Rhode Island and Boston, MA Trips

We had a wonderful time in Newport, RI visiting Daddy while he was in SWOS.(Surface Warfare Officer School). Aidan and I had to get up before the sun to catch our plane to Providence. Even with a 3 hour layover in Newark, NJ, we finally made it to RI early in the afternoon. KC met us at the airport and we took the scenic drive to Newport. The base is beautiful with lots of views of the bay and its many sailing boats and yachts. I think geese outnumber the servicemen and women stationed here! Everywhere we went there were geese! The hotel on base where we stayed was nice but the bed was very hard. (It must be a military thing!) Most days, KC was able to eat lunch with us and finish just before dinner time!

We did alot of exploring by car. Thanks to the GPS, we found many backroads that were very beautiful and not too congested. Aidan and I even found a nice park to play in out of the main thouroghfare.

The one weekend while we were there we headed up to Boston and Quincy. We first stopped at the USS Constitution and took a trolley tour from there. We toured Boston getting off the trolley only to eat lunch at The No Name Restaurant, to check out Fenway Paaaark, and to go to the Boston Children's Museum. I highly reccommend the Children's Museum. The No Name Restaurant, not so much. It was not very "child friendly" and the seafood was so-so for the money we paid. KC went begrudgingly to Fenway, him being a Rays fan thru and thru. I loved it!It was too hot to stop and wander the Commons but we WILL do that next time!

As for the Children's Museum, we got in there for free thanks to their wonderful military discount! Aidan had so much fun playing there! They had exhibits on using "kid power", construction play area, and fun with fluid flow and gravity! (luckily not at the same time!)We finished up there and then it was off to find our hotel in Cambridge.

We stayed at the Hyatt! It was wonderful! I don't know if the bed was really comfy because I was so exhausted or if it was because the bed in Newport was so hard by contrast! We all got a good night's sleep and then woke up and did a little driving tour thru Harvard and Cambridge.

By then, it was time to head to Quincy to see the John Adams Nat'l Park. I watched the HBO series, "John Adams" on tv and fell in love with their story. I sent KC the book to read while he was deployed. He is really into history so he really enjoyed the book. Since we were so close, we had to stop in and see the houses where the Adams' lived their lives. Aidan was really, really bored, but he behaved like such a big boy on the tour, not touching anything! For those of you that don't have kids, that is a BIG feat! We were so proud of him! So back to Newport we went to rest and KC back to class for a few more days until it was time to head home to Jax.

There was alot to do in Newport if you didn't have a young one. The activities for families were very limited, unfortunately. We did find things to do. We went to a cheesy exhibit on the beach by Save The Bay. The best (and only) thing there was a huge touch tank. We walked on the beach nearby for a little bit. A few afternoons, we went bowling on base! That was fun! It was Aidan's first time! Check out the video at the end of this post! We also did lots of skipping rocks! There are lots of old mansions there to tour but we didn't want to press our luck with Aidan since he had already been tested by JA Nat't Park! We hit the Zoo in Providence. That was a blast. Aidan walked the whole zoo twice around! We were both wore out and ready to head home.

Unfortunately, the flight home was cancelled. NOTE: U should always check online BEFORE you wake up a 3 yr old to head to the airport! Lesson learned. What a mess. Our flight was scheduled to leave Providence at 630AM. We ended up on the same flight but on the next day. Thank God we still had the car and the hotel. So, we drove back to the base and took a nap and woke up and did it all over again the next day! We finally made it home and now KC is back to work and heading back out to sea for a little bit! In a few short months, it will be move time and our big trip to the UK is coming up, too! It never stops!

July Happenings

Well, It has been a while since I last updated this blog. We have been basically busy spending time as a family since KC got back. It is amazing to see KC and Aidan playing together again after 5 long months like no time has passed at all! At night, Aidan still wants mommy to snuggle with before going to bed but Daddy is back to read stories in his funny voices while we snuggle! We both love having KC home!

We had a quick trip down to Tampa to see family back in June after KC got home. KC's mom, Dottie, has been planning a big Carter family reunion with all the kids and grandkids! She even drove to Missouri to get Kelly's daughter, Allison, for a visit. We had a BBQ and lots of fun! I got to take pics for the event.(click on the word pics to see them!)

We had a good 4th of July! Old friends of ours came for the weekend. KC gave us a big tour of his ship and we got to play at the beach and then watch some fireworks from the base! We had lots of fun!! We let all the kids sleep in Aidan's room...so not much sleeping went on.......but it was still a blast!

At the end of that weekend, KC left for schooling in Rhode Island for 3 weeks. Aidan and I got up early to take him to the airport. Aidan didn't understand that we weren't going with Daddy on the airplane that day. I told him that in 2 weeks we would be going on an airplane to see Daddy. That helped a little bit.

Of course, what do you think happens the day KC leaves? Aidan gets sick! He was coughing and sniffling for about a week. The docs said it was a good old fashioned cold and that he should be better by the time we have our trip! Luckily, he was better and only mommy had the sniffles when we left for RI. Trip details to follow in another post!

A potty story

Ok- this is going to be graphic for some of my weaker stomached friends....

Our toilets are a little testy around here.... so we use the plunger often. (or maybe we ALL just have big poops!-Just kidding). Anyways, this morning, our toilet acted up and KC went to fetch the plunger. Aidan, of course, asked daddy what he was doing. Daddy concentrating on the task at hand, didn't hear Aidan asking so Aidan interjected, "Are u done sucking out the poop?" HA HA HA! I was laughing so hard!

At home

Well, its been a crazy reajusting week! KC is home but he still has to work. He has duty every 3rd day and regular work days during the week. This schedule confuses Aidan. I don't think that he understands the concept of working for a living. I had to explain to him that daddy has to work so that we can live in our house and have food to eat and toys to play with. He has had me home with him continuously for the last 5 months so he doesn't get the concept of having to go to work. Then, once we have that in our brains and daddy is finally home for a bit and then Aidan develops a sudden jealous fit! He is jealous of the attention I show daddy when he is home. I have to convince him that I love him just as much as I love daddy and that will never change! He wants mommy to get him out of the carseat. He wants mommy to give him a bath. He wants mommy to take him potty. He only wants mommy to read bedtime stories. I thought that having KC back would give me a little break... HA! I try to tell Aidan that daddy wants to help too and that he missed doing these little things while he was gone. And I give lots of extra hugs and kisses to let him know that he still has mommy! Daddy is still just a fun playmate. However, things are changing a bit. Daddy had to put Aidan in time out the other day for jumping on the couch and not listening. Well, after time out, Aidan came to me and asked if I could put Daddy in time out for being naughty! Heee heee! I told him that Daddy did exactly what he was supposed to do and that he didn't break any rules. He didn't deserve to go into time out! Slowly but surely, things are starting to eak back towards normal. KC is starting leave soon and we will have a 2 weeks where we have him all to ourselves! Then he leaves for RI!

Daddy's Home

Well, KC made it back...finally! It has been a long five months!

Miles traveled: over 28,000!
Countries visited: 16 different contries
stops: 21 (they gotta get gas, too!)
Having daddy home: PRICELESS! (sorry, I had to!)

The end of the deployement was so eventful for us. Aidan was vomiting the night prior to the ship pulling in.

Pull in day was very hot! We got to the base at 8:30am. Signs were everywhere welcoming the sailors home! We parked the car and headed up to the pier where the ship would pull in in less than 2 hours! They had a DJ and light refreshments on hand! People were doling out flags and fans. We met our friends and found us a nice spot to watch the upcoming show! We lathered on the sunscreen and sipped on Pedialyte as the DJ and a local sailor gave us all info on the arrival. Then the DJ said make some noise and Aidan yelled his head off! Seconds later, we spotted the ship!! THEY ARE ALMOST HERE!

Horns blew over and over again signaling the ship's arrival. It sounded as if the other ships were honking too in welcome! Aidan was a bit scared of the horns until I told him that was thier way of saying, "Hello." As the ship was being moored, we picked daddy out of the crowd of sailors standing on the top decks. Aidan waved and called to daddy, "Daddy, are u gonna get off that ship and come see us?" (Of course, daddy couldn't hear us. He was still too far away!)The brows were attached.(We are getting even closer to seeing daddy after 5 long months and a night of vomiting!)

There is alot of ceremony that goes into a homecoming. First, is the FIRST KISS! This event is raffled off during the deployment. The luckily guy gets to be the first off the ship and kiss his significant other! Then, there is the New Dads/Moms meet and greet. The new dads got to meet their babies who were born when they were deployed.

AFTER ALL THAT, then they start letting people on and off the ship! We made our way on to the boat and Daddy was first to see Aidan! Hugs and kisses ensued!!! Daddy was so surprised at how well Aidan could talk and that he was taller! (He says Aidan grew 2 inches while he was away!) Daddy brought us back into the ship to hang out in the wardroom. KC was on duty and couldn't leave the ship on pull-in day. I had managaed to sneak a toy in my backpack for Daddy to give Aidan as a special surprise. Daddy "brought" it from his stateroom... it was a POP UP CONSTRUCTION SET!! (This is a Matchbox Car thingy that Aidan has been begging for!) Daddy made his day! They played for a bit then we had some lunch!

Then, the tours began! Daddy walked Aidan ALL OVER THE SHIP! They visited tbe bridge, the fo'c'scl (bow or forward end of the ship), and the hanger bay, and flight deck (on the back part!) I think his favorite part was the binoculars on the bridge! He used those to see the Jetta parked in the parking lot. He got to press some buttons and "drive" the ship!

What a day! We headed home for naptime and Aidan couldn't understand why daddy couldn't come with is to "mommy's house." We had lots of crying and explaination in 3yr old terms and then a promise to come eat dinner with daddy afterwards.

On the way back to the ship for dinner, Aidan noted that we were going in a different way because the gate in which we came this morning was closed. He said, "You are going the wrong way to the boat.You'd better call daddy and get the right way." HA! We had a nice dinner and then more touring the ship for Aidan and Daddy. I got to sit on the bridge and chill out for a few moments of kidfree adult conversation with Aunt Missy by phone! The sun was setting on our homecoming day. We headed home just in time for bedtime.

We are so thankful that Daddy is home safe! Now its playtime.... until Rhode Island!!


-Navy terms to know from this post-
Bridge- place where all the cool buttons are, where daddy drives the ship from.
Fo'c'scl- The pointy part of the ship or the front part of the ship
Hanger bay-place where they keep the helicopters if they land on the flight deck or extra storage area
Wardroom-place where the officers hang out and eat

Orbitee's Accidental Orbit

Ok, so I must preface this with... It WAS an accident! As some of you know, I never leave my house with the dryer on! Well, a curious little white cat was looking for a warm place to lay while we were away and hopped into the dryer one lazy afternoon! On my way into the door from wherever we were, I closed the dryer door and turned it back on to finish drying my comforter. I heard thumping noises coming from the laundry room shortly after getting home. I wondered for a few seconds if I had accidentally put one of my sneakers in there. (I am notorious for leaving my shoes about the house. Maybe I picked it up with the comforter?) Well, about a split second after that thought, I heard a faint mew. Where was the cat? Oh, (insert favorite explitive here)! Ran to the dryer and out leaps a white ball of fuzz dizzy from her rude awakening! Luckily, she only spent a minute or two before I realized where she was! I checked her over after she calmed down. (I couldn't tell if the raised fur was because she was mad or from the dryer!) She was fine. No nystagmus even! (When the eye balls jump back and forth rapidly) So, I think she wrote it off to lesson learned! NO NAPPING IN THE DRYER! ITS NOT WORTH THE RIDE!!

One week to go!

So we are down to the wire here!! Only 7 more days, 168 more hours!! Yes! We are busy shopping for all of KC's favorite foods (like Tostitoes and Salsa and Dr Pepper). You know, things I haven't had in this house for 5 months! Aidan is so excited! He goes to the door every morning looking for the Jeep and, of course, he sees it and thinks daddy is home already! I have to gently remind him that we still have the Jeep. It hasn't gone anywhere!


We have been busy here painting signs for daddy's return. We had some friends over whose daddys are on the same ship! It was a blast. We have also been growing tomatoes. We started when the deployment started from seeds. Now, we actually have a little green tomato!!

On a side note, Aidan is doing really well in the potty training dept. He now wears big boy underwear all the time except bedtime!!! Way to go, Aidan!!! Daddy is going to be so proud! I am so happy that the diaper fund will now be returning to me! It should because I still have to wipe the butt!!