Fair Winds & Following Seas......USS Eisenhower

Well, our day has come.......and gone.

We dropped Mike off at the ship late last night. And then this morning the girls and I met the Admirals wife, and the other Strike Group families at a pier close to where the carrier docks, so we could watch the ship pull out! This was a FIRST for us, because in California, Mike always flew out onto the boat from Mugu and we never had the chance to see a proper farewell, or return for that matter down in San Diego. We get to do both this year!!

The kids played with bubbles and enjoyed each others company while we watched the boat from afar.

 ABOVE: the ship is still docked at the main pier, and the sailors are assembling in groups on the flight deck getting ready to "man the rails" (line up around the edge)

BELOW: The rails are manned! And the boat is ready to depart!

 It was a VERY warm and hazy/muggy morning, so the photos aren't as sharp, and the kids are a bit sweaty!

 Perspective, this is our view from the pier we were at, adjacent from the main pier where the boat pulled out of. Here it is coming out of the dock towards the bay.

 The tug boat left its side......and the USS Eisenhower is off on its journey!!

 Snack & drink break!!

Joes Crab Shack

We went to dinner @ Joe's Crab Shack this past Sunday night......checking off all of Mike's final suppers!

Not sure why we have never taken the kids there, it was a blast! They've never behaved so well, and we all enjoyed ourselves. Could have just been the loud music and many strange hanging ocean distractions in the room that drowned out the occasional whiny toddler voices.....who knows!?!

But my favorite part was our Madelyn! Every 30 minutes or so, the disco light turns on in the restaurant, and the staff gathers to dance to a song. Maddy just LOVED this feature, and stood on her booth seat and danced right along with them. Oftentimes even mimicking our waitress's hand gestures during the performance!!

Watch her perform a bit here....all while eating a french fry I might add!!!

I guess it's really happening.....

This was posted in our local paper last week:

NORFOLK

Three Norfolk-based Navy ships and thousands of sailors will leave Norfolk Naval Station next week for an overseas deployment, the service announced Friday.

The aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower and the guided missile destroyers Winston S. Churchill and Jason Dunham will head to sea Wednesday, according to a news release. They'll be joined by two other ships that will deploy the same day from Mayport, Fla., the guided missile cruiser Hue City and the guided missile destroyer Farragut.

In all, 6,000 sailors will go with them.

Carrier Air Wing 7 will deploy with the group aboard the Eisenhower.

The sailors will spend at least six months away, supporting operations in the Middle East and Europe, the Navy said.

The Eisenhower is commanded by Capt. Marcus A. Hitchcock. The group of ships -- what the Navy calls a carrier strike group -- will be lead by Rear Adm. Michael Manazir. 

As much as we've been anticipating this event in our family, it brings many mixed emotions. My first thought of course is how much the girls and I will miss Mike on this long journey. My second thought is can we just get this started already?? I feel like the last couple weeks seem torturous with the upcoming date of doom!!

But trying to look on the brighter side of things, I've started a list of PROS for him being deployed:

(mostly to make myself feel better about it all and not just focus on the obvious negatives)

• More closet space!! YEP! I'm taking over his closet ASAP and spreading out-- one should not let such precious hanging space go to waste!!
• The bathroom counter is now 100% mine! Not that he took up much space before, but every little bit counts in a woman's world.
• That being said......toothpaste will last longer.....and so will my hairspray (which he uses way too much of for a guy with a mostly shaved head!! :))
• 50% less laundry to do--thus saving on detergent and water (50% less showers too!) :)
• Savings on his cell phone $$!! Savings on car insurance $$!! Savings on his gym membership $$!!
• HUGE savings on gas with him not driving to work!
• Our K-Cup coffee pods will last more than 50%  longer....he always drinks more than me!!
• Grocery bill should decrease.....we eat a lot simpler when he's gone
• My babysitters will make a healthy summer income-- mommy needs some time to herself!!
• King size bed all to myself......as long as no children try to invade it......

Maddy Slides Down- VIDEO

Maddy Carousel Ride- VIDEO

Pompei Water Ride- VIDEO

Mike, Dan & Abby went on this plunging water ride........Abby repeated over and over that was NOT her favorite. She didn't appreciate the special effects inside the tunnel before the drop.

But when she got off, she was pretty proud that her shirt was very dry, and only her hair and face were soaked!

Girls on the balloon ride VIDEO

Girls on the whirly ride VIDEO

I thought for sure Maddy would freak out on this ride, even with Abby & Kolbey with her.....she proved us wrong!!

Maddy- Flying Planes VIDEO

Maddy's first ride on the airplanes.....by herself too!

Abby Roller-Coaster VIDEO!

This is my FAVORITE video from our visit to Busch Gardens.

Mike recorded their first ride of the day, and her expressions are priceless!!

JUMP!

Thursday morning, before our Zoo adventure which came later, we met some friends at the indoor jump house, and had a blast!

This facility has larger inflatables, most of which require you to climb steep walls with these blue squares as your steps/handles. Normally Maddy never even attempts these......this day she did, and succeeded!

She got all the way up the slide, and went down MANY times like a champ. Nothing like a boost to your confidence when you are 2!!

Video of her slide to come soon......Needless to say they were both sweaty disasters by the time we left.

Zoo Members Night

Clearly we've had a BUSY week! Trying to fit in as many family-friendly things as we can on limited time.

But I feel like we succeeded, and the kids had a blast. 

Thursday night was "Members Night" at our local zoo. Normally the zoo closes at 5pm, so we are usually there in the peak (and warmest) of the day around noon. So this was a treat to get to do the zoo after hours!

 Started off with some $1 hot dogs!!!

 Girls in the Butterfly seat

 And of course on the Rhino!

My little otter

And my BIG otter

 A little otter family!!

 Strapped in and SOOO goofy

Busch Gardens Theme Park 2012

We made our annual trek to Busch Gardens yesterday to use our FREE pass for the summer!

It worked out well with Mike having the week off, so he could enjoy it with us! We went with our BEST Navy friends (who Mike went thru OCS with way back when....9 years ago...) Dan, Jessica, and their kids Kolbey (2-1/2) and Beau (3 mos).

It was a beautiful day, sunny, breezy, and NO LINES for anything!!!!

Compared to last year, both girls were more eager to try all the rides and push the limits.

Abby was 42" tall this year, which is the minimum for most of the suitable adult rides that she could go on, so she accompanied Dan & Mike on a lot of them, which was a thrill for her! She is our little roller coaster girl!

She even went on 2 of the 3 water rides in the park. Her not so favorite was the boat ride that is basically a large drop into a splash/spray of water......But her favorite if you ask her was the Log Ride!! She wanted to do it again, but none of us wanted to get that wet again! 

Maddy on the other hand......not so thrilled with the Log Ride and residual wetness....Ooops!

PS: You don't see myself or Jessica photographed....both of us are easily affected by motion sickness these days so we left that to the dads!

 Mike & Maddy on the Up/Down bouncy ride in Elmo's World (Kiddie area)

 Maddy piloting the airplane all by herself!

 Kolbey & Abby in their airplane

 All three girls in the hot air balloon

 All three girls in the zoomy zoomy in a cirle ride......video to post soon!

 Carousel--a classic favorite

Kid version of the swing ride.....that is about how fast it went as photographed....Abby then realized she was tall enough for the real swing ride and hopped on that with Mike. She LOVED it!!!! No fear! 

No more kid rides for this little adventurer!

 Tea Cups! The dad's took all three of them for a VERY fast spin ride

 Helping to spin their tea cup!

 Abby's most frequented ride of the day.....Kids roller coaster in Elmo's World. By the end of the day she was getting on/in and off all by herself as I watched from afar!

 Meeting some characters!

 Lunch show at the Beer Garden......Brats and more brats (the sausage variety :)

 This is Maddy's version of "cheese" for the camera....nice.

Trip to Monticello (without kids!!!!)

Well we finally made a trip to Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's home/property in Charlottesville, Virginia) , and as we had hoped, it was kid-free too!

My awesome friend Danielle watched the girls overnight Monday/Tuesday so that we could getaway!

Monticello has been on our to-do list for the area for the last three years!

And to make it even better, it is part of the summer military free entrance museum program! So we got in FREE!! (reg $24/person). That made the tour much more enjoyable :)
So we dropped the kids off Monday morning, and headed off to Monticello for the tour. It was a warm, muggy, and drizzly afternoon once we arrived. But it let up just enough to enjoy walking around the grounds a bit after our tour. Then we headed up the road a bit to check-in to our Bed and Breakfast retreat for the night! It was a quaint but very private home with 5 rooms, each with their own full bath and jacuzzi tub and a hot tub to use out on the back porch. It was our first time at a B&B, and we loved it. We ventured into Downtown Charlottesville for dinner at a Sushi restaurant! We woke up this morning to a 3 course breakfast, then headed out for some more touring and then home to get the kids.

It was a nice way to enjoy ourselves alone as Mike's departure date quickly approaches.

The front of Monticello (4 story building designed by Thomas Jefferson over MANY years)

A nice girl in our tour took a photo for us!

 Walking through the underground tunnels of Monticello- There were many specialty areas such as the kitchen, beer and wine cellar, lots of storage rooms, and the toilet!!

 Inside the beer room underground

 Everything on the property is very well maintained and lush green right now!

 Walking down towards the garden/vineyard!

 The property looks out over the Blue Ridge Mountains

 

 A bit of sake and beer down the hatch.....and this was my dinner date for the night!!!

CAMPOUT!

We had a camp out at home last night!

Abby has been talking a lot about camping lately (mostly because of an episode of one of her favorite shows she saw on TV where they did it). So before Mike left, we wanted to fulfill her request!

Seemingly easy enough since we didn't have to leave our yard (or pack our car and venture to a far off destination). She LOVED it!!!

And she even slept the entire night out in the tent with Mike to our surprise.

I thought maybe she'd last an hour or two then ask to go inside.......but she proved us wrong!

 Her camp chairs......she is sitting next to Barbie of course!

 Loving on her dad! She was very grateful for the camping experience! **And told us repeatedly that because we did the camp out for her , she promised to be a good girl and not hit her sister for a few days :) We laughed, and agreed that was a good plan.

 As soon as Maddy was in bed and asleep, we went outside, started up the fire pit, and as dusk approached, began roasting marshmallows of course! Abby was a PRO s'moores maker! She was roasting into the wee hours (10:30pm by the time we sent her in the tent)  for all three of us! Her favorite part was letting the marshmallow catch on fire, then blowing it out all by herself.

'

 And success! She said they were delicious......then she realized you could skip the cracker and chocolate and just eat the marshmallows.....

 6am.......sound asleep! Pretty sure when Mike's back next Summer, we will have to do a real camping trip!

Old/New Videos to Post

The girls love being videotaped, and more often than not I am able to capture their silly moments!

Here are a few I've forgotten to post in the last month or two....excuse the few that are sideways, just turn your head! ENJOY!

Here are the girls dancing after watching the movie "Beethoven"

Here is Maddy before her haircut last month, being silly in the tub

Abby jumping into the pool a few weeks ago

And my favorite-- Maddy saying "Uh-oh its an accident"

Best Friends and soooo alike

 These girls crack me up. I catch them all the time doing things similarly, or just laying on one another during their downtime! Truly similar in so many ways!!

Maddy Potato-Head

Maddy is definitely the typical 2 year old, and wants to try to do everything on her own.

Her usual response to our help is "No, I do it"

She found the potato head box yesterday and has been busy!

This is her creation today as she ran to me in excitement to show it off! I think it had 4 sets of eyes on it!!

She was apparently making her own potato-head face to go along with it! Our silly little girl!!