Christmas Greeting

Merry Christmas to all of you who I hope found the web-page relatively effortlessly as a result of our Christmas card. We thought we would use this blog as our vehicle for updating everyone on what has been a very busy year for the Spurlock Crew. This was a PCS year for us and with that comes busyness in and of itself!

As you can see, Drew has really grown this year! He started off the year in his second semester at Hampton Roads Montessori School in Newport News, Virginia. Drew absolutely LOVED that school and was sad to have to leave in June when we PCS'd. Before leaving Virginia he played soccer at Fort Eustis and although no goals were scored, he had a blast playing. After moving to New Jersey, Drew started Kindergarden and has been learning so quickly. He really has become an avid reader and will read just about every road sign he sees while riding in the car! He continued his soccer this past fall and is ramping-up for karate which will begin soon.

Kristin has continued to enjoy being at home with Drew and discovered the runner inside her! While in Virginia she paired-up with a running buddy and began training for the Rock and Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach. While training for the race, she raced in three 5K races and one 8-mile race (the Yorktown Victory Run)! Go Mommy!!! She hasn't run much in New Jersey since we moved, but lets just say the weather hasn't been as pleasant to run in here. She has also stayed busy in the wives group here at Picatinny and with her scrapbooking (the card you received was hand-made)!

As for me, I started the year still in graduate school and finished in August with a Master of Science in Program Management. Once I graduated we moved from Virginia to Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey for my new job as an Acquisition Corps Officer. After moving Kristin and Drew here to Picatinny I had to attend the Acquisition Basic Course and Intermediate Contracting Course in Huntsville, Alabama for 3 months! Needless to say after graduating the courses in Huntsville, I was pretty schooled-out! Since October I've been getting settled into my new job as an Assistant Product Manager in the Joint Lightweight 155mm Howitzer Office here at Picatinny. It's been such a great job change for me, I truly feel blessed working there and look forward to work everyday.

That about hits all the high points. Paging through this blog you fill-in some of the blanks of the stuff I left-out. Our hope for the holidays for all of you is that the Lord has blessed you in as many ways that He has us, and that you all have a happy and joyful Christmas and New Years!!

Sledding

After 5+ inches of snow in the last couple of days and a coating of freezing rain/sleet, I couldn't resist the temptation any longer...

Drew and I went out to WalMart this morning in search of a sled since we had none from our days in Virginia. We found a sled that was a little pricey, but was really slick on the bottom and looked really fast. So we took our sled down the street from our house to a modest-sized hill for starters this season. We'll move-up to the bigger hills at the ski resorts later in the winter. The three of us had an absolute BLAST! The freezing rain over top of the snow made the conditions really fast as you can see from the video below. The top of the snow was like an ice rink!

Hope everyone out there on the East Coast is having fun in the early blast of wintery weather!!

Season in Full Swing

Well, the season is indeed in full swing at our house. Complete with snow on the ground and road salt all over the cars! It took us a while but we finally got our decorations up over this past week. We decided to go out and cut-down our own tree this year! This is the first year we have gotten a real tree since we were engaged to be married like 10 years ago!

We went to tree farm in NW New Jersey...let me tell you for all of you out there who have this picture of New Jersey in your heads (I had it too) of smog and pollution and factories and city, there is an incredibly beautiful part of the state as well. The area we went tree hunting in is some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen! I know, some of you are looking above for pictures of this beautiful place. Well, I sorta forgot the camera at home. I do have pictures of the tree above...one of the best trees we have ever had! Perfect for our house.

We hope all of your plans and preparations keep you all safe during the celebration of the birth of The King...

Promotion

Today Brian is officially a Major in the U.S. Army. We had a ceremony yesterday with cake and parents and the whole shebang. He even got a free lunch! It was the nicest promotion ceremony he's had yet. It was special since he was the only one getting promoted (vs. getting promoted as a group) and because of the insisting by his bosses. They had never promoted anyone in their office before since they are all civilians. Despite their lack of experience they did a great job! It was really great that Brian's parents and my parents were able to come too.

Sudden Snow

About 5 inches of wet snow fell overnight

Watch out, Drew's got a good arm!

Our new family member for the day

What does Jersey snow taste like Drew?

We had a very exciting morning here today. Drew hasn't seen this kind of snow since we left Kansas. In fact, we didn't even buy any snow boots last year for lack of use! Drew wanted to have a snowball fight more than anything else. Of course, that was not on the top of Mommy's list of fun things to do. Especially when his aim is not very accurate. I can say, "not in the face" as much as I want but in the end, I get a mouth full. So we moved on to building a snow man and shoveling the walk. I love having afternoon Kindergarten on days like these. His bus doesn't come until 11:30 so we have all morning to enjoy the snow. Our school didn' t have any delays or cancellations but many schools in the area did. This snow was quite a welcome surprise!

Pele Returns!

Kristin is at Michaels buying a new scrapping lamp, so Drew and I thought we would post some soccer pics....

Soccer came to an end today...but not before Drew scored the first goals of his career last week! Not only did he score his first goal, he unleashed for a hat trick in the span of like 3 minutes! They couldn't get the ball put on the ground fast enough for his mad skills!!!

Pics below are from this morning. It has been pretty cold here for games hence the red cheeks on the boy with the blue hat (that's Drew). No goals today, but much fun was had by all.

Thanks to Chuck our coach!! Now on to karate..."sweep the leg Daniel-Son..."



Drew squaring off against the other team


This pic was added at the request of Pele himself...probably because his two girlfriends Gabriella (to his left) and Antigona (between him and the kid w/the red ball) were in the picture.

Halloween at Home

Sir Peter Knight of Wolfsbane

Treat-or-Treat on General's Row

School Parade (Drew took it very seriously!)

Pumpkin Carving

Our Family Jack-o-Lanterns

Wacky Hair Day

A lot has happened this month. We moved into our new house, Brian is now home for good and of course we had a very exciting Halloween. We are loving our home and neighborhood. It's so quiet! The house is coming along. All the boxes are unpacked but we are still putting up the final touches. It's all worth it since we'll be here for 4 years!

On Halloween a couple of our neighbors got together and threw a pre-trick-or-treat party complete with "bat wings", "spiders" and "bloody punch". All the kids of our little neighborhood got together and ate and played. We stayed on post for all the trick-or-treating. In fact, Drew hit almost every house!

Drew's costume is not just any knight but Sir Peter of Wolfsbane (from The Chronicles of Narnia). He was quite the handsome knight in shining armor:-) He also had the opportunity to wear his costume for his first school Halloween parade.

Brian has this week off before he begins his new job on Monday. I'll let him blog about that since I'm not entirely schooled on the new and exciting world of the Acquisition Corps. All I know is that his office is a mere two blocks from our house and we expect him to be traveling more. For all you Army types out there, his official title is the APM for the Joint Light Weight 155 Howitzer Program.

Apple Pickin'

OK, Brian has schooled me on this blog thing now so I can post to it as well. Yesterday we went to Princeton NJ to pick apples at a farm and orchard. It was a gorgeous day and we were happy to have the opportunity to spend some time together. We have waaaay more apples than our little family needs but it was a ton of fun picking them. Afterward we went to downtown area of Princeton (the Aggieville of the Ivy League) and had some lunch. We all felt a little smarter afterward:-)

We are moving into our new house on October 10th. I'm so excited to get our own things back! The trailers are perfect for a temporary situation but I am glad that we will not be living in it until next summer.

Drew loves Kindergarten! He's in the afternoon class which takes some getting used to. It's hard for him to wake up, get dressed and then wait another 3 hours before the bus comes. He's also doing a weekly story time group at the library and soccer as well.

We found a great church! It's a bit of a drive but it felt like a perfect fit from the first day. Drew and I go to a community bible study on Wednesday mornings at a different church that is a bit closer. The format and size of this group is very much like the PWOC group I went to at Fort Riley. There are several other Pickatinny ladies there and one other person from our church that I know.

I will be busy with getting the house set up but I also plan on being involved with the school PTA and with the wives groups on post. This year I'll be taking a break from holding any major positions though. It's been 4 years in a row on one or more big volunteer positions. Maybe next year when Drew is in school all day.

Now that I know how to do this blog thing, you can expect more recent posts from the Spurlock Crew. Enjoy! Kristin

Drew had his first day of Kindergarten a couple weeks ago at Dennis B. O'Brien Elementary in Rockaway, NJ. All of the kids from Picatinny (like 4 in all) go to this school and he has already made friends in his class that live on post. Below are a few pics of his first day waiting for the bus...

I need to get Kristin up to speed on how to post to this website cause I can't keep up...Greg...or whoever"my peeps" are??

Sorry it has been so long since we last posted...I have been in Huntsville, AL for a school I have to attend and Kristin and Drew have been getting settled-in to the trailer I spoke of in my last post.

We were finally offered housing at Picatinny (pictures below) and will be moving-in in a week or so. Kristin and Drew will be moving-in by themselves without me but with the help of relatives and friends it should go fine. Overall it's an old house, but has lots of character and room for us.

I'm still in Huntsville.....Still.Going.To.School:( It feels like I have been in school for an eternity with grad school and all. Oh well, only 4 weeks left.

After we get moved, emails with phone and address will follow. Hope everyone is having a good fall and getting ramped-up for Halloween...boo

Finally Moving!

Well, the hour has finally arrived...We will be headed out for our 7th move of my career. Yeah, it's alot but what are ya gonna do? We will be tearing-down the computer tomorrow and heading to points north (New Jersey, ref "Joizee" post)

Housing is a rather disheartening situation at Picatinny where I will be stationed. At least for the immediate future. They are in the process of building housing for field-grade officers right now, but as GMH is so good at doing, they have nothing to offer us other than this:


Yes yes, we will be living in a trailer for who knows how long. I've been told it may be until next May. But there are financial upsides to this sad tale so we'll make the best of it. Just makes for alot of togetherness.

I'm excited to be out of grad school and finally start my Acquisition career in what looks to be a great office and job.

Hope you all are enjoying the summer and let us know if you get around the Picatinny/New York area. We have a trailer room waiting for you!!!

Hilton Head 2007

As some of you may know, we purchased a timeshare in Hilton Head, South Carolina recently and have begun making the trip down there as our summer vacations. Last week we accompanied my parents to their timeshare and had a great week. This trip, my sister and her family came down as well and a great time was had by all.

This summer we stayed at Harbor Pointe inside the Shelter Cove Plantation if any of you are familiar with Hilton Head. Drew had a great time on the beach, in the pool, playing putt-putt, in the pool some more, on the beach some more and...in the pool some more! I think I am well on my way to a serious skin problem from all the sun.

My sister, her husband and their three kids were able to be there as well which made for a great pseudo-family reunion. See below for some of the activities we took part in.

Drew and a starfish he "found" on the beach. We think it was dead...if it were alive, he never would have gone near it. It's limbs were falling-off so I think that was a good sign of it's health!




Kristin and I at Hudson's On The Docks...one of the BEST seafood spots on the island. A must if you are ever on Hilton Head and are looking for some great seafood!


On Thursday morning we went on the Shannon Tanner Wild& Wacky Wizzle Cruise. This is Drew and Shannon...after a blue ring pop! Shannon has a nightly show for kids at Shelter Cover during the summer months and does a dolphin watch/majic/variety cruise on Thursday mornings. A great thing to do if you have little-ones and are looking for a fun, cheap activity to do.


Sunset over Broad Creek

Drew and his oldest cousin, April at the pool


Drew piloting the Holiday, the boat we went on for Shannon Tanners cruise


Family photo taken on the banks of Broad's Creek where our villa was at.

5 Years Old!!!

Drew is 5 years old!! That just makes us feel older.

We had a great day at the Virginia Air and Space Center for Drew's birthday party this past weekend. His birthday was actually last Monday, but we had his party on Sunday so more people could come. The party was great and had a science "lesson" on electricity and everyone got to ride the "Magic Carpet" motion simulator as well as explore the Air and Space Museum.


The birthday boy doing what he loves to do best...eat cake!




Drew with Parish "The Electricity Guy" lighting-up a light-bulb using a device that neither Kristin nor I can remember the name of. Young Padi-Wan was using the "Force" to light-up the light bulb. But Drew thinks he has already progressed from Padi-Wan to Jedi Knight.


All of Drew's party guests getting their science lesson on electricity from Parish



Drew and his friend Dhani from school making airplanes during his party

Joizeee!!

Okay, so for the first real post I guess I'll talk about PCS time. Many of you who will read this are Army families or are members of our close family so I don't need to elaborate on the PCS thing. We'll be PCS'ing to New Jersey this summer to a little known place called Picatinny Arsenal. I didn't know where it was either until I got the map out prior to selecting it as one of my choices for a new duty station. Overall, it looks nice. Most people hear we are going to Jersey and say "eeew" or "why are you moving there" or when they here Picatinny they say " uhhh where?" So we'll be headed ther after I complete my Masters this summer for me to work on an Army new howitzer program.

Point of this being, if anyone knows anyone in northwest New Jersey, send them our way with information a plenty. We'll need it!

Blog Start

Hi there! We're the Spurlock's! My name is Brian and my wife's name is Kristin. We have one son Drew and this is the first post for our blog.

I started this as a way for family and friends to stay-up to speed on our lives. We are an Army family and move around alot, so this was the best way to keep everyone updated. Hope you Enjoy!