A Quick Getaway

Kyle and I had a great time on our little getaway this weekend. We got up to Inn of the Mountain Gods early Friday afternoon and fell in love with our view of the lake. After dropping our stuff off we headed into Ruidoso to walk around and take in the scenery. We found an amazing barbecue place and enjoyed an early dinner. Afterwards we found a miniature golf course and had to play. I won lol.

After we got back to the hotel we walked around the property, had a drink at the bar and enjoyed dessert on the balcony. :)

Sunday morning we got up bright and early to go horseback riding. It was absolutely amazing!!! It was just us and our guide on the ride and the views were stunning. I already want to go back and do it again.

We came home a day early and attended a get together at Kyle's battalion commanders place, it was nice to have the whole battalion together. We had a great time.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and prepping for a busy week.

I hope you all had a great weekend!!

On The Move

Well it's official! Kyle got his official assignment notification yesterday and will have an RFO no later than July 11th. We are off to Fort Polk, Louisiana and report November 17th!

We had no idea that less than two years after moving to Bliss that we would be on the move again. We meet with our realtor next week to get the house put up for sale. We are excited for all that is to come.

Here is a to a new adventure!!!! :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

It's Thursday...Woo!

This is Kyle's shirt that I bought for the 4th of July run that we are doing haha.

This is mine...love it!

I bought this awesome grooming tool! We have already used it on Fishy and it has made a huge difference.

I got this sweet gift from my friend Kim, it has our brigade crest on one side and on the other side has our BN name. 

Everyone knows my love of Dachshunds...I found this mug at Marshalls and had to have it. :)

Happy Thursday everyone...I'll be spending my day at Kyle's work and then packing for our trip. Yippee!

Wordless Wednesday

I will be so sad to say goodbye to our first home when the time comes.

 Here is to new adventures though!

From The Mind of Jen

I feel like so much has been happening the few days...here are some happenings and my thoughts to go along with them.

*Cycle #1 with clomid was a big fat failure......thank you evil "p" for ruining my day. Here is to Cycle #2 working!

*We got the good news that Kyle wasn't on the officer separation board list...thank you Army for letting my husband stay in!

*We are were looking at living on post at Fort Polk....yeah that's comical....me and Kyle living in a 967 sq ft house with 2 animals. NOPE!

*We are going away to the Inn of the Mountain Gods this weekend....I have plans to sit on the balcony, stare at the lake and do nothing.

*We are running an Electric 5k next Thursday night....I have already purchased a plethora of glow in the dark necklaces and bracelets. Poor Kyle lol.

*Our freezer is finally being fixed next week! 2 weeks and 2 idiotic people later it will be done and with GE footing the bill for the parts.

*I have finally talked Kyle into getting a new couch....well it took his parents to tell him the same thing but a win is a win regardless of how it happens. lol.

*Fishy steals my spot on the couch every chance he gets....lazy bones lol.

 

I hope you all have a great day! 

Fun Times

Friday night went to the brigade commander's farewell. One of the highlights of the night was seeing Kyle's former 1SG. The first thing I said was "The dream team is back together!", it is sad that she isn't in the company anymore but it was great to see her. We had a fun night, it started at 6pm and didn't end until 11:30pm. Lots of drinks, lots of laughs and great company.

Saturday was our actual anniversary, I picked up this cake from Albertsons to help us celebrate. We had dinner with Kyle's parents who were in town for the weekend. I can't believe it has been 6 years, time sure flies.

We spent most of the weekend taking Kyle's parents around to different places and hanging out. We both have busy weeks ahead of us so it was nice to stay pretty low key most of the time.

I have finals this week so my brain will be fried by the end of the week haha.

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Brigade Color Run

I wasn't going to post today but I had to share about the event Kyle's brigade put on this morning. It was an event for sexual assault and sexual harassment awareness (SHARP). The event consisted of fun events for soldiers and their families.

The main part of the event was a "color run". We ran for about 2.75 miles and then at the end we were doused with color and given the color pouches to have a blast with. It was funny just walking past someone you didn't really know and pelt them with color. We all had a blast. They also had a tug of war competition, dunk tank, snow cones, cotton candy, popcorn and bounce houses for the kids.

It was great watching the soldiers cut loose and have a great time and to support such a great cause.

It was an awesome event and I am so glad that I got up with Kyle this morning to go. :)

Have a great weekend everyone!!

6 Years of Wedded Bliss

On Saturday we will be celebrating 6 years of marriage. I wanted to post this early as I won't be around much the next few days.

17 years ago I met a goofy kid in my history class...I never would have thought that 11 years later I would marry that same goofy kid.

We had a very unorthodox relationship from the beginning, we did not live in the same place and we only dated for 2 months before getting married. Regardless of this fact I do not regret this decision at all.

Our relationship has been tested in many different ways but despite everything we have come out stronger than ever. I am so thankful that I made that choice 6 years ago. He is the love of my life and I truly do not know what I would do without him, he completes me in every way.

We have been through 2 deployments, countless field exercises, 3 (soon to be 4) moves, 5 homes, and anything else the army wants to throw at us. Being married is a challenge in itself but when you add the military it is a whole new ball game.

I am so lucky to be married to a man who is kind, compassionate, infuriating, loving, smart, sarcastic, funny, hardworking and overall just a great man. It has been a wonderful and challenging 6 years but I couldn't imagine living this life with anyone else. No marriage is perfect and ours is far from it but at the end of the day I am married to the person that is perfect for me even when he frustrates me. :) 

Happy Anniversary, Kyle! I love you more than you know.

While He Is Away

Kyle has been in San Antonio since Sunday for a medical appointment but will be home this afternoon. The one good thing about him having a blackberry for work is that he got an email from his branch that everything is being pushed through for our PCS to Polk, we should have an RFO (request for orders) by next week!!!

Usually when he is gone I tend to clean a little bit more and get more little things done around the house. With visitors coming this weekend I am in overdrive to get everything taken care of.

I was even nice enough to wash his car. Now I love my husband but his car was a mess haha. I think I filled up 1 large trash bag, thank goodness it is plastic on the inside so I can just wipe it out.

He has needed an end table for his man cave and I found this gem at Walmart. It's actually a recliner end table, score!!

Emma and Fishy decided that they both wanted to be on the loveseat with me...they seem to forget that there is another couch in the house haha. I think they miss their Daddy and want me to not be working on my research paper for school.

Good Times!

This weekend was pretty relaxed for the most part. Kyle spent a lot of it getting ready for his brief trip to San Antonio.

We did however take the time to run a Father's Day 5k downtown. The money benefited a local community center for kids and it was such an awesome run. The route took us by this amazing bakery and we have plans to go back and sample the goodness haha.

One of the most interesting parts about doing anything downtown is how close you are to Mexico. I took this picture as we went passed one of the bridges going into Mexico. The big flag always cracks me up.

Sunday we got up early and did a little shopping and had lunch at Jason's Deli before I dropped Kyle off at the airport. He will be back on Tuesday so it is definitely a quick trip.

Some of the best news we got was on Friday. Kyle met with his current brigade commander about a job opportunity. Polk and JRTC desperately need someone with Kyle's qualifications and if the by name request goes through HRC (human resources command) quickly and correctly we will be moving.

We are excited and hopeful that everything will go smoothly! Now it's just fingers crossed that we can get an RFO soon and get the house on the market. :)

Hope you all had an amazing weekend!!!

See You Later

Last night we held a farewell for our brigade commanders wife, Kim. This lady has been such an inspiration in my life, she has been there for me through so much.

To give you a better understanding I need to go back 6 years ago. I was a terrified new military spouse living with a new husband in a new place. At a Hail and Farewell as we were welcomed into the BN, I met Kim, COL (then LTC), and their two kids. We instantly became friends, she was a mentor to me and helped me find my place in this crazy life. We had lunch on a regular basis even after we left the unit. She was one of the first people I called when my Mom passed away. I had the privelege of spending 3 great years in the same place with her.

As with everything in the Army we moved on to new adventures, but still talked often. Then we were lucky enough to be brought here to Bliss to work with them again. I got my mentor/buddy back! It was so bittersweet to say goodbye to her last night, there is a possibility that we will be following them to Fort Polk (fingers crossed for a good meeting friday lol), so our adventure together might not be over.

Here are a few snapshots from the event. I can't wait to see all the other amazing photos the photographer took.

The theme was Texas Casual, everyone rocked their cowboy boots and we even had a little dance prepared it was great.  We had it catered by an awesome taco place, all of the ladies worked so hard to put it together and we are so thankful that everything went off without a hitch and that Kim loved it.

Kim and Lynda (Commanding General of Fort Bliss and 1AD's wife)

Kim giving her speech

Me and Kim

In the Army it is never goodbye, it is always just see you later!

A Few Thoughts

As usual it seems like every week just gets busier and busier. It makes me even more excited for our anniversary trip.

*Speaking of that trip we finally decided on a more low-key weekend. We are going to spend it at Inn of the Mountain Gods. Golfing, paddle boating, and just relaxing will be so nice.

*Yesterday we finally had our freezer looked. It seems as though the compressor is leaking and will cost $900 to replace (it's not even 2 years old), so either GE is going to do the right thing and pay to replace it or we will just purchase a new one.

*I am on day 20 of this cycle of clomid...I am actually feeling okay. I do feel slightly bloated but that is to be expected. I have to take a test next week so fingers crossed that it worked!

*Tonight is the farewell for our brigade commander's wife and my very dear friend, Kim. We have been working on this for weeks and while it has been stressful at times I think it will be wonderful. I finished the name tags yesterday and I am really happy with how they turned out. 

Here is hoping everything goes off without a hitch.

*We are running a Father's Day 5k on Saturday, Kyle is such a good sport. He never complains when I tell him that I have registered us for another race lol.

*When I am in between meetings and FRG events I have been keeping occupied with Orange is the New Black and school work. Only 2 weeks left of these classes and I am so ready to start new ones lol.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

It's Monday Again

I am very much disliking how fast these weekends are going by.

I decided to bring out my crafty side on Friday after and made these for the house:

I am so happy with how they turned out!

Friday night was an early night because we were up at 4am for our 10k run. It was a 2 hour drive up to Cloudcroft, NM. It is so gorgeous driving through there because of the greenery. This race was intense, when we started we were at an elevation of 8600 feet. At the highest point we were over 10,000. It was awesome, but man going uphill for the majority was brutal.

We were both exhausted at the end and we treated ourselves to Ihop haha. The rest of the day was spent relaxing. Kyle grilled steaks and we settled in to watch hockey. It was a great day.

On Sunday we finally picked up everything to make a new home for the trash cans. It was a pain to drag them across the rocks so now they have a place. Kyle did a great job!

The baking bug bit me so I decided to make some lemon sugar cookies and chocolate chip banana muffins. I am addicted to these cookies and may eat them all haha.

I hope you all had a great weekend!

A Birthday Wish and Other Things

First, I want to wish my Dad a very very Happy Birthday!!! I love you, Dad. You are the best!

 Tomorrow we are running a 10k in Cloudcroft, New Mexico. It is absolutely beautiful up there but the altitude is higher than El Paso so we will see how that goes lol.

We have plans to stop at a place called The Old Apple Barn. It is an adorable country store with the best Root Beer floats!

We also are going to tackle a few home improvement projects that we have been putting on the back burner. Even though the temps have been well over 105 every day it will be nice to work outside and enjoy a mostly low key weekend. 

I may even break out my mold and resin to make some coasters and other fun things. :) 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Ups and Downs

This week has been a roller coaster of ups and downs.

*On top of the Ranger School situation we found out yesterday morning that Kyle was not selected for one of the fellowships he applied for. While we are still waiting to hear about the 2nd one he is understandably disappointed and so am I. Situations like these make you wonder what does he not have that others do. Obviously everything happens for a reason but it still stings for sure.

*Kyle is still losing soldiers everyday (which means my FRG is dwindling away to nothing), his 1SG left last Friday and he said it is weird not having her there anymore. This deactivation has become stressful, I think everyone is ready for it be done.

Now on to the ups! :)

*In honor of National Running Day yesterday, I registered us for 3 more races. You can never run too much. ;)

*For the last 3 weeks I have been agonizing over a paper for my personality theories class. I turned it in on Sunday and was excited to see that I got a 100% on it. I am so relieved and happy.

*We booked our anniversary trip, we are going to spend a long weekend at Inn of The Mountain Gods. It will be so nice to just enjoy the lake and mountains without any distractions.

I figured I would leave you with this picture haha. This is why you don't leave drawers open!

Have a great day!