Basic Training Art

Airshow

So, we caved and went to the airshow after all.

Last Minute cont....

So, we had a great drive down to Kenai. It was so pretty. We didn't see a single animal though. I was disappointed. When we finally found an RV/Camp ground with room, the clerk told us as we were walking out the door, "Be careful, there's been a grizzly hanging around here." Part of me thinks it's a joke they play on the city folk- just to see us squirm. The realistic part of me knew that she wasn't lying. This is bear country. Needless to say I was spooked. I told Sgt. Dad to back into our camping spot and leave the keys in the ignition and that if he heard anything that even sounded remotely like a bear to jump up and tear out of there! We could go back for the "stuff" later! No bear sounds were heard though. However, we did learn something about van camping. An air mattress is very cold! Next time we'll bring a heavy blanket for insulation! We had to turn the van on for heat during the night.

When we got up in the morning we drive down the highway for breakfast. It was a quaint little lodge with homemade bread and home fries. It was really good. We drove on down the highway a bit further to try out luck at "combat fishing". Sgt. Dad decided that he'd save his combat for military use and we left without even casting a line one time. Besides I was really scared of bears. There were signs all over warning of bear activity and what to do should you "run" into one. I saw an awful lot of fish and fish guts lying around- looked like bear bait to me! Of course, Sgt Dad walking behind me on the wooded trail, growling, didn't do anything to calm my jittery nerves!

All in all, it was fun and I'll do it again. Next time I think we'll try fishing at night, since the sun is up almost all the time, it won't be as bad as it sounds. I have a plan too- I'm going to look for the burliest Alaskan carrying the BIGGEST gun and keep close. After all, the heaviest weapon I carry is my cell phone. I'm not sure that throwing a cell phone at a grizzly would be much of a deterrent. Do you?

Last Minute

So, Sgt. Dad and I took off for the Kenai Peninsula on the spur of the moment last night. One of his friends asked us to fish with him today and rather than drive 2+ hours in the morning,we jumped in the van and camped out. We left the boys at home and the van made a great camper for two.
More later..........

Calling All Writers

Okay, so Ranger has been regularly writing to me. He says he's very bored at night and has asked for letters. So, Family and friends- if you don't have his address and want it, please email me or call Mom and Dad or call me and I'll give you his address. Even if all you do is mail him the comics page from the Sunday paper. (I'm not 100% sure they will let him have it but they did say we could mail magazine articles- maybe the comics will count)
He is doing well in basic but he doesn't know what to do with himself in his down time. He even mailed me a picture he drew, "for the refrigerator". He hasn't done that in probably 10 years!
In other news, Sgt Dad and I are scrounging up the $$ to fly down for Ranger's graduation. We will likely fly into Atlanta and plan a visit (albiet short) with the family there. So all my Georgian family- be on the lookout for a phone call and a visit in early September! Unfortunately with all the prices skyrocketing these days and Tater and Strumming being in school then, we'll have to come by ourselves.
That's it for now. Write please!

We had hope the Miss South Carolina fiasco was an anomoly.

Remember when the young Miss South Carolina was interviewed and it was SO bad? Here's a reminder:


Well, she just may have a twin, read on:

9AM Mexico: Hey, We Warned You!

CSR, on speakerphone: And where would you like this order shipped?
Secretary: 123 Main St.*, Los Alamos, New Mexico.
CSR : We don't ship out of the country.
Secretary: That's fine, but this address is in the country.
CSR : No, you said to ship it to New Mexico.
Secretary: Yes, New Mexico is a state in the US.
CSR : Sorry, but we can't ship out of the US.
Secretary: Do you have a supervisor I can talk to, please?
[Long pause.]
CSR supervisor: This is Tim. Can I help you?
Secretary: I hope so, Tim. Your employee doesn't seem to understand that New Mexico is a state in the United States, and so refuses to ship me your product.
Supervisor: Well, that's true. We can't ship out of the country. I'm sorry ma'am.
Secretary, raising her voice a little: Have you never even heard of the state of New Mexico? It's one of the big, square ones? It's right between Texas and Arizona? It's one of the 50 United States?
Supervisor: I'm sorry, it's just our policy not to ship out of the US.
Secretary: Tim, let me get this straight. Your company is going to lose a $14,000 order because the people in your customer service department are too moronic to know or comprehend that the state of New Mexico is a part of the United States?
Supervisor: Yes, ma'am. That's our policy.
Secretary, completely exasperated: Well, I guess there's nothing more to be said, is there?
Supervisor: No, ma'am. Have a nice day.

Los Alamos, New Mexico

Overheard by: New Mexican

via Overheard in the Office, Jun 16, 2008

I'm scared for the future of this world........

Hearts

I spied these heart shaped flowers outside the DMV. Does anyone know
what plant this is?

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Well, Tater earned his driver's license. He's very excited. He has already ran an errand for me. He drove himself to work (as you recall it's across the street). He's drooling with excitement over the freedom. I hope he is very responsible. I think he will be. Yet, I'll still keep an ear out for sirens whenever he's out and about.
I realize that my children are growing up but some days that reality just slaps me in the face. Day to day one gets wrapped up in caring for children, home, and work and one doesn't notice the time flying by. Sometimes though, it's impossible not to see it. Like today when I found this picture on Strummer's myspace:

It's Strummer and Tinkerbell looking like every other teenage couple. They look like they are having great fun with each other. As for me, it hit me straight in the face that my baby boy is not a baby boy anymore and another girl is firmly in his heart. All too soon he'll join his brothers in the licensed drivers club. For right now, I'll enjoy everyday I can with him and Tater before they go off to make their way in the world.

Sunday

So, Strummer's Girl came over to spend the afternoon with us. She's a sweet girl. They spent the afternoon playing guitar together and Guitar Hero. It's nice to get a chance to know her a bit. My other two boys insist on hiding their involvements from me. We ordered pizza and it was nice to see a girl actually eat. I remember when I was a teenager, I was very shy to eat in front of my boyfriends until I started dating Sgt. Dad. For some reason, I never felt shy about it around him. These days it wouldn't hurt for me to feel that way- LOL! Anyway, I enjoyed watching Strummer interact with her.

I didn't post for Baby Sister's Birthday last week because I didn't have access to my pictures and I wanted to post one of her. She's eight years old already. I remember calling Mom everyday when it was close to time for her to be born to see if she was coming. I was so excited! Now eight years have flown by! Once again I live far away but I've managed to keep a pretty close relationship with her. She's alot like me and enjoys gabbing on the phone. Happy Birthday Baby Sister!

Sunset

Sgt. Dad and I enjoyed this lovely sunset at 11:30 pm this evening as
we left the theater after seeing The Strangers. The sunset is one of
the most beautiful I've ever seen, the movie one of the scariest!

Close Encounters

This morning while driving into town I spotted a yearling moose running towards rush hour traffic on the highway. He just kept going. All the traffic stopped for him and he bravely dashed out in front of all those cars and trucks. I was afraid there would be an accident. I saw a lot of brake lights and a flurry of hooves and legs everywhere. I guess he changed his mind despite being half-way across. He high tailed it back to the fence, dashed through the "moose gate" and back into the woods.
I got another letter from Ranger today. He said they issued his weapon and he was looking forward to training with it. They have already gone on the confidence course and said he was filmed will going over the walls. I hope that it makes it to his Basic video. He says he's hungry all the time (which I knew would happen) but he says it's because he gets "two minutes" to eat. His graduation is set for September 5th. (my birthday)
One final note: I grilled some chicken on the grill today that would make my Dad proud. It was so good and juicy. Usually I overcook it and burn it a little but today I got it right. Yum!

Mail

Well, this week I have received two letters from Ranger and a form letter from his command. He seems to be do okay. The letters were dated from last weekend. I hope to hear from him again about how his first week went. He wrote that the drill sgts don't seem to yell too much or he's too tired to notice. I think much of basic will be like that for him. He also said the they have a nickname for Fort Jackson, where Sgt. Dad spent 3 years as a drill sgt, "relaxin' Jackson". Sgt. Dad didn't think that was funny.
In other news, Tater was not able to take his road test Wednesday. When he and Sgt Dad attempted to leave for the test, Tater's car wouldn't start. By the time they ecided they wouldn't be able to get it going and elected to use the van instead, it was too late. So, they drove out there anyway to schedule another exam. For some reason, a person has to go to the DMV in person to schedule their road test.
Strummer is finishing up "extended school year" today. He managed to fail science but just barely. So, here they have an extended school year option in lieu of summer school for students like that. It lasts nine days and if they earn enough points they are granted a "D". Maybe it's the difference between boys and girls, maybe I didn't impress enough on my boys the importance of education but I am just astounded that my boys don't seem to care at all about school. My sister and I always got good grades, did our homework, studied for tests (at least a little) but not my boys. I have to hound them about homework or, worse, turning it in. They never seem to study for tests and, when I ask, they tell me they review at school. I hope Strummer learned a valuable lesson and will put more effort into school next year. Even Tater failed a course but he has time to retake it during the school year next year. Let's just hope senioritis hit him this year and he's already recovered.
Sgt Dad and I got a 100% on our mid-term! Yeah! It was a take-home test so there really isn't any reason we shouldn't have. I mean, I can see how that would be possible with Math or even English (if it involves an essay) but Biology or History should always result in an "A". Biology answers don't change neither do History. I mean D-Day will always be the same date in History, right?

Were you dying to know if we caught a fish?

I imagine all my readers have been dying to know about our fishing trip. We came up empty handed once again. We had a great time trying though. The only thing we found was some kind of animal bone. I think it was a vertebrae from a bird. We had packed some sandwiches to eat afterwards but my Tupperware didn't seal properly and they were totally soggy! Yuk! Fortunately the top had stayed dry to we ate them "open-faced". Not as good as a whole sandwich but it filled the belly. We'll keep trying. I am looking forward to the day I can post a "big fish" picture.
I took Tater driving Sunday afternoon in preparation for his road test this Wednesday. We focused on city driving and parallel parking. That took a lot of patience on my part. He got it though. As long as he can stay calm and not panic, he'll do fine. Sgt. Dad is taking the time from work to take him to his test. I'll be on pins and needles waiting to hear how he did.
No word from Ranger yet. I'm anxiously awaiting a phone call or a letter. I'd like to start writing him.
Sgt. Dad and I have our Biology mid-term tomorrow. You might notice that I'm blogging rather than studying. I'm a great procrastinator! Biology is not a course that I looked forward to. Most of it bores me and I have to fight glazing over and zoning out. The only part that really interests me is genetics. That part is very interesting. All the rest is boring to me. It's too bad genetics is intertwined with all the other cellular stuff!
That about covers this army family. See ya!

Happy Birthday Dad

So today is Dad's birthday. When I spoke to him he was enjoying making his newest granddaughter smile. One thing about Dad is that his family means everything to him. From my Dad I really learned about family unity and love of family. Even through my tumultuous teen years (and really, whose weren't?), during the time when most teenagers just "hate" their parents who are so dumb and don't understand anything, I knew that above all and no matter what my Dad loved me.

One time, after a few weeks of my temper tantrums and my being particularly hateful, I got up to use my curling iron one morning and it had died. Those of you who have known me forever realize that during my teen years my hair was IT. I wouldn't dare go out of the house without my hair being perfect. So my curling iron being out of commission was a MAJOR big deal. At that time Dad worked shift work. That night he got home about midnight and came up to see me. I don't know how he found out about my curling iron but he did and some time that day he had gone to the store and bought a new curling iron. That was probably the most meaningful gift my father ever game me. Even then, it meant so much to me that even though I was being really rotten, he made the effort to go shopping and buy that for me. I think that one singular gesture epitomizes the love of a parent: no matter how rotten our kids are behaving, we love them, entirely for being our children.

So, happy birthday Dad. Thanks for all you do and have done. I love you!