Dan's Graduation

Hello from the smelly city of Montgomery!  I'm not kidding it really does smell funny here. . . It is good to be back together as a family.  Dan survived Commissioned Officer Training and the kids and I survived without him.  We were able to get the house in Provo looking like a house, all cleaned out and decorated.  It looks like our home away from home now.  I even got the car into the garage!  Those were my goals while I was there and thanks to a lot of help from my parents, I did it!  Maggie got RSV the last week we were in Provo, so that put a damper on things, but she is recovering well.  My mom actually flew out with me to Montgomery, which I was very grateful for.  She stayed and watched the kids while Dan and I spent some time together and picked out an apartment.  Thanks mom and dad, you're the best!
At the airport we got a very fun surprise, Dan actually got permission to pick us up.  It was so great to see him!  The kids were so excited!
Here's Josh modeling Dan's hat and showing off his new toy he got for the long plane ride. 

 Maggie was happy to see daddy again!

Dan and I went to a dinner at the officer's club.  It was exciting to meet Dan's flight and his friends, see where Dan had been for the past 5 weeks, and get a little taste of what COT was like.   Because our flight was delayed getting in and Dan picked us up, we were consequently late to the dinner and hence broke "the rule of being on time."  As a consequence to that misdeed, Dan had to drink from the GROG! (dum, dum, duhhhh!)  Ahh, the dreaded grog, a concoction of tobasco sauce, marshmallows, mellow yellow, chocolate sauce and whatever else was lying around in the kitchen, all housed in an attractive toilet!

The dinner was great, the grog was entertaining, and the company was fantastic.  Doesn't my man look good!  I am a sucker for a guy in a uniform!  I was quite impressed with my slimmer (he lost 8 lbs.) more muscular, and very well groomed uniformed JAG officer!  The uniform Dan is wearing are called his "Mess Dress."  He will only wear them to formal occasions, probably twice a year.

 

Dan and Seth Dilworth, our friend from ASU law school.  They both went through COT training and JAG training together.  Seth and his wife Rachel are going to be stationed in St. Louis.  Go guys, you made it!

DAN'S COT GRADUATION
Dan's graduation didn't got quite as planned because Montgomery experienced a few inches of snow, something that they are completely unaccustomed to, so the graduation was cut from 3 hrs. long to an hour and a half.  So we didn't get to see Dan march, which apparently he and his flight were pretty good at, they received the "best drill flight" award.  Congrats!

Lt. S. Daniel Colton, U.S. Air Force

 

Josh and Dan at the Graduation Awards Ceremony 

Dad, Julie, Uncle Steve, Aunt Jeri and Rachel

The support group who came to cheer the guys on

my mom watched Maggie so that I could go to the ceremony, Thanks Mom!

Charlie Flight

Dan really enjoyed his time at COT.  It was difficult, but he loves what he is doing and that he is a part of something great.  He is very patriotic and loves this great country we are blessed to live in.  I am very proud of his service and commitment to his country!

Up too late again. . .

I have gotten into a very bad habit of staying up late to get stuff done.  It is now 2 a.m. and I'm still up.  I hope to get on a better sleep schedule when we go to Alabama next week.  Yep, only one more week and the kids and I are flying to Alabama for 9 weeks, then April 17 off to Germany!  These past four weeks have felt like years at times, and only a few days at others.  I have a new found respect for being a single mom!  I've only been on my own for a few weeks and have really missed how much Dan helps out.  I've had great help though, my parents, Dan's dad and stepmom, Ben, Becky, Mauri & Nathan, Grandparents and extended family, and so many friends have all been great!  I couldn't have survived this past month without them!  THANK YOU!!!  This has been a hard time for all of us.  We have felt very blessed though by everyone's love and support, all of the phone calls checking up on us, helping me move stuff, put stuff together, or just feeding us.  It has been great!  THANK YOU!!!  We love you all so much!
Josh has had a hard time adjusting to Dad being gone.  Consequently, he has become my little shadow.  He follows me around the house, wants me to do everything for him, from spoon-feeding him food to dressing him (something that he has been quite proficient at for months).  He has refused to go to preschool and his new primary sunbeam class at church.  I try to encourage him to do everything that I know he can do on his own, but I haven't forced him to go to preschool or primary. . . yet.  I think it will be easier when we are in Alabama and Dan and I can tag-team at church.  I have to say that the past few weeks in church have not been the most productive or inspiring, simply because neither of my kids have had the patience for church lately.  Maggie is at the stage of wanting to be running everywhere always, and lets you know she is not happy if you pick her up and keep her contained to one area.  Josh hasn't wanted to go to primary so he has stayed with me through all of my classes, which he commented to Dan "You have to be really quiet, they don't sing songs or play games, and its takes a long, long time."   LOL!  Ah the honest evaluation of a 3 yr. old!  I must say that I am anxious for Maggie to go to nursery, only four more months!  Although it does take a lot of energy goinig, and staying in church I know that going has really helped the past month.  I always feel a rejuvenation of spirit and happier after church and partaking of the sacrament.  I feel such a sense of peace that no matter where we are in the world, Provo, Phoenix, Ramstein, or Timbuktu, there is always the church, there is always the gospel. 
Speaking of the gospel Dan has had some amazing missionary experiences already at Alabama.  He was able to share a Book of Mormon and take a friend to church with him.  I know that many of you have questioned why we chose this course of events for our lives, going into the Air Force, and for me it feels like a chance to serve a mission.  I got married when I was 20, which I am so glad about, and so did not serve a full-time mission.  I really feel like this is my chance to be a missionary, I just get to take my family!  I am really excited about the next four years, anxious and a little overwhelmed too!  It is going to be quite the adventure!

Boxes and boxes and boxes . . .

Well the movers came, packed, and left . . . with most of our stuff headed off to Germany. I sure hope it makes it there ok! It is so nice to see the floor in the front room again! I've been busy settling in and going through the boxes that are in the garage either to use in this house or pack back up and store in the garage for the next few years. I have missed having some man-power around while I've been moving boxes and pushing couches. I ran into Scott, a cousin, at Target yesterday and he gallantly helped me push some stuff around in the garage so that we can fit the car inside, yeah! Thanks Scott!
Josh asked for a gingerbread house in January, with red frosting, his new favorite color. So amidst the chaos of boxes and books lying around there is a slanting graham cracker house with red frosting and pretzels. I accidentally put maple flavoring in the frosting instead of vanilla, but Josh didn't mind, he still managed to eat as much as was on the house. He was so excited to make a house. With all the hustle and bustle we didn't make one last month like we have in the past. I guess this is one tradition that is a must do . . . I'm glad that Josh reminded me! He's been such a great helper these past few weeks. He's also been my little shadow. He follows me around from room to room and only want Mom to do certain things. That is really the only negative signs he's shown of Dan being gone. He's my little shadow, which truth be told, I actually am enjoying a lot because when Dan is around, he is the man of the hour. This past week has been really fun just playing with the kids now that the pressure of the movers is over. I love just watching them interact and seeing how their minds work. I love my kids! I'm so lucky to be their mom! With Josh cracking jokes all day and Maggie's infectious smile who couldn't be positively entertained and happy all day!

3 more weeks in Utah!

Lieutenant Dan! Doesn't he look good! It's Holly writing. . . shocking I know. I haven't posted in a few months but I have found a few spare moments while the kids are sleeping and our house is packed full of boxes. The movers came today and packed up everything for the big move to Germany. They will come back tomorrow and actually load everything into giant crates, then into a truck, then off to Germany! I must say I am quite impressed with how well they packed everything, better than I did! It will be nice to be able to see the living room and actually sit on the couch instead of a mountain of boxes and stuff strewn anywhere there was a space. This has been a whirlwind week getting everything ready for the big move, an unfortunate bonus the kids and I have all been under the weather with colds . . . darn inversions! I have to say I am feeling quite relieved to have the hardest part of the time spent here over and now I have 3 weeks to play with all of our family here! Dan is doing great! He is really enjoying his experience in COTC. Today he got to do an obstacle course. He loved it and got really dirty from crawling through sand, climbing up walls, rolling around and having the stereotypical military trench experience. He really enjoyed a break from the routine day he has. He usually wakes up early at 4:30 every morning, has morning marches and drills, then eat breakfast at 7 a.m. He then usually sits in class for a few hours, breaks for lunch then back to classes, eats dinner, then has meeting initiated by his flight (13 people) to help with their physical preparedness and other training drills that they hope to perfect to gain special privileges; then its off to study his homework and manual which he is tested on, laundry, ironing, and any personal time, it's light out by 11:30. He is really enjoying the classes, he says that they are very informative and motivational. He feels lucky to be in such a great flight. In his group there are 140 officers in training. In that group there are 3 squadrons, in each squadron there are either 3 or 4 flights of 13-15 people. In his flight there are 13 people: 4 JAG, 1 doctor, 1 public health administrator, and 7 are nurses. His flight scored highest on their physical test and hope to maintain that in their final physical test their last week. Dan is excited to be where he is right now and is having a great time! I'm so glad that he is getting to live his dream! Here are some pics from the last few months. Maggie's 1st Birthday! My parents, Aunt Becky, Aunty Mauri, Katelyn, Elli, and Wesley all joined our family to celebrate our little princess turning 1. We had a pinyata, pizza, cake and ice cream. Maggie loved it all!

Then Dan and I went on a fun cruise! We went para-sailing, swam with dolphins and snorkeling. My favorite was swimming with the dolphins and getting to ride on them. It was so amazing! We laughed a lot, played lots of games, and ate a lot of good food!




We celebrated Christmas out in Georgia, then went to Disney World with the Brewer bunch and then met up with Jarvis Family and Grandpa Boyd for a Disney Cruise. Maggie and Josh LOVED the characters! Maggie even got a smooch from Donald Duck! I think the kids favorite part was playing in the water! Maggie had a blast playing in the splash area and Josh made some new gilfriends in the kids pool! He's already holding hands with girls, what a stud! The Disney cruise was fantastic! It was my favorite crusie experience! The entertainment was amazing, the food fantastic, and SOO kid friendly! I loved it, despite the kids and I getting a little sea-sick! What a trip!

Two-month summary

Wow! Almost two months since our last post. Too much to write about in detail, but I'll sum it up and hopefully we'll be able to post some pictures. To sum up: we moved all our stuff to Provo where we'll store it until it gets shipped to Germany; Holly and I then snuck in an unexpected cruise with our friends the Hobbs to Key West and Cozumel; we then drove from Provo to Phoenix for a couple days before driving across the country for Christmas in Georgia with my (Dan's) Aunt and Uncle; then we drove down to Florida for New Year's at Disney World and a week-long Disney Cruise to St. Marteen and St. Thomas (planned by my mom prior to her passing - thanks Mom!); then I dropped Holly and the kids off at the Orlando airport this morning before driving up to Montgomery, AL where I will begin Officers' Training on Monday. For those who are keeping score at home: the last month = 10 different states (Alabama and Florida twice); two different countries (Mexico and the Netherlands Antilles (St. Marteen) - Geography note: St. Thomas is actually part of the U.S. Virgin Islands therefore not a different country - nerd alert); and just over 4,000 miles on our car.

Wheeew! Now I get to relax with 5 weeks of training while Holly gets to kick her feet up with a soothing schedule of preparing all of our things to get shipped to Germany while taking care of two kids. Holly and I were thinking the other day that our lives started getting a little crazy sometime around the beginning of last June when I started studying for the bar and we are thinking things probably won't settle down until we have been able to get our house situated in Germany which likely won't occur until sometime next June.

Throughout this hectic and emotionally draining year, we have Trula been blessed and I know that we have grown closer as a family and have come to realize how much strength we receive from each other. As I sit here on the first day of five weeks away from my family I miss them immensely and already look forward to being together again. I love them and know that I could not have survived the past months nearly as well as I have without Holly's loving support, Josh's clever since of humor, and Maggie's adorable smiling face.

I am proud to serve my country and aside from being called to serve my Father in Heaven in some form, I could not think of another endeavor for which I would be more willing to separate myself from my family for such a period of time.

For more details on my training, please check my personal blog from time to time: unclesamesquire.blogspot.com.

WE FOUND OUT WHERE WE'RE GOING!!!

Watch and see...

Air Force Assignment

It has been a long and eventful month since we last wrote anything on our blog. As many of you have heard, my (Dan's) mom passed away on October 6 and we kept planning and having her funeral and taking care of all the other necessities associated with wrapping up one's temporal affairs. Thank you to all those who have offered words of support during this difficult time.

On a more exciting note, we will be finding out next week where we will be stationed when I begin my employ with the Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps. That being said, we having a little contest to see who can guess where we will end up. Click here to look at the list of potential bases and then make a comment or send an email with your vote. Whoever guesses correctly (or closest) will win a dinner on us when you come to visit.

Additionally, I have had numerous requests that I keep people informed of what life is like in the JAG corps. For that reason, I have decided to start my own blog to journal my experiences. Although I don't start Officer Training until January, I have already created the blog and hopefully will be able to write often enough to give you all an idea of what life is like as a JAG officer. Here is the blog for those who are interested: http://unclesamesquire.blogspot.com.