Life Lately

Happy last day of June!

Kyle is off work for a little while longer so we have been doing our best to explore and do things together. There are a lot of outdoor shopping areas with great shops and restaurants plus a ton of museums, historical places, and sporting events.

1. Since we live on post and are less than 2 miles from the schoolhouse that Kyle will be attending we decided to get him a bicycle. It's silly to drive a car for 4 miles round trip. A friend of ours here gave us a great recommendation for a bike shop in town. They were awesome! They are in the process of building the bike now and it should be ready before he starts class. I look forward to all the gas money we will save haha.

2. I was able to get E registered in Child and Youth Services which is quite the process. She can now utilize hourly care which is nice especially if I have appointments that I would rather not have her sit through. I started taking her to a playgroup on post with a friend and her kids. She seemed to enjoy it so we will make it a weekly thing. I also signed her up for a free Gymboree music class and if she likes it we will get a membership. It's nice keeping her busy and engaged.

3. Speaking of sweet E, I have been thinking about her 1st birthday a lot lately. Holy cow, how is that even possible?! I'm excited because my family along with Kyle's parents will be flying in to celebrate. Plus we have a lot of friends here with kids, so it will be a great celebration. 

She is clearly excited about turning 1 in two months. Haha.

4. One thing that I have been working really hard on is our budget. Thankfully, we lost a few bills when we moved which was a huge relief. Kyle lets me handle the budget 100% so I have been focused on paying off our car which has been a goal since the beginning of the year. I'm so happy that based on my calculations, we will have it paid off in August (which is 3 1/2 years early!!). After that all we will have is our credit card, which is no big deal at all.

5. We have a ton of little projects that need to be completed around the house. Some frames need to be replaced or fixed, curtains still need to be hung in the spare bedroom, the basement needs to be organized, and the patio furniture needs to be set up. If only there were about 5 more hours in the day, that would be great haha. I'm sure it will get done but we would much rather enjoy views like this during the day.

These areas are my main focus. Kyle's wall on the stairs, diploma wall (my sister has my masters diploma and is shipping it to me), and the main living room wall.

In due time it will all get done.

Hope you all have a great weekend and an awesome start to July.

Fun Photos!

Prior to moving to Kansas a friend of mine put me in contact with a local photographer that was interested in experimenting with a milk bath type photoshoot. We were completely up for it! This past Monday we met up with Liz from Liz Perez Photography at her home and instantly got to work. I love supporting fellow military spouses especially ones who are so talented and passionate about what they do.

 E had the best time, she got to play in a milk bath with fresh flowers and then she took some additional photos of her in a metal bucket with fake flowers. 

These are just a sneak peek of the work she did for us.

This one is my absolute favorite! The state flower of Louisiana is a Magnolia and it was only fitting that she gravitated towards it.

We are thrilled with how these photos turned out and we can't wait to see the rest. Liz will be doing our family photos for us next week and after seeing these I can't wait. 

So if you are in the Leavenworth area and need a photographer please reach out to Liz!

Our Running Adventures!

This weekend we ran our first race in our new area. Now for those who are not familiar with Fort Leavenworth it sits right on the border of Kansas and Missouri. So on any given day we can be in both states on the same day. It's pretty interesting so we get the unique opportunity of running races in both Kansas and Missouri.

This particular race the PD Dash was in Kansas City, Missouri. We had the best time! Let me tell you how great it is to run in a place that has significantly less humidity than Louisiana. Kyle and I both agreed that we didn't feel like our lungs were on fire at the end. It was a great flat course. Kyle ran with E and ended up placing 3rd in his age group! Not bad for pushing a stroller.

And we got donuts at the end! That's a win if you ask me.

One of the things I am loving about this area is the strong running community. We had that in El Paso and while there were good races in Louisiana, they were really hard to find. We have quite a few races lined up and it seems like more keep popping up. Here are a few that we plan on participating in.

1. Freedom Run 5k/10k - You can't beat running on the 4th of July! We are signed up for the 10k and it's going to be a great race.

2. Amelia Earhart 2k/8k- This race is run in conjunction with the Amelia Earhart festival and we will be running the 8k. It will be held in Atchison, Kansas where she was born.

3. Diva Dash 5k- This is an event that E and I will be doing together since it is just for women. I am really excited to run this with her. Kyle will be there to cheer us on. 

4. Rainbow Coalition 5k- This race focuses on the importance of diversity and equality. Being able to support such an awesome cause means a lot to us.

5. Heartland 30k Series- This is three 10k races back to back to back! I've heard amazing things about it and I'm so excited that we will get to do it.

6. Triple Trot 5k- This event you are able to bring your dogs to participate in. We will see how Emma feels that morning and we might bring her along. 

7. The Great Escape- A 5k that is held on Fort Leavenworth and starts at the Old Prison. This post is beautiful so it's the perfect running landscape.

8. Kansas City Half Marathon- I am running this half marathon solo. Kyle and I agree that if either one of us wanted to do a half that the other would sit out. I'm so excited to run this event.

9. Gobbler Grind Half Marathon- Kyle will be running this event but E and I will be there to cheer him on. A good friend of ours is an ambassador for this event so we will cheer her on as well. 

10. Westport Santa Dash 5k- This race appealed to be because you get a Santa Suit in your race packet haha. Imagine several hundred Santas running. Amazing right?!

I am so happy that Kyle just nods and smiles when I say that I've signed us up for another race. We have the best time and being able to support charities and organizations is the best part.

Here is to a great running season!

Oh, Friday!

We are officially unpacked! Woo! I hate living in boxes so we always try to get unpacked quickly. I'm not going to lie for a few days I felt like the damn things were multiplying. It felt like 1 would get unpacked and 3 more would appear (don't remind me that we will likely be doing this all over again next summer).

Now don't get me wrong I am grateful that the Army takes care of packing us but let me tell you the frustration of opening a large box and finding a single lampshade. Hmm okay. After a while you just have to shake your head and laugh haha especially because that one lampshade is accompanied by 50 pounds of packing paper.

We have curtains hung and almost all of our pictures on the walls. I'm still figuring out how I want some things but it's so nice having more wall space, because we can actually display some of Kyle's military artwork and plaques. Some stuff stayed in boxes from our move to Louisiana because we just didn't have the space for them.

For our anniversary on Wednesday we were able to take a break and check out the zoo in Kansas City. It's HUGE!!! We had so much fun exploring and seeing all of the animals. E was a champ, she braved 3+ hours there and never fussed at all. 

The second photo perfectly depicts how she felt about the zoo. She is one happy girl! :) We even survived a late lunch at Cheesecake Factory and a stroll around an outdoor shopping area. This girl is a rockstar!

Tomorrow we will be running our 1st race in Kansas! It's a 5k benefiting Parkinson's Disease, PD Donut Dash. It will be great supporting such a wonderful cause and becoming immersed in the running community here. I am already noticing a difference in my running mostly because the humidity isn't as intense here, thank goodness!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

9 Years

It is hard to believe that on this day 9 years ago I married my very best friend and the love of my life. 

We did not have the most conventional relationship prior to getting married. While we knew each other since middle school we only dated for a few months. It was however the single best decision I have ever made. I have learned so much about myself and we have learned together what it means to be a great team and how to have a strong partnership.

Marriage on its own can be challenging but for us we have the added stress of the military. We have gone through long separations including deployments but each one has taught us valuable lessons.

Are there days when we want to scream and shout at each other, of course, but in those moments we realize that we wouldn't want to go through those struggles with anyone else. Our marriage hasn't been easy but gosh it has been so worth it.

We have taken memorable trips together and started a running journey that has been more rewarding than we both thought possible. We have the best time together, we laugh at the most ridiculous things, and there is certainly never a dull moment.

We have dealt with tragedies together. We have lost loved ones and we endured a long fertility journey. Every single one of those moments have brought us closer together and have made us better people and a better couple.

 As a couple one of our greatest joys is being parents to this precious girl. She has completed our family and has made us appreciate our life together so much more.

To my husband, Kyle: I love you. I love you for the man you are and the man you always strive to be. Thank you for giving us an incredible life and for always supporting me in whatever crazy endeavor I choose. You give of yourself so selflessly without expecting anything in return. I am so proud that I get to walk this journey with you. Here is to the next 50!

First Weekend In The Books

We wrapped up our first weekend in Kansas and it was a great one! 

My Dad was here on Friday so we wanted to take advantage of exploring Kansas City. We ventured to the Legends Outlets and walked around. It was a beautiful day. We had lunch at a wood fired pizza place and E was a happy camper with her mac and cheese haha. It was nice to explore our new home and show my Dad around too.

E loved having her papa around for a few days.

After we got back to post, Kyle drove us around so we could check everything out. Fort Leavenworth is such a historical post and it's beautiful! We even got to see the old penitentiary.

My Dad headed out bright and early on Saturday, it was so great having him here for a few days. He helped us a ton. After he left we were able to get more things put away and in order. All we have left to do is hang pictures/decorations and put curtains up downstairs.

We ran a few errands in KC and took a drive by the new Federal Penitentiary. It's HUGE! We can see the entire compound from a few of the higher streets in our neighborhood.

On Sunday, since it was Father's Day, E bought (well I helped haha) tickets to a baseball game for Kyle. We had a great time watching the Kansas City T-Bones! He seemed to enjoy his 1st Father's Day.

 

It was so nice being able to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather! Kansas did welcome us with a pretty intense storm on Friday night, to include losing power for a few hours but thankfully it didn't last long.

I hope you all had an amazing weekend!

Why We Do It

Being in Kansas with just E and the animals these last few days has really given me a chance to reflect. We have been doing this Army life for the last 9 years (well 10 for Kyle) and to be honest it really doesn't feel like it has been that long. 

As I was staring at a very daunting stack of boxes yesterday, I thought to myself, "Why do we do this?" "Why do we willingly uproot our lives every few years and move to a new place?". 

Here are the reasons I came up with.

1. Kyle loves his job! You may be thinking, "well what does that have to do with you?". Kyle thrives with being in the military. It is something that he enjoys and seeing him so passionate about mentoring and leading soldiers inspires me. He is serving his country and it is something he takes very seriously. Yes deployments are inevitable but I can't dwell on that because it would make me crazy. His job has taken him away for long periods of time but I'm resilient and we are a strong team. 

2. We get to live in places we would have never dreamed of! Are the locations always ideal, absolutely not but you have to find the good. I'll be the first to say that Fort Polk was nowhere on our radar but we embraced and we fell in love with that gem in Central Louisiana. Of course,  it also means that we won't always be close to family but that's okay because we can still visit. They can visit us and see somewhere new as well. We are thrilled that we get to include E in these adventures and provide her the tools that she needs to be a resilient and thriving individual.

3. I have benefited from this life is more ways than I could have ever imagined. Yes of course I could have done some of the same things without the involvement of the military but I wouldn't have had the same experiences. I've been able to volunteer with different organizations, families, and units, which have shaped me into a better person. Giving back to a community that has given us so much means everything. The military also provided me with my education and for that I am forever grateful.

4. The biggest one is we love this life. It's not perfect and it isn't for everyone. Of course there are politics involved, that happens with any job. Kyle and I have always agreed that the moment we stop having fun and enjoying it then we will re-evaluate and make changes. We haven't come to that point yet.  The friendships and experiences make it worth it and there is certainly never a dull moment.

Life is always what you make of it and it can be an amazing adventure if you just embrace it. The good, the bad, and the ugly. 

Hello From Kansas!

After a long day of travel on Sunday. E, Fishy, Emma, and I are safely in our new home in Kansas! 

I picked up the keys to our house yesterday morning and after quite an interesting day we have about a 1/4 of our stuff (the rest will be delivered tomorrow). 

It feels good to be here and it will be even nicer to get unpacked and get settled. I can't wait to get back to regular blogging but right now I will leave you with a few photos of our new home.

The view from our front porch

My new kitchen (excuse the mess)

 Living Room

Our backyard. It desperately needs to be mowed. I will work on that this week.

This little nugget is happy to be in her new home!

We just need Kyle here to complete the move! He will arrive tomorrow with my Dad. :) 

Have a great Tuesday!