Wow! It has not taken us six months, but rather 3 to finally get everything done and together. I have not lost interest in this blog, but rather have been waiting for the end of this PCS move.
After a hectic week of inprocessing and house hunting (which will NEVER be done again if I have my way with our next move), we moved into our house January 14th. We spent a very long, and cold night together lighting cardboard in our fireplace to keep warm until the gas was turned on. We have a pretty view of the mountains from our 3 bed/2 bath duplex and better yet we are close to Biggs Airfield where John's unit is stationed.
John likes his new unit for the most part...but they have not been here for a year yet so it is still pretty chaotic at times. He went to the field for the first time since before Iraq in February which sucked, but was for the most part uneventful besides the fact that we both were sick. He leaves tomorrow for the field again, until next Thursday. In other Army news, he is getting ready to go before the board here in the next six months or so to determine if he gets promoted to E-5. He is already talking about dropping a Recruiters packet and a Drill Sergeant packet, since we only have to stay here for at least a year. I'm not sure whats in store for us past that year point. It really is up to the Army and him on this subject. His unit is slated to deploy in 2012, although the exact month is unknown.
In January, we adopted our first mutt. Darth Reven aka Dark Lord, Sith Lord, Revvers, Muttbag #1, or just Reven is now a 11 month old Chocolate Lab/Pit mix and he is about 70 lbs and still growing. He is as energetic as any lab, and the only pit in him is his over protectiveness of me and in his face. He loves snoring, shredding and chewing on things he's not supposed to, and the car.
We made a roadtrip the day after we adopted Reven to AZ to get John's stuff that he had left in his parents care while he was in Germany. I am pretty sure that now Deb needs to downsize with the amount of his stuff we took off her hands. Reven, Crystal, and Mo played nice for the most part...but we drove back the day after we got there which was tough on everyone.
About two weeks after John came back from the field, we received our stuff from Germany. His field stuff came about three weeks too late for him, but he managed without it. He now happily has Guitar Hero, XBox, and our huge TV/surround sound for the ultimate gamers experience.
About a month ago, we adopted our second mutt. Her name is Shadow aka Mutt #2 and girly girl. She is a 15 month mixed, and just as sweet as she can be. She loves to play fetch, snuggle, and wear Reven's ass out in the backyard by playing with him. She is pretty timid, whoever had her before beat the crap out of her. We are working on that, but she is so well behaved and sweet that its kinda hard not to love her.
Oh....and we have 2 rats. Between the 5 of them...mutts, rats, and husband included it gets pretty chaotic here in the Morales household and there are never ending amounts of doggie hair and dirt.
I survived my first dust storm, and there are tumble weeds as big as me out here. I definately am not in North Texas anymore.
I start volunteering at the Humane Society soon, and I start school June 1st at El Paso Community College. My days will get busier, and it will be hard to not bring home every single puppy at the shelter. I am looking forward to classes, although I have absolutely no idea what I want to major in.
We are going to be Uncle and Aunt come June 20th to what I believe will be a beautiful baby boy. My sister is pregnant and we are all looking forward to the arrival of grandson and nephew. Mommy and baby are both healthy and everything is going well with her pregnancy.
I have started to collect money for the Relay for Life in which I will participate in memory of my grandmothers and grandfather who had various forms of cancer. I am looking forward to the event as it will be taking place on my grandmothers on my moms side birthday.
This next weekend, both sets of parents are coming down to El Paso to finally meet each other. We both are excited to see our parents, and just get to spend some quality time with them. It will definately be a fun weekend for sure. I can't wait for it to get here so I can hug my parents again.
We are adjusting to El Paso pretty well. It definately is a different experience for us. I think I was in more of a culture shock coming back to the US then going to Germany. I am NOT looking forward to the hot Texas summers, which can be brutal in West Texas. I don't like heat...and I especially don't like super heat. The people freak out when it rains here for crying out loud. I for sure am not in Kansas anymore.
Yes Sarah It's true, I have an entire bedroom and a half and part of my garage back. On the down side, I had to go buy a new bedroom set since J took his.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see your new place and dog and finally get the opportunity to meet your parents.
As far as Js choices for his future in the army, I think he'll do great with either one. I personally am hoping he's leaning more towards drill sergeant.... I don't know why but I can see him really enjoying that, and I would love to watch him in action!
Keep us updated on your college choices. You write so well, maybe you should consider something in journalism? Is the army going to pay for your schooling as well?
So happy that your both enjoying El Paso. I can tell you we are all VERY happy to have you back in the states, and a mere 5 hour drive away. Not to mention a simple phone call just to hear your voices.
Thanks for keeping the blog going we really enjoy reading it.
Love you both. MUAH!