Back In The USA

This post is a little late since we have been back in the states for over a week and a half now! I've finally gotten some down time to write about our trip home. We left on a Thursday on the bi-weekly scheduled military flight back to Norfolk, VA. Our flight was supposed to leave at 8pm but didn't end up leaving until 10pm. Then we headed to Rota, Spain for a little layover. We ended up with seats in the middle of the plane and in a row of three, so Braydon was in between Mommy and Daddy. The flight to Spain is about 3 hours. Our plain was to keep Braydon awake until we got back on the flight and headed to the US, but guess what? that didn't happen! They gave us a snack when we first got on the plane and then Braydon crashed. We had to wake him up when we arrived in Spain and needless to say he wasn't happy. Not only did we wake him up but it was 1am and he had to stay awake until 3am!

Once we finally were able to get back on the plane we got another meal and luckily Braydon crashed again. This time he was able to sleep as long as he would like. Both Chris and I tried to sleep but anyone who has traveled overseas can agree that sleeping in coach seats is not very easy. Braydon slept for a few hours but when he woke up he wanted to get off the plane and we still had a about three hours left. Luckily he watched some dvd's and we got breakfast then we landed in Norfolk. Once in Norfolk we had to go through customs and then catch a cab and head to the commercial terminal and fly to Baltimore then onto Chicago.

After the cab dropped us at the commercial terminal we had about 2 hours to kill before our flight. We got some Starbucks and let Braydon watch the planes. Braydon did great on the first flight to Baltimore, it didn't hurt that the flight is really short. Then we had a layover in Baltimore where we got some lunch and watched some more planes before our flight to Chicago. Braydon fell asleep on the flight to Chicago and didn't want to wake up to get off the plane. I ended up having to carry him off the plane! He finally woke up when we told him he was going to see Papa! Dad picked us up and we got to finally relax and not worry about planes anymore for quite awhile!

Goodbye Sicily

Wow three years already! Sicily has been good to us, but it is time to move onto a new home and new adventures. As I write this we have only 2 days and a wake-up left here. All of our stuff finally left yesterday, and today our car leaves. Today will be spent cleaning our house. Tomorrow we we have the finally inspection of our house, and then fly out on Thursday. The next month we will be living in Chicago, Kentucky, and Virginia! Our final destination is Chantilly, Virginia and will be there for at least the next three years. Then who knows what will happen. Chris will be retired from the Navy and will have to work a civilian job! This year is already exciting for us with all the new adventures. Our move, new job, new car, new house, new friends, old friends, Braydon going to school, and whatever else is ahead for us!

Strike

Last week the Farmers, Fisherman, and Truckers decided to strike for the week. This resulted in us not having gas as well as running out of food at the commissary. A lot of the service members here and now without gas, and there is a gas strike scheduled to start tomorrow (Monday) and run through Friday. Although reports suggest that the strike may continue until the 1st of Feb. We are doing okay here as we have enough food for the next week and a half. However, we are scheduled to do our express shipment pack out and wine shipment on the 30th. I'm praying that this strike will end early and we are able to get everything shipped out on time.

Oops!

We have been stationed in Sicily for three years now and only had three incidents with the car. The roads here are very narrow and the drivers are CRAZY! The first damage occurred on base at the hospital. I went in to get Braydon looked at when he split his head open, and came out to a dent on my passenger door. The second happened when we went on a command wine tasting and Chris hit the curb. This caused the tire to split and eventually caused my flat tire. The third and hopefully last happened last night when we went to Catania for dinner. We were on our way home when Chris hit a sign that was in the road. Guess we are now even on the mirrors being broken on the car. I broke the passenger one and he broke the driver one. Hopefully we won't be in trouble with a broken item on the car when we go to ship it!

Things to accomplish in 2012

Since it is a new year and we are getting ready to move I've been thinking of things I'd like to accomplish in 2012. These are not resolutions because let's face it each year I make them and each year they are not followed. So instead of naming this resolutions I'll name them accomplishments. Of course there is the ever present losing of weight, followed by eating better. Also I'd like to update this blog more regularly, and take more pictures. I've seen some challenges online for 30 day photos where you take pictures of something given for 30 days. Some other things that I'd like to do is craft more and that would make my craft wish list get smaller instead of bigger. Then there are the things I'd like to accomplish with Braydon. Once we move I've decided that I will force the potty training issue. We want to get him into preschool once we move and he will need to be potty trained. There are also accomplishments for us as a family and those are ones I know will be completed. Like the buying of a new house, and some new furniture. I'm writing these down because then I'm more likely to follow them. I believe 2012 will be a good year for the Hughes family!!!!

Moving out phase 1

Today we had the first step of our move out process. The movers came and packed almost everything and put it in boxes, then into crates. We had our good friend Kristy watch Braydon so he would not get in the way of the movers. They started off with five movers and had to call into two extra men to help pack. The whole process took eight hours, and we filled eight crates. All that is in our house now is some kitchen stuff, our clothes, a tv, and Braydon's crib. We are living on temporary furniture until we fly out of here in three weeks. Phase two will be done on the 30th and will be everything that is pretty much here now. Then we will be living out of suitcases until our stuff arrives in the US. We should expect everything to get there in about 60 days. Hopefully this is our last move. I love the fact that we get to live all over, but hate having to move and find a new house, new friends, and a new job. Three years left with Chris in the military and then we will be moving less frequently hopefully.

Etna erupts again

Mt. Etna erupted this morning. All that it left at my house is a lot of black ash. That means I get to go outside and wash everything down. I love having the view of an active volcano outside my kitchen window, I don't love the ash it leaves me as it's going away present. Add that to the list of things I won't miss when I leave here in a month!