They also serve who stay home and serve... dinner

In between going to 3D movies and taking up space at Daniel's Grill, the Halls have been having fun readjusting to life NOT on the road. Even though their ranks have diminished at home, the kids are still keeping them hopping:

Last Saturday, Ian decided to have a bunch of his friends in; partially because it was a beautiful summer day, but mostly because the time had come for him to shove off for US Marine Corps boot camp and he felt like a last hurrah. Buddies started dribbling in around 4:00 pm, and Ian struck up an impromptu poker game in the family room. Mrs. Hall brought out a round of floats in coconut cups for the boys and they migrated to the video game consoles until dinner. Ian had requested his signature burgers (Angus beef, caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, and smoky Gouda cheese) for dinner, served with garlic fries and sweet corn, which seemed to hold them for an hour or so. Just as Mrs. Hall thought perhaps things would settle down for a little while, a furious game of Nerf Wars broke out and she kicked them all outside. Later, she noticed it was getting dark and they still hadn't come in, so she charged them with rounding up the ammo and calling the game a draw. The Halls had thoughtfully purchased a small cache of fireworks for the tots as a token of their appreciation for finding the house all in one piece when they got back from their trip, and Ian decided to detonate his portion that evening with his friends. The driveway was littered with scorch spots and charred remains when Mr. Hall came out and finally called the show quits at 10:00 pm. "We don't want the neighbors complaining," he explained, and shook his head when he looked down at his driveway. "We're having it re-blacked next week anyway," soothed Mrs. Hall. The following day, after filling out the remainder of the paper work, he was whisked off to Hancock Airport, where he was re-sworn in with his fellow recruits and shuttled off to his flight. Later that evening, Mrs. H. received the obligatory but unintelligible call from Parris Island informing her he had arrived.
Mistress Colleen, cognizant that her time at home was drawing to a close soon as well, planned to have a few of her friends in likewise. It was however, somewhat disconcerting for Mrs. Hall, when on vacation, to check Colleen's facebook page and find out that Colleen had posted the event there and was taking RSVP's before Mrs. H. even knew her house was to be the venue. But after a few conversations passed, held at a somewhat higher volume than usual, peace again reigned at the Hall and the party went on, as scheduled.
Last Thursday, Mrs. Hall raced across town from work in time to see Colleen receive an honor; she had finally earned her orange belt in shaolin kempo karate from SiGung Duncan. She already had her yellow belt in judo, which she earned when she was nine, and she enjoyed martial arts so much, she had started taking karate in college. She plans on continuing her education in karate when she moves to California.