May Madness

The month of May was probably the craziest month we've had since moving back to NC.

John had been slotted for a six week class in Missouri since he got home from the deployment, beginning the first of May through June.

Since we got orders to move to Germany I've had the itch to visit friends and family I haven't seen in a while. It'd always be nice if John could do this too, but unfortunately most of this kind of stuff I get to do solo.

So considering John had this class I decided to kill two birds with one stone by passing time while he's away and to go see a lot of people I probably won't see again before we move.

Brynlee and Ellie
in Charlotte, NC.

Brynlee and I hit the "air" for a month long "across America" tour-going to Colorado, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Florida--and several states in between--with bounces back and forth to North Carolina in between as well.

Brynlee and I headed to Charlotte the beginning of May and stayed with the ever so gracious, Albaeck family, who recently added beautiful baby #5, Ellie to their brood!

Needless to say it was a full house but Brynlee just LOVED having older kids around to play with and she enjoyed being the new toy in the house.

We flew from Charlotte, through Texas, to Colorado first, where Nana and GG were there to greet us. We spent our time in CO with lots of grandparent time (all of them!) while I got some childless dates (sigh, so amazing), a zoo trip with loads of friends and family (17 of us at one point?!), got to hangout with my college roommate Dana and her family, breakfast with Pastor Ed, walks to GG's house like old times, as well as cousin play dates galore.

With Grandma at the zoo
in Colorado Springs, CO.

I'm going to pause here to just announce I'm a blessed woman.

My family and friends are just so supportive and awesome when we're there in CO and when we're away, many of you took time out of your work week to hang out with us and make time for Brynlee and I, and I appreciate it SO much.

Besides having the down time to travel I purposely made the trek to Oklahoma for a multitude of reasons. Our church had recently done a sermon series on "junk" which could be interpreted into lots of things, but the main part that stuck to me, and was the emphasis of my trip to OK, was the concept of carrying other people's junk when you really don't have a reason too or don't have too.

Sarah and Harrison Struck,
OKC, OK.

There are members of my dad's family I've chosen not to go out of my way to talk too because of family drama that actually happened before I was even born or thought of and I let other people's opinions and feelings get in the way of what could be at least random conversational types of relationship with these family members.

So not only did I get to attend my cousin's graduation from OU but also made the trip up to Stillwater to take Brynlee to meet her great grandpa, Richard O'Cain Sr. 

But before I get into that I have to brag that while in Oklahoma I also met up with some college friends which included finally got to meet Sarah and Bryan's sweet little man Harrison Struck!!

OMG, so precious!

Congrats Dr. Aaron Buchanan, D.D.S and family!

My blessings of friendship stretch as far as professors that I now get to call some of my best friends, one of which is Marcia Feisal.

Brynlee and I met up with Marcia for lunch and  voluntarily offered to watch Brynlee for me while I went to Aaron's graduation. Marcia is now retired from teaching and is a stay at home grandma to her sweet grand babies, so Brynlee struck the babysitter jackpot while I got to go to the OU graduation.

Getting to attend such a special graduation was such an honor to witness. 

The Buchanan family has been through so much these last two years when my Uncle Rick was diagnosed with cancer and their family has been fighting this disease as an uphill battle the entire way. This graduation felt like such a ray of sunshine in what's seemed like some really dark cloudy times, so I was just ecstatic to be there and be a part of it. 

In case any of you had NO idea, my family is obsessed with picture taking, haha, especially my Aunt Karla. She rarely gets to actually be IN the pictures and of all the events, this is one she needed to watch for real, not through a lens, so I was really glad to be able to take that load off of her, without Brynlee's help, and take photos of everyone during and after the ceremony! 

Braum's!

Getting to go to the graduation and actually enjoy it and participate in it was a huge blessing for me, thanks Marcia!

After the robes were placed and pictures snapped, I raced back to pick up princess Brynlee from Marcia's where we then went to the post graduation dinner and the celebration continued along with Brynlee hamming up the room making friends with everyone.

Brynlee meeting
Richard O'Cain Sr.,
Stillwater, OK

I also got to spend time with one of the strongest mommies I know, the lovely Vicki, and her daughter London who helped me show Brynlee around the SNU campus and also for her first Braum's experience.

It's so fun to be back around in Oklahoma with my college friends and all our babies, nothing sweeter!

Our last day in OK, I loaded B up in the car and drove to Stillwater, OK.

My brother and I are the only "blood" O'Cain grandchildren, meaning Brynlee is his only "blood" great grand baby so getting to share that first with him and his family was a really cool and unique experience and I'm so glad I went!

Grave marker of Katherine Wright Hunt. 

 After going back to NC for a few days, B and I flew out of Charlotte again heading this time to the true south of the Gulf Coast of Mississippi where my parents joined us as well.

My dad is originally from Pascagoula, MS where my aunt Liz still lives to this day and was the only family member left that hadn't met Brynlee yet!

I also wanted to go visit the grave of my late grandmother, Katherine Wright Hunt who had died several years ago and I wasn't able to go to the funeral.

I saw Mimi right before she died while she was still in her nursing home.

Ocean walk with Papa
in Pascagoula, MS.

I was pregnant and didn't really know it and wish I could have known for sure so I could have told her.

My Mimi, Katherine, was my personal version of southern royalty being Miss Mississippi and runner up for Miss America in 1949 (hence the crown on her grave marker).

Brynlee and her random diva'ish ways remind me so much of things I know Mimi would get just an absolute kick out of. I am not sure I've ever thought of Mimi so much until I had Brynlee and watched her antics. I just know Katherine would have had an absolute riot hearing and seeing Brynlee. 

I actually think she just taught her a few diva tricks in heaven before B made her way on down, especially trying to sneak out of the house wearing my "glass slippers."

Boat ride from Dauphin Island on
our way to Destin, FL.

Whenever Mimi would visit, she'd bring me a goodie bag of those little Clinique and Estee Lauder perfume sample bottles, nail polishes, and lip sticks and I'd hang onto them like they were gold. It makes my heart just so happy when B helps me open my Sephora box and discovers all my free samples, it's like Christmas time year around for her, walking around with her perfume samples and lipsticks in the little goodie bags they send them in. 

That was Mimi and I to a "t" and I think of her every time a Sephora box comes to my doorstep. 

Hooray beach!
Destin, FL

Hanging out with Aunt Liz was fantastic and full of ocean walks, local seafood restaurants (including Scranton's where they carry some of our former family restaurant dishes on the menu!), and a lot of late night chats with my aunt that were long overdue.

B and I took a Mississippi detour going to Destin, FL with my parents which, of course, included taking our car onto a boat and playing with seagulls!

We spent several days at my aunt and uncle's condo which was right on the beach front. The condo was already stocked full of beach toys, chairs, and even bikes for us to ride around town in.

Riding bikes with Papa,
Destin, FL.

Dad went out and rented a bike with a kid seat on the back and we rode everywhere and B just loved it. We got lots of beach time, pool time, sun time, and fantastic seafood.

I attempted to conquer my fear of ocean everything by going for a swim on the boogie board until something swam under me and people behind me started commenting about something being in the water "over there."

Papa and Nana beach time,
Destin, FL. 

Against all "Shark Week" warnings I turned the heck around and splashed my way out of there and hardly touch the ocean any more than up to the ankles for the rest of the trip!

Heading back to NC after these trips felt great, and I rarely say that, haha.

Being home was where we needed to be after a month in the air/on the road.

My plot for getting Brynlee into swim lessons on Ft. Bragg fell through leaving me with three weeks of time to pass before John's class in Missouri was over. 

First dentist trip!

So in the mean time, Brynlee had her very first dentist appointment and did SO great. Sorry to the new Dr. Aaron Buchanan, DDS of the family, but I hate the dentist. I could scrub my mouth all day long and it won't matter, there's always something wrong with my teeth. Making an appointment for B was something I knew was right to do but wasn't looking forward to following through on it, more for my own sake than hers! 

But wouldn't you know it, as almost everything else, Brynlee did fabulous. 

They even did a cleaning and she was seriously better at being still and compliant than I ever am! 

The dentist's actual office is a former firehouse and they kept all the architecture like so--it's a little kids dream come true!

They had tv's above the chairs so she got to watch Spongebob (so glad she didn't like it and asked them to change the channel, haha!) and got to wear cool sunglasses while they did their thing, and with being such a good girl she got a special coin to spend on a prize at the end of her visit. 

I wish adult dentist offices were as cool as this one! 

As close to chickens
as she would get!

Despite dentist shenanigans, once getting back home to NC it took only about a week for B and I to be 100% sick of each other and ready for some adventure again.

The Hendrixson family, as always, pulled through for me keeping B entertained and me sane, but I got the itch to get on the road again.

I decided to pass some time by venturing out to the farmlands outside of Louisburg, NC for a long overdue visit with another one of my dearest mommy friends, Katie Jensen and her three beautiful babies at her parent's farm. 

Brynlee, Paige, Allie, and Taylor!

This young mother has been handed a wretched deck of cards and I'm so taken aback, daily, by her grace, maturity, patience, resiliency, you name it...I'm in awe of her as a human and as a mother. 

I was also so excited to take Brynlee to an actual farm because of all the memories I have going to visit my GG at Headquarters and Graceland's Ranch. 

I was excited for the air, the animals, the freedom from time, all of it, and boy was it a HOT day!

We now know B is terrified of chickens and pigs, won't go near horses, and I think because of all that drama, would also not go near the dog unless being held.

Southern sandbox lovin.

On the upside she got tons of sun and fresh air, ran her little booty off keeping up with the older Jensen girls, got to dress up, eat popsicles, and got to splash around in the pool and dig around in their sandbox (until the chickens wandered over looking for food). Before heading back to town we sat down for one last dinner, breakfast for dinner, of farm fresh scrambled and fried eggs and bacon. Spoiled. 

By that weekend John had graduated his class and was on the long drive back home to NC. 

Now the real work has begun. 

The move overseas is coming so fast and I constantly feel one step behind with what it all entails, but am having faith that things will work out the way they are meant too and am totally ready to take on the challenges I KNOW it's going to bring. 

SSG Christian at ALC,
Fort Leonardwood, MO.

Within the first week of John being home from Missouri we attended a PCS brief (PCS: Permanent change of station) where we learned everything we need to do to get the movers scheduled and in the books.

The first round of movers are scheduled August 18th and I swear it feels like it's tomorrow. 

The more formal information I get about how things work the more at ease I feel, but there are still a lot of things to get done before getting on that plane (which technically I don't even know when it's leaving yet! Aauugghh!!).

Be prepared for a near future post/rant of all my insecurities and anxieties about this move. Typing out my feelings to you is the best way I know to get them out! 

Until then, the yellow star is where we are going to be!