4 Days of Nothing

We had a 4 day weekend this week. Usually that would be welcomed with open arms, but when you don't have much to do with your time it can get kinda boring.

We were expecting to get our personal belongings sometime last week so the weekend was supposed to be a perfect time to both be home and unpack and get the house in order... but it didn't come... and isn't coming until Wednesday at the earliest. It is safe to say that this has been one of the biggest tests of my patience. Every day I think about how much better it would be if I had my stuff here so I could at least have something to work on... especially since I love organizing and setting up the house. Oh well, it will come soon enough.

We are both running out of clothes though... and dishes. The plastic "outside" dishes we bought are slowly being ruined due to over use... we are down to 3 plates and 2 bowls and are washing our plastic silverware so we can use them again.

It's almost over. It's almost over. It's almost over.

In other exciting news, the dogs were sick all weekend. Ha, yeah, that's interesting.

Well tomorrow Thomas goes back to work and I start practicing my pottery throwing... we'll see how THAT goes. I've been watching some youtube videos to brush myself up on pottery... and it's a good thing too because after I watched them I realized that there is a lot about pottery I forgot about.. oops.

Well, I will be sure to write something more interesting next time I'm on here... I'm just passing time until the Vikings decide to start kicking some Jets butt.

Ok Ok Ok

So, back by popular demand... or wait, WE are back by popular demand... yes, that makes more sense. So I am completely to blame for the lack of action on this here blog... Maybe it's because I haven't felt like there has been much action to share... or maybe it's because sitting on the floor of our empty office with the laptop on top of two boxes just doesn't sound comfortable enough for the amount of time that I put into blogging... or maybe it's because.. well, actually it's because of that last one. I have really bad posture as it is so thats pretty much just a recipe for disaster, or at the very least, moderate to slightly severe back pains.

So, how to quickly bring you alllllll (because I know there are so many of you) up to speed on all that is Ferguson in Texas. Currently Thomas is in the living room playing xbox while yelling at the dogs for knocking something over causing a large racket. You don't want a play by play of our boring Thursday night? More vague long term update? Ok Ok Ok...

We have a house! Well, more of a duplex but the same idea. It is very white. White White White. Walls, carpet, showers, toilets, stove, refrigerator, microwave, doors, ceiling... everything. Not the greatest feeling for someone like me who looooove to be creative in her living space, but I have brainstormed some alternative ways to bring some non-whiteness to this place. Lots of wall decoration, possibly in the form of frames and our own artwork, as well as painting some of my own tapestries (because let's be honest... I am NOT spending money on something I could very well do myself, and to exactly what I want). The unfortunate part about this whole idea is that there are two factors standing in the way.

Factor #1: All of my beloved frames and artwork are currently in a van (I hope) en route to Killeen Texas (I hope) which sort of debilitates me from pursuing that idea.

Factor #2: As if moving wasn't enough of a challenge with needing new items and replacing items and whatnot, funding a full on tapestry painting party is something I need more time to prepare for both mentally and financially. So... with that said, I will keep you updated on that.

Last weekend was "Couples Retreat - Fort Hood Style"... Two of Thomas' buddies from Georgia had their girlfriends in town, so the 6 of us basically hung out all weekend. Friday night - Pizza and an extremely Texan bar... Let's just say, it was evident by my cardigan, horn-rimmed glasses and serious lack of exposed flesh that I was from the northern part of this great country... oh, and the extreme lack of line dancing abilities. The next day Thomas and his friend Eddie bought an obscene amount of meat and a little cute grill and we grilled out and watched some college football (again, the 6 of us) then we went to a movie. The Town. Pretty decent I'd say but I know there isn't a line up of people waiting to hear my movie critiques... so I shall move on. Sunday we (now just 4 of us) we to play some paintball. Thomas, in all his chivalry, suggested the idea of girls against boys... yeah. right. We were there for over 3 hours and had a really great time! Erin (the other girl) sliced open her toe like super super make-you-want-to-gag bad and that sorta ended the time... but I was thankful cuz I was hot and tired and almost out of paint anyways. Then we went out to Lake Belton with the puppers... who had a BLAST! Theo was running so fast, with the wind flinging his ears back and the biggest smile on his face. He loves it there. Lily spotted a couple all bundled up in black coats like, a mile away on the dock and proceeded to bark at them for the next hour. Why is she so absolutely insane?

Oh, also... last week all the guys in Thomas' unit found out he is Canadian... They made him sing the Canadian anthem... and loud. When he didn't sing it loud enough his Sergeant interrupted him and made him sing it louder... oh MAN I wish I'd been there! All in all they seem to really like Thomas and he has really been working hard to prove himself and it's definitely paying off. The Platoon Sergeant chose Thomas to be his driver! So he has been training in driving a Hummer this week. I'm not sure if that Sergeant knows what he is getting himself into ;-)

(See, the lucky part for me is that Thomas doesn't read this, so I can put whatever I want and he wouldn't know!)

Thomas got 4 new pairs of glasses.. sheesh.. I wish I had 4 new pairs of glasses... one of which is totally not what he would normally wear and so grown up :) Like, we're talking thin wire frames... and kind of a burgundy gold color... crazy, I know!

I went into the Arts and Crafts building today to inquire about volunteering opportunities and before I knew it, the director of the Center asked me if I would be interested in taking on instructing a pottery class... I was ecstatic!!! I haven't done pottery in awhile, but God, in His amazing grace, made me to be someone who catches on to pretty much any artistic medium pretty quickly. I'm so excited! So Tuesday I go in to start playing around with some pottery so I can practice before I take on the big teaching job! haha, oh the funny things life brings us.

Ok, my mid back is seriously starting to hurt so that is all for now. Pray we have a desk set up by tomorrow... along with a bed. and a couch. and more clothes...

Love you all

Running Like The Wind

Thomas finally had PT today... and it kicked.his.butt. He said he was almost to the point of throwing up... guess he could've done a little more PT on his own over these last couple of weeks ;)

I also ran today... and felt quite proud of myself, although I have to stop thinking that I deserve a celebration every time I do something active. It should just be part of my every day life... for now I will give myself a little party in my head when I'm good and treat my body to the exertion it was designed for.

Oh, also... I got a new pair of running shoes today. Much needed running shoes. The pair I am currently using I have been using since I was a senior... in high school. Let's count, that's approximately 7 years ago. Holy Cow!

Thomas got two big bags full of more gear today... which officially brings us to two trippers when it comes to moving our stuff... at this point the dogs have to sit on my lap in order to get us all from point A to B... we really could use a house.

On that note, I handed in our application today for 1209 Curry Drive. Pray that they accept us. Pray that God's will is made quite clear. We aren't so good with our vision. And Theo sat me down today and vented his emotions on this whole situation. Being in such a confined space is forcing him to face his own demons, with his obesity and all, and he would really just rather not go there. Plus, Lily is running out of things to do so she keeps climbing on Theo's back. All in all, it's getting pretty crazy in room 204.

*Sigh* Now that I've had a good laugh at my own jokes, I will wipe away the joyful tear (from laughing so hard, don't worry) and say my goodbyes. Oh, by the way family, I would love it if you left us a little note in the comment section. I mean, I do believe that you (or someone at least) reads my ramblings, but sometimes it's nice to see what you have to say in response to our craziness. You do not have to have your own username or anything to leave a comment, just hit the button that says respond as guest. Thanks :)

Au Revoir mon amies!

Homeless

So as I told Thomas this morning, I cannot wait for the day when we will look back and smile while telling the story about first arriving to Fort Hood and all the ups and downs of beginning this adventure. Tonight we spend our 10th night sleeping in a hotel room. Fortunately I have been able to be creative when it comes to food so we don't have to eat out all the time, but this morning we packed everything up for the third time and moved to not only another room but another hotel all together. Our hotel on post is booked up for the next 4 nights so we had to find somewhere else to stay.

We have decided to look for a home off post, in Copperas Cove, which is about 10 minutes west of Fort Hood. It is a nice little town where about 95% of the residents are military. It is the place where Thomas' Sergeants recommended living, as opposed to Killeen (which is the city we were looking and almost rented in a couple of days ago). We looked at an awesome house yesterday and are handing in the application tomorrow. So please pray not only that we are accepted to rent the home but that the process can go smoothly. It is turning out to be rather taxing, in a lot of ways, staying at a hotel for this many nights.

The dogs are not sure whats going on half the time. But they are being really good and going with the flow.

This morning we went to the contemporary church service on post. It was nice and definitely was an example of being a part of the church body. So often nowadays we are a part of such large churches that we don't know everyone there. The church is quite small, so everyone knows everyone. The service we went to seemed to be made up of mostly older people, but maybe if we go to the 11:00 service there will be some younger people.

This whole process of finding a home has proved to be quite taxing. I am not one who handles stress very well and it has been so hard to continue to have hope when it seems like nothing will work out. Now I know that saying "nothing will work out" is a very untrue and unfair statement because God ALWAYS works something out... I am just needing to remind myself of that a lot more recently. I am very much looking forward to seeing what He has for us.

Thomas leaves this friday for a 10 day field training exercise, which means I will be here by myself with the pups with no furniture, but hopefully a house at least :) But THANKFULLY we have the wonderful Kirkpatricks up in Dallas that are willing to put up with us 3 for those 10 days :) I'm so glad I don't have to be by myself in an empty house (literally) for 10 days in a town where I know no one... God is good.

Off to take a rest and watch a movie with the family. Will probably write more later.

Love

Hurricanes... Who Knew?

Well hurricanes can hit the middle of this large state... that was proven by these last two days. It was raining yesterday at 5am when we woke up and didn't stop until this afternoon around 3pm. If you didn't see my picture on facebook you should because the lakes I had to drive through were unbelievable. I really don't think I've seen this much rain before, but apparently it's not normal.

Anyways, today was a pretty busy day for me (Laura). I was "house hunting" for other options off-post just to see whats available to us. It was fun, but I must say, some rental companies should really take better care of their homes if they plan to rent them out to people. The Lord really lead me today in my search because most of them had clear signs that they were not homes for us. We will see what tomorrow brings as I have a lot more homes to look at.

Thomas spent the morning on a bus, touring Fort Hood. Instead of doing paperwork and things of that nature they piled all these newbies onto a bus and gave them an official tour of their new duty station. He was able to come back to the hotel and eat lunch here (the awesomely inexpensive food I purchased at the Commissary... yess!) and then he went back for a social with drinks and food where the Colonel and the Command Sergeant Major came to welcome the new soldiers to post and give them a lil' talking to (a good talk because this is no longer basic where they are always yelling at them. Actually, that is a rarity around here).

Because of the rain he got to get out of PT again this morning but he was assured that PT will start back up tomorrow :) I'm thinking of checking out the gym here on post tomorrow. Apparently there are 6 or so gyms... crazy!

Well, I'm hoping there is more sunshine than rain tomorrow, although thats not looking like the case. Hoping you are all doing well and staying dryer than we are.

Love you guys,

Laura

Labor Day Weekend = No Blogging

Hello dear family and friends,

I do sincerely apologize for not being able to blog over the weekend. But I will be sure to fill you in on all our festivities.

We left on Saturday morning around 10ish to head up to Dallas to visit the Kirkpatricks. Thomas' friend Alex tagged along for the weekend, which made for a very crammed trip up. We had the car as packed as it was when we came down, plus one extra person. So the pups sat on my lap all the way up (3 hours) and on Thomas' lap all the way down. The things we do for those puppies...

We just hung out with them on Saturday and barbecued (which was fantastic because I haven't had home cooked food in such a long time) and then we watched a movie in Jeff's makeshift movie theater... pretty sweet.

Sunday we ventured out to Hurricane Harbor (I think thats what it's called) and spent 7.5 hours there. I can't remember the last time I spent that much time at a water park. There was so much to do there! We only went on a couple of things more than once. I begged Thomas to put sunscreen on because last time we were out (at Valleyfair) he refused and paid the price. He agreed and we reapplied multiple times but he (and Alex who refused to wear sunscreen but finally gave in) continued to get red. Needless to say, by the end of the day, he had extremely red shoulders, sides, backs... basically everywhere. But what was funny about both of the boys is that they seemed to have streaks on their backs that were not getting any color... My sunscreen is the spray on kind, and well, we now know that you also have to rub it in to make it work well. The lines in their backs that are white are where the sunscreen was sprayed... in a very interesting pattern. Haha, it's really funny looking, but poor guys are hurting pretty bad. After the water park we ate at our favorite restaurant with the whole gang (P.F. Changs) and didn't get home till about 10:00. We all just passed out from all the sun and long day and definitely slept well.

Monday the boys went to Dave and Busters and played some video games while Sandy and I shopped a little and then I went back and got ready to head back to Hood. It was a really great time hanging out with those guys and getting to have a relaxing weekend (outside of a hotel room). The puppies really enjoyed being there because they had 2 other dogs and 4 cats to play with! We had a little zoo going on, it was great. Lily did, however, have a little confrontation with one of the kitties.. thats what she gets for always being so curious.

Today has been rainy rainy rainy... all day. Thomas' first day of PT was actually cancelled because of the rain. He was able to get lots of information today and lots of things done. It should only take 4 days total to process in, so 3 more left.

The post has something called a "Lending Closet" for service members and their families who are in need of certain household things so today I was able to get us dishes, silverware, cups, a pot and pan and a toaster to tide us over till we get a place of our own. We are getting more and more excited and it's starting to feel more like our new town instead of just a vacation spot.

Oh, also.. the Commissary is awesome. A big, and I mean big block of cheese is less than $3... and from what I remember at home cheese is really REALLY expensive. Everything I bought today was $3 or less. CRAZY! Although they don't have everything (no Udi's gluten free bread, but thats ok).

Alright peeps, I'm off to give my Army man a hair cut. Love you all very much!

Laura

Theo Video

The Attack of the Crickets

Today was an absolutely beautiful day in central Texas. I (Laura) have to say that I have been pleasantly surprised by the weather. I think it was to my advantage that I expected such extreme heat because it hasn't been that bad.

This morning we woke up to housekeeping banging on the door to wake us up.. at 8:30! Am I crazy or is that really early for housekeeping to be coming to your room? The advantage to that was allowing us to feel the beautiful cool breeze outside and bringing about the idea of venturing out to Lake Belton. Lake Belton is a very large lake right at the border of the Fort Hood Reservation and there is a road right from main post all the way to the lake. It's about a 10 mile drive to what they call "BLORA" Belton Lake Outdoor Recreation Area. They have paintball, horseback riding, waterslides, cottages, boat rentals, a beach, mountain biking and tons of places to hike and walk. As you drive the 10 miles to the beach you will notice cows... everywhere. We passed a large bull hanging out on the side of the road chewin' on some grass. Lily had her first brush with cows and she was quite freaked out. Her barking was quite possibly the most intense/ uncertain I've maybe ever seen. She basically had no idea what they were but decided she should bark. Here are some pictures from the lake.

This one is from the observation tower at the highest point of the park right when you drive in. It is beautiful and gives you a chance to take it all in. It goes on forever!

Little Lily girl tuckered out from her playful excursion. She had a field day!

He really does like Theo... He's all talk. (I also have no idea why this is underlined... man this is going to take me awhile to figure out!)

Having a cute moment :)

We did a lot of running today with the puppies... it was so fun to see them doing what makes them so happy! Their ears flopping in the wind, getting to sniff everything, and pee on everything in Theo's case.. it was just wonderful

This is one of the pictures of the lake. It's a beautiful greenish blue color.

And another one. All the way to the right is where the beach is and the waterslides.

and this is the opposite end of the lake. It actually curves around even more but I just couldn't catch all of it on camera.

action shot :)

I loved bringing the pups here. It made me so happy to see them so happy!

More lake

We loved it. We love having a place like this so close to us. We will definitely be here often.

Ok, so the shutter speed on the camera was set for too long without me realizing so some of the photos are really bright. BUT, I HAD to keep some of them because they were just too priceless and the moments were too perfect. Thomas and Lily were off somewhere and I was taking some pictures. I turned around and saw Theo sitting off in the distance, by himself, with this little smile and his ears flapping in the wind... just in pure bliss. It was so precious!

And then also turning around and seeing these two, just hanging out. It was just so cute!

All in all we had a fantastic morning! And cannot wait for our family and friends to come visit so they can see all that this wonderfully cool place has to offer.

Also, today we went to the housing office to get on to the waiting list for a house. We were anticipating the wait to be about a month to two months for a house if that. Long story short we were pleasantly surprised when she told us that she had a house for us that will be available on September 21st (which just so happens to be the very same day that the movers are packing up all of our other stuff in MN and sending it down... God is pretty humorous in the way he plans things :) )

Those are the highlights of our day. Oh, and I almost forgot... There are crickets EVERYWHERE here... We came back to the hotel room to find about 2-3 on the floor, one on the BED (ahhh!! I was freaking out!) and about 5 alive and 3 dead behind the end table next to my side of the bed. We think they are coming in from underneath the door so we are using towels to block them... doubt it will work. At night, the ground is crawling with them... and they jump all over the place as you walk by. SO gross...

Alright, well thats all I have for you. I will leave you with a very funny video of Thomas and Theo man. He was trying to get him to sit up. Enjoy. (The video is in the post above this one.)

First Full Day... In The Bag

Well today I (Laura) had my first real brush with fire ants... really early in the morning... when I was already not in the best of moods. It was not fun at all. I came rushing back into the room asking Thomas (very shamefully I might add) if there was anything I could put in my legs and feet to make them stop burning. Such a wuss, I know.

Also, Lily proved to be quite a sneaky little lady when she managed to get out of our little bathroom "kennel" while we were gone. On two different occasions we pulled up outside of our hotel room (that is ground level) to a little dog greeting us with her smiling, alert face peeking out from behind curtains. Here is a video of how she managed her escape.

Also, through a long, and very humorous story, I have solidified the reality that my husband (whom I love very very very much (; ) has a tendency to nod in agreement or even voice his understanding of what someone is saying and, in fact, not have the slightest clue as to what they have said. I have officially become his translator of any and every accent. Long story short, instead of taking a seat and waiting to be called (as he was told to do) he proceeded to walk out the door of the housing office because "thats what those other people did". He makes me laugh.

We are pleasantly surprised by the weather thus far. It might be due to the clouds, but the heat it not as stifling and we'd imagined. But Thomas did get his sweat on earlier today while he was out trying to process in. Let's just say that boys can be bullies :p Apparently they can all tell he is a newbie and were yelling at him to run here, and run there, and not giving very clear directions to the building he was looking for. You have to laugh though... for 2 reasons. Because you know that happened to those people when they first got here, and because it was expected... so it's just sort of going along with what was anticipated.

Killeen is a fairly large city. Bigger than Fort Benning where he did his training. The post is nice, and shouldn't take too long to learn our way around it.

I am in heaven because my favorite little deli with the best sweet tea ever is here! McAlister's! And there is a Boston Pizza here to satisfy Thomas' Canada craving (and I don't mind either because they have gluten free pizza crust). All in all it's turning out to be a pretty decent town.

Well, the 4 of us are off to bed. We get to sleep in tomorrow! Joyous day!

Love you all.

Laura

Blogging Again... Just For You.

Hello family. Friends. Moms. Dads.

We figured that during this new time in our lives there will be lots of little and big things that you might want to hear about and that we might want to share... so what better way than to start using this bad boy again.

So save this page to your bookmarks and check it out every now and again to see what we've been up to on this entertaining, humorous, exciting adventure of becoming not only Army people, but Texans as well.

Will post a recap of events tonight. Love you guys.

Deuces,

Thomas and Laura