Change of Command

 On Friday, June 19th, Nate took command of the Community College of the Air Force.

 Memaw, Pappy, and Jeremy were able to come and celebrate with us.

 We were also super lucky to have Jill drive up from Florida.   

She was at Eglin with Nate during his very first assignment.

Week 2 of Summer Break

 On Friday, we loaded up the truck and drove south to McDade to see Papa and Gale.  Papa took the boys for a ride on the mule almost immediately.  They had been looking forward to the ride all day!

Ethan was persistent that we play baseball in the back yard!  We started bright and early Saturday morning.  It was so hot that my camera immediately fogged up.  

You can see it on Ethan in this picture.

 Papa has been trapping wild hogs.  On Friday, he baited the traps and the boys spied on the trap.  

No luck.

 On Sunday, we went to church and then to eat Mexican food!

 We left Monday morning for Lufkin!

 Marilyn had tons of games planned for the boys.

 It was fun visiting with all the Texas relatives, but we needed to get on the road for Alabama!

 Nate got so good at tying the tarp over our suitcases.  He did have some good help!

Week 1 of Summer Vacation

 Last Tuesday we left Germany and headed back to the USA!!!!

We had a few bags.  

 We spent three days in Pennsylvania visiting Nate's family.  

I think I was so jet lagged that I forgot to take any pictures!

We drove a full day and stopped at Mammoth Cave.  For MONTHS, Lincoln has been talking about going to the cave.  We arrived, and all the tours for the day and the following morning were booked!  Oops!

 It worked to our advantage though.  We drove 12 hours the next day and made it to Dallas a day early.  The boys were thrilled to spend the day in the pool at Granny's. 

 We lubed Ethan up with sunscreen twice but his white legs still burned.  

Lincoln must be part fish!  He is swimming laps and diving already!

Our first week has been a success!  One more week to go!

Auf Wiedersehen Germany

Last Day of School

Today was the fellas last day of school.

We had plans to take LOTS of pictures today so they could remember what their school looked like, but it RAINED all day!  We got these two pictures at the very end of the day.

 Nate and I came up to school about 2:00 to give the boys treats for their class.  School goes until June 12th, so they were still working hard.  As Nate and I arrived in Ethan's class, we noticed he had a microphone and was at the smartboard.  Mr. Conrad told us he was teaching a lesson on the Battle of Bunker Hill.  He said he had been going for 45 minutes and the class was still engaged!

 At one point, he stopped and told the class that they needed to quieten down and they DID!

 We also received his report card!  ALL A's all year!  

 Ethan has LOVED his fifth grade year and Mr. Conrad made this year so fun and special for him!

I am still in denial that this kid is going to middle school next year!  

 We popped over to Lincoln's class and he was also center stage!  We saw this on the smartboard.  

 Everyone in his class wrote him a letter!  Then, they presented them to him.  

He wrote one for the class.  It was so sweet!

 Since this is such a transient school, the office gives out memory books when the kids PCS.  Ethan and Lincoln were able to get their friends to sign their books.  

 This class is AMAZING!!!  I was able to volunteer anytime I wanted!  I really got to know and LOVE these kids!  Lincoln is taking the move a little harder than Ethan and I really think it is because this class is so special.

Mrs. Richardson has been PERFECT for this kid!  She truly gets him!  We have had no behavior issues, great grades, and a kid that wants to go to school!  Who could ask for more!

Of course, we had to end the day by stopping off at Hudnall and Hall's room!  These two ladies have become more than teachers to our family!  They are lifelong friends!  As we were leaving, Hudnall says to Link, "I can't wait to see what you will be like at 18!"  

Our whole family will miss KES!!!  Go Mustangs!