Major Mom

My name is Patricia, but in the blogging world I became known as "Major Mom" thanks to a friend in the Air Force Reserves. As soon as he had said it, the David Bowie song "Space Oddity" went through my mind. I am a mother and wife first - an Air Force wife, that is. My husband proudly serves in the Air Force as a weather officer. I also continue to serve my country as a Major in the Air Force Reserves. It's a wonderful double-life I lead. It was a very difficult decision for me -- I had our second son in early 2005 just before the 10-year-point in my career. It was already tough having to turn my oldest son over to a child care center every duty day -- 50 hours per week. So in spring 2005 I took advantage of a Reserves job opening for which I was qualified in Norfolk, Virginia -- my hometown! It's truly wonderful getting to see my sons grow up, and be able to help out at their school, on their sports teams (I've coached soccer before) and as a Cub Scout den leader. I'm not sure I'd have had time for that if I had remained on active duty. We currently live in Navarre, Florida, while my wonderful husband is assigned to Hurlburt Field, Florida. We've also lived in the following locations since we graduated from Penn State University in 1995: Fort Polk, Louisiana, 1995-1998 Yongsan Army Installation, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 1998-2000 Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, 2000-2002 Patrick AFB, Florida, 2002-2005 Raleigh, North Carolina (Dave was assigned to North Carolina State University), 2005-2008 Offutt AFB, Nebraska, 2008-2010 Hurlburt Field, Florida, 2010-present I started this blog in December 2007, thanks to suggestions from friends. We're in our third home since I started the blog. I used to send out captioned photo albums -- from AOL Pictures to Shutterfly albums to Picasaweb albums. Instead of flooding everyone with photos, now I can use this blog to send out the highlights. I'll talk about anything on here -- usually I'm talking about the kids, but I'll also delve into the local scene wherever we're living, and you'll also see some great posts about the two military moves (PCS: Permanent Changes of Station) we've had. Sometimes I talk about utter nonsense, such as finding a product called "Piggies in Pancakes" in a grocery store in South Carolina. In my spare time I write for the parenting blog GeekMom.com, I serve on the board of the Hurlburt Spouses' Club, and I'm a Cub Scout den leader. I also enjoy running and playing the violin.

4000 Mile Road Trip: Part 3

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The next stop on our trip was our alma mater, Penn State University! The Department of Meteorology had a 75th Anniversary celebration weekend, and Dave and I took advantage of our time without the kids to have a good old fashioned party weekend!

We took a scenic route from Niagara down to State College, and had a chance to see what will soon become the extension of Interstate 99 from I-80 near State College up to I-86 in Corning, NY. It’s currently U.S. 15 and it’s really beautiful.

The heat wave was still in force, and Dave and I began to wonder if it was a good idea to book our accommodations in Irvin Hall. But that’s what our arrangements were, so we were sort of stuck. After all, it was half the price of all the other hotels in the area…more bar and souvenir money, right?

So here we are, Irvin Hall! This is the dorm I lived in all 4 years of college, Dave lived here his junior and senior years. It’s one of the oldest dorms on the campus, but the central location made up for the lack of A/C, old-school hot water radiator heat and small rooms. Remember, it’s all about location.

From 2010 07 09 PSU Meteorology Reunion

Here’s Dave checking in, like going back in time almost 20 years ago!

From 2010 07 09 PSU Meteorology Reunion

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4000 Mile Road Trip: Part 2

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So…where was I? Oh yes…we had just spent a great day in Niagara Falls! We topped off the evening with a very nice dinner in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

The next day, we took a road trip to Toronto. About 50 miles up the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW), a large interstate-style highway that curves around the western edge of Lake Ontario. Lots of lake views, plenty of nurseries, vineyards and fruit orchards to admire until you hit the Toronto suburbs. When the skyline came into view, the traffic slowed down some and we were staring at the CN Tower for quite some time:

From 2010 07 08 Toronto Visit

We parked underneath the Rogers Centre (formerly the Toronto SkyDome, where the Blue Jays play). This put us in convenient distance from several touristy attractions, so first things first: the CN Tower!

From 2010 07 08 Toronto Visit

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4000 Mile Road Trip: Part 1

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I’m sitting here watching Julie & Julia. Again. Adorable movie. About a girl and her blog. And lots of decadent cooking. It inspired me to get onto my own blog and bring you guys a bit up to date on things.

Our summer break is plodding along here. A slower pace than last month, which is a welcome change. It’s hard to believe my boys only have about a month left before Jacob starts 2nd grade, and Timmy starts KINDERGARTEN! I still can’t believe both my boys will be in school in a month!

Anyway, this past month, from mid-June till mid-July, was full of travel! First Dave took the boys to Pennsylvania for the Vollmer family reunion, then I took a TDY with my reserve job, then hopped in our truck on July 3rd with Dave, Timmy and Howie (Jacob was in NY visiting Dave’s parents) and declared “EASTWARD HO!”

First stop: My parents house in West Virginia. We spent a couple days visiting with my parents, my sister and her kids. We arrived on July 4th, and brought so many fireworks with us!

From 2010 07 04 Vacation Day 1-2

After 2 days with my parents, Dave and I headed up to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. This would be Dave’s first visit to Canada, but I had been to Toronto in 1992. We stopped in Buffalo for lunch, and met an old Air Force friend from Florida, Rich:

From 2010 07 06 Anchor Bar & Niagara on the Lake
From 2010 07 06 Anchor Bar & Niagara on the Lake

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Funny Fireworks

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This week I’m volunteering at a fireworks stand. For those saying “Wow! How?”, let me explain a little. The state of Nebraska allows 10 days per year for free-for-all fireworks sales/use. There are some exceptions: none of this is legal in the Omaha city limits, and Lincoln only allows sales for 2 days. So starting … Read more

Nebraska Discoveries 16: The Mormon Trail Center

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Yeah, it’s been a while…

We’re in the middle of a crazy summer here — with the family currently scattered to the 4 winds! Well, the 3 winds anyway. Jacob’s in NY enjoying a visit with Grammy and Grampy Vollmer, I’m currently on my 2-week AF Reserve tour, and Dave and Timmy are holding down the home front in Nebraska.

On June 13, my sister’s family came for a visit on their way home from a 2-week cross country drive between their house in NC and Las Vegas. They spent a full day with us, and in typical “Major Mom” fashion, I crammed a bunch of activities into that one day.

I presented my sister with a variety of options of what we could visit, and the Mormon Trail Winter Quarters Visitor’s Center caught her fancy. Jacob had been here as part of a Bellevue Schools summer camp program in 2009, but didn’t really seem to have an opinion about it. He didn’t even remember making the trip until we pulled into the parking lot and said “Hey, I’ve been here!”.

I had seen some reviews of this attraction on Trip Advisor, and prepared myself for some, uh…Mormon education? Some of the more brash reviewers spoke pretty rudely of the “preaching” that the center seemed to emphasize. I will say up front that I learned a lot…only a couple times did our guide ask some pointed questions about whether we might think that we’d be interested in the Mormon message.

The kids enjoyed the statue in front:

From 2010 06 14 Baba Visit to Omaha

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Oops, I Did It Again!

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Well, it looks like my flapping of the gums has once again made it into mainstream media…. For those unaware, I had written a blog post about the USAF’s “Above All” campaign of 2008.  It was a positive discussion about it, a little tongue-in-cheek at worst.  I think I make mention of videogaming teenagers perhaps … Read more