Cake Boss

Photo 106 - January 7

We're getting ready to welcome a new member into the family this month. Dale's nephew, Trent, and his wife, Amy, are expecting their first baby, and today Laura and I went to a shower for them. Laura was tasked to make the cake, and as usual, it looked fantastic and tasted even better. Cake Boss is definitely the right term for her. Kayla got me "crochet-motivated" while I was with her in California, so I was able to get a baby blanket finished for them too, in addition to picking out yarn for Evelyn's blanket. It's a good thing I have a while before that blanket needs to be done.

Hi, I'm Colby

Photo 105 - January 6

My daughters are both very lucky to have adopted gentle, sociable, and very friendly cats. Personally, I am not a cat fan, but Kayla's Holly and Laura's Colby are some of the nicest cats I have ever been introduced to. And even though I am allergic, they are welcome to curl up in my lap any time. And Andy told me this was Colby's first photo shoot!

Laura and Andy started moving into their new apartment on New Year's Day, and today was my first introduction to it. They have a very nice place, and even though they're still semi-unpacked, I was treated to a very nice dinner of Spanish Rice. Thanks for the hospitality! And your place will be wonderful when you have everything in and unpacked!

Christmas Snowman

Photo 104 - January 5

My Christmas decorations this year were pretty sparse, since Christmas was going to be a relatively low key affair with Dale, Kayla and James being absent, and Laura and I leaving after Christmas Eve. Next year this will be one of my new favorite decorations. It lights up and changes color and has glitter swirling around inside it. I'm just sorry that the season is over and I'm going to have to pack it up until next Christmas.

Little bit of wind

Photo 103 - January 4

I am usually better about getting my summer stuff put away before the weather changes. Unfortunately, this year I am still behind the curve, and there are summer things outside that really shouldn't be there. I heard that we had quite a bit of wind along with the snow and sleet that came down on New Year's Day, and this is where my chair ended up. Maybe I can talk Jeff into helping me get it down so I can actually put them away for the rest of the winter.

It's Sad that Vacations Have to End...

Photo 102 - January 3

...but Kayla needed to get her space back (even though she told me I took up very little room) and get her family back on schedule. I had a great time in California, really enjoyed the heat in the middle of winter, and loved the time I got to spend with Kayla, Kenn and the kids. It's so nice to see them happy and mostly settled after all the moves they've made over the past few months.

Time with Kenny

Photo 101 - January 2

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When I planned my trip out here, I purposely scheduled an extra day on the end of the trip to get to spend a day with Kenny. He flew to Virginia the day after I got here to spend the week after Christmas with his mother in Virginia, so before today I really only had a couple of hours with him. But we had a nice day together today, just hanging out at home, watching the Rose Bowl, and then enjoying supper on the ship with Kenn. I'm not happy that my trip is ending so soon, but it was a nice last full day here.

California Packer Fans

Photo 100 - January 1, 2012

Happy New Year! It's hard to believe that this is Dale's 100th day of deployment, and the first day of 2012 all wrapped into one. San Diego decided the Packers-Lions game wasn't important enough to televise, so we ended up finding it on an internet feed. But the California Packer fans were in full attendance.



I was also lucky enough to be able to see and attend Kayla and Kenn's church in Escondido. Kayla was very excited to be able to find an ELCA church that had the feel of home. After being there, I can see why. The pastor and the congregation were so very welcoming, and I was thanked by multiple people for sharing my family with them. The thanks belongs to them, though, because my family feels how welcome they are and are very happy to have a place where they feel like they belong.