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	Franklin County, Kansas, USA

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Agriculture

Lifestyles

Thursday, November 13, 2008 12:54 PM

‘Not your average military family’

It’s farm life for Army clan and the Smaic traveling ‘ark’

By JENALEA MYERS, Herald Staff Writer

Andrijan and Jodi Smaic, Ottawa, don’t leave anything behind when they move near different Army bases across the country.

Every time the couple and their son, Noah, 7, move, they bring along a few furry friends.

“We’re kind of not your average military family,” Jodi Smaic said. “We’ve never lived on a post.”

Instead, the couple chooses to live on a farm — first in New York, then in Washington and now in Ottawa. Every few years when Andrijan Smaic is relocated, the family packs up all its animals and treks across country.

“It took us seven days,” Jodi Smaic said of the move from Washington to Ottawa four years ago. “We had animals shoved in every nook and cranny. It was like moving Noah’s ark.”

The family’s “ark” included animals like nine horses, five llamas, four cows, three donkeys, cats, ducks, geese, chickens and others.

“When we move again, I told my husband I’m not moving farther than a day’s drive away,” she said, laughing. “It’s just too hard.”

Andrijan Smaic has served about 19 years in the Army — a combination of active and reserve duty. Now ranked as a sergeant first class, he is scheduled to return next week from Iraq.

The family is excited about his return, especially Noah.

“He’s really attached to his dad,” Jodi Smaic said of her son. “He’s thrilled that Daddy’s going to be home in about a week or so. I think he’s tired of Mom always being around.”

Although Noah has been dealing with being away from his father, his parents have made sure he has other family members in the area.

“We moved my mother-in-law here from New York,” Jodi Smaic said. “We moved my parents from Illinois. When we move again, we’ll move all of them with us.”

It might be a tight squeeze when the Smaic family moves its farm and family again.

“Every time we move, we seem to acquire more and more animals,” Jodi Smaic said. “Fortunately, we’ll probably be here for another three or four years.”

Herald staff writer Jenalea Myers can be e-mailed at jmyers@ottawaherald.com.