OOOOk-lahoma.....

......where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain,
And the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet, When the wind comes right behind the rain
OOOOk-lahoma, Ev'ry night my honey lamb and I, Sit alone and talk and watch a hawk makin' lazy circles in the sky.

We know we belong to the land (yo-ho)
And the land we belong to is grand!
And when we say 
Yeeow! Aye-yip-aye-yo-ee-ay!
We're only sayin'
You're doin' fine, Oklahoma!Oklahoma O.K.!. 


"And the land we belong to is grand!"....never have those words had more meaning to me then in the last few days. 

Yes, I am currently in Alaska...3,872 miles from this home to our home in Moore, OK. A home we still own. A home we have countless memories in.

Rich is in Oklahoma. He has been for over a month and there is still no time frame for his return. He is safe.  Thank God he is safe. 

I will never forget Monday's events. The feeling of being absolutely helpless. Fear. Anger. Anxiousness. So many emotions flooding me from so far away from The Twister. 

I received a text from Rich: "Tornado sirens going off. I am good right now. In a shelter"

WHAT?!? I had just finished my normal morning routine, 12:13 Alaska time. I shot him a quick response and then did the WORST thing I could have ever done. I turned on my computer and watched the live coverage from KFOR. 

I would NEVER wish those mins on anyone. To sit in Alaska and watch as an F5 tornado is reeking havoc on a place you call home and where many of our friends still reside is heart wrenching. To sit and watch as it passes places I use to visit with my husband and our friends. To sit and watch as I hear Jon Welsh (chopper 4 pilot) call out the area the tornado is ripping through and knowing it is going over my friend's house at that moment is devastating. All I could do was sit and pray from miles away. 

Then I waited. I sat staring at my computer and phone waiting for texts or phone calls that Rich was ok. That Mike was ok. That all would be ok. I stared at the phone trying to will it do something. 

Finally I received word from Rich....he was safe. He then sent me word on Mike. He was safe with his wife and all of the dogs but his house is gone. I just sat and cried. I had spent many days, hours, dinners in that home. I considered it my "other Oklahoma house". Now it looks like a pile of toothpicks. 

It's amazing how powerful Mother Nature is. 

I am grateful for Rich's safety and the nice family that let him into their shelter. I am grateful for Mike,Cate, and the dogs' safety and that he had a shelter in his home. I can't imagine, I don't want to imagine, what could have been. 

Oklahoma has been through a lot. Everyday it grows stronger and stronger. I know this will not slow them down. In the days to come, and the years to come, Moore, Oklahoma will be bigger and better then ever. 

I hope to lucky enough to return to Oklahoma during Rich's military career. (a move we are almost guaranteed really) 

Home is where the Air Force sends us...and where we leave our hearts. 

What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.
Helen Keller

I see Russia!

*Delays in this blog were due to the following story. (aka, prepping our house...)

Last day of travel!!!

The road to our new home....pardon the gross bug filled window!

 After 18 days of travel, 3,000+ miles, Disneyland, the Redwood Forests, crazy hotels, and many MANY laughs....WE MADE IT!!!

WE MADE IT!!!

Many people have asked us if we would do this drive again and without skipping a beat I've always said "YES!". I have seen more of this country in 18 days then I have in my whole life. Rich's work schedule has always been so crazy and with him tackling his MBA, we rarely spent more then an hour together. This trip helped us grow together like no other. Did he get on my nerves?....absolutely. (I can only take so much Car-eoke) Did I ever get on his? NOPE. :)  The one factor I was always worried about was Rocky. He handled it all like the champion dog that he is.

After creating our own tour of the new base, we were welcomed with open arms at our friends' house for some food and catching up. (lucky me, my good friend Carla and her family were making the move to Alaska as well!) As we sat, ate, and laughed we had our first Alaskan "moment". I was getting tired which was weird to me as the sun was still shining bright and I wasn't sitting in a car. Then I realized. It was 10pm...those sunny summer nights are going to throw me for a loop.

I'll bare you the details of the next few weeks and just say: my first ever house hunting experience wasn't fun. We probably walked into a few dozen houses, all with the hopes that this was "the one". No such luck. We put offers in on 3 houses. All with the same outcome, it wasn't meant to be. I thought we were going to be living in a hotel FOREVER!

Rich convinced me to revisit one of the houses we thought was overpriced originally and that just had a price reduction. I won't lie, I wasn't thrilled with the house. I thought it needed a lot of work. Rich loved it. (well....at least the 3 car garage) After much discussion and seeing my husband's "vision" of the house, I agreed to put an offer in. FINALLY....we had a home.

I will NOT miss walking the dog in the rain at 10pm at night. I realize how much I love having a yard...with a fence. I'm sure Rocky will miss "The Penthouse". (our hotel was FAR from a penthouse.)

"I LOVE this place! I can sit on the furniture here!"

"Hello friend!"

"What floor did you need ma'am?"

Some more adventures before the much anticipated move:

Humpy's! YUM!!! Our 1st restaurant experience in Anchorage.

If you ever find yourself in Anchorage....this is a great place to grab some food and a beer.

Salmon Fingers (Rich LOVED them)

Salmon Cakes 

YES! 

Jeff Dunham Concert on base. AWESOME!

Peanut!

Jeff-fa-fa DUNHAM- dot-com! 

I think I am going to need to learn to like fish more here....and cook it. ugh

I CAN SEE RUSSIA!!! (sorry, couldn't resist!)