Officially over the hump! I must say that it has gone fairly quickly the last few weeks. The guys had their "halfway" celebration the first week of March, us wives had ours the weekend of the 8th. I think ours was better!



The logistics officer for the unit who stayed behind organized a great tour for us down at Station Seattle on Puget Sound. It was great. We got a tour of the Polar Star, and icebreaker that has been to Antartica. It was HUGE. I even got to try the coffee....if it is the same coffee Eric drinks down in Cuba, I am sending him so good stuff ASAP ;) There were 11 wives and 5 children. Lt. Roe did a great job with all the kiddos. Clair had the first diaper change ever on the flight deck of the Polar Star. I was happy to discover the firemen's hats down below. Of course no tour of a CG Station would be complete without a trip to the exchange. For those of you that do not know, this is a great place to get souvenirs, clothing, snacks...oh, and alcohol for fairly cheap prices. And since I had been peed on by my daughter, I HAD to buy a new t-shirt!



Clair bowled for the first time. She loves bowling, doesn't like to wait her turn. She also thought it would be fun to tour the lanes, and took off running in front of probably 8 lanes before I caught up to her! She scored a 74! I was very proud.



Eric and I get to talk pretty much everyday, which has it's ups and downs. He had to get a new laptop, and his new one has a better microphone/camera on it. So I can actually hear his voice. It is so nice to talk to him. The other night he read Clair Goodnight Moon. They had their St. Patrick's Day celebration this weekend. I was happy to hear that he put his hat and glasses I sent him (as a joke) to good use!



As Homecoming comes closer I am starting to get a little nervous. It sounds silly, but he will be gone for over six months. That is a long time. I have changed quite a bit in that time, as he has also. And well Clair, she is a whole other child.



I am in charge of our "Final Fling" in May before the guys get home. Well part of our weekend involves a dance lesson. Which I have been taking since Eric left. Well....it is an exotic dance class for those that don't know. So I had posted the details about it on this site. And apparently someone who doesn't know me yet saw it and asked her husband, who in turn asked Eric whether it was true or not. Someone asked Eric if I was really an exotic dancer! So I had to post a clarification that I am just taking a dance/aerobic class. (PS...there is no pole.)



We are taking things a day at a time. I still have occasional moments where I want to cry my eyes out. I also have moments that I can't control my laughter. Once again, if it weren't for my Coastie Wives Club I don't think this would have been as tolerable as it has been. They are the greatest gift I have gotten out of this experience.



I just want to say congratulations to Rachel and Mike, who had Andrew almost two weeks ago. Mike is in Eric's unit and was on his way home when Andrew joined us in this world. Also, congratulations to our sister and brother-in-law Kirsten and Mimy! They welcomed Roy on March 16th!