We had one of the tastiest combos I've tried yet for dinner. Stuffed peanut butter and banana french toast! It is so yummy! It's quite sweet, almost makes it feel like I'm having dessert for dinner. But it sure is tasty! About a month and a half ago Cody started asking to try a peanut butter and banana sandwich. He and Hunter have been on a kick lately creating different sandwiches. I told him that one of Elvis's (the singer) favorite foods was a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich. Cody was so excited to try this. First we tried it just on white bread, not toasted. It was pretty good but you need the bananas cut thicker if you eat it like this. Hunter liked these sandwiches more than Cody. He's had about 6 of them since. I told Cody the next time I make french toast, let's try making this sandwich with this kind of bread. So we tried it, toped with a little maple syrup. Oh my gosh... it is SO good! It's definitely one of those foods that's so rich you can't eat a lot. I can only have about half a sandwich, but it's so worth it. Cody loves it, too! Mmmmmm!

I cut my dad's hair today. He is so cute. He has his own clippers but for the last 5 years he's had me cut it. It first started when they moved to Rose Canyon. When he moved he couldn't find where the clippers ended up, but even when he did find them he said I still needed to cut it because he can't see to cut his own. I think it's his way of having one on one time to talk with me. Really, that's the only time we can talk without interruptions. I really enjoy it.                                                                                           Today we talked over an hour. He was telling me some of his early days in the military. He signed on with the Air Force when he turned 18 (six months before he graduated high school). Then just 10 days after graduating, he reported to San Antonio, TX. He's been all over the place. In the early years of his military days, he was stationed in Oceanside, CA doing a bunch of training drills. He was telling me about how they'd be out living in dugouts and a flash flood would come tearing through and wipe out everything. They'd be just dripping. It didn't kill anyone, but they lost a bunch of M16's one time. Then other times they'd have to load up on these huge helicopters that could transport up to 30 or 40 troops at a time. He said they'd sit so close to each other that the person who was sitting in front of you, their knees would interlock with yours. If you had to use the bathroom during one of these flights and you happened to be the lucky one in the middle, you'd have to climb up to the top of the seat and somehow walk on the tops of these seats to get out. (Makes me feel claustrophobic just hearing that.) He said these helicopters are huge!! He told me of a time when they were training them on tear gas and getting used to it. They'd set off the tear gas and these guys had to learn how to hurry and put their masks on and such. This one time, after a tear gas training, they had all the soldiers load up in this sort of box called a cattle car to be transported to another place. The driver was up in another part of the truck and couldn't hear anyone. This car had a couple windows but I don't think they could open much. Once they shut those air tight doors, they all soon realized the tear gas was still on their clothes and was making them sicker than sick. They tried pounding on the sides to get the drivers attention. They would take turns getting by the window cracks where they could get a taste of the fresh air coming in. Finally the driver sensed something was wrong and pulled over. As soon as he opened the doors, they piled out of there as fast as they could. They were all so sick. They were all crying from the gas, but the minute you touched your eyes, it would make it worse. He said it was horrible! Then he told me about a time when he came out to the base in Tooele here in Utah. He said they'd do these shootin' drills out there. He could pick up an M16 outside and shoot in the windiest conditions and still shoot in the excellent range. But once they got indoors and shot at a much closer ranged target, he didn't do as well. The military said that happens... men shoot much better outside, and the women shoot much better indoors. 

I told dad he needs to write all this down. He has some cool stories from his days in the military. He's lived in many places, including two years in Alaska. He said it's weird when the sun is up 24 hours a day, then 6 months later it's dark 24 hours a day. He's lived in many states, traveled to Japan, Germany, etc. I remember when he'd go on his two weekers to Japan and Germany. When he came home fro Japan he brought us each 2 pairs of pajamas-one silky and one with japanese children playing on them. From Germany he brought us each an Odie stuffed animal from "Garfield" and a chocolate bar. German chocolate is so different from ours. It's really good. I remember him going to Washington state for the weekend every couple of months for the Air Force. I can still see his black bag we'd help him pack his shavor, toothpaste, etc. in.  I love the military. I miss going to Hill Air Force Base with my family for different things dad had to do. I loved hearing the fighter planes zoom by during one of their practice routines.  I'm thankful for the military and all the soldiers and everything they do for us.