Fabulous Army Life

Today the boys and I headed to the McLean Bible Church Bookstore so they could audition for "Get in the Show" ... hoping for a chance to be a voice in Adventures in Odyssey.  They had two scripts to read: "Gum" and "Tithing."  They had a great time rehearsing with each other and enjoyed a few moments with the mic ... actually we were there for over 2 hours as they perfected their submissions ... but it was a lot of fun.

Our little hometown of Gainesville, Texas, was named "America's Most Patriotic City" by "Best of the Road," sponsored by Rand McNally and USA Today. One big standout fact: Gainesville is the only Medal of Honor Host City in America and they work hard to honor and remember our Medal of Honor recipients. Check out this video about Gainesville ...

This morning, our family headed down to the DC Armory where Hoops for Troops was hosting a Military Appreciation Day featuring the Men's and Women's USA Olympic basketball teams.  Dazzling displays, free "Hoops for Troops" t-shirts, basketball clinic for local girls conducted by Team USA Women, and an impressive scrimmage game from Team USA Men were highlights from the morning. Side events included an on-court shooting contest pairing a Team USA star with a service member representing their branch, basketball acrobatics (involving a mini trampoline, no less), and a poignant exchange where service members took the velcro American flag from their uniforms and passed them to a Team USA member to wish them good luck at the 2012 London games. It was a magnificent event and one we were proud to attend.  Thanks, Hoops for Troops, for hosting such a fun time for our local military!  And good luck to our Dream Team players in the Olympic Games ... we're rooting for you...

We were excited to find out our old neighbors from Fort Hood (circa 2005) would be visiting Virginia and had a few minutes of free time.  We made quite an entrance into a local PF Changs (6 adults and 9 kids!) and had a wonderful time chatting and catching up on life's events. Afterwards, we strolled through the nearby mall and enjoyed watching the kids talk and play as if they'd just seen each other yesterday.  There are so many blessings in the military lifestyle and the friends made a long the way rank high on the list for me. Catty and me Corson and Cook kids Cute Corson Kids My groovy kid The boys hit the Video Game stores

The boys and I enjoyed our personalized tour of the Pentagon today.  We're total newbies at all things Washington, DC, so we needed the basic package when it came to learning about the Pentagon.  We enjoyed lunch there and learned about rings and corridors and found all of the historic displays to be very educational.  If pressed, I might even be able to find my way back to Nate's office ... a moot point since I would need an escort to get there ... but a source of pride for me, nontheless. Trey checks out Dad's office. The boys were happy to see where Dad is spending his time these days.

We enjoyed our first 4th of July in the Nation's Capitol at a staff party with Nate's new colleagues.  It was wonderful for me to meet everyone and seeing fireworks over the Washington Monument was absolutely breath-taking. The boys had a great time as well.  At one point, the kids in the group naturally divided into teams.  During one of my routine checks, I found Joshua and several other boys huddled together in the yard.  When I asked what they were doing, they replied, "This is our HQ.  We're planning our next attack."  Gotta love a group of military kids! It was an absolutely lovely evening celebrating our Nation's independence ... Happy 4th of July! We are ready for the fireworks show! Trey says, "I love fire."  Yikes.  =) Sparklers make it a party! It didn't take long for the sparklers to be used as wands.  Sparkler Tag! Watching the fireworks with the Washington monument in the background was tru...