Kimber's Navy Family

My husband was picked up STA-21 . I've written several blog posts about our STA-21 journey  and going through the officer pipeline: power school and prototype in South Carolina . It is surreal to me to be writing this post about the last piece of his STA-21 journey, going to SOBC in Connecticut. It doesn't seem that long ago that we received the news that he was picked up STA-21. It was such a whirlwind leaving Hawaii to move to North Carolina for him to get his degree in mechanical engineering; all too soon he graduated college and we were off to South Carolina going through the officer pipeline.It is crazy to me that in a few short weeks we will be back to the fleet. When we left the fleet for the STA-21 program, I felt we had all the time in the world. I tried to remind myself along the way that the time would slip away from us, but it is one thing to know it and another to live it. But I digress. Right now my hubby is at SOBC (Submarine Officer's Basic Course). ...

I went out on a limb, took a leap of faith, felt a little adventurous, grabbed life by the horns... whatever you want to call it. I went on multiple road trips with my multiple children. My road trip travel itinerary: July 30th to July 31st: made a three and a half hour drive to a friends' house with the boys and our dog, stayed overnight July 31st to August 2nd: made a four hour drive to my parents' house with the boys and our dog, stayed two nights August 2nd to August 3rd: made a one and a half hour drive to a friends' house with the twins (leaving the dog and my oldest at my parents' house), stayed overnight August 3rd to August 10th: made the one and a half hour drive back to my parents' house. Stayed at my parents' house for the rest of the trip. My husband joined us on August 9th and drove back to North Carolina with us (thank goodness). Virginia July 2012 This past week, we went on another adventure! This time my husband ...

We have been travelling. "We" being me, the kids, and the dog. Our trip-- seven hours of driving time-- ended up taking just over nine and a half hours, including five stops. Thankfully I was able to feed the one-year olds in the car as we drove, keeping an eye on them with strategically placed baby mirrors. Our stops mostly consisted of diaper changes, stretching legs, and having my four-year old use the restroom. Three of those stops were very short, only one toddler needing a diaper change or being able to quickly get in and out of the rest stop with the kids. Still. It was an adventure . This was also the first time that I stopped with the twins to stay at friends' houses (two separate overnight trips, one with all three kids, one with just the one-year olds). Here are some of my road tripping tips with kids:  1. Thoughtfully pack your snack bag. I had snacks for our four-year old and me and snacks that were great for one-year olds. My plan was to feed the ki...

  When I was pregnant with twins, stuck at home and trying to find things I was allowed to do, I ended up working on our "Navy Notebook," an idea I had after a completely hectic move where paperwork was everywhere and information scarce when I needed it. Moving from Hawaii, we had a moment-- hours-- of panic when we realized my husband's medical records were missing. Since he is in the STA-21 program and was on his way to NSI in Rhode Island, we were exceptionally concerned that if we didn't find the records, he would be thrown out of the program. While he was on the phone with the moving company negotiating prices to unpack then repack boxes already nailed into crates, I tore through our six overweight duffel bags until I eventually did find the medical records. The idea of the Navy Notebook, or Move Notebook, is that all our information is organized in one place. I won't be arriving at the housing office missing Power of Attorneys or socia...