2013 Logandale 6th Ward Man's Camp campsite at Stewart's Point on Lake Mead

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April 2010

April 2010: The week following Spring Break was the week of the Clark County Fair, which is a major event in our little town. We finished shaving Morgan's pig and getting her ready for show at the fair (the original pig healed up nicely so we decided to show her at the fair). It's amazing how much time can be spent getting things ready for the fair (weighing the pigs, setting up waterers, gathering supplies, cleaning/trimming, etc.) But it is good time spent together with our kids, so it is all worth it. Aubrey did a good job helping with the pigs, even though she is still too young to show one of her own at the fair this year. We learned a lot from last year, and learned a great deal more this year. Morgan improved her showmanship skills considerably, and her pig did well enough to receive a blue ribbon this year (not first place; they give out blue ribbons to about the top 50% of the pigs entered in the fair). We learned a lot and I think we have a good idea of where to improve next year.

The Sunday after the fair (April 11th), I caught a flight out of Las Vegas en route to Afghanistan. About 2 weeks earlier, I received word that my deployment would now be 6 months instead of 3 months. The whole family came to the airport and we had an overpriced, greasy meal at the airport. Said our goodbyes and I got on a plane to southern california. The first leg of the trip took me to March AFB in Riverside, CA. Stayed the night there, then got on a rotator plane (a chartered plane) the next afternoon. We flew to Maine, refueled, then Germany for refueling, and then on to Kuwait. Stayed in Kuwait for a day and received the necessary gear to go into Afghanistan (body armor, helmet, chem gear, etc.) Then got on a C-17 and flew to Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan, my new home for the next 6 months. It is a dusty hole. I have been updating my facebook page with pictures, so I won't bother here. At least the gym is decent, and I have internet access. Can't complain too much. It could be much worse.

I will leave the rest for Marquessa to update with the activities of the family back home. Everyone seems to be doing well. Marquessa just completed a half-marathon in Utah last weekend. The girls are doing well in school, and Brock's arm seems to have healed completely by now. I get to Skype them pretty frequently, which makes the separation much easier.

March 2010, part 2

March 2010, part 2: The last week of March was Spring Break, so we did a little work around the house and then took the kids camping for a few days out to the Valley of Fire, just a few miles west of our house. Brock fell off the top bunk of the motorhome and broke his arm, which required us to sling and swath it to his body. He still managed to hike around and ride on the 4-wheelers though.

March 2010, part 1

March 2010: Aubrey turned 8 in February, and got baptized in early March. Several members of the family came to visit for the occasion, and it was great to see everyone again. Later in the month, Grandma Martha came to watch the kids for a week while Marquessa and I went on a Caribbean cruise. We flew to Ft. Lauderdale and ended up visiting Grand Cayman, Roatan, Cozumel, and the Bahamas. It was one of the best vacations ever. We got to play with the stingrays and go snorkeling at Cayman. Did a 2-tank scuba dive in Roatan on a wall, and went to about 80 feet deep. Did another 2-tank dive at Cozumel and had a great time. Then just laid on the beach and had a day of laziness in the Bahamas. The kids managed to behave themselves fairly well while we were gone and were sad to see grandma go home.

February 2010

February 2010: Spent the first 2 weeks in Cincinnati at the CCATT C-Stars Advanced Training Course. Good training, but tired of being away from home with a deployment coming up. Later in the month, we took the kids on a weekend trip to Brian Head for some skiing and snowboarding. We rented a fantastic cabin with The Bodily family. The kids got to sled just outside the cabin, and we spent a full day on the slopes. It was a great weekend getaway, but was too short. Need to make it longer next time. I just like being lazy, I guess.

Savannah's 5th birthday fell on the same weekend, so we stopped at Texas Road House in St. George on the way to Brian Head for dinner. Then, we had a little party for Savvy at the cabin, complete with a yummy chocolate cake!

January 2010

January 2010: Spent the first 2 weeks in San Antonio at the CCATT Basic training course. Got to see several old friends and had a good time. Also got to eat at Rudy's several times. Can't complain about that... While I was gone, we got plans made and work started on some house updating. Got some rock put up on the front of the house, a new front door and casing, some shutters, and finally finished off the fireplace inside with the same rock. We had been trying to decide what to do with the fireplace ever since we moved in, and it was nice to finally get it done.

December 2009

December 2009: More work and school. Bought a pig at the auction in early December for Morgan to raise for 4-H. As I was bringing the pig home and dropping her into her pen, I dropped her from too great a height and she dislocated one of her rear hips. Had to get some medicine shipped in from Wisconsin to inject her in hopes of it healing. After 2 weeks, she still had a noticeable limp so we made arrangements to buy another pig from the same breeder in Delta, UT. Came to Logan for a week over Christmas. The kids had a great time in the snow. Took them sledding, ice skating, and did a lot of lounging around. Good times seeing all the family again. Picked up the new pig on the drive home. Real pig farmers now. Last week in December received word that the Air Force was going to deploy me again, starting in April. Supposed to be for just 3 months though, and the assignment would be doing CCATT (critical Care Air Transport), which is something different than my last deployment. The only downside is that I hadn't done any CCATT training yet, and this would involve a few TDY's prior to deployment. Also in December, Marquessa and I finished our scuba diving certification with our last open water dives at Lake Mead. We started this process in November and had a fun time together. With wetsuits, the water temperature was actually not bad.