Better late than never.......

Well, family and friends, this is a long overdue post. We have had a lot happen in the last few months. As some of you know, Claire Elizabeth was born on November 1. We actually call her Libby, but we couldn't decide on naming her any of the names that you can derive Libby from. (Elizabeth was one of them, even though it's only her middle name.) She was very healthy and chunky. She was an inch shorter (20 in.) than Grace was (21 in.), but a full pound heavier (8 lb. 7 oz.) She has a very thick head of dark, wavy hair. Well, it's wavy when it's wet but then it kind of calms down when it dries. We'll see how that turns out over time. We are so glad to have her in our family.
Karen, Grace and Libby are still at her mom's house in Wyoming. We are so glad that she was able to be up there with her mom and sisters when she had the baby. It really made me feel a lot better to know that there was so much help since I couldn't be there. I would have obviously preferred to be there when Libby was born, but they just won't let me out of this place. We knew that coming in to it, though. After a year and a half of trying to find a way back to school and living in poverty we just couldn't pass it up when they called-especially since we got offered Tucson. We had to seize the opportunity.
Grace seems to be adjusting well to having a little sister. Karen has to be sure she doesn't point out Libby's facial features too hard. I love this video of Grace and Libby-Grace gets so excited:



For those of you I haven't talked to for a while, I am still here in Artesia, NM at the Border Patrol Academy. It is actually snowing today-go figure. I didn't expect to get 4 inches of snow here. Things are going well. I'm doing well in the academic side of things. As far as the physical conditioning goes I'm just trying to get out of here without my knees dying on me. (When I get out of here I'm going to see how much Uncle Sam will do to get me some new knees so I can keep up my running on my own time. I still haven't lost much wait. In true Beach fashion I've just gained muscle to replace the chubs. My pants are falling off of me, but no weight loss. The PT is pretty tough but not unbearable. It would be a lot easier if I was as studly as I was 10 years and 60 lbs ago.
We qualified on our pistols last week. I did pretty well for not having shot pistols much in the past. I've shot a few times with my pops and my bro-in-law, Scott, but no formal training. I actually scored 343 out of 360 which is actually at the highest scoring bracket-Expert Level. I think I get a cool certificate when I graduate. Next we get to train on the M4 and shotgun.
We've started lectures for our driver training. We actually get out on the course next week. We do courses in high-speed pursuits, 4X4, skid control and some other training on a huge track where we have to go as fast as we can in a Dodge Charger-I'm sure I won't mind that any. It should be fun training in the snow for desert driving ; )
Graduation is on December 20. Conan actually gets to come and pin my badge on me since he's a Border Patrol Agent, too. That should be cool. Then, we're off to Tucson. We still don't have a place to live there, but I'm sure we'll find one. I should be going there next weekend with a classmate, hopefully I can find a place to rent while I'm there.
We are excited to get back to Arizona. Karen is sad to be leaving Wyoming again, but with the money they're going to be paying me we'll definitely be able to afford going back more often. We think about you all and can't wit to see you. I know we'll see a lot of you at the Beach Bash on Dec. 29. Until then.