My First Post

Hello all. I thought it was about time that I made my first post since the point of this blog is for Etta and I to post separately. We are finally all settled into our apartment here in Belton. Things are up on the walls, everything is put away, and we even have plants growing on our patio. We have started to get into a rhythm with my pre-deployment training and what not, so the stress levels have definitely decreased, and luckily there has still been plenty of time for Etta and me to spend time doing fun and adventurous things in the area.

So the word is official- I will be flying out to the great desert at the end of July. I have been fully engrossed in all of the things that need to be accomplished before I can leave, including getting all of my gear issued, medical screenings, brain wave scans, and whatever else they can find to poke and prod me with. It has been an interesting experience so far seeing as this is my first deployment. For those that don't know, my unit has already been deployed for about 2 months or so at this point, but since I just got out of flight school not too long ago, I have to play catch up and integrate with them in country next month. So what that means, basically, is that I don't really belong to a unit right now (besides the rear detachment here at fort hood), so I have been kind of on my own taking care of all my business on my own schedule. So, although it is stressful not knowing exactly who I am going to be working with once I meet up with my unit, it is nice being able to tackle all of these pre-deployment tasks on my own so I can maximize the time I can be at home.

Other than work, everything else is trucking right along. Etta and I got tattooed in Austin a week ago. We both got swallows on our chests (those are birds for our anti-nature friends). If my parents are reading this for the first time then SURPRISE!! Hopefully I have told you about them before you read this. Anyways, I'm sure Etta will post pics soon if she hasn't already.

Well, as this blog says, we will be updating regularly once I deploy so that whoever is interested can stay updated on both of us. Catch you all later on.

--Don