Deployment Begins......

September 13, 2006.......
We woke early to get to the ship. The grayish marine layer mirrored our moods and the atmosphere. I got to go aboard the ship one more time. We got to visit and say our goodbyes.........then it was time for me to make my way off the ship. We were able to stand on the pier as the ship made its final departure checks....... And then the time, finally came...... The sailors "manned the rails" as the ship departed........
And so it began.....our first REAL Navy Adventure!! Six months of separation......... Atleast that's what it was supposed to be. They ended up with two extensions, so our six-month deployment turned into nine!!

Truman Bailey Weaver

I'm interrupting our Navy life story for a very important introduction..........

I realized during my last post, when I wrote about taking Truman to the beach, that I had not introduced him! So,----here's.........Truman!! When Rodney was in the process of joining the Navy, he decided I would need someone to keep me company when he was away, so he started looking for a dog for me! The main qualifications were---no yappy dogs! and preferably not a big shedder. In his research he discovered that Shih Tzus fit that criteria. He found a local breeder and we went for a play date!

That is when we met Truman! He was the cutest little fur-ball! At the time, he was 2 months and weighed about 2 pounds. He was the runt of the litter, but seemed to be the smartest! Well, needless to say, we he stole our hearts. She wanted to keep him until he was 3 months old, just to be sure that as the runt, no issues developed. That actually worked out perfectly for us....I was able to finish the school year and be home for the summer to start all the puppy training stuff. Although, that turned out to be not near as bad as I had imagined----he was already pee pad trained and, as I said earlier, he was a smart little guy!!

When we first claimed him, his name was going to be Bailey. Then on the way home with him, Rodney made the comment he wanted "a strong name" for him (Remember, the movie "Where the Heart Is"?) and 'Truman' just popped into my head. So from that moment on, Truman was his name. Except of course when he's being particularly ornery, then he's 'Truman Bailey Weaver'!!

For such a little guy, he truly was huge company when Rodney was gone. Then, when we moved out here he kept me busy when Rodney was gone on the ship. He also allowed us to meet lots of people. Seems out here its almost a prerequisite to own a dog! So we met lots of neighbors just out in the neighborhood walking the dog!!

Here are just a variety of pictures to cute not to post.......

Pre-Deployment Adventures

R's ship was pulling out the middle of September, 2006, to be gone for 6 months (which actually turned out to be 9!!), so we took some time to have some memorable adventures together.

We ended up with free tickets to Lego Land and went there for R's birthday.

Darth Vader and R2D2 are made entirely from Legos!!

While in Carlsbad, we made a stop at the gorgeous Flower Fields.

We spent some time at the beach with Truman.

And we went on a camping/hiking trip at Joshua Tree National Park.

But, our biggest, most memorable treat came when we decided to make use of their military discount and do an overnight at Disneyland............

When our hostess at Disneyland Hotel found out this was a pre-deployment visit, she upgraded us to a suite!! See the four big sections of windows on the top floor?? That WHOLE area was our suite! It was the size of eight regular rooms!! The first section on the right was the ONLY bedroom! The second section from the right was our own private open air atrium!!The gazebo opening to the bedroom could be turned to open to the atrium!

It had a sauna, full kitchen with 2 frigs and 2 ovens, table with seating for 12, entertainment center with surround sound, and all the windows would slide open to let in the fresh breeze!! The suite was mainly used for parties.

The coolest thing was that this had been the favorite room of Frank Sinatra and all the Rat Pack had stayed there!! What a treat!!!

Our first visitors.....

Our first visitors, R's family, pulled into town the last week of July, 2006. We covered lots of ground during their two week visit, but since R was out on the ship for pre-deployment stuff and since it turned out to be the 2nd hottest July on record, we spent quite a bit of time in the pool their first few days here!

Then our first really big event.......

they got to see R's ship for the first time from Pt. Loma as it pulled into the bay!!

With R back, we hit the ground running with trips to........

Joshua Tree National Park.....

the zoo.....

the beaches at Coronado and La Jolla......

the Maritime Museum........

and, of course, aboard R's ship, the USS Dubuque!!

And believe it or not, we still found time to take the Hornblower Bay Tour...........

Eat fish tacos and churros at Rubio's.....

and even go to IKEA!!!

RE: purchases made with 5 people in the car,

"That's all fine and dandy, but now how do we get it all home??"

ANSWER: very carefully!!!

It was a packed two weeks, but we had a great time on our adventures!!

Substitute Teaching

While Rodney was going to the ship every day, I took the opportunity to take my time getting boxes unpacked and things settled around the house. Then I pursued getting my paperwork together to see what I could do about a teaching job. Having an out-of-state teaching certificate, I was able to automatically get a one-year CA credential. I went ahead and took the state test and received my full credential. After applying to the local district of over 40 elementary schools and realizing they were in dire need of subs, I decided to try that for a bit. That would give me a chance to experience different schools and find one that would be a good fit for me. That has been the best experience! I don't really miss lesson plans, grade cards, faculty meetings, parent conferences, etc., but there are times I do miss having my own classroom and my own group of students.



The flexibility of subbing has been worth its weight in gold........ Christmas of 2006, R was deployed, so I was able to go back to MO for almost a month; then March, 2007, I was able to go see him in Singapore for a week (pics in another post)!! When Grandpa got sick, November 2007, I was able to be there, then stay with Grandma for a few days after he passed away.



Those are big advantages to subbing, but the smaller day-to-day advantages are if R has a day off, we can spend time together and, I do have to admit, its kind of nice to be able to do lunch with friends once in awhile on a week day! It still keeps me pretty much as busy as I want to be and at that time gave me something to do since he was gone a lot with the ship while they were preparing to deploy.......

A new life in San Diego....

After being residents of Residence Inn for three weeks, we moved into our new place mid-January, 2006. Never dreamt we would live in a half-million dollar home........and its ATTACHED living!!! (We're only renting and thanking God for housing allowance!!) Also, to this day there are times I drive down the palmtree-lined roads and find myself amazed----I never dreamt I would ever live in Southern California!!

Here are a few shots of our townhome/condo......3 BR, 2 1/2 BA, 2 car garage........