Gettin' out the Christmas Crap

So today we have a snow day - and the overwhelming consensus on facebook was to put up the tree instead of go into work and check papers. I took their wise advise.

Last year I decided that we had finally graduated from a kid tree to a more sophisticated - all the ornaments match - tree. So when Dan got the stuff down I was excited to see what I bought. (It has been a year, and I am getting older, so my mind isn't as sharp as it used to be). I did remember that I was going with gold and red tones. All the ornaments are up - I was able to incorporate some old ornaments that fit the new gold/red theme.


As I was sorting through the tubs and tubs of old ornaments there were a few family favorites I had to put up-even though they do not fit the new decor. The first must-hang ornament is Matt's ND Joe Montana ornament. When Matt was younger - this was the only ornament he insisted on hanging. It always hung front and center, and every time he would walk by the tree he would stop and pretend he was Joe Montana. Some of you may remember the days when Matt played/thought about ND football 24/7.


The other two must hang ornaments belong to Nate. The first is a Santa on a spring. Nate would hang this on the bottom of the tree so he could lay on the ground and bounce him. The spring has definitely seem better days - not much bounce left. The other ornament is a LEGO Santa. Yes, Nate still loves to play with LEGOs.


My favorite Christmas item is a letter that Nate wrote to Santa when he was in Kindergarten. This was the year that we attempted to have a Norman Rockwell Christmas and cut down our own tree. We went over the hill and through the woods looking for the perfect tree. Within days of putting up this "perfect" tree the needles started falling off. Nathan was so upset that his tree was dying he wrote to Santa asking him to fix our poor little tree with his magic. To this day whenever I read this letter I start to cry. This letter is something I will cherish forever.

Christmas is not about the stuff-it's those moments that happen between worrying about the stuff.

Thanksgiving in Rhode Island

What started out a bit rocky - or better yet rainy - turned out to be beautiful. For the long weekend Dan, Nate, and I went to Rhode Island to spend the holiday with Matt. We left on Wednesday night and drove straight through. When we left Hillsdale it was raining; when we got to Newport it was raining. If I didn't know better I would have thought the rain clouds were over our vehicle the entire way. The ride there was a white knuckle adventure-to say the least.

Once there the weather turned BEAUTIFUL. We had 3 days of perfect 65 degree, no wind days. Every morning I would go running along what is called The Cliff Walk. This 3+ mile stretch of coast was where the rich and famous has summer homes during the Gilded Age. The mansions are just beautiful.


None of us has ever really visited a vacation town along the Atlantic coast. We went to a small fish market - we could not believe the size of the lobsters that were in the tank. Then to top it all off-prices at 4.99 a pound!! I pay more for lunch meat at the deli. We were tempted to buy one, but the thought of having a live lobster in the cooler creeped me out. So instead we asked the guy working the counter where a good place was to get a lobster dinner. We were not disappointed. Lobster bisque, salad, and a whole lobster for $16.00.

Dan and I decided that when we hit the lottery we're moving there. We absolutely loved it. But for now another visit in January-when Matt graduates will have to do.

OCS - Week 6

Matt has survived for 6 weeks now. For the first 4 weeks the focus was on pushing them to the breaking point. At week 4 Matt had what's called RLP inspection. That stands for Room-Locker-Personal inspection. The Drill Instructors came into their rooms like whirling-dervishes yelling, screaming, measuring, all while tearing up their rooms - In the end all that was left were clothes and personal belongings everywhere. Matt was lucky enough to pass. Those who didn't were -rolled back- into the next class. In other words they flunked and have to repeat.

So far Matt has come through with flying colors. He leads the group every morning in PT (workouts). As far as he is concerned they don't work out enough. He mentioned that he is getting kind of weak when it comes to push ups.

Right now all the SWO's (Surface Warfare Officers) are deciding what port they want to be assigned to. Matt has narrowed his choices to three: San Diego, Norfolk, Hawaii. I just got an email from him that he is fairly confident that he will be in San Diego-he's happy about that.


If this holds true he will be on a MCM class ship. It's purpose: mine sweeper. It is a smaller ship with a crew of about 80. There are no women allowed on this vessel. if this comes to fruition, Matt will spend his training in San Diego and then he will be flown to Bahrain for his first deployment.

If the San Diego placement does not happen, Matt will be on a carrier either out of Virginia or Hawaii.

Dan, Nate and I are leaving Tuesday after work. Our destination Newport Rhode Island. The base is closed for the Thanksgiving holiday so Matt has until the Saturday after Thanksgiving off. Then he has until the 16th of December before coming home for about 10 days. Then just a few short weeks until his graduation on January 20th.