A fun night out

Because this week was Thanksgiving and there were no classes, our hours at the library changed. The two other girls who work in my department and myself were all working the same hours which is rare. We decided to go out to dinner on tuesday night a while back since we knew we would all be on the same schedule for once.



Originally we were going to go to Steak and Shake to check out a waiter named Tim. Long story, but someone I work with has a crush :) Anyway, that didn't work out (SNS, not the crush) so we had to think of a new destination. The last time we went out, we went to the Cheesecake Factory and it was good. We considered it, but then thought we should try someplace else. We ended up deciding to go to BD's Mongolian BBQ. It is basically a create your own stir fry place. It was delicious and we finished off our meal with brownie ice cream sundaes. Mary and I had mint while Marcy stuck with Vanilla. The chunks of brownie were still warm as was the hot fudge. YUM!

I think the added in tiaras are a nice touch :)

More pictures of the reunion

Here are some pictures from last week.

This is on the way to the airport early Wednesday morning. My Dad drove Missy's car and she jumped in the back seat with the kids. I got in the front and asked if they were excited and got a resounding YES!!!





Isn't this bench cool? It is down in baggage claim where we first came into the airport.



After breakfast in the concourse area, the kids could hardly contain themselves, they were so excited. Feel the love!

This is where I started tearing up, sniff

Do ya think they missed their Daddy?

Word is a party/reception is coming up on Saturday the 22nd from 2-5 at their church.

Welcome Home!

Welcome home to the 76th Brigade Infantry Combat Team! Scroll down to the very bottom of this page to view a slideshow of photos from The Indianapolis Star covering yesterday's homecoming. Caden is featured in photo number 19.

Its too early

I got up at 4 am! The sacrifices I make people. Not really, but I am gonna be snoozing at my desk this afternoon, if I ever get to work. And here I was worried the flight would be bunped up earlier and they would miss the chance to see Daddy. It didn't occur to me that it might be bumped to later. As of right now, 10ish.



While I was on the phone with my sister this morning, Chloe came out of her room and said "is it time yet?" This is better than Christmas for her. Thank God for aunties too. Since it was V-day yesterday, veterans came to her school and talked to the kids. Chloe and one of her classmates whose Mom is due in today also both started crying. But I am glad her Aunt Twila helps out at the school and was there.



Gonna go hit the road now and maybe get in a nap at Dad's house before we go up to the airport.

Veteran's Day

Thank you to all of you who have served our country over the years. Both of my grandfathers, Ray and Max, served during WWII. I am proud to be their granddaughter. My brother in law, Ryan, is on his way home from Iraq right now. I am proud to be his sister.

I know that there are mixed opinions to say the least concerning the military and our current conflicts. And I know that in the past, veterans haven't always been treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. I have been pleased to see that our troops are recieving much more respect and appreciation these days. Even by some of those who do not support the wars in Iraq or Afgahnistan.

I was talking to an older woman a few weeks ago about this very thing. She recalled her first husband coming home from Vietnam. She and his parents were meeting him in the airport. As they were all approaching each other, a stranger ran up to her husband, shouted something obscence and spit on him. She said if her father in law hadn't held her back, she would have been in jail for what she wanted to do to that person.

I can't say I blame her.

So welcome home to the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. There will be many happy families this holiday season.

Spirit of the 76th

PS...I am hearing rumors of a welcome home party on the Saturday the 22nd. More details to follow.

Stolen pictures

I totally swipped these pictures from my sister.

First up is Caden, my nephew

He found his pumpkin!

Next is Chloe

I think this picture is awesome! She took it in front of the mirror in her room. Yes, that is a real picket fence on the wall.

And finally, Veteran's Day is going to be extra special this year. I get to go to some ceremony thing for some guy thats been gone for 8 months somewhere. I cannot share more than that because I do not know more than that, but I will post more on Tuesday's events, well, on tuesday I guess :)

The boys

Here are my boys Max and Sadie

They love to snuggle and sleep cuddled up like that.

Max is about a year younger than Sadie

This was taken by Louie's sister who we got Max from. Isn't he adorable? Yeah, he grew up. Kidding, he is still adorable, which keeps him alive since he is also a brat. He loves to knock stuff off cabinets, stick his paw in drinks and then freak out when it gets wet, and scoop his food out of his bowl with his paw to eat.

This is Sadie. Yes I know it is a girls name. His name was Darla when he was picked out at the shelter. Yes, that's right, they thought he was a girl. They were wrong, but it was too late to change his name to something more manly. Poor thing, no wonder why he loves my purse.

I believe in this shot he is either trying to cover his face because the room is too bright or else he is embarassed to be caught napping on a purse.

DST and other things.

Yay for daylight savings time and the extra hour of snoozing last night. And Boo! to all you Hoosier voters who plan to vote against Mitch Daniels cause he brought it. First, its about time we caught up to the rest of the country. Second, to vote against someone for that reason alone is just plain dumb. And third, Jill Long Thompson is the recipient of all those votes against Mitch.

What. Are. You. People. Thinking!?! Any time she has been interviewed, the majority of her comments have been to bash Mitch. The few and far between times she has actually said what she would do as governor has not even made sense. I listened to an interview she gave to 93.1 WIBC radio and she said the solution to the loss of jobs in Indiana was to bring back manufacturing jobs because that's what makes Indiana strong. Then, when asked about the "brain drain" of Indiana college grads leaving the state for better jobs, she said we need to stop it. Oh, and bring back manufacturing to the state. That'll keep those college kids here. Um, what? Again, lets try looking forward. Manufacturing jobs are a step backward not forwards. And um, that's not what those college kids are going to school for. And what percent of those manufacturing jobs require a college degree anyway? Management positions maybe? Even if every position required a basic degree, what are we going to do with all those MBA"S that our colleges are spitting out. Don't say you haven't heard the commercials cause you have. They are almost as frequent as the election commercials. Speaking of which. I don't care if you agree with me or my politics, go vote! I am.

BTW, Have you seen the stories about flyers/email circulating info saying that because of the large expected turnout, repubs. are voting on Tuesday and Dems. on Wednesday? (or vice versa) Despicable. Doesn't matter if you don't agree with the other party, we ALL have the RIGHT to vote. On Tuesday. That is all.