Final family days in Chicago

The family and I got to spend a last few days together before I head overseas in Chicago. I told Erin that someday we need to go back just her and I so we can eat at someplace other than McDonalds! Speaking of McDonalds, I think they have a serious investment in the downtown Chicago area, they were everywhere! We had a lot of fun, but really didn’t even scratch the surface of what Chicago has to offer. We went to Navy Pier one day and rode the Ferris Wheel and the carousel, one day we walked down to the Buckingham Fountain, and one day we went to the Sears Tower and then back to Navy Pier. The second day at the Pier, we finally had time to go into the Children’s Museum, which was awesome. For those of you that have been to the Museum of Science and Industry, it was kind of like that but aimed at the 8 and under crowd, which of course means that I had a great time! We went up to see a great friend of mine, Whitney, up by Lincoln Park. Cole and Rowan had a blast chasing her dog, Walter, around the patio table and then we took a walk to Oz Park down the street and played until we were ready to collapse. It was so much fun that we went back and played in the park again the next night. It was great to see Whitney and catch up; we never seem to have enough time to keep in touch with those we care about.

The highlight of the trip had to be going to visit Aunt Stacey and Uncle Carlos. Carlos is a firefighter for McHenry Township, north of Chicago. We spent the night Friday night and Carlos gave us a personal tour of the fire station. Cole and Rowan sat on every fire truck at least twice, and some two or three times. Cole asked tons of questions and Carlos, like the great uncle that he is, answered every one in a way that Cole completely understood. Rowan ran around and had to sit in each and every seat that he could get to, squealing with glee every time. They got Uncle Carlos to run the lights and sound the siren just in time for someone to walk into the fire station with a badly cut hand, looking for help, so play time got cut a little short. But the boys had a great time of it and we can’t thank Carlos enough for the treat that he provided for all of us. The next morning, all Cole could do was run around the house in his firefighter uniform, pretending to put out fires. Sadly, it all went by too fast and it was time to say goodbye. I drove Erin and the boys to O’Hare, helped them get checked in and we said our goodbyes. Cole and Erin were great troopers, smiling all the way. Rowan was actually the meltdown, but more for the immediate separation, since he really doesn’t understand the duration of this thing. Sure, I will miss the family, and the family will miss me, but now there is a job to do, for all of us, and we can’t let our personal feelings get in the way too much, otherwise it will be one long, sad year. The family is strong, with a great support system, so the year should pass quickly without too much trouble. Now we just look forward to my mid-tour leave, which still has not been cast in stone but will probably end up in the first half of the deployment. Thanks for all the support, it means a lot to all of us.