Blissful at Bliss...ABC's and 123's

Macy Vs. The Muddy Snowman

2010-01-12T15:11:00.002-07:00

Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010

2010-01-12T14:16:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving...check
Christmas....check
New Years....check

2009, is over! Now we are on the downward slide towards the finish line. The banners are now starting to come up, "Welcome Home!" Love seeing the soldiers starting to come back. Just a little bit longer for ours to return.

Twas the Night Before Christmas

2009-12-05T14:56:00.002-07:00

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,

HE LIVED ALL ALONE,

IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF

PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY

WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,

AND TO SEE JUST WHO

IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,

A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,

NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,

NOT EVEN A TREE.

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,

JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,

ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES

OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,

AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,

A SOBER THOUGHT

CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,

IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,

I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,

ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,

SILENT, ALONE,

CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR

IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.

THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,

THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,

NOT HOW I PICTURED

A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.

WAS THIS THE HERO

OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?

CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,

THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

I REALIZED THE FAMILIES

THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,

OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS

WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

SOON ROUND THE WORLD,

THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,

AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE

A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM

EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,

BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,

LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN'T HELP WONDER

HOW MANY LAY ALONE,

ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE

IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

THE VERY THOUGHT

BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,

I DROPPED TO MY KNEES

AND STARTED TO CRY.

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED

AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,

'SANTA DON'T CRY,

THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;

I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,

I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,

MY LIFE IS MY GOD,

MY! COUNTRY, MY CORPS.'

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER

AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,

I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,

I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,

SO SILENT AND STILL

AND WE BOTH SHIVERED

FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.

I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE

ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,

THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR

SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,

WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,

WHISPERED, 'CARRY ON SANTA,

IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE.'

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,

AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.

'MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,

AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT.'

This poem was written by a Marine.

The following is his request. I think it is reasonable.....

PLEASE. Would you do me the kind favor of sending

this to as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming

soon and some credit is due to our U.S. service men,

women, and Canadian Forces for our being able to celebrate these festivities.

Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we

owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and

dead, who sacrificed themselves for us. Please, do your

small part to plant this small

Gothic-Punk, Vampires, Up House...Oh My!!!!

2009-10-25T23:10:00.002-06:00

Well my friends we have been busy lately. We had David come home on October 13th for some R&R. We have been busy having fun. This past weekend we attended our communities Halloween Party. We had fun eating hot dogs, making necklaces and helping to support our FRG's and other families. We entered Jaker's into the costume contest, he took 1st place. He won his own personal DVD player and screen. He has been having fun watching is costume inspired movie with his brother and sister. I am just really glad that my kids costumes turned out great and they love them. We are also just really glad to have Dave home to share this with us. We are loving having fun-loved inspired food. It is never dull having him home. We will post more of our fun in the next couple of days!!!

Having a good day!

2009-09-15T08:50:00.000-06:00

We are back to the weekly spelling tests, skinned knees, talk of bus rides. It's nice to have the weekday schedule back in order.

This pass Labor Day weekend was just full of brothers and sister fun. I am glad my kids are getting to the age were they like playing together.

Back to School

2009-08-25T13:43:00.002-06:00

August 24th marked the day the kids went back to school. Shae is now off to middle school. She is loving the perks the school has to offer. She now doen't need to ever carry books. The have in classroom books and take home books. She is excited that she is in Art and Mixed Choir.

Shae also now must take the school bus. Which was scary the driver was over an hour late to pick them up and almost an hour late dropping them off. He got lost on the way home yesturday and was taking driving directions from a student. They did get a not so nice phone call this morning. I love how she just laughed it off.

Ethan is back to school with a new attitude. He wants to walk to school by himself. So we came up with a plan that I can just walk him to the crosswalk. Except for yesturday he let Jake and I walk him there and meet his teacher, see his classroom, and help care all his school supplies. He just wants to be grown up so bad.

Jacob is doing his Pre-K at home. He loves his school supplies and tries to play with them all day and night. Its awesome when he tells me he misses Ethan, but as soon as he gets home wants him gone.

Last Day of Freedom....& Shae getting a perm!

2009-08-25T13:27:00.004-06:00

Our Newest Member

2009-07-24T23:15:00.002-06:00

We decided to add to our family. We adopted a 8 week old mini dachshund, with a lot of spirit.

The kids named him Sargent, spelt a little diff so he could be nicknamed Sarg. Like Ethan's favorite movie (this week) Bolt, he has picked his person which is Ethan. He does like to try to tackle Jake, not very successful, but is really cute.

Random Shots

2009-07-06T09:29:00.004-06:00

New SpringWidget

2009-07-06T06:57:00.001-06:00

Get this widget!

The Ups and Down

2009-06-05T17:31:00.003-06:00

WOW, there has been a lot going on.

We ended April and began May with birthdays, Shae and Jakers! We had a blast celebrating them. My Shae takes after her daddy loves making art, composing music, and loves animals. Jakers on the other hand is Jakers loves balloons high tall ones. So yes for their birthday's they got what they loved.

On the 3rd of May we watched our soldier go off for his tour. At least we got to spend a majority of the day with him. He called as he was about to take off, we ran outside and about 15 minutes later we got to see his plane take off. The boys stood outside for about an hour waving at every plane they saw(all being commerical airliners).

We have heard from Dave, he is doing well! He loves to tell us about the Coke cans, weird bugs, camel spiders, and all the work he is doing.

The kids finished up school yesterday the 4th of June. Ebay graduated form Kindergarden! He had a good year, he made some really nice friends. He loves to come home each day and teach Jakers everything he knows. Shae graduated Elementary school, next year she is off to Middle school. She was award the A/B Honor Roll Award, Presidential Award, TAKS Award, and First Place in 50 yard dash. I'm so happy to see both of them excel this school year.

We have had our Ups and Downs....Just hoping to always keep our heads above the water.

You like that clown? Laugh it up clown! Ha Ha Ha yeah you're not laughing now are you clown?

2009-04-14T23:06:00.003-06:00

Eggstravaganza

2009-04-14T09:43:00.012-06:00

We hope everyone had a great and wonderful Easter!

For our Easter we started it on Saturday; we went to the Easter Eggstravaganza down at Biggs Park. There was something for everyone to do. The kids got their faces painted, Shae was a cat, Ethan got Spiderman, and Jake had a balloon. Everything there was inspired by recycling which is awesome! We got to make Easter baskets out of old milk cartons. That was really fun and everyone got involved Dave helped Ebay and I got to help Jake. Shae managed by herself.

Ethan and Shae were taught how to make butterflies and flower out of coffee filters and other odd ends. Jake really loved the bubbles; it was windy enough that you really didn't need to do anything except to hold up the bubble wand.

They had an egg hunt for every kids age group; and WOW I don't know who was more competitive the parents or the kids.

Later that night we went bowling with the other Waiting Families. Since Dave is leaving here in a couple of weeks we all got to go as a family. It was so much fun to go and have fun for the night. Dave showed us no mercy with his fierce bowling skills. With 6 people bowling it took us only 1 1/2 hours for finish one game (and that is having only two adults, the rest kids!)

Easter was a blast we did the whole hiding of the baskets, egg hunt and grilled hamburgers. Yes, ham and potatoes sounded really good last week so we changed it up a bit with the food!

Once again, we hope everyone had a great Easter!

My Little Rocket Band Man

2009-04-13T19:32:00.004-06:00

Family Day

2009-03-16T20:07:00.003-06:00

Wow on Friday we went to Dave's battalion party. Can I say it was AWESOME!!! The Officers and NCO's did the BBQing, so that meant that Dave actually got to hang out with us. We had a lot of fun hanging out with our friends. The kids played very hard at the playground and in the bounce houses. They even loved the dance competitions the boys would stop in the middle of the walk ways and start dancing. Who knew my kids could really dance. Dave wanted to enter them in the contest.
We went and meet a lot of Dave's battle buddies. We watched some friendly and not so friendly sports. I do feel assured that Dave will be in good hands with them.
Also I need to say looking and going inside the tanks and other vehicles was so cool. Jake kept kicking me out and telling me that I couldn't go in cuz I was the mommy. They showed us how they move the tank gun. Shae wanted to be the driver, they boys wanted to be the ones that watch the T.V.'s in the tank. They were upset to learn that they don't watch T.V. on them.
To round up the day the families walked the first mile to Iraq with their soldiers. Awesome to see all the support.

Dress Yourself...

2009-03-03T18:00:00.004-07:00

I love when kids think they are big enough to dress themselves. Here are just a few random pictures.

Oh so tired!

2009-03-02T11:15:00.002-07:00

I swear if there was ever a family of crazy, rolled in crazy, then dipped in to a crazy sauce it's us. This last week was just that, we started of smooth, but by this morning I had about enough of it. So here it is in a nutshell. Monday, David's NCO forgot that we had dentist appointments for the kids, we get back and not 5 minutes later here is Sgt. Rush at the door. When the kids all greeted him with their stories of the dentist he remembered so Dave didn't get into trouble. Thank goodness!!! Next day, post housing stopped by to inform me that we need to take down our pool, because they are working on new rules for our size pool. She hoped that the new rules would be done in a couple of weeks, but I still had 48 hours to have it all down. So I had to call Dave and tell him the news, so he got to take off the rest of the day. Wednesday, Dave had to go to sick call then he was home for 24 hours. Ethan was sent home from school due to dry skin, I was like are you serious. The teacher was scared it my be something else and the school nurse wasn't there to reassure her. (But he did call the next day to say sorry and tell me I was right, and tell me of different remedies that might help him and me. Sorry Ethan you just have skin like me. DRY!!!) Thursday was okay; I should have known that was only a setup for the weekend. Friday, payday and grocery day what a nightmare at the commissary there was a 25 minute wait to just check out. After that it was okay we were having fun Dave had brigade which meant he had a 3 day weekend. So we BBQ and he had his friend Buckley over for some Rock Band. Then around 11 pm. Ethan comes out and tells me he thinks he is sick. Oh Baby, he had a fever of 103 for about the next 36 hours. By Saturday afternoon we called the hospital and they told us that we could take him in, but Ebay didn't want to go anywhere. So we just kept an eye on him, by Sunday morning the fever broke and went down to 99.7 which is a lot better. Then by the night Jake was starting to get hot, so early this morning Dave ended up at the ER with Jake to find out he has tonsillitis and extremely heavily congested lungs and chest. So he is home now with tons of medications and new inhaler and inhaler chamber thingy that he gets to suck on about 4-6 times a day.
Wow, I think that that was all....so I just hope that crazy finds someone new!!! But not any of us!!

Thank goodness it's Monday!

2009-02-23T17:52:00.003-07:00

Wow if I was ever glad to wake up and have the day a Monday it was today. Don't get me wrong I am all about the T.G.I.F. thing. The weather around is weird right when it started to get cold it snowed, then when we start to warm back up it snows. The temps are now in the low to mid 80's, so what do you do...get ready for summer!!! We thought there would be nothing to it, except it was back braking work. But we did it... we got the pool back up and running, the start of the gardening, and got the yard policed. I got to tell you that it was weird to start doing all of this then look at the calender and it only being February.
Another awesome thing we did was get the Wii connected to the Internet. It was a blast to call Nate and play Mario Kart. My kids can't wait to play Uncle Nate...but beware of Ethan he is good for a 5 year old. So now everyone needs to get the Wii and lets play!

We are still alive

2009-02-20T10:05:00.004-07:00

Wow it has been awhile since we have blogged. We have been busy with Dave coming home, Valentine's Day, Presidents Day Weekend, and shopping.

With Dave coming home we need to make posters, hang streamers and balloons, and make cupcakes. We had a blast, and made a mess. When Dave came home he had presents for everyone and tons of candy.

We have been having fun flying kites, playing in the good weather and even in the bad since we have been here it has snowed twice nothing like Utah its more like a weird sleet.

Anywho, we gave Dave his birthday present early...we got him Rock Band 2. We have had a couple of Rock Band parties with our family, even Dave's friends have come over to play.

Valentine's Day was great! Dave BBQ for us, we watched movies and played. We are still alive and things are going great!!!

Bravo PFC Millett!!!

2009-01-22T16:03:00.005-07:00

We just want con-grads Dave for becoming PFC Millett on 17th of January 2009!!!

For those who don't know what that means he ranked up!

Say Cheese!!!

2009-01-10T23:22:00.001-07:00

Hello again.....

2009-01-10T22:18:00.006-07:00

Happy 2009 Everybody! It has been awhile since we last wrote. We had a great time in Utah for our leave. I love that now my dog Macy is now depressed, thanks Bella! She just had the best time playing in the snow, eating out of someone else bowl with out get snipped at, and playing all day and night. Peanut on the other hand is upset that there is no one here that will give her a hand out. I love the evil eye that Bella has in this picture, she is just showing off her true diva side.

The kids had a great time hanging out with everyone! But when we got home they were a little disappointed that Santa didn't leave anything here. But that mood didn't last very long once we got the car unloaded, then they realized that they made out like bandits. The boy especial Ethan has a hard time parting with their awesome jersey's; just to have them washed. At this time I'm SO happy that they have to wear an uniform for school. Shae is the envy of her friends with her skateboard thingy, I'm glad we have a speed limit of 15mph in the neighborhood and lots of police to enforce it.

It's was good food, fun and family! It was truly great to see everyone. Wow it's only been a week and it seems that it was so far away. It's just so funny, to be away from the norm of life here. When we got home we had another 2 days to try to recover and get Dave ready, he was out the door Friday. From what I have heard from him is he got to NTC just fine. It's going to be a long month we already have Jake cry for him nearly all the time. The other two have school to occupy majority of their time. I keep him in fresh supply of balloon and call it good. I hope that doesn't make me sound rude.

I hope everyone is recovering from us being there, at least you can look at it this way you have till June then the crazy will be back!

Christmas Party

2008-12-02T10:29:00.000-07:00

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Countdown till Christmas

2008-12-02T09:52:00.002-07:00

Hello everyone! I am glad to hear that everyone has had an awesome Thanksgiving. Ours was fun, Dave was on the decorating team at the D-Fac he didn't get home till about 10am. He was extremely tired so we ate early and let the turkey take effect on our family. But we wasted no time the next day to get in the Christmas spirit. We took the challenge to go out to the stores to see how bad it really was. It was really fun! We also got to hear the whole time we were there what they wanted. It is funny how the older they get the more they want. Shae has a list as long as I am tall. The boys just want cars and action figures. Oh and if you are reading this Santa, we will be in Utah for Christmas please deliver to Noni and Popi's house.
Well nineteen more days till we come home!

While Dad is gone we have fun....

2008-11-19T21:12:00.012-07:00

Dave went out on Wednesday the 12Th to his Field Training, so on Friday we decided to have a slumber party. It was so much fun we started the night off with some pizza. After dinner we had Wii wars with Mario Kart. In the picture below you can tell that Ethan doesn't take losing very well (we are working on that and sharing!) We were having so much fun, it was to bad that Dad wasn't home. After we had our fun with at we decided to make up some beds, we threw in The Bee Movie and pop the popcorn & ripped opened the candy. (Yes Natalie we had licorice cause we were HOT!!!) We all finally hit the hay around 3:30am and were back up by 7am. That night really let me know I'm not a kid anymore, I need my sleep. So we turned on the T.V. and watch the Phineas and Ferb marathon (awesome cartoon). Sunday, dinner time was like a sitcom. The only veggie I had in our house was peas and everyone know I HATE PEAS! But I sucked it up and had to eat them to seat a good example for my kids. Well I get done with my dinner and step outside to talk on the phone. Then the house erupts in laughter and I could hear Shae call out "Mom!" I went inside there was a FOOD FIGHT in progress. I mean there was mash potatoes, gravy, peas on the ceiling, doors, walls, everywhere. I guess the kids thought if the peas aren't on my plate then I don't have to eat them. I was mad for a minute then all I could do was smile. I hope that doesn't take away any of our dinner invites. Speaking of dinners there is one thing I really have been missing since I'm not there anymore, that is Cafe Rio. But I did find this awesome page it is a must to check out http://heidikins.com/2008/08/29/whippin-it-up-cafe-rio-pork-barbacoa-salad-with-tomatillo-dressing/#comment-4572. Now you can make it at home and that is what I'm planning on doing this next week.
Anyways...our new thing is that after dinner when we turn on music and clean up. Below is what I caught Jaker's doing. It is awesome! Ethan is becoming an awesome break dancer. Shae is now interested in music singing, playing any insturment she can get! I love she is so much like David and I, I won't say that out loud cause to her we are old. Jake it looks like he has a future in table dancing. That is just a joke!
It's time for me to say see you all later!
-Kati

Gracing You With My Words.......

2008-11-07T18:43:00.008-07:00

It has been awhile since I have got on and said something. (It's cause Dave is a computer hog!!!) So tonight I have kicked him off for at least 15 minutes or so. Now with that time I have decided to write a little something, something.

There is a lot going on here, next week Dave leaves on Wednesday to go out for 12 fun filled days and nights to play soldier. A couple of weeks ago Dave went and got all his gear for his tour. So when he got home it was like watching a child in a candy store; Dave got everything out and was playing dress up. He was having so much fun we all got into it. There is nothing like having the whole family play dress up. That also reminds me I hear form everyone that there are no pictures of me on the blog so here you go!

See I do have my picture taken every once in a while!

Well as Dave has told you we had a blast here on Halloween! Dave and I had our friends over; we had the dads take the kids out and the wives stayed here to hand out CANDY!!! Our house was a little to scary for some kids, their parents would have to come up and get the candy. Here on base you can only trick-or-treat from 6-8pm so when 7:30 hit we still had a bunch of candy so we called the MP's on their bikes over and let them sit a while and eat candy!!! Shae went out with one of her friends and her dad. He decided the good candy was down on where the General and Commanders live (Officer's Road). There was one house where it had a chalk out line of a person, as you approach the door there was a lady laying down on the grounds and when she saw the girls the started screaming "HELP ME" then a man pulled her back at that point Shae and her friend took off. The man in the house came outside and asked if they wanted the candy. Shae wasn't to sure if she wanted to go back. She did and came home with half of a pillow case filled with all the good stuff.

We have all had a great start to the fall, we do miss the change of the seasons. Here we get sandstorms instead of the snowstorms. Its crazy it's kind of cold, but we still wear shorts and short sleeves; at morning or night you can throw on a jacket!

Well it is time for me to go! We love you all!

P.S. Tuesday is Veterans Day! Remember to hug a Vet!!!

Happy halloween and such

2008-11-06T21:31:00.006-07:00

So it has been awhile since a new post and so here is a new one. Halloween was awesome and we had a great time and scared a few kids by the way we decorated our house. Anywho, if anyone watched the Simpsons Halloween special it was awesome, if you didn't, find it and watch it. Hopefully we will be coming home for Xmas and, the Utes just beat TCU, sweet, so to continue, an update, we will be leaving for Iraq in March or April. Kati and the kids will be coming back while I am gone (during summer break) for a couple or three weeks during that time so that will be good for the kids. Shae is getting one B and the rest A's in school, and Ethan is doing alright in school but he is having a hard time concentrating. His kindergarten is all day so it is easy to understand why he is acting up. It is usually near the end of the day when he has his problems. Also I look like a sergeant major so that's cool, and I got promoted. I know there's more to say although I can't remember what it is. Good luck to Utah Utes and the Jazz. Soccer is what it is. he he. Anyway, we are like Subway, piled high with deliciousness. Later!

Also BYU

Howdy Yall!

2008-11-02T15:40:00.003-07:00

Kati will write a new blog soon. He He He. C/ya!

Birthday Shout Outs!!!

2008-10-20T11:25:00.002-06:00

I want to wish those of you who enjoy having an October Birthday "Happy Birthday!" Those people include Tera, Gunther, me and Grandpa Bud. I hope you receive every birthday wish. Sorry if I missed anyone.
Well what is new...well Dave was chosen to move to the other shift at the D-Fac. He and two others were named, but the funny thing they forgot to tell Dave so the other morning we go one angry message and one nice one. The first one was yelling "Millett you were supposed to be here at 4:00am and now it is 4:05am." The next message was "Oh we forgot to tell you the other shift asked for you to move to their shift, just come in when you get this message". It's nice for him to be recognized by most of the NCO's.
Well about two more months and we will be able to come home and relax.

Gone Peanuts

2008-10-12T19:05:00.002-06:00

We had a recent visit from Noni and Popi; they were so nice to bring us down our dog. Now we are all nuts over Peanut! We had a great time with them we got to show them our new home and all that El Paso has to offer us. They kids loved showing them everything. We got to go to the zoo and see all the cool animals. There were a lot of cool animals that we had never seen. There was an orangutan that was so fun he had an old potato sack that he was using as a blanket and trying to eat paper. They have sea lions there and were so amazing to watch swim and dive. There was a sun bear that was loving his watermelon. We also got to play and watch part of the Air show that they had here on base. That was just cooler then anything I have seen in awhile. I do have to admit they do have a lot of cool thing all the time here. It's weird to kind of step back and realize that not everyone sees tanks, crushers, old war planes and missiles everyday. This is the best gated community of life.
We are really happy that we will be back for Christmas if everything goes right; so we might be seeing you all sooner then we had thought. That makes us here a little bit happier.

1..2..3 strikes and El Paso shopping district is OUT!

2008-09-13T22:55:00.004-06:00

So you might have seen the new pictures, we finally got a pool. Jake was a super big help by shoving things into things. The pool is great, and is big enough for a midget to drowned in. Maybe I should have said oompa loompa or vertically challenged. Either way, it's deep enough to drowned a midget. So the one two three and you're out is about my first and only visit to the McDonalds across the road from WalMart. It has a playground and I thought it would be fun for the kids to go and play. While the kids were playing and I got our cups and as I was about to fill them up I noticed a very large DEAD beetle underneath the ice catcher grate thingy. Gross and holy freaking ewww. Today I went to Taco Bell, (after we went to Lowes, more to follow) and while the family was waiting in the car, I was waiting for my order. One of the patrons asked for the tables to be wiped down, and an employee, wearing gloves, obliged. Then, after moving chairs and wiping down tables, she (the employee) returned to the kitchen and began to stuff lettuce and cheese into the tacos I was waiting for. I almost shoved a police officer in line out of the way to tell the cashier what was going on. I spoke with the manager and informed him that my brigade 1st lieutenant is an inspector for the city of El Paso and just yesterday failed Applebees , Golden Corral and my very own Dining Facility. So anywho, at Lowes, I have never seen more beetles in my 32 years than I saw in 30 minutes at Lowes, both dead and alive. We thought it would be fun to have a sandbox. We spent a good 20 minutes loading up 8 bags of sand, picking through those without holes. After finding some fencing to secure our backyard for the pool, loading up on some lava rocks for the entrance to the pool to help keep the grass out, 20 minutes spent looking at lawn mowers, we asked to get some 6 inch by 4 inch wood for the sand box (6 inch tall, 4 inch wide). After all of our time, we were told, "the saw is broken sir". Well okay, I guess if the saw is not working, I can understand. IF I WAS AT SMITHS! GO GET A FREAKIN SAW! THERE MUST BE AT LEAST ONE SAW HERE IN THIS HARDWARE STORE! But no, apparently they don't carry anything like that. Oh wait, except for the very large TABLE SAW that we passed on our way to the cashier. Question: How does a hardware store not have a saw? Should make that a poll question. So the moral to the story is, El Paso sucks. Maybe not sucks, but at the very least is not good. Plus, the sports radio down here blows. Anywho, yep. Love you all and miss every single one of you. Good night, and god bless.

Best joke ever, proper respect to momma p

2008-09-05T23:04:00.001-06:00

Where does a mouse go when he loses his tail?
To the retail store. he he ha ha hooo

New School Year

2008-09-02T12:15:00.003-06:00

Last week Shae and Ethan started school. After doing the back to school shopping we found out that they have a uniform policy. Shae is kind of liking the new school, things are different they have periods instead of one teacher and classroom. She also found out that P.E. here is actually P.T. there is no more dodge ball or kick ball. It was a good thing last year she started putting rocks in her backpack, cause her bags weight is about the same as her. Ethan is loving school! He loves to do homework and has learned how to spell RED. He had to make a collage about himself and it had to have Spiderman, broccoli, and pancakes on it. Jake had a hard time adjusting to Ebay being gone. Now he love being home with me by himself. He has learned he doesn't get into as much trouble. I love how quite the house is during the day!

I'll be leaving now

2008-08-22T22:18:00.001-06:00

So..............reality finally hits home might be the best way to describe the feelings we as a family are all feeling. We knew we we joined that there were possibilities that would effect our family in a way that cannot be described with words. In a meeting a few days ago with the Command Sergeant Major of my brigade, I was informed of the probable date of our deployment. We are looking at May or June of 2009. Our training for deployment will be finished in the latter part of January or early February, which would put us in a status of "ready to deploy". We will either be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. I believe the latter is the a more likely destination, given the current combat needs. Who knows the fate of my unit. Those I have talked to who have been deployed as cooks have either made eggs and bacon, or have been hit by IED's. It's a bit of a crap shoot. If we go to Afghanistan, there are no cooks. it is all civilians. At the same time, if we go to Iraq, there are minimal amounts of cooks, mostly civilians. Myself as a private, lowest level rank, would not bee cooking but doing other things. I guess the few positives are, if I to Iraq or Afghanistan I will be on the back lines, although the DFAC (mess hall) is a popular target, and my children will be able to have a certain sense of pride in saying that their daddy served his country with the same love and vigor that he has for them. As with all things, there is a bit of uncertainty in the future of our families fate. I hope to send Kati and the kids home relatively soon to reunite with all of you who have given us so much support through these "different" times. I hope to see and hear from you all soon. God bless America.

moved in

2008-08-21T16:07:00.003-06:00

We are really happy we are moved in and living in a great house. We have been having fun getting use to our new way of life. It has been a change learning how to do things the Army way. There is one thing though there is always something to do around here. The kids mainly swim, that is the main thing to do here. It is great to say that we are all tan now! If it isn't sunshine and hot then it is raining and thunder/lighting storms. We do flood a lot here, but that is okay! The night life around here with the kids is fun. We wait till it is dark and has cooled off a bit then we turn on the porch light and quietly go outside to say hi to our lizard friends. They scared us at first, but now they are fun to watch. There is also no shortage of bugs outside as well that the kids love to explore and look at. They have bug catchers and love to catch stuff. Well we got to go and make dinner. But first this question is for Big Ben what is the difference between an attiorney and an attorney? Around here on the news they like to report on attiorneys!

Making Friends

2008-07-20T16:45:00.000-06:00

Still at the hotel here on base we are making great friends. We were sad to see the guys from the UK Army leave this weekend. They were great and knew some of my favorite shows from BBC. We are getting a lot of advise if we like it or not. For the most part we love it. Well this Tuesday we do move in to our house YEAH!!! We have driven by it and it is way cute. The kids cant wait to have friends to have sleep-overs and to make forts. But the peoples here are good peoples. And Peanut we have a friend for you his name is Scooter and he is a Yorkie. So when you get here will go over to have a play date! We love you girly girl!!!

My Very First Blog

2008-07-11T22:27:00.000-06:00

Hello, my name is Dave. This is my first blog, and to make sure that I get it right or do it right or post it right or whatever, I will read a whole bunch of different blogs and get back to you. Thank you and good night. P.S. If you were thinking of moving to Texas, keep thinking.

hey

2008-07-11T21:55:00.000-06:00

comment you!

Here At A Hotel

2008-07-11T21:25:00.000-06:00

Well living at a hotel isnt all it is cracked up to be!!! We do have a swimming pool that we do utilize when the weather does permit. So yes the weather has been up and down great weather this last 4th of July weekend, but as soon as Dave has to go and report the weather turned for the worst and I did have to deal with the kids inside for the week! I wanted to pull out every last strand of hair. The one plus thing was that we can rent movies and they arent the century old movies that the kids dont know. So yes I have almost caught up on all my movies; bring it on trivia questions that I can know answer.(FYI Dad has an awesome collection that will never leave you disappointed)(P.S. Dad and Mom we miss you and love you) Anyways people I will get pictures posted and keep you up to date with us nothing at this point really has changed except seeing Dave in his ACU and PT clothing and yes he does look good. I do love that we are all getting great tans we are looking good.
Oh on another front Shae has made a great friend her name is Victoria. She play with her everyday either at are room or hers.(Bonus her room is right acrossed from us) Ethan has made a few in the pool. But he does miss Nathan across the street and pretends to talk to him on the phone everyday. He has written him a letter and then had Shae rewrite it to make it understandable. Jake, well his only friends are his brother and sister, but everyone thinks he is so cute. So do I!!!!
Dave is great and love that it is the weekend!!! We are missing everyone and love our families so much. Dad we really miss the comments about everything and Mom we need another joke. Grandpa Millett we miss your friendly smile and Grandma D we miss you comforting smile. We will finish this by saying we love you all and miss you and please call even if it just to say "hi"!

Starting A New Life

2008-07-10T13:10:00.000-06:00

On July 1st, 2008 we started our trip to our new home at Fort Bliss. That was a very long drive and with three wild children it was crazy. By the end of our first day on the first day we had to only pull over one time and threaten to turn the car around. That thought-for the kids was a good idea and only fueled them up more. So we decided to find somewhere to stop and stay. We found the small town of Cortez, Co. We unload what we need which in a way was about everything in the car. We took the kids swimming and that seemed to make them calm down a bit. My kids do have alot of energy and there seemed to be no way of exhausting it! We did eventually get them down for the night, but were up as soon as our heads hit the pillows. Got up and had an awesome breakfast courtesy of The Best Western. Then we had to load the whole car up again and then an hour later were off in the direction of Texas. There wasnt alot to look at on the road. But we all would get a kick out of seeing the "Your entering so and so""Your leaving so and so". The butterflies started kicking up when we entered Texas and all you could see was millions of cows. There were cows everywhere! CRAZY Then it was the getting on base here we arrived about 8pm. and sitting there at the welcome center waiting for Dave. Not knowing where we would stay and it has been nervousing not knowing where you actually be in a day or a week, or a month. So many questions and the answers dont get answered quickly it could be days before you get an answer for the littlest and most stupid questions. We are still alive and the kids are still driving me crazy. Talk to you all later!!!!