Friday, June 22, 2012

NTC, Deployment, The Fisher House and Holiday Travel!

Hello everyone!

As always, its been a while since we have written. At least this means that we have tons of fun information to share with you!

Actually, there is so much to report on, I'm not exactly sure where to start! Seems right to begin with military news. Dallas has been in the field for roughly the last month. Specifically, he has been in the Mohave Desert, California at the National Training Center (NTC). His entire battalion is there preparing for their future deployment which, as of the latest information, will be in the fall. (*The actually date will fluctuate many times before deployment, we will try to keep you updated on the blog*)

On top of the military training, he has also been coaching a great group of military men and women for the Army Ten Miler in Washington D.C. this fall! During his NTC deployment, they have been training based on individualized training schedules he prepared. However, when his tan self gets back to Washington in a few days, the group will be back to full on team training with scheduled time trials and races used to get ready for the main event in October.

Luckily, this year I will also be able to run the Army Ten Miler with Dallas..... okay, "with" meaning I'll be on the course at the same time as him. That being said, it will be a great event for us to do together right before deployment. I will also be using this event to raise money for a great non-profit organization, The Fisher House. When military personnel or veterans are injured in war, become sick, diseased, or need to be hospitalized for any reason The Fisher House aids families and loved ones by providing comfort homes located next to military hospitals. I will be running the Army Ten Miler as part of The Fisher House Team and have pledged to raise $500 before I toe to line this fall. Please click on this link to help me reach this goal! Any amount you are able to spare will be used to ensure the care of military families during these times of struggle. Donations of any size are GREATLY appreciated!

In other news, this summer is going to be extremely busy! My mom will land in Seattle on Tuesday and will spend the 4th of July holiday with us! We are planning hiking, kayaking and, if the moms has anything to do with it, many miles on the trails! Shortly after she heads back to Missouri, we are blessed by the lovely Joe and Tammy Henry, to get to visit them in sunny San Diego: Coincidentally one of our favorite cities in America!  There are even rumors that Joe is going to hop on a surf board with us... Which, if this happens you can count on pictures showing up here soon after :) A few weeks later in August, Dal will be able to take his summer leave time. This block of time will be spent visiting family and traveling to Alaska! We are very excited to be flying into Anchorage and then boarding a cruise ship that will carry us back into the Seattle area. The ship will stop at multiple locations along the way, allowing for excursions into the frontier :) When we get back we are off to Colorado to visit Dal's siblings and mom for a mini family reunion.  We couldn't be more pumped to see them and are always prepared for some awesome craziness... usually facilitated by Lacey;)

Before I say bye for today, I will promise to try to write more frequently this summer. With all of the events and travel going on, you can count on some pictures being posted fairly regularly!

We hope everyone is having a lovely summer and as always, miss you all!

Dash