BEN'S ADDRESS

Well we finally have an address for Ben, complete with a wish list if you are wanting to send care packages! He says they are drowning in sweets there so skip those as they will likely get wasted!

address is as follows;

Miller, Benjamin T SSG
A CO. STB 2-1 ID
Camp Liberty
APOAE 09344

Most of the items can be found at GNC.....

100% whey protein powder (not strawberry)
or Isopure Protein

Creatine

SARMS

Sports Multi Vitamins (Gnc brand)

Nitric Oxide

Muscle Mag Subscriptions....favorites are FLEX, muscle and fitness and Planet Fitness

If u do plan to send any of these items just let me know so we arent duplicating! Thanks for your support!!

New Pictures of Ben

Well Ben in trying to get settled into life in Iraq. Its still hard because he is still unsure of the specific job he will be doing and where he will be living. He is at Camp Slayer for the time being. Here are a couple of new pics of him in Iraq. We will update you all more as we are able. Hopefully we will have an address for him soon! CARE PACKAGES WELCOME! Thanks to everyone for the well wishes. Be sure to keep him in your prayers!

Monster Punch!

Well, Josh, who rarely gets exited about anything but his Nintendo DS, came home filled with exitement about a recipe book for kids that he got at the school library. He REALLY wanted to make two recipes...cheese straws (cheese breadsticks in fun shapes) and Monster Punch! I was so thrilled to see him interested in new things that we ran out and bought the ingredients for both! While we were at it we made halloween pictures. Ive attached some pics of the kids (note the ghost effect) and I making them and the finished product. If u want the recipe for the punch its really easy..just let me know. We were able to re-use the center ring so next time we are adding dry ice! We had so mich fun!

Updates on Ben

Ben was in Kuwait for a time before he went on to Iraq. He said it was really set up for "creature comforts", tents with movies running 24/7. Big screen tvs with comfy seating areas. A massive, fully loaded gym. All of this wonder, however, was in the middle of nowhere in the desert with tents and more sand than any one person can stand. He said even with goggles u still manage to get sand in your eyes. He flew to Camp Slayer in Iraq a few days ago. He is still getting settled in there. I have a few pics of him I will upload and as soon as I get an address I will post it here. In the meanwhile he does have access to a computer so you can email him!

Colorado is Beautiful!

I grew up in Utah...so mountains were part of my world every day. My kids don't remember (or in Olivia's case its actual) being around the mountains. As we were driving in toward Colorado all of the sudden I could see the shadows of the mountains in the distance. As I pointed them out to the kids they were soooooo amazed! Kellie could not believe you could have mountains right next to a big city! She has decided this is the perfect place to live. One of the first things we did was visit Red Rocks Park here in CO. Ben brought me here when we came to visit his parents before the kids so it was a nice memory for me as well. The kids were so amazed to see all the beautiful and amazing rock formations. We then took a big hike up the mountain to get to the Red Rocks stage where amazing artists have come to perform...like U-2 and Sting. We had a great time together. Here are some pics!

Our Road Trip To Colorado

Ben's dad and step mom offered to have us come and stay with them near Denver CO. It is a great opportunity for us to save money and for the kids to get to know these grandparents a little better. Along the way there isnt a lot to see. However the kids were amazed by the solar windmills.....just the sheer volume of them. They go on for miles and miles. We also stopped to see some horses and just clowned around on the way down. We bought a kids bop Halloween CD and had fun singing GHOSTBUSTERS, Addams Family, Witch Doctor and Purple People Eater to name a few! Here are some pics of us along the way!

Yes, He is Really Going!

Well I've been a bit behind as we have been really busy! We sent Ben off (rather unwillingly) a week and a half ago. It was really tough as they kept changing the date he would deploy. When we finally got official word it was 4 hours before he had to report! We took the kids out of school and we all went to lunch! We opted to not take the kids to the bus area as Ben was in charge of the soldiers in his unit that were deploying that day and we wanted to keep it as distraction free as possible. The kids said goodbye to Dad at the hotel. It was so sad...I don't think Olivia quite got how long a year really will feel like. Josh as usual held it in. Kellie wouldn't let him go. She just sat there and hugged him for the longest time. We all bawled like babies. I took him to the area where he would leave from....it was typical Army...hurry up and wait. I was grateful some of the soldiers needed me to pick up a few things from the PX before they left...it was a good distraction. First it was amazing to see the huge pile of bags waiting for the trucks. Then a big line of buses came and we knew he would be leaving soon. A kiss goodbye and he was off. WOW! This is going to be a long year! I've attached some pics of right before he left!