Sunset at Fort Ord Sand Dunes

I was looking out the window this evening and I noticed how beautiful the sunset was. I thought I could run down to my favorite beach overlook in time to take some great photos. I asked Raquel to help me get the boys in the car so I could give her an hour or so of alone time. Needless to say she was all over it.

Ten minutes later the boys and I arrived at the beach but the sun had already set. I figured that I might as well walk down to the beach with the boys anyway. The hardest part of going out is loading everybody up into their respective car seats and that was behind us, so down to the beach we went. We were able to take some great photos and enjoy the beautiful place we get to call home for the next year or so.

Raising three boys is definitely a challenge but everyday is filled with humor; if only to us as their parents. On Saturday I took the boys to Jamba Juice and as he got out of the car Joshua said "Daddy! I don't want to go to Pajama Juice".

Hello to all

Well, I finally found the time to sit down and create this blog to share with all of our friends and family. For those of you who haven't heard from us for a while I will attempt to recap the last five years as briefly as possible. Raquel and I were blessed with our first son Lucas Jackson Jiles (yes, it is definitely taken from one of Paul Newman's greatest films, "Cool Hand Luke") on June 15 2004 while I was working at Home Depot and going to school at UVU. Eight months later we found out Raquel was expecting again.

As priorities changed I started to focus more on my career with Home Depot and was promoted to an Assistant Manager a couple of months before the birth of our second son Joshua Taylor Jiles in January of 2006.

To say life was busy with two young baby boys and both of us working is an understatement to say the least. In Sept. of 2006 we found out that Raquel was once again expecting. This time the feelings of joy were mixed in with border-line despair as we could only imagine how much more work we were in for. In May of 2007 were were blessed with our third and final beautiful baby boy, Jude Preston Jiles. I can honestly say that that I can't imagine life without each one of these precious, beautiful, and most spirited boys. We wouldn't change a thing. Ever.

After a year or so Raquel and I finally began to settle into a semi- normal routine of balancing work with family. I was perfectly content with my life at that point, almost. I have always had a sense that I needed to join a branch of the armed services and serve my country. It was easy to push it to the back of my mind while we were busy having kids but it had resurfaced and I couldn't ignore it any longer.

I can only imagine the thoughts that were going through Raquel's mind when I told her I was thinking of joining the Utah National Guard. I can't express enough how much I appreciate her support in my decision to enlist in April of 2008. I shipped off to basic training at Fort Leanord Wood, MO. in Aug and then headed off to my M.O.S. (specialty) training at Fort Huachuca AZ.

After graduation from Ft. Huachuca in May of 2009 I left for Monterey CA. to attend the Defense Language Institute to learn Arabic. Raquel and the boys came out to Monterey in June. Those ten months that I was away from my family were difficult but I was able to focus on the task at hand and excel. It also made me appreciate every little thing about them and I really try to take advantage of every moment I have to spend with them.

I also need to thank Raquel's parents for their help while I was gone and my family as well for their support in my decision to join the guard.

The Arabic program last 63 weeks and I should graduate in Sept. of 2010 In-Sha-Alla! After which we will be heading back to Utah.

O.K. so that wasn't very brief but I had a lot to cover. Please feel free to contact us at any time, We will be back in Utah for the Holidays and would like to see all of our friends as much as possible.

tyler