You've been gone too long....and all that jazz!

I should issue some nonsense about never staying away this long again and updating more regularly and other lies, but I won't.  I will say that the past few months have been filled with some of the happiest moments of my life.

I was able to go home for almost a week and a half and witness the birth of my nephew Jacob.  I was able to visit my wonderful family and friends.  I have also been working 34 or so hours a week and spending as much time as possible with my husband before he leaves for another year in Korea in September.

On to fluffy things.  Today I got an oil warmer for the very first time...not a wax melter, or a candle.  An oil warmer!  It's like the newest most awesome thing ever!  In less than ten minutes my entire house smells like delicious and yummyness.  I got three oils from the body shop to go with my warmer and my favorite scent is Exotic...it smells like kool-aid and happiness.

I will try to update with some regularity from now on but seriously when you get 2 inches of snow on may 22nd....and have still been living with weather more suited to winter, you really don't feel like doing too much of anything.

Did I mention???

That Wednesday the 18th is my birthday?  That's right I will be 23 years old.  It seems so weird, I was telling Aaron the other day how sometimes it feels like I'm still only 19 and newly married.  As a sort of birthday thing we are going to Tucanos tonight for dinner.  I am very excited about this because it's supposed to be a real treat.  They carry around meat on huge platters/spits and carve it right there at the table.  We have never been to one, but we are really excited about the experience.  I will post pictures and tell all about it later.

Yellowstone and other ramblings

Two weeks ago my mom and grammie came out to visit and we drove from Mountain Home, Idaho out to West Yellowstone, Montana.  We had such an amazing time and I am so unbelievably thankful to have had such an awesome oppourtunity.  In the three years Aaron and I have been married we have been to: the grand canyon, las vegas, south korea and yellowstone.  The things we have been able to do in all of these places are incredible, including riding the steepest wooden rollar coaster in the world while in South Korea.  None of these things would have been possible if Aaron were not in the military, and while sometimes it gets frustrating being so far from family, and having to move every couple of years (3 times since we have been married), we are extremely lucky to have been able to doo all of these things as young newlyweds.  So as with most people we got quite a few pictures of their time here in the northwest and I'm going to share some of the best ones.

This has to be one of the goofiest pictures of me ever taken.

My mom and grammie at twin falls.

Steam rising from the vents in yellowstone.

A mud put at yellowstone.

The Grand Prismatic Spring The orange is a bacterial mat.

The water is over 160 degrees.

The water is absolutely beautiful, and no picture can really capture it.

Old faithful.

Another one of the many thermal features.

Three Generations.

A bison, one of the million we saw while there. One was no more than 10 feet from the car.

An elk it crossed the road right behind our car.

Welcome to Mountain Home Idaho!

So here are some of the pictures from our trip cross country. I have to say that we didn't do anything to denote N.C. which is where we started or Virginia which was the second state we passed through. We started taking pictures in West Virginia. and got some really good ones later on. Wyoming was the most photogenic, however there was nothing out there in the way of food or gas...not so good on the bladder.

West Virginia tourist stop

La Carreta the best Mexican restaraunt in West Virginia
It was delicious.

Us at the beginning of 4 long days of driving.

Kentucky!

A good shot of a bridge at night in Kentucky.

Indiana.

A broken bridge in Indiana.

Missouri!

The St. Louis Arch.

In Kansas there was rain...and lots of it.

Iowa was some more rain and a few things of interest.

Like the Sapp bros water towers, which are actually for gas stations...who Knew?

Nebraska!

Wyoming? Oh yeah this is one of those western states right?

Man I look like a rockstar. Even after 2 and a half days of driving.

Some pretty Rocks piled up randomly.

A refinery, on of the two that we saw.

Some windmills.

Utah. The last state before the promise land.

Idaho!!! We finally made it!

A funnel cloud? Is the first sign of something ominious?

Idaho!!!

I am currently in Idaho, at Mountain home AFB, however the new TLF buildings do not have internet and so I can't upload pictures and all sorts of other things. We have a house! Brand new housing with a beautiful yard and kitchen and a front porch and a covered patio. It is everything and more than I could have hoped for, and it is ours as soon as some maintenence gets done on it. Which will be by the end of the week. We have already picked out and bought furniture, there will be picutres, as soon as possible.

I'm going to the beach today!

I'm going to the beach today...I should be staying home this weekend and cleaning my room, and packing, but I have all of next week off to do that. I am leaving NC June 8th to drive across country with my sister Nora and to be put on the housing list at Mountain Home Idaho. Yay! Things are finally coming together!

I think it's starting to sink in...what are we getting ourselves into?

So the last time I up and moved across the country to be with Aaron we had been married for less than a week and I was so excited I didn't know what to do with myself. Living in the base hotel for close to three weeks was an adventure! Even when in those first three weeks Aaron slept on the couch several times, nothing could deter our "Love". Boy were those the days...alas the days when buying less than $3.00 worth of Beef tips and putting them over ramen noodles and calling it a feast may have passed, however the love I feel for my husband has just grown and grown. I will say this though, I am not a naive 19 year old anymore. Well at least I'm not as naive as I was back then. In a little over two and a half years of marriage (one of which we spent apart/ him in Korea/ me back here at home) I've learned a few Key points. The military lies... let me just repeat that for those of you who didn't catch it the first time around...The military lies. Now I'm sure this seems cynical and mean, and the truth is I am a bit cynical when it comes to the military. Sometimes, and by that I mean most of the time the military is only going to give you a half truth...UNLESS you are willing to ask a million questions and risk making yourself a nuisence. It's okay to ask questions. I have learned that lesson more times than I care to say, however one prime example is that for the first 10 months Aaron and I were married he was not being paid BAS which most of you will know means he wasn't getting food money. Aaron was sure that the military would never ever make the mistake of messing up his pay, well it wasn't until I nagged and nagged that he started checking his LES to see if he was being paid correctly. Finally we got it fixed and recieved a back pay of $3000, however it would have been better to have it all those months that we didn't. My point is this; people assured him he was being paid correctly, however Aaron didn't know how to make sure it was correct. Only after asking questions did we find out how to check it ourselves. The second thing I've learned is that the military is like a family. The biggest and most diverse family you could ever ask for or hope for. People will go out of their way to see if they can help you. While Aaron was stationed in AZ I had to have my appendix removed, Aaron was not allowed to stay in the hospital with me overnight and so a good friend of ours stayed with me and spent all night helping me get up and down to the bathroom. I had been in AZ less than 6 months. Where else will you find people willing to help you move that 300 pound sofa bed up a flight of stairs into a second story apartment? And then help you move it back down less than three months later when you find out your going to Korea? If I can say one thing about the military it's this...you never know what tomorrow is going to bring, however you always know that someone will be there to help you get through it.

All of that being said...Idaho??? Really? I mean don't get me wrong at this point I would take the moon if it means getting to see my husband again, but what are we getting ourselves into here? Boise is almost an hour drive according to the base website, and despite being named Mountain Home AFB I have been told that there aren't actually any mountains in sight! How's that for misleading information? I'll tell you what, I'm going to stay positive and give this place a shot, just like I did for Arizona, which I grew to love.

Hello Idaho Here we come!!!

It's been a long year away from my husband however we are both ready for the challange of the next base and finally having the money saved up to pick out and buy furniture instead of scouring craigslist for deals. We will be driving the 35 hours from Durham N.C. to Mountain Home, Idaho as soon as he gets done outprocessing Kunsan AB, Korea. I'm sure there will be lots of laughs, crying, and hard work trying to get settled into our new place. This blog is so that family and friends can follow us on our journey. I will post pictures, recipes, and anything else I want to share.