I never thought...

I never thought that I would have four kids. I never thought I would not be a nurse by now. I never thought that life could get any busier. I never thought that I would cherish my Saturdays so much. And I certainly never thought I would be a soccer mom, let alone coach two teams. That's right not only have we dived into soccer this fall, but I am coaching Luke and Abigail's teams. It has been a crazy whirlwind of running around, driving all over, and running some more. I have no clue as to what I am doing. Things are crazy. Not only are Luke and Abigail playing, but Madison watched their first game and decided she wanted to play. All three play at three different fields on different sides of town. I would not be able to do it without the help of my family. Mike who lives, and breathes soccer is the true coach. When Luke found out I was coaching he called Mike and asked him if he would help. It has been great to spend Saturdays with the Coil Fam.

As you can see the Tyler kids with the Great Coach.

Mike showing the girls what to do and how to play. Me trying to look like I know what I am doing.

Abigail looking hot in Lemon.

She had to leave the middle of the game and run over to give Grandma a big hug.

I love this shot. It reminds me of Lala and her soccer days. I always had fun going and watching her play, whether it was in Logan or south of Salt Lake. Thanks for the memories.

Abigail hustling for the ball.

Listening to the expert.

She was not afraid.

She has a great leg on her. She had some wonderful kicks. I have not seen her more excited to participate in anything else. It has been so much fun.

Thanks for the shot Erin. Next time crop out the wanna be coach. Love ya!

Luke was all about bunch ball and running with boys.

He was taking it all in.

Those boys were so much fun. They are a great joy to watch.

There I am again trying to look like I know what I am doing. Thank goodness Mike is there to save my hide.

Overall, it has been a blast. My family has been there from the beginning. Mike has been great to help with practices, and games. Erin and the girls have sacrificed their precious saturday time with Mike so he can help his big sis. Lauren has been awesome to help with games when Mike can't, and my parents who thought their days of driving kids to and from games were over have just begun again. Thank you all of you for your love, support and cheering. I never thought I would love being a SOCCER MOM!

GO BLUE LIGHTNING!

GO LEMONATORS!

What a blast!

So, the other day Lieutenant Danek and I went to the otherside of the airfield to check on the progress of our new mail processing facility, the Regional Mail Distribution Center (RMDC), and also to check on the guys sorting mail at the temporary RMDC. This is nothing new, we go out there nearly every day. This particular day there had been a number of what are called "controlled detonations". This is when the demolition guys blow stuff up in a controlled situation. On our way back there was an announcement of a "controlled detonation (det) in one minute." Okay, no big deal they'd been doing them all day long. We had just gone over a speed bump (there's a speed bump every 50 yards or so, but that's a different story all together) and were approaching the rifle and pistol range, where we practice shooting our weapons, when the controlled det went off. BOOM! Apparently, and we did not know this before, the detonation area is right next to the range. We were less than fifty meters away from the explosion. HOLY CRAP! Next thing I know there are rocks raining down around us and our hearts our pounding in our chests. That was a little too close for comfort. Fortunately, the detonation area is surrounded by 20 foot walls so the blast concussion is channelled upward instead of out. Now we know where not to be when they announce controlled dets in the future.

When Uncle Caleb is bored...

Chris and I went to the temple one night while he was visiting. The kids went to my parents house. Caleb was there and he was bored and decided to do a little art project. And this is what we came home to...

Luke loved it. He was Ang the Last Airbender. It was a hit. Thanks Caleb for making great memories with the kids. We love and cherish you very much.

The Back and Forth of it all...

In early August I was assigned to travel to another FOB to fix the problems they were having. I was anticipating only staying on ground for two or three weeks, but was later directed to stay longer. No problem, however, I have been back and forth to Bagram because of issues there that had to be resolved as well.

I am pleased to say that for the most part the problems that needed fixing are mostly fixed. I can't take too much of the credit, even though I had a hand in it, it wasn't really all that hard to fix. It simply took a little effort to go out and talk to the right people. Amazing what a little communication, friendly communication, can do to fix things. My thanks and appreciation go out to the soldiers who work for me that were able to take what we were given and make it successful. We came up with a plan and they put it into play and everything is running so much smoother than before. The Lord has blessed to be successful.

Soon I will be heading home, not just back to Bagram, but home to Utah to be with my wonderful family who have loved and supported me. They give me hope and joy and Aubrey is truly an inspiration. She has rarely complained and has shown tremendous strength during this challenging time. I am blessed to have her as my eternal companion.