Adrian's New Address

I got a call from Adrian and he gave me the new mailing address. He is still on the same base being Fort Jackson but since he is not in basic training anymore, he has a new address.


PV2 Adrian Rushing
Bravo C.O. 369
5th P.L.T.
Fort Jackson, S.C.
29207

He wants to get lot's of letters from as many people that would like to write to him. He will be assigned to a base that is not Fort Jackson in 8 weeks after he has finished his training. He requested Utah as being his base but not sure if that is where he will be or not. He said he is not even sure when it is that he will be told where he is going. I am looking forward to seeing him again in 8 weeks. We will get him for 3 weeks then, 2 days just isn't long enough!!

Our Updates!

Can anyone see why I put a picture of David with a big smile on his face above?? Well if not, he has gotten his braces off! He is very proud of his smile! He obviously has been sworn into the Air Force but since it is a long time before going into basic he needed a job so he got a job at Al's Foodtown as a cashier. I don't see him much as he is still staying down with is friend in Duchesne. He stays there for several reasons but one happens to be the way he is made to feel by Kevin when he is here. he also likes to have phone signal!

Below is a picture of Nathan. This is a picture taken as a before type picture. Jonathan told him he would pay his truck payment one month if he was to get a hair cut. He also has a job interview on wed. out at Newfield and Jonathan said he would stand a better chance of getting hired if he would cut his hair. He had a moment with it and then I got started cutting!


Below is the after picture!! He looks much better in my opinion. I think he plans on shaving as well but not for sure. Also, while on the subject of Nathan, he is doing much better when it comes to eating. He eats more then I do!!


As most of you know I was worried about the garden. I don't have a green thumb so I was afraid nothing would grow but weeds. There were several of those that have grown but most of the veggies did very well also!


It is hard to see what is veggies and what is weeds but I will guarantee there is many veggies, more than we can use that is for sure!! We sent some things to Amy and from what mom said, her and her family are enjoying them!


The picture below is proof that we are growing something besides weeds! This is a turnip!


When we went to Adrian's graduation in South Carolina we stopped to see mom and granddaddy on the way. We were not there on her birthday but since Granddaddy wanted to take her out for her birthday, we considered this to be her birthday celebration. The wait staff came and sang to her and as you can see, mom was very red! I guess no matter what age anyone is they can still get embarrassed!


Here is her with her dessert. She sent it around the table several times for it to get finished off. I didn't eat any since it was ice cream and chocolate and I don't eat either one of those things right now. Granddaddy ate most of it, he has a sweet tooth!


Below is a picture of the group that went to eat. Granddaddy was not having anything to do with the camera or getting his picture taken this trip.

Mom had me get into a picture also!


Well school has started for Samuel and Ashley. It is just the first week so as of this point they are not complaining about homework or anything like that. I have unfortunately not been able to afford new cloths for Ashley this year but hope to slowly get some as the year goes on. Samuel is the same, so we will see what we can do for him also!

Other than that everyone is healthy and doing OK. I have an appointment with my doctor on the 31st so I will update everyone on how I am doing as well as Rebecca then. I will also get a baby bump picture posted.

I posted also about the graduation of Adrian from basic training, keep reading for that one!

My Handsome Soldier!

For all of you that don't recognize him, this is Adrian! He has now graduated from basic training and when I first saw him almost didn't know who he was! He is very skinny now but very handsome!

These next few pictures were taken on family day and then there are pictures after of the actual graduation.

Below is just him and I getting a picture together! Ashley said something right before taking it so we were kind of laughing at the same time! Kevin is in the background and if you look you can see his gum.


Adrian bought Ashley a late birthday gift of the newest Sims game, she is in to that kind of thing now. She was excited to get it and so I insisted that I get a picture of them together when he gave it to her!
My two wonderful kids! So cute!


Adrian had money burning a hole in his pocket and insisted that we go to the PX (I think that was what it was called) so that he could spend it! He had a laptop on his mind! Since we didn't know anything about them or what kind of things to look for, I called dad and so this is him talking to dad about the computer that was in front of him. It ended up being the one he chose! He also got a case for his laptop and a cordless mouse. He also found himself several games for his computer as well as his PSP, he was excited! We walked around for a long time and then he insisted on buying me some movies. I told him it was not necessary but he insisted on spending $100.00 for me for movies!. He said it is because he is cool like that! When he first said how much he wanted to spend on them he said a Benjamin. I don't actually see cash money so I had to ask what that was! Ashley and Adrian both got a good laugh from that!

There was a game area! Adrian enjoyed his time! I guess they taught him well with the gun!


Below is a picture of him in front of his locker! He is being his normal Adrian self! I love that kid!


He is showing his bed. His is the top bunk. He said that he found himself out of bed and standing at attention while he was sleeping. He wasn't sure how he made it without falling on his face but I guess he is just that good!


Here he is setting his new computer up. He was not expecting his picture taken nor was I expecting him to look up! Even with the look on his face he is still a good looking young man!

Graduation Day!! We arrived at 7am to get good seats and the actual graduation was set for 9am. e still didn't get the best seats as there was already several people that got there ahead of us. Below is a picture of the soldiers arriving at the end of the field. Adrian's group was one of the first to arrive so he is in this group somewhere!


This is his group walking down the field. It was a very long walk and I have to say I am very glad that I was not the one walking it. My camera was zoomed in as far as it could go and they still look far away!!


This is Adrian's Company. He is company B, 4 platoons in each company. He is the second platoon. Can anyone tell which one he is?? Me neither and I was there! The company next to him (company c) had a few of the soldiers and one of the commanders pass out from the heat. It was a very hot day with a lot of humidity. I am surprised that more of them did not pass out. They did have a death from the heat the day before. One of the soldiers was on the final march and had to be taken to the hospital where he later passed away. That is scary as it could have just as easily happened to Adrian.


Below is the walk by at the end of the graduation ceremony. Adrian is closest to us looking forward. He is the one in front of the black soldier. He is hard to recognize even knowing that was him!


After graduation he was allowed to leave the base so we went back to the room that we were staying in. He decided to take off the jacket part of his uniform and as you can see, it is not just his face that has lost weight!

We stayed at the room the rest of the day until it was time to take him back. He chose to eat Papa John's pizza for lunch and as soon as he was finished he took a nap! Ashley and Kevin all took naps as well! I tried but without much luck.

We dropped him back off at the base before 8pm and said our goodbyes. We won't get to see him again for 8 weeks. He has his training and then will get a leave to come home for 3 weeks. Fortunately he will be here when Rebecca is born so I am looking forward to that, he is also!

This is a picture of him and Ashley. Adrian and myself had begun or tearing up before the pictures started. We are babies but I love that he is not afraid to show emotion and it is nice to know that he will be just as sad as myself to not see us.

Then there is him and Kevin. Kevin had no emotions what so ever on this. I am sure that you can see by his expression.


Then there is Adrian and myself. As you can see we were smiling but there was tears. We cried for a little bit after this and as far as myself goes, I cried all the way back to the room and for a little bit after that. I miss him so much and can't wait to see him in 8 weeks. I very proud of him. Oh and by the way, he was promoted to an E2 just before graduation. He was on crutches for a couple of weeks but was still able to pass all of his physical tests and in most cases did better than those that were in good health.

Congratulations Baby Boy! You are a wonderful son and I am very proud of you for all that you are!

David Being Sworn In

We got up early and headed out for the swearing in. It was Dad, Ashley, David, and Myself. We stopped on the way and picked up David's girlfriend Miranda. He had to sign a million pages of paperwork when we got to one building and when he was finished we followed his recruiter to another building for the actual swearing in.

The picture above is of him learning how to stand at attention. I don't remember what was said but obviously it was something funny!!

Here he is actually taking the oath! It was funny because the man told him to repeat after him and when he said for David to state his full name David almost responded by saying "please state your full name!!" Before he did that he caught himself but then had to think what his middle name was! I think he was nervous! What does anyone else think!!

Here he is after having a photo opp!!

He had one final paper to sign at the end and so that is what he is doing! The one below is the same thing, I just made him look up and smile while he was doing it! He is a little red in the picture but I thought it was a keeper!!

We had Miranda take a picture of all of us together. I don't know what David is looking at but it is not at the camera!!

Below is a picture of David and his girlfriend Miranda! I think she is a cute girl!

It was a good day to say the least. I did my Costco shopping while out there so I got to kill two birds with one stone!! Ashley seemed to like her also, between her and Miranda the talking didn't stop!!

Congratulations David!! Oh, he is set to leave to the basic training in Texas on March 15Th!

The Potter Cousin Reunion

The area that I chose for the reunion was a first come first serve area in town so Ashley made me some signs and David hung them for me the night before so that it would already be showing that we were there first!! When we arrived the day of the reunion the park was full of people!!! I was slightly frustrated as I could see that the signs were still up. I brought some of the things like bags of ships and juice over to the wall of the building and was told that it was a farmer's market that was going on and it was set to end at 11am. I left and went to Al's to pick up the meat tray that I had ordered and some soda's but when I returned a little after 11 I found that they were all still there!! Since there was all the people there I had no tables to put anything on or anything! We started having people arrive for the reunion and so I was running late getting everything set up! I was not happy fully at that moment but after about 30 min. they started to leave to the point of getting some tables!!

The picture above is one of the signs that Ashley made for me! It is simple but I like it!

The pictures that I got are very few and are after most of the people had gone home. I forgot about pictures, I was enjoying conversations and food!!

The one above shows the tables that we put together for the food and drink coolers. The white one was the one with soda and the red one has juice. I was not sure who drank soda or juice so I got both!! The food took up 1 and a half of the two tables. It was nice that there was enough for everyone to eat what they wanted and we still had some left! The desserts that were brought were brownies and since i don't eat chocolate at the moment, I didn't get any dessert! How sad!

Theses other two pictures are of random directions. The one above has Aaron's family at the table and I think the one standing in front of me is Lory.

Below has some of Aaron's kids in it and Guy and Jana with her son Tristan. Ashley and a friend of hers is walking out of the pavilion.

All in all it was a fun time. I had never before planned a reunion so I had no idea what to do or anything about it really. I think that I did a good job considering! I guess other people thought I did a good job also since I was basically nominated to do it again next year! I don't have a problem with it but I have decided that we need to have more than just me deciding on things and paying for it! We should have some kind of committee or something! If anyone has any suggestions for me on things that would be fun to do, please let me know!! I did like Janice's idea of a fishing pond for the kids with small toys.

The Quilt for Mom!

Above is a picture of the entire thing! It is huge and awesome!!

Below is a picture showing that the girl that had made this put Kayleigh's name at the top!

Each picture below is one of the squares that was done. Each one had a special message in it, all from different girls in the young woman class. I hope that you can read them, I think that for a couple you will need to click on the picture to make it bigger!



I love this one below! I loved them all but this one got me to cry when i read it and it still makes me cry to read it now!


This one below got the tears to come also!




I thought that this was a wonderful gift for mom to get and having met the girls when i was back in Michigan, they mean all that they say on each square! To see it in real life is much more beautiful!

I have posted two other blogs so continue reading on. I have a couple more things to post but i will do it in a couple of days. They will be about the cousin reunion, the swearing in of David into the air force (I have a picture of his girlfriend!), and then the updated pictures of the garden! Stay tuned for them!

The Cave and the Butterflies!!

This first picture was one that Amy had posted about in one of her blogs! It was of course taken at a buffet restaurant but if you didn't know that it would appear that it is indicating a different kind of bar!!

Below is a picture of the bridge that we walked across to get us to the cave as well as from. The picture was taken as we were coming back. You can't tell really but it is uphill!!

Below is a picture of the trail that we walked on to get from the cave to the butterfly house. I took it from the bridge. I am afraid of heights so to me it is a long way down!

This is as we were waiting for the boat to go into the cave. Kaya is not happy but in this one she is not crying like she had been doing a few seconds before I took the picture. I think that she knew I was going to be taking the picture!!

This is a picture of the mouth of the cave. To get to the boat we had to walk down some steps that were not at all even and didn't seem to be very safe to me!! I am also not comfortable in the enclosed spaces so to say the least it was an interesting time for me!!

I got a few pictures of the inside of the cave however they are not very good. I tried on every setting to get them but it was so dark inside that this was the best that I was able to get!


The one above as well as below are of the same part of the roof of the cave, just at a different angle.

Not sure what the next two are of, they are kind of blurred to me but non the less, it is some pictures!!


This is what the nightclub looked like. Where the lights are in the corner is the original bar and then the rest is the dance floor!

This is an up close picture of the chandelier in the club! It is cool to see something like that in the area that we were in!

This is a picture of Ashley and I standing by the bar!

Here is Amy, Taylor, Kaya, Timothy, Mom, and Ashley in front of the bar also!

We then went to the Butterfly house and below are the pictures that we got there!

There are several of Kaya because she was just so cute while in there! She spotted one flying and was letting Timothy know that she saw it!

This next one is when she attempted to eat one that had landed on her! Poor butterfly!


This was after she was told that she couldn't eat them. Poor kid, doesn't get to have any fun! As you can see, her hands are also held!

I put this in the wrong place, this one was right before she attempted to eat!

Below is another butterfly. If I was with Taylor at this moment, he could tell me what kind it was, to me they are just butterflies!!

And that was the pictures that i got of the cave and the butterfly house! We all seemed to have a good time and since all of the money that was spent for the tickets and the souvenir shop goes to keeping the place in good condition, it was well worth it!