It is by far the hardest thing about being in the military thus far, saying goodbye to great friends. We met Katie and Eric back in the early spring and have enjoyed having dinners, BBQing and hanging out with them. Ella, I believe, has had her first crush on Eric. She's usually quite careful about who she'll go to, choosing to suss them out for a little bit before venturing over to them. However, once she decided Eric was okay, she has constantly tried to get his attention and is quick to reach to be picked up or will bring him her toys. 
Tonight, in honor of Eric's promotion (go Sergeant!), Katie and Eric invited us over for a celebration BBQ and farwell with some of his platoon. He leaves for training in Cali, before being deployed to Iraq. We'll possible see them (Katie's going home for the duration) in the fall for a bit between Cali and Iraq but we're not sure. It's sad to say goodbye but we will see them when he comes back in something like 15 months... and of course there's always email, it's just never the same. Eric had picked up a keg, so it was also Ella's first official keg party!
