Thanksgiving 2010 and an update!

I know, I know... Its been FOREVER since I've updated, but there has been SO much going on with our journey and lots of Ups and Downs!
After Scott Graduated Bootcamp, he went to dive prep in Great lakes and did the 8 week training and got to the very last test and just could not give 100%... so he was dropped from the EOD program and reclassed his profession... He is now going to be an Aviation Mechanic specializing in Helicopters. He did 6 weeks of training in Pensacola, Florida and graduated the day before Thanksgiving.
We all went down to Pensacola to visit him and spend Thanksgiving with him as a family with his parents and Brother and sister in law and niece and nephew. It was a special trip and it was something we all needed. Pics from the trip are down below! :)
Now, Our journey is taking us to Jacksonville, Florida Area and we will all be living there for at least 2 years. The kids and I are all very excited to move and start this new chapter in life. We are more excited to be a family again. we have been living without Scott for 6 months and it has been VERY hard for us, but we did it and we are strong! We will be starting the new year together in Florida and we can't wait! :)
Enjoy the pics below and I will post an update after we move to florida!
Love you all!
Jen

Scott Graduated Navy Bootcamp!!! ♥

On June 30, 2010 Scott became a US Navy Sailor!!! We are so very proud of him and this huge accomplishment! it was a very long 7 1/2 weeks but it was all worth the wait to see his happy, proud face after graduation! :-)
Now Scott's in Great Lakes and he is completing the EOD Dive prep (Pre-Buds) School and will be there until the middle of Sept. He will then be able to come home for a few days then he will have to report to Panama City for his "A" School (Dive School). At that point the kids and I should be able to move with him. Please continue to pray for Scott and us while we are seperated during this portion of his training. It has been very difficult for The kids and I and i know its really hard for Scott to be away from us this long. I just pray that the Lord gives him the strength he needs to get through this chapter of his life and he is able to succeed in all he is supposed to do. God Bless!

Enjoy the photos from his graduation weekend!
GO NAVY!!! HOOYAH!

♥Letters From Scott!!! ♥

I am THE happiest girl on earth today! I got 6 letters from Scott today!!!! He is doing SO well and he is SO tired. He is ready to come home but happy to be learning so much and going through this experience.
He says he misses everyone and can't wait to come back home to see everyone. He sends his love and appreciates all the prayers and letters/cards everyone is sending. I'm sooo happy I got these letters today! now i can read them over and over again until i get some more from him! I LOVE that man! :) ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Scott said that his Chief has made him Guide Arms which is the Flag Bearer in the front of the formation for the Graduation. This is quite an honor and I'm so Proud of my husband to be chosen to do this!
He also said that he only gets about 4 hours of sleep every night and they work out 3times a day and eat 4 times a day. He says he is VERY tired from all the physical training they are doing and the lack of sleep but he is glad he gets some time to write letters to the family.

I will continue to update when i get more letters from Scott.

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers for Scott and our family during this transition. We love you all very much and send hugs and kisses to you all! XOXO
God Bless!
Jen and Family

Update on Scott

I got to talk to Scott yesterday Briefly... it was a business call and not a personal one so i couldnt get a whole lotta details but at least I got to Hear his voice and to ask how he was doing. He said he was very tired and he only gets about 4 hours of sleep per night.... they work them out 3 times a day. He didnt really have much time to say much else since this was a very limited phone call but he did say he has been receiving our letters and He sent out his letters yesterday to us! I cant wait to get the letters from him so I can update everyone on how he is.

Please continue to pray for him and for us at home as we all miss him SO very much and it has been really hard on me with him being gone but i know he will be home soon. I'm just happy I got to speak with him.

We love you all!

Bianca Cracking up! its contagious! haha!

i really needed to hear this laugh! it always cheers me up! :)

Scott has Started his Journey...

Yesterday had to be THE hardest day of my life! I had to drop Scott off at the Navy Recruiters office and say good-bye to him for 9 weeks! He left for Chicago today and just called me to say he landed safely and will be getting on a train to Great Lakes! He will be starting boot camp tonight! The kids are handling this OK... they haven't really cried much... me on the other hand.... I'm a COMPLETE mess and I cant stop crying! I know things will get a little easier with time... i just miss him so much right now and I'm definitely counting down the days until his graduation so I can put my arms around him and see his handsome face and feel his arms around me!
I will email everyone as soon as I get an address from him so that if you would like to write him a letter you can... the only thing is we CANNOT send photos. Scott says he will get in a lot of trouble if he gets any pictures from home. I don't understand why, but i promised to pass on the message to the family.
I know his parents Bruce and Nancy are taking this a little hard right now too so Prayers for us are greatly appreciated!
I hope to find out later this week exactly when I can move to Florida and get our new lives started over there.
I will be posting often when I hear from Scott.
I love you all and Thank you for all your support!
God Bless!
Jen

An update from Jen!

So today I talked with Scott's Recruiter and got lots of my questions answered. it seems that we will be moving to Eglin AFB in Florida in Aug! Not certain yet what day yet, but we know its in Aug!

Also, I had some concerns about how many guests can go to the Graduation after bootcamp and she told me that anyone in the family can go as long as we all fit into one car... she suggested renting a 16 passenger van for us to all fit... they are only allowing 1 carload of people in. So if you are interested at all in going to Scott's Graduation the last week of July then I need to know so that we can put your names on the list and also so i can plan on renting a large enough vehicle to accomodate us all. I will know exactly what day graduation is once scott gets to bootcamp but please keep your calendar clear for the last week of July to the 1st week of Aug.

I will keep you guys updated as often as I can so please check back often! Thanks and We love you all for all your support! ♥

Our Family Vacation to Florida!

We just got back from taking our last family vacation as a civilian family! We had SO much fun... We took the kids to florida and we went to Disney World! we have lots of videos on our Youtube Channel and lots of pics on our Facebook page!
Im posting some on here for those of our family members who dont have a facebook page.
I'm so happy we took this trip... enjoy our pics! :)

Today is Julian's 11th Birthday!!!

Happy birthday to our big boy Julian who turns 11 today!!! I cant believe how fast time has gone by!

I'm so proud of the handsome young man he is becoming.... Happy Birthday Julian!
We love you!

Keeping up with the Gundlach's!

We've had a pretty crazy month around here! We decided to put Bianca into modeling/acting and she got signed up with OneSource Talent Agency. in her 1st week of being signed she got to appear as an Extra in a Feature Film called "Language of a Broken Heart". She also got to attend an Acting Workshop for Kids to help prepare her for the Acting industry.
Jen also got a chance to play as an Extra in the movie and she liked it so much that she too is going to pursue the same dream as Bianca. We hope to get them both signed up with a local talent agency that can really get them into the industry. One Source is a good agency, but it doesnt hurt to get some extra help with another well known agency.
To add to the craziness in the house, We got Julian signed up in Karate! he's been doing it for 2 weeks now and he absolutely loves it! I know this will be good for Julian in so many different ways.
Jen and the kids will be keeping themselves busy while Scott is embarking in his new life as a Navy EOD Sailor! It's hard to believe that in just 3 short months Scott will be shipping off to Bootcamp! He leaves June 7th and we are all excited and nervous all at the same time!
Stay tuned for another update shortly!

Here are some pics of Bianca's photoshoot and Jen's photoshoot. There is also a pic from Jen's phone of Julian in action during his karate class!
We love you all!

Scott got a promotion!!!

Here is an update on Scott and the Navy. As of Feb. 6, 2010 Scott was promoted from an E-2 to an E-3! Completion of EOD Training he will be promoted to an E-4. To better under stand the Rankings, click here.

His Recruiter felt that since Scott is so dedicated to the Navy and has shown how committed he is that she put in the paperwork for a promotion to an E-3. This is a huge accomplishment for him as he is still in the Delayed Entry Program (DEP) most of the recruits enter boot camp as an E-1! So for Scott to be an E-3 is a BIG deal! I'm SO very proud of my husband and wanted to share the GREAT NEWS! God continues to Bless us in so many ways and we are excited to start this adventure!

Welcome To The Gundlach's Blog!

This blog is for our family and friends to be able to keep up with whats going on with us, The Gundlach's!

Scott joined the US Navy August 10, 2009 and will be starting his Naval career June 7,2010. Scott has always wanted to be in the military and the summer of 2009 we both made the decision that now would be the time for him to do so. Scott wanted a change in his life that will better OUR lives and I support him 200%. I know it will be hard for us and our families at first but this is why I have created this blog so that everyone can see whats going on with us and I will post lots of photos of us and Scott as we start this new chapter in our lives.

Scott's job in the Navy was going to be Minesman, which is like port security, searching and disarming mines and bombs in the water along the ports. Scott recently took the Special Operations physical test in December and just received a contract for EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) which in simple terms is basically the Bomb squad. He will be training with the Navy Seals and go on special missions with the Navy Seals. To better understand his job, go rent the movie "The Hurt Locker" which is about the Army's EOD and you will have a better understanding of his job but just remember that Scott is in the Navy EOD and that his job is considered Special Operations. He won't be able to discuss alot about his missions but we will try to share with you what we can.

Scott will leave for boot camp June 7,2010 and when he is done with 8 weeks of boot camp in Chicago, he will have 3 more weeks of solid physical training preparing him for EOD school. Scott will go to Panama City, Florida for dive schoo for 6 weeksl. After Dive School, he will start his EOD job training in Eglin AFB, Florida where he will be for 1 year. The kids and I will be moving to florida to be with Scott living on base for the 1 year of EOD training. After one year in Florida we will be moving to San Diego where we will wait for him to complete his parachute school in Georgia for 3 weeks. He will then meet up with us in San Diego, California to finish his hand to hand combat and weapons training with the Navy Seals and hopefully be stationed in San Diego, that we know of, for at least 3-5 years. Scott will be going on special missions to Afghanistan diffusing bombs that terrorists set up in order for troops to safely do their jobs while overseas.

It isn't 100% certain that after the 1 year in Florida that we will move to San Diego, this is just something his recruiter has been telling us to prepare for. Once scott is halfway through his EOD training in Florida, We should know more about what will come after all his training is complete.

I will also keep everyone posted on Facebook but this blog is for the majority of our families that don't have Facebook so they can see what all is going on with us.

Feel free to follow us by clicking on the "follow this blog" button at the side of this page.

Check back often for photos and updates on our new journey with the US Navy