I cut my hair today! 10 inches off! I absolutely love it. It is SO much lighter and I remember now how much I love short hair. I was so sick of having long hair. The summer was going to be miserable with long hair and I just really felt like it was time to cut it. I also realized how hard it would be with a newborn when I was holding Beck in Boise. SO I did tonight and I am donating the 10 inches to Locks of Love. I just have to send it in to their office in Florida. I will post pictures when I get some. I just have to do a ton of homework tonight so I decided to post just a small blog and blog some more tomorrow.
Happy belated birthday Buffy and happy birthday to Peter as well! Hope you both have and had a great one!
Oh! And we find out what the baby is on March 20th at 9:30 am!

Kimberly

So where is everybody? On the 'runnerschallenge'? Well, you knew what this running thing would turn into. I have got an idea. Although it may not work if TnT are going to the Far East. We should really do one of these relays together. The Hood to Coast would be a great one just because it is so close. So it is a relay of 197 miles, 12 runners. Each runner runs 3 legs about 4-5 hours in between legs, each leg being 3-8 miles, varying in difficulty. Then you need two vans to drive. It is more fun than you would think, but takes some preparation and forsight.

First of all you need 12 people. These are the ones I could muster up: Dave, Adina, Tom, Tracey, Paige, Marnie, Anne, Peter?, Kim?, Treven?, Mom?, Brent, Buffy?, Mike?, Brooke?, Brian?. Drivers: anyone that doesn't run and Dad...unless Dad wants to run (which I personally think you are totally capable of).

Second, you have to commit. And I don't mean get excited and then bail 6 months before. You need to COMMIT. It is a pain to try to find a replacement, and it isn't as fun as the original team.

The third thing you need is to register. You typically have to register a full year in advance, and you are not guaranteed a spot. So we are talking at the very earliest August, 2009, maybe August, 2010. This gives you PLENTY of time to either continue exercising like you are or SLOWLY, VERY SLOWLY ramp it up. Remember, this isn't a race to major mileage, it is a steady course to changing your lifestyle to choose to be fit. If you do it too fast...burnout....right back to where you started possibly with an injury.

Seriously, anyone can do this. I have run it and seen the people that run it. It isn't as crazy as you think. AND, it isn't a race against others. You run to try to get as close as you can to what you predicted. As your training increases approaching the race, you run a 10k and get your average pace. On my team now, we have people from a 7 minute mile to a 11 minute mile. It doesn't matter how fast you run it, just that you do it in the time you predicted. So, NO PRESSURE. Just make sure you train for whatever speed you are going to run.

I can promise you it is truly an experience like no other and you will remember it for a lifetime. Plus, the bonus of getting fit. There is plenty of time so that you could, starting now with a 1/2 mile run, increase each time you run 3-5 times a week by 100 feet. That's it, 100 feet. No matter what body you have, you will accomodate to that additional 30 steps over time and it won't seem overbearing. By the time the race arrives, if you are running about 20 miles a week, you are set.

Think about it.

Dave

Aside from having to drive long distances to eat....I hope you had a great day! Red Robin...Olive Garden...what more can you ask! Next birthday, you'll have a little one with you!

Love,

Barb

We hope you enjoy your day off - and make sure Brent pampers you! Have a wonderful birthday - I'm glad we can celebrate with you next week! Love you!
Dave, Adina, Isaac, Taylor, Parker & Morgan

Hey Family,

I know it has been quite a while since I have blogged. I am sorry for that. Today Buffy and I went to her first appointment with the doctor. Buffy was going through the exam and the doc tried to get the heartbeat of the baby on the doppler but was unsuccessful. So she had Buffy get an ultrasound and I tell you what, I never new how powerful that feeling is to finally see your first child on the screen. He/she was moving around and stretching his/her legs and arms. We also heard the heartbeat and all ws good. Buffy is doing well and is very happy to have just one child in her belly.

As for work, I am in the middle of the mas hire for the new store. I have hired 40 people in the last 3 days and it is all a blur. We go into the building on March 7th, so for all you who are visiting that weekend I will try to be around but I will be working a lot. I am excited to get in and start merchandising the new store and begin with a brand new staff that I can train from the beginning. My Management staff is great and I know this store will be very successful for the company.

I hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy. Buffy is calling me to dinner so I better go. Love you all.
Brent

Well I guess it is time for me to post. It may be short as Andrew is sitting next to me begging for attention and pretzels. Yes this kid is obsessed with pretzels, he could eat them all day long if I allowed him to.

Things are going well here. I am recovering from 2 weeks of company and I finally have my house back into order somewhat. I was so happy to finally clean up after Kim and Treven left and now we can see we have a carpet. I now see what 2 toddlers can do in a house in a weekend. I need to vaccum badly as there are crumbs from all kinds of snacks that Andrew and Melia had over the weekend.

Beck is growing and eating like a champ. He eats so much more than Andrew did and definitely is not spitting up anywhere close to how much Andrew did. Beck is such a calm and good baby, I still can't believe both have been this good.

We are coming home to visit the weekend of the 7th of March. Mom and Dad are flying us home since they are unable to come out the previous weekend for Beck's blessing on the 2nd. I am so excited to hear that Tom and Tracey will be there also.

Well Beck needs me now and Andrew is getting into everything. We love you all and can't wait to see those who will be there in March.

Love,
Anne

We we had a really busy week last week trying to get settled after our trips and then having Valentine’s day and Tom’s birthday, all the while Tom having duty for 4 of the last 9 days! Valentine’s day was fun, we (Danica and I) made heart shaped muffins and scrambled eggs for breakfast. When Tom got home from work he had to follow a trail of Hershey Kisses up the stairs to the guest room where he found us hiding in the playhouse with homemade Valentine’s for him. Hayden was sooo excited to hide he couldn’t wait for Tom to get home! Then we had a romantic evening all together eating at In n Out and buying new swimming suits at Old Navy!
On Friday Hayden had his first practice for his t-ball team! He was so nervous about it was really cute. It’s his first team sport so he wasn’t sure what to expect. He ended up loving it and his coach seems great. Now he asks me several times a day if he has t-ball that day! Somehow I got suckered into being team mom, hopefully it won't be too hard. Saturday Tom was on duty so we went to meet up with our friends the Kiser’s who are stationed up at Camp Pendleton. We knew them in Cleveland and they will be moving to Okinawa as well. Her husband also had duty on Saturday so we met at the beach on base there and had fun playing in the sand and running from the waves. She has three kids and her oldest two are boys age 4 and 3. They were running from the waves with Hayden when they tripped and fell in the water. They tried to get up to keep running but the three year old was struggling. Hayden looked back and saw what was happening so he ran back into the water and tried to help the little boy. Luckily it was only a foot or two of water and his mom was running out there to help so he wasn’t really in danger. However, I was so touched to see Hayden running back there to “rescue” him. It was one of those moments that makes up for all the bad ones. He truly is a remarkable kid. Afterwards he just ran to me and said “I got my pants all wet but he fell down!” I just wanted to hug him and tell him how proud I was of him! Saturday night we drove down to see Tom at work for his birthday and had dinner with him and hung out for while. Yesterday we had sugar pancakes, Tom’s favorite dinner and chocolate cake to celebrate. Marnie came over to help us have a party and we played "Ticket to Ride."
Today is finally the day Hayden has been asking me about for the last week! Marnie told Hayden she would take him to see the new movie Spiderwick Chronicles. He has been dying for it to come out and couldn’t wait! Everyday he would wake up and say “Okay, is today the day I get to go with Aunt Marnie?” When I finally said yes today he stood on his chair and started dancing and saying “Woohoo!” He is at the movie right now so hopefully he’s loving it as much as he thought he would! Thank you Marnie for making his dream come true! The kids are really enjoying the time they get to spend with their Aunt Marnie. Danica actually says “Marnie” and today she kept pretending that she was calling Marnie on her toy phone! For a girl that barely talks that is a big thing!
We are coming to Vancouver to visit March 4-9th. I am soooo excited and so is Hayden. He regularly asks me when we are going to his cousins house and I just try to dodge the question because I don’t have the heart to tell him that it will probably be a few years. I just keep telling him about the chance he will get to see them on a boat this summer. But last night I told him we are actually going to their house and he can’t wait!
Well I better go finish mopping, loading the dishes and folding the laundry while the girls are asleep. After their naps we are going down to meet up with Tom at Balboa Park right next to his work. I am going to take the girls in the jogging stroller while Hayden hangs out at Tom’s work. Hopefully he won’t get any emergencies that foil our plan. I am sure I am forgetting a lot of things I wanted to say but I am too tired. Alyssa has a bad cold and isn ‘t sleeping well, not that she usually does anyway! Maybe I can catch a 20 minute nap if I hurry... take care!

P.S. I didn't get this posted this afternoon so here is the follow up: No nap, too bad. The run at Balboa Park was okay but will go better next time when I have an idea of where I am going! Hayden LOVED the movie, when he got home I asked him if he liked it and he said "Are you kidding me, I loved it!" He's been glowing all day! Thanks again Marnie!

Here are some random photos just for fun:

I just wanted to be the one since I have contributed so much to this blog

Happy Birthday! I can't believe you are so grown up and married and a second kid on the way. I swear it was just yesterday that Mike was taking you on all the rides at Disneyland after we were married. You have grown up into a wonderful woman. We love you. love, the Mike Stinchfield clan

Hey, just wanted to send out a very happy birthday to you. Hopefully you are being able to spend the time with your family. We look forward to maybe seeing you early next month, hopefully I can get leave on such short notice. I put this picture on here from when you came out and we went to Niagara falls, that was a great time. We love you!

So I guess I'll contribute to the "Race to 3000". I am "enjoying" a weekend in. I came down with a chest cold this last week and am taking a couple days to hopefully get over it so I won't have to miss any work. Not the best for the little running challenge but I'll catch up once I'm well. I am feeling better each day so hopefully I will be completely better tomorrow so I can at least enjoy my Presidents' Day holiday.

So, you know when I said Breaking Dawn came out in April? Well, if I took two minutes to actually read the pre-order on Amazon I would have seen that it was in fact August and not April. Sorry. Good thing I've got that order in.

Also, not on my own, I finally found out why Jane was getting picked on at school. The other night at a Valentine's dinner for all the wives at the Mess Hall I was telling my friend that I had pulled Jane. I was telling her why and saying I just didn't quite get it. She looked around, leaned in, and said in a low voice "Brooke, it's because she's white." The next day when Jane's friend Shyah got home from school she said that she and Ranisha had been talking about it and they thought that maybe kids were being mean to Jane because she was white. So, I told Jane one of my friends had said the same thing (I didn't tell her who). I had debated telling her because I didn't want her to build up prejudices but I also didn't want her to continue to wonder what she was doing wrong. I guess I hadn't thought that direction. I was talking to our R.S pres. at church today. She is a good friend of mine but between our schedules we rarely do anything. She asked how things were going and I told her about our week. She looked at me and exclaimed "I'm not the only one(her husband is the manager of the new commissary)! That's why I kept asking you at the beginning of the school year if Jane was doing okay. I feel like I picked up my kids and dropped them into an inner city school (she has one in eighth grade and one a junior). They debate homeschooling on a weekly basis."

So while it is frustrating, I feel better knowing there isn't some bizarre part of my daughter that ostracizes her. I don't mind if it's her dad's rank, her values, or her skin color which seem to be the offending combination. Only because those are things we can't or won't do anything about. In some ways I think it is a good lesson for her.

Everything else is going reasonably well. Mike should be home around the 11th. Have I said this? We aren't excited or anything. By the way I did two rest days. I tweaked my back lifting Ellyn on Friday. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be good again. It was nice to read an e-mail from Tom. We love you all. Oh- good news! They have changed the Space-A rules and I can get a letter for Mike's entire deployment and fly CONUS as well as OCONUS. So for those that don't know what that means. I can fly within the U.S. on the Space A flights as well. So I can fly into McChord and then fly McChord to somewhere that flies to Ramstein. So maybe I will be there for part of the summer. I'm really grateful for that change.

Well, this is the race to 3000, this post will be #2995, so, there is a little motivation. Thank you to all for your birthday wishes. I was in fact at work all day. It is just the way that the schedule worked out with me on duty this weekend. We have it set up so that you have a sunday, then the wednesday, then that next saturday. That way we only have to do it every 5 weeks and it makes it so that we do not have to do those long weekends that David warned me about when I came here. So, it is not that bad. But, it was my week and so I did last sunday right when I got back from the training in Texas and then wednesday, and now saturday. I still have to have duty on Monday for presidents day. It is my holiday to do it so it had just been kind of bad timing. So I got to the hospital yesterday, helped the oral surgery resident see a follow up at 8 am, then had nothing the whole rest of the day and night. It was a little boring but beautiful. I was really hoping that it would be that way, so, there is my greatest birthday present. It gave me a chance to read up for a presentation I have to give in 2 weeks, rest a little, have dinner with Tracey and the kids, examine the kids teeth(Danica was not too keen on that), and I even had a chance to run 5.7 miles, with which I will be entering the competition. So, not an unproductive day, and even though I was at "work", Tracey was doing exponentially more work trucking the kids to the beach and down to see me, and to the grocery store. They are quite the handful at this age since the older two just bicker and bother each other, and Alyssa provides her own challenges.

I will be very excited to move on after this residency. We went to a seminar a few days this week and I met an old GPR resident, LT Evers. He said that he knew Dad and knew of David. He was a real nice guy. Anyway, he was in Okinawa for 4 years and said that they had just loved it. I am sure it is like anything, it is what you make of it. Congrats Anne and Peter on the Baby, hopefully we will get a chance to see him before we take off. It sounds like all is going well around the family so that is great. I wonder how Buffy is feeling occasionally. I am happy to be in such a wonderful family with so many great friends. I cannot wait to be closer to all of you someday in the not too distant future. I am sure the next 3 years will go by fast, I cannot believe that my residency only has 4 more months. It seems like yesterday it was starting.

The training that I went to in San Antonio was alright. They have cut out a lot of the more enjoyable stuff because of feedback from past attendees. Like repelling, they used to do it and now they have cut it out, so now you look at some vehicles we will be using, go through and warehouse simulation of a mass casualty, and go through different setups of medical stations in the field. Oh yeah, and we carry a stretcher over walls and through sand. So, I guess I did it. It was not amazing but it was not so bad. We did get a chance to go into San Antonio one night and I was impressed. It was really beautiful. I have never ever thought of it as a tourist town but it seemed to have a nice feel.

So that is all I have got.

Tom

You've been on my mind today. I hope our card got there in time...by yesterday so you could actually get it. It's a real bummer that you have the duty on your birthday!!!

I'm enjoying the time with Anne and Peter and Kim and Treven and kiddies. A 2 bedroom house does seem a little small with 5 adults and 3 children and all the paraphenelia....however, not as small as at Thanksgiving when we had two more adults!!!

Can't believe you are 30 already!!! Guess I am getting old too!...lately everyone is giving me the senior citizen discount without even asking my age!!!!

Love,

Mom

I hope you have a great day. It doesn't sound like you get too much time to celebrate this weekend but I'm sure you'll find a way to par-tay!

Hope you're enjoying the day with your family in San Diego. To celebrate, I came to Las Vegas to attend 16 grueling hours of anesthesia updates. Headed home tonight arriving about 0045am Sunday.

Have a good one.

Dad