Homecoming 2013 - Mid 2014 Deployment
It has been a VERY long break from blogging, but I have several good excuses. Between my last entry and now, we have been very busy. We have had some great times, some sad time and some exciting times!
Homecoming 2013
Last December, after a 6 month long deployment, Robby, the dogs and I welcomed home Rob from his second deployment in less than a 18 months. While his first one was only 3 months long, we can't ignore that he was still in fact deployed then and missed out on the excitement of a newborn baby and moving half way across the world. While that first homecoming was so very sweet for us, this was his first homecoming after a complete 6 month cruise. We were elated to have him home!
Not deployed, but still not home...
Don't let Rob not being deployed fool you. He was home for a whopping 6 days before he had to head to the states for training. We were sad to let him go so close to his homecoming, and so close to Christmas, but it was for something very special. Rob had become his squadron's newest "paddles"! For all of you landlubbers, paddles is the nickname given to the landing safety officer, otherwise called LSO. When Rob isn't flying, he is talking to pilots from all sorts of squadrons as they prepare to land on the carrier. He helps guide them onto the boat in all weather conditions. Rob had always wanted to be a LSO so this was a pretty awesome opportunity for him. He had a little over 2 weeks of training in Virgina and made it home the day before Christmas Eve. We were beyond grateful to spend Christmas together as a family and to welcome him home (again) in the same month.
Thompson's Annual Holiday Trip
The Thompson family can't stay in one place very long, so after we celebrated Christmas, we were off on another adventure. We had planned on vacationing in Bali, Indonesia but of course that became too easy of a trip. We hopped on a military space-a flight from Yokota AB, Japan and enjoyed a free and comfortable flight to Singapore where we would be able to fly on the cheap to Bali. Of course we were a week early and with Singapore being very expensive, we decided the logical answer would be to fly to Thailand where it's much more affordable. So began our adventure through southeast Asia.
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| Bangkok, Thailand |
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| Karen Refugee Camp - Near Chiang Mai, Thailand |
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| Near Chiang Mai, Thailand |
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| Bali, Indonesia |
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| Bali, Indonesia |
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| Bali, Indonesia |
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| A little swimming at our villa in Bali |
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| Chili Crab dinner in Singapore |
Squadron Ski Trip 2014
Perhaps one of the highlights for the cold months here in Japan is our squadron ski trip to beautiful Nagano. It is always a blast to get together with our friend in a cozy lodge in the "Japanese Alps", whether you ski or not. This year, Rob and I both were able to ski and while it was a slushy warm few few days on the slopes, we all enjoyed our time there.
Ironically, as we left what should be the colder, more wintry weather of the Japanese mountains, we descended into the Kanagawa valley, where we live, to find the snow we had hoped to find on the slopes.
Going stateside in February
Rob had to head to the states for 4 weeks come February for more training. Instead of Robby and I hanging tight in Japan, we decided to travel back to Florida for the month to see family and thaw our frozen limbs in some Florida sun. Before we could, we had to actually dig our cars out of the snow and navigate through closed roads to the airport. Mind you, they don't readily have English translators when they do announce road closures. Half the adventure was just getting to the airport. After over 25 hours from our door in Japan to the door of my parents' house in Florida, we were home!
FCLPs/CQs... aka Deployment 2014 time
Rob, Robby and I reunited back home in Japan the last week in March. We had only been home together as a family just a few weeks all together since he returned home from the last deployment, and now it was already time for him to start getting ready for the next one. April was full of excitement... lots of parties for the squadron and the air wing, which I like to call mandatory fun. It's fun, but you better be there! So any weekend that Rob was free (yes, Rob still works during the week and sometimes the weekends and late nights), we had many social obligations. It was fun, but as each weekend passed, we were entering into deployment 2014 time. Rob and I managed to sneak away with Robby to Kyoto and Osaka. We were SO grateful we could and we have an amazing time! Then as April wrapped up, the boys were headed off to Iwo-to (Iwo Jima) for FCLPs. You can read my previous post on this from last years FCLPs if you aren't up to speed with my Navy lingo. May came, and it was deployment month. All in all, Rob was "home" for 3 months and a week. The other remaining weeks during his 6 months "home" were spent in training. Thus, this is the life of a navy family. I'm not complaining, because I feel we are so lucky in the life we have, but it is eye opening that in the 3 years we are here in Japan (away from our real home), Rob isn't even in our Japan "home" for maybe just a third of that time.
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| Kyoto |
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| Kyoto |
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| D-Day 2014 (Deployment Day) |
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61 Days into Deployment 2014
So here we are 61 days into this year's deployment. We still have a ways to go until we can call this one a wrap, but time sure is flying by. Time may fly when you're having fun, but it also flies when you are busy. Robby and I were so lucky to be able to visit Rob in two of his port calls. We flew to Hong Kong and had a great belated 2nd birthday for Robby at Hong Kong Disneyland and we also had a great early birthday for me in South Korea. We are beyond grateful to be able to visit Rob during deployment so long as the boat pulls into ports on time and I am sane enough to country hop solo with my toddler. We are very excited that come September of this year, we will be within our 1 year countdown until we are headed back to America! I say this also with a little bit of sadness as we truly love every minute living abroad and traveling. Our life in Japan is one of adventure and with every deployment comes one sweet homecoming that rivals even the most romantic love stories.
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| Hong Kong |
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| Hong Kong |
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| Hong Kong |
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| Hong Kong |
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| Hong Kong |
