Some brief updates:

- I stopped working on 16 May and took my three weeks of accrued vacation to carry me through 7 June.

- Got back from our Cancun vacation on Sunday...Wow, I have a new found respect for the Mayan culture. We visited Chichen Itza, Tulum, and Xel-ha. Chichen Itza left me in awe, Tulum was beautiful, and Xel-ha was fun. I know I've been a little negligent with the pictures and updates, so I'll try to get caught up with pictures tonight or tomorrow.

- 7 June is my first active duty order. I'll be gone for a month and back home for July 4th. Then it's up in the air for the rest of July until the 26th, when I have to report back to Waco. I'll be put on the mobilization orders around that time and I'm off to Fort Stewart within the next couple of weeks. No exact times can be given for the obvious reasons, but I'll try to post pretty frequently once I leave. I'll hopefully have the new website up and with that I'll be able to post directly to the site from my phone...with pictures too. I'll have Internet access through my phone while I'm in the States and will most likely get a SIM card in Iraq since my cell phone is a global phone.

- Katie is 8 years old! She's growing up fast, along with her brother, who is developing a really fun personality. He's a little genius like his sister and has developed a love for books as well. We hope he'll be reading early like Katie and since he won't start school until he's six, because of his birthday, we're going to try to find a school to get him a head start. Especially since we don't qualify for Head Start here, because our income is too high. Don't get me started on that...though I did learn that Mexico does not have a welfare system, which means they HAVE to work to live. Since everyone works that leads to fewer available jobs, hence the illegal immigration problem...but don't get me started on that either. We could probably learn a little bit from Mexico regarding the welfare system. Those who know me well, know my opinion of those who abuse the system.

Anyway, we're heading off to San Antonio next week for a free visit to Sea World. We'll try to catch the zoo while we're there too. Stay tuned for updates...and check back for new pictures.