Hallow-Leaf

I know, I know...it's been far too long. And it has. My last post was in the middle of the summer, when it had to be about 120 degrees outside. And now, it is a bitter 70 degrees. :) It's the middle of November and fall is officially here. David and I haven't been up to much of anything lately, just a lot of partying and counting down the days to where we get to go home for Christmas. I can't believe it's almost Christmas, this year has flown by!

Our first anniversary was on the 27th of September. I don't have much to say about it besides the fact that we didn't spend it together. David was in the field for 10 days during that time and got home the 29th. But! He did come home with flowers and a card, that was very sweet. It's pretty typical for families in the Army to spend anniversaries apart from each other. I know people who have been married for several years and have spent one or two anniversaries together...so I guess it's something to get used to huh?

One of the most exciting things we've done in the past few weeks was celebrate Halloween! David is very, very into dressing up and needless to say, I am not. I haven't dressed up since I was 13 years old but David wasn't going to let me get away with that this year! So, after visiting multiple Halloween stores, we decided to be pirates! And let me just say, we were pretty sexy pirates. Our friends had a Halloween-themed baby shower on the 17th, so we got to dress up for that and then some of our other friends who we LOVE to party with had a Halloween party on the 30th. It was a riot. We had so much fun, probably drank way too much...but memories were definitely made that night.

My friends and I, Bobbi and Shalee

After we had woken up and headed home, which was around 4 o'clock in the afternoon, we headed over to the Schlereth's house to see the boys all dressed up and pass out candy with Lisa. It was a great ending to such a fun weekend!

On a more somber note, November 5th was the first anniversary of the Fort Hood shootings. Thirteen people had been killed, 12 of whom were soldiers, one of them was pregnant and 30 other people were wounded. There was a moment of silence from 1:31 p.m. to 1:35 and the rest of the post was released afterwards. That day had a feeling of sadness attached to it and it always will. Thanks to those who remembered the lives lost that day and all of the other soldiers stateside and deployed. :)

But out of a sad day, came a really fun day for all the soldiers, families and the Killeen community. On November 6th, Fort Hood put on Rock the Hood, which was like a music festival/carnival for a day. There were a lot of bands there including Flyleaf, Puddle of Mud, country singer Chris Cagel and rapper Nas. It was free to everyone and it was so much fun. We went to see Flyleaf and absolutely loved it. I've always loved them, but seeing them live made me love them so much more. A captain of 1st medical brigade was introducing the band and her brother was the lead guitarist. The whole band was very patriotic and expressed how grateful they were to perform for our soldiers. They're also very into God and believing and loving yourself for who you are. Lacey, the singer, was even pregnant! I have no idea how she was able to bounce around like that. I love that band. Please go listen to them! They're amazing.

That's it for now! I promise I will be a blogger freak as Thanksgiving and Christmas come around!

Our Colorado Adventure

HOLD ON...IT'S GONNA BE A LONG RIDE!!

In June and July, David and his unit get to take leave. Most of the guys get around two weeks, but we were only lucky enough to get one week. I was praying that we would be able to join my family in Colorado during the 4th of July as it was very important to me and everyone else. We both hated the fact that we wouldn't have enough time to go to Colorado and back to Idaho...but it was a great chance for David to meet the rest of my family (I was bugging him constantly about it.) So! We were on our way to Denver on the 28th of June at 10:30 p.m.

Right before we left Killeen...David looks SO excited for the 14 hour drive

During our road trip, which was way easier and somewhat more fun than the road trip to Idaho, we mostly rocked out and played 20 questions. We had told my Gramma that we would be in town between 2 and 4 o'clock in the afternoon so when we had entered Lone Tree around one, I was ecstatic! I was so excited for David to get to experience this important part of my childhood. As soon as I got to my Gramma's house, I felt at peace. David got to meet my Uncle Randy that day and share a lot of his Army stories and after a couple hours of those stories (which are mostly Chinese to me) we went to meet up with my Aunt Gillian at a cute little wine bar. After a few drinks and delicious appetizers (thanks uncle!) we headed back to the house and spent the rest of the night playing Skip-Bo.

The next day was our only opportunity to go out to Boulder. My grandparent's and uncle on my dad's side live out there and it was imperative for David to meet them as well. I offered to drive so he could see the city and take pictures...and I'm so proud that I drove all the way without crashing or making David sick. :)

The City!

The new Invesco Field!

So when we got to Boulder and I found my Grandparent's house, it was nice to sit and catch up for a little bit but then we all started to get hungry. David and I had watched an episode of Man vs. Food and he went to a pizza place in Boulder called Beau Jo's so we knew from the get-go where we would be eating. After being gone for about an hour and a half, we finally got the mountain pie back so everyone could enjoy and man, was it tasty!! We sat and visited for a bit longer before we had to go to make it to Casa Bonita before rush hour! It was really nice to see my grandparents and uncle and watch how they warmed up to David very quickly. It was a great visit and I'm really glad we got that opportunity.

As we were on our way to Casa Bonita, I could not shut up about it! I had told David so much about it and how great the South Park episode based on Casa Bonita is. As you're driving down Colfax (the road it's on) you would never guess that this massive restaurant would be in the middle of this area, let alone the middle of a strip mall. David was kind of sketchy going into it...but I knew where we were and I could not wait to get inside!

Once we got inside, David totally went picture happy. I would love to share all of the pictures that he took, but that would take me forever. If you ever go to Denver, Casa Bonita should be the first place that you go to. And if you've never been, I'll give you the rundown:

Once you walk inside, you automatically feel like you've been thrown back in time to old-school Mexico. The walls are adorned with paintings to make you feel like you're in a little town. You go around all these corners and come to a booth where you order your food. Once you order it and pick it up, you are escorted to a table. You're tables can be in any setting...you could sit in a bungalow, underground mine, a humid cave, a ballroom, on top of all the little "buildings" or just in the middle of the restaurant like we were. Most of the tables are centered around a waterfall that goes down into a pool. There's a little stage and cliffs above it where little skits will be performed and in between the skits there are cliff divers and these cliff divers are really impressive. Once you are done eating and devour the soapapillas, you are free to roam around one of the largest restaurants in the world. This place can hold over 900 people and it is three stories tall. There are two arcade rooms, a big gift shop, puppet shows, caricatures (which we got) and a big, scary Black Bart's cave that I made David go through with me because when I was younger it used to scare the you-know-what out of me. :)

There is only one picture of him because he would only take a picture of me with a full mouth.

Told you it was creepy!

Looking at the restaurant through a waterfall.

After Casa Bonita and going back to Gramma's house for more skip-bo and a couple drinks, came Friday. My Uncle Todd and his kids came in around noon and all the guys decided they would go up to the cabin a day early to have a "Guy's Night." I was all for David going up there and getting closer to my Uncle's and their kids. When they left, it was just us girls. I was really happy that my Gramma got that chance because it was the first time she had ever had all of her granddaughters together. :) We all went out to lunch and of course played some more Skip-Bo. After the littlest one went home, we spent the night on the deck and Lark (my cousin) and I stayed up late watching Lion King. :)

The next morning we had to wake up pretty early so that we could get to the cabin and so I could see my man! But it was Saturday, and Saturday meant that I would be seeing my parents and my Tobey too! I was so excited, I could hardly contain it. We went around town a little bit but pretty soon, everyone were splitting ways to go to lunch. David and I stayed back so we could give the family a welcome! Once they got there and had a chance to wind down, we went and met up with the bunch and had lunch (which took forever!!) Afterwards, Tony, David and I all jumped on the four-wheelers to go on a little ride. We went on a private road -and got yelled at for it- to go and check out this old mining Ghost Town. The scenery was beautiful...the buildings were a little creepy, but we snooped through all of them, except the ones that didn't look too sturdy.

So after our little four wheeling adventure, we headed back to have a German dinner and play some games and have a few drinks. I tried to stay up late with my little brother, but David and I were both so exhausted by the end of the night, it just wouldn't happen.

The next day was the Fourth of July. It was kind of a bittersweet day and I think that may be the reason why we all kept ourselves fairly busy. The first thing on our agenda was to go to a creepy cemetery about 15 minutes away from the cabin. David and my mom had both seen this before so I was determined to get the experience myself. As we were driving along this secluded, bumpy road...you knew you had entered the cemetery almost immediately. Once we got out of the car, I saw graves that I had never seen before. Some of the headstones were or looked fairly new, then there were some that had weathered away over time, some were just simple little crosses that were tied together with string, or there were just little flags posted in the ground to show where the unmarked graves were. As we walked around, we would find some graves that were from the mid-1800's. We would also find families that were buried together over time or we would find babies and childrens who's lives got cut way too short. It was an amazing site to see but also very humbling at the same time.


After the cemetery and having lunch, we decided to go to South Park City. I had been really interested in it since the first day we arrived in Fairplay and hearing my uncle say it was one of the coolest things he had seen up in the mountains. This was another time that we got to have a good family experience, just the five of us. Before you enter South Park City, you have to go through the lobby and pay an entrance fee. As the lady was explaining the park to us, she mentioned something about discounts and David asked jokingly about a military discount. Well the lady was very sweet and said that if she could, she would have given him one and out of nowhere this other lady comes up to the counter and says she wanted to pay for David! It was one of the greatest things I've seen and it was awesome to see that kind of gratitude. Anyway, South Park City was fascinating. It was totally modeled after the original mining town and had all authentic items. All the buildings were were full of artifacts to make it look like a courthouse, a barber, a dentist office, schoolhouse, etc. It took us about three hours to walk all the way through, but it was completely worth it. It was amazing and it gave us some good family time :)






After South Park City, the day was coming to an end and my brother and I still had something on our agenda. We walked to this little shop so we all could get some awesome South Park, Colorado hoodies and the three of us met up with our Uncle and hopped a ride to the cabin. Tony and I were determined to go on a four-wheeling ride and shoot David's gun for the first time. We had talked about it all weekend and it was our last day at the cabin...so we had to! The guys got the four-wheelers ready and at first, I had to ride with Tony. I'm pretty positive he was driving somewhat carefully because he didn't want to scare me, which was sweet of him, but as soon as I jumped on David's four-wheeler, Tony was taking off! We eventually came to a clearing in the forest where we pulled over and we decided that it would be a good place to shoot a couple rounds. I was a little nervous since I had never shot a gun before but David showed us both how to hold it, how to stand and so on. He showed off a little bit, let Tony shoot, and let me shoot. I had a lot of fun but the one thing we forgot were earplugs, because I could not hear ANYTHING afterwards.

Promise I did shoot by myself eventually.

After we shot for a little bit, we went for a little bit longer ride and ended up on top of a mountain. We were probably 11,000 feet high and it was absolutely beautiful. We were on top of the world and in awe.

After spending a few hours in the mountain, we headed back to the cabin only to leave once again. But this time, we were leaving to go watch fireworks! I don't think any of us were prepared for the chilly night so we all huddled in the van, waiting for fireworks to start, while rocking out to Bon Jovi and drinking a few beers. The fireworks show was great to see but didn't last long enough. So once it was done we headed back to the cabin once again and played some card games. The next morning we were up pretty early to make sure all of our stuff was packed, cleaned and ready to go because we needed to be out before ten in the morning. Mom, Grandma, Uncle Todd and the kids had all left about 15 minutes before us while we stopped at the gas station...but after cruising out of the mountains we all got back into town at the same time! We were also surprised that my dad was able to keep up in that van!

It was our last day there and we were planning on leaving that night around 10ish. We decided to go see Eclipse since I hadn't seen it yet and my mom and I always see the movies together at least once. (I absolutely loved it!!) After the movie, we just spent time together playing cards while David napped. We ended up on the back deck for several hours and David kept everyone laughing by telling them some stories from his childhood. And before we knew it, it was 11 p.m. We finally packed the car and took off...which was not an easy thing for me.

I am so grateful that we both got this opportunity to spend with my family and I am so glad that they all loved David, like I knew they would. Thank you for everything and we're looking forward to the next time. If only it could've lasted longer.

A Lot to Say.

So the past couple months have been pretty busy for the both of us.

In May, we finally got the Eclipse fixed! My sweet husband was driving during a rainy day and was goofin around. I guess he misjudged his speed or the amount of water on the road and hydroplaned into a curb. The only damage it did was it took a chunk out of the rim. I was without a car for about a month or two and I was going nuts! We finally got the chance to fix it (with help from my amazing Gramma) and we got 17" Konig rims with low profile tires. Needless to say, it looks badass!

David was also gone in the field for about a week in May. Their field problem was supposed to be ten days but with a tragedy in the unit and David going to WLC, it was cut short. He was also made Track Chief so he is in charge of a whole launcher and crew. My husband is definitely fast-tracking and it's so great to see. After being in the field, he went to WLC. That's the NCO Academy and it lasts about two weeks. I got to see him almost everyday but I didn't think it was enough. Maybe I'm just being greedy. :)

On the 26th of May, I got to go home to Boise. I was counting down the days not only because I was stoked to escape for a little bit, but because my little brother was finally graduating High School!

While I was in town, we did a lot of partying! I took Ashley out to Emmett on Thursday so I could bring her to the bar with me and some of my Emmett family. She just turned 21 on the Fourth of May so I had to buy her a birthday drink! We had such a blast. We danced, drank, sang, had a bonfire and took tons of pictures! I also got to spend some good time with in-laws and that's always a fun time.

On Friday, we played some family beer pong and my dad kicked my butt! After having a few drinks and splitting my pants, the parents went to bed. That gave me and Tony some good quality sibling time. Even though we stayed up really, really late we had to be up and ready to go in the morning for Tony's graduation!

It had been a looooong and rough four years so I was not going to miss his moment. It was amazing to see him walk across the stage in his silver cap and gown as they called his name and grabbed his "diploma." I had goosebumps. I'm probably the proudest big sister in the world. Not only did he graduate on Saturday, he got to see Emery. They have been together since about the seventh grade and Tony had no idea she was going to be there. The look on his face was absolutely priceless when he saw her. And I was pretty proud of myself for keeping that secret from him! My mom and Alisa (Vinnie's mom) threw a graduation party for the boys afterwards. The drinks and food were awesome but all of us youngin's were starting to get a little bored...so we played more beer pong! Tony and Vinnie made a makeshift table for us and that got the party going! By the end of the night, Emery and I were champions! And when we went back to the parent's house, we had a few friends over and played some more while mom and dad slept. :)

The next couple of days were pretty laid back. We all just got to hang out and spend some chill time together. I got to visit with Yolie for a little bit and that was fun to catch up. Monday was family day so after being bums for a while, we went to Donny Mac's. I wanted to go to this restaurant ever since I saw it on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. It was delicious! After dinner, we all played some Farkle and I knew my brother would get hooked because we played it over and over again. I had a great time being home and I know we'll be back very soon. I can't wait until both of us get to go! It's never the same without David.

I got home on June 1st and only had to wait two more days until it was David's graduation! Thursday morning, I was so excited to get to experience and watch David graduate WLC. He had worked so hard and learned so much during those two weeks and he totally deserved this special ceremony. I was amazed at all of the people there...I didn't expect it to be so packed! David had about 279 students in his class and it was neat to see all of these other NCO's in army mode besides my husband. I know it's a normal, everyday thing but I still catch myself just staring in awe at how disciplined and on-point they are. I'm a dork. Anyways, during the ceremony they had a slide show that showed all of the things the NCO's did while at the academy, like field training and P.T. evaluations. There was also a performance called I Am The Sergeant. It showed what the Sergeant looked like and what he wore throughout all the centuries, from the Revolutionary War to today. It was really neat to see. I never knew how passionate I feel about supporting the troops until I met David. But being down here in Texas and being able to see all of these ceremonies and things have pushed my passion through the roof.

So that's about it for right now. We're keeping our fingers crossed that we'll be able to travel to Denver and Boise very soon but we don't know for sure. Right now...we're just spending time together. It's been much overdue.

We're Lame.

Alright, it's been over a month since my last post and I don't really have a good reason for it. We really haven't done anything that is super exciting that I would just HAVE to share! How sad... :)

Well, March was my birthday month. I turned 22 on the 15th so that was exciting. I've learned that any birthdays between the ages 21 and 30 are just kind of normal days. It's not like turning 22 was gonna give me any special rights or anything, it just makes me older. And I don't necessarily like the thought of that. But David did take me out to the Olive Garden for dinner which was delicious! We downed a bottle of Moscato, had a couple other drinks, some appetizers and a huge dinner (that I did not finish!) He also got me Lil Wayne's new album so of course I loved that. But with having my birthday on a Monday, we couldn't really do much else since David had to be up bright and early the next day.

There was one week in March where our friends Jared and Cora were in town. Jared is a friend of David's from high school and I got to meet both of them in December during Christmas. They came to Killeen to visit her aunt who is also a soldier so we made sure to spend as much time as we could with them. We had a great time hanging out and having some drinks...and I can't forget to mention The Little Shop of Horrors! :)

We also had an FRG meeting last week. That's a Family Readiness Group meeting for all of the soldiers in David's unit and their families to find out what the schedule will be for the next couple of months. As of right now, David won't be going into the field until the third week of May and he'll be gone for about ten days (woo.) There is also talk of him going to Wisconsin for a month in September, possibly October. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that if he goes at all, that it will be during October because I would really love to be able to spend our first anniversary together. And worst of all, he will probably be going to Korea for a year sometime around next March. Neither of the last two things I talked about are set in stone right now...because that's the Army. :) But they are definitely possibilities...but I'm trying to keep my mind off of the latter one.

Our friend Lisa is trying to build her photography business and she takes beautiful pictures. I have always told her that I wanted her to do some pictures for us and we got that chance! We set aside a Saturday morning and went downtown Killeen (which I didn't even know about) and took some gorgeous pictures. I'm so happy with the way they turned out.

Easter was just a few days ago also, and again, we didn't really do much. We attempted to make homemade hash browns in the morning, and after a few trial and errors, we finally got to eat breakfast. The day was pretty much spent with me on the computer, David playing Call of Duty, and a few hours of our favorite series Dexter. And of course, once the day was done and there wasn't any more time to do any Easter traditions, I had all of these ideas and thoughts running through my mind. Maybe we didn't do much because we don't have any offspring...I don't know. But I will make sure to at least make each other baskets next year...we need to make our own traditions! Easter was also my Daddy's birthday...so happy birthday to him again!

And that's about it! I'm working really hard on finding a job and looking into doing some schooling at home. I haven't really came up with a full game plan but I'm getting there! I'm also going to try to take some freaking pictures! Ugh. We're lame. :)

Quick Trip

I had the fantastic opportunity to go to Boise for my little brother's 18th birthday! Only a select few knew that I was going to be in town, so it was a big surprise for everyone! I was planning on being home from the 15th of February to the 19th. But getting there, was a huge pain!

My plane was set to leave at six in the morning on a Monday. David and I got to the airport a quarter after five and I was ready to get on that plane!! Except, it didn't go as smoothly as I expected it to. My plane finally took off about an hour late and I was on my way to catch my connection flight in Dallas. When I got to Dallas, I had about 5 minutes to travel through this giant airport that I had never been in before and get to my next gate. I was hoping and praying on my way there but I ended up missing it by about 5 to 10 minutes. Ugh! I was so mad! Missing that flight put a damper on my whole day and on my attitude. I finally got to get on a flight two hours later and I headed to Minneapolis. (Why Minneapolis? I don't know!) About two hours later, I landed. My spirits were starting to lift because I was out of Texas and slowly on my way to Boise. And when I was landing in Minnesota, my plane flew right by the Mall of America! It was a beautiful sight and it took all of my strength to not grab a taxi and head over there. :) I was in Minneapolis for around 5 hours. It was a very long time to just sit and wait, but it could have been worse. Slowly, I got closer and closer to Boise and I was so excited! Even though I landed about 6 hours late, I was still very, very excited to see my brother, my parents and my best friend!

When I got into Boise, my parents weren't there yet. They had tricked my brother into going to dinner with one of his good buddies and my friend, but before they got on the road, they blindfolded him. Needless to say, he didn't enjoy that very much. But as they pulled up to the airport, they told me to be quiet and lead Tony out of the van. They counted down and took off the blindfold. I was standing right in front of him with a huge smile on my face and gave him a huge hug. He had no idea! We all went out to dinner and just spent some good time together.

Tony, Errick and Ashley

Aw, little brother

So happy!

The next day was Tuesday and that was my seeing people day. First thing on the agenda was to go out to lunch with my good friend Yolie (Yolie Polie to me.) We went to Los Betos and had a great lunch and opportunity to catch up. It was like I had never left! After lunch, I met up with Ashley and went to the courthouse so I could help her with some things and to also see all of my old co-workers. That was a lot of fun! It was good to see a lot of them and catch up briefly. After spending about an hour there, we headed back to my parent's house for a little bit before we took a road trip out to Emmett. Ashley hadn't been to Emmett in years and I wanted to show her the town. I gave her a little tour before we went over to the in-laws. We got to hang out and talk with mom and dad and our cousin Cassie. That was really fun too. It was good to see all of them.

Me and Yolie Polie

I spent the next couple of days just with my parents and my brother. We didn't do much but I just enjoyed laying low and chillin with everybody. Tony's birthday came and went and I talked my parents into letting him stay home from school on his birthday and the day after. I wanted to get as much time in with him as I could. And thank God I did, because it's tough to get that kid all to yourself!

My mom left Thursday morning for a Bon Jovi concert in Seattle. She was totally sad about leaving but I kept pushing her to have fun and enjoy because she needs to take advantage of every opportunity for a vacation! It was also a good opportunity for me to have some daddy-daughter time. We got to go out to dinner and watch our show together (and I still feel bad because I slept through some of it.) Late that night, my mother-in-law, Aunt Shanna (and boyfriend Randy) and Cousin Chris all came over to chat a little bit and see me one more time before I left the next morning.

The Mother-in-law and Me

Cousin Chris and Me! (I look strangely Asian)

Although I had a great time being back home and seeing everyone I love, I missed David like crazy. After all, home is where the heart is. :)