This week

I still have to find a pediatrician here. Orren will need his 4 month appointment in a few weeks, and I'm NOT taking him on post.

Tomorrow, we have the parent-teacher conference at Erin's school. Of course, there won't be much to discuss since she's only been a student there for a week and an half, but we can tie up the few loose ends which remain. We can also figure out what this Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of Texas is. She's supposed to learn it since they do it every morning along with the one to the US flag.

Thursday is extra exciting. Thak has an appointment at a technical school here in El Paso to get registered for the first of his courses which will ultimately culminate in him being ASE certified. ASE is Automotive Service Excellence. It's basically a professional mechanic's license in the civilian market. We don't know how long ASE certification takes, but we figure it can't be more than two years. Two years is what we have for him to do this, so we're going to get on board as quick as possible. If he gets everything squared away, he will begin his classes on April 21. Like I said, I don't know yet when he will graduate, but we'll find that out soon. It's going to be hectic for us as long as he's in school since he'll be working his usual long hours, and going to classes at night, and the school is on the other side of town, but we'll get through it. We always do. This is a big investment in our future. If he gets his ASE certification, there is no doubt that he will get out of the Army two years from now. There is still great demand for certified mechanics almost everywhere, so this is a great step toward insuring that when his ETS date comes around, there will be no need to visit the re-enlistment NCO.

Friday, Thak signs in, and officially becomes a Ft. Bliss soldier. He won't begin in-processing until Monday, and will go to his unit the following week. Then, and only then, will we find out what this place is going to be like. Actually, it will be August before we find out what it's really like, because in August, his brigade stands up, and he'll go to his battalion, and the motorpool thereof, and finally figure out just what it is that he'll be doing. He could be a generator shop foreman, he could be a motor sergeant, he could be a platoon sergeant. We don't know yet, and it'll be August before we find out. Friday gets us one step closer, though.

This weekend is Easter, and on Saturday, if the weather is nice, I'm trying to talk Thak into going to the botanical gardens in Las Cruces, NM. It's cheap to get everyone in, and it's fun to walk around there. I think the kids will enjoy it, too, because it'll get them out of the house. Plus, Erin loves flowers, and is fascinated by how different the plants are here than they were in Georgia, so this would be good for her. We can actually learn the names of some of these things!

Sunday, we'll probably get the kids all dressed up, do a little egg hunt in the backyard, and eat chicken and dumplings. It's become my standby holiday meal. It's cheap, I'm good at making it, and there's always plenty. You can't beat that.

Well, that's our week. I'll take pics and post them throughout. I'll try to get some of Erin's school, definitely a lot of the botanical gardens, and Easter.