Crossfit

A friend of mine, and a huge crossfitter I might add, left last week and before he went, he had one last puke fest, compliments of me for creating the workout...

JBD's Last Work Out:

3 rnds of 17 reps (3 x 17 = 51 which is Jim's age)

J - Burpee box Jumps

B - Back Extensions

D - Dips

S - Strict pull-ups

L - Leg Levers

S - Weighted squats (45lb plate)

Here we all are... smiling at first.

I was the first victim...

Lovin every minute of it... smiling after dry heaving

Dreading more burpee box jumps... they did me in

Matt was the second victim... and it got him the worst

Last exercise... notice Matt cursing my name for making him do the WOD

Jim finished in 23:50 and I was at 25:51... the old man killed me. Roy stood next to me to make him look bigger and the other guy didn't want any part of our exercise.

Gotta love Crossfit!

Happy Birthday Ollie Boy!

Happy Birthday Oliver!! You make our hearts melt daily. Our lives are so full of joy and happiness because you were born.

A true chocolate lover just like his Daddy.

Blowing Off Steam

Where do I start... it's been over a year since I posted last and really, this deployment doesn't allow me adventures as did the last one. However, some things have happened recently that I thought I'd share with the world and keep you all updated as to what goes on here.

Most of you know, especially Hillary, that I can't and won't talk about specifics of the work we do over here. Not that it's super secret stuff, it just shouldn't be talked about over a blog... if you want to talk specifics, lets get together when I'm home and I'll answer any questions you may have. However, for the time being, I'll be vague, but try and get the point across. My primary job over here in Afghanistan is working as a counter-IED analyst... which means I look at the IEDs, trends, facilitation, etc and help the units here try and... "be left of the boom" so to say. Well, my main problem is just that... every time I make a suggestion for them to do something which could potentially save lives, they instead are more worried about the "rules of engagement" and winning the "hearts and minds" of these Afghans rather than protecting their own lives and those of their comrades. I have to preface this and say that we are doing some great things in this country and killing a lot of bad guys... well, not enough really, but at least some. Recently, an IED went off and killed two US soldiers. Not 24 hours later, we observed 8 individuals digging on a road not even 1km away from where the IED went off the previous day... So what do we do? we fire a warning shot. yeah, talk about intimidating... that's not the end of it though. The 8 guys disperse and then come back soon thereafter. So a bird flies overhead and observes them digging again... so they fire flares at them to scare them off!!! Are you kidding me? These animals just killed two US soldiers and what do we do? We continuously slap them on the wrist and tell them to stop doing such bad things! Are we here to win or are we here to please the Afghans? We need to start showing the Afghans that we're a force to reckon with, not someone who will back down when confronted with adversity. These people are animals... they've been at war their whole lives and know no different. All they do is take from us and now they expect it!

Breathe Davy... breathe... I enjoy my work and trying to make a difference here, but it can be EXTREMELY frustrating at times (kind of like right now).

Alright... another topic that gets me riled up as well. I read this recently online... this is from Muslim Cleric Anjem Choudary who is in charge of this movement: "On 3rd March 2011 From 1pm to 4pm (local time), at Pennsylvania Avenue, outside the White House, the Muslims will let the tyrant Barack Obama and the American people know that a new constitution beckons the US called the Shari’ah, and that this worldwide revolution will see it implemented inshaa’allah (God willing) very very soon." I actually just got sick to my stomach when reading this (cite: Sharia4America.com). I don't want to hyperlink it cuz I don't want this cite to get flagged or anything. Here is one thing I wish our nation would do... be like the Australian President and stand up for what we believe in. Here is what he said recently regarding Muslims in his country.

'IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians. '
'This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom'
'We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society . Learn the language!'

'Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.'

'We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.'

'This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, 'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE'.'

'If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country that accepted YOU.'

Well said Australia. Well said.

Ollie Boy is 10 months old!

Oliver is 10 months old! I missed doing a post when he turned 9 months so I'm gonna catch you up on this wonder boy.

-he crawls everywhere, nothing is safe when Ollie is on the prowl
-he pulls himself up on whatever he kind find...stable or not. I love how proud he gets when he stands up.
-he has 8 teeth!! top front 4 and bottom front 4
-he loves food...to a point and when he's done he'll let you know...the baby with the iron jaw
-he loves milk and hates any kind of juice and will only drink water from a cup. i guess he gets it from me since i drank a gallon of milk every 4 days when i was pregnant with him
-he makes the funniest noises all the time, I wish I had them recorded so you could all hear it
-he's still a good sleeper
-everywhere we go people are drawn to him....his blue eyes and wavy blond hair and contagious smile.
- he's all boy...rough and tuff. Loves to be scared, thrown in the air, flipped and bounced all around.
-he loves our dogs and feeds them all the time
-lately he likes to rocked to sleep again...i am loving it and will treasure it while it lasts

I love this little boy so much....my love for him grows stronger every day. He is amazing and I love that every time I see him I see my sweet husband...he is a carbon copy of Davy....Oliver makes this separation from Davy slightly easier on the heart because he reminds me so much of his dad.

SHOUT OUT TO MY HOT HUSBAND

Here's a shout out to my hottie husband!! Davy you are so missed!! Life just isn't the same without you here by our side. I know Ollie misses you and knows you...the way he instantly turns and looks at the computer when he hears the skype ring and how he crawls right to the laptop with a huge smile. He loves his daddy and can't wait for him to come home and hold him and play with him. I can't wait for you to come home to hold me and play with me too:) And i admit I miss your cooking, your singing, you cleaning up after your messy wife, watching you make our son laugh, playing with the dogs, your back rubs and your front rubs too(just kidding...okay i'm not kidding). Alright, you got me....i miss everything about you. You truly are my best friend and the best husband anyone could ever ask for. Be safe and know that we love you very much and miss you like crazy!
Love, your wife and son
Hillary and Oliver

Oliver's first snow!

It snowed over a foot in one night in Alpine, where we are currently residing. I bundled up my bundle of joy and plopped him in a big pile of snow. He wasn't too sure about it at first. Kinda confused of what he was sitting on and why it was so cold ( i had a plastic bag under him so he wouldn't get soaked). I made a little snowball and gave it to him...of course it goes right in his mouth...after that he seemed okay with the snow once he realized he could eat it without getting in trouble.

Water and Wiener

Oliver has discovered that he has a new toy and that he takes it with him where ever he goes. Funny thing is, he's had it with him since he was born. Now he just needs to learn when it's okay to play with it and when he should put it away.