R&BKing

Ryan is back on his COP in Afghanistan. He had a great welcoming gift of many letters and 4 packages. Thank you to everyone for thinking of him. Here's an update from his new CO (CPT Michael W. Blakley): "What a great company. I've never worked with a group of more motivated and competent Soldiers and NCOs than Battle Company. All the Soldiers have been working very hard, in extreme heat and with little sleep. Yet I still see smiling faces and positives attitudes. This speaks volumes about your loved ones given Battle's rigorous mission set here in Afghanistan. On top of all our daily missions, we've been doing a lot of work on the Command Out Post and Strong Point. We're putting up new tents so your Soldiers have more space for all their care packages. We've recently gotten new showers and even a laundry machine.Thank you all for all of the mail. Everyone loves getting packages, especially over here. We usually have so much mail that we can't...

Leave time was winding down. We finished it off with going to the temple, showing our patriotism and seeing fireworks. Then we had to say goodbye again :( 8 more months to go...let's hope time really flies by like the 2 weeks of leave did.

Our last main adventure was down to Utica.  We participated in a few events, the toboggan pull, the log throw, the tractor parking, skits and the Olive Theater. Even "Great H" came to play. A trip to Utica would be incomplete without Half Moons from Holland Farms. Yummy!

On our way back home we made a stop at the farm (Ryan's first time there). We had a wonderful visit and got very muddy as Torr showed us all around on the 4-wheelers. Our deployment savings may just have to go to purchasing one these fun vehicles! At home we relaxed, went on a bike ride (with a picnic), played Ryan's birthday present (Memoir 44) and of course ate more ice cream.

We spent the first week down in Tivoli. Check out all the fun things we did.

This post will be the first of a series. I wanted to share pictures from Ryan's leave. In the army they call leave R&R which stands for rest and relaxation. In the beginning we focused on the rest! A few people joined Ryan. I was too excited to sleep.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is the 4th of July!! This should be the greatest celebration for the greatest country the world has ever seen. Enjoy your bbq's and fireworks, but make sure you take the time to remember what this country is all about. Study the Decleration of Independence and our Founding Fathers. When you read the Decleration of Independence, notice their are a few similarities of what King George is being accused of and what's happening now in our country. What happened to our nation's leaders? Why don't they have the passion and love of this country like our forefathers had? What has happened to us? Letting them stomp all over us. My favorite lines of the Decleration are as follows: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." My friends, I love this country, this is why I...