I've reserved very little time for blogging as of late. I have a few minutes while running reports at work so here goes. Things have been going fairly well for me. Work is hectic, but it is manageable. The boys are doing well, why wouldn't they be, warm weather is moving in and school is almost out! :-) I went to training for the Kentucky National Guard, and actually had a great time. We went to the M-16 range this weekend and qualified. I always loved going to the range, especially when I was in the Regular Army. I went to the zero range and zeroed my weapon in 9 shots. (Ummm.....nine shots after I finally got my rear sight set correctly, but we won't talk about how many times I fired before I figured out that this was the problem.) But, I ended up getting stuck at the TOC (Tactical Operations Center) for a few hours before I went to the qualifying range. Generally you have about 3 chances to perfect your score, but unfortunately I missed much of the range day. I went down to the qualifying lane and hit 28 out of 40 targets. (I thought I hit more because they had problems with the range computer all day.) I suppose that wasn't too bad. I hadn't fired an M-16 since about 96 or 97 and since it takes 23 to qualify I suppose I shouldn't complain. One of the better things that came out of this experience was the fact that I now know for a fact that I need glasses. I couldn't see the 300 meter targets very well and I don't know if I was able to hit any of them I felt pretty good about the other targets. I am a bit rusty as compared to my days in the Active Army. Up until this weekend I had never hit less than 33 out of 40. I have a great time when I go to drill though. I do my fair share of complaining about the weather, the food, and the mission, but I would not miss it for the world. There is a guy named Tallant who I hang out with most of the time. I wish I had a picture of him....the guy looks and acts just like Jim Carrey, and keeps all of us laughing most of the time. When I first met him he was hanging around with a guy from his Regular Army unit named Weber. Weber is a goofball, and I immediately didn't like him at all, so I assumed Tallant was just like him. But, actually they are worlds apart. I suppose that should be a lesson for me on presuppositions. After drill this weekend I drove to Lexington to meet my wife and kids over at my mother-in-law's house. It was Sunday dinner as usual and even though I was tired I still ran a couple of errands and helped my brother-in-law Roger out with a "snake" problem at his house. He had a whole pile of wood stacked up next to his house and needed it moved. The only problem is that he hates snakes and didn't want to risk running into one while moving the wood. I was happy to do it for him and I actually saw two. I managed to hit one with a stick and kill it, but I missed the other one. After I finished with the wood I headed home to shower and rest for the night. So starts another week in the life of D. Kelly Smith, but oh well, its my life and I wouldn't change anything for the world.