Another Catch Up Post - The Rest of Summer Vacation

*sigh*

Here I go again, trying to compact a months worth of happenings into one post. I really will get better at this. I do want to be a good blogger, I really do, I just haven't figured out how to work that into my schedule yet. I am determined though, IT WILL HAPPEN. In the meantime, here's the ultra-lite version of the past month.

(Another) Day at the Beach

Jason and Andrew decided that instead of going to our normal (read: close to home, not crowded, clean) beach, we needed to drive all the way out to Panama City Beach and go to the County Pier (Read: Too Far, Crowded, DIRTY). Of course, in my neverending quest to keep everybody happy, we did. I will spare you all the details about how I had to obsessively hover over Brennan to keep him from picking up garbage, or about how we might as well have stayed in the parking lot to find a spot where we weren't right on top of somebody else, but even with that, we had a good time. A big thunderstorm also rolled in, so we had to leave early. :)

Jason and Andrew - Posing for the Camera


Brennan - Getting his zoom-zoom on, trying to catch those dang seagulls!




And on to the pictures of our excursion to the "Old Country" as my Dad likes to call it.


The Alabama Portion of the Trip

Brennan's First Skinned Knee - He got that from falling on Nana and Papaw' patio. He wasn't too phased by it beyond the initial crying. He did try to rub it off though, until it went away. He also got his second skinned knee on the same patio, a week later. He's such a boy.



Indiana
Jason and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary while we were in Indiana. Yay us! (I love you, honey!!) Since we were staying at Grandma Brenda's, we were able to take a day and go off on our own. Gulp, it was the first night we had spent away from Brennan. Really though, it was great. Brennan, Grandma, and Harry got to spent some time together, and Jason and I got to spend some much needed time alone. For our anniversary we gifted ourselves with a Bed and Breakfast Package at the West Baden Resort Hotel. Those of you from the "Old Country" know what this is; everyone else definitely take a moment to Google it. It is a truly awesome place.

While we were there we took a guided tour of the hotel and grounds, checked out all the shops, bought some book, ate some great food, drank some great drinks, and gambled at the casino. Of course, we also did some additional exploring of our own, and took a trip to the local winery. We had a wonderful time, so wonderful in fact, that neither of us wanted to go to bed. You just can't imagine how peaceful and fascinating it is to stand on one of the atrium balconies in the middle of the night, when no one else is out there, without experiencing it first hand. I highly recommend staying there.

Our Room


Another View of Our Room - Complete with handsome hubby checking it all out!


Our Balcony View


Another Look From the Balcony


Outside on the Veranda


One of the Entrances


Out in the Gardens - One of the Mineral Spring Buildings


Restored Fountain in the Gardens


Lover's Promenade - At one time there was a large bathhouse at the end of the Lover's Promenade, now, not so much. We walked out there, and all that remains is a smelly mud puddle. You can see some of the wall remains, and the stairs, but that's about it. Hopefully, one day they will be able to restore it.


West Baden Hotel


One of the approximately 235 Self Portraits that Jason and I feel compelled to take any time we go anywhere. I don't know why we don't have someone else take a picture of us. I do it all the time for complete strangers, you'd think I would ask one of them to return the favor. Nah, we have too much fun doing it this way!


Another View of the Hotel


Back Inside


The Top of the Dome at Night - There was a constant light show going on. The colors were constantly changing behind the dome finial.


View From Our Balcony at Night


All Good Things Come to and End - A Shot of the Big Arch on the Way Out



Last Day
On the evening before we had to go home we went to a Family BBQ/Fish Fry. A good time was had by all, and Brennan got to see and play with all kinds of new things.

The Kitty - Brennan has never really been around cats, so it was love at first sight.


Driving - No road rage (yet).


Shanny and Jason's Mom (aka Grandma Brenda)


Kitty, Part II - This kitty was obviously used to kids! :)




Swingin' - Brennan has never met a swing he didn't like, and Shanny was nice enough to help him out.


And that's that. We've been back in Florida for a couple weeks, and have started the countdown to Utah. We have lots to do, and hopefully getting it all done won't be too overwhelming. We'll see. Hopefully, I can get a few blog post in between now and then to keep you all updated on the progress --- or maybe the next photo on the blog will be of the Great Salt Lake. We'll see!

Hugs to All,
Heather

Where in the world will the Bal's be living?

Looks like now it's Salt Lake City!!



For those of you have been in on this saga, you can just ignore this post. It will just be a very short abbreviation of the long drawn out story that it really was.

Here's how the most recent installment played out.



Location: Bal Residence

I arrive home from work. Jason is already there.

Jason: "I have something to tell you."

Me: "Ok, what is it?"

Jason: "I don't know how to tell you this."

Me: "What is it, your pregnant?"

Jason: "No, that would be much easier to tell you. My orders got deferred again."

Me: *jaw drop and glaring stare* "What!!?? To where?"

Jason: "Hill AFB in Utah."

Me: "Your joking, right? They didn't really change your orders AGAIN. Utah!! What's in Utah!!"

Alrighty, you got the basics of it. Jason has assured me several times since then, that no one is joking. Yep, it looks like now we are moving to UTAH.

Well, this week anyway. I'm not holding my breathe at this point.

First, (back in May) it was South Dakota. We were all hyped up about moving to South Dakota. We were going to do lots of exploring, see Crazy Horse and Mt. Rushmore, and go to the Badlands. I had already checked out the photographers in the area, and did a Google streat view of downtown just to check things out. There was a mountain nearby called Brennan Hill, we were going to go to the rodeo, and the state fair is huge! We bought Brennan some cowboy boots. I was going to buy some boots of my own! We were ready to be out west and become South Dakotans. Yeah!!!

Then, while Jason was in the hospital back in June he got a phone call. "Your orders to SD have been rescinded, and now you're going to Cape Cod."

What!! No way!! Cape Cod??? Home of the Kennedy's and land of Democrats!!! At first I was pretty darn upset. We already had big plans and were ready to transition into our new western lifestyle, now we're going to New England??? What a huge difference! Blah!

After a few days, I adapted to this new idea, and again started my research of the area. Aside from the cost of living, the area looked pretty awesome. We were going to go see the Red Sox and the Celtics play, we were going to Plymouth for Thanksgiving, going to check out the cranberry bogs, and get fresh produce from the Farmer's Market. There was tons to do within a short driving distance, and we were ready for lots of weekend trips. Jason had talked to someone from his new squadron, and was confident that he would like his new job. We were still going to be close to the ocean!

Then...a month later we had the above conversation. And no, still not kidding. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there's nothing wrong with Utah, it's just never a place I'd visualized us living.



*sigh* I'm sure it will be fine.



And no, for the inquiring minds wanting to know, Brennan will not be growing up to be a Mormon, and Jason will not be getting any more wives.



I am resisting looking up too much information about the area. I don't want to get too attached. Though, we will be close enough to visit the Redwoods, and I've never been to the Pacific Ocean. I think I might have to learn how to ski! And remember that show from a few years ago, Everwood? It was filmed in Ogden, the town right outside of the base. (OK, I said I wasn't going to look up too much information, not that I wasn't going to look at all.) It is also a 30 hour drive to Mom and Dad's. I don't think anyone will be driving that distance. Anybody got any frequent flyer miles they can spare?



It could be much worse. Of course, I'm not going to name the places that could be worse, because I don't want to insult anyone's town. So I'll just leave it at that. I'm optimistic about the whole deal (today). So is the life of a military family.

A Catch Up Post

Not ketchup, catch up, though we sure are going through a lot of ketchup with two extra kids in the house. haha. Hmmm...not funny? I'll have to try harder next time. But really, lots of ketchup!


Yikes! Notice the huge gap since my last entry and now? Where does the time go? I just got home and found a note the Jason had taken the kids to go get new ID cards, so thought I better just start typing this while I had a few minutes.


So on to the catch up portion of the post, shall we?


The Two Week Recap


Airport - We picked the kid up the Friday before last and we have pretty much been on the go since then.









HIVES -Big red splotchy ones, all over Brennan. They began the evening before we went to the airport, and just kept getting worse that whole weekend. We took Brennan to the doctor Friday morning before heading to Tallahassee, and the prognosis was a reaction to the antibiotic he was taking for the sinus infection he had the week before. Sheesh! Poor baby looked so pitiful. This picture was taken on Friday. Imagine this amount of spots times 5 when Sunday rolled around.




Senior Pictures - Shanny's going to be a Senior this fall, so we have been taking lots of pictures. In her words, she's been pretty "stoked" about that! This is just a sneak peek, there are several more to come.




Deer in the Backyard - It's nothing new to see the critters, Jason and I see them almost every day, but Shanny and Andrew thought they were pretty cool, so they took the camera outside and got some shots of them.




Margaritaville - The kids wanted to go to the souvenir shops out on PCB. Not an excursion I normally look forward to, especially on a holiday weekend, but we did it. We made it worth the drive though. The Bal's are all big fans of Jimmy Buffett, so of course we had to go to Margaritaville! Great food, great music, great fun, and we all got T-shirts to prove it. Andrew ate a whole platter or ribs and french fries, and was still hungry after that! Wow, that's a growing boy for ya!



















Fourth of July - Fireworks on the Beach! Swimming, People Watching, the Sunset, the Moon - so much to take in, we all had a great time! Brennan was a little unsure of all the commotion and noise so I didn't get to take any pictures of the "official" fireworks, but I got some great photos anyway. Oh, and the blurry picture of the kids? Yeah, the camera was still set up in manual focus for the show, so they didn't end up in focus at all. But, if you can make it out, check out Brennan's beach mohawk, courtesy of Shanny. : )



















Fashion Show - Shanny was the designer, and Brennan was the model. Much to his chagrin, as you can see in the last photo.









If all of that wasn't enough excitement, there have been Wii baseball, tennis, bowling, golf, boxing or skiing tournaments in the living room almost every day. Oh, and I can't forget about the Wii hula hooping contest! Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of that, but I assure you, it was absolutely hilarious!

We've also been to the beach several times. On one of the trips we took family photos. I think they turned out very well. I'll post one today, but I'm not sure when I'll have the rest ready. With all of the senior pics I have to edit I'm predicting....oh, around Christmas time. Not really, but it feels like it.


Well, I think that's the condensed version of the event highlights. I'm sure there is more that I'm forgetting, and if I think of anything I will add it.

As for the coming weekend, sadly, Shanny has to fly home on Sunday. We're planning on driving to Tallahassee on Saturday and spending the night in a hotel. That way we can just hang out at the pool that evening, and nobody has to get up at 1:30 in the morning Sunday to get to the airport on time. Not that I was volunteering myself or anything, but it really just makes it better for everyone.

That's all for now. Remember we love comments!