Marriage Retreat and Other Fun Trips

This past weekend, Kyle and I went up to Great Wolf Lodge for a marriage retreat. We went to one back in 2010 and had a great time. We were hoping for the same this time and it definitely did not disappoint. The main focus was communication, effective ways to communicate and how to communicate without getting angry. We were able to talk about so much and do it in a way that we both felt accomplished afterwards. 

We went out Saturday night (our free night) and had dinner at Quaker Steak and Lube (for those who have never been it's delicious, look it up) and had some drinks. It was a great night and we ended the night playing cards with some good friends at the hotel. 

It feels like the next few months are going to be very busy, my calendar keeps filling up and I am ok with that. Two big trip we have planned in April are:

Myrtle Beach, Easter Weekend!!!! We are leaving on Friday morning and will stay until Monday. We are so looking forward to this. We just want to relax on the beach and soak up the sun. This will be our view of the weekend:

Yay!!

The following weekend we will be watching this at Zmax Dragway:

Our brother-in-law, Chris, works on one of the teams so it is always great to hang out with him and the guys. Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE racing! Can't wait!!! It will be a blast. 

I am just amazed that it is February 29th. At the end of March we can already apply for housing in Fort Huachuca and that is roughly 3 months we will be on the road headed out of Bragg. I am excited for new changes and new adventures. 

I hope everyone is having a great day!

volunteering

Since I quit working a year and a half ago I have tried to find things to fill my days. Of course I became heavily involved with my FRG and I have loved it. I recently decided that it was time to expand my volunteering to outside the FRG (I am still a key caller and treasurer, and that won't change until we move).   Around Thanksgiving I was given information for an organization called Operation Homefront. They do many events for military families. I first volunteered with them during their "Thanks for Giving" event. I was instantly impressed and wanted to work more with them. Check them out and see if there are any volunteer opportunities in your area!

Thankfully, I am signed up with them for 2 upcoming events. A family readiness fair for another brigade and also the Vietnam Veterans Homecoming celebration at Charlotte Motor Speedway. I can't wait to continue my work with them and maybe it will turn into something more permanent. I also have signed to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity in March. I have never been the type of person who can sit at home and do nothing, so volunteering truly fulfills me. 

We have so much coming in the next few months within our FRG. We have a ton of fundraisers we will be doing: pie in the face (haha this will involved all of our senior leadership), MW3 tournament, Silent Auction, camo hand towels, and selling chili (it is amazing how well this does when the guys are at the range all day). We are also planning an organizational day (basically a family fun day) for soldiers and families. The event I am looking forward to the most is our battalion formal in May. This will be our last formal in division and it is bittersweet for us. 

I have already found an amazing dress and shoes for this formal:

Love!!!!

Ahhh! I can't wait to wear them!!

Well enough blogging for today, I have some housework to get finished. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

This year Kyle and I decided to not do anything big for Valentine's Day. Saturday we had a quiet evening at home trying out our new grill and cuddling up on the couch to watch a movie. That is a perfect date to me!! He did however surprise me with these:

This picture does not do them justice and they smell amazing!!!

I am blessed to have such an amazing husband. He works so hard and does so much for our little family (yes we consider Emma and Fishy our kids, :) ). I could not imagine my life without him. We were definitely made for each other!!

I hope everyone has a beautiful day with the ones they love! Don't forget that today shouldn't be the only day to appreciate and show the special people in your life that you love them.

Eye Surgery!!

Yesterday was the day I had been waiting for since I was 14 years old! Lasik eye surgery! Kyle drove me up to Raleigh for my appointment which was at 11:40am. I was starting to get really nervous but he was amazing at keeping me calm (since he had been through eye surgery almost 4 years ago). It was finally time, I took my valium and was taken to the back. Dr. Travers was amazing!!! She talked to me through the whole thing and it was over in less than 10 minutes. When I sat up I was in awe, I could finally see! I walked out to the waiting room looked at Kyle and said "I can see you!!!" it was amazing!

I got home and slept until about 7:30pm and then started my eye drops. I was able to get some good sleep night and be rested for my follow up appointment. The best part of the whole process was that I could see perfect enough this morning to drive myself to my follow up. When I got there they tested my eyes and told me I had 20/15 eyesight!! Holy Cow!!! I really wish I had done this sooner, I am beyond happy.

Overall it was an amazing experience and I would recommend Dr. Travers to anyone!!! I am excited that in a few weeks I can go to our marriage retreat at Great Wolf Lodge and not have to wear contacts or glasses.

I hope everyone has had a great week!!! 

unexpected trip

Last Saturday, Kyle got a phone call from his mom that his grandpa in PA wasn't doing so well. We knew unfortunately that it was only a matter of time before we got the dreaded phone call. Well it came on Wednesday. His grandpa had passed overnight, so we hopped in the car on thursday and headed up to PA for the funeral. As hard as the weekend was it was good to see his family together. Kyle hadn't seen most of the family in 10 years so it was wonderful for him. I had the privilege of seeing his grandpa in August and spending some time with him. He was a sweet man and will be sorely missed.

Kyle's adorable Grandpa, Tom Ward. RIP

We got home last night and I have been non-stop ever since. So much to get done around the house. I had to postpone my eye surgery and will have it done this coming thursday. I am beyond ready!!! I probably won't blog again until after my surgery so I hope you all have a great week!

New York 2012

Since last weekend we have been crazy busy! We decided last minute to go to the Jason Aldean concert and we are so glad we did! Luke Bryan and Lauren Alaina opened up for him and we had awesome seats:

Awesome!!!!

On Monday Kyle and I boarded a train and headed off to NYC. We were excited for this trip as neither one of us had been. We had an AMAZING time!!!! Here is a breakdown of our trip with some pictures.

Monday- Arrived in NYC at 11:30pm. We headed off to our hotel and got some rest before the walking began the next day.

Tuesday- We headed off to Battery Park so we could catch the ferry to Ellis Island and Liberty Island. It was such an incredible experience because of all the history on both of these islands. Here are a few pictures:

After we got back to the city we decided to walk back to our hotel (about 4 miles). On our way we decided to go see the 9/11 Memorial. What an amazing experience and one that neither of us will ever forget!!!

South Pool

North Pool

Once we got back to the hotel we decided to talk to the Concierge about getting tickets to a broadway show for Wednesday. We were able to get an amazing dinner/show package to see "Wicked"!!! We had dinner at a delicious diner down the street and ended the night full and happy.

Wednesday- We ended up going to Pier 17 and see the BODIES exhibit. For anyone that doesn't know what this is, it is an exhibit that actually has real human bodies. It breaks the body down and shows all the smallest details, it was awesome! I highly recommend it.We then went to Central Park where I got the see this amazing statue:

Alice in Wonderland statue

After we finished up Central Park we went to a place my sister recommended called "Dylan's Candy Bar". WOW!!! Over 7,000 different types of candy and goodies. We went upstairs to the cafe and had this:

s'mores!

We were so full and decided to walk back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We went to this amazing Italian restaurant called Alfredo of Rome. We had an amazing 3-course meal and enjoyed each others company. Once we were done at dinner we were off to see "Wicked". 

Us at Rockefeller center

Our seats were amazing!!!!

This show was spectacular!!!!! It was very overwhelming and just overall amazing! I will definitely see it again. I love everything about it.

Thursday- This was our last full day in the city and we headed off the see the Empire State Building. It was awesome!! I am really afraid of heights but I felt surprisingly calm.

  View from the ESB

We were able to meet up with a few friends of ours that uses to live at Bragg. Brian was Kyle's former company commander and ended up becoming a good friend along with his wife Carrie. It was great to see familiar faces. After lunch we went to Serendipity 3 and had this:

Delicious!!!!!!

We were sad to leave NYC but so glad to get home! Kyle has some more time off and I am having my eye surgery on Thursday! 

I hope you all are having a great weekend so far!!!

Quick Hello!!

Kyle and I are on the train headed back to North Carolina from New York!!!! When I get settled at home I will post an update with all our fun adventures and pictures.

I hope you all are doing well!


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