Birthday Celebrations

Last week was the husband's birthday, so the weekend kind of turned in to his birthday weekend (even though he's not in to that sort of thing). On Friday, we had two of his friends over for a dinner party of sorts, and by that I mean I cooked lasagna (the most delicious lasagna I've ever cooked) and a cake (definitely NOT the most delicious cake I've ever baked...). It was a pretty relaxed night and I think it was exactly how the husband wanted to celebrate his birthday.

On Saturday, we did a lot of nothing during the day, which was definitely needed after my first week back to school after spring break. That night, we went to the beach to take some sunset pictures and then headed out to dinner. We had plans to go back to the beach later that night to take some night pictures, but the weather didn't cooperate with us, so we tabled that idea for another time.

On Sunday we did some housework and I went out to get the husband a proper cake (not baked by me). After the housework, we just relaxed. The husband worked on his puzzle and I got myself ready for the week. I also got to play around with my "new" lens for a bit (I got it at the end of last year, but haven't had much of an opportunity to really play around with it). With some beautiful blooms in the house though, I couldn't help myself!

I've been keeping up with taking pictures, so here are just a few from the weekend! Also, how do you like our makeshift birthday candle? ;)

 

1st Lieutenant

We officially have a 1st Lieutenant in this household! That's right y'all, the husband promoted to 1st Lieutenant last week and I couldn't be more proud! I know the guys don't think it's that big of a deal, but to me (and every other wife I know), it is! The husband didn't think it was necessary to have a promotion ceremony, but after insisting that he should, he was able to pull one together (yeah- I talked him into asking and he got put in charge of putting it together- whoops!). I think once it was over though, he was thankful I was so insistent.

Here are some pictures from the ceremony. I was so happy I was able to be there to watch the husband promote and also honored to be able to swap out his patches. As per the advice of the Major, I had to give his new patch a good thump, because you know, the new Velcro just doesn't stick as well... ;)

Disney World

Where has time even gone? I had every intention of blogging about my amazing trip to Orlando over Thanksgiving break, and then I turned around and it was the middle of December. Disney World was every bit as amazing as I'd hoped it would be! The best friend and I got to explore all of the parks in Disney and also got to spend a day at Universal (mostly exploring The Wizarding World of Harry Potter). By far my favorite park (not including Universal) was Magic Kingdom. The atmosphere was indescribable and we had a blast checking everything out. I think my favorite part was the firework show in front of the castle- there's only one word to describe it and that's "magical".

Speaking of magic, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter exceeded my expectations tenfold! They seriously thought of every little detail, including Moaning Myrtle in the bathroom! We got to go inside Hogwarts, take a stop in the wand shop, travel on the Hogwarts Express, and explore Diagon Alley. When we first arrived on that part of the theme park, we were so confused because it was set up to be like London. It wasn't until we saw people "walking into the wall" that it hit us that Diagon Alley was BEHIND the wall. Again, they left no detail out! If you ever get the chance to go, I seriously can't recommend it enough!!

When we got back from Disney, we hosted Thanksgiving for some good friends of ours. While we miss our families around the holidays, we both really love having our friends over to celebrate with us. It was a relaxing evening with delicious food and excellent company!

Not much has really been happening this past month except for getting ready for Christmas. We will be making the long drive home to visit with family. This will be the first time we've been home together since we moved last year. We are definitely looking forward to enjoying time with our family and seeing people we haven't seen for quite some time! I'm sure you'll hear all about it around the middle of January, since that seems to be the trend!

Here are just a few pictures of our trip to Orlando! Enjoy, and if I don't blog again before Christmas (and let's be real, the chances of that are really high), I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!!

Hello November

This last month has been so busy (where I have I heard that before?!) and I obviously haven't found time to blog until now. I suppose I'm staying true to doing monthly updates, so I've got that going for me! The weeks are all running together now, so I'll try my best to remember what all has happened this past month.

I'll start at Halloween weekend and work my way up. That weekend, we got to go to a Halloween party hosted by one of our couple friends. We had a lot of fun going as "Blessings in Disguise" and had a great time catching up with good friends. Good food, good drinks, and good people. What more could you ask for?! That Monday, the husband surprised me by having pumpkins waiting for us when I got home from work (yeah, I had to teach on Halloween--it was comparable to teaching when there's a full moon, but I survived). I decided to carve a cat (because what else would I carve?), while the husband opted to carve our last name. Carving this year was super easy, I'm assuming because the pumpkins had been sitting in the Florida sun; however, they lasted all of one day (really, all of one night). Our two groups of trick-or-treaters got to enjoy them though (that's right, two whole groups)... I'm hoping we get more trick-or-treaters wherever we happen to be next year. 

That next weekend, I hopped on a plane and headed to MO to shoot a wedding with dad. It was a pretty busy weekend, but I'm definitely okay with that since I got to see most of my favorites back home. Picking up the camera and shooting with dad again was also just what I needed. Since I've started teaching, I haven't had much time behind the camera, so to say I went a little trigger happy is an understatement. Dad and I were able to get some great shots of a very beautiful wedding though, and since we don't have another wedding until May, my camera has some time to recuperate.  

Last week was the Marine Corps 241st birthday, and to celebrate, I "made" the husband come to school. I'd like to say it was for fun, but really, my glasses broke on the drive to school and I needed my contacts. Since he had to go in to work to eat cake for breakfast (rough life) after he dropped off my contacts, he came to school in his uniform. My kids were starstruck. One of the kids even went to the library after he left to get a book on Marines. It was really cute to see them love him almost immediately, and it was actually pretty perfect since we had been talking about our military in reference to Veteran's Day that week.

Speaking of Veteran's Day, we got to head to the NAS Pensacola Air Show to check out some aircraft and watch the Blue Angel's show that day. I don't think it matters how many times I watch them fly, I'm always amazed. The husband was also able to get some pretty awesome pictures that day (shared below). I didn't take any with his camera, since I didn't want to show him up. ;)

That next day, we hosted a bonfire. This time, we got to enjoy perfect weather! It's always so fun to have people over just to hang out and relax, and adding a fire to the mix doesn't hurt. We also talked about going camping soon, so I'm hoping we can make that happen!

This weekend (does it count as "being ahead of the game" if I talk about what's going to happen before it happens??), the best friend is headed to Florida, and we are going to road trip it down to Orlando for a few days to enjoy Disney World and Universal Studios. This trip has been in the making for quite some time and I'm so excited the time is finally here! It also helps that it means I'm off of work for an entire week! I'll be sure to blog all about it. Until then, here are a few pictures from the past month!

One Year

It occurred to me last week that my blog's one year anniversary was approaching (and has now passed), which also means the husband and I have been in Florida for a little over a year now. It's been a fun and exciting year, and so much has happened. I've had the opportunity to meet some pretty amazing women, and I am so lucky to have a group of ladies I can always count on. I've made some of the best friends here, and it's true what they say, those friends become your family. I can't imagine life without them, and definitely wouldn't have wanted to spend this year without them!

The husband has also accomplished so much this year and I couldn't be more proud of him! He's done exceptionally well with everything and I have no doubt he will continue to excel in this career path. I love listening to him talk about his pilot stuff (yeah, I said "pilot stuff"), even though occasionally my eyes glaze over (it's like a whole new language that I obviously don't understand). I love how excited he gets about it! I also love listening to him talk about it with my dad and grandad. It makes my heart so full.

This year was the first time in the entirety of our relationship where we didn't have to do that long distance thing. It was even better than I imagined it would be. We got pretty lucky to be able to spend so much time together due to his schedule and mine, and even though things have gotten busier for us, it's nice to be able to spend time just being in the same room as him. I love being able to live this life with him and wouldn't want it any other way!

So happy one year anniversary to the blog, and to being in Florida!

Hello Fall

I've been MIA for almost a month now, and I didn't mean to neglect my blog for quite that long, but life has been so busy for us around here, that it was one of the first things to be knocked off my "To-Do" list (and not in the "mark if off because it's already done" kind of way). Here I am though, all caught up and ready to take some time to update everyone on the past month (if I can remember it all!).

A couple of weekends ago, the husband and I headed to Atlanta to meet up with my parents. My dad and the husband attended a photography workshop and got to photograph some WWII planes. I obviously can't write much about what happened there, because I was off shopping with my mom, so I'll let the husband tell you a little bit more about it in my next blog post (stay tuned).  

That Sunday, we all headed to the Coca-Cola museum and then found a Rita's to stop at! After dropping my parents off at the airport, we headed back to Florida (but not without stopping at Chipotle first). It was a wonderful weekend with the best parents and some pretty awesome food! 

Skipping ahead to last week, the husband selected! He got his first pick of helicopters so we are here for a few more months! I was going to be here regardless because of my job, but I couldn't be happier that he doesn't have to move AND that he got what he wanted! I'm so incredibly proud of him and all of his hard work. Getting to hear the wonderful things his on-wing said about him made my heart swell with pride. I can't wait to see what the next few months bring! 

Last night, we hosted a bonfire here. I loved getting to see most of my closest friends here and hang out with them and their families. I feel blessed knowing that I will continue to make friendships like these (and maintain the ones I have) throughout my years of being a military wife!

Today the husband and I celebrated anniversary #2! When you're a military wife, and you have two anniversaries, you might as well celebrate them both!! I'll spare you the mushy stuff, and save that just for him. ;)