We are now a 1 1/2 vehicle household!

Happy 4th of July, B-Day, Xmas, Mardi Gras and Easter to me. In order to save the world and prevent as much of my money as possible from going to Middle Eastern Theocracies, I have bought a motorcycle. It is one of my more brilliant moments and it brings back memories of buying my last mountain bike, my horse and my Jeep. Yes, I have a history of brilliance/insanity/stupidity and I have just proven to myself and the world that I haven't yet kicked the habit.



Since the US Army has decided that jumping out of airplanes and partaking of leisurely tours of war zones are now in my job description, I have decided that quibbling about other sources of potential injury is no longer a relevant pursuit. Just to kick things up a notch, I think I am also gonna start riding bulls on the weekend. However, true to my US Army funded training in risk management and mitigation, I am scheduled for a Motorcycle Safety Foundation course in August and I have bought all of the prerequisite safety equipment (gloves, helmet, jacket and, of course, an expendable midget who's sole purpose in life is to sit behind me and cushion my body with his in the event of an accident). Rule #1 in Nathan's Motorcycle Handbook clearly states "Don't skimp on the helmet, you stingy bastard!" $400 later, I am hoping to never truly appreciate the wisdom of those words.

Back to the bike, it is a 2007 Buell. Harley Davidson owns most of Buell, so I am keeping things domestic around here. It is quite sexy, in a funky, non-rice-burner way, if you want my opinion. It is fairly light and easy to handle, so it is not an outrageous choice for a beginner. Basically, it is made to perform well in city traffic conditions.

A few pictures Katy added...

A guy at the store with the same model bike was kind enough to show me some important features on the bike. He was a great resource for tips and maintenance.




He was also nice enough to help me load it up.




And Finally... Katy had to film me fumbling around while I experimented with buttons.

This house is a Cardboard Minefield

Yipee! Our stuff is finally here!

6 hours later we have all of our belongings back and our garage is ...



well let's just say we have a small pathway from one door to the next.

Once again we were blessed with a great crew of guys who were polite, funny and took great care with our stuff. Once the truck pulled away Nathan was nowhere to be found. I finally heard him chopping wood in the backyard. Apparently our wooded backyard has really been annoying him and with his precious gardening tools back, including his machete on a stick (which my dad will no doubt remember from Nathan's day out at the ranch helping him clear some brush). Having a complete disregard for the H.O.A.'s strict policy on approving any and all clearing to be done on the property Nathan hacked away for 2 hours before finally calling it quits. We now have a backyard with a few large trees, no brush and we can walk around freely.



Now if someone could just tell me how to get to my bed.

Casa Ala Hoyt

Oh sweet internet how I've missed you...

Well folks, the Hoyt's are global again and ready to dish.

Nathan is loving his new job here. He is struggling a bit with feeling like an outsider surrounded by all of these field tested guys covered with every cool patch and ribbon there is. With any luck he will be jumping out of planes sometime next month although no set date has been given yet. He loves his bosses and everyone he's met so far that he will be working with. He was most excited when he discovered the building next door is a huge fitness center not five steps from his office door. He gets home so early, I'm not quite used to it. At his previous job he worked until 8 or 9 at night and on weekends as well. It is a welcome change.

We are loving our new home and the community where we live. All of our neighbors happen to work with Nathan which is such a wonderful coincidence.

Casa Ala Hoyt



We've got some ideas for landscaping we are running by the landlord to give it a warmer look. Currently we are reflooring the front room with wood laminate. The laminate flooring is supposedly to be simple snap together flooring but it has proved to be quite labor intensive. We argued in Lowe's for two days over what color the wood should be to match it properly to the tiled laminate in the adjoining room. Nathan finally had his way and it looks beautiful. I'll be hearing "I told you so." for the next two years.





The backyard is currently a jungle.



I'm not sure how it will be cleared but it should be fenced sometime soon. It's nice to be able to look out and see trees instead of pavement or someone else's yard.

Everyday C-130's fly over and over again in the same pattern over our house, if we are driving closer to post we can see this familiar image..



Slowly, this new place is growing on us.

First Impressions

I have to admit that Nathan and I were a bit unimpressed with everything over here. Compared to our life back in Louisiana things move way too fast out here. We looked at several houses well within our price range and hated them all, Fayetteville is overcrowded and full of sketchy communities especially when you are looking at houses that will except pets. It seems most of the houses we looked at figured they might as well except pets because they can't get much worse. Thank God we were lucky enough to meet up with a great group of fellow Veterinarians who have been so helpful in finding us a great place to stay. We found out that the other side post is undeveloped countryside sprinkled with a few communities. We were lucky enough to find a beautiful place with a landlord who is as pet friendly as they come, a fellow Veterinarian and really nice guy. It's nice and calm and quiet up here, much more our style. The internet should be up and running by next week and I'll post some pictures for you all. I think Fayetteville will grow on us eventually though we will never forget what great friends we left behind in Lousiana. Hopefully the Army will do what it does best and allow to cross paths again sometime down the road. We miss you all.