Brandon's gone to training...

Things here are good. The house is quiet without Brandon. I miss him a lot actually this trip. We don't get to talk much at all. He does have his cell phone, so he can check his email from there. He doesn't have time to write back, but it is nice that he can read what I send him. We get to talk for just a few minutes every day. It is comforting to hear his voice. I know he will be going out in the field for a couple of days, and I won't be able to talk to him at all then. I am not so much looking forward to that, but I need to have this experience.

Brandon says his training is a lot like basic. He is in class all day. He gets up at a little after 4 am and doesn't go to bed till about 10 pm. They all take turns pulling guard too. He had to memorize the NCO Creed:

No one is more professional than I. I am a Noncommissioned Officer, a leader of soldiers. As a Noncommissioned Officer, I realize that I am a member of a time honored corps, which is known as "The Backbone of the Army."
I am proud of the Corps of Noncommissioned Officers and will at all times conduct myself so as to bring credit upon the Corps, the Military Service and my country regardless of the situation in which I find myself. I will not use my grade or position to attain pleasure, profit, or personal safety.

Competence is my watchword. My two basic responsibilities will always be uppermost in my mind--accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my soldiers. I will strive to remain technically and tactically proficient. I am aware of my role as a Noncommissioned Officer. I will fulfill my responsibilities inherent in that role. All soldiers are entitled to outstanding leadership; I will provide that leadership. I know my soldiers and I will always place their needs above my own. I will communicate consistently with my soldiers and never leave them uninformed. I will be fair and impartial when recommending both rewards and punishment.

Officers of my unit will have maximum time to accomplish their duties; they will not have to accomplish mine. I will earn their respect and confidence as well as that of my soldiers. I will be loyal to those with whom I serve; seniors, peers and subordinates alike. I will exercise initiative by taking appropriate action in the absence of orders. I will not compromise my integrity, nor my moral courage. I will not forget, nor will I allow my comrades to forget that we are professionals, Noncommissioned Officers,... leaders!


They got in trouble today because they didn't all have it memorized and couldn't say it together. That just means we won't even have our 10 minutes to talk tonight. Blah.. He did send me flowers on Wednesday! They were a bunch of daisys and sooo beautiful.

I am not doing much this weekend. Last night I baby sat my neighbor's kids. She has a 3 year old, a 1 1/2 year old, and one on the way. They are all boys! Anyway, their one year anniversary was yesterday, so they went out. I kept them till almost 2 am. I am working on a piece of cross stitch. It is going to be really cool when I get it finished, and then I will put a picture up here...

Well, Brandon comes home in 2 weeks. He will be here on May 4th. Next weekend there is a Christian concert festival in Ft Lauderdale that I really want to go to. The weekend after that there is the McDonald's National Salute to America's Heros in Ft Lauderdale. It is an air and sea show. I am facinated with air planes so I really hope we get to go!

Well, I hope everyone is doing great! Love you all :)

Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable!

So, last night was our friend Ivanska's birthday party. Every year she does a themed party, and this one was "Super Heros and Villians". It was actually fun for me because I got to dress up as Kim Possible. Brandon went as my little side kick, Ron Stoppable. Some of Brandon's friends gave me the nick name Kim Possible a long time ago, so this was something I was looking forward to. Anyway, we helped set up for the party and spent a few hours there. It was so much fun.

Everything else here is good. We had a good lazy day today. Brandon has been packing for his course. He is leaving Tuesday, and will be gone for about 2 1/2 weeks. I am not looking forward to it much, but we have been waiting for him to get put into this course for a while. He has to go through this before he can get promoted, so it is definitely a good thing.

I only have a few more weeks before I am done with work for the summer. If we have enough deaf students do summer school, I might get to work during those couple of months. It is an extra pay check, which is always good. Our last day is May 31st. My sister is getting married in June, so we are planning on flying back home to Memphis for that. I hope it all works out, but it is hard to plan things when you are a military family.

Anyway, everyone say a prayer for Brandon the next couple of weeks as he is off to this course. It isn't necessarily laid back, so he is kind of stressing a little.

We love you and miss you all!

Update from the Smiths!!

I am starting this blog so we can keep up with our family and friends. I will be posting updates and pictures, so check back often!

Well, Brandon has been home from Colombia for a few weeks now. Things have been so amazing with him home. I picked him up from the airport on Friday, March 16th . His flight was delayed an hour, but my friend Ivanska and her mom went with me. We had a banner that said "Welcome Home SGT Smith" and I had a tshirt that said welcome home. It was so much fun. I was so excited to see him!! I took him to our new house (he drove), and he loves it!! He loves our neighborhood and everything. I was so excited. His best friend Jordan and Ashley drove down and surprised him. He was so happy to see them too.

Saturday (the 17th) was a pretty good day. Brandon had a finder binder in the truck, but everything is ok. I threw Brandon a welcome home/St Patrick's Day party. We spent the day getting everything ready. It was such a blast!!! 41 people came. Ivanska got us a dart board, and it totally rocked the party. Our living room turned into a dance floor too. Everyone seemed to have fun. The party ended around 3am. We had a blast! I was so glad that Brandon got to meet a lot of my coworkers and other friends. Jordan and Ash were here too, which just made it perfect for him......

Anyway, my transmission went out in my car a few weeks back, so I haven't been able to drive it. Well, we went and traded it in! I got a new car!!! 2006 Nissan Altima. I love it!!

We went to Disney World last week for spring break. It was my spring break at work, so Brandon took a week of leave. We left on Saturday morning and went straight to Orlando. That night we went to Universal Studios. We only stayed for about 5 hours. It was fun though. We got to ride pretty much all the rides there that we wanted to. Sunday was our first day at disney world. (fyi Disney World has 4 different parks.. Magic Kingdom, Epcot, MGM, and Animal Kingdom.) We went to the Magic Kingdom first. We got there at opening (8 am) so we got to ride pretty much all the rides!! It wasn't too busy then. Around 2 we went to Epcot and hung out there. We went back to Magic Kingdom for a while, but ended up leaving before 9. There is a big parade that starts at 9 and then the fireworks start at 10, but we missed them this time. My feet were killing me.

On Monday we went straight to Epcot at opening. We rode the important rides there then headed to MGM. After MGM we went back to the Magic Kingdom and hung around for the parade and fireworks. It was soo awesome!!

On Tuesday both of our feet were killing us, so we decided to do the water park. We went to Wet N Wild. It was soo awesome! I haven't been to a water park in years and years. We stayed for a few hours, then headed out when it got too busy. We were pretty much lazy for the rest of the day. It was nice!

Wednesday we started Animal Kingdom. It didn't take us long to do all the things in that park. It was fun, but not our favorite. Rode all the rides there then went to Magic Kingdom. Stayed there for a few hours then went to Epcot and walked through all of the countries there. After Epcot we went back to Magic Kingdom for the parade. It was pretty crowded. Since it was our honeymoon we bought a veil and tophat for us to wear. I also got my face painted. It was sooo much fun being all dressed up. I felt like a little kid!! This was our best day!

Thursday we checked out of the hotel and headed to West Palm Beach. There was a band playing there that Brandon wanted to see (River City High). We got a REALLLLY nice room at a Marriott and went downtown. The club really sucked that the band was singing at, so we hung out at a pub till they started playing. It was a lot of fun though.

The next morning we checked out and drove home. It was a really great week! Disney was such an awesome experience. I am so glad Brandon is home, and we finally got to take our honeymoon. We have been saving up for it. Brandon is leaving Tuesday for 2 weeks. I don't think I am going to get to talk to him those 2 weeks. He is going for some training. I am dreading it, but oh well. 2 weeks isn't bad at all! We aren't sure when his next deployment will be, but we will let everyone know!

I hope you all are wonderful!!