USMC Ball

It's a rare night when I get to get dolled up, get a babysitter and head out for a night on the town.  We did just that to go out and celebrate Brad's USMC Ball.  I rented my gown from Rent the Runway.

The night was extreamly silly and involved way too many cocktails.  So the blurry photos are a pretty appropriate discription of our eve

There were 2 photo booths and after one too many cocktails it seemed like a good idea to take photos over and over again complete with as many silly props as we could.  I made some new friends, had a surprisingly good time and we still made it home before midnight.  Happy birthday, Marines!

Thankful

My sweet baby's first Thanksgiving!  The year of firsts is just so special and fun!

 

Brad's squadron had a Thanksgiving party, so we got to visit him at work, eat yummy food and check out his plane.

 

Brad's parents took the long drive down from NC to join us for the holiday. We had a great visit and loved having them here with us.

 

Sure, hes not so little in size 12 month clothes when he's only 5 months old, but he's little to me! 

 

And just LOOK at this little man.  He's in his first ever tie.  I just loved his fancy Thanksgiving outfit.  

One of my favorite pictures EVER.  Lovelovelove.

Crazy baby obsessed mommy smile.  

 

Our first family of 3 Thanksgiving.  

 

My mostly organic homemade apple pie.  Yum.

Mike and Julie with our yummy turkey that I totally bought pre-cooked from Fresh Market. I was assured it was a "happy" turkey from Amish country, PA that had a good life, got to go outside, wasn't fed yucky food and given yucky drugs.  I hate cooking turkey's and would happily eat the sides and no turkey, (maybe because I overcook it and don't do it right?!) but this one was really good.

Our little Thanksgiving table.  And my little turkey baby joining us at the table.

More food than 3 people could ever eat.  Leftovers for days.

Brad and his sweet mom.

Mike introducing Pax to turkey.  He'll have to wait until next year for his first taste.

Proud daddy and his son.  The cute Thanksgiving outfit didn't last until dinner... of course.

We had a wonderful holiday full of yummy food, family and new happy memories.  We are truly blessed with the abundance of good things in our lives.

C-130 love

I just have to share this awesome video with you.  It was made by a friend of ours in Brad's squadron and it shows a bit of what the guys have been up to the last year.  My husband seriously has one of the coolest jobs ever.  I'm always jealous of the amazing places they get to go and the cool things they get to see, but I also understand how hard, demanding  and serious his job is.  These guys work super hard, work incredibly long hours, are frequently away from home and I honestly would not be able to do it.  And it's not all fun, as I'm sure he would tell you, aka Afghanistan.  But, he's had incredible experiences and has been able to get a ton of flight hours.  I am so incredibly proud of my amazing husband!  We are coming up to the end of our 3 years here I'll have to ask him to make a list of all the countries he's flown to.  I bet it's huge! 

USMC Ball

This week we celebrated at Brad's squadrons USMC Birthday Ball.  I didn't go last year because Brad was deployed, so I was looking forward getting dressed up and going this year.  I ended up deciding to get my hair and makeup done this year.  She curled my hair and the curls managed to stay in all night, this never happens when I do it.  And I did love how she did my eyes, fake eyelashes and all.  Unfortunately getting my hair and makeup done almost made me late, so when I got home I literally only had 10 minutes to pull my dress on.   My favorite thing I wore were new shoes I bought the morning of the ball.  They were gray, lacy and with a big bow on the toe and I just loved them. 

At a friends house before the ball.  Taking some silly pictures!

All the officers (Brad far right)

Me (far right) with some amazing usmc wife friends.

The whole night actually ended up being quite nice and and we had a great time!

Flight line photos

A couple weeks ago Brad and I got some photos done on the flight line to raise money for this years Marine Ball.  Molly at 48North 2East Photography did such an awesome job.  She did mini sessions for all the families and all the pictures turned out great. 

Here are a couple of my favorites:

Awesome Week Recap

This has been a pretty nice week for my husband and me. Except that we had to spend the week apart. We both were working a lot, but that's not a bad thing when you love your job.
My week consisted of an easy week of lessons. I rewarded a bunch of my students with rides down to the beach. I got in some really good rides myself, which was great since I hadn't been riding very much with the show stuff going on.


Spring is in the air! I think we may be finally getting over the most rainy and grey winter ever over here. My parents sent me (and Brad) the cutest Easter basket. My parents know me all too well and were sure to pack Brad his own separate chocolate bunny. Not like my thighs actually need a whole chocolate bunny to themselves, but that's what running's for right?!


This week was our colt's 1st birthday! He's getting big so fast.

I used my post-show new found free time to relax on the balcony and read with the kitty. Yup, she's wearing a harness.


Jade is the apple of my eye. I had no idea I could love a cat so much. When my hubby is out of town she is pretty much glued to my side (or lap) and I love the company and how much she makes me laugh.


Brad, as I mentioned was away this past week on a work trip. But, check this out. This lucky duck got to fly to:
Majuro, Marshall Islands
Tonga
Ohakea, New Zealand (stayed in New Palmerston North)
Pago Pago, American Samoa
Pohnpei, Micronesia






The plane kept breaking down, so the poor thing had to spend a couple down days enjoying those tropical and exotic locations. Rough life! Yes, I'm jealous. But, he was on an important check ride flight, so he was kind of stressed. He acted as the aircraft commander and planned the whole entire flight from Oki to Majuro to Tonga to New Zealand to Pago Pago to Pohnpei and back to Oki and taught a brand new co-pilot at the same time. He did pass, so he's relieved. And I'm very proud of him!

Pretty successful work week for us both I'd say.