Quick update

Carol is enroute to Tikrit, Iraq via Kuwait and Baghdad. She should get to Tikrit either 30 or 31 DEC. She is probably out of comms with us back here in the USofA for a few days until she gets settled in and back on the network. If you need her new address let me know.

Merry Christmas!

Carol and crew wish every one a Merry Christmas from Bagram. And L, K, Z and myself wish the same from here in Georgia. Carol wanted everyone to know that she and the other troops really appreaciate all the prayers and stuff folks have sent. The pictures show her waiting for chow, and then in the chow hall. She said it was the best meal she has had in Afghanistan. They even had sparkling grape juice to do a toast!

Carol will return to Iraq Sunday/Monday (30-31 DEC). She will be working from Tikrit.

Mission: Decorate

We decorated the tree this weekend. Here L, K and Z pose in front of our wonderful colorful finished product. If you inhale deeply you can probably smell the plastic! (yep, we have a fake tree.)

Merry Christmas from Bagram Airbase

Carol would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas from the gang in Bagram, Afghanistan.

Back to Iraq

Carol will be leaving Bagram and going back to Iraq in early January. She is getting a new job with more responsibility and is excited about that.

On the home front, K is training to be a Cavalry Scout and has begun to track deer and other critters. Here she is pointing out deer sign and holding the scoop she uses to spread out feed corn for them. I suspect she is hoping to draw Santa's sleigh pulling deer towards our property.... We'll have to see how that plan works out.

Update on Carol

Carol is getting a break from the fun of Iraq. Seems some one got evacuated from Bagram airbase in Afghanistan and they needed a stand in for a couple of months. Carol has a reputation of getting stuff done, and done well so she was sent to Bagram about a week ago.

She says it is colder there than it was in Kirkuk. She is hoping to get back to Kirkuk in about 60 days. She really likes the mission in Iraq because she gets to do some cool stuff.

If any one reading this needs to send her something (real or electronic) get in touch with me as the move came with a new physical address and a new email address. She does thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and any goodies or emails you have sent. She is pretty busy and may not get to reply to you all so I will continue to relay news through this blog.

Jake

We have some winners!!!

We participated in a 5 kilometer (3.1 mile) race this weekend. L (#1) came in second over all, Z (#3) came in first in his age group, and K (#5) came in 1st in her age group with a time of just over 35 minutes!!! I ran with her and she kept a great pace up, and only slowed to a walk for a very short time.

I'm proud of them all!

Happy Halloween!

K dressed as Mulan, with authentic kimono and jade bracelet. We also carved pumpkins over the weekend. Hooah!

Here is K, Mama's Panda Bear, eating a bamboo leaf. Before Carol left we had planted some bamboo near our pond. This weekend K and I walked down to the pond and to the creek on our property. K had a lot of fun finding deer and racoon tracks, and just goofing around.

K drew this picture of Mama (Carol) missing her "Mama's Baby" (K). Poor poor Mama. That's why we send her cookies and other goodies in the care packages, to make her feel better!

Jake

Carol made it to Iraq safely, and is working hard, long hours. But she did manage to find time to track down a great friend of ours, MAJ Bob K. Bob and I were platoon leaders together in 1st Cav at Fort Hood many years ago. He is currently assigned to 10th Mountain. How a tanker like Bob gets to a light infantry unit is a mystery.
Carol wants every one to know that she is doing well. She does not have a lot of spare time to keep in touch with every one, and hopes this blog will help folks keep up to date with what she has going on. I'll update as I can.

Jake

Way Out West

Welcome to the Mojave Desert......the land time should've forgotten!

It's pretty hot out here, but not as hot as Iraq! I'm doing training for my upcoming deployment to Iraq (Tikrit). Last week, I learned that I will be deploying a few months earlier than planned. I will report there in August.

It's very hectic here at the National Training Center (NTC) and we're working lots of long days, but staying busy helps the time pass a little easier.

I feel a little guilty because I'm staying in a hotel and driving a rental vehicle, not "roughing it" like the soldiers out in the field moving around in tactical vehicles, but if you have to go to the NTC, there's no better way to do it!

The NTC rotational unit I'm supporting is 3BCT/4ID, out of Fort Carson, CO. They have their act together, are very professional, and a joy to work with.....I would love to support this unit in Iraq!

Well, I'd better get back to work. Time to order more latrines and handwashing stations sent out to the FOBs! Exciting stuff, I know!!

Starting Up

Well, here goes! This is my first blog post.

I've never had a blog before, so thought I'd try it out. I am hoping a blog might be a good way to communicate with friends and family and allow me to post updates from time to time when I can't keep up with email.

I hope everyone enjoys reading and posts plenty of comments back to me too!