Adventures in Army Life: 09/27/12

Long Time No Write :(

Sept. 28, 2012

I want to start off with apologizing for not keep up with the blog! So much has happened since I last wrote! I will try to catch up with some of the events from over the summer! Be patient please!

But I would say the biggest event was MOVING TO KOREA! We have been here almost 2 months now! Very exciting! Many photos to come! We traveled with 20 bags of luggage! Totally crazy! Will try to NOT do that again! :)

We left Aug. 3, 2012 from Fort Huachuca Arizona. Headed to San Diego California to ship our car & board the plane. We were able to spend a few days on the beach while there as well! Kids loved that!
Bought some oil paintings in Old San Diego.
Got on the plane Aug 7th. & arrived in Seoul, South Korea on Aug 8th!

Its been a long, hard, busy, exciting adventure so far! & I hope you enjoy following along on our journey!

Tombstone Wyatt Earp Days

Tombstone: The town too tough to die!

05-26-12

Yep, its still alive & kicking today :) Its about a 16 mile drive from Sierra Vista. On a typical normal day, its just a boring little town like any other little western town.

But when they have events planned like Wyatt Earp Days, the town transforms into a bustling little place! They have gun fights right in the streets! Its really neat to see! We have gone three years in a row & each time its like seeing it for the first time.

People dress up in period clothing. You can even rent clothing for the day to walk around in! I love seeing all the ladies in their pretty dresses.

Directions to Tombstone from Main Gate:
Take Fry Blvd til Coronado Rd. Kmart is on the left side of road at this intersection. Turn left onto Coronado Rd. Stay on this road til you reach Tombstone :) (this road turns into Charleston Rd)
Takes 30 or so minutes to get there.

This event is FREE by the way :) & is typically during Memorial Day Weekend

There are restaurants to eat there such as the famous Crystal Palace. For a family of four it will roughly cost $40-$50.

We ate at the Longhorn Restaurant. Average price for lunch was about $9 a plate. I got a grilled cheese that was $3.99. Hubby's Western Wrangler burger was $9.50. Plus $2 each for drinks. Alainna got chicken tenders that she didn't really like, but she is picky that way :) & Mason got the same thing as hubby.
With the exception of Alainna, we all thought the food was pretty tasty.

Dave really wanted to eat at the Crystal Palace but the line was out the door so we settled for the Longhorn. The atmosphere really didn't feel western like I felt it should.

I collect dice, for no reason other than I just like them. Well there is a store in Tombstone called The Gambler that carries dice that you can buy by the pair or individual!

So each time we go, I always get at least one pair of dice! Last time we went, I got a pair of "rock, paper, scissor" dice & a pair of dice within dice! This time I got a pair of "bone dice", a pair of "round dice" & one 30-sided die! My collection is getting quite large. I think I have over 50 dice now.

http://www.cityoftombstone.com/
http://www.tombstone.org/
http://www.tombstoneweb.com/

Hummingbird Banding

05-26-12
The San Pedro House does hummingbird banding to monitor all the hummingbirds that are in this area. Sierra Vista is the Hummingbird Capital of the USA! There are 17 documented species in this area alone! They catch them using a neat remote net system so the bird doesn't get hurt during the trapping.

Mesh laundry bag used to carry the hummingbird from the trap to the table

Then they measure the beak & body, lightly blow on it in various places with a straw object to check for molting, coloration, & sex. They record all the info to keep track of the bird. A small band goes around its leg with a tracking number. This way they will know the bird if they ever catch it again. They also weigh the bird.

This event goes on throughout the year. Just need to call or check the website for info :) They also do it on post every once in a while by the PAO office on old post. This event is FREE! They do take donations if you would like to help that way. I believe you can volunteer your time as well.
You can even adopt a hummingbird for $25!

http://www.sanpedroriver.org/fsprhome.shtml

Office (520) 459-2555
SPH (520) 508-4445

This particular bird weighs a bit more than the average hummingbird due to the fact that it is pregnant & will most likely lay her egg within the next 12 hours! Her belly was nice & fat!

When the whole scientific part of the process is over, they give the bird a drink of nectar.

Then if you are lucky enough, its possible to be able to release it back to the wild!

Where else can you hold a hummingbird in your hand for FREE?! It really is an amazing feeling!

P.S. sometimes the bird tends to pee on you, this is considered lucky! :) It has happened to Alainna twice now!

Directions to the San Pedro House from the Main Gate:

Go straight down Fry Blvd. You will leave Sierra Vista heading towards Bisbee. The San Pedro House is on the right side of the road right before the river. You will know you are near the river by the line of green trees that are nowhere else around :)

Last Day of School & Home School Links

05-24-12

Today is the last day of school here at Fort Huachuca! Mason is finished with 6th grade and Alainna is finished with 4th grade! YAY!

Now a 7th Grader!

I have signed Alainna up for summer school classes so she can stay caught up. She tends to lose a lot of info over the summer if she doesn't continue to work on it. So she will attend classes from 8-12 each day throughout June. She will have Math & Reading. Reading is the most important for her. She loves math so that really isn't an issue.

Now a 5th Grader!

But outside of that, I found several websites with schooling info that I can use over the summer to help her stay at her level! Plus if we need to home school in Korea, I can use it for that as well! I explained to her that I found a few books for us to read together over the summer & she is excited! Our first two selections to read are: The Secret Garden & Island of the Blue Dolphin.

Alainna received an award for participating in Band this year & she missed the A/B Honor roll this last quarter by just a sliver. She got a C in Social Studies. Otherwise she would have been on the A/B Honor Roll all year! Haven't received Mason's report card yet. It will arrive in the mail in about a week! Hopefully his grades are pretty decent as well!

Of course, both kids are thrilled that the school year is over & summer is now starting! (even with summer school in another week!)

Here are the links I have come across so far for schooling. I plan to use these as well if we need to home school while in Korea. They would be great to use for summer studies as well in my opinion. (which is what my main intentions are currently!)

http://www.homeschool-curriculum-and-support.com/

http://www.homeschoollegaladvantage.com/ (know the laws in your state for home schooling if that is the path you chose to go)

http://www.homeschoolhelperonline.com/index.shtm

http://www.holdthatthought.com/

http://www.squidoo.com/homeschool-curriculum-5th-grade

(I know it takes you to the 5th grade curriculum, but if you scroll down, you will find all the other grades as well)

http://www.greatschools.org/

http://www.k12.com/ (I have used this for my daughter when she was in second grade! I loved it & would use it again if we need to! Feel free to message me with any questions & I will do my best to help you out! I highly recommend this program to anyone considering home schooling)

I am sure as the summer goes on, I will find more pages. So if they are of interest to you, be on the look out :)

Huachuca Wives Golf Outing

05-22-12
Join the ladies who lunch and golf! Mountain View Golf Course hosts Women’s Social Golf each Tuesday at 10 a.m., May 15 through June 26. These golf sessions are open to all women who are interested in learning the fundamentals of golf and playing in a non-competitive, social environment. The sessions offer the opportunity to learn golf, meet new friends, relieve stress, engage in a physical activity, network and socialize. The cost is $20 per session and includes nine holes of golf, cart, rental clubs and lunch. For more information, call 520.533.7088.

http://www.mwrhuachuca.com/mtview.html

Ok, so us ladies thought we would go & have fun. Never imagined we were actually gonna learn something! We had a blast! Everyone should give this a try! Its a great way to meet new people. We got almost 2 hours of golf lessons, had lunch, then were given keys to golf carts! We ventured out on to the course & managed to complete one hole in an hour! In the end though, we all had a hilarious time!