Vacation + Other Updates

It's official I am on vacation and heading to California tomorrow morning! I haven't seen my family or friends since Thanksgiving and that is wayyy too long to be apart. I'll only be home for 4 days this time because thats all I could swing with work but that gives me 4 whole days to love on all my family and friends. I AM SO EXCITED!!

On a different note, I am finding myself nervous to go home with these awful braces on my teeth :/ I've gotten used to having them but I think thats majorly due to the fact that the people I see everyday are now used to me having them. Nobody here notices anymore. But when I get around someone who is seeing me in braces for the first time, I suddenly am very aware of the fact that I have braces which makes me talk even weirder and get all self conscious! Oh goodness. Bear with me folks.

In dog news, Bailey ate a whole tube of Blistex last night which was pretty traumatizing for me. She literally dug it out of my purse when I wasn't looking and demolished the whole thing before I noticed. I thought for sure she would be really sick but thank goodness she was okay. I swear I can't take my eyes off her for two seconds!

And I bet you're wondering how my handsome hubby is doing these days? Well he's good overall but unfortunately he's more stressed than ever this week. On Monday he will have his last BIG checkride in the T-1 and how he does on it plays a huge part in determining our next location - Eek! Everyone says for Jake not to stress about it but that's sooo much easier said than done. Heck, I'm stressed about it and I'm not even the one flying! At this point, we are both just so beyond ready for pilot training to be over. Jake is excited to finally have some free time again and I am looking forward to seeing my husband again. Sure he has physically been here this whole year but mentally he is not my usual Jake. Right now he is a ball of stress and I want my goofball back!! 5 weeks until assignment night and I'm counting down every minute!

Well I suppose I should get back to packing and preparing for my trip. I don't think it's really hit me yet that I'll actually be back in California tomorrow. I seriously think I left my heart back on the west coast :) Hope you all have a fabulous week... I'll be back with details of my trip on Wednesday!!

Summer Lovin

It is officially summer now... can I get woot-woot?! I'm definitely a summer baby. I love everything about it! The heat, the shorts, the bbqs, and the POOL! Oh how I love the pool. This year I bought a pool pass to swim on base and to say I've enjoyed having it is an understatement. Since it opened, I've gone just about every Saturday and Sunday and multiple weekdays after work. A couple of my friends have passes too so I usually go with them but I never mind going by myself either. It's my time to relax and it's really the only time where I take a second to NOT think about school or work or design or any other daily stress in my life. Hall-eh-loooo-yah!!

I Hate Goodbyes

This weekend was wonderful as usual. What's not so wonderful? Saying goodbye to our best friends on base. Ann & Derek, who I've mentioned often, are leaving to go to training in Oklahoma for four months before heading to their permanent new assignment in Washington. They aren't leaving for another week but I'm leaving to go to California this week so it was our last weekend to hang out all together. We went out to our usual "spot" which is a mexican restaurant here in town and as always had such a great time. The waiters there all know us now because we go there every single weekend and since it was our last time we asked them to take a picture...

Ann and I got to hand out all weekend and went to the pool both Saturday and Sunday. We're both in disbelief that its already time for her to move and me as well in just a few months. It feels like yesterday that we had just moved to Columbus! Tonight she's coming over for our weekly TV night (for over a year now we've gotten together on Mondays to watch a "girly" show like the Bachelor, Dancing with the Stars, etc...). I can't believe this will be the last time for us to hang out and I have to say goodbye to one of my best friends :( I'm hoping that the Air Force is really as small as everyone says it is and we can be stationed together at one point or another. I really hate goodbyes!!

Happy Birthday Badger!

Well my puppy turns 1 year old today :) We adopted Badger back in the beginning of October and he has been the perfect addition to our family. Seriously, I never knew a dog could be as good and sweet and mello as our little Badge. Back in November, I did a birthday picture post for Bailey so I thought Badge deserved the same. Here's a look back at the first year with our handsome boy...

Crazy.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - The weather in the south is insane!! I never imagined weather could even be like this. Last year, I was in California most of the time so I didn't really experience a southern summer. Well its officially summer here now and just about every day over these past few weeks the temperature has been in the high 90's and it's so humid that you can literally see the humidity when you walk outside. Seriously, I walk to the mailbox and I am drenched by the time I come back in. Gross! And the heat lasts all. day. long. There are no cool mornings or cool nights; it's hot and humid 24/7. But the weirdest thing about southern summer weather has got to be the random downpours and lightening storms. At about 2 or 3 every afternoon, massive storms roll in... the kind where raindrops are the size of quarters and the thunder shakes the whole house. I will never be able to get used to this unpredictable, insane weather and its just another reason why I'm dying to get back to the west coast ASAP!

And to add proof to my crazy weather stories, here is a picture from when I left work yesterday (sorry it's not the best pic, it was taken on my phone). It was a perfectly clear sunny day and then this huge storm flew in out of nowhere. Look at the sky... Have you ever seen anything like this?? It blew my mind! Crazy.

Siblings

As you all know, my dogs are like my children; and recently I've been realizing that they've become like siblings too. I mean it makes sense - They are always together! They play together, sleep together, and like all siblings can tend to get annoyed with eachother on occasion. Well, actually its just Bailey that seems to get annoyed. You see, Badger (being the puppy) always wants to play with her and when he's not playing he wants to sleep right on top of her. Bailey's kind of a loner dog most of the time and, well, like all girls sometimes she just needs her own space. So what does she do? She goes and hides somewhere that Badge can't fit... under the bed. It's so hilarious! She can barely fit herself (literally she wiggles to get in and out) but she loves it under there! And Badger, being the patient little guy that he is, will just sit and wait at the foot of the bedframe until she comes back out to play. He loves his sister :) Seriously, these two just crack me up! Check it out...

The 2 Year Mark

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! As I mentioned yesterday, it was our anniversary this weekend (woo-hoo!). Originally we were hoping to do a weekend getaway of some sort but in the end staying home seemed to be in our best interest. Jake has a big checkride coming up in the T-1 and I have enough homework and work-work to keep my head spinning. Plus we decided that we would rather save that money for our BIG trip that we hope to take after Jake graduates pilot training in a few months. Yess!!

Anyways for our anniversary, I told Jake that I just wanted to dress up and go somewhere nice for dinner... totally low-key and perfect! So I got to put on my little black dress and he took me to my favorite restaurant in town, Harveys, where I indulged in some seriously tasty prime rib :) Here's a picture we took before dinner...

I also took some time this weekend to pull out the wedding box [a.k.a. a large plastic bin stuffed with sappy, wonderful momentos] and look through everything, watched our wedding video and remembered what it felt like 2 years ago when we said our vows. I think what made this year's anniversary so special is that I was actually with Jake... Last year, he was training in Colorado and I was in Europe! So now here we are, entering year 3, and I am so excited to see what God has in store for us. All I can say is that every day I am more and more thankful for the man I married. We complement eachother perfectly and know eachother inside out and I couldn't imagine a life with anyone else! Yeah, the 2 year mark feels great :)

Happy Anniversary to Us

Today officially marks two years since I said "I DO" to my wonderful husband. I'm in awe that it's already been two years... I still think of us as newlyweds! I plan to write more about this occasion and how we celebrated but right now I want to get back to enjoying what's left of this wonderful weekend :) In the meantime here's a look back at our wedding day two years ago. The best day ever!!!

One month down

Well I have officially had braces for a month now so I thought I would give a little progress report on my experience so far. I won't lie, it started out pretty rough! The first week I had them I was in an incredible amount of pain. I couldn't talk. I couldn't eat. I was super self-conscious. I had cancer sores, shredded gums, and cracked lips. I had a difficult time closing my mouth over the brackets and felt like my lips would get stuck whenever I tried to talk. Misery... seriously... seriously...

But now I really think the worst is long gone! I'm so happy to report that over the past month, I have grown to not even realize I have them anymore. The pain is totally minimal now and I've already noticed a huge difference in my smile (mainly in the reduction of my overbite)... in just a month! When I first got them put on, I worried that I had made a mistake and pictured myself enduring a year of misery but its actually not so bad at all now. I'm no longer self conscious about them and with the way the past month flew by I know they will be off before I know it... and I know I will be so thankful I had them! So there's your one month update :)

And I have exciting plans for this very special weekend... Be back later with details! Happy Friday!!

Jakes Commissioning

Today officially marks two years of Jake being commissioned as an officer in the US Air Force!! I can't believe its already been two years... I remember being so proud of him when he took his oath two years ago and it feels like yesterday. Jake commissioned a week before we got married so his commissioning was huge for me as I knew it would officially launch me into being a military spouse. At the time I had no idea what military life would be like and while it definitely has its unique challenges I cannot imagine any other way. In honor of the occasion, let's take a look back at Jake officially becoming a USAF officer (sorry the video is so shaky)...

What an amazing day that was! Jake, I'm so very proud of you and all you have accomplished over the past two years. I'm thrilled to stand by your side for another 18 years of service to our country. I love you!