Summer Bucket List

I am really looking forward to this summer and all the fun things we have planned. 

This is just a glimpse of what our list looks like:

*KLAQ Balloon Fest. It's a concert at Wet N Wild. This year Five Finger Death Punch and The Pretty Reckless are playing (we have very diverse taste in music lol).

*Kip Moore concert

*Jersey Boys Show

*Downtown Street Fest (can't wait to hear who is playing this year)

*Sledding and camping at White Sands Missile Range

*Go to an El Paso Chihuahua's baseball game

*Hike the Franklin Mountains

*Hike at Hueco Tanks National Park

*Rent a cabin for a weekend in Ruidoso, New Mexico

*Run at least 18 races this year (which that shouldn't be a problem at all)

*Go fishing at Elephant Butte Lake

*Bring our niece and nephew to El Paso to spend a week with us.

I am looking forward to this summer! I know it's going to be a great one.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Hello April

Am I the only one who can't believe that it is already April!? This year is going by far too quickly.

Friday was the first day I was comfortable wearing pants. lol. Since my surgery I was forced to wear dresses and after a while that got pretty old. Yoga pants have been my best friend!

The entire weekend we had absolutely gorgeous weather, you cannot go wrong with 75 degree weather and blue skies. I took advantage and sat outside to work on a paper.

We ventured out to have lunch at Jason's Deli..I had been wanting it all week. I was a happy girl with my Club Royale sandwich. :)

I was in a baking mood and made Kyle some homemade nutri-grain bars. If you've never made them you must. They are amazing.

recipe

The majority of our weekend was spent relaxing, we both needed it and it was awesome.

We are also slowly making our summer bucket list of things we want to do and I can't wait to share it. Lots of concerts, hikes and weekend getaways.

I hope you all have a great day!

3 Years

3 years ago my world was completely turned upside down. 3 years ago I lost the most important woman in my life. 

3 years ago my beautiful Mom, Kathy, lost her brave battle with cancer.

There are no words that can accurately describe how much I miss her. 

I miss her sarcastic sense of humor

I miss the way she made everyone feel like they were special

I miss picking up the phone and hearing her voice

I miss her fierce love for her family

I miss how she could make me feel better when I was sad

My Mom and I always had a special relationship, I could tell her anything and she was always honest in her opinion. She never sugarcoated things and I needed that. I inherited her love of cooking/baking, animals, old movies/music and Disneyland. She was the best Mom that anyone could ever hope for and I am so lucky that she was mine.

She was taken from us far too soon and there is not a day that goes by that I don't think of her. I am sad that she is missing out on the lives of her family. She doesn't get to see her grandchildren grow up and she doesn't get to grow old with my Dad. 

I miss you, Mom and I hope that we all are making your proud. Thank you for always teaching to be the best person that I can be. I love you always!

This and That

I am finally feeling good enough to where I feel comfortable venturing out of the house. It may only be for an hour or two but man it is nice to have human interaction. Not a whole lot is going on in our neck of the woods but here is a quick rundown.

*I am half way through my classes and am still enjoying them haha. Only 4 weeks to go and then I will begin another 4.

*Looks like Kyle will be submitting the paperwork to go to Ranger school. This is something he has always wanted to do and who am I to say no. 

* My sister and I are currently planning our trip to Disneyland in May! I can't wait!

*This week I attended my first ever combatives event for Kyle's brigade. It was the last event of a two day long field training and it was pretty cool to watch. Even better that one of Kyle's soldiers won. I was really proud of his company because they placed 3rd out of 17 teams for the whole event.

*I finally was able to schedule my post-op appointment, it was a fight to get one during the time frame I needed but when I asked to speak directly to my doctor an appointment magically became available lol.

*My nephew was released from the hospital on Wednesday and is doing great! He was able to attend his sister's school awards ceremony yesterday, thankful that he is back to his normal self.

We have no big plans for the weekend, that of course might change but we will see.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Awards and Such

All of you have heard me talk about the planning I was doing for our Battalion Volunteer Recognition Lunch. I have been meaning to write about it and just haven't had the chance. It was held last Tuesday and to be honest it went FAR better than I ever expected.

The weeks leading up to it I spent working on the volunteer gifts which was an etched vase with our unit crest. I am so happy with how they turned out. I also spent many days on the office floor of our FRSA framing awards.

We had it at an Italian restaurant and it was delicious! We had a very nice private room and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The awesome company commanders were even generous enough to pay for the lunches of their volunteers.

Now I don't normally like to talk about myself receiving awards but I was very surprised and honored when I was given both the Yellow Rose of Texas and the Commander's Award for Public Service. I volunteer because I want to and enjoy it, not to be recognized. I have loved my time as both the BN FRG Advisor and the Bravo Co. FRG Leader. Being able to work with the soldiers and their families has been the most amazing experience I could ever hope for.

 

 

I also had the chance to say a special thank you to our amazing, FRSA (family readiness support assistant) Sonia and our Brigade FRG Advisor, Kim. These two ladies have been absolutely wonderful and I am so thankful for them.

It was a wonderful afternoon recognizing the hard work of all these volunteers. Since our unit is in the process of deactivating I hope they know how instrumental they have been in making it a great unit. I will be bummed when people start moving to other units and PCS'ing.

 

 Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Sweet Boy

Sunday night our sweet nephew Grayson was admitted to the Phoenix Children's Hospital with flu-like symptoms as well as a rash. After hours of tests ruling out specific causes he was officially diagnosed with Kawasaki Disease. It is an autoimmune disorder that affects the blood vessels in the body and only affects children under the age of 5. If it goes untreated it can damage the coronary arteries and cause severe damage. He started his treatment last night (it takes 12 hours through an IV) and will be in the hospital until at least Wednesday morning.

Thankfully it looks like it was caught in the early stages and there should not be any lasting effects, but we won't know for a few weeks if that is for sure.

Hopefully this sweet little boy will be back to normal and can go on to live a normal happy life.

We love you, Grayson and can't wait to see you at Easter!

On The Mend

This past weekend was spent resting and relaxing. Kyle has been a great nurse that has forced me to get up and walk every hour to make sure that I'm not just confined to the bed. It was not fun at first but I know it is helping.

Saturday was probably the worst day, the pain was excruciating but nothing painkillers couldn't handle. Let me also just tell you how humbling it is to have your husband help you in and out of shower (also have him wash you) because you can't lift your arms above your head lol. I love that man!

I was blessed by all the love and support from family and friends. These flowers certainly made me smile.

Fishy decided to join me on the bed and hang out. :)

Emma kept me company but most of the time she slept, as you can see.

I have probably eaten my weight in halos this weekend and will continue to do so this week.

I felt good yesterday and actually ventured downstairs for the majority of the day. Hopefully the healing process keeps going the way it is and I will be back to my normal routine soon. I never thought I would get sad seeing Kyle leave for a run without me haha.

Hope you all had a great weekend!