Our Very Unwelcome Visitor!!

One night we were awoken from a peaceful sleep by the crashing of water bottles onto the tile floor in the living room. We sat straight up, both a little startled and trying to get a grasp on what just happened. So I did what any girl would do, and sent Kevin out to the living room to see what happened! Kevin turned on the light and was about to walk into the living room when a little brown mouse scurried into the bathroom and hopped through the vent. We thought that was it for the night when we suddenly woke up again to this horrible gnawing on wood sound. The little guy was apparently very hungry and the wood vent in the bathroom was the best he could find....either that or he really just wanted to torture us! The next night we heard him running around again. Kevin again got up and turned on the light. As he stood near the bathroom to see if the little guy was around; he looked up at the vent above his head and the mouse was sticking his head out of the vent. He ducked back into the vent and we didn't see him again. Kevin gave the vent a good beating to try and scare the mouse away. The next morning Kevin woke up and took a look at his thumb and noticed this little visitor was out for blood! The mouse bit him while he was sleeping!! There were definitely 2 little teeth marks engraved in Kevin's thumb! As we were up and getting ready, I looked at a pair of jeans Kevin had laying on the chair - - MOUSE POOP!! (Keep in mind I didn't get bit or poop on my clothes) That mouse really had it out for Kevin!! That was the last we saw of our very unwelcome visitor!!!

Some Fun Pictures From Dominican

We loved going up to the Premium Lounge. We could hang out, check our emails, eat breakfast, private check out....and so much more! This is where Kevin taught me how to play chess!!

We met great people! This is our friend, Rosa. She always made sure that everything was perfect for us!

Manuel was such a nice guy! He helped us set up our excursions, and always made sure we were having fun!

You know what I really liked about Manuel??? He made Kevin smile for this picture! I love his smile!!!

We ate REALLY good food!!!

We had SO much fun just hanging out together!

Dune Buggies!!!!

The Dune Buggies were a blast!!! We took a bus to a ranch, where they had dune buggies and horseback riding. We were with a group of people from other resorts, and we drove our buggies through the little towns and countryside. We got to see up close what life was like there in the Dominican for the natives outside of the resort areas. It was quite an eye opener!

Our first stop on the dune buggy trip was a beach on a different part of the the island. We hung out there for awhile, waded in the water and "shopped". The vendors would always say "it's free to look"...but you knew once you went to look they wouldn't let you go until you bought something! We met another couple, Sarah and Justin, on this trip. They were from a different resort a little ways down the beach from us. We had a good time hanging out with them on the trip.

These pictures were actually taken by the tour photographer. He road along with us and took pictures along the way. I had my water camera with me, but don''t have those back yet to post those pictures. After we left this beach area, we went to a cave that had a natural pool in it. That was a lot of fun! They said we could swim in it if we wanted to....so guess who the first person to jump in was??? KEVIN!! I was a little apprehensive at first. The water was kind of cold, and you couldn't tell how deep it was. They told us that the water was about 20+ feet deep, so I thought it would probably be safe to jump in. I finally decided that this was a once in a lifetime experience and I just needed to do it. So I jumped!! It was great - the water was SO fresh and clean. It was perfect!! After that, we got back in our buggies and headed back to the ranch where they took us on a little horseback ride around the grounds. It was a really good time!

Beach & Pool Fun!!!!

The first few days of our trip, our primary goal was to get fully relaxed! We didn't plan a thing and just went at our own pace. The resort was beautiful! The beach and pools were amazing! I have never seen the ocean as clear as I did there. We could stand in the ocean and see straight down to the floor. It was gorgeous!!

Our days usually consisted of getting up and going for breakfast. Then it was to the beach we went! We spent about half of the time in the ocean then the last part of the day in the pools. For lunch we usually hit the grill. They had burgers, pork chops or fish to chose from. Then inside you could get all of your sides; like vegetables, fruits, fries, rice, bread, etc....

The beach at our resort was awesome! We had fun playing in the ocean and ridin' the waves. We both had a great time body surfing, swimming, and snorkeling. Kevin also did some kayaking one morning. The snorkeling was fun. I was a little nervous, about getting water down my tube, but did pretty good once I got use to it. Kevin was a natural! I think he's part fish - he was diving down and finding all sorts of cools shells and coral for me!

In the evenings, we usually had a reservation at one of the 7 or so restaurants there. They had everything from Italian, Japanese Steakhouse, Tex Mex, and French. It was all really good, and we both got brave and tried new things. Each of these restaurants had a delicious 4 course meal for us. Tokio, the Japanese Steakhouse, was definitely our favorite!!

OK - - - that we're relaxed.....it's time for our excursions!!!

Our Own Little Movie Scene

As most of you know, when I left for my flight I didn't know at what point I would see Kevin. Would I see him in Atlanta? Would I get to the Dominican first? Or would he get there first? I got to Atlanta and made it to my gate. As I sat there waiting to board the plane, I was talking to my mom a little bummed out because I didn't see Kevin anywhere. As I talked to her I found myself continuously scanning the crowd. Suddenly I saw a soldier that caught my eye walking in my direction. I was so excited, I hung up on my mom (oops!), ran over to him and wrapped my arms around him. It was so hard for me to let go of him. I felt like it was a scene in our own little movie! Handsome soldier in his uniform walking down the terminal, when his girl spots him in the distance. She runs to him, not noticing anyone else around her. All she sees is him...

After Kevin peeled me off of him, he went on to explain that he was originally suppose to fly out the next day, but he had already talked to the pilot and got a spot on the plane and a seat by me! It was the most wonderful moment ever! Shortly after that, we boarded the plane together! I couldn't have been happier or prouder to be with him right then; as we got onto the plane full of beach bound travelers, I walked on holding on to his arm. ....Let the R&R begin!!

On Our Way To Some R&R!!!

Hi Everyone -
I just wanted to send out a quick note to you all again. Things have been so busy for me getting ready for the trip that I almost forgot to post another blog!!

Things are going pretty good for Kevin, but I'm not going to lie....he's VERY ready for his 2-week leave in the Dominican Republic. Things are getting HOT, people are getting tired and worn out, and he really needs some down time for himself.

Last week his group tried to do something fun called a "Hub Off". The goal was to complete the rebuilding of all the hubs on the trucks, and they had different rules to go by. It was something they did to make it a little fun for them. Then when they were done with that they were able to grill out! Kevin was the grillmaster and cooked the burgers and hot dogs for everyone. I have some pictures that I'll have to attach next time so you can see a little better what I'm talking about. I'm not at my home computer right now, so I don't have them right now. ...but I'll put them on here eventually.

On May 18th, they decided to switch their hours to 11pm - 11am. This is to help them work in the cooler hours of the day since the temperature is climbing into the 100's. It's gettin' toasty there!! So Kevin had a couple overnight shifts before they let him go on his leave. He left this morning to start all the paperwork and briefings, then he would get his flights and be on his way. I haven't heard from him yet, so I have no idea when he'll get to the Dominican or what types of flights he's on - - but I'm sure he's going to be exhausted when he gets there!! I will be leaving tomorrow morning (Thursday) and will be there by 1:30 in the afternoon. I'm SO excited for us both to get there and have some down time and R&R - on the beach!!!! I think we're both needing it right now!! We will be in the D.R. until 6/5 - and we're planning on enjoying every minute of it!! I'm sure the next post I put out here will have some pictures to show everyone. It's going to be perfect - I just know it!!

Speaking of which, it's getting late and I need to get to bed for my early flight tomorrow morning. I will talk to everyone soon - take care!!!

Wow, Time is flying!!!

Hello From Kuwait!!!

I snapped this picture of Kevin on the webcam - and had to put this on here for you all to see! He's doing great and wanted me to say hello to everyone and that he misses you all!!

I just realized that it's been about a month since I last updated the blog! Wow, time has been going fast and really got away from me!

Kevin has still been working the long 12+ hour days; and he has a little bit more on his already full plate! More soldiers from Iowa have gone over to help them out, so now he has about 20 guys under him! That definitely is keeping him busy busy busy! Kevin said that his group has really been working hard and couldn't help but brag a little bit about the problems they have found and are now resolving. He said he can definitely tell the difference between the troups from IA as apposed to other states. The Iowa troops have an amazing work ethic and are really doing us proud over there!

On another good note, he has been receiving 1 day off a week! He usually uses this time to catch up on his laundry, a little sleep, and maybe go swimming or catch a movie. Last weekend on his day off he actually got to see the Star Wars movie! That hasn't even come out in the U.S. yet - How awesome is that?!?!

Below is a picture of Kevin and one of our good friends, SSG Kevin Rossmanith. The Charlie Daniel's Band went over for a visit - so this is the Kevins hanging out and having a little fun!!

For those of you that don't know, Kevin has decided to take his 2 week leave! Kevin and I will be meeting in the Dominican Republic on May 21st for his time off. We wanted to go some place where we can truly get some R&R, and we thought of no better place than a warm, sunny beach! We are SO excited and the trip can't get here fast enough!!! Kevin has been working so hard and he truly deserves this trip! I couldn't be prouder of what he's doing in Kuwait!