Fabulous Army Life

PHOTO:  My kids saying farewell to their good friends as they leave for Georgia from Fort Hood. I love being an Army Family. I love the pride, patriotism, and sense of community that comes along with being a Soldier's wife. I love moving to new places, meeting new people, and learning new traditions in each new unit. But for all the things I love, there are just a few things that make me crazy ... one of these is the never-ending goodbyes either when you leave or when you stay and good friends leave you behind. We said one such goodbye yesterday. We're staying; this wonderful family is leaving. This is a Family that we've gotten to know over the past four years. My oldest son is best friends with their oldest son ... they've been in the same classroom at school and in the same Cub Scout den for the past three years. My youngest is good friends with their youngest. They were in the same classroom this year and spent many Cub Scout meetings and family campouts playing...

The National Anthem playing before the game began. First, for my civilian friends (whom I love!), a Hail and Farewell is a regularly scheduled social event that Army units host in order to say 'farewell' to Soldiers and Families that are leaving the unit and to 'hail' -- or welcome -- Soldiers and Families who have recently arrived in the unit.  They are hosted in a variety of places, but usually a meal is involved and restaurants tend to be popular venues. Our battalion just hosted a Hail & Farewell at a Round Rock Express baseball game in conjunction with "Military Appreciation Night."  It was such a fun time and a wonderful way to spend time together as a unit.  At this particular venue, we were able to rent out the party area which included a pool, hot tub, and gazebo.  We had hamburgers and hot dogs, beer on tap, water, soda, and lemonade, and were able to swim throughout the game.  Another fun aspect of the night was that my hubby was able to thro...

A friend of ours recently changed out of company command.  Before the ceremony started, the unit set up tables with all kinds of cool Army gear on them and Soldiers at each station to explain how the gear was used.  My kids had a total blast checking out diving gear, radios, and especially ... sniper gear!  My oldest dressed up and was thrilled to be "just like a real Soldier" as he aimed his rifle.  Yikes.  But it was a super-fun time and such a good idea for this event.  The Soldiers seemed to enjoy getting to talk about their daily jobs, the visitors -- kids and adults alike -- learned a lot, and it was a wonderful representation of our troops' hard work.  Love telling the Army story like this!  Enjoy the photos!

Fort Hood hosted a "Mock Deployment" for children last week, an event designed to educate our kids on a little of what our Soldiers encounter when they prepare to deploy.  I was interested right away and signed up my two boys -- ages ten and seven -- for the event.  The kids were encouraged to dress in their best Army or camoflauge summer clothes for the event.  Our boys immediately took out their battalion t-shirts and camo shorts and were ready for the day.  After a flurry of sunscreen and final preparation, we were on our way. Upon arrival, the boys checked in at the registration desk for their deployment packet ... a backpack full of fun stuff: camo binoculars ("bi-nos" for our experienced kids), dog tags, water bottle, and lots of great booklets and information for them.  They were given new identities for the day:  PFC Cook, N. and PFC Cook, J.  After being assigned to "Echo Platoon," we headed outside so the boys could fall into their formation...

Our boxer puppy is our first foray into the world of larger dogs.  I had several types of terriers growing up ... my husband's family had dachshunds and a beagle in his growing up years.  Our first dog as a married couple -- who is still with us -- is a Cairn Terrier (like Toto on the "Wizard of Oz," only blonde, not black).  So ... the world of big dogs is a new one for us. First, I am amazed at the rate of growth!  I think sometimes Leo has grown during a single nap!  He is still a wonderful pet, mild-tempered, obedient, and sweet as pie ... but BIG ... and growing! Leo (7 months) and Shadow (15 years) posing for the camera. Leo is fabulous with our boys.

One of our family traditions is to let our kids choose a special place for dinner on their "actual" birthday ... since their parties are generally not on their date of birth. My little seven-year-old chose Joe's Crab Shack in Austin for his big dinner (after an extensive talk with Mom about why it might be a better choice than all the local pizza/arcade restaurants) and it was a ton of fun. We invited our local cousins to dine with us since they live in the area and we had a really great time. We sat on the outdoor porch and were pleasantly surprised at how nice and cool it was that night. Shade and fans were a definite plus and it was a nice evening outside. The wait staff would occasionally break into simple line dance routines during certain songs -- a huge hit with my nieces who would often jump up and join in! Some of the kids were adventurous in their meal choices ... my oldest ordered crab legs -- which he loved -- but there were good food choices for everyone. Hu...

My baby turned seven years old and had one of the easiest, most unusual, and most FUN parties we've hosted to date. We discovered this wonderful little spot near Lampasas, Texas called "Tyson's Corners Ranch." They host a variety of parties, team-building events, and marriage retreats and have a herd of therapy horses on the job. The birthday boy chose a medieval theme complete with dragons, knights, and princesses. The kids were able to meet the staff at the ranch, get a few safety rules, then proceeded to decorate their horses! They actually painted on the horse and added various decor to make two war stallions and a princess pony! The girls gravitated toward the white princess horse while the boys made warriors of their horses. Everyone had a great time and the horses were perfect, even seeming to enjoy all the attention. When the horses were fully decked-out, they were saddled up, and the kids were all able to take a ride. After horse rides, the kids enjoyed...

Love this new blog I recently found ... the "blog" of "unnecessary" quotation marks .  As a grammar junkie, I thought the idea of this blog was hilarious and really enjoyed the numerous examples of quotation craziness in our society today. So ... when our family was in a local store the other day, I saw this cap and had to snap a "photo." Your favorite examples?

Yikes!  It's really been almost a month since I blogged here.  Life has been a true whirlwind in the past few weeks.  I have been welcomed into a wonderful group of Army Families on Fort Hood and spent some significant time figuring out how to be a "commander's wife."  I didn't realize the extent of the expectations held by so many of this new role ... so let me just say upfront: I will do my best ... and ... I will mess this up. I will do my best because ... I adore Army Soldiers and their Families.  I am constantly amazed by their independence, resourcefulness, resilience, courage, and strength.  I love the Army because of the people in it and I have always wanted to do my very best to be helpful in some way, however I could.  In this role, I simply want to do the same.  I will mess this up because ... I am just one person.  I am human, possibly more prone to error than average, but always with my heart in the right place.  ...