WeRCrooks.com

Join us on Facebook

2011-04-03T20:49:00.000-05:00

We regret that we haven't blogged in over a year. However, we're keeping up to date now through Facebook.

We're leaving the blog - for memories, for history - but we'll be continuing updates on Facebook from now on.

Follow Tara www.facebook.com/taracrooks where you can find the rest of us too (we're all her FRIENDS). You can also follow @ArmyWifeNetwork www.facebook.com/armywifenetwork

We'd love to hear from you!

OKC Marathon

2010-04-26T21:35:00.001-05:00

This weekend we attended our first official race - the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon. 23,000 people - a marathon, half marathon, marathon relay, kids marathon and a 5k fun run. We ran the 5K portion of the event.

We arrived on Saturday evening to our hotel about 1 mile from the Cox Center and checked in. Then we walked to the Cox Center to pick up our packets. (that was our warm up for the run the next day!) It was very well organized and easy to walk through. There were vendors and race officials all on hand.

We got all registered and meandered through the booths a bit and then headed out to Zio's to meet our friends for dinner. Yum- an excuse to load up on carbs!!

(Our friends Abbey & Dave)

Then it was time to head back to get to bed early! Our race began at 6:40 am!! We woke up the next morning at 4am. We headed down to meet them and find the start at 5am (remember we still had a 1 mile walk to conquer). I was doing pretty good until I heard the roar of the crowds and realized that I really was about to "run" and let me tell you what then my stomach turned into some large knots. I worked myself out of the nervousness when I saw all the wonderful people who were participating in our race. I kept telling myself that it didn't matter what happened because it wasn't a race, it was untimed, I could WALK it if I wanted to!! It was just getting caught up in the whole atmosphere of the day.

Here's a pic of us in the starting corral:

We waited and eventually got the official "horn" to GO! At first we had to weave through many people and we were running about a 10:30 which was pretty fast for me but I didn't feel it b/c I was so nervous and trying to get to an open part of road and spread out. Right about that time we were at 1mile. It went SO FAST I didn't even realize it. But at 1.25 there is a HUGE hill. When I get to a hard spot like that I just keep saying "just keep swimming, just keep swimming".

I walked the hill. That killed my time a little - I ended up finishing with a pace of 13:02 a mile. After the hill was some leveling out and then a bend and so I took it in run/walk spurts as much as I could. I don't remember thinking "will this ever be over" and honestly it wouldn't have been FAST but I could have pulled a 10K. I was sweating like a pig (what's new?) but I had more in me. I had my iphone and so it was reporting in to me every .25 miles. I heard the 2.75 mile mark and knew around the bend was the FINISH. So I gave it all my might and just RAN!!! Kev said I must have been awfully motivated for that ending!! Although I ran so hard I dropped my phone which threw me off and of course made my heart explode running back, bending down, etc. LOL! Anyway - yes crossing the finish was an AMAZING feeling.

We spent the rest of the day walking - I swear we got in 10 miles through the entire Sat evening to Sun afternoon! My knees are feeling it. We visited the Memorial. What a moving experience. People were placing their medals on the "chairs" of those that were lost in the bombing. It just brought you to tears. Then we walked over to the Baptist church that is downtown and watched some of the marathon from the television in their fellowship hall and get this - they made everyone FREE pancakes and sausage, coffee, juice etc. Is that amazing or what? I read in the handout they gave us that the first year of the marathon the church members were upset because there was so much traffic that they couldn't go to church. Instead of complaining to end the marathon they all got together to "serve" by doing this pancake breakfast. My heart melted. The city was amazing, the people were amazing, the race was well organized, and I said to Kev that if you "couldn't fill up your cup of inspiration by being there then something was wrong with you!" It was true...it was AMAZING!!!

I will tell you what though - I left there thinking "all I did was a 5k" because you will see some things that just make your jaw drop! People who can't even walk well on their own completing half marathons. The cool thing about this race was that there was no "time" that you had to race against (ie they wouldn't kick you off if you decided to walk it) so as long as you FINISHED you were good. I saw people you would NEVER think would run a marathon cross 26 miles!!! It made you feel like you were capable of so much more. THAT is INSPIRATION!! There were firefighters who ran in full gear *50 lbs in memory of the fire fighters that were lost or worked so hard doing their jobs the day of the bombing and after. There were people who ran in memory of a loved one that was lost. It was so moving.

So, to wrap all of this up. I will leave you with my suggestion that even if you don't run take time to go check out a race near you!! I never thought that there were so many runners or people who would step outside their comfort zone. It's not at all what you associate it with in your head. Running is for anyone who wants to try.

Tara does AAFES commercial with Army Wife Network

2009-12-21T11:56:00.002-05:00

A month or so ago Star and I headed down to Dallas to the AAFES (www.aafes.com) headquarters for a visit and to speak to the Senior Leaders Conference for the US Army Reserves. We did a few commercial spots when we were down there - and here they are for you to check out! :)

Happy 60th Birthday Jane!

2009-11-28T21:05:00.002-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T20:57:00.003-05:00

There's more! Check out the SHUTTERFLY page (on the left of the blog) and search the November 2009 folder!

Leaves are Fallin'

2009-11-13T23:26:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T14:26:00.002-05:00

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-22T13:28:00.000-05:00

Got Slobber?

2009-09-16T23:02:00.001-05:00

There are no words. He's Hilarious.

Ba-Bubbles!

2009-09-16T22:53:00.003-05:00

As most of you know Chloe's FAVORITE thing to do is blow "ba-bubbles". We told her "not tonight" but her big sissy is...well....a softy! They had so much fun!

<

Happy Birthday Buddy!

2009-09-12T21:13:00.003-05:00

Buddy,

Today is your birthday. I can't remember how old you are. I can't remember the date the day that you died. But I can remember September 12th. That's more fun to remember anyway. Maybe it's because you, Uncle Thom, and I are all Virgos. Maybe it's because the apple pie was always followed by a coconut one. Not many know what I'm talking about, but you do. Don't you?

It's been a hard month Buddy. You know that our family has suffered a loss. I know you and Grandma have been worried about Aunt Connie. She's tough, Buddy, but you need to take care of Uncle Cliff for us. I'm sure that's not a problem, you always loved him. I bet that you are overjoyed to have someone there with you to tell your funny stories to aren't you? I know you know, but mama and I shared many of those stories just the other night at the dinner table. We laughed, we cried, and I made her tell them just like you would so that one day when I'm telling stories about you telling stories the girls will know what the heck I am talking about. We told them the story about Toby spelling "C-o-o-k-i-e-s" and the one about you tying the three pontoons together down at Eagle Rock.

I miss you so much. I miss Grandma too, but for some reason most of all I miss you. I think it's because I never really got to say goodbye. I think about you both and talk about you all the time. Not a day goes by. You're probably up there laughing at me and how much I am like you. I even remind myself of you sometimes - pacing back and forth, can't sit still to save my life, trying to make people smile by making up funny stories to tell the waitress or freaking people out by calling them by name (someday they'll figure out that they're wearing a nametag don't you think?).

I hope I'm meeting your expectations. I'm working hard. We have a beautiful family and I wish so much every day that you were here to meet Chloe and see how Wrena has grown. They're such smart and beautiful little girls. Tell Grandma I am trying to teach them everything she taught me about helping others, working hard, and loving the holidays, celebrating family traditions. Of course I know you know all of this because you're right here wondering why I'm typing on this silly computer (you never understood the need for one) to you when all I have to do is think it and you'll know.

Anyway, I'm thinking about you pretty hard today. Missing the sound of your voice, your short stubby hands, the criss-cross of the back of your neck, and the feel of your whiskers when we hugged. I just wanted to say I love you. Happy Birthday.

Love,
Little Buddy

Look! We're famous ...hahahahaha

2009-09-09T18:55:00.000-05:00

I told you about Wren and I heading to Dallas. Here is the product of our impromptu video we did. It turned out pretty good. We've been told we're playing in all of the AAFES BX/PX around the world in the electronic department. That's kinda funny!

Back to School....

2009-08-24T11:27:00.002-05:00

Last week (Thurs and Fri) Wren headed "back to school" at her new school St Mary's Catholic School (Great Granny Rosie must be so proud!!).

This week is the first full week of class - I AM SO HAPPY!!! I'm ready to be on a regular schedule that is FOR SURE!

Just Mom & Me - American Girl, Dallas

2009-08-16T20:01:00.012-05:00

I'll be the first to admit this has been one heck of a last two weeks! A few Thursday's ago we headed toward Missouri to welcome home Scott from Afghanistan. The trip was two fold as we were also dropping off Wrena with Mama and Scott for the week while Kevin and Chloe returned to Oklahoma and I went to a Army Community Services Master Trainer conference in Florida. It sounds so simple but the logistics were an impressive work of art!

Wren had a fabulous week with her grandparents. Kevin and Chloe "survived". I learned a ton and am definitely still recovering/processing! I returned on Friday evening Aug 7th and Mama and Scott arrived here on Saturday afternoon. I had just enough time to round up some food from the commissary. We had big plans - Mount Scott, Museum, Drive In Movies, Mall, etc, etc, but we didn't get too far because on Sunday afternoon while touring Lawton/Fort Sill, Chloe all of the sudden projectile vomited from the backseat which caused us to quickly detour home. She continued down this path to a 104+ temp which resulted in a trip to the ER followed by a few more days of yucky and a trip back to the pediatrician. It was tonsilitis, or so they say but antibiotics solved what the ER doc missed. We were on the mend, but sending back some very bored grandparents. I guess that's what they're for though...and they'll be back! :)

On Wed and Thurs I started not feeling well myself but despited the fact I couldn't breathe out my nostrils and was about to lose my voice I WAS DETERMINED that Wren and I would be able to go on our Dallas, TX trip.

So on Friday morning Chloe went to her school and Wren and I headed off to Dallas, TX - destination Westin Galleria - American Girl. Our first stop was at AAFES (Army Air Force Exchange Service) HQ in Dallas. We got a VIP quick tour of the corporate headquarters from my friend Eric in Marketing. When we arrived they "swept" us into the Video Production suite and had us record a commercial. There were even signs with our names on them. :) Wren was beside her self excited talking to everyone and thinking she was a super star (she asked Kevin "Daddy do you know what a teleprompter is?")!

Then we traveled on our way to the Westin. I'm spoiled - it's my favorite hotel chain! We checked in, parked, and made our way up to our room. It was very nice. Two big queen beds and a window seat overlooking the city. We had a heavenly shower and some good cable!! We unpacked and of course headed over to American Girl FIRST THING! The store was HUGE - it was the "meca" or the "mothership" for sure. It has a bistro upstairs so we just happened to walk in (apparently you need reservations) and get a seat for dinner!! We ate and then shopped and spent half of our budget then headed back to the room after a quick stop at Bath & Body works to pick up some "relaxing" bath products. We got back and decided to go swimming. Then we tucked in for the night after we took our heavenly showers AND had room service bring us our American Girl weekend special - milk & cookies and a doll travel bed. Wren was SO THRILLED!

Saturday we slept in and had a fancy breakfast downstairs at the 2nd Floor Bistro (Wren thought it was cool they actually tucked us in our seats and had our napkins for our laps!) and then spent the day going in between the room and relaxing and the mall and shopping. It was awesome. We were able to eat dinner again (at Wren's request) at American Girl bistro and then did our ritual last shower before we went to bed and got up this morning to head home to Lawton. Needless to say, we spent our budget (and maybe a bit more) and we had a blast!!!

We've decided we need to go to Chicago's AG store and we should make this shopping/relaxing trip a weekend each year and call it our "She-lax" weekend. :) Just the girls......

Here are some pics:

Drop and give me ....5?

2009-07-16T22:56:00.005-05:00

You'll get a kick out of this one. She just wants to do everything we're doing. No matter what.

The Next Food Network Star??

2009-07-16T22:49:00.011-05:00

Welcome to "Wrena's Kitchen". In this episode we'll be baking cake and in the next, tossing salad. Too funny! Wren made these videos while playing by herself yesterday. I found them on the video camera today and Kevin and I laughed so hard I cried. These are priceless. Enjoy.

Fourth of July (Fort Sill) 50 Gun Salute!

2009-07-07T10:37:00.003-05:00

Mama's princesses

2009-07-07T10:32:00.002-05:00

Wrena & Chloe's Birthday party in MO!

2009-07-07T10:20:00.002-05:00

The Kegerator Begins....

2009-06-20T22:21:00.001-05:00

Kevin's working this Father's Day on his kegerator. We bought him a black chest freezer that he is converting to have two tanks of beer and one tank of soda. He's hard at work ....here's some first pictures!

Happy 8th Birthday Wrena!

2009-06-14T10:21:00.005-05:00

Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Wrena. Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Wrena. Happy birthday to you!

Yesterday Wrena and six of her friends celebrated her birthday Luau style. We started at the spray park at 11 am and found our way home to build our own little water park (2 pools, slip n slide, and a giant beach ball) to play in! We completed the day with leis and snacks, a craft, and an awesome cake with ice cream. Oh, and don't forget the presents! Thanks guys!!

Here are some highlights - gotta love the one of Chloe and her glasses and her with the giant cheetos cheese ball!!! Chloe LOVED getting to be with all the big kids and she of course watches her sister's every move. She kinda stole the show picture wise. It's ok though - Wren was way too busy having fun!!!!! I can't believe my little baby is already 8.

OKC Science Museum

2009-05-27T14:27:00.004-05:00

This weekend Grandma Jane and Grandpa Bill came down to Fort Sill and we traveled up to OKC to the Science Museum. We had planned the zoo but it was supposed to rain. Either way - we had a great time! :)

Here's a few pictures from the outing. The one where we're in the container is actually a simulated tornado (look up to see the wind speed). It was interesting.

Busy Bees!

2009-04-30T14:01:00.004-05:00

This past week here at Fort Sill we did our Field Exercise again for the fifth time. It went over very well. It's been a busy week though. Whew! I think I needed this week for recovery. We're already starting to gear up again for one that is six weeks out at Fort Bliss, TX. Then we have two more this year. I'm pretty happy about it. It's great to be able to take our "show on the road" and of course it builds the network and the new site. Speaking of which - have you seen it?

We're VERY proud - www.armywifenetwork.com now features the show, the Field Problems column, and ALOT more!

There are pictures up on www.lovingasoldier.com (The AWN Blog) if you want to check out what the Field Exercise is about. We also have stuff up on our FACEBOOK fan page (search Army Wife Network) and on our youtube videos www.youtube.com/armywifetalkradio if you want to go see what I do.

Anywho - today was a break and Chloe and I cleaned up the house (I do not know how to sit still) and we played alot today. This is a video of her with her "new" - "old" toy - she drug this out from when she was a baby and we reset it to the new age - now it does this shape sorting thing and she is having a BLAST! Here is a current video of her for you to see.

Easter 2009 @ The Crooks (starring Aunt Jill & Uncle Chris)

2009-04-12T11:32:00.002-05:00

Aunt Jill and Uncle Chris joined us for Easter this year. Here are some pics of us dying eggs and of the girls this morning! :)

Sprouts...

2009-04-08T20:03:00.004-05:00

We have been growing our square foot garden. We started some tomatoes, canteloupe, watermelon, cucumbers, zuchhini, snow peas, green beans, and strawberries. We took pictures of the garden and we took pictures of the sprouts 2 days ago. THEN we took pics tonight - 2 days later. LOOK AT THESE LITTLE DUDES GROWING! These are the green beans and peas. Totally awesome. We are going to put them in the garden this weekend. :)

note: the top ones are today's pics....compare the green and purple cups to the bottom ones ....HOLY COW! :) We hope Jack doesn't come crawling down the beanstalks before we get them planted!!!

I wear my sunglasses at night...so I can ...so I can....

2009-03-28T20:34:00.002-05:00

Get my picture taken by my mama who thinks I'm so cute!

Ready for Spring....

2009-03-28T20:31:00.001-05:00

I'm ready for spring even if spring isn't ready for me.
I bought this cute little carrot wagon the other day with my mama in Nixa at my favorite shop - which is going out of busines. Good for the prices that day but sad for me b/c I love that place! I finally got to drag out my very large bunny as well. I have to say - my porch is pretty cute!

From the mouth of a babe....

2009-03-11T21:49:00.002-05:00

Today there was this fun quiz type thing going around Facebook about your kids and what they thought of their mom. I have not been feeling well and was hanging out on the couch on the laptop and came across it and Wren said she wanted to participate. So, I did the questions. I typed EXACTLY what she said (so some of these are hilarious). Below are her answers.

1. What is something mom always says to you?
"Clean Your Room"

2. What makes mom happy?
Chloe sleeping.

3. What makes mom sad?
When I am hurt

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
When she tickles me.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
I don't know.

6. How old is your mom?
33? (she's right)

7. How tall is your mom?
I don't know.

8. What is her favorite thing to watch on TV?
FRIENDS

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Goes to the commissary and takes care of sissy.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Acting.

11. What is your mom really good at?
Cleaning, singing, making me giggle, take care of Bob & Lou.

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Staying on task. (that is too funny - she explained to me that I do too many things at one time)

13. What does your mom do for her job?
A show on the internet.

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Mexican

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
When she completes something like when she gets the house all clean. Cause it's a big house.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Kim Possible or Agent P on Phineus and Ferb because they always have a mission.

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Snuggle.....we also clean the house, eat dinner, watch for the bus, fly kites, go to the playground, craft, dance to funny music, eat popcorn, watch movies, and SHOP!

18. How are you and your mom the same?
When we take a shower our hair turns dark brown when it's wet. We have the same eye shape. We both like to snuggle.

19. How are you and your mom different?
Alot of things - we don't have the same eye color, our hair is a different color, mama likes vegetables, mama is old.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
When she gives me hugs and kisses.

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
That he makes money. (I'm dying laughing.....)

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Silver Dollar City....or to bed.

I guess I must multi-task and clean too much? You think? hahahahahahahah

Craft-a-holics!

2009-03-06T23:03:00.001-05:00

Them's my girls!!! (yes, I am aware that that is grammatically incorrect)

Yee Haw!

2009-03-01T16:12:00.002-05:00

Last night we participated in the Monte Carlo Night: Oklahoma Style here at Ft Sill. We weren't sure what that meant but we were ready to party in our cowboy giddyup fashion! We took our friends Carla and Dave with us (see picture) and we managed to convince one of the other single instructors - Scott - to go with us too! (Doesn't he look like he just fell off of a John Deere?)

Now, we know our OK friends (uh hmm Cindy & Jeremy) wouldn't think anything of this get up. But we regular folks, er I mean normal, oh shoot, I mean non-OK type think this is a bit HILARIOUS!!! My belt even had real COW FUR in it amongst the rhinestones!! You gotta laugh! Of course, I had to take the "Cowboy Man drives pick up truck" picture for you of Kev. He was so proud of his lovely belt but more so of his ROCKIN' shirt that he found at the feed store. Yes, I said feed store.

Guess what though - I might make fun but it was A BLAST! So there....I guess I'm turning into somewhat of an Oklahoman myself. Errr...dear God....QUICK...someone drive me to TEXAS!!!

Random Pics - Growing Girls!

2009-02-26T23:16:00.001-05:00

Daddy's Beer Tree

2009-02-26T23:13:00.002-05:00

Kevin is up to his shenanigans again! LMBO! He has been using our downstairs "outhouse" bathroom shower as a brewery! Here is his beer "bottle" tree that he made while drying the bottles for preparation of bottling of this latest batch.

Oh - sorry - he told me I have to put what TYPE he is making - picky man - IMPERIAL STOUT is what he made - EXCUSE ME!

Enjoy!

Shoes! Cheese! YES!

2009-02-16T22:09:00.003-05:00

Hey all,
Reporting in - has been awhile since I posted anything. I apologize. Everyone is doing good. We have all been through a round of the woovles (that is a sickness - at least that is what grandpa always called it) and I lost my voice. We're all almost snot free - at least now most of it is clear snot! HA!

We just spent last week with Luke and Tina. They came to visit on their way down from Kansas on their way to Fort Bliss to see Steven. Tina is back from Afghanistan. We had SUCH A GOOD TIME! We are trying to convince them to move here. I WISH!!!

Wren is still doing well - she complained today b/c it was supposed to be a holiday but because of the snow they had to go to school. She wasn't "feelin it" she said this morning when she got up. Probably because we spent the last two days having fun. We had a great Valentine's day and took them to OKC to Build A Bear. Tina and Luke spoiled them with money and they had a V-day gift card so they each came home with a big stuffie! (as if we needed more!)

Chloe puts her stuffie around her neck -she got a monkey. We ask her "what's the sound the monkey makes" and she puts her hands under her armpits and says "ooh ooh ohh" It's pretty funny. We have been talking about how this is the time in Wren's life that Kevin was in Korea. He keeps acting as if he's never seen a child do these things and learn and then we're like "oh yeah, you weren't here with Wren when she was this age". So he's having ALOT of fun! His latest "teaching" included "shoes" which she says about EVERYTHING! She LOVES "shoes". And her favorite - cheese. That was her first REAL WORD. "Cheese" and she knows what it means too! She can flat EAT some cheese. Today he taught her "YES" - she take her hand and puts it up in the air and pulls it down in a fist and says "yes". It's hilarious!

What's next? Hmmm.....

I hope you are all doing well. We'll check back in later and I might even drag that camera out!

SOLD!

2009-01-31T13:03:00.003-05:00

We "signed" the papers yesterday and everything goes final and paid on Monday. Crazy....we really are happy but we miss it like nobody's business!!! We really loved that little house and the memories we made there are priceless!

EXTRA! EXTRA! Fort Sill closes and Kevin is out of a job!

2009-01-27T23:41:00.003-05:00

I knew you'd never believe me if I told you. We couldn't believe it ourselves. Today they closed Fort Sill. Yep, closed. Kevin was out of a job.

Ok, I'm just kidding...well, kinda.

It was freezing rain that started about 3 am last night, well this morning, and then school was closed. Following that call was Chloe's day care, my luncheon, and Daddy going to work! YEEHHHHAAWWW! So we had a full day of fun out in the sleet and snow. It stopped about 3 hours ago around 7pm. Supposed to stay around 11 degrees tonight with snow starting at 6am again. Apparently this is "unheard of" here in these parts.

Mama is stranded here - she came on Thursday night last week and has been here since. She should have headed back on Sunday but was staying until Monday and got stuck in this mess. I guess there are worse places to be stuck!

Kev and I ventured out to Home Depot for fire wood and we stopped in the sporting goods store for some sleds. FUN FUN! It was quite a trip though because the roads are nasty.

After we got home we took some time to play out in the snow/ice. Bob and Lou were a hoot. They LOVE IT! Wren played out all day long and wore herself silly. We had our friends from down the street - The Norris's - join us. We grabbed the sleds and headed over by this "winter wonderland" aka the basketball courts with a hill. It was ABSOLUTELY A BLAST!! Here is some video of our adventures.

Listen in this one to Wren - she's screaming "I Don't Want To Die!" It's hilarious!!!

Order your Pampered Chef TODAY!

2009-01-07T14:23:00.002-05:00

Hey guys!

I am doing a Pampered Chef online show with my friend Kristella who is a Future Director with Pampered Chef. I thought I’d pass the link on to you guys and see if you wanted to order anything. I’d REALLY appreciate the order and I KNOW you’ll like whatever you choose!

It’s simple to order just click on the link and choose your products. Make sure you say that you are participating in a show and use “CROOKS” as your host so it credits the show.

You can order anytime but the show won’t close until Feb 2nd. Which means that the orders won’t ship until then regardless of when you order.

If you want them shipped TO ME for me to give you (ie you live close to me) then you only have to pay $4.25 shipping and choose SHIP TO HOST. Otherwise, shipping is calculated by your location.

Some of my favorite products are the can opener, the ice cream scoop, the pizza cutter, the chopper, and I couldn’t live without my stoneware & Twix it clips!

Let me know if you have any problems ordering or if you need me to do it for you. (You know who you are!)

HAPPY SHOPPING!
http://www.pamperedchef.biz/kristella

Christmas at "Grandma J & Pa's" House

2009-01-04T15:42:00.003-05:00

After Christmas Eve and Morning at mama's we headed over to Kevin's parents for their Christmas. You should have seen that van packed up - it was amazing! Santa was good to the girls. Good thing we had our Christmas here befoer we left and didn't take it all back to MO! Here are pictures from our "third" Christmas at Grandma Jane's.

Christmas at "Ya Ya's" aka Grandma B

2009-01-04T15:22:00.006-05:00

The girls are a hoot! Chloe has a new name for mama - "ya ya". I guess it's German for Grandma - but I didn't know that and I doubt she did either. Wren has affectionately dubbed her "Grandma B". I guess that's better than what was "Grandma Barbara Taylor" last year. LOL!

Chloe is a hoot though - that is HER grandma. Tyler's little boy Landon climbed up in grandma's lap with his blankie and Chloe was at the table eating. She was little miss rubber neck! She wanted down. Immediately she grabbed her blanket and ran to mama - if she could talk she would have said "my grandma". We all got a huge kick out of it.

Here are pictures from her house for Christmas. There are two of me and Jill doing the "Sugar Plump Fairy" dance. (these can be used for blackmale later) The story is that we didn't have a Christmas dancer for our Christmas program - Wren refused to dance in front of Tyler, Elisa, and Chris. "Too many people" she said. So, Jill and I danced. It was freaking hilarious! (at least we amused ourselves)

Christmas with the Rogers

2009-01-04T15:17:00.002-05:00

The Sunday before Christmas Jeremy, Zane, Cindy, and Logan came to visit us here in OK. We spent the day together and Cindy and I made divinity and the boys bottled beer that Kevin had "brewed" up. Then the kids had Christmas together, then popcorn, and we all shared a dinner of a very awesome batch of stir fry!

Merry "Crooks" Christmas

2008-12-21T12:15:00.005-05:00

This weekend we celebrated our Christmas here at the house for several reasons.... but mainly because we won't have to truck all the toys to Grandma's to open and then bring them all back!

We spent Friday night as our Christmas Eve - and our family present was a popcorn maker behind the bar. We had fun watching TV and eating popcorn. We planned on waking up on Saturday morning and opening our presents in bed. We spent the day in our jammies making cookies and chillin'. It was a fun day! We made some SERIOUS cookies - seven different kinds! The girls got some fun stuff and they are having a blast playing. Even Bob and Lou got to open something on "Christmas Eve". Oh - and Kev lit his first fire in our fireplace.

Merry Christmas 2008 - Holiday Letter & Picture

2008-12-15T14:47:00.000-05:00

The Crooks Family 2008

Happy Holidays!
We hope this season finds you in good spirits! Wow, what a year we’ve had! As you can see we have welcomed back our “Daddy” from Iraq. Kevin returned in April to our home at Fort Stewart, GA. It was quite an adjustment, a good adjustment, but an adjustment none the less. We spent a few weeks traveling and visiting friends and family and Wren finished up her last month of 1st grade at Richmond Hill Primary School. In May, we listed the house for sale and began our journey toward Fort Sill, OK. We finally made it here in September. No, the trip didn’t take that long but organizing, cleaning, staging, and moving felt like it did. In between those months of May and September we did a lot of work but we also played a bit too. We wrapped up everything we could possibly do near Fort Stewart/Savannah all in a few months. We even took another trip to Disneyworld!

We left Fort Stewart, GA on my birthday Sept 3rd and reported in here sometime around the 10th of September with a short stop in MO to visit family. We stayed in lodging for a few weeks until we were given our house here on post. It’s a historical home with a lot of character (can also be read as “issues”) and it’s HUGE – 2400 sq. feet. The move took some adjustment period as I don’t think we felt like we really lived here until November. We’re finally settling in and adjusting. Living on post is fun!

Kevin is an instructor of the Captains Career Course here on post. He has a section of Captains he teaches. It sounds simple but he assures you it is not as easy as it looks. He comes home with more homework than he gives them I think. He can be home in 5 min now that we live on post though and seeing him for lunch is nice. We aren’t sure but we think he’ll take Battery Command again sometime next year. We plan on staying here for about 2 ½ years.

Wren is seven now. She is going to school on post (2nd grade) at Sheridan Road Children’s School. She rides the bus everyday which she loves. She seems to be doing ok at the school though there is a stark difference between it and her school in Richmond Hill. She is doing great in reading and is very creative. She loves to dance and she has joined Girl Scouts. Of course like every little girl her favorites are Hannah Montana, Camp Rock, High School Musical and American Girl dolls.
Chloe is 17 months this month. She is not going to crawl into kindergarten. Yes, she finally started walking about a month ago and now she RUNS! She is a hoot. She’s so small but she can pack a punch when she starts babbling! She loves her Little People and is finally showing an interest in all of her toys. Her goal is to be just like her sister whom she loves very much!

I have been working hard at the radio show. We’re about to produce our 200th show. We have been on the road this year with the Field Exercise traveling to Fort Hood, TX and recently to Fort Campbell, KY to do our conference. We have been very blessed with wonderful sponsors that have enabled us to be able to do what we do. The show, the column, and the conferences are doing well. It definitely keeps me busy. My new office in the new house is very sweet – it’s a little maid’s quarters but it’s tucked away in the back perfect for Monday night shows!

Lou is getting older and she is cranky as ever. We love her anyway. Bob is …well, Bob. What can I say? He’s a gorgeous hunk of brainless matter. We love him dearly. Oscar stayed in MO until recently but he is here now and has warned all the squirrels that he owns this street. Our neighbors probably don’t know what hit them. That cat is nearly 14 years old!

We love you all very much and hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season. As always you can keep up with us every day and see what we’re up to via our website and blog www.wercrooks.com. Bookmark it!

Love,
The Crooks
Kevin, Tara, Wrena, Chloe, Oscar, Lou & Bob

SNOW in Missouri!!

2008-12-01T21:17:00.001-05:00

Seeing Santa at Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, MO

2008-12-01T21:13:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving Day (Turkey hats & Pinecone turkeys)

2008-12-01T21:05:00.001-05:00

NOTICE: There will be no rolls for Thanksgiving this year!

2008-11-25T15:52:00.002-05:00

There will be no rolls for Thanksgiving this year for Chloe has eaten them all.

Too funny - she has been at my feet all day and I swear she's put away a good six rolls. Like mother like daughter. A true love of a good soft fresh from the oven roll! I guess I should have bought extra. Ymmmmmmm!!!!

Girl Scouts Parade

2008-11-24T15:26:00.001-05:00

This Friday night we had a parade in Lawton and they decked out Prairie dog park in lights for everyone to drive through. Those prairie dogs are gonna be ticked!! The girl scouts (brownies) marched in the parade. Kevin had an event with the military so I went on my own with the girls. We've NEVER BEEN THAT COLD!!!!!!!!! Here is Wren as a part of her troops "choo choo train" and Chloe all bundled up. Our neighbors had this bag from Germany and now I MUST have one for OK! :) She was such a good baby. Wren said that marching in a parade for three hours in the cold was NOT A GOOD IDEA!!!

Rotten

2008-11-24T15:22:00.001-05:00

The son he never had?

2008-11-24T14:52:00.000-05:00

What a bunch of cuties!!! We bought her PT shorts and shirt like Daddy and she made him take her on a run. They were too cute!!

LOOK WHO'S WALKING!!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-20T14:21:00.006-05:00

Yes, the day finally came. I don't have to respond "Well, I've never seen a kid crawling into kindergarten" to the "why is Chloe not walking" questions anymore!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen ....at almost 16 months CHLOE IS WALKING!!!

She took her first "official" steps today on her own with no one holding her hand. She's been bear crawling for a few days and of course we walk her around. I wish Kev were here to see it though she did take a few steps day before yesterday.

We are VERY HAPPY as we no longer have that worry to have on our to do list! hahahahaha Besides - I was hoping she'd walk before Thanksgiving b/c I knew we'd have relatives asking!!

Learning the "family" business...

2008-11-14T17:01:00.001-05:00

What a hoot!

Happy Veteran's Day

2008-11-11T12:47:00.004-05:00

Celebrating Veteran's Day is the Nation formally taking a moment out to pause and thank those that have served, are serving, and those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. It's not just a day though, and it's not just a moment, it's what we live everyday.

To our family, today, it's taking a moment to celebrate the little things. The little things which have big meaning to us...like having Daddy home to wash the car and snuggle with us at night.

We love him. We are so thankful for what he provides for us. We are proud of that for which he stands and for the service he gives the free nation which we call home. Happy Veteran's Day!!

Museum again - this time with Grandma

2008-11-11T12:41:00.002-05:00

Ya, you'd think we didn't have anything else to do here in Lawton. We just haven't branched out to anything new yet. There's still too much stuff to do around the house. Soon we'll go check out other areas!!

Mama came down this weekend and Wren took her to the museum and to see the prairie dogs. I took my zoom lense!

Pumpkin Invasion!

2008-11-11T12:35:00.001-05:00

He showed us...

2008-11-03T11:27:00.002-05:00

Kevin thought you all would enjoy this story - he said "THIS makes the blog". Hmmpph!

This weekend we went back to MO for Halloween (see below) and one of the things we were also doing while we were there was getting Oscar and bringing him back. He has been staying with Uncle Eric (Kevin's brother) for a few weeks because we weren't sure where we were going to live when we got to OK. Now that we're "settled" (HA!) we were bringing him back home with his family.

Now you all know Oscar - he's no ORDINARY cat. He's 13 years old, rotten as hell, and indestructable. However, he just about found himself in a crate on the side of I44. This time though I wasn't going to hunt his butt down.

Yes, we got on the road from MO and made it to about Joplin when we stopped so Wrena could go to the bathroom. We got out and Kevin made Oscar a litter box. He let him spend a few minutes so he could "do his duty". We got back in the car with our lunch and got settled. We got as far as the Exit ramp to return to I44 and Oscar started up to the front of the car to sit on Kev's lap. He snuggled in and we thought "how sweet he finally knows who we are." All of the sudden he got a little "twitch" in his tail and yes out came BIG OLE' TERDS!!!! He crapped ALL OVER KEVS LAP!!! I didn't know whether to yell, cry, or laugh. I think I did it all at one time. We pulled over quickly and got cleaned up.

Now, an intelligent pair of adults would have put the damn cat back in his cage. Did we? No. I said an intelligent pair....we're not too bright!! Apparently.

About an hour later down the road Oscar comes heading up to the front of the car. This time he snuggles up on my lap. What a sweetie. I was almost asleep and snuggled in. Next thing I know there is something VERY WARM in my lap and it's not just a cat. YES! That damn cat PEED ALL OVER MY LAP!!! I didn't know what to do then either - yell, cry, or laugh. I did both all at the same time. I had pee running down my leg and it WASN'T MY OWN!!!!!!!!!

That was it - he went into the cage. DUH! Doesn't take much to make us smart. Ha ha ha ha

So there we were...... cracking up laughing, screaming mad, and changing pants on the side of I44. It doesn't get much better than that.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T21:07:00.003-05:00

Cat Woman

2008-10-27T12:09:00.002-05:00

This weekend we went to the Pumpkin Glo at Nye Library on post. They had a pumpkin carving contest and then they had a big screen outdoor showing of "The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown". Chloe didn't dress up (it was cold) but Wren went as a cat. She was pretty cute!

Prairie Dog Park

2008-10-27T12:05:00.002-05:00

One of our favorite things here in lawton is what we call "prairie dog park" but apparently it's really called the Comanche County Historical Museum. LOL! We went out there weekend before last and we played with all the historical stuff - pretty cool and fun stuff for kids. We saw the old FRISCO train. We played dress up and even visited the Teepee. Then we went to see the Prairie Dogs. We got a membership to the society so anyone that comes to visit we can take you for free! :) We knew mama would love that - she LOVES the prairie dogs!!

Army Girls

2008-10-27T12:03:00.001-05:00

Here's a few fun pics of the girls! They were being silly with the Army hat.

More Settling....

2008-10-13T10:17:00.004-05:00

Yes, we did some more "settling" this weekend. I call it settling - Kevin calls it ...WORK! Hahahahahah

We had a fairly successful weekend. We were able to go to Oktoberfest on Friday night. It was fun! The kids rode rides and even ponies! They got pumpkins and Kevin drank a half gallon of beer - literally! I had to laugh at all these guys walking around with half gallon milk jugs filled with beer.

On Saturday we decided we'd lay low and finish up some projects inside first. Kev hung the master bedroom ceiling fan. We cleaned the house a bit. I put up some faux stained glass on our front doors. Then when Chloe went down for her afternoon nap we headed down to clean out and organize the basement. We had several boxes left to open down there. It was pretty interesting. Everything got organized and we even found two of the three missing things we had been searching for - my blue quilt rack and my jewelry box. YEAH! We were able to clean up enough that we took eveything that was on the "indoor porch" downstairs or out to the garage where it belonged.

That left us the evening to create and finish up Chloe's playroom. YEAH!!! We moved Wren's old desk down and I had purchased an "anywhere chair" from Pottery Barn Kids. We also picked up a TV stand from Walmart and we had the extra TV from the bar in GA. All in all it's a pretty cute little room. The way the house is set up we can close the door to the "house" and I can be back here in the office (maid's quaters) and she can be out there while I work. It's pretty neat.

She and Wren like it b/c there is a "window" to the kitchen and they pretend like they are ordering food. Last night they ordered popcorn and drinks and watched a movie together while we made dinner. It is pretty cool. I'll admit. I'll tell you this house does have one MAJOR thing going for it - large bedrooms (Wren's room ROCKS!) and it has enough little rooms to do things like and office/playroom etc. It has great nooks too - Wren built her house under the stairs. So you know they're not going to want to leave here. It's a great KID house.

Sunday we decided to tackle one of our big outdoor projects and we stained the Rainbow playset. It was AMAZING how much nicer it looks. Almost BRAND NEW! So, we're headed out today to put the dang thing together. Wish us luck!

Plumbing, Air Conditioning - what's next?

2008-10-02T22:05:00.000-05:00

Guess what?

About a week ago (when we moved in) they started laying incoming water plumbing on our street (tearing it up all the way down). They got to the end of the street right in front of our house yesterday - next thing I know after spending the day hearing the "beep, beep, beep" of backing up dump trucks, there is a man at my door. He says "Hello, I'm ____ from _____ and we're laying plumbing for the new incoming water lines. We're sorry but you're going to need to turn off your air conditioner because we just busted the water line to your geo-thermal." "My what??" "Your air conditioner is geo-thermal and you're going to need to shut it off". YES, they broke our air conditioner.

I don't quite understand it but I'm not asking too many questions at this point. Just fix it. We spent the day on the phone with housing who proceeds to tell me after I've been home ALL DAY LONG that "we can assure you someone is working on it and has been all day." I can assure them that there was no one in my house or at the neighbors (whose was busted too). We laughed. They spent until 2pm figuring out their head from their butt and then at 3pm a contractor showed up and said ..."I'm sorry ma'am we had to spend the morning deciding whose fault it was that it was busted so we'd know who was going to pay us." Ahhh...I see. Of course you did. "Now we're going to not be able to fix it until tomorrow because the part that we need is on order and is coming from Oklahoma City." Of course it is. "We'll be here first thing in the morning" I'm not holding my breath. "Just open your windows it's nice outside and you should be ok."

Just one problem. Our windows are PAINTED shut.

Of course.....

Making Progress...

2008-10-01T14:57:00.006-05:00

I should have taken pictures of the boxes and crap everywhere! LOL Anywho - we're making progress.

The living room is pretty much done. We have some work to do on the couch (the bottom of it is coming loose) and we have to put up the curtain tiebacks so they don't look so funky. But ...we're pretty much done.

The bar is all done. We even found PERFECT bar stools at SAMS. It was the only thing that had gone right all week last week! We were thrilled. They were a hit at only 100bucks a piece - sturdy, wood trim, and iron too!

The kitchen is rather "industrial" but we managed to hang some curtains. The window in the kitchen is painted open. Ha! We can't move it. It has some interesting wallpaper but I think we made it work. We bought a new fridge when we got here. We left the one in GA b/c it was only 700 to buy one and it gave the house 2000 worth of value - how does that work? Who knows. But we thought we'd get to have the new one instead of buying one for potential buyers/renters. The cabinets in this kitchen go all the way to the ceiling. They are SO FREAKING TALL so there is space but you'll never reach anything but the bottom shelf. We have a stepstool for almost anything. Wren can't reach anything at all. They are very narrow too so alot of my dishes had to move to the pantry.

Speaking of which - well, it's not perfectly clean yet but LOOK AT THIS PANTRY! Wow I call it the "general store". Everything and anything we would ever need that is consumable is in this pantry -- even batteries. It's like a little store. Pretty cool!

The dining room came together nicely. It's HUGE and even with the table at full "farm house" with the leaf and all it's still a large room. The floors are nice. We're just waiting on the rug we ordered for under the table and we're good to go on that room.

The office was one of those days we went "ok, finally we live here". Both of us are so odd. We felt good when we got the kitchen together but when we got the OFFICE together we both were sooooo relieved. We had a place to "work". We must be sick. It's the maid's quarters off the back of the house so it's REALLY small but it turned out nice. We had this ugly open closet to work with so we made it into a bookshelf. I'm going to paint my grandpa's old black filing cabinets and we repurposed grandma's washstand for a printer stand. I found a desk at Office Depot for under 200 bucks and the room was complete. It's actually kinda of nice to have an "office" again and to have a room to myself and not in the middle of the living room. Kevin works out of the armoire where I can close to the doors to all of his "crap" and he loves it! We bought an extra office chair so he's stylin' now not having to work with the kitchen chair. I even got my own dry erase board! There is a bathroom back here I have alot of work to do on but last Monday night it was nice being back in the back and everyone having run of the house.

Wren has claimed the area under the stairs as her "house". She has fixed it up complete with her kitchen and market. She has a blast under there. :)

Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention - my new washer and dryer. I know, I'm spoiled. I had a deal with Kevin if we didn't buy a house here in Lawton and we lived on post (ie we SAVE a ton of $$) as soon as the house sold in GA I'd get a new washer and dryer. Well, Kenmore had a HUGE sale at the PX and I saved almost 800 bucks over what these would cost at SEARS so he let me buy them in advance. Besides, the best part was that my paycheck covered most of them...way to save! They are AWESOME!!!!!!! I swear they launch rockets. They are so smart. The dryer ROCKS b/c it has steam. I love it!

Well there you have it. Things are shaping up. We're working on upstairs. We have a few things to do up there. Ok, ALOT to do up there. We haven't even touched any of the rooms. As a matter of fact we have no curtains or blinds AND the beds are still on the floor and not on their frames. Oh well - we can still sleep on them. We need to do alot up there - but we have taken everything out of boxes. FUN FUN!

Getting settled...

2008-09-29T22:27:00.001-05:00

Well hello there blogosphere! I'm finally back to work and a crazy time it has been. I am really "back" this time too! I mean it. It feels so SO good to be in a spot I know we are going to "park" for awhile. A "home" so to speak. I have to tell you this move has been ONE BIG disaster. Our house in GA is still up for sale - so if you know anyone moving to Fort Stewart let me know!

As you know we arrived Fort Sill a few weeks ago. I haven't updated everyone since we arrived in our on post housing. Monday before last we were offered a house. Yes, the Friday prior it was going to be about 45 DAYS before we got a house. We weren't really prepared for that being that we were told it would be a pretty much instant thing once we got here. But things change - it is after all the Army! Not sure what happened between Friday and Monday but on Monday we were offered a house. We were told that the MAJ that was given the house got orders to Fort Leavenworth unexpectedly and decided he wouldn't take the house. Lucky for us. We called my mama in MO and had her drive down to help us move in. She got here on Thursday night and on Friday we took shipment of our HHG (Household Goods).

On Thursday night I went out to a local restaurant here famous for their burgers. On Friday I started not feeling well. By Saturday I was really not feeling well. By Sunday I was seeing my dinner from Thursday night through Saturday night in the toilet! YUCK! I was really not well at all. I was having a really hard time with being sick and trying to unpack and get settled. The bad part was being sick and not being able to be in a bed or to be able to see the floor to run to the bathroom! LOL! The worst part? My mama got sick too- she ended up having to stay two extra days!! Poor mama - but I enjoyed her company! Misery LOVES company!!!

So let's see - Friday, Sat, Sun, Mon. Monday Kevin went back to work. Poor guy. Here mama and I are both still sick and we've got Chloe. Wren rode the bus for the first day to school so she was a nervous wreck. No one was happy and Kevin didn't even know what he was supposed to be doing at his job. Tuesday came and I started to feel better. Mama made the trip home. I had started getting the living room organized and the kitchen. I managed to get about half of that done on Monday. Good thing too because right before mama left I went downstairs to find our ENTIRE BATHROOM and office covered in backed up toilet. YEAH, FUN, FUN! Mama said "yep, I was staying for the plumbing but if you don't have any it's time for me to go!" Ha ha ha ha ha!

That started our four day saga of not having any working plumbing. During those four days alot happened. We purchased a new refrigerator. When it arrived we went to plug it in and the water line was severed. Nice. PX said "sorry, call Whirlpool it's under warranty." Of course it was...silly me to think that you'd come fix it or bring me a new one being that it was just delivered two hours ago! Nevermind the delivery was 65.00 and I live TWO FEET from the PXtra!!! Anywho, I digress. We bought a new washer and dryer. The guy came to deliver it and it weighed like three billion pounds. They only sent him. He had no one to help. He finally got it in the house and he says to me (while it's in boxes etc) "you know I don't set this up - I just deliver". Of course you do. Why would you set up a washer and dryer I just paid 3000.00 for! (note: Yes, we did pay about 2700 for the set but that was my agreement with Kev if I lived on post and didn't buy/rent a house I could have my new W/D) I love it by the way!! It didn't matter that he couldn't set it up because I couldn't use it anyway with no working plumbing and all!

Well they wanted us to go back to lodging but this girl said NO WAY JOSE! We are staying. So we functioned with limited showers and limited toilet usage for four days. They finally fixed it on Friday but not until after they sliced the cable line, the telephone line, and a whole bunch of other issues.

Oh well! It didn't help that this was seriously - out of five moves - the most DISASTEROUS and BROKEN move we've ever had. The packing was awful. The delivery was worse. Well, maybe not but they were both pretty bad. We have a claims list a mile long and I guess we've just gotten lucky every other time. We'd open up boxes labled "garage" and they'd be kitchen items. There was this one box that was labeled, I KID YOU NOT, "pots and pans, kitchen" and it was stuffed animals and board games. The packing made no sense whatsoever. They lost the cushions to our couch. How do you lose that? Don't ask.

It seemed like NOTHING we did went right. We were/are both EXHAUSTED. But, nevertheless, we are alive and we are together. That is what is important. \

Today I did the show for the first time from our new "office". It is in the maid's quarters of this old house. I felt SO MUCH BETTER today to get my "lifeline" back and be able to see the floor back here. We are both finally starting to feel at home here. We have good neighbors. They have a daughter and Wren has taken to them very well. It's not Richmond Hill. It has it's frustrations. BUT then again -so did GA when we first got there too. We'll get settled and we'll get involved. Then two years from now we'll be missing here. LOL! Isn't that the way the Army goes?

Kevin is in a class right now and will start teaching on Tues of next week.

Wren is now riding the school bus which stops RIGHT in front of our house. We have two beautiful porches and she doesn't go to school until 8:30 so we sit out there in the morning and watch the squirrels and eat breakfast while we wait for the bus.

Chloe is still not walking but she has figured out how to crawl this house in T-5 seconds. She took a tumble down 5 of the stairs when we first moved in which gave her a nice little concussion and a big ole' black shiner on her eye but she's recovering!

This post is very active and it's going to be fun finding things to do around here. Next week is the post wide garage sale which is a GREAT thing b/c we have to find some more STUFF to fill this house! Oddly ...we gained 1000 sq foot but that old house in GA held a ton of stuff. It all seems so spread out now. Whew - I pitty the next move. Ahhh...I can't even think about that yet.

Last couple of House Pics

2008-09-16T22:06:00.002-05:00

Here are the last couple of pics...these are of Wren's bathroom. Again, her room is bigger than the master and the bathroom is actually nicer than ours (in my opinion). Tara is looking up stuff to decorate the house on line right now, really!

We have a place for people to stay now, or will very soon. We bought Wren a queen bed today and a new refrig. They should be delivered this Thursday. We should have pictures of the basement, front of the house, and garage in the next couple of days. I'll try to post them when I get them. Work is going to be pretty fast and ferious for the next couple of weeks. I have to be "certified" to teach which will take some time. Ok, I'm out of here and will post more pictures later!

Kevin

Even More Pics

2008-09-16T21:43:00.002-05:00

Top Left is the storage closet under both stairwells. Wren has adopted it as her play area! Next pic to the right is the upstairs room where Chloe will be. Next is a pic of the door leading out to the upstairs balcony. Wren's bathroom is the door to the left and Wren's room will be the door to the right. The next pic is the master bedroom. Two windows and good size closets and bathroom. Last picture is of Wren's room again. Her room is actually bigger that our master bedroom! She picked it out b/c it had the most windows (3). But she picked it out.

More Ft Sill House Pics

2008-09-16T21:23:00.002-05:00

Top left pic is the "Maid's" room, but we will us it as the office. The second pic to the right is the office, inside. The WHOLE house has real hard wood floors, and the dogs don't really like it. Right outside the office will be the kids play room, sorry no pictures. Third pic is the office bath room. Next is the HUGE pantry, this is right next to the dinning room and the kitchen. Next is the stairwell, looking from the front door. This is the entry way room where the bar is going! Rock on! Walk in the house and hit the bar!

More Pics of House

2008-09-16T21:09:00.003-05:00

First pic on top left is the living room. Next pic to the right is living room with fire place. Next pic is looking from the living room into the formal dinning room. Big sliding doors everywhere! Next pic to the right is the Maid's stairway. The two stairwells join at the door. Bottom pic is the master bath room, definately nothing fancy in all three bathrooms! But we will NOT complain in the least!

Post Housing

2008-09-16T20:53:00.004-05:00

Hey ALL, Kevin here. Here's our "new" on-post house pictures. The houses were built in like 1920's. It's actually a duplex. Our next door neighbor's just moved in too. I was so excited about the inside, I for got to take a picture of the outside, backyard and the detached garage and the basement. The basement is completely unfinished and has pipes everywhere and not much work area, but lots of good storage.

First pic is looking down from the second floor. Next one to the right is the dinning room with the built in cabinet. Bottom left is looking from front to back of house. To the right of that, is the kitchen, and bottom is laundry room.

We've arrived at Fort Sill, OK!

2008-09-11T00:02:00.004-05:00

We've arrived at Fort Sill. We got here late last night. When we arrived it was pouring down rain. We had made reservations for temporary housing on post. We pulled up to the parking lot and everyone filed out of the van. The girls were SO TIRED of being in the car - Chloe especially. We let the dogs out to go potty and I looked up at the lodging sign and there was Kevin's name - weird - I said "honey, the sign has your name on it." The only thing we can figure is that he was the highest ranking person checking into on post lodging that particular day. It was too funny though - so we took pictures.

We checked in and headed to find our new "house". To our dismay we were three flights of stairs UP!! As it continued to rain we managed to unload the UHAUL. Kevin almost dropped his Harley because the ramp slipped off as he pulled it out - but we were lucky!! I won't even lie to you - the trip up the stairs with all this really heavy stuff was almost more than we could bare. The apartment is "ok". It has about 600 square feet I would say, if that. It's two bedroom and it has a living area. Sort of like a dorm room with ajoining living area. It has a real dormroom look to it.

Around 8pm we headed out to dinner with a screaming baby, a tired little girl, and two exhausted parents. I am sure the people who had to stay here with our two dogs in the building not knowing what the heck was going on with us and our stuff - ie barking their heads off - really appreciated us!! NOT!

We got back home after stopping in to get milk to try to create some sort of normalcy and I was completely spent. Overwhelmed. Hell, I won't lie I wanted to cry. I just wanted my house back. We were completely exhausted and so were the girls. We tucked them in to what bed we could find and retired ourselves after making a long list of things to do on Wed. Poor Kevin - we're used to a King bed - and once the dogs got in bed and messed around - we realized that we both wouldn't fit on this little tiny double bed. He slept on the floor. I felt awful but frankly, this bed is so wonderfully HARD I don't think I was sleeping on anything much different. AUGHH!!

This morning came VERY early. We were able to return the Uhaul and do a bit of scavenger hunting to figure out what we needed to do today and how to get there. We started at the Fort Sill "One Stop". I'll admit they have improved the process of "in-processing" at least now when you get ABSOLUTELY NOTHING DONE you do it all in one building. That sums up our day - NOTHING. Zippo. Zilch. That's what we accomplished today. We spent three hours at "One Stop". We tried to talk to housing only to find out two hours later that we will be spending alot more time in "temporary housing" than we thought. This is NOT a good thing!!! We tried to talk to CYS - only they wouldn't even SEE us until Friday with an appointment. We tried to get Wrena registered in school but she needs extra shots that GA didn't have and of course that means you have to talk to TRICARE first. Not to mention the whole controversy on us not knowing where we live so they don't know what school to send her to - one lady even said she couldn't go to school until we knew. LUDICROUS! We did manage to pick up the keys to our PO Box but unfortunately mail must take a bit of time to forward b/c only the water bill made it! Defeated and frustrated we headed out for lunch to regroup.

After lunch we headed to check out the PX and the commissary. I remembered the PX as soon as we walked in. It's about the same - Wren was excited because it was different than the PX she is used to. One of the things we had to pick up at the PX was a big bucket. A bucket you ask? Why a bucket? Well, don't laugh. I realized last night when we arrived that we only had a shower and no bath tub. That's not a good thing when you have a little baby. The sink was too small to do a bath. So I had to get creative. Yes, our baby girl took a bath in a big red bucket that we sat in the shower tonight. Need I say more? I really want to be in a regular house.

Then the commissary - WOW - Fort Sill's commissary is VERY nice. It reminds me of the new Kroger in Richmond Hill, GA. They even do Boar's Head sandwiches there at lunch time. The produce is awesome. The dairy is great. It was a really nice surprise. Of course the prices ROCK! I did miss shopping at the commissary. I needed something good to happen so I will take it - even if it is only the commissary!!

After the commissary we headed to the biggest underutilized treasure I THINK that there is on a military installation - the post library! Wren picked out a bunch of books, played, and then realized she could even check out DVDs. She was in heaven.

To help us visualize what we were getting ourselves into with the on post housing situation we went by to take a peek at the housing that we were told was coming available for us to move into next month. I had already decided we were going to just rent off post because I didn't want to live in this lodging for more than a week. Kevin thinks differently. He kept telling me "eye on the prize". The prize being the 2300 sq. foot on post house we should be getting. We'll see. I will give it to him though - going by there made me feel like I could do this. The houses were very nice. They even have a detached garage. They are historical and they are all renovated. It's very nice. "Eye on the prize." Remind me to keep saying that.....

We finally headed back to the lodging. With the new realization that this may be our home for quite some time, I decided to unpack some of our belongings. I managed to get the kitchen in order. I had to rearrange some furniture LOL! I was able to get it to where we could cook. Of course a grilled cheese is about all you can make with no oven and only a microwave and a burner but we did it! Everyone had dinner and we were surprisingly settling in. I started to feel a bit better about this.

So here I am and I honestly can't tell you how I feel. I am excited about being in a new place. I am excited about all the wonderful things they have going on on this post. I am thrilled to be on this adventure with my husband and my family. But today was extremely FRUSTRATING with dealing with all the red tape that the Army throws your way. It's silly really. Right down to CYS needing the name of two local people as emergency contacts when you just arrived into town and don't know ANYONE! That's the type of things that happened today. Silly stuff. Kevin was so funny - he isn't used to doing all of this I have always done it for him. I thought he was going to have a cow when he saw the hoops we Army wives have to jump through for our families. I just kept thinking that this is why I do what I do. Because the answers aren't always right just because they come from a government employee. They aren't always logical. And you shouldn't just do what the first person tells you. You have to try, try again. I kept thinking about the 20 year old new Army wives out there and how overwhelming this was for me - how overwhelming would this be for them? I've had 10 years to get used to this - four moves - and I'm still thinking "what the hell did I get myself into?"

I tell myself "when you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." I repeated that several times today. I keep telling myself it's only temporary. I just wish I could see this adventure for what it is - and adventure. I wish I could see it through the glasses of Wrena. She is just on one big trip, one big adventure, and it's so much fun to not be doing the "same old thing" to her. Maybe she'll let me borrow those "glasses" tomorrow when we head over to Tricare, ACS, and all the other necessary stops we have to make. I better put some patience in my back pocket too!

On the road....

2008-09-04T21:41:00.002-05:00

Here we go...we're off on our journey tomorrow morning. The boxes are packed. The movers have come. The house is empty. It's really hard to look at our house and know that we're leaving but I know that there is a huge adventure ahead. We'll keep you posted on how things are going. :)

We'll arrive in OK next week after stopping in MO for a day or two and regrouping. We'll be in temporary housing for a bit until we find a place on post. This could be VERY interesting....2 dogs, a cat, two girls....and you should see the amount of crap we "can't live without" that we are UHAUL trailering to OK. Whew!!! Wish us luck!!!

Jekyll Island - Georgia's Jewel

2008-09-01T07:36:00.004-05:00

For our last "hoorah" we headed down to Jekyll Island for the day. It's not the prettiest beach (ewww mud!!) but it was a beach where you can take your dogs to play. BOBBY HAD A BLAST! Wren said "Mama, I think Bobby is half dolphin!" He played and played. Amongst other "fun havers" was Chloe Jane who face planted herself in the pool of mud and much that her sister so lovingly dug up for her. Wren was having a mini-meltdown (something about crabs, dirt, and wanting to get seashells) but we're pretty sure she had fun anyway. Her favorite part, or so she says, was the picnic.

It was pretty fun if I do say so myself. We packed up a picnic of sandwiches (made me think of grandma and going on the boat with our hoagie buns and shaved turkey) and chips and headed down for the hour drive with our neighbors Mark and Jen and their daughter Kaelyn. They have been watching his brother's dog Roxie so we took her with us too. We found a little "cubby" of picnic tables and had lunch and then spent some time going over the "dunes" to the beachfront. We saw this guy catch a baby shark which was sort of cool but also concerning at the same time! LOL! Bob was instantly excited about the water, Lou not so much but she did go in. Roxie and Bob took turns getting the "orange" toy we threw out into the ocean. I think if dogs could talk - Bobby would have said (in the words of Wrena) "It was the best family day EVER!!!"

Personal pics of ALA conference..

2008-08-26T20:12:00.008-05:00

Here are some personal pictures that we snapped of the American Legion Auxiliary conference. I will have more to post once we get the professional pictures back too.

It was a good time. Started off with some beautiful flowers (pictured) from the guys at USAA! They are too good to me. There were about 900 people in attendance at the conference today. I received a beautiful award - though none of these pics have it in there I don't think. There was a reception too where I got to meet the unit women of the year. Which was pretty cool. Such great work being done by these organizations. The morning started off with getting to see Sen. (R) John McCain speak. Mama was actually closer to him than I was. I had to be on stage and cleared through the Secret Service - but she was down on the floor as a distinguished visitor and got RIGHT THERE beside him! All in all a good time. Mama and I got some relaxing in too! Good thing too b/c now I'm home to start the PCS to Fort Sill.

FUN FUN!

Yep, it's official - I made the NIXA NEWS!!!!

2008-08-22T10:10:00.001-05:00

I joke - but honestly I've very PROUD that they picked up the story. I love my good ole' little Nixa, Mo!

http://www.nixaxpress.com/articles/2008/08/21/education/doc48adc2349451b798314230.txt

ps. Thanks Babs for sending me the link!!

Daddy & His "Girl" Time

2008-08-22T08:35:00.002-05:00

We're pregnant again!

2008-08-22T08:26:00.002-05:00

Chloe loves her mama SOOOoooooo much! We always joke, if she could she'd crawl back up into my belly!! Well, this day she tried to. We were laughing so hard we nearly peed our pants. She's so happy, though my shirt is very stretched out!!!

Chloe being ...well, Chloe.

2008-08-22T08:25:00.000-05:00

Miss Inquisitive - Miss Explorer.

What a dork!

2008-08-22T08:23:00.002-05:00

Oscar was hiding from Lou trying to get on our bed. He wanted to be in there because all of the rest of his family was too! So, he found himself a hiding space. What a dork.

Join me on Facebook!

2008-08-20T21:34:00.001-05:00

http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Army-Wife-Talk-Radio/5807264206

http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=791714795

AWTR Founder; Tara Crooks named American Legion Auxiliary Woman of the Year

2008-08-18T09:47:00.002-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 18, 2008
CONTACT: Annisa Rainey, (317) 569-4534 or arainey@legion-aux.org

AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY HONORS MILITARY LIFESTYLE
COLUMNIST AND TALK SHOW HOST AS WOMAN OF THE YEAR

INDIANAPOLIS — Military lifestyle writer and talk radio host Tara E. Crooks has been named the 2008 American Legion Auxiliary “Woman of the Year” for her positive impact on the quality of life for the men and women of our Armed Forces, veterans and their families.

Crooks is the producer of Army Wife Talk Radio the original Internet talk radio program for military wives. Born on a whim during her husband’s first deployment in 2005, what started out as a fun distraction grew as Crooks realized her experiences and needs were not unique to her situation. The show, with an audience of nearly 2,000 weekly listeners, reminds military spouses that they are never alone by offering tips, interviews and resources to make their lives easier.

In 2006 Tara partnered with National Guard spouse Star Henderson to publish and self-syndicate Field Problems, a question-and-answer column geared toward empowering spouses with real answers to military families’ common questions. The pair authored the “Married to the Military” column for the Military Times and can be found in local newspapers and online.

American Legion Auxiliary National President Jan Pulvermacher-Ryan will present the “Woman of the Year” award to Crooks at a luncheon in her honor on Tuesday, Aug. 26 during the American Legion Auxiliary National Convention in Phoenix. Previous recipients include humorist Erma Bombeck, First Lady Laura Bush, country music singer Chely Wright, and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.

“It is my utmost honor to conclude my year in office by presenting this most prestigious award to Tara Crooks,” Pulvermacher-Ryan said. “Army Wife Talk Radio and Field Problems’ connections with hundreds of military families exemplify the very best in homefront support for those who bear the burden of defending our country and advancing freedom around the world.”

“The women of the American Legion Auxiliary are amazing forces of volunteerism, education, and community,” Crooks said. “They function in the spirit of pride, duty, and honor of serving their nation. I am blessed to be a part of this great organization.”

-- more --

American Legion Auxiliary Woman of the Year
Add 1

“Military families and the organizations that support them may not be the ones diffusing bombs or signing bills into laws, but they are the glue that holds our nation together.”

Originally from Springfield, Mo., Crooks is married to Army Maj. Kevin Crooks. The couple has two daughters, Wrena and Chloe.

Affiliated with The American Legion, the Auxiliary is the largest women’s patriotic service organization with nearly 900,000 members in nearly 10,000 communities. The organization sponsors volunteer programs on the national and local levels, serving veterans, their children and their communities.

-30-

Vote for Bob!!!

2008-08-15T16:53:00.001-05:00

http://www.competico.com/photo/68-9-lbs-of-georgeousness-our-bobby-joe

Childhood Memories: Monkey Bread

2008-08-11T12:53:00.003-05:00

Now it is no secret in our family that my mama is not a gourmet cook. Yes, we did eat alot of poptarts and pizza hut when we were little - but just like any other family there were "staples" that I can remember that she would always make for us. Though she is no gourmet, I hold onto those memories of the things she did make us because I know that they were not easy for her to do - she never did like cooking. (Ask Scott about the "pie baking" fiasco - the birds & beasts out in Hootentown really got a treat that year!) That means she must have loved us and wanted something special -- either that, or she was hungry. Not sure, but I'll go with the loving us one. HA HA HA HA

Seriously though - my mama makes really GREAT vegetable soup. That's my favorite thing she makes. (Yes, mama it is even better than your pork chalupas - though I don't even like pork or know what a chalupa is they said that I SWORE this was the best meal she ever made - and I can't remember - I'm sorta odd) She also makes good potato salad, yummy roast, awesome chicken spaghetti (grandma's recipe!) and some really killer french toast. Come to think of it she's really good at breakfast things...there's homemade donuts and even one of my favorites - monkey bread.

This past weekend I made this with Wrena. We had a blast! She had fun rolling the dough in the sugar. Kevin thought I got the recipe from his mom - it was a favorite at his house as well. He was surprised when I said mama made it for us when we were little.

In her defense though - that long list above isn't much longer than a gourmet chef's restaurant menu - don't they have signature dishes? You go Mama!!

Enjoy some monkey bread with your family this weekend:

Chopped pecans to taste - I put them in the bottom, then layer on each section.
1 cup granulated sugar
Ground cinnamon to taste (make this as strong as you want for the mixture)
4 pkg.(10 biscuits each) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 stick butter, sliced

Preheat oven to 350°F degrees. Sprinkle pecans in bottom of well greased bundt pan; set aside.

In a ziploc bag mix together granulated sugar and cinnamon. Cut biscuits into quarters. Throw each biscuit piece in the sugar mixture and place in prepared pan, arranging pieces to fill the pan evenly. In a small bowl stir together brown sugar and melted butter; pour over biscuits. Layer in pecans as you go, if you wish. Place butter slices on the top around the pan.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until dark golden brown and top springs back when gently touched. Cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes.

Invert onto a serving platter. Serve warm.

Too funny...

2008-08-11T12:13:00.001-05:00

Ya, you guys saw the bathtime pics of Chloe below. Not to be outdone by her sister...here is Wren's version. What a personality - I can just SEE her Daddy in her with the "wild and crazy" one.....She's such a nerd.

Ps. I've gotta frame these for something...they're too funny.

Talkin' To Grandma

2008-08-11T12:12:00.002-05:00

Chloe is not talking much yet - but she always LOVES to hear from my mama on the phone. She just waves and waves.....

Q Ts!!

2008-08-11T12:09:00.001-05:00

Back To (the 1st) School - Richmond Hill 2nd Grade

2008-08-08T07:30:00.004-05:00

So we took Hannah Montana, er, I mean Wrena, to school at her new school - Richmond Hill Elementary School last night. She was looking pretty cute if I do say so myself.

She headed off for the first day this morning. She wasn't nervous at all. I was. I don't understand how that doesn't bother her at all. She's going to do fine on post at her new school in OK - I'll be the nervous wreck. ha ha ha ha She'll start here until Sept 5th or so and then we'll move to OK and she'll return sometime around the 15th. They start later so it will be like she didn't miss much at all. Besides, it keeps her busy during moving time. I couldn't stand to hear "I'm bored out of my eyeballs" one more time!!

I can't believe she's growing up so fast!!!!

Growing Girl Aug 08

2008-08-08T07:22:00.003-05:00

Moving Woes

2008-08-06T07:25:00.002-05:00

I guess I can honestly say I'm just glad we made a decision. I don't really care what it is but I'm glad it's done. I feel better being able to make a plan.

So here's the plan. We thought it was sorta stupid for Kevin to go ahead and move to OK without us. He has to report on the 15th no matter what. Especially stupid since we get so little time together as it is. So, we decided we'd buck up and move with him. Our first plan was that we'd move to Nixa and he'd move alone to OK (at least we'd only be 5 hours apart) because we would still have our house payment here and if we moved to Lawton, we'd be paying double house payments or double rent. Then we were able to get ahold of the post housing and it turns out that we are able to move on post the second week of Sept. This is good news. We forfeit our Basic Allowance for Housing - which is about 1400 a month in return for a house, elec, water, trash, and everything but cable and phone. Not too bad. BUT we still have a 1200 house payment here in GA as well. It's going to be rough waiting on the house to sell here but we think if we get out of it it will sell better because the military moving in needs IMMEDIATE occupancy which that would allow. Our hope is that we sell it before we leave. Cross your fingers!!

We are leaving the first week of September (HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me - NOT) from GA to OK. We'll stop in and say hi in MO on our way. Hopefully our house will be ready for us before we get there or shortly thereafter so we don't have to live in a hotel for too long.

Things are nuts around here - I'm traveling to Phoenix with my mama to accept the American Legion Woman of the Year award the last week of August. Kevin is taking some leave to be with the girls and also to start the moving process. I can't even fathom the amount of crap we have in storage to go through and sort and what the movers are going to have to move. Our bike is still for sale - which is a good thing because we're worried with both of them and the playset we'll be over weight limit. It will all work out though.

We'll keep you posted on how things are going. Hopefully we'll be settled very soon. Thanks for all the prayers and support. It's an adventure - and a fun one at that! I wouldn't trade it for the world. Although - moving itself isn't ever really FUN. :)

Not walking yet...

2008-08-06T07:23:00.003-05:00

Nope...Chloe's not walking yet. For all of you who keep asking I thought I'd update you....

Mama called yesterday and said she had dreamt it would be yesterday - and it wasn't. We'll keep you posted.

ps. Why should she walk? Her sister carries her everywhere! LOL!

Happy 1st Birthday Chloe Jane!

2008-07-29T16:19:00.001-05:00

Trip to USAA

2008-07-21T15:35:00.001-05:00

Last week was a fun week. I headed down to San Antonio on Thursday to speak at USAA. What a great time. They put me up at the Westin LaCantera - rough life huh?

I got in late on Thursday night because of some sort of delay with the plane. Something about an oxygen tank - seemed really small - but I wasn't going to complain because if their checks are that thorough.... I'm proud! We went out to dinner at the LaCantera Grille where I had the best steak - yum!

On Friday it was "business" time. I started out speaking to a group of people who are the creators behind all of USAA's employee development and training programs. They were a great group. Then I spoke to a group of new hires who were mostly from the insurance claims side of the house. What a job huh? After lunch we headed to the USAA auditorium where we set up for the larger presentation. I thought I'd get creative in my presentation and I had them do a mock AWTR show! It was fun. The topic they wanted covered was spouses, and all about them. The group I spoke to in the auditorium was all of the USAA Marketing folks. It turned out great and was alot of fun!

I have to tell you - this building is so much more than what we think about when we think of a bank. Sure, there is a bank but this building is GINORMOUS! I seriously think it takes up several miles. Someone said that it was one of the largest buildings in the world - wouldn't surprise me. I have heel blisters to prove it!!

The offices are all sorta hidden and the building appears to be one large hallway - well, several large hallways. There are vendors and different historic things in each "section" of the building. It has a very military feel to it - gate is guarded, ID's must be worn etc. There are even cafes which have what I would equate to "mall food courts" in them. (Here's a pic of the visitors entrance)

All of the employees were AWESOME! You'd be so amazed that the Senior VP of ___(insert dept here)___ is just as nice, casual, and easy going as the lady who answers the phones when you call in to customer service. Everyone has a great attitude and is so nice. I think what I noticed most was that there was a tremendous amount of pride in what they did, and a huge amount of respect for the military members they serve.

It was a great trip! Still, I am so very excited to say that this week ...I AM GOING NOWHERE!

Yes, laugh if you will but I promise you this has been the first week that I have been home that I know that I don't have to pack to leave again... at least until the house sells. Whew!

The Wonderful World of Disney...

2008-07-14T14:32:00.010-05:00

I know it's been awhile since I posted to the blog. We've been busy - though I know it's not much of an excuse. The house is still on the market and we still plan on moving to Oklahoma. Hopefully, Kevin won't be moving before we will. We had hoped to be there before school started but it doesn't appear that is going to happen. We've had alot of lookers but not any offers. No negative feedback but we have heard some true statements like - the shower in the master is too small, the kitchen is too small, or the laundry in the closet needs to be a room. Unfortunately, we agree with all of those statements and can't deny them. We also can't CHANGE them. :) Someone will come along soon and it will be the right fit. We have faith!

This past week we took Wren and Chloe down to Disney. We stayed with our friends Cindy & Jeremy and their sons Zane and Logan. We also took Luke with us. We had alot of fun. The July heat will zap the life right out of you though! I prefer Disney when mama and I went - in January!! It was alot more fun because it was cooler. This time our favorite parks were Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios mainly because they weren't as crowded. We LOVED the Lion King. Wren loved meeting Ariel. Chloe took a bit to get used to things but when she did she started pointing and saying "that" to everything!! She LOVED meeting Scorcerer (sp?) Mickey at Hollywood Studios! Wren was also able to get an appt. at Bippity Boppity Boutique and got red hair extensions like Ariel - the ROYAL PRINCESS Treatment!! I got to see Mike and Sulley from Monsters Inc and even had my picture taken next to Roz - #1!!! That was fun. Kevin was the man with the patience of a SAINT! He has his mother's genes that is FOR SURE! He was such a good dad. He even put up with all the girly things we made him be a part of. He does love his girls. He was happiest at the parks that had beer (read as - not the Magic Kingdom!!). ha ha ha ha ha

All in all - a great trip! We swam, we ate, we walked, we sweat ....you know the drill. I sure am going to miss this place though - there is so much to do!!

Here are a TON of pics for you - BUT if you want to see even MORE -- visit our shutterfly page and see the Disney album: http://wercrooks.shutterfly.com/action/?a=0AaNGrJi3aOWL8o and http://wercrooks.shutterfly.com/action/?a=0AaNGrJi3aOWL-g

Catching our breath...

2008-06-23T14:36:00.004-05:00

Well, well, well, we're finally sitting down at home for a few minutes - long enough to catch you up - and to catch our breath!

We have been on the run, not from the law, but on the run none the less! Kevin was able to take leave in mid May and after two grueling weeks of "getting the house ready to sell" work we packed up and left for Missouri. Wren had her last day of school on May 24th and after her program we headed for TN. We arrived in MO the following day with just enough time to say hello and then plan a birthday party! We celebrated Wren's 7th and Chloe's 1st birthday at home with our families. (Pictures below). Chloe was freaking hilarious. She didn't quite know what to do with the cake so she just tried to put her face in it b/c it was too heavy to pick up. Ha ha ha ha! We had a great time at home for a week - we traveled down to Fort Sill, OK for two days looking for houses while the girls played with Grandma. We were, needless to say, SICK of driving! Then we went to Silver Dollar City, spent time with Abbey& Dave one day, swam, shopped, and got our massages at Grandma Barbara's spa, fed the ducks at the pond, and just visited.

Then we took a WEEK, yes a week, in Las Vegas. We left Wrena and Chloe with Grandma Jane and Grandpa Bill and Mama and Scott went with us - so did my sister, her boyfriend Chris (err, um, I mean FRIEND Chris), my cousin Laurel, Aunt Connie, and Uncle Cliff. We had a great time! Mama LOVES SLOTS! I had more fun sitting around watching her gamble on the slots then I did on the slots myself! Kevin and Scott played the tables. They only stayed half of the time, then went back to MO to spend time with the girls and Kevin and I had a few more days in Vegas. We decided that you need four days, three's not enough, and five is too many! LOL! You're out of money and tired of the smoke - not to mention you here slot bells in your sleep!! We even went to see Mystere which was a great show!

After returning to MO, we headed back to GA via another night in TN. Whew! We were finally home. Our house felt like a hotel though b/c we had staged it, all of our stuff is in storage, but nevertheless we ARE/WERE HOME!!! I spent the next four days unpacking and getting ramped up again for another trip. On Monday of last week I left VERY early to fly to Fort Hood, TX. We did an event (very labor and mentally intense) there for the spouses. We had a good time - great attendance and it went over in general - WONDEFULLY. I got back on Thursday night. I was spent. Exhausted. Kevin had the week with the girls and lived to tell about it! He did great!

We spent the weekend catching up on some much needed relaxation from our travels. Today, everyone went back to "normal". He was sorta nervous returning to PT and regular work hours. I was sorta confused as to what a normal day with the girls felt like. Alas, it's not TOO normal - it's summer and Wren is in full "I'm bored" mode. But we'll make it! We found a blow up swimming pool. It keeps her busy for a bit. Hopefully, well maybe not hopefully, but hopefully, we'll be packing up our house soon for our trip to OK. In the meantime - we have two weeks before our big week long trip to Disneyworld in Florida for our last she-bang! Then I am headed to San Antonio for a few days mid July. It's never a dull moment! Just thought I'd catch you all up......

Wren's Dance Recital

2008-05-20T10:21:00.004-05:00

It's official - :( and sad....

2008-05-15T12:36:00.002-05:00

Well, it's official. Here's our listing - http://www.realtor.com/realestate/richmond+hill-ga-31324-1099383281/

We're still doing touch up painting etc. but we're good to go! We hope it goes over well. We'll see. It is a great sense of relief just having it on the market though. The movers are going to want to kill us when they come in and realize what they have to pack that is in the attic and in the 10x10 storage unit up the road! LOL Oh well, Kev said it wasn't the first time they've done it.

Wish us luck!

On the road again...

2008-05-01T07:27:00.004-05:00

I suppose our life in the Army is just like the Army - hurry up and wait. We're in hurry up mode right now. Kevin hit the ground in GA and has been running ever since! We are of course getting ready to move which is less than fun, but we have/had a ton of things going on between now and August when we expect to be in OK. This weekend after our garage sale (pretty successful!) we traveled up to Fort Bragg so that I could speak at a conference on Tuesday. We visited with Luke Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. It was alot of fun. I had to spend most of Tuesday in a conference but while I was busy doing that Luke, Kevin, and the girls all went to a play area called "FUN FUN". Wren said that "it was the best day, and it would have been the best family day, if it were a family day." She's a hoot. Apparently they really made out with some wonderful little prizes that will most likely end up in the next garage sale! Ha ha ha ha

Here are some pictures Kevin wanted to share with you. This weekend we're on our way for a wonderful little four day vacation at Hilton Head Island. We'll be sure to take lots of pictures.

Love,
Tara

Extra! Extra! This just in....

2008-04-24T22:25:00.001-05:00

We are Fort Sill, OK bound in August. More later.....

Luck

2008-04-24T06:18:00.001-05:00

"I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more luck I have."
Thomas Jefferson

FOR SALE: 2006 Harley Davidson XL1200L - LOW MILES

2008-04-23T10:16:00.002-05:00

2006 HARLEY-DAVIDSON
XL1200L SPORTSTER LOW

$9300.00
1200 CCs -- 4Strokes -- 2 Cylinder – COBALT BLUE

2200 Miles

ONE OWNER
GARAGE KEPT
LOW MILES
EXCELLENT CONDITION
SERVICES ARE CURRENT MAINTENANCE RECORDS
ORIGINAL PAPERWORK
FACTORY WARRANTY

L@@K at these extras:
Upgraded Custom Leather Seat
Chrome Sissy Bar
Screamin’ Eagle II Exhaust
Chrome Engine Guard
Highway Pegs
LOTS & LOTS OF CHROME!

(note: I know, I know..it's so hard but it's just not feasible with Chloe being so young and us PCSing etc. etc. I won't stop riding but it is the best decision for this chapter of our journey)

AWTR makes Army.mil!

2008-04-23T07:40:00.001-05:00

http://www.army.mil/-news/2008/04/14/8468-army-wives-go-on-air-with-talk-radio/

Army Wives Go on Air with Talk Radio
Apr 14, 2008
BY Elizabeth M. Lorge

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, April 14, 2008) - Every Monday night at 8 p.m. a group of Army wives gathers to hear news, relationship advice, parenting tips and deployment support, but this isn't your traditional readiness or support group.

Most of the women haven't met and don't even know each other's names. But over the Internet radio waves and blogs, "Army Wife Talk Radio" founder and host Tara Crooks tries to help Army Families and empower Army spouses.

"I just wanted to mention how much fun I had yesterday rocking out to last month's AWTR shows on my Ipod! It was like doing housework with friends keeping me company," said Kim P. on the "Loving a Soldier Blog," which is run by AWTR.

"There's a common denominator that holds us all together," said Crooks, a Fort Stewart, Ga., Army wife of 10 years. Her husband just returned from Iraq and she had their second daughter during his deployment, an experience she said that she is still surprised she survived, and attributes it partly to the help of AWTR listener support.

"Part of what really makes this work sometimes is I think that I need you as much as you need me. I remember talking to Star Henderson, my business partner, when I was pregnant and I was sobbing and I said, 'Star, I'm not going to make it through this. How can I motivate people when I can't even get out of bed in the morning?' And she was like, 'You're going to do this, and you doing this is going to motivate other people.'"

Also available throughout the week via the Internet and podcast on www.armywifetalkradio.com, AWTR celebrated its third anniversary April 7. It was born late one night while Crooks' husband was on another deployment and has grown from 37 listeners to about 1,500. Crooks says while she once had to scramble to find guests, now experts on deployment, relationships and parenting eagerly pitch their ideas and the show is booked through July.

Dr. Gary Chapman, author of "The Five Love Languages," recently appeared, and Monday's show will feature Maj. Gen. Elder Granger, deputy director of TRICARE, and one of TRICARE's customer-service representatives, who will be available to answer listener's questions.

"I've really had an amazing response with doctors and authors and speakers and people who want to get their word out to the military folks and somehow -- I don't know, maybe because it's a podcast, it's grassroots, it's where all the younger spouses are right now, it's on the Internet -- we've caught on and we have that audience. We're able to bridge the gap between these resources and this information available to these military Families and the military Families they're actually targeting and that they need to reach and a lot of times they don't," Crooks said.

She had expected most of her listeners to be fairly new Army wives who needed a source of information, but a recent viewer poll found that even experienced Army wives are tuning in.

"It's definitely a support group," she said. "Some of those girls say that their Monday night is like their date, to show up on Monday nights for live shows."

That's especially evident on the Loving a Soldier Blog, where women commiserate over extended deployments, laugh and cry over daily struggles and celebrate homecomings together.

In addition to the radio show and blog, AWTR sponsors a book club and often has give-aways on the air. Crooks and Henderson also write columns and travel to Army posts conducting 'Field Exercises,' events teaching Army wives how to make the most of their benefits and combat problems.

"Some day I'd like to say, oh look, someone stayed in because we helped them, and we can help the retention efforts somehow and build a stronger Army. I truly believe that Army Families are the key to having a stronger Army," Crooks said.

Army Wife Talk Radio can be heard at www.ArmyWifeTalkRadio.com. To participate in AWTR live shows recorded weekly on Mondays at 8pm EST, visit www.BlogTalkRadio.com/.

More Kid Pics...

2008-04-21T16:24:00.001-05:00

Kid Pics...

2008-04-21T16:15:00.001-05:00