The long trek to Alabama

And once again we are back on the road. It doesn't even feel like we got a couple days break in Arizona. The nice part was this time we were in our own car. It was smaller than the Suburban, but having the TV was sooooooo nice! We are in love with our new Honda Pilot. It is the perfect car for our family. I can fit three car seats in the middle row and I can even flip up three more seats in the back or have them folded down for a larger trunk space. 

We drove away saying goodbye to the beautiful cacti of Arizona. About 4 hours into our drive we realized we didn't pack our stroller!! How could we forget a stroller?! It's going to be a long 6 weeks with no stroller, especially with Brayden. Oh well, it's too late now to turn around and get it, we had to press forward. We drove the first day to a town just outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and made lots of stops along the way for food, gas, bathroom, and to just play at a local park to stretch our legs. It always takes 3 times as long when road tripping with little kids with little bladders and little attention spans. Are we there yet?

We then drove the next day to Enid, Oklahoma and planned to stay there two days to meet up with friends and visit our old home town. We often think about our days in Enid, and long for how simple life was back then. Kyle was just in UPT and I was pregnant with Abby. We adopted our dog Sandy there, and met the best neighbors in the entire world there, Dan and Jane Dunn. We planned to meet up with them again this time around and we were so excited to see them. Words cannot express the love we have for this couple. They were great friends, great neighbors, and great grandparents to Abby while we were there. They got to meet Connor and Brayden for the first time on this trip, and see how truly crazy our kids are, hahaha. We went out to eat at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants while we lived there, and of course my kids were as crazy as ever. It made it difficult to talk to them, but they embraced our chaos and helped us out with the kids. Seriously, the world could use more Janes and Dans in it!!! Sadly we only got to see them that first night at dinner since they were going down to Oklahoma City to be with their actual grandsons for the rest of the weekend. I am glad they made time to see us, and we already miss them again. We need to make sure we come out to visit them again soon.

The next day we drove past our old home. It made me a little teary eyed to see our first home. I loved that house, I still love that house. 913 Sunnybrook lane will always have a special place in my heart. Of course a flood of memories rushed through me as I sat in the car parked outside our old house for about 5 minutes just looking at it. It was a great first house, and I loved doing all the little project to it to make it our own. It is weird knowing that someone else lives there now. Once again it just reiterated to me that home is where I am with my family, not necessarily a place.

While Kyle stayed back at our TLF (yes we stayed on base during our couple days there) to take a nap with the kids, I went to meet up with some of my old dance students from Danceworks, and the studio owner, Nikki Cornell for a lunch date. Nikki was sweet enough to set up a lunch date with everyone once she heard we were stopping in Enid. It was so much fun seeing my old students and they were all so sweet to come out and visit with me. I could not believe how big they have all gotten, and it made me feel really old. I guess it has been over 4 years since we last lived there. They gave me the greatest compliment and told me that I am still their favorite ballet teacher that has come through to teach at Danceworks and I was invited to be their guest instructor at their summer intensive this upcoming summer. I would love to come back and teach, I just don't know what I would do with my kids. Kyle won't be able to take any time off since he will be in the F-35 transition course, and I can't bring them out to Oklahoma with me cause who would watch them all day while I teach? Maybe another time when Kyle can take a weeks worth of leave I can go back to Enid and teach during their summer intensive again with my old students...or what's left of them. I am sure by then most of them will have all grown up and left home or that particular area.

March 3rd is Hinamatsuri day in Japan. It is a holiday where they celebrate all the girls in their lives. We celebrated while we were in Japan and it's a tradition and holiday I plan to continue to celebrate from here on out. I dressed Abby up in her little Japanese shirt some of her friends gave her before we left Japan, and I just wanted to cry because it made me reminisce and miss Japan so much. Uhg Japan, why do I love you so much?! This PCS is soooooo hard! I am struggling adapting back to life and culture here in America. Everyone is rude, mean, fat, and selfish. It doesn't help when these special holidays come up and we are not back there celebrating with the Japanese people. No one here in America knows about Hinamatsuri, so we just did a little celebration as a family. We are so grateful for the girls in our lives, especially our little Abby. She is one tough cookie with two brothers and being the only girl with 8 other boy cousins on the Benham side. She can hold her own, is super girly and sassy, but also has the kindest heart. She is a little mommy and is always wanting to help out. She is a great big sister, and my little best friend. I think Heavenly Father knew I needed a girl to bond with as we move time and time again in the Air Force. As hard as it is to leave all my girlfriends back in Misawa, I have the best girlfriend of all that moves with me every time!

Our last stop in Enid was visiting with our good friends Josh and Jodi Fuller. They were stationed at Vance as an instructor pilot while Kyle was going through UPT, and she was the RS president and I was her secretary in the ward. We became great friends and kept in touch with them. When we moved out to Japan they moved out to England. So while we were both overseas we would send each other care packages filled with goodies from our host countries. They are now station back at Vance and he is separating from active duty life to join the Reserves and airlines. We went over to their house for dinner and it was if we picked things up right where we left them off at when we last saw them. They told us stories about life in England and in Europe, and we told them about Japan and Asia. We had a blast catching up and spending time with them and were sad when it came time for us to leave to put our kids down to bed for the night. Speaking of kids, their two kids were so big, and when we last saw them Abby was just a baby. Now we have three kids, a couple more gray hairs and a few more wrinkles. We just love the Fullers and feel so lucky to have them as such great friends.

Time came for us to hit the road again so we could make it to Alabama in time for SOS. We decided that our new car needed a name since after all she is the newest member in our family. So meet Betty White! We are seriously in love with this car, the gas mileage, and all the fun features she has. I am not used to having such a nice car, especially a brand new car. She literally is my new baby. The road trip has been so nice with how smooth she drives and how far she runs without having to fill her up again on gas.

We stopped in Memphis for the night and before going to bed we decided to walk around downtown. We went to Beale street to check out all the lights and night life, as well as hear the combination of Blues and Rock and Roll music. To see more of the city we took a horse drawn carriage which the kids loved! They thought it was Cinderella's carriage and Abby was determined to see Cinderella. We told her she was still at the ball with the prince, and she seemed to be ok with that answer for the reason as to why we didn't see her.

Once again the last leg of our trip was the worst. Our drive from Memphis to Montgomery seemed to take forever. We stopped to eat at Chick Fil A since my kids are obsessed, and decided to just keep pushing with as little breaks as possible. When we arrived to Montgomery and to our apartment complex that we were going to stay at for the next 6 weeks, I said a silent prayer thanking Heavenly Father for helping us arrive safely, and for finally making it. I don't know how much more I could take with my kids in the car constantly nagging and whining. I also don't know how people used to do road trips without a TV in the car. That rear entertainment system was a lifesaver for us! Right now all I want to do is sleep and not think about getting in the car again with my kids. Tomorrow we will have to check Kyle in for his training, get all settled in our new 6 week home, and get familiar with the Montgomery area. Home, sweet home, Alabama!