Happy anniversary, Jo and Mike!

Love,

~Holly and Ryan

The cold I have has moved from my head into my chest. :(

Ryan seems to have the cold too, though he doesn't have any symptoms except a runny nose and a very occasional cough.

This photo was taken Feb. 11. I thought it was a cute one.

To catch up, I honestly don't remember what we did Friday. My calendar is completely blank. If I had to hazard a guess, we probably walked to the shopping center and went to Starbucks, or something. :) Weird that I don't remember that day at all. I think it was nice out.

Saturday I had some photos of Ryan, and me and Ryan taken at Sarah's house. She got some cute ones, but since Ryan and I weren't feeling our best, I don't think we photographed our best. Sarah did a great job with us, though!

Later on in the afternoon, Ryan and I went over to Susan's. We hung out for a while, then went out to dinner. That was really nice. I hadn't gone out to dinner in a while, and I hadn't seen Susan in ages. It was a nice Saturday night!

I have the worst memory, apparently. I don't remember what we did Sunday, either.

Monday I went over to Natasha's and watched her kiddos for a little while.

Today I had some errands to run on post.

That's about it!

I've been trying to lay low since Ryan and I have colds. Somehow I still feel tired and busy. Not sure where the days are going.

A week ago I lost a key chain JoAnna bought me at Montmartre. I was really sad! I was in town waiting to pick up some takeout food for dinner, and I gave the key chain (a little doggie) to Ryan to play with. I KNEW I ought to have watched more carefully. We got down the street and it was gone. I retraced my steps immediately, but no luck. I'm sad because it was a gift, and a souvenir; irreplaceable.

I hope everyone's having a good week. The weather is nice today.

Happy anniversary, Tara and Brody!

Love,

~Holly

Ryan in February 2007

Here are the pictures. Enjoy!

Wow. It's been nearly two weeks since Larry left already (he left Feb. 18). The time has flown. The day before he left, we went to Sarah's sons' birthday party. That was fun. You can't go wrong with cake and a bouncy castle! For dinner, Larry and I got Thai takeout. Yum.

The next day, Ryan and I took Larry to the airport in Manchester. When we dropped Larry off, Ryan didn't want to get back in the car. He thought he should be going in the airport, too!

Not long after we got home, we met Carissa and her husband and boys for lunch at McDonald's. After lunch, we went to the park to let the kids play. The park was really busy. It was nice to get out, though.

I always feel a bit lonely the day Larry leaves. I get used to having another adult in the house!

Monday morning there was a baby sitting co-op meeting at Winkie's. Ryan loves to play there! It's fun for him, and nice for me to have the social interaction with my mom friends.

Tuesday evening Michelle came over and watched Ryan for me so I could run with the Harrogate Harriers. That was nice. Usually Larry watches Ryan while I run. Thursday night Natasha did the honors.

Friday night, I watched Natasha's girls so she and her husband could go out to dinner.

Saturday (the 24th), Carissa and her son Thomas, and Ryan and I drove to York for a Days Out With Thomas the Tank Engine. Larry and I had taken Ryan to a Days Out With Thomas last Easter, at the Embsay railway. That was fun, so I was curious to see how the one at the National Railway Museum in York would be. I would have to say that overall, this one was a bit of a disappointment. The railway museum itself was pretty nice (and is free). The boys enjoyed seeing the huge engines on display. We'd definitely like to come back just to visit the museum. Unfortunately, admission for the Days Out was 18 pounds for me and Ryan, and I would have to say it wasn't worth it. (On top of that, parking was 7 pounds!) There was a decent amount of things to see and do, but it was really crowded, and there were long lines for everything. I'd say we spent a good twenty minutes or so in line to ride a Thomas train that seriously took only about two minutes to go out and back. There was a funny sign in the car we were in, telling what to do during air raids. (I will post photos soon, hopefully.) Not that air raids are funny, but it was funny that the car was so old it had that sign in it. I think by the time we'd done that, Carissa and I were getting hungry for lunch, and the boys were getting tired. We also had a bit of a time crunch, since we needed to be back in town for a baby shower. With a bit more planning, I think we maybe could have made it a slightly longer day, but as it was, it was nice to at least get out, and to see the railway museum.

I dropped Carissa and Thomas off at their house, then went back home for a bit. Not too much later, I dropped Ryan off at Natasha's then was back out at Menwith for April's baby shower (April is a co-op member). The shower was fun. It was nice to socialize and nibble on yummy food!

Sunday I baby sat at Sarah's for just a short while. Later on in the day Larry called.

Monday morning, Natasha called me. She was really sick and needed help with her girls (her husband is TDY). I went over and spent most of the day there. At Natasha's suggestion (so she could have a little peace!), I took her daughter Savannah (who is three) and Ryan on a walk. Natasha lives in a really pretty area by a stream. It was a nice day, and the kiddos enjoyed being outside. The walk was very scenic. (I took a few photos I'll post later.)

Tuesday (two days ago), Sarah organized a small get together at a play area/farm near the Leeds/Bradford airport. Sarah and her boys, Ryan and I, and Aimee and her son all went. It was a cold, windy, rainy day, so we pretty much stuck to the indoor play area. (Here's a link: http://www.emsleys-farmshop.co.uk/index.html) Ryan had a good time. There was a big sand box to play in, which meant sand - everywhere. And I do mean everywhere!

Later on in the evening, I watched Sarah's boys for about an hour.

Yesterday I went to the commissary, only to find they were out of things I needed. I knew that they got their shipments in on Wednesdays. What I didn't know, what that the shipment isn't put out on the floor until Thursday. *sigh* Oh well. So I got what I could and went home. Later in the evening, Sarah and I went to the first meeting of a new book club. That was a lot of fun! I met new people, and had a very enjoyable time!

Today it was back to the commissary. I offered to pick up some things for Natasha, so I stopped by her place on the way home. I stayed for coffee while Ryan and Savannah played. That was nice. Spouses of TDY soldiers gotta stick together! :P

Whew! I think I am actually caught up! (Except for posting photos.) Amazing! I know I've left out little things, like errand running, etc. With how hectic things have been, I'm not surprised that I've come down with a cold. Ugh. Luckily it's mild, and just in my nose. I've been taking zinc like crazy. I think it's helping.

I want to mention that I think there's a universal law that says when you have to get up for something, that's when your kiddo will want to sleep in. When you have all the time in the world, that's when they're up bouncing around early!

The last couple of days (or is that daze?) Ryan hasn't napped. Thank goodness today he's finally taking a huge nap. Yay! He's due to be up any moment though...

The Friday before Larry left (Feb. 16), we went on a ghost walk in York. http://www.yorkshirenet.co.uk/yorkghostwalk/ We dropped Ryan off at Natasha's house, and were on the road at 7pm. York is only about 15 miles away, and the tour didn't start until 8pm. You would think an hour would be plenty of time to travel 15 miles and park. But no. This is North Yorkshire. Somehow it took us over an hour to get to York and park. Then we still had to find the King's Arms Pub, where the tour meets. We walked along the river Ouse (pronounced "ooze") on Dame Judi Dench walk. We realized we were never going to make the tour on time, but Larry was bound and determined to at least find the place.

We had pretty much chalked this trip up to Misbegotten Adventures in England (eternal thanks to Carissa for that title!), when we found the pub, AND saw that the tour was just a short way off and hadn't actually started yet. We showed up just in time to pay. (Darn!) It was a perfect night for a ghost walk: cool and misty, and dark. We'd been on a ghost walk before in Prague, but it was during high summer and it was still light out. Things just aren't as spooky in the light of day.

The tour got started, and was enjoyable. The gentleman telling the stories was an accomplished and entertaining storyteller. The stories were spooky and interesting. We walked around the city, listening to various tales. Before we knew it, the tour was over. Our tour guide had a book he'd written with all the stories and more in it, for only 3.50 pounds! Yes, we got a copy! I'm the one who wanted it, but Larry's the one who took off with it when he left for Maryland. Go figure!

There are at least a couple other ghost walks in York. Larry and I agreed it would be fun to collect them.

On the walk back to the car, we saw something swimming in the river we couldn't identify. It wasn't a duck or a fish. It seemed kind of skinny for an otter. I have no idea what varieties of semi-aquatic wildlife populate the river Ouse. Seeing an odd creature swimming in the river was a fitting end to our ghost walk experience!

Apparently today is World Book Day. http://www.worldbookday.com/about/ "World Book Day was designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and is marked in over 100 countries around the globe. The origins of the day we now celebrate in the UK and Ireland come from Catalonia, where roses and books were given as gifts to loved ones on St. George’s Day – a tradition started over 80 years ago." (Taken from the site I linked to above.)

In honor of World Book Day, I will rectify what I realized a long time ago was a curious oversight on an entry I wrote about books. (The entry was on or about Aug. 24 of last year and is also on my myspace blog.) I left out one of my most favorite books of all time: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I first came across this book during the summer of 2000. Larry was at AIT at Goodfellow AFB in Texas, and I was at my parents' house in Palmdale. My Mom suggested the book to me. I opened it up and quickly fell completely in. The story is about a WWII combat nurse, Claire. She is on a second honeymoon in Scotland, when she touches a stone circle and is thrown back in time to 1743. There she is embroiled in politics and intrigue, and winds up falling in love in spite of herself. This book is incredibly well written, and is the sort of book that's impossible to put down. I've come back to this book, again and again. I've bought this book several times over, because when I loan a copy out, I can't stand to be without a copy of my own! The storytelling, the characters, the setting - everything about this book is enthralling. By the end, you feel as though the characters are real, and as though you've been through everything they have. Outlander has everything: history, action, intrigue, romance. I highly recommend it. I do have one word of warning: There are (so far) six books in the series (although Outlander can stand on its own nicely). After the fourth book, I'm afraid I was only reading because I loved the characters so much. I didn't like the 5th and 6th books. However, the first, Outlander, is amazing and definitely worth the read.

On the topic of holidays, I meant to write about Pancake Night, aka, Shrove Tuesday (which was not this last Tuesday, but the Tuesday before). I always thought of this as a Catholic holiday. Apparently in the UK, it's a national holiday that everyone can observe. Apparently it's the tradition to have pancakes for dinner, because all the fats in the house were supposed to be used up in preparation for Lent. Even if you don't observe Lent, the pancake part of the tradition lives on. I ran with the Harrogate Harriers that night, and one of the girls in the group asked me if I was going to have pancakes for dinner. (Which I didn't, by the way.) It was also a topic of discussion on the local radio.

Today also happens to be St. David's day, which I know nothing about, except that it seems to be a Welsh holiday.

Happy belated birthday Abby!

Happy birthday Dylan!

Love,

~Holly and Ryan

I would like to post a huge Congratulations to Larry, on the completion of his master's degree in Intelligence, with an emphasis in Russian studies. He got word this last week that he passed his comprehensive exam, and will officially be awarded his degree on March 31.

I spoke to Larry today on the phone. His first week in class in the States has gone well. I put Ryan on the phone with his daddy at the beginning and end of Larry's call. Ryan was the most talkative he'd ever been on the phone! I was happy for Larry that he got to hear so much of Ryan. Before, whenever Larry was away and I'd put Ryan on the phone, the most Larry would hear was Ryan breathing!