Eric and Tor's Change of Command went well today! I was so proud of Eric. The kids did well too. It was somewhat hot this am and I'm happy to say none of the soldiers fell out of formation on the parade field. They all looked great out there and the band added a lot to the celebration.

Unfortunately Tori was too tempted by the pole for the tent right in front of her chair during the Ceremony but it seems she entertained the COL's with her antics.

For Eric, now the fun begins!

The salute

Eric giving his speech. Short and Sweet.

Here's something you don't see on every beach. Go ARMY!

The kids had a blastplaying in the water!!!!

Lake Elmer Thomas

We rented a paddle boat at LETRA. Leave it to the military to make up an acronym for Lake Elmer Thomas Recreation Area "Southwest Oklahoma's Outdoor Paradise". It was a nice relaxing day on the water and on the beach!

Nick's best bud is Cannon. These are good kids. We feel very blessed to have them as neighbors!

Tori's best bud in the neighborhood is John, 13. That's right.

He's teaching her how to skateboard and she's teaching him how to climb poles.

Lord help me.

"Before"

We have had to change our habits living here. It is too darn hot to do anything outside in the middle of the day! Eric was not impressed with my desire to get out there as soon as the sun rose to get the yard work done before the blazin' heat kicked in. And the neighbors were pickin' on me the night before saying that the street light was not put in front of my house so I could plant at night. I'm just trying not to wilt people!!

a quick before shot.

Our Home!

Finally getting some pictures up of our home. Sorry for the delay Mom!
This is the "after a tiny bit of work" picture. We still want to put a nice boarder of rocks around the flower bed but for now we just took out the old mulch and replaced it with new, bought some perrenials, annuals, shrubs, and a tree for the back, and tried to help the neglected plants already here to see if we can hold on to them. We are very happy with the way it is coming along! Now for the grass!!! :-)

Sites & sounds of our new home town.

- This is a picture from our back door. What you see is a farmer on his combine tending to the field behind our fence. Eric plans on taking a jig saw to this back fence. Behind it is a beautiful field that opens up to a expansive view of rolling hills.

- There is a herd of around 30 bison on the road from our neighborhood to the military instillation. You can also find armadillo on that road along with other various large rodent-like creatures (ie raccoons, skunks) Oh and we hear coyotes at night yelping back and forth to each other. Nick is not impressed with that.

- Spiders. Big ones.

- On the side of the road, in various parts of town, you can look out and see what seems to be an infestation of prairie dogs. We could not even count them all in one section of town. Gives me the chills but the kids were fascinated!

- We are obviously on a training flight path for helicopters. If you are in the back yard & wave as they hover overhead they tilt a bit to wave back.

- Jets scream overhead at least 2x's a day.

- And you can hear artillery booming in the not-so-distant distance all times of day. All these sounds Eric says are "Ah... the sounds of freedom". I have to agree.

- What else. Oh! One more important one... The soldiers here are so buff, young, and travel in eye-candy packs. :-) Patrick, my new and FABULOUS hairdresser, and I agree!

I've updated our pictures on this blog but I posted them on the dates they occured so take a look at older posts when you have a chance!
Kisses!

Hi! Yes we are still out there. There is always another box to open up so I have a hard time tearing myself away from getting this place in order. And if we do take a break from unpacking it's to buy something we need or pay attention to our neglected kids. Life will be normal again and I'll be wondering what to do with myself soon enough I guess.
Thought I'd just fill you in on some recent events...
-Bought the house we wanted.
-Camped out in our new home for 5 days until our stuff came.
-We have had pretty good luck with things not being broken.
-Eric has been practically skipping around his new kitchen (very sexy!!).
-Nick got strep.
-Judo is still going strong for the kids. I took a week off to heal my poor weak back but I'm back into it now. I have a number of bruises and very sore muscles to show I'm working hard. I have to learn how to not fall like a sack of potatoes :-) The jacuzzi tub is a blessing!!! I've put that baby to good use already!!
-Tori got strep. So Nicholas went with neighbors to a water park instead of us all going. I am loosening up people!
-Nicholas' piano teacher seems to be a good match personality wise.
-We have made fast friends with some of our new neighbors. We went to Cannon's birthday and enjoyed the company.
-We spent the day at Comanche Nation Water Park (~5 minutes from our home) and skipped the Judo tournament Nicholas was supposed to be in in OK City. He is showing a lot of stress and just didn't need the added pressure. Sometimes my husband is so wise (OK, often).
-We miss you all!

Now this is what I love about Army life. Here we are hangin' out with America, Thomas, and Liberty Fulmer. We have not seen Ame since Nicholas was just months old when we all lived in Washington (Fort Lewis). Now we are getting our rug rats together for a playdate while Ame, Thomas, and Libby are in town visiting her home state. The Army has a way of helping you cross paths with those who have been wonderful people in your life. Ame was one of the first people to watch Nicholas for me. It was awesome to see her now... the great Mom I knew she would become. Thanks for visiting Ame!!!

Nicholas, Tori, and Libby playin'.

Happy Father's Day Daddy!!! Here are the kids and Eric after I made a fabulous waffle breakfast in Eric's new kitchen. It turns out Eric could not stand the way I set up our last kitchen so he asked if he could organize it this move. Um... let me think about that... YES YOU MAY! Eileen said it best "Boy, Eric is really trying to deter you from cookin' isn't he!" I eventually found what I needed and a wonderful start to a perfect day for a splendid dad had begun. We only wish we would have been able to be with our Dad's that day too. I love you Dad!!!

Working on battery power. Just heard two siren warning for severe thunderstorm warnings and strong winds. Just upgraded to Tornado watch. Feels like we're in Kansas! Might be a short blog tonight.

Final inspection on the house did not go so smoothly. Seller only did about 4 of the 17 things he was supposed to do before we closed tomorrow. Can u believe he has not put on the sprinkler system since it was winterized God knows when?! The poor grass was crying "Aqua!" as I crunched over it. I don't care if the guy is going through a divorce... you don't kill innocent grass!

We might close tomorrow, we may not.

Nick has Dad's flashlight wrapped around his wrist. The band of severe weather has almost passed over.

The kids did great at Judo tonight. I got to do Jujitsu. Sensei thought Judo throws were not what my back needed today when I described my various pains LOL! Eric is concerned I'm going to be laid up after all this is said and done but I gotta tell ya... I'm having a good time despite the muscle pain and bruising. I got to do a couple of Kata's tonight and really enjoyed it. Much better workout than any step class I've ever taken. I kicked butt! Eric seems more comfortable now that he met the "guys" tonight and saw what we're doing. Whirlpools are my best friend right now.
Off to cuddle.
Kisses
M

Slept in and meandered down to breakfast followed by more pool time. I'm really getting used to this.
Scheduled the final inspection on the house for tomorrow and closing for Friday. Yeah!
Scott and Lupe McKnight took us to this hole in the wall italian restaurant which was awesome. It was great seeing Cheif again and wonderful meeting Lupe and baby Noah. Lupe and I hit it off and she even joined the kids and me to Judo!!!
Can I just say... eeeyyough. OK I'm glad I'm trying Judo but I have only a glimpse of what I'm going to feel like tomorrow morning and it ain't gonna be pretty. The sensei's were very supportive and encouraging but I think I heard some snickering as well :-0
Oh and Nicholas loved being the boss of me... teaching me how to fall properly and how to tie my belt. He is such a serious little man. Lupe did AWESOME!! I hope she joins us again tomorrow.
Gotta go defend myself from Eric's blows right now... the Penguins just lost the Stanley Cup to the Redwings. The beating will now begin :-) 'Night!!!

Another wonderful day for the Pater's! Hampton Inn just told us we are able to stay through Friday. We have been living day by day here not knowing if we had to switch hotels because we made the reservations too late since we were planning on staying on post this whole time. I actually got to put things in drawers tonight! Yahoo! We've benefited from free breakfast, pool, gym, happy hour, and every other perk allowed to us so I feel we are doing OK here.
I went to the newcomers breifing this am. I was the only civilian amongst about 70 E5's and below. The SGT actually came in the room, made everyone stand at attention, and chewed out these young soldiers for one of them putting thier head on the table. I couldn't make myself small enough! I'm very glad I went though (and no it's not becuase I found the guys I'll hang out with nights)... I learned a lot in those few hours and will save myself a lot of running around now.
Eric and I both updated our ID's today and I talked with a rep at Family Employment Readiness. There is a part time and full time LMSW position available at the local hospital I will look in to.
We also went to Judo tonight. A much more intense lesson of 1 1/2 hours for 3 nights a week. Tori fit right in and Nicholas felt like an old pro. Sensei Andrew is trying to get me to join as well so I'm trying it out tomorrow night despite Eric's misgivings. He thinks I'm too old for this stuff. Maybe he's right but I'm gonna at least give it a go. It has to be better than me sitting on my A** watching for 4 1/2 hours a week!
With that thought I should get some shuteye.
Our love to you all!
M
PS Penguins won in triple sudden death/over time so I was spared from Eric's beatings. :-)

I dare you to find anything more beautiful than a little girl's love for her daddy.

what a wonderfully productive and relaxed day! got the kids registered for piano, judo, and swimming. registered both cars on post and the new one in OK, got three loads of wash done, got hours of pool time in, AND I got some color poolside... red but u knew that already. Now eric is watching the penguins and if they happen to win maybe he won't beat me tonight. LOL! He is so excited! tomorrow... new comer's meeting and who know's what else we can accomplish! heck maybe even we will get our new id's!!! Penguins are in sudden death now so I have to go be supportive. miss you all! thanks for checkin' in!