Halloween

Well it has been a while since we have blogged, Sorry. Here is our little cow from Halloween, I did not even get to see her in it because I had Drill (National Guard). This other pictures are of the cousins dressed in their fall outfits at the grandparents house.

I have been very busy, I got a restaurant a couple of weeks ago now and it is keeping me busy, very busy. My employees are testing me and I am having to work through reestablishing standards and what not. I wish I had Uniform Code of Military Justice(UCMJ) authority over them, but I don't. Everyone does need to to come and have me cook for them.

anyway I will do better as we get closer to the Holidays.

One year old pictures

Here is some of Emily's One Year Old Pictures; We think they are precious, but again we are bias. Enjoy!! Nothing else new here Ben has finished his required third shifts working at Waffle House, He is now on first and He goes to Atlanta on October 20th to Waffle House University, after that he should become eligible for a store of his own.

Emily's first steps

Emily took her first steps and both Arianne and I were able to be here for that special moment. We were able to capture the second trip on video and lucky we did because after that she would have nothing to do with standing or walking.
Hope you enjoy.

Emily and the Beer Bottles

Kuerzburg Beer is he the best in the World. We brought these bottles back from Germany and now use them as Change holders, Emily has found them and loves to play with them, I think she knows they used to hold a great source of carbs in them.

One Year

September is here and our baby is growing up. She already seems to know how to use the telephone and she is getting closer and closer to walking by herself.



On Thursday We gave Emily a little riding toy that she can ride or push around and she loves it. We also gave her a Fudge Round with a candle, since we were going to have the birthday cake on Sunday.



Here is the birthday girl posing in front of the birthday cake. Adrianne made her birthday dress.



And here we are opening presents. We had a great party yesterday and we are so thankful for all our gifts. We truly are blessed with a great family and great friends.



We can't wait until next year.

Our Church

We have join a Church and we are sooooo excited about it. Check it out at http://www.gracechurchsc.org/ . After moving around in the Army we are happy to be somewhere were we can really get involved.

Last weeks of Summer

This is going to be a random blog about the last couple of weeks... First My birthday was last Sunday and we celebrated with my family. Jeff's (seen in the picture) birthday is next week so we had a combined party. This is the last year of my twenties so I guess I am officially OLD. We went to Outback for dinner and back to my Dad's and Terri's for cake and ice cream.



Emily has started sitting up and standing up on her own a little but sometimes she does not remember how to lay back down. In this picture she just decided to bind over and nap instead of laying back down. This makes my back hurt just looking at it.


Battle Scares from the first couple of days on the grill. I got burned a couple of times my first few days on the grill. The burn on my wrist was from a waffle iron and the one on my forearm is from an egg pan. I am sure there will be many more where that came from. I am enjoying working. I like cooking but, I need to get faster. I have not learned the art of cracking an egg with one hand yet.


The last photo is Emily and Ansley swinging at our neighborhood playground. Emily loves swinging. Ansley is her first best friend and we were able to witness Ansley's first steps the other day while she was at our house playing. Now if we could just convince Emily to walk on her own.

I am a Waffle House Employee

Well I am now officially on the Waffle House pay roll. I have worked four days already and am learning to wait tables and call orders. It has been fun as the associates have had a good time watching me mess things up. I will start learning to cook next week. I am excited about that. Toward the end of September I will work as the third shift cook. WOW I am sure I will get so good stories to tell then. I will keep you posted.

Great Places

So I was looking at some old pictures and going down memory lane yesterday and came across some great memories. I can't believe that We had the opportunity to see so many great places. Here I have shared just a few. We witnessed a very real bull fight, which we ended up leaving because Adrianne could not handle them killing the bulls. But it was a great culture thing to see while in Spain.



Man Italy was great and Rome was our favorite but the views from Cinque Terre were to die for and I hope to get back there one day. This place consists of five small towns on the coast of Italy and there is hiking trails between each town and you get some awesome views.




Then in Rome they have these street performers that do weird things for money. This guys was our favorite. He stayed in this position for hours and hours.



And Normandy, Which is absolutely beautiful and just being in that historic place is humbling. Anyway that was just a little trip down memory lane.

Our 5th Year

Man I can't believe it has been Five Years since Adrianne came to visit me at Fort Knox, KY and I had bought a bubble gum ring (took me 75 cents to get the one with a heart) as an engagment ring. So much has changed since then but man what a ride. We can't wait to see what the next 60 years have in store for us. This year was great in that we were able to be together. We went to Hilton Head Island for a couple of days and hung out at the beach and ate some great sea food. Emily loves the water, but hates sleeping in the hotel. Needless to say it was a short trip but fun.

It's Official I have a Job!!!

Well yesterday I had my trial in a real live and working Waffle House. Man I can't even believe that I can say I worked in a Waffle House. It was a lot of fun and being a Saturday morning it was very busy and fast paced. My entire side of the Family came in to see me in action and Adrianne snapped this picture. I did not cook or call out orders, I have to get trained up for that. I was in the wash pit and helped get customers set-up at their table as they came in. Anyway I will let you know my next time I am working and I expect you all to come see me in action.

Couple of Days in the Low Country

So Adrianne has been dying to get to the beach. Monday we headed down to see her dad and go to the beach. We had a great time and Emily seemed to really like the beach. She sat in the surf and played in the sand. It was really fun to see her react to the waves hitting her. Here are my favorite girls.

Man I got to work on those "Love Handles."
Granddad and Emily on the Beach. So Cute!!!
And then we forgot to bring our small tub, so Emily was able to take her bath in the Kitchen Sink. She really had a great time with that alright.

Fun with Granddad

So the Granddad cam up last weekend and Emily loved playing in the floor with him. It is such a treat to see him and have him spend the night.

Ben is still on the job hunt he has not yet settled on anything. He is considering on opportunity very heavily and we will let you know as soon as we here something. Keep praying for us as we are still deciding on what to do with our future.

I need some Help !!!

Well as we know I am out of the Army now (except for the National Guard) and was wondering if you guys can help me figure out how and what to do with my new look. I have been doing the cleaned shave and high and tight now for more than six years so I am having a hard time deciding on what to do. I have put a couple of pictures here to help you choose. I will list a poll on the side of the blog to for you to vote. These are just few, I will also take suggestions.

This is the high and tight which most of you are familiar with. (Wedding)
The Bald look. (Also pictured with goatee, while we were dating)
The Soul Patch. (picture from Braves Baseball Game while dating)
The Beard. (On the way to college, I was so cool)
The Lamb Chops. You can't get the entire view. This is also features the goatee.
And Finally the FRO!!! Please help me in my future look. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Summer Fun

Emily now has hair long enough to put into pig tails. I guess that is the right terminology. Pretty cute girl if I say so myself.


We went to Music on Main last week and enjoyed some live music. They were playing bluegrass and it was fun to get out and play in the grass and stuff. Emily and I are taking in the view at the pond at Cleveland Park here in Spartanburg. The also have a train that kids can ride on, but it is only open on the weekends so we missed out. Maybe next time.
I have officially started the job hunt. I hope to be working by the 1st of August. I hope I can fine something I enjoy. I have interviewed with a couple company's already and we will see how that goes. I am not rushing into anything, I have to be excited about the opportunity, that is the criteria for the job, and to be able to support the family of course.

Father's Day

This Father's Day was great. Earlier in the week I was able to teach Emily about PS3 and as you can see she has a way to go before beating her dad.

We also went to Summerville to see Granddad. We helped him fix up one of the bedrooms so we could have a nice new bedroom when we visit. We had alot of fun and Emily enjoyed swinging with Granddad on the back patio. Greg and Mellie (Adrianne's Bro and wife) came on Friday and stayed until Saturday and Stephanie and Jason ( Adrianne's sister and husband) came on Saturday. It was great to have the entire family together for the father's day weekend.
Sunday we gathered at Poppy's (Ben's Dad) and Gamm's house for supper and celebrated Poppy's B-day as well as father's day. Again every one was there we forgot the camera so sorry no pictures. Elizabeth had a camera so we will get those pictures soon.

We hope all you fathers had a great day and for those who have no kids "getha some" only if you are happily married though. We do not want any baby's daddy's or mama's running around.

First Trip to the Pool

So our neighborhood has a pool and we finally got the key so we could use it this week. One of Adrianne's friends from Mt. Pleasant came up and we decided to try the pool. And as any good young girl the pool is a place you have got to have a great outfit. Here is the girls getting ready.



Emily has this cool float, but it just does not give a lot of support so she only stayed in it about 2 minutes.
Once back in the safety of dry land and getting her cup of water she was ok again. We did go back into the pool and she did enjoy it. We shall try again very soon.

Lovin' being Back Home

Let's just say it is Great to be home. We have been able to get to see our families and hang out with everyone. Last weekend we were able to help Stephanie and Jason do a little remodeling of their house. It was great to just be around family and help them for a change. Speaking of Jason and Stephanie, I can not thank them enough for the sacrifices they made over the past year in helping Adrianne, Emily and I. Stephanie took almost every weekend and stayed with Emily as Adrianne worked nights. Jason would come over and spray the house for bugs, kill the ants in our yard or entertain Emily so the girls could have a break. They truly were my heroes last year. The picture you see is a ribbon ceremony we had at their house. They hung a yellow ribbon in honor of me while I was gone and I was able to cut it down last Saturday. Pretty Cool.

Now here is my present to myself for the long time I spent away. The last deployment we bought a Volvo, so I went cheaper this time around and got the 46inch HD 1080p Samsung, I choose the PS3 even though I am really can't H$#* from the XBOX360 players. I am loyal to the Playstation. It already had the Blue Ray DVD so Adrianne can enjoy an aspect from it and it is free online play. So I am sorry Ben Butler, Brian Murray, and Piers Platt.

Anyway Adrianne works tonight. It is my first night without her to help me with Emily. Should be a piece of cake as me and Emily went shopping today and bonded while she helped her dad pick out new clothing.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is now and forever changed for us. It has gone from another day off to a day of remembrance. Having now served in the Army and in combat it really brings the true meaning to Memorial Day. While at Fort Riley, We were able to go to the OIF II Memorial that had gotten back from Germany and we were able to remember our fallen Soldiers from 2004 and 2005. I am very glad it had come back and I was able to see it again. This past year also marked another one of our good friends getting killed in action, David Boris was killed in Afghanistan last November. It is tough when you know the true meaning of this Holiday and let us not forget our brothers who have given their lives for our country.

Emily and I at the First Infantry Division OIF II Memorial.
SGT Scott Kinzer
Front of the Memorial

Emily's First Haircut

Emily had a bit of a rat tail/mullet- I'm not really sure what to call it. We couldn't let her keep a redneck "do" so she had her first haircut. She's all evened out now and well on her way to being a Southern Lady.
Putting the finishing touches on the new hair style.

We are Home

Well we have made it out of Kansas and back to South Carolina. We planned to stop in St. Louis, MO and Nashville, TN on the way home but decided this picture was good enough. I took the picture as Adrianne was driving by. That was the only sight seeing we did on the way home. We were just ready to be out of a hotel.

When we arrived at home Emily was very happy to be back home she could not stand it. As you can see she felt very comfortable in her room and fell fast asleep on her changing table.
It is great to be home. We have already seen a lot of people and this weekend are going to see Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Jason's (Adrianne's Sister) house and help them do a little remodeling as well get to see Granddad (Larry Adrianne's Dad), and Uncle Greg and Aunt Melanie (Adrianne's Brother). we just can't wait to see them.

Hanging Out

Yesterday we were able to just hang out and enjoy each other. As you can see Emily and Ben were enjoying the hotel bed. Emily is really beginning to warm up to her Daddy. Yesterday was also a first for Emily as she waved for the first time without help (very exciting for mom and dad).

We also have gotten to hang out with our friends, Nick, Sarah, Ben and Sophie Cook, while we have been in Kansas. They have been so gracious having us over to eat all the time and letting us play with their toys. As you can see Emily and Sophie have become great friends (Ha Ha). Yesterday we celebrated a belated birthday for Sophie who turned 1 this past March. We cannot thank the Cooks enough for letting us hangout with them as much as they have.

Hopefully we will be on our way to SC tomorrow or at the latest Wednesday. Ben will be finishing up tomorrow and will be officially on terminal leave starting Wednesday. It is hard to believe this day is here and we are ending a chapter in our lives. It is a little scary but God will look out for us.

Last thing before I sign off please vote, We are investing in a new TV when we get home and Ben wants to get a PS3 or a XBOX360. Please help him decide- this issue is of the utmost importance. :)