Halfway done with AIT!

so yeah i still need to post pictures from graduation, and keri's baby shower - man im so far behind! But, I did just want to write to give an update on Brandon :) He is doing soooooo well! This past week he had some major tests to take, and he passed them all with flying colors! He is now a certified EMT-B (which stands for Basic I am told). Plus, he had another PT test on thursday and did his personal best in sit-ups, which have so far been his toughest challenge. So, all his hard work in the gym paid off :) I'm so proud of him. Plus, he thinks he may not have to take another PT test before he graduates from there, but I'm not going to bet on it, it seems they always say things like that, then make them test again regardless, so he may still have to do it again, but I'm sure he will keep working out and it will be no problem. So, this means everything is set and he will be able to hang out off-base with me when I go visit in two weeks from today! I'm so excited! Oh, and on Wednesday of this week Brandon surprised me at work by having some chocolate covered strawberries, a teddy bear and a ballon sent to me from edible arrangements! He is so sweet :)

So, now Brandon is entering Whiskey phase which is probably not going to be as fun as the name would imply ;)  but it is where they get to act out senarios on the 'battlefield' and learn how to apply their skills to a more military setting. Brandon said it is going to be tough because they will be running around with all of their gear on the whole time - bullet proof vests included - craziness! but yeah he is officially a little more than halfway done, so this has been a really great week :) Thanks to everyone for your continued love, support, and prayers

oh - and we may be finding out where we will be stationed any day now! Brandon said a lot of people in his company are starting to find out their 1st duty station, so keep your fingers crossed for someplace cool to visit so everyone will want to come out and stay with us ;)

12-ish Weeks Left!

Ok so I have had several requests to update my blog because I have been totally remiss and haven't updated in a long time. I'm a horrible person! So, I am going to do my best to catchup on the latest happenings here, and then when i can find my camera cord I'll post pictures from Brandon's graduation! Just to warn you they aren't as cool as I'd like them to be, but at least they are something.

Graduation - ok so the trip to Georgia was the best worst trip ever! Seeing Brandon was soooo great I can't even describe it! I didn't think it was possible for them to shave off more of his hair, but the army found a way. So, this was the first time I have had to travel and rent a car and hotel by myself, and it was quite the experience. The hotel was great, but gave crappy directions when I had to find a walgreens to get some items I forgot to pack. So, as I was driving around aimlessly looking for something I decided to get some dinner, and while waiting in the longest drive-thru I have ever been in, my tire pressure light came on. So, while sitting in a parking spot waiting for KFC to make more mash potatoes - yes you read that right, the KFC ran out of mash potatoes so after wasting half my young life in the line i had to relocate to a parking spot to wait some more - anyway, I decided to check on my tires, well what did I find? Yes, you are right one of my tires was completely flate, in the middle of a KFC parking lot at 10:30 at night in Columbus Georgia!

so I had to sit in my car, eat my dinner and wait for someone to come change my tire - yay for USAA roadside assistance. then I had to spend precious time with brandon the next day getting the flat repaired, then had to pay the car rental place for a new tire anyway - so dumb!

The next day, after getting a little lost on the base, after 10 weeks i finally got to put my arms around my husband! He thinks I'm silly, but I think he looks awesome in his uniform. What I wasn't expecting were all the rules that go along with wearing his uniform in public. He can't show any kind of PDA, so no hand-holding, hugging, andything like that. He also couldn't drive, or walk while talking or texting on his phone. I understand the reasoning for it, no distractions while in your uniform or what not, but not being able to hold his hand while walking around was hard for me to do.

I think I gained 4 lbs that trip going to the restaurants brandon hasn't been able to go to, and hanging out eating pizza while watching a movie in the hotel. But, I think it was worth it :) It was nice just spending time together, even if we were doing nothing. The graduation ceremony the next day was pretty cool. they had some awards to give out, and we got to see them march around and stand at attention, they even incorporated smoke and gun fire in part of it.

The next day we both had to be at the airport (me going home, him heading to San Antonio for his AIT training where he will learn to be a medic) so we got to have lunch together at the airport.

Since then we have gotten to talk a lot more, which makes the seperation a lot easier. Plus, we are broke from my trip out to Georgia, so we dont really have a choice but to deal with it and wait till we can save up for me to go out there for his graduation from AIT. We are looking into me driving there, then driving him back with me, and maybe hitting up six flags or soemthing since he has two weeks in between his AIT and we would have to report at whatever base we are assigned to for the next 3 years. So, we will see how that pans out. For now, he is doing relaly well. They spend most of their time in classrooms and doing hw - its weird hearing him talk about spending free time studying, sometimes I wonder what alien abducted my husband's body hahaha - he is still having trouble doing situps on the concrete, he tore up his tailbone when he first got there, so he can only do about 10-15 before he is in a lot of pain. I blame the Judd genes for his lack of butt hahaha Other than that things are looking really good for now.

His new mailing address is:

Judd, Brandon
232nd Med BN
E. Com #12-11, 1 Cav
Ste 1350
3250 Koehler Rd
FT Sam Houston, TX 78234

he can get packages and things now, aside from the obvious things that are still considered contriban (weapons, etc.) but if you send food, try to send a lot cuz apparently they are suppose to share or something.

In the area of little bundles of joy - and I put emphasis on LITTLE - Brynlee Abel was born the day after Fathers day June 20, 2011! She looks just like her dad, and is soo tiny and precious as only new borns can be! Both mom and baby are doing so well. What a blessing! Congrats Michelle and Ben :)
Ok well that is it for now, hopefully I will post pictures soon.

Disneyland vacation in T-2 days! yay

Week 10 - One week till Graduation!!

Well I am beside myself with excitement! This time next week I will be with Brandon! I can't wait! which probably means this week is going to go by horribly slow, but i can't help it! hahaha and if you dont believe me,  i think the amount of exclaimation points i have used so far is a small indication of my feelings! hahaha  anywho - I got a letter yesterday, after a week without anything because of his 5 day camping trip the letter was a very welcome sight :) It turns out he passed his last physical test, and should have gotten a phone call, but was sent on some sort of cleaning assignment and everyone got to make their calls while he was gone! That was so upsetting to hear. With his luck, im not sure how he has survived basic at all hahaha
other than that things went well during the trip, no ticks :) but he does still keep rolling his ankle. It seems to happen almost everyday, or multiple times during certain activities. I'm trying not to worry too much but I cant really help it. I want to get him some kind of graduation present, of course he says my attendence will be enough, but i dont want to show up empty handed. hmmmm.... ill have to think about it.

Week 9 - 16 days till Graduation!

Well, Brandons last couple of letters have been wonderful to read! It seems nothing has changed much on the 'getting in trouble for stupid things and people' front, but everything is going well and Brandon is staying out of trouble :) They went on another overnight camping trip thing the other night, and apparently there were ticks and bugs everywhere. Brandon was happy to report he only found one tick the next day while showering - so gross!!

In other news, it was my little sister jessica's highschool graduation on thursday. It was so weird to see her enter adulthood! It makes me feel old! I dont know what I'm going to do when my youngest sibling graduates! That's so crazy to think about, and its only a few years away! I never really think about our family all grown up with families of our own, for some reason my younger siblings are always still much younger in my visions of the future. hahaha I hope I dont turn into one of those moms that cries and can't bare the thought of her babies being all grown up. Things aren't looking good if I can't even handle my little sister graduating hahaha

Week 8 :)

Soooooo - lots and lots of good things to report!  Brandon is doing sooo much better. His spirits are much better than the last time I updated. So thank you for the thoughts, prayers and letters. Apparently he got 4 of my letters at once, so im thinking they hold mail and what not so that is probably why he didn't get any that one mail call.  Anyway, his PT test was last monday, and he did so awesome! He did 43 situps and only needed 36! He said he didn't know why he was so worried hahaha So, unless he hurts himself (knock on wood) there is no reason why he should not graduate on time. I think they may have to do the test one more time, but I think now that he has done so well he will have no problem cuz he knows he can do it :)

He is giving a talk in the branch over there on the 29th about obedience. I know he is going to do really well, he is such a good speaker, and of course he has been talking about obedience a lot in his letters to me so there really isn't a better topic they could have chosen - funny how inspiration works out that way hahaha

On another note Michelle's baby shower was on saturday. She got such cute things, and had so many people there supporting her! i thought it went really well. Allison throws a great party, and I'm totally trying out those tissue paper pom poms the next chance I get ;)  Anyway, I want to wish Michelle the best - can't wait to meet Brynlee! and of course thank her and Allison for letting me help out :)

Week 7

So..... I have been horrible and haven't updated this in a while. Brandon's letters come pretty regularly now, and i am trying to keep up. He mentioned one time they had a mail call - or whatever you want to call it - and he didn't get anything. I felt horribly guilty and have tried to send something everyday since then. I know he looks forward to letters more than we know. So, if you have been thinking about it please, please try and find the time to write him. He is struggling right now trying to keep 'sane'. There are just a lot of screw-ups in his platoon, and it makes it really hard for them to progress and get the privileges they should be getting - like phone calls! But, they were finally allowed to make a 10 minute call this past sunday, so that was absolutely amazing! Hearing his voice was awesome! Sundays are the thing he looks forward to most, his 'escape' if you will. When he first got there, there were 4 of them that went to the LDS services. Now, his name is usually the only one on the list to go, and since they cant go anywhere alone, one other guy in his platoon ends up saving him at the last minute and going with him, but he is not sure how much longer that will last. He is suppose to give a talk in two weeks, so it would be really awful if he couldn't go.

This past monday 5/9 was suppose to be their physical test where he has to do as many push-ups as he can in 2 minutes, as many sit-ups as he can in 2 minutes, and run 2 miles in under 15 minutes. He has been fine with the running and the push-ups, but has been struggling with his sit-ups. I am really anxious to hear how it went. I'm not sure what happens if he didn't pass, I think he may have to stay in basic longer, and that would not be good at all! We are both so looking forward to his graduation in June. It's really hard to not think about it all the time, even though i'm sure that is going to make these next few weeks go by super slowly - but I can't help it!

So, that is pretty much what is going on - he sounds like he is doing well, but I think he is just barely hanging on in some respects. So, please pray for him, and write him if you have the time :)

The Next 25 Weeks: Week 5

Well, things are looking up! I got another letter from Brandon on Saturday, and he got the letters and cards everyone sent for his birthday on the 18th! So, thank you so much it really lifted his spirits. He informed us (well his mom really) that his graduation will be on the 8th and 9th of June, and anyone who wants to come is welcome! The 8th is a family day, then the graduation is the evening of the 9th. He is thinking he will get to spend time with me/whomever else comes, during the day on the 8th, and the night of the 9th after the ceremony.

I booked my plane ticket, hotel, and rental car today for the trip. I'm so excited!! The only unexciting thing is you have to be over 25 to rent a car without an additional fee - so lame! One more year and then maybe, just maybe the world will finally accept that I'm an adult.

Brandon's letter said his ankle is feeling better, and he is doing really well. He looks forward to sundays more now than I think he ever did while he was home. He requested pictures and hopes everyone is doing well.

I started typing up his letters, maybe someday I'll make them into some kind of book, but for now it is just a fail safe in case anything happens to the originals. So, if you didn't get to read them, and would like to - let me know and I can email them to you :)