Heads Up, DA

I enjoyed your last post - what I could understand. Like I said, you gotta start supplying subtitles!

Just to let you know I put a package in the snail mail the other day. It is not exciting or thrilling, but I was wandering thru Walmart the other day and thought you might be able to use these ~ especially with the "warmer" weather setting in.

Back to work. Well, sorta. It's almost time to go home so I need to clean up stuff and get ready to leave.

Hope you're doing well. I'd like to say "Stay cool!", but that would be a waste of typing time!

So, be well and KYHD!

Love you,

Shennie

Welcome, Chris Long

FYI - The Rams drafted Chris Long, as in the son of Howie Long! I have got to get to a Rams game this season. How cool would it be to see Howie Long in person. Mind you I was never a Raiders fan (in fact, I hated them - they played dirty, etc.), but every team has some awesome players and Howie long was one of them. In addition, he is a nice guy - articulate, funny, and gorgeous!! Even at his age!! I am soooooo excited. This is almost as good as getting to meet Gov Huckabee and LeVar Burton!!
I can hardly wait for football season to start!!

BTW - Jess, I will need every Sunday off starting in Sept and going through to the Superbowl!! jk...but it would be nice!!

Hugs and kisses & KYHD,
the Mom

Hey! Back at you!

Hey bud - good to hear from you. I knew you were OK 'cuz you had talked with Chelsey, but it is still good to hear from you on the blog or by phone.

We just finished lunch and the girls, Katie and Chelsey, have gone to Ace Hardware to pick up a new table and chairs for the new deck. They have been doin' stuff around the house, etc to earn money for the trip to Colorado. They were excited to do this 'cuz I let them take my car - the Santa Fe. I think that they will be able to fit the table and chairs in the back with the back seats down...we'll see.

Sorry to hear about losing one of your "birds". Even better to hear that it was not "pilot error"!! Was it one of yours? as in one from Ft Stewart?? Congratulations on learning to be a Flight Commander. It is generally true that the higher up you go the more papers you get to push around!! Hopefully, you will still get to "fly". Will you??

We are starting to get excited about the Health Care Forum we are sponsoring on 14 May with Mike Huckabee and LeVar Burton. Dad talked with Gov Huckabee by phone for about 30 minutes last Wednesday afternoon. This coming Wednesday he'll chat with LeVar Burton. We'll take lots of pictures so be watching for them after the 14th.

Hope all is well and try to stay cool...Things are greening up here from all the rain we had this spring. The red bud trees are beautiful this year. All the flowering trees have been, really.

Again, it was great to hear from you! We love you lots...please keep in touch.
Thanks to you and all your buddies for the jobs you do. Safe travels to Baghdad for your re-enlistment ceremony.

Hugs and kisses & KYHD,
the Mom

hey everyone

I know a lot of you have been concerned since i havent been on lately or posting much. But be rest assured that i am doing ok. I havent been able to be on much mainly cuz of the switch from my 1200-0001 shift to 2100-0900. So adjusting to developing a new sleep pattern, when to eat and shower and whatnot. But anywho, things are going good. I was off flight status for a little bit as Chelsey and Jessica are aware of. But as of today I am back on flight status after 'investigators' determined that it was a software failure that led to a hardware malfunction that caused the UAV to make an "unscheduled" landing in a local Sheik's field. And let me tell ya, what a landing it was! Our unit and FSR (Civilian Field Service Representatives) both are very disappointed in the Warrant officer that led the investigation. He had no understand whatsoever in UAV operations/abilities/limitations or anything remotely close. He pretty much said that it was one of our guys' fault that it crashed even before hearing any of the evidence (in which case that individual filed a formal complaint against the WO for not being able to be an impartial/unbiased investigator. It was only through the hard work of our FSR, maintainers and working with the UAS commander that the true cause was found.

Other than that mishap, things have been going good at Launch/Recovery Site (LRS for now). I am being trained up as a mission commander there, which let me tell ya is much more involved that a Forward Site (F/S) MC. The LRS MC has much more paperwork and forms and spreadsheets to fill out and complete than most supply clerks. On top of that, he has to work with the different Brigade S2 ISR personnel (ISR: Information Surveillance Report) as well as Division G2 (Civilian contractor who works with G3 on scheduling flights and working to de-conflict AV frequencies.

I know some of you are wondering how the weather has been around here and there is only one way to put it: Warm. You are probably thinking that I am crazy for saying that 108 F is warm, but seeing as how that is what it will be at night when during the day its between 125 and 145 F, then ya its warm. (even cool with a 37 degree temp drop. But for now, I will continue to sweat and blame iraq and Allah and whoever I can for being in a place that no human being should reside in, more less fight a war. I will say it does suck when I wake up at 1700 for chow and its still over 100 F outside and when I go to work at 2030, its 95 F.

Well, its currently (0950) and its 97 F, and its supposed to hit 105 today, and 105 tomorrow (but tonight will be a nice cool 78 F). Well I need to go shower cuz I am sweaty and sticky and blah... I love you guys!

Ditto on the Mom's Sentiments...

Where in the world are you? Haven't heard much from that side of the globe lately.

Won't fill up this page ~ go to my blog and check out my notes from the past week. I've been on a rip! If I worked for National Geographic, I'd be raking in the dough.

Hope all is well. Spring has arrived in New England - had an ice cream cone (DQ) for lunch yesterday. It's not the Sundae School, but it'll do.

KYHD!

Love,

Shennie

Hello!

DA - Since we have not gotten a visit from 2 uniformed Army officers (one being a chaplain), I assume you are still alive! It sure would be nice to hear from you. Just a blog would be nice!!
We are all fine here. Chelsey is recovering nicely, though she is still sore. Katie has been helping her during her recovery. I went back to work this morning - I took Monday & Tuesday off to be with Chelsey, etc.(see chelseyanddavid.com for details). Jennie is well - past most of the morning sickness, but now the exhaustion has set in. Ben got my TV and DVR set up Sunday evening, so I have my own space now downstairs in the back room - computer, TV, DVR, VCR & DVD player, couch, & loveseat. It is great! Jess and Craig are working on finishing their basement with help, of course. How are you??????????????????????

I hear your shift has changed so that affects when you can get on line, call, etc.. but something in the form of communication would sure be nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guess that is about it for now. Must finish making dinner: spaghetti, meat sauce, bread and salad.(and wine....lots of wine!)

Love you lots & KYHD,
the mom

Quake and Wake!

That's what we did @ 04:36 today! It was really something. I was already awake and heard the quake before actually feeling it. At first noise, I thought the cats were fighting...they can sound like 2 horses runnng through the house. I quickly realized it was not them and thought perhaps a train was passing through. When the "quaking" began I realized it was not a train. The whole house shook for about 10-15 seconds (it seemed much longer!), then it subsided. The whole scenario from start to end was about 45 seconds. Just as we were all starting to feel comfortable, it happened again. At 10:15, the practice started to rock and roll! It was quite a powerful aftershock. It is the wierdest feeling to have a house or large building shake all around you!! Luckily there was very minimal damage in the area. The first report of damage was from Louisville...no worries, though, Rick and Jan slept right through it!
A section of Kingshighway in St Louis was closed for a few hours for inspection but it has since reopened. There have been some reports of crack in basements, but so far nothing major. We are very lucky...see Jess & Chelsey's blogs for details of magnitude, etc....
So, bud - how ya doin? I saw you briefly on camera while you were chatting with Chelsey earlier this week, but you guys quit before I could say HI! She said that your shift has changed. I wondered why you had not been online much when I would check. Hope you are well and hangin' in there. It would be nice to talk to you either on the phone or online!

Take care of yourself and keep in touch.
Love you lots & KYHD!!
Mom

Springtime In New England

What a beautiful day it is today. Wish I were working outside or just outside in the sun. As I was driving around campus today to go get some lunch, all the coeds were lying in the sun and all the boys were running off the road staring at them!

We deserve this weather. It's been a long time coming. It's not that we had such a miserable winter here in Massachusetts. We had some snow and some cold weather, but nothing out of the ordinary; after all, it is New England. Granted, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine got hammered in some places. Some had almost 100" of snow. It just seems like it's been dragging on and on. We'd get a warm day and then it would get cold and rainy for several days. Time for some warmth and sun.

We are finally seeing some buds on the trees and some are even beginning to blossom. I did stop over at some friends' house yesterday and their side door garden was abloom with daffodils. What is that poem I learned in high school?

I wander'd lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils,
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Thank you, William Wordsworth!

Unfortunately they say that this warm weather is not going to last very long, altho' I think I did hear that the rain and miserable stuff that we were supposed to get on Monday may not happen. That would be good. The Boston Marathon is Monday and that kind of weather can surely ruin a good run! Not that I would know anything about that. It's also the day for Phil's memorial service. It would be nice if we had some sun for that.

But, a three day weekend is always great. Personally, I think the work week should be Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday, and Thursday morning. Then from Thursday afternoon to the following Tuesday at noon would be the weekend! How does that sound?

Monday is also Sheila's 65th birthday. Her email is winterwoman1@optonline.net. Wish the old lady a happy birthday, folks.

Not much other news from here. Glad the earthquake wasn't all that bad. But, I'm sure it got everyone's attention.

Hope all is well for you, Scoots. Is it starting to get REALLY warm over there? Time for another care package ~ any special requests?

Love you and KYHD!

Shennie

Earthquake

So did anyone else wake up at 4:35 this morning to the trembling and shaking of an Illinois earthquake? I believe we're affected by the New Madrid fault, so anyone know if it was just our area, or the whole south-midwest area?

How's it goin'?

Hey bud - How's it going? You haven't been online in a while. At least not when I check late in the afternoon/early evening here.

We are all doing well. Ben and Jennie were here most of Sunday as Ben tried to get our internet to work. After several hours (and 3 calls to Charter), he decided that it had to be the cable modem. Charter was here bright and early Tues AM to replace it. So far...so good! On Sat Jennie and I went to the Maternity and Parenting Fair at Memorial Hosp. It was interesting and just the right amount of "stuff"....not overwhelming.

Rick and Jan were here visiting Jess and Craig so Jennie and I stopped by to say hi when we got back from Belleville. It was good to see them.

Today I got some used furniture for the second family room downstairs. At least that is what I am calling it for now. I have put a TV in there with the couch and love seat. That room will eventually be the "kiddie" playroom. For now, I will use it as a second family room and my computer room. At some point in the not too distant future I hope to have digital cable (hint, hint...Jess and Craig!), and a DVD/VHS player hooked up to the TV.

Today at the new Ace Hardware store here in town I found a patio set for the new deck. It is very similar to Jess and Craig's set that she got from Jan and Rick for her college graduation. It is just the right size since this deck is smaller than the back deck. Now I have to figure out how to get it home. I don't think it comes in boxes. It might fit in my car with the back seats down. I'll check tomorrow when I get off from work.

I guess that is about it for now. Shennie will be out here this weekend, if American Airlines is still flying! Yesterday and today they cancelled all their flights on their MD 80's....safety issues!

Hope all is well with you.

Love you lots and KYHD!!
the Mom

You're going to be an uncle...

I know that Chelsey already told you, but I wanted to say it too! So, I'm seven weeks along (today) and my due date is Nov. 18.

So far things are going well, although, like Mom said I'm getting nausea most mornings. And I'm breaking out. It's like I'm freaking 16. Not cool. But I guess having a little one to have and to hold in a few months makes it all worth it.

Anyway, go check my blog to keep up on how the baby is coming along (I've posted a neat little ticker to keep track of little "Cruiser"). If you want, I can post it here, too, but it's up to you.

Love ya! KYHD!

Thought of you!

DA - I thought of you yesterday morning when KEZK played Abbott & Costello's "Who's On First" dialogue. Yesterday was opening day for the St Louis Cardinals and this radio station plays it each year on opening day. I remember how you liked the Three Stooges, Abbott & Costello, and Red Skelton. Even though I have heard that dialogue many, many times, it still cracks me up. Unfortunately, the game was rained out so they are playing tonight. I think we are going to have to start building an ark here if we get much more rain. The ground is saturated and we are about 6" above normal for rainfall already this year. EVERYTHING is greening up. Forsythia and daffodils are out and we will probably have to mow the lawn this weekend IF it doesn't rain.

Hope all is well with you. I have really enjoyed chatting online and getting to see you with the web cams. I know that is "old" stuff to you, but I am still working my way into the 21st century for technology!

Dad's nurse is having a girl. They found out last night when they had an ultrasound done. She is very excited since they already have 2 boys. She is due in August, so we'll keep you posted.

Jennie seems to be fine when I talk with her. I guess she is having some nausea in the mornings so saltines have become a staple in her diet. She has her first appt with OB/GYN on 15 April when she will be about 9 weeks. We'll also keep you posted on her progress. Ben is scoping out video cameras, but we still have some time before we need one.

That's about it for now. Talk to you soon.
Love you lots and KYHD!!

the Mom

Website

Well, David and I jumped on the bandwagon and have decided we want our own webpage too. So, voila. www.chelseyanddavid.com. It took me HOURS to figure this thing out, but I made progress and am using the same software that Jessie uses (because I adore her blog). So check it out and link to us and hopefully we'll keep in touch with people ever more.