We Have Arrived!!!

We are now in our new home! Yay! After five years overseas in Asia and Europe, we are finally back on American soil!

Where are we? We are right outside of Omaha, Nebraska! For all our Navy friends....that's inland...about as inland as you can get in the U.S.!

Seriously, we are LOVING Nebraska. The people are so incredibly friendly and helpful. We were trying to open a local checking account a few weeks ago and we not only walked away with that task done but also got a run down on the local schools, churches and best places to eat! I can totally see how this area is the Air Force's best kept secret. We wanted to come to the Midwest because we felt it would be a better transition for all of us after being away for so long. So far, so good!

Rich is stationed at Offutt AFB and will be flying one of the many reconnaissance aircraft based from there. He has been fortunate enough to be on casual status for the last 6-8 weeks just getting us settled and doing things around the house. He starts his official training tomorrow and should finish up in December, when he'll be placed into one of the local squadrons and start deploying again. He'll be very happy to be up flying again. Flying a desk was not his cup of tea. :o)

The boys are pretty excited about their new school. We arrived on a Monday afternoon and drove by their high school just to show it to them. The doors were open and people were going in and out so we peeked in and found basketball games going. Bonus! They met their new head basketball coach (there are 5 boys basketball teams from their high school alone and he was the big kahuna) and were invited to start training with him and the team the next morning. They have been at the school for 3 hours each morning for conditioning, weightlifting and pliometrics ever since. I can actually tell a difference in their builds...Joe has especially really beefed up with the lifting. Tim is also quite impressive with his workout regime and shooting schedule. It's still hard to believe he is only 13. This basketball program is run like most college programs so the boys are in heaven. School starts for them on Aug 16th and I think they are looking forward to getting back into a schedule. Because they are not in a fall sport, they are expected to do lifting, conditioning and shooting after school everyday to keep in shape. Yikes. Serious stuff here!

Lily will start kindergarten on the same day the boys start school. She is excited, I think. The classes will be much bigger than what she is used to, but I think she'll get used to it and enjoy being around kids her own age again. We have met a couple of potential classmates through our church. She's spent the summer bossing her boys around and running screaming when Joe and Tim have had enough and turn on her. :o)

Our house is in a lovely neighborhood and the house is just beautiful. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would have a house like this. I feel like I have to pinch myself every morning. We still have a lot of work to do, but I am trying to convince myself that it doesn't all have to be done right this instant. There is a lot of work to be done in the yard but the soaring temperatures and humidity to match have just totally put the kabosh on that. After freezing for 4 summers in Norway, living with a heat index of 110+ is just not working well for my system...let alone the rest of us. I hear by mid-September, the weather is perfect here. Can't wait. :o)

I have spent the last month getting settled and trying to see how many dental, orthodontic, medical and optometric appointments I can fit into the schedule. Playing catch up from 3 years in Norway has not been a cake walk. However, the kids have been given a clean bill of health and all necessary paperwork has been done for them to start school.

We are really enjoying getting to know the area. More posts on that later. :o) So as the saying always goes (and we truly truly mean it...) if you are ever going through Omaha, please stop in and visit! We would love to have you! (We have already had visitors...so we are ready!)