Some new pics from the Middle of Nowhere!

Rodney was finally able to upload some new pics to send me from his trip to the Middle of Nowhere...AKA BFA (originally known as BFE but since he's not in Egypt it's A LOL)

I'm not sure what some of these places are but I'll do my best at explaining them.

Rodney's ride to BFE, pretty sweet pair of rotaries!

The inside, red nylon interior, no windows, parachutes optional

 Gunner #1

 Gunner #2 (crazy seating arrangements)

Gunner #3 not pictured

 Sleeping arrangements...Rodney chose the cozy cot, 

his backpack got the bed

 Now that's what I call a Sweet Ride!

 I am going to assume the walls are there to keep the 

bombs out?? What do you think?!

 Laying a runway...Looks more like a chess board

Homegrown Thanksgiving turkeys...

 Laundry day...and I thought my facilities were bad

 Ok, this one is funny...these are the toilets...Below  you will

find the instructions on how to us them...Don't laugh!

 Wag Bag??  Poo Powder?? Thanks to Rodney and his 

men, these guys now have flushing toilets! 

Poo Powder, Whoda thunk it!

 Rodney giving the thumbs up, guess the job is going well!

 Ok really?  First the Mall of America, now they're

sunbathing on the rooftop...what next??

This is a picture of everything they have to wear 

when traveling...Guess the AF has a luggage

requirement too...One piece per soldier!

Well there you have it!  Hope you all enjoy the new pics! Until next time...
Rodney & Jessica

Some new pics of Rodney at work!

Rodney was finally able to upload some pics for me to put on here.  These are from Rodney's work place.  Pretty cute.
All is going well, they guys are settling in and getting busy doing what they were sent over to do.  According to Rodney, his men have done more in the last 7 weeks than the troops before them did the whole 6 months they were there.

Outside the building he works in

At his desk...get busy Rodney!

Smile!  We love and miss you! (nice curtains!)

No, he hasn't grown...the room shrunk!  Makes him feel tall tho LOL

I really hope you are enjoying the pictures I post.  It's been fun!  Hopefully I'll get some more in the near future...when the internet cooperates that is...

Have a great day,
Jessica and Rodney

Before you complain...

...look at what our soldiers have to deal with!

WOW!  It's been a while since I posted to the blog.  Here are some pics from when Rodney was in Manas last month.  The living facilities are less than comfortable, wouldn't you agree?

Home Sweet Home...for 200+ men

 Shower anyone?

 Who needs a potty break?

 Church in a tent...can't complain about our building now can we?!?

So there you have it.  Seriously, support our troops!  They need all the support they can get.  

Have a great day!

Jessica & Rodney

CST Graduation and some down time...

Rodney finally graduated from CST on Sunday the 22nd.  They were given a pass for a few days so they decided to play some volleyball, go shopping at none other than...The Mall of America...I am so jealous!! And hit a minor league ball game.  Here are some pics of the guys having some fun before they leave.

Rodney and his certificate

a little volleyball

A shopping trip to Mall of America

The guys at a baseball game

Rodney outside his living quarters

Have a great day!  They are all on their way to the Middle East so be praying for them!

Jessica & Rodney

Wow! Talk about BIG GUNS!

These bullets are HUGE!  I'd hate to see the gun they go in...Actually I'd love to see it LOL

Have a great day!

Jessica

My own personal G.I. Joe!

Today I got to talk to Rodney via Skype, it was so nice to see him, his Commander and his buddy Garrett.
He sent me some pics to add to the blog so here goes.  These were taken the other day while they were playing war.

Mess with me...I pull the pin!

Rodney in a Humvee (doesn't he look like Buddy Holly LOL)

Rodney and the guys doing their Captain Morgan impersonations

Keep Your Head Down!

Ready, Aim, Fire!

So serious!

Just taking a little break!

Yes, that's really Rodney, pretty cool huh!?

Well, there you have it, some pretty cool pics of my own personal G.I. Joe LOL 

Have a great night!

Jessica

Boys And Their Toys!

The other day I got this picture from Rodney.  I laughed, it's a typical picture of a boy and his toys!  A really big gun and a really big humvee!  Funny thing is, more than one of the guys got pictures taken in front of this humvee with their big guns too LOL!  

All is going well in war land.  Or rather...training land...they are playing war and some are actually having fun doing it.  They hate the meetings but the shooting and rolling in the dirt is fun for them.  Flipping humvee's is another form of fun for them too!  Not real ones of course but fun none the less!

I'm pretty sure Rodney will come home about 30 pounds lighter, all they have to eat right now are MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) and I hear some of them are pretty nasty and unidentifiable.  Some can cause some serious stomach problems, others take care of those problems.  Get one of each and they should be able to balance that issue out LOL!
Leave it up to Rodney, though to find some of the MRE's tasty.  Blech! They're all nasty to me!

Well, that's all I have for you today!

Jessica

Doing well...

Things are going really well for Rodney.  I get to talk to him daily so that's nice!  He told me today that he passed his medical portion of the training, so that's good!  Sadly he didn't have to stuff a tube down someone else's nose, they did that on a dummy...No fun in that!  They didn't even have to administer an IV.  Wimps!  Just kidding!!
He's keeping busy, taking naps, eating pizza, all that hard stuff he was going on about before he left...what a life!  Glad it's not me! LOL!!!

He hasn't taken any pics yet but there are some on his camera that I would love to add to the blog but I'll have to wait for him to upload them and send them...who know's when that will be!

Have a great night!

What I'm Fighting For

Olivia came to me tonight with her ipod in hand and said, "mom, I found a good song for you to listen to." She played it for me and it's a good song.  One that would be good for Rodney to hear.  Below are the lyrics to the song, above is the music video.  I won't sing it for you, sorry.  It's called "This Is What I'm Fighting For" by Steven Curtis Chapman.


This Is What I'm Fighting For:
I watch another sun fall on the desert sand
And slowly I can feel the ache returning to my heart
I heard somebody say today we lost a man
And everybody's got their own opinion
On whether it's a good or bad thing we're doing over here

But there's a little girl in Georgia lying in her bed tonight
While her mother holds her close and whispers, "It's gonna be alright"
And they'll pray themselves to sleep
And dream about the day when I'll come walking back through the door
'Cause this is what I'm fighting for

We passed another playground on the road today
A little group of girls looked up and waved at us and smiled
I think it's in their eyes I see the biggest change
Still everybody's got their own opinion
I can see the good and bad but when I close my eyes...

I see a little girl in Georgia lying in her bed tonight
While her mother holds her close and whispers, "It's gonna be alright"
And they'll pray themselves to sleep
And dream about the day when I'll come walking back through the door
'Cause this is what I'm fighting for

I know everybody's got their own opinion
I'm just here to do my job and I can't wait to get home
To that little girl in Georgia lying in her bed tonight
While her mother holds her close and whispers, "It's gonna be alright"
So I'll pray myself to sleep and dream about the day when I'll go running back through that door
Back to what I'm fighting for
This is what I'm fighting for

Why always from behind?

While surfing through the pics the 419th posted on their facebook page, I came across this one...Why is it always from behind?  Somewhere up the stairs you can see Rodney.  I am shaking the hand of Col. Buck Sams.

More Utah troops sent to Afghanistan...

 

Going off to war...

This is the first of many posts on this blog.  Both Rodney and I will be adding posts as we can.  Pictures will be added and I encourage many of you to leave Rodney words of encouragement and let him know you're all thinking of him and praying for him.
We will not be posting anything personal on here (ie. feelings, location, etc.) this is just a fun blog to see what goes on over on the other side of the world.  I hope you'll all join and become a follower for at least the duration of his deployment.

Thanks for following!
Rodney and Jessica