Staff Sgt Jason Ross - Marine

We have had a pretty good week and Jason is getting back to his more active self. This new prosthetic is doing a great job, and it is allowing him to get out and do more. Tomorrow we will be heading off to the gym, and then this weekend we may get some time at the ice rink. He seems pretty happy about the prospect of getting into hockey, and to be frank about it, Linda and I are also pretty happy to see him with the focus. His other "hobbies" are his tropical fish, coin collecting, shooting and his guns, and all those wonderful collectables. Having said all that, the newest interest is his chickens, and they are all growing bigger all the time. I do a great deal of the feeding and such, and whenever I get over to the pen area, attached to the chicken coop, they come out to greet me and want to know what new food (or water) I brought them. The two big Reds are still pretty stand offish, but that's okay, it gives the smaller ones a chance to eat and drink. The girls are...

Well, so what did you think about the solar eclips? I didn't get to see it, so I don't have much of an opinion... I did, however, get a new telescope - Celestron GS 130 - it is for novice viewers, like myself and Stacy, Jason's oldest daughter, is developing a love of astronomy. I haven't had a bunch of opportunities to use it yet, as we continue to experience high fog, but I'm patient, I'll get my clear night sky, and then I'll look at the moon, or maybe Mars. The family is doing well, and Jason is continuing to heal well. This is all very good since he wants to get more involved with the sled hockey. This weekend he is going to be going out to Paway to do some fitting and maybe even get out on the ice, if they can get him a set up. I know it would go very far to making him happy. He has also been going to the gym again. I've been able to go with him and had a nice simply workout. He, on the other hand, had a very vigorous workout. We were both swea...

Happy Birthday, Babe! I call Linda, my wife, Babe. I won't mention how old she is today, but she is four years younger than me and this past July I turned 65... ;-) This past week Jason and the rest of the family (me, Linda, Stacy and Jackie) all went to a hockey game. It was one that a friend of his was playing in and he had invited Jason to come out and watch. It was kinda fun and quite cold (we were right at the ice and were not dressed for it). "Mac" (One of Jason's EOD buddies from Okinawa) and his team won their game, and apparently it was a first round playoff game. Afterward we were all talking and Jason said he would have enjoyed playing and we found out that there is a league of disabled players playing what is called sled-hockey. This coming weekend Jason and I will be heading out to find out a little more about it, and see if it is something he can get into. The real fun part is that we need to be there at 06:30 in the morning and it is about 30 minutes ...

I truly intended to make this post yesterday, but was just too tired to get it done. We had just gotten back from a short camping trip (4-days) with the girls, and it wore us out. We did, however have a great time, and Jason was even able to come for a visit, to our camp site. But, more of that later. Over all, things are going well. Jason's wounds are continuing to improve, again and that makes all of us very happy. The weather here, has been pretty good, though a bit on the warm/hot side. Most of the days are up in the 90's and some are hitting the triple digit region. I generally have to put on a good amount of sun block every day, as do Linda and the girls. Jason seldom puts on sun block, though he does spend most of his time in doors. He does get out and takes care of his chickens, and other things, but most of his time is in the house... and we're okay with that. This past Monday we rented an RV and took the girls to Santee Lakes and Park area. It wasn't what ...

Well, it kind of feels like we're getting back into a more normal routine and back to a regular flow of things. Over this past week, Linda has been in New York City, with the Blue Star Mothers (their 75th anniversary) and our oldest son, George, has been here with Jason and I, along with the girls for a few of those days. Tomorrow the girls will be back at the house, in the morning; George will be traveling back up to Livermore, in the evening; and, Linda will be coming home in the evening as well. Then we all get to settle back down in the house for a day or two and then we go camping! The really good news is that Jason's wounds are beginning to heal up much more now, and he can get up and around in his wearable for longer periods. The camping we're getting ready for is relatively close by, so when Jason is feeling up to it, he will be able to come to our "camp" site (we'll be in  a motor home) and spend some time with the girls in a whole new setting. Lind...