I'm A Real Military Spouse

I am linking up today for a fun military spouse linkup hosted by Samantha and Mal!

Hi Everyone! My name is Jen and I am a 28 year old Army wife of almost 6 years, a volunteer, runner and full-time psychology student living the dream in the desert of Fort Bliss, Texas! My husband, Kyle, has been in the Army for almost 7 years and is currently a military intelligence company commander and grad student.

Kyle and I met when we were in the 6th grade in Las Vegas. He was goofy kid that sat next to me in our history class and we were always just friends. We re-connected with each other in March 2008 and things moved quickly. We were married in June 2008 and we embarked on this crazy military life together. We are struggling with infertility but we have two precious furbabies, Emma and Fishy.

We spent the first 4 years of our marriage stationed at Fort Bragg, NC. We went through two deployments, countless field trainings, and a whole lot of Airborne operations that kept Kyle gone quite a lot. After our time there it was off to Fort Huachuca, AZ for a short 7 months and now we are at Fort Bliss. My husband is a lifer and to be honest I'm thrilled!

I have always tried to tell people that the military lifestyle is not bad and that the dramatics they see or hear are not true when it comes to everyone. I have embraced this life for the last 6 years, yes there are things that frustrate me but that can happen in any life situation. I would not change the experiences or the friendships that we have made.

I am thankful for all that this life has given me, I embrace every aspect of it because it is what my husband loves and I love it too. We support each other and make the best out of every situation that gets handed to us.

I am proud to be a military spouse and I am proud of my husband!

There is certainly never a dull moment!

NIAW

This week is National Infertility Awareness Week. 1 in 8 couples are on this long journey to become parents. To all those out there going through this, you are not alone and there are so many people who love and support you! 

I never thought that we would be one of those couples but this journey has made us stronger than I ever thought possible. This journey will have a happy ending for us and so many others! I just know it.

If you know someone going through this please support them and let them know that they are loved.

 

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Long Weekend

We got to my sisters house late Thursday night and have been having a great time since. 

Friday we lounged around and ran a few errands but mostly relaxed so we could be ready for our half on Saturday.

We got up bright and early for the Going The Distance Half Marathon. It was a really tough course but so worth it. It was a beautiful area and we ended up not running together which was okay with me. We had a blast!!

Afterwards we came back to the house and celebrated Kyle's birthday early! He got some great gifts including an adopted sloth. Haha he has an obsession with sloths so my sister and her family did great.

Sunday morning we got up early with the kids to hunt for Easter eggs. They loved their baskets and had so much fun!  

Kyle heads home today with Emma but I'm here until the 3rd. :) 

I hope you all had a great Easter!!

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

Kyle and I were reminiscing about his career so far in the military...we both realized how much we miss being in an Airborne community. 

Maybe one day he will go back to an Airborne unit (preferably the 82nd) and earn his Master wings.

He sure does miss jumping. Yes, he is in this picture somewhere lol.

Happy Wednesday!

Oh Vacation....You Are Almost Here!

Oh how I am ready for vacation! Starting Thursday I will be in Arizona with my sister and her family for two weeks. I am bummed that Kyle can't stay longer but such is life.

Speaking of vacation, I pulled out my shirts for Disneyland and I'm set. Yes I'm that girl that will have a shirt for each day. :)

However, before I leave I have to get my military ID renewed...there is nothing I would rather do than spend my time at DEERS (I'm sure you can sense my sarcasm lol). Thank goodness for being to make an appointment, maybe it won't take up my whole morning.

I am also in week 7 of my classes...only a week left and I am finally free. Well for a week but that is better than nothing. I am doing my best to be done with school as soon as possible.

I had my post-op appointment yesterday and my doctor is happy with how my healing is going. She was thrilled to hear that I am already back running. We also came up with a game plan and that will be to do 3 rounds of clomid. Yay for the hormonal and crazy side effects that come along with it. I have taken clomid before and it didn't work but we figured we might as well try again.

The next few days will be spent doing laundry, packing, cleaning, getting the oil changed in my car, and writing papers. I need a nap already. 

Hope you all have a great Tuesday!

Run-derful Weekend!

First of all I do not like that weekends are going by so fast!




Friday was a mostly quiet day, I was chained to the house all day waiting for pest control so I felt the need to bake. I made my Mom's famous Whipped Cream Chocolate Pudding cake...oh it is heaven in cake form haha. The rest of the day was spent doing school work.

recipe

Saturday we participated in the Jailbreak 5k Mud Run! This was the first race I ever did and it was just as much fun as last year. They changed up the course which was nice and the finisher medal doubles as a bottle opener lol.

After the run we headed over to a friends house for a barbecue. It was a great way to spend a Saturday.

Sunday we participated in the Wounded Warrior 5k, it was an absolute wonderful cause to support and be a part of.

Kyle and I have decided that since he is training to Ranger school he is going to start running out ahead of me. I started out pretty fast and was feeling great, I ran my fastest 5k in 31 minutes. I am only 3 weeks removed from surgery and it felt great. I am not a fast runner, never have been and I have no desire to break any records. I was so proud of Kyle because he finished 2nd in his age group (only 48 seconds behind the guy that took first). He got a pretty silver medal in addition to the dog tag finisher medal.

It was an amazing weekend and proved to me that I am getting back into my groove with running. Bring on the half marathon this weekend!

I hope you all had a great weekend.

Artist I am Not

Last night was our coffee and we went to one of those wine/paint places. We had the best time painting our guitars and hanging out. I love this group of ladies and will be so sad when we all go our separate ways. They also loved their coffee mugs I gave them, made me happy.

I am definitely no artist but I had fun haha.

I try to find things to do that don't just involve going to someones house and socializing that way. Being creative is way more fun and the ladies all said how much fun they had. Our next coffee will be at a paint your own pottery place.

Have you ever been to a place like this?