Thanksgiving Tournament in Kalamazoo

Yesterday Taylor and his varsity hockey team won their game 5-1. Taylor added to the go ahead goal for his team when the score was tied 1-1. A little while later the team came up with 3 goals right in a row to finish the game with a win. Today his team is in the championship and they are hopeful for the title. The first home game for the season will be next Friday. Lots of excitement planned--the team has a new horn that will sound when the team scores a goal and there is talk of a fog machine that will be used when the players take the ice. Not to mention the usual posters of the kids hanging from the glass. Looks like a good season is ahead--they are undefeated with 5 wins so far....

Thanksgiving in Kabul

On Thanksgiving, our department had a progressive dinner at three U.S. Embassy apartments. Our director, Kirk Meyer, offered his apartment as a dessert stop, and two other people offered their apartments as the main course and appetizer stops. Us military folks spent the evening gazing at the apartment's TV's, high ceilings, kitchens, separate bedrooms, balconies, etc. At the end of the evening none of us wanted to go back to our living quarters!! With me in the photo is Mitch Neal (left) who works at the Treasury Dept. in DC and Petty Officer Jared Donnelly who is in the Coast Guard. The solo photo is LT David Loya...also in the Coast Guard. We have some great people working in our department.

Embassy

Here's a photo of the U.S. Embassy which is a very safe five-minute walk from our base. I spend a lot of time eating at the Embassy dining hall and during the summer, went there about five times a week to visit the swimming pool to cool off. Hard to admit I went to a swimming pool while in a war zone but I'll take it!

ISAF Turkeys

While walking on the base a few days before Thanksgiving, I saw these two turkeys in the back of a pickup. Right after I shot this, one of the turkeys started flapping its wings and dust and feathers flew everywhere.

Freedom Banner

There are two of these hanging up on the base. There are signatures and handwritten notes of thanks from people all over the world.

Barracks Hallway

When I first looked down this hallway where I would be living, I thought how in the world am I going to live like this. But, it's amazing what you can do...especially when you have no choice. My room is way down on the left. There are three to a room usually so in this hallway lives about 75 people competing for five VERY small showers, sinks and bathroom facilities.

Office

Here's one section of our office. That's my desk in the back right corner. We have another room, too. Here's the window I stare out of when I sit at my desk. Nice to have a window!

Oops. See caption below...

Special Photo

This photo was hung in a tunnel on the way to the American Embassy. I passed by it almost every day in the summer when I walked from our base to the American Embassy (about 10 minutes in a protected and safe area) and cooled off in the Embassy pool at the end of a long day. Yes, I'm not ashamed to say I went to a swimming pool in a war zone. This photo shows a man proud of his small shop. I love his slight grin and the pride he shows in this photo.

New Desk

Doesn't take much to make you happy in a war zone. I was thrilled when I moved to this desk in the corner by a window and had my own phone on the desk! No more walking 100 yards and hoping a phone was available to call my dad and sister. True bliss! Moved to this desk around the end of October. We're supposed to get new furniture (Herman Miller) in mid-December and that should be my last change in office movement, etc. before I leave. But I'm staying in the corner by the window!

Me and the General

On Sunday, 7 November, GEN David Petreaus had a photo shoot for everyone at the base. About 300 people showed up to take advantage of his thoughtfulness. It's been an honor to serve with this man and seeing him almost every day. I predict his next assignment will be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and down the road, maybe even a run for president. You heard it here first folks!

Bye Dad---see you in 5 months

Got to add this one to the blog--Taylor and Tim as Tim leaves to go back to Afghanistan (very early) on a Sunday morning after his 2 week leave home.

Now...Hockey Season Begins

Last night marked the official beginning of the 2010-2011 hockey season for the Jenison/Zeeland Varsity Hockey Team! Taylor's team started the season off with a win--9-3! It started off a bit rough, but when they got together as a team, they started to put the puck in the net. His next game is tonight on their home ice, so hopefully, they will add to their win:) New socks made the uniform a bit more exciting--vertical stripes! Hopefully, the next step is to get the names on the back of the jerseys.

Tennis, Tennis and more Tennis!

Well..I've been a little busy with work and need to update a few things on the blog. My goal is to get more organized with the blog in the last few months and really document more of our life while Tim is away.

I have to say the last few months have been busy and full of excitement for our family and our son, Taylor. His tennis team did an awesome job this season which ended in an undefeated season. The Zeeland East Varsity Tennis Team won the OK Green Conference title for the first time and they placed second at the Regional competition. This earned them a chance to go to the State finals. They competed very well and ended up with being place 13th in the state--not bad at all. I'm guessing that there are at least 200 schools in Division 2 in Michigan, so placing 13th is mighty good:)

On a personal note, Taylor and his doubles partner were OK Green Conference Champions and ended their season with a overall record of 24 wins and 10 losses (they were 6 wins and 1 loss in the conference matches). This also broke their own record from last year of wins and losses. It was an amazing year of tennis! And to top it all off, Taylor and his partner were named to the Holland Sentinel's All Area Boys Tennis Team! Way to go, Taylor!!

Happy Veteran's Day

We want to wish all the veteran's a very special Veteran's Day today. We appreciate your service to our country. I especially want to thank Tim for his sacrifice by being in Afghanistan and giving of himself for these last 8 months. We appreciate your sacrifice and know that you and our family will be better for it. Not much more to go and you will be home for good. Enjoy your day--I hope there's some fun, even in Afghanistan, on this Veteran's Day!

Roommates

One of the absolute necessities in a successful tour in Afghanistan is having good roommates since there are three sharing a space 8 feet wide and 17 feet long. I have had 8 roommates in about 6 1/2 months. My most recent were (left to right) Army Major Brad Bowman and Army Major Alex Fuerst. Both are great guys. Alex is from Alabama, is active duty Army and Afghanistan is his second deployment after Iraq. When he gets in the room at night, we discuss the day and his day usually involves him asking me some philosophical question about the war, etc. He is also wicked smart and leaves his two alarm clocks ringing until they shut off automatically after about 15 seconds. Not a big deal. Speaking of wicked smart, Brad received an MBA from Yale paid for by the Army. He left Afghanistan for DC 17 October and despite being in the Army for 15 years is getting out. Having these two in the room made me feel mentally challenged!