...and now the moment you've all been waiting for.

ARMAND GENE FONDREN III 

"TREY"

I'll spare you the rhetoric for a picture is worth a thousand words. 

Welcome to the planet

Ah swaddling...the one thing daddy does well

Trey and Jelaine...beyond words

Look at the size of those things

Getting ready to come home

Fist time in his bed...sweet dreams

Styling' and profilin' in his first cargo pants

More to come...standby for more adventures of Trey...

Kilroy was here!

Finally here...

So there I was...

49 1/2 hrs after it all began. Tired, but not near as tired as my darling wife, but ecstatic about the arrival of our baby boy. Here's the stats. Pictures and more to come, but I am going to get some lunch.

Time: 0133, 1 Sep 2008 (Labor Day)
Length: 21 1/2 inches long
Weight: a WHOPPING 9 lbs 11 oz.
Name: Armand "TREY" Gene Fondren III

Mom and baby are awesome. We are stil in the hospital but should go home tomorrow. Call us and say hey when you get the chance:

Kilroy was here!

Is it time yet?

So there I was...

30 Aug 2008, sleeping peacefully in my bed when Jelaine awoke...this time not from her ever shrinking bladder, but from her intensifying contractions.  We began timing them at about 0315 this morning.  It's a bit inconclusive as of yet, but she tells me they are definitely working now and they are getting harder.  These are all great signs.

My parents came into town last night for

 the long weekend and hopefully they will go home with some great pictures of their newest grandbaby.  Jelaine called her parents at 0400 and they are supposed to be heading this way via car from Hot Springs, AR.  

Please pray for us as we begin what promises to be a long and fulfilling day.  Glory be to God for His perfect plan for our lives.  We look forward to sharing more with you all as often as possible.  Check back frequently.

Kilroy was here!

PS:  This picture is for Ethan.  He had us take pictures of Jelaine at 9 months prego in uniform.  :-)

I finally got the website to let me post a picture and here it is!  This is Jelaine on our 4th anniversary, just a few days ago.  She is 33 weeks pregnant.  Feel free to comment on her resemblance to a penguin or a pot bellied pig.  :-)  She's gonna get me for that last one, but I love her and think she is absolutely adorable!  

Kilroy was here!

Preparation for fatherhood...

So there I was...

Six weeks away from that special day...the day we bring a little boy into the world, and all I can think is that there are some people who haven't even heard that Jelaine is pregnant yet.  Ah well, those who don't know certainly have long since given up checking my blog anyway.  Well, I am trying to catch up once again.  But now I can't even read Trey's blog because I didn't check his and my invitation to view was revoked.  Serves me right. 

Anyway, I know these are a bit old but I did want to post at least one picture of my pregnant wife.  It is soooooo cool.  Our little guy inside her is growing rapidly and he doesn't stop kicking ever.  It is a wonder she can sleep, but ironically she sleeps harder now than ever before. 

Well I tried 8 times to post a picture of my bride to no avail so i give up for now.  I'll try again soon.

I'll check back, but I am going to have to send out an email to tell people I posted or no one will ever see the picture anyway.

A hole through the earth...

So there I was...bored out of my mind when I decided to dig a hole straight through the earth just see where I would end up.

Turns out if you dig a whole straight through you end up near Antarctica, but I must have taken a wrong turn at Albequeque, and I ended up in Okinawa...and for those of you like myself, who are not geographically inclined Okinawa is an island south of mainland Japan. Also the alleged home of Mr. Miagi. Come to find out Miagi is a pretty common Okinawan name.

Anyway, I have been here since mid January and have seen and done a lot. I have had some amazing food: of course sushi, japanese steakhouse, traditional japanese noodles (with the occasional surprize raw egg and dried seaweed) and japanese curry. I have had my fill of Turkish food from a real Turk, Indian, Hawaiian, Persian, French pastry, and most rescently some excellent TexMex believe it or not. I've also tried Ube (purple sweet potato) ice cream. It tastes a little bit like sweet cold buttered popcorn...delicious.

I got to see the Cherry Blossom Festival (Sakura Festival). I have been shopping in Naha and Nago (cities on island). I've been to church every weekend including one church off base that sung both Japanese and English praise songs, that was neat. I even got "stuck" in Tokyo for a few days and got to go up in the Tokyo tower to see the city from above. I have taken a ton of pictures, 5 gigs to be exact, and hope to share them all with you sometime. And for those of you who didn't get this post in the email version I'll add a few details. I got to go climbing in climbing gym and see a high school play (american). I wanted to go diving but doesn't look like that is going to happen. I have gotten to hang out with some friends who are stationed here too and that was really awesome.

And when I wasn't doing all that great stuff I was doing what you sent me here to do and that is work. And believe me we have been doing a lot of that too. That being said my time here is coming to a close and I am thankful for that. Please pray that we get home on time. Also pray for Jelaine and my two month old nephew who is now recovering well from open heart surgery. Jelaine has gotten to spend this long weekend with her family in Arkansas and was the first to hold him after his surgery. He is amazing. I am praying for you all while I am gone and I look forward to seeing you all soon. God bless you all.

Kilroy was here!

Technical Difficulties

So there I was...trying to share some really great photos of my trip with my friends, from my awesome new camera when I realized my camera is too good for the computer I am on.

Turns out if you take pictures in RAW (I don't really know what that means but it is the best quality) you have to have an advanced photoshop type program just to view those photos much less edit them.

So anyway, I am trying to find a friend with a computer that I can view them on and then I will upload them.

The trip is going well. We are working a bunch, but I have a few days off this weekend and I am going to go spend the night with my friends here Ryan and Brandis. They have a new baby, Caleb, who shares my birthday and he is very cute. They are taking me to church with them tomorrow and tonight we are going to dinner at a restaurant called the Asian Gate. Sounds good to me.

Nothing to exciting lately, except that the two fish I caught at the fair (Goldfish) died over the last two days. Kinda sad, but reminded me that Goldfish suck. When I get home, I am taking the inspiration from my father and Trey and making one of my tanks livebearers and live plants. I can't wait...just gotta convince Jelaine now. :-)

Kilroy was here!

Geocaching and rollerslides...

So there I was...

...GPS in hand, wandering the streets and parks of (oh I almost told you where I am), lets just say wandering the streets and parks of a strange place looking for treasure the size of coke can or a card deck or a film canister or maybe even a postage stamp.

So some of you might know what geocaching is but some may not. Jelaine and I have been wanting to do it for a while and I finally got the chance. A friend that lives here goes a lot and took a few of us. It is basically modern day treasure hunting...except you don't take the treasure, you just sign the log book and leave it for someone else to find. You get a set of coordinates (lat and long) and track it with a handheld GPS. That only gets you within 5-20 feet though. Then you have to search feverishly under pine needless and behind signs and rocks to find the object. Sometimes it is pretty big, but sometimes, like I said above, it is magnetic and the size of a stamp and stuck on the back of a sign in the park that says "please remove all excrement" (in the local language) and has a picture of a dog with a pile of poo behind him. Don't worry pictures to follow soon.

Long story short it is a great time! And I think the boyz should get together and do it sometime. It does take patience though...a lot harder than I originally thought.

Well, while we were geocaching we discovered another form of local entertainment. This one is actually for children but it that never stopped me before. Imagine this: The stairs ascend to a blistering height...hernia hill height to be exact. At the top is a slide, but this is no boring american made metal slide...this is a genuine DFW airport lugage conveyor on an incline. It is really hard to imagine but there are row after row after row of giant bead-like wheels that form the surface of the slide. And the slide doesn't just go straight down, it winds in a spiral. That of course doesn't stop you from reaching terminal velocity by the time you get to the bottom. It was AWESOME!! You ride down on your feet, squating...well you try, until to you get going to fast cause it is raining and the whole thing is wet...then you fall on your rear end and get soaked but keep traveling at mach snot toward the bottom. Then you get to the bottom and since you are already wet and dirty you make the ascent up hernia hill and do it all over again. I have pictures of this to so I'll get them posted as soon as I can. Til then you will have to let your imagination run wild.

Hope everyone is well. Blue skies and God's speed.

Kilroy was here!

Work Hard, Play Hard...

So there I was...

...Fly at least every other day, sleeping when I can, and being drug around by my crew to eat some wonderful food.

This trip has been good so far. We have been flying a ton, which is great for my hours and upgrade. The flights are relatively short though so they haven't been to painful. We will have some long ones but for the most part we are flying 6 hours at a time. I know you might be thinking, "A SIX HOUR FLIGHT!!! YOU CALL THAT SHORT?!!" Well for me that is a pretty short flight. The funny part is that it seems even longer when you realize we are really going anywhere. :-)

Well when we aren't flying I work out and sleep mostly. But a guy has got to eat too so my coworkers drag me out to places I would not normally go. We do have the occasional undercook delicacy here, but we are expanding our horizons. We have been to this great Turkish restaurant twice now. The first time we went it was only four of us and we ended up stay a while. After soup, Mesas (an appetizer plate), and a Doner Pita, one of the guys inquired about the hooka (sp) in the window. Turns out smoking was not allowed in the restaurant but he sold the hooka and the tobacco. Well after talking to him and while and since we were sitting outside, he brought is the hooka after all. We sat and talked with him while smoking and then he brought us turkish tea (flavored with Clove and several types of tea leaves). It was a great ending to the meal. We liked it so much we went back yesterday. Tonight I think is Indian or Persian. We'll see where they take me next.

Till then...Kilroy was here!

Settling in for a long one...

So there I was...

Posting my blog when I get an error telling me basically that my entire post had just been deleted. I haven't had that happen in a long time. So frustrating. Blah! What are you gonna do right?

We in case it happens again I will make this one a short one. I am settling in here. I just got my last suitcase off of airlift last night and there are some really nice rooms on base...but we aren't staying in them. Ours are nothing to complain about but the nice ones have kitchens. Instead I bought one of those microwave egg poachers so I could cook eggs in my room. Works ok, but I have to remember to get dish soap next time I go to the store.

There are a bunch of restaurants here and plenty of stuff within walking distance from the base too. I just have to remember to look right first when crossing the road.

I end here for now so I can go read up on your lives before my time runs out. Blue skies and God's speed.

Kilroy was here!

On the road again...

So there I was...half way across the world after a 16 and a half hour flight, checking my email and my blog when I noticed Trey was quite irate about my not posting. So here it is...for now at least. More to come very soon. I'll try to catch on months of your blogs too. So be patient and check all your old comment blocks cause I will try to post on them. God bless you guys! I'll talk to you soon!

Kilroy was here!