Hi babe. This boy looks fantastic!

Let me just explain Dan's last post a little. Some times we leave posts unpublished in our blog account and post them later or just leave them as messages for each other. Dan decided to post my last comments to him. Good thing I didn't say anything bad.

So here is Quinn enjoying a moment on the beach.

Ummmm!!!!

Are you talking to me?????

Oh, ahhahhaha. I get it.

Beach days

Well now is the time that I like to go to the beach. Now that the tourists have all gone home and you don't have to pay for parking anymore. Quinn is a beach baby. He likes sand and he loves the ocean. I had him in the ocean and he was just smiling and kicking his feet. Oh, by the way, I don't really think this matches.

New pics...Hi love

HI love, it's so nice to see you. We miss you so much. Things are good here. Quinn didn't end up having his procedure yesterday. They wanted to get everything done on one day and they couldn't do that yesterday. So, they are trying to schedule it for Oct. 1st. So did the trailer come in? How is it going? Any idea when you might be home?

No trailer yet. How's it going you ask? It's still going. I might be home around the first or second week in Oct.

This picture is of one of the gunships. For good size ships with a good amount of armament the things can go.



The guy on the left is our install team lead. We call him "rickety". He's a little older, so he doesn't do much of the grunt work, though he tries. But he does travel around with us to the different sites and provides entertainment. I thought his eyebrows were going to rip off on this ship.



This is an MPV (mine protected vehicle). It's basically a safe on wheels. It's how we get around on land through the more hostile areas. We get stuffed in there with a small task force. And they clear the roads in advance when we go through any towns.

What is this picture. Surrender or hello.

This picture is the result of a fishing boat coming within proximity of one of the ships I was on. All the manned guns on the ship will train to any nearby boats and the occupants must show no aggression or run the risk of being attacked. The gunners keep a bead on them until we are well passed.

One thing I don't think I've mentioned about these people is that tea time is a way of life. Tea is made available to the officers and our team no matter what the circumstance.

Hi handsome. Looking good.

Ah, tea, how very civilized. Your mom was looking at your pictures and just kept saying that they looked like home, minus the wire fences. Well, I love you. I can't wait to see you home safe and sound with us. Take care. Tell Denis hi.

Love you too babe. I left on here what you added cause like most of this blog, it will be interesting for me to look back on.

The men around here don't seem to grow very big. I feel like a giant among them.

The monkeys down here are thieves. Can't leave anything lying around because the minute you walk away they come and take it and scurry up a tree with it. We've lost tools that way and one actually dropped my camera as he was trying to make a quick get away with it. I thought the monkeys were kind of amusing to watch. Until the day we lost a site due to the monkeys chewing through our data cables. We had to travel back to the site to repair it and put protection around the cables. So pretty much from that day forward, I'm not amused any more with the monkey business.

There seems so much about this trip that I don't imagine ever being able to forget. The navy officers who are our guides are reluctant to tell us of the dangers and threats as we work. Understandably they want us to feel comfortable. But the enlisted sailors on the other hand will get on the towers with us and point to areas where the nearest recent attack was. They will tell you in broken english how many casualties and talk about the rebel capabilities. And tell you of their friends who have died pointing to some sunken ship in the harbor. Some of the sites the army launches volleys of artillery all day as you work. It makes working on the towers even more tedious. They launch artillery at night too. With just enough time to fall asleep in between volleys. Then you're startled awake with loud explosions that rattle the roof. I think my biggest worry comes when they sound the air raid horn and ask that we shut off all lights and stay under a roof. Fortunately all the artillery I've seen and heard has been outgoing. And there are task forces on 24 hour patrol around any place that we work. If the area becomes too dangerous, they move us out to a completely different area of the country while the military spends a few days on the offensive.

I'm telling this side of the story now because I believe the worst is behind us. Work at the most remote places is finished and as long as nothing breaks, we won't be going back. Now I'm in a nice hotel back in a city. The remaining work is nothing too stringent. I do look forward to coming home, but I won't get too excited until I'm on a plane to Providence. I miss you honey. But to be honest, I'm once again overly excited about being able to see that little pudge pot you've been raising without me over the last two months. He's grown so much it seems, and mostly in his cheeks. He wasn't even crawling when I left. I will have to introduce myself all over again. Fun times are coming on the the horizon. I'll see you soon.

Oh yeah, here's another video. They are changing a tire but they had no jack. No one was hurt.

Play time

Don't we look like we're playing so nice together. Actually, they do play well together. They're cute though. They do the typical, "Hmm, I like what you're playing with. I'll take that."
Do you love my cheeks?

I think they are were he is gaining all his weight.

Lily Bug

Shawn and Kelly are up visiting this weekend. So Quinn finally got to meet Ms. Lily.

Quinn is just in awe of Lily. She's not much bigger then me, but she's up on two legs.


We went apple picking and to a pumpkin patch.

Jess and Kelly laughing at Shawn and Lily.




Lily's not quite sure what she thinks of being in that tree.

A lesson on apples.



Luckily she picked the right one to eat.


He really is eating this apple.

Intertnet access

I have access to internet today, but the only hard drive I have with pictures is my camera itself. Thought I'd say hi to everyone and hope everyone's enjoying their lives and being appreciative of things. I can't wait to get back to real life one day. These pictures that you've put on here honey do a lot to help keep me going. He's growing so fast. Had a bad day the other day when one of our guards stopped at his village to see his 10 month old son. It was on the way of course so his superiors permitted it. So after a brief visit, his dad drove away with us. And I could see that baby started crying his eyes out as we left sight. This was his kid and his dad and their family vehicle.


Anyway, I'm at least glad for the internet and this blog.


This video was a bit of a surprise for me. Things like this actually make for a good cheap thrill. I didn't know what was happening. Without getting specific, choppers in this area don't have a perfect history. Not trying to worry anyone, just setting up as to why this video gave me a bit of a start.


I'll be home soon safe and sound honey. Miss you guys.

Smiling

I realized that it's been a little while since I put up smiling pictures of Quinn.
This one is obviously not a smiley picture.

But I think he's so cute in his little jeans.

Here are the smiling pictures.

And laughing. I love him, he's suck a happy little man. Well mostly. He's teething again, so he has his sad moments.

My turn

OK, so a while ago Dan posted his baby pictures. So now I figure I will post mine.

So, what do you think. Can I lay claim to a little part of my child?

Sorry mom, I hope you don't mind this photo.

It's getting cold over here

Hey love, thanks for the update. I love to talk with you on the phone, but over the computer is the next best thing. And this way I get to see you too. I'm glad to know you're doing well. We can't wait for you to come home.

So the cat has finally joined us upstairs. She has been living in the basement since the beginning of the summer. I finally figured out that she is afraid of the ceiling fans. Anyway, Quinn loves that she is upstairs and the cat also seems interested in Quinn. Surprisingly, she lets him touch her every once in a while. For the most part though she tries to remain just out of reach. She has figured out very quickly what Quinn's limitations are as far as mobility and reach.
So notice the outfit. It was cold enough today to break out the fleece sweatsuit. It's not even Fall yet. Sorry honey, you are going to come home to a pretty cold environment.

I don't know why, but I can never get a picture of him smiling when I take them like this. I guess he just needs me on the other end of the camera, heehe.

Honey, you asked about his bellybutton. Well, here it is. I know he's reclined, but this is about what it looks like now.