Hey Everyone

hey guys... hows everyone doing? i only have about a week before i get to come home for leave...thank god! I need some Minnesota back in my system for a bit. things are going pretty well here...i am on my second full day off since i've been here. i've also had two half days. i got up and ran the 9/11 memorial run this morning...it was a 5k that seemed a lot longer. the air is so dry here that it is really hard to breath. along with the exhaust from the generators and the smell of the porta johns... its a very enjoyable run...

they finally got my flag pole painted and hung the Minnesota flag on it. you can see it from about a quarter mile if there aren't any really tall buildings in the area... its about 35ft. tall... i guess the battalion commander felt bad after they raised it for the first time because someone told him i should have gotten to since i made the pole. i really don't care. i took a couple pictures of the finished product...i'll put them on here later.

anyhow i figured i'd check in since i finally figured out how to login again.... later

Commanders Coin

Andy received the Commanders Coin for building this flag pole a few photo's down! Basically it's a huge pat on the back for doing something well. The photo above is the front of the coin and the photo below is the back of the coin.
Here is the flag pole Andy built. They wanted a flag pole to fly the Minnesota flag on outside the commanders tent which happened to also be next to his barracks building. They found an old light pole to use and Andy made the "truck" the thing on top that spins around so the flag doesn't get wrapped up around the pole. And then he made the thing on the bottom - like a boat- that you wrap the rope around. He made that out of rod that he heated and pounded flat so the pole is about 35 ft tall so you can see it around the whole camp!

Obviously they are working really hard over there =)

Here is Andy working on a vehicle! From what it looks of his appearance.. It's a little dusty there!

These pictures are from when Andy was in Texas I'll work on getting some from Kuwait from him so we can see what it is like over there! Andy has been in Kuwait for over a month now. Says its really hot the temp there is over 120 degree's and isn't supposed to cool down till around October and he also said its REALLY dusty! Andy gets a 2 week leave near the end of September so he is really excited to see grass and tress again - and he's really excited to go camping and see Jamie's new puppy Mea!!

Probably thinking about Jamie...

Short and Sweet

Hey all just letting you know that Andy should be in Kuwait by now!
Hope everyone's enjoying the summer!

Hi from Texas

Hey everyone! i hope everybody is doing well. i'm good. i miss minnesota! it get a little too hot for me here. can't wait for kuwait...jk...thats kinda gonna suck. but i finally figured out how to get on here and i'll work on getting some pictures together to put on here. talk to everyone later!

Cody Goes to Prom!

Cody had his prom this weekend in Marshall. He and Chelsea seemed to have a pretty good time! MaryAnne made sure to take some pictures of them by Andy's truck! It was the cleanest I have seen Andy's truck since he has gotten it!

It was great to see Grandma and Grandpa Hoffmann there!Paige and I wearing our buttons MaryAnne made to show our support for Andy! Thanks MaryAnne :)

Andy's Departure

Andy left this morning for Fort Hood :( These are the signs on the tractor that Pat & Jessi, Polly & Mary Sue put up in Montevideo. Good luck Andy! We love you so much!!

Leaving for Texas

Andy is leaving on Thursday, April 16th and going to Montevideo. He is then leaving Sunday, the 19th to go to Texas where he will be for 3 months. We all wish him the best of luck and we are going to miss him VERY much!

Thanks to everyone who came to his going away party it was a blast! Also like Andy mentioned if you would like me to post any pictures for Andy to see just let me or Jamie know and either of us could do that for you!