Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch...

Nate and our friend Stephen pose with the official Miss America car.

Family Tree

Sometimes "cheesy" is the best!

Made It!

All right folks we're here and now.  Chillin' with the fam while Nate finishes up his course in San An Tone.  Check out the pjs Gramma Bonnie made Asher.

Complete with scarf and hankie!
Freakin' rad.

From the Sticky South to the Wild West

Salt Lake City here we come!

City Market Fountains

 Hot and Hungry

My kids are always so pleasant in public!

Time to cool off!

Savannah Some More

 

 

 

 

Beach bummed.

A slow and lazy day with a trip to the ocean. 

Crab Shack & Tybee Island

Apparently I deleted a bunch of pictures of our first night in Savannah.  Bummer.  For dinner we jumped in the car and headed for the Crab Shack for some Low Country Boil-crawdads, shrimp, crab legs, corn, muscles, more crab, potatoes, and sausage.  Yeah, it's as good as it sounds.  

After ordering the meal we decided to check out the live alligators swimming in the Crab Shack pools.  Nothin' like a little gator baitin' before dinner.  You'll just have to take my word for it.

Mom, take a picture of me holding my menu like this!

 

He's alive!  Not.

Jensie and Elle

I handed Frankie the camera to keep her occupied while we waited for  our meal.  Not too shabby, eh?  Usually her vantage point leads to shots of my nostrils.

Muscles as castanets.

What, you don't pose with giant reptiles to hula after dinner?  Weird.

Just practicing

 

 

 

 

Jensie-Jense and Mr. Matt

 

 

The famous Tybee Island Lighthouse (and the wedding we crashed).

Back Blog

Get it?  Back b-log.  Like back log with a b?  I don't know how I do it.  These things just come to me.

Time to play a little catch up around here.  Let's start off with a bunch of pictures of our trip to Savannah and work our way up to today (someday), okay?  Okay!

Road Trippin'

Tybee Island

First stop- Savannah

Frankie wants to be a "surf board" when she grows up.

More when we get back.

Wrapping it Up



Our Toyota is for sale. 

We saw fireflies for the first time tonight.  Nothing is more beautiful than a summer night in Georgia.  I'm glad we were here to welcome another summer.

The movers will be here tomorrow.  As soon as I publish this post, I'm going to disconnect the computer and add it to the mountain of stuff being shipped to Korea. 

Korea, Korea, Korea.  It's all I think about these days.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Everyone was eager to help dad check the oil before he left for Texas this morning.  Well, except maybe Frankie.  She was just itchy.

Sometimes I get a little spooked by this whole big internet world, and think I shouldn't tell you when Nate's away.  But these comings and goings are our way of life, and not mentioning them might literally mean going years without having anything to say.  So, he's gone.  But he'll be back.

Busy Busy

Dudes. We are so busy right now.  I can hardly keep up.  Life is changing (again) and the kids are wiggin' out (again).  It's already summer though so we can't fix everything by bumping bedtime up an hour.  It's just so sun-shiny bright outside!  

We've been...

packing for Korea

cleaning for new renters

playing at the creek

showing Trace the ropes

I forgot to...

schedule dentist appointments

contact the housing office in Yongsan

take my fish oil and then I cried for three days straight

Frankie...

learned "Bloody Mary" and is totally obsessed.  When Natalie tries to nap after school, Frankie uses her creepy Bride of Chucky voice to tell her "Bloody Mary's gonna get you Natalie."

Asher...

is in full Ninja mode.  He will attack without provocation.  He leaves bruises.  You've been warned.

Jensie...

shaved her eyebrows.  She "didn't mean to."

Mi Hermanita

Who speaks Spanish and is also muy bonita.

Painkiller 6

Receiving the Army Commendation Medal and "pinning" the new 1SG.

Nate changed command Wednesday morning.  Company command is a tough job--14 hr. work days, weekends, and 3 am phone calls.  I know he feels a huge weight has been lifted off his shoulders, but the soldiers he's lived and worked with for the last year and half will truly be missed.  I don't know what he'll do without his battle-buddy and right-hand-woman 1SG Tina Irvin.  

I thought I'd share a bit of his farewell speech--especially the parts where he said such nice things about me. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"First of all I have to thank Erin, my wife of 9 years, without whose support I wouldn't be here today.  This assignment has somehow been one of the most challenging jobs I have ever had.  Erin, you have supported me ever since that fateful day in 2004* when I surprised you with the news that I'd enlisted in the Army.  I can't thank you enough for supporting me, especially during the past five years and the 33 months you've been a single mother while I've been away.  Jensie, Asher, and Frances forgive me for being the "webcam guy" for the last few years while you've grown up without me.  You are wonderful children and I enjoy every second I get to spend with you.

I appreciate being entrusted with command of C Co during a difficult deployment; thank you to LTC Marks for seeing some potential in me.  I love the Painkiller's mission.  I'm extremely proud of the dedicated leaders and Soldiers I have had the privilege of serving with with for the past year or so.  We had some great times playing Rock Band at company birthday parties and some bad times as the DFAC [dining facility] burned or while we worked to save patients seriously injured by one of the numerous IDF [indirect fire] attacks. 

If I have been successful it is because of leaders like 1SG Tina Irvin, the most dedicated and intelligent NCO that I have met, and her husband Michael who has served the Army in many different capacities for 27 years, most recently as my FRG [family readiness group] leader and friend. 

I hope that I have improved my foxhole, as they say; and that I have left behind a memory of my dedication to this Brigade and my love for the Painkiller Soldiers.

Rock of the Marne.  Sledgehammer.  Support and Defend."