Colt and Sienna Birthday

Here are just a few of the pictures of Colt and Sienna's birthday, if you want to see some of the rest of them (I did not post them all as there are MANY) you can go to the Piccasa family photo link at the side and see them.

reception

We had our reception on Saturday, the professional pictures will not be back for about a month but I am posting a few of the candid ones we took. If you want to see the rest you can click on the piccasso link on the side and see them at the bottom of the wedding album Here is everyone that was left at the end of the reception

Rich and I at the memory table we had in memory of his parents and my Dad, we used our parents wedding pictures, it as nice.

Colt stood in for the Father Daughter dance with me

having cake

We had planned to have Richards sister stand in for the Mother son dance but since she decided not to come my Mom was nice enough to stand in.

Levi and I dancing

our first dance

sisters Stevie and Cheyenne.

if you want to see the Post and pictures from the next day when we had Colt and Sienna's birthday parties you can also see them on the piccasa site.

Post Carnival

Saturday was the Post housing carnival, it worked out to be in between my shifts at work so we took Levi and Staci, it was nice they had lunch, games and activities. Here are Levi and Staci having lunch. Richard and Levi after we all had our flu shots (actually we had the nasal spray) they had the tent set up at the carnival so we were able to get those out of the way.

Staci and I after she finished her arts and crafts project.

The Post fire department raised the flag on the fire ladder, it was pretty impressive to watch.

They had a military MP dog demonstration

Richard picked up all his body armor last week, so the kids got to try it on and see how heavy it really is. He has had to wear it all week for training, there is more he has to wear then the kids had on, but it gave them an idea anyway.

Deployment reality

So I have known for quit sometime that Richard will be deploying early next year, I think I have dealt with this very well, for someone whose husband is going to be sent around the world to a dangerous war zone for over a year.
A couple weeks ago while I was in American training he was doing Devils Academy which was basically combat life saving, he has been through this before when he went to Desert Storm, but that was awhile ago so I was glad he was required to do it again, they did things like give and receive IVs, trauma injury treatments etc. he is very good at improvising, for example at one point he did not have time to wait for someone to get him tourniquet so he used his belt, it is helpful for me to know he has the ability to think fast and make quick decisions no matter what is going on around him.
This week they received their weapons and have been out on the range and right now my dining room is full of body armor. He had me try to pick up his vest after he had put it all together and it is just amazing how heavy it is, bless him for being able to wear all that and still hike the hot sandy hills of Afghanistan or Iraq.
Anyway as we were putting his stuff together last night he made a couple comments and I finally had to tell him, maybe it is better if I don't know everything, yes I know he is going to war and believe me I know how dangerous it is, so perhaps really thinking about the size of bullets his body armor will or won't stop is to much for me. He said to me you know my job is dangerous, we have talked about this and made the decisons that lead to this deployment together, and this is true I do know this and we did decide together, I also know it is a voluntary military no one makes him do this he does it because he loves and believes in what he does, I knew full well when we decided he would not retire this year that it would mean he would deploy and I am as proud as I can be of him for not only being willing to go but also wanting to go, I know he is very well trained and I know in my heart he will come home to me, but knowing all that and the reality that everyday his leaving gets closer are two different things, I don't like it when I go to bed and he is not there because he is working on some project downstairs, this will be a year of sleeping alone, and I depend on him so much for so many things that I will have to take care of myself, it is a scary thought.
I am lucky I have a wonderful family and friends who are so supportive and who I know will be there with me.
Most days I simply do not let myself think about how quick this deployment is coming, I figure I will think about that tomorrow, but there are moments when I can't help but think about it, they don;t last long I can usually push the thoughts away and think of something else, but somewhere in my mind the count down has begun.

more from Utah

when I was home the last time my Mom took a day and took the girls and I to this lovely English tea shop for lunch, it is located in Ogden on Grant between 24 and 25, it is a tiny little place that is just darling, it is very much like being in England for tea. they have nice sandwiches and salads, great pastries and deserts. They keep hats and party dresses for little girls to come for birthday parties, it was just as sweet as could be. Here is Stevie and I having our "high tea"

Sienna on one of the sitting areas they have.

After that we drove down Grant past the house we lived in when I was little (until I turned 7) there was a main house and four smaller houses behind, my Great Grandparents owned them back then and the main house is where my Grandpa grew up, then when he was married and my Mom was young they lived in one of the houses in the back, this is the same house I lived in as a child and my Uncle Charlie and Aunt Gloria lived in the main house up front, I have many memories of playing with my cousins when we lived there, my cousin Kristanne and I spent almost all our time together when we were young and living there.

I have driven by the houses over the years but this is the first time I have gotten out and walked around, I was amazed at how much smaller it seemed now. Above is the house that I lived in, it was white back then, my brother fell off this front porch and had to have stiches, it seemed like the porch was so much higher back then.

This is the main house where Grandpa grew up and my cousins lived when we were young.