Off Post Living

The last 2 places that we have lived (Fort Bragg and Fort Huachuca) we had lived on post. We had good experiences at both places but sometimes felt like people took advantage of it and thought they could get away with more because they lived on post among other military.

Now that we live off post I don't think we will ever go back to living on post. Unless we absolutely have too of course. I love living within the community and getting to know more non-military people. I know Kyle is going to love coming home after work and not being on post. One of our biggest factors to living off post was that we figured out we could actually bank some of our BAH (basic allowance for housing). Who would have thought that it could happen, but it definitely can.

I am also loving that I don't have to show my ID to go home. I hate fumbling around with my ID card, it's even worse when you realize that you left it at home. Now I can leave my ID at home and not worry about it. We have met a few of our neighbors and they are really nice. Everyone is really friendly, they wave even if you are taking your trashcans out. How awesome is that?! I'm loving it! Now I'm not saying that everything will be roses all the time but it's sure getting off to a good start.

Our house in the northeast part of town, and right now it's not busy at all. Of course more things will be built over here but the quiet is amazing! Everything we need is close (within 15-20minutes even New Mexico) and for some reason I feel safer living off post than I did on. I can tell the next 3-4 years here are going to be amazing.

Have a great day!

let's get this going

With the beginning of 2013, the talk of starting fertility treatments is very much present in our minds.  Once we get me set up in the system here and get my medical records transferred I will hopefully get a referral to a new RE (reproductive endocrinologist) doctor. We are anxious to get this started again because trying on our own is obviously not working. We both know that the medications make me a hormonal nightmare so we are preparing for that aspect as well. The weight gain is also another side-effect that I will do my best to keep at a minimum so I can stay extremely healthy.

We know that Kyle will be deploying again and we want to get this process started as soon as possible. I am hoping that the hospital on post is helpful and can get me going in the right direction. I don't want to have to argue with people. 

I hear and see so many people who are not thankful for the beautiful gifts they have been given. Kyle and I would give anything to have that. We are also giving adoption a more serious look as well. The bottom line is that we know we will be parents, we just don't know when. All I know is that we will do everything in our power to make it happen in 2013!

:)

Thank you all for the wonderful support throughout this journey, you have no idea how much it means to us.

Good Time

Happy New Year everyone!

Kyle and I had a very quiet night at home. We played a lot of XBOX Kinect, I made homemade pizza, wings and these delicious things for dessert:

Homemade milkshakes! I have a milkshake maker that is the same age as me. It was given to me by my mom. I will be so sad when it finally stops working.

When it came time to ring in the New Year, we had a little champagne and wore our party hats haha.

It was a great night!

Today, we decided to go to the movies and see this:

It was absolutely spectacular,  it took my breath away. 

Today was also the day that we took all of our Christmas decorations down, don't get me wrong I love Christmas but it was nice to put it all away for another year.

We plan on just relaxing for the rest of the night, I will catch up on blogs and I'm sure Kyle will play video games.

Have a great day!

2012 in Review

I can't believe that today is the last day of 2012. This year has absolutely flown by!

Here is a little recap of your year.

January:

We took our very first trip to NYC. We took the train from NC and it was amazing. 

Kyle received his Senior Parachutist Badge:

February:

Kyle unfortunately lost his grandfather, we traveled to Erie, PA for the funeral. Kyle was a pallbearer and his Mom asked him to be in uniform:

I was excited to finally have LASIK eye surgery done. I now have 20/15 vision wahoo!

March:

We celebrated the 1st anniversary of my Mom's passing. 

April:

We had our annual Easter trip to Myrtle Beach, it was our last and we were so sad!

May:

We unfortunately went through our 4th miscarriage during our fertility journey.

We attended our last Black Falcon Formal:

We also celebrated Kyle's 27th birthday:

We were officially farewelled from the Black Falcons and the 82nd Airborne:

We began our journey to Fort Huachuca, Arizona!

June:

We spent 2 wonderful weeks with family in Las Vegas. We were able to celebrate my Dad's birthday with him.

We settled into our new home in AZ:

We celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary at the happiest place on earth:

July:

I went back to Disneyland with my sister, Lisa and niece, Kylie:

We fulfilled a lifelong dream of mine and went to Tombstone:

We traveled to Las Vegas for our nephew, Grayson's, 1st birthday:

We celebrated my 27th birthday:

August:

Our niece, Kylie, started Kindegarten:

We took an amazing trip to the Grand Canyon:

September:

My Dad came to visit us in Arizona:

My in-laws also came to visit:

We went to our first NFL Game:

October:

I spent almost the whole month in Las Vegas with family. Even took the kids to a fun pumpkin patch:

We celebrated my brother-in-law and new sister in law's (Justin and Erin) wedding:

We found out we were going to Fort Bliss, Texas! We traveled to El Paso and signed a contract on this beautiful home:

November:

I traveled to Las Vegas to celebrate our niece's 6th birthday and my sister's birthday:

We celebrated Thanksgiving with my family:

December:

Kyle graduated the MICCC:

We officially moved to El Paso and spent our first Christmas in our new home:

Well that is our 2012 in review! I wish you all a very happy and healthy 2013! Let's make it a great one!

Happy New Year!

Airborne!

When we bought our home the first thing Kyle wanted to do was find those little plastic paratroopers and drop them from our 2nd floor haha (since it looks out over the living room). Well, after going to several different stores we finally found them at Kmart yesterday:

This was mine (his parachute fell off, I didn't have it tied very tight lol)

Kyle was so excited (you can take the soldier out of an Airborne unit but you can't take the Airborne out of the soldier haha)

Sorry for the blurry picture, but it worked. I love that I have a husband who enjoys having fun. We are always laughing and joking, this was most certainly no exception. I'm sure every now and then I will see these little guys floating down to the living room. 

I hope you all have a great day, we are going to a few museums which I know is going to be awesome.

Artificial Grass

When we moved into the house we started talking about landscaping the backyard. We knew we wanted grass/rocks but really were not keen on doing the work ourselves.

This is what we have to work with:

Awesome, right?!

My Dad had suggested that we look into artificial grass. We were immediately all for it. The maintenance would be minimal and the water usage would be next to nothing. We wouldn't have to worry about it dying or watering it.

We found a company called SYN Lawn. They came out yesterday to do a free estimate. The best part is that they also do rock landscape. Well, the price was right and they will start everything the week of the 7th! We will have an 800sq ft area of artificial grass and the rest will be rock with a stepping stone path from the patio to the grass.

I am excited to see some green in the backyard instead of dirt. 

Hope you all have a great weekend!

We are fun!

It's no secret that Kyle and I love to stay busy, we are always searching for fun things to do.  We were sooo excited when we found out that El Paso has a hockey team (the Rhinos haha love it). When we were at Bragg we spent a good chunk of our time at Fayetteville Fireantz hockey games.  I bought tickets to a game in January and we can't wait to go. 

We also saw that there is a Monster Jam event in March, yes we are 27 but act like we are 15. How can you not enjoy watching monster trucks destroy things?! We bought tickets of course, super excited for this!

I also decided that the time has come for me to go back to work. Don't get me wrong I am so thankful that I have been able to stay home for the last 2 1/2 years but I'm ready. Even Kyle is shocked that I lasted so long without a job. I am actively looking (even submitted a few applications already) and even if it's just part time I will be happy. Wish me luck! :)

Today we have an appointment with a synthetic lawn company. Instead of dealing with the hassle of real grass we are opting for artificial. In the long run it will save us money and we are all about that. Just have to make sure Emma approves of it. Here's hoping!

I hope you all have a great weekend!