Christmas 2013

Happy New Year from the Crumps!

It's been quite a year...Liam changed wrote an indelible love into our hearts and we'll never be the same. We were blessed with challenges and experiences most parents will nod their heads and smile as they remember. I often think of how different my perspective is from our previous life and glory in the challenges of the future!

While this year did not include the same travel adventures of past years, we had our first experiences flying with a baby. I've always tried to be non-judgmental and accepting of parents traveling with children, but I have a whole new appreciation. I received many looks from darting, narrowed eyes and overheard "whispered" conversations in rows behind me about babies on planes. I had plenty of compliments about our "good baby." Really, are the babies who cry on planes bad? Are their parents pinching them and thinking "Gosh,  I hope she wails the entire 5 hours; this is so pleasant?!" Liam is a very busy little person and we have reached the realization that we are past the grace time when he would cuddle up in a wrap against my body and sleep through dinner out but is a blast riding in a shopping cart seat and planning with new friends.

Chris took on the challenge of fatherhood (as with all other challenges) with gusto. He has the most fun games and songs of anyone I know. He managed to finish the basement while continuing to work with Infinity and entering new opportunities with his AF Reserves unit. While he's definitely a busy guy, he always finds time for us and has honed his skills as a masterful craft beer brewer.

I continued my job at the Air Force Academy and I'm loving it. I jumped at the opportunity to teach with the Management Department this Fall and will continue in the Spring. My students were fantastic and always left me excited for the next chance to learn from them. My anguish at their less-successful class efforts surprised me, but I knew I would revel and the hard work that earned top marks. I can assure anyone out there that we have incredible young men and women rising up to lead our Air Force in the future. My racing schedule was definitely diminished this year, but I made it out for a few half marathons and a triathlon. An enthusiastic triathlete and terrible swimmer are good labels for me. I told a struggling swimmer that I'd swim with her for the race to help her pull away from the kayak (paddling around to make sure no one drowns) thinking that she'd get into a groove and we'd either swim together or I could continue on my way in a few minutes. 38 minutes later (in an 800m swim, 38 minutes is an ETERNITY) we rounded the last buoy and lunged back to dry land. The race was a success in so many ways, but was not a PR!

We were blessed to attend a few beautiful weddings create new families (Jen & Leo & Riley-the dog, Liz & Zach)and wish other unions (Andrew & Sara Beth, Erica & Dan, Stephanie & Branden) well well from afar. Wedding season and baby season have been good to our circle of friends and we love watching the Yayas & HMC increase our love and numbers. The Crumps are committed Alabama fans and since Liam and I had never met them, we added a few days to a November trip to meet some of the clan and watch the Crimson Tide roll over the LSU Tigers!! Southern hospitality was in full swing and we enjoyed every minute. As a committed Irish fan, I will never question my loyalties but I can admit I'm impressed with U of Alabama tailgates!

Now, at Christmas, we are looking forward to welcoming Liz, Michael, & Lydia back from Guam for a quick visit, and seeing Aunt Mary for a few days. Trevor should return from his tour in Afghanistan around the end of January and hopefully we'll see him and Sarah soon.

As always our home is warm and open for anyone stopping through Colorado. We have new adventures planned for the coming year and certainly hope to involve many of our loved ones as we work on bringing communication back to our lives as a family of 3!

May you and yours be blessed with a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year.

Love, the Crumps!

Liam James - News and photos!

O-Face!

Early Valentine's gift in anticipation of Liam's arrival...1 pood KB!

Great-Great Aunt Mary

Liam's first trip to his favorite store - Whole Foods Market

Valentine's Day started a little early this year - Chris got me a kettlebell...but we ended up with Valentine's week as Liam announced his arrival on V-day and showed up on the 15th. After a few scary episodes of very low fetal hear rates, he arrived via C-section with a vibrant and functional pair of lungs and beautiful blue eyes (though we don't know if they'll change color over the next few months). At birth, Liam James was 6lb 9 oz and 20 3/4 in long. In the past 5 weeks, he's grown and is about 9.5 lbs. He's very sweet and really good at being a baby. Chris and I are learning about parenting the hard way - it's not quite as natural as just being a baby, we've found. Fortunately, Liam is fairly generous and puts up with us while we bumble along. Last night, for example, he slept for 5 hours straight for the first time - making up for the night before when he didn't go longer for 90 minutes. He's very traumatized by the nasal aspirator bulb (booger snatcher) and getting into and out of the carseat, but has made a full recovery after very rough experience. I tell him it builds character and eventually he stops crying, usually eats, and eventually passes out with the cutest little face and arms thrown overhead (some day, he'll appreciate the wisdom of Calvin's dad from Calvin and Hobbes).

Liam was baptized last Saturday and entertained at his baby shower on Sunday. His Great-Great Aunt Mary became one of his Godmothers. Aunt Sarah and Uncle Trevor will be coming into town soon and are his other Godparents. He's a lucky guy to have 3 wonderful Godparents to look after him and encourage his Faith! Aunt Liz, Grandma Debbie, and Cousin Skylar hosted his baby shower and Grandma Pamela graciously opened her brand new home and entertaining prowess to the St. Patrick's Day event. Liam was quite the gentlemen, easily moving from friend to friend and enjoying time in the arms of all the guests. He is so much cuter than a very pregnant me, so I'm glad we waited until he could join the party.

My maternity leave is nearly over and I'm trying to enjoy these last few days of staying home with our new love. I'm ready to get back to adult conversation, but the transition will be rough for a while even though I know Liam will do great. Our standards for a "productive day" have changed dramatically but we are so blessed and happy to have added such a beautiful new life to our family. The dogs are interested but not overly concerned with his presence. Usually they try to be in the same room as Liam and lick his little noggin about once a day, but otherwise just enjoy hanging around as usual.

Merry Christmas!!

Dearest Friends & Family,

Merriest of Christmases and a happy, sparkling New Year to you and yours!

A crazy weekend trip from Korea & CO respectively... at Trevor & Sarah's rehearsal dinner

Standing with an enormous South Korean guard in one of the negotiating buildings at the DMZ

Bridge to nowhere....on the left side at the end is the building where they came out to check us out!

We are so excited to send greetings from Colorado together again! We started the year off separated by miles and miles (with a brief visit to celebrate Trevor's wedding to his beautiful wife Sarah in early January) until I left Korea in the rear-view in March (a month later than expected). We got a few relaxing days in Florida before driving up to the glowing, sophisticated metropolis that is Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, AL. (If you were going to drive for 10ish hours and wanted a book on tape....I'm betting your husband wouldn't pick History of Intelligence in the US...driving books are supposed to keep me awake....) How unfortunate that as taxpayers we've all put so much $ and effort into such a place that the officer corps will NEVER escape. Two long months (and lots of afternoons at the driving range) later, I was finally home in Colorado, starting my new job at the Air Force Academy.

Telluride, CO! Celebrating the end of a 15month separation!

In reality, we've had quite a few adventures this year. We were able to visit with loved ones in June when we went back East for Beach Week in Delaware with my high school friends. Then come August, we brought my parents back to Ireland where we were married for a week of traveling and culminating with a glorious Notre Dame victory over Navy in the football season opener! This trip was full or reminiscing while we enjoyed Doonbeg, visited the Church in Limerick, and got a speeding ticket in Cork! October brought us to Atlantis, Paradise Island with the annual Infinity company trip with Chris's work colleagues. Finally, we were excited to host Thanksgiving for the Crumps, welcoming Mike home for a brief visit during his 2 year stint in Suzhou China.

Three of my favorite people on a walk through one of Doonbeg's courses

Flying, KJU, & Lunar New Year - Elvis Style

"Oh, you're in the Air Force." "yes" "So are you a fighter pilot?"
Sadly, that's a conversation I have on a regular basis when a stranger learns of my profession. Of course, fighter pilots are a historic and visible emblem of the Air Force, but with the reaction I get when I state that, in fact, I'm not a Top Gun pilot, is often semi-veiled disappointment. In some ways, those guys have the best job in the world, but I'm pretty confident that even those of us in the less-glorious fields have something to contribute. None the less, I was fortunate enough to experience some of what they do in a FAM (familiarization) flight last month. All I can say is that jets are incredible pieces of equipment and I'm left with no doubt that our pilots (and all of the support they receive is pretty damn good) are the best in the world. I had a blast and if I ever get another opportunity to fly in a jet I'll jump on it.

Recently the Hermit Kingdom underwent a transition of power when KJI died and his son KJU stepped up to rule. As of yet, not much has happened besides the least experienced 4 star general in the history of the world stepping into the roles his father held as leader of the sad, brainwashed, and impoverished little country. Considering the luxury the tiny upper-elite enjoys, I don't see them making any huge changes any time soon. Life would be unpleasant to say the least for those who would not only lose their place at the top, but also find themselves facing the ire and judgement of the civilized world. I got a chance to look into a tiny little piece of the country on a trip to the DMZ.  When Mom came out to visit, she bravely made the trek with the ITT group so I could spend the day at work. I got to see the same sites on a MUCH colder day. We drove North from Seoul, seeing the several points along the highway where preparations are in place to stop or at least, delay an invasion of North Koreans. Of course, the South Koreans are building away in the zone north of Seoul due to favorable laws and tax regions which allow them more freedom in housing and business. Once at the DMZ, we were able to see the buildings where meetings are held between North Korea and the rest of the world. South Korean guards stood at a ready position in front of the door leading to North Korea. Apparently, they're ensuring that none of the visitors try to defect to the North. The soldiers serving in this duty are selected when they report for basic training (South Korea uses conscription - all men are required to serve for at least 2 years). They are the biggest Koreans I've seen and experts in Taekwondo. Messages are often communicated to the North Koreans - there's a phone call from the South letting them know the type of information that needs to be communicated. If it's anything important they usually reject the message and personnel from the multinational command manning the border are forced to read the message over a bull horn in English and Korean. We moved on to lunch with the NNSC - let me tell you - the Swedes and the Swiss at the Neutral Nations Supervisory Council eat a whole lot better than any US personnel on PEN! We drove on and saw the "Bridge to Nowhere." We were fortunate to get off the bus and take a bunch of photos - this is uncommon so the North Korean guard on the other side actually came out of his little shack to look at us with his binoculars. It's like going to a two-sided zoo where the animals are armed, everything on the other side is interesting but it can kill you, too. We were looking at him just as much as he was looking at us! We moved on to Tunnel #3 where North Koreans unsuccessfully attempted to tunnel all the way to Seoul. They only made it about a mile, but the tunnel had pretty decent engineering. In order to pretend it was an abandoned mining tunnel, they smeared coal dust on the walls ...too bad it's pure granite with no coal to be found....sneaky North Koreans. The last stop was the customs station. All traffic to and from North Korea processes through this location, including goods, tourists, etc. Recently, a previously approved tourist was deported back to South Korea for wrapping some of his goods in newspaper. Such foreign contraband is forbidden in North Korea - good thing fish and chips isn't high on the menu! If you have any further interest in that lost piece of the world, the National Geographic documentary "Inside North Korea" by Lisa Ling is eye-opening (no pun intended).


Yesterday I ventured up to Seoul and spent a few hours wandering around the War Memorial of Korea which is a museum of not only the Korean War, but of the soldiers and war in the history of Korea. Not only was a I treated to scale replicas of turtle ships and sunlight symbolic of the birth of Korea, but I also saw a that part of the museum (not the adjacent Wedding Hall) had been turned into Dino Land with several huge blow-up bouncy slides, bins of wooden pieces that looked like big dinosaur puzzles, and other tables covered for coloring. Afterward, I wandered around Itaewon, and ended up getting a back and foot massage. After paying up front, I was shown to a small locker room where I changed into shorts and a t-shirt. I went back to a freezing room where I got a mediocre massage, great foot rub, and bonus stretching at the end. Upon leaving, I realized I had <15 minutes to make it to the 1700 bus or I could wait another hour browsing shops and meandering back....I ran and made it with 4 minutes to spare!

 Besides those exciting adventures, life has been very busy recently. I did luck out with one final trip to Hawaii, but for the most part, it's just the long work days! We did get a day off for the Lunar New Year celebration. The Catholic community celebrated with a fellowship and presentation sponsored by the Korean prayer group. They cooked a feast to serve after Mass and one of the ladies taught some of the girls a Korean dance.. Then Fr. Peter, our wonderful Vietnamese priest, told us that he would also perform for us in honor of Tet (the Vietnamese New Year). However, instead of a traditional Vietnamese song, he performed Elvis's "Falling in Love with You." He invited us all to sing along AND when we got to the second verse....he didn't know it. Apparently, the not quite right of Korea just seeps into everything and everyone!

Otherwise, I'm training for the Seoul Marathon again and getting ready to leave the ROK. (In my head I like to think of Sean Connery saying "The Rock" and then I momentarily feel cooler about being here. Those moments are fleeting, but precious none-the-the less. Today, I'm off work, thanks to Superbowl Monday. As I left the O'Club to head home, my friend remarked that while the weather is overcast, it hasn't been very smelly the past several days. Korea has this funny way of being smelly, sometimes I worry that I left the trash out until I realize that it's not just near the garbage....it's actually just Korea. as I said...fleeting, but precious. I'll finish up this post, add a few photos and work on writing some Valentine's. I've got a few more weeks left until i'm back in the States and Valentine's Day will be my 1 year anniversary here in Korea. I think it's fitting to celebrate!

Crush 'Em!

Our Year in Review

Dearest Friends,



If you read this in email form....sorry...I copied and pasted...but I did add some photos...


As the Christmas season comes to a close, Chris and I wanted to send a quick note. It's been quite a year! Five months into our marriage, we decided that living in the same house is too easy and fun. Now, we've got a solid 15 months under our collective belt and we've in different continents for 10 of them. However, distance creates plenty of opportunities for adventure!

Chris dug into home improvement, beer making,

triathlon, and holding down the fort with the dogs. He made his first (and second) trip out to Asia! In May, he indulged by travel appetite by meeting me in Bangkok for 8 hours before wining our way on a little prop to Luang Prabang, Laos. When we landed, climbing out into a paved rectangle next to the runway, Chris remarked "I guess this is the kind of airport where you don't get lost." The rest of our visit proved to be charming and exciting. We hiked to a Hmong village, learned about several types of giant spiders up close and personally, and learned to ride an elephant! Later in the summer, Chris got to appreciate the glory of a Korean summer - hot, humid, dirty, and buggy when he came out in support of one of the main exercises, Ulchi Freedom Guardian. He got to head into work in the middle of the night, pick me up around 0430 on a "late lunch break" and get back into the thick of defeating the Chonger (Kim Jong Il) for a few more hours. We were both fortunate to leave Korea behind while we joined Chris's company, Infinity, in London for their 15th Anniversary company trip. A week of enjoying Hyde Park, Evensong at Westiminster, the Lion King, and plenty of good beer, left us wishing for more but ready to wing our way back to Colorado for a few days. We were fortunate enough to join family and friends at the Air Force Academy to bless our marriage and then for wine-tasting and dancing that evening. Alas, after playing Indiana Jones, putting our new communication skills to good use, and remembering how much fun it is to spend time in the same space, we had to say goodbye for another few months....
I left the day after our reception to land in Australia a few hours before my boss. I never knew when we volunteered for Korea that I'd get the opportunity to work for a general and see the world and the Air Force from an entirely new perspective. I haven't been overly enamored with Korea - mostly I think I got myself excited for an experience like my study abroad in China - but the weather and the food just don't entice me. Fortunately, the job is great and makes the days rush by! I've gotten to hike Flat Top in Alaska, paddle board in Hawaii, wine taste in Australia's Hunter Valley, eat sushi Tokyo and walk on the beach in Okinawa. I'm still an unbelievably bad golfer and get lost in the Pentagon, but I've learned about leadership from the best in the business.

We aren't anxious for any more remote tours or time apart, but are glad we volunteered for my tour in Korea. This year has brought so many blessings both tangible and unseen. Best of all, I'll be returning stateside in March, spending two months in Alabama for SOS and then coming home to Colorado to work at the Air Force Academy and best of all, settle back into our home with Chris and the dogs! We look forward to opening our home, game closet, burgeoning cellar & homebrew, and arms to any and all of you any time you're passing through or stopping by for a longer trip.

May God Bless and keep you and yours this Christmas and always. Please know you're in our prayers!

Namaste,
Chris & Caitlin

Beer Lao!

Dinner in Luang Prabang

These goats just tickled me hanging out on the bench!

Learning to be mahouts (elephant drivers)

The Jeep is "at home" in Moab

walking to the Grotto

Celebrating a dear friend's wedding "at home." (Notre Dame)

F-16 Ride

PS We owe a few more pictures here.....but I have to get them from Chris first!!!

Thanksgiving in Korea and Tokyo

At the base of the Tokyo Tower

Holidays in Korea...not quite the same as being at home with my family. Well, I spent the day going to a couple of different holiday meals. Usually senior leaders volunteer to serve the troops at the Dining Facilities. I did a lot of standing around and watching. It's too bad I didn't get to serve because they got to wear chef's hats. I think I need to invest in a personalized chefs hat for my little Korean kitchen. The good news is the I recently made some good friends here in Korea and it only took 8 months! The best part is that I met them all at a Marriage Enhancement Seminar. The chapel staff put on a stellar workshop on communication and other relationship skills. I signed myself up to go alone and picked a table in the back with a couple I didn't know and two girls my age who showed up about 10 minutes later separately. When the time came for a practice session, they invited me to join and fast friends we made. We also determined that it's quite easy to practice communication with another woman because we're already so much better at it! Only on a remote assignment half way around the world would I go to a Marriage Enhancement seminar and meet two other geographically separated girlfriends! The three of us, plus another newlywed in the same situation joined up for Round 2 of the Marriage Enhancement Seminar and learned more skills to communicate, problem solve, and all together improve our newly minted unions.

Bird's Eye View

Just in case you're looking for a treat....octopus at 7-11!!!

On the work side, I recently made my first visit to Japan. Flying over Tokyo, I saw a city much different than I expected. Rather than a shiny, organized plot of high rises and busy humanity. Instead, I viewed a dense city of low rise housing units packed amidst narrow roads with scattered clusters of office buildings and a healthy sprinkling of well-maintained cemeteries fanning out as far as the eye could see. I'm amazed that 30-40 million people are crammed into a continuous city. Once on the ground, I took a short trip to the Tokyo Tower, the quintessential really tall landmark easily seen from the air that tourists can ascend for a view of the city. The best part of my visit, though, was on the subway to the tower. As I waited for the train I noticed a little girl, no more than 7 on the subway platform. She wore a school uniform of below-the-knee pleated black skirt, blouse, jacket, red scarf tied in front under the collar, and a black hat with a turned up brim and chin strap. She was adorable and more importantly, she didn't notice me staring because she was busy perusing.....A NEWSPAPER!!!! That little vignette showed me without a word why the Japanese have pushed so far beyond US schools. Fortunately, the train arrived and the girl joined several little friends who were already on the train from a previous stop. They had an array of uniforms but all with the same basic style and all with structured leather backpacks. Under their hats, some had little black glasses or pigtails, but once they were together, the newspaper was forgotten and they got down to business being little girls. The 6 or 7 of them sounded like a group of little birds with their high pitched voices and constant tittering. Truly, they made for a pleasant ride on the subway. Upon arriving at my stop, I was able to negotiate a basic map until the tower came into sight. Having been in plenty of tall buildings and after flying over Tokyo in a helo, I didn't feel the need to go to the top on a cloudy, polluted day, but I took my time to enjoy the Christmas decorations. I'm sure it would have been quite a sight at night with the lights on, but my favorite part was a Santa climbing up one of the lower rungs of the tower. The afternoon was slow and pleasant, again different than what I expected when I thought of one of the world's most expensive and densely populated cities - maybe I wasn't in the right neighborhood. Regardless, I enjoyed my short introduction to Japan!

The downfall of the US education system!

More Hawaii

Alas, I only went paddle boarding once, but I did manage to make a trip out to the beach for some swimming. Most of the time, I was busy seeing the reflection of my goggles and thinking I saw a flash of shark or when my hand passed next to my body that I might be reaching a nude colored jellyfish. Needless to say, my swim workout was pretty pathetic, but that's normal. I'm still proud of myself for attempting a workout in the ocean. Unfortunately, my only normal advantage to open water swimming is the extra hydration I get from the unplanned gulps of water and sea water saps even that sad leg up on other swimmers. I tried to make up for it with a Tabata Something Else in the surf. It didn't make up for being a bad swimmer, but any workout on the beach in Hawaii just before sunset is a good one.
Speaking of sunsets, Friday ended early enough to catch one last glimpse late afternoon and evening. I drove up to the North Shore. Now, an important thing to know about Hawaii is that driving is utterly miserable. Since I spent a few years driving Northern Virginia rush hours and now ride sometimes stylishly and sometimes on a bus through hideous Korean traffic, I now consider myself an expert at judging traffic. Please note that I refer to Hawaiian traffic as miserable - not terribly dangerous. The speed limits are slow to begin with and the Aloha culture means that no one is in a hurry so why not drive 10 miles under the speed limit and hang out in more than one lane. Then at rush hour(s) which run from about three and a half hours in the morning and again in the afternoon, Honolulu comes to a standstill. I braved the beginning of the madness and started on my trek out to the North side of the island. On the way up, I stopped briefly at the Dole Plantation.  I was disappointed to find my suspicions were correct - it was a major tourist trap with lots of sloppy dressed people checking off "authentic Hawaiian experiences" like eating pineapple ice cream off their bucket lists. I plowed on, by now I'd left traffic behind and made my way to the beaches of the North Shore. I stopped for a while to feel the tide roll in at Banzai pipeline. A few surfers were enjoying the last hour of sunlight (prime shark munching time) and made me nervous by coming too near large rocks in the surf. Rain began to fall - again- so I meandered a little further up to Sunset Beach and almost to Turtle Bay. Then I enjoyed the true sunset from several different beaches as I started back in search of dinner. Truly, sunset on the North Shore was magnificent. The sun was a bright neon orange, slipping behind foggy clouds only to slip out for one last frame before slipping below the horizon. Meanwhile, the sky held a full palette of pastels to even out the shock of the sunset. The whole time I was driving or stopping to watch the sunset, I noticed locals and more relaxed (real) tourists alike wandering toward the beach, some with lawn chairs, some with wine, settling in to enjoy an incredible show - what a treat to have guaranteed Primetime every evening outside your doorstep instead of on the TV!
And I've stayed up past my bedtime, so photos and news of Australia and possibly Korean driving will come sooner rather than later!