Dan and Dave

Forty-one years ago Friday we were blessed with identical twin sons, Dan and Dave.

I would have written this post then except that we were knee deep in the start of our interior renovation and and so was Dave.  He was directing the operation and doing the re-wiring at the same time.  (Dan would have been here but for him it was a busy time in his battalion where he just couldn't get away. They'll both be here in June to finish the job.)

Dan and Dave have shared almost everything through the years. 

After high school they went to Kemper Military School and College in Missouri where they were cadets and cadre together.

They went to and graduated from Airborne School and Ranger School together.

Dan has been deployed multiple times to both Iraq and Afghanistan.

 And Dave has also been deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Both are now Lieutenant Colonels and Battalion Commanders, Dan in Colorado Springs with a Combat Engineer Battalion and Dave in Fairfax County, Virginia right outside of Washington D.C with a Prime Power Battalion.  Here they are in 2009 as Majors.

In 1993 Dan met Teresa and they were later married.

And Dave met Patty and they were later married.

This is Dan's family.

 And this is Dave's.

I'm writing this to wish a belated Happy Birthday to these two wonderful boys.  Although we spoke with Dan on his birthday and Dave was here working his butt off on his birthday, I wanted to post a public tribute to two of the finest sons anyone could ever dream of.  

Both are kind, considerate, generous, loving, hard-working, smart, and accomplished.  They've both remodeled their houses and their next project is ours.  (How many parents have sons who spend their leave time helping their parents?)

We are thankful beyond measure to have these two in our lives and we're hoping the coming year is better than any year they've ever had.  Happy Birthday, Dan and Dave - just a few days late.

Previous birthday posts for Dan and Dave can be found here (2013), here (2012), and here (2010).