The Adventure Continues...

Well, after a bit of a false start earlier this year, I really am dusting off this blog...and here's why:

 

So, this happened yesterday!

After four years stateside, the itch grew too powerful and Superman has headed off into the wild blue yonder again!  My blogging is a great way for him to feel like he knows what's going on back here in the wilds of Eastern Washington.   So, to catch you up...my kids aren't "kids" any more:  Charming is 25, Valiant is 20, and Buttercup is fast approaching 18...it will be a bit of a balancing act for me, sharing the fun bits without compromising any of the kids' privacy, but, hey, it should be a piece of cake, right? 

2 Gorilla boxes and 2 huge bags...

A question:  If you knew you had to pack everything you'd possibly need for the next four and half months (minimum!) before you'd be able to restock anything, would you be able to fit it into these boxes and suitcases?  Where he is going is pretty remote...no FPO/APO service, so anything he wanted had to come with him.  We're talking clothes, gym clothes, toiletries, bug spray, sheets, blankets, towels, five months of nutrition shakes, shoes...even a shower curtain.  Frankly, I was amazed how little Superman took...I've been trying to figure out how little I could get away with...I'm pretty certain I'd need another Gorilla box at least.

Your entire life in two boxes 32" x 14" x 12"

 The Gorilla boxes are a terrific way to get a lot of stuff safely from here to there--a friend of our ordered them from the PX at Fairchild for us, as they're standard in the military--hard-sided, but light...I found the suitcases on QVC, of all places, and they collapse down to the size of a college textbook (with the wheels inside), so they will require little to no space to store.  This isn't our first time doing this, so a lot of thought went into how to get all this stuff packed.  Still, you're looking at $1200+ in luggage fees. 


The best part, though?  I just got word from Superman that all of his luggage joined him at his final destination!!!


Anyway, there you have it...this is what is new this week in the Nagle5 world... stay tuned...it's never dull around here...

Did you miss me?

We put Superman on a plane yesterday (Friday) at noon PDT and he hasn't yet arrived back at work (right now it is 9:00 p.m. PDT the next day!).  (How is that for some serious travel time?)  It has been a whirlwind two weeks and, I must say, the best surprise I didn't mess up. (There were times I came so close to spilling the beans, it got to the point that I just stopped calling people.)  We had so much fun with Superman and Superman had a great time being home.  We didn't do anything special.  Superman just wanted to hang out at home and do "home" things.  We hit our favorite restaurants (we hit one of them twice!), we did projects around the house, and we just goofed off. 

Even though there was work to be done and we seemed to be busy all the time, it felt like the most relaxing vacation ever. 

We managed to get all of Superman's various appointments scheduled for one day so he could get those out of the way and out of his mind.  Yes, you should picture me trying to make all these appointments without my children hearing me...I was quite the covert operator.   He and the kids even worked with Mr. R. for a few days of the vacation...they had ball and Mr. R needed the help. 

So, since he's been traveling back to work, we've been settling back in at home.  We even got a surprise package shipped off to Superman right after his plane took off, so he'll be getting the package right when he settles in.  The kids have the next week and a half to savor summer and then school will begin in earnest (we've been keeping up with math and typing and a little spelling all summer long, so it won't be horrible). 
I've been getting caught up on laundry and cleaning.  (I only put my finger in the proverbial dike during the vacation.)  I've been catching up on some blogs (I've missed reading them) and I've been getting ready to post here again.  So much has been going on and I have so much to share with you (hint:  I asked Superman to teach me to use all his 'big man' power tools and he even bought me my own 'impact driver').  

I guess we're finally learning how to be the family of an overseas contractor and that feels good.  We're excited to see what the next six months brings us.

UPDATED:  Superman's plane got in early (although, I did have to wonder how 1/2 hour really helped after 30+ hours of travel).  Unfortunately, his luggage didn't get in at all.  Yep, you read that correctly.  Superman's luggage (translation: his clothes!) is lost somewhere between Eastern Washington and the Middle East.  So far, they know it didn't make it on the plane in London (duh!), so now they have to figure out if it even made it to London.  Fun times.