"Signal School!" or "Daddy's Gone Again?!"

Fort Gordon, Georgia is the home of Signal, and I am going to be here for a while. Not as long as previously thought, so that is good. I will update with a photo eventually. Of course, ORANGE is the official color of the Signal Corps, hence the font color.
Ok, is that better? Once again I am separated from my wonderful wife and family and quickly I realize again just how much my family (especially my wife) means to me. I miss them so much and have not even been gone a week. It is hard sometimes to go away to school, but it has to be harder to be the one that is left at home. The one that has to raise three kids, pay the bills, do all the chores that I normally do (not many), and take care of the house and the dogs. I do not envy her at all. I thank God everyday that He has blessed me with such a wonderfully understanding and kind woman to be my wife. I truly could not get by with out her. I love her so much, she is my Hero. I love you Melissa!

Good to be home

Awesome Kids!!!

It sure is nice to be home on vacation and spend a little quality time at home. Recently, we have built a planter box for our upcoming garden, went to the zoo, got our Excursion stuck in the mud, and had a great time just being together. Our truck was so stuck (in the zoo parking lot) that we had to get towed out with a little BobCat. It was pretty sweet. Yes, I was parked where they told me to park. Check back in to see some photos from the zoo trip. Later!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!
Wow, Paris was a blast! Just kidding. This was the only New Year Photo I could find. I hope that everyone has a wonderful new year and that your families have only happiness this year.

Thanks for reading my blog and checking it out. Sorry that I don't update it very often. Work is always getting in the way. Talk to ya later!

Family Vacation

Well, as you can see, we went on a bit of vacationing. Here we are at the Gold Mine tour. It was a blast! The kids had a great time watching the bat fly around as the tour guide was giving us a lesson 1,820 ft inside the mountain. Then, they had an even better time when we tried our hand at Gold Panning. It's the things that kids (and dad's) love to do best: play in the stream, play with mud, get wet, find treasure, and have a good time comparing who got the biggest piece of fool's gold.
Overall, our trip was GREAT (except for the hotel accommodations made by me). We saw the Great Sand Dunes, an Alligator farm, a gold mine, went fishing (caught many fish), saw the Royal Gorge, and went to the North Pole! It was a lot of driving, but I have time off and needed to make up for all the time I have missed.
Now, the kids are getting back into school and I need to go back to work soon. I would like to get a better job, but we will have to see how it goes. Have a great day!

Home Free!

Well, I am proud to say that I am back in the USA! Sorry about the long pause in posts but it wasn't convenient for me to update the site. I would consider this my last post. I know that is making all 3 faithful readers sad, but now you can get the info from calling me.

Have a GREAT Day!

Happy Birthday and Happy Mothers Day!

I would first like to say Thank You to everyone who has recently sent packages or letters to me and my buddies here in Iraq. Next, I would like to give a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY! to Craigie. I can't believe he is going to be six. It seems like only yesterday that I was speeding down the highway to the hospital to have him. He is a GREAT son and I am very proud of him. He is a marvelous boy and I couldn't ask for a kinder, gentler, more caring son. Of course he would not be those things if it weren't for his EXCELLENT mother, Melissa. She is the glue that is holding this family together in all my absences. I am truly blessed to have her as my wife and the mother of our children. I couldn't ask for a better person to spend my life with! I love you!

Well, as you can see from the photo, we keep things safe around here by constantly being on the lookout for possible attackers. I took this photo while performing some guard duty a while ago. This fellow was just watching his cattle. He is sitting next to an irrigation canal. He did come up and ask for "food?" "Pepsi?" "water?" to all his answers I said no. I did tell him to drink from the canal if he's thirsty, and he did! It's against regulations to give them food or water. Kinda like feeding the stray dogs. They always come back and ask for more and that causes distractions from the mission at hand.

Things here are going smooth. No problems and no notice of any extension. I should be back in time for Archery Elk season! Well, everyone have a great day and thanks for your support.

Hoppy Easter!

Hello all! Sorry that I couldn't be there with you for Easter, but I did get to see the Easter bunny while I was here. It was the first rabbit that I have seen here in Iraq. Since my last posting, I have taken another trip to Tallil. I get frequent flier miles on the Sherpa's (C-23) now. Flying in a Sherpa is really not that comfortable. It is better than a helicopter, but not by much. It's loud, hot, then cold, still loud, and the seats are kinda like a square metal frame with fabric sewn over it. I guess it's better than walking.

Anyway, THANK YOU! to Mark E., Matt F., and Lyndsay R. for the wonderful boxes of goodies. In a three day span I recieved a ton of licorice (all gone now), a bunch of CrackerJack, a boat load of Thin Mints (mostly gone), and PopTarts (all gone), gummy things, and a ton of Jerky! You guys are awesome! Thank you all so much!

As you can see from the photo I attached, we have repainted our sign. I think it turned out prettty good. If you are wondering what all that white stuff on the bottom of the barrier is, it's HAIL! yes, it storms pretty good over here sometimes. At least it's not 100 degrees YET.

Have a great day and remember to thank Melissa for all her efforts! It's not only me making sacrifices, she has a much tougher job, believe me! I can never repay her for all she has done for me and our children. I love her!

Don't forget to click on the picture if you want to see it better.