Hello From the Sandbox

Hello Everyone,

I just wanted to put a post up here to let everyone know I am alright. Yes, it is hot here (above 105 everyday). Although, it isn't as bad as I thought it would be. When people say that it is a dry heat they are not kidding. We actually don't have it that bad. We are sleeping in 80 man tents and they have A/C can you believe it?! Anyway, we haven't been up to a whole lot. Usually, we have some classes during the day, and in the mornings and some nights we do pt. The food here isn't that bad either. One day we had steak and lobster, but it still isn't as good as Melissa's cooking. We don't know the exact date, but we should be moving on to the other sandbox in about 2 weeks. Til, then....if you have something to write me you can send me an e-mail or just click below to post a comment. Feel free to call Melissa or my parents to get my e-mail address.

Take Care,

Brien

Brien

This was taken before he left on Monday evening.

I thought that I would let everyone know that Brien called me today from Kuwait. Sounds like they are really busy there working 5am to 6pm everyday. The weather I guess hasn't been that bad, Brien said it is hot there but it is a dry heat and nice and cool at night. He also said that they are staying there for about a week longer and then they are leaving for Iraq. I don't have an address for him yet, he said they got one for Kuwait but since they were staying for such a short time that it wouldn't make sense to give it out. When he gets is permanent address, I'll be sure to post it for you all. We only got to talk for about ten minutes but he said hopefully he can call again in the next few days and he should be able to get to some computers soon and e-mail people as well.

Fast Eddie's

This is a picture that was taken at Fast Eddie's, it was sort of a going away thing for the guys that deployed. Fast Eddie's is a pool hall right around the block from our apartment. Although both Brien and I are not very good at playing pool it is still a fun thing to go 0ut and do. The other couple in the picture is Kristen and Mike. Mike used to be a medic along with Brien but is currently out of the military.

Deployment Ceremony

Septtember 6, we had our deployment ceremony. This is the best picture that I could find it shows about half of the 1800 troops in the Brigade that are deploying.

Generals inspection. This dates back to the time of Alexander the Great. The general riding infront inspects the well being of the troops and makes sure that we are fit for deployment.

Road Tripping

Lena our little road warrior. She always has to be between us watching on coming traffic, in our laps, or when we are in town her head is out the window.
During our many adventures we stopped to take picture with anything out of the ordinary. This giant Paul Bunyon is in Nevus, Minnesota.
The giant painting of Van Gogh is in Goodland, Kansas. They had to get business in their town somehow.
This giant iron miner is found in Chisholm, Minnesota. It is funny because he is made of copper and brass not iron, but I guess this way he won't rust.

Mount Elbert

Note: I had a little problem uploading these pictures inorder.

Lena was a trailblazer she had a 15ft leash and had all of it pulled out up and down the mountain. Except for when we came to this crossing. I know she doesn't like water but she would not even cross the bridge and when I held her you could tell that she was scared.
This is a picture of the next nearest mountain, Mt. Massive; it is about six miles away. At this point we could really feel the effects of the altitude. We were a little over half way up and and a couple hundred feet above the treeline. Our breaths became much more labored and we both got slight headaches.
We made it 14,443 ft the tallest mountain in Colorado, (second tallest in the continental United States). Belive it or not Lena walked up the mountain all on her own. The view was one of the best I have ever seen. The sky was the so much more blue (due to lack of water vapor in the air), we were surrounded by 7 other mountains over 14,000ft, and there were several lakes that dotted the lowlands.
This was a "false summit that was about 300-500 vertical feet from the summit. Going up we thought it was the summit and as we slowed donw I just kept telling Melissa and myself that we were almost there. When we got there we realized that the summit was about an hour away. Melissa thought that we could just stand here and claim it was the summit. We both agreed later it was worth while when we made it to the top.

Logan David Buckentine

Logan was born on July 5th. He weighed in at 6lbs. 7oz and 19 inches long. Keishia and Logan did very well durning birth lasting about a half hour. The time that I spent with him he was quiet for the most part and I did not have to change any diapers. As long as he keeps that up we will get along just fine. Oh, and I am also happy to report he has beautiful red hair. Something that makes his mother very happy.

Boundry Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

Melissa was quite the princess on this trip as you can see I did more than portage the canoe. At least the other baggage on the trip was light.

Melissa and I were messing around with the timed exposures on the camera. This picture was taken around 10 pm that is the moon and stars not the sun!

Cooking

Melissa was shocked one day when I told her that I never had gingerbread men. So, she went out and bought all the ingredients. I then thought maybe there is other stuff I should tell her I never had.

Melissa and I have a great affinity for sushi. So much so that we have been teaching ourselves how to make our own rolls. It took a little while to get the right amount of everything, but eventually we got it down. The only problem we have now is finding a grocer closer than Kansas City.

Little Toad Lake

Melissa's parents have a lake place near Detroit Lakes. We made it a couple times this year. On this peticular day Melissa had good luck and out fished myself and Fred.

To go down to the lake or just to get away on the many paths they have around there place we sometimes take the golf cart. Lena and Max were bored with us I guess.