Kole is headed back to IRAQ

I took Kole to the airport this morning to begin the journey back to IRAQ. It will take him 3 to 5 days to return to his unit. He said there were some other soldiers from his unit that he would meet up with in Dallas and they would travel together. He was not looking forward to the long flight.

The two weeks flew by very quickly. We had a good time visiting with extended family. We also got most of the Christmas decorations put up. Now I get to clean house and get it back in order.

Looking forward to when he comes back stateside.

Saturday 11/28 - Kole is home- yippppeeee

Kole's was able to get on the flight that got him into town at 1:43. The plane was on time and he is now home. It is good to see him.

Saturday, November 28th

Kole is in the states. He is on standby to get into town at 1:43 pm. Hopefully there is a seat for him or he will get in later.

Black Friday and Kole is still in transit somewhere

Kole is fine. He is in transit somewhere. No news is good news. He will get here when he gets here.

Tonya and I had a very nice Thanksgiving day. I wanted to check out some stuff in downtown and knew that Thanksgiving morning it would be quiet so off we went to the Park and downtown. Got the info I needed and then we went to check out a place called the Farm.. Pockets of very nice places in a not so nice area of town. Got my info there and then we came home and cooked part of our Thanksgiving dinner. Since Kole said he would be home the end of November I thought Saturday we would have our Thanksgiving dinner if he didn't make it for Thursday at Aunt Rhonda's.

Aunt Rhonda and Uncle Brent invited the H1N1 to their party and so everyone bailed. Hope they are feeling better soon. I was really looking forward to hearing about Shawn's mission and playing some soccer. Oh well another day. Although I ain't getting any younger.

This week Tonya made her first batch of bread dough and made some marvelous cinnamon rolls. Oh are they good. Then she made 5 pies for Thanksgiving 1 pumpkin, 1 pecan and 3 cream cheese. She also tried her hand at Russian Kubliac. She did a great job. She is going to become the chef at our house and I can retire.

Hope everyone is enjoying themselves

Thanksgiving

hey its me
thanks that will be a lot off help it will tack me about three to five days to get home hopefully sooner
well any way we might be moving to another place again i hope that ths will not happen well any way am coming home so i
will fill you in when i get their
ok i will talk to you soon
love kole

Kole home for R & R in November

hey everything is all right their is not much time to wright i will fill you in on all the stuff we did latter had to pack up and move again know i am setting everything back up just to let you know i will be coming home for 15 days some time this month it will be twords the end of the month so yah i will fill you in when i have more time love you have a good day love kole

10/5/09

hey how are things going at home sorry i have not emailed you in such a long time but i got really buisy stting up all of the commo stuff their was a lot to do and i did not get much sleep so when ever i had a spear moment i would go to bed sounds like evry thing is going well things have slowed down here so i can email you and do personal things i have started to go to the gym that is going well the weather here is not that hot it gets very chily at night and erly in the morning so i dont have to worry about sweating that is also a big plus for me the chow is good and i am well fead so you dont have to worry about that their are rummers that we might be leaving our curent location and will be going somewere else as to how true theis rummers are i have not the slightest clue so untell i know how true this is i will not be sending you the address this is not good news for me cuze we just setaled in and will have to tare every thing down move and start all over which means more stress and a lot of sleeples nights which i am not looking forword to
i talked to the reenlistment guy the other day and for the time being their was nothing he could get me to reinlist fot four more years so i told him that i would waight and see ahat i could get in a couple of years he said that would probably be the best thing to do i was really surrprised when he told me that cuze most of the time they try to push you in to reinlisting so that was cool but i also knew that he knew that i still had 2 years left on my contract. The other day we had a convoy roll out and while on mission their vihical cought on fire when we were investigating the couse of the fire we talked to the people that made and tested the vihical we found out that they were aware of the problem and did not menchen it to anyone so that was crazy news other then that the only other thing that happens is the donkeys keep finding a way in to the fob and the guys at the tower keep having to chase them out. the other day i was at the hooch and ny room mates were mesing with me and my stuff so sprayed them down with the fire extinguasher that is in my room that was pritty fun we were all mesing around so its not like anyone got mad the stuff got all over me and in my mouth it burned really bad one of the guys vidio taped the hole thing i watched it it was really funny well that was about all that happened tell everyone i said hi and that every thing is going well love kole

9/11/09

9/10/09
hey its me again i am alive and well dont need to worry you have a good day got to go love kole


9/11/09
hey its me sorry no i have not gotten the address yet but i will shortly i have to do a lot of work and it will get worse here in a couple of days and knowing that they have given me two two hour gaurd shifts i do not know if that is a good idea on their part but we will see how long that lasts i bet it wont last to long other then that that is the only thing that is new about this place well you have a good day love kole

Update on Shanna: I survived another round of layoffs at work. There was no one layed off in my department which was a big relief. It is still hard to watch people leaving who really had no idea it was coming and the shape the economy is in. They were good workers just had duplication with the merger of two banks since we were siezed in July of 2008. The bank is in the process of converting systems. Since we don't use the banks accounting system we are not going through that headache. On a happyier note, we are getting ready for our Primary program in October. I like my new used Xterra. Bought a radio for it that I can connect my mp3 player to and listen to my books on tape or my russian. I am getting up on the technology. haha.

Update on Tonya: She is moving her records to the singles ward. Go Tonya. I hope she has as much fun as I did in the singles ward. Hope she doesn't stay as long as I did. She is smarter than that I am sure. School is going good. She is taking math, english, how to succeed in college, russian and institute.

9/9/09

hey its me how are things going i am getting in to the rithum of things hear and so far not that much. i have had to do some work but other then that i have been resting soon the marines that are hear will leave and we will have control of the f o b i got en email from aunt rhonda that was cool sorry the emails are so short i dont get that much time on the computer so i will try to learn how to type faster that way i can tell you more it will be a cople more days befor it gets to buissy
ok well i have to go talk to you latter love kole

9/8/09

i got to the permennent location horefully i will be able to send you the mailing address the next time i e mail you its hot the food is still good and their is a lot off free time other then that their is not much else to say
love kole

8/30/09 email from Kole

hey that is good that you bought a new car and that every thing is going good tell ton i said hi sorry but i dont get to much time on the internet so i really cant get in to detail on most stuff but that i have a lot of time of and it is hot other then that their is not much else to say tell shanna congrats and tell every one hi love kole

Happy Birthday Kole

Kole is 20 years old on August 30th. We won't talk about how old that makes me. HeHe. Hope all of his dreams come true and he believes in himself.

Kole said to tell everyone hi

Got another very brief email from Kole. He is in IRAQ not at his final destination. It is hot and quiet. He did go to the range and enjoyed that. He said he would have internet connection where he is currently and at his final destination. He gave me no names of places. Other sources tell me the lines are long and I don't know how much time he gets. A relief to me to hear from him even if it is short and criptic.

I will hijack this site and give an update on Tonya as well. She started college on Monday. She is enjoying it and is excited. She is taking English, Algebra, How to Succeed in College and Russian. Her Russian is giving her the most challenge. Her teacher is Russian. There is an RM in the class who went to Czech Republic on his mission and has been helping her. She is taking Pearl of Great Price at the Institute. She travels to and from school on public transportation.

Me I am still shopping for a car since I totaled mine the 13th of August. I am looking for a Nissan Xterra. When I went through the consumer reports that was the best rating for what I wanted. Not alot of them at auctions that are 4 wheel drive. Work is fine. Still alot of stess and pressure regarding the bottom line and making a profit. I am still in the Primary presidency and love the primary. The kids are the best.

8/24/09

Heard from Kole. He was very brief. Sounds like he is in IRAQ. Says it is hot, food is good. He is getting plenty of rest and I don't need to worry about him. Yeah right, don't worry. Its a Mom thing. Actually I do understand what he is saying and I appreciate him reassuring me. He is a great son and I am proud of him.

He sent me a short email so that leads me to believe he will have email access while he is in IRAQ. He wasn't sure how he would be able to communicate while he was over there when he left. He kept hearing different things.

Off to IRAQ 8/23/09

Kole is headed for IRAQ. He will stop in Kuwait before continuing on to IRAQ. He said he was excited to go. They stopped in Bangor Maine before going to Kuwait. If you want to see pictures of them at the Bangor Maine terminal google freeport flag ladies and under bangor on the 20th you will find pictures. There is one of Kole in batch 12 about the 5th from the end.

I hope he calls from Kuwait. I understand the phone lines are long so he may not give me a call. Once I get an address I will post it.

My love and prayers to him and all those that serve.

Army Achievement Award

I spoke with Kole this week and he told me that while he was at JRTC (the predeployment training in May) he earned the Army Achievement Award and will get to add another ribbon to his uniform. I am proud of him.

He has been taking a class this week about systems that keep ied's from exploding. I hope he studied hard. He said they are happy when they don't hear anything because that means the system is working. Sounds like alot of responsibility as those systems keep the soldiers safe.

Back to base

On Friday evening Kole and I went to to visit with family. Saturday we went to the pioneer parade and then over to Aunt Joyce's to visit while we rounded up some 22 shells so we could go shooting. I shot the 22 pistol. After shooting we went to Grandpas and made homemade ice cream and visited. I took down a hand crank ice cream maker so some of them got to crank the ice cream maker. It was fun to see alot of the family and visit. Grandma came all the way from Colorado to wish Kole well on his deployment. Uncle Esker's family all came to see Kole off and visit. Daren and Cindy and Talmadge came over and ate ice cream with us. I missed seeing Virgil and Steven.

Sunday morning I took Kole to the airport and he is headed back to base. The day he leaves is always a tough day for me. It is fun to have him home for a visit. I wish him well on his next adventure.

Water skiing with Aunt Rhonda & Uncle Brent

On Wednesday, 7/22/09, Kole and I went water skiing with Aunt Rhonda, Uncle Brent, Tracey, her three children Coben, Ali, and Redley, Jessica, and Abuela (Verna). It was alot of fun. My arms are so sore they can hardly type this. Kole knee boarded, wake boarded, skiied and then rode the tube. I have some great memories of him flying through the air on the tube by himself. I could only hold on so long and then I would fall off the tube. Kole pulled me back on a couple of times or I would have fallen off sooner. I would hold on with my hands and even put one of my feet in the loops trying to stay on that thing as it went flying through the air. Kole also rode with Jessica and Tracey and they made it look easy to stay on the tube. Rhonda, Tracey and Abuela when on the tube and they even caught some air. I was very surprised that Abuela got on the tube as she does not like water. Of course she was smart enough to stay on the tube. Coben and Ali also rode the tube and swam in the water. Can't leave out the boat driver (Uncle Brent) as none of us could get out of the water without someone who knows how to pull skiers out of the water.

I tried wake boarding because Tracey made it look easy. Well it is harder getting out of the water than she makes it look. I was not able to get up on the wake board so I went back to my two skis. I can still get out of the water on two skiis and for me that is alot of fun. The lake was very smooth and the skiing was great.

Thanks Rhonda and Brent for a great time.

Skydiving with Kole

On Tuesday 7/21/09 Kole and I went skydiving. What a blast. It was my first time. Since Kole is in the airborne unit he has jumped out of airplanes before. He did like the free fall of sky diving.
We were strapped to the front of an experienced sky diver and were given instructions on the ground of exactly what we would do when we were in the plane. I didn't follow everything exactly close enough thought that my instructor said I was a natural. Once the instructor opened the parachute they let us pull the cords to turn it. It takes a lot of arm muscle to pull those cords and make it spin. My instructor had to help me so I could get it to spin. The teach us to land on our rears with out feet up in the air. Kole landed on his rear. My instructor was able to land us on our feet and we just walked off. There were two individuals that went up with us that were learning how to skydive by themselves.

7/17/09

Kole and I just returned from Whitewater rafting in California. It was way to fun. They let us swim some of the rapids that was fun and much cooler than being out of the boat. On day 2 was the exciting stuff. We had mostly class 3 and class 4's. I did get pulled out of the boat when we went in and body surfed with our raft. I was sucked under the boat and then I got to swim to an eddy with my paddle. Swiming with a paddle is not easy. Kole didn't get pulled out of the boat like I did. He did get to pull me back into the boat everytime I wanted to get out and go swimming. He was a great sport. Kole kept telling me to use my arms when he was pulling me in the boat. Pretty soon everyone on the boat was encouraging me to use my arms when he was pulling me in. Some of us just have no arm muscles. Kole and I had the front two seats on the boat. I finally decided I should let the 17 year old boy (Zack) who was sitting behind me have some fun in the front seat. Zack was on one side and Kole was on the other and they did the majority of the paddling on our boat. The rest of us dipped our paddles in just didn't have the power those two young men did. It was fun and Kole did a good job taking care of his Mom. Although through no fault of his own, everytime we had to carry our raft they would send him of f to help some other boat and I would get stuck carry that heavy thing without him. I had it all planned out that I would be on the same side as him when it came time to carry the boat. My plan didn't work. Great memory for me.

Kole is home

Kole got into town Friday at 2:30 in the afternoon. We have had some borstch and gone shopping for shoes. Today, Saturday the 11th Rebecca is coming over to make shrimp cocktail for us. That is so yummy. We are planning to spend some time with the Sullivan family on Sunday and next week sometime. Marina has broken her foot and so we will see what she is able to do. I would like to go to the new wild animal park on the west side of town. It sounds like fun. We can be indoors in this very hot weather. The hot weather is helping Kole get ready for his deployment to IRAQ. He bought a bike to ride to and from the gym and for exercise and he is out riding it right now in this hot weather.

I prefer to get up early and exercise before it gets this hot. I did my walk and yard work early this morning. I am thinking of making a larger front porch under my mulberry tree so I dug out the grass and the cactus. It is good exercise. Then the Primary had an activity at the Temple visitor center - in the air conditioning :). The sister missionaries have scavenger hunt and other activities that they do with primary age children. Then we walked over to DQ and had ice cream.

Visit home

Kole will be coming home to visit July 11 through the 26th. We hope to go to the 24th of July celebration and see lots of family and eat some great bbq. It would also be fun to have some homemade ice cream.

I really wanted to go rafting in California by Yosemite, however, with the way things are in the economy right now decided I better not spend the money. Maybe when he comes back from IRAQ we can go.

Hopefully we can get in a hike up Humphrey's. See if he can keep up with his old Mom.

Deployment training report in May

- The Squadron is doing great. - Right now the Troops are decisively engaged with Situational Training Exercises focused at the Troop level and the Squadron HQ is executing a Command Post Exercise as we all prepare to enter the Force on Force phase of training.- A, B, and C Troop commanders and myself have had opportunities to conduct Key Leader training engagements with actual Iraqis and we will continue to work with Iraqis throughout the rotation.