Block Leave

Hey ya'll!!

So, next week starts our Block Leave, it's a block of time when we take leave as a Battalion. You have to use leave you've saved up though, so most people won't be able to take the whole amount of time off, but they should take some time off. We're only going to take about a week. We're going to Maui from July 6-July 11. We'll be there for my birthday and we're gonna do it as a birthday/honeymoon celebration. It should be a lot of fun. I am totally looking forward to it, as I'm sure LT is looking forward to it. And I'm hoping that since it will be Block Leave, and most of the people will be gone that he won't have to work as much as if it weren't a leave time.

Block Leave is usually given in the summer and around the Christmas holidays, as well as before and after deployments, for those wondering. We will have leave again in December and are going to TRY our hardest to come home. It just all depends on money and how much it'll cost. It is super expensive to fly from here to the mainland. But it isn't as expensive to fly from the mainland to here. Which is weird, but who knows. We haven't really figured out how we're going to split our time on the mainland, it'll be hard, and we won't be able to stay for very long, so we're thinking a few days with his family and a few with mine. We just have SO much to fit in while we're there, that someone is bound to get upset with us. But really, there just doesn't seem to be a way around it. And anyone who knows me, knows that I hate disappointing people, or hurting feelings. I try to accommodate everyone. But it'll be ok, and I hope that us being there for a short amount of time will be enough for everyone. And we're probably not going to do gifts for people, since it's going to cost so much to get home. Again, hopefully that will be enough.

So, just thought I'd update ya'll alittle. I will be posting pictures from our trip to Maui when we get back. I also have some pictures from when we went to the USS Missouri...it was pretty neat, it was HUGE!

Hope all is well!

It's been awhile

Hello ya'll! Sorry for the lack of posting, just kind of in a bloggy slump.

The weekend before last or last weekend, I honestly can't remember when, we had a quad BBQ. There are 5 families in our quad, and 3 of us cooked out, one of the families was out of town, and the other one joined us for a bit, but for the most part it was just 3 familes.

One of the husbands is really into medevil fighting and stuff, and has armour, and he brought out a helmet and sword for the kids who live next to us, but of course the LT had to try them on, so here is the LT in the helmet.

The helmet was very heavy, and the little boys who live next to us tried it one, and the youngest one almost fell over from the weight, and the chains came to his waist, it was quite cute!

This is a short sword, it is padded so it won't hurt too bad, and the husband hit LT with the sword pretty hard on the helmet, and he didn't feel anything! Pretty cool!

We had a great time with everyone and enjoyed getting to know them. The family that lives next to us is going to be gone for a while, the wife, who is also Army, is on the mainland for 5 weeks and the husband leaves for a deployment soon and will be gone a year. The husband has 2 kids from a previous relationship, so while he's gone we won't see them, but they are just the best kids ever, they're 4 and 8 and very well behaved!

I am the only spouse who isn't in the Army, all the other families are double Army. The one who likes the medevil stuff is ex Army, but his wife is still in, and will deploy with Steven, when he deploys.

Things are going really well here in Hawaii, the weather is unbelieveable, and we are just having a blast. The LT is very busy with work, and even though this is a 4 day weekend for most here on the island, he has to work tomorrow for a little bit.

Tomorrow is also the birthday of the Army! So Happy Birthday Army!!!

Saying Goodbye to another...

Early this morning, my dear Great Aunt passed away. She had been suffering for some time, so it wasn't a big shock that she passed, but still, you can never fully prepare for something like that.

Her daughter, my cousin, is a wonderful artist, and painted this beautiful picture of her mother playing the piano, and in the email she wrote us telling us of the passing, she said that is how she wants to remember her mother, and I have to agree, my cousin did a beautiful job portraying her mother.

I take comfort in knowing she is in heaven with my great-grandparents, my grandmother and countless other family members. I know they are playing the piano and organ and just singing.

I wrote on Facebook about her passing, and about how I wish I had been more disciplined to learn the piano because I come from a long line of amazing pianist. Nobody world renown or anything like that, but still, wonderfully talented people. I will surely miss them.

I wish I had saved some of the pictures from past emails from my cousin, but I didn't. I could kick myself. But, I think that one above is the best way to remember her by.

Goodbye Aunt Ethel. You will be greatly missed. You've touched so many lives, and mean so much to so many people. We love you!

1 yr ago today

One year ago today the LT graduated from College and commissioned into the US Army as a 2LT! One year ago today, we officially started our journey to Hawaii. Sure, we knew we were going to Hawaii before this, but his graduation and commissioning solidified it. It made it more real, if that makes sense. I wish I had some pictures to show of his graduation and commissioning, but I'm not sure where they are.

I forgot that today was his "anniversary" until he said something last night. I felt bad, it was such a big day for him, and I guess I didn't think about it because we have so much other stuff going on, and I've been sick. But he wanted to go to dinner, so we went to Cattle Company because he wanted steak. It was SO good! I was a little bummed, because I thought we were going to Outback and I was kind of wanting a blooming onion, but we got shrimp cocktail instead, and I got a really juicy, cooked to perfection Filet Minon. OMG, that steak was SO good! And I got the onion rings, those were good too. And their bread, to die for. I felt so bad for eating it in front of him, because we think he might be lactose intelerant because he's had some symptoms, so we got him some pills, and the first two days you have to not eat dairy. Wow is that hard for him. I feel bad for him, but only one more day! :) Woohoo!!

Anyways, just thought I'd update ya'll, and write about his 1 year anniversary of sorts! I am very proud of him and he's come a long way. He's learned a lot, and there are some things he wishes he had done differently, but that is how life works, you learn from your mistakes, and short givings and move on.