Ride 'em Cowboy

This is for you Jared. Uncle Kent and I are helping get Jack ready for the horses. We thought we'd start him out on a rooster! :)

Jack's reactions are so funny. First he takes it all in...

and then it's like he's practicing for the rodeo, "look mom no hands".

A Talk with the General

So after reading the comments from my last post about Jared's living conditions, I wrote a letter to the general and asked if he could put Jared up in a nicer bunk and feed him gourmet meals. He of course obliged and here are a few pictures Jared recently sent.

Just teasing! Every Sunday the troops receive a surf and turf meal. Jared says it's pretty comparable to our favorite seafood restaurant, Kings. Again I am just teasing. But Jared is grateful for the three square meals a day that are not MREs and actually tells me going to the Dining Facility (DFAC) is actually the highlight of his day.

The picture of his new bunk is where he will be working in a few weeks from now. Once he is there he will let us know where that is. Below is a picture of what his new surrounding will look like. Vastly different from his current digs in Leatherneck. :)

One thing Jared will miss once he leaves Leatherneck and gets into his mission is the Leatherneck Branch of Kabul. He will have to set up a new branch to meet each Sunday once he is settled.

I have mixed feelings about Jared leaving Leatherneck. It will be great for him and the rest of the company to get busy on their mission, but it has been nice being able to communicate every day. Their new location isn't as built up as Leatherneck is and communication isn't as great. Over time as the area is built up communication and meals will improve. At least he has a nice bunk with white bedding... as opposed to the standard green camo!

Thanks for all your sacrifices for our freedom Jared. I can't wait for you to come home:)

McCuttie

Happy St Patrick's Day! We don't have anything real noteworthy. Jack caught a little cold, so we've been trying to lay low and get lots of rest so he gets better quickly. I did take a few pictures of Jack in his green today. He is starting to get so big and so strong. I'm sure he'll be very mobile any day now!

Personalize a digital greeting

Update from Afghanistan - Camp Leatherneck

It's hard for Jared to email each of his family members and friends individually because he is only allowed twenty minutes in his communication cubby. He opts to call his wife and son first and then whatever time left he tries to answer a few emails. So I am updating our blog with pictures and news from Afghanistan.

Fortunately Jared is at Camp Leatherneck right now which is a large marine base where most marines and navy must pass through when going to Afghanistan. Jared believes he will stay at Camp Leatherneck for quite awhile until their mission is fully defined. I'm personally OK with him being here for as long as necessary because we can Skype every day.

Jared flew into Afghanistan on a C-17, and the picture below shows the back door being dropped as Bravo company sees Afghanistan for the first time.

As you can see they must wear their helmets, flak vests, and weapons at all times.

This is outside the living quarters for Bravo company and the vehicles they use to travel in. (I'm not happy they have to travel at all, but Jared has assured me that these vehicles can withstand an IED.)

This is an inside view of the living quarters. Can't wait for this to open up as a resort;)

And this is Jared's personal space. These are bug nets covering their cots... those must be some nasty bugs!

Every morning, Jared has the same routine. Wakes up at 5:15am and showers here:

and then waits in line for up to an hour at times to enter the Morale Tent, pictured below, to chat with me and Jack for twenty minutes.

The rest of the day is spent in top secret meetings that I don't get to hear about.

When Afghanistan finally opens up for travel, everyone will be booking their flights to take in these beautiful sunsets!

Jared is doing very well and is adjusting to life in the desert. He said it's still mild... only about 80-90 degrees every day. He can't wait for summer to hit so he can enjoy the hot desert heat of 100 plus degrees every day for five months. :)

Pictured above is the company commander, Cdr Woelkers, that Jared works side by side. He is a great leader and Jared is grateful they are working together. Woelkers is a big outdoorsman, hunting and fishing (including bow hunting) so they have lots to talk about in their spare time.

Jared found the LDS services last Sunday and said the church is true wherever you are--even when you attend sacrament meeting in a tent with a weapon strapped to your side. In all seriousness he said the spirit was very strong and it was good to commune with other LDS soldiers. There are about 35-40 soldiers who attend the meeting.

I have Jared's address if anyone is looking to send a letter or package. Please email me if you want it, johnsonkristina@gmail.com. He does appreciate all the support and wishes he had more time to email and call each individual family member and friend.

Thanks for all your love and support for our family!

He's Like a Fish

We decided to put Jack in swimming lessons hoping this would spend some of his energy and help him sleep better. This was Jack's reaction to me telling him he had swim class today.

But then we did some practice strokes in the living room and he got pretty jazzed about the whole thing:

The class was a lot of fun for both of us. There were two other little girls in his class that have been going for a couple of months. I was so impressed they were able to swim a few strokes on their own.

The main thing we work on in his class right now is getting used to the water and breath control. The instructor and moms sing songs and do fun activities to get them comfortable in the water.

When it's time to put your baby under the water you get him ready by saying, "eyes in the water, one, two, three" and then you blow in his face so he holds his breath and you dunk him. By the end of the lesson I felt Jack was ready for his first dunk... and fortunately Christa was ready with the camera and caught it on video.

So all moms are probably wondering if swimming can really make you baby tired. YES! Jack fell asleep in the car on the way home (which he never does) and took a two and half hour nap once we were home. I would love to do this right before bed!

Hoorah... pronounced OohRah

So today finally came, and Jack and I woke up at the crack of dawn (3:30am) to take Jared to the grinder (why they call it that I don't know) where he boarded a bus to take him to an air field to fly to Afghanistan.

It was a beautiful California morning, and it was pretty amazing to see our men and women in uniform stand at attention as the colors went up for the day. There is a level of respect on a Marine base that you don't see in every day life.

We had plenty of time to say goodbye--the buses didn't leave until 9:20am--and the mood among all families was relatively happy. A few tears were shed here and there, but for the most part there is a military pride that seems to squash all the emotional drama of saying goodbye.

Jared and I are doing OK with this deployment. We've known for months that this would take place, and we feel comforted in knowing this will be for a short while and that he will return home safely in seven months. Jared's attitude is really great as he sees this as being part of history. And this is. More than ever I support our troops and am so grateful to live in our great country, America.

Knowing this is for a short while and feeling confident all will be well still doesn't take away the loneliness though. Now that I'm home, the house is extremely quiet and I'm missing Jared a lot. We were told by those who've deployed before that the first and last month are the hardest and the middle months seem to fly by. I hope they are right!

Here are some pics from this morning.

Jack was really snuggly this morning:)

Nice family photo... Jack was out most of the morning.

Jared and leadership inspecting the formation.

This is the formation to inspect weapons.


And this is Jack all bundled up... it does get cold in CA sometimes.

Money, money, money!

Jared and I are suckers for buying anything and everything for Jack that we think might occupy him and keep him happy. Turns out we don't need to break the bank anymore--he's completely content playing with his toes or a water bottle:)