Everybody Needs a Renaissance Festival.

Over the summer, when I was in Colorado, I had the chance to go the Renaissance festival with some of my family. I have always enjoyed the festival and have been going to one ever since I can remember, but this festival sparked something in me, almost an obsession. I had to go to the Texas Renaissance Festival and David had to go with me.

When I started researching and finding out all I could about this festival, David wasn't exactly keen on the idea. He had never been to one, therefore he didn't really understand the concept. He just pictured a lot of role-playing and wasn't too excited about it. But with my persistence, we finally set out on our two and a half hour drive on Halloween weekend. Now a drive like that really is not a big deal...you have to drive everywhere if you want to go somewhere neat.

I'm pretty sure David started out going to the festival for my happiness and probably to get me to stop bugging him about it but a s we were driving, David asked me what all there is at a renaissance festival. Well, it was hard to make a list!! There's elephant and camel rides, lots of shops with renaissance clothing and shoes, lots of food and a lot of beer and wine. There's comedy shows and concerts, games, jousts and a ridiculous amount of actors. Although I had done my research, I somehow missed the fact that this festival is the biggest in the nation, around 53 acres!! That made my excitement go over the roof, I could not wait!!



When we finally got there, after being lost for a good half hour, I was giddy and David was a little out of his comfort zone. David is not one for big crowds and a lot of people so it was kind of a shock when we saw how many people were there. The park was HUGE!! and there were people everywhere. Once we started walking around and stopping to watch a few shows and concerts, David started getting into it. One thing that the renaissance festival is great for is people watching!! You will see all shapes and sizes, all kinds of costumes and all kinds of personalities. But with it being Halloween weekend, the costumes were even more outrageous and we would get a pretty good laugh from a lot of them.

One of my favorite things at the festivals is the bell man, or Cast in Bronze. It's this man who is dressed in all black with a creepy mask on playing this massive instrument full of different size bells. It sounds kind of silly but watching him perform is very impressive and it sounds so neat. I was so excited to see him because I wanted to know what David would think of it.


We spent most of the day walking around and checking out the shops. After about six hours of walking, we had almost made it around the whole park. Needless to say, our backs and feet were about done. When we were coming to an end of our adventure, we saw a castle that looked very creepy and were informed that it was a haunted house. I thought, "Well that's cool, let's go now." David thought, "We're going in there." Guess who won. Yep, I went in the haunted house and I was not happy about it. I didn't walk slow to try and enjoy it, no, I walked as quickly as I could so I could get the hell out. I do not like being scared and well, David enjoyed watching me cringe.



Going to the Renaissance Festival was probably one of the best weekends we have had. We had so much fun and we want to go back before it closes. I'm so glad David enjoyed it as much as I did...even though I knew he would. Everyone needs to experience a Renaissance Festival. Huzzah!!

Slacker.

Hmm...long time, no see!! I don't even know if I know how to use this Blogger thing. :) I kid, I kid...but it has been a very long time!! The last time I had blogged was a couple weeks after David had left for New York, my in-laws had just come to visit for the first time and I was counting down the days until my husband would be home.

Well, he's home!! He came home a couple weeks earlier than had been expected and the night he came home will forever be burned into my brain, just like the night I saw him for the first time after Iraq. I had been counting down the days in my head but never wanted to get my hopes up too high just in case the date would change. When I finally got the actual date of when he would be home, about five days prior...I was so excited! I kept myself busy by deep, deep cleaning our home and playing Call of Duty with my brother. When the day came, I was so nervous!! When I say that I was nervous, not many people understand because after all, I'm just seeing my husband. And I don't really know how to explain the nerves, but I'm sure all military wives can agree with me that homecomings are nerve-wracking!!! Sadly, I have no pictures...which really bums me out now but at the time, I wasn't too worried about pictures. Having him home and around has been amazing. I think we both grew a lot during the summer and we have just been trying to make the most of the rest of the summer. His work schedule is back to being out of control, but who's surprised??

Now let me backtrack a little bit because although I was without David, I did have a fantastic vacation to Denver and Boise in June. Denver is a little piece of home that I love so much. The majority of my family lives in Colorado and it's always a nice little escape for us. My mom and brother met me at the airport and we spent about five days there and can I just say that being with my brother, who is one of my best friends in the entire world, was just what I needed. While there, we went to the mall, to dinner and lunch...the usual. But then!! We went to the Colorado Renaissance Festival!!! I hadn't been in a few years and it is always one of my favorite things to go to. I think every person needs to experience a renaissance festival at least once in their lifetime. It's like you enter another world, with different food, clothing, pastimes...different everything and it is SOO much fun. That was probably one of the highlights of my summer. I love going to Colorado!!



After Colorado, I traveled back to Boise with mom and Tony. I always love going to Boise and this trip was nice because it was the first time that I was there during the summer since I had moved. I mostly spent quality time with the family and being there during Father's Day was a nice touch too.



After I had gone back to Texas, I had about a month left until David was home so there was a lot of hanging out with friends and doing a little bit of partying to pass the time. When July 25th came and gone, David and I left for Boise on the 27th! Not only did we have very little time to prepare for this trip, our parents were given a one-day notice. :) While I wasn't too excited to drive across the country for the third time, the fact that we were traveling during the summer was a nice change of pace. Since we didn't get on the road until after midnight, we ended up finally rolling in to Boise around four in the morning. But like always, as soon as we made it to our destination, the drive was behind us and we were excited just to be home!!

During the first five days of our vacation, I was posted on the couch because I wasn't feeling well at all. It was a drag, but it gave me some time to chill out and gave David some alone time with his parents. Usually our trips are jam-packed with seeing people and places...but this trip seemed more relaxed. We didn't really plan anything and just played everything by ear. At the end of the first week, we drove up to Crouch and stayed with a family friend at his cabin. It was beautiful!! We drank, laughed, shot a few guns and David spent over an hour trying to get a dirt bike running. :) We mostly spent a lot of time with both of our families. We had a few barbeques, went to a few bars, and popped a tube going down the Payette. We both had a lot of fun and this trip proved to us how much we really do miss being home.



Since we've been back in Texas, business is as usual! David is being worked to the bone and I am back to the usual routine, with the exception of trying to find some type of income and trying to stay cool in this ridiculous heat!! I'm pretty sure we have had close to three months straight of temperatures over 100. Yuck!! These next few weeks are going to be busy for David and lonely for me with field problems and shooting rockets every week. Our second anniversary and my parent's 25th anniversary is coming up too! The Army will have my husband on our day once again but I know that someday we will finally be able to celebrate our anniversary together...possibly in a year and a half. :)

With the holiday months coming up, we will be staying busy and keeping our fingers crossed that we will be able to go home for Christmas. Hopefully everyone had a great summer like we did!! And I will try to keep this darn thing updated. :)

Heat is Good. Heat and Humidity is Not.

I don't know about you but I know that it is summer time in Texas! Not only could this summer kill me off because of the sweltering heat but I am also going to be all alone for the majority of it! Okay...maybe not completely alone, but husband-less! Why? Well, because he's in the Army.

David got a chance to go to West Point in New York City and help train the cadets while they are at the annual summer camp. He left in the middle of May and probably won't be back until the middle of August. This is the longest we've ever been apart, and I don't know about him, but I could possibly go crazy. We get to talk just about everyday and I know he is busy busy busy and his allergies are usually out of control. But it sounds like he's enjoying himself and time is going by pretty quickly for him. And it's absolutely gorgeous up there and someone is crazy jealous. (Me.)

Beautiful Right?

While David knew that he would be leaving for New York, he had his fingers crossed that he wouldn't leave until June. His parents had planned a trip down here for Memorial Day and it was going to be the first time that his mom had ever gone to Texas! So when David got the official dates, it was pretty rough for all of them to know that he wasn't going to be here when they were. And I was pretty stressed about being able to show them a good time without him.

One of the best things to do with my in-laws is to party. So the first day they were here, we did just that. There is a place in Killeen called Daiquiri Express and it is pretty much a drive-thru bar. They sell any kind of drink that you can imagine and you can have it put in a tank, which is as big as a fishbowl. They are my favorite!!! So of course, we got those tanks refilled a few times. :) About three days into their trip though, John started to not feel too great so we decided to take it easy for the day. While channel surfing, I discovered that there wasn't anything on TV, so I figured I would introduce them to our favorite series. Sons of Anarchy. I knew they would like it...but they automatically fell in love! I can't say I blame them, because it is a-m-a-z-i-n-g. So our one day of relaxation turned into three as we watched the first two seasons. :) But I figured that staying in the apartment all day wasn't giving them a full experience of Texas, so we of course went around post and to all the museums and what-not (which Cindy was in awe of) and then we drove to Austin to visit the "capital of the Lone Star state!!"

Seeing the capital was pretty exciting for me also. I've seen the capital of Colorado and I have obviously seen the capital of Idaho but I hadn't seen the capital of Texas yet!! And with Texas being a gigantic state, I figured the capital would be too. It is. It's really old, really huge, and really, really beautiful.




All in all, I'm pretty positive they enjoyed themselves. Of course it would've been better if David had been here to enjoy it too, but we will make sure that he will be home next time!!

As for the rest of the summer, I'm going to do a little bit of traveling. I leave for Denver next week which I am sooooo excited about!! And then I'll be heading to Boise with my mom and brother for about eight days. I can not wait. I feel like it's been forever since I've been home...and it kind of has been!! It will be a great time and I probably won't want to come back to Texas but Hubby will be closer to coming home...and I seriously can't wait for that. :)

I Haven't Blogged because the Weather is TOO Nice!

I don't really have a reason why I haven't blogged in the longest time. Maybe it's because we've been keeping ourselves busy, maybe because the weather is too nice outside? I don't know...but I'll catch you up with our lives.

March was a fun month!!  Especially since it is my birthday month :)  I had a friend come down and we spent a week partying and exploring post.  David took me out to dinner to one of my favorite restaurants and we enjoyed our evening together.  It was a wonderful birthday!!

David and I on my birthday

A week after my birthday, David and I went to our first ball together! It was stressful for me during the days prior because I was completely unprepared...and broke. I found this gorgeous cocktail dress at Maurices for only forty dollars, shoes at Payless, gave myself a pedicure, did my own make-up, put on press-on nails and asked my friend Lisa to do my hair! But I realized something, the soldiers have it so easy when getting ready for balls. Yes, I know they have to make sure their uniforms are clean and pressed and squared away...but they know what they're going to wear! They know what their hair is going to look like and what shoes they'll be wearing....it's just not fair!!

Anyway, the ball was a lot of fun for the both of us! We rode with some of our best friends in town and sat at a table with them and another couple. I loved the food...and the dessert was fantastic too. And of course there was a bar, which David dipped into a few times (the prices were outrageous.) I did not drink (thank you...thank you.) But let me just say, I can be pretty clumsy...but I think that night was my clumsiest night yet. Not only did the wind burn two holes in my beautiful dress but I also was not watching where I was walking and ate it...hard. My knee is still recovering and the ball was 3 1/2 weeks ago. Maybe I should have drank, that way I would have an excuse for all these issues...but no, I was sober as a judge.

Our friends: George & Alicia and Carrot. Don't worry, I did eventually wear heels.

The Monday after the ball, David went to the board!! It was a stressful few days, or weeks, but he went and he did AMAZING! He is officially promotable! I'm so proud of him, that's the last board he'll ever have to go to! My husband is going to be a 24 year old Staff Sergeant. Whoah! He's incredible.

Another thing that has taken over our lives is SOFTBALL! The guys have been practicing for close to a month by now, but they've had two games so far. The first game was a pretty much a scrimmage. The ending score was 41-0, I actually felt bad for their opponents. And then the second game was a little more of a challenge with the ending score 17-6. David also hit a home run! I'm pretty excited about this season, I just wish there were more wives cheering and not just me. Oh well, I'm louder than a lot of the guys on the team anyway. :)

We're still waiting on any information about a possible deployment but I hear new things every other day. That's the Army! :)

Don't Drive to Idaho from Texas in December

So...Christmas was only a month ago. Technically, we left Texas and drove to Idaho a month ago. Yes, that's right. I said DROVE. Again. I'll get into that later.

You all know about my beautiful Mitsubishi Eclipse...the one that got new rims and tires recently, the one that I was in love with. Well, I slowly started to hate it with passion and would catch myself thinking about taking a sledge hammer to it daily. Whenever David would drive, it would act like the best car in the world but once I got into the drivers seat, it would automatically do something to piss me off. And with the decision to drive home for Christmas, we had decided that it wouldn't make it and we would be FORCED to trade it in. Darn!!

So we went from this:



To this:


Introducing our brand new 2011 Hyundai Tucson! Right off of the showroom floor! We had been car shopping for about a week when we ran into this beauty. It was fate and we love it!!


After the paperwork was finalized and the car was officially purchased, we left for Idaho two days later! We had a Christmas party to attend the night we were leaving and were on the road around nine o'clock that night. And please quote me on this: I WILL NEVER DRIVE TO IDAHO IN THE WINTER EVER, EVER AGAIN!! Of course Texas was a very easy drive but as soon as we hit New Mexico, it was all downhill from there. We had everything from snow to sleet to rain to fog to sunshine to more rain and sleet. It was horrible. I'm so glad we traded the car in before we left...I don't think we would've made it! Not to mention, we almost hit a cop car. Not because we are crazy drivers, but because the highway was so icy! It was unbelievably scary...thank God for my sudoku game. (Thanks again mom!)


When we finally got to Idaho, it was such a relief. David was so excited to be home and see everyone. It had been a full year since he had been home and I think it was a much, much needed vacation and escape for him. We got to go to Brynn's birthday the first day we were there and that was the perfect opportunity to be able to see the whole family! We're so blessed to have so many amazing, beautiful people so close to our hearts and we were so excited to be able to spend some great time with family and friends.

Last year, I mentioned how David got the coal. Well, it was his duty to pass it on and he decided to give it to Grandma Rose. She had a tough year battling with breast cancer but she's a trooper and fought through it! Of course it was a very emotional moment for the whole family but I think it was a good way to end 2010 and start the new year with a fresh start.


On Christmas night, we all were kind of wiped out from all of the festivities but David and I wanted to take some time to do something just the two of us. I always like to take him around Boise and share stories. Last year we went to Old Chicago downtown and had a few drinks. This year, I took him to my all-time favorite Pie Hole. Needless to say, he loved it! And I finally had gotten my Potato Bacon Pizza. Don't knock it til ya try it, because it is AMAZING!! After Pie Hole, we drove around...I showed him BSU and my old dorm and took him to the Boise Depot. It is absolutely one of my favorite spots in Boise.



After Christmas, we had a few more days to spend with family and just relax before the long trip home. When the time came to pack up and leave, I wasn't excited. I'm never excited to leave Boise once I'm there. But I know that we have responsibilities that we need to take care of in Texas and we'll be back in Idaho soon enough.

Oh. We also spent New Years in the middle of nowhere in Utah, in the car in a hotel parking lot. I got to watch five fireworks. I hope that is a good sign of what's to come this year...???

Since we've been back in Killeen, David went to the field and played with rockets, I'm doing my best to find a job, and we're waiting for orders for Korea. David's birthday is also this Saturday! So there are more exciting days on their way!

My Mama and the Big 5-0!!

I must say, I am one sneaky daughter!

A little after David and I ended our Colorado trip, my dad had called to make plans for my mom's birthday. She was going to turn fifty in November and wanted both of us there as a surprise. I was stoked at the possibility of traveling with David and also being able to surprise his mom as her birthday is almost a week after my mom's. So naturally, David went to work and asked if he could take the week off. Well, needless to say, he couldn't. :( Once again, I was traveling home alone!!

We purchased the tickets in August and only a handful of people knew. Keeping that secret from my mom was one of the hardest things I have done in a long time! I practically had to lie to her almost every day. I couldn't even post anything about going home on Facebook! ugh! It was so difficult, but so worth it!! The days before I left were the hardest. I purposely would ask her if she was excited for her birthday and her party and how we would skype on the day of. My bess frann Ashley and I had divulged a plan that David and I were at some Army thing all day on her birthday so she wouldn't call me and I wouldn't be forced to answer it in an airport.

As I was traveling to Idaho on the 18th, I had a connection flight in Salt Lake City. While there, I got to meet with my grandma before she headed to Boise as well. Her plane was delayed thirty minutes so she was supposed to land ten minutes earlier than I was. Well...I beat her there. When we finally got my grandma with my mom and off to Rudy's (a DELICIOUS little restaurant right by Majestic theaters, check it out) my brother and Ashley swooped me up and we headed to Rudy's as well! When we got to the restaurant, I snuck up behind my mom and put my arms around her. She looked and looked...and then bawled her pretty little eyes out. It was sweet...she was so surprised. And I was very apologetic for all of the lies I had told to her.

The next day was her actual birthday party. I spent the day with my dad and brother running around and picking up some little party supplies. I knew the party was starting when a ton of people showed up. I had seen people that night that I hadn't seen in years!! Even though it was my mom's birthday party, I also used it as an opportunity to invite some of my friends as well. Not only did it add numbers, but it added a lot more fun! We had such a blast...and I think my mom had some birthday luck because she kicked major booty in beer pong! I had a great time that night and I think my mom did too.


The next night was my cousin Cassie's birthday too! I was really excited that I was able to celebrate her birthday with her and the family. Ashley and I and my in-laws headed out to Emmett late that night and us three girls partied our bums off. We danced, laughed and took a crap load of pictures! I also got to see a lot of the family that I hadn't seen since Christmas so that was really fun. We had a ton of fun in Emmett like we usually do and I'm pretty sure Cassie did too. :)

The last couple of days were just spent hanging out with the family. We went out to dinner and went and saw the new Harry Potter movie. It was awesome that we got to do things as just the family (minus David).

There was one downside though. THE SNOW!! Don't get me started, because I won't stop. Just know...I HATE IT!!