Winery!

So while James was deployed him and his buddies planned a trip for the wives to a winery. After getting off work we drove about 3 hours to Outlook, Washington (wine country). By the time we got there it had gotten kind of late, but it was still beautiful out, the sun was just setting and the air was still warm. We made dinner, sat out on the back deck and watched a lightning storm. Since we were the last couple to get to the winery, the room in the guest house that we got was the "Champagne Room".

The next morning we woke up, James made an amazing breakfast and then we went wine tasting. We got to tour the winery and taste pretty much the whole selection of wine. I've never been a big fan of wine before, but we definitely found some wine the we enjoyed. All in all we had a great weekend it was a lot of fun to just get away and relax and not really have to worry about anything.

Every weekend is a busy weekend!

It's almost the weekend and looking at these next 6 weekends to come we're going to be very busy. Ever since James has gotten home from deployment we really haven't had much time to really relax, and it dosen't look like we'll have a non-busy weekend until we get to Hawaii. But thats ok, we want to spend as much time with everyone that we can before we have to leave. It seems like time was going by so slow just waiting for James to come home and now time feels like its going in fast forward.

Roller Skating with the Kids . . .

Like every week at summer camp we always go on a field trip, to a place that the kids don't usually get a chance to go to. Today we went to the Roller Rink. Which was so much fun... getting there on the other hand was a bit of a pain. We have over 70 kids that come to camp each day, and when we go on field trips we normally have two buses that come to transport us. While today none of the buses showed up which meant that we had to call the bus people and beg them to find us a bus. Luckily we were able to get one bus, we had to pack all of the kids onto the bus and we were off about and hour late. It all ended up being ok because by the time we got there and the kids got a chance to skate around and our session was over the kids were dead tired. I love going to the Roller Rink cause it just reminds me of going as a kid and skating with my friends. But I was so surprised that most of these kids didn't know how to skate at all. Many of them had just put their skates on and loosely tied them (thank God no one twisted their ankles). So I went around the rink a few times and then spent the rest of the time re-tieing the kid's skates. The kids were so tired that the bus ride home was pretty quiet and many of them had fallen asleep.

Family Dinner . . .

Family time! James decided to cook dinner tonight and invite everyone over. We have little over a month left in Seattle, so getting to spend time with family is pretty important. It's was to have everyone over and sit around and talk. James grilled some amazing stake and we made tacos. I'm going to miss getting to sit around and spend time with my family when we leave. I love them!

Alki Beach . . .

So after a long day of work and running around doing errands all day, James and I ended our day going for a walk down at Alki Beach. It was the first time since James has been back that we got to go down there. Alki has become such a special place for as, one of our first dates, where we spent our last night before James got deployed, and where we got engaged. It was nice to finally have some alone time together and to have it at such a special place.

Despicable Me in 3D!

James took me to see Despicable Me in 3D, what a cute movie. Didn't know what the movie was about before we got there, but it was funny and such a great movie with a happy ending!



A day with my mom . . .

Today ended up being surprisingly nice out. I spent the day with my mom, we went shopping and I got a new Pink Army T-Shirt, which I love cause it's bright and it's a swoop neck. After a day of shopping my mom and I went and had some gyros down by the water. James spent his day in Portland with his friends at a beer festival.

 

A Day of New Things . . .

This past weekend, James and I made our first big purchase as a married couple. We spent a little more than we had budgeted for but that's ok it was totally worth it, we bought our first bed! We had gone in a week before and thought we had found the perfect bed. But when we went to buy it we laid on a different bed and realized that, that was the perfect bed for us. Since I have a horrible back I can't sleep on anything too soft, and I need lots of support, but James likes softer beds, and luckily this bed was perfect for both of us. So anyways we just got it delivered today and I can't to sleep on it!

James also just bought us new phones today too, so now I have an Ohio number. I'm excited to try to figure it all out. 



Tickets bought . . .

Tickets bought Ohio here we come! We were a little worried about having to purchase our tickets so late, and we figured we were going to have to pay over a $1000. We couldn't buy our tickets a head of time like we wanted because James wasn't sure if he was going to have to go to school or if he was going to be able to get the leave he requested. So as soon as he got approved for his 32 days of leave, he looked at flights and was able to get us round trip tickets for just a little over $600. Yea! for us, cause we over budgeted for the tickets so that means we have a little bit more money to work with, with everything that we are going to have to plan for. I'm excited to go to Ohio, especially for James since he hasn't been home in almost a year and a half. I'm excited to go at the time of year we will be going cause we will be able to go to the apple orchard.

Dinner with the dads . . .

Tonight we had an amazing night of eating delicious food, great company and lots of laughs. Since James' dad and his sister Mint have never had Thai food before we decided to take them out to eat. It was the first time our dads met and everything seemed to go perfect. We got to experience some amazing Thai food cooked by my stepmom, at Jai Thai, they loved it and I'm glad they got to experience real Thai food for their first experience. And my dad made sure that they had the true Thai dining experience by make sure they always had a full glass of Singha (Thai beer) to drink.

Date Night . . .

Since James has been home we have been so busy, we really haven't had much time to ourselves. So tonight was our own little date night. It wasn't anything to exciting, but it was just nice to finally have some time to ourselves. So we decided to go look for at furniture at Ikea, which ended up being a waste of time. we ended up looking around getting lost and then deciding to only get a few little things, but by the time we got to the check out area the lines were each about ten people long and they were all self check outs. So we put all of the stuff down and decided to just leave. After our little waste of a trip to Ikea we decided to just go get something to eat. I'm just so thankful that I have him home with me so that we can waste our time together.

Mariners Game . . .

Took James' dad to the Mariners game tonight. It was nice getting to spend time with each other but not much of a game to watch. But at least the weather was nice and we had good seats, it's too bad they lost.

Spa day . . .

For a wedding present my sister-n-law Mint took me to spend to the day at the spa getting pampered. We both got massages and facials, it was so much fun and very relaxing. It was a great way to spend some sisterly bonding time.

So while Mint and I spent the day at the spa, James and his dad went and spent the day down at Pike Place Market and at the water front.

Bite of Seattle and then some great food afterwards . . .

Today we took James' dad to the bite of Seattle. The weather was beautiful, the food was ok, and Seattle Center was packed. But we had a lot of fun getting to hang out with his dad.

So after spending the day at the bite of Seattle, my brother grilled up some amazing food and we got to all spend time together and welcome James and Mint back to the U.S. By far my brothers cooking was way better than anything at the bite of Seattle.

Fun Night!

James' dad is in town, I am so happy that he's here so he can spend time with his kids, it has been over a year since he has seen them. It is great to have them all together after a long year of James and Mint being deployed.

So tonight we all went out to do karaoke, it was so much fun, the guys had a great time and a lot to drink. It was a great way to spend our Friday night, and one of the best places so far that we have gone to go do karaoke. The people there were really into it and gave lots of love and support to the James, Mint and Eric for just being back from being deployed.

Crafts . . .

I made lip gloss today with the kids at work. The kids loved it!

Brianna and Valarie, mixing up their lip gloss.

A little bit of bee's wax, a spoon full of Vaseline and a little bit of lip stick for color. Mixed in an empty can on the stove.

Poured into little containers, waiting for them to set.

All set and ready to be labeled, the girls did great on making their colors.

All labeled and ready to be taken home.

It was a fun craft and the kids loved it even a few of the boys made some to give to their moms.

These kids are funny . . .

So today at work we had a comedy improve group come and entertain the kids. I was a little worried at first that some of the kids would be bored, since we have 4 to 11 year old at the site. But the group did an amazing job at getting the kids involved and entertained. And many of the kids got to go up on stage be a part of the show, I think some of the kids might even have something going for them.

What a day . . .

So happy to have my husband home! It doesn't even feel like he was ever gone, now that he's home.

Tried to go get James' car out of storage on base today, and it seemed like everything that could go wrong went wrong. When we finally got to base between the two hour time period he was given, we realized that since the car sat for a whole year and the tabs had expired, we couldn't get the car out until we went and got the new registration. We go to get the new registration and tabs, just to find out that in order to get the tabs the car needs an emissions test. Well we can't take the car to get an emissions test since it's still stuck on base. Luckily they gave us a day registration pass to get the car off base to get the test done. So we finally get to the emissions test place and they can run the test because the battery has been unplugged for a year and the computer system has been reset. Looks like James will have to try again tomorrow.

So we had an incredibly long and busy day, but we ended it with an amazing Thai dinner made by my dad. 

Today is finally here . . .

When James first got deployed it seemed like the past year was going to go by so slow, but it's finally over. James is finally home, I couldn't be any happier! I had to go to work this morning and I couldn't even concentrate, all I could think about was getting to be in my husband arms.

Waiting impatiently for them to come into the gym...

Yea! They finally raised the curtain.

In the sea of 300 soldiers and other wives, I finally found him.

I finally have my husband!

I'm so glad I had my sister-n-law Mint with me, I don't know what I would have done without her.

Happy Birthday Brother!

So I spent most of the weekend cleaning and getting ready for James to get home, I am too excited!

Today my brother turns 28! So I took some time away from cleaning and went to celebrate with him and the family. I wish James was here he would have really enjoyed it.

Ouch!

So I got my first sunburn of the summer. I went up to the pool to get some color today and ended up getting a little bit too much sun, while I was reading my book. To me it just looked like I was tan, until I got up to leave I realized that I was burnt. Not just a little burnt, but really burnt, so burnt that it hurt when I walked. So when I got back to the house I covered my self with aloe, it only helped a little, and it hurt to wear a seat belt, so I had to hold it away from my skin so it wouldn't hurt so bad. Luckily my skin will be a nice golden brown in a few days. I need to be careful, when I get to Hawaii I'm going to need to start using a lot of sun screen. 
Did some shopping today, got some new sheets (they are organic too, they were on sale that's why I bought them), bought James some new white-tees (since he has been gone I have been wearing his tee shirts to bed and I think they have shrunk them), found one of the beers that he wanted and got a few things for myself.

Made myself a yummy dinner...

Lemon pepper stake and spinach salad with feta and craisins!

Beautiful Day . . .

Today was a great day! We took the kids to the beach this afternoon, it was 93° and beautiful. It was a perfect day for the beach, the kids loved it and even went swimming, despite the freezing cold water of Pudget Sound. It was actually hot enough that it felt good to get in the freezing water (I was too chicken to really get in, I just went in up to my ankles). I even got some color today. I was planning on doing some indoor tanning before James got home, but lately once I get off work it is just way too hot to go lay in a tanning bed, when I could lay out in the sun. Maybe tomorrow before it starts getting to hot I'll go, just so I'm not so pale.

So I picked up my dress for James' homecoming, I had to get it altered to since the straps were to long. My alterations guy does such a great job. I also got two pairs of pants hemmed, so they finally fit and I don't have to fold them under anymore (not sure why I waited so long to get them done). And I finally have a pair of jeans I can wear with heels and they look good. Yea! It is so hard for me to find jeans that fit they are always too long and never fit in the butt (last year I had 4 pairs of jean rip out in the butt).

I am now just days away for James coming home and I still have things to do before he gets home. Got to get beer and I want to get some new sheets for the bed that will stay a little bit cooler during the heat, so we can actually sleep at night.

Oh I also brought home a big box of cherries, thanks to the Sanchez kids!

Lovin' the Heat!

After having cold and rainy weather all the way up into the beginning of July, Seattle is finally experiencing summer weather! Finally! I love the heat as long as I get to be out side enjoying it.

Hanging outside with the girls, enjoying the sun!

Yea!

So the last 2 mornings I have been getting up at about 5:30, to get ready for my day and then driving all the way out to Ft. Lewis (45ish mins away) to try to turn in paperwork and then driving all the way back to White Center to get to work by 8:30. (By the way I had already been out last week and was told to come back with more paperwork filled out) So yesterday I get out to base and was told that the office I needed to be at didn't open til 8am and it was 7, but the lady kindly helped me anyways and told me that if I brought in a copy of my physical that they could process all the paperwork faster. Luckily I was able to get my doctors office to fax it to me so I could bring it in today. So I got there today and she said everything looked perfect and that James' paperwork that he had already filled out while deployed was there as well. That means he'll get his orders soon and then we can apply for base housing in Hawaii. And the next time I will be driving out that way is to see James!


Today ended up being great, we finally have some summer weather, we took the kids on a tour of the Underground Seattle (lots of cool history facts), got to relax by the pool and then had a great dinner with my mom, brother, sister-n-law and nephew. And to top it off I got to talk to James!

Despite the heat outside, my nephew wanted to go in the hot tub.

Getting ready . . .

So I'm trying to get rid of a lot of my stuff so I don't have to take as much stuff with me when we move. So I have been packing, cleaning and getting rid of a lot of "stuff" mostly junk, I have no idea why I have kept all these random things. So I have made a goal of getting rid of the many things in my room that I won't be taking with me and then rearranging everything before James gets home. I don't have too much time left but I am determined. By tomorrow I will have a desk, dresser and 3 bags of clothes gone! I'm sure there will be many more trips to the Good Will, with a lot more "stuff". So far even though my room looks a mess with boxes of things in them I feel that I have gotten a lot accomplished.

Found the shoes . . .

So last weekend I found the dress that I'm going to wear to James' homecoming and now I found the shoes to go with. They look really cute on and definitely fit the style of the dress. I also took the dress into to get it altered to fit better, can't wait to see it all together!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th, everyone! Be safe and have fun! I wish the weather would have been nicer today.
Just wanted to say, Thank you to all of our men and women serving in the military so we can have our freedom. Especially the ones who are deployed over seas and don't get to celebrate the 4th on American soil. Not too much longer 'til I have James home, I'm very excited!