Spousal Reunion

This past weekend, I flew to Montgomery, Alabama for Joe's officer training graduation. We had four days without kids. My parents were kind enough to watch them. It was a much needed break before we move. Thanks Ma and Pa!

I had so much fun with my husband. We toured around Montgomery on Saturday and Sunday (which suprisingly doesn't have a lot of touristy things to do. Hopefully I don't offend anyone, but the city's tourist department should work on that). I've never been to the South before, so it was still a great time. I was mostly excited to see my husband again.

Montgomery

This is a home of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby. Notice I say "a" home, not "the" home. They were expatriots, and only lived in this house for about a year. Oh, the other thing I forgot to mention: all tourist attractions were closed on Saturday and Sunday (I know), so we just took pictures of the places we visited.

This is the first White House of the Confederacy. Apparently, they moved headquarters frequently. Jefferson Davis lived here for about a year. Kinda small compared to the D.C. white house, don't you think?

A real life plantation! Even though I didn't go inside, I was still excited.

By the plantation was a field of cotton! I've never seen cotton before, so this was also pretty thrilling for me.

Cotton literally looks and feels just like a cotton ball that you use. The only difference is there are little seeds inside the cotton that need to be removed.

Which brings me to the last tour picture: a cotton gin factory. I also didn't get to go inside, but you can imagine what it was like in the small industrial town of Prattville.


Dining Out
Monday, we had a spouse's orientation to the Air Force, and that evening there was a fancy dinner called "Dining Out." I got to wear a spectacular dress (thanks to Gloria Buynak), we ate, others drank, and we mingled with the other graduates and their families. It was really a fun evening.

Together again!

Joe's commander, the other band conductor for the Band of the West in San Antonio, came to commission him. She is such a wonderful person; I was relieved to find that Joe will be working with someone who is kind. I really enjoyed getting to know her this weekend.

Graduation
Standing at the ready: the poor guys had to stand like this for over an hour while everyone graduated.

Getting sworn into the Air Force. The zoom on my new camera is really awful. That's what I get for buying cheaply and off of the internet. Sorry it's so blurry.

I got to pin Joe's rank on his shoulders. I was worried about stabbing him or dropping the pins, but I didn't.

Congratulations, second lieutenant Hansen! I'm so proud of you! I'll see you in a few days!

Dancing . . . together

I promise I know another song besides "Once Upon a Dream." It's my kids' special dancing song. What can I say? They like the waltz beat. I like this video because they're hugging and being somewhat loving to each other.

The Fork Master

I think I've mentioned how Elliot is quite dexterous. Most of his goals in life involve climbing, jumping, pinching, etc. Well, here he is, the fork master.

Sorry about the Sweeney Todd. My mom teaches voice, and that's just a student in the background.

The Pumpkin Farm

This is a very belated post. We went to the pumpkin farm over a week ago, but I love it so much, I had to post. This is the pumpkin farm I went to as a little girl with my preschool group. I have many fond memories of this place. It tickled me that the pumpkins were dressed up like my favorite nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and cartoons. This is somewhere I've been longing to take Dottie. So, when Aunt Mimi was here, we went with her and a few friends from church.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Which dwarf do you think most represents Dottie? Lately, I'd say Grumpy.

Three blind mice. I love the Mom's expression.

Boil, Boil, Toil and Trouble.

Humpty Dumpty, pre-fall.

Dorothy with her namesake.

A Whole New World . . .

Look at Elliot.

Those look like some grumpy farmers.

I'm showing you this picture so you can be jealous of the beautiful vistas we have here in Pennsylvania during the fall. I will miss the gorgeous leaves. I just took this picture out the window.

The Texas Situation

In case you're wondering, here's what's going on with Texas. I haven't really updated you before, because I didn't really know. The good news: we got a house on base! The bad news: our house won't be ready until the 16th of November, so this means living in temporary housing for a few weeks. This also delays Joe going to get our stuff from Colorado. So, it'll be me and the kids, going to the park every day until we move in. But we think it's worth living on base, so Joe will be right there and we'll be close to each other.

We are counting down the days until we are reunited with Joe again. I will actually see him this weekend, because I'm flying down to Alabama for his graduation. I get to wear a fancy dress to a fancy dinner and everything. It will be one joyous reunion, let me tell you. Then, I come home, get the kids, and we leave November 1st.

We're excited to go, but I will really miss my family, and miss the people here in Towanda who have been good friends to us. It's another "starting over," and another period of limbo. But at least we'll be together again.

Religious Freedom

This is a great speech on religious freedom by Dallin H. Oaks, former Utah Supreme Court member and current apostle for the LDS church. I appreciate the legal and historical background in his argument. Read it: http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/religious-freedom.

Emily's here!

My sister, Emily, is here at my parents' house for two weeks! She has made it a tradition of coming for my mom's birthday, which is next week. We've had lots of fun with her and her adorable Baby Ryan. He is such a well-behaved baby. It makes me kinda jealous.

This is Baby Ryan. See the cute dimple? He is usually this congenial; he hardly cries. I pray I may get a baby like this next time around.

We went to visit my mom's friend, Anne, in Scranton. My kids enjoyed running around her backyard.
Yesterday, we went to the Corning Museum of Glass with our friend, Courtney. I love the Corning Museum of Glass. If you like beautiful things, you should visit sometime.

This is turning into one of those sporadic posts. Elliot has made it a habit lately of putting bowls of food on his head. This is usually how he looks at dinner time. We follow up with a bath.

The day Emily came, we made crowns with Dottie's sparkly crayons. Dottie designed them herself.

At the Met

Last weekend, we fulfilled a lifetime goal of a very sweet lady in my parents' ward. Bonnie Carrington is the pinnacle of maternal kindness: she came and helped my mom with at least two of her babies when they were born, she makes us fabulous toffee every Christmas, and she has the wisdom of a sage for new mommies like me.

Bonnie expressed to my mom that she has always wanted to go see an opera at the Met. So, in order to return the countless kindnesses Bonnie has bestowed upon our family, we went to go see "Tosca" last weekend. Amanda met up with us, and afterwards, we spent time with my good friend from high school, Billy Shaw. Billy currently works at the Met.
Here we are! Tosca was magnificent. I'm usually not much for the typical opera voice (hyperactive vibrato), but the voices were well-controlled. This was a very passionate plot, and you can never go wrong with Puccini.
We were really impressed with these sparkly chandeliers. Maybe we can have some installed in our house in Texas?

Me and Ms. Amanda. I can't get enough of this girl. We had so much fun together.

Reunited with Billy!

Billy took us to this adorable little cafe called Alice's Tea Party. We had sandwiches, scones, and (herbal) tea. I felt like a princess. I would love to take Dottie there. They have fairy wings for you to dress your little girl in.

I think we have a gymnast on our hands

My son's new skill: somersaulting. He taught himself, no parental prompting involved. Either he's very gifted physically, or just plain hyperactive.