He's Coming Home EARLY!!!

Let me start at the beginning...Jordan was originally supposed to come home on the 24th, and then a few weeks ago, the date got pushed back to the 31st. We were both really disappointed, but knew that we just had to make the best of it. Then, out of the blue I got a phone call from Jordan while at work on Wednesday. He told me that there was a possibility that he might be coming home early. I figured maybe a day or two, but then he told me that if all goes as planned, he'll be home THIS SUNDAY!!!!

It's hard to find the words to describe how excited I am. I've had this big, goofy grin on my face ever since he told me the news! I've got a long list of things to do before he gets home tomorrow... most of it involving cleaning. Suddenly two weekends of house work have been smooshed into one day...today. (I'm not complaining, I promise!!) We'll see how much I get done. I'm sure he won't mind if everything isn't absolutely perfect, but I'm going to do my best! haha

Mom's Visit

Well, it's hard to believe that an entire month flew by so quickly! It's funny to tell some people that my mom came to visit for a month. They often look at me like I'm crazy and say things like, "an entire month?!" But I truly enjoyed every minute of her company. It was just nice to come home from work and relax, cook and eat dinner with someone, and just have someone (other than the Cooper dog) to talk to. We payed several visits to Cooper's favorite place in the world-the heath, went to our first English wedding, went for a day out to Orford Castle, and even made it on a long-weekend trip up to Edinburgh!

I don't know why we don't bring along a camera more often when we go to the heath. I always love the pictures we take there, and it's one of our favorite places to unwind. Not to mention, Cooper smiles from ear to ear each time he gets to run around there and play with other doggie friends.

It was a little windy.

The first weekend my mom was here, we were invited to a wedding! Michael, Leslie's son and the chef at the bell, and his fiance Claire (who works the day shift) were getting married. It was a beautiful wedding, taking place in an beautiful 12th century church in a nearby town called Moulton. We had a wonderful time at both the wedding and the reception later that night.

Here is a picture of the church that I downloaded off the internet:
The entire Berry clan

<3

The following weekend, my mom and I went for a drive to the coastal town of Orford. We stopped for lunch at a pub on the way, and then went to Orford Castle-one of the more impressive castles I've seen in East Anglia. It was constructed by Henry II between 1165 and 1173. After touring the castle, we went for tea at a little cafe right on the water. It was a perfect day out.

Me climbing the stairs to get in.Looking out over the town below

Such a relaxing little town.

Seeing as how this post is already quite long, I think I will wait to write about Edinburgh. We had an amazing time, but it was a bit of a fiasco getting there. I will tell all about it and post lots of pictures when I have a chance.

Half Way Through!

Well, tomorrow will have been four weeks to the day since Jordan left for the desert. Then (if all goes as planned) in just four more weeks + two days, he will be home!! I have gone through many phases since he left. When I dropped him off at the squadron, I of course shed a few tears. After I drove away, I felt relieved that the "goodbye" part was finally over. I had been dreading that moment for, oh, say the last few months (ok, years). The next day was the beginning of a three-day weekend for me. I'll just say this--I've never looked forward to a Monday so much in my entire life! After about a week, I began to realize that I needed to start making plans to make the time pass more quickly. The second week, I had a dinner date with Leslie (my English 'mum'), went out for my first british hen night, and went to lunch with a friend. Oh, and my mom came to visit!!

Since my mom has been here, things have been great! Before Jordan left, I never realized how lucky I am to have someone to sit down to dinner with each and every night. We have been doing our normal mother-daughter things, which is just what I needed. We cook dinner together every night, have breakfast together every morning, and most days I come home for lunch. While I am at work, my mom has been spoiling the Cooper Dog by taking him on multiple walks each day, and staying busy with the many projects that she brought along with her (knitting, sewing, card-making, etc.). We have been making good use of the apple trees in our back yard by making apple pie, apple sauce, and hopefully at some point we'll get around to making some apple butter.

Last weekend, we were invited to go to Leslie's son's wedding. It was a beautiful wedding in a really old church in Moulton, a village nearby. We had a wonderful time! And this weekend... I am taking some time off from work on Friday, and we are going up to Edinburgh for a long weekend! We will ride the train from Cambridge, and should get there in about five hours. I found a cozy little bed and breakfast to stay at near the city centre, and we have plans to tour the castle. I have heard wonderful things about the city, and can't wait to see it for myself!

I know you would probably like an update on how Jordan's doing. I have been fortunate enough to hear from him several times a week. He and his crew shaved their heads the first night that they got there...manly bonding, I suppose. He posted some pictures on facebook if you'd like to take a look: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2060594&id=25202851&l=22e6e0fc3c

Lately, he has been flying an eight-day on, one day off schedule. It sounds like one day off is just enough before he gets really bored. When it is all said and done, it sounds like his typical days are about 12 hours long. I can tell that his confidence in his flying abilitiy has gone up a lot, and I couldn't be more proud of him.

I better get to bed. I just wanted to give a quick update on what we've been up to lately! Please let me know if you would like to send Jordan any letters or care packages. I would be happy to give you his address!

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. :)