it's time to go

Well, Steph and Bri just left here and we are getting our stuff ready to ship out. While they were out here we had a great time together. It almost felt like I was out on bail or released for the weekend from jail. Pretty strange. I had my phone with me (much like an ankle bracelet) just in case someone needed to call me. I could almost feel the tug on the "leash" they had on me once we were moving away from the base. Very strange feeling. Very suffocating feeling.

In spite of the impending "leash tugging" we still had a great time together. We didn't get to do everything we had planned to do but we still got out and did a lot. The first night we just hung out and went to dinner. We met up with a friend of mine who is one of the other officers and he works at Lilly's. Great guy so any of you single ladies looking for someone...(I'm writing as if someone is actually reading this blog). Anyway, I had reserved this cabin on base that sits on a lake and actually has a great view. It was really nice but the only problem was it was a studio that had a FULL SIZE BED. Now neither of us are very big but come on a stinkin' full size bed! Who sleeps on a full size bed? It won't have been that bad if it was just Steph and I, but when you add a 2 year old that doesn't sleep parallel to you, no she likes to sleep perpendicular to you. So I didn't sleep to well the first night. The next morning I checked out of the cabin and we checked in to a hotel room that had to beds one of which was at least a queen size. That was much better.

On the second day we headed to downtown Seattle to the Seattle Aquarium. Brianna loved it! I think she had the most fun sticking her hands in the trout stream and getting both are completely soaked. We had to actually pull her away after about 20 minutes playing in the trout stream. I was afraid she was going to try and go swim with them. Once we left the aquarium we ate at a restaurant down on the pier. As you can imagine it was a seafood place and we got the fish-n-chips with clam chowder. Very good eats! We then left the pier and went to my favorite store, the REI in downtown Seattle. While Steph shopped around Brianna and I played in the kids play zone. She surprised me and climbed up the circular stairs, all the way to the top, walked across a plank (which obviously had protective netting) then got to the slide and slid down all by herself. She had so much fun doing this that we must of spent about 1/2 hours doing this before I could pull her away to get mommy to come and see. I am not sure what Brianna enjoyed more, the trout stream or the jungle gym but either way she had a blast!

The third day we went to the zoo that was also in downtown Seattle. Brianna enjoyed seeing all the different animals but I think we spoiled her with the trout stream and jungle gym from yesterday. We just couldn't let her get in the cage with the monkeys or pet the kitty cats. The gorillas seems ticked off, but then again I would be ticked off too if someone captured me and locked me up in a cage and people came around and stared at me all day long. And NO I am not an animal rights leftist. Just maybe we should leave them where they live and capture the people who are hunting them and put them in cages for us to stare at all day long. In any event we enjoyed our time at the zoo but Brianna was certainly spent from the day before and all the walking we did at the zoo just make her even more tired.

The last day of adventure was spent in, guess where, downtown Seattle. We went to the Pacific Science Center. Brianna had a blast at the kids play zone and actually enjoyed the observatory. Steph and I were getting into all the neat things you could do there but Brianna wasn't really into it so we left and went to the Space Needle. Although we didn't go up to the top we got pictures and looked around the tourist shop. There was a lot to do at the science center but most of it was for older kids so we had to pass and we will have to just come back when she gets older.

All in all I think we had a great time. It was more important for me to spend time with them than actually go anywhere. There we several other places that I wanted to go to like Mt. Rainier and this water falls on the boarder of Washington and Oregon but we just didn't have the time to do it all. What we did do we had fun and we enjoyed our time together. I needed that time with them and loved every minute of it.

Well, it's time for me to sign off. We are leaving for the sand tomorrow and I will be out of communication till we actually get into Iraq. So for all of my readers please stand by until I get into Iraq and get my internet hooked up (which will not be for about 2 weeks). I know it will be hard to go that long with reading a new post from me but do your best, please).