Busy Week

This was a long, rough, busy, exhausting week for Drew. I'd say the craziness really started last weekend. Drew came back from a mission only to learn that they had surprise room inspections. For Drew, this was no big deal. They actually gave him a compliment by walking into his room, telling him they were sure his room always looked like that (that clean) and didn't go through all of his things. That sounds like a small thing, but the other guys had every single thing looked through and they found many areas for improvement. And, of course, regardless of how Drew's room looked, he is part of a larger team and they are in it together. Drew was up from 3am to 3am, went to bed for a matter of hours, then had to go on a 24 hour checkpoint. After this, he had several lay-outs where they check, re-check, clean, re-clean, check... you get the picture. Again, they recognized Drew for being a leader and "stand-up" guy, and didn't root through all of his things. Drew actually had a good time "shooting the sh*t" with the higher-up instead of doing an inspection. Yes, I said it. :) All of you who know Drew can picture him saying that. :) But again, Drew still had to help all of his guys get everything ready and ensure they were prepared.
This week we also had a communication blackout, but when the internet was turned back on, Drew's didn't work. We didn't talk from Wed-Saturday until he was able to borrow his friend's internet in another block of CHUs. FINALLY today, they rewired Drew's block of CHUs and everyone is back up and running. Drew said it best in that it is hard when we don't get to talk because that is his highlight everyday. It is SO refreshing to talk to each other everyday, and when you can't, it starts to wear on you. But we feel so lucky that we can enjoy this luxury which we have come to expect. So many military men and women do not get to talk that often. My appreciation continues to grow for our parents and grandparents who served their country when their only communication was writing a letter. We have so much to be thankful for.
So as of today, I was able to talk to Drew a little bit longer and he hopes things will settle down this week. However... he has additional 24 hour checkpoints because his group is covering for another team while they do their room inspections and lay-outs. Drew's team was the only group that had to continue working (missions and checkpoints) on top of all the tasks. I am so proud of him. It makes for long days but today (Sunday) he said the last time he looked it was Tuesday. He is happy the days are going by quickly. He feels he has a job to do and is willing to do the work to get it done. But let's be honest, this was a nice realization he had today... but he tends to get a little crabby when he is sleepy, hungry, and can't talk to his wife because the internet is bad. I don't blame him!! :) The true meaning behind the inspections and training was to prevent complacency. The guys have now been there almost 7 months and the worst thing that can happen is the guys get lazy or complacent. Drew understands that but we all know Drew doesn't need room inspections or time at the range to stay sharp. I'm happy the higher-ups recognize that too. He's hard-wired that way. :)

Happy Belated Mother's Day!

This Mother's Day was such a nice time! Although I could not be with my mom or mom-in-law, I had Drew's Gram and Aunt Karen here. It was really a good visit. They arrived Saturday afternoon and we headed to Savannah for an early dinner. We went to The Olde Pink House which is literally an old pink house made into a two-story restaurant spread out in multiple rooms of the house. It has gorgeous decor and the food is amazing. We then went down to River Street where we could not pass up the ice cream. :)

Sunday, Mother's Day, we were off to Tybee. I would say Gram enjoyed the beach. Wouldn't you? :)

Next we headed to the Crab Shack for Gram's first low country boil. It did not disappoint! (I say Gram's first boil because Karen went with their bbq which was good too.)

They were having so much fun they decided to stay on Sunday night. Gram surprised us by going into the grocery store and coming out with all types of snacks and desserts. We spent Mother's Day evening indulging in good food and playing cards and Farkel which is a hilarious dice game. Very fun! I love visitors so come anytime! :)

Drew has settled back in and has been able to enjoy some time to himself after a busy week of training and checkpoints. He is on a 24 hour checkpoint now but at least had downtime before that. Here are some pictures from his training last week. Drew's boss shared these and I spotted my husband right away!

Check out the bald man in the back row leaning forward. :)


I had to double check with Drew that this was him, but Drew is the guy leaning down working on the guy. And don't worry, this is only a simulation. :)

Happy belated Mother's Day to all!

Back to Work

Drew is back in Kirkuk and work is in full swing. He is now a Team Leader which means he has three guys he is responsible for. It's his responsibility to make sure they are where they need to be on time, briefed on the job, and he's even helping them with an exercise plan. The company didn't do so well on their PT test while Drew was home, so they now have group workouts and have to eat meals as a group so they can monitor their diet. Drew took his PT test yesterday since he missed it while on leave. He did great and is among the top scores. He also qualified as expert today at the range so he is on a roll. Proud of him! This week has been lots of training which Drew really enjoys. He was recognized on the range today and received many compliments which doesn't always happen so he is happy to be back and working hard. We also bought him a new laptop before he went back. He was functioning with a broken screen that looked like someone spilled an ink pen all over it. I couldn't believe he had not bought a laptop sooner! I had no idea how bad it was! But he likes it and we have been able to talk often. We are transitioning quickly from being together in-person to back to phone calls and Skype. We have definitely learned to be flexible in this career.
I am very excited for my visitors this weekend! Drew's Grandma (Gram) and Aunt Karen are coming to visit. I love visitors! They should be here on Saturday so we will surely spend the evening in Savannah. We are already looking at menus from the local restaurants. I'm sure we will not go hungry. :)