Time flies by too quickly nowadays. I can't believe it's the middle of May already! This last month has been really busy with work and family.
On the work side, we started running operations at Fort McCoy last month with a hospital unit. The section that I work with controls and synchronizes the training aspect of everything. That is to say we unscrew what gets screwed up. The first month there was a lot of work to do. Now we're just going steady. My shift goes from 5 AM to 2 PM so it's not too hard for the family, although I do go to bed before the kids sometimes! Also, we have to have somebody at Fort McCoy 24x7 so that means that days off don't usually occur with the weekends. This makes it hard to go home and visit family while school is still going on.
Fortunately, Mary's parents were able to come and visit us twice, including Mother's Day and my parents were able to make it for Marina's solo choral debut in the beginning of the month. We really appreciated those visits and if anything it keeps Mary and I on our feet cleaning the house LOL.
Also, Mary's friend Jenny (she calls herself Jennifer now, but she'll always be Jenny to us) and her husband visited us. We went to Warrens to see the Cranberry Museum. I think both of our parents would like to see that so next time they're here maybe we'll take them. Marina was helping at a benefit event. I'm very proud of her for doing that.
Next time I'll post some more pics.
Until later.......................................
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Friday, April 07, 2006
More Marina and a video of Anna
Our girl made it into the local newspaper..... for a good reason! Way to go Marina!
Also here is a video of Anna with her Snowmen
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Bike Riding
Well, spring is here and we've been enjoying the weather. Today we went on a six-mile bike trip which was a lot of fun. We've also been cooking on the grill every chance we get. I've convinced myself that it's healthier for me so I feel good about myself when I eat that 12 oz steak.
Here's Marina's latest picture too.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Another Brigade Formal Pic
We've never had a lot of luck with Formal pics, but I thought that this one turned out pretty well. It was our third shot since Mary has a habit of blinking during the shoots. That's the beauty of digital cameras though.
Monday, February 13, 2006
Brigade Formal
Last night Mary and I went to the Brigade Formal. I'm including a pic that Felipe and Ruth took at the house right before we left.
A couple of other Army annoucements; as further proof that the Army has reached an all-time high desperation level, I was selected for promotion to Major. The promotion will most likely occur sometime this fall. Additionally, I was also selected for FA 57 as my career field. FA 57 is computer simulations, which is about all I know at this time. I think there will be a big departure from the Army life that I have known up until now, although I'm not sure to what extent. It's a lot like starting over in a way, more to follow on that one.
Mary and I both realize that we haven't been the best at keeping this blog updated and promise to do a better job. We'll write another update later this month. I hope that everyone out there is doing fine and keep the comments coming.
Friday, December 23, 2005
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas everyone!!!
We hope that all of you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. One of our New Year Resolutions (after the obligatory weight loss resolution) is to do a little better job updating this blog. Here's a Christmas photo we took of the kids as well as another of a famous media star we now have in the family. Merry Christmas!!!
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Halloween
Happy Halloween everyone! The kids had a really good time. We started in the miltary housing district and then did a little trick 0r treating around town. Here's a pic of the kids in their costumes.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Been Forever
Wow! It's been a very long time since we last wrote anything in our blog. Everything's been so busy since getting the house. Hell, we're still unpacking boxes.
This weekend was spent with Mary's family helping us move furniture into the house and doing some patching and repairing. The house is slowly starting to look better and better, although I wish it would become more level as well LOL. Mary and I were talking about our next move and how hard it will be since we're both starting to really like the house and the area. I really love being close to the family. It's so nice just going home for a weekend whenever we feel.
The kids are starting to make friends as well. We really have to get the house cleaned up so that they can have their friends over. The neighbors are finally starting to open up to us. Sounds like the military family that lived in our house before us weren't too friendly, so everyone has been real hesitant towards us. Hopefully that'll get better. The only thing is that there aren't a lot of kids that are Phillip and Nick's ages, although with a park nearby there seems to be quite a few over there.
Anyways, I need to get back to work on the house. I'll talk to everyone later.
This weekend was spent with Mary's family helping us move furniture into the house and doing some patching and repairing. The house is slowly starting to look better and better, although I wish it would become more level as well LOL. Mary and I were talking about our next move and how hard it will be since we're both starting to really like the house and the area. I really love being close to the family. It's so nice just going home for a weekend whenever we feel.
The kids are starting to make friends as well. We really have to get the house cleaned up so that they can have their friends over. The neighbors are finally starting to open up to us. Sounds like the military family that lived in our house before us weren't too friendly, so everyone has been real hesitant towards us. Hopefully that'll get better. The only thing is that there aren't a lot of kids that are Phillip and Nick's ages, although with a park nearby there seems to be quite a few over there.
Anyways, I need to get back to work on the house. I'll talk to everyone later.
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Friday, September 16, 2005
Monday, September 05, 2005
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Saturday, September 03, 2005
First Day of School for the Kids
Today was the first day of school for the kids!! It was both an exciting day and a little bit of a sad one as well. We left at 7:19 AM, only 4 minutes later than we had planned! Mary did a great job getting the kids running and even making sure that they had a good breakfast to start the day right (except for Nicholas who insisted on having cereal, of which he only ate half).
We dropped off Marina first at the Tomah Middle School. I’d post pictures but Marina wasn’t too crazy about the idea of us following after her with a camera. I walked her to locker, after we searched in vain for her classroom. The halls were so crowded with kids that it took awhile to get through the crowds. Eventually we found a teacher to help us and he showed us Marina’s locker. I asked Marina if she was all right now and she looked up at me with that real nervous look that she every so often shows. I smiled, told her that she would be just fine and whispered that I loved her and left.
Next we took Phillip and Nicholas to LaGrange Elementary School. As we were walking into the school we passed a mom leaving with tears in her eyes. Mary and I looked at each other knowingly, it wasn’t long ago when we were taking Marina to kindergarten and now she’s in sixth grade already. We dropped Phillip off in the gym where he joined his class with Mrs. Wolf. Afterwards we took Nicholas to Mrs. Mee’s kindergarten class where we received an extra set of hugs from Nick. On the way out, we checked on Phillip one more time. He was lining up with his class and we got the chance to say goodbye to him on his way to his class. I left feeling a little sad that my kids were growing so quickly.
When I got to work today I found out that the unit I supported, the 132nd FSB, was deploying personnel to assist with Hurricane Katrina relief. I think my weekend just went away, but I’m reminding myself that it’s for a really good cause. We were going to go to Park Rapids with Mary’s dad, but I’m not sure if that’s going to happen anymore. We’ll find out more later.
We dropped off Marina first at the Tomah Middle School. I’d post pictures but Marina wasn’t too crazy about the idea of us following after her with a camera. I walked her to locker, after we searched in vain for her classroom. The halls were so crowded with kids that it took awhile to get through the crowds. Eventually we found a teacher to help us and he showed us Marina’s locker. I asked Marina if she was all right now and she looked up at me with that real nervous look that she every so often shows. I smiled, told her that she would be just fine and whispered that I loved her and left.
Next we took Phillip and Nicholas to LaGrange Elementary School. As we were walking into the school we passed a mom leaving with tears in her eyes. Mary and I looked at each other knowingly, it wasn’t long ago when we were taking Marina to kindergarten and now she’s in sixth grade already. We dropped Phillip off in the gym where he joined his class with Mrs. Wolf. Afterwards we took Nicholas to Mrs. Mee’s kindergarten class where we received an extra set of hugs from Nick. On the way out, we checked on Phillip one more time. He was lining up with his class and we got the chance to say goodbye to him on his way to his class. I left feeling a little sad that my kids were growing so quickly.
When I got to work today I found out that the unit I supported, the 132nd FSB, was deploying personnel to assist with Hurricane Katrina relief. I think my weekend just went away, but I’m reminding myself that it’s for a really good cause. We were going to go to Park Rapids with Mary’s dad, but I’m not sure if that’s going to happen anymore. We’ll find out more later.
Greetings from Fort McCoy
Hello from Fort McCoy. Actually we’ve been here for over 2 weeks already and have finally just now had a chance to sit down and post a regular update instead of just pictures from our camera phone. So here’s the short version of what’s going on.
We’re number four on the housing waiting list. They number 1 person won’t get a house until November so at best we won’t get a on-post house until the beginning of next year. That’s very very disappointing. We are current living in the guest lodge. They have 2 and 3 bedroom trailers for their guest lodging and I can honestly say that this is the best temporary accommodations that we have ever lived in. We can stay here until the middle of October so that takes a lot of the house hunting stress off of us since we can now do it at our leisure. Nevertheless we all miss our household goods and would like a little more space to live in as well.
The people in the area are extremely friendly. All the people at Fort McCoy and in the town of Tomah have been very helpful. We even had good service in the Wal-Mart!!! Phillip noticed that right away. The boys are both enrolled in the same elementary school and Marina is enrolled in the middle school. Here the middle school is a lot like high school. Mariana has her own locker and a class schedule like a high school student where she goes to different classes that have different teachers.
I’ve also finally started my new job. The unit is very different from my last one. The stress level is a lot lower and most people there seem to be in a transitional stage in their careers. I wonder what transition I’m going through?
We’re number four on the housing waiting list. They number 1 person won’t get a house until November so at best we won’t get a on-post house until the beginning of next year. That’s very very disappointing. We are current living in the guest lodge. They have 2 and 3 bedroom trailers for their guest lodging and I can honestly say that this is the best temporary accommodations that we have ever lived in. We can stay here until the middle of October so that takes a lot of the house hunting stress off of us since we can now do it at our leisure. Nevertheless we all miss our household goods and would like a little more space to live in as well.
The people in the area are extremely friendly. All the people at Fort McCoy and in the town of Tomah have been very helpful. We even had good service in the Wal-Mart!!! Phillip noticed that right away. The boys are both enrolled in the same elementary school and Marina is enrolled in the middle school. Here the middle school is a lot like high school. Mariana has her own locker and a class schedule like a high school student where she goes to different classes that have different teachers.
I’ve also finally started my new job. The unit is very different from my last one. The stress level is a lot lower and most people there seem to be in a transitional stage in their careers. I wonder what transition I’m going through?
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Friday, August 19, 2005
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
The new Commissary
Fort McCoy's Commissary is actually much bigger inside than the picture makes it appear. Kinda like the TARDIS from Doctor Who!
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