PA Bound!

My husband is so amazingly good to me.  Did you know that?  This year, he found himself being deployed right before all of our good stuff.  Would you like to see a list of what he's going to miss this year?

1.  Halloween

2.  My Birthday (this is the one that matters to this particular post)

3.  Thanksgiving

4.  Christmas (& Christmas Eve.  That's a big deal around here too.)

5.  New Years (& New Years Eve... not that much of a big deal)

6.  Valentine's Day

7.  Marshall's Birthday

8.  Amelia's Birthday

9.  Easter

10.  Abby's Birthday

11.  Our Anniversary

Let's not forget Columbus Day weekend, Veterans Day weekend, MLK birthday and Presidents Day.  These holidays usually involve some amount of time off for Jeremy and we love spending the time together.

Despite all that he was going to miss, before he left, he was thinking of ways to make me happy.  For my birthday this year, he gave the kids and I tickets back to Yuma to visit our friends there.  It was the BEST GIFT EVER!!!  We chose to fly in and out of Harrisburg so that family could help us out with the dog sitting (Thank you Aunt Lorry and Grandma Fern!) and so that we could spend Thanksgiving with them on our way back.  The day after my actual birthday, we loaded up the Honda with the things we would need for 2.5 weeks in AZ/CA and 1 week in PA.  We got in late on the 6th.  Yes, election day.  What better thing to listen to for an 8 hour drive than election coverage?

I try not to get too political.  Keep my views to myself... but I just can't help it.  I'm flabbergasted.

So I'll just let this picture say it for me.  It says it oh so well!

We flew out of PA on the 8th.  That leaves the 7th.

I wanted to take my sweet little niece Sarah to Build A Bear Workshop for her 3rd birthday.  She shares a birthday with the USMC, so we were a few days early, but as is my habit, I was traveling over her actual birthday.  I was in AZ for her birth, but then in Thailand for her 1st and 2nd birthdays.  Actually, as it happened, I never had a November 10th of 2010.  We got on a plane just before midnight on the 9th and crossed the international date line, skipping to November 11.
So I guess she just turned 2 for me!

 So COLD in Pennsylvania!

Our first taste of the holiday season.

Such a pretty tree and I love this mall.  It's the one near where I went to college and has all these happy memories for me.  We were in just a bit of a hurry as the weather was supposed to get bad in the early afternoon, so I didn't get to do or see as much as I probably would have, but it was nice to go back.

Next time, we'll have to take the kids to the Sugar Bowl, (But only because Mama Mia's is no longer open!) right Lor?

Sarah chose a cute little Clarice Reindeer from the Rudolph story.

When she was here in August, she carried Abby's Rudolph around with her nonstop.

Abby has since sent Rudolph on to live with Sarah and Clarice.

It took a little bit of prodding, but Sarah was willing to push down the pedal that makes the machine blow the stuffing into the toy.

She chose a little heart to go inside...

Gave it a smooch...

And pushed it right in!

When Clarice was all finished, she took her over to the grooming station and got her looking all spiffy.

Happiest of birthdays, Sweet Sarah!