Memorial Day Weekend, Part Dos

As I mentioned below, Cam and I made a hurried 4-day trek up to Portland, OR/Vancouver, WA for a much needed trip to visit a few friends and a whole lot of family! We also learned a few interesting things along the way...

Driving to the El Paso airport on Friday morning before the sun came out, we noted the temperature gauge in the truck read: 65 deg F. Upon landing in Portland, our pilot cheerfully announced that we arrived into overcast skies with scatter showers and a high of 55 deg F. Welcome home!

We spent the day on Friday with Cam's dad, which included a "quick" trip south (Thanks, Portland traffic!) to the Shane Company for a few ring cleanings and inspections, before finally heading home to Vancouver (with a quick pit stop at the original Burgerville! YUM!) In all our driving around that afternoon, all I could do was marvel at how green and lush everything was. I had forgotten how I missed seeing an actual river every day or looking out a window at a hillside covered in green trees or how beautifully colorful spring flowers can be!

After a short nap for all of us, we rendezvoused at the FABULOUS Dragon King Chinese Restaurant in Hazel Dell with some great friends from high school: Kevin, Wes and Ben. Dinner was as deliciously greasy as we remembered it and it was great to catch up with old friends!

Despite the fact that Wes attended Eastern Washington University (located approximately 70 miles north of WSU), he was kind enough to bring us a baby present - a little stuffed HUSKY! Wes decided the dog was the cutest one in Toys R' Us and therefore, we couldn't live without it. (ATTN All Coug Friends: We need a little stuffed COUG to teach our kid the difference between GOOD and EVIL...)

On Saturday, we spent the entire day with Cam's brother, Jason, and his family. We did a little shopping with the girls (Kristy, Angie-the-S-I-L, and Alyssa-the-niece) headed to JoAnn Fabrics, while the boys (Cam, Jason, and Andrew-the-nephew) dinked around Sportsman's Warehouse; we played a few games, including chess, 4-player chess and Life!

Before long, it was time to pack up and head to Cam's grandparents' house for a "surprise" Baby Shower/Family Gathering. There was, as usual, WAAAAY too much food, great company, and a wonderful slew of games to play. Angie did an amazing job as Baby Shower hostess, entertaining us with the "Candy-Bar/Dirty Diaper Game" (FYI - Bruce, the stepfather-in-law and Angie's dad can gut a fish with the best of them, but couldn't stomach being in the same room with "dirty" diapers. Wussies!!!), a super cute "Match Game" and "The Price is Right". Thanks, Angie for all your hard work! We had sooooo much fun!!!

Enjoying our Baby Shower

Angie, the beautiful hostess of The Match Game
Doesn't she look like Vanna White?

Very Studious Participants in The Price is Right
(L to R) Karen (Angie's mom), Andrew (nephew), Sarah (sis), Dave (dad), Tish (Dave's girlfriend)

On Sunday, my parents graciously drove the 3 1/2 hours west from West Richland to visit with us in Vancouver. The four of us had an early breakfast at a favorite greasy spoon before making the rounds to see old Leber family friends. We stopped by our old neighborhood to visit the Barkers (our "upstairs" neighbors) to catch up ... and spy on our old house. We trekked out to Battle Ground for a BBQ in our honor at our "Aunt" Jan and "Uncle" Ron's house, where we were joined by our other GREAT family friends, Dave and Helen Alt and their son, David and his family. It was wonderful to spend some time with people who watched my brothers and me grow up.

I'm so glad that my parents were able to drive over to see us. I talk to one of them at least 3 times a week, but I had forgotten how much I missed seeing my parents in the flesh ... especially since moving to El Paso and not being able to make quick trips to and fro across Washington.

Parents- and Grandparents-To-Be

With "Uncle" Ronnie (AKA The Sugar Booger Man) and Jan

More old family friends, the Alts

Sunday night found us back in Oregon at Cam's mom's house for another BBQ. We were joined by Cam's sister, Sarah, her boyfriend, and Jason, Angie and the kids. We had such fun eating MORE, playing cut-throat Team Sequence and spending more time with family.

The Smith Siblings

Nuttiness runs in the family?
(with our niece and nephew)

Unfortunately, our trip was a short one and as always, there is never enough time to see everyone we hoped we could. Thankfully, we're planning another trip north for the Great Baby Tour of 2010. Look for our tour dates around the end of November, early December.

Until then: Thanks a million to all the family members that made our trip a success!

Memorial Day Weekend, Part Uno

Cam and I made a hurried 4-day trek up to Portland, OR/Vancouver, WA to see some family before it gets too late for me to fly. While we were away, Athena the Wonder Pup stayed with our good friends, Charla and Jason, and their new puppy, Rembrandt. Remy is about 3 months younger than Athena, but the two of them were bosom buddies (and both EXHAUSTED) by the time the weekend was over. Charla and Jason said that they just played and played and played all weekend - to the point where they couldn't even go to sleep and had to be separated for anyone in the household to get some rest.

Charla managed to capture some of their playtime! (FYI - Athena is the bigger of the two dogs)


More stories and pictures will follow in a couple days ... so hold your horses! :D

Holiday Highlights

Here are a few random highlights from the Smith's Christmas/New Years season:

#1: Graduate from BOLC III with honors:
During the BOLC III Graduation Ceremony, Cam was awarded the BG Mellnik Leadership Award, as voted on by his classmates and approved by the Cadre, and the Army Communication Skills Award for his superior grades on his Cultural Awareness Paper, Battle Analysis and Operation Order. As the leadership award recipient, he also led his classmates in the Soldier's Creed during the graduation ceremony.


#2: Drive non-stop north through the western US states:
After the graduation ceremony, we packed up the truck and headed out for a 24+ hour trip north through New Mexico, Arizona, and California to Washington and Oregon to spend time with our families. We spent 4 days in the Vancouver/Portland area visiting with Cam's parents, siblings, nieces, nephew, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins... We even squeezed in some time to visit with some of Kristy's family friends while we were in town. On Christmas Eve, we headed to Eastern Washington to spend a few days with Kristy's parents, brothers and grandma.

The Smith/Anderson/Dunphy gang

With Dad Smith and his girlfriend

Twins? Uncle Cam and his nephew

The Smiths, The Lebers and Grandma

#3: Pray for no snow on our drive home:
We took a different route home through Idaho, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. We were blessed enough to only find a little snow just as we were leaving Utah and saw the most beautiful sunrise in New Mexico.

#4: Finish unpacking and organizing our NEW house:
After arriving home safely after a 20+ hour drive, we set to work unpacking our remaining boxes and organizing everything! We ended up with a HUGE garage sale pile (We'll drag it all to our friends' house on Post for the Spring Post-Wide Garage sale) and more space than we know what to do with. On the bright side, both cars fit in the garage with space to spare for our bikes and a work bench for Cam!

#5: Attend the 2009 Sun Bowl:
Our house-inspection guy noticed that we were big football fans (How could he not when we were sporting Coug gear from head to toe when we met him?) and offered us free tickets to watch our Pac-10 brethren Stanford take on the University of Oklahoma. We figured that we'd be safe with either teams' fans if we proudly wore our WSU crimson. While our adopted team didn't win, we had a GREAT time and got to see the Army Knights parachute team deliver the game ball.



#6: Start a new job:
After all the hullabaloo of the holidays, Cam was ready to start his new job with his new command. He is currently a platoon leader for the A-4 THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) Battery. He is currently spending most days "out in the field" learning the system and meeting his team.

As a final note, we wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to all of our family and friends we visited over the Christmas break!!! You guys went above and beyond for us and we feel so lucky and loved! Until we can visit again, our door is always open and we now have a super comfy Guest Room! :)

Welcome to 2010!

Just a quick note to wish all our family and friends a very Happy and Healthy New Year!

It's been a VERY busy month of December for us. We packed up our dinky apartment on the west side and moved to our NEW home in Northeastern El Paso. We also drove to and from Washington to visit family for the holidays. As soon as we're a little more settled (and can find the camera cord to connect to the computer), we'll get a proper post up.

Until then:
For auld lang syne, my dear,

For auld lang syne,

We'll take a cup of kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

Our Soon-to-Be New House

While my family was visiting for Thanksgiving, our wonderful Realtor, Susan, allowed us to take them on a tour of our soon-to-be new house. Mom and Dad were impressed and offered lots of advice on projects we should and should not undertake.

We are keeping our fingers crossed that the VA appraisal is done soon and we are able to close on December 11th. That gives us just enough time to get moved in prior to leaving for our long trip north to Washington for Christmas.

I took a few pictures while were on the tour, but the photos really don't do the place justice. It's a 2100+ sqft house, with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths in a military-populated neighborhood. We can't wait to move in and make new friends!

Front of the house

Back the house

Kitchen & Dining Area

Family room off the kitchen

Master Bath

Thankful for Thanksgiving!

We are so thankful for Thanksgiving this year. Not only were we able to spend it together in our new hometown, but we were able to share our blessings with family and friends!

I was so grateful to have most of my immediate family join us for the big day. My parents drove down from Washington on Wednesday and my youngest brother, Erik, flew in on Thursday morning. Unfortunately, my other brother, Tim, was unable to leave NY and we all missed him terribly.

While the family was in town, we took them sight-seeing around El Paso and Ft. Bliss and even showed them the "mighty" Rio Grande. Despite my father's best efforts, we did NOT tour Juarez, Mexico ... even if we had the ability to be armed to the teeth! We were also able (thanks to our wonderful Realtor) to take them on a tour of our soon-to-be new house!

For the big day, Cam invited a few of the single 2nd Lt in his class for dinner. They, in turn, invited a few more friends, so we had a packed house for dinner. It ended up that we had PLENTY of food and no one went hungry! We even sent leftovers home with the visiting 2nd Lts.

We had a marvelous, if uber-casual and slightly cramped, Thanksgiving! Hope all of you were as lucky as us and able to enjoy the holiday with those you love! Happy Belated Turkey Day!

Cam and his beautiful (and TASTY!) bird

3/4 of our guests

Food-induced coma (Or maybe it was all the football?)

4th of July Visit to Washington

For the week around 4th of July, I headed north back to Washington to visit with family and friends. I spent the days leading up to the 4th couch-hopping from friend to friend in the Puget Sound area. I spent a few days with old college friends Jen, Jake and their 2 girls. It was soooo fun to get a little baby-time as well as be reminded how many questions an almost 5-year old asks! I then had a wonderful dinner out with Sabrina and her new beau, Brian where Sabrina and I were "devastated" when we weren't carded while ordering adult beverages. Too bad our MUCH-YOUNGER waiter heard us grumbling and proceeded to tease us about it all night.

The next morning, I was off to see some old Shipyard friends for breakfast, lunch and a night out at the Clearwater Creek Casino. I really enjoyed catching up with everyone and hearing all the gossip I'd missed in the last 2 months. Too bad I walked away from the casino with nothing but the stinky smoke smell in my clothes. Maybe I'll hit the jackpot next time?

After the friend- and fun-filled days, I was super excited to get on the road to Ocean Shores, WA where I was going to meet up with my parents, BOTH brothers and a few of the extended family for a rockin' 4th out on the beach. Due to several hours of HORRIBLE traffic, I was forced to hit up the Indian Reservation myself (without the help of my pyro brother) to pick up a stash of illegal fireworks. I ended up with a box of goodies that weighed 70+ pounds and therefore badgered the guy at the booth into carrying it to my car for me! (Am I a big *girl* or what?) We all finally made it to the hotel in Aberdeen and I was able to visit with my immediate family, grandmother, two uncles, an aunt and 5 cousins!

On the actual 4th, my parents, brothers and I watched 2 of my cousins compete in the Firecracker Duathlon @ Elma, WA for the 2nd year in a row. Ben did a fabulous job! Unfortunately, Jake's back tire blew out at the start of the biking leg and he was forced to run, not only the remaining portion of the biking leg, but also the last running leg. We figured out later than he probably biked 2 miles and ran a total of 14 miles!

The entire clan then headed out to the beach where we set up camp, a fire and the loveliest potty tent you've ever seen! We all dinked around waiting for darkness to fall. Unfortunately, the thick fog didn't allow us to see very far up and down the beach and therefore, the show wasn't nearly as impressive as it was last year. We still had fun watching my pyro brother blow up our stash and see the idiots around us going to town!

I headed "home" to the Tri-Cities with my parents the following day and spent most of Monday hanging out with my brothers before I had to drive back to Seattle for the night. I spent my last night in WA chatting into the wee hours with my good friend, Heather.

Thank you to everyone whose couch I crashed on!!! The week was so much fun and I'm looking forward to visiting everyone again soon! The weather was amazing and I got my fill of green trees, sparkling blue water and snow-capped mountains. However, what was waiting for me in El Paso when I returned home? 100+ degree temperatures that have not gone away YET! Oh well, at least I have a very pronounced flip-flop tan on my feet...

Ben & Jake leading the pack at the start of the Firecracker Duathlon 2009

Cousins in the sand

Grandma & Tim

My tugboat in Aberdeen

Easter Fun

We celebrated the Easter weekend with a quick trip down to see Cam's family in Vancouver. Saturday was spent with Cam's mom, stepdad and aunt in Hillsboro where we dined on a delish rib dinner and oreo cheesecake! (Yum! Thanks, Mom!) On Easter Sunday, we spent a little one-on-one time with our niece and nephew: having an Easter egg hunt and playing with Army men and foosball, before nearly the whole Smith clan arrived for a big Easter dinner! Thanks, Angie for everything! You went well above sister-in-law duty for us!

Setting up Army men for an epic battle

All dressed up in their "Proud Army Niece/Nephew" shirts

On a slightly unrelated note, I had posted previously that I was working on Christmas present quilts for the kids. Here they are all bundled up in them! I'm so glad that they liked them! :)

Alyssa and her very GIRLY quilt

Andrew and his car-inspired quilt

Home Sweet Home

Just wanted to post a quick note to let you know that Cam survived Jump school and earned his Jump Wings! He finally made it home in one piece EARLY Saturday morning after his flight was delayed an hour in Atlanta. He didn’t arrive in Seattle until 1AM, but I’m just glad to have him home!

Our weekend together was a busy one. Saturday we kept the economy up and running with all of our shopping. Sunday we were able to see some family and friends, including meeting the new daughter of our good friends, Jen and Jake, and a quick trip up to see Cam's sister and her family! We are looking forward to seeing lots more family in the very near future!

Cam will be spending the next two weeks working as a recruiter through the office in Port Orchard. Thankfully, it shouldn't be too strenuous of an assignment, so he'll have plenty of time to get all of our "Move to TX" issues ironed out and maybe even a few "Honey-Do" list items done!

Cam and his 5-yr-old niece

Finally ... I'm Off to GA!

The count-down is FINALLY complete! I'm flying early tomorrow morning to visit Cam at Ft. Benning, GA. I'm going a few days earlier than originally planned to spend a little time with Cam before all the Commissioning hoopla begins and both sets of our parents arrive.

The actual Commissioning and OCS graduation is Thursday afternoon and then we're unsure of when and where Cam's being shipped to next. I'll be sure to pass on all your well-wishes to him when I see him! I'll also try to keep the blog updated with pictures and stories from my trip! Talk to ya'll soon!

Christmas with the Smiths

After a crazy couple of days, it was nice to have a plan and stick to it! We arrived in Vancouver in time for breakfast with Cam's dad, his girlfriend and her three kids. After a delish meal of french toast, we had just enough time to sneak in a little football before everyone else arrived!

A huge crowd turned out to see Cam and share a few more Christmas treats. Cam's grandparents, Aunt Mary, Cousin Larry and family and Brother Jason and family all came over and hung out for most of the afternoon. Again, after getting our fill of cake and cookies, we opened some more gifts and enjoyed our time together!

Cam with his grandparents

Uncle Cam Jungle Gym Time!

Somehow a game of pick-up-sticks had us all enthralled

An intense rematch between Cam and Jason

Angie and some weird dude

Christmas with the Andersons

We arrived safely to Hillsboro (home of Cam's mom & step-dad) after a pretty "exciting" drive down the Columbia Gorge. We spent most of the day catching up with Cam's parents and prepping for a HUGE Christmas dinner. We were joined for dinner by Cam's Aunt Carol and Cam's older brother and his family.

We had a yummy prime rib dinner with all the fixings and a HUGE assortment of dessert to follow. After we were sufficiently stuffed, we all sat around opening presents and playing with the kids. Bedtime came shortly there after!

Thank you, Mom & Bruce! Sorry we couldn't have a longer visit, but we had a wonderful day!

PT after dinner with Uncle Cam and Andrew

Uncle Cam with his nephew and niece (dressed in their Coug finest!)

Cam and Aunt Carol