Ft Jackson, SC

Wednesday, June 29, 2010

Monday morning Tommy and I flew from Denver, CO to Charlotte, NC. Kyles Graduation from Ft. Jackson, SC Boot Camp was set for Thursday. My sister, Cheryl picked us up from the airport and we headed straight to my Mom's for dinner. She cooked a loin of pork, roasted potatoes, corn on the cob, salad, and bunch of other stuff, hot bread rolls and a wonderful dessert. It was delicious.

Later on that evening we received a phone which ultimately put Tommy back on a plane the following morning. There were problems with Sire that had to be addressed immediately. Essentially, Tommy flew in for dinner and left, but a good dinner at least.

The next day, Tuesday,  Mom and I drove down to Columbia, SC where Kyles base was. We had a hotel along with Kaitlyn and her Dad who drove up from FL. Wednesday morning came quick and it was family day. Finally, we get to see Kyle!

We arrived at the base before 0900 (9AM). LOL. They had us sit in bleachers while they made several announcements. Then  - out of nowhere  - they lit green and white smoke bombs all over the field. Through the smoke, from out of the woods, came all the soldiers. They had Toby Keith singing "I'm an American Soldier", blasting loud, and baby bombs going off everywhere. It was so amazing and so Patriotic it brought alot of civilians to tears. Including Kaitlyn and I. We were mush!

3rd from left 2nd from rear.

After leaving the woods the soldiers came into formation and stood 'at attention'. They were not permitted to 'at ease' or move from position until a family member came to get them. Finally, after several more announcements we were told to come down to the field and 'find our soldiers'. I was the first to find Kyle. And yes, I cried when I say him.

He has physically and mentally changed in the past 10 weeks. He is mature, respectful,  and extremely confident. His jaw line is strong along with his mental state. There is no one prouder of the man that he has become than dear old Mom. He looks wonderful!!!

We spent the day on base with Kyle because he was not permitted to leave. We bowled, played air hockey in which he totally cheated, lol. We played darts and pool, ate lunch and dinner with him. It was a long and exhausting day. We witnessed what they call 'toe the line'. It is a  head count done every evening before lights out. Basically, they line up stand at attention and count off. Each Platoon has a Drill Sergent that listens for all to be counted and finds out if anyone was AWAL. Afterwards, we said goodnight and left the base. It was close to  9:30pm. OOPPPSSS. 2130!!!

The next morning came even quicker. We once again hit the base and the field stands by 0900. All the soldiers marched into formation by platoons. There were 726 new soldiers in the United States Army.  Unfortunately during boot camp 3 soldiers passed away from pneumonia, 1 from suicide, and 1 went AWAL and was arrested. Kyle excelled!!! He is a sharpshooter, which is just below an expert marksman and was a leader of 14 men and 4 vehicles on several missions.

After several awards were given out and the 'soldiers creed' was orally chanted by the troops, they marched past us with great pride and perfect step. We then met up with Kyle again, signed him out and headed back to Charlotte. He was free.... but only for 24 hours.

We all hung out at my Mom's and BBQ'd. It was alot of fun and alot of food. The boys played whiffle ball and the dogs ran wild. It was a great day. Kyle clued us in on all the ins and outs of boot camp and the practical jokes played on each other.

Then Friday came. Not a good day for me. Kyle had to report in Ft. Lee, VA by 2400 (12 midnight).  After breakfast he, along with his Dad and sister hit the road. It is a 4 hour drive from Charlotte. Once there they found out that Kyle could not get an off base pass, nor could he have visitors on base. it was extremely disappointing.

He was processed and his cell phone and laptop were taken away. He was supposed to start AIT (Advanced Individual Training) on Tuesday, July 5th but was told that they are very backed up and it could be 3 full weeks before his classes will begin. With no cell phone and no Internet he will go nuts. He was placed in temporary barracks and the last I spoke with him, he was not a happy camper. So far he said he has enjoyed the experience of being in the ARMY. Not so much the getting yelled at 24/7 but the fact that he was pushed to continue on when he thought he could not.

It is now Saturday and Cheryl and I have spent the past 2 days running around, shopping, and going to the movies. We saw Bridesmaids today. Hysterical movie!!! Go see it! Tomorrow at noon I leave for Denver. I cant wait to see Tommy again. He, I and Kyle were all sad he couldn't share this with us but I have alot of pictures and video he will enjoy when I get back.

the "40" represents a saying - 40 rounds - It means good luck, see ya, best of everything!

We plane on spending another week in Steamboat with Mark and Susie and I will blog more from there. Happy 4th of July everyone. Thanks for reading.

Steamboat Springs, CO

Last year we met Mark and Susie through mutual friends and have returned for another visit. They have a log cabin that is incredible. And we're told all the animal heads on the walls sing and tell stories to each other every night. LOL.

Last year when we were here Tommy helped Mark with building a log garage. It was alot of fun cutting and milling the logs and placing them on top of each other and seeing the process up close and personal. This year Mark has finished the building part of it and is now placing siding on it. Tommy, once again, is helping. But not very much....these two guys laugh and play silly jokes on each other more than they work. Susie and I just sit back and supervise, something we both do best!


There have been 2 mountain lions found sleeping on the porch of a house that is only 3 houses away from here and alot of the neighbors have lambs and goats and I would hate to wake up one day and find out that they were attacked. But on the same hand, better them than me!


Roy and Kim live up the mountain from Mark and Susie and it just so happens while we are flying out to GA for Kyles graduation on Monday, Mark and Susie are flying out to the East coast also. Roy and Kim have volunteered to watch our animals while we are gone. The puppy in the pictures is Vladimir. He is a 15 week old Burmese Mountain Dog. Fully grown he will top out around 200lbs, but for now he is a bundle of cute fur. He will be Sire's playmate while we are gone.

Roy and Kim were trying to pick a color for their upstairs walls and purchased a bunch of sample colors. After a couple of weeks, with out a final decision made they decided to leave all the samples and created their own final outcome. It looks really cool.

A few minutes ago we received a phone call from Roy. Kim, who had been away, came home tonight and Sire did not want her in the house. Her house!! Its not fair to her or Roy to deal with the Sire's stress. Tommy will fly back to CO tomorrow and will miss Kyles graduation. I will take many, many pictures for him and clue him in on every detail.We cannot express thanks to Roy and Kim for volunteering to take care of our animals and are very sorry it did not work out with Sire.

 After dropping Tommy off at the airport tomorrow I will drive down to Columbia SC and meet up with Kaitlyn.  Thanks for reading.

A Week in Review

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Its been 10 days since I have blogged. Alot has happened and I have an enormous amount of pictures. I will break the blogs so you are not inundated. Where we were located we could not receive an Internet signal. Even with the Verizon Air Card. As of this past Wednesday we have arrived in Steamboat Springs, CO. The signal here is weak but at least we can access the web. I hope this blog works.

The first couple of pictures are of the new temporary housing unit, for all those who have not seen in it in person. I hope you can get an idea of what our traveling home is like. The part where the Polaris is (the garage) turns into a screened in patio when all the 'toys' are taken out. We use this room alot and the cats love to stare out the back screen all day.

After leaving Moab we headed to Grand Junction, CO. We stayed at a state park along the Colorado River. The first thing we were told when checking in was that they have seen two baby bear cubs roaming around looking for food and could not locate the mother. So beware! Great! I am starting to come to terms with these animals though, as long as I have Sire with me. He will warn me of anything lurking out there. He can smell them a mile away and stops dead in his tracks when he picks up a scent. I'm getting alittle better about it.

While at the park Tommy put a note and a dollar bill in a bottle and threw it in the river. The week prior we put 3 bottles in at Moab. We received 2 phones calls when they were found. We have not heard for my third one or Tommy's as of yet. The river is flowing at an incredible rate of speed. Kayak's and rafters are not permitted to ride for another week or so. The water levels are over all the banks because of the extreme snow melt. They have set records here this year and believe that some mountains will not melt at all this summer. 

While in Grand Junction I was sick for 3 days so we hung around camp and headed into town a couple of times. They have the weirdest street names I have ever seen before. Check out the pictures. Can you imagine telling a 5 or 6 year old to remember his address? Poor kid!

That's it for Grand Junction, not really alot to write about because I was under the weather. Next blog will be more interesting. Thanks for reading and have a good day.