Instructor of the Year

While the Academy was gathered at the gym during graduation rehearsal the commandant announced the winner of the Instructor of the Year Competition. Me! Along with the title I recieved the Army Commendation Medal, several coins, a watch, a very nice carry on luggage bag, and the traveling trophy to be set on my desk for the next year. The best part of the awards is not having to be on the Staff Duty list for the next year.

Begining to Crawl

Tricia had me grab her camera just in time to record this scene of Jeffrey begining to crawl. If you watch closely you will see him put out his hands and pull himself forward. He kicks his feet a lot, but he has not yet worked out coordinated movement between arms and legs.

Goodbye Trusty Friend

I purchased a Canon PowerShot A75 in Korea on my way to Iraq where it managed to survive the sand. It then traveled with me back to Colorado and has taken great photos for me here in Germany in all weather. The view screen finally failed today as I was taking a photo of Jeffrey. I highly recommend the Canon Powershot series to anyone looking for a great point and shoot digital camera.

Fortunately, Tricia still has her PowerShot A85 so that we can continue to send everyone photos of us and our adventures.

Counting Down to Christmas

Counting down to Christmas Tricia purchased our now traditional count down calendar with chocolate eggs. This is a treat we love to eat all year long, but at Christmas the makers put together a calendar with an egg for each day. Inside each hollow egg is a small container with a toy. We have quite a large collection of toys.

Grandpa MacNeil hand knit Jeffrey a stocking almost big enough for him to fit inside.

Sergeant Morales Club Induction

Yestarday the induction ceremony for the Sergeant Morales Club was held. After several rehearsals the event unfolded in the Tower Theater on December 5 in the afternoon. Command groups from all around the area were invited to attend. SSG Snook, SFC Gathers, SFC Renick and I were presented as the latest inductees into the club. Each of us recieved an Army Commendation Medal, Sergeant Morales Club coin, Induction Certificate and the Sergeant Morales Club Medallion. The medallion is worn during formal events, such as a ball, with the Class A or dress blue uniform.

28

I turned 28 yesterday. Tricia helped me to celebrate with a delicious batch of brownies and some new clothes. She also spent her hard earned money from teaching dance class on an iPod for me.

It's finally December!

I can't believe it's December already! This month is filling up really quickly on our calendar. This weekend is our Primary program (late yes...but we have a late Stake conf) and then the next weekend our visitors come and it's the dance recital...then a trip after that and then Christmas! Wowsa! Where did the year go?!?

So Jeffers has hair, you can kind of see it in the picture just there. It's not a lot, but at least he's not completely bald. Though I think people expect him to be older than he is. My friend told me that people look at her kids and think they're immature for their 'age' but really they are just TALL for their age. He's also growing out of the scared eyes in pictures, he'll smile more and more when I take pictures of him. Which is good, then he won't look like he's scared all the time!

Have a great day everyone!

Getting Ready for Christmas

Our Christmas decorations are out now and bringing in the season all around our home.

Many packages have arrived, mostly addressed to Jeffrey. Dad sent us some delicous home made carmel.

Holding His Own

Jeffrey is getting strong enough and independant enough to hold his own bottle. We still have to stay by him because he does drop it at times, and it is difficult to pick back up. He is able to roll over to the right quite well, and very quickly when he wants, but he still has not yet rolled to the left without assistance. Tricia and I laugh that he will be like Zoolander and will not be able to make a left turn.

APFT

I took the Army Physical Fitness Test on Friday morning. I was able to do 63 push-ups and 77 sit-ups in the alloted two minutes time. I ran the two mile event in 13:33, which brought me to a score of 279 of a possible 300. I still did not earn the APFT badge, but I am up nine points from my last test.

Putting Up the Christmas Tree

For Family Home Evening Tricia and I took out the tree from down stairs and brought up the ornaments with it. The tree went up qickly since all of the LED lights are permanently attached to the branches. Our base color for ornaments is red, of which we all hung first and then added the accent ornaments from Christmases past. All the while we put on Chirstmas music and sipped on hot cocoa. Our countdown calendars are out and Jeffrey already has many presents under the tree from his grand parents. The snow outside makes us appreciate how wonderful it is to be in a warm home during this season.

Happy Holidays

German Proficiency Badge

Several days ago I went to the swimming pool with SSG Heck for the final event to earn the German Proficiency Badge. SGM Roster met us at the pool to time us on the 200 meter swim event. For my age group I had to swim the distance in less than seven minutes. I managed to make it in just over six. SGM Roster processed the paper work for us very quickly and brought our badges to us this morning. I will be able to put this on my Class A uniform. Very few US soldiers have this award, so I will stand out a little when I wear it.

Almost December

So, there are downsides to living in Germany...I know some people say that we're looking a gift horse in the mouth right? But no, seriously, as big as our new PX is, there are some things that you can't find there, or there just isn't the same amount of selection. If you order online at all you will often see "We regret that we CANNOT ship to APO/FPO addresses." or "This item CANNOT be sent to an APO/FPO address." I almost hate to give those people my business...but anyway. There's an awesome company that will recieve your package for you and reship it using USPS. apobox.com I just sent a package to them for Cory's birthday (not telling what it is!) and it ended up being cheaper to have them resend it than ordering it from another company who did ship APO. They also have a free sign up, there's other reshipping companies who aren't so cheap. I just thought I'd share that with you all.

Jeffrey is 19 and a half pounds (85th percentile) and 28 and a half inches tall (95th percentile!) so he's pretty much a huge kid! He's really good at pulling himself around in circles on his stomach, if we had a time elapse camera it would be pretty hilarious!

Hopefully everyone had a good Thanksgiving...as you can see from the picture, we did!

Thanks Giving Dinner

Tricia made a wonderful Thanks Giving Dinner as always. The turkey was so soft and moist that it fell off the bones as I carved the turkey. Jeffrey had a bottle and fell asleep right before dinner, leaving us to eat without distraction.

After dinner we talked to family on the phone and then watched "The Polar Express." All day long we have been listening to Christmas music, of which Tricia has quite a large collection. It has been a great relaxing day.

Instructor of the Year part III

This morning we concluded the Instructor of the Year competition with a trip to the marksmanship range. I managed to shoot 36 of 40 targets on the M4 pop-up target range. That score should be competitive amongst the other scores.

On 13 December we will learn the results of the competition at the Academy Christmas party.

Six Months Old!!

On Saturday we celebrated Jeffrey's Half Birthday! It's fun to think that he's been part of our family for a half year now! Though no matter what people say, I can still VIVIDLY remember his birth! And all the pains associated with it. He's getting more and more independent all the time, he's sitting up for short periods of time now, but he does eventually fall over. He is getting more used to being on his stomach, and as you can see in the video, he prefers it now (I'm listening to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in the background, and no, Jeff I haven't forgotten to send you HPB!).

He only rolls back to front consistently, we're still working on the other way around. He's so funny, he loves to listen to music and when he hears another baby cry, he turns to watch . Such a cute baby I have!

This is Jeffer's shirt that his Pompa gave him to wear on Sundays and other auspicious occasions!

Our friends the Davis' (Veronica, Annika, Marianne, and Ava) and Jen and Tricia and Jeffers on the lantern walk on St. Martin's day. (That coat I'm wearing was 10 Euro and is SO warm! Germans make warm coats!)

Harry Potter Y la Camera Secreta

I finished reading the second Harry Potter book in Spanish with Jeffrey. I read to him often in the evening time after his bath, which many times sent him to sleep.

Instructor of the Year part II

This morning was day two of the Instructor of the Year competition. The event began at 0900 when we each taught a class for the Commandant and the company First Sergeant's. Immediatley after we went back into the Patton Room for board proceedings. By 1100 everyone was done and back to work.

The last leg of the competition will be this coming Monday when we go to the markmanship range.

Don Quijote de la Mancha

I just finished listening to my Don Quijote de la Mancha audio book, which I purchased while in Spain with Tricia two summers ago. I have been listening to the story for the last several weeks at work while at my computer. I borrowed Tricia's CD player and plugged it into my speakers on my desk. It has been a great way to preserve my Spanish skills.

Finishing the book reminded me so much of my time in Spain that I took a trip via Google Maps to visit some of my favorite cities with satelite imagery. I can still recall many details, such as the location of the mail box outside of the city enterance of Cadiz, and the fountain outside of the Cathedral in Sevilla. http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=2&utm_campaign=en&utm_source=en-ha-na-us-google-mm&utm_medium=ha

Instructor of the Year Competition

I have been selected to represent Bco again this year in the Instructor of the Year competition. I am up against five other Small Group Leaders for a three day competition with multiple events. Today began at 0500 with a ruck sack weigh in and then moved into the clinch drill. The clinch drill is when your opponent has the ability to punch you while you are left only with the option to block and move in close enough to put your arms around them and achieve the clinch. When you are far away and righ up on your opponent they cannot hit you, but in closing the distance you have to take a few punches to get in close enough to clinch.

After being worn out from taking a couple dozen hits we moved immediately into the Army Physical Fitness Test, only in this event there was no break inbetween push-ups, sit-ups and two mile run. After that we threw on our boots as quickly as possible and put on our gear with 20 pound ruck sack. Our march was five kilometers to the testing lanes, of which I jogged the whole way to get the best possible time as the whole event from the first punch of the clinch was being timed.

At the lanes we had to complete such tasks as identify and throw grenades, put together a radio and send a report, assist a amputee casualty and send a medical evacuation request over the radio, and correct a malfuction on both an M16 and M249.

By 0800 I was done with all events and ready to get back to the Acadmey for some breakfast. On 13 December at the NCO Academy Christmas party we will learn the results of the competition.

Jeffrey Enjoys a Good Scare

Jeffrey enjoys a good scare. Sometimes we leave him on our bed alone for a minute, and when he starts to feel alone he cries. One of us can run in and jump on the bed to surprise him, which he enjoys very much.

Saint Martins Day

Falling on November 11, German children celebrate Saint Martin's Day as the start of Carnival season. They walk around the streets, after dark, carrying lanterns, and singing special songs. A bit like trick or treating, they are rewarded for their singing and the beauty of their lanterns, with sweets and other goodies.

St Martin of Tours started out as a Roman soldier. He was baptized when he was grown up and became a monk. He was a very good and kind man, and eventually became the Bishop of Tours. As well as being kind, he was quiet and simple. He didn't want to become Bishop, but he didn't have much choice. There are many legends about his life. The most famous is when he cut his cloak in half to share with a beggar during a snowstorm, to save the beggar from dying of the cold.

Like so many other Christian celebrations, St Martin's Day coincides with pagan rituals from the pre-Christian era. This falls at the same time as the early winter festivities of light and fertility celebrated by the pagans. The Christian Church, very early in its history, saw that there was a problem with holidays. Many people, even though they had become Christian and given up their pagan ways, didn't want to give up their holidays. The Church, being smart, put Christian Holidays around the same time. The people kept their holiday, they just celebrated something different.

http://www.funsocialstudies.learninghaven.com/articles/stmartins.htm

Jeffrey Waking Up

Back Seat Driver

This is Jeffrey practicing for his driving test.

Arrested Development

Tricia and I have been watching a few empisodes of our favorite TV show now on DVD, Arrested Development. We wish that the show had gone past a third season. The writing of the show is incredable. Our favorite part about the show is how a small detail in one show will reapear in another, and how all of the situations for each family member at the begining of the show tie together by the end. We got a lot of laughs watching it.

Keeping Warm in the Field

The weather was turning cold the last time we were in the field with the students, so we used some 50 gallon drums to light some warming fires. I had my camera with me and took some photos. Fire is very fun to photograph. I walked away with over 100 digital photos. I have used this one on my computer as the desktop background image.

Fall Festival

My little Irish dancers had their first performance today at the child and youth fall festival. It was the first performance for about half of the dancers and though I think there were some nerves, I was very proud of the way they did! The program that I work through gave each of the girls a certificate of appreciation to say thanks and it made some of the girls feel good about it! I'm pretty excited at how well some of them are doing, it really makes me realize how much I love teaching and sharing dance with these girls!

In other news, Jeffers' top left tooth just made it through the surface! Finally! Now just to work on the other one.

STX

I took these photos while out at the situational training exercise with my students.

Gas Gas Gas

While taking photos of my students I called gas when they least expected it.

Gas Gas Gas

By procedure, when gas, gas, gas is called, everyone must put on their protective mask and pass on the signal to other to put their mask on too. I gave the command when my students least expected it.