April 2012

Both Bill and I had a lot of different events going on over the past month. While Bill was wrapped up with work, I decided that it was a good time to get away from Yuma for a little while and go visit some family back in NY over the Easter holiday. 

Whenever I go home, it always seems that there is a ton going on! This time around, my brother, Shod, had finally come home from Japan. He had been stationed in Yokuska for the past three years and is finally in the process of making a duty change -- to Hawaii, which must be nice!! He should definitely be expecting some visitors sometime in the future! He will also be deploying for the next several months prior to actually settling in to Hawaii, so it was nice that he was able to make some time to visit NY during this process and spend some time with all of us. He was also able to bring his family along for the ride, which meant that I got to spend some time with my little nephew! 

As I mentioned before, there always seems to be a ton going on whenever I make it home as my mom sure does a good job of planning things and keeping us all busy! (It is rare when all of us siblings are home at the same time) One of the highlights from my trip included an Easter Egg Hunt for all of the kids in the neighborhood. This was too cute to watch, here are some of the photos from this event:

Silas scoping out the field

He thought that you were supposed to throw the eggs....

The Neighborhood

Getting the hang of it

He figured out there was chocolate in those eggs!!

This led to stealing other's eggs......

Making friends and sharing.....

Following the Easter Egg hunt, we have a very lively and fun group of neighbors, so we spent the rest of the night eating pizza and playing dice. I actually won one of these rounds, which never happens!

Also during the time that I was home, my parents hosted a Welcome Home party for Shod, his wife, Irish, and their son, Silas. This was special because this was Irish's and Silas' first time to the United States so we got to introduce them to the rest of our extended family. This event also allowed for me to catch up with family members and some old friends from high school that I haven't seen in years. My parents had this catered by one of the local restaurants in town and there seemed to be an excellent turnout!

My Aunt Tracy, Kari, Me, and Stef

Kari and I --Looking forward to Kari's visit to AZ next month!

My brothers and I with our Aunt Colleen!

He loved the balloons...

The following day happened to be Easter, so we spent more time with family as we hosted Easter Dinner at our home. Easter day happened to be beautiful in upstate NY this year, which allowed us to spend some time outside. However, it never fails when all of us cousins get together, we always have to get a good game of something in! This year it happened to be Apples to Apples...love that game!

We are getting too big for our living room these days...

The Cousins

After a couple days full of Easter egg hunts, welcome home parties, and the actually holiday itself, my time at home went by rather quickly. On my last day home, we took Silas to the playground where I got to spend just a little bit more time with him before having to say good-bye:)

Helping him go down the smaller slide after I prematurely
sent him down the big slide moments before. He recovered well. haha.

Loving the big kid swing!

"Zip-lining"

Silas being funny

Shod, Silas, and Irish

I really enjoyed my time home and which makes me wish I lived closer! Living out West has been a fantastic experience, but it sure doesn't allow for many visits home during the year. I look forward to the next trip out whenever that may be!! 

During the time that I was in NY, Bill was hard at work back in Yuma. Again, he has been in the midst of the Spring WTI course and was involved in some planned missions. I try to keep everything straight as to what he tells me he is doing, but I am sure I get it all mixed up! However, from what I understand, they had planned practice missions with the Canadian military where they practiced "assaulting a village" at one point. There is a com cam that takes some photos during some of these exercises and Bill made some of them! 

Bill is in the back with his head down.

Bill is the guy pointing...

Loading up the Huey

I am happy to announce that this is the last weekend of WTI!! I felt that this class went by rather quickly, but I am relieved that Bill will have his two day weekends back starting next weekend! He has had to work almost every day with the exception of Sundays since WTI started weeks ago. I won't know what to do with him when he's around for more than a day!! ;)

Despite our opposite schedules this past month, we did get a chance to fit in my late birthday surprise. My birthday was actually last month, but Bill had planned something special that ended up getting cancelled on my actual birthday due to high winds. However, we made up for it this month and Bill took me on a hot air balloon ride. I have to admit this is the most unique birthday gift I have ever received and we both enjoyed the experience! It was definitely a different perspective as the ride was super quite and calm. It was amazing how much you could hear while up in the air. The balloon had just about every dog in Yuma going nuts beneath us as the balloon operator explained that the noise from the fire bothered them. We floated over the city of Yuma, over the MCAS base, and landed in a field. They ended the ride with the traditional champagne and balloonist's prayer:

May the winds welcome you with softness.  

May the sun bless you with its warm hands.

May you fly so high and so well that God joins you in laughter,

and sets you gently back into the loving arms of Mother Earth.

Here are some photos from our balloon ride:

Setting up

A little dark, but we were inside the balloon.

In the air

Up, Up, and Away.....

Shadow on the trees....

As always, this month went by in a flash and we continue to move forward in the year looking forward to more adventure and visits with friends and family!

                   

February/March

I have slacked these past two months, no posts and no pictures! Therefore, this will be just a very brief all encompassing overview of the past two months....

Last we left off, Bill was transitioning over to the Yankee Helicopter and spending most of the work week out in Camp Pendleton while I held down the fort and my own job here in Yuma. This progressed well into the month of February and is still in the works. This process has taken a little longer than anticipated due to some unfortunate and unforeseen circumstances, but he should get a chance to finish up his final check rides over the next few weeks since a new WTI class started as of March 11th 2012. Hard to believe, but half of the Spring class is complete and they are already moving into the last few weeks of the flight phase. Class completion will be April 29th or 30th, which will hopefully give Bill a chance to breathe since his schedule has been go-go-go since the New Year.

As mentioned above, we did experience some unfortunate events earlier in the year. The Huey shop lost a fantastic pilot, friend, and just an overall good person in the recent helicopter crash that happened in late February over the Chocolate Mountains. This was a tremendous and devastating loss to the Yuma Community, Marine Corp, his family, and to all that knew him. Although it may sound cliche, I feel that this tragic experience has definitely been a wake up call to myself and Bill in that life is short and can be taken from anyone in an instant. This has definitely made Bill and I re-examine our own values and determine what we would like to accomplish sooner rather than later in our own lifetimes. We will forever remember Nate and will continue to keep his wife and children in our prayers.

I also underwent some minor medical procedures, which included getting my wisdom teeth out. I sure wish I had listened to my parents 10 years ago when it was recommended then. It sure wasn't too fun getting them out as an adult! The good thing is that it allowed me to indulge in large amounts of ice cream without feeling guilty about it:)

As for my training, I had been training for a 1/2 marathon in Lake Havasu, but my training plan was significantly disrupted by the above events. However, things are finally settling out around here and I look forward to running more consistently here in the future (I feel like I have been saying that a lot lately). It is REALLY hard to stick to a schedule....I am not very good at it, but I am working on it!

As we move into the last weeks of WTI, Bill and I are very much looking forward to some downtime and visiting our families. I will actually get to travel to NY over the Easter Weekend to spend Easter with my family. Unfortunately, because of WTI, Bill will be unable to accompany me, but I feel that I need to go as my brother has just returned home from Japan with his wife and son and will deploy at the end of the April. However, Bill and I look forward to traveling together to visit Bill's family sometime in May. 

Though the past two months held some tough stuff, we are optimistic that the year will continue to look up as we move into April! Happy Spring!

January 2012

Happy 2012!! We hope that you and your family were able to ring in the New Year with some celebration, friends, and good Champagne. We also hope that January has brought you a good start to the rest of the year!

January was scheduled to be a pretty busy month for Bill in regards to work. Therefore, Bill and I took advantage of the the long weekend over the New Year holiday and drove up to Flagstaff, AZ. This was a much needed trip as it allowed Bill and I to spend some quality time with one another before the pace of the New Year picked up.

Flagstaff is about a 5-6 hour drive north from Yuma, so there was quite a bit of difference in temperature. There WAS snow on the ground, so it was nice to spend some of the winter holidays with a little bit of chill in the air (I never thought I would say that!!).

We drove up on New Year's Eve and got there a couple hours before dinner. We stayed at The Little America Hotel which was an older hotel, but one of the cutest I have ever seen. They had redone it with almost a french/antique feel. Hard to explain, but I would definitely recommend staying here if ever in the Flagstaff area. They put on a fantastic dinner followed by a New Year's Eve party with a Jazz/Blues band. Now, granted, we happened to be just about the youngest couple to attend by far, but it was nice to catch up and share a drink, or two, or maybe several with one another :)

getting into the spirit...

Obviously, we were getting close to midnight

Since we only had a short time in Flagstaff, we got up pretty early the following day and set off to explore. We checked out a couple of places on Trip Advisor and got some good recommendations in regards to top attractions in the area. With that being said, our first stop was Walnut Canyon.

Walnut Canyon is known for the remaining cliff dwellings that were occupied by the Sinagua (meaning Without Water) Indian Tribe more than 800 years ago. These cliff dwellings were occupied for a little over 100 years, but eventually the people of this land moved on. It is believed that they moved onto neighboring villages and eventually integrated into the Hopi Indian culture. Though this was a relatively quick tour, we got to tour some of the cave dwellings, which gave us the opportunity to see how these people may have lived way back when. Let me tell you, I probably wouldn't have survived very long, it looked pretty uncomfortable! However, it seemed they had it down to a science with sectioned off rooms for sleeping, fires, and etc.

Here are some of the shots we took:

Our second stop was the Sunset Crater Volcano. Who knew there were volcanos in Arizona?? I am not too sure of the actual year that this Volcano erupted, but I do know that the eruption caused the land to become very fertile afterward, which later attracted the Sinagua Tribes to occupy the cave dwellings in Walnut Canyon and for another tribe by the name of Wupatki to make its presence. They returned to farm on these lands. 

While visiting Sunset Crater Volcano, Bill and I were able to hike up a cinder cone, which gave way for some fantastic views of the nearby San Francisco Peaks and the volcano itself.

Bill with San Francisco Peaks

Walking around the top

We also got to hike around some of the lava beds at the base, which also gave us a good view of the Volcano.

Sunset Crater Volcano

The Lava Beds

Once we finished our tour of the lava beds, we hopped back in the truck and took a scenic drive through the desert. We have both agreed that the Northern Desert is much prettier than the Southern Desert. It was much more colorful and what you "imagine" the desert to look like, in my opinion. Lots of reds and oranges.

Here is some of our drive out to the "middle of no where":

the vast desert

The Never Ending Road

We did eventually come across an old Wupatki Pueblo and got to tour that as well....

Pueblo

inside looking out

By the time we came across the Pueblo and eventually made our way out of the desert, we were beat. We grabbed some dinner at The Cottage Restaurant, which was very quaint and had received rave reviews. After visiting, I would concur. Another great recommendation if you are ever in the Flagstaff area. They served me my first tamale:)

The Yankee

As much as I hate it when trips end, the following day we had to pack up and head back to Yuma to get on with the rest of the New Year, which will be a fast one no doubt! The day after our return, Bill had to pack up and head to Camp Pendleton. He has been out there pretty much all month converting from the old Huey to the new Huey, also known as the "Yankee". Fortunately, I have been able to make it out to Camp Pendleton a couple of the weekends, which has also allowed us to catch up with some of good friends stationed out that way. Bill was also able to come home over the long Martin Luther King Jr. weekend as well, which has broken up the amount of time he has been gone this month.


During his quick trip home, we got to take advantage of some of the area surrounding us and we took a quick hike through the Kofa National Park or Reserve. We wanted to hike Castle Dome, but didn't due to lack of time. We hope to make it back out there at some point before our time in Yuma is up.


Bill challenged us both to hike up a nice steep cliff side....

We made it though!! Here are the views from the top:

At this point, Bill has completed most of his conversion to the Yankee. However, he still remains out of town quite a bit as he is trying to complete all of the necessary flights needed to officially finish the conversion. This week he remains in 29 Palms....

As for my job, it continues to go very well.  The pace has started to pick up a little bit, which makes me happy because I like to be productive when I go to work. Though, I can't deny enjoying a relaxed work environment! 

As we reach the end of the month, I am happy to say I have officially started running again. All's it took was a new pair of running shoes! Also, I look forward to running a couple of races this spring. There are a couple of events up in Lake Havasu that have caught my eye. We'll see where that goes.

For now, I will just enjoy getting back in shape and some "me" time as I look forward to Bill coming home to stick around for awhile:) 

December -- Goodbye 2011 and Hello 2012!

December went by wayyy too quick! So quick that we didn't even have time to put up Christmas decorations, not even a tree....

Bill actually had to leave the very next day upon returning from our Hawaii trip in order to head up to a work conference in Las Vegas, which went right on through the first week of December. The purpose of this trip was to rewrite, edit, and update some of the military publications that are currently in use. By the sounds of it, this seemed to be a very tedious task and I think that Bill was ready to come home after that. Unfortunately, he did not win big while in Vegas, which only means that he will have to return and take me with him next time :)

Even though we just got back from our Hawaiian Wedding Ceremony last month, Bill and I were able to celebrate our "official" one year anniversary on December 10th!!  It is hard to believe we have been married for a whole year already. Even a year later, I am still trying to figure out how I got to be so lucky and am overwhelmed with feelings of gratitude. I feel so blessed that I get that I get to share my life with and be married to my best friend. I love you, Bill, and look forward to spending many more fun filled years together, even though you can be a piece of work sometimes -- you can't be right ALLL the time you know!!! ;)

Bill and I

For our one year anniversary, Bill took me to the

ballet in Phoenix. We met up with our friends, Sean and Alison, who took us out for a celebratory dinner at a fabulous steakhouse before the show. After dinner, we headed downtown to Symphony Hall where we watched the Nutcracker. It was my first time to the ballet and the first time I had actually seen the Nutcracker as well. It was a unique experience that I really enjoyed. It definitely got us into the holiday spirit, which made up for our lack of decorations back at home. Following the show, we grabbed some drinks before calling it a night.

Some of us had a few more than others....;)

Sean & Bill
December 2011

We always have a fantastic time with Sean and Alison and we look forward to our next trip with them!

Sean, Alison, Myself, and Bill
December 2011

Also, this month we spent some time attending holiday outings with the Huey Shop. We made it out to see Ron White, also known as "Tater Salad" who put on a show out at the Quechan Casino here in Yuma. He was HILARIOUS, but very crass. I would definitely go see him again and I look forward to catching a few more comedy shows in the future as I would LOVE to see Chelsea Handler someday. Maybe when I make that trip to Vegas!

Dinner at Market Place

We also attended an ugly sweater dinner at the Market Place Wine and Bistro one evening. Clearly, only a select few chose to participate...haha.

The holidays are always tough when living so far from both sets of parents. This year, we were supposed to travel back to New York to spend the holidays with my family. Unfortunately, due to lack of vacation time and all of our travels in November, we were unable to make it back to my parent's house this year. Though I missed our traditional holiday festivities, we were still able to spend some time with family and friends here, which made for a great holiday nonetheless.

Bill's brother, CJ, is a pilot for Southwest and had to fly during the holiday, which put him in San Diego over Christmas Eve. With San Diego being so close, Bill and I made a quick trip with the airplane and spent the night in San Diego with him. We stayed downtown and grabbed some dinner at The Palms Steakhouse located right in the Gas Lamp Quarter District. This was an excellent choice and afforded me the opportunity to have some Christmas Crab Cakes. If you can't make it home for the holidays, there really is no better place to be stuck than in sunny and seventy degree San Diego...

We got to land right downtown, which made us a small fish in a big pond. Here are some shots from the approach:

San Diego



Final Approach


 Christmas Day was a beautiful day to fly. Here are some shots that we took leaving San Diego and approaching Yuma....

San Diego Skyline

Coronado
You can see the Hotel Del

North Island

Tijuana, MX

The Mexican Border!

More of the border....

Our House!!
(The one without the car in the driveway)

Christmas Day we said our goodbyes to CJ so that he could get back to TX and so that we could get back to Yuma to have Christmas lunch/dinner with our friends; the Kovals. Jen cooked herself silly making ham, carrots, corn, and some delicious cheesecake. I can't say it enough, but we feel so fortunate to have Mark, Jen, Landon, and Laylah out here with us! They make Yuma feel just a little more like home even though we don't get together nearly enough. Maybe once the Bachelor starts in January!

With all of that being said, there was little time for much else this past month. As a result, Bill and I have definitely fallen off the workout wagon. I don't think I have done anything fitness related since  before Hawaii and now feel like a blob. Therefore, for the benefit of both our aging bodies, we have decided to forgo the Phoenix Half Marathon next month. How I thought that it was a good idea to schedule a race like that following the holiday season is beyond me. I am sad about skipping this race, but look forward to getting back in shape along with everyone else starting January 1st, which leaves us one last weekend to be lazy!

In order to make the most of it, we will be spending our New Year's weekend in Flagstaff, AZ. Flagstaff is located in Northern Arizona, so it will be a little chilly up there and we might even see snow! That'll be a first for us since leaving NC. We are pretty excited to explore the Northern Arizona Region and hope to ring in the New Year with some hiking and sightseeing.

As I reflect on this past year, I am grateful for all of the great experiences that 2011 held for us. I hope that 2011 was just as magical for you as it was for us and we wish everyone another prosperous and healthy New Year as we welcome 2012!!