2010 Recap!

So here is the top 10 events from 2010! Wow that went by fast . . .

1. Recieved the best Valentine's Day gift ever!

So by great odds James made it home for R&R on Valentine's Day. What a great gift to have him home, he got home and it felt like everything seemed to pick up right where we left off, like he had never even been gone. I'm a lucky lucky girl!

2. We got Engaged!

James took me to dinner at our favorite spot and then we went for a walk at Alki, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. So excited he surprised me big time!

3. We got Married!

Barefoot on the beach at sunset. It was so romantic and such a perfect way to get married. I wouldn't of changed a thing about it.

4. James is Home!

 It finally came, it felt like it would take forever, but looking back the year went by pretty fast. I am so happy to have my husband home and safe. Biggest highlight of the year hands down.

5. Had a second Honeymoon!

Got to spend an amazing weekend together!

6. James bought a Harley!

After much talk about wanting to get one he finally found the one for him. He bought a really nice bike. He looks so hot riding it. So happy that one of his goals of getting a bike came true.

7. Our big move to Hawaii!

So we are back in Hawaii, this time for the next 3 years. Excited about starting our lives together!

8. We finally have a house!

It's nothing too fancy and for right now it is just temporay, but it is our first house together. It's an old officer house, 4 bedrooms, very big and lots of space. (Picture isn't the exact house but it looks similar)

9. We have a new edition to our family!

We rescued this little guy from the pound. His name is Colt and he sure is a handful!

10. Our First Christmas together!

Finally our first Christmas together!

(The first year together James went home to see his family and the second one he was deployed to Afganastan.)

August!

August was a bitter sweet month, with summer ending and being packed full of events. Summer program ended and it was hard since it was my last one with all the kids. This summer seemed to go by so fast, mainly I think because time seemed to go by so slow while James was gone, that now that he is back it has seemed to just fly. We had a great group of kids this summer, which made the summer a blast.

My girls and I

Vincent, one very funny little boy, who became my shadow

Love this picture, Jordan, she is such a character

The kids practicing for their play

Love these girls, Lily and Lynn, summer wouldn't have been the same without them

My group monkey around at the zoo

UGM White Center, Summer Staff 2010

In August we also celebrated James and I getting married. It was great getting celebrate with all of our family and friends, especially since we will be leaving soon. The weather was beautiful like we hoped, the sun poured down on us at my aunt and uncle's farm. It was a fun day, and I am so thankful for everyone who helped me prepare for it all.

Beautiful backdrop, Mt Rainier

Thank you so much Candace for all your help!

Candace, Me and Fa'ana

I love these girls!

Another big event in August, was taking 8 high schoolers on a 20 mile backpacking trip. It was an adventure, many of them had no idea what to expect, and one we (Pat, Micah and I) had to talk into going. He complained about it the whole ride up, but ended up being the first one to finish and was really proud of himself. It was a tough 3 days but it was totally worth it, the kids were very encouraging to one another and helped keep moral up by singing Mulan songs up the mountain. I was definitely not in good shape for this one, I was in so much pain afterwords.

All of us on day one, before the pain set in

Linda and I, (our 3rd year in a row) we are missing our hiking buddy Keliah.



End of day one we were so happy to finally set up camp and be done hiking for the day.

Copper City, an old ghost town we stopped to check out along the way

Day two, swimming in the lake

The last day, we finally made it to the summit.

We were told many times that we had made it to the highest point, just to come around another bend to find

another trail ascending upwards. 

 We also did a family outing to the Circus, it was a blast. I hadn't been to the circus since I was little. There were so many great acts but my favorite were the little miniature donkeys, they were so cute.

Kenny, my nephew, sporting his circus hat.

August ended with the YES Foundation of White Center's

10 year Anniversary Luau.

Tammy and I giving our speeches

Got some beautiful flowers and words from Pat, since I was leaving. A very nice surprise.

What I love about my Love . . .

What is the first thing you noticed about your husband when you met?
His hair cut, it was just a regular military hair cut (it was cut a little bit closer to the scalp than he normally gets). But I love it when he gets his hair cut, he looks so handsome!

What is something your husband does that drives you crazy?
Haha... That he always catches my little dumb moments or comments that I make and I will never be able to live them down. (But I have a few on him.) And that when we are debating over things he's usually right...


If money wasn't an option what is one thing you would make sure you always had done for your husband? Buy him a jeep, cause he sold his when we started dating cause the gas prices were so high and he was driving an hour to see me. I wish I could buy one for him he wants one so bad.


When do you find your husband most attractive?
I love seeing him in uniform, oh and I love the picture I have of him in his waiters!


What does your husband do for you that you totally appreciate and would miss if it was gone?
How thoughtful he is and all the little things he does that remind me just how much he loves me. Out of the blue he will send me flowers and when he leaves there is always a note hidden for me to find. Another thing is that he is so helpful with things and just so supportive.


If you had your wedding day to do over again and everything was your call, would you keep everything the same? Change something? Everything? Elope or if you eloped vice versa?
I wouldn't change a thing, I think it was so perfect. Everything that led up to our wedding day fell into place so perfectly. We eloped but it was so intimate and beautiful getting married on the beach in Hawaii.

If you could go or be any where in the world with your husband right now, where would that be?
It could be anywhere in the world as long as I was with him, it wouldn't matter.


What is one moment you wish you could back and relive with your husband just to get to experience again? Would you change anything?
I love the past and everything that has lead us to where we are now, but I'm so ready for the future and excited to see where life is going to take us.

What do you love most about your husband?
What I love the most? I don't think that there is something I love the most, I do love that he is very confident (not is a cocky way) in himself, who he is and what he stands for. And I love that he can walk into a room meet new people and be totally comfortable (something that I wish I could do).

A Little Bit About Us . . .

How did we meet?

We met through mutual friends of ours, a couple different times before we started talking. I thought he was younger than me so I wanted nothing to do with him at first, but then we started talking one night and then things went from there (of course once I found out that he was older than I thought). 

Was it love at first sight?

Not at first sight (I thought he was handsome though), but once I got to know him I realized he was the man I never knew I always wanted!

Favorite thing about him?

Hmmm... there are so many things. One of my favorite things is that there is never a dull moment with him, he is very exciting.

Most annoying thing about them?

That when we have dispute (not to be taken negatively) for the most part he is always right, but even when I know he's right I don't like to admit it.

What makes me love him so much?

Everything about him, there isn't just one thing he is very much the whole package. His personality is definitely one of the top things on the list.

How did I know he was the one?

I knew he was the one when I realized that I never had to be anything but myself around him, he never tried to change me or pressure me in any way. And he has always been the same amazing person that he was the night that we first started talking, he never put on a front. He is who he is from the very beginning, and I love him for that

Would I die for him?

Absolutely!

What is my favorite memory with him?

Oh there are so many memories that I cherish. One of them was sitting on Alki beach at midnight talking getting to know  each other... and he kept saying "all that jazz." Just thinking about that makes me smile. I noticed he was saying it but didn't say anything and then he caught him self... it was cute I think he was a little nervous.

Where was our first date?

Well there are many dates that I refer to as our first date, but I think our first date was a group date I invited him to the movies with some of my friends and afterword we went down to Alki beach by ourselves. Our first date by ourselves was the Tacoma water front. We went for a walk and then ate dinner overlooking the water. It was so much fun, I can still remember the conversations we had. Another exciting date was our third date, he took me shooting it was so fun!

Our first kiss?

He was dropping me off after a date and we were sitting in his jeep, it was one of those moments when we both knew it was going to happen, but I was a little nervous. It was sweet, it wasn't one of those crazy overrated ones.

Our wedding!!

It was perfect and I wouldn't have changed a thing about it. (Being a girl you always dream about what it would be like... walking down the aisle in some long white formal gown. Well it wasn't what I thought I would have, but it was the most beautiful thing ever.)

(The engagement) While he was home on R&R, we went to Alki beach the night before we were going to leave for Hawaii. I thought we were there because it had become a place that was really special for us, like our first date, the day before he deployed and now where we got engaged. As we were talking he got down on one knee told me how much he loved me and asked me to marry him, then from there it was all a blur... I remember him opening the ring box but I didn't even look at I was too happy and surprised to even care what it looked like. But he did an amazing job picking it out, it's my little disco ball on my finger.

(The wedding) So we decided to elope (with the blessings from our families) and get married in Hawaii. We got married on the beach bare foot in the sand at sunset. It was beautiful. I didn't have a long white dress, it was short summer dress, but definitely more my style. It was definitely a stress free wedding and everything seem to fall into place and work out perfectly.

When do we plan on having kids?

It depends on which one of us you ask I guess. After we got married this was one of the questions we got the most. He would answer within 2-3 years from now. Me on the other hand not ready, I know I am too selfish to have a child at the moment. I want my husband to myself, I want to be able to travel together and finish nursing school. I definitely don't want to be prego and have kids when we are in Hawaii, maybe his next duty station.