An Acronym for Everything

So this morning as we were eating breakfast at 7:30 Dean mentioned that their unit was traveling to Wilmington, NC to see the battleship North Carolina, about an hour away. It is called a "Staff Ride", basically a field trip to foster camaraderie. I didn't have anything going on today, other than feeding the missionaries this evening, so I asked if I could tag along, which he said would be fine. I managed to get showered and get the boys ready and to the base just after 8:30. Civilians can't ride in the "GOVs" (government-owned vehicles), so he rode with me, Kyler and Tristan in our "POV" (privately-owned vehicle). Before we left I asked in jest if he would be embarrassed to be seen with me since I still have a bit of post-baby weight to lose. He laughed and said he had just learned a new term, a "CD". That would be a "chubby dependant".

In the first picture, Kyler had his "sword" - actually a honing thing for knives, not sharp or anything, and was waiting for a victim to come out of the back door at Dean's work as we waited for everyone to be ready to go. Then Kyler moved on to table dancing in the next picture, as Dean conducted some official business on the phone while a computer dude was working in his office. If you're concerned, Dean is in a "no cover" (hat) zone there. When they are outside they are required to wear cover when in uniform, but they pass from one part of the building outside then inside again to another part of the building... and don't have to wear cover or salute there, since they go back and forth all day... Kyler did actually poke the Sergeant First Class with his "sword" (who took it in stride), at which point Dean confiscated it.

Here are Kyler and Dean on the deck of the USS North Carolina.

And Tristan was an angel the whole time! Afterward we all ate at Sticky Fingers, a barbecue joint. I had a potato stuffed with pulled pork and topped with melted cheese - yum! Dean rode back with the soldiers; I had to rush home to meet Hunter from the bus.

"Thank You"

For the first time in memory yesterday, Hunter thanked me for making a yummy dinner. He is the pickier of the two boys and rarely gives compliments, at least to me. His list of dislikes includes tomatoes - he surely gets that from me, which I read in the newspaper a few years ago that "they" have found a gene for liking or hating tomatoes; mushrooms - definitely at the top; and meat - unless it's a burger, hot dog, sauage, chicken nuggets, etc. He thinks he's crafty, of coure, and recently he came in for Sunday dinner. I told him his plate was in the kitchen, but there seemed to be a delay in his getting to the dining room. I knew to have a look and sure enough the meat was missing from his plate, pot roast if I remember right. We gave him a small portion to begin with, but he still thought it was a good idea to chuck it in the trash. I had him retrieve it...

Anyway, I made my favorite quick meal last night. Dean was out with the missionaries and had already eaten leftovers. So I love to throw a can of refried beans in the microwave (beans removed from the can, of course), some corn tortillas in the toaster oven, and cook some eggs on the stove top. Smear the beans on the warm tortillas, top with egg, cheddar cheese, and some El Pato, salsa, enchilada sauce or whatever I have on hand for the mature palates, and we have what I call "Huevos Becky", in five minutes. We ate that a lot while Dean was gone earlier in the year. It's terribly healthy, in my opinion, gluten free - which I've been working on better of late, we all love it, and I always have those things on hand. A variation is "Mexican Hamburgers": omit the egg and top the beans with a (cooked) hamburger patty (cheese, lettuce, onion, tomato as desired), serve with your favorite papas (potatoes). A flour tortilla may be used, though I have moved away from them (white flour and shortening/lard - nothing healthy there).

Tards no more

Until very recently Kyler was unable to say the "k" sound. He couldn't really even say his own name. When people would ask what his name was, he would always say "Tyler, with a tay". I think my mom worked on it with him while she was here, or at least that's the story Hunter tells. Kyler said some funny things all this time, such as "tards" for cards. It was cute, but I guess he's growing up - he turned 4 yesterday after all. He never really knows how old he is, perhaps because he doesn't know what that means. For the longest time when people asked him how old he was he would say "six and a half". That was long before Hunter was ever six and a half, so I'm not sure where he got that. Now when people ask him, he asks me.

So yesterday morning we told him it was his birthday, and he said "I know". He always "knows". So I took him to Dean at work while I did a little shopping to get him a few things, and he and I made a birthday cake for him. I used a fun pan set that Penny gave me with which you can make a filled cake. I had pudding mix on hand, so that's what I used. I had to use two cake mixes to have enough batter for all the layers. I didn't realize that I was nearly out of powdered sugar, so I had to borrow some from Kristi to make the frosting - thanks! Kyler put the candles on the cake himself, so there are a few extra. Hunter has uncontrollable urges to blow out candles, so I had to hold him back so Kyler would have a chance.

Mysterious Ways

A hint or two had been dropped lately about Dean possibly getting a new calling. He's been a counselor in the Elder's Quorum in our ward. So on Saturday night he got a phone call wanting him to be early at church to meet with a stake guy. He was called to be the executive secretary to the bishop, which he actually thought might be what was coming. So when he was to be set apart, the bishop told us that for months Dean's name came to mind when he thought about needing to call someone to that, as the former one is now deployed. But the bishop also knew that Dean was scheduled to be deployed in October, so he didn't understand how it could be Dean. Then a while back we were chatting with the bishop and mentioned the debacle of army combatives and Dean's knee injury and how it could potentially keep him from being deployed. So on Sunday the bishop said that when we were chatting he had to subdue the urge to grin from ear to ear and hope he wasn't deployed. He said that clearly the Lord knew that that was going to happen (didn't cause it, but knew it was coming) and that was why he kept coming to mind as the person to fill the spot, even when it made no sense.

AND, after being most impressed with Bro's iPhone when we saw him at his wedding, Dean decided he had to have one as well. After all, he wanted to organize his own calendar and work schedule (he has something different going on every day), and be able to access his work email when the network is down at the office, or when he's sitting around waiting for an appointment or whatever... He got the iPhone just a few days before the calling. It was definitely meant to be. Now he can keep track of the bishop's schedule and all that as well and be efficient.