El Paso

Well it has been awhile since I have blogged. So I thought I would take some time today and fill in what we have been up to so far. We moved back to El Paso in June. Same house, same phone number, and same area. We added a few things to our home like enclosed the loft and actually repaired our master bath. We now have axcess to a shower. Tyler started tackle football and wasn't quite sure about how that was going to be. He is showing his first battle scars from the first week of practice. Nice. Going to school was interesting because teachers always have to wonder about marks on kids.

The kids have started school. This year was 3 weeks later than usual. That was nice. The were afraid that people wouldn 't remember them. They were wrong all their friends remembered and them and they have been doing pretty good so far. Ryan isn't to sure about school yet. You have to do work, work, work. So he struggles a little. I don't know if it is the youngest kids syndrome but we will adjust.

Dave left last week for an NTC (training) in California. It seems a little weird to not have him here. The kids aren't liking it to well. They miss him. He comes home the end of this month and then will be home for about 3 weeks then move on to his deployment for a year.

We are doing well and gettting along with the friends we have here. It is nice to come to place where you have already established friendships and the kids have some familiar grounds to tread on. I think that wraps up our most exciting times. Tell next time.

Nauvoo

We recently went to Nauvoo with Dave's sister and brother-in-law. It was a very fun trip and there was so much to see that we are planning to go back. They don't tell you that to get it all in you need 3 days. These are only a few of the buildings that we were able to see. The bottom house next to the Gunsmith shop was actually Carthage Jail. That was a pretty neat experience. You got to see the Dungeon where they were kept first and then taken to the room where they were later Martyred. It was really neat.

Kaitlyn's birthday party with her school friends. It was a little crazy with 12 1st graders in a very small space. We had a lot of fun and I can't believe that she is 7. Where do the years go?

This was a very interesting race. They called it the groundhog race. You run underground. It was fun and warm. We had a great time doing it. This is where dealers hold their vehicles until they need it. Very cool.

This is our new addition. She is 5 months old and her name is Zoey. She is definitely a puppy. Since we lost Scooby the kids have been wanting a new dog and found her at the Humane Society.

She is fun and will hopefully not be as big as Scooby was. She is Lab/English Pointer and should get only to be about 50 lbs.

Moving

I didn't think we would ever find out where we were going next, but we have. We will be returning back to our home in El Paso. The kids are really excited to have their rooms back and not be in the middle of anyone else. It has been an interesting year but we are ready to get to things that are familiar. Dave maybe deploying which is why we decided to try and get back. It is close to family and we know our way around things. Anyway, I have a couple of pictures that have the snow that we had on Saturday. It is amazing the weather we have had around here. The day before it snowed it was 60. We are ready to thaw. Tyler is now sick of the snow and the cold. Anyway, I will write more soon.

Coree

Summer fun

Here are the pictures that I took when we were at the cabin with Cami and her family and Shale and his family and Cami's friends. Some you can't really tell who they are but it was fun to take them

Way to long

I have finally gotten back on my blog after much frustration and irration and no time to continue. But with that said, We have moved to Ft. Leavenworth, KS for 10 months and are planning to return to El Paso. We find that information out next Tuesday.

Since we have been here the kids have learned to ride bikes, have neighbors right next door and learned what we mean when we say things like that came from the 70's. Our house we are living in is about 50 years old and has been updated a little here and there. We went from an 1800 square foot home to a 1200 square foot home. You don't realize how much of a difference that is until you had 1800 square feet of living space and go to smaller. We have learned to love it and conserve space as much as we can.

Anyway, the kids like to be able to walk out the door and find someone to play with. The don't care for the bitter cold. El Paso didn't get this cold ever or very often. But it is about a 20 degree difference. They enjoy school and have liked not being the only blondies in the whole school.

I am the cubscout leader and that has been an interesting calling. I have learned a lot about the energy of five 8-9 year olds in a room without supervision. That has been quite the challenge. Dave is in school here and it is ok. He was told he was to have some free time to spend with family but we are still waiting for it. He has learned a lot and is ready to move on. He teaches the 14-15 year olds Sunday school class and has really enjoyed it.

Not much else really going on with us. I think that covers the update. I will post some pictures from our trip to Idaho and here in Kansas. I didn't realize that trick or treat in a neighborhood could yield so much candy. I think I threw out 90 % two weeks after we got it.

I will blog somemore.

Coree