Happy Thanksgiving and More Tidbits

Happy Thanksgiving from Cambodia / Thailand!

No turkey here.



Military Ball, the Sequel: We had so much fun last month at the annual Air Force ball, we decided to hit up the annual Marine (ooh-rah) ball. Members of all military branches attend these events, but because this one in particular was mostly marines, we hardly knew anyone (though as the night went on, I was in more and more people's pictures). It felt like we were party crashing and it was awesome.

Bedtime story: I was recently invited to the library on the U.S. Army base where we live to read "Daddy Flies" and sign copies of the book. The following week, I had my own little booth at the base's annual holiday shopping event. Seeing so many kids walk away with a copy of my book and knowing it would be their nightstands was thrilling.

Korean Wedding: We attended our first Korean wedding: the nuptials of Andy and Lexi. The entire ceremony was conducted in Korean, although Lexi is American (a fellow Idahoan, in fact). Afterwards was a lunch reception with traditional Korean food, but not the festivities that we typically associate with weddings, like dancing, bestman speeches, and champagne toasts.

Andy and Lexi

Geoff and Leo

There was no wedding cake at the reception, but there was octopus.

Only one of us wasn't disappointed; only one of us ate it.

Kind of a Big Deal: Last year, Geoff became a doctor (of economics, so you shouldn't show him "the weird spot" on your back) and this year, he has been promoted to lieutenant colonel. We are so proud! There was a ceremony where he was administered an oath of office and a party afterward to celebrate this outstanding achievement. Definitely worthy of its own blog post, but we are waiting on pictures from the photographer. Stay tuned!

Eri is changing the rank on one of Geoff's shoulder boards
from major (a bronze leaf) to lieutenant colonel (a silver leaf).

Ready for the festivities to begin.