Our little boy's going away to the Army! We knew this day was coming, but it still seems impossible that we are now officially Empty Nester's! Jacob will be at basic for 8 weeks, and then jump school for 3 weeks, then on to His communications training at Ft. Gordon, Georgia. He will be there for 21 weeks of training. He should complete his training somewhere around the April time frame. At that point the mission will be next, and then on to college at UVU in Orem. I guess the hardest part right now is not being able to communicate with him. We should be receiving a card any day with an address so we can write to him. The day Jacob left, Sara was at the house and agreed to take these great shots of our last day.
Jacob is in Basic Training at Ft. Jackson, SC now.
Jacob telling his posse goodbye.
Jensen and Izzie came to see Uncle Jake before he left. 
Gave Izzie and Jensen a chance to get reacquainted. 
"And you can call me "sir". (Phil is a Captain after all) 
Ah, one last shot at the Playstation and loafing around in his own room. He now shares living space with 60 of his closest friends.
Isabella dropped by a couple of times in the last month. We are really glad they are so close now, even if only for six months. (they live down near Richmond at Ft. Lee, VA)
She is still a very delicate eater, but she's getting it. 
She is always quick to tell you when you're getting too pushy with the food.
Jensen, on the on the other hand, has fewer food issues, and is likely asking for more in this picture.
"I'm telling you, he's already eaten" Grandpa said.
"Mom, you and Grandma have got to get back here, Grandpa and Jake are weird!" 
"But they are amusing at times."
Jensen is planning a singing career, we're thinking. 
He had some fun after all with Grandpa and Jake. 
"Hey Dad, get back from Iraq and us guys will have allot of fun". 
This microphone is a great thing. Sara and Jensen came and stayed for nice visit with us. We had loads of fun getting to know the big boy again. He is a great mix of his Mom and his Dad.
This is the favorite toy of all the kids we know so far. The ball blower. 
It thrills them every time. 
"I'd let you guys in here if I knew how to open this gate."
The future baseball star. A natural at hitting things.
Those are some cute cousins, and lots of fun. 
Jensen was good at entertaining Grandma Betsy as well.
" I'm telling you, there's no way out of here." 
"Try shaking this thing real hard!" 
"Maybe if we just try looking really cute. It usually gets me what I want". 
Oh well...just make the best of a bad situation. 
Grandpa and Grandma love having visitors. 
Who knows? Grandpa is odd.
But handsome in those plaid shorts. 
Going to church with Grandma and Grandpa.
Fox even came to stay for a week. He loves Grandma's house and stealing the other dogs things. He loved this big chew and guarded it jealously. 
Tank didn't want to fight about it, at least not too often. He seems to tolerate the company very well. 
Betsy loves her little knucklehead Tex. She doesn't have to be a total empty-nester as long as the dogs are around. They follow her faithfully from room to room (it keeps her happy and gives Grandpa some peace).