In the News second try....

Hi all, well, I have not made the best use of this blog as I could have, but sometimes information from Dave is sparse, and a lot of what he knows can't be shared with me, so I can't share with you.  The last time we talked with Dave, he told us that his days in Afghanistan were coming to an end, and that he (and his unit) would most likely be home at the end of July.  Now, I always take the dates given to me with a grain of salt. Since Dave has been in the military, I have learned that nothing is set in stone, and anything can change at a moments notice.  I have also learned to keep things very opened ended with Katie and Jack, so if things do in fact change, I am not having to disappoint them...maybe even more than one time!!  When I say "maybe" to my kids, they some times, some how, hear "I promise".....this leads to a lot of problems!  I think that Dave has learned to do the same with me, he has heard "but you said.." many times from me!  So, we are both learning!!  Anyhow, all I can say for now is, they are in the home stretch, and watching this interview with Dave on a Des Moines tv station helps make it even more "possible".  I didn't even know that Dave had an interview with this station until someone living in the Des Moines area mentioned that they had seen it.  Like I said, we haven't heard much from him! I have also learned that being the commander's wife has not privileges!!  This is the link to go to, to see the interview.               http://www.dvidshub.net/units/HQISAF
Some of the reason we haven't talked with Dave is that we (Katie, Jack, and I) just got back from a long trip to Cedar Rapids, and Spencer, Iowa.  We put a lot of miles on the ole van, but also spent a lot of great time with the cousins!!  Trevor and Morgan even made the trip to Spencer with us, so they got to see everyone too!  We all had a great time!  But, we really didn't have the opportunity to get online to try to Skype with Dave, or even send or receive emails. I just got an email today saying that he no longer has internet, so I am not sure if we will hear from him again until he gets back into the states.  You all know that Dave doesn't like all of the weepy home coming things that are always planned, so I think that he may keep some of that information from me so we can't surprise him and be there!!  I think it would be good for the kids to see the enormity of it all though, as I have said before, so if YOU hear anything, especially you Iowans, pass it on to me!!!
Well, time to go, I promise, I will post things as soon as I hear them, whether it be from an interview, or straight from the horses mouth!  Hope all of you out there are doing well!  Hugs and kisses from all of us!

PS...if that link doesn't work, just put Des Moines, Iowa, Lt. Colonel Dave Updegraff in as a search, and you will find it!