Tonight a few of us went out and watched Star Trek (which by the way, you should see just for the movie, whether you’re a Star Trek fan or not). Tomorrow I’ll be heading to a beach and relaxing, getting out of the dorm room so I can take more pictures for the family.

I won’t spend the words telling you how hard it is to miss such an important day, or tell you how I fight off the tears every time I see one of his pictures. Sometimes I wonder where the tough chick I used to be went. No one told me growing up meant I’d get mushy and sentimental

So baby, from me to you, Happy Birthday Lil Dude. You’re always in your Momma’s heart and constantly on her mind. I miss you baby.

Just chillin' on a cold afternoon

Some days we would just hang out and play. We’ll do it again soon! Before you know it, baby.

Haven't quite got the "blow them out" instead of "ooo touch the light" thing down yet.

LOL. He kept trying to touch the flame instead of blowing it out. Little firebug just like his daddy

I’m sending lots of love to my kiddo and the family. Lots of hugs and kisses.

Peace, I’m out.

Self pic. Turned out blurry. *sigh*

Le sigh. These pics always seem to mess up. There was another one taken of me but I was dripping in sweat and had a smear of dirt on my cheek. Not fun. lol.

Her job was hardest of all. Damn packing lists!

The phone never stopped ringing and the paperwork had to keep flowing. Loggies do it best when under stress!

Ervin on the forklift

Ervin and Drell kicked ass with the forklifts today. They kept up the pace for the entire day, and let me tell you, it was a scorcher! Working in the warehouse all day definitely made me appreciate AC. LOL.

This was the 12th pallet of the day.

By now we were all running on autopilot. The occasional joke was said and some fun was had, but we just kept kicking out cargo.

Look, he's in FOCUS! LOL.

At the end of the day we were all exhausted and ready for the day to end. Will post more pics on my facebook later.

Hard at work!

I wonder what amazing adventures tomorrow will bring…

Hope everyone has a good day.

All pics of this guy turn out blurry. Hmm.

Meet Drell. This guy did an awesome job as my sponsor. I’ve never had such a warm welcome as I did here. His birthday celebration continued right into Thursday when he found he made staff! WOOHOO!

He’s trying to help me learn Turkish but it’s a slow process. I keep running words in Farsi and Turkish together in my head. Not a good thing. lol. Leaves me all kinds of confused. I’m slow at learning new languages.

He’s a hard-workin’ guy and very down to earth. Only two more months until he moves, but it’s been a pleasure working with him.

On a side not, he’s got the metabolism of a greyhound and can bike like the hounds of hell are chasing him LOL.

I’m genuinely going to miss him.

This was right before be busted out laughing

Meet Earl Gray, better known as Boyd. He’s as honest as they come and refuses to take shit from anybody. I can appreciate that.

From the time I’ve arrived, Drell and Gray have gone out of their way to make me feel welcome. And neither one of them have given me bullshit to pave the way.

I wish I could tell you guys more but let me just say…there are places where politics get dirty and bureaucracy is the name of the game. Another day in paradise.Gray takes it all in stride and gives no ground when it comes down to getting the job done right.

On a side note, I hear he plays a mean hand of poker and I missed gumbo last night. Heard it was amazing. His wife and daughter come home very soon and he can’t wait to see them.

The man-in-charge!

Meet Ervin. The man-in-charge. He’s a great guy with an awesome family. Five kids and one very patient wife. They are a wonder to watch together. Makes me miss my own family with a sharp ache.

He’s heading to Minot. I’ve been there, done that, so we’ve been chatting it up a bit. No crime. No distractions. No cover from the 60mph winds. LOL. It’s a small shop with a decent workload.

His youngest is the most adorable thing at 2. Reminds me so much of Bran. I see things now…little things that toddlers do that reassures me about my kiddo. I miss him.

Ervin leaves us soon and I wish him a safe journey and great rest of his career. He’s a great guy to work for.

Working hard/Hardly Working!

Meet Equivel. He posed for this picture. There’s another one of him “telling someone what to do”. He even has a coffee mug in that one. LOL.

From the time I heard I had orders, there were people telling me to tell this guy hi. He’s pretty laid back. Very easy going.

His wife, daughter, and tiny new baby should be back from visiting family. This is his second tour here (not back to back). When Ervin leaves, he’ll be the M-I-C.

Well these are the guys I work with. We have fun. The work gets done. It’s a good place to get back into the careerfield.

I’ve got no complaints.

Now off to do laundry. Woohoo!

The onions had everyone crying.

So I got called on it. I’m a dorm rat. A hermit. Anti-social. Enter Drell (left) and Gray (right). Talk about small worlds. These two guys were my students back in the day and now they’re taking me under their wings and forcing me out into the sunlight. Away from my dorm. Out to mingle.

I joke, but if left to my own devices, I wouldn’t have gone anywhere for another two weeks at the earliest (and that’s pushing it!). Takes me a while to get comfortable in a new place.

So we had taco night. Drell loves to cook, Gray’s wife is still on vacation, and I needed something in my stomach that actually had seasoning (not that the DFAC would ever have BAD food…just not seasoned). Gray let us use his stove. I worked my magic with the taco meat and Drell made a kickass guacamole plus all the extra fixin’s for the taco bar. The avocados were the size of softballs. My picture turned out blurry, but I did show Drell this cool trick about cutting avocado. When you cut one in half and toss the pit, cube the avocado while still in the peel. Flip the peel inside out and scrape off the meat. Then you’ve got smaller bits to deal with instead of huge chunks. I learn all kinds of cool tricks thanks to my husband.  Gray had some brownies he kept trying to ply us with but I’ve got a PT test coming up so the sweets are a no-no for now. I did accept a Coke though. Man I missed the taste of those things.

Tomorrow is Drell’s birthday and in less than two months he gets to be with his wife again (and I’ll have people to visit in Germany YAY!). Gray’s wife gets back very soon and he’s promised she’ll take me shopping. After looking at the gorgeous things she’s picked up in The Alley, I can’t wait. Rugs. Handcrafted furniture. And these awesome beanbag chairs that I must have! I’m gonna be in decorator heaven.

There were several funny moments throughout the night, and I don’t mean the armed forces network (AFN) commercials (bad, they were just BAD). This picture was taken when Drell was cutting onions. They were so potent when Drell sliced them that my eyes were watering from over eight feet away. Gray’s eyes were tearing up too.

Anyway, it was a good night. I got to relax without worries. Had great food with new friends. It was definitely good times and I love these rare moments.

Meet the Travel Monkey.

This is Brannum’s travel monkey (also known as the incredible Shrinking Monkey, but that’s another story!). He got here by boat, then train, then truck until he reached my doorstep on Thursday. I’m sure he’s got a story or two to tell. We’ll call him Ferdinand. Unless the boys have other suggestions? I miss you guys!

The last day with the boys before I left. It was a beautiful day.

It’s Day 2 in the world of Turkey and I’m limited in what I can take pictures of…for a few days, anyway. I’m missing my boys. While two of them are step-kids, that doesn’t diminish the ache in my heart at missing them. More than anything in the world. I hope they know I love them with all my heart.