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Thursday November 15th (Cont)

Our trip to Florida didn't end after the wedding. We spent a day at Atlantic Beach and then next we headed down to Crystal River to swim with the Manatee!
We spent two whole days with 18 cousins (and honorary cousins) swimming near the natural springs in the river with the Manatee who migrate there for the winter. Every one of us got to pet a manatee and have our picture taken with one. They are such gentle giants and really not afraid of people at all! It was an amazing experiance and one we won't soon forget
After our trip to Crystal River we headed back to Ocala where Doug's parents live to see Millie settled in her new home. She will be staying with her Gramma and Grampa Reckamp while were overseas. We were very sad to say goodbye but we know it's for the best and she's in good hands.
The trip was a nice break for us all. It was great to be able to forget about all that has been going on in the world the last couple of months even for just a few days. But now it's back to the grindstone. The kids are back in school, Doug is back to working 14 hour days again, and I have a Christmas to pull together, room Mom duties to attend to, and a couple of moves to plan! What a glamorous life we lead!

Congratulations to our friends Peggy and Russ on the birth of their new Daughter Emily Grace (Love the name!) Way to go you guys! I can't wait to meet her!

Sunday November 25th

This year we spent Thanksgiving in Northern Virginia (DC area) with my parents, sister and nephews. Thanksgiving was held at my sisters new house where her normally huge kitchen shrank with the addition of eight new people! It was a tight fit but worth it to enjoy all the great food and company! The kids stayed out of the way that morning by going on long walks and collecting leaves of different shapes and sizes that we used to make placemats. Susan did a great job cooking her first ever Turkey! We did break one longstanding family tradition. This year the baton (or in this case the electric powered knife) was passed from my Father (The traditional turkey carver) to Doug. We're all very proud of Doug and the wonderful job he did. Best wishes to Dad on your retirement from this special job! After dinner we played a couple of rounds of pictionary which was interesting as the players ranged in age from 3-56!

The days after Thanksgiving were filled with the usual Christmas shopping trips, ballgames in the leaves and leftover turkey consumption. Since we were in the DC area we took a trip downtown to see the Pentagon . The destruction was massive, but the repairs seem to be moving along. It was very moving to see the makeshift memorials on the hill above the Pentagon and something that the children and I will not soon forget. This Thanksgiving I am truly thankful for the safety of my family and the pride that I have in this great country and it's amazing people.

Our trip was capped off with a trip to the local roller rink for my Nephew Robbie's belated birthday party. I am a decent skater but it's been a long time (sometime in the eighties I think) since I've been to a roller rink (not a lot has changed except that people "blade" now). It's just a little bit harder for me to stay on my feet these days while pulling along a three year old (Em)who thinks it's fun to fall, and a six year old (Daniel) who looks like he's walking on Jello! After many, MANY falls and bruises I was finally sidelined by a twisted ankle that swelled up so fast it was hard to get my skate off. The real skating stars of our family were Katie and my nephew Robbie. My Mom, Susan, and my nephew Andrew didn't do so bad either. The rest of us got really good at the video games in the lobby!

I hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday and took some time to enjoy the things that we really should be thankful for! Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday November 30th

A Couple of days ago Doug spoke to our detailer (Navy career couselor/ job finder) and was told that we would be getting orders to England instead of Holland. We were thrown for a loop but not too upset. I thought about writing an update that night but I decided to wait until we had actual paper orders and not just verbal confirmation. Turns out that was a good thing because yesterday we recieved actual paper orders that say we're going to Holland! There's been a lot of gear switching but the jist of everything is that we will be leaving for Holland directly after Christmas and will probably be celebrating New Years in Amsterdam! The day we "found out" we were moving to England I had just finished printing out 150 family Christmas letters for our Christmas cards. Instead of doing them all over I decided to just print out an extra paragraph on some labels and add them to the letters. Now I guess I'll have to add some more to each letter to explain the recent change of events. I apologize in advance for any difficulty you may have reading our Family newsletter in this years Christmas card. But just think, if you think its difficult to keep track of things while reading a Christmas newsletter...Just imagine what it must be like to be living it! I have no doubt that our time in Holland and our other travels throughout Europe will be worth the hassel, but the next few weeks are going to be crazy!
On the lighter side of things.... The kids and I (Doug is underwater) went to see the official
(cont.)