation mode and forget about the pain so that you'll eventually do it again. Not sure I'll forget the pain of this PCS for a while though! The back deck was the first thing that was put together... ...and then Matt came home from TDY... First stop was a Nationals baseball game!  Matt and Viv tilled and planted the garden  Carrots, celery, zucchini, tomatoes,  peas, beets, spinach, squash and lettuce  Dinner after mass at Capitol Grille  Father's Day hike at Compton Gap  First night out with Steph!  Henry made the President's List! 4.0!  Sunday at Great Falls, MD  Happy June!  I

Since Viv was little I wished for her to have a "Lauren". That best friend, that soul sister. A girlfriend that isn't just a friend but is a part of the family. That friend that Viv knows will never turn her back on her. For a military kid that moves every year or two, it seemed impossible.  Seemed impossible, but wasn't impossible.  AB and Viv met in kindergarten, and were instant kinder besties. They haven't had the kind of bestie friendship that Lauren and I had though. They haven't been able to live at each others houses throughout the summers and on the weekends. They haven't been together every single day after school. They don't have supper together and then head off to swim or dance together. Those memories belong to me and my own Lauren.  AB and Viv have had the kind of best friendship that takes a whole lot of loyalty and patience. Distance isn't easy for kids. Planned phone calls and spring break trips. Summer trips and birthday surpris

Farewell to Florida and farewell to Tennessee! Knoxville is a super cool city that I wish we had been able to spend more time in, but Maxwell soaked up his year there with AmeriCorps. Rocky Top will always be a part of his story.  Henry drove in from Alabama, we got to meet Jordi's folks and we all got to say one last see-ya-later before we drove on to our new mountain, central and eastern time zones. There were tears, but more than that there was excitement and anticipation.  There's nothing better than seeing your kids ready to go. Ready for the next step, the next stage, the next adventure. And all of them. All of them were ready.  Asking for just one normal picture... Go. Make it happen...go do great things!