April 9, 2012

April is the month of the Military Child...those we bring into this lifestyle that we chose to live, without any choice or say on their part.  Even though we know how hard it is to be a part of the military family, the hardships that must be endured, we also realize the advantages it brings.  Nowhere else do children learn to adapt to different climates, cultures, beliefs, schools, communities, and missing parents.

On April 5th I was fortunate to attend the 2012 Military Child of the Year Award Gala.  I listened to the top military brass of all 5 services as they extolled the Military Children being honored.  To say that we as military families are raising amazing kids is an understatement.  I believe because we, as parents, volunteer showing our children how important it is to connect and make a difference in our communities no matter where we are or how long we will be there, that our children are following our lead.  The 5 Military Child of the Year are proof of what a good job we are doing!

Congratulations to each of them, especially the 

Coast Guard Military Child of the Year Alena Deveau!

The "Real" Forrest Gump, Sergeant Sammy Davis

February 13, 2012

The excitement if building....tonight at midnight voting begins for the 2012 Military Spouse of the Year!  Who will it be?

A year ago I was in that state of shock that I am sure our 2012 branch winners are feeling.  Not sure of what is expected or what is to come.  Honored that their peers have chosen them to represent their fellow military spouses, yet not sure if they can live up to the expectations.

Here I am a year later...excited about the road these spouses are about to embark on.  Knowing that they will exceed what they can't even imagine.

Now my plug...because above all, I am a Coast Guard spouse!  I know my successor, the 2012 Coast Guard Spouse of the Year Jennifer Bassett.  I have watched through the years her tireless work to initially help Coast Guard Spouses, then changing focus to help ALL Military Spouses.  Where she finds the hours in the day, I'll never know...she wholeheartedly supports her Active Duty husband and her three children, yet still finds time to call and advocate for military spouses to congressional leaders and those in offices that can further her causes.

I hope all that read my blog check out Jennifer's video and consider voting for her for the 2012 Military Spouse of the Year!  I know with her representing all Military Spouses, none of us will be sorry that she is speaking for us.

If Jennifer is who you want representing you, make sure you vote:

http://msoy.milspouse.com/vote.aspx?branch=USCG

January 6, 2012

Posting is long overdue, so with this new year I thought I would add a few thoughts.  As many of us do when we ring in the new year, we reflect back on the past one.  For my family we had a lot of changes happen.

Our son Ryan left home (again), this time to join the Air Force (following in his older brother's shoes).  We are thankful he has found a path in life that will give him many adventures while allowing him to do what he enjoys.

I completed my associate's degree, and even more exciting...was named the 2011 Coast Guard Spouse of the Year.  This has allowed me to meet many people that I may not have had the opportunity and advocate even more for my fellow Coast Guard spouses.

And then there was our biggest change, a change of scenery, a cross country move to the east coast...specifically to the Washington, DC area .  We are a west coast family, the farthest east we have ever lived was Kentucky and we rushed right back to the west coast as soon as we could.  However, I have found several positives in this move.  First and foremost it gets me closer to my two grandchildren.  We were able to spend an early Christmas with the entire family, as everyone made it to our house to celebrate.

Now to look forward to the new year!  Hopefully I'll get accepted into the Dental Hygiene program here, but until then I will continue to enjoy the area we are in and take advantage of seeing everything I can before we return to the west coast.  That means taking another trip to Walt Disney World, visiting Atlantic City, and of course at some point that trip to New York City.

I am looking forward to see who becomes the 2012 Coast Guard Spouse of the Year!  The luncheon will be this spring where I will get to meet him or her, along with all the other branch winners.

I will continue advocating for Coast Guard Spouses, especially considering the area I now live.  So with that, if anyone has any suggestions, concerns or comments of things they think should have more attention given to, or where we should put our efforts toward, please feel free to let me know

This year I have been honored to represent Coast Guard spouses as Military Spouse Magazine's 2011 Coast Guard Military Spouse of the Year.  I have tried to be their voice, raising awareness that not only is the Coast Guard a military entity, but that Coast Guard spouses are responsible for a multitude of awesome accomplishments for their fellow spouses and the communities in which they live.  I've also had the opportunity to meet and become friends with some wonderful military spouses within the Coast Guard community and those of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines, to which we have found a similarity in issues we all face as military spouses regardless of service.

Fellow branch winners: Crystal, Bianca, Megan and
Robert with our Capitol building tour guide

Now is your chance to honor another Coast Guard spouse.  Do you know a spouse that has went above and beyond to do something special for you or for others?  Is there a Coast Guard spouse that advocates for military families or for those in the community?  Do you know someone that you think is a role model for Coast Guard spouses? 

Don’t assume someone else will be that person to nominate them…If you know someone that you feel could represent and speak out for Coast Guard spouses as well as those military spouses in our sister services, please nominate them for Military Spouse Magazine’s 2012 Military Spouse of the Year.

Perhaps that Coast Guard spouse, whose plate is full of family, school, work, and charity will become not only next year’s Coast Guard Spouse of the Year, but also the 2012 Military Spouse of the Year…it cannot happen without your nomination.

Nominations can be submitted at www.milspouse.com/msoy through December 14th.  

The rest of our PCS to DC

Now that I have settled into my new home, the boxes are unpacked and I am becoming familiar not only with the base but have ventured out to various places off base, it is time to return to my blog…

My last post was about our day in Amarillo, TX. There is a reason that was the last post…from this point on we were busy with family and friends. It is one of the advantages that military families have that our civilian counterparts may not…we have connections everywhere!

On the 28th of August we stopped in Slidell, LA where we visited with friends and neighbors that had recently transferred the month before we did. We enjoyed a nice dinner with them and filled them in on things that had occurred since they had transferred.

From Slidell it was a short drive to Hurlburt Field, FL where we were able to stop for a few days and enjoy time spent with my son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren. We were able to go to the beach and play in the water with our grandchildren, see a little bit of the area and play with our grandchildren, and oh yea, play with our grandchildren.

During this time, my daughter, daughter-in-law and myself took a short trip to Fairhope, AL to meet and have lunch with some friends I had known for years and some I only knew online. It was again a nice break from our trip, getting a chance to not only reconnect but also to put faces to names I only knew from my computer screen.

But like any trip, times like these must pass and it was on the road again for us, this time we were taking a side trip to North Port, FL to visit with good friends and CG retirees that we met while in Juneau, AK. We enjoyed seeing the area they now called home and although it rained while we were there, we had a great time.

From here it was time to put our drive to rest, so we headed to the DC area stopping for the night just before Charlotte, NC. We arrived in Alexandria, VA on September 4th and checked into our hotel. We were fortunate and were able to check into housing on Fort Belvoir on September 9th and received our HHG’s on the 15th. Our boxes have all been unpacked (except for those in the garage) and things have been put in their place. It feels and looks like home again.

August 27; Day 6
Amarillo, Texas to Arlington, Texas

Its hot out…we were on the road before 8 am and already my car thermometer said it was 90 degrees out…of course Texas has had a run of triple digits temps so this isn’t unusual.

Our day was planned so we wouldn’t have to spend a long time on the road; we planned on having some fun. After 6 hours on the road we arrive at our hotel in Arlington, quickly bring everything in and head to why I chose this stop….Six Flags Over Texas!

If you love roller-coasters (which I do), you need to ride the new Texas Giant! That first drop is amazing, so we rode it twice. Although it was 106 degrees out, we were able to stay hydrated and enjoy the rides, saving the rapids for last (we figured a good dousing of water to cool down would be just what we needed before heading back to our hotel).

We finished our play and headed back to the hotel, tomorrow is another day and another state.

August 26; Day 5
Cortez, Colorado to Amarillo, Texas

“Amarillo by morning,” oh wait, we don’t want to get there by morning, we need to be there before evening!

Today we were planning on seeing Mesa Verde and the cliff dwellings, but because of the time crunch and the amount of time it takes to get to them from the park entrance, we decided to bypass this plan (we really wouldn’t be able to spend the appropriate amount of time to really enjoy the sites) and head on to Amarillo.

Because we didn’t have any touristy type of stops planned, we just drove and enjoyed the landscape of New Mexico…until it was time to stop for a break.

When we needed this vital stop, it just so happened that there was a nearby casino. Casinos are good stops for us as my husband collects casino chips. The first casino we stopped at (yes, we stopped more than once) we got their players card and were given $20 to play with we were also given t-shirts with the casino’s logo. My husband played and left with about $40 and I left with about $20. Not long after this stop we came to the Route 66 Casino, which became a must stop for chips and the collection. Here they didn’t give us money to play with when we signed up for their players card, instead they gave us each water bottles, a deck of cards and a pair of dice. Off my husband went to play a game and get his requisite chips for the collection and I headed to the slots to try my luck while I waited. My husband unfortunately lost his previous winnings, but I left with $60 of their money!

Because we didn’t want to be on the road too late, we quickly left and continued to our stop at the Best Western in Amarillo.