I could quite possibly have a heatstroke any second now..

Hola mis amigos y familia!

Kyle & I are at this moment temporary residents of El Paso, Texas, a city which is in the midst of a heatwave of sorts. As I type, the temperature outside is a balmy 103 degrees. Yikes!

It's way too hot to be doing anything outside, so we, along with John (el padre), Val (la madre), and Katie (la hermana) are staying inside the nice, air conditioned domicile. Kyle and I have been here since last Thursday, when we flew in from Dallas.

We made the trip here for two reasons: 1) to visit with his family before we move, and 2) to greet his father as John returned from a 15 month deployment to Iraq.

We gathered on post on Saturday, and boy, the return festivities were great! I felt like I was drinking happy juice because of all the excitement and happiness floating off of and around those families at Fort Bliss. Balloons and small American flags waved in the air, and as soon as the plane was spotted screams and cheers filled the air as well. The Soldiers filed off of the plane, and made their way towards the family and friends pressed against the barricades, waiting to see their loved one.

The returned men and women were not allowed to make their way to the family right away (having to turn in their weapons and gather together again beforehand), so at first we only got to see John walk by, all smiles and waves. It was so sweet to watch the little kids wave frantically at their daddys, and even see a few rebels break the barricade and wrap themselves around their parent's knees. There were happy tears in abundance, and lots and lots of "woooos!" & screaming. :)

And as I stood there (baking) in the sun, I watched those Army wives around me. We are all military wives, but I think it takes an extra, extra, extra special lady to marry an Army Soldier. That's an extra breed of toughness, having to miss their loved one for 15 months. I think we all have it tough, but 15 months, or even a 12 month deployment would be a hard thing to bear.

Anyhoo... so, the Soldiers have returned, there's an hour long gap, and then there they are! They come marching in, there's a small speech, and then they are dismissed. Chaos ensues! Families are reunited, many tears are shed, and the separation is over. (And not one single casualty!) Whew!

Kyle's dad, Colonel John Modell, was the Chief Nursing Officer at Camp Cropper in Baghdad, and he did his family very proud over there. :) Here's a picture of everyone:

Jill, Kyle, John, Valerie, Katie, & Gabe

The visit here in El Paso has been really nice, and very relaxing so far. Just hanging out & enjoying every one's company. Tomorrow will be our last full day, and I think we're venturing into New Mexico. Thursday we fly back to Dallas and then return to Mt. Pleasant.

Before we came into EP, we spent about a week in the MPizzle. That was also a fun time! I won't bore you with details, but both Kyle and I are very glad that we've been able to spend these days with our families. Goodbye will be awful, but we have good memories to head to Delaware with!

Speaking of! Friday we get on the road. We'll spend two days in Ohio with our friends Ben & Renee, and then we will arrive in Dover on Tuesday!!!! Kyle called the housing office today, and surprisingly we actually get to move INTO our new home in ONE WEEK! I am so very happy about that. It seems unreal... we will finally be there, in our own home. Maybe "stuff-less", but that'll get there when it gets there.

I don't expect I'll do any updating until we are in Dover, but you just never know. I'll get back to you guys as soon as something fun happens! Until that point, y'all take care care and be safe!

-Jill