June 2019

June was a month full of changes. The biggest news was that we got selected for the on-base house at Lejeune. Not having to fart around with buying a house in Jacksonville is a huge weight lifted. Damon went down for the weekend and was able to meet with the housing office lady and saw the house that we will be getting. He also was able to see the school Owen will be going to and also the daycare that Milton is on the wait list for. Milton’s school says there is availability in August for a half-day 3-day per week program. We were even able to schedule the move-in appointment for August 5 and then having our household goods delivered on August 6. That’s a record for a smooth PCS. We spent the first half of the month with my mom in Bethesda and then on June 15 we flew out to Wyoming. Milton loves my mom’s back yard. He would stay out there all day and be so happy wearing his hat and playing in the dirt. Owen was very busy with having his soccer games, graduation ceremony, piano recital, and final swimming lessons. As much as it surprises me to say, by these last games Owen was at for soccer there was an improvement for all the kids playing and seeming to get the ball going in the general direction of the goal. Owen’s piano recital was adorable. The teacher has a ton of students! I had a bit of a scramble to get Owen a white shirt and he just wore his dark jeans. It was a long time to wait his turn, but he did great sitting with the other students until it was his turn. He played his piece perfectly and then my favorite part was he got up and did a huge bow to the audience. This kid loves to perform. My friend Khush came to see Owen’s performance too with her boys. My mom ended up out on the playground with the younger boys since sitting is not their strength. After the recital Khush and family came over for a cookout at my mom’s house. Owen’s graduation was also adorable with all the kids wearing graduation robes (at a $20 cost). They did a song as well and we had a party in their classroom after. Owen’s first teacher Ms. Ouaefa came to the graduation too which was wonderful to see her. She first met Owen when he was Milton’s age so seeing her with both Owen and Milton showed how much Owen has grown since he has been at Ayrlawn. Milton also had his final speech therapy appointment and his teacher said he made a ton of progress since she has been working with him. His favorite words are come, up, and no. When he says come he will hold out his hand which is very hard to not follow his adorableness. His vocabulary also includes juice, hot dog, Owen, baba (for grandma), Rory, and water. In Wyoming both of the kids are sleeping at Rod and Ileene’s house and having so much fun. Their back yard is also an adventure for Milton. The kids are really into trailers this summer so we are finding all sorts of toys that have trailers. The best toy is the ride-on tractor that Owen is very good at driving around. Milton loves to ride on it too. Rod put together a hitch so that Owen can pull Milton with Milton on his ride-on scooper. Damon had a wonderful June with working on his orchard in the back yard. More on that project is in the Orchard 2019 post.