Finally some pics again

Sorry for what feels like a year between posts. Here is last week in review with plenty of pics. I begin with this pic, sure to be one of my favorites for the summer. You'll see the pics leading up to this shot further down in the post. I just love the expression on Zane's face.

These pool shots were all taken on Memorial Day. Thanks to the Moran family for hosting us. Here are a few shots taken in sequence of Abe going down the water slide. I was trying out the continuous shooting mode on my camera.























And here is the Zane toss from start to finish.



























We had a nice dinner Tuesday with my parents. We went to the German restaurant in Kempner. It is under new ownership but the food still tastes great. Wednesday morning Abe and I headed down to Austin. No sooner had we sat down for lunch did we receive a phone call from Zane's school that he needed to be picked up early. He took a tumble in PE that resulted in a sizeable lump on his forehead. He was fine and it wasn't a seizure or anything. But that combined with the fact that Brody was running a fever when we left did not make for a good start to our get away. The kids were in good hands though so we just continued on with our excursion.



Wednesday evening we got together with some friends in the Austin area. It was a bit of a send-off party for Abe. We ate at Habana on 6th St. and it was yummy. I was especially fond of the Cuban Martini's. Abe and I enjoyed the rest of our evening back at our hotel. As weird as it felt, we really enjoyed the luxury of going to bed late and sleeping in the next morning. For me that meant 7:40 but that's my internal clock for ya. It was still nice not having to jump out of bed and start taking care of a couple of rugrats for 15 straight hours. We took our time getting moving then checked out of the hotel. We landed at Katz's Deli for breakfast. I'd been there once before for Katharine's bachelorette party and remember thinking "I need to come back here". From there we walked around downtown a bit and took pictures. Mostly I took pics of Abe in front of various doors but we tried for a few self-portraits, as well.

This one sums up about how we feel right now with all the stuff we are trying to cram in before Abe leaves. Still worth every penny though.

The boys were happy to see us Thursday evening when we returned home. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the heck out of them, as well. It was great to get away with Abe but I can only handle being away from the kids for so long.

I'm gonna touch on Thursday night quickly. Long story short, Abe and Brody went to the ER at 1:30 am and returned at 6am. All they could tell us about Brody who had still been running a fever and was unable to sleep is that he had an upper respiratory infection. Which means "he has a cold there's nothing we can do for him". He is doing better now but man Friday was rough after that visit in the middle of the night.

Abe, my Dad and I took Zane to school Friday morning, grabbed a bite to eat and returned to Zane's school for an Awards Ceremony. My mom stayed home with Brody so he could catch up on some much needed sleep. Keep in mind Abe had not slept yet so sitting there and clapping for approx. 75 students individually, was pretty painful for him. But seeing Zane accept his "Field Day" award and "Certificate of Completion" for Pre-K 3 was worth it all. His teacher, Ms. Bravo is the lady on the left.

My parents headed back home Friday after the ceremony. I owe them a big THANK YOU for helping us out so much with the boys and letting us get away for a night. My mom did great with Zane's diet and keeping up with Brody. My dad played A LOT with Zane. He's probably built enough things out of Lego's to last him a lifetime.



We joined Tracy and her family for dinner Friday night before they split for New Jersey the next morning. It was a tearful goodbye, at least on my part but I'm a sap like that.

Saturday morning we headed on post rather early to set up for a photo shoot/family day being sponsored by Abe's company FRG (family readiness group). I was the photographer and responsible for taking everyone's picture in front of a chinook. I think it went rather smoothly and I think I captured pictures the families will treasure, especially while their loved ones are away.

Here's our family shot, taken by Abe's buddy, Jeremy. That is the CH-47F which is the newest model of chinooks. Isn't she pretty? Bravo company will be the first to take the Fox model into combat.

Sunday we spent some time at Blora for a little get together with other warrant officers and their families. The boys got to go swimming in the lake and run around with some of their friends. They fell asleep rather quickly last night.

I guess that brings us to today. Abe is back to work after being on leave for 3 weeks. Brody went to the doctor this morning for a follow-up appointment. His ears are still clear and he's not running a fever. He has a little diarrhea and diaper rash but other than that he is back to normal. Zane woke up with some cold-like symptoms. He wanted to go to school anyways (didn't want to miss out on water day) and I haven't heard from the school nurse so I assume all is well. This evening we go to a Pre-Deployment Briefing and I'm hoping to hear a date for Abe's departure but I'm not going to hold my breath. Maybe they'll have some new info for us though. Well Brody is still napping and I just might be able to catch a cat nap myself. Have a great week everyone.