Go figure?

Here's one [unexpected] thing about Honey's flight from Kabul to Kuwait that bugged me.

The Army sent the soldiers on a flight that mustered at 1:00 PM. It left Kabul at 7:00 PM. The plane landed in Kuwait 6 hours later. During the entire time the Army didn't feed them!

Honey (being the non-complainer that he is) said "Well, it wasn't a commercial flight. It's not like they have stewardesses."

Well, sure, ...but someone got paid to feed those 60 people. And seeing as how the military invented the MRE's (Meal's Ready to Eat for you non military types), It's not like there wasn't an ability to give everyone a quick (albeit bad meal). Annoying. I guess feeding the troops is not a priority.

4th of July

A lot of people have said that I was brave for taking the kids on a cross country trip.  

Foolish?  Maybe.  

Crazy? Definitely! 

Fun? Surely! 

Brave?  Hardly.

      Bravery is leaving your family, not knowing if they will ever see you again.  Bravery is loving them more than yourself. Bravery is choosing to love our country so much that your life has less value to you than the lives of others.  Bravery is choosing to stand up for the ideals of this country.  It is all about the choice.  Honey could easily have chosen to get out of the Navy instead of staying in the Reserves.  He easily could have left when it was obvious that everyone in the Reserves would at some point soon be going to war .  He could have done 1000 things to trick the system and avoid going to war, but that would be dishonorable.  Honorable men do what they know is right.  Bravery is the act of being honorable.

          I am not brave.  I did nothing honorable by taking the kids to "see America."  I merely took my children on a vacation that happened to be far away.  I choose to do that all the time.   I am not far from family.  My creature comforts of life surround me.  Other than having Honey here, there is nothing I need.  I am safe in our home.  I enjoy the freedom to go where I choose, eat and drink what I wish, and read and write what I  wish.  Honey (and the other soldiers with him) do not have any of these freedoms.  Those that are providing our freedom have none themselves.

     Today I want to thank you Honey for loving not only me, but all of us lucky enough to enjoy Freedom every day.  The sacrifices you make do not go unnoticed.  So if you meet a Veteran, please tell them thank you and be glad you have the Freedom to say it.

Air Show Pictures

 
   

  

 
Here are more pictures from the show.

Blue Angels

            Today we went to see the Blue Angels Air Show in Annapolis.  They give a show during commissioning week for the Naval Academy.  Since we are military, we were able to go to the Naval base across the River from the Academy.  This meant a significantly easier time finding a place to view the show.   We had a great view and a wonderful time.  My sister met me there and all the cousins got to watch together.  The only bad thing was that I forgot to put sunscreen on myself and my shoulders were fried.  Reminds me of my childhood.

Here are the some of the many photos.

   
 
 

 

 

Quality Assurance?

I got a phone message today from Master Sergent Jameson today.  He was calling to verify that we were all okay because he was doing his hurricane recall drill.  This happens about once every six months or so.  I am used to asking Honey to call back to "check in."  So what makes this different?  First because  (as usual for the military) he did not leave a call back number,  like I have random military guy on speed dial!  Second, that the military seems to have no idea that Honey is in Afghanistan!  Hmmm.....  talk about quality.  So Honey, if you have Master Sergent Jameson's number, could you call him back!

Navy Lacrosse Hero

Luckily for the kids their lacrosse practices were canceled Saturday and we were able to go to a USNA Lacrosse "Meet the Mids" event.  We had been last summer to the "Meet the Mids" event with the football players and the kids enjoyed it very much.  Due to the late notice of the canceled practices, we did not make it to see the game, but arrived while the parking lot was emptying out.  Great for me since I got a parking spot 3 places from the entrance!!  Since we were late & the line was long, I let the kids get some USNA lacrosse T-shirts and browse the shop while we waited for the line to shorten.   This of course meant that we were literally at the end of the line.  This lasted about 15 minutes until two more families showed up.  

While in line ,  I let the kids play within eyesight while I waited  and chatted with the person in front of me.  His daughter ran and played with my brood and we talked about Hawaii, USNA, and submarines.  He was stationed in Pearl Harbor the same time we were.  I was grateful to have someone to talk to.  It made the 45 minute wait go by a lot faster.  

Once we got to meet the midshipmen, I was very glad that I had gone.  Christopher is a huge fan of #14 Tim Paul's and was anxious to meet him.   The event is set up into a receiving line with tables for the mids to sit and sign their autographs.  Since we got to meet all the mids, Christopher had to wait until almost the end to meet Tim.  In the meantime he was carrying his goalie stick and all the goalies were so nice to him and chatted about being a goalie, what team he played on and other lacrosse topics.  The Plebe goalie RJ Wickham was very friendly and spoke with Christopher for several minutes.  I was personally very impressed with the team; they had lost the game, we were 3rd from last in line, and it was cold, yet the players were friendly and courteous to all the kids.  Elizabeth enjoyed talking with the players since she plays lacrosse and has something to chat about.  When Christopher finally reached Tim Paul, he was very excited and I must say that Tim was very kind and generous with his time.  It made the event so worthwhile to let my child meet his lacrosse hero and have his hero be a real gentleman to him.  The simple acts of kindness from all of the players meant a lot to my children.  I am grateful to have had a great day filled with memories for my kids.

  

Here's a photo with his new shirt signed by all the players.  Here's Rolo ready to play as well.

Now and Then

   

As I attempted to look for the cord to the camera today, I came across this picture and could not help but want to show a Now and Then photo of Honey.   The cord is of course MIA, or rather it's been kidnapped by a child and is lost in some low lying country that I will never see. The newest photo is from Fort Jackson where the Navy sends it's best Submariners to join the NArmy.  Apparently the Army isn't able to handle a land war anymore and must rely on the experience and expertise of those who spent months surrounded by water??!  Sand, Water I guess its all the same.  As this last photo sent by Honey will surely attest too.