I love this time of year!!!!

Well Fall is officially here and I'm happy to see it. There is just something about this season that I just love. Usually it is a welcomed break from the summer heat, but this year we had a VERY mild summer so it wasn't too hot. I am excited that college football is in full swing (yes in this family I am the football junkie, not Adam) except for the fact that we don't get many Arkansas games up here. Maybe 2 or 3 a season, but I take what I can get.

October is shaping up to be an incredibly busy month for us. Andrew's school is now in full swing so that means field trips and class parties all which keep me busy since I like to chaperon when I can. Adam and I have finally started work on the house. We've been scraping wallpaper off of the walls in the living room and with any luck will have everything ready to be painted in a few weeks when Adam's leave starts. I'm very excited to get this work started and even more excited to have it completed. There is still alot we want to do, but you have to start somewhere. As I mentioned before Adam's leave/vacation is coming up this month and on top of the home improvements we are also trying to plan a few things to do with Andrew during that time. I already have a few things in mind that he will just love. And of course we can't forget during all of this I still have my school. Like I said we have a busy busy month ahead. Keep an eye out for lots of pictures of the house and of Andrew's adventures :-)

Father Son Camp out

Saturday night Adam and Andrew had a father son camp out in our backyard. We set up the tent and made a fire in the fire pit. Andrew was super excited about his camping adventure with daddy. Here are a few pictures from that night.

posing by the tent

checking things out

looking at the fire

(I promise he wasn't as close as it looks)

loving on daddy

Andrew's first smore

Do you think he liked it?

ready for bed in one of daddy's Army sleeping bags

My first week of school is done!!!

Well as of tomorrow my first week of school is completed and I have to say so far so good. Now I will admit this first week has been fairly easy and things will become more difficult, but I am still proud of myself. So far I have gotten perfect scores on the assignments I have turned in. I just hope this trend will continue without too much difficulty. Secretly I am hoping that this week hasn't been as easy as I think, but that I'm just that smart. Of course this isn't the case, but it's nice to think about. As of right now if I stay on track my projected "graduation" date is July 4, 2010. That's a heck of a day to complete school in my opinion. I'll be sure and keep everyone updated on my progress. On another note, Andrew is doing very well in school so far this year. We had a few issues with tantrums at first, but his teacher has worked out a deal with him. If he behaves and stays on the green light Andrew is allowed to help clean the tables after snack time. Yes my son who refuses to pick up his toys at home LOVES to help clean the tables at school. Who would have ever guessed.

Stay tuned for a future post about Adam and Andrew's camping adventure tonight. We set the tent up in our back yard and they are sleeping out there tonight. We also made a fire in the fire pit and roasted marshmallows for smores. It was lots of fun :-)

Remember...........

As I'm sure most of you are aware today is the 7yr anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. This is a special day for me, not because I knew someone who was involved in the attacks but because this was a day that forever altered my life. Like everyone else I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when the attacks happened. I remember being glued to the TV in awe and disbelief watching that days events unfold. That evening while Adam and I were watching the news coverage of the attacks, hoping the death toll wouldn't be as high as they were predicting, a conversation started that would eventually change my life forever. From the day I met him Adam had always talked of joining the military, however because we were both complacent with our lives at the time it was usually just talk. This day was different. There was something new and different in his voice as he talked about wanting to join. Adam had a new found purpose for joining, and I had a new one for wanting him to. The conversation continued off and on for several months. There would be lulls when neither of us would bring the subject up, but eventually all conversations would come back to the Army. Finally in the fall of 2002 Adam went to see a recruiter. He came home very enthusiastic about the idea so the following day I went with him back to the recruiter to ask a few questions. The next month Adam was at the Meps in Memphis getting his physical, taking the ASVAB and signing his enlistment papers. It was official and he had 2 months before he left for Basic Training. In January 2003 Adam left for 6 months of Basic Training and AIT. That August he finished training and we moved to Fort Drum, NY. This was our first (and only) duty station. When we arrived the units had already deployed to Afghanistan so he was supposed to stay behind with the rear detachment. This plan lasted for about 3 weeks and then we were notified that he would be joining his unit after all and would be leaving in 2 weeks. On October 4, 2003 Adam left on his first deployment. Now 5yrs later we are preparing for deployment #3. A lot has happened in the past 5yrs some of it planned, but most of it not. Looking back now though I can't imagine my life any other way. As frustrated as I get with the Army I know that my husband is doing what he loves and what he is good at. I can't tell you if he's going to stay in until retirement, but no matter what I know that he has served his country well and I couldn't be prouder of him. He is my hero along with every other man and woman that has served in uniform. While this is a day we use to remember those who lost their lives in the attacks of that horrible day I ask you to also remember those who have since lost their lives serving this country and those who continue to put their lives on the line daily. Whether or not you agree with the wars or the state of our government please remember those who have chosen to defend and protect.

Back to School

The traditional first day of school picture

walking down the hall to his classroom

finding his cubby

looking for the bus with his name on it

hanging his bus on the attendance board

Well the 2008-2009 school year has officially started and so far we are off to an okay start. Andrew had a decent first day, although there were a few sharing problems. I fully expected issues with sharing since he hasn't been around a lot of kids this summer. Hopefully it won't take too long for him to get into the swing of things. His teacher this year seems to be very nice and I think it will be a good year. Andrew is going to school Mon, Wed & Fri this year from 8:30 to 11:00. Last year he only went on Tues & Thurs. Andrew generally loves going to school so I'm sure he will appreciate the extra day this year (I know I will). I'm sure there will be lots of posts from school events & I know that Adam and I have some plans for our family this fall before he leaves. I'll try and post on things as quickly as I can after they happen. We have lots to do around the house before Adam deploys so it's going to be a busy fall.

Daddy's Home

Well Adam finally made it home Monday night around 8pm. After 30+ hours in the truck he was obviously tired, but happy to be back home. Of course Andrew was super excited his Daddy was home and wanted to tell him about everything we had done while he was gone. Below are a few pictures from that evening just after Adam arrived. My camera didn't want to cooperate that night so I'm afraid the pictures aren't that great.