Time is Flying

Ok, so it's been a while. I know. I get reminded daily that I have not blogged in a while. Someone else has done more than their share of the work so I guess I should help. You could say I have been away and didn't have time but that would not totally be true. Plus I have been back for a week. Anyway......what month is it? Almost October?! Good gravy.
SO, I was gone for a while. Spent 6 weeks down in Colorado Springs at Peterson AFB for what we call the Noncommisioned Officers Academy. It's pretty much a fancy way of saying "management training". Nothing special, just something we in the enlisted side of the Air Force have to do at some point in our careers. I had a good time. Could have done without the work. I was surprised to find that I actually had to study and stressed some with the work but meeting and working with people from different parts of the Air Force was cool. Also got to golf for the first time since Preston was born so that was cool. Played at the Air Force Academy course which was beautiful!
It was tough to leave Pres and Karley back home and I felt bad leaving Karl with running the whole show by herself but I have to say she did an awesome job! Probably would not want to do it again anytime soon though! Anyway, we arranged to have them come down for a visit right before the end of school and that was great. Almost didn't happen though as Karl lost her keys literally hours before she was to fly out! I was already on the road to Denver to pick them up! Luckily some friends were able to get them to the airport on time so we could have our weekend. Still have not found the keys though.
I was worried that Pres would not remember me after being away for so long but that was not the case. Greeted me with smiles and laughter and big hugs. Made me feel good. We took Pres and Karl to see their first Air Force Academy Football game which would have been more fun if they hadn't blown out the other team 72-0. Who is Nichols State anyway? Pres was impressed by the F-15 fly-by but could do without the engine noise. I loved it. Anyway, after that we did a quick drive through of the school itself and then went to find a hotel. Turned out to be pretty tough as it was Parent's weekend and EVERYTHING was booked. So we drove back to Denver. For the rest of the weekend we chilled at the Denver Zoo and went to the "Taste of Denver" (local restaurants sampling food). It was a great recharge for all of us.
The last week of school went fast and before I knew it, I was back home! The drive back was easy and I even made it back in time for Karl and I to have a night out for ourselves! We got a sitter and had an AWESOME dinner at a local place. We actually got to take our time and not ask for the check immediately after they served the meal! We then hit some of the local bars and had a really great time being adults. Good stuff. The rest of that weekend was spent relaxing and getting used to having the whole family back together.....and of course we went to Bear Country.
We all went back to work and school for the week and it was weird for me to be there. The week went fast though and the next thing we knew it was the weekend. Karl's old coworker and friends from back in Tacoma stopped in for a visit. They were heading up to Mt. Rushmore so we joined them for the trip to see the monument at night (something we had not done yet). It was very cool to see. They had a little show that was interesting and then they had a segment to show appreciation for military veterans. They had us all come up on stage to bring the American Flag down and fold it. Then they passed it around to each of us and we had to give our name and when and where we served. It was quite the group. Pretty cool. They then lit up the faces in the mountain and it was really cool to see.
The Ingles were having a yard sale so we agreed to help them with that. Minus the wind it was a great day for it. Pres got to run around with Kenz and we all had bagels. By the time nap-time came around we ALL passed out in our respective cribs and couches. Football has been on the tube as much as I can get it and Pres and Karl have been pretty accommodating for it. Pres even made me very proud asking me "Daddy, watch TV? Football?" I almost started to tear up! *sniff* Fantasy Football is now in full effect so Karl and I have been watching the stats and the games trying to come out on top. Looks like it will be a tough year.
Today we hooked up with some friends to do some hiking in Spearfish Canyon. Jenn and her kids, Lilly and David, came with their horse Boris which is a HUGE Great Dane puppy. We brought Coulee along and I think he was caught off guard by Boris' size and energy. He played the 'crabby old man' role most of the time but I think he still had a good time. He is now quite sore and has been sleeping since we got back! The hike was beautiful! The leaves are all starting to change and the weather was perfect.
So there you have it, I think we are all caught up. This is the Cliff Notes version believe it or not but I didn't want to have you reading for hours. We are going to lay low here for a couple weeks. Pres has a big day coming up on the 1st as he hits the big 2 then we have a trip in the works for mid October but not sure exactly where we'll be going. More to come on that. I hope all is well out there. Please check out the pics and/or drop us a line. That's it for me for now.
Laters!!
-Regan, Karley, and Preston