Celebrating Christmas with Khaki

This morning I decided to take our living room back from Santa and his elves. All the red and green is enough to drive a girl nuts....plus I could swear I've seen a few kids hanging around the window looking for Jolly Old St. Nick. So after a consultation with our interior decorator, JPK (name withheld to protect the fabulous), I began the Townley's journey from the North Pole. (Sorry, it's late, I'm tired and the sarcasm is flowing).
I literally painted for 12 straight hours. Well, minus the hour I had to go back to Home Depot to get more paint. Go figure. And in living up to its reputation as the WORST home improvement center on the East Coast, their theft alarm was malfunctioning. (The one that goes off if you walk out of the store with something you haven't pai... you probably already know what a theft alarm is...) Anyway, every thirty seconds or so it sounded like the world was ending. I should mention it was also malfunctioning this morning when I was there (seven hours ago.) I asked the paint guy what was wrong with it and he said "Oh, it's broken." Behold, for I am in the presence of the Omniscient One. *Go ahead and look up the big word. I'll wait. *(No kidding it's broken.) Isn't this HOME DEPOT? You guys can build an entire home/office with the products that you sell, but you can't fix your own alarm? Just as I was considering bringing this to his attention, he handed me pink paint and handed the customer next to me my paint. It was one of those glorious moments where two strangers can look at each other and know they're both thinking the same thing.
Yeah. So back at the ranch, the paint es finito. I like it. I like it a lot. I'd post pictures but seriously, I'm smoked. Maybe tomorrow...

Hey by the way, Robin Hamilton, did you know our first month of this deployment is DOWN!?!
Oh heck yeah!

Happiness is Hug "B"

I got my very first letter from Iraq today! (!!!) Rob and I have a tradition of never writing our actual names in the return address. Over the past three years he's received a Lot of fan mail from "The hottest girl you've ever met" and occasionally the "Ruler of Fidget Land" or "General Townley" (We promote from within) will write to him. Yeah, so today I got one from "D. Hasselhoff". This will make no sense to you unless you read one of my entries from like, a week ago. That's right. Our blog requires dedication, people.
That David Hasselhoff, he's so hot right now.
Thanks for making me smile, Mr. H.
Anyway, in addition to that, the boys in Iraq are embracing the "irony of it all". They have found some old war posters that have been ...."improved" upon. These have circulated around the Ft. Meade area for some time, but in case you haven't seen them before.... here's one that Rob sent me. (Also note that I've figured out how to work the scanner on our new printer! Oh, I'm the woman.)


I love Jesus :-)

Peace on Earth... and in the mall.

Well, our tree is up, and our Christmas shopping is officially finished; let the Holidays begin! Yesterday Jessi and I spent four hours in Annapolis completing our gift lists for friends/family. The Christmas rush has already begun, but it's not too bad...yet. People are still smiling at each other while humming along to the carols played over the intercom and kids are lining up to have their pictures taken with Santa.
I can't stand going out anytime after December 15th. By then, most of the good deals are gone and desperation is setting in. (Think Christmas of '03 with the "Tickle Me Elmo" madness). By the 15th, the Christmas music playing in the background only sets you farther into "panic mode". They might as well be playing "The Final Countdown". All anyone can think of is how irritating it is to walk around the "Pictures with Santa" booth that inevitably is placed in the center of the mall each year, and how is it possible that every store has at least one screaming child?
Yep. Not the Townleys. We're done. (sigh...smile).

Tree-mendous! (oh, I'm good).

I've changed over to the Beta version of Blogger... mainly because the blog site won't leave me alone until I do. But it states that there's "no going back" so if it sucks...then I guess "oops".
Yesterday I went to hang out with the In-laws in northern Maryland. I took my camera with the intent of taking lots of pictures, but as usual, I forgot. I did get a few, though. We went to The Festival of Trees at the Maryland State Fair grounds. I have never heard of this before but it was insane! Basically different groups in the community decorate trees with themes and then auction them off at the Festival. All the proceeds go to the Kennedy Krieger Institute (I think... don't quote me on exactly where). Each tree has a title- and those were cracking me up. We saw the "Mys-tree" which had a bunch of clues on it and police tape, The "Statue of Liber-Tree" (self explanatory...I hope) and my favorite: "It takes Tree to Tango" which was actually two trees entwined (below)

and reminded me a lot of two other trees trying to tango...
Anyway, here's my crew... (half of which are looking at something more interesting than the girl counting to three)


Today a bunch of us are going out to play Ultimate Frisbee and shed some of those holiday pounds before they start. If you're in the area and you want to join us, just give me a buzz before 2pm.

A lesson from Polonius

"We are oft to blame in this, 'tis too much proved that with devotion's visage and pious
action we do sugar o'er the devil himself."
-Polonius, while talking to Hamlet.

"Does the ore admire the flames that transform it? Forced good or forced evil, for whatever
purpose, will cause a people to cry out in pain"
-Feisal Hussein bin Ali (King of Iraq, 1919 - 1933)

So another Thanksgiving finds the Townleys with an ocean betwixt us. And for what? Life hasn't been as rough out here as the last time around, yet this time it would seem much more about the nature of this confict of ours has been made obvious to me since I arrived. In short, there is nothing here worth another American life. The Iraqi social heirarchy has re-established itself to the point where economic interests (read: which family in Iraq can control the most oil?) once again drive on the violent, historic land disputes that made this cradle of civilization such a desolate bassinet thousands of years before America was even a country. Wether with intent or not, our hubris in presuming that a prolonged occupation of this place could control the Djinn's we have invoked in militant Islam has only gift wrapped an excuse for our leaders to keep us scared and obedient to "the greater national security." Make no mistake, we are no safer now than we were when Danielle and I
were children. Freedom is not on the march. Freedom is sitting in a corner office, to
cowardly to take decisive, uncompromising action to rectify the self-imposed state of
paranoia in which we find ourselves. There is nothing in this country worth another American life, save perhaps correcting the disregard for human dignity rampant in this part of the world which we have, in effect, fostered. There is no war here between demarcated sides. There are only personal, emotional vendettas between humans, melded into the guise of a larger conflict by men (on both sides) who shrug the responsibility of the lives their self serving decisions have cost. Ahmed the bomb maker (forgive the racially charged sobriquet) doesn't have grand intentions of toppling Western civilization. He's angry that foreign troops control his back yard, and that their presence here has drawn from all corners of the world violent zealots who have nothing to do with his former profession as a cabbage farmer.
Hence, he takes what action he can to kick the foreigners out. Think what would happen if a foreign army occupied say, Alabama? Good ol' boys from every volunteer fire department and Rotary Club would be lining up to take a shot at the invaders. On the other hand, Johhny GI over here only knows that there are a lot of Arabs with names that all sound alike trying to kill him and his buddies from home, and he has to do whatever he can to bring himself and his friends home safely.

Ideologically, the west will never understand the culture we so avidly seek to subjugate here in the desert. The Brits tried it and failed not 90 years ago. The Russians tried and failed in both Africa and Afghanistan, and managed to leave behind naught but rusted oil
derricks, horrible architectural taste, and a ubiquitous supply of weaponry. We cannot lay down borders and impose rules on a civilization that, out of necessity to survive, built it's stability around family ties, regardless of economic status. These people don't care about our borders or our curfews. Their families and tribes have been torn asunder repeatedly by western governments for the last 150 years; it's no wonder they have an innate, often violent distrust of Americans and our kind. We do not belong here, and we never did, save to buy some good coffee and hummus and go home. What need has there ever been to conquer a culture in order to reap the advantages its civilization (or lack thereof) can teach us? There are enough conflicts simmering here without our intervention, and they
will sort themselves out for good or ill without our prejudicial say-so. It's time for us all to come home, ladies and gentlemen. We aren't even fighting a battle anymore, we are only creating more work for ourselves at the cost of our own lives. And all for want of what? The statesmen who built the freedoms we so flippantly impose on others would be embarrassed to see what our leaders have become: graceless.

And now that I've become your ray of sunshine for the day...a happier note: My best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving to you all...may your bellies be filled with turkey and stuffing and your day's countenance be of good cheer and fellowship. No doubt I'll find some turkey of sorts over here...however your cheer and fellowship will be sorely missed.
-Rob

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! We hope you all have a great time celebrating with your friends and family. Laura and I are driving up to Delaware to spend time with our cousins and grandparents... I also should be seeing Rob's mom this weekend somewhere north of Baltimore. (might behoove me to find out exactly where... i'll work on that.) So it looks like we'll be spending a few hours in the car. I've thought and thought, and I just can't remember the last time I drove anywhere that took hours and hours and hours....



(haha, oh the irony).
(P.S. There is no sound with this video so don't drive yourself crazy trying to turn up your speakers... also, I am famous in my family for being the worst videographer ever, so if you watch our 15 second clip and feel queasy, it's probably not the ham sandwich you had for lunch)
Anyway, We'll be on the road in the morning (like every other sucker on the east coast that thinks they'll beat the traffic on Thanksgiving Day). I think I'll burn some new driving cds...
Please say a prayer for Rob and all the others who are serving our Country overseas during the holidays.
Love you, honey!

Up and at'em!

There's reason to believe I MAY be starting work soon. (Applause...). Not that I haven't enjoyed having the past three months off, but I'd be going nuts if there hadn't been all this work to do around here. (i.e. packing up and moving over and over and ov...you get it). As of yesterday I have all but finished the unpacking, clothes washing, picture hanging, etc. And I still have to paint our living room... Remember that beautiful green color we painted it? Yeah, well once we moved out, we bought RED furniture for our apartment. (I've always wanted a big, red couch). And now that we're back...well, our living room practically sings "Jingle Bells" when you walk in. I may leave it for the Christmas season though... so festive!
Right, anyway, one of my new goals is to start getting up early again. My fear is that when I start work, I'll be so used to sleeping in that I'll be yawning all through orientation - which rarely impresses. So yeah. This morning I forced myself out of bed at 7:30am. Three months ago I couldn't have slept past 7:30am on a weekend. In fact, on a weekday by 7:30 I would have already put in a half hour at work! Now it's sheer torture. But today, victory is mine! In fact it's not even 8am and here I am, coherent and everything... in fuzzy slippers and a bathrobe (shut up).
Corporate America, look out, Danielle is on the rebound.

P.S. Kudos to that guy who told me to take my time and find a job I'll enjoy. Who was that guy?

The longest Blog since the beginning of... blogging.

Ah, Saturday. Actually every day is Saturday for me. But today was Saturday for everyone, so it's much more interesting. (Yes, I'm aware I just said "Saturday" way too many times.)
Laura and I started the day off with some Christmas shopping. (groan). When we had taken all the cold weather we could bear, we came back to my house for a very healthy meal of gingerbread tea, pizza, peanuts, and apple slices. (Random much?) And a movie from redbox. That Jennifer Anniston has burned me one too many times with her DEPRESSING movies. I was a big fan of hers during the "Friends" era, but as far as her cinematic career...not so much. Today was the last straw; "Friends with Money" was so bad we actually turned it off. I think I would actually rather watch "Stick it" than five more minutes of this one.
It's now 6:47pm (although it feels like 10pm because it gets dark directly after lunch these days) and the rest of this evening will probably take place in my pajamas on my big, red couch. I'm thinking something along the lines of "Family Guy; Season Two"... anyone?


Okay so it's like three hours later and I've found this ridiculous site called www.myheritage.com (or something like that). Anyway, you upload a picture of yourself and it tells you which celeb you most resemble. (Told you I was bored). So, THIS would be the picture I loaded of us:


and THIS is who we came up with





Personally I'm getting a kick out of the David Hasselhoff likeness....and Fabio. Then again, I have both of the main characters of "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion" on my list.

...I need to find something else to do...

To the Commissary...and Beyond!

I've been a military wife for over a year now, and yet this morning was the first time I've been to the commissary since I was a dependant of my Dad's. I have our *new* neighbors ('new' because even though they've been here for a year now, we all only just met them), Josh and Heather (also military), to thank for this one. Tonight is our Thanksgiving meal with the Church group. We're all bringing something. I have been trying for days to come up with a dish that doesn't require cooking. (i.e. drinks...maybe the veggie tray?). No dice. So this morning, me and my two favorite neighborhood housewives, Adam and Josh, went to the commissary to get food.
I forgot how much cheaper the commissary is! I never go because it's a lot more convenient to shop across the street, and I still have nightmares about being 5 years old and dragged from aisle to crowded aisle for what seemed like years in the commissary. In my younger years I was sure I would be old enough to drive the car home by the time we finally emerged.
Anyway, the experience was a good one. (Cheers for sarcastic people to shop with!) We're planning to make this a regular outing in order to keep all of our kitchens stocked.

I'm sure somewhere in Iraq Rob is reading this in disbelief. He knows I've never been a fan of grocery shopping (i.e. I'd rather make a meal out of the leftover orange juice in the fridge and the brownie mix in the cupboard than go shopping).
Look at me, honey! All grown up! (26 years old and FINALLY goes willingly to the grocery store). I'm such a role model.

Yep. I Updated!

Well, it's been a few BUSY days... here's what I've been up to...

1.) Still only "mostly" moved in. The interesting thing about storing your stuff at people's houses is remembering who has what.
2.) Finally got the washer and dryer hooked up. (I have clean clothes!!!) We only flooded the basement twice and lost three screws from the dryer (all found)
3.) Fixed the hot water heater today. Okay well I didn't fix it, but the water heater guy did. And yes, it still counts.
4.) We got hit by some monsoon (slight exaggeration...but only SLIGHT) that the weather man called a "tornado watch". (A tornado watch? Seriously?)

The downpour started around 2pm and it was the kind of rain you swear couldn't last longer than 15 minutes because it's coming down so hard and in such big drops. Yeah. 2 hours later, still going strong.
Speaking of time, Rob should be calling soon! (This is literally my favorite time of day). The most entertaining thing that's happened to him in Iraq so far is that they are trying to talk him into re-enlisting. We both had a nice long laugh over that... and then we shared some angry thoughts that aren't printable here. Yes folks, this may shock you but we plan to be free of the USMC as soon as humanly possible...and maybe even a little sooner.

Home again, Home again, Jiggity Jig.

Yep, that's a nursery school rhyme. But it's all good because WE HAVE A HOME AGAIN! I'm a few days late on THAT news, but there's five million things going on around here. So whatever.
On Saturday I had about ten people show up to help move "us" (Rob and me... minus Rob) into our house. Now, I don't mean to brag, but if moving were an olympic team sport, I'm relatively confident that when all was said and done we would be on the winner's blocks singing along to the Star-Spangled Banner. These people know how to move a house! (They say practice makes perfect....and we have provided a LOT of opportunities to practice.)
Jessi - ever the photographer - took a bunch of pictures, a few of which I'll post here once I steal them from her. If you see them, that means I posted them. If you don't, it means I don't have them yet. Patience, grasshopper.

I realize this isn't the Grammy's or anything, but there are some people to thank: A HUGE thank you to our Bible Study for moving us...again, Thanks to THE GODFATHER, Andy (that's our latest and greatest name for you) for the pizza, and to my favorite sister, Laura, for providing beverages (and CEREAL). You guys are the greatest.

Honey, I'm Home!

Stocking Stuffers!!!

Okay, we moved yesterday and I plan to update on that in a little bit, but first, this;
Most of you probably know about Trinity Cosmetics by now... if not, visit the website (www.trinitycosmetics.com) and you can read all about our friends Zach and Stacey Adams and how Trinity Cosmetics started, etc.
As this is their first holiday season on the market, they are offering a 30% friends and family discount on their entire line of products. I asked Stacey for permission to post their discount deal on our blog and she said to invite you guys to pass it on to your friends too. So here it is:


Dear Friends & Family,
Trinity Cosmetics is offering you a special 30% off discount code to help get you started with your holiday shopping. Our products have been featured in Southern Lady Magazine's Nov./Dec. issue as one of their favorite picks for great gifts for your girlfriends and our award winning Blessed Balm Lip Revival Treatment is a perfect stocking-stuffer.

Just enter: F&F2006 at checkout to receive your discount, offer valid until 12/18/2006.

Please share the blessing and forward this email on to your friends and family too.

Happy shopping,
Trinity Cosmetics

Visit us at: www.trinitycosmetics.com

I am so Smart. S-M-R-T

I'm anxious to get back into the "old routine" around here! I start the moving in process tomorrow. (In case it wasn't obvious, I CAN'T WAIT for that to be done!) The job search is coming along, and in the mean time I'm getting back into our old gym. It's been the healthiest way to release the stress caused by, well, everything. The class schedule has changed around though and I keep getting the old schedule mixed up with the new one. Yesterday it happened again- although I didn't realize until the class actually started that it wasn't what I was expecting. Instead of Power Yoga there was some other yoga class that concentrated on the mind or whatever. We did a lot of "let your face relax...allow your body to speak to you". I don't know about you, but I go to the gym to sweat, not sit for an HOUR AND A HALF and let my face relax. I think my body would have worked harder at digesting a cheeseburger. It finally dawned on me to pick up the new schedule - good thing too because I'd look pretty awkward showing up alone in the "Mommy and Me" exercise class tomorrow morning.

There is no Dana, only Zool

So hi everybody! It appears that yet again, I will be 'wintering' in the Middle East (like it's the Hamptons or something)...I arrived after a relatively smooth series of cargo and helicopter flights somewhere around 3 AM on Sunday morning. No sooner did I get on the airfield shuttlebus than I remembered one reason that I detest this place: Iraqis smell really, really bad. I mean, Danielle and I were in Africa last year, where they don't even know what deodorant is, let alone have the money to buy any, and the folks in Addis smelled somewhat civil. Not so over here. I think the whole country has a BO problem. Think of the worst BO you ever smelled, and then blow it at yourself with a hairdryer on high - there you have Iraq. Maybe add a little burning trash for flavor.

Anyhow, I'm living in what equates to 1/3 of a single-wide trailer in a crazy concrete bunker...and of all places, I seem to be among friends. For some reason, this iteration of the Iraq war has drawn to it all manner of old, bitter, burnt out vets with whom I am familiar, so we're all sort of conspiring to take over the place and bring everyone home. We'll see how it goes. Thus far, the idiots are winning the battle. The disturbing part is that the idiots are wearing the same uniform I am. Anything you guys hear from the news about things going well over here...don't believe it. It's just as much of a morass as last time I was here, and more complex politically. Like I said, there is no Dana, only Zool. (If you get that reference, you SO get points).

The food isn't bad, and I have a steady flow of bad coffee to keep me generally attentive and pessimistic, so I guess in that respect it's not too much different than any of my other trips. The hours aren't too nice (they created a job for me, so I have to work like 18-20 hour days to get myself up to speed...hope it slows down).

I miss home like crazy (and by home, I mean my wife...she's home to me); all of you are in my thoughts all the time. If you guys get the chance, stop and look at the trees change colors, and breathe in that crisp Maryland air for me. Thank you for your incessant prayers and kind words...your support means a great deal to us. I have decently regular access to email on yahoo, so hit me up if you get the chance! My response may be a little short, but I promise I'll make an effort.

More to follow! Love you guys!

-Rob

Because I'm Bored. That's why.

It's a slow day here in Townley-land. I totally stole this from someone's website (so feel free to steal it from mine). Unless Rob gets the chance to blog, this website won't be seeing any updates of interest until Sunday. Having imparted this knowledge to you, if my site meter shows a lull in traffic for the next few days, I won't be offended...or surprised.

I'M AMAZED…
At the efficiency super glue provides in adhering two things that I DON'T want stuck together (i.e. my fingers) and it's inefficiency in securing anything else.

I DOUBT…
The military is done screwing with us... call it a hunch

I CAN’T SEE…
Why people continue to buy Hummers. There are more fuel-efficient ways of bragging about how rich you are.

I WANT TO BEAT WITH A SOCK FULL OF QUARTERS…
People who regularly feed their kids This or This or This (To name a few) and then blame society because their children are overweight

I'M ADDICTED…
To iTunes. Rob got me hooked.

I FEEL BAD…
When I listen to KFed's "Po Po Zao". Admit it, so do you. Poor kid never had a chance.

I WATCH…
Grey's Anatomy. I've been pretty hooked on it, but I'm ready for Meredith and McDreamy to either figure things out or come up with a new plot line. "Seriously".

I LISTEN…
To National Public Radio. When you drive around as much as we do, you find out that a little variety goes a LONG way.

IF I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS…
I'd be spending a lot more time on this website.

I WANT...
To know who gave Tyra Banks her own show. (Add that person to my list of candidates for the "sock full of quarters" beating)

I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT…
Cereal. And Sarcasm....maybe sarcasm should be listed first.

I THINK CHILDREN…
Are a gift...well, most children. There's a few in my neighborhood that I'd like to "re-gift" to someone else's neighborhood.

I CAN’T WAIT…
Till my man gets home!

I'M PROUD…
To say I can change a tire, tile a bathroom, and rewire light fixtures.

I HAVE A DREAM…
To write a book. One day you'll be paying to read my sarcastic antics...

I ALWAYS WEAR…
Flip-flops (yes, even in November), jeans, and a cell phone.

I FEAR…
Gas station rest rooms.

I WISH…
The dog next door would put a sock in it already.

I ONCE ACCIDENTALLY…
Oh no you don't. I'm not admitting that here!

I NEVER…
Take myself too seriously-- or anyone else for that matter.

I’D KILL TO…
Spend the holidays with Rob. Okay, I wouldn't actually KILL to do it...

I MISS…
Horseback riding. When I was a kid I was convinced I'd get a horse when I grew up...but I also wanted to live in a house made entirely of ginger bread. There's a chance I didn't think things through...

I'M LOATHE TO ADMIT…
I own the movie "Stick It". (Don't waste your money, I'll send you my copy for free).

I’LL NEVER FORGIVE…
Life is too short not to forgive. When I stop making mistakes, I'll stop forgiving others for theirs.

What's all the racket?!

Yesterday I had the "opportunity" to play raquetball with Micah. I have a few years under my belt thanks to my old Sentara buddy, Karen, so I figured what the heck?
Okay, somewhere between the ages of 23 and 26 I have gotten OLD! Today my back is sore, my legs are sore, and my feet feel like I must have played barefoot. It was great to play competitively though (I know, Me? Competitive? Never.) I've never been the girly girl who tried to sit out in gym class because she's afraid of the ball. Micah seemed to enjoy the game (I let him win...sort of..okay not really). So it looks like we're going to make this a weekly occurrence. In which case, I should probably start saving up for one of those electric wheelchairs....

5 more days until we move back in! I think the Guenther's cats are lighting candles and keeping vigil in anticipation for the moment when Scout no longer patrols their hallways looking for 'playmates'.

Frequently Asked Questions

K, I'm getting a lot of emails and phone calls from friends and family to find out where Rob is, what I'm up to, and how we're doing. So, here are some updates for you guys:

- Rob has landed in Iraq. He's "safe" (I don't think anywhere over there actually qualifies as safe, but whatever) and already hard at work. Some of his old pals from Maryland are there as well so at least there are some familiar faces. He has a mailing address so if anyone wants to send him letters/care packages, shoot me an email.
- More job interviews for me this week. Hooray. The recruiter I spoke with last week was REALLY excited. (Like "Too much coffee" excited). Should be an .... interesting interview.
- We are moving back in to our house on Sunday! I know this is not "new" news, but I'm happy to have something to be excited about. So yeah, it makes the list.
- We're doing "fine". I don't know really how else to say it. Obviously we're not like "THIS NEW TURN OF EVENTS IS AMAZING!!!!" We miss each other, and things are stressful, but we'll survive. All of the craziness that's occured in our first year of marraige has made us stronger. We're finding that these days, situations that would make other people tear their hair out in frustration just makes us throw our heads back and laugh. Life is life. It isn't always fair, but it consistently beats the alternative.

The hottest man alive mentioned he was going to try and update on here soon... I don't know when, but stay tuned!

And another politician bites the dust

By now everyone has heard about John Kerry committing carreer suicide with a realllly tasteless joke on Monday. But in case you missed it, this is what happened:

Monday, at a stop on the democratic campaign tour for Phil Angelides, John Kerry said this to a group of California Students, "You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

There isn't really much I can say that won't make me sound like a pissed off Marine wife. Lucky for me, the Marines have a much better response...

Going, Going, Gone.

Yep. So Rob left this morning...and it sucked. It wasn't a huge surprise - this is the third time we've been through this and it doesn't get easier, but you do get somewhat used to it. So, instead of talking about how sad I am and depressing all of us, I figured we'd go for something happier. Keep reading - I swear it gets happier...

We actually got to spend Halloween together this year. Not a big deal to most people, but this is the farthest into fall he's stayed since we've known eachother, so yeah, we were pretty stoked. We found a Haunted Hay Ride in the country and dragged Laura with us. It was hysterical, complete with the fake chain saw guy and headless horseman.




Anyway, thanks again for all the supportive calls and emails. We truly appreciate you guys! We had a great last few days together. Rob should be landing in Germany sometime in the next five hours and I'll do my best to keep you guys updated.

This is most likely our last day with internet until I get back to Maryland...so...I think this will be us signing off as "team Townley" until Rob gets back next Spring. We had a great weekend in Virginia, took a drive out to Colonial Williamsburg



and came home for "Christmas Dinner" with the family.


Thanks for checking in with us while we've been getting ready for the deployment, and keep Rob in your prayers!