Deployment Positive Thursday- Week 22

Seven Championships in Ten Years.

Boston, you're my home.

Okay there has been lots going on lately and in my mind I was going to write this post tomorrow night about something completely different, but sorry... I'm gonna need to brag about my hometown for just a second.

Since 2001 we've racked up 3 Superbowls, 2 World Series Victories, 1Larry O'Brien Trophy, and of course the newest member of the club: 1 Stanley Cup. That ain't too shabby. There is something about being from a small city with a huge heart that just makes me so proud. Even thought I'm not technically "from" Boston, New Englanders (with the exception of those Western Connecticut folks) stand together behind their teams. It's a magical thing, really. It's one of my favorite things about going home; seeing people in Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins and Celtics gear everywhere I go. Just thinking about how crazy the parade is going to be for the Bruins this weekend is making me positively giddy. If only Andrew and I could celebrate in Boston with the rest of our city...

I was pleased to learn that Andrew was able to wake up super early (about 3:30am local time) to watch Game Seven tonight this morning. They played it on AFN at the MWR and I can totally picture his face and all of his excitement as the game unfolded. (Here is where I add that originally I had planned on blogging about him and how much progress we are making on this deployment. A quick update will have to suffice: 150 days down as of yesterday and today marks exactly 5 months. All told, it's been an exciting week as far as benchmarks are concerned).

But the fact of the matter remains that this is America. We're a baseball country and if nothing else proves that to you, check out Sports Center's Number 1 play of the day just an hour after the Bruins won Lord Stanley's Cup.... Johnny Gomes in makes a diving catch in left field. In a baseball game. The All-star break is right around the corner (okay, still like a month away yet, but I've told you before, a girl's got to have things to look forward to) and the Sox are kickin' some serious tail. Keep it up down the stretch boys, and we'll make it 8 parades along the Charles in 10 years. Welcome to Title Town, folks.

Deployment Positive Thursday- Week 21

A Message From a Far Away Place...

"To my family and friends - Thank you so much for the cards you sent and the support you have shown both me and Kristina while I have been gone.  I think I can speak for everyone over here when I say that it means a lot to know that we have all of you in the states rooting for us and watching our backs while we are gone.  I feel extremely blessed to have such a strong network of friends and family back in the states.  Thank you, and I look forward to seeing you all as soon as I can."

And my positive for the week...

I recently realized that we are officially more than halfway to Andrew's midtour leave! I can't believe that next week will mark 5 months for this deployment, it doesn't seem like things are going quickly by any stretch of the imagination, but this is a huge milestone!  It feels great to have such a big chunk behind us... plus the summer is bound to fly by on the homefront. I've got lots to look forward to and keep me busy so really, when you think about it, fall is right around the corner!

Also, I would like to add that this is a fabulous time to be a Bostonian. Bruins are on a roll and the Sox are kickin it in New York! That's more than enough to make me and my soldier two very, very happy fans!

The Army Calls it his "Final Destination"

After almost two full weeks of travel, Andrew finally made it to his final destination on Friday (28 Jan). I have been hating that term "final destination" these past few weeks, it always makes me think of those terrible horror movies, plus final sounds so... eternal. Nope. This isn't his final destination, he is at this FOB for the next year(ish). His temporary home, you might say.

For OPSEC (Operational Security) reasons, Andrew and I have decided (along with the Department of Defense and the United States Army) that it is best that I don't disclose which FOB he is at online. We do have his address though, so for any family or friends who are interested, please feel free to email me and I'll be happy to give it to you. Mom and I sent out our first two care packages yesterday filled with... wait a minute, I can't tell you whats in it! That would ruin the surprise for Andrew!

The best part about sending care packages to Afghanistan (or any APO for that matter) is that it is cheaper than sending a package almost anywhere in the United States. I spent a small fortune this summer sending care packages to Ranger School and household supplies to Louisville. It's definitely nice to know that I'll still be able to send some of the comforts of home without being worried about going completely broke!

Other than that big news, things around here have been pretty busy... and snowy. Not snowy like New Hampshire, but kind of worse because we get less snow but the roads are somehow worse. I'm getting lots of wedding planning done and after going back and forth on a million things this past week I think we have the major decisions made, which feels great. Hershey was lucky enough to host the AHL all-star game this year so this weekend was jam-packed with Hockey fun! All the mascots from the different teams were there and I was so excited to see Max- the Manchester Monarch (my hometown team). I told him I was from New Hampshire but he was less than pleased with my wardrobe choice:

We had a great weekend but definitely missed our soldier! Another full week down, though which feels amazing, plus it's the start of a brand new month which is always a welcomed happening when you're living through a deployment.

B-E-A-R-S, bears! Bears! BEARS! WOOOOO!

Well to say the least, it is an exciting time to live in Hershey! This time of year is always great... the smell of chocolate in the air (yes, it for real smells like chocolate!) almost always over-powers the smell of manure out on the farms. Plus it is June which means if you are still watching Hockey you are most definitely a happy camper.

Growing up, hockey was absolutely NOT my cup of tea. I didn't really get into sports until I was in high school, but I always followed and rooted for all the Boston teams... except I can honestly say I never really watched or followed the Bruins. Well once you have dated Andrew Dolan for a few years you realize how truly thrilling and exciting the sport of Hockey can be! His parents have season tickets to the Hershey Bears so we always went to the games with them when we came to visit... and it didn't take long to develop an absolute LOVE for these guys! The way they play hockey in Hershey is something like I've never seen before and the fans are incredible! Everyone in Hershey lives, breathes and dies with the bears.... as it should be!

So the past two months have been an exciting time around here! The playoffs started right after Easter in Mid-April and went all the way through til this past Monday- and what a ride! There were some definite highs and lows, but in the end, the Hershey Bears won the Calder Cup for the 11th time in their history, 3rd year of the last 5, and first time at home in the past 30 years! Without a doubt, Monday night's game was the most exciting Hockey game I have ever been to and I will be hard pressed to go to one of that caliber ever again. The bears came out swinging... and boy, did they want it! After dropping the first two games of the series AT HOME, they went on to win all three in Texas. So coming home with a 3 games to 2 advantage with 2 games left in the series was a good feeling, but when no home team had won a game on their own ice for the whole series, there was the smallest hint of uneasiness.

Without going into too much detail, the Bears went ahead early and never relinquished a goal to the Stars! The final score was 4-0 and it was so exciting to watch the guys celebrating on the ice as the final seconds of the game came to an end. Almost all of the 11,002 fans (a record attendance) stayed for the presentation of the MVP and the Calder Cup! It was so exciting and we were all SO HAPPY!!! Chris Borque won the MVP and then the Calder Cup was presented to Bryan Helmer and the place went nuts! It was so cool to see all the players skate around with the cup and it was GREAT that they won it on home ice!

Fans started filtering out, but we stayed for about an hour afterwords! It was great! Chris Borque skated around with the cup once only a couple thousand fans were left and when he came into the penalty box to let fans touch it, I ran down and got a hand on it! I was so happy!

It was a great day, but obviously a little bittersweet because I hated the idea that I was experiencing all of this while Andrew was in hell! It has been tough to go through so many exciting moments without even being able to text Andrew and let him know what is going on. I have enjoyed writing letters though, giving him daily updates on what is happening around here! I can't wait until he reads about the bears winning! He will be so excited!

I guess it is just something I will have to get used to though, fun and exciting things happening while he is away--not only at Ranger School, but also on deployments and training assignments. But that is life in the Army, I suppose.