Another New Home!

After 76 days of living in the RV, we closed on our house! (and all the people said "AMEN!"). We had a wonderful experience working with Melanie McDaniel of First Class Realty.  She's the best of the best, so if you need a realtor in the Hampton Roads, VA area, let me know.  I can hook you up!

 We had 4 days from closing day until we got our household goods and we had some work to do.  Drew's parents drove their camper up to help us out, so while Grammy was keeping the kiddos, we got busy.  We started in the garage.  It was musty and there was some mold on the walls due to a previous moisture problem in the crawl space.  Kilz to the rescue!

It looked and smelled SO much better when we finished!

 The yellow kitchen had to go!

 I had lots of helpers with the priming.

 Priming is done....did I mention that 3 days after we got our household goods, we left everything and went to DISNEY WORLD? (I looked at these primed walls for several weeks before I finally painted)

 Master bedroom was painted monochrome gray.

 Though it's hard to tell in this before and after, I promise it looks different in real life.  The office got a coat of accessible beige. 

We also painted one wall of the living room before our things arrived.

Then it was moving day!  My job was checking off boxes as they came off the truck and directing where everything went.

 I kid you not, the movers hadn't been there 30 minutes when one of them fell through the ceiling of our walk up attic.   Luckily it was just his foot and he didn't come crashing in.  The bad news:  they deemed that room a safety hazard so they couldn't put anything else in there, which meant that ALL the JUNK and holiday decorations that we keep in the attic, got stored in the catwalk upstairs.  

 Floor to ceiling boxes!

 At the end of the day, this is what our living room looked like! (YIKES)

But hey...at least we finally have a HOME again!  And we definitely have more than 300 square feet! So I'll take it, mess and all!

We left the house in a complete disaster 3 days later to go to Disney! (a trip that we had planned long, long ago!)

Congratulations Maj Wood

We had the opportunity to drive up to Annapolis, MD for the promotion of a dear friend of ours.  These were friends of ours and it had nearly been two years since we had seen each other.  Amanda and I were pregnant together so we couldn't wait to introduce our kiddos!  Penny was sleeping when we met up with them, so they met after nap time.  

And although it doesn't look like it, they really enjoyed each others' company....at least later on in the day!  :)

It was a lovely promotion ceremony.  Congratulations Major Wood!

After the ceremony we strolled through campus.  I had never been to the Naval Academy before and had no idea how beautiful it is!  I'm pretty partial to the Loveliest Village on the Plains, but The Naval Academy is a close second in my book.  

Officer Housing

Aubrey playing "mom"

The chapel was beautiful!

We made it on campus in time to see the Plebes doing their daily formation. 

It was a lovely day hanging out with our friends.  I'm glad we're only a short drive away and could make it to celebrate his special day!

Marine Corps Ball 2013

After girls day in Birmingham, Aubrey and I had to immediately drive back to FL because today was the Marine Corps Ball.  My good friend, Kel, was in town so we got to spend a girls day of our own, so to speak.  She went with me to meet my hair gal Gigi.  We hung out at her salon while she did my hair and makeup.  (The thing I love about the Ball...not having to get myself ready!  It's one day out of the year that I can be pampered and then get to wear a pretty dress at the end of the day!)  

This year's ball was a little different.  We didn't have it at the Naval Aviation Museum.  (boo)  We did have a pre-party/dinner downtown, though...which we were pretty late to because of a little last minute wardrobe malfunction (thanks a LOT baby weight!  Man, I gotta get rid of the rest of that stuff!)

(look at that handsome Marine)

 HT-18 field grade officers

 Field Grade wives.  (Kim, remember what it was like in Hawaii when we were newbies...seeing the "major's wives" differently?  Now we are those wives!  So weird, huh?

 We got so busy talking and making some new friends that when we looked at our watch we were late for the ceremony, so we went home instead.  (Real party animals, I know!  But it wasn't at the museum this year and our kids were at home with Kel - thanks Kel- you're the best, and I wanted to go watch LSU beat Alabama.  (which didn't happen).  At least we stopped at Krispy Kreme on the way home!  Oh well...we still had a great night, even though we only went to the dinner/pre-party.  

**We heard later that we didn't miss a thing.  Since the ball was at the "O Club" at NAS Pensacola, there was NO ROOM for all the people.  They had tents set up outside with closed captioned tvs (that didn't have sound) so you could see the ceremony, which we heard was also cut short and skipped some of my favorite parts.  **

Big shout out to Gigi for my fabulous hair and makeup.  Thanks for making me look "beautimous." 

 Still looks fresh after 7 hours!

I hope next year's ball will have a few old, familiar faces! *Fingers crossed*

Military Appreciation Picnic

We went on base this afternoon for the Military Appreciation Picnic.  The whole community comes together and puts on this great event for all active duty military and their families.  There were tons of businesses with booths set up, live music, fun for the kids, food, and door prizes.  It's all totally FREE! 

When we got there, Andrew had to go straight for the bouncy houses.  

 Wheee!

 Then there was face painting.  (Not Andrew...he's just supporting his friend Riley.)

 And after some much needed, yet kind peer pressure, he finally rode a horse!

 There was also a petting zoo.

 I loved the pigs!  Andrew liked their curly tails.

 Despite the fact that this was the hottest day we've had so far, Aubrey was a happy girl in her stroller.

 We ran into some friends from church and Finnley had to hold the baby.  Isn't he a sweetie!

We had a great time.  We ate some food, listened to some music, and let the kids enjoy themselves.  Andrew went home with some friends of ours for his first sleepover!  We've had kids spend the night with us, but Andrew had never stayed away from home before.  Riley had been asking him for a while and I guess Andrew decided it was finally time.  So off he went.  Crystal sent me this picture before they went to bed:

Success!  So proud of my big boy.  These dear friends of ours are moving to northern California next month.  (Alas, the life of a military family).  We'll miss them so!

Marine Corps Ball 2012

Tonight, Drew got to debut his brand new uniform when we had a hot date to the Marine Corps Ball.  Our night started out at the Fish House, where we had a romantic dinner for two.  Drew had the grits a yaya and I had a fabulous whitefish with a pumpkin spice rub on top of butternut squash ravioli with a maple vanilla cream sauce on top.  (Yes, it was as delicious as it sounds).  After dinner we headed over to the Naval Aviation Museum for the ball.   We must be getting old or maybe it's because I'm pregnant, but we left shortly after the ceremony was over.  We had our birthday cake and headed home...but not without taking a couple of pictures.  

check out that handsome Major!

 Us and the Ottens

I always love the ball!  (even if we don't stay and dance)  It's such a patriotic ceremony and I get teary-eyed during the marine hymn.  Good times!  I"m looking forward to next year...when I won't be fat, tired, and pregnant!  

A "Major" Accomplishment

Today, I am an especially proud Maine wife.  This morning Drew was promoted to Major.  Now, he will try and humbly tell you that it's no big deal, but I disagree.  I think it's quite an accomplishment and he makes me proud.  He's making the big move from company grade to field grade officer.  I remember when we first got married, looking at the Majors' wives and thinking how different they were.  First of all, they were older since they had been around longer, they knew a lot about how things work in the military, and they just seemed "different."  (C'mon, all you other military wives...you know it's true) It's funny now that I am one.  I don't feel any different.  I am looking forward to seeing him in his new uniform! ;)  Ok, back to the ceremony...

His family joined us for the big day.  Most of the other instructors were able to attend since they hadn't started flying yet. 

 "Attention to Orders"

 The C.O. and I pinned him with his new insignia. 

 A kiss in uniform for the special occasion

(This is when all my patriotic chill bumps stand up and the eyes get a little teary)  The Oath of Office: I (state your name) do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely; and without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter; So help me God.

 Receiving line of "congratulations" 

Congratulations, honey.  I'm so proud of you!  

*on a less serious note:  I don't know what it is about Drew getting promoted when I'm pregnant?!  Last time he was promoted, which meant I had to get a new military ID, I was pregnant with Andrew.  I may have to wait until AFTER Aubrey gets here update this ID!* lol 

Marine Corps Birthday Ball

The Marine Corps Ball is one of my favorite nights of the year!  I love getting dressed up and going to a big fancy party where there's dinner and dancing.  Since we missed out last year (Drew was in Afghanistan), we went all out.  I had my hair and makeup done.  And even though the powder was a little too white, it was worth it.  I had choir practice that morning and went straight from practice to the salon.  At 4 pm, Ashley, our sitter from church (great girl...LOVE HER) arrived at the house and we were out the door.
The night started in Seville Quarter at one of the restaurants there. The name escapes me right now.  We had dinner there and it was lovely...freezing in there, but lovely.  You'll notice martini glasses below.  Check it out...they're filled with mashed potatoes!

 We saw Drew's old flight school roommate, Andy Rice.  I hadn't seen him in over 4 years!

Roomies

After dinner, we drove over to the Naval Aviation Museum for the actual ceremony.  There were so many people there....a couple of thousand...if not more.  They were there to hear our guest speaker. I had never been to a ball at the museum.  It's a great atmosphere with all the planes hanging from the ceiling and set up everywhere.  It was neat.

We thought about having professional pictures made since the last time we did that was at our first ball together in AUBURN, but we're on a budget these days so we decided to save money and just asked folks to take pictures of us all night in hopes that we'd get a good one.  It's kind of funny now because Drew and I don't get very many chances to have pictures of just the two of us, and tonight there were TONS of them!

Our guest speaker for the evening was THE COMMANDANT of the Marine Corps!  He's the first pilot to be commandant. It was amazing to hear him speak.  He spoke of the history of the corps and all the challenges of past generations.  He concluded by saying, "And yes, we still make 'em as good as we used to!"  Ooh-Rah!

The guys

Ginny worked at our apartment!

Look Hawaii friends...we found Alan and Sherree!  That handsome older gentlemen in the photo with us is the oldest marine present....He was born in 1914!  Yes, he's 97 years old!

One last shot...

We had fun even though we didn't stay for the dancing portion.  The ceremony wasn't over until 10:30 and we had a 45 minute drive home.  We were feeling a little sorry for the babysitter since she had been at the house sine 4 pm.  Besides there's always next year!


*A little shout out to the Hawaii gang:  It just wasn't the same without you! (or Karaoke at the Shorebird afterwards!)  Love you gals :)