Random Tidbits

As of tomorrow Jake has been gone officially 2 months - crazy! The time has gone by much faster than I expected and its so nice to know that in less than 5 weeks he will be back at home with me :) When he gets back we plan to take a spontaneous trip somewhere beachy and I can't wait!! I already have butterflies when I think about picking him up at the airport. Eeek!!

For those who have been asking for an update on him, Jake has been doing really well and seems to be enjoying his job while deployed. He does mention often that it feels like groundhog day every morning because he just wakes up and does the exact same thing as the day before. I know he is anxious to be back home but is proud of the work they are doing over there. In addition to his job he is also working on his Masters right now so he has been busy busy busy! 

The other day he got to meet Chuck Yeager (who is one of his flying heroes!) at the base and was able to hear some of his awesome stories in person. Very cool!

Also, here are some funny pictures of Jake and the rest of the crew with their "Mustache March" staches. I am very happy to report that the mustache has now been shaved :)

 And yes, my husband would be the one hugging the rock... haha!

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Last night I had a fun girls night/puppy playdate with my good friend Allison and her pup Elvis. Allison and I first met back in Columbus, Mississippi in 2008 and were lucky enough to get to both move to  Travis AFB together. With our hubbies flying different planes in different squadrons, we don't get to see eachother as often as we'd like but every week or so we try to get together to catch up. She's one of those people where even if I don't see her for a while we pick up right where we left off when we get together and always have the best time!

Yesterday she came over to my house and we ate dinner and chatted while the dogs ripped around the yard together. Elvis was Bailey's very first friend in the world and they even took puppy training classes together at Columbus. Good times :)

Here are some fun old pictures of our "puppy playdates" back in Columbus...

And now a picture of them from last night.. Our sweet little babies are all grown up :)

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One last random tidbit... I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before but here at Travis we have a ridiculous amount of wild rabbits that just chill around base. They are everywhere! It's not unusual for me to look out my window and see a rabbit or two hopping around the yard. Well yesterday when I went outside to take pictures of the flowerbed, a rabbit hopped right by me in front of the house and I snapped a quick picture mid-hop. I think these rabbits are so cute! And I have to say that I much prefer cute rabbits to the creepy armadillos that I used to see roaming around Columbus AFB, haha! 

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Tomorrow I am heading down to Southern CA for a few days and I am so so sooooo excited! Wait, did I mention that I am excited?! The weather is supposed to be AMAZING and I can't wait to catch up with old friends. Excited for a fun trip and praying for good health the whole weekend. I'll be back to the blog next week with some pictures! Have a great weekend everyone!

Earning my "Green Thumb"?

It's been another super busy and productive couple of days around here. The weather has been awesome and has made me want to spend all my time outdoors. I mentioned here a few weeks back that I did some major prep work in my backyard (pics of that in a minute) but this past weekend I actually managed to tackle the front flowerbeds too which needed a TON of help! My dad and brother decided to come up and help me with the overhaul and I'm so very thankful that they did. It takes a lot of muscle to fix up a yard! 

Shame on me, I didn't take any "before" pics but I did get a fun in-process picture of us ripping out the dead plants and mulch in the flower bed...

 

That mulch/bark/"ugly dirty stuff" was easily half a foot deep and it was NASTY! Just from the front flower beds alone we filled up 2 huge green trashcans and 6 trash bags of that stuff. It was so gross looking and absolutely had to go. Once that was gone, we were able to see what we had to work with. 

We then pulled out a bunch of dead plants and weeds, which left the entire left side of the flower bed empty, so next we transplanted five overgrown plants from other parts of the flowerbed to fill in the space. After that we planted several new flowery plants to add some color and to fill in the empty spots, and then laid fresh clean bark across everything. 

I so wish I had some "before" pictures to show you because these after pics are such a massive improvement. For someone who has considers herself to have absolutely NO green thumb, I think it turned out pretty awesome! I'm excited for the pink flowery plants to grow in more and add even more color to the front of the house!

I also added a few fun potted plants to the porch...

As I mentioned before, the backyard was my main goal to fix up before Jake gets home. We love spending time out in the yard barbequing during the summer so I wanted it to be a nice space for us to really enjoy.  The yards on base are not very large and the grass that was put in was not looking so good so for the past month I've been filling in empty dead spots with grass seed, fixing up holes dug by the dogs, fertilizing, mowing, edging, and watering like a crazy person!! It's finally turned nice and green and starting to look like a nice yard - its a miracle!

This past weekend I added the finishing touches on the yard (for now) which included new patio cushions, some patio decor, an outdoor rug, a few hanging planters on the fence, etc...

One of the biggest things I did was install a small side fence that keeps the dogs only on one side of the yard when we are not home (the yard actually curves around the house which you can't see in the photo below). Bailey and Badger are now able to play, dig, and "do their business" in their own area which keeps the rest of the yard clean and green and nice. The dogs have taken to the change really well and don't seem to mind much at all. This area of the yard has shade all day long so it's a perfect place for them to be. I've also moved their igloo doghouse around the corner for them to enjoy where it's no longer an eyesore :)

So what do you think?? It's such a major improvement on what we had last year at this time that it's hard to believe it's the same yard. I definitely worked for it though! My whole body has been so sore all week and I also ended up with this horrible farmer's tan and some super sunburned lips :(

It wasn't even 70 degrees out so I didn't think about wearing sunscreen... not smart!! It went down a lot by the next day though and thankfully I'm headed to the beach this weekend so I can even it out :)

Friday the 13th

Every time a "Friday the 13th" rolls around it makes me smile. I know, not the normal reaction to a day full of bad superstition. You see, Jake and I got married on Friday June 13th almost 4 years ago (wow!) and it was the most perfect day! It actually worked out in our favor from the start because the wedding site we booked typically had a morning/midday wedding and an evening wedding in the same day, but being that so many people were superstitious about the date we were the only ones booked that day. We ended up getting the entire site to ourselves for the whole day with no extra charge - the guys enjoyed the golf course, while the girls enjoyed the beautiful clubhouse and reception area.

Everything went so smooth and perfect for Jake and I that day (especially the gorgeous weather... always a risk in Portland!) that it squashed any superstitions we might have had about the 13th as being unlucky. There was one part of the night that went hilariously wrong though and I thought it would be fun to blog about it tonight... ya know, reminisce a little since the hubby is away :)

So after the wedding reception ended we had a fabulous grand send off by all our family and friends and hopped into a gorgeous white limo. We were both so giddy and excited and also completely exhausted from the long day/week of wedding festivities.

In the limo there was a basket of yummy fruit, snacks, and bubbly drinks and a huge moon roof that displayed a gorgeous sky full of stars. Instead of being normal people that sit in the seats and sip champagne or something classy like that, we ended up kicking off our shoes and laying flat on the ground of the limo completely stretched out and comfy using the seats as a headrest. We just held hands and looked up at the stars and tried to start processing the whirlwind of the day. I remember being so surprised that I didn't "feel" any different even though we were married now and thinking we were just the same old Lindsay and Jake, just dressed up all fancy with rings on our fingers.

Anyways, our limo pulled up at the hotel (we were staying at an airport hotel since we flew out for our honeymoon early the next morning) and we practically skipped into the lobby to check in. There were a bunch of people in the hotel bar area that cheered and clapped for us as we walked in which felt like a movie and I loved it :) We got up to the check-in counter and gave them our name (which I believe was said giddily as "Mr and Mrs Pruitt checking in") and the woman at the desk proceeded to tell us that there was no record of us ever booking a room there. We tried to explain, while standing there in our wedding tux and gown, that there had to be a HUGE mistake because all of our bags had been dropped off for us earlier at the hotel and were supposed to be waiting for us in our room. Right about the time I was going to break down, a lightbulb look flashed across Jake's face and he said to the receptionist "Just curious... what hotel are we at?"

Yep. The limo dropped us off at the wrong hotel!! At the same moment we both spun around towards the hotel entry to see that our limo was already long gone. Turns out the hotel we were supposed to be at, and the hotel where are bags were already waiting for us, was about 5 miles away, definitely not close enough to walk. We had been so excited and "on clouds" when we walked into the hotel that we didn't even think to check what hotel we were walking in to! Seriously, who does this happen to?? Only us!

While it is so hilarious to us now, it was definitely so NOT funny at the time. It was already midnight, we were exhausted, and we had to be at the airport at 4:30am for our flight to Cancun. The hotel staff must have seen our desperation and felt bad for us because they got a shuttle driver who was not even on shift to take us to our correct hotel which ended up being over 10 minutes away. It must have been so confusing to all those people in the hotel bar to see us turn right around and walk out... wedding dress train and all :)

Long story short, we finally made it to the right place and went on to have a ridiculously fun trip and today it has become our hilarious wedding story. Never trust the limo driver!! Haha

Happy Friday the 13th!

One more thing to remember from this week...

What a difference a day makes!

After two days of feeling pretty miserable, I woke up today feeling back to normal - Can I get a WOO HOOO?! So until next month's stomach attack no more pity party. I'm back to focusing on the good!

With today being my last full day in Turlock, I felt the need to make up for the past two wasted days and jam pack this one with lots of friends and family time. The girls and I decided to have a shopping day so we headed up to Modesto to the mall and Hobby Lobby (Oh how I love that store so much...) This might actually be the first time I've ever said this but I didn't even buy ONE thing on this entire shopping day! Yep, it's a miracle... I can almost see the smile of one happy, happy husband somewhere on the other side of the world :)

Aren't my besties just gorgeous?! Especially that little cutie sandwiched in the middle with blue lips from her ring pop :)

After shopping, I came home to 2 very excited and hyper dogs who had been happily sleeping all day. It was a really gorgeous evening so I suited them up in their harnesses, put on my running shoes, and we ran around the block several times. Having been sick and cooped up the past few days, I can't describe how amazing it felt to be outside running in the fresh air - And I don't even usually like to run! It felt really great though. And of course in normal "Lindsay" style I took photos of the dogs while we were out to document our nice evening...

Aren't my babies just so cute? :)

 
After the run, my dad and I went out for a fun daddy/daugher dinner date. We sat for hours at the restaurant and just talked and talked and talked. I'm so thankful for my dad and the awesome relationship that we have!

See what a difference a day makes? Today was great! Tomorrow I'm heading back to Travis and although I'm bummed to be leaving my family and friends I know it will be nice to get back to a normal routine at my house... but only for a week because actually next Thursday I'll be on the road again heading down to southern CA to visit one of my best friends from college! See, I told you I was going to keep a fun busy schedule while Jake was away :) I'm envisioning an awesome beach day, lots of dancing and laughing, some great so-cal shopping, a Biola visit or two, and many late nights of girl talk catching up. I can't wait!!