To Infinity...And Beyond

Well, Blake has been at Ft. Hood for a week now and has already been told he'll be leaving soon. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start from the beginning.

Blake started his processing and was informed that he would not be assigned to the 1st Cavalry as he had thought. He was, instead, going to be attached to the 1st Infantry. Otherwise known as the "Big Red 1". The Army has a "thing" for the obvious, as shown below.Next, he learned that this unit was already deployed and he would be joining them in 2 or 3 weeks. And all the time, he was counting on leaving his coats behind and living in sand. Not anymore. Actually, he's pretty excited at the prospect. Especially since he's in a non-combative career field.

One thing Blake was asked a lot at his party was "what is it you do exactly?" I thought his response was a good one. He has a certificate that says he's a Geospace Engineer, but I overheard him telling one of the guests that he's like a travel agent for the Army. He tells them what they're going to find when they get to where they want to go. The simple explanation is usually the best explanation.

The really good news out of all this is he will be home again soon. They give him 7 days free leave before he has to travel, and I know he will want to get in touch with everyone again. The not so good news is he will not be able to help us move. Darned kid. He'd do anything to get out of helping move.

On the lighter side, at Ft. Hood, Blake doesn't have a roommate, and he hasn't bought an alarm clock yet. So, I got a call from him Monday night asking if I would call him at 5:30 a.m. to wake him up. I'm already up and getting ready then, so I told him I would give him a call. "However," I asked him, "don't you think that one of the sergeants there would be willing to give you a wake-up call instead?" After what sounded like a grunt, but might have been a harsh explitive, he said, "Oh, yeah, I'm sure they would."

Well, that's about all that's newsworthy. Thanks for reading this and for your support. Blake really appreciates it, and so do we.

More news when we have it...

Ft. Hood

We arrived at Ft. Hood on the 13th as planned after an unexpected tour of the hill country. There's a reason cars only have one steering wheel. I just wish I could remember what it was. This place is a monster, and Blake got a first hand opportunity to see what the Army was like when you're not in training. We got directions from a very nice sergeant who had only been there for three days herself. When we arrived, cars were zipping off base being driven by uniformed men and women. It's a job, Blake reminded himself. When you get out of training, it's just like a regular 9-5 job for most people.

We found the building for in-processing and were directed to another building to check into his temporary housing. Once he finishes his processing, he'll be assigned to a unit and housed with them. He said the rooms held four people, but so far, there was only one other person in his room.

When we left the post around 7:30 and started back home, he seemed a little nervous, but excited to get started. From the picture above, it looks as though he's going to be just fine.

Thanks to everyone who came to the party and sent well-wishes and prayers. He had a great time at home and hopefully got to spend a little time with everyone. Keep the prayers going his way; he has a long road ahead.

We Party Like Rock Stars

Blake flew in on Friday, August 1st. We were there to meet him, and surprise of all surprises, the plane was late. This time it was over an hour late, so we waited in the lounge near the gate. When we thought it was time to meet the plane, we went out to the gate and waited there. We didn't have long to wait before this guy showed up.

Question: How do you get a soldier to a Chucky Cheese type of establishment and expect him to have a good time. Followup question: How do you get a bunch of adults to have a good time at the same place at the same time? Well, we had a great party at IT'Z on HWY 249 Saturday night. Friends and family gathered to welcome the returning warrior back to Houston. Everyone had a great time, as the pictures show.

We were surprised to see his brother, Dusty, who was able to make it in from Dallas. We had thought he would have to work the day of the party, but we were lucky as he was able to get off and make the drive down.

Some of Blake's friends join us at the party. Here's a pic of the whole gang. It was great seeing them here for the event.

Long time friends Bill and Kathy were able to come. Kathy was snapping away with her camera, so we're hoping that there will be more pictures soon. Most of the adults there had known Blake since he was a little kid and would have thought that this place was the greatest place in the world to have a party.

Kayla was able to come, too. She met Blake when he was about 5 when we worked together at Patrick Henry Middle School together. She's still teaching now, and thankfully is not taking the advice of well-meaning friends who tell her about great jobs in other schools and then leave. Hmmm...

Then, there was this guy who walked into my 5th grade class. He looked so sad, I just had to offer him the seat behind me. We've been best buds since. Dale, a recent retiree from one of the biggest oil-glutting companies in the world. But don't get him started. He's brilliant, so he'll not only tell you how wrong you are, but have you thanking him for pointing out how foolish you were in the first place. We're hoping that his next "graduation" party is not as eventful as the first. Worchestershire? No thanks, I've had enough...

Dale's better half, Dara, collaborates with Bill's better half and discover that they went to the same middle school. Small world, or global conspiracy to keep track on the three of us... I'm not telling.

Jen and Susan come in from Katy to wish Blake well as he starts his career in the Army. That adorable brunette is Elizabeth, one of Jen's twins.

These two stole the show as the last picture shows. Catherine, a cute blonde, spent the night sitting on my lap, and no one was jealous. I'm shocked! She was a heart-stealer. I could have stayed like this the rest of the night, but after a long and brutal fight, Jen pulled them away from me.

And so the party ended. Blake will be reporting to his duty station at Ft. Hood on Wednesday. We're going to be driving him up, and from there, who knows? It was good to see everyone though, and even though I don't have a good picture of Susan to put up, that will be coming up soon.