More joys of home leave

My in-laws' house is undergoing a lot of work to fix hurricane and flood damage. We knew when we got here that was going to be the case. Pretty much the entire downstairs was supposed to be getting new floors this week, so we decided to leave Monday to visit the Galveston County relatives. We stayed in a Texas City hotel Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
But the smell of the glue used to install bamboo planks -- actually, I think it's the sealer that goes down before the glue -- is so horrendous that we decided to stay in a hotel a few more days. So now we're in another hotel, although this one is back in Houston.
You try keeping an 8-week-old quiet so he doesn't disturb people in adjoining rooms. Nope, not much fun.

Well, babies DO require special handling

I took this photo of Owen on Tuesday as we waited for my father-in-law to bring the car to load our three 50-pound suitcases, stroller and three heavy carry-ons.
Normally in the Foreign Service, even babies get their seats on the plane paid for. This makes moms' lives much easier, obviously, but it's also a safety issue.
However, because this trip is for home leave and Owen's never been to post, he didn't qualify for a home leave ticket. That meant him flying as a lap baby and gate checking his stroller and car seat. Thus the special handling tags, which means those items get brought to the gate instead of to baggage claim.

Home leave's finally for real

It was such a production to get all the arrangements made for Kevin to leave Port of Spain, I wasn't convinced we'd ever get to go on home leave. But just as planned, Laura, Owen and I are leaving D.C. for Houston on Tuesday morning, and Kevin will be flying up Wednesday. We'll be in and around Space City USA until Aug. 17, when we'll return to D.C. for Kevin to start training for his job in Milan.
So, if you're down that way, drop us a line so we can get together. Otherwise we'll expect a visit in D.C. sometime between August and June.

Laura puts Owen in his place

Luckily I was there to take a photo.

Owen as a swimsuit model

It's from L.L. Bean's 2009 clearance rack collection.

Celebrating America through socks

I'm not one for holiday-themed clothing, but our friend Brenda gave Owen these socks, and they're way cool.
Laura and I have been reviewing the words of The Star Spangled Banner. My favorite part is the end of all four verses: the land of the free and the home of the brave.
We're oh so blessed to call it home even if we don't live here all the time. We need to be just as thankful.

The waiting game

In the Foreign Service there are what are called travel orders. They list everything the employee is entitled to on each move as well as who is entitled (family members' airfare, for example). We're waiting for them now. Well, not right this minute because today's a federal holiday.
Our belongings will be packed out of Port of Spain next week, but we also need airline tickets for home leave. The orders affect both of those, too.
And Owen's and my medical clearances are at various stages, which needs to happen even though we're not going back to Port of Spain.