Our boy is back!

My posting absence has been due to an awesome thing. My brother(in-law), Grant, has finally come back to the states after his tour in Iraq. We were to be given 48 hrs notice to the actual day he would be returning to Fort Riley. So when we got the call, we got packing. The brass said he would be getting in at 7:30am Friday morning. We left Thursday afternoon. It would be an 8 hour drive.

This first time father was about take his four month old daughter on a very long car trip. I had no idea what to expect but nothing was going to stop this soldier's family from being there. The birth of his niece had been one of the shining rays getting him through hell, so she was damn well going to be there the moment he was dismissed into our company.

So nine people took four heavily loaded cars and headed for Kansas.

I should stop being amazed by this child by now. Out of a grand total of 17 hrs of driving, she only fussed for about 20 min. Her grandpa nicknamed her "road warrior".

We were on the road for about 4 hrs when we get a call telling us Grant's actually going to be in at 3:30...in the morning, not 7:30.We estimated we would get to the hotel around 1:30am so it looked like sleep was out the window for us. We didn't care. It just meant we got to see him 4 hrs sooner.

We got to the hotel and threw our stuff down. We stretched and settled for an hour(had a beer) and headed off to the base. It's always weird to me showing up at a faraway destination at night. I know I'm in a different looking land, but will not be able to tell for a while.

It was howling winds and 39 degree temperatures at the base. I rushed the baby in under a blanket and we took seats in a hanger/reception building. We held our breaths and waited.

The soldiers marched in. He saw us and we saw him. The ceremony was short and he was ours.

I had the pleasure of introducing Grant to his niece. He took her from me and didn't let go for a long time. She met all his buddies and officers. She acted like she'd known him forever.

We got his gear and headed back to the hotel. By now it was 4:30am and it was decided that the drinking and rejoicing should begin. The Jack & Cokes and Guinness started flowing. I stumbled to bed around 7am to get a few hours of Zs.

I awoke around 10am and got my first glimpse of Kansas. Not as bad as some people have said, I thought. It's kind of like Illinois, but with more hills. Very nice.

We took the next day to rest up and catch up and do a little more drinking. To me and H's pleasure, they had a diversely stocked spirit shop at the entrance to the hotel parking lot. Grant played with Leah every second he could in between sleeps. Three days traveling on a plane has got to mess you up a little. It wasn't long before he had her cackling though.

The next day we toured Fort Riley a little. We had to drop off all his things we had brought from Illinois. His housing was your average 1 room/1 bathroom/shared kitchen with no stove dorm apartment. Probably typical for most privates. Don't want to make them too soft.

Speaking of not soft, the walls in the hallways were lined with sandpaper. I kid you not. It was some sort of fine granite spackle job. If you grazed it even slightly, expect to loose a few dermal layers. I wouldn't ever stumble down the halls drunk, I'll tell you that.

Above: 1. Leah snoozes on the way to lunch. 2. Kenny sounds off to H's salad. 3. At a brewery we ate lunch at, the table was covered with paper and they supplied crayons. I left this doodle under my plate. That's for not getting me my extra onions quick enough.

We had a blast with Grant, but time pulled a fasty on us. It seemed like we had just got there and it was time to be heading home. It's not all sad though. He will be back in Springfield in the middle of May and he gets a whole month! After biting our nails while he's been overseas for a year, the month until we see him again will seem like nothing.

Of course, we had to get the group shot.

We'll see you soon, Grant....again!

And now, some miscellaneous pictures of Kansas...

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