DISCLAIMER: This blog was written 3 months ago but I was too lazy to upload pictures. So here you have it, my summer blog.
Well, the time is here!! It is OFFICIALLY summertime in Tejas. :) Ya know that time of the year when it's really chilly and you can only wear hoodies and have to wear socks constantly and all you wish for is HEAT!? Well, all I want to wear right now is a hoodie and drink hot chocolate. Funny how that works. Don't get me wrong, I love the warmth and the sun and being able to be outside all night long but when I look at the weather forecast and it tells me that the next four days are going to be 100 degrees or higher, I don't enjoy the heat THAT much!! :)
The last couple months have had exciting times, boring times, and sad times. Earlier in the year, we learned that some of our best families would be leaving to either Germany, Arizona or Korea. I wasn't very happy about it but figured we had enough time to be around everyone. Well, five months went very quickly. Our first favorite family left to Germany in the middle of May and that was rough!! Words cannot describe how grateful I am to have a friendship with them. They are amazing people with an amazing little boy and even though I am sad to not be able to see them, I know they are going to have an amazing journey in Germany.
Our second favorite family moved all the way to Arizona. That one was rough too!! David has known them since he first joined the Army and went to Korea. It was a pleasant surprise to learn that they ended up at Fort Hood a few years later and we hung out with them ALL the time. I have so many great memories with them and their little girl. The hot tub, Starlight, BBQ's, cupid shuffle...the list could go on and on.
We have two more families who are leaving towards the end of the summer and I am not excited. Although we won't be able to hang out in person, I know we will keep in contact and am confident that we will have reunions with all of these families someday.
On a happier note, I am pleased to share that my mom and brother FINALLY made it down here!! I cannot express the joy I had when they were here. The feeling that I had when sharing our home with them is indescribable. Whenever David and I are in Idaho, we always stay at my parent's house and are "hosted" by them so it was a nice change for us to host my mom and brother for the first time. Their first night here consisted of yummy finger foods (which I had prepared all day) some wine and Thor! The next day was our Exploring Post Day. I took them to all of the memorials and museums, to the giant PX that is kind of like a mini-mall, we had lunch at the Chili's on post, did some more exploring and at the end of the day my mom got to experience the Motor Pool and the Battery! While in the Motor Pool, she got to see the launcher up close and meet a few of David's friends. When we went to the Battery, that place was crowded with soldiers! She got to meet the Battalion Commander and 1st Sergeant, Platoon Sergeants and some of David's soldiers and co-workers. It can be intimidating walking into the office and being surrounded by all of these guys in uniform, especially talking to the head-hanchos, but she handled it like a pro. That night my mom and I went on a walk to the city cemetery while the guys played Tony's new game, Battlefield 3 and then we all enjoyed the movie Tropic Thunder. I don't think I've heard my brother laugh like that in a long time.
The next day was Friday and we were so lucky to be able to have David home all day!! While him and my brother played more video games, I took mom around town. I showed her downtown Killeen (which isn't anything spectacular) and took her to my favorite store...SPECS!! I was so excited to show her this store because it has everything that we could possibly wish for. Not only is it a liquor, wine and beer specialty store, it has some of the finest foods that you can't find anywhere else!! You can buy a block of parmigiano reggiano for $5!! C'mon!! We could've spent hours upon hours and hundreds upon hundreds in that store. I wish I could just live in it. That would be a dream come true. :) Later that night, David wanted to go fishing out at Maxdale bridge. It's a supposedly haunted bridge with a supposedly haunted cemetery but I have never seen a glowing headstone or a truck trying to force us off the road. While David fished, my mom, Tony and me went exploring. There was only one time where I was really scared: when I almost walked into a huge, fuzzy spider hanging from a tree in the cemetery!! (I really just got goosebumps while I typed that) What's with us and cemetery's?
On Saturday, we were determined to enjoy some real Texas BBQ!! So what better than Salt Lick? Towards the afternoon, we made our way to Round Rock to enjoy a ridiculous amount of food (which they loved) and hustled our way to Inner Space Caverns. I can't tell you how many times we have driven by it and I have always wanted to go check it out!! The caves are thousands of years old and really neat!! Our tour lasted about an hour and a half and it was such a nice escape from the everyday Texas heat! It was a really cool thing to experience.
I had such a great time with them here and I am so happy they got to experience some of our life for a few days.
The week after my family was here, David got to go to California for a family reunion. This was the first reunion that he was able to attend and we were determined to get him there. Little did we know that his work schedule would be jam-packed!! Sadly he was the only one able to travel and his trip only lasted a day and a half. I was so upset that I wasn't able to go since I still haven't been able to meet any of the Summers' family but I was really excited for him nonetheless. Not only did he get to see his mom and his step-mom, he got to see family that he hasn't seen since he was a kid. There were even people there that hadn't seen David since he was in a crib!! I know he had a great time and I am positive the time will come where I can be introduced to everyone as well!
Since then, our lives have gotten back to the normal routine. David has spent the whole month of June in the field which has been lame but is now finally over. We have enjoyed fishing and spending time at the lake during the weekends, soaking up as much sun as possible.
I'm not sure what the summer months have in store for us, hopefully some trips to Six Flags and Schlitterbahn can be included. But whatever happens, I'll keep this thing posted!!
