Tanya's Graduation from Bootcamp!

Last weekend we went to Great Lakes, IL for Tanya's graduation from bootcamp. The ceremony they had was great and it was sooooooooo nice to see Tanya again. Especially in her Navy uniform. Our only contact with her through boot camp was a few letters and a couple phone calls. She was able to get the weekend off and spent time with us. We went to Chicago and met up with Dave Hongisto and went to the top of the Sear's Building.

Boot camp wasn't as hard as Tanya expected. She did a lot of work and studying. When we dropped her off at the base we were able to drive around and see the whole thing. It was really beautiful and set up just like a college campus. We dropped her off at her dorm so that she could get instructions on what was going to happen in the next few weeks. She has taken a few general classes but the big stuff isn't going to start until December or so. She called us today and she was on the train with a few friends to spend some time in the Windy City. It is nice to know she has someone to hang around with and isn't too bored. After school starts I doubt they will have any down time! It is really nice knowing that we can talk to her almost anytime and that we can go and visit with her on the weekends if we want. We are hoping to be able to have Thanksgiving and maybe Christmas with her.

Birthdays, Dogs and Skunks....

....do not mix! Last Saturday was AJ's Birthday and he says that it was his best one ever. In the morning he got a call from Tanya, in the early afternoon he had a birthday party with 12 of his friends and in the evening he had a family party.

The kid party went very well for the most part. We were a little bit late getting everyone to the party because I got stuck behind a "wide load" crew that were transporting a couple of wind turbines for about 20 miles down Hwy 210. Once we got everyone all picked up there was lunch, cake, ice cream and present opening. The kids then went out to play. The girls and I decided to go for a walk in the woods and the boys decided to join in too. Jack and Buddy (our Golden Retreiver and Sheltie) followed close behind. Jack went out exploring and started to bark up a storm. Normally this is what he does when he is playing with Buddy, so I really didn't think twice about it, I just called for him and we went on our way. Not two seconds we all started to smell "the smell"......the skunk smell. It would come and go as we walked (ran) through the woods. I finally figured out that Jack's barks were not directed at Buddy, but at a skunk and it was him that smelled. I quickly got the kids into the house and we finished the birthday party inside. I do think that this will be a birthday party few will forget! One poor boy, who was very fond of Jack, had pet him and Jack had rubbed up against him quite a bit. We had to have him change into to some of AJ's clothes so he wouldn't smell so bad.

After the kids left we had an adult party with family and friends. Brian and I had led AJ to believe he was getting a bow for his birthday. When he opened his Wii he was very pleasantly surprised. It is has birthday / Christmas present and more of a family gift, but he does enjoy it a lot (too much for me!). He used his birthday money to buy a Star Wars game for it.