Headed Out

Well, we're off to make another trek to the great north, wish us luck. We decided to leave Daryl and Toby home with a sitter so things should be a little easier but Abigail will probably make up for them. (I think that they conspire together against Sarah and I). We'll try to continue to blog but can't promise anything. We have a lot of family and friends to visit.

In the words of the great U.S. Airforce battle cry; "Hoody-Hoo, let's go!".

Dad Is No Beautician

This is what dad did to me to keep my hair out of my eyes.

-Abby

No Angels In This House

I think that almost every parent hears the words "Your child is so well behaved" from friends, neighbors, and babysitters. While they're praising your child, in the back of your mind you're thinking "you really don't know this child do you".

Lately Abigail has been throwing these temper tantrums when she can't get her way. She doesn't understand why we don't allow her to turn the tv on and off five million times a day, especially when we're trying to watch it. She doesn't understand why we wont allow her to throw blocks at us. Taking everything out of the closet seems natural to her but doesn't understand why this annoys us. Turning the dishwasher on is a great pass time for her which gets mommy going. She's usually pretty receptive but this past week she's been putting on a show for us. If we ignore her and walk away she'll get up, follow us, and continue the performance. It's pretty funny although it takes some patience especially when she does it in the store. (I usually tell her that the old ladies in the store aren't going to see her and are going to run her over so she better get up off the floor).

These are some great pictures to show her later down the road:

Notice her wearing Sarah's ankle socks.

Gotta love kids. Almost five more months until the terrible two's.

Cops Gone Bad...

I guess the economy is hurting everyone:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/05/texas.police.seizures/

Some Cute Pictures

We've been a busy family this past week. We went to Austin to get some new running shoes and did some clothes shopping. We did MORE laundry (my clothes from Iraq). We reorganized the house a few times trying to get all of the military gear to fit in various closets and totes (they really give us too much unnecessary stuff). I've been tinkering on my motorcycle and spending a lot of time playing with Abby. Sarah started walking/jogging again plus Saturday I started to teach her to play racquetball so she's been pretty sore lately.

Here a few pictures that we've been able to take of Abby. We have to sneak up on her since she recognizes the sound of the camera turning on and is at an age that she wants to take the pictures instead of be in them. I hope everyone enjoys the few that we were able to take.

Learning to like heights:

or maybe not?:

Sunday dress:

We also are in the middle of potty-training so we have a few pictures of her being a nudist (sometimes only wearing sandals or socks and a smile) but Sarah thought that it would be inappropriate to share them on the internet (they were of her backside). I guess we'll just have to save them for her dating years.

We're In Trouble...

I noticed that the screws on Abigail's crib were loose so I grabbed a screwdriver to fix it. After a few minutes I went to grab something and when I returned I caught Abby working on the crib herself. I'm not sure if she was trying to fix it or escape. She is such a smart little kid. I think that we're going to be in trouble here shortly.

Beating The Heat

It has started to get really hot and muggy here in Texas so we decided to get Abigail a wading pool. Since our front lawn isn't very big at all we had to go with a dinky one that they sell at the store that we can't mention for $5. The hose water was a bit cool but Abby enjoyed it. To make it even more interesting I set up the sprinkler and watered the lawn at same time. She has always enjoyed the water and tries to turn the bathroom into a water park every time she takes a bath.

Long, Strange, and Frustrating Trip It's Been...

How do you make 37 grown men cry like little school girls? Delay their departure date one or two days at a time for a week and a half and then give them a broken airplane so that they have to spend three days in Germany and overnight in Delaware. Then switch planes and give them a "less broken one" so they get pushed back a few hours and then sit on the plane for an hour and a half.

The last three weeks was the longest three weeks of the whole deployment. I left COP Cashe with our team to go sit up at VBC until we left to go home. We had two tents for all of us guys. Living out of our rucksacks and being in tight quarters with people that we've been living with 24/7 for the past year was quite interesting at times. Especially since there wasn't much to do for the two weeks that we were there. We finally got to leave Iraq and flew to Spangdahlem AFB, Germany.

What a contrast between Iraq and Germany. Literally it was a bresh of fresh air when we got off the plane. It was nice to see the rolling hills, the green grass, and the trees. Here are a few of the pictures that I took. The town is adjacent to the base so we had a great view of the local architect.

I'm glad that I'm not travelling with the Air Force for awhile. For some reason they never asked us to fill out the comment cards. I wonder why?

Back Home With Loved Ones

After MANY delays the 752nd Ord Co (EOD) finally returned home. Not only was it nice to be back in the USA but it was great to be home with family. When I arrived at the company area, where our families were waiting, I was amazed to see Abby wide awake. She did great, a little sceptical at seeing me at first but quickly warmed up to me. We were released to go home at about 3:30 am. It was nice to be back in my home, sleeping in my bed, and eating out of my frig. I'll tell the story of our adventurous travel another day. Here are some pictures that we took of the first 12 hrs back home.

I couldn't have asked for a more supportive wife. As I was getting an incredible farmer's tan in the sand box, she was battling a toddler, two dogs, and a house full of chores.

My baby.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support, I greatly appreciated them.