December 23rd of 2008 we moved out of our great old house in Indianapolis to go back to our little upstairs apartment in New Lenox. When we got there we had three weeks until I left for Basic Training in South Carolina, at Ft Jackson. When I left on January 11th I was leaving Jake to be a stay at home dad for 1 yr old (not yet walking) Baleigh and 2 yr old(not yet talking much) Thor. Baleigh took her first steps just days after I left and Thor is now telling pretty elaborate stories. : )
I completed Basic on March 27th and Jake and the kids came and picked me up in SC. They had already moved to Columbus, GA, just outside Ft Benning. There I started OCS (officers candidate school). I had a ball there and although I could only come home on weekends the kids adjusted nicely to having mommy home again. I received my commission on July 15th and am currently a Second Lieutenant in the Chemical Corps.
When I graduated we took a family trip to visit with Jake's family near Chicago. We stopped in Indianapolis on the way there and stayed with our great friends the Carlson's who graciously invited us to crash at their place so we didn't' have to get a hotel. It was great catching up with them since they were the only ones we really had when we were in Indy. Its great having friends who have been where you are and "get" what your life is like.
We stopped in at the Dinosaur World in Kentucky since our little Thor is OBSESSED with dinos. He had a ball running around looking at the hundreds of life sized dinos.
Unfortunately I had to leave for yet another school. This one was at Ft Sill in Lawton, OK. I spent 8 weeks there and in that time Jake and the kids moved as well. This time to Ft Lenard Wood in St. Robert, MO. There is a ton to do here.... there's Walmart, several tattoo parlors and an abundance of hotels. So as you can imagine we hang out at home a lot. In October we took the kids to the St Louis Zoo for Thor's birthday. If you ever get the chance it is a fantastic free zoo. This was also the month that both kids stopped wearing diapers and Jake and I celebrated 4 years of Marriage and 9 years together!!!!
For Halloween Thor and Baleigh were a Triceratops and Nemo respectively. They had a ball telling everyone "Happy Halloween!"
Bill and Cori (Jake's parents) and Bob and Jill (my parent's) and several of our siblings and Auntie Katie(my bestest friend) were able to make it down for a birthday party we threw in Early November. It was a nice weekend just before classes really picked up for me here.
I finished my HAZMAT certification just before Thanksgiving. We began our pilgrimage to northern Illinois to visit with my family for turkey day. Unfortunately it was a difficult one as my grandma Zimmerman was unable to make it due to a serious illness that landed her in the hospital until late December.
Mid December we went for a visit to see my grandma and then we continued on to Chicago. There we had a whirlwind visit. Arriving on the 23rd we visited with Jake's family and had a fun Chinese food dinner (Thor loves sweet and sour chicken!) Christmas Eve we drove up to the city and picked up Jake's mom Diane and went our for a fantastic lunch or Greek food at The Pegasus. The kids loved the flaming cheese! Then we headed out to Aunt Debbie and Uncle Hugh's house in Hobart, IN. The kids had a ball and it was great getting to visit with family we had not seen since last Christmas. Christmas morning the kids were blown away by the fact that Santa had eaten his cookies and drank the milk as well as giving the reindeer the carrot we left for them. He left them a cute thank you note. : ) IT was great! Thor was sooooo jealous of Baleigh's Magna Doodle that I actually took him to Walgreens (the only thing open on Christmas day) and bought him a travel version of it. They both sat and drew on them all afternoon. Christmas dinner was legendary!!! the best one we have had in many years and was exactly what I dream Christmas dinner will be every year. Thanks Cori! We managed to see Auntie Katie and another friend from collage Mandy on Saturday. We played a little wii and ate home made pizza and chilled out for the night. Then it was off to Geneseo to see great Grandma and Grandpa Nelson before at last going home. The kids were so glad to make it to their house. Thor doesn't like begin away from home for more than a few days lately .... even though he LOVES his Peepaw he wanted to get home and watch his tv and sleep in his bed. However, we quite possibly have the best travelers when it comes to kids. They only get fussy if they have to use the bathroom. Thor loves stopping on the side of the road to do his business tho. In fact when we take these trips I think that peeing outside is his favorite part. LOL.
Now here we are just a few days from the new year.... I wonder what 2010 will be like. That is our year in review.
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