Girlfriend Getting Quiche

           One of the sayings in the Navy wife vernacular is that the more the remote the base is, the better friends you will make. With that wisdom, my social life has the potential to be bumping. I was fortunate enough to come here with two friends Megan (from Virginia Beach who nows lives across the street) and Annie (college girlfriend who lives about 20 minutes away). After I ended up yapping the ear off of a girl scout who came to the door to sell me cookies, I realized I need more of a social life. The girls and I are still church shopping but we have found a great Wednesday morning Bible study. I haven't met any of the Weapons School wives yet because we are not officially in that squadron till the end of March. That leaves me trolling the park in the afternoon trying to "pick up" neighborhood moms. It really is like dating but much more complex. I'm sewing my oats at the park but my first real girlfriend"catch" was when I got together with one of Greg's Top Gun classmate's wife.  She came over for morning coffee and quiche and apparently I set it up like a date. I texted this picture to my best friend and she teased me relentlessly. In Lemoore, you can't fake it and run off to a bakery before friends come over because there is NOTHING close except the commissary. I have been experimenting with lots of different recipes lately and this Quiche has by far been the best and foolproof to prepare.

Girlfriend Getting Quiche:

Ingredients:

1 9 inch refrigerated pie crust

1 tablespoon of Olive Oil

2 Medium Onions, chopped

Kosher Salt and Black Pepper

1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

4 large eggs

3/4 cup half and half

1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg

8 ounces of Gruyere cheese, grated 

Optional Dress it up Ingredients:

Just stir in thawed frozen spinach, sauteed mushrooms, or diced ham into the eggs before baking

(I did spinach and ham)

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Fit the crust into 9-inch pie plate. Place on baking sheet.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onions and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the parsley.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, half and half, nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir in the onion mixture and the Gruyere. 

4. Pour the egg mixture into the crust. Bake until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving. 

New girls in town

      When you tell other Navy friends that you have been stationed in Lemoore, often times you get a look of shock and pity similar to that if you told them you had an aggressive cancer. I have been determined to go into this with a positive outlook and the mantra to "put myself out there". Greg left the second day we were here in Lemoore so he has actually has never seen the inside of our house. In 2009 and 2010 Greg did a year of work ups and a deployment. A 3 month separation then to me was a breeze. In 2011 we were so blessed to only have Greg leave for 2 week periods sporadically through out the year.  I was so spoiled in 2011 that it took me awhile to get back my single mom swagger. 

The princesses were ready to move into their new castle

My Mom got married to her 14 year long significant other (GrandBob) on January 2nd. We were so sad to miss the wedding in Northern Virginia. Instead of immediately going on a honeymoon, she decided to come to Lemoore January 6th to help me unpack for 5 days. Then she headed to Utah to help my sister's family with their new baby for a week and a half.  She is so selfless and I am still in awe that she put such a joyous occasion of a wedding on the backburner to come into the Valdez disaster moving zone. I get a lot of strength from her. She raised me and my two sibblings by herself for 16 years, I can be a single mom for 3 months. I'm so happy she came because I was wiped out from the stress of the holidays, the move, becoming mammoth pregnant, and Greg leaving. We unpacked about 200 of the 236 boxes while she was here. Ellie was attached to GiGi's hip while she was here and wanted nothing to do with anyone else. We are looking forward to her return in May when Teeny Babe makes his debut.

Presenting my newest nephew Stein Ferdinand Braun. Born on January 11, 2012. Weighing in at 8 lbs, 9 oz and 20.5 inches long. He is just precious and we can't wait to meet him in person. I also cannot believe how incredible my sister Betsy looks after having her 5th baby! I will not be looking this vivacious and camera ready after having Teeny Babe. 

This was the most random find from the boxes in our move. What?! Why? Where did they get this?

Our movers were a bit challenged in putting things together. Our table fell apart because they put the wrong screws in it. Our guest bed fell to the ground because they assembled it incorrectly (it fell while my mom was on it too). They didn't set up our washer and dryer. Other minor things are broken too. Unfortunately, Greg has all of our tools in his car in Nevada. We have adapted and are using our fold out tables and the guest bed is on the floor. My neighbor Wade Ashley, was kind enough to come over on one of his last nights with his family before he left for a detachment and set up our washer and dryer. We aren't sweating the small stuff and are thankful that nothing major is broken. The Browns are visiting soon and Matt is saving the day with fixing things. 

Mom gave us one of her curio cabinets so we are excited to finally display (possibly use?!) our China for the first time in 5 and a half years. Not pictured here: Duck tape on the side. Ellie, our resident engineer, learned how to open the doors and was climbing into the cabinet. The duck tape gives us time  to get to the scene of the crime if she decides to strike again.

Penny's welcome to California gift was a new bed. She is enjoying our big yard, lots of sunny spots, and side walks in our new neighborhood. This is Penny's 6th home in her lifetime. 

The girls still managed to have fun in the chaos. Here Ellie was telling us she was checking her map to get around traffic. Side note: I do not make Ellie walk around in a helmet all day. It is now her accessory of choice and will claw you if you try to take it off her.

The girls miss their VA family. Here they are listening to a Charlie Brown Christmas read by their Aunt Jess and Uncle Justin. 

Most afternoons we are heading to the park. There are 3 different parks in about a 5 minute walk from us. 

It has been a lot of work having the girls close together in age but I am so thankful for it. They really enjoy playing with each other every day and are making their new surroundings much less intimidating for each other. 

My life would be so much more difficult and stressful without the Ashley Family living across the street from us. Megan has watched the kids several times while the movers were here, having to sign paperwork, and other time consuming move items. Ava and Emmy are in the same class at preschool so we carpool everyday. Her kids have become the ultimate bribe for my kids to behave during the day so they can play with the Ashley kids in the afternoon. 

One of the many meals the Ashleys have made for us since we have moved here

The kids favorite indoor activity right now is dress up. Brenner is such a good sport having all the girls boss him around and dress him up. They are a riot to watch play together.

The radioflyer biker gang!

We are starting to get into the swing of things and develop a new schedule. Here the girls are enthralled with story time at the library. They are up front in the white and pink long sleeved shirts.

This separation from Daddy has really been hard for Ava. Here I found her asleep with the deployment book I made her in 2010. She mostly misses him at night but luckily, Skype has been a savior for us. I truly believe Skype has been the best thing to happen to the military community in the last few years.

Ellie acts like a big girl now but she still sleeps curled up with her butt in the air like she did when she was a baby.

One of the rewards from this week of good behavior for the girls were manicures and pedicures. The girls went to the store and picked out their own colors. Ellie has finally learned to sit still enough for a pedicure to dry. She is so proud of her purple toes and tells everyone she encounters about them. 

Every afternoon we have craft time. Today we did stamps and this is the first time that stamps did not end up on the wall! We are slowly becoming a civilized household.

With Ava back in school, Ellie and I have our quality time together again. This is on our morning Penny walk. Its hard to believe I only have a couple more months of mornings of just her and I.

Escape to Monterey

Sometimes you just need to escape and watch "The Bachelor" with your best friend. The girls and I were tired of boxes, the girls were tired of just me, and I was tired of the cows and goats scenery of Lemoore. It literally was a "breath of fresh air" going to Monterey and being with our pseudo familiy (Btw- the air quality of "the central valley" where we live is the worst in the country). We got a bonus with Matt's sister Bridgette in town visiting too. One of the funny comments was that Ava considered Bridgette a kid and not an adult because she played with the kids so much, she didn't have a kid herself,  and she looks so youthful. Bridgette was a good sport about it. 

Overlooking the bay right by Matt and Jen's house

The grump a dumps did not want to take pictures

The Harbor Seals were out in full force on the beach. They are my favorite part of Monterey. I love how the hop around on the beach to move. 

Uncle Matt giving Ava a better view of the harbor seals

Ainsley is not at the age where she is taking the sights in and she loves those fishies.

The girls literally ran around the aquarium all afternoon. They were in complete awe from the sights.

Hunting for Nemo

 These two pictures are my favorite from the trip. They have a "wave crashing" room and the girls were just thrilled by it. 

The Browns

The girls were pooped after the aquarium. They were throughly insulted to have their nap interrupted for the farmers market.

Grump a dump with Aunt Jen

Ainsley's personality is in full bloom and we are enthralled with her.

It is just refreshing waking up to this view in their living room everytime we visit. We see many sunrises in Monterey because the girls want to spend every minute they can with the baby

Ainsley is the ultimate entertainment for them

It is not ever lost on me how much joy a baby brings to the world, even to Diva two year olds. Ellie cannot wait to be a big sister and Ava can't wait to put her expertise to use again.

Ainsley took a four hour nap after we left Monterey. She is an official Hurricane Valdez survivor! One of the best parts of being stationed in Lemoore is that we are only 2 and a half hours from the Browns. Greg is itching to visit as soon as he gets back from Top Gun in March. I am sure we will be making another trip before then. 

Cross Country Adventures

I was expecting that this cross country would be one of the worst weeks of 2011. I was pleasantly surprised that it was for the most part painless. Our only causalities were a few DVDs that were scratched beyond repair from being flung around in the van and one of our portable DVD players.  Our  Mazda did breakdown at a gas station in New Mexico but much to our delight Greg was able to fix it himself in thirty minutes. I love being married to a man with an engineering degree! We drove about 600 miles a day (in separate cars) and the girls and dog were so resilient. After about the third day of driving Ellie did start to go on a "wreck and destroy" mission on anything in reach of her car seat.  She would basically put on her own Mardi Gras parade and toss my makeup, boxes of crayons, and crackers to all the passengers in the car (including Penny). It was entertaining to drive behind the van and try to guess what random object she had chosen to launch that time. It should definitely be on everyone's bucket list to do a cross country because the scenery, difference in radio stations, and food is so neat to experience. We are looking forward to the next time we do it when we won't have the time restraints to be able to stop and tour all the things the USA has to offer.  

Both sets of Grandparents gave us one of the best Christmas presents by watching the girls and Penny in Northern Virginia while we packed up our house in Virginia Beach and tied up all the lose ends. As you can tell from some of our boxes here that this was not a good atmosphere for kids under 5. We absolutely would have pulled our hair out if we didn't have such great parents!

Apparently the Navy thought the Valdez family was a big deal and sent a truck bigger than our house. This is Greg doing his signature handstand in front of it. We were able to go back to Northern Virginia earlier and celebrate the holidays because GiGi's hired professional cleaners for us. My old pregnant back was so thankful to be "grubbing" in NOVA rather than "scrubbing" in Va Beach. Thank you GiGi!

First set of mountains- Blue Ridge. We saw a lot of sunrises on our trip since both Greg and I are morning people. The girls even got on the schedule of waking up on their own at 5 am with us.

Mountain Climbing at the rest stop

Work that craziness out of your calves girls!

 

 Stretching at a stop when it was raining outside. Ellie can make any situation into a jungle gym.

One of our other hiccups- a blizzard in St Louis. The girls loved the excuse to use their new umbrellas.

One of Ellie's Mardi Gras parades. Never a dull moment.

This man has been living in a Van!

Driving through Kansas- NOTHING there. Just flat land.

While driving through Kansas for two hours we literally drove past no signs of human settlement till we reached these two random buildings. This was difficult for the pregnant lady!

Thank goodness we were able to take a day and a half off and stop in Pueblo, Colorado to visit our extended Valdez Family. The girls were right at home with Uncle Rick and Aunt Diana who immediately started playing princesses with them and spoiled them rotten.

The girls had the ultimate toddler suite at their house. It was fully equipped with their own TV and all the classic Disney VHS tapes. They also had tons of bears to pick from to play with.

I am not exaggerating when I say we were spoiled rotten. All homecooked meals, Christmas presents, and our own bedrooms. The girls are STILL talking about the chocolate chip Mickey Mouse pancakes that they woke up to. My pancakes tend to look like mickey mouse burn victims.

The girls were thrilled to have a day to be wild and play in the snow. A snowball fight is ensuing here.

 Mini will take you out with her snowballs

 Our amazing Colorado family hosts: Aunt Diana, Uncle Rick, and cousin Kirsten.

 Snowman time

 Penny getting her hardest work out of the year trying to keep up with Miss Tala in the snow

 The family with our Colorado Cowboy Snowman

 Snowball fight!

 Uncle Rick helping Ellie put the final touches on our cowboy

 Hot chocolate time- mmm mmm mmm

 The girls loved their special treat

 One of the highlights of our trip was visiting Grandpa Valdez at the assisted living home. He is such a social guy that he literally took Greg around the facility for about 30 minutes and made sure he introduced him to everyone he knew. Greg is proud to carry on the Naval tradition that Grandpa Valdez started in the Valdez family. 

 Ava sang her Christmas carols that she learned in school for him

 Ellie was all about Aunt Diana and wasn't really interested in the rest of us.

 It was hard to say Goodbye and we wish we could have extended our stay in Colorado. 

Finally reaching California! Again not much around the border of Arizona and California except ONE gas station where gas was $4.10 for unleaded. Ouch. 

We made it California on New Years Eve around 4:00 PM. This is our new house on base. We LOVE it. It is 4 bedrooms, 2 car garage, with a HUGE yard and a park down the block. Greg has only seen the outside of the house since he had to leave for Top Gun on January 2nd. It was a successful adventure for our traveling circus and we are looking forward to what our 2012 West Coast life has in store for us.