Hurry Up & Wait

This is a sensation that will become very familiar to us in the next few weeks. As this is also the Sicilian attitude towards driving and lines, it will most likely stay with us for the next few years!

We flew out of Nofolk Navy Base on Sunday, June 24th. Our flight stopped in Shannon, Ireland at 2 in the morning and Rota, Spain a few hours later. We met another Sigonella-bound family with 2 children (Hi, Bigby's!!), with whom we have become good friends. We also flew with an old friend of ours from New Jersey, Dan Grippo, who was headed further afield than us!

We deplaned in the early afternoon on Monday, in the midst of scirocco winds. It felt like being inside a hair dryer!

For some reason, perhaps the heat, jet lag seems to hit you like a ton of bricks here. We were wide awake most of Monday, couldn't sleep at all that night, and didn't quite wake up until noon. This lag didn't let up for weeks - a warning to any visitors!

Commence the Hotels

Once our worldly possessions had been boxed, shipped (both fast and slow) and stored away, we started what would become 3 weeks of hotel living. Even Beatrice and Wylie got tired of hotel life after awhile. (How does Lindsay Lohan do it?) I think our first hotel was the best, with hot breakfasts and a great pool, and close to Mimi and all the stuff we still had to do in Portsmouth.

A perk of staying in Norfolk, prior to our departure for Sicily, was the chance to have dinner with the Garners. Geoff had just begun his tour in Iraq, but Mary, Maddie and Adele met us one evening. Beatrice even got to sleepover before we left!

A Moment of Quiet, please

Beatrice is more distraught at the thought of losing our white car than anything else. The white Subaru is hers, she has been driving around in its backseat since we bought it when she was 4 months old. Never mind the shiny minivan of a few years ago or the nice leather seats of the new Subaru. Sitting on the goldfish-encrusted backseat, with its uneven speakers and window that only the driver can operate...nirvana!

Of course, we know it will be in good hands in Lincoln, and that we can see it and drive it every time we come home.

But how will anything we drive after this compare?!

End-of-the-school-year blitz!

So much to do, so little time! In addition to the usual end-of-school year squashed calendar, we added not one but 3 pack outs. Beatrice celebrated the start of double-digits with a literary-inspired party (below left). Wylie and I attended the annual Mother-Son Gulls game (below right). Beatrice and Wylie also sang in NYC at the St Bart's Children's Chorister Festival.

Arrivederci, Rhode Island!

As a Navy family, living anywhere for three years seems like a lifetime. We made so many friends, it seemed as though we'd been living there far longer. Of course, we were also lucky to live so close to family for those three years, and we were able to say "see you soon" to Mimi, JG & PopPop, and Auntie Boo and Anand.

We were extremely lucky to celebrate Mimi's 60th birthday with her. The photos above are from her party!

First, let's go back

As Joe was our reason for staying in Rhode Island a third year, we'll start with him.
On June 15th, Joe received his MA in Strategy & Policy from the Naval War College. It was a beautiful day on the green below the College and if the wait for his name to come up was a bit boring, the view of the Jamestown Bridge was beautiful.