Deployment, Part II

Brian left Sunday for the remaining chunk of his deployment and I miss my buddy. We decided to drive up to Dallas where he had to officially report in, instead of flying out of Austin so we could have a few more hours together -plus, we do love road trips! Even the dog came -a full family affair.

After 18 days together, life felt normal and wonderful. It was hard settling into a routine as a family only to have it so quickly changed. Yet, the precious time together was worth the heartbreak of saying goodbye again. I LOVE our little family!!

We had some great visiting time with Brian's family and got to go out on several dates, courtesy of Mima's babysitting -thank you, Betty!

Savannah enjoying having her professional ball-thrower back. She's ridiculous.

Family portrait, part 2.

"He smokes small stogies that he has found, short, but not too big around...." Brian cleaning the guns while enjoying a beer and a tasty cigar. The definition of "manly" incarnate.

Wiley didn't want to see Daddy go -and if you look close enough you can see his shirt matches Brian's. Oh, wait. They're just floating heads -they "blend" in...

I guess it's all downhill from here, and I'm thankful for it. It could be anywhere from another 6 to 9 months before he comes home for good, but this time together gives me overwhelming joy in looking forward to what's to come when he returns. Brian and I are totally in love with our family and, despite the cruddy circumstances of being apart, I've never been happier than I am as his wife and Wilder's mother.

For Channel Four News, I'm Heather Green

Catch me on Gizmoz.com for some political fun and my latest acting gig -and YOU can be the mystery person behind the next president of the United States!

Go to Gizmoz.com and click on the icon for Elections 2008, then select to co-star with either McCain or Obama. Have fun!

Lock And Load

Joined by our BFF couple, Katie and Patrick, we went a-shootin' at Eagle Peak Shooting Range and had a frickin' ball!

Setting up targets

Personally, I don't think we have enough handguns...

High School Buddies -the Fireman, the Soldier, the Fathers.

Katie is SO happy to be home on the range.

Getting ready to rock Quantico. She'd make a great agent.

Tandem

Watch out, I'm coached by a trained killer.

And THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!

"Pull!" What a team.

He makes it look so easy. I couldn't shoot poop.

Don't hurt the pigeons! Oh, wait...

I've always thought he'd make an excellent movie star, he's such a badass. Too bad he hates working with people!

"That pigeon didn't know WHAT hit it! Hahahahhaha!!!!"

I need to take lessons from her -Katie can rip those birds apart.

The Smokin' Guns. Autographs upon request.

We had a ball! Katie and I made a pact to have several girls days out and head to the range to kick up our mad killer skills. Bad guys beware.

New Niece!

Welcome to the world, Miss Aravis Katriel King! Find out the details of my sister's family's newest addition on their family website!

First Week

Waiting at the airport! We're SOOOOO excited!

Together at last! Welcome home, Daddy!

Mini Family Reunion at the airport

The Wild Men

After a few hours of adjusting, Wilder was crazy about being with his Daddy. Now he even cries when Brian leaves to run an errand. It does a mommy's heart good to see so much love between her special guys.

Wiley's first pancake!

More quality time

Pool party at Mima and Boppa's!

With 11 days left together we're capitalizing on every day! Tonight is our first date night and, let me tell ya, I'm pretty darn excited!

We've been running on our favorite trails, making landscaping plans, cooking fun family meals and just spending quality time together. Really, this feels like a vacation -a much needed vacation for both of us! Slow days around the house just being together, playing with Wilder and enjoying home life. It has been incredibly wonderful having Brian back and having Wilder's Daddy so enthusiastic about his role as a father. Wilder is finally at a point where he can play and doesn't solely depend on me, so Brian can step in and enjoy his son -and I can sit back and enjoy my family! It is going to be rough saying goodbye again, but this taste of what's in the future will keep me positive and steady to plow through 'til the end.

In the meantime, I'm loving having Brian home and soaking up these precious moments!

Where we've been & where we're going

Ahoy! At long last I've returned. It seems like ages since my last post, but we've been busy 'round here, so let me fill you in.

Finally, FINALLY....I booked a gig! I did the happy dance and got my lines down and transformed into a news reporter. The web company the shoot was for creates video templates where you can log online and insert the face of anyone you wish into a bunch of historical and other types of footage. Example -you remember in "Forrest Gump" how he shows up in all those news reels with JFK and other presidents? This is a similar concept. You upload a photo of yourself, a friend, or anyone you wish and Voila! You're in a scene with John McCain. My clip was demonstrating how a user or customer could insert him or herself into political footage of the current races. We were documenting "the man behind the next President." Of course he is ficticious, but we made like it was a real news story. The company this piece is for, Gizmoz.com, is based in Isreal.

The perplexing photo above is the only one I remembered to take during the shoot and it happened to be during a very hilarious moment. The wind protector on our rented mic rolled down into the sewer. Undaunted, director & producer Christopher Morse pryed open the manhole, climbed in and fished it out. Such heroics I've yet to see topped on a shoot.

Anissa and I had a fantastic cheese fondue party and wine tasting, trying out two cheap, yet well aged Merlots. Amazingly enough our favorite was the cheaper bottle and I just might have to go back to the store to snag a bottle or two for Brian and I. Dinner was delicious -it's been years since my last fondue party, but I won't wait so long for my next one, that's for sure!

Wilder is tall enough to reach the keys and has SOOOOO much fun singing while he tickles those ivories. "Play us a song, you're the piano man!" I'm sure this is JUST the beginning of many years of "music" :)

"Mom, don't interupt my concentration. I'm composing my first symphony. And for goodness sakes, PLEASE call me Mozart!"

And finally, where we'll be: Busy. Very busy. Brian is on his way as I type from Iraq for his midtour leave. He made me promise not to plan anything, so we're going to have a rather organic schedule and time of major relaxation and family time! There's been talk of maybe visitng Becker Vineyard, but we'll see. For now, I'm cleaning the house, tidying all my important piles of crap and trying not to eat all the chocolate in Texas (calms my nerves....) We're thrilled and I can't wait to share new family photos with you!