So I know I should be working right now but I really wanted to just send a short and probably random post. I am so excited that quite a bit of our family and friends are starting to join the blogging world! It is addicting, isn't it? I am hoping while we are in Utah this next week we will be able to let more of our family know about our site so we can keep better contact with them as well.
So anyways, the reason for my post. Last Saturday was Dan's first Saturday off of work that I can honestly remember in a long, long time. He has taken a few saturdays off here and there when we are going out of town but this last Saturday was officially his first Saturday off because of his new job! Dan has worked in the dining hall at Barksdale for the past two years and just recently switched over to the flight kitchen, which is a Monday-Friday, 4am-2pm schedule. We are really lucky and blessed to have been given such a great schedule, most Airman with the same ranking as him have to work the entire weekend and quite often the night shift.
Hopefully the schedule will at least last until Christmas because I LOVE having him home on the weekends and holidays. This year he had the 4th of July off and should have Thanksgiving and Christmas as well...it would be great to have him home and in the USA for the holidays!
Anyways, so this past Friday night we went to a late movie after Dan's school to celebrate the beginning of the weekend! No usually 4am Saturday wake up call for us....or so I thought. Dan is famous for liking to set an alarm even on his days off. It drives me nuts because I love waking up naturally and he loves setting his alarm. Dan gets up extra early to have time to get ready slowly and sit down for breakfast. Me, on the other hand, I sleep in as late as possible, hit the snooze about 10 times, and rush to get ready for the day. We are quite opposite in that regard! So anyway, I made Dan promise to not set ANY alarms for Saturday morning because I wanted to sleep in.
So at 4am his phone goes off (I figured he had just left his weekday alarm on by accident) and I was quite upset about it all. But since I was awake I decided I may as well go to the bathroom before I try to fall back asleep. When I came back in the room the light was on and he was all dressed and ready to go somewhere. With my eyes still half closed I tried to just ignore him and laid back down to go to sleep, not really thinking much of it other than the fact that I was annoyed about the whole situation. He comes over to me and tells me it is time to get dressed to go. I was like "Go where??? It is 4am! Time to sleep!". Anyway, so I reluctantly got dressed and decided to just go with the flow. Dan surprised me and took me out to breakfast! I have been wanting to go out to breakfast on a Saturday morning for a LONG TIME and just take the morning easy so it was a great surprise....I hadn't been dreaming about going at 4am though, more like 10am but I have realized since that the only way Dan could have probably surprised me is by taking me at that time. I am infamous for ruining his surprises because I can be way too observant....but he definitely surprised me this time!
So anyway, breakfast was yummy! We came back home and Dan decided to watch a movie, I told him he was crazy, and I fell right back asleep for several more hours:)
What a great way to start off a lazy Saturday.....well lazy probably isn't the right word because we did have a lot to do that day, but still, it was nice to start off the day with a slow start.
P.S. Okay, so I lied...this post definitely wasn't short but it was random!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Friday, July 18, 2008
Yet another 5k..........
Dan ran a 5k on base this morning (or as close as the base seems to get to a 5k, it is actually about a ¼ mile short). I always enjoy watching him run, just wish I wasn’t the only person there to watch the races! There was actually quite a big turnout of runners to this one (several hundred), but they are still lacking on having an audience.
Dan did a really good job. He came in at 16:40, right behind Chief Cooley. As you may remember me saying before, anyone who beats the Chief gets one free day of leave. Last month at the base 5k Dan came in second as well, then at the firecracker run he beat Chief but it didn’t count because it was off base..so this month once again he didn’t get a free day either! Oh well! There is always next month…I am glad he just enjoys running as much as I enjoy watching the races.
Dan negotiating with Chief for a free day of leave....
not really but he did joke about it
Starting....
Finishing....
My hair looks a litle orange in the picture, I know. The sun was shining on it weird plus it has gotten bleached a bit from being out in the sun. Someone asked if we are not allowed to be touching on base. It is true, Dan can't hold my hand in uniformbut we can be closer than we are in the picture. The only reason we are so far away here is becuase he was too sweaty I wouldn't let him near me!
Airman of the Month
Yesterday I was able to go to Dan’s Commander’s Call on base where he received an award for being the Airman of the Month for July in his squadron. His squadron is currently the largest on base because they recently merged services and mission support together. It is now called the 2nd Force Support Squadron.
Anyways, so he had a lot of competition for this award compared to in the past when the squadron was half the size. Each month supervisors nominate several airman for this award. They then have to each dress in their “Blues” and go up in front of a board. They are judged on their appearance and dress as well as the questions they are asked during the interview. They must know the history of the air force, current events, etc.
Anyways, so he had a lot of competition for this award compared to in the past when the squadron was half the size. Each month supervisors nominate several airman for this award. They then have to each dress in their “Blues” and go up in front of a board. They are judged on their appearance and dress as well as the questions they are asked during the interview. They must know the history of the air force, current events, etc.
Dan was given the award by his new commander (which by the way…totally reminds me of Dan’s brother, Spencer…how he looks, acts, smiles…the whole bit. The picture is quite blury though so it is hard to tell). It was really neat to see Dan recognized for all his hard work. I am very proud of him!
His award
We tried taking a picture of the both of us at home
since we forgot to at the ceremony
but we weren't entirely successful:)
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Girls Camp!
This past week I went to girls camp. For those of you who don’t know Dan and I are both currently working with the youth in the ward and we LOVE IT! So Dan was able to go to scout camp about a month ago (I will try to talk Dan into posting about that in the near future…) and I was able to go to a portion of girls camp.
Because the size of the church is so small here they only do Stake Girls Camp. We had three girls from our ward that attended as well as the young women’s president and I. It was a really great experience minus the awful bugs, heat, and humidity. Girls camp in Utah is way better for the single reason that there is no humidity so it actually cools down at night. Camping out in the wilderness for several days like that sure makes you grateful for all the conveniences of living in an air-conditioned building with a shower and toilet! Coming back to my comfortable bed was definitely my favorite part though:)
Despite all my complaints I was grateful to be able to go to camp with these girls. Most of the girls in the Stake are the only LDS at their school. So girls camp is the one time of the year where they get to be surrounded by friends of the same faith for several days. For many of them it gives them the strength to make it through the next school year until they can gather again. This year they mixed up all the leaders and girls in different tents. So all the girls I worked with were from different wards than I was. At first I was a little sad that I didn’t get to spend as much time with my girls as I would have liked but I saw how good of an experience it was for them. They were all able to make new friends and gain a stronger support system. My testimony was definitely strengthened by the example of these girls. I often find it difficult as an adult to be so different than most everyone I associate with on a daily basis. I can’t imagine the difficulties these girls face as youth. They are strong girls and I look up to them for the courage they have.
Jaclyn, Cady, Kayla, Sister Bates, & I
Bishop and his wife came up for testimony meeting...
Because the size of the church is so small here they only do Stake Girls Camp. We had three girls from our ward that attended as well as the young women’s president and I. It was a really great experience minus the awful bugs, heat, and humidity. Girls camp in Utah is way better for the single reason that there is no humidity so it actually cools down at night. Camping out in the wilderness for several days like that sure makes you grateful for all the conveniences of living in an air-conditioned building with a shower and toilet! Coming back to my comfortable bed was definitely my favorite part though:)
Despite all my complaints I was grateful to be able to go to camp with these girls. Most of the girls in the Stake are the only LDS at their school. So girls camp is the one time of the year where they get to be surrounded by friends of the same faith for several days. For many of them it gives them the strength to make it through the next school year until they can gather again. This year they mixed up all the leaders and girls in different tents. So all the girls I worked with were from different wards than I was. At first I was a little sad that I didn’t get to spend as much time with my girls as I would have liked but I saw how good of an experience it was for them. They were all able to make new friends and gain a stronger support system. My testimony was definitely strengthened by the example of these girls. I often find it difficult as an adult to be so different than most everyone I associate with on a daily basis. I can’t imagine the difficulties these girls face as youth. They are strong girls and I look up to them for the courage they have.
Jaclyn, Cady, Kayla, Sister Bates, & I 
Bishop and his wife came up for testimony meeting...you can easily tell who they are since they look
well groomed unlike us campers who hadn't taken
a shower in a few days....
Bowling
Okay so I am a little behind on updating our blog…..so I will see how far I can get today but no guarantees! So 2 weeks ago we went bowling with some of our really good friends, Jeremy and Mallory, for Family Home Evening…we had a great time despite our lack of bowling skills:) Dan was funny…he was bowling horribly up until the very end when he miraculously got several strikes in row. His score was 37 and then he jumped up to win the game with an 86. He was so proud of himself…you would have thought he won the bowling equivalent of the NBA championships or something:) Gotta love him….me on the other hand…my game just got worse as I went so I can’t say much.
Anyways, so we took pictures of the monumentous event of Dan winning the game…actually winning both games we played! The saddest part about the whole night is that none of our scores were that high….probably almost anyone else in the world could have beat us! But to Dan’s credit…he still did get first place, no matter the odds!
funny boy....gotta love 'em!
If you can't see that well...Dan is the second row down with an 86,
and me with a whoppin' 61!
Anyways, so we took pictures of the monumentous event of Dan winning the game…actually winning both games we played! The saddest part about the whole night is that none of our scores were that high….probably almost anyone else in the world could have beat us! But to Dan’s credit…he still did get first place, no matter the odds!
funny boy....gotta love 'em!
If you can't see that well...Dan is the second row down with an 86,and me with a whoppin' 61!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Random 4th of July Video
Here is a random video I took on the 4th....Dan might be a little embarrassed at his craziness but you will enjoy! It gave me a good laugh:)
Firework Finale! It's even better sideways! (or at least that is my excuse because I couldn't figure out how to turn it....)
Hot & Humid Fourth of July
After the race Dan's Dad, Donna, Angel, and Shawn came to visit. Us girls had a great time shopping while the boys enjoyed being competitive, like usual. The boys played mini golf, football, went to the batting cages, etc...while us girls spent all their money:) Well not quite...but we did do a lot of shopping!
Donna and I
That night we went out to eat and then to the Boardwalk (an outdoor mall)....which is similar to the Gateway in Utah for those that have been there, except the Boardwalk is along the Red River. We shopped a little and then watched the fireworks while eating caramel apples (a family tradition). Everyone sets out blankets and lawn chairs on the backside of the Boardwalk. The fireworks are lit on a boat on the river...so it is really neat to be sitting close to the river as you watch the fireworks. Overall, we had a great 4th of July and were grateful for the family members that came up to spend the day with us. I hope everyone enjoyed the 4th as well...wherever you may be!
Paul, Dan, and Pandi
Dan & I
Donna and I
Angel & Shawn
5k Firecracker Run
We started off our 4th of July bright and early this year with a 5k run...Dan enjoyed the running while I enjoyed cheering him on and taking lots of pictures. This was the first time Dan has ran a race off base since we met. So it was really neat to be able to experience that with him. There were about 4000 participants (the biggest race of the year in the Ark-La-Tex) compared to the usual 200 or so on base. The best part was that there were lots of people there watching the race, I am used to being the only one at the races on base. Plus, Dan really liked all the competition there was. A lot of times on base he is the fastest runner so he doesn't have someone there to compete with to improve his times.
The guy to the right of Dan is a commander over one of the squadrons on base. He offers a free day of leave for anyone that beats him at the monthly 5K's on base. Last month Dan came in second right behind him. This race though Dan beat him by several seconds....which was too bad since it was off base, no free day of leave:( I tried convincing Dan to teasingly ask for a day since he beat him, but Dan was too chicken.
Dan came in 18th place with a time of 18:07. I got Dan a GPS watch for his birthday that has become his new best friend. It tells him his time, current pace at any given second, his fastest pace, the distance, calories burned, etc. Well so for this race his average pace per mile was 5:49 and his fastest pace was 3:51, which he was quite proud of. Granted, he might have only been going that fast for even a second, but still he is proud he ran that fast:)
Dan came in 18th place with a time of 18:07. I got Dan a GPS watch for his birthday that has become his new best friend. It tells him his time, current pace at any given second, his fastest pace, the distance, calories burned, etc. Well so for this race his average pace per mile was 5:49 and his fastest pace was 3:51, which he was quite proud of. Granted, he might have only been going that fast for even a second, but still he is proud he ran that fast:)
Overall the race was a great start to celebrating our freedom and our Nation's birthday. I love being able to watch and support Dan and his races and this one was extremely special because of the day it was on. I couldn't help but get a little emotional as they started the race. I can be a boob sometimes on the 4th with being an Air Force wife an all. Sometimes I complain about the challenges the Air Force brings but on the 4th it seems to always hit me extremely strong how blessed I truly am to live in a free country. I am grateful for the service my husband gives to our country, as well as other members of our family, and the military as a whole. The 4th of July is definitely a day where the blessings of the military outweigh the sacrifices.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Your Gonna Miss These Days.......
So I am quite curious as to how many people are actually checking our blog.... especially since I really haven't done too much with it. Someday I would like to make it all fancy and such and hopefully post more often....but life doesn't seem to leave much time for that lately. Anyway....let me know if you are checking it! More motivation for me to find the time to update it. Although....I would like to have an up to date blog even just for Dan and I.
I haven't been the best at journal writing for quite some time now (except when Dan was deployed...I did great at it then). I seem to get busy with our every day life and often forget or feel like we don't have anything exciting going on...when in reality I know better than that. I love going back and reading old journals of mine or scrapbooks and seeing memories of things long forgotten. My sister in law, Kristen, was recently telling me about a new favorite country song of hers. I am not much into country so I have never actually heard the song but I LOVED the main line from it that she shared with me….”Your going to miss these days.”
I absolutely love that quote and I have been trying to use it to keep my life in balance. Some days I am sick of my job, sick of the Air Force, sick of Dan going to school, sick of missing family in Utah, or stressed about this or that, etc…but I know some day I am really going to miss my life here in Louisiana as a newlywed. I don’t want to look back and feel like I have wasted my time now wishing for what the future would bring. I want to live in the present and love the present…no matter what situation I am currently facing in life.
There are so many memories from my childhood, college, and even when we were first married that are long forgotten. I want to do better, so someday when our lives are totally different than what they are today…I have something to look back on and read to bring back fond memories….I want something for our future posterity to read as well, so they can know what our life was like. So thus, there is the very reason I have a goal of keeping an updated blog.
So here is my challenge to anyone reading this….if I forget to post in awhile…remind me to! I am already starting to get better at taking pictures (I took some of us bowling the other night that I need to post). Tonight we have a combined young men and young women boating activity….and this weekend Dan’s Dad, Paul, and his wife, Donna are coming to visit for the 4th of July. As well as her daughter, Angel, and fiancé, Shawn. So I SHOULD have plenty of pictures to post and things to write about!!!!!!
I haven't been the best at journal writing for quite some time now (except when Dan was deployed...I did great at it then). I seem to get busy with our every day life and often forget or feel like we don't have anything exciting going on...when in reality I know better than that. I love going back and reading old journals of mine or scrapbooks and seeing memories of things long forgotten. My sister in law, Kristen, was recently telling me about a new favorite country song of hers. I am not much into country so I have never actually heard the song but I LOVED the main line from it that she shared with me….”Your going to miss these days.”
I absolutely love that quote and I have been trying to use it to keep my life in balance. Some days I am sick of my job, sick of the Air Force, sick of Dan going to school, sick of missing family in Utah, or stressed about this or that, etc…but I know some day I am really going to miss my life here in Louisiana as a newlywed. I don’t want to look back and feel like I have wasted my time now wishing for what the future would bring. I want to live in the present and love the present…no matter what situation I am currently facing in life.
There are so many memories from my childhood, college, and even when we were first married that are long forgotten. I want to do better, so someday when our lives are totally different than what they are today…I have something to look back on and read to bring back fond memories….I want something for our future posterity to read as well, so they can know what our life was like. So thus, there is the very reason I have a goal of keeping an updated blog.
So here is my challenge to anyone reading this….if I forget to post in awhile…remind me to! I am already starting to get better at taking pictures (I took some of us bowling the other night that I need to post). Tonight we have a combined young men and young women boating activity….and this weekend Dan’s Dad, Paul, and his wife, Donna are coming to visit for the 4th of July. As well as her daughter, Angel, and fiancé, Shawn. So I SHOULD have plenty of pictures to post and things to write about!!!!!!
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