Reveille, winglets and reservoirs

Who needs a clock when you have Reveille? For those of you who haven’t been in the military, or haven’t lived on base, you’ve likely not had the privilege of hearing the electronic rooster stir the base throughout the day. Blaring through the towering speakers located around base – which double as sirens –every morning begins with the Reveille and Ruffles, afternoon is marked with Flourishes and the Star Spangled Banner, and the evening is put to bed with Taps. (I could have the Ruffles and Flourishes backwards, but I think that’s the way it goes.) The times apparently change depending on the base, but at Laughin the tunes play at 7 a.m., 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. Good news is that although the speakers are closest to Mikayla’s window, she sleeps right through the morning alarm. The bad news is, while I can’t hear it from our bedroom, it comes right through the baby monitor…

Our first week in Del Rio has been spent getting to know the base and settling in as much as we can while still living in temporary housing.  John stays busy “in processing,” while Mikayla and my world has taken a welcome, lax turn. We spend much of each day staring at each other, trying to figure one another out, and the rest of the day feeding. Ok, perhaps that’s a bit of an exaggeration, we venture out at least once a day in between Mikayla’s breakfast, brunch and lunch, or lunch and post lunch, appetizers, small plates, dinner or dessert… no wonder she’s now 11.68 lbs!  

In all seriousness, Mikayla’s doing terrific and is growing like crazy – physically and intellectually. She becomes more and more engaged each day and continues to get prettier. She has come to love bath time and is able to hold her head up high when she lies on her belly. (That could have something to do with John lying on his belly next to her rooting her on as though she’s tackling an opponent in a wrestling match.) We’re working on napping in her crib or anywhere other than my arms, but have a ways to go on that one. She’s sleeping about 6-7 hours for her first nighttime stretch, so we have no complaints there, though when she decides to complain about something it’s clear that her lungs have gotten stronger as well.

Over the weekend, the base hosted a family career fair of sorts and brought in several different types of Air Force planes for the flight trainees and their families to tour. A C-17, which is the plane John will fly, was among those brought in allowing John to take Mikayla on her first tour. It is truly an amazing airplane which was reflected in Mikayla’s starry eyed, speechless reaction.

We certainly don’t have the same options for weekend outings as we did in Portland, but we have found ways to stay busy and have fun. Mikayla attended her first AFB Oktoberfest – there weren’t many lederhosen, but the beer was plentiful, and we spent Sunday afternoon at Lake Amistad. The lake is a reservoir on the Rio Grande separating Del Rio from Mexico. Despite the cooler temperatures (mid 80s) and a little bit of wind, it didn’t quite feel like fall.



(No, it's not a beauty mark, just a spot on my lense that I'm trying to hunt down.)



We’re scheduled to get the keys to our house on Friday and with luck our belongings will arrive prior to move in. In the meantime, Reveille sounded more than two hours ago so it's probably time for Mikayla and I to get up.