Taking Me Back

I love school!!!  I am in my official 3rd week of classes and I am going strong.  And despite having 19 credits I am not overworked a bit.  Not much homework.  Granted I am tired but that could be because I haven't been sleeping very well--I wake up in the middle of the night and speak Arabic to myself.  Then I get the itch to get up and start writing words--in Arabic, of course--but I make myself stay in bed and eventually I fall back asleep again. 

I am practicing Arabic on a daily basis and I already can feel myself getting better.  I can read and write 13 letters in the alphabet thus far--but I definitely need improvement.  My writing looks like a 4-year old!  I bet those little Arab Kindergarteners could show me a thing for two.  But I love it and I am excited to be getting a little better.

As far as the rest of my classes go, I am learning so much about Psych already.  I think my favorite class just might be Development Psych, but then again we are learning cool things in Research Methods right now too.  I am a bit disappointed in my Abnormal Psych class but that is just because the instructor seems a little uncomfortable teaching it and we haven't gotten to anything good yet.  I also like my Psych 100 class, despite having to go be a guinea pig for the grad students on Wednesday--I just hope their experiments have nothing to do with The Jersey Shore!

My Babies

Playing at Sandy Beach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I went to Casper before school started so I could see my boys.  We hung out all week and had tons of fun!  Here are some pictures of the merriment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So Cold!!!

I will miss my Kameron

Firepower!

Playing in the water

Crazy Thing Called Life

So I did go to Bryn Mawr this summer--for my 6th.  I did not, alas, write about it!  I was crazy-busy--I moved from Junior Camp to Senior Camp.  I loved my kiddos though--for those of you reading this, you know who you are and I miss you!!!  Basically I can never go back down to Junior Camp after the hectic-fun-wonderful-insane thing that is Senior Camp.

And now?  I am back in Montana, at the University of Montana as a post-baccalaureate student, getting my degree in Psychology.  I will be here until May.  It is only the 2nd full week of classes but I already LOVE all that I am doing.  I am taking Abnormal Psych, Developmental Psych, Arabic, Research Methods, and Psych 100.  Even though I have 19 credits my schedule isn't too busy.  Arabic is my hardest class and the one that I love the most, it is true.  Everyday I go and everyday I feel slightly uncomfortable to be there but that is how I know I am learning!

In other news, Brandt and Ashlie's baby is due soon.  His name will be Weston Brandt and they will call him Wes for short.  His due date wasn't until the beginning of October but Ashlie went into labor with him a few weeks ago and his little lungs weren't fully developed yet.  That and because he is breach made for a scary time until they got it stopped.  They initially put her on bed rest but then took her off and now they are deciding whether to schedule a C-section or see if they can get him turned naturally.

In Soldier news, two of mine went home.  You may have heard that I had just adopted a 4th Soldier right before I went to camp.  He went home mid-summer due to a family emergency--:(  I worried about him and still worry about him but I don't want to bother him now that he is home.  And my SMSgt got to go home because he was all finished!  And then my SSG was promoted to SFC--yay!!!--and he went home for this month only on leave.  That left me with only 1 Soldier to support so I am going to adopt another one!

Fun in the Sun--Finally!

It has been RAINING nonstop for the past couple of days.  I would say that we get 3 days out of the week that are sunny.  Boo!!!  And so yesterday it was beautiful, but a bit cold, so we went to the park in Fairfield to watch a parade.  Brandt and Ashlie came down with Will so we all went together and hung out.  Here are some pictures of that.

At the parade!  Will wants Kam's candy

Wrestling in the park

A new work out for Aunt Jessie

Kameron riding the miniature pony

Then today it was 86 and so hot out that we broke out the Slip-n-Slide!  It took about an hour and 20 minutes to set the thing up but once we did it was so worth it!  The boys had a great time.  Even little Will played in the cold water.

Holy Buckets that is cold!

Uncle Bubba giving a boost

Kameron

Kaelan got the hang of it finally

Then after the heat went down a little bit the boys and I went slacklining.  I had sunburned the backs of my legs and boy could I feel that when I was walking on my slackline!  Ouch!

Hammock time!

Kaelan is a natural!

Yes he has no pants on

Firetrucks and Motorcycles

We are in Montana for some vacation--Kurt couldn't make it due to work so Kat and the boys and I hopped in my Highlander and headed down yesterday.  The roads have been closed for a week due to flooding but we only crossed over one section that had water covering the road.  Today we woke up and made the jaunt to Helena to visit Brandt, Will, and Ashlie.  We got to play in the firetrucks at Brandt's fire station and took lots of pictures.  We also got to ride on his Harley Davidson Road King.

Here are some highlights of the day!

We all got rides!

Kaelan riding the Harley

Kameron riding that Harley!

Whoa--cool toys!

Kaelan and Auntie Jessie

Cousins!

Kaelan climbing trees

We Heart Our Soldiers

AAUSS

I have been asked some questions about the program I go through to adopt soldiers so I thought I would take a minute on here and tell you about it!

It is officially called Adopt A US Soldier--if you look that up you should find it. I was first introduced to it by a friend who was in Afghanistan. She asked if I would consider adopting a soldier over the holidays because so many did not have family or were not getting mail. I said yes and that is how the boys and I ended up with our SSG in the SF, who we had until April when he was finally sent home. We liked it so much that we adopted more! And now I have 4 soldiers!

Basically you sign up to adopt and it takes about 3 days initially to be assigned a soldier. Their information--rank, name, address, email address and any comments--will appear in your profile after the 3 days are up and you have yourself a soldier! Each soldier is given between 4 to 6 supporters just in case 3 or more stop writing for whatever reason. I must stress that this site does NOT guarantee that your soldier will write back. I have 1 silent soldier that I have not heard a peep from since I first adopted him--and I write him 2 letters a week plus the care packages I send. So if you are easily discouraged or are doing this to be in constant contact with a soldier I have to tell you that it is probably not for you! However, I have gotten fairly lucky. I have had 5 soldiers altogether and only 1 has been silent.

My idea of support is to write letters, emails, and to send down care packages. You are not obligated to send care packages but I like to spoil my soldiers. I especially like it once we have developed a rapport and I know just what exactly they would like the most--and then surprise! It shows up in Iraq or Afghanistan! The only problem I have had is that I want to ask so many questions and most of the time they can't answer. Especially my SSG in the SF! That was so hard! At first he would say 'I can't answer that' and then once he got to know me better he would just ignore the question.

I have gotten to know 3 of my soldiers pretty well. Our SSG in the SF is home now but we are keeping in touch still. He has disappeared for training purposes but I hope to hear from him soon. 2 of my soldiers still deployed in Iraq keep in very close contact. We talk almost everyday, and sometimes more than once a day. They are great guys. My SSG (P) has a family back home and it is fun to hear about them and see pictures. My SMSgt in the Air Force is my silent soldier and I just hope that my long rambling letters don't annoy him too much and that the care packages make him smile. Now my new CPL and I have exchanged emails too and I sent down his first care package to Afghanistan.

The program will contact you once in a while to adopt another soldier but only when they have an influx of new soldiers looking to be adopted. They are never pushy and they never make you feel guilty. If anything, they are a tremendous support and it is awesome to visit the forum on the site and talk to other adopters. I have gotten tons of answers and tips through there. I even found recipes! I am sending my soldiers a cake in a jar today--I am excited to get that going to them. If you do not feel that you can adopt a second or third or 4th soldier, then don't! It wouldn't be fair to them or you. So no pressure when you do get an email asking if you would like another one.

Ok, now I have to address another big downside, other than perhaps not hearing from your soldier ever. Worry! I worry about my guys. I can't help it--I get too attached, especially when we talk more than once a day. My SSG in the SF disappeared for the entire month of February and I think I got an ulcer. I worry about my guys pretty much all the time but I do not let them know that. They do not need to hear it from me. I am just there to write about things light and to take their mind off whatever they are going through. That being said, I do not avoid the topic if they bring it up with me. They are pretty stoic guys for the most part--when they do mention any dangers they do it in a straightforward way. Now that I have gotten to know some of them more they let me in a bit more and tell me what they really think.

I have found some very good people through this program. My soldiers are all sweethearts and I am so proud to be supporting them. I feel that just saying I support the troops isn't enough--I need to DO something myself, other than donate money to some organization. This is the most hands-on thing I can do and it lets me see some of the people I am helping. Not only see but get to know. They have pretty much become family by this point!