Aloha!

This post is definitely a week overdue but I'm so excited to write about our Hawaii trip! Ever since we got back I have been super busy with work getting ready to launch my business (more details on that later)... but I've still been doing lots of fun stuff so I need to catch up on my writing :)

Ok, so Hawaii... where to start? I guess I should start with how we got there - and how we almost did not get there. Jake and I decided when he got back that we would try to hop over to Hawaii for free using Space-A. For my non-military readers here's what that means.... When a military aircraft has extra room on it they open it up for military and their dependents to ride. It's a very risky way to travel because more likely than not, there will be no room for you or the plane will get delayed or the flight will get rerouted, etc etc... Then if you actually get to your destination you have no guarantee that you will be able to get home. But being that it is FREE and that Jake and I were not about to pay $1000 each to fly to Hawaii we thought we'd give it a try.

When we showed up we found out that the flight we were hoping to get on had roughly 70 seats on it and Jake and I were numbers 70 and 71 on the list - Eek! We were really hoping a few people wouldn't show up for the flight. As they were calling through the roll, we knew we were cutting it really really close. Finally they called "Pruitt" and I jumped up and down with my hand in the air saying "Here!" and then the guy says "How many in your party? We have one seat left."  My heart sunk! What are the odds! I was ready to head home but Jake wanted to wait and get the details of the next Hawaii flight the next day so we stuck around for a bit. As the passengers who were selected went through check-in, I noticed a group leaving from the line and headed out the door. I went up to the front to see what was going on and it turns out that someone in their party had forgotten their military ID so they would not be allowed to fly that day. Sad news for them I know, but GREAT news for us! They called our name again and I practically skipped up to the front to check in. That was a super close call but we made it! We were Hawaii bound!

We flew over there on a C-5 which was quite the experience! The seats all face backwards in the plane cabin, there are absolutely no windows, and the ceiling was barely high enough for us to stand all the way up. I'm not a claustrophobic person usually but that totally got to me! I just kept thinking "Okay, free flight, free flight...." and before I knew it we were in beautiful Oahu :)

On our first day there we decided to check out the base a little bit before we drove over to Honolulu to our hotel. The base was so pretty and tropical - definitely not a place I would ever complain about being stationed, haha! It even has it's own private beach that is gorgeous...

Then we went over to our hotel on Waikiki Beach. Jake had almost entire free week of Hilton points so our hotel stay was pretty much free!

After enjoying most of the day at the beach we decided to just cruise around Waikiki, look through all the fun shops, and stop over to the Yardhouse for dinner - YUM!!

The next day we went over to Ko Olina where my family has a timeshare because I wanted to go back to the spot where Jake and I got engaged! Just to refresh your memory, here are some pics of the proposal 5 years ago :)

 And here we are visiting the same spot after 4 years of marriage! It was so awesome to go back there together. So many memories!

Next we went and had lunch at the same little beach grill where we celebrated after our proposal. Here's a picture from now... 

And here's one from back then...

So fun to look back :) The rest of the day we spent at the beach and pool and then that night we went out to Duke's on the beach for dinner and drinks.

My drink was called the "Island Itch" and came with a back scratcher, haha! Too funny!

The next morning we did a little shopping and wandering around...

Then headed to the pool where I found an awesome giant bean bag floatie :) What is it about just floating around on the water that feels so amazing?

After that it was back to the beach! Life in Hawaii is rough haha :)

We made a pit stop for a happy hour drink at the Outrigger...

... and then just walked along the beach people watching for a bit - we love doing that!

That night we went to a karaoke bar on the beach and had a blast! Again, people watching is the BEST free entertainment. We met sooo many hilarious characters!

The following day we decided to explore the island a bit and headed to a few different beaches. This beach was AMAZING!!

But the best part of this beach was this guy and his dog...

Jake and I saw the dog walking on the beach and went over to pet it. Then the owner said hello to us and we saw that he had a picture of his dog on the front and back of his shirt - hahaha! He knew we would want a picture and told Jake to do the dog's "pose". Seriously, how do we always run into these people?! Ohh that was a good laugh :)

Next we headed over to Bellows Beach which is honestly one of the most gorgeous beaches I've ever seen! It was insane!

After our beach day it was time for a luau! We went to the luau at the Hale Koa (a military hotel on Waikiki) and it was an awesome dinner and show. I definitely recommend it!

They had all the married couples stand up and dance for one of the songs. I'll take any chance to dance with my handsome hubby! It doesn't happen often haha :)

On our last day we were planning to go snorkeling but it turns out that the place we were going was closed on Tuesdays... how random is that?! So instead we decided to hike Diamond Head.  Everyone knows that hiking is not my forte (HA!) but Jake really wanted to go and I was actually very excited about seeing the gorgeous view at the top.

Here we are at the bottom...

Jake was so excited the whole way and he was practically running up the steep hills and hundreds of stairs in the muggy heat...

Here's how I felt about the steep, long HOT climb... hahahaha!

Just kidding!

I actually had a really great time, but Jake and I got a huge laugh when we loaded our pics onto the computer and saw the grumpy photo of me above.

The view at the top was AMAZING!!! Totally worth the climb!

That night we drove over to the North Shore to meet up with some of our friends from pilot training who are now stationed in Hawaii. It was so fun to see them and catch up and meet their sweet little boy! We had dinner right on the water and the weather was just beautiful.

The next day it was sadly time to head back home. We drove back over to base bright and early in the morning and totally lucked out because we easily got onto the first flight out to Travis. And even better, we were on a C-17!! I was so ecstatic to get to go up in Jake's plane. Then, when we got on the plane Jake went up and talked with the pilots and actually arranged for me to go sit up in the cockpit!! Taking off over Hawaii and landing over the Golden Gate in San Fran was easily one of the coolest experiences of my life!

What an awesome experience and amazing trip! We had a great time and more than anything it was so nice to be back together again after so many months apart. So many great new memories :)

Welcome Home Jake!

After 3 long months away from home, Jake finally made it back home on Tuesday early afternoon! Because he was on a ground deployment this time, his crew flew back on a commercial airline into Sacramento. I was so excited and nervous going to pick him up - When you haven't seen someone in that long you kind of forget what it's like to be around them and that totally gave me butterflies!

I think the pictures can tell the rest of this story....

Making signs for the airport!

Waiting for our guys to get off the plane

BEST MOMENT EVER!

After picking him up at the airport, Jake scarfed down some In-N-Out and then we headed back home to see the pups :) To say they were excited to see Jake would be the understatement of the century!

I'm so happy to have Jake back home and have our little family complete again. Although the deployment went by pretty quickly, it felt like he was gone forever.

Now Jake has about 10 days off and we are headed to Hawaii!! Stay tuned for some Aloha posts!

Oakland A's Game

This past weekend while I was anxiously awaiting Jake's return home, I was doing everything I could to keep busy and pack my schedule full to try and make the time go by faster. I had a few girls nights, went to the movies twice, and cleaned every inch of the house. By Monday I was more than ready for him to be home and knew it would be a long 24 hours, so I was really excited when Heather told me that her husband had gotten 4 free tickets to the Oakland A's vs Anaheim Angels game for that night and invited me to join them.

We rode the BART to the stadium and pretty much had our pick of seats being that it was a Monday night game. The other person that was supposed to join us ended up not being able to come last minute so we kept joking that the Vaughn's were taking me on a date (see the picture below with me in the middle of them haha). As long as they didn't mind me being a third wheel, I didn't mind at all either :)

Heather and I both admitted once we got there that we don't really go to the games to watch baseball but more for the social aspect of it (surprise, surprise) - Sad to say that most of the time we didn't really even know what was going on, haha. We were just dancing to the music, taking pictures, and enjoying some very healthy stadium food :) Salted pretzel with nacho cheese? Yes please, we'll take two!

Another fun thing that happened at the game is that I ran into a familiar face in the crowd! Tyler, my best friend Allison's hubby, happened to be there with some of his friends. That was a fun surprise and we had a a good time catching up.

It was a great first game of the year for me! Next, I've got to get me to the Giants stadium for some Garlic Fries :)

Where did this last week go?

Since I last wrote the time has just flown by and now I can't believe it's been almost a week since I've posted anything - Oops! Well I guess this post will have to just be a "catch-up" blog of randomness :) Let's go back to last weekend where I left off...

Last Saturday I went to a "couple's bridal shower" for my friends who are getting married at the end of June.

The funny thing was that all the guys invited to the shower were pilots so none of them were in town to come. Dan embraced it well being around about 20 women haha! I'm really excited for them to be getting married so soon and wish Jake and I could make it out to their Wisconsin wedding but timing just didn't work. Dan is Jake's best friend out here and Megan was the first good friend I made right after getting to Travis. The four of us always have an awesome time together. I kind of feel like Jake should've been photoshopped into the photo :)

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So remember how I wrote a little bit ago about line dancing being my new hobby? Well that hasn't changed at all. Actually I'm borderline obsessed now that I've learned a good majority of the dances. On Monday night I went dancing with a group of friends and as always we had a blast! I just love how awesome of a workout it is too. It's basically 2-3 hours of straight cardio and my legs are always so sore for the days following.

Here's a picture of me and my favorite line dancing partners :) But in all seriousness, these girls are two of the best, most fun girlfriends I could ever ask for. So thankful for them!

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And now for a little bit of doggie cuteness! I was getting ready for bed the other night and walked out of the bathroom to see this...

Badger was just sitting there like that waiting for me and the look on his face made me laugh so hard! It's like he didn't even realize the curtains were on his head. Wish I could've grabbed my good camera to get this picture but I know he would've followed me. So stinking cute!

Here's a couple more pup pictures just because I love them...

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Yesterday I made a day trip to Turlock and got to spend some good time with the fam. I also had a long-awaited hair appointment which felt amazing (Gotta look good for the hubby coming home in 5 DAYS!!). While I loved every little part of the day - lunch with dad, coffee and shopping with Allison, dinner with Mama and Kenny - I'd have to say my favorite part was getting to see my brother. He had no idea that I was coming into town and he was so excited to see me and show me some of his new toys. Well, you can't really even call them toys because since turning the ripe ol' age of 9 he is now into shooting airsoft guns, making exploding volcanos, and installing surround sound electronics in his bedroom, haha! Little boys are sooo different than little girls... my sister and I were happily playing Barbies at that age :)

Seth and I had a great time hanging out and I'm so thankful that my dad snapped these candid photos of us together. I love seeing how our relationship grows and changes as he is growing up and I love that we can always have fun together. What an awesome kid he is!

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To close out this random post, there's one last thing to talk about - JAKE'S COMING HOME ON TUESDAY!!!!!! I'm so excited and nervous and anxious and want him home NOW :) These days leading up to his homecoming are torture! The first month of the deployment went by sooo slow and it felt like he was never coming home but surprisingly the last two months have really flown by and now the time is already here! Keep him in your prayers for safe travels and NO delays as he heads home next week.

And one more cute story & picture... When I was skyping with Jake last week I asked him if he wanted to say hi to the dogs and of course he did :) It was hilarious because the dogs were totally captivated by hearing his voice. They sat there and stared at the screen, cocking their heads back and forth trying to figure out where Jake was. I just love my little family! Look how cute they are...

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week! Thanks for reading :)

The Tough Call Mom

This is the card I gave my mama for Mother's Day this year... and it's so true! It doesn't seem to matter how old I get or what "life accomplishments" I've made, mom always has the answers and knows the right thing to say.

 My mom came with me to Sacramento for my medical test on Thursday (which went really good - totally easy) and we decided that afterwards we'd celebrate Mom's Day a little bit early. We went out to lunch, followed by coffee, dessert, and shopping... Perfect!

It was also a good opportunity for me to give her some fun gifts! I got her a nice teal/blue necklace that was super tempting not to keep for myself haha! And also a fun little wall quote to hang that reads "Mom, the older I get the smarter you become". I've actually had that wall quote since I worked at Papyrus and was saving it to give her for Mother's Day. She loved it and it made me happy to see her so happy :)

And I hate to turn this post into a bit of a downer but I'd be lying if I didn't say that Mother's Day this year wasn't affecting me emotionally since the miscarriage. It often crosses my mind that I would've been only 4 weeks away from my due date and Mother's Day would probably have had a totally different and very special meaning for me.

It started when I was looking at Mother's Day cards and there was a whole section of "mom to be" cards. It brought up feelings in me that I just wasn't expecting. I can't put my finger on how I exactly feel... I'm not really sad about it, I mean it doesn't make me tear up or anything; it's more of just a strange feeling of recognizing how different my life would've been right now and trying to find God's plan in all of it. I think I will feel a huge sense of relief once June 15th comes and goes and I am no longer thinking "I would've been this far along today..."

But I must say that I love having this blog, and being able to write knowing it's a safe place for me to work through these thoughts and feelings. So thanks for listening, friends and family, I love you all so much :)