So we moved again....

 alright, you guys already know we moved.  here is the swimming pool on the 25th floor of the hotel.  its pretty sweet.

 first day of walking around exploring and we mistook that statue for a gorilla... nope, just a buff horse.  slap a couple of tiny wings on him and he'd be Buff Biceps (MLP reference)

 We heard there was a Halloween party happening the day after we arrived at our local church, and we figured it was the perfect time to get acquainted with the river taxi.  exciting!

 see... I told you there was a Halloween party.  We never did end up trick-or-treating on the actual date, the only place we knew about that was doing it was pretty far away and people didn't feel well that day anyway.  But here you have a Jedi, Mike Trout, and a purple princess. Jovey has never seen Sophia the First, she just saw the purple dress and fell in love because its her favorite color.

we already know where to find some crazy food, and no I didn't buy or try these particularly crazy items.  Ew.

Driving in New England!

 we drove a lot...  but there was plenty to see from the road... houses...

bar cafe...

 old rock walls farmers built from rocks they tilled up to mark the edge of their land...

 Voluntown...

and gorgeous scenery (and houses)...

New England!

 For spring break we went on a tour of New England... I enjoyed much of the area, and yes, it really is just like all those pictures... older, used but taken care of, overcast....  lol

We stopped at the Children's Museum in Hartford CT.  They have a bit of everything: giant sperm whale sculpture, dinosaur on the roof, giant lite brite, exhibits on animals and mars, massive lego area...

and the boys decided that life as a turtle wasn't very fun, those shells are pretty heavy.

October birthday...

For Jackson's b-day we went to Canada. Started off with a fall foliage train ride, pretty awesome... pretty and the kids loved riding the train.



Next day we went for a walk all around Ottawa, capital of Canada, it seems like a very nice place. This made our fourth world capital within the last year we were able to visit... China, Japan, US, and Canada. Its crazy where you end up when you travel in the military! Of course, we also happened to visit Canada during their thanksgiving, which apparently they celebrate much like America does.
There are tons of statues around the parliament building, founders, recognition of important events, etc. This was the kids' favorite... I'm sure it has nothing to do with the sword.









It was a long walk and involved a stop at the museum of natural history. Tons of cool stuff there.

It's a Good Time for the Great Taste

Well, I have now sampled McDonalds fine cuisine in yet another part of this blue marble we call earth, first North America followed by South America, then Japan and now the middle east. Kuwait to be specific and for the record I could taste something different but i couldn't quite tell what with the Big Mac I ate. It wasn't bad, it was just different. Something seemed off with the fries too. Japan still has the best Micky D's food in the world but then again, it's Japan and I expected nothing different.

I am in love with a McDonald's girl

She has a smile of innocence so tender and warm

I am in love with a McDonald's girl

She is an angel in a polyester uniform

In The End

And.... this is what they would have looked like next to eachother if we had actually gone trick or treating in Okinawa... but let me explain.

Coryn loves making angry faces for the camera, especially when he's not angry. This was taken after we got told we made it on the plane. We had traveled to the states in space-available seating. which means that when we left we had to get up and be at the airport by 6 am to wait until 1130 to see if there were enough seats for our number on the list. This also means that we would be attempting to travel back using the same method, which didn't work the first time because the flight was full. So we had to travel back to Boise from Seattle, stay another week, and try again. We had to get to Seattle the night before so that we would be on time to sign in and wait again until 1130 to see if we got on. We spent these nights at the USO in the airport, not knowing the Seattle area very well and not wanting to miss roll call. The USO people are wonderful, and understanding. But on the nights that we stayed there I can't say I was very comfortable. They offer beds, but not enough for the nights that the patriot flies, and there is a childrens room with toys and cribs and sofas, but its loud from the people in the next room and if other children aren't sleeping. They don't have enough blankets and pillows for everyone, nor do they have enough room. I love what the USO provides and appreciate the wonderful volunteers, but it about broke my heart when I went into the luggage room in the morning and had to step over a dozen soldiers in uniform lying on the floor sleeping and then making them wake up so we could leave. Thank you USO for everything you do, in the states and out.

How to Get to Afghanistan Without Really Even Trying

So I trained at Bragg from 18 July - 8 October. After a too short leave period which I was able to spend in Boise (Lisa and the boys happened to be over there too) I returned to Bragg and began the adventure of getting to a war zone. On 16 July at 1030 those of us that were part of the ADVON (basically an advance party) for the 12 PRTs deploying (three from each team) boarded a charter bus and drove from Fayettevile, NC to the Baltimore/Washington International Airport. A drive that took 6 or 7 hours. After checking luggage, eating dinner, and waiting a while for the flight to board we took off around midnight on the morning of the 17th. I sat on the plane next to a little boy who was about three or four and reminded me a lot of Coryn. As I was putting my bag in the overhead bin he looked up at me and said, "You know what? I think I'm going to let you sit next to me." I thanked him for that and I chatted for a bit with him and his mother who was sitting on his other side. His dad had recently returned from Afghanistan and they were returning to Germany where he is stationed. I asked the kid what his name is and he told me, "Bruce Wayne, you know, the super hero." To which I responded, "You mean the billionaire owner of Wayne Industries? hum, I thought you would have been older." His name was actually Joseph but his mom told me he had been pretending to be Bruce Wayne for the last couple of day.

Well, we flew from BWI to Rammstein, Germany and after a 90 layover to refuel and change aircrew we continued on to Insurlik, Turkey where we had another 90 layover and on to Manas, Krygyzstan. Now there's someplace I NEVER though I would be able to say I had visited. For some reason, the military... I'm not sure if it was Army or Air Force but I can only assume it was the Army (I now make it a point to slander the Army at least once a day... it a good venting method) had only booked us through Manas and we then had to make further arrangement to actually get a flight to Afghanistan. Well, Manas was a pretty nice place, which is good because we were stuck there for about four days. There was good food, an LDS sacrament service on Sunday (there were three of us in attendance), and a few shops so I was able to send a few souvenirs home.

This is a shop that was set up to look like a Yurt... I bought a Kyrgyzstan shot glass there.

6495 miles from BWI to Manas.

Yes, I'm well aware I'm about to enter a war zone... thanks for the reminder, especially while you're warm and cozy in the Club Med of "deployments"

The cool little chapel at Manas

I'm not sure this is the best way to start a licence plate in a former Soviet Republic, but maybe it's just me.

We Finally got a flight on a C-17 from Manas to Bagram and after a few days of briefs and trying to get a flight to FOB Gardez I arrived at the forward operating base I will be calling home for the next 9 months. It took about 10 or so days total to get here, but I have arrived and I am ready to get on with it. I'll post a little more about Gardez soon, assuming the Internet doesn't go down... it happens around here.

Here's me on the C-17...

...and here is everyone else (Lisa, that's Jane leaning forward on the right)

Oklahoma City

At last, photos are available to show our trip to Oklahoma City in September. The flights went as well as they could have with a nearly toddler, but we were happy to be on the ground again. Of all the things to see and do in Oklahoma City we chose one historical and one fun place to visit.
Our historical option was to visit the Oklahoma City Memorial which is really quite a sight to see and so creatively and meaningfully put together. This picture shows the chairs... one for each person killed in the bombing and set in nine rows depending on which floor they were on. This is just one of the many details set into the wonderful monument.

Coryn was happy to see his dad, and took to latching onto him before to long. Here we are at the zoo where Coryn 'growled' at nearly every animal there. His favorite was probably a bird exhibit which allowed visitors to feed a large group of loud tropical birds while they fly around and alight on shoulders.
As ever, happy bath time!