A loss for words...

As many of you know this last weekend was pretty rough. A lot happened with Garys unit in Afghanistan. Luckily Gary is ok and doing well. But I still cant help not thinking about the families who got that horrible knock at their door. Please keep these soldiers families in your prayers.



http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/63548602.html



http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/63700862.html



We are down to 8 more months of this deployment for Gary. Hopefully it goes by quick with Gary returning home safe and sound!

September Gone Already!

I can't believe it is almost October! But I am not complaining- time needs to keep flying by. It was a pretty uneventful month here in Colorado. Afghanistan has been very rough, getting worse and worse. Gary is moving this week to a new location. This place is nicknamed "Camp Hell" because it is one of the worst places to be stationed at overseas. Below is a link that was on the news a few months ago of Camp Lowell (Camp Hell) and the unit that was there before Garys unit took over. Gary is going to be the new company 1st Sgt there. I know I always say this but please now more than ever keep him and his soldiers in your thoughts and prayers.

Link here: ABC News: Camp Hell 7-18-2009 by Mike Boettcher


One good thing that keeps us going is great memories and looking forward to making many more great memories! So I thought I'd post some pictures from before Gary deployed. We are all counting down the days til January when he is home for a couple weeks!

Gary and I at the Valentines Day Military Ball

One of my favorite pictures! Gary and his mini twin Kaila.

Gary and Kiana on Christmas morning

Gary and I out dancing one night with our friends.

A gift on my doorstep today

So this weekend I have been feeling a little under the weather...well a lot under the weather. Thank goodness I had the last 2 days in a row off from work! Gary keeps saying I wish I was home, I wish I could help you feel better. So today there was a knock at my door and when I opened it this is what was on my doorstep. A get well fruit basket! It did the job tho it made me smile and laugh! The balloon actually sings if you tap on it. It sang "dont worry, be happy."
I don't know how he thinks of these things! I also got an early Christmas present...well he said it is my parents Christmas present.... a flight home for the Holidays!! How did I get so lucky to meet this guy??

The basket

The base is actually a piggy bank duck. It looks like my easter basket from mom and dad!

The fruit was shaped like flowers and teddy bears. It was actually really good fresh fruit too!

The best part was the bottom that was all chocolate covered strawberries!!! MMMM!!!!

A teddy bear pineapple. :)

A rough month!!

Finally it is the end of August! August has kind of turned out to be a stressful month. I lost Jackson...but was lucky enough to find him 5 days later. And then a few days ago I got into a car accident with Garys mercedes. Not my fault by the way...some lady on her cell phone not paying attention couldnt decide do i want to go straight...or turn...or how about I just slam on my brakes during a green light in the middle of an intersection and sit and think about it. Not cool!

It has been even more rough over in Afghanistan. It seems like every time Gary calls there is stuff going on in the background that I really dont need to hear....or want to hear. He told me that a few days ago his group went on a big "mission" because of the elections going on over there. He said it was absolutely horrible but he also told me that he carried with him in his bag the Prayer shall that my Grandma Emmerich made for him...I think he rubbed it a few times for some good luck. And him and all of his guys made it back from their mission safely. Thanks Grandma. :) They have had A LOT of casualties this last month and its not getting any better. Please keep him in your prayers.

Here's some pictures from this last month.....

Jackson is back! He found this under my bed and was laying on it. It's the blanket from Kianas bed...he must be missing her...so do I! I miss the girls so much!

These two pictures are for my mom. Once in a while I help our friend Joe out. Joe is a single dad of six kids!! So last friday night I babysat all six, plus their dog and Jackson. Mom called me while I was at their house and she said "what are you doing, where are you!?" She put me on speaker phone and her and dad thought it was hilarious listening to me chase around these kids and be the referee between these two dogs. In this house there is no "time out" corner...I am making a penalty box...5 minutes for rough housing! I dont know how but I managed to take care of them all, no one got hurt and I got them all fed, showered and put to bed. We also all went for a walk...with the dogs. I am so brave!! But I do have to admit the two older ones are like 9 and 11 and are a tremendous help with the 4 little ones.

Poor poor Ben...yes I named Garys car. His name is Ben. This is the damage. It may not look like a lot but it is NOT cheap to fix.

So I will end this blog on a positive note... we have 3 months of this deployment down and 9 to go!! A quarter of the way done!! Time needs to keep flying by! 4-5 more months til I get to see him and the girls for 2 whole weeks during mid-tour. I cant wait! We already started planning our vacation...time just needs to hurry up so January/February can get here!

REUNITED!!!

So today was day 5 that Jackson had been missing. I was trying not to give up hope. We looked everywhere! The humane society every day, walked through parks and some unpleasant places, put out flyers, posted on craigslist. Didnt know what else to do.
Well today I went into the humane society and was looking through reports that came in since yesterday. I found one that a lady reported found in the same area and matched his description.
I went over to her house and sure enough there was Jackson! She found him on saturday, which means Thursday and Friday who knows where he was. But she took very good care of him and kind of got attached to him. She said if I ever need a dog sitter to call her up. And how crazy is this she lives about 5 houses down from where he went missing. He was just right around the corner this entire time.
But I am so happy and relieved! Gary and I were thinking how are we going to tell the girls, especially Kiana. Kiana got pretty attached to him and Jackson has never chosen anyone over me except for her. One night when Jackson was really sick and throwing up we found Kiana in her room with him. She made a bed on the floor and was laying there with him holding onto him. She took care of him all night. Jackson loves that girl!
I'm so glad to have him back...even though he is a pain in the butt sometimes.

Crying by the door to go outside...I think he's done enough running around!

Aww who wouldn't want this lil guy!?

I Lost My Puppy...

Well today is turning out to be not a very good day. Jackson got out again but this time he's gone and no where to be found. We have searched everywhere for hours. The neighbors, surrounding neighborhoods, parks...I've been to the humane society twice today. I got so excited about five times because there were dogs brought in that matched his description...nope not him. I was shocked at how many missing dogs there were-a lot just from today!! I'm going back in in the morning. I feel so sick I lost my appetite. For those of you who dont know me well Jackson is like my child. Hopefully he finds his way home tonight.

Jackson as a baby

He was so cute!

He kind of looks like an otter in this picture.

Standing guard like always. He was always so protective over me and Kiana and Kaila.

My Birthday Present!!

Ok so this was not really my birthday present...but it is on my future wish list. Today was my birthday and it overall ended up being a very good day. I just wish Gary and the girls were here to spend it with me. I spent some time at the mercedez benz dealership. I had to bring in Garys car to get fixed and of course sit there for hours! My best friend Mandy was with me so we made it fun. I think everyone in the dealership thought we were crazy. We definately took advantage of all the free drink and cookies. They have an under ground showroom so we went and checked it out. That's when I found this car.
We finished our day by Mandy taking me out to dinner and then did some shopping. Thanks Mandy for a great day!

I'd look good driving this around!

Mandy and I

Mandy found herself a car too.

Happy Wedding Anniversary Mom and Dad

Today (August 5th) is Mom and Dads 31st wedding anniversary! Happy Anniversary! Love and miss you guys!!





Mom and Dad dancing at Joni and Bobs wedding. My dad is so handsome.

And then there were six! What a great family to grow up with, we are so blessed!

And this picture is just for fun. Aren't we just cute together?

Another Month Down

Well the countdown continues...2 months down 10 to go! 6 months til mid tour and I get 2 weeks with Gary and the girls. Time needs to start going a little bit faster!


I figured every blog is a little more interesting when it has a picture. So here is Gary and I at Joni and Bobs wedding reception. I know this was toward the end of the night and we were exhausted. I had my hoodie on half the time cuz I was freezing! I'm sure right before this picture was taken I was saying...I'm tired my feet hurt from dancing in these shoes...lets go home. :)

A Bitter Sweet Photo

I called this a bitter sweet photo because I was excited today to see a recent picture of Gary but the photo in itself is sad. This was taken over in Afghanistan at his friend and soldiers memorial service. Gary lost his friend Jason about 2 weeks ago. It's a big reality check when things like this happen. Especially seeing pictures of them over there and it's not just people on the news that I dont know it's people I've met and friends of ours. Please keep Gary and his soldiers in your thoughts and prayers.

Gary is on the left, standing, 4th person in.

Puppy For Sale!!!!

Ok so he's not really a puppy he actually just turned 3 years old (in human years). I love Jackson to death but this week I am ready to give him away!! In the last 2 weeks for whatever reason he has turned into this social dog who now wants to never be locked up and roam the neighborhood all day while I am at work and meet the neighbors. I used to be able to leave him in the backyard all day and he'd run around and play but never run away. Now he is an escape artist! He started breaking out of the fence by chewing the wood and slipping underneath and he'd be free. So I started being mean and locking him in his kennel. Well he sat in there a day and must have thought enough of this I'm breaking out and he did! I have resulted to everything yesterday he was tied on a rope, locked in his kennel and still got out! How...he has learned to take off his collar!! He has escaped at least 5 times in the last week. Luckily random neighbors keep bringing him back. Yesterday he hung out with some guy named Kevin who lives down the street and Kevin was nice enough to bring him home. I guess Jackson spent the afternoon there hanging out- what a weirdo! My neighbor Roy has found him several times and calls me at work to let me know. The other day I saw him trotting down the street like he was some cool teenager hanging out in the hood. Oh and one day he was just chilling on the front porch waiting for me to come get him. CRAZY DOG! I'm ready to pull my hair out...anyone have any good suggestions???

Notice the kennel door is shut and Jackson is on the outside looking in like he's innocent...and look how destroyed his pen is!!

His escape door

How can a 110 pound dog fit through that hole!? And chew through metal??

Seriosuly, what a mess! I think he thinks its a game now like how fast can I break out today.

Oh now he rests in his house. He's probably exhausted from partying all day!

Jackson and I had a little talk before I took this picture...the talk involved a stick, my shoe and his butt. So he ran and hid in his house....he thinks I cant see him in there. What a brat!

Baby Bella

Nope this is NOT Tabbys baby it is my friend Nicki's. She finally had little Bella at 2:00 this morning. Luckily I was off today so I got to go see her in the hospital. Her Daddy gets to come home from Iraq and meet her in about 3 weeks.

She is sooo tiny!!

I know she was 7 pounds 9 ounces...and I dont remember the rest.

More Pics...

This morning I woke up and checked my email and it was like Christmas morning again...more pics!! This first picture I'm not too sure how I feel about it. He is not just posing for the camera he was actually "working" and had the guy next to him take a picture during a "break." My mind cant really process what is actually going on...its just weird to think about it and I choose not to. Just like I do not watch the news. I talked to him this morning and he said to tell everyone Hello!

Not your typical day in the office...

Across this river if you look closely you can see little villages.

Back in the office...like its just another normal day.

This made me laugh! The last picture he sent was this one of him and his girls. Its an older picture from a couple years ago when he took them to Disney Land. He said he thought it'd make me smile. It's crazy how they can go from being in a war zone and doing their job to thinking about times like these just hanging out with your family...I guess pictures and memories like these are what get them thru the day over there!

Afghanistan Pics

So I have been telling Gary I want to see you...send pictures!! He told me that when he gets mail over there he feels like a kid on Christmas morning. They get so excited to open a letter or receive a package. Well today I felt like a kid in a candy store when I came home and checked my email. He sent me some pictures so I thought I would share a couple with you guys.
It's crazy how excited you get just to see a picture of someone!


He said...can you tell how tired I am...aww poor guy :(

This is his little tiny room. Has just enough room to turn around in a circle. He is lucky tho because most of the guys have to share rooms and he gets his own private one. I was shocked to see a tv in there! I'll have to ask him if it actually works and when does he have time to use it?? Hopefully I'll be getting more pictures soon to share with you all.

Happy 4th!!

So my 4th of July this year was a little different than usual. I got up and went to work til 6:00. The mall was dead! There's not too many people that go shopping on the 4th. By the time I got out of work it was raining and thunderstorming out. I had made plans with my friend Ilene. Her husband Kyle is a good friend of Garys and is in Afghanistan with him. So we spent the 4th together...better than spending it alone! We ate some dinner at Chilis and it was still raining out so we watched the fireworks that the air force academy was having from my car in the chilis parking lot.
Then we decided to go to a bar called Meadow Muffins in Old Colorado City. Our good friend Joe works there so we went to visit him. Joe is a good friend of Garys and one of Garys old roomates.

Me and Ilene

Almost every picture of Gary he is giving the peace sign. So here's Joe and I doing Garys signature move... throwing up the dueces.

This last picture was taken this morning in church. I usually sit with Raquel and her family. I've worked with Raquel for the last 4 years at Zales. Her daughter Maiya is usually attached to my hip. This is miss Maiya...she's such a cutie.