Sarah's Wedding

Dave and I were able to attend Sarah's wedding in June. It's the first wedding in three years that we've a) been able to attend b) been able to attend together c) that dave's worn a suit instead of a uniform. I was lucky to spend some time with some friends from college while we were there. So happy for Sarah and Brad!! 

Audra and I

Dave and I. Doesn't he look spiffy in a tie?

Audra, the bride, Sarsar, Whitney, and I. 

Sarsar and I. So beautiful!

Summer Travel

We've been out and about a LOT in the last month. We had POM leave - Pre-Overseas Movement vacation days - scheduled for late June-early July. Luckily for you, I forgot my camera most places we traveled. Whomp Whomp.

Dave and I spent a few nights in San Francisco, where we played tourist. San Francisco Giant's baseball game, Alcatraz night tour, Point Loma National Seashore, 1917 Earthquake spot, and fantabulous Indian burritos. Those were the highlights.

We spent the 4th of July visiting Dave's family in the South. We bought fireworks and set them off! I know, it sounds boring but let me quantify. 1) I grew up outside of DC, and we usually only had sparklers. 2) We bought big exploding fireworks in Mississippi. 3) We attempted to blow up a watermelon. Additionally, we ate at Rendezvous, the originator of Memphis-style (dry rub) ribs. We got to spend time with our nieces, who eventually accepted Dave, and Dave's family. It was relaxing and fun. Except for the fact our return flight was canceled. But we made it back.

Last on our tour-de-everywhere, we drove six hours up the spine of the Central Valley to Redding, CA. Redding is the northern-most point in the CenVal, and as such, it doesn't feel so much like a valley but more like you are surrounded by mountains on three sides. Dave's future roommate, TJ, and my friend, Amy, tied the knot in a lovely, lovely ceremony. We bought a camera for the occasion, but it was left behind at the reception - never to be seen again. So no photos of Dave in his dress-whites and I dressed up. Whomp Whomp.

Jaime and I wiating for the ceremony to start - I was so excited, I wanted to cheer during the vows.

The newly married couple. (I was there when she chose her dress, so pretty.) 

OCF girls

Now we are home for a few weeks. And no more traveling. We were glad to accomplish so much during our time off, but we were exhausted.

Karaoke Jump-Start

As I am getting ready to go to San Francisco for my friend's bachelorette party - I compiled a list of songs so that we don't waste the first 20 minutes of our private karaoke room picking our brains for good ones. 

Karaoke Jump-Start

1.     Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen

2.     Total Eclipse of the Heart – Bonnie Tyler

3.     Summer Nights- John Travolta & Olivia Newton John

4.     Party in the USA – Miley Cyrus

5.     Time after Time

6.     Girls Just Wanna Have Fun – Cindi Lauper

7.     Pretty Woman – Roy Orbison

8.     I Will Survive – Gloria Gaynor

9.     Cecila – Paul Simon

10. Man I feel like a Woman – Shania Twain

11.  Like a Virgin – Madonna

12.  Save a Horse – Ride a Cowboy – Big and Rich

13.  American Pie – Don McLean

14.  Baby Got Back – Sir MixaLot

15.  Billie Jean – Michael Jackson

16. You Shook Me All Night Long – ACDC

17.  Love Shack – B52s

18.  Hotel California – Eagles

19.  Livin’ on a Prayer – Bon Jovi

20.  Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd

21. Roxanne – Police

22. The Gambler – Kenny Rogers

23. Don’t Stop Believing – Journey

24. Come Sail Away – Styx

25. Friends in Low Places – Gareth Brooks

26. Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond

27. Torn – Natalie Imbrulia

28. Hit Me with Your Best Shot – Blondie

29. Before He Cheats – Carrie Underwood

30. Leavin Me Breathless – The Corrs

31. Who Knew – Pink

32. Complicated – Avril Leviegn

33.  Don’t Turn Around

34. The Sign – Ace of Base

photo catch-up

April's visit to see Dave in Fallon, NV

Amy and I opted to drive the southern, longer (8.5hr) route, south to Bakersfield, and then east and up the back side of the Sierras. There was a huge storm that closed the northern, faster (6hr) I-5 route. 

A SALT STORM! Yes, you read that correctly. This is a huge dried up salt bed. If you click on the photo and enlarge it, you can see the swirling white mist. No clouds, there fore it is not rain or snow. Salt! 

A change of scenery - snow covered hills.

Self portrait

Entering Tahoe at night. 

Home of the 196something Winter Olympics. Notice the mounds of snow? 80% of that is the freshly fallen white stuff that Amy and I drove south to avoid. Smart move. 

Our hotel room at the Pepper Tree Inn.

View of the Lake Tahoe when we could finally see it, two days later. Beautious.

The real event of the weekend was that TJ and Amy got engaged! WOOT. 

(Enlarge the photo to see the secret message.)

Health hazard - falling icicles. 

March 30th - Maya's 5th Birthday Party.

Strike Fighter Ball

Lauren F., Laura, Lauren S., and I. The Lauren's squadron's husbands are

 deployed so they had a pirates theme... Pretty fun!

Katie and I

Our squadron had flames for our role-call: pump-hairspray bottles filled with lighter fluid... I didn't know it was lighter fluid until I sprayed it on my hair and the guys flipped out... I stayed away from flames all night. 

Boo and I. 

Dragon sing-along. 

Full-length shot. 

Laura, Kristen and I. All that's missing is Liz and we could have recreated our photo from Bad Man Ball last year! Boo...

P. Skipper and Amy. 

The night got a bit crazy... Here Dan and Cooter are Wrastlin'. 

More Idaho

I realized I never posted more pictures from Idaho. And I also realized, looking through my pictures, that my camera only documented half of the time there. Katie's more pictures... like of me in my dirndl!

Make pomegranate jelly!

Maya atop Babe. 

Katie's older sister, Marci, with Tom and Maya, trying to figure out 

what went wrong with her caramel apples. The caramel just wouldn't harden onto the apples. 

A quick sojourn to Joseph, Oregon, to meet up with Aunt Julie and her husband, Mark, in front of Wallowa (Wa-Lah-wa) Lake Lodge, built in 1928. 

a heard of 10 deer and a buck on our way out of the Lodge area. 

Maya in Marci's wedding boots. 

Katie's dad, Dick, with Caleb, soon after he learned to say my name. 

Road trip to Idaho

On Wednesday, Katie and I embarked on our Grand Fall Adventure: 19 hours in the car with kids. We broke up our travel in to two days: 13 hours to Boise on day one and 6 hours to Lewiston on day two. Katie was very worried that this prolonged exposure to her and her kids would cause "a falling out." Dave was also worried about this - in a joking manner - but gave the sound advise, "If you have a falling out on the way there, you will be there long enough to patch it up in time for the return trip." Well, sorry to disappoint, but there has been no falling out. The kids were great. And I mean GREAT. No crying, screaming, hissy fits, nothing. They were hella tired by the time we got to "the Ridge" - Katie's parent's house - but were such troopers in the car. In the following photos, play the game "Find the Lollipop" - some are more challenging than others.

Maya's lolly.



Caleb's lolly.



Katie, taking a break from looking at the road, with lolly.

Atop the Cascade Mountains, I think... Eitherway, a great look out.

We arrived at the Wittman Ranch in time for dinner on Thursday. A great meal - wholely organic and home grown, including the beef!!! Dawn had the most amazing garden. I have never slept so hard as I did Friday night - traveling is so tiring, which is so counter-intuitive - one would think that sitting all day is easy, but I was exhausted, so were the kids.

Friday was a great planning day, but no time was wasted: there's always something to be done on the farm, I've learned, so Katie and I were put to work. I am rather proud to say I have helped to paint a 100-year-old barn, all original (except the paint). Painting the barn was rather time sensative as it was scheduled to start raining on Sunday. With most of the barn done, but lots of trim to finish, it got rainy and misty here today, so no further painting has happened. Maybe sometime in the next two weeks Katie and I will get to finish the windows on the other side of the barn....

RtoL: Dick (Katie's dad), Jamie (farm hand), and C

Which side is newly painted? Hard to tell.

Today Katie, Dick and I went to the University of Idaho's homecoming football game. It was a great time. We attended Erin - a sorority sister of Katie's - tailgate and got to meet this year's homecoming queen, who just happens to be a Gamma Phi Beta like Katie! Fun. We stayed for the fist half of the game, leaving when the Vandals were winning 31 to 7. Katie took me on a short tour of campus, which reminded me a lot of JMU. We got to see Tom's fraternity house, which was disgusting, ew, men are pigs, and Katie's soroity house which was much much cleaner.

Tomorrow brings church and maybe horse backriding if the weather holds...

Halloween

While it's not Halloween yet, it's sure been feeling like it's getting close. Dave has carved two pumpkins in three days. The first one is already starting to prune and wrinkle because it was in the 90's over the weekend. The second one may last longer since the temperature seems to finally have made the plunge. It was a crisp 70 and overcast this morning and only a high of 75 today, with a downpour! Rain! Such excitement. I've been keeping umbrella's in my car for months and months and now it might finally be worth it. Anyway, here's what we've been up to.

On Friday night we had a block party. But not our block - no no, not our foreclosed block where our one neighbors that we know are moving to Japan on Saturday - no no Katie's block. I made the fliers though. And I spend almost enough time over there that most people do think I reside at Katie's house.  Katie, Joanna and I arranged the block party, making fliers, coming up with ideas, and trying to figure out logistics. It was a big hit - all the neighbors thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread - especially since the military people had organized it. The "regular" residence are jaded to certain houses having different military occupants every 18 months or so. So we carved pumpkins, pulled the grills to the front of the house, had a wing-off, and some games for the kids.  Katie and I each made different types buffalo wings- Dave said mine were better, but Tom said Katie's were better; What smart husbands we have.

On Sunday, after a day of chuch, home improvement and rest, we went over to Tom and Katie's for dinner and more pumpkin carving. 

Caleb

Katie and I being dorks and taking pictures of each other taking pictures.

Dave working on our masterful pumpkin

Kate and Maya - not related though they have the same color hair.

Dave and I and our dragon pumpkin. It's actualy Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty.  No, really, it is. 

All of our pumpkins throughout the weekend (minus our wrinkling Javelina one). The one Dave made is the DRAGON (duh) on the far right. (Click to enlarge)

On Wednesday, Katie and I are off with Caleb and Maya to roadtrip to Idaho. We'll be spending about two weeks in the Potato State. We'll be going to a reclusive Catholic Priest's cabin in the woods (abandoned), riding horses, feeding cows, herding cats, shooting pistols, making yummy meals, attending Idaho's Homecoming football game (Go Vandals?) and getting some well earned time away from the Central Valley. 

I'm feeling rather guilty. Not that I'll be leaving Dave, no he'll be away in Fallon, NV for several weeks, but rather that I'm abandoning Slider for two whole weeks at the kennel. I know he'll be fine, but he's very much become my little security blanket. There were weeks on end over the summer that I really would take him everywhere, or spend the day with him at Katie's. And he already has abandonment issues since we really did leave him for nine months... And when he gives you that puppy face... :(