Maxwell House

I know it's been a long time...

2009-03-16T22:14:00.000-07:00

OK OK I know it has been forever since we have put anything up. Alright since I’m the one who has been writing it’s all Dales fault…

A lot has happened since the last post. Winter has come and gone. The winters down here aren’t the same as back home. Not as cold though you add a lot of moisture in the air and makes up the difference. It’s also windy most of the time. I don’t mean a slight breeze either. 20-30 mile an hour winds most of the time. The locals don’t even notice it until it gets around 40mph. Though when I tell them that “just talked with the folks and they just got 10” of snow and it’s 12 below” they don’t think that is so great… Well I guess to each their own. Branden and I really like the spring so far. While everyone back home is still either getting snow or freezing we have been bouncing in the mid 70’s to mid 80’s. Until last week, here we are cruising along in the mid 80’s and them within 15 minutes it drops 25 degrees. I was outside when that happened it was crazy. It seemed like one minute I was planting grass in the back yard and the next I was turning the furnace back on.

Other than that things have been just great. I got a part time job selling for a recycle company. That didn’t last long we found out the community isn’t ready for the plan we had. Though I am very happy they are still going forward just in a different direction. Branden is getting along with her job very well. Of course whenever you work with the government things are done that don’t make a lot of sense but what can you do… She spent a week back in Salt Lake for training. I’m sure she was thinking “I’m so close to home but so far away”.

We were able to make it back home for a couple weeks in Feb for Christmas. It was great we got see family and get a couple days of snowboarding in. 14 days of vacation sounds like a lot of time until you start trying to figure out how to fit everything you want to in it. Also the drive time kills ya. Luckily we had a couple days when we got back to rest. You know it was a great vacation when you have to rest from it.

Another thing that we are not used to is tick season starting so early. We went over to the stray facility yesterday to get some pics for the website and the dogs were covered in ticks. I mean big fat bloated ticks. I have been around ticks but this was nasty. Every time I think about it I get the creepy crawlies… That is why our animals get the monthly treatment weather they need it or not. I’m just happy the back yard doesn’t have any chiggers yet. Man I hate those things. Everyone who has spent any time in the mid west or down south told me about them. Of course I was like yeah I get you they are bad. Well I get it they are bad and a pain in my ASS. Well only if you sit in the grass. If not then a pain in my ANKLES.

Since it’s 12:30 in the morning and I’m finally getting sleepy. I promise though there will be more to come.

One Crazy Cat

2008-11-28T20:54:00.000-08:00

So many know that we have two cats, Sy and Echo. Echo is the newest addition to our family added last October and let me tell you, her name fits her well. We have decided that she is a cat hooked on crack cocaine plus having ADD with the lack of both long and short term memories all at the same time. She will be going 90 miles an hour around the house and get all excited over a box that has been there all day long which is the same box she explored the previous 3 days before. This all leads up to her latest and most nerve racking adventures yet. And when I say nerve racking, I mean my nerves. Our yard here in Lawton is completely fenced in which is nice so I can let the cats out into the yard and periodically check on them with out them running away or getting hit by cars. When we first moved in, our house had a foundation access opening, a hole under our house, that Echo found to be the most entertaining to play in. Basically, she was running around under the house for hours on end only to come out no longer white and covered in spider webs. Well in the same corner of the yard is our air conditioner and a tree. Since her hole was blocked ever so convienently by a board, placed by Dale, she found a new interest in that corner.
She found that she could climb the tree. That was all fine and dandy until her ADD kicked in and she had to explore every branch the tree had and as you can see, it was not a small tree. Half way through exploring the tree, Echo soon realized that the tree was fun but there was something even better.

She found she could get on the roof of the house when she climbed the tree. So there Echo was, on the roof and loving every minute of it. She found she could run from one part of the house to the other, onto the garage and onto the car port in only a matter of seconds, chasing leaves along the way.

That left me, worried "mom" about my cat being on the roof. Dale just laughed. So I did what any person would do, try to talk my cat off the roof. And let me say trying to bribe with both food and her toy, nothing worked.
Eventually, Echo made her way back to the tree. But do to her lack of memory she had to once again explore the entire tree. I soon was able to convince her mostly down the tree but she stopped just out of reach. Since I did not want her climbing back onto the roof and it would be dark soon, I climbed into the tree and grabbed my cat. Needless to say, we are working on something to put in that corner to prevent her from climbing that tree. Crazy cats anyways!

Under one roof...

2008-11-19T12:09:00.000-08:00

Well it's taken many years and we are now all under one roof. I (Dale) moved down on the 2nd of November. Fairwell Idaho I will miss you but never forget you:) No we will be back as soon as life lets us.

The move down was interesting. I had a car full of animals and Uhaul trailer full of stuff. I didn't realize how much stuff I still had until I started packing it. Thanks to Chad (old roomate) I still have a few things that need to make it down sometime. I guess that's why we kept our storage unit. OK OK I'm a bit of a pack rat but you never know when you are going to need some of that stuff:)

The trailer didn't pack right so it was a bit tail heavy and bounced the entire way down. On top of that the receiver hitch didn't fit right and so it banged evertime the trailer bounded. Man that was a long 28 hours. I didn't make it all the way without taking a bit of a nap. Other than the trailer being a pain the trip was very uneventful. Being that I was pulling a trailer I was very happy that the gas prices were coming down at the same time.

Since I have been down in Lawton I have been getting some of the house put together and lawn picked up. That is one thing we have 4 nice big trees though they shed a ton of freakin leaves. That now I have to pick up. Didn't have to deal with that back home. OH WELL...

I just started getting back to work. My phone has been down since I moved down and found my back up. That made it a bit hard to keep in touch with people and find out about business oportunities. I just had my first networking lunch and it went great... Everyone was very interested in what I do and how I do it. I have several meetings over the next couple weeks and so I am hoping this will be a nice start to my business.

I will have some pics to put up as soon as I get my camera from Branden. She took my car today and the camera is in there. I will also have her write a bit about how her work has been and what it is like at the Vet clinic on base.

Talk to ya soon...

Dale

Physical Fitness Test

2008-10-25T17:55:00.000-07:00

So when you enter the military, any branch, you must meet a certain physical fitness criteria. The army is tough, not as much as the Marines but tough. The Army measures your physical fitness level with a test known as PT Test. To pass this test, you must meet minimum criteria in 3 categories: situps, pushups, 2 mile run. Situp and pushup section is how many of each can you do in 2 mintues each and the 2mile run is how fast can you do 2 miles in. Well of course the Army has PT minimums that you must meet in order to pass. These minimums are based on your age and gender. So for me, 27 and female, I must do at minimum: 45 situps, 17 pushups and run 2 miles in 20 minutes and 30 seconds (20:30). The test also has maximums that if you meet means you max that category. The maxes are: 82 situps, 50 pushups, 15:48 2 mile run. This all seems rather easy but let me tell you it is not. Trying to do 45 situps in 2 minutes without having your abs and legs cramp is challenging. You are given a score based on the number of repetitions or time of each event you do. The lowest score you couldget is 180 points: 60 for each event. The maximum for each is 100 or 300 for all three combines.

So on Oct. 22, my vet track group for OBLC had to take a PT test for our 6 weeks down here. We could take the test as either diagnostic, no score taken, or for record meaning the results will go into your file. I knew I could pass it so I took it for record. Then I wouldn't have to take it when I first got back to Oklahoma. So on that Oct. 22 wednesday morning, we met on the PT field to take the test. I had previsouly taken two tests and scored a 245 and 254. My goal was to try to max the test or get close to doing so. We took the test and boy was I excited with my results. I ended up doing: 51 pushups in two minutes, 74 situps in two minutes and running 2 miles in 15:37. The end result was a score of 291 points. I miss maxing by 8 situps. I was estatic. I had been working out my normal routine until that point and it paid off. I had just scored probably the best score of my unit back in Oklahoma. I just set the bar/standard very high. The only way to go. HOOAH!!!!

Bar Run

2008-10-03T22:01:00.000-07:00

So today I did something I had never done before. I had heard of a similar version of this activity but never partaked. This activity is called a bar run. Now I have heard of bar golf where there are so many "holes" and you have to take a drink at each bar. I have also heard of type of bar run where you go from bar to bar just hopping around, typically walking where you went. Well tonights Bar run was exactlly what that says. We started at bar #1 where you had a drink of your choice and literally ran, at times a sprint, to the next bar where you consumed any number and types of drinks until the time frame was up. In the end, we went to 8 different bars and ran a total of 4 miles. Thus the attire for this activity was work out clothes, tank top, shorts and tennis shoes. Now imagine a group of 30 people running down the downtown streets of San Antonio and running into a bar, drinking and running to the next bar. That is what we did. The best part was when we went into a somewhat fancy bar looking like a gathering of college kids craving beer. No real pictures were taken to document this as trying to run with a camera was difficult but you can believe me, it was very fun. I am now very tired and I only had a drink at every other bar.

OBLC part 2

2008-10-03T14:33:00.000-07:00

OBLC
Well it is now the 3rd of October. For most of the OBLC students of the 08-805 that means they are on their way homes or enroute to their first duty stations. For some of us, the vets, we are here for another 3 weeks. I am very sad at this point in this OBLC schooling. For the last 9 weeks I have gotten to know an amazing group of individuals, who we called ourselves "Freaken 5th!!" This group clicked from the start and made me feel included and part of a team. We got to enjoy some awesome experiences together. Some of us became very close good friends. This makes this weekend hard as there is no definiate end when people leave. Some have already left a few days prior which not knowing this made for no good byes. We know that we all won't keep up the emails and phone calls but I know we all left with some great memories and some well that we hope were not documented via pictures. For me though, this was a life changing experience that helped me in more ways than I would ever have expected and I leave with no regrets. Other than that, I would not have changed or traded these past 9 weeks for anything.
Go FREAKEN 5th!!!By the way, who has the OCONUS list?

San Antonio, Texas

2008-09-29T18:08:00.000-07:00

After the general portion of OBLC, there was a small graduation that lead our way into our tracks. The graduation was nothing special just an hour ceremony with generals talking and us (students) reciting the soldier's creed. The picture below shows a portion of the 350 students in the general section just prior to graduation.

Well Dale wanted to be at this ceremony so he flew out for that weekend. He arrived on THursday night and stayed until Monday morning. We had not seen each other since I came down to Texas so it had been almost 2 months. It was great seeing him, giving me a sense of home and normalcy.

The Friday night of graduation, my platoon was having a party at a bar called Howl at the Moon down on the Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio. This bar was cool because it was a dueling piano bar, something that neither Dale nor I had been to in a while. The performers were great and we had a great time. I did get alittle drunk but it was a celebration. The piano bar had what was called the phrase of the night and high roller phrase. Basically you paid either progressive dollar amounts to have some phrase written on a mirror for everyone to see. It was a great evening. We will definately return to this bar when in San Antonio again.

OBLC

2008-09-28T15:29:00.000-07:00

Well since the first of August, I have been in San Antonio, Texas for OBLC (Officer Basic Leadership Course). This course is designed to introduce new officers (me) on what it takes to be an officer in military. The course is broken into 2 parts: general and track. The general portion was 7 weeks long and the veterinary track is 5 weeks plus 3 days. The general portion has soliders from all walks of life: prior service, direct commission, HPSP and all walks of duties: nurses, doctors, PA's, 70 bravo's, veterinarians, denstists, ect. It has been interesting. During the general course, we have classroom time and field training (ftx). During the class work, we learned basic drill and ceremony, army procedures, duties and customs.

The FTX's were the most entertaining. Normally the class spends 5 days in the field and comes back to base for the weekend. Well because labor day fell in the middle of our FTX, we had to spend 11 days straight in the field then back to base for 4 days then back into the field for 4 days. Keep in mind that there are no showers while in the field and the bathrooms consist of port-a-potties. So your thinking that can't be that bad, well having 507 people using about 30 port-a-potties in Texas summer is not pleasent. I also have a new appreciation for baby wipes.

While in the field we did all sorts of tasks and drills, most of which are representation of what enlisted soldiers do while at boot. Some of those drills were firing the M16, M9, MOUNT training (kicking in doors and shooting people) and plenty of medical related drills. Yeah there was long days and longers nights but the best part is I got to be friends with the best platoon, "freaken 5th"!!!

(sorry tried to add more pics but my computer is hating me today)

The Move "Continued"

2008-08-01T10:17:00.000-07:00

Well not much else happened through the rest of Colorado. Other than alot of driving. Kansas was an interesting stretch of the trip. For the most part there really isn't much to be seen though we both thought it was interesting how many religious billboards there where. Not just the big nice ones but a ton of homemade ones that littered the sides of the road everywhere.

I didn't know how many museums and monuments are in the midwest. Since Wizard of OZ is Brandens favorite movie we found out where that museum is. Though it was quite a ways out of our way so we didn't make it over to that one. When we do make it up there we will make sure to take lots of pictures.
We were driving along and I was noticing all of this old fencing all over the place. Though right next to it would be nice new fencing and couldn't figure it out. Then there was a sign saying stone fence something something. Those are fence posts made out of rock. I guess there is a quarry around there that they cut these slabs for fence posts and there are miles and miles of fence. One thing about it they aren't going to rot.
The other thing I found the coolest was the wind farms. These things are huge... and there are hundreds of them. There was a truck packing one of the blades on the interstate and it hung out past the end of the low boy. That was only one blade not the whole thing.
Echo kept herself entertained by all the cars and scenery during the drive.

Then we were home. Fort Sill sits right next to the freeway and there is a huge polo grounds as you come into town. It was fairly impressive.It was a long drive an so as soon as we got the animals all settled in we took out into the town and found our new favorite place to eat. A KFC Buffet... No Joke it's crazy and very good. We tend to go there alot.
Once we got back we couldn't find one of the cats and guess where we found her? In the cupboard above the stove. She had the door closed and everything. Both those cats love going through the cupboards.

The Move "Continued"

2008-07-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

I swear that Echo is A.D.D because she will walk by something or check it out completely. Then either a few hours or a day later she will walk by the same thing and completely act like it had never been there before. Well that was how she was during the trip. There is only so much space in a rig and during three days of driving that cat went around that car and acted like everything was brand new everytime. I wish I could be entertained that easily. Well I guess there are days;) Then there is Sy the other cat. We tried to keep her locked up in her carrier and she about tore the dang thing apart getting out. So we let her out so she can roam around. What does she do? Takes one lap around the car and climbs right back into the carrier and stays there the rest of the trip. That cat drives me nuts....
As we were going along Branden thought of a really good idea of taking pictures of all the welcome signs for the states we were driving through. Our trip took us through Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas and then Oklahoma.
This sign really doesn't live up to what it is claiming...

She looks like she is having a ton of fun isn't she? They both did really well. We stopped every couple hours to let them out and for us to stretch our legs. It was funny though when we got Vanilla Prince wouldn't let her touch him in the car. He would try to skinny up into the corner so she wouldn't touch him. Now they don't care hell half the time they are sitting on eachother even when there is enough room not to.

The Move "Continued"

2008-07-29T08:44:00.000-07:00

So we had a bit of a party at the arcade and had a blast. Once that was all over we headed out to have a bite with some great friends and then we were back at it. You know it's amazing how much it takes to get an entire house packed up. Even though we didn't actually pack the stuff in boxes it still takes a ton of work...

Then the day came to get loaded in the car and head out. It was a hard day. Up till that day I was OK. I mean I was keeping busy and so it all hadn't hit me yet that we are packing up out stuff and going to a completely different part of the country where we don't know anyone to start a new chapter of our lives. That's ok though because with new chapters come new adventures which give us more stories to tell.

I was very impressed with how the animals traveled. I was expecting them to be whiney and just a pain the butt. Even though we were driving 8-9 hours a day they did a great job. We bought a new rig just before the trip just so we could have room to get the pets and the lougage we needed. The reason for all the lougage being packed was just a few days before we left we found out that there was a mix up in the dates for delivery of our stuff. Two days before we even left for Oklahoma we get this call asking if we are going to be at the house the next day for delivery. Well no we arn't it is supposed to be scheduled for delivery next thursday! Well not acording to their records and since we were not going to be there the next time they could get the stuff their wouldn't be for another 2 1/2 weeks. So Branden had to live in a new house in a new town and state for almost three weeks without anything... Well that meant we needed a few more things than just a suit case and a few snacks.

So we found where our newest cat came from (her name is Echo). Branden thought this was funny so had to take a picture of it...

We took pictures throughout our journey. Now this is the end of May and while we were driving through Wyoming there was a hell of a snow storm. OK this is may and we are getting snowed on and not just a little. It was really cool driving out through the many states that neither one of us have ever been to. Granted it was all freeway driving there is still some cool stuff to see.

The Move

2008-07-29T07:38:00.000-07:00

I know this is a bit late but here is what it was like getting moved. First and foremost it was awesome not having to pack our stuff. Since the military moved us all we had to do was get everything we wanted moved in one spot and they boxed it up and put it on the truck for us. Man I'll tell ya what I don't want to move any other way again. Though just my luck I'll get all spoiled and then have to move thirteen times without help;)... Here is what the living room looked like while getting ready for the movers.

During all of the fun of finding everything we wanted to take and not. Well let me explain that. Branden moved down to Oklahoma first for several months before I made it down. Mostly because I had some work in Boise that needed taken care of and also she is going to Texas for three months for training so there isn't anything for me to do in Lawton. So we decided to keep a few things in Boise for me and send the rest down to Lawton. Now that that's explained we decided to have a bit of a party before Branden took off and since I'm such a big kid I figured we could have the party at the arcade.

I am having problems getting alot of the photos to load so I will end here until I can figure out what is going on.

Until the adventure continues...

1 month in OK

2008-07-12T06:23:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a while since I last posted any updates of our lives. Well in the last month, my work has gotten interesting. I have had a lot of interesting cases and challenges to deal with. But I have a feeling work will be getting better now. Overall though I am greatly enjoying what I am doing. I feel that I am making a difference for the animals and the service members who I am working with. Dale is still in Idaho. He went to Teen Conference, without me this year. He said the year turned out great but was not the same without me. Just last weekend for the 4th of July, he went home for his class reunion. I wish I could have gone but oh well. The sad news is that my Granny (mom's mom) fell last weekend over the 4th and ended up in intensive care. It looked at first that she would pull through but the doctors now only give her a few days left. I am taking some emergency leave to fly home for the funeral. The dogs and cats have adjusted to the new home very well. Echo is just loving having so much space to run around in. Speaking of animals, on my last post I mentioned a cat amputation that I would be doing. Well, the surgery went great. The stray cat was named Frank the tank and has been recovering in our clinic for the month. We think we have found him a home to be adopted to once I get back from Idaho at the end of this coming week. Other than trying to maintain a house and huge yard by myself, nothing to new has come up. Love all of you in Idaho.

First week in OK!

2008-06-08T20:24:00.000-07:00

Well I just completed my first full week on the job as OIC (soon the be OIC) at Ft. Sill. The coolest part is that I have a rubber stamp to stamp my name to everything so I only have to sign above it. Speaking of, I think I already lost it. OOPS!! I also finally received all of my stuff from the movers out of storage. They only broke my microwave. I did get to hear the tornado sirens for the first time on Thursday and boy did I freak out. Not so cool I say. I am used to the winds, being from Murtaugh who isn't but have a siren associated was not so cool. But that was soon forgotten because the best part of my week is that I got to play with a 3 week old deer fawn on Friday. He was an orphan and was getting a check up. Plus I get to do my first surgery next Wednesday, a front limb amputation on a cat with a broken humerus. I am very excitied and scared. I just be fine. I won't be alone in the sx room, thank god. Will write more later.

2008-05-29T17:25:00.000-07:00

Well, Dale and I decided to set up this blog to keep all you (family and friends) in Idaho and around the US what we are up to during are stay here in grand ole Oklahoma. We figured we would try to create a new blog at least once a week unless something really cool happens and we will gladly share sooner or if life is boring, then maybe once every other week.
The first official post will be coming soon.