Adrienne's Visit, Softball, and Pre-Deployment Preparations

Two weekends ago, Jordan went on a TDY back to Meridian, MS to pick up a jet that had maintenance done. He flew back on a commercial jet, and then flew the plane back to Mildenhall with his crew. They spent three days enjoying the conveniences of Wal-Mart, a shopping mall, and chain restaurants. He bought himself some Croc's to wear in the desert, and he came back with three new pairs of shoes for me! :) (One pair of Rainbow sandals to replace the ones Cooper ate) He also brought back multiple packs of Big League Chew, so that we were well-stocked for our softball tournament!

While Jordan was gone, our good friend Adrienne stopped through Mildenhall on her way home from her deployment. Adrienne went through pilot training with Jordan, and I was so happy to see her-even if it was only for an hour or two.

Brian, Adrienne, and me at the Galaxy Club on base.

Last weekend, we played in the regional softball tournament at RAF Fairford, an American base near Oxford. Surprisingly, our team played really well! We showed up to each game with mis-matched uniforms, most of us wearing shorts, appearing unprepared for the competition we faced. The other teams were pretty intimidating, all wearing long pants and fancy matching uniforms, carrying bats worth more than all of ours combined. Oh, and did I mention that we were the only team with women on the roster??

On Friday, our team did terrible in the preliminary games, which made us the number six (last place) seed in the tournament. Saturday morning, we lost our first game, and then battled back and won the second and third games. On Sunday, we won our first three games, which put us in the championships! Unfortunately, we lost the last game, but I am so proud that we were able to make it that far! We got second place medals and a trophy for our accomplishments.

Jordan was on fire at the plate the entire weekend. He was so great that I over heard a coach from another team tell the photographer, "keep your camera on this guy, he's a stud!" I couldn't agree more. :) I struggled through a couple of games, but then started trying to place the ball on different sides of the field. I got several RBI's, and was on base more times over the weekend than I had been on all season! I even had a close play at the plate, and slid home to score the winning run on our last game before the championships!! I couldn't have been more happy. We both came home from the weekend battered, bruised, scraped, and incredibly sore, but it was totally worth it.

Before our first game Sunday morning.

Watching the closing ceremony.

2nd Place!
Classic team picture.

This weekend Jordan and I are just enjoying each other's company. He leaves for his deployment next week, so we're trying to soak up as much "us" time as possible. Yesterday was a goal day for him, and I took the day off. We spent the day being productive by doing yard work, cleaning out our cars, doing laundry, sewing patches on his uniforms, etc. We had lunch at the Bell, and then went to dinner at our friends Daniel and Kirstie's house and played games until late last night.

Today, we had french toast and coffee out in the back garden. It looks like it is going to be another beautiful day. Cooper even got his own plate of scrambled eggs, which he gobbled up right away! We are getting ready to go to the BX to buy a new computer and a camera for Jordan to take to the desert with him. Somehow, we just don't think that his tattered old computer from the Academy is going to make it. We plan to chat via Skype, and I am hoping that he will take lots of pictures to show me what things are like over there. Tonight, we are planning on going out to dinner in Bury St. Edmunds, and then maybe watching a movie at home.

I'm not looking forward to Jordan being gone at all. I know I will do just fine on my own, but it can get kind of lonely here sometimes. My plan is to just keep busy as much as I can. Thankfully, my mom will be coming to visit a couple weeks after he leaves! She will be here for about a month, so I am really excited to have so much time to spend one-on-one with her.

On to Regionals!

Just a quick post before I leave for work...

As many of you know, Jordan and I have been playing softball for his squadron's team. Well, we became base champions, and this weekend we're headed to the regional tournament at RAF Fairford! A picture of Jordan at bat made the base website, only they got his name wrong. His nickname on his jersey says "Kemper" (mine says "Lexilicious"), and they confused him with someone who actually has the last name Kemper. Here is the link: http://www.mildenhall.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123162293

Jordan left at about 5 AM to make it in time for our first game, and I will probably ride either a train or bus down tonight or early tomorrow morning. I'll let you know how it all works out...

Lee's Visit

Last weekend, one of our good friends from Jordan's pilot training class stopped in Mildenhall on his way home from the desert. Even though his crew was only in town for 18 hours, the guys had their hopes set on making it down to London. After they checked into their hotel rooms, we met up for lunch at a pub within walking distance from the base. Jordan and I both played chauffeur, and we drove the group of seven to Cambridge and then caught the train into the city.

It was drizzling all day, but we still managed to have a good time. During this whirlwind trip we were able to see quite a few attractions, including: the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St. James Park, and Buckingham, along with several stops at various pubs along the way. It is always so much fun to see a familiar face, and we were so happy to have had the opportunity to hang out with Lee, his brother, and the rest of their crew.

Jordan & Lee at the Bird in Hand Pub in Mildenhall

This is something you don't see everyday... This was inside a pub called "Hung, Drawn, and Quartered", located across from the Tower of London, where the worst criminals were imprisoned, tortured, or executed. To be hanged, drawn, and quartered was said to be worse than murder itself.

Part of the Tower of London.
Tower Bridge

Big Ben, from a different angle this time :0)

Not the best picture, but I thought it was kinda funny.
Jordan and Lee navigating on the tube.

Seeking shelter from the rain with a pint.

This one cracks me up!

One of the guards outside of Buckingham Palace.

Anniversary Gifts

For our first anniversary, Jordan and I both gave one another the traditional gift made of paper. As it turns out, we both gave each other tickets to different events! I gave Jordan tickets to a pre-season football (soccer) match, and he gave me tickets to go see Wicked in London!

We have been trying to decide which premier league team was going to be "ours" since we received this assignment a year ago in June. Rooting for Chelsea is like rooting for the Yankees (says my husband), and believe me, there are reasons for every other team out there besides our beloved Arsenal. ;) During our first train ride down to London, we went right past Emirates Stadium, which is where Arsenal plays. So we decided it was meant to be.

I bought tickets for a pre-season friendly match on July 18th at Underhill Stadium. Arsenal was playing Barnet at their small stadium in north London. Basically, watching this game was like seeing a minor league baseball team (Barnet) play a major league baseball team (Arsenal). Our seats were on the top row, but in this stadium, that's only about 10 rows high! It was so cool to experience our first match in such a small venue.

Go Gunners!

That smile lets me know I've given him a good gift :)

Here we are in our new kits!

The lineup

The following weekend we drove down to Epping, the Northern-most tube stop, and rode down to Leicester Square. We had lunch, and then went to see Wicked. I have been dying to see this play for a while now, so I was really excited! If you're not familiar with it, the show is basically a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, only it's told from the wicked witch's point of view. It was an amazing show, and I couldn't believe how elaborate the costumes were! After the show, we walked around London for a while, taking in some of the sites, and then found a yummy little Thai restaurant for dinner.

The weather was beautiful that day, so we took advantage and declared it a top-down day!

Me at the tube station in Epping.

This is where we picked up our tickets.

Walking up to the theatre. :)