Where The Heart Is

It's hard to believe a month sped by so quickly.  The girls and I flew home to Seattle for all of November.  Flying space available on a busy military flight was an experience both ways, and added some stress and uncertainty.  But it worked out and I'm so glad we went!   It was so good to just spend time with family and relax.  

We didn't get to see all the friends we wanted, but we should be passing through 

again in the spring and can't wait to reconnect!

Grandpa took us out to Pho our first day there.  Oddly enough, there are no 

Vietnamese restaurants near us in Yokosuka!  It takes going home to get that 

Asian cusine.  ;)

Enjoying fall in the backyard

You know Grandpa is a sailor when his swing set

 has sail cloth for a roof and a ship's bell  :)

Don't show this to Adam! 

I promised they ate well at the grandparents, mostly... ;)

Hanging peanut butter pine cones 

the girls made with Aunt Stephanie

Uncle George gives a pretty good piggy back ride 

Aunty Nicole too :)

Claire found her own horse

Actually, she just likes climbing on everyone

Aunt Nancy and Uncle Doug came up

for a surprise visit!!

And Gigi!  We had four generations of the Irish

clan under one roof, and what a blast.  :)

The girls were in heaven listening to Nancy and Doug,

and even more in heaven getting to join their band 

(here they are playing )

Ice skating, on seals!

The girls even got to do some painting with Gigi and Nancy.  

I plan to share more pictures, I think we have some 

budding artists to continue the family tradition

These are the every day moments I love most.

Normally we skype with Grandma and she reads them stories,

but they loved getting to actually sit in her lap during story time.

Painting the window

At the Museum of Flight

Catching some snuggles, showing off their windows

That face, so innocent yet full of 

potential mischief...

Reading is a full contact sport sometimes

The Poulsbo aquarium

Two climbers

Unfortunately, I didn't get the group shot at Thanksgiving.

But we got both of the families (and more!) together and had lots of good food!

Claire's favorite was the whipped cream... :)

As a homebody who travels a lot, I've been reflecting on the dichotomy of these two realities and have come to realize that my favorite moments are the ones when you arrive at a place and immediately feel at home.  The awe-inspiring, action packed trips can be fun, but the simple ones feed my soul.  The past month afforded many of these wonderful moments visiting places and family and friends that felt like home, and I'm so grateful we got to make the trip.  But then landing in Japan and driving on our familiar streets to Thanksgiving leftovers with a Daddy who missed us also feels like home.  Waking up to have miso soup, going out to the sushi-go-round, and playing with the neighborhood kids at the park feels like home.  I'm so lucky to have "homes" all over the world, and we're looking forward to finding out where home will be next.

This year has been challenging for the girls as their friends have moved away, and they have made new friends, as we shared our plans for life on a tropical island, and then we had to tell them those plans are off.  Military kids are so flexible, and our girls have handled it all well.  But it was nice to hold up our promise of visiting the grandparents this fall.  They are preparing for their home to move, but I remind them that it's the people who matter, not the place.  We surrounded ourselves with people who felt like home for a month, and then came back to a Daddy who will always be the center of our home.  Wherever we go, we'll be home.

And it's good to be home.