As the day of departure approaches, I start to think about how much I’m going to miss my family.  Victor and I are very blessed to have amazing people in our lives who will admit in public to being related to us.  This past year we have done our best to spend some quality time with those we love the most.  Here are some photo highlights…

Can you name that bridge?  Better yet, do you know what Fort we are visiting?  This is my Grandpa NY and Grandma Judy on Staten Island.  This summer they were both able to visit us when we were in Ohio for the month of June.  It was glorious!

Our first weekend in DC we were visited by my dad and step-mom.  Living solely on air mattresses and folding chairs, we managed to have a good time anyway.  They came to help us unpack the apartment but alas, the movers were delayed.

In November we took a trip to the Canary Islands to meet up with Victor’s family.  His brother, who lives in Sweden, planned a vacation with his wife and kids (and in-laws!) so we decided to tag along.  His sister, who lives in Denver, flew out as well and it turned out to be a great birthday for me!  We had such a great time being together and it sure beats Sweden in the winter!

Here I am on the beach with Nicki, Julia and Veronica.

Thanksgiving last year was hosted by my cousin Doug.  He moved in to a new house and wanted to have everyone over for dinner.  It was outstanding!  We all pitched in for the meal but the best dish of the night was from Doug himself: green bean casserole.  It was the best thing I have ever eaten…well, it was really good.  Also, I love this photo of our family.

Also at Thanksgiving, I made a few family members run a 5K with me: Step-dad, niece and husband.  It was BRUTAL!  I hate running (as some of you may know).  This was the Amish Country 5K and at the end of the run we each earned a block of cheese.  It snowed most of the time and the hills were killer.  At the beginning of the race, we started out together but then got separated (as you do).  However, everyone thought I was ahead of them so they kept thinking, “Gee, Katie is really fast!” but really I was behind them the whole time.  But for about 3 mi, I was winning in their minds!  It was Carl and Victor’s first race, my third and Callie’s fifth…maybe tenth?  It got Carl into running and we did the Orrville Firecracker 5K this summer.  He’s crazy.

The Guthrie family visits Washington DC!  I keep telling my sister that if she comes to Africa for Spring Break next year it won’t be cold like all the other Spring Breaks she has visited me.  It was a great week and I always love hosting the ABC’s.  Unfortunately Victor was away again this year, but at least he wasn’t deployed like last time.  This photo really sums up the whole week.

We sort of coerced my cousin Molly into visiting us by begging her to drive from Ohio with me and the cats after Christmas.  Maybe I could have done it on my own, but what fun is that?!  She had a great time and we toured all the sights!  The most fun was on our bike ride when she sat on my bike rack as I rode around the Jefferson Memorial.  Yeah, good times.

When my mom and step dad came to visit the weather was gorgeous!  They stayed for a week and we packed in loads of sights. This photo is from the White House Garden Tour (twice a year, I highly recommend it) which we ran into by accident.  It was a beautiful accident.  I love it when these two come visit because they just love to see everything and and so easy going:)

Living far away from your family is not the easiest thing to do, especially if they are as awesome as ours.  And it’s not like we haven’t done it before but this time just seems different.  I’m not sure if I’ll be able to pick up the phone and call my sister or skype my grandparents.  They can’t come visit as if we lived in Boston, or England.  We may not be on the other side of the world but sometimes it feels like we are going to be on the other side of the moon.  But that’s what is so great about living this military life: everyone gets it.  Whenever we move, our family grows by the people we meet.  The embassy is small and has been described as very “family” like.  There will be a new group of people forced to live together and we may get along great, have arguments, cry on each other’s shoulders or laugh until we pee our pants.  Just like family.