Vegas and Back

I had a wonderful trip home to Vegas for Thanksgiving! It was soo nice to spend time with my family, especially my mom. We ate, hung out and went to Knotts Berry Farm in CA. Instead of boring you with a lot of writing I will give you pictures instead:

Me and my beautiful Mom

Me and my sister, Lisa

Lisa, Kylie and Chris

Me and Dad driving to CA munching on Beef Jerky lol

Me and Kylie (she always blinks lol)

Yay!

Love them!

I was sad to leave but so happy to get home to my hubby. Even though we saw each other only for a few hours since he will be in the field from today-Sunday. I did accomplish a big goal while in Vegas, I found a beatiful red dress for the ball, wahoo!!

I know in a previous post I mentioned a situation going on at my work. Well it is official after the 1st of year I won't have a job. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise so I can spend some much needed quality time with Kyle before he deploys.

I hope everyone had a wonderful long holiday!

Home Sweet Home

I am safely back in NC! I will update tonight since my hubby is in the field until Sunday!



Weekend Recap

I can honestly say that Kyle and I had one of the best weekends! It started out on Friday morning, we headed to Cracker Barrell for breakfast before driving to Concord. We hit the road and arrived at Great Wolf Lodge around 3:30pm, we got checked in and made our way to our room and this is what greeted us:

Our awesome room!

We roamed around and checked out everything, we got excited when we saw this:

Yay!!

At 5pm we had our first 2 hour session, it was great and we both learned a lot. We were released at 7 to do what we wanted! We had dinner and a few drinks and enjoyed the night.

Saturday, we had all day to ourselves. We had a blast at the waterpark, went to the huge Concord Mills Mall and walked around (and bought a new Coach purse haha), rode go-carts, played laser tag, and went back to the waterpark. After dinner we spent about 2 hours in the Arcade it was awesome!!! We met a few other couples for drinks at the bar and enjoyed great company.

Sunday, we had our last session and said goodbye. We got home around 4 and I started cooking our Thanksgiving dinner. It turned out amazing!! Now Kyle will have plenty of leftovers to last him while I am gone.

I was hopeful that this week would start out good seeing as it is a short week. It did not happen! First, there was a huge blow-up at my work between my two bosses (they are brothers) and my boss has decided to leave the firm (ie: I will be out of a job after the 1st of the year). It is frustrating but I completely understand.

Second, my Dad called me to give me the update on my Mom. She had her appt in Arizona today and we found out that the cancer did not originate in her pancreas, it originated in her lungs (the cancer in her pancreas is gone) and now she has a tumor on her vertebrae (which is causing her severe pain). She will go back on Dec 5 for radiation to get rid of that tumor. It feels like for every step forward there are two steps back. In order to lift her spirits, I told her we were coming home for Christmas and she is over the moon!!! It made my heart smile to hear the joy in her voice.

Well everyone, I probably won't  be blogging for a week or so. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoys time with family and friends!!

Marriage Retreat and Thanksgiving

Tomorrow Kyle and I get to head up to Concord, NC for a Marriage Retreat(yay for having a 3 day weekend with my love). It is being held at this awesome place:

Yay!!!

So for 3 days and 2 nights we get to be here having a good time! We will have 4 1 hour sessions with our Chaplain, which he will be talking about marriage through deployment (since Kyle's Brigade will be deploying next year). When we are not in sessions we get to enjoy this:

The awesome indoor waterpark (there is lots more this is just one picture I found)

We are looking forward to having a few days away together before the craziness of the holidays start. Once we get back on Sunday afternoon, I will get started on our Thanksgiving dinner. We have to celebrate on Sunday because we will have no other time before I leave for Vegas on Wednesday.

Monday, we will be having friends over for dinner and putting up our Christmas decorations (have to get our Christmas picture taken that night so I can get cards ordered). While I am gone the hubby will tackle the decorations outside. Tuesday, we have a hail and farewell for Kyle's work (not a fan of this being so close to a holiday but oh well). Wednesday, I have to be at the Raleigh airport by 6:30am to catch my flight!

Today is a very special day for our family. Our precious niece, Kylie turns 4 years old! It feels like yesterday that she was born and she quickly went from this:

to this:

We love you so much, babygirl!!! Our lives would not be the same without you. Happy Birthday!!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!



How Much!?

Over the last few days Kyle and I have been buying the new rank/mos stuff for his uniforms (mostly his blues), all I can say is wow!! It really is amazing how expensive all of this stuff is. Don't get me wrong Kyle makes pretty good money as an Officer but it is still ridiculous that these costs almost $50:

We had just barely purchased his Field Artillery Captain shoulder boards and then his MOS changed lol. Gee thanks Army for the notice!! Then you have the other fun stuff like these:

I swear the stuff on the uniforms cost more than the uniforms. Thank goodness no more promotions for atleast 6 years haha. We thought we had about a month and a half to get his Blues ready for the St. Barbara's Day Ball, but now Kyle will be helping serve Thanksgiving dinner at the DFAC for enlisted soldiers and families.

Today was definitely not the best day for me at work. It was already a struggle since it is Monday but then getting cussed out by a clients mom really set the tone for the rest of the day. I was professional and handled the call the best I could, what I really wanted to say was "I'm sorry that you are upset with us because your son is a FELON, we can't help that he likes to steals cars and finally got arrested for an outstanding warrant!!!!" We have been dealing with these people for a few months and finally are rid of them! Thank goodness!!

I'm not sure if I am allowed to post this yet or not but I found out last week that Kyle and I are going to be an Aunt and Uncle again!!!!! My sister, Lisa and her husband, Chris are expecting Baby Glass #2!!!! Yay!!!! I am sooo happy for them!!!

Sorry that this is such a random post!!!

Happy Monday!!!

 

Christmas Shopping

Kyle and I have decided to get some early Christmas shopping done this weekend. We are the people that buy gifts for their pets. Yes, Emma and Fishy are extremely spoiled and we are ok with that. We went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and got Emma this:

A new bed! She loves it!!!

Then we headed off to Petsmart to find something for Fishy. He loves the play-towers for cats and we found him this:

He isn't quite sure what to think of it (if you look to the right you can seem him sleeping on his other structure).

Overall, we have had a great weekend. We have done a lot of relaxing around the house and just enjoying time together. We watched "Get Him to the Greek" last night and laughed soooo hard. What makes that movie even better is that my father-in-law is in it!!! He is a musician in a Vegas show and they filmed there so we got to see him. It was pretty cool!

The next few weeks are going to be really busy for us. Next week we are headed off to Great Wolf Lodge in Charlotte for a marriage retreat and then a few days later I am getting on a plane to Vegas! Kyle and I will celebrate our Thanksgiving early which I am really looking forward to.

Not much else going on right now, I better go check on my cheesecake thats baking! Happy Sunday!!

Yummy Cheesecake resting in the oven

All finished! I am really happy with how it turned out (cheesecake is not the easiest thing to make)

Happy Veteran's Day!!

Today is the day that we honor and celebrate all those who have served and continue to serve in our Armed Forces. Thank for the sacrifices each and every one of you has made for our freedom!!

With so many veterans in my family, I wanted to give them their respect here:

Larry Niswonger- My grandfather (Army)

Tom Niswonger- Uncle (Army)

Paul Niswonger- Uncle (USMC)

Marty Niswonger- Uncle (USAF)

Joe Niswonger- Dad (USAF)

Kyle Smith- Husband (Army)

I am so grateful for each of you!!!!! Thank you for all that you have done and continue to do!!

Weekend in Review

This weekend was definitely an awesome few days, here is a recap of the events:

Friday: Kyle and I were both off work by 3pm which is a rarity for both of us. We both have been battling horrible colds all week so it was nice to just relax. I was in bed by 7:45 that night and got a much needed 12 hours of sleep.

Saturday: I woke up refreshed and was surprised by Kyle as he got me a spa day gift certificate to use whenever I want. He is soo good to me and I am truly blessed. We met up with our friends at the driving range on post. I honestly never thought I would say this but I love playing golf!! I even acquired my own set of clubs last weekend. I find it incredibly relaxing. After an hour there it was time for lunch at Jason's Deli (one of my favorite places) and then off to Best Buy. I bought "Sex and the City 2", so when we got home I put my jammies on and relaxed in bed. We watched "Clash of the Titans" that night and headed off to bed early because we had a big day ahead on Sunday.

Sunday: This was day we had been looking forward to for the last few months. Kyle, Jeremy, Kristina and I headed off to Raleigh at around 10:30am. When we arrived at Fred Fletcher Park we were welcomed by a sea of Purple!! What a beautiful sight! After registration we listened to a local band play and then it was time for the introduction. We found out that over 700 participants had entered and over $90,000 was raised for Pancreatic Cancer research. Amazing!!!! Before the race started I called my Mom to tell her I loved her, of course I got teary because I knew that what we were participating in has an affect on her. We were so honored to run in support of her! Kyle was nice enough to run at my pace and we finished, it was emotional and so humbling!!

Almost to the finish

After we finished we headed back home and went out for a celebratory dinner! It was an honor to participate in such an amazing event!!!

It was back to the normal grind today but my boss was nice enough to let us go at 4:30 definitely not complaining. Looking forward to the day off Thursday and playing some more golf!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Happy Monday!

We did it!!

At the finish line!!! It was such an honor runnning for an amazing cause!! From this event alone over $90,000 was raised for Pancreatic Cancer Research! We love you, Mom!!

Today is the Day!!

Well, today is the day that Kyle and I have been preparing for these last few months. We will be headed up to Raleigh in a few hours for our Purple Stride 5k for Pancreatic Cancer! We are both so proud to be running in honor of my beautiful mom!!!! Wish us luck!!!! 

Dear Tropical Storm Tomas

Please leave Haiti alone! That is all!

Thank You,
Annoyed Army Wife

Wordless Wednesday: My favorite little girl



Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month

November is such a huge month for our family. Today marks the start of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. As most of you know my mom, Kathy was diagnosed with Stage IV Pancreatic Cancer in June at the age of 54. You never in your worst nightmare think that your family would be affected by something as horrible as this. From day 1 she has been a fighter, never letting cancer get the best of her. There is a wonderful quote that is very fitting: "I may have cancer but cancer doesn't have me".

Pancreatic Cancer is the 11th most commonly diagnosed cancer in the U.S. About 29,000 people are expected to be newly diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer each year. It is the 5th leading cause of cancer death. About 20% of patients diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer survive the first year and only about 3% survive 5 years. We are hopeful that she can live a great life the next few years.

To show support this month, wear a purple ribbon for those who have lost their lives and for those who continue to fight this disease. We so desperately need to find a cure!

Here are a few links you can visit if you want to get some more information:

Lustgarten Foundation

Pancreatic Cancer Action Network

Kyle and I are so proud to be participating in the Purple Stride Raleigh-Durham 5k for Pancreatic Cancer on Sunday. As I'm sure it will be an emotional day for all who are in attendance, it will be a great showing of support and love for those affected. As of right now, Pancreatic Cancer Action Network has raise over $59,000 for research!! It is truly amazing!!!

Lets spread the word and fight this disease!!!